Black Gate

Bite is K.S.Merbeth’s debut novel. I like debut novels… that sense of discovery, of something new happening? It reminds me of my days reading submissions for Black Gate, discovering unpublished writers like James Enge, Todd McAulty, and Harry Connolly. And that’s a great feeling. Also, I flipped through the first few pages of Bite, and was impressed with the writing. So all in all, Bite has a lot going for it. But what really sold me was that quote on the back cover: “A full throttle, sand-in-your-eyes, no holds barred ride through a Mad Max-style wasteland.” That’s a killer hook, right there.

Bite is a thriller with a cast of quirky and deranged characters set in a world nearly destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. Booklist says it’s “Filled with dark humor, wit, and a realistic dystopian setting… Think Carl Hiaasen thriller set in a Mad Max world.” The Eloquent Page keeps the comparisons a little more topical for gamers like me: “If you enjoy movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, or games like Fallout 4 and Borderlands, then Bite is the book for you.”

Bite was published by Orbit on July 26, 2016. It is 409 pages, priced at $9.99 in mass market paperback and $6.99 for the digital version. The cover was designed by Lauren Panepinto.

A new novel by John Kessel is a major event.

Kessel isn’t particularly prolific, but what he has written has gotten a heck of a lot of attention. His second novel, Good News From Outer Space (1989, Tor), was a Nebula nominee, and his first collection, Meeting in Infinity (1992, Arkham House), was nominated for the World Fantasy Award. He’s won two Nebula Awards for his short fiction, and his stories have been nominated for three Hugos, two World Fantasy Awards, and eight Nebulas. His newest novel, The Moon and the Other, is his first in two decades. It arrives in hardcover on Tuesday from Saga Press.

John Kessel, one of the most visionary writers in the field, has created a rich matriarchal utopia, set in the near future on the moon, a society that is flawed by love and sex, and on the brink of a destructive civil war.

In the middle of the twenty-second century, over three million people live in underground cities below the moon’s surface. One city-state, the Society of Cousins, is a matriarchy, where men are supported in any career choice, but no right to vote — and tensions are beginning to flare as outside political intrigues increase.

After participating in a rebellion that caused his mother’s death, Erno has been exiled from the Society of Cousins. Now, he is living in the Society’s rival colony, Persepolis, when he meets Amestris, the defiant daughter of the richest man on the moon. Mira, a rebellious loner in the Society, creates graffiti videos that challenge the Society’s political domination. She is hopelessly in love with Carey, the exemplar of male privilege. An Olympic champion in low-gravity martial arts and known as the most popular bedmate in the Society, Carey’s more suited to being a boyfriend than a parent, even as he tries to gain custody of his teenage son.

When the Organization of Lunar States sends a team to investigate the condition of men in the Society, Erno sees an opportunity to get rich, Amestris senses an opportunity to escape from her family, Mira has a chance for social change, and Carey can finally become independent of the matriarchy that considers him a perpetual adolescent. But when Society secrets are revealed, the first moon war erupts, and everyone must decide what is truly worth fighting for.

The Moon and the Other will be published by Saga Press on April 4, 2017. It is 597 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $7.99 for the digital edition.

The tireless John DeNardo is back with another list, this time looking at the Can’t-Miss SF and Fantasy titles in March (and he should know). Here’s a few of his recommendations.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson:

In the not-too-distant future, New York City’s streets are submerged underwater due to climate change, making every street a canal, every building an island unto itself. Intrigue abounds in the Met Life tower, now converted into a co-op, and the target of a buyout from a shadowy corporation desperate enough to sabotage the building’s infrastructure… Robinson weaves a tapestry of interconnected personal narratives that is captivating for its portrayal of humankind.

New York 2140 was published by Orbit on March 14, 2017. It is 624 pages, priced at $28 in hardcover and $14.99 for the digital edition.

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