Release Week: 18 January 2022
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Release Week: 18 January 2022
Posted on 2022-01-18 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel By: Sequoia Nagamatsu, read by a full cast for Harper -- "For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague - a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice."
Ghost of a Marriage By: Richard Dansky, read by: Sam Rosenthal for Crossroad Press — “There’s something in Gary’s house that doesn’t want him there. Ever since his marriage fell apart, he’s been seeing things, things that everyone keeps on telling him aren’t there. But Gary’s not just seeing things, and soon it’s more than his peace of mind that’s at stake - it’s his life.”
LaserWriter II: A Novel By: Tamara Shopsin (2021), read by the author for HighBridge -- "A debut novel about a NYC printer repair technician who comes of age alongside the Apple computer."
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays By: Zora Neale Hurston, with introductions by Henry Louis Gates and Genevieve West, read by Robin Miles for Harper -- "Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author."
The Greek Histories: The Sweeping History of Ancient Greece as Told by Its First Chroniclers: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plutarch, edited by Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm, read by Vivienne Leheny for Random House -- "From the leading scholars behind The Greek Plays, a collection of the best translations of the foremost Greek historians, presenting a sweeping history of ancient Greece as recorded by its first chroniclers."
Hunger: A Novella and Stories By: Lan Samantha Chang (1998), read by Eunice Wong for HighBridge --"In luminous prose, these stories of love and loss explore the profound and painful ties between husband and wife, parent and child, sister and sister. The stunning title novella is told by a woman whose love for an exiled musician compels her into a tragic marriage in which her husband's unfulfilled desires nearly destroy their children. In other stories, a ghost seduces a young girl into a flooded river; a mother commands a daughter to avenge her father's death."
The Chosen Twelve By: James Breakwell, read by Nezar Alderazi for Penguin -- "The last interstellar colony ship is down to its final batch of humans after the robots in charge unhelpfully deleted the rest. But rebooting a species and training them for the arduous task of colonisation isn't easy - especially when the planet below is filled with monsters, the humans are more interested in asking questions than learning and the robots are all programmed to kill each other."
Reminders of Him: A Novel By: Colleen Hoover, read by Brittany Pressley and Ryan West for Brilliance -- "After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them."
SERIES WATCH:
Quantum of Nightmares: Laundry Files, Book 11 By: Charles Stross, read by Gideon Emery for Recorded Books -- "It's a brave new Britain under the New Management. The avuncular prime minister is an ancient eldritch god of unimaginable power. Crime is plummeting as almost every offense is punishable by death. And everywhere you look, there are people with strange powers, some of which they can control, and some, not so much."
The Necropolis Empire: Twilight Imperium Series By: Tim Pratt, read by Erin deWard for Tantor -- "The key to controlling the galaxy is hidden on a distant planet, and interplanetary powers will do anything to unlock its secrets, in this epic space opera from the best-selling game, Twilight Imperium."
Something from the Nightside By: Simon R. Green (2001), read by Dan Calley for Tantor -- "Taylor is the name, John Taylor. My card says I'm a detective, but what I really am is an expert on finding lost things. It's part of the gift I was born with as a child of the Nightside."
INDIE WATCH:
The Water Blade: Ridnight Mysteries Series, Book 1 By: Stuart Jaffe, read by James Anderson Foster for Tantor -- "A brave warleader on a quest for a mythical weapon, Axon Coponiv is forced to look outside her trusted party for help when one of her own is mysteriously slain. She turns to Zev Asterling, a failed businessman, displaced aristocrat, and psuedo-detective, to help her find out who killed her man and why. The mystery deepens as Zev realizes that the killer must be someone close to Axon, perhaps even one of the others in her band."
Starfall By: Drew Harrison (2020), read by John Pirhalla -- "The world was brought back from the brink of annihilation, but its still-new institutions are rattled once again as heroes and criminals clash in a neon-drenched cyberpunk metropolis."
To Chart the Clouds By: Evan Dicken, read by Jennifer Aquino for Tantor -- "When diligent yet unappreciated clerk, Miya Isami, develops a new form map-making technique, her traditionalist superiors at the Imperial Cartographic Bureau heap scorn upon her. But when her novel approach exposes a swathe of missing land on the Scorpion-Lion border, Isami stumbles onto something far more significant than a mere mapping error. In recognition of her talents, an Emerald Magistrate dispatches Isami to help resolve a dispute over the contested border. There, she must attempt to negotiate between the proud, warlike Lion and the secretive Scorpion, and uncover the truth before the fragile peace is shattered by war."
The Seclusion: The Seclusion Series, Book 1 By: Jacqui Castle (2018), read by Lisa Beacom -- "In the year 2090, America has walled itself off from the rest of the world. While on a routine assignment scouting the country's dwindling natural resources, Patricia, “Patch”, and her best friend, Rexx, discover a cache of dangerous contraband - printed books from before the Seclusion. These texts spark an unquenchable thirst for the truth that leads to the arrest of Patch's father by the totalitarian Board, which runs the entire country. Evading their own arrest, Patch and Rexx set out across a ruined future United States. Along the way they learn how their country came to be this way, but their newfound knowledge may lead to their own demise."
Draculand By: Steve McElhenny, read by Sam Legg for Moon Books -- "When entrepreneur Edward Henning builds a horror-based theme park deep in the heart of Transylvania, little does he realize that his new business partner is, in fact, a centuries-old vampire."
The Good Sister and Her Flying Monkeys by Alexa Blye, read by Cheryl Cross for Crossroad Press — “Inspired by a true story: Elena Lacosta, a paranoid, take-no-prisoners drug trafficker turned FBI fugitive, marries a cop and fights her inner demons. Her new life depends on it. When Elena's oldest brother Gabriel is killed, she listens to what seems like endless accolades about him at his memorial service, held in a packed church with standing room only, and before the dirt on his grave can settle, she is scheming to reinvent herself in her dead brother's image to launch her new life.”
MOST MISSING:
Akata Woman: The Nsibidi Scripts, Book 3 (Viking Books for Young Readers) — “The electrifying third book in the series that started with Akata Witch, named one of Time magazine's "100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time" and "100 Best YA Books of All Time”.”
The Beholden by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Erewhon) -- "Orphaned as young women, Celestia and Izara De Malena find themselves land rich but destitute, with only a failing rainforest acreage, Celestia’s perfect manners, and Izara’s nascent magic to their aristocratic names. With the last of their money running out, they enact a dangerous plan—using a spell she doesn’t fully understand, Izara summons the Lady of the Seraphine and demands a favor: a husband for Celestia, one rich enough to enable the De Malena sisters to keep their land. But a favor from the river goddess always comes at a cost . . ."
Servant Mage by Kate Elliott (Tordotcom) -- "Fellian is a Lamplighter, able to provide illumination through magic. A group of rebel Monarchists free her from indentured servitude and take her on a journey to rescue trapped compatriots from an underground complex of mines. Along the way they get caught up in a conspiracy to kill the latest royal child and wipe out the Monarchist movement for good. But Fellian has more than just her Lamplighting skills up her sleeve…"
Outcasts of the Wildwood by Rachel Atwood (DAW) -- "This second novel of a historical fantasy series that reexamines the Robin Hood legend in medieval England."
Lovely to see an independent publisher putting out good-looking titles! (Looking forward to Marie Brennan's Legend of the Five Rings book in February!)