New Books: 4 February 2025

February 4, 2025February 6, 2025 locusmag 0 Comments

Visit our bookshop.org page to purchase this week’s new books and support your local bookstore. And us!

Cambias, James L.: The Miranda Conspiracy (Baen 978-1668072400, $18.00, 320pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 02/04/2025)

SF novel set in the far-future Solar System, third in The Billion Worlds series. Our hero Zee goes to the moon of Miranda to meet his girlfriend Adya’s upper-class parents. But while they visit, her parents are targeted by a conspiracy to get them thrown out of Miranda’s ruling elites. Ebook also available.

Cole, Kamilah: This Ends in Embers (Little, Brown 978-0316534956, $19.99, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Young-adult fantasy novel, second in the Divine Traitors duology. Faron and Elara Vincent, two powerful sisters, are bound to different sides in a building war for San Irie. Simultaneous with the UK (Atom) edition. Ebook also available.

Correia, Larry: Heart of the Mountain (Baen 978-1668072394, $30.00, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Epic fantasy novel, sixth and final in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series. As the Age of Law collapses, Ashok Vadal, wielder of a powerful sword, is thrown into a final battle with Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan, who has sinister plans for the universe.

Desamours, Channelle: Needy Little Things (St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books 978-1250334817, $20.00, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Young-adult paranormal mystery novel. Sariyah can sense what physical things other people need, like pencils or phone chargers, but she puts herself at risk when she helps her friend Deja, and shortly after Deja goes missing. Sariyah’s desperate circumstances lead her to sell her ability, and she enters a web that may bring her closer to Deja. A first novel. Ebook also available.

Dewitt, Amanda: The Underwood Tapes (Peachtree Teen 978-1682635995, $19.99, 320pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Mystery novel with paranormal elements. Grace goes to her late mother’s small Florida hometown hoping for a boring summer working for the historical society, and discovers she can talk to a Jake, a boy who recorded some tapes back in 1992. Jake tells her about a deadly storm that killed his uncle… but no one in the present has ever talked about the catastrophe. Or Jake.

Douglas, Ian: Galaxy Raiders: Abyss (Harper Voyager US 978-0063205741, $18.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Military SF novel, the first in a series. Humankind is now in contact with the Galactic Authority, a governing body organized under a principle Mind in the galaxy’s core. The Authority has brought technology and peace, but captain Alexandra Morrigan has suspicions that they’re driving humankind into submission. This is a pen name for William H. Keith, Jr., who has written under a variety of names.

Eckstine, Erin Crosby: Junie (Penguin Random House/Ballantine 978-0593725115, $30.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

YA history novel with supernatural elements. Junie is an enslaved teen on an Alabama plantation as the Civil War approaches. As she mourns her sister Minnie, she fills the gap by caring for the master’s daughter Violet. As Violet readies for marriage, Junie raises her sister’s spirit from the grave and binds it to the world of the living.

Fajkus, Martin & Maríl. Jalib, eds.: Monster Hunter Fantom (Baen 978-1668072530, $18.00, 448pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Anthology of 11 stories set in Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter International universe. These are written by Czech authors and using Czech folklore and myths, and published 2023 by FANTOM Print, This is the first edition in English, and includes a new story by Larry Correia.

Hunt, Taran: The Unkillable Princess (Rebellion/Solaris UK 978-1837860586, $16.99, 400pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

SF novel, second in the Kystrom Chronicles. Wanted renegade Sean receives a call from his sister – whom he thought dead – asking him to plunge into the Republican city of Illin to retrieve a mysterious “Purifier.” Sean, desperate to help her, recruits his outlaw friends for the mission. US/UK edition.

James, Cassandra: Capitana (HarperCollins/Quill Tree 978-0063345614, $19.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

YA romantic fantasy novel set in a maritime world. Ximena, disgraced daughter of pirates, dreams of restoring her family name by joining the Cazadores, a military order who track down pirates. She’s given a chance to earn her cloak by hunting down the legendary criminal Gasparilla, but there’s high-seas competition from her school rival, Dante.

Jeffreys, Tim: The False Ones (Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink 978-1637891650, $12.99, 201pp, formats: paperback, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Horror novel. Julie, fleeing her husband, settles in a small Yorkshire village and falls for her old schoolfriend, Aaron. But the moors are host to ancient entities who infiltrate the town… and could be anyone. Ebook also available.

Jones, Lora: The Woman in the Wallpaper (Sterling/Union Square & Co. 978-1454956006, $29.99, 480pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Dark historical novel with mystery elements set during the French Revolution. Three women’s lives connect at a factory where famed Toile de Jouy wallpaper is made. But there’s a strange woman who keeps appearing in the wallpaper, and life starts to mirror scenes within.

Lawhead, Stephen: Aurelia (Baen 978-1668072349, $30.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Fantasy novel, a prequel to the Pendragon Cycle. Aurelia is a Roman matron whose life is upended as the Romans withdraw from Britain. She will have to guide her young sons Uther and Aurelius as a new order arises; she has the wizard Merlin for help.

Mangum, Lisa & Guernsey, Jessica, eds.: Weird Wilderness: A Cryptid Bestiary (WordFire Press 978-1680577488, $29.99, 272pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, 02/04/2025)

Original anthology of cryptid-related stories, spanning multiple genres. All the stories involve an epistolary/primary-source component: Bigfoot’s podcast, love letters to the Loch Ness Monster, and tickets to the cryptid zoo. A print-on-demand edition. Ebook also available.

Nieva, Michel: Dengue Boy (Astra House 978-1662602658, $25.00, 224pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, 02/04/2025)

SF gauchopunk dystopian novel. Following a climate disaster, the Argentine pampas are now a tropical region. The Dengue Child, a humanoid-mosquito hybrid created by corporate virus experiments, whose appearance repulses everyone while he searches for the meaning of life and his true origins, while the wealthy mine the earth for psychedelic pebbles. Translated by Rahul Bery. Simultaneous with Serpent’s Tail release in the UK. Ebook also available.

Pheby, Alex: Waterblack (Tor 978-1250817297, $32.99, 640pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/06/2025)

Fantasy novel, third and final in the Cities of the Weft series. Nathan Treeves is now Master of Waterblack, the City of the Dead. The God-killer Sharli wants another chance to kill him, and the Atheistic crusade heads towards a final confrontation.

Reintgen, Scott: A Burning in the Bones (Simon & Schuster/McElderry 978-1665930499, $21.99, 544pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

YA fantasy novel, third and final in the Waxways series. Ren has taken control of the city, but her attempts to reform Kathor are hampered by other noble houses and a horrific disease that leaves citizens with unquenchable thirst; corpses seem to be appearing in strategic places. Ebook also available.

Robb, J.D.: Bonded in Death (St. Martin’s 978-1250370792, $30.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

SF romance/mystery novel, 60th in the series featuring cop Eve Dallas and her investigations in the near future. An old man dies, and he had a shady history during the Urban Wars of the 2020s. He was part of a secret group called The Twelve, and Eve discovers that their influence runs deeper than she knew. Pen name for Nora Roberts.

Saft, Allison: Wings of Starlight (Disney Press 978-1368098458, $18.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

YA fantasy romance novel set in Pixie Hollow, the world of Tinkerbell. Clarion, a spring fairy, is drawn to the Winter realm. When a monster from Winter crosses over into Spring, she forms an unlikely alliance with Milori, a Winter guardian. Ebook also available.

Schusterman, Neal: All Better Now (Simon & Schuster 978-1534432758, $21.99, 528pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

YA SF novel set in a world where a virus causes long-term happiness. People in power are unhappy because it’s harder to sell things; meanwhile, Recoverees try to spread the disease faster, seeking to spread their bliss. Three teens get caught in the center, and figure out that things go deeper than they seem.

Smith, Ali: Gliff (Penguin Random House/Pantheon 978-0593701560, $28.00, 288pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Dystopian literary novel. In a near-future world, two sisters find their house encircled with a mysterious red line of wet paint. It’s part of a larger series of boundaries being drawn between people in a toxic future.

Smith, Sasha Peyton: The Rose Bargain (HarperTeen 978-0063372528, $19.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Fantasy romance novel, first in a duology. In an alternate 19th century, Britain is ruled by a sinister fae queen. Protagonist Ivy, desperate to improve her fortunes, enters a competition to win the Prince’s hand, helped by the Prince’s rakish brother.

Swan, Richard: Grave Empire (Orbit US 978-0316577007, $19.99, 544pp, formats: paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Fantasy mystery novel, the first in the Great Silence series. Renata is a low-ranking abassador in the expansionist Empire of the Wolf. All is not well: a mysterious plague, a collapsing war in werewolf territory, and two heretic monks begging everyone to listen that the end of days is near. Ebook also available.

Viel, Neena: Listen to Your Sister (St. Martin’s Griffin 978-1250289131, $31.00, 352pp, formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook, 02/04/2025)

Supernatural thriller novel. Calla is an overburdened, protective older sister, who’s recently become the guardian to her rebellious teenage brother Jamie. When Jamie’s actions result in dire consequences, she has to take her brothers on the run and end up in a remote cabin where Calla’s nightmares of her brothers dying threaten to come true.

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