Release Week: 31 January 2023
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Release Week: 31 January 2023
Posted on 2023-01-31 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
The Terraformers By: Annalee Newitz, read by Emily Lawrence for Macmillan -- "From science fiction visionary Annalee Newitz comes The Terraformers, a sweeping, uplifting, and illuminating exploration of the future. Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her. But the bright, clean future they're building comes under threat when Destry discovers a city full of people that shouldn’t exist, hidden inside a massive volcano. As she uncovers more about their past, Destry begins to question the mission she's devoted her life to, and must make a choice that will reverberate through Sask-E's future for generations to come."
Tomb of Sand: A Novel By: Geetanjali Shree, read by Deepti Gupta for Harper -- Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize: "A playful, feminist, and utterly original epic set in contemporary northern India, about a family and the inimitable octogenarian matriarch at its heart."
The Drift: A Novel By: C. J. Tudor, read by Nathalie Buscombe, Rachel Handshaw, Richard Armitage for Random House -- "Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man."
Vampire Weekend By: Mike Chen, read by Emily Woo Zeller for Harlequin -- "Everything you’ve heard about vampires is a lie. They can’t fly. No murders allowed (the community hates that). And turning into a bat? Completely ridiculous. In fact, vampire life is really just a lot of blood bags and night jobs. For Louise Chao, it’s also lonely, since she swore off family ages ago. At least she’s gone to decades of punk rock shows. And if she can join a band of her own (while keeping her…situation under wraps), maybe she’ll finally feel like she belongs, too."
Maame: A Novel By: Jessica George, read by Heather Agyepong for Macmillan -- "It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting."
Mrs Van Gogh By: Caroline Cauchi, read by Catrin Walker Booth for One More Chapter (HarperCollins) -- "Girl with a Pearl Earring meets I, Mona Lisa in this stunning novel that tells the true story of the woman (his sister-in-law Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger) behind one of the world’s greatest artists."
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives By: Siddharth Kara, read by Peter Ganim for Macmillan -- "The searing, first-ever exposé of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has traveled deep into cobalt territory to document the testimonies of the people living, working, and dying for cobalt. To uncover the truth about brutal mining practices, Kara investigated militia-controlled mining areas, traced the supply chain of child-mined cobalt from toxic pit to consumer-facing tech giants, and gathered shocking testimonies of people who endure immense suffering and even die mining cobalt."
Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance By: Alvin Hall, read by the author for Harper -- "For countless Americans, the open road has long been a place where dangers lurk. In the era of Jim Crow, Black travelers encountered locked doors, hostile police, and potentially violent encounters almost everywhere, in both the South and the North. From 1936 to 1967, millions relied on The Negro Motorist Green Book, the definitive guide to businesses where they could safely rest, eat, or sleep."
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist By: Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone, read by the authors for Listening Library -- "Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice."
BACKLIST WATCH:
Black Empire By: George S. Schuyler, edited by Brooks E. Hefner, read by Landon Woodson for Penguin -- "'An amazing serial story of Black genius against the world' is how Black Empire was promoted upon its original publication as a serial in The Pittsburgh Courier from 1936 to 1938. It tells the electrifying tale of Dr. Henry Belsidus, a Black scientific genius desperate to free his people from the crushing tyranny of racism. To do so, he concocts a plot to enlist a crew of Black intellectuals to help him take over the world, cultivating a global network to reclaim Africa from imperial powers and punish Europe and America for white supremacy and their crimes against the planet’s Black population."
Pimp My Airship: A Naptown by Airship Novel By: Maurice Broaddus (2019), read by Rhett Samuel Price, and Andre Santana for OrangeSky -- "All the poet called Sleepy wants to do is spit his verses, smoke chiba, and stay off the COP’s radar—all of which becomes impossible once he encounters a professional protestor known as (120 Degrees of) Knowledge Allah. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of local authorities and have to elude the powers that be."
*Jawbone By: Mónica Ojeda (2017), translated by Sarah Booker (2022), read by Victoria Villarreal for Tantor -- "Fernanda and Annelise are so close they are practically sisters: a double image, inseparable. So how does Fernanda end up bound on the floor of a deserted cabin, held hostage by one of her teachers and estranged from Annelise?"
Telluria By: Vladimir Sorokin (2013), translated by Max Lawton (2022), read by David Aranovich for Tantor -- "Telluria is set in the future, when a devastating holy war between Europe and Islam has succeeded in returning the world to the torpor and disorganization of the Middle Ages. Europe, China, and Russia have all broken up. The people of the world now live in an array of little nations that are like puzzle pieces, each cultivating its own ideology or identity, a neo-feudal world of fads and feuds, in which no one power dominates. What does, however, travel everywhere is the appetite for the special substance tellurium. A spike of tellurium, driven into the brain by an expert hand, offers a transforming experience of bliss; incorrectly administered, it means death."
Dogs of War: Dogs of War, Book 1 and Bear Head: Dogs of War, Book 2 By: Adrian Tchaikovsky (2017 and 2021), read by Laurence Bouvard, Nathan Osgood, and William Hope (2018 and 2021, WF Howes) for Recorded Books -- "My name is Rex. I am a good dog. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. A genetically engineered Bioform, he's a deadly weapon in a dirty war. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he's got to kill a lot of enemies."
Cage of Souls By: Adrian Tchaikovsky (2019), read by David Thorpe (2019, Head of Zeus) for Recorded Books -- "Humanity clings to life on a dying Earth in an epic, far-future science fiction novel from an award-winning author."
City of Last Chances By: Adrian Tchaikovsky (2022), read by Stewart Crank (2022, Head of Zeus) for Recorded Books -- "Arthur C. Clarke winner Adrian Tchaikovsky's triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution."
NEW EDITION WATCH:
The Prince of Tides By: Pat Conroy (1986), read by Alan Carlson for Harper -- "A modern American classic and a family saga that spans decades, this is the story of the volatile Tom Wingo, his brilliant but troubled twin sister, Savannah, and the complex and damaging family legacy they share. Moving between the sparkling glamour of New York City and the vanishing beauty of the South Carolina low country, The Prince of Tides is Pat Conroy’s masterwork."
Secrets of the Morning: Cutler, Book 2 By: V. C. Andrews (1991), read by Jeremy Carlisle Parker for Simon and Schuster -- " Dawn can hardly believe she's a student at one of New York City's best music schools. Now her most precious wish, to become a singer, can come true. But Dawn still dreams about Jimmy, her strong, intense boyfriend, and the love and anguished secrets they share."
SERIES WATCH:
Critical Mass: A Delta-v Novel, Book 2 By: Daniel Suarez, read by Jeff Gurner for Penguin -- "A group of pioneering astropreneurs must overcome never-before-attempted engineering challenges to rescue colleagues stranded at a distant asteroid—kicking off a new space race in which Earth's climate crisis could well hang in the balance."
Earthside: Quantum Earth, Book 2 By: Dennis E. Taylor, read by Ray Porter for Audible Originals -- "The fate of mankind is in the hands of a group of 20-something science nerds in the sequel to Outland, by the Audible number-one bestselling author of the Bobiverse series."
Children of Memory: The Children of Time Novels, Book 3 By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, read by Mel Hudson for Orbit -- "The modern classic of space opera that began with Children of Time continues in this extraordinary novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet."
Barrow of Winter: Hall of Smoke, Book 3 By: H.M. Long, read by Samara Naeymi for Recorded Books -- "Thrilling epic fantasy adventures set in the world of HALL OF SMOKE and TEMPLE OF NO GOD, featuring murderous conspiracies, howling icy wastelands and the Children of Winter."
Exiles: Aaron Falk, Book 3 By: Jane Harper, read by Stephen Shanahan for Macmillan -- "Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation."
Village in the Sky: Alex Benedict, Book 9 By: Jack McDevitt, read by Jennifer Van Dyck for Recorded Books
INDIE WATCH:
- Commanding Flame and Shield: Grayshell Rising, Book 1 By: S.J. Barnett, read by Connor Brannigan and Nikki Grey for Flame and Fiction LLC -- "August Porter's nights are spent fighting for his life—trying to escape talons that drag him into darkness, fleeing monsters promising an end to his future. But they're just nightmares. At least, that's what he convinces himself...until he comes face-to-face with a fierce stranger promising salvation...if he leaves everything he's ever known behind."
MOST MISSING:
- The Last Gift of the Master Artists: A Novel by Ben Okri (Other Press) -- "The Booker Prize–winning author, a child of the Nigerian Civil War, reinvents through the story of the Atlantic slave trade the beautiful soul and resilient culture of his country."