Books released today…
FEATURED TITLES
Black Jade (Celestial Battle #3) by Kylie Chan. Historical Fantasy, Harper Voyager
The Heavenly defenses struggle to hold against the combined might of the Eastern and Western demon hordes. The God of War Xuan Wu is now at full strength—but is his might enough to safeguard the realm when half the Heavens are already in their hands? John and Emma fight a last-ditch desperate struggle to conserve their kingdom and their protect their families. But will the kingdom ever be the same again?
Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge. YA Zombie Fantasy, Balzer & Bray
When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched. The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .
The Fall of the House of Cabal (Johannes Cabal #5) by Jonathan L. Howard. Historical Fantasy, Thomas Dunne Books
Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal—a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before. The task is too dangerous to venture upon alone, so he must seek assistance, comrades for the coming travails. Assisted—ably and otherwise—by his vampiric brother Horst and by the kindly accompaniment of a criminologist and a devil, they will encounter ruins and diableries, mystery and murder, the depths of the lowest pit and a city of horrors. London, to be exact. Yet even though Cabal has risked such peril believing he understands the dangers he faces, he is still underestimating them. He is walking into a trap of such arcane complexity that even the one who drew him there has no idea of its true terrors. As it closes slowly and subtly around them, it may be that there will be no survivors at all.
The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl. Urban Fantasy, Gallery Books)
Ferryman Charlie Dawson saves dead people—somebody has to convince them to move on to the afterlife, after all. But serving as a Ferryman is causing Charlie to slowly lose his mind. Deemed too valuable by the Ferryman Institute to be let go and too stubborn to just give up in his own right, Charlie’s pretty much abandoned all hope of escaping his grim existence. Or he had, anyway, until he saved Alice Spiegel. To be fair, Charlie never planned on stopping Alice from taking her own life—that sort of thing is strictly forbidden by the Institute—but he never planned on the President secretly giving him the choice to, either. When word of the incident reaches Inspector Javrouche, the Ferryman Institute’s internal affairs liaison, Charlie finds he’s in a world of trouble. But Charlie’s not about to lose the only living, breathing person he’s ever saved without a fight. He’s ready to protect her from Javrouche and save Alice from herself, and he’s willing to put the entire continued existence of mankind at risk to do it.
The Fever Code (Maze Runner #5) by James Dashner. YA Dystopia, Delacorte Press
PREQUEL. Once there was a world’s end. The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled. Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man. Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy. The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze. Now there are secrets. There are lies. And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen. A prequel to the worldwide Maze Runner phenomenon, The Fever Code holds all the answers. How did WICKED find the Gladers? Who are Group B? And what side are Thomas and Teresa really on? Lies will be exposed. Secrets will be uncovered. Loyalties will be proven. Fans will never see the truth coming.
A Night Without Stars (Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers #2) by Peter F. Hamilton. Hard SF, Del Rey
After centuries trapped inside the Void, the planet Bienvenido—along with its inhabitants, both human and Faller—has been expelled into normal space. As the two races plunge into mortal conflict for sole possession of the planet, the humans seem destined to lose—despite the assistance of the mysterious Warrior Angel, who possesses forbidden Commonwealth technology. With the Fallers’ numbers growing, and their ability to mimic humans allowing them to infiltrate all levels of society, it’s only a matter of time before they surge to victory. Then, on a routine space flight, Major Ry Evine inadvertently frees a captive vessel that crash-lands on Bienvenido carrying the last, best hope for human survival: a baby. But a far from ordinary one. The child not only ages at a remarkable rate but demonstrates knowledge and abilities far beyond those of Bienvenido’s humans. Hunted by Fallers and humans alike, she is a crucial link to humanity’s lost past—and a glorious future already almost out of reach.
Operation Arcana, edited John Joseph Adams. Fantasy Anthology, Baen
In the realms of fantasy, the battlefield is where heroism comes alive, magic is unleashed, and legends are made and unmade. From the War of the Ring to The Battle of the Blackwater, these fantastical conflicts reflect our highest hopes and darkest fears, bringing us mesmerizing visions of silver spears shining in the sun and vast hordes of savage beasts who threaten to destroy all that we hold dear. Now, acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams is sounding the battle cry and sixteen of today’s top authors are reporting for duty, spinning never-before-published, spellbinding tales of military fantasy, including a Black Company story from Glen Cook, a Paksenarrion story from Elizabeth Moon, and a Shadow Ops story by Myke Cole.
The Road to Hell (Multiverse #3) by David Weber & Joelle Presby. SF, Baen
The war between magically-gifted Arcana and psionically-talented Sharona continues to rage. The dragon-borne Arcanan assault across five universes has been halted at Fort Salby by a desperate defense, but at atrocious cost. One of those costs was the life of Crown Prince Janaki, heir to the newly created Sharonian Empire, who went knowingly to his death in the tradition expected of the House of Calirath. And another price will be the sacrifice of his younger sister, Grand Imperial Princess Andrin, now heir of Sharona, for the accords creating the Sharonian Empire require the marriage of the heir to the Crown to wed a Uromathian prince. Andrin bears her family’s Talent, the Glimpses, which show flashes of events yet to come. She knows the accords must be secured … and like her brother, she will pay any price, make any sacrifice for her duty to her people. Men and women of honor on both sides must grapple with the terrible costs and deadly secrets of the spreading cataclysm. The stakes are high and the pieces are in motion, but there are factors known not even to the conspirators, and not even a Calirath can Glimpse the final outcome.
Swarm (Zeroes #2) by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti. YA SFF, Simon Pulse
They thought they’d already faced their toughest fight. But there’s no relaxing for the reunited Zeroes. These six teens with unique abilities have taken on bank robbers, drug dealers and mobsters. Now they’re trying to lay low so they can get their new illegal nightclub off the ground. But the quiet doesn’t last long when two strangers come to town, bringing with them a whole different kind of crowd-based chaos. And hot on their tails is a crowd-power even more dangerous and sinister. Up against these new enemies, every Zero is under threat. Mob is crippled by the killing-crowd buzz—is she really evil at her core? Flicker is forced to watch the worst things a crowd can do. Crash’s conscience—and her heart—get a workout. Anon and Scam must both put family loyalties on the line for the sake of survival. And Bellwether’s glorious-leader mojo deserts him. Who’s left to lead the Zeroes into battle against a new, murderous army?
OTHER RELEASES
Alien vs. Predator: Armageddon (Rage War #3)—Tim Lebbon. SF Tie-in, Titan
Bloodsworn (Bloodbound #3) by Erin Lindsey. Fantasy, Ace
Brightwood by Tania Unsworth. YA Urban Fantasy, Algonquin Young Readers
Cloudbound (Bone Universe #2) by Fran Wilde. Fantasy, Tor Books
The Corporation Wars: Dissidence (Second Law #1) by Ken MacLeod. SF, Orbit
Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo. YA Fantasy, Henry Holt
Like a River Glorious (Gold Seer Trilogy #2) by Rae Carson. YA Historical Fantasy, Greenwillow
Dishonored: The Corroded Man by Adam Christopher. Fantasy/Video Game Tie-in, Titan
The Dreaming Hunt (Sleeping King #2) by Cindy Dees & Bill Flippin. Fantasy, Tor Books
The Pressed Fairy Journal of Madeline Cottington by Brian & Wendy Froud. Fantasy Humor, Abrams
Star Trek: Hell’s Heart (Prey #1) by John Jackson Miller. SF Tie-in, Pocket Books
The Tengu’s Game of Go (Tale of Shikanoko Series #4)by Lian Hearn. Historical Fantasy, FSG Originals
A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby. YA Historical Fantasy, Scholastic
Time Travel: A History by James Gleick. Non-Fiction, Pantheon
Happy reading! Until next week in geek…