New Books: 14 January 2025
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Shea, Brian & Byrnes, Raquel: Aurora Fragment (Severn River 9781648756221, $18.99, 312pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 01/14/2025)
Science fiction murder mystery novel. Detective Morgan Reed is drawn to an isolated Alaskan town, haunted by the intrusive memories of a killer. He teams up with the local detective to find a missing intern, and must uncover the secrets of the snow-shrouded land that harbors secret genetic testing sites and dangerous legends.
Kirby, Kristin: Dark Worlds We Wander (Unnerving 9781998763412, $18.99, 248pp, formats: trade paperback, 01/14/2025)
A collection of 14 short stories and one novella following Earth’s last desperate survivors of a nuclear winter. Stories include a woman whose tattoo is taking over her body, and one who must face whatever horror lies in her clothes drying machine.
Webb, A.S.: Daughter of Chaos (Harlequin/Mira 9780778368434, $29.02, 464pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Epic fantasy novel set in ancient Greece, the first in the Dark Pantheon trilogy. Teen Danae resents her people’s blind acceptance of the cruel Olympia pantheon, and sets out to free humanity free from the gods’ whims. The first book in the Dark Pantheon trilogy. A first novel.
Okorafor, Nnedi: Death of the Author (HarperCollins/Morrow 9780063391147, $27, 448pp, formats: hardcover, large print, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Associational literary novel about a disabled Nigerian-American writer. When Zelu is fired from her university job and rejected from yet another publisher, she decided to writes something just for her. Her novel, Rusted Robots, reaches into space and takes her on a surprising journey that may impact the future of tech itself. This is a deluxe, limited first print run.
Yamamoto, Makana: Hamma
jang Luck (Harper Voyager US 9780063430822, $19.99, 336pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 01/14/2025)
Cyberpunk novel grounded in the history of Hawai’i. When Edie is released from the icy prison planet and back into the Kepler Space Station, she is offered one last heist job to take down a tech trillionaire. Ebook also available.
Crocker, Ed: Lig
htfall (St. Martin’s 9781250287731, $30, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Fantasy horror novel, first in the Everlands trilogy. In the vampire city of First Light, palace maid Sam discovers a clue to a murder, blackmails her way into a better class, and helps investigate the murder — only to find her own life threatened by a huge conspiracy.
Bear, Lauren J.A.: Mother of Rome (Ace 9780593638941, $30, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 01/07/2025)
Mythological fantasy novel about the mother of Romulus and Remus. Rhea’s father loses his kingdom in a coup, and she is sent from her luxurious station to the order of the Vestal Virgins. When she becomes pregnant, she must fight with all the strength of a mother to ensure her own safety and that of her sons. This includes an author’s note on sources on the history and versions of the myths involved. Ebook also available.
Uketsu: Strange Pictures (HarperVia 9780063433083, $26, 240pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Horror novel. A university student investigates an abandoned blog full of eerie, childlike drawings, and what happened to a woman mentioned there; the author’s illustrations provide clues to the mystery. Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion.
Sotto Yambao, Samantha: Water Moon (Penguin Random House/Del Rey 9780593724996, $28.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, large print paperback, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Cozy fantasy romance novel. Hana owns a magical pawnshop in Tokyo where you can sell your regrets, or maybe relive those choices. Her world is thrown into disruption when a young physicist wanders into the shop, and they embark on a journey together to find Hana’s father. Hardcover edition features an origami book jacket. Ebook also available.
Pheby, Alex: Waterblack (Tor 9781250817297, $32, 640pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Fantasy novel, third in the Cities of the Weft series. Sharli, sacrifice-turned-assassin, is now trained God-killer and must go after Nathan Treeves, the Master of Waterblack. She and the Woman’s Vanguard must team together to stop his rampage of death.
Hanks, Dan: The Way Up Is Death (Angry Robot UK 9781915202949, $18.99, 400pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 01/14/2025)
Horror fantasy novel. When a dark tower appears over the UK emblazened with the word ‘Ascend’, 13 strangers are drawn inside as a countdown begins. The strangers must face a gauntlet of nightmares as they climb the stairs of the mysterious tower and find out why they are there in the first place.
Swyler, Erika: We Lived on the Horizon (Simon & Schuster/Atria 9781668049594, $28.99, 336pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Postapocalyptic dystopian SF novel. Saint Enita Malovis, a bio-prosthetist, wants to create a being that will embody her knowledge as she approaches old age and death. She creates Nix, and together they are drawn into a war between the AI-powered city of Bulwark and the underclass.
Hendrix, Grady: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (Penguin Random House/Berkley 9780593548981, $30, 496pp, formats: hardcover, large print paperback, ebook, audiobook, 01/14/2025)
Fantasy horror novel. When pregnant teen Fern arrives at a home for wayward girls filled with others in her same predicament, she feels helplessly controlled by the adults at the home. But when a librarian gives her a book of witchcraft, she feels power in her own hands for the first time. However, spells are never free, and are usually paid in blood.
Shawl, Nisi: Making Amends (Aqueduct Press 9781619762688, $16, 169pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 01/15/2025)
Science fiction novel-in-stories. What happens when a corporate government creates an interstellar penal colony? Nisi Shawl examines the repercussions, benefits, and unknowns that come with expanding our universe to strange new worlds. Ebook also available.
Wiesebron, Lauren: House of Frost and Feathers (Hodder & Stoughton UK/Hodderscape 9780063371491, $19.99, 512pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audiobook, 01/16/2025)
Romantic fantasy novel inspired by Slavic folklore. Penniless Marisha accepts a job as assistant to the feared sorceress Baba Zima and is thrust into the world of koldunry, magic, and spells. She teams up with Zima’s other apprentice, Olena, and together they try to find a cure for the sleeping plague that is ravishing the countryside. A first novel. Ebook also available.
Livingston, Michael: Iceborn (Bloomsbury UK/Head of Zeus/Ad Astra 9781035905805, $19.99, 416pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 01/16/2025)
Science fiction novel, first in the Seaborn Cycle. Bela, Shae, and Alira all wander the cold landscape that is the Sea of Ice. They face unfeeling metal beings, search for ancient portals, and try to uncover the secrets of the unforgiving world before them. Originally published in audio form by Audible Originals 2020.
Hinds, Emma: The Quick and the Dead (Bedford Square UK 9781915798879, $£16.99, 356pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 01/16/2025)
Dark fantasy novel about cutpurse Mariner Elgin and brawler Kit Skevy in 1597 London, where they get mixed up with rival alchemists willing to do anything for their science. They are thrust into the world of political alchemy and their friendship is tested along with their lives.
Zhao, Xiran Jay: Heavenly Tyrant (Tundra books 9780735269989, $20.99, 544pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 12/24/2024)
Science fiction historical retelling of Chinese history. In the second book in the Iron Widow series, Zetian finds herself in a seat of power in Huaxia. The once-powerful elites, though, are waging an internal war while the people of Huaxia’s demand for justice grows ever more frantic. Zetian must remain a steadfast leader in troubling times.
