Release Week: 31 May 2022
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Release Week: 31 May 2022
Posted on 2022-05-31 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Dark Factory by Kathe Koja, read by Natasha Soudek for Tantor -- "Welcome to Dark Factory! You may experience strobe effects, Y reality, DJ beats, love, sex, betrayal, triple-shot espresso, broken bones, broken dreams, ecstasy, self-knowledge, and the void."
How to Be Eaten: A Novel By: Maria Adelmann, read by Lauren Ezzo for Little, Brown and Company -- "This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma."
Walk the Vanished Earth By: Erin Swan, read by Saskia Maarleveld, Keylor Leigh, and Dylan Moore for Penguin -- "In the tradition of Station Eleven, Severance and The Dog Stars, a beautifully written and emotionally stirring dystopian novel about how our dreams of the future may shift as our environment changes rapidly, even as the earth continues to spin."
Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms edited by John Joseph Adams, read by Gabrielle de Cuir, Justine Eyre, Susan Hanfield, Roxanne Hernandez, Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki, and Judy Young for Skyboat -- "The need to seek and discover the unknown is embedded in who we are, no matter the culture or era. To celebrate this sense of wonder, award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has gathered together some of the best SF&F writers working today, collecting adventure and mystery in this spectacular anthology. With original contributions from Kate Elliott, Tobias S. Buckell, Dexter Palmer, E. Lily Yu, Jonathan Maberry, and a dozen more, there are short stories sure to enthrall every listener."
Planes: A Novel, read by Peter C. Baker, read by Lameece Issaq for Random House -- "For years, Amira—a recent convert to Islam living in Rome—has gone to work, said her prayers, and struggled to piece together her husband’s redacted letters from the Moroccan black site where he is imprisoned. She moves as inconspicuously as possible through her modest life, doing her best to avoid the whispered curiosity of her community. Meanwhile, Mel—once an activist—is trying to get the suburban conservatives of her small North Carolina town to support her school board initiatives, and struggles to fill her empty nest. It's a steady, settled life, except perhaps for the affair she can't admit she's having."
Time Shelter By: Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel, read by Jeff Harding for Dreamscape -- "In an apricot-colored building in Zurich, surrounded by curiously planted forget-me-nots, Gaustine has opened the first “clinic for the past,” an institution that offers an inspired treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers: each floor reproduces a past decade in minute detail, allowing patients to transport themselves back in time to unlock what is left of their fading memories."
Her Majesty's Royal Coven: A Novel By: Juno Dawson, read by Aoife McMahon for Penguin -- "A Discovery of Witches meets The Craft in this epic fantasy about a group of childhood friends who are also witches."
A Rip Through Time: A Novel By: Kelley Armstrong, read by Kate Handford for Macmillan -- "A modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose."
Black Tide By: KC Jones, read by John Pirhalla, Sophie Amoss for Macmillan -- "Mike and Beth didn't know each other existed before the night of the meteor shower. A melancholy film producer and a house sitter barely scraping by—chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more. After a drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two strangers awake to discover a surprise astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger and far more terrifying."
Dance Among the Flames By: Tori Eldridge, read by Alex Picard for Blackstone -- "Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse. Serafina’s quest begins in Brazil when she’s possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit."
The Middling Affliction By: Alex Shvartsman, read by Patrick Boylan for OrangeSky -- "Guard Brooklyn, fight monsters, taunt bad guys."
Biketopia: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories in Extreme Futures edited by Elly Blue, read by Carolina Hoyos for Scribd -- "In a world with an uncertain future, do you imagine for the best or for the worst case scenario? Twelve writers tackle extreme solarpunk utopias and apocalyptic or political dystopias—and the gray areas in between."
SERIES WATCH:
Paladin's Hope: The Saint of Steel, Book 3 By: T. Kingfisher, read by Joel Richards for Tantor -- "Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession . . . until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force. Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the maze of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them."
Akata Woman: Nsibidi Scripts, Book 3 By: Nnedi Okorafor, read by Nene Nwoko for Tantor -- "From the moment Sunny Nwazue discovered she had mystical energy flowing in her blood, she sought to understand and control her powers. Throughout her adventures in Akata Witch and Akata Warrior, she had to navigate the balance between nearly everything in her life—America and Nigeria, the "normal" world and the one infused with juju, human and spirit, good daughter and powerful Leopard Person. Now, those hard lessons and abilities are put to the test in a quest so dangerous and fantastical, it would be madness to go . . . but may destroy the world if she does not."
The Jade Setter of Janloon: The Green Bone Saga, Book 0.5 By: Fonda Lee, read by Andrew Kishino for Recorded Books -- "Return to the world of the Green Bone Saga with a new standalone novella."
BACKLIST WATCH:
The Purple Cloud By: M. P. Shiel (1901), read by Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone -- "Adam Jeffson is the first man to ever reach the North Pole but, south of him, a deadly purple vapor spreads, passing over the world and wiping out all living creatures. The sole survivor on Earth, Adam embarks on an epic journey across the silent and devastated planet, piecing together a life from the flotsam and jetsam of his former existence."
Daughters of a Coral Dawn: The Coral Dawn Trilogy, Book 1 By: Katherine V. Forrest (1984), read by Amanda Dolan, Kate Rudd, and Erin Bennett for Audible -- "Late in the 22nd century, the settling of a new world falls on the strong shoulders of young Megan. The perfect leader, she undertakes to guide her sisters to a new planet, free from the shackles of the brutal Earth regime. Negotiating politics in a society of women is second only to securing their safety. When a landing party of men and women discover their colony Megan must decide if the outsiders will live or die. And that includes Lt. Laurel Meredith, whose disturbing beauty is as dangerous to Megan as her people are to Megan's world."
AUDIBLE ORIGINALS:
The Ophelia Network By: Mur Lafferty, read by Khristine Hvam -- "In an authoritarian America, personal freedoms are at risk, information is being controlled, and legal citizens suddenly find themselves being deported. A growing resistance movement is active, angry, and looking to strike back. And a TV show for kids may be the key."
Self Help By: Ben H. Winters, read by Wil Wheaton and Ron Perlman -- "Jack Diller is just one more struggling actor on the road to nowhere. He’s got an agent who barely remembers his name, his ex-girlfriend has hooked up with a Silicon Valley dude, and the milk in his fridge is so far past its sell-by date it’s historic. The only way Jack can scrape together a bare existence is by delivering food to exactly the types of successful people he wishes he could be. Then, one day, a very strange audiobook shows up on his phone. The Killer Instinct seems to be your basic self-help guide, narrated by a washed-up action star named Hector Bruno, and brimming with cheesy advice for how to get your life together. With so little to lose, Jack starts listening… and listening some more. He starts talking to Hector like he’s his best friend. And then… Hector starts talking back."
MOST MISSING:
These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe (Tordotcom) -- "In a long-ago war, the all-powerful A.I. ruler of the Voluntary State of Tennessee—Athena Parthenus, Queen of Reason—invaded and decimated the American Southeast. Possessing the ability to infect and corrupt the surrounding environment with nanotechnology, she transformed flora, fauna, and the very ground itself into bio-mechanical weapons of war. Marcia, a former captain from Kentucky, experienced first-hand the terrifying, mind-twisting capabilities of Athena’s creatures. Now back in the Commonwealth, her retirement is cut short by the arrival of federal troops in her tiny, isolated town. One of Athena’s most powerful weapons may still be buried nearby. And they need Marcia’s help to find it."
Nothing but the Blood by J. Matthew Saunders (St George's Press) -- "Long kept secrets come to light, threatening to upset the comfortable lives of everyone in Avalon and the simple day-to-day of high school football games, church socials, and gossip at the barber shop. An evil has taken root, one the entire town has turned a blind eye to for far too long."
Seven Dead Sisters by Jen Williams (PS Publishing) -- " Alizon Grey is being driven to her death, caged in the back of a cart ready to be burned to death as a witch, and for killing her father. When the cart is attacked and she finds herself loose, we follow her journey as she tries to reach safety even as the story of her life―mistreated and the last of her siblings―is gradually revealed. Alizon has had to fight for her life before now, but this time wins all and the truth will be revealed."