Release Week: 13 December 2022
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Release Week: 13 December 2022
Posted on 2022-12-13 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Desert Creatures By: Kay Chronister, read by Gail Shalan, Thom Rivera, and Samara Naeymi for Dreamscape -- "Nine-year-old Magdala and her father have been exiled from their home; they flee through the harsh landscape of the American West, searching for refuge. As violence pursues them, they join a handful of survivors on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Las Vegas, where it is said that vigilante saints reside, bright with neon power. Magdala, born with a clubfoot, is going to be healed. But when faced with the strange horrors of the Sonoran Desert, one by one the pilgrims fall victim to a hideous sickness—leaving Magdala to fend for herself."
Conan: Blood of the Serpent: The All-New Chronicles of the World's Greatest Barbarian Hero By: S. M. Stirling, read by Bradford Hastings for Blackstone -- "Conan the Barbarian, the world’s most famous fantasy hero, returns in an all-new novel tied directly to the famous works by his legendary creator, Robert E. Howard. In this story, set early in his life, Conan has left his northern homeland to cut a bloody swath across the legendary Hyborian Age. A mercenary, a soldier, a thief, and a pirate, he faces conquering armies, malicious sorcerers, and monstrous creatures—against which he wields only the sword held in his powerful grasp."
Kingdom of Villains By: Ella Fields, read by Elizabeth Russell and Kerr Lordygan for OrangeSky -- "A dark fae prince with a beastly secret. A faerie princess with a curiosity for things better left alone. A bond that will turn enemies to lovers. A love that might cost them their lives."
SERIES WATCH:
Jason: Blades of Bronze 2 By: Mark Knowles, read by Andrew Kingston for SAGA Egmont -- "Jason dreams of glory – of taking his uncle's throne, rightfully his – and, like his warrior shipmates, of home. But it is not only Pelias who wishes Jason ill. Before the Argonauts can make it back to Iolkos, they must contend with a legion of foes who would see them dead – and a web of allies who are not quite what they seem."
Ashes of Man: Sun Eater, Book 5 By: Christopher Ruocchio, read by Samuel Roukin for Recorded Books -- "The galaxy is burning. With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men, and worse, there are rumors … whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting. But it is not so. Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold."
Harm's Way: Star Trek: The Original Series By: David Mack, read by Robert Petkoff for Simon and Schuster -- "Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise go in search of a missing Federation scientist—only to become trapped between a Klingon warship and Starfleet’s mysterious Operation: Vanguard."
BACKLIST WATCH:
- A Rope of Thorns: The Hexslinger Series, Book 2 By: Gemma Files (2011), read by Donald Corren for Blackstone -- "Thanks to hexslinger “Reverend” Asher Rook, sorcerers now have a sanctuary where they can live and work in peace. But a storm is coming—a tempest known as Chess Pargeter."
MOST MISSING:
Mercy by Kelby Losack (Broken River Books) -- "A man trades his heart for a gun rumored to kill gods. A boy with an arm made of iron hopes to bond with his distant father on a hunting trip. And deep in the lunar radiation hills beyond a city dripping neon and blood, a deity demanding sacrifice from both old and young is about to wake."
Opulent Syntax: Irish Speculative Fiction edited by Don Duncan and Dave Ring (Neon Hemlock) -- "A bog body meets crazed science in rural Kerry. Fraught impulses and witchy machinations in a rainy Midlands back garden. Dublin is at once a near future capitalist hell and the eye of a dystopian snowstorm. In Antrim, the past and future armwrestle for prominence, and in Belfast, a blade of grass means nothing and everything."