New Books: 2 April 2024

Wiswell, John: Someone You Can Build a Nest In (Astra House/DAW 9780756418854, $28, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Fantasy novel, a “creepy, charming monster-slaying sapphic fantasy romance from the monster’s POV.” Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals. Hurt by the hunters, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. A first novel.

 

Gannon, Charles E. & Kennedy, Chris: Admiral and Commander (Baen 9781982193331, $17.99, 384pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

SF novel, part of Gannon’s Tales of the Terran Republic series featuring Caine Riordan. Colonel Rodger Murphy and his Lost Soldiers were dropped in the 55 Tauri binary system. Since then, they have forged an uneasy alliance with space-dwelling descendants of the Ktor, liberated the earlier human inhabitants of the planet R’bak, and driven their oppressors from the neighboring system back into a few fortified cities — but there’s another pivotal battle looming before them. Ebook also available.

 

Ruocchio, Christopher: Disquiet Gods (Baen 9781982193324, $30, 704pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Epic SF novel, sixth in the Sun Eater series about Hadrian Marlow. Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last task: To kill a god. Ebook also available.

 

Weber, David: Toll of Honor (Baen 9781982193317, $30, 528pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 04/02/2024)

SF novel in Weber’s Honorverse, featuring Lieutenant Brandy Bolgeo, who has uncovered the truth about the politically protected aristocrat who deserted and caused her ship’s losses — and his new efforts to destroy his enemies, including Honor Harrington. Ebook also available.

 

Andrews, Brian & Wilson, Jeffrey: Four Minutes (Blackstone Publishing 9781665041959, $27.99, 355pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

SF mystery/technothriller novel. New tech offers a glimpse ot the future to a new elite counterterrorism squad, but it only allows four-minute missions. The authors are just Andrews & Wilson on the cover and title page. Ebook also available.

 

Marshall, Jessie Ren: Women! In! Peril! (Bloomsbury USA 9781639732272, $17.99, 288pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Collection of 12 stories, four new and three slightly revised by award-winning playwright Jessie Ren Marshall, about women, with plenty of social commentary, humor, hope — and some SF elements. A first collection.

 

Enger, Leif: I Cheerfully Refuse (Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press 9780802162839, $28, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Near-future SF novel, inspired by the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice – and Gulliver’s Travels. Rainy, a bereaved musician sailing on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his deceased wife, encounters storms and corpses rising from the depths, and a lawless society on land full of desperate and illiterate people and malignant billionaires.

 

Fox, Hester: The Book of Thorns (Harlequin/Graydon House 9781525812019, $30, 336pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Historical fantasy novel. Cornelia Shaw, stranded in France after escaping her cruel uncle, is recruited as an herbalist for Napoleon’s army, but her gift with plants raises suspicion of witchcraft. Behind Cornelia’s vast knowledge of the natural world is a secret she keeps hidden—the flowers speak to her through a mysterious connection she has felt since childhood. When the flowers sing of her long-lost sister with the same gifts, Cornelia is determined to reunite with Lijsbeth despite being on opposite sides of the war, and drawn into a whirlwind of betrayal, secrets, and lies. Ebook also available.

 

Acton, Helly: Begin Again (HarperCollins/Avon 9780063345348, $30, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Alternate choice fantasy novel. Upon dying in a freak accident, Frankie McKenzie gets a chance to revist moments in her past to see what different choices will lead to a more fulfilling life. Ebook also available.

 

Tan, June CL: Darker by Four (HarperTeen 9780063283848, $19.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult contemporary fantasy novel, the first in the eponymous duology. Two young people swap their magic abilities by accident, and learn they may be linked to a death god’s disappearance. Simultaneous with the UK (Hodderscape) edition.

 

Hanna, Rania: The Jinn Daughter (Hoopoe 9781649033635, $49.95, 274pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult fantasy novel. Death herself seeks her replacement as ruler of the underworld, but she chooses the daughter of a very stubborn jinn who wants more for her daughter. Nadine is a jinn tasked with telling the stories of the dead. Every morning she gathers pomegranate seeds—the souls of the dead—that have fallen during the night. With her daughter Layala at her side, she eats the seeds and tells their stories — until the seeds stop falling. Nadine will do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe, but Death is determined to get what she has come for. A first novel.

 

Evans, Desiree S. & Fennell, Saraciea J., eds.: The Black Girl Survives in This One (Macmillan/Flatiron 9781250871657, $19.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult original anthology of 15 horror stories of Black final girls as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death. Authors include Monica Brashears, Justina Ireland, Zakiya Dalila Harris, L.L. McKinney, Eden Royce. Foreword by Tananarive Due. Ebook also available.

 

Leckie, Ann: Lake of Souls (Orbit US 9780316553575, $30, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Collection. All of Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie’s short fiction, including the new novelette “Lake of Souls”, as well as stories set in the acclaimed Imperial Radch and Raven Tower universes. Simultaneous with the Orbit UK edition.

 

Grabo, Markelle: Call Forth a Fox (Page Street 9798890039705, $18.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult fantasy novel, a sapphic twist on the fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red”. On her way home from foraging, Ro encounters a bear attacking a fox. She fights the bear to save the fox’s life, only to see the bear turn into a boy after her sister shoots him with an arrow. When the boy wakes, he has no memory of who he is―all he knows is Ro’s name and that he has to kill the fox. Ebook also available.

 

Archer, Brooke: Hearts Still Beating (Penguin Random House/Putnam 9780593698327, $19.99, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult post-apocalyptic romance novel about two teen girls whose love survives even though one is infected with a virus that brings the dead back to life, and the other has impaired mobility. As the girls struggle with their pasts and the people they’ve become, and with the Island’s fragile peace in the balance, Rory and Mara must lean on each other to survive—or risk losing the girl they love all over again. Ebook also available.

 

Chupeco, Rin: Court of Wanderers (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 9781982195748, $29.99, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Vampire fantasy novel, second in the Reaper series. Remy Pendergast and his royal vampire companions return to face an enemy that is close to home. Posing as Malek and Xiaodan’s human familiar, Remy contends with Aluria’s vampire courts and a series of gruesome murders with their help—and more, as the three navigate their relationship. Simultaneous with the UK (Hodder & Stoughton) edition.

 

Benson, Jacquelyn: Empire of Shadows (Snowy Wings/Crimson Fox 9781958051337, $39.99, 476pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Victorian historical fantasy novel, the first book in the Raiders of the Arcana series about would-be archaeologist Ellie Mallory, who finds a map to a mysterious ancient Pre-Colombian city, and races to reach the ruins ahead of villains after a powerful arcane object. Elements of the story appeared previously in The Smoke Hunter (Grand Central 2016). A hardcover edition (-34-4, $29.99) was announced but not seen; ebook also available. Snowy Wings Publishing.

 

Berman, Jude: The Die (SparkPoint Studio/SparkPress 9781684632305, $17.9, 336pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Near-future SF novel, inspired partly by the Mahabharata. A woman in the democratic nation of California discovers a game she’s helping develop has been tampered with, leading to the discovery of an app that can alter people’s brains without their noticing. A first novel. Ebook also available.

 

Bourne, Holly: What Magic Is This? (Sterling/Union Square & Co. 9781454954880, $9.99, 176pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 04/02/2024)

Young-adult fantasy novel about three friends hoping to be witches. When the three friends gather to cheer up heartbroken Sophia, they’re ready to put their theory to the test. But then long-held secrets are revealed, and hard truths start to hit home. Suddenly, their night of bewitching fun takes an unexpected turn. First US edition (Barrington Stoke 2019).

 

Liu, Cixin: A View from the Stars (Tor 9781250292117, $27.99, 224pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 04/02/2024)

Collection of stories and essays that shed light on Hugo, Locus, and Galaxy Award-winning author Liu’s experiences as a reader, writer, and lover of science fiction from across three decades and a prolific career, putting his nonfiction essays and short stories side-by-side for the first time. Simultaneous with the UK (Ad Astra) edition.

 

Fracassi, Phillip: No One Is Safe (Lethe Press 9781590216040, $23, 314pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 04/05/2024)

Collection of 13 horror stories, one new. Discover haunted dream journals and evil houses, birthday wishes gone wrong, a neighborhood cat that cures any disease, a flesh-eating beach, and mysterious skeletons on a hidden moon base, and more. Introduction by Ronald Malfi.

 

Jones, Stephen Graham: The Angel of Indian Lake (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 9781668011669, $28.99, 464pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 03/26/2024)

Supernatural thriller/horror novel, third in the Indian Lake trilogy featuring slasher film buff Jade (now Jennifer) Daniels. Jade returns to Proofrock, Idaho, to build a life after the years of sacrifice—only to find the Lake Witch is waiting for her. Ebook also available. Simultaneous with the Titan Books UK edition.