Immunity
Index by Sue Burke
Release Date: Late July
The new one from Sue
Burke set in a near-future US It’s under a fascist government,
facing widespread shortages and growing civil unrest. Three young women
discover that there is something special about them, something the brilliant
geneticist Peng is responsible for and which is now illegal. Peng has his own
issues, as a once harmless virus starts to turn deadly and sweeps across a
country that is being kept unaware of the real danger. Honestly, I’m a bit over
the pandemic fiction thing, regardless of how apt it is to the current situation.
If it was anyone other than Sue
Burke, I’d probably have skipped to the next thing in the
catalogue. But her books Semiosis
and Interference
were really clever and great reads, so maybe this idea is no as played out as I
thought. Time will tell, and I’ll be interested in hearing what others think
about it.
The
Tyrant by Seth Dickinson
Release Date: Late July
This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series, a fascinating fantasy political
intrigue series where the protagonist, Baru, has chosen to join the evil empire
that destroyed her home as a minor functionary with the plan of rising in power
and influence and then using the empire’s own forces against it. Now that she
has power, wealth and influence however, Baru is tempted to allow the status
quo to continue, since enacting her long plotted revenge will necessarily end
all of that. This is a very political series which means you really have to
have read the first two to get into this one. Nevertheless, they are
tremendously good fun. The bad news is that it is not the end of the series.
This is a quartet with an unannounced date for the fourth book, although based
on Seth Dickinson’s
track record, I’m thinking probably late 2023.
Another
Time, Another Place by
Jodi Taylor
Release Date: Mid Jul
This is the 12th book in the Chronicles
of St Mary’s series, which is about an eccentric English
university that happens to be in possession of a time machine. As you can
imagine, the adventures and escapades that these somewhat dotty academics on
are the source of much amusement and some danger. In this latest book, our
eponymous heroine, Max, finds herself out of work and looking for a job. When
one presents itself, it is very different from what she expected. While the
time travel aspect of these could class them as science fiction, or maybe
historical fiction for the various settings, in terms of style they hit the
same sweet-spot as some of the UK urban fantasy like Ben Aaronovitch or Benedict Jacka. If
you like them, I’d highly recommend giving the St Mary’s books a try.
The
Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green
Release Date: Late Jul
This is a debut novel and the first in what appears to be a high-magic fantasy
series. We start with retired general Flore, her husband and daughter and the
quiet village where they live. Light rakes the sky and magical orbs descent,
snatching people before disappearing. Among the taken is Flore’s daughter. Her
quest to track the orbs will take her across war ravaged and monster infested
territory and along the way we’ll learn about her, and her past and the part
she’s had to play in the dangerous world she is forced to travel through. Big
gods, little gods, demons, a badass mother going John Wick and loads of magic,
Sounds like fun. Should be a nice change to the realism focused grimdark stuff
that I’ve been reading lately.
Defekt by Nino
Cipri
Release Date: Late July
This new novella returns readers to the very bizarre LitenVarld megastore we
were introduced to in Finna. This time, our guide is Derek – the perfect
employee. He works 18 hour days and lives in a shipping container at the edge
of the parking lot. However even that is to enough to impress his bosses who
insist he does a special shift hunting for defective inventory – you know, the
kind with pincers and eyes or the sort that walks away all by itself. However
he is not alone in this work. He has four companions – his co-workers in this
project who all look and sound suspiciously like him. That’s normal, isn’t it?
Great fun and very, very odd.
The
Album of Dr Moreau by
Daryl Gregory
Release Date: Late July
Everybody knows that boy bands are cooked up in recording studios, but the
WyldBoyZ were cooked up in a lab first. Genetically engineered human hybrids,
each of them with some animal DNA in their genetic cocktail to give them that
extra bit of pizazz – what each character in a bod band stereotype needs. An
ocelot for cuteness, an elephant for memory, a bonobo for romance and maybe a
little pangolin, for the shy sweet one. They are the biggest band in the world
and well on their way to super-stardom, except their producer’s just turned up
dead and the boys are looking very, very suspicious.
The
Inner Darkness by Jorn Lier Horst
Release Date: Early Jul
In this new Norwegian crime thriller, a serial killer is temporarily released
from prison to guide police to the body of his final victim, however during
this process, he escapes. To further complicate matters, there appears to be a
copycat killer using his MO. Are the two things related? Are they working
together, or are there two separate maniacs now at large in Norway. The latest
in the Detective
Wisting series and highly recommended for fans of Nordic noir.
The
Splinter King by Mike Brooks
Release Date: Mid July
This is the second in the god-king chronicles and is a rollicking fantasy
adventure full of all of the things we love in fantasy. Dragons, knights,
warriors, magic, deities, palace coups, heroes, villains and high adventure. It
has also got some very good LGBT representation so definitely one for people
who are collecting those. Good fun and highly recommended.
The
Cellist by Daniel Silva
Release Date: Late Jul
The Cellist
by Daniel Silva
Release Date: Late Jul
This is the latest in a long series of spy and thriller novels featuring
super-spook Gabriel Allon, who has retired from that life and works as an art
restorer – except of course when he gets dragged in against his will. In this
case, a fabulously wealthy Russian oligarch living in exile in London is killed
in a deeply suspicious way. MI6 think they have the person responsible but
Gabriel thinks differently and will have to draw on a bunch of his old
resources from his days as a spy to solve the mystery before his friends in MI6
charge the wrong person. Terrific fun and definitely one for people who like a
thriller with a brain.
The
Dragon Queen of Jin Sayeng by K S Villoso
Release Date: Late July
The third and final book in the Chronicles
of the Bitch Queen series, which I think will sell some folks
on that alone. It’s got the seriously tough protagonist you’s want with a title
like that in the form of Queen Talyien, but her journey has been tough and
she’s facing enemies at home and abroad and her son’s been kidnapped. The
choice that Taylien faces is the one she has always faced. Capitulate or stand
and fight. This time the stakes are higher than they’ve even been and even
Taylien’s famous iron resolve may falter. Terrific political and action fantasy
inspired in part by the culture and folklore of the Philippines.
Deepwater
King by Claire McKenna
Release Date: Late July
The sequel to Monstrous
Heart and set in the same steam-punk, Gothic, world where
humanity has to share the ocean with monsters and also what are kind of like
underwater fae in the form of the Deepwater King and his people. In addition to
romance, adventure, magic and a journey of becoming for the characters, the
first book was also about discovering the world, where this one is about
navigating it. I don’t really want to talk about the story elements, since
they’re serious spoilers for book one, but I will say that these are books for
folks who like language for its own sake. This book is trying to pull you into a
different world, so the language is part of that and not just a delivery system
for the story. Since I think that’s part of what makes Gothic fiction so cool,
I rather liked it. You definitely need to read book one with this one.
Last
Watch by J S Dewes
Release Date: Late July
I’ve been reading a lot of action space opera recently so this one caught my
eye. There’s a phenomenon at the edge of known space called The Divide, and
apparently it’s swallowing up everything. Who’s going to stop it and save
everyone? The Sentinels! Who are the Sentinels? Exiles, court martialed dregs
of the military and various other reprobates and losers. These are, for want of
a better word Adequin Rake’s troops. The unwanted and untrusted guarding a
point as far from anywhere as possible. She’s also got a ship, but that’s about
it. No help, no resources and no comms. She does have an exiled prince who
likes to blow thing up, but whether he’s an asset or a liability remains to be
seen. They’re the worst of the worst, but right now they’re all that stands
between humanity and The Divide. GOT
Nightwatch in space with a touch of The
Expanse and hint of The
Dirty Dozen. Sounds fun.
The
Drowned Land by John Theobold
Release Date: Early Jul
This is a fascinating work of historical fiction set at the bottom of the North
Sea, or at least that’s where it is now. When the book takes place, some 8000
years ago it was above the waters and the home of stone-age peoples. This is
the story not only of the end of their home, swallowed slowly by the sea, but
also of a way of life as the hunting and gathering give way to farming, herding
and metal tools. It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this and I’m
quite excited about it. This is definitely one for those who fondly remember
the People of…
series by William &
Kathleen O’Neal Gear and the books of Jean M Auel.
The
Soul Breaker by Sebastian Fitzek
Release Date: Late Jul
The police called him the Soul Breaker, a serial killer, or perhaps serial
abductor is more accurate, who would kidnap victims and then leave them
somewhere, catatonic and with a note in their hands. After a few years of
rampage, he disappeared. Move forward to the present, and Berlin’s most
exclusive psychiatric hospital is locked down due to a terrible snowstorm. Then
one of the doctors turns up, catatonic and with a note in his hands. Is Soul
breaker in the institution? Now the doctors and staff members have to find out
if he is and who he is before the snow storm traps them all with a killer.
Stunning thriller form one of the best new voices in the genre.
Box
88 by Charles Cumming
Release Date: Late Jul
Lachlan Kite is a spy. In 1989 he was sent to France to investigate
circumstances surrounding the Lockerbie bombing. In 2020 he is taken prisoner
and tortured in order to extract the information he learned on that mission. It
is information he doesn’t want to share. What follows is a spy thriller full of
all the action, escapes, drama and intrigue one expects from someone who is
very good at writing spy thrillers, which is exactly what Charles Cummings is.
Highly recommended, particularly if you like the modern spook thriller.
The
Witches Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Release Date: Early Jul
In Norse mythology Angrboda is a lover of Loki and the mother of the Fenris
Wolf and in some tales also of the Midguard serpent Jormungand and the ruler of
the dead, Hel. Beyond that, and the fact that she’s a Jotunn (a magical race
separate from Aesir and Vanir) there’s not much about her in the sagas. This
book re-imagines her, and her life leading up to meeting Loki as well as their
relationship. Much like Madeline
Miller’s Circe,
this book explores an overlooked woman from folklore and in the process offers
and entirely new way to look at Ragnarok and the gods of Asgard.