The Qwillery

Happy Tuesday! There are 2 debuts this week: The Revelations by Erik Hoel; and Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian. From formerly featured DAC Authors: Instinct by Jason M. Hough; The Memory of Souls (Chorus of Dragons 3) by Jenn Lyons is out in Trade Paperback; Titan's Day (The Carter Archives 2) by Dan Stout is out in Mass Market Paperback; Titan Song (The Carter Archives 3) by Dan Stout; and The Space Between Two Deaths by Jamie Yourdon.

 

 

 

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

April 6, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	GENRE - SERIES
Star Wars Skywalker A Family At War	Kristin Baver	PerfArts/SF/SO
I'm Waiting for You: And Other Stories	Kim Bo-Young	SF - Collection
Mirage (h2mm)	Julie E. Czerneda	SF/SO/AC - Web Shifter's Library 2
ELADATL: A History of the East Los Angeles Dirigible Air Transport Lines	Sesshu Foster Arturo Ernesto Romo	AB/DH
1636: Calabar's War	Charles E. Gannon Robert E. Waters	SF/TT - Ring of Fire 30
Cries from the Lost Island (h2mm)	Kathleen O'Neal Gear	HistF/CF/P
The Best Thing You Can Steal	Simon R. Green	SupTh - A Gideon Sable Novel 1
Bela Lugosi's Dead	Robert Guffey	GH
The Book of Yig: Revelations of the Serpent: A Cthulhu Mythos Anthology	David Hambling (Ed) Peter Rawlik (Ed)	H - Anthology
The Revelations (D)	Erik Hoel	LF/Psy
Instinct	Jason M. Hough	Sus
Found in Translation: New People in Twentieth-Century Chinese Science Fiction	Jing Jiang	SF - Asia Shorts
Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization	Greg Keyes	MTI/TechTh/SF
Doctor Aphra	Sarah Kuhn	SF/SO/MTI - Star Wars
The Science of Middle-earth: A New Understanding of Tolkien and His World	Roland Lehoucq (Ed) Loïc Mangin (Ed) Jean-Sébastien Steyer (Ed) Tina Kover (Tr)	HC/LC
The Memory of Souls (h2tp)	Jenn Lyons	F - Chorus of Dragons 3
Rich Man's Sky	Wil McCarthy	SF
Crowe's Requiem (ri)	Mike McCormack	CoA/FL/MR
Getting It in the Head: Stories	Mike McCormack	SS/Psy/MR
The Drowning Kind	Jennifer McMahon	Noir
First Person Singular: Stories	Haruki Murakami Philip Gabriel (Tr)	SS/MR/LF - Collection
A River Called Time	Courttia Newland	SF/AP/PA/LF/Dis/Dys
Peaces	Helen Oyeyemi	LF/F/MR
Lord of Order	Brett Riley	Dys/F/H
Gold Diggers (D)	Sanjena Sathian	LF/MR
The World of Dew and Other Stories	Julian Mortimer Smith	SF/SS/F - Blue Light Books
And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges (h2tp)	Amber Sparks	SS
Titan's Day (h2mm)	Dan Stout	UF/DF - The Carter Archives 2
Titan Song	Dan Stout	UF/DF - The Carter Archives 3
First, Become Ashes	K.M. Szpara	CF
Why We Love The Matrix	Kim Taylor-Foster	PerfArts/HC
Hummingbird Salamander	Jeff VanderMeer	TechTh/LF/Nature & Environment
Under the Lake (ri)	Stuart Woods	Sus/PP/Horror
The Space Between Two Deaths	Jamie Yourdon	MR/HistF

April 7, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	GENRE - SERIES
Annie Without Crow: A Tor.com Original (e)	Michael Swanwick	F

April 8, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	GENRE - SERIES
Apex: World of Dinosaurs Anthology	Alana Joli Abbott (Ed)	F - Anthology
Tool Tales: Microfiction Inspired By Antique Tools	Kaaron Warren Ellen Datlow (Photographer)	H/F - Collection

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Ke - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
GW&CC - Global Warming and Climate Change
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
WS - Women Sleuths

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed

Alina Boydon (2020) Gifting Fire
Stealing Thunder 2
Ace, April 13, 2021
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

The battle has been won, but the war is just beginning.

Although at long last Razia Khan has found peace with herself and love with her prince, Arjun, her trials are far from over. In order to save her prince and his city from certain destruction, Razia made a deal with the devil–her father, the Sultan of Nizam. Now the bill has come due.

Razia must secure the province of Zindh, a land surrounded by enemies, and loyal to a rebel queen who has survived her father’s purge. But when her old tormentor Prince Karim invades her new home and forces her into a marriage alliance, Razia finds herself trapped in the women’s quarters of a foreign palace, with her beloved Prince Arjun exiled from her side.

Now, in order to free herself, and her province, from Karim’s clutches, she must call upon all of her training as a royal princess, a cunning courtesan, and a daring thief to summon new allies and old friends for a battle that will decide her fate, and the fate of an empire.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Book 1 (5/12/2020)

Dan Stout (2019) Titan Song
The Carter Archives 3
DAW, April 6, 2021
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

The third book in the acclaimed Carter Archives noir fantasy series returns to the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner.

Forbidden magic, murder… and disco. Carter’s day keeps getting worse.

With the return of spring, new life floods into Titanshade. The sun climbs higher and stays longer, the economy is ascendant, and ever more newcomers arrive to be part of the city’s rebirth. Even pop culture has taken notice, with a high-profile concert only days away. When a band member’s murder threatens to delay the show, the diva star performer demands that the famous Detective Carter work the case. But Carter has secrets of his own, and his investigation unearths more victims and dark secrets, triggering a spiral of deceit, paranoia, and nightmarish magical transformations.

As conspiracies are exposed, Carter is sucked even deeper into the machinations of the rich, the powerful, and the venerated. Soon the very foundations of the city threaten to collapse and Carter’s own freedom is on the line as he navigates between old enemies and fragile new alliances while racing to learn the true cause of this horrific series of deaths.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Book 1 (1/28/2020)

Book 2 (4/6/2021)

Jamie Yourdon (2016) The Space Between Two Deaths
Genz Publishing, April 6, 2021
Trade Paperback and eBook, 276 pages

In ancient Sumeria, only a thin veil separates the living from the dead.

The lives of Ziz, her mother, Meshara, and her father, Temen, are disrupted when a mysterious crevasse rends the earth. Temen becomes obsessed with the mystery and, capturing a crow to guide him, he follows a path to the netherworld where he hopes to gain wisdom from his dead father. Yet he soon finds that ancestors don't always provide the answers we need.

In his absence, a grisly accident occurs on their farm -- Meshara and Ziz are forced to flee. Friendless and alone, they must find a way to survive despite the brutalities of their landlord and devotees of the religious nation-state. Will the women revel in their new companionship or seek to find freedom elsewhere?

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound
Kobo

Monday again!

There are 4 debuts this week:

The Immortals of Tehran by Ali Araghi;

Weave the Lightning by Corry L. Lee;

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth;

and

Legacy of Ash (Legacy Trilogy 1) by Matthew Ward.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Dark Age (Red Rising 5) by Pierce Brown is out in Trade Paperback;

and

Titan's Day (The Carter Archives 2) by Dan Stout.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

April 7, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Immortals of Tehran (D)	Ali Araghi	MR/Pol/Sagas
The Red-Stained Wings (h2tp)	Elizabeth Bear	F - Lotus Kingdoms 2
Malicroix	Henri Bosco Joyce Zonana (Tr)	STR/Psy/Gothic
Dark Age (h2tp)	Pierce Brown	SF/Dys - Red Rising 5
Secrets in the Dark	Darcy Coates	H/Occ/Sup/AP/PA/SupTh/Dys - Black Winter 2
Overruled!	Hank Davis (Ed) Christopher Ruocchio (Ed)	SF - Anthology
A Tale of Truths	Berit Ellingsen	F
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 36	David Farland (Ed)	SF/F - Anthology - Writers of the Future  36
A Time of Courage	John Gwynne	F/HistF - Of Blood & Bone 3
Fantastic Hope	Laurell K. Hamilton  (Ed) William McCaskey (Ed)	Dys/F/SF - Anthology
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires	Grady Hendrix	H/SupTh/Southern
Eden	Tim Lebbon	SupTh/H/SF
Weave The Lightning (D)	Corry L. Lee	F
The Beetle (ri)	Richard Marsh	H/Gothic/Sus/SupTh
Middlegame (h2tp)	Seanan McGuire	CF/DF
The Obsoletes (h2tp)	Simeon Mills	SF
The Age of Witches	Louisa Morgan	Occ/Sup/HistF/HistR
Starborn and Godsons	Larry Niven Jerry Pournelle Steven Barnes	SF - Heorot 3
The Time Seer	Richard Phillips	F - Endarian Prophecy 5
The Malevolent Volume	Justin Phillip Reed	Poetry
Chosen Ones (D-Adult)	Veronica Roth	CF
Bonds of Brass	Emily Skrutskie	SF/SO - The Bloodright Trilogy 1
The Glass Magician	Caroline Stevermer	HistF/RF
Titan's Day	Dan Stout	The Carter Archives 2
Temptation	Janos Szekely Marl Baczoni (Tr)	UF/DF
The Nothing Girl	Jodi Taylor	RF/HU - Frogmorton Farm 1
The Ancestor	Danielle Trussoni	LF
Legacy of Ash (D)	Matthew Ward	F - Legacy Trilogy 1

April 8, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Little Free Library: A Tor.com Original (e)	Naomi Kritzer	UF

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
BlHu - Black Humour
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CH - Cultural Heritage
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - Cyperpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
Esp - Espionage
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator(s)
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PP - Police Procedural
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
RF - Romantic Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Spec - Speculative
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary and Metaphysical

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Mark Lawrence (2011)

The Girl and the Stars
The Book of the Ice 1
Ace, April 21, 2020
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

A stunning new epic fantasy series following a young outcast who must fight with everything she has to survive, set in the same world as Red Sister.

In the ice, east of the Black Rock, there is a hole into which broken children are thrown. Yaz’s people call it the Pit of the Missing and now it is drawing her in as she has always known it would.

To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal. And Yaz is not the same.

Yaz’s difference tears her from the only life she’s ever known, away from her family, from the boy she thought she would spend her days with, and has to carve out a new path for herself in a world whose existence she never suspected. A world full of difference and mystery and danger.

Yaz learns that Abeth is older and stranger than she had ever imagined. She learns that her weaknesses are another kind of strength and that the cruel arithmetic of survival that has always governed her people can be challenged.

Jon Skovron (2016)

The Ranger of Marzanna
The Goddess War 1
Orbit, April 21, 2020
Trade Paperback and eBook, 528 pages

When their father is murdered by imperial soldiers, two siblings set out on opposite paths–one will destroy the Empire forever and the other will save it–in this thrilling new epic fantasy.

Sonya is training to be a Ranger of Marzanna, an ancient sect of warriors who have protected the land for generations. But the old ways are dying, and the rangers have all been forced into hiding or killed off by the invading Empire.

When her father is murdered by imperial soldiers, she decides to finally take action. Using her skills as a ranger she will travel across the bitter cold tundra and gain the allegiance of the only other force strong enough to take down the invaders.

But nothing about her quest will be easy. Because not everyone is on her side. Her brother, Sebastian, is the most powerful sorcerer the world has ever seen. And he’s fighting for the empire.

Dan Stout (2019)

Titan's Day
The Carter Archives 2
DAW, April 7, 2020
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

The second book in the acclaimed Carter Archives noir fantasy series returns to the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner.

The city of Titanshade pulses with nervous energy. The discovery of new riches beneath its snowfields has given residents hope for prosperity, but it also means the arrival of federal troops, along with assurances that they are only there to “stabilize the situation”.

Newcomers flood the streets, dreaming of finding their fortunes, while in the backrooms and beer halls of the city, a populist resistance gains support, its leaders’ true motives hidden behind nativist slogans. And in an alley, a gruesome discovery: the mutilated body of a young woman, a recent immigrant so little-regarded that not even her lovers bothered to learn her name. But in death, she’s found a champion.

Detective Carter single-mindedly pursues the killer as he navigates political pressures and resists becoming a pawn in the struggles tipping the city toward anarchy. But when more innocent lives are lost and time runs short, he’s forced to decide if justice is worth sparking all-out war in the streets during the biggest celebration of the year: Titan’s Day.

Book 1

Happy Monday!

There is one debut this week:

The Bard's Blade (The Sorcereer's Song 1) by Brian D. Anderson.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman is reissued;

We Are Monsters by Brian Kirk is reissued;

and

Titanshade (The Carter Archives 1) by Dan Stout is out in Mass Market Paperback.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

January 28, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Bard's Blade (D)	Brian D. Anderson	F - The Sorcereer's Song 1
Fighters of Fear: Occult Detective Stories	Mike Ashley (Ed)	Occ/Sup - Anthology
With Blood Upon the Sand (tp2mm)	Bradley P. Beaulieu	DF/F - Song of Shattered Sands 2
Bowl of Heaven and Shipstar	Gregory Benford Larry Niven	SF/HSF/AC
The Cruel Stars (h2mm)	John Birmingham	SF/SO
Wild Country (h2mm)	Anne Bishop	DF/CF/AH - The World of the Others 2
Storm Cursed (h2mm)	Patricia Briggs	UF/CF - A Mercy Thompson Novel 11
Those Across the River (ri)	Christopher Buehlman	H/SupTh
Highfire	Eoin Colfer	F/HU
The Storm (h2mm)	David Drake	SF - Time of Heroes 2
Twenty	Debra Landwehr Engle	CW/FL/MR
Vendetta Road	Christine Feehan	PNR - Torpedo Ink 3
Wicked Bite	Jeaniene Frost	PNR - Night Rebel 2
Raising Atlantis (ri)	Thomas Greanias	Fiction
Terminal Uprising (h2mm)	Jim C. Hines	SF/AP/PA/HU - Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse 2
Endgames (h2mm)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - The Imager Portfolio 12
Octavia Gone (h2mm)	Jack McDevitt	SF/HSF - An Alex Benedict Novel 8
The Invited (h2tp)	Jennifer McMahon	Sus/GH
Warlord	Mel Odom	SF - The Makaum War 3
Prosper's Demon	K. J. Parker	DF
Fleet of Knives (tp2mm)	Gareth L. Powell	SF/SO - An Embers of War Novel 2
Earthquake Weather (tp2mm)	Tim Powers	CF
Cast in Wisdom	Michelle Sagara	F - The Chronicles of Elantra 15
Song of the Risen God	R. A. Salvatore	F/DF - The Coven 3
Buzz Kill	David Sosnowski	SF/HU/AP/PA/HSF
Titanshade (h2mm)	Dan Stout	UF/DF - The Carter Archives 1
Marked (tp2mm)	S. Andrew Swann	F/P
Scratching the Head of Chairman Mao	Jonathan Tel	LF/AB/HU

January 29, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Case of the Somewhat Mythic Sword: A Tor.com Original (e)	Garth Nix	DF
Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2019 Edition: A Tor.com Original (e)	Various	SF/F - Anthology

January 30, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Snowball	Gregory Bastianelli	H - Fiction Without Frontiers
We Are Monsters	Brian Kirk	H - Fiction Without Frontiers

January 31, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Best of Elizabeth Bear	Elizabeth Bear	F/SF - Collection
King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats	James Patrick Kelly	UF
The Hunter from the Woods	Robert McCammon	SupTh/Occ

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
mm - Mass Market Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CL - City Life
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR- Fantasy Romance
GH - Ghost(s)
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
RF - Romantic Fantasy
RS - Romantic Suspense
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. What is the first piece you remember writing?

Dan:  The very first thing I remember writing was an epic fantasy called Castle Doom. I think I was eight years old. It’s filled with sentences like, “And then he slew a peasant.”
Let’s just say I don’t think it’ll ever be published.



TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Dan:  I’d describe myself as a hybrid. My short stories are often pantsed, although I sometimes plot out longer pieces. Novel length work definitely involves plotting, but I prefer to use story structure as a diagnostic tool rather than a road map. I really do love the editing stage, and that’s partially because it’s when I get to break out the structural toys.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing? How does being a journalist affect (or not) your fiction writing?

Dan:  The most difficult thing for me is the gap between starting and completing the first draft. I only get through that Initial first draft by lying to myself about how fast I can get it done and a stubborn refusal to give up.

I think my non-fiction work is a real help when it comes time to edit. It’s not that I’m less emotionally attached to my prose than other writers, but writing for a day job means that I don’t have the luxury of overthinking a problem. I jump in and start cutting and rewriting, because I know that if I don’t get it done, I’m not getting paid.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

Dan:  Absolutely everything! I’m a big believer in the idea that all art and media is in dialogue with everything that came before. The great, gritty crime dramas of the 70s are certainly an influence, but so are the more recent fantasy mashups—everything from Fonda Lee’s JADE CITY to Marshall Ryan Maresca’s beautifully realized Maradaine novels.



TQ:  Describe Titanshade using only 5 words.

Dan:  Men in Black meets Chinatown.



TQ:  Tell us something about Titanshade that is not found in the book description.

Dan:  I think it has a lot of heart. The risk in writing a noir detective fantasy novel is that it could easily come across as especially bleak and nihilistic. If I did my job right, Carter’s worldview is that of a disappointed idealist, rather than a cynic who sees corruption as the natural state of the world.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Titanshade? What appeals to you about writing Urban Fantasy?

Dan:  I wrote the first chapter as part of an online flash fiction challenge. I had 90 minutes to come up with a story based on a prompt, and while I didn’t get a full story written out, I did at least get the rough outline for the book. That site was called Liberty Hall and although it’s sadly no longer around, at one point all kinds of great ideas were born there.

As far as the appeal of Urban Fantasy, the ability to use fantasy and science fictional imagery and tropes is a huge draw for me. I love finding ways to examine the many weird ways we interact with one another, and speculative fiction gives me a huge treasure trove of tools to highlight and distill all these human interactions. Plus, magic is awesome!



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Titanshade?

Dan:  The advantage of doing a secondary fantasy world is that I can make my own rules and history. But that also carries the burden of making sure that everything hangs together on its own internal logic. I spent a lot of time tracking down original sources for descriptions of 70s era police procedures and arctic living. Again, I had the ability to pick and choose somewhat, because police training and technology varies wildly from one part of the world to another, so the Titanshade PD uses policies I’ve lifted from police forces. But with each element that gets described, that system becomes that much more set in stone.

And of course there’s a ton of research that doesn’t appear in the books. Things like how are building foundations and sewer lines dug when the life of the city could be threatened if a warming geo-vent is damaged? I’ve talked through things like that with architects and engineers, but unless it directly impacts the story, it’s never going to get more than a passing reference.



TQ:  Please tell us about the cover for Titanshade.

Dan:  Collaborating on the cover was one of the real joys of seeing this book come to life! DAW is amazingly open to author input on the cover. They work with a ton of fantastic artists, but I thought Chris McGrath had the perfect eye for the gritty realism and elements of wonder that were needed to pull off this illustration.

The cover is a bit stylized, in that it doesn’t depict a specific scene, but man, does it ever capture the feel of the book! I thought Chris really hit it out of the park. It was so much fun collaborating on the cover, and we compared notes frequently to make sure we staying true to the book while also giving him room to flex his wings artistically.

Once Chris’s work was done, Katie Andersen and the team at DAW did a fantastic job of designing the jacket. The distressed cover, the title font, the slight tilt to the world… all of that came together in the final package. I love seeing art that hews close to the source material while still bringing the artist’s touch to the page, and I think we all worked together as a team to pull it off.



TQ:  In Titanshade who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Dan:  For me, writing a 1st-person POV is all about finding the rhythm. Once I get into that voice, that character is pretty easy to write, as it just flows outward. So Carter was the easiest person to write.

The hardest would have to be one of the secondary characters, because their voice needs to come through as unique, and their actions reasonable, even when seen only through the filter of Carter’s observations. I have to stop and ask myself if their actions are honest more often. So I’ll say Ajax, since he shares so much time “on stage” with Carter.



TQ:  Does Titanshade touch on any social issues?

Dan:  Yeah, absolutely! The city of Titanshade is an oil boomtown whose wells are running dry. In addition, the world’s first industrial revolution was spurred by magic, until the source of manna was hunted to extinction. So the question of resource management and income inequality is an ever-present backdrop to the story.

I’m also very interested in how working class people are portrayed in fantasy and sci-fi. Sometimes it seems like speculative fiction has two categories of income: the ultra-rich and those with absolutely nothing. That ignores the huge swath of the population who are getting by, but with no safety net. To me, that’s the really interesting area to explore. The orphan living in squalor has nothing to lose by going off on a quest to save the world, but a single parent working two jobs to pay the rent just doesn’t have the time!



TQ:  Which question about Titanshade do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Dan:  Sure! I wish more people would ask how to get it from their library. I think that a lot of people are interested in a range of books, but aren’t able to purchase a copy at full retail price. But most libraries have a way for patrons to request a book, either for order or through inter-library loan. And that goes for almost any format—print, ebook, and audio.
Libraries are a way for readers to discover books and authors at no cost, while still supporting those authors and publishers. I was a library rat growing up, and I’m always happy to help people find out more about their local library system, and how to request a copy of their favorite book (mine or someone else’s!).



TQ:   Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Titanshade.

Dan:  One of my favorites is “Know the city and you’ll know the victims. Know the victims and you’ll know the killer.”

It’s not uncommon to see the victims in crime mysteries portrayed almost as props, while the hero and villain are fully fleshed out characters. I do my best to bring a sense of humanity to the victims of the crimes as well, to make them sympathetic, even if they weren’t likable people in life.



TQ:  What's next?

Dan:  I am hard at work on the next book in the Carter Archives, trying to make it as multi-layered and mysterious as possible, while still keeping the sense of fun and adventure that fuels the first book. I can’t wait for it to be out in the world a year from now.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Dan:  Thank you! It’s so much fun to be here and talk about this crazy noir fantasy book!

Titanshade
The Carter Archives 1
DAW, March 12, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 416 pages

This noir fantasy thriller from a debut author introduces the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner.

Carter’s a homicide cop in Titanshade, an oil boomtown where 8-tracks are state of the art, disco rules the radio, and all the best sorcerers wear designer labels. It’s also a metropolis teetering on the edge of disaster. As its oil reserves run dry, the city’s future hangs on a possible investment from the reclusive amphibians known as Squibs.

But now negotiations have been derailed by the horrific murder of a Squib diplomat. The pressure’s never been higher to make a quick arrest, even as Carter’s investigation leads him into conflict with the city’s elite. Undermined by corrupt coworkers and falsified evidence, and with a suspect list that includes power-hungry politicians, oil magnates, and mad scientists, Carter must find the killer before the investigation turns into a witch-hunt and those closest to him pay the ultimate price on the filthy streets of Titanshade.

About Dan

Dan Stout lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he writes about fever dreams and half-glimpsed shapes in the shadows. His prize-winning fiction draws on travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim as well as an employment history spanning everything from subpoena server to assistant well driller. Dan's stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Intergalactic Medicine Show. His debut novel Titanshade is a noir fantasy thriller available from DAW Books. To say hello, visit him at www.DanStout.com.




Twitter @DanStout  ~  Facebook

Each month you will be able to vote for your favorite cover from that month's debut novels. At the end of the year the 12 monthly winners will be pitted against each other to choose the 2019 Debut Novel Cover of the Year. Please note that a debut novel cover is eligible in the month in which the novel is published in the US. Cover artist/illustrator/designer information is provided when we have it.

I'm using PollCode for this vote. After you the check the circle next to your favorite, click "Vote" to record your vote. If you'd like to see the real-time results click "View". This will take you to the PollCode site where you may see the results. If you want to come back to The Qwillery click "Back" and you will return to this page. Voting will end sometime on April 6, 2019, unless the vote is extended. If the vote is extended the ending date will be updated.

Vote for your favorite March 2019 Debut Cover!

Creation Machine

Famous Men Who Never Lived

If, Then

Infinite Detail

A Memory Called Empire

The Migration

Miranda in Milan

The Municipalists

The Old Drift

The Perfect Assassin

The Reign of the Kingfisher

Titanshade

Today I Am Carey

The Widening Gyre

The Woman in the Dark

 

pollcode.com free polls

Happy Monday!

There are 4 debuts this week:

If, Then by Kate Hope Day;

The Widening Gyre by Michael R. Johnston;

The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage;

and

Titanshade (The Carter Archives 1) by Dan Stout.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu is out in Trade Paperback;

The Golgotha Series: The Six-Gun Tarot, The Shotgun Arcana, The Queen of Swords by R. S. Belcher is out in eBook Bundle;

Semiosis (Semiosis Duology 1) by Sue Burke is out in Trade Paperback;

The True Queen (A Sorcerer to the Crown 2) by Zen Cho;

Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd is out in Trade Paperback;

Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk;

The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab;

A Gathering of Shadows Collector's Edition (Shade of Magic 2) by V. E. Schwab;

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color edited by Nisi Shawl;

and

The Forbidden City (Dragon's Legacy 2) by Deborah A. Wolf.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

March 11, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Nightwalker (e)(ri)	Heather Graham	GH/Sus
Harrison Investigation Series Volume 3: An Anthology (e)	Heather Graham	H - Harrison Investigation

March 12, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Mars: Stories	Asja Bakić Jennifer Zoble (Tr)	SF/HU/SF/AP/PA/AB/SS - Collection
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories (h2tp)	Kelly Barnhill	F/SS - Collection
A Veil of Spears (h2tp)	Bradley P. Beaulieu	F/DF - Song of Shattered Sands 3
The Golgotha Series: The Six-Gun Tarot, The Shotgun Arcana, The Queen of Swords (e)	R. S. Belcher	HistF/DF/SP - Golgotha
Semiosis (h2tp)	Sue Burke	SF/AC/HSF - Semiosis Duology 1
The True Queen	Zen Cho	HistF/F - A Sorcerer to the Crown Novel 2
Tor.com Publishing Editorial Spotlight #3: A Selection of Novellas (e)	Ellen Datlow (Ed)	SpecFic
If, Then (D)	Kate Hope Day	LF/VisM/SF/AP/PA
Ruin's Wake	Patrick Edwards	CF/SF
The Willful Child Series: Willful Child, Wrath of Betty, The Search for Spark (e)	Steven Erikson	SF - Willful Child
Winter's Web (e)	Jennifer Estep	UF - Elemental Assassin Novella
Toxic Game	Christine Feehan	PNR/GenEng - GhostWalker 15
The Dazzle of Day	Molly Gloss	SF/HSF
Blood of the Four (h2tp)	Christopher Golden Tim Lebbon	F
Dawn of the Exile	Mitchell Hogan	F - Infernal Guardian 2
If Cats Disappeared from the World	Genki Kawamura Eric Selland (Tr)	LF/MR
Mr. Flood's Last Resort (h2tp)	Jess Kidd	LF
AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe (Fourth Edition Vol. 3)	Lars Pearson Lance Parkin	PerfArts/TV/HC
White Light (ri)	Rudy Rucker	SF
Saucer Wisdom (ri)	Rudy Rucker	SF/AC
The Woman in the Dark (D)	Vanessa Savage	PsyTh/H/Sus
The Near Witch (ri)	V. E. Schwab	RF/FairyT/FolkT/LM/HistF
A Gathering of Shadows Collector's Edition	V. E. Schwab	HistF/Gaslamp - Shades of Magic 2
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color	Nisi Shawl (Ed)	SpecFic - Anthology
Titanshade (D)	Dan Stout	UF/DF - The Carter Archives 1
The Rosewater Insurrection	Tade Thompson	SF/AC/AP/PA - Wormwood Trilogy  2
The Spirit Photographer (h2tp)	JonMichael Varese	HistF/GH/Occ/Sup
A Pathfinder Tales Collection: Lord of Runes, Liar's Island, Beyond the Pool of Stars, Bloodbound, Pirate's Prophecy, Hellknight, Liar's Bargain, Starspawn, ... Through the Gate in the Sea, Gears of Faith (e)	Various	F - Pathfinder Tales
The Bird King	G. Willow Wilson	HistF
The Forbidden City (h2tp)	Deborah A. Wolf	F - Dragon's Legacy 2

March 13, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
To Catch a Witch (h2tp)	Heather Blake	PCM - A Wishcraft Mystery 8

March 14, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Wolf Land	Jonathan Janz	H - Fiction Without Frontiers
The Widening Gyre  (D)	Michael R. Johnston	SF/SO - Fiction Without Frontiers
Will Haunt You	Brian Kirk	H/DF - Fiction Without Frontiers
Child Of Thunder (e)(ri)	Mickey Zucker Reichert	F - Renshai Chronicles 3
Beyond Ragnarok (e)(ri)	Mickey Zucker Reichert	F - Renshai Chronicles 4

March 15, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Sins of the Lost (e)	Lydia M. Hawke	SupTh - The Grigori Legacy 3

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Parnormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
RF - Romantic Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Spec - Speculative
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary and Metaphysical

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Andrew Bannister

Creation Machine
Spin Trilogy 1
Tor Books, March 5, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

Creation Machine is a fast-paced, whip-smart science fiction debut from Andrew Bannister introducing the stunning galaxy called the Spin.

In the vast, artificial galaxy called the Spin, a rebellion has been crushed.

Viklun Hass is eliminating all remnants of the opposition. Starting with his daughter.

But Fleare Hass has had time to plan her next move from exile to the very frontiers of a new war.

For hundreds of millions of years, the planets and stars of the Spin have been the only testament to the god-like engineers that created them. Now, beneath the surface of a ruined planet, one of their machines has been found.

K. Chess

Famous Men Who Never Lived
Tin House Book, March 5, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 324 pages

For readers of Station Eleven and Exit West, Famous Men Who Never Lived explores the effects of displacement on our identities, the communities that come together through circumstance, and the power of art to save us.

Wherever Hel looks, New York City is both reassuringly familiar and terribly wrong. As one of the thousands who fled the outbreak of nuclear war in an alternate United States―an alternate timeline―she finds herself living as a refugee in our own not-so-parallel New York. The slang and technology are foreign to her, the politics and art unrecognizable. While others, like her partner Vikram, attempt to assimilate, Hel refuses to reclaim her former career or create a new life. Instead, she obsessively rereads Vikram’s copy of The Pyronauts―a science fiction masterwork in her world that now only exists as a single flimsy paperback―and becomes determined to create a museum dedicated to preserving the remaining artifacts and memories of her vanished culture.

But the refugees are unwelcome and Hel’s efforts are met with either indifference or hostility. And when the only copy of The Pyronauts goes missing, Hel must decide how far she is willing to go to recover it and finally face her own anger, guilt, and grief over what she has truly lost.

Kate Hope Day

If, Then
Random House, March 12, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 272 pages

“A must-read—a gorgeous literary novel that asks us to imagine all the possible versions of ourselves that might exist.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Saints for All Occasions

The residents of a sleepy mountain town are rocked by troubling visions of an alternate reality in this dazzling debut that combines the family-driven suspense of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere with the inventive storytelling of The Immortalists.

In the quiet haven of Clearing, Oregon, four neighbors find their lives upended when they begin to see themselves in parallel realities. Ginny, a devoted surgeon whose work often takes precedence over her family, has a baffling vision of a beautiful co-worker in Ginny’s own bed and begins to doubt the solidity of her marriage. Ginny’s husband, Mark, a wildlife scientist, sees a vision that suggests impending devastation and grows increasingly paranoid, threatening the safety of his wife and son. Samara, a young woman desperately mourning the recent death of her mother and questioning why her father seems to be coping with such ease, witnesses an apparition of her mother healthy and vibrant and wonders about the secrets her parents may have kept from her. Cass, a brilliant scholar struggling with the demands of new motherhood, catches a glimpse of herself pregnant again, just as she’s on the brink of returning to the project that could define her career.

At first the visions are relatively benign, but they grow increasingly disturbing—and, in some cases, frightening. When a natural disaster threatens Clearing, it becomes obvious that the visions were not what they first seemed and that the town will never be the same.

Startling, deeply imagined, and compulsively readable, Kate Hope Day’s debut novel is about the choices we make that shape our lives and determine our destinies—the moments that alter us so profoundly that it feels as if we’ve entered another reality.

K. A. Doore

The Perfect Assassin
Chronicles of Ghadid 1
Tor Books, March 19, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own in K. A. Doore's The Perfect Assassin, a breakout high fantasy beginning the Chronicles of Ghadid series.

Divine justice is written in blood.

Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.

Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.

Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.

“The Perfect Assassin is a thrilling fantastical mystery that had me racing through the pages.” —S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass

“Full of rooftop fights, frightening magic, and nonstop excitement and mystery, I absolutely loved it from start to finish!” — Sarah Beth Durst

Katharine Duckett

Miranda in Milan
Tor.com, March 26, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 2019 pages

With Miranda in Milan, debut author Katharine Duckett reimagines the consequences of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, casting Miranda into a Milanese pit of vipers and building a queer love story that lifts off the page in whirlwinds of feeling.

After the tempest, after the reunion, after her father drowned his books, Miranda was meant to enter a brave new world. Naples awaited her, and Ferdinand, and a throne. Instead she finds herself in Milan, in her father’s castle, surrounded by hostile servants who treat her like a ghost. Whispers cling to her like spiderwebs, whispers that carry her dead mother’s name. And though he promised to give away his power, Milan is once again contorting around Prospero’s dark arts.

With only Dorothea, her sole companion and confidant to aid her, Miranda must cut through the mystery and find the truth about her father, her mother, and herself.

“Love and lust, mothers and monsters, magicians and masked balls, all delivered with Shakespearean panache.” —Nicola Griffith, author of Hild

“Miranda in Milan is somehow both utterly charming and perfectly sinister, and altogether delightful. A pleasure for any lover of romance, myth, and magic—whether or not they're fans of the Bard.” —Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker and I Am Princess X

Seth Fried

The Municipalists
Penguin Book, March 19, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 272 pages

A novel about an unlikely pair of lonely outsiders–one human, one AI–on an adventure to save the great American city of Metropolis written by “one of the most exciting new voices in fiction” (Charles Yu)

*Named Library’s Journal‘s “Debut of the Month” and one of NYLON‘s “50 Books You’ll Want to Read in 2019″*

In Metropolis, the gleaming city of tomorrow, the dream of the great American city has been achieved. But all that is about to change, unless a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and an irreverent, freewheeling artificial intelligence can save the city from a mysterious terrorist plot that threatens its very existence.

Henry Thompson has dedicated his life to improving America’s infrastructure as a proud employee of the United States Municipal Survey. So when the agency comes under attack, he dutifully accepts his unexpected mission to visit Metropolis looking for answers. But his plans to investigate quietly, quickly, and carefully are interrupted by his new partner: a day-drinking know-it-all named OWEN, who also turns out to be the projected embodiment of the agency’s supercomputer. Soon, Henry and OWEN are fighting to save not only their own lives and those of the city’s millions of inhabitants, but also the soul of Metropolis. The Municipalists is a thrilling, funny, and touching adventure story, a tour-de-force of imagination that trenchantly explores our relationships to the cities around us and the technologies guiding us into the future.

Michael R. Johnston

The Widening Gyre
The Remembrance War 1
Flame Tree Press, March 14, 2019
Hardcover, Trade Paperback, 256 pages

Eight hundred years ago, the Zhen Empire discovered a broken human colony ship drifting in the fringes of their space. The Zhen gave the humans a place to live and folded them into their Empire as a client state. But it hasn’t been easy. Not all Zhen were eager to welcome another species into their Empire, and humans have faced persecution. For hundreds of years, human languages and history were outlawed subjects, as the Zhen tried to mold humans into their image. Earth and the cultures it nourished for millennia are forgotten, little more than legends.

One of the first humans to be allowed to serve in the Zhen military, Tajen Hunt became a war hero at the Battle of Elkari, the only human to be named an official Hero of the Empire. He was given command of a task force, and sent to do the Empire’s bidding in their war with the enigmatic Tabrans. But when he failed in a crucial mission, causing the deaths of millions of people, he resigned in disgrace and faded into life on the fringes as a lone independent pilot.

When Tajen discovers his brother, Daav, has been killed by agents of the Empire, he, his niece, and their newly-hired crew set out to finish his brother’s quest: to find Earth, the legendary homeworld of humanity. What they discover will shatter 800 years of peace in the Empire, and start a war that could be the end of the human race.

Helen Marshall

The Migration
Random House Canada, March 5, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

“A dark fable that somehow feels both timeless and urgently topical. The Migration is heart-wringing and powerful, but over and above that, it’s just vivid and immersive and enthralling throughout.” –M.R. Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts

When I was younger I didn’t know a thing about death. I thought it meant stillness, a body gone limp. A marionette with its strings cut. Death was like a long vacation–a going away. Not this.

Storms and flooding are worsening around the world, and a mysterious immune disorder has begun to afflict the young. Sophie Perella is about to begin her senior year of high school in Toronto when her little sister, Kira, is diagnosed. Their parents’ marriage falters under the strain, and Sophie’s mother takes the girls to Oxford, England, to live with their Aunt Irene. An Oxford University professor and historical epidemiologist obsessed with relics of the Black Death, Irene works with a Centre that specializes in treating people with the illness. She is a friend to Sophie, and offers a window into a strange and ancient history of human plague and recovery. Sophie just wants to understand what’s happening now; but as mortality rates climb, and reports emerge of bodily tremors in the deceased, it becomes clear there is nothing normal about this condition–and that the dead aren’t staying dead. When Kira succumbs, Sophie faces an unimaginable choice: let go of the sister she knows, or take action to embrace something terrifying and new.
     Tender and chilling, unsettling and hopeful, The Migration is a story of a young woman’s dawning awareness of mortality and the power of the human heart to thrive in cataclysmic circumstances.

Arkady Martine

A Memory Called Empire
Tor Books, March 26, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 464 pages

"A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it."—Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.

"The most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love."—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

T. J. Martinson

The Reign of the Kingfisher
Flatiron Books, March 5, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

30 years ago a superhero tried to save Chicago. Now the city is again under siege, in this gritty, suspenseful, and beautifully written novel from award-winning debut author T.J. Martinson

Somewhere in Chicago, a roomful of people have been taken hostage. The hostages will be killed one by one, the masked gunman says on-screen, unless the police will admit that they faked the death of the legendary superhero called the Kingfisher and helped him to give up his defense of the city thirty years ago.

Retired reporter Marcus Waters made his name as a journalist covering the enigmatic superhero’s five years of cleaning up Chicago’s streets. Then the Kingfisher died, Chicago resumed its violent turmoil, and Marcus slid back into obscurity.

But did the Kingfisher really die? And who would take hostages connected to the Kingfisher's past attempts to clean up the streets? With the help of disgraced police officer Lucinda Tillman and a young hacktivist named Wren, Marcus will explore the city's violence, corruption, and chaos to figure out if the vigilante hero died tragically, or gave up hope and abandoned the city—and for the hostages, the clock is ticking.

Tim Maughan

Infinite Detail
MCD x FSG Originals, March 5, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

A timely and uncanny portrait of a world in the wake of fake news, diminished privacy, and a total shutdown of the Internet

BEFORE: In Bristol’s center lies the Croft, a digital no-man’s-land cut off from the surveillance, Big Data dependence, and corporate-sponsored, globally hegemonic aspirations that have overrun the rest of the world. Ten years in, it’s become a center of creative counterculture. But it’s fraying at the edges, radicalizing from inside. How will it fare when its chief architect, Rushdi Mannan, takes off to meet his boyfriend in New York City—now the apotheosis of the new techno-utopian global metropolis?

AFTER: An act of anonymous cyberterrorism has permanently switched off the Internet. Global trade, travel, and communication have collapsed. The luxuries that characterized modern life are scarce. In the Croft, Mary—who has visions of people presumed dead—is sought out by grieving families seeking connections to lost ones. But does Mary have a gift or is she just hustling to stay alive? Like Grids, who runs the Croft’s black market like personal turf. Or like Tyrone, who hoards music (culled from cassettes, the only medium to survive the crash) and tattered sneakers like treasure.

The world of Infinite Detail is a small step shy of our own: utterly dependent on technology, constantly brokering autonomy and privacy for comfort and convenience. With Infinite Detail, Tim Maughan makes the hitherto-unimaginable come true: the End of the Internet, the End of the World as We Know It.

Vanessa Savage

The Woman in the Dark
Grand Central Publishing, March 12, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

In the vein of The Couple Next Door, a debut psychological thriller about a woman who moves with her family to the gothic seaside house where her husband grew up — and where 15 years ago another family was brutally slaughtered.

Sarah and Patrick are happy. But after her mother’s death, Sarah spirals into depression and overdoses on sleeping pills. While Sarah claims it was an accident, her teenage children aren’t so sure. Patrick decides they all need a fresh start and he knows just the place, since the idyllic family home where he was raised has recently come up for sale. There’s only one catch: for the past fifteen years, it has become infamous as the “Murder House”, standing empty after a family was stabbed to death within its walls.

Patrick believes they can bring the house back to its former glory, so Sarah, uprooted from everything she knows, pours her energy into painting, gardening, and giving the rotting old structure the warmth of home. But with locals hinting that the house is haunted, the news that the murderer has been paroled, strange writing on the walls, and creepy “gifts” arriving on the doorstep at odd hours, Sarah can’t shake the feeling that something just isn’t right. Not with the house, not with the town, or even with her own, loving husband — whose stories about his perfect childhood suddenly aren’t adding up. Can Sarah uncover the secrets of the Murder House before another family is destroyed?

Namwali Serpell

The Old Drift
Hogarth, March 26, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 576 pages

An electrifying debut from the winner of the 2015 Caine Prize for African writing, The Old Drift is the Great Zambian Novel you didn’t know you were waiting for

On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there was once a colonial settlement called The Old Drift. Here begins the epic story of a small African nation, told by a mysterious swarm-like chorus that calls itself man’s greatest nemesis. The tale? A playful panorama of history, fairytale, romance and science fiction. The moral? To err is human.

In 1904, in a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution between three Zambian families (black, white, brown) as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond. As the generations pass, their lives – their triumphs, errors, losses and hopes – form a symphony about what it means to be human.

From a woman covered with hair and another plagued with endless tears, to forbidden love affairs and fiery political ones, to homegrown technological marvels like Afronauts, microdrones and viral vaccines – this gripping, unforgettable novel sweeps over the years and the globe, subverting expectations along the way. Exploding with color and energy, The Old Drift is a testament to our yearning to create and cross borders, and a meditation on the slow, grand passage of time.

Martin L. Shoemaker

Today I Am Carey
Baen, March 5, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

REMARKABLE DEBUT NOVEL FROM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR MARTIN L. SHOEMAKER. 

Shoemaker proves why he has consitently been praised as one of the best story writers in SF today with this touching, thoughtful, action-packed debut novel, based on his award-winning short story Today I am Paul.

TODAY

Mildred has Alzheimer's. As memories fade, she acquires the aid of a full-time android to assist her in everyday life. Carey. Carey takes care of Mildred, but its true mission is to fill in the gaps in Mildred’s past. To bring yesterday into today by becoming a copy. But not merely a copy of a physical person. A copy from the inside out.

I AM

After Mildred passes, Carey must find a new purpose. For a time, that purpose is Mildred’s family. To keep them safe from harm. To be of service. There is Paul Owens, the overworked scientist and business leader. Susan Owens, the dedicated teacher. And Millie, a curious little girl who will grow up alongside her android best friend. And Carey will grow up with her. Carey cannot age. But Carey can change.

CAREY

Carey struggles. Carey seeks to understand life’s challenges. Carey makes its own path. Carey must learn to live. To grow. To care. To survive. To be.

Dan Stout

Titanshade
The Carter Archives 1
DAW, March 12, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 416 pages

This noir fantasy thriller from a debut author introduces the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner.

Carter’s a homicide cop in Titanshade, an oil boomtown where 8-tracks are state of the art, disco rules the radio, and all the best sorcerers wear designer labels. It’s also a metropolis teetering on the edge of disaster. As its oil reserves run dry, the city’s future hangs on a possible investment from the reclusive amphibians known as Squibs.

But now negotiations have been derailed by the horrific murder of a Squib diplomat. The pressure’s never been higher to make a quick arrest, even as Carter’s investigation leads him into conflict with the city’s elite. Undermined by corrupt coworkers and falsified evidence, and with a suspect list that includes power-hungry politicians, oil magnates, and mad scientists, Carter must find the killer before the investigation turns into a witch-hunt and those closest to him pay the ultimate price on the filthy streets of Titanshade.