Release Week: 20 December 2022
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Release Week: 20 December 2022
Posted on 2022-12-20 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida By: Shehan Karunatilaka, read by Shivantha Wijesinha for HighBridge -- "Winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a searing satire set amid the mayhem of the Sri Lankan civil war."
X: A Novel By: Davey Davis, read by Kai Rubio for HighBridge -- "The world is ending, and down-and-out sadist Lee spends their days working for a big corporation and their nights wandering the streets of Brooklyn listening to true crime podcasts. But everything changes when Lee is dragged to a warehouse party by their best friend, where they find themself in the clutches of the seductive and bloodthirsty X. When Lee seeks her out again, she's nowhere to be found."
To Each This World By: Julie E. Czerneda, read by Megan Tusing, Justin Price, and Sharnell Palmer for OrangeSky -- "a desperate mission to reconnect with long lost sleeper ships, sent centuries earlier from Earth to settle distant worlds. A trio of Humans must work with their mysterious alien allies to rescue any descendants they can find on those worlds. Something is out there, determined to claim the cosmos for itself, and only on Earth will Humans be safe. Or will they? The challenge isn’t just to communicate with your own kind after generations have passed. It’s to understand what isn’t your kind at all."
BACKLIST WATCH:
Lud-in-the-Mist By: Hope Mirrlees, read by Stacey Lind for Spoken Realms -- "In the land of Dorimare, on the shores of the Dapple and the Dawl, the law-abiding residents of Lud-in-the-Mist are plagued by an illegal influx of fairy fruit enticing people to acts of poetry, dancing, and other dangerous flights of fancy. When respectable Mayor Nathaniel Chanticleer finds his family entangled in the scandal, he must call upon both his sharp legal mind and his unacknowledged creative spirit to craft a reconciliation with the Faerie."
Bridge of Ashes By: Roger Zelazny, read by TJ Clark for Tantor -- "Mankind has been manipulated over the millennia by an alien race that seeks to use it to transform our planet into a world that they can live on. They've patiently encouraged us to adapt technologies that would bring on climate change making our world hotter and more hospitable to them all the while making it less hospitable for mankind. Dennis Guise the most powerful telepath every born is a thirteen-year-old boy, and humanities only hope of escaping oblivion. He is a bridge to our future and a bridge to our past. But can that be enough to save us and our planet?"
Square³ By: Mira Grant (2021), read by Rachel F. Hirsch for Tantor -- "We think we understand the laws of physics. We think a lot of things. It was perhaps inevitable that some of them would turn out to be wrong. When the great incursion occurred, no one was prepared. Of all the things physicists had predicted, "the fabric of reality might rip open and giant monsters could come pouring through" had not made the list. But somehow, that was precisely what happened. For sisters Susan and Katharine Black, the day of the incursion was the day they lost everything."
Noble Outlaw: Gunfighter Chronicles, Book 2 By: Matt Braun (1996), read by Tim Fannon for Recorded Books
The Sacred Land: The Hellenic Traders Series, Book 3 By: Harry Turtledove (2003), read by Tim Campbell for Blackstone
Worldwired: Jenny Casey, Book 3 By: Elizabeth Bear (2005), read by Carolina Hoyos for Tantor
SERIES WATCH:
Into the Fire: Earthburst, Book 2 By: Craig A. Falconer, read by Scott Aiello for Recorded Books
The 13th God: The Cycle of Galand, Book 8 By: Edward W. Robertson, read by Tim Gerard Reynolds for Podium
Fair Trade: Liaden Universe, Book 24 By: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, read by Eileen Stevens for Audible
MOST MISSING:
Gods of Londinium by Natania Barron (Falstaff Books) -- "Born of violence and deception Joss Raddick knows little of the ways of the world. A new godling with untested strength and power. He makes his way to Londinium, the great city in the heart of Britanniae, an early 19th century England where Rome never left and gods walk among humans. There he meets Andrew LaRoche and his powerful band of godlings. Charming and witty. Andrew takes Joss under his wing to teach him their ways. And it all culminates in the Great Boast, a competition between the godlings to see who can inspire the greatest poet of their age. In it, Joss becomes entwined with the Keats family, and eventually, their eldest son John."
Uneven Futures: Strategies for Community Survival from Speculative Fiction edited by Ida Yoshinaga, Sean Guynes, and Gerry Canavan (The MIT Press) -- "Essays on speculative/science fiction explore the futures that feed our most cherished fantasies and terrifying nightmares, while helping diverse communities devise new survival strategies for a tough millennium."
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen edited by Ellen Datlow (Night Shade) -- "For more than four decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave. Now, with the fourteenth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night."