Release Week: 4 October 2022
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Release Week: 4 October 2022
Posted on 2022-10-04 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Station Eternity: The Midsolar Murders, Book 1 By: Mur Lafferty, read by Sarah Mollo-Christensen for Penguin -- "Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes."
Dandelion By: Alex Bledsoe, read by Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone -- "Reverend Deacon Elder does the Lord’s work in his own unique way. A former marine with the ability to detect and cast out demons, Deke goes where the need—and the evil—is greatest. After receiving a terrifying warning of a botched exorcism, Deke shows up in Somerton, Tennessee, ready for battle. The demon possessing sixteen-year-old Carlyss Bolerjack had only partially been driven out, and Deke must convince a traumatized Carlyss to submit to a second exorcism."
The Mountain in the Sea: A Novel By: Ray Nayler, read by Eunice Wong for Macmillan -- "Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future."
The Revivalists: A Novel By: Christopher M. Hood, read by Gary Bennett for Harper -- "A stunning debut novel about a couple’s harrowing journey across a ravaged America to save their daughter."
Malice House By: Megan Shepherd, read by Katie Schorr for Hyperion Avenue -- "From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd comes a complex tale of dark magic, family secrets, and monsters that don't stay on the page."
Lute By: Jennifer Thorne, read by Victoria Blunt for Macmillan -- "Wicker Man meets Final Destination in Jennifer Thorne's atmospheric, unsettling folk horror novel about love, duty, and community."
Our Missing Hearts: A Novel By: Celeste Ng, read by Lucy Liu for Penguin -- "Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old."
The Getaway By: Lamar Giles, read by Marc Anthony Samuel, Imani Parks, and P.J. Ochlan for Scholastic -- "Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world’s most famous resorts. He’s got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property’s main theme park. Life isn’t so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it’s to get away from all that. As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay’s friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren’t leaving."
Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder By: William Shatner with Joshua Brandon, read by Shatner for Simon and Schuster -- "The beloved star of Star Trek, recent space traveler, and living legend reflects on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature, and the joy that comes from exploration in this inspiring, revelatory, and exhilarating collection of essays."
Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America By: Maggie Haberman , read by the author for Penguin -- "From the Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times reporter who has defined Donald J. Trump's presidency like no other journalist: a magnificent and disturbing reckoning that chronicles his life and its meaning from his rise in New York City to his tortured post-presidency."
SERIES WATCH:
Across the Sand By: Hugh Howey, read by Jeremy Arthur for Harper -- "The first original novel from author Hugh Howey in six years, Across the Sand takes us back to the world of Sand, to a far future many generations after a disaster has destroyed civilization as we know it, where four siblings struggle to build their futures amid the harsh wastes of endless desert."
Daughter of Darkness: Viridian Deep, Book 2 By: Terry Brooks, read by Jeremy Carlisle Parker for Random House -- "The thrilling second novel of an all-new fantasy series from the legendary author behind the Shannara saga, about a human girl adapting to her place in a magical world she’s only recently discovered."
What Song the Sirens Sang: Gideon Sable, Book 3 By: Simon R. Green, read by Gideon Emery for Recorded Books -- "The tables are turned on legendary master thief Gideon Sable when a priceless magical artifact is stolen from him, in this fast-paced supernatural heist thriller."
Edgedancer: Stormlight Archive, Book 2.5 By: Brandon Sanderson, read by Kate Reading for Recorded Books -- "A special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive (previously published in Arcanum Unbounded)." Note: this appears to be the same recording by Reading that is available in the Macmillan Audio production of Sanderson's Arcanum Unbound collection.
The First to Die at the End: They Both Die at the End, Book 0 By: Adam Silvera, read by Jason Genao, Anthony Keyvan, and Kyla Garcia for Harper -- "In this prequel to #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon They Both Die at the End, two new strangers spend a life-changing day together after Death-Cast first makes their fateful calls."
Batman: The Blind Cut By: K Arsenalt Rivera, Martin Cahill, and Catherynne M. Valente Narrated by: Dave Fennoy, Natalie Naudus for Serial Box -- "Follows the Caped Crusader and Zatanna as they join forces against a terrifying adversary who enacts a bold plan to bring Gotham City to its knees."
Wonder Woman: Heartless By: Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Heidi Heilig, read by Tiana Camacho for Serial Box -- "When a magical threat targets both Washington’s elite and its most marginalized, Wonder Woman and the Crimson Avenger unite to mete out justice."
Final Heir: Jane Yellowrock, Book 15 By: Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam for Audible
BACKLIST WATCH:
- Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India By: Amish Tripathi (2020), read by Shernaz Patel for Audible -- "India, 1025 AD. Repeated attacks by Mahmud of Ghazni and his barbaric Turkic hordes have weakened India’s northern regions. The invaders lay waste to vast swathes of the subcontinent—plundering, killing, raping, pillaging. Many of the old Indian kingdoms, tired and divided, fall to them. Those who do fight, battle with old codes of chivalry, and are unable to stop the savage Turkic army, which repeatedly breaks all rules to win. Then the Turks raid and destroy one of the holiest temples in the land: the magnificent Lord Shiva temple at Somnath. At this most desperate of times, a warrior rises to defend the nation."
MORE FICTION:
The Whalebone Theatre: A Novel By: Joanna Quinn, read by Olivia Vinall for Random House -- "A transporting, irresistible debut novel that takes its heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatre in the gargantuan cavity of a beached whale into undercover operations during World War II—a story of love, family, bravery, lost innocence, and self-transformation."
Hester: A Novel By: Laurie Lico Albanese, read by Saskia Maarleveld for Macmillan -- "A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials."
The Hero of This Book: A Novel By: Elizabeth McCracken, read by the author for Harper -- "Ten months after her mother’s death, the narrator of The Hero of This Book takes a trip to London. The city was a favorite of her mother’s, and as the narrator wanders the streets, she finds herself reflecting on her mother’s life and their relationship. Thoughts of the past meld with questions of the future: Back in New England, the family home is now up for sale, its considerable contents already winnowed. The woman, a writer, recalls all that made her complicated mother extraordinary—her brilliant wit, her generosity, her unbelievable obstinacy, her sheer will in seizing life despite physical difficulties—and finds herself wondering how her mother had endured. Even though she wants to respect her mother’s nearly pathological sense of privacy, the woman must come to terms with whether making a chronicle of this remarkable life constitutes an act of love or betrayal."
Mad Honey: A Novel By: Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, read by Carrie Coon, Key Taw, and Jennifer Finn for Random House -- "A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past and what we choose to leave behind, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here and the bestselling author of She's Not There."
Endless Summer: Stories By: Elin Hilderbrand, read by Erin Bennett for Little, Brown and Company -- "In this dazzling collection, Elin Hilderbrand offers nine delicious stories—prequels, sequels, and "missing chapters" from her cherished books—some of which have never been published, until now."
MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:
The Thousand Earths By: Stephen Baxter, read by Caitlin Shannon, David Monteith for Gollancz -- "In 2145AD John Hackett's adventure is just beginning. In Year 30, Mela's story is coming to a close. Hackett, in his trusty ship the Perseus, is not just a space traveller—beginning his travels with an expedition to Neptune and back—but, thanks to the time-dilation effect, a time traveller as well. His new mission will take him to Andromeda, to get a close-up look at the constellation which will eventually crash into the Milky Way, and give humanity a heads-up about the challenges which are coming. A mission which will take him five million years to complete. Not only is Hackett exploring unknown space, but he will return to a vastly different time. Mela's world is coming to an end. Erosion is eating away at the edges of every landmass—first at a rate of ten metres a year, but fast accelerating, displacing people and animals as the rising Tide destroys everything in its path. Putting more and more pressure on the people—and resources—which remain. She and her people have always known that this long-predicted end to their home, one of the Thousand Earths, is coming—but that makes their fight to survive, to protect each other, no less desperate . . . and no less doomed."
New Arcadia: Revolution By: Eric Jason Martin, read by Eric Jason Martin, Matthew Mercer, Erika Ishii, Sam Riegel, Dave Fennoy, Marin Ireland, January LaVoy, James Urbaniak, Emily Lynne, and a full cast for Sound Off -- "In the not-so-distant future, a deadly plague has forced billions into their homes, and locked them up tight. Hope may soon arrive in the form of an effective new cure from the mega-global Chum Corporation, but not before they decide their customers are ready for it. That’s why they’ve created New Arcadia—a real-as-life virtual-reality game designed to bring the isolated people of the world together again."
The Story of the Hundred Promises By: Neil Cochrane, read by Em Grosland for Blackstone -- "Trans sailor Darragh Thorn has made a comfortable life for himself among people who love and accept him. Ten years after his exile from home, though, his sister asks him to reconcile with their ailing father. Determined to resolve his feelings rather than just survive them, Darragh sets off on a quest to find the one person who can heal a half-dead man: the mysterious enchanter who once gave him the magic he needed to become his true self. But so far as anyone knows, no one but Darragh has seen the enchanter for a century, and the fairy tales that survive about em give more cause for fear than hope. In lush and evocative prose, and populated with magical trees and a wise fox."
A Long Shadow: An Antonia Conti Thriller, Book 1 By: David Beckler, read by Anniwaa Buachie for Brilliance -- "The constant threat of terrorism has left London under round-the-clock surveillance and in the tightening grip of privatised security firms. Journalist Antonia Conti suspects one such organisation—GRM—not only of being behind several women’s disappearances, but of financing the widespread violence it claims to fight. When a gang of hitmen use rampant state surveillance to track Antonia down, she narrowly escapes with her life. But then one of them turns up dead—covered in her DNA—and Antonia finds herself the prime suspect in his murder."
While the Player Sleeps: A Short Science Fiction Story By: Scott Tierney, read by Rachael Warren-Allen -- "The story of a city where each and every inhabitant, as though the individual teeth of a single cog which drives a vast clockwork machine, functions selflessly for their one ultimate master: The player."
YOUNG ADULT WATCH:
- After Dark with Roxie Clark By: Brooke Lauren Davis, read by Jordan Killam for Dreamscape -- "Roxie Clark has seen more dead bodies than your average seventeen-year-old. As a member of the supposedly-cursed Clark family, most of her ancestors have met tragic ends, including her own mother. Instead of fearing the curse, however, Roxie has combined her flair for performance and her gruesome family history into a successful ghost tour. But her tour never covers the most recent body she's seen—her sister Skylar's boyfriend, Colin Riley, found murdered in a cornfield. A year after the murder, Roxie's desperate to help Skylar find closure and start to heal. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. As the sisters dig into what really happened, they discover that more than one person has been lying about that night. And the closer they get to the truth, the more Roxie starts to wonder if some scary stories might be better left untold."
MOST MISSING:
Death in the Mouth: Original Horror by People of Color edited by Sloane Leong and Cassie Hart -- "A collection of horror stories and art showcasing BIPOC and ethnically marginalized storytellers from around the world. You’ll read stories featuring grotesque manifestations of dread, the enveloping sludge of grief, and the insectoid itch of deep-seated fear. Embodiments of mania and displacements of faith. Harrowing ecstasy and debilitating hope. Transgressions of the body, the spirit, and the community. Unique and terrifying alien mythology from the future. Quiet, creeping absurdities. Weird urban legends from secondary worlds."
Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman (The Unnamed Press) -- "The Saturnalia carnival marks three years since Nina walked away from Philadelphia’s elite Saturn Club—with its genteel debauchery, arcane pecking order, and winking interest in alchemy and the occult. In doing so, she abandoned her closest friends and her chance to climb the social ladder. Since then, she’s eked out a living by telling fortunes with her Saturn Club tarot deck, a solemn initiation gift that Nina always considered a gag but has turned out to be more useful than she could have ever imagined."
Dark Carnivals: Modern Horror and the Origins of American Empire by W. Scott Poole (Counterpoint) -- "The panoramic story of how the horror genre transformed into one of the most incisive critiques of unchecked American imperial power."
Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West by Aidan Moher (Running Press) -- " Take a journey through the history of Japanese role-playing games—from the creators who built it, the games that defined it, and the stories that transformed pop culture and continue to capture the imaginations of millions of fans to this day."
Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel, read by Willow Smith for Random House -- This debut historical epic fantasy was originally scheduled for release today, but suddenly shows not being out until October 2026? Not sure what's going on here!