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Andrew Liptak on 39 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Books to Read in June

Andrew Liptak on 39 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Books to Read in June

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The Rebellion's Last Traitor-small Slaves of the Switchboard FINA FINAL.indd The Witch Who Came In From The Cold-small

Last January, over at The Verge, Andrew Liptak combed through publisher catalogs and countless press releases to produce 16 SF and fantasy books worth noting. He did the same thing in March and came up with 23 titles. His June report includes a whopping 39 books. I can see this month is going to take some serious reading time if I even want to pretend to keep up.

Andrew’s list includes new titles by Tanya Huff, Catherynne M. Valente, Terry Brooks, Brenda Cooper, Victor LaValle, Yoon Ha Lee, Seanan McGuire, Cindy Pon, Lilith Saintcrow, Victoria Schwab, Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland, Theodora Goss, James Gunn, Stephen Graham Jones, Linda Nagata, Will McIntosh, Rachel Dunne, Daryl Gregory, Jason M. Hough, Karin Tidbeck, Tad Williams, and others. Here’s some of his selections that I found most interesting.

The Rebellion’s Last Traitor by Nik Korpon — Angry Robot (352 pages, $7.99 in paperback, June 6, 2017)

Decades of war has shattered Eitan City, and to help restore order, the Tathadann Party rewrites history by outlawing the past. One man, Henraek, is a memory thief, stealing memories from civilians, until he harvests a memory of his own wife’s death. Now, he’s going to do whatever it takes to discover the truth about her killing, even if it means turning on the people he was most loyal to.

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New Treasures: Skitter by Ezekiel Boone

New Treasures: Skitter by Ezekiel Boone

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The Hatching-small Skitter Ezekiel Boone-small

Ezekiel Boone (who also writes mainstream fiction under the name Alexi Zentner) published his debut horror novel last July. The Hatching, the tale of an Earth overrun by spiders, was called Arachnophobia meets 2012, and Publishers Weekly praised it as “An apocalyptic extravaganza of doom and heroism… addictive.”

The sequel Skitter arrived in hardcover from Atria/Emily Bestler Books last month. What can you expect in the second volume of a spider apocalypse saga? Let’s say that things don’t look good for mankind, and leave it at that. Spider apocalypse. Yeee…. I get the jitters just thinking about it.

First, there was the black swarm that swallowed a man whole, the suspicious seismic irregularities in India that confounded scientists, the nuclear bomb China dropped on its own territory without any explanation. Then, scientist Melanie Guyer’s lab received a package containing a mysterious egg sac; little did Dr. Guyer know that, almost overnight, Earth would be consumed by previously dormant spiders that suddenly wanted out.

Now, tens of millions of people around the world are dead. Half of China is a nuclear wasteland. Mysterious flesh-eating spiders are marching through Los Angeles, Oslo, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, and countless other cities. According to Dr. Guyer, the crisis may soon be over.

But in Japan, a giant, glowing egg sac gives a shocking preview of what is to come, even as survivors in Los Angeles panic and break the quarantine zone. Out in the desert, survivalists Gordo and Shotgun are trying to invent a weapon to fight back, but it may be too late, because President Stephanie Pilgrim has been forced to enact the plan of last resort.

America, you are on your own.

We covered The Hatching here last year. Skitter was published by Emily Bestler Books on May 2, 2017. It is $26 in hardcover, and $7.99 for the digital edition.

A Treasure Trove of Classic Science Fiction & Fantasy: The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson

A Treasure Trove of Classic Science Fiction & Fantasy: The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson

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The Collected Poul Anderson 1 Call Me Joe-small The Collected Poul Anderson 2 The Queen of Air and Darkness-small The Collected Poul Anderson 7 Question and Answer-small

By the time of his death in 2001, Poul Anderson was at the top of the field, with over 70 novels and numerous short stories to his credit. He’d won virtually every award science fiction has to offer, including seven Hugos and three Nebulas. In the 16 years since, however, virtually all of his work has fallen out of print. And like most of the greats of 20th Century science fiction, he’s now in very real danger of being forgotten.

Thank goodness for NESFA Press. Their ongoing project, The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, currently at seven volumes and counting, gathers the very best of his short fiction, including all of his Hugo and Nebula nominated and winning short stories. NESFA has produced some stellar collections over the past few decades, celebrating the work of Roger Zelazny, John W. Campbell, Fredric Brown, Zenna Henderson, Cordwainer Smith, C.M. Kornbluth, and countless others, with gorgeous permanent edition hardcovers.

Like each of those, these new volumes have made hard-to-find fiction available and fresh all over again, introducing Anderson to a whole new generation. The latest installment, The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, Volume 7: Question and Answer, collects five novellas, two novels, and a smattering of short works, including six tales of Dominic Flandry, agent of the Terran Empire, and two stories of the far-ranging Psychotechnic League. It was released in hardcover in February.

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New Treasures: The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories, Volume One, edited by James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle

New Treasures: The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories, Volume One, edited by James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle

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The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories-smallNow here’s an interesting idea — a collection of horror stories showcasing the work of a single publisher.

How appealing is that? Depends on the publisher. In the case of Valancourt Books, an independent small press specializing in the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print Gothic, Romantic and Horror fiction, it’s very appealing indeed. Here’s a snippet from the Editor’s Forward to give you a taste.

Since 2005, Valancourt Books has made available almost 40 neglected classics by dozens of authors, most of them out of print for decades, sometimes even for a century or two. Our catalogue includes Gothic novels from the late 1700s and early 1800s, Victorian ‘penny dreadfuls’ and ‘sensation’ novels, vintage mystery and horror fiction from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, rediscovered gay interest fiction from the mid-20th century, and more recent horror and science fiction from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The idea behind this anthology was, “What if we distilled the best of each part of our catalogue into a single volume? What would a horror anthology spanning two centuries, and featuring only Valancourt authors, look like?”

This book has something for fans of each section of our catalogue. Those who have enjoyed our Gothic Classics series will surely find Matthew Gregory Lewis’s rare ghost story in verse, “The Grim White Woman,” to their liking. If, like us, you love a good, old-fashioned Victorian horror story, you’ll relish the creepy tales we’ve included by authors hugely popular in the day but now little known, like Florence Marryat, Richard Marsh and Mary Cholmondeley. Readers who have appreciated our efforts to rediscover lost gay fiction will be pleased to find contributions from authors such as Forrest Reid, Hugh Walpole and Francis King in this volume. Of course, no horror anthology would be complete without stories from some of the great contemporary masters of horror like Michael McDowell, Bernard Taylor and Stephen Gregory. But perhaps the biggest surprise for some readers will be the excellent tales by writers not normally thought of as “horror authors,” like Christopher Priest, Michael Blumlein and Francis King.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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New Treasures: Behind the Mask, edited by Tricia Reeks and Kyle Richardson

New Treasures: Behind the Mask, edited by Tricia Reeks and Kyle Richardson

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With the constant drumbeat of hit superhero films — mostly recently the huge international hit Wonder Woman, which opened on Friday — I’m surprised there’s not a lot more attention to superheroes in print. But there is the occasional anthology, like the brand new Behind the Mask, which looks at “The hopes and dreams of our cape-clad heroes. The regrets and longings of our cowled villains. That poignant, solitary view of the world that can only be experienced from behind the mask.” It contains original short fiction from some of the top writers in SF & fantasy, including Kelly Link, Carrie Vaughn, Seanan McGuire, Lavie Tidhar, Sarah Pinsker, Cat Rambo, and others. It’s available now in trade paperback from Meerkat Press.

The authors in this collection, both established and new, are all dexterous and wonderfully imaginative, each deserving of their own form-fitting uniforms and capes. Some of the stories pulse with social commentary, like Cat Rambo’s whimsical and deft “Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut” and Keith Rosson’s haunting “Torch Songs.” Others twist the genre into strange and new territories, like Stuart Suffel’s atmospheric “Birthright,” Kate Marhsall’s moving “Destroy the City with Me Tonight,” and Adam Shannon’s reality-bending “Over an Embattled City.” Some punch with heart and humor, like Matt Mikalatos’s satisfying “The Beard of Truth” and Chris Large’s adventurous “Salt City Blue,” while others punch with bite and grit, such as Michael Milne’s evocative “Inheritance,” Aimee Ogden’s poignant “As I Fall Asleep,” and Jennifer Pullen’s heartfelt “Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century.” Some of the stories feature characters who might not be superheroes in the traditional sense, yet are heroic nonetheless, such as Sarah Pinsker’s imaginative “The Smoke Means It’s Working” and Stephanie Lai’s majestic “The Fall of the Jade Sword.” Some shine a unique, captivating spotlight on supervillains, like Keith Frady’s dramatic “Fool” and Carrie Vaughn’s romantic “Origin Story.” Some are somber, ponderous works, where our heroes consider their impact on the world, like Lavie Tidhar’s regret-tinged “Heroes” and Nathan Crowder’s resonant “Madjack.” Others tread more light-hearted waters, with heroes adjusting to the sometimes-comical, sometimes-stressful life in the public eye, like Seanan McGuire’s entertaining “Pedestal” and Patrick Flanagan’s lively “Quintessential Justice.” And then there are the softer, quieter moments between heroes, as they navigate their extraordinary lives in their own unique ways, such as Ziggy Schutz’s tender “Eggshells” and, of course, Kelly Link’s captivating “Origin Story.”

Behind the Mask was published by Meerkat Press on May 16, 2017. It is 290 pages, priced at $16.95 in trade paperback and $8.95 for the digital edition. Order at your favorite online retailer or at the Meerkat website.

It’s Not Too Late to Catch Up on Your May Reading (But You’re Cutting it Close)

It’s Not Too Late to Catch Up on Your May Reading (But You’re Cutting it Close)

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Injection Burn Jason Hough-small Mormama Kit Reed-small Shadows & Tall Trees 7-small

Well here we are, the last day of May. And you know what that means: the usual recriminations and blame for not getting all my reading done. Might as well get this over with.

If you’re like me, you made a good run at it this month, but were defeated by the sheer volume of top-notch fiction in May. How do we know about all the good stuff we missed? Because we have the tireless John DeNardo, the most connected man in the industry, to keep us fully briefed. John excels at his self-appointed task… which is chiefly to make me look bad, but it at least has the added benefit of cataloging the best new fiction every month. This month John highlights new books by Robin Hobb, Gregory Benford, Robert Jackson Bennett, Mike Carey, Jason M. Hough, Faith Hunter, Gini Koch, Foz Meadows, Chelsea Mueller and many others.

Here’s the complete list of the Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Reads in May, according to John DeNardo.

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New Treasures: Pawn: A Chronicle of the Sibyl’s War by Timothy Zahn

New Treasures: Pawn: A Chronicle of the Sibyl’s War by Timothy Zahn

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Pawn Timothy Zahn-smallOne of the many things I love about Tor.com is their editorial independence. Tor Books just published Timothy’s Zahn’s new novel Pawn, the opening volume in a brand new space opera series, while over at Tor.com, Liz Bourke’s review calls it “a rather bland and textureless experience. While there are hints of a thriller-plot and a deeper mystery within the text, and while Zahn puts together a perfectly acceptable string of adventure-story set-pieces, there’s very little depth.” You gotta love an editorial team willing to damn the torpedoes and diss their own books.

Anyway, Timothy Zahn is a superstar, and one lukewarm review is not going to dissuade his legion of fans. It certainly didn’t dissuade me — I read and enjoyed Zahn’s 1983 novel Blackcollar, and that (plus my fondness for his short stories) was enough to convince me to pick up a copy. Zahn, the author of the bestselling Star Wars novel Heir to the Empire and its sequels, knows his way around space opera.

Nicole Lee’s life is going nowhere. No family, no money, and stuck in a relationship with a thug named Bungie. But, after one of Bungie’s “deals” goes south, he and Nicole are whisked away by a mysterious moth-like humanoid to a strange ship called the Fyrantha.

Once aboard, life on the ship seems too good to be true. All she has to do is work on one of the ship’s many maintenance crews. However, she learned long ago that nothing comes without a catch. When she’s told to keep quiet and stop asking questions, she knows she is on to something.

Nicole soon discovers that many different factions are vying for control of the Fyrantha, and she and her friends are merely pawns in a game beyond their control. But, she is tired of being used, and now Nicole is going to fight.

Pawn: A Chronicle of the Sibyl’s War was published by Tor Books on May 2, 2017. It is 347 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Stephen Youll. Read an excerpt at Tor.com.

Stories from a S&S Griot: Nyumbani Tales by Charles R. Saunders

Stories from a S&S Griot: Nyumbani Tales by Charles R. Saunders

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“I am going to tell a story,” the griot says.
“Ya-ngani!” the crowd responds, meaning “Right!”
“It may be a lie.”
“Ya-ngani.”
“But not everything in it is false.”
“Ya-ngani.”
The griot begins his tale.

                                       from “Amma” by Charles R. Saunders

oie_2919383060rtzPRDFor those unfortunates unacquainted with Charles R. Saunders and the tales he’s woven, you can read plenty about them here at Black Gate. Suffice it to say he is called the father of sword & soul. Starting in the 1970s, he took the elements of swords & sorcery — mighty heroes, beautiful women, monsters, deadly magic, and more monsters — and turned them to his own purpose.

A fan of sci fi and fantasy growing up in the 1950s and 60s, by the time he graduated college in 1968, he was frustrated with a lot of what he was reading. As he recounted in an interview with Amy Harlib in The Zone:

I began to realise that in the SF and fantasy genre, blacks were, with only few exceptions, either left out or depicted in racist and stereotypic ways. I had a choice: I could either stop reading SF and fantasy, or try to do something about my dissatisfaction with it by writing my own stories and trying to get them published. I chose the latter course.

It was to the great benefit of heroic fantasy that Saunders made the choice he did. In addition to helping expand the horizons of the genre beyond the European settings that dominated it back then, he also created two monumental characters.

Imaro is the outcast warrior who eventually finds his destiny as champion against the forces of evil. Dossouye is an exiled warrior-woman from the kingdom of Abomey. The stories and novels featuring Imaro and Dossouye belong on the shelves of any S&S fan. If you haven’t read them yet, I suggest you snag copies of Imaro: Book I and Dossouye, clear off whatever else you’re reading, and get started.

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An Epic Steampunk Firefly: The Scorched Continent Trilogy by Megan E. O’Keefe

An Epic Steampunk Firefly: The Scorched Continent Trilogy by Megan E. O’Keefe

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Megan E. O’Keefe’s debut novel Steal the Sky launched an ambitious fantasy series set in an oasis city, featuring a noble conman on the run from some very powerful people who stumbles onto a complicated conspiracy… and a chance to pull off a heist of epic proportions. It was nominated for the 2017 David Gemmell Morningstar award for Best Debut novel, and author Beth Cato (The Clockwork Dagger) summarized it thusly: “Two lovable rogues, a magical doppelganger, and a nasty empire… it’s like an epic steampunk Firefly.” And NPR called it “A buddy tale, a heist caper, a socioeconomic thriller and a steampunk-seasoned fantasia all at once…. And it fires beautifully on all cylinders.”

Still, even a great steampunk adventure isn’t worth much if you have to wait too long between installments, no matter how rollicking the open volume is. But fortunately O’Keefe has kept up the pace with the Scorched Continent novels — the second volume arrived right on time last October, and the concluding novel, Inherit the Flame, was published last month. Now that’s what I like to see. Here’s the complete details on the whole trilogy.

Steal the Sky (448 pages, $7.99 paperback/$2.99 digital, January 5, 2016) — excerpt
Break the Chains (400 pages, $7.99 paperback/$6.99 digital, October 4, 2016) — excerpt
Inherit the Flame (448 pages, $7.99 paperback/$2.99 digital, April 4, 2017) — excerpt

All three volumes are published by Angry Robot, with cover art by Kim Sokol. Check out the links above to sample excerpts from each book.

New Treasures: The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel

New Treasures: The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel

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Sylvain Neuvel’s debut Sleeping Giants was nominated for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. It was the tale of Rose Franklin, who made an incredible discovery as a child: a huge metal hand buried deep underground in South Dakota. As an adult, she’s a celebrated physicist leading the team tasked with uncovering the strange artifact’s secrets — starting with its impossible age and strange composition. When additional pieces are located around the world, hinting at a titanic whole, the mystery only deepens. Chicago Review of Books called it “A complex tapestry with ancient machinery buried in the Earth, shadow governments, and geopolitical conflicts,” and Jason Heller at NPR labeled it “A thriller through and through… one of the most promising series kickoffs in recent memory, [and] a smart demonstration of how science fiction can honor its traditions and reverse-engineer them at the same time.”

Now the second volume, Waking Gods, has arrived in hardcover and significantly raised the stakes, as mankind faces a deadly invasion of colossal machines touching down across the globe. It arrived in hardcover from Del Rey last month.

Sleeping Giants (320 pages, $26 hardcover/$16 paperback/$7.99 digital, April 26, 2016)
Waking Gods (336 pages, $28 hardcover/$13.99 digital, April 4, 2017)

Read an excerpt from Sleeping Gods at the Del Rey/Penguin Random House website here.