Release Week: 10 September 2024
← Release Week: 3 September 2024Release Week: 17 September 2024 →
Release Week: 10 September 2024
Posted on 2024-09-10 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Next Stop By: Benjamin Resnick, read by Gilli Messer for Simon and Schuster -- "An astonishingly resonant novel that explores the precariousness of Jewish American life through one family after a black hole consumes the State of Israel and similar strange events occur in major cities around the world, ushering in a time of chaos as well as miracles."
Guillotine By: Delilah S. Dawson, read by Elisabeth Ashby for Tantor -- "Thrift fashionista Dez Lane doesn't want to date Patrick Ruskin; she just wants to meet his mother, the editor-in-chief of Nouveau magazine. When he invites her to his family's big Easter reunion at their ancestral home, she's certain she can put up with his arrogance and fend off his advances long enough to ask Marie Caulfield-Ruskin for an internship someone with her pedigree could never nab through the regular submission route. When they arrive at the enormous island mansion, Dez is floored -- she's never witnessed how the 1% lives before in all their ridiculous, unnecessary luxury. But once all the family members are on the island and the ferry has departed, things take a dark turn. For decades, the Ruskins have made their servants sign contracts that are basically indentured servitude, and with nothing to lose, the servants have decided their only route to freedom is to get rid of the Ruskins for good."
This World Is Not Yours By: Kemi Ashing-Giwa, read by Catherine Ho for HighBridge -- "After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancee, Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend Jesse. The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a "self-cleaning" mechanism that New Belaforme's scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray. As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself."
William By: Mason Coile, read by Honey St. Dennis for Penguin -- "Henry is a brilliant engineer who, after untold hours spent in his home lab, has achieved the breakthrough of his career—he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William. No one knows about William. Henry’s agoraphobia keeps him inside the house, and his fixation on his project keeps him up in the attic, away from everyone, including his pregnant wife, Lily. When Lily’s coworkers show up, wanting to finally meet Henry and see the new house—the smartest of smart homes—Henry decides to introduce them to William, and things go from strange to much worse. Soon Henry and Lily discover the security upgrades intended to keep danger out of the house are even better at locking it in."
The Witch of Colchis: Medea's Story By: Rosie Hewlett, read by Kristin Atherton for Recorded Books -- "Medea, daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, longs for a different life. Since childhood, she has been separated from her sister, shunned by her mother, and beaten and tormented by her brother and father. All because Medea was born with a unique and seemingly dangerous talent: witchcraft. But when a dashing young hero, Jason, arrives to claim the famed Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea sees her opportunity for escape."
Incarnate: A Novel by Richard Thomas, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Todd Menesses, and Dawn Harvey for Podium -- "In a frozen tundra, a sin-eater fights for redemption and absolution as monstrous creatures ravage a community already struggling to survive."
Bright I Burn: A Novel By: Molly Aitken, read by Avena Mansergh-Wallace for Random House -- "A fierce, electrifying novel inspired by the true story of the first woman to be condemned as a witch in Ireland."
The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad edited by Jennifer Trafton and A.S. Peterson, read by Simon Vance for Oasis Audio -- "With contributions from visiting scholars such as Jonathan Rogers, Malcolm Guite, Junius Johnson, A. S. Peterson, and many more, these tales have been scrupulously compiled and annotated by leading experts of dubious renown."
NON-FICTION WATCH:
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari, read by Vidish Athavale for Books On Tape -- "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world."
First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe, read by the author for Macmillan -- "An unflinching and intimate memoir of recovery by Jessica Hoppe, Latinx writer, advocate, and creator of NuevaYorka."
By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle, read by the author for Harper -- "A powerful work of reportage and American history that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation's earliest days, and a small-town murder in the 1990s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Native rights to that land more than a century later."
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World by Ben Macintyre, read by the author for Books on Tape -- "A thrilling tick-tock recounting one of the most harrowing hostage situations and daring rescue attempts of our time: As the American hostage crisis in Iran boiled into its seventh month in the spring of 1980, six heavily armed gunman barged into the Iranian embassy in London, taking twenty-six hostages. What followed over the next six days was an increasingly tense standoff, one that threatened at any moment to spill into a bloodbath."
Reagan: His Life and Legend By: Max Boot, read by Graham Winton for Recorded Books -- "Contextualizing Reagan’s life against American history, Boot re-creates the world in which Reagan transitioned from local Iowa sportscaster to budding screen actor."
YA WATCH:
- A Darker Mischief By: Derek Milman, read by Charles Linshaw for Dreamscape -- "The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other—a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money, privilege, and the secret society at the heart of it all."
MIDDLE GRADE WATCH:
- Lola By: Karla Arenas Valenti, read by Daisy Guevara for Listening Library -- "A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who'd journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other."
BACKLIST WATCH:
Ring Around the Sun By: Clifford D. Simak (1952), read by Chris Sorensen for Tantor -- "A writer searching for explanations uncovers the existence of mutants and multiple Earths."
The Dark Light Years By: Brian W. Aldiss (1964), read by Liam Gerrard for Tantor -- "What would intelligent life—forms on another planet look like? Would they walk upright? Would they wear clothes? Or would they be hulking creatures on six legs that wallow in their own excrement? Upon first contact with the Utod—intelligent, pacifist beings who feel no pain—mankind instantly views these aliens as animals because of their unhygienic customs. This leads to the slaughter, capture, and dissection of the Utod. But when one explorer recognizes the intelligence behind their habits, he must reevaluate what it actually means to be "intelligent.""
The Malacia Tapestry By: Brian W. Aldiss (1976), read by J.S. Arquin for Tantor -- "In a grand medieval city where all change has been outlawed, a roguish young actor tempts fate and dinosaurs, all in the name of love."
The Visitors By: Clifford D. Simak (1979), read by Gary Noon for Tantor -- "An enormous, mysterious box descends upon small-town Minnesota, spelling trouble for the world."
MORE FICTION:
- Tell Me Everything: A Novel By: Elizabeth Strout, read by Kimberly Farr for Random House -- " With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”"
MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:
The Scarlet Throne By: Amy Leow, read by Catherine Ho for Orbit -- "Binsa is a “living goddess,” chosen by the gods to dispense both mercy and punishment from her place on the Scarlet Throne. But her reign hides a deadly secret. Rather than channeling the wisdom of an immortal deity, she harbors a demon. Though, one cannot remain a living goddess forever. When her temple’s priests decide that Binsa’s time in power has come to an end, a new girl, Medha, is selected to take over her position as goddess. But Binsa refuses to be discarded into a life of uncertainty as a young woman, and she strikes a deal with her demon: She will sacrifice her people’s lives in order to magnify his power, and in return, he will help her seize control from the priests once and for all."
Edge of the Known World: A Novel By: Sheri T. Joseph, read by Marnye Young for Tantor -- "Alexandra Tashen is a brilliant student, adoring daughter, merry wit, and exuberant prankster. After a blissful childhood on a Texas ranch, she learns the truth: She is a refuse, an illegal refugee smuggled into the Allied Nations as an infant. Everyone from her birth region carries a harmless but detectable bit of viral DNA from a flu vaccine. If detected by the rapid genetic testing at security screens, Alex will be returned to the Federation and a likely death. Her adoptive father developed a gene therapy to mask her g-marker, but it is not fully effective. Every g-screen presents a nerve-racking one-in-ten chance of getting caught. When her father goes missing, Alex abandons her cloistered academic life in San Francisco for a globe-trotting Commission in a desperate race to warn him of a trap that will destroy them both."
Countess By: Suzan Palumbo, read by Chanté McCormick for Dreamscape Lore -- "A queer Caribbean anti-colonial Count of Monte Cristo set in space in which a betrayed captain seeks revenge on the interplanetary empire that subjugated her people for generations."
The Shadow Key: A Novel By: Susan Stokes-Chapman, read by Richard Harrington for Harper -- "On an isolated estate in late-eighteenth-century rural Wales, a young English doctor uncovers dangerous secrets that may threaten his own life in this spellbinding Gothic tale."
SERIES WATCH:
The Devil by Name: Fever House, Book 2 By: Keith Rosson, read by Xe Sands for Random House -- "No one expected the apocalypse would be broadcast via phone call. But in this chilling sequel to Fever House, anyone who managed to survive that doomsday call has a harrowing answer to the question, “Where were you when the Message came through?”"
Vilest Things: Flesh & False Gods, Book 2 By: Chloe Gong, read by Jeena Yi for Simon and Schuster -- "Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She now serves as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne. Only Calla knows it isn’t really August."
Warlords of Wyrdwood: Forsaken Trilogy, Book 2 By: RJ Barker, read by Jude Owusu for Orbit -- "The Forester known as Cahan led the village of Harn in rebellion against the all-powerful, oppressive forces of the Rai. A great victory was won, but to avoid retaliation he must lead the people of Harn into the Wyrdwood. Cahan never wanted this responsibility, but fate has its eye on him, and without him the people will be helpless against the terrors of the forest."
Somewhere Beyond the Sea: Cerulean Chronicles, Book 2 By: TJ Klune, read by Daniel Henning for Macmillan -- "A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything."
The Ending Fire: The Ending Fire Trilogy, Book 3 By: Saara El-Arifi, read by Nicole Lewis and Dominic Hoffman for Random House -- "Rebellions are like fires—something needs to burn to make a flame."
Not Till We Are Lost: Bobiverse, Book 5 By: Dennis E. Taylor, read by Ray Porter for Audible Originals -- "The Bobiverse is a different place in the aftermath of the Starfleet War, and the days of the Bobs gathering in one big happy moot are far behind. There’s anti-Bob sentiment on multiple planets, the Skippies playing with an A.I. time bomb, and multiple Bobs just wanting to get away from it all. But it all pales compared to what Icarus and Daedalus discover on their 26,000-year journey to the center of the galaxy."
The Empress of Beasts: The Wandering Inn, Book 13 By: pirateaba, read by Andrea Parsneau for Podium -- "Tiqr awakes. The dungeon moves!"
Task Force Hammer: Expeditionary Force, Book 17 By: Craig Alanson, read by R.C. Bray for Podium -- "The Merry Band of Pirates stopped the enemy from stealing a Sentinel, and destroyed its Elder starship, so why weren’t the Pirates planning a victory party?"
MOST MISSING:
Dear Dickhead, by Virginie Despentes; translated by Frank Wynne (FSG) -- "The French novel taking the world by storm: an ultracontemporary Dangerous Liaisons about sex, feminism, and addiction."
Where Dark Things Grow: A Novel by Andrew K. Clark (Cowboy Jamboree Press) -- "Fifteen-year-old Leo is watching the world crumble. His father is missing and his mother is slipping into madness as she cares for Leo, his sick sister Goldfish, and two useless brothers. Relatives are no help and the church folk have turned their backs in the midst of the Great Depression. When he discovers an enchanted wulver from ancient folklore that will do his bidding, he decides to settle old scores. Revenge is sweet, but Leo soon learns he can't control what he's unleashed. It takes his spitfire best friend Lilyfax to help Leo overcome his anger and try to escape the wulver's evil. As they search for his father, Leo, Lilyfax, and friends are pursued by dark forces and pulled into a rescue effort to find and save trafficked girls rumored to have been taken by the mysterious Blue Man."
The Shadow Girls by Lucienne Diver (Falstaff Books) -- "Three women, bound by fate and circumstance, all trying to survive in a man’s world. They are the women of the Jucari, and they are at their breaking points. Each will rise up, determined to reshape the face of power and end the Blood War which has been raging for years. Each will make her stand for freedom, for respect, for ultimate, bloody power."
Haunted Northern Virginia by Alex Matsuo (The History Press) -- "Discover ghostly history from Arlington to Occoquan, Leesburg to Lorton."