Release Week: 15 February 2022
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Release Week: 15 February 2022
Posted on 2022-02-15 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Elric of Melniboné: Volume 1: Elric of Melnibone, The Fortress of the Pearl, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and The Weird of the White Wolf By: Michael Moorcock, with an introduction by Neil Gaiman, read by Samuel Roukin for Recorded Books -- "When Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and his sentient vampiric sword, Stormbringer, he set out to create a new kind of fantasy adventure, one that broke with tradition and reflected a more up-to-date sophistication of theme and style. The result was a bold and unique hero - weak in body, subtle in mind, dependent on drugs for the vitality to sustain himself - with great crimes behind him and a greater destiny ahead: a rock-and-roll antihero who would channel all the violent excesses of the '60s into one enduring archetype. Now, presented in the author's preferred story order, the classic Elric saga."
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience By: Brené Brown, read by the author for Random House -- “If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and to be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”
Pure Colour: A Novel By: Sheila Heti, read by the author for Macmillan -- "In this first draft of the world, a woman named Mira leaves home to study. There, she meets Annie, whose tremendous power opens Mira’s chest like a portal - to what, she doesn’t know. When Mira is older, her beloved father dies, and his spirit passes into her. Together, they become a leaf on a tree. But photosynthesis gets boring, and being alive is a problem that cannot be solved, even by a leaf. Eventually, Mira must remember the human world she’s left behind, including Annie, and choose whether or not to return."
Stars and Bones By: Gareth L. Powell, read by Rebecca Norfolk for WF Howes -- "Seventy-five years from today, the human race has been cast from a dying Earth to wander the stars in a vast fleet of arks - each shaped by its inhabitants into a diverse and fascinating new environment, with its own rules and eccentricities. When her sister disappears while responding to a mysterious alien distress call, Eryn insists on being part of the crew sent to look for her. What she discovers on Candidate-623 is both terrifying and deadly. When the threat follows her back to the fleet and people start dying, she is tasked with seeking out a legendary recluse who may just hold the key to humanity’s survival."
Age of Ash By: Daniel Abraham, read by Soneela Nankani for Orbit -- "From New York Times best-selling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse, comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all."
Mickey7: A Novel By: Edward Ashton, read by John Pirhalla and Katharine Chin for Macmillan -- "The Martian meets Dark Matter in Edward Ashton's high concept science-fiction thriller, in which Mickey7, an "expendable", refuses to let his replacement clone, Mickey8, take his place. Soon to be adapted into a major motion picture from Oscar-winner Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) starring Robert Pattinson."
Talos: Book 1 By: Brian D. Anderson, read by Bradford Hastings for Blackstone -- "Without warning, power, transportation, and communications went dark. When the military arrived, they offered no explanation on how the world came to a screeching halt. The only thing they would say is that every citizen was to leave their homes behind and come to Atlanta. Most complied. Others refused. None were aware of the true danger they faced until clone assassins began eliminating the population one by one. Throughout the crisis the citizens of Fairview, Alabama stood resolute against all comers. In time, their determination seemed to pay off. The clones disappeared, and they were able to cobble together a new life."
A River Enchanted: Elements of Cadence, Book 1 By: Rebecca Ross, read by Ruth Urquhart for Harper -- "House of Earth and Blood meets The Witch's Heart in Rebecca Ross’ brilliant first adult fantasy, set on the magical isle of Cadence where two childhood enemies must team up to discover why girls are going missing from their clan."
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space edited by Zoraida Córdova, read by Almarie Guerra for Macmillan -- "From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, Reclaim the Stars takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world."
Vampire Hunter D: Vampire Hunter D, Book 1 By: Hideyuki Kikuchi, illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, translated by Kevin Leahy, read by Paul Boehmer for Tantor -- "The year 12,090 AD. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under 300 years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires - and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves."
SERIES WATCH:
Moon Witch, Spider King: The Dark Star Trilogy, Book 2 By: Marlon James, read by Bahni Turpin for Penguin -- "From Marlon James, author of the best-selling National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the second book in the Dark Star trilogy."
The Thousand Eyes: The Serpent Gates, Book 2 By: A. K. Larkwood, read by Aysha Kala for Macmillan -- "The sequel to A. K. Larkwood's stunning debut fantasy, The Unspoken Name."
House of Sky and Breath: Crescent City, Book 2 By: Sarah J. Maas, read by Elizabeth Evans for Audible -- "Maas's sexy, groundbreaking Crescent City series continues with the second installment."
Gwendy's Final Task: Gwendy's Button Box Trilogy, Book 3 By: Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, read by Marin Ireland for Simon and Schuster -- "When Gwendy Peterson was 12, a mysterious stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its seven colored buttons promised death and destruction. Years later, the button box entered Gwendy’s life again..."
The Last Wild Horses: Climat Quartet, Book 3 By: Maja Lunde, translated by Diane Oatley, read by Karen Gundersen, BJ Harrison, Christa Lewis, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, and Rob Shapiro for Harper -- "Translated into 36 languages, winner of the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize, and the most successful Norwegian author of her generation, Maja Lunde returns with a heart-wrenching tale, set in the distant past and the dystopian future, about extinction and survival, family and hope."
Lord Quillifer: Quillifer, Book 3 By: Walter Jon Williams, read by Ralph Lister for Audible -- "Quillifer - now a member of the nobility - finds himself further immersed in court politics as the outcast Princess Floria is suddenly in a position of power with a rebellion stoked by a certain brilliant tactician."
The Great Witch of Brittany: A Novel By: Louisa Morgan, read by Polly Lee for Redhook -- "Return to the world of A Secret History of Witches with the bewitching tale of Ursule Orchière and her discovery of magical abilities that will not only change the course of her life, but every generation that comes after her."
MOST MISSING:
- Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney (Mythic Delirium) -- "Gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella Desdemona and the Deep."