Review: Tomorrow’s Kin by Nancy Kress
Reviews / July 31, 2017

I’m always up for a good tale of alien first contact, and Tomorrow’s Kin definitely fit the bill. Expanding upon the author’s Nebula Award-winning novella Yesterday’s Kin, this book is told in multiple sections, first chronicling the arrival of the extra-terrestrials before exploring the far-reaching repercussions in the latter parts of the novel. It is New York City, sometime in the near future. Humanity now knows for certain they are not alone in universe. When the “Debnebs” first arrived, people were scared—understandably. But as time passed and the aliens proved themselves to be peaceful, life on Earth returned to relative normalcy. The visitors even had their Embassy ship parked on a platform in the middle of New York Harbor, even though pretty much everything about them still remains a great mystery. At first, they would only speak to the United Nations, claiming that their physiologies were too different to withstand Earth’s atmosphere and thus they must stay on their ship. No one has any idea what they look like, or what they want. But suddenly, two months later, they are finally ready to talk. For Dr. Marianne Jenner, the invitation to the Debneb Embassy comes as one of the biggest surprises…

Review: Agents of Dreamland by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Reviews / June 8, 2017

Caitlín R. Kiernan’s new novella is an odd beast. Take our universe and turn it a few degrees to strange and this is the world of Agents of Dreamland. It begins with a meeting between two people who are apparently government agents, takes a journey into the mindset of cult members and reaches out into space as a NASA probe falls silent beyond the orbit of Pluto. Kiernan is best known for her lyrical dark fantasy and extraordinarily weird short stories. This novella is somewhere in-between. We begin with the Signalman, a special agent getting off a train in the blistering heat of a 2015 Arizona. He is to meet Immacolata who has information for him. Something strange happened and they need to work out what. She writes as if this is hard-boiled noir. Meanwhile, a typically charismatic-type has founded the Children of the Next Level. This is where we meet Chloe. She is an lost, standing on the roof and reaching for the stars. This particular cult offers transcendence into a better future. This short story alternates in styles between the points of views of the Signalman, Immacolata and Chloe. These are highly descriptive and enigmatic chapters. There are…

Upcoming Releases: January 8 – 14, 2017
Upcoming Releases / January 7, 2017

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   FANTASY     URBAN FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION HORROR     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   Bookburners Gladstone, Max 1/10/2017 Chasing Shadows: Visions of Our Coming Transparent Future ed. David Brin & Stephen W. Potts 1/10/2017 Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day Seanan McGuire 1/10/2017 Little Heaven Cutter, Nick 1/10/2017 Octavia Butler’s Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Damian Duffy & John Jennings 1/10/2017 RoseBlood A.G. Howard 1/10/2017 Sin du Jour: The First Course Matt Wallace 1/10/2017 The Bear and the Nightingale Katherine Arden 1/10/2017 The Burning Page Cogman, Genevieve 1/10/2017 The Cold Eye Gilman, Laura Anne 1/10/2017 The El Sombra Trilogy Al Ewing 1/10/2017 The Last Harvest…

Upcoming Releases: September 18 – 24, 2016
Upcoming Releases / September 17, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   FANTASY               URBAN FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR           FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   The Family Plot Priest, Cherie 9/20/2016 Tor Books Magic Binds Andrews, Ilona 9/20/2016 Ace Red Tide Turner, Marc 9/20/2016 Tor Books Deadlands: Thunder Moon Rising Mariotte, Jeffrey 9/20/2016 Tor Books Death’s End Liu, Cixin 9/20/2016 Tor Books Vassa in the Night Porter, Sarah 9/20/2016 Tor Teen Metaltown Simmons, Kristen 9/20/2016 Tor Teen The Warren Evenson, Brian 9/20/2016 Tor.com The Queen of Blood Sarah Beth Durst 9/20/2016 Harper Voyager The Gradual Christopher Priest 9/20/2016 Titan Books Dead Souls J. Lincoln…

Upcoming Releases: August 14 – 20, 2016
Upcoming Releases / August 13, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION   FANTASY         URBAN FANTASY     SCIENCE FICTION     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION   Vicarious Stokes, Paula 8/16/2016 Tor Teen The Obelisk Gate N.K. Jemisin 8/16/2016 Orbit Invasive Chuck Wendig 8/16/2016 Harper Voyager The Sight Chloe Neill 8/16/2016 NAL Ghost Talkers Mary Robinette Kowal 8/16/2016 Tor The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe Kij Johnson 8/16/2016 Tor.com

Review: Company Town by Madeline Ashby
Reviews / May 23, 2016

I was so excited to finally get my hands on Company Town, a book which had been on my to-read list for years going back to the days since it was first announced by Angry Robot. While the original publisher’s sale followed by the novel’s move to Tor resulted in a significant delay for its release, I have to say the wait was absolutely worth it. I was already a fan of the author, having read her seriously imaginative and seriously twisted novel vN set in an age of self-replicating synthetic humans, but with Company Town Madeline Ashby delivers a whole other level of storytelling genius. The book takes place in New Arcadia, a city of floating towers surrounding a dilapidated oil rig in the North Atlantic just off the east coast of Canada. Three years after a major accident shook up its residents, new life has returned to town in the form of Zachariah Lynch, patriarch of a wealthy family of energy barons who buys up the place and begins development of an alternative reactor under the waves. Our protagonist Go Jung-Hwa works as a bodyguard for the United Sex Workers of Canada, accompanying her charges to appointments with…

Upcoming Releases: May 15 – 21, 2016
Upcoming Releases / May 14, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR       FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Ten Jonathan Strahan 5/16/2016 Solaris The Tower of Swallows Andrzej Sapkowski 5/17/2016 Orbit Company Town Ashby, Madeline 5/17/2016 Tor Books Freeze/Thaw Chris Bucholz 5/17/2016 Apex My Best Friend’s Exorcism Grady Hendrix 5/17/2016 Quirk The Summon Stone Ian Irvine 5/17/2016 Orbit The Fireman Joe Hill 5/17/2016 William Morrow Roses and Rot Kat Howard 5/17/2016 Saga The God Wave Patrick Hemstreet 5/17/2016 Harper Voyager Runtime S.B. Divya 5/17/2016 Tor.com Stranger of the Tempest Tom Lloyd 5/19/2016 Gollancz

Review: The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher
Reviews / March 29, 2016

Urban Fantasy is such an exciting genre right now because of books like The Brotherhood of the Wheel. While mythological creatures and vigilantes have long been a mainstay, R.S. Belcher has shaken up these conventions and breathed new life into UF by looking at a slice of American culture that arguably hasn’t gotten a lot of attention: Truckers. Motorcycle clubs. The U.S. Interstate Highway System. Meet Jimmie Aussapile, an independent truck driver who lives a double life as a knight of an ancient order, protecting the country’s roads and its travelers from monsters—both the supernatural and the human kind. He and others like him are part of a brethren who call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel. One night, Jimmie picks up a ghostly hitchhiker and follows her message to a number of unsolved missing person cases. Along with his new squire Heck Sinclair, the two men uncover a terrifying situation involving a supernatural serial killer known as the Pagan who has been using the highway system to prey on children since the mid-1900s. Meanwhile, Louisiana cop Lovina Marcou has been conducting her own investigations into a group of missing teenagers, leading her to creepy internet stories about abductions by…

Upcoming Releases: February 28 – March 5, 2016
Upcoming Releases / February 27, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR     FANTASY         URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION               HORROR       FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR     The Reburialists Nelson, J. C. 3/1/2016 Ace Quantum Night Sawyer, Robert J. 3/1/2016 Ace The Courier Brandt, Gerald 3/1/2016 DAW Black City Saint Richard A. Knaak 3/1/2016 Pyr Borderline Mishell Baker 3/1/2016 Saga Brotherhood of the Wheel R.S. Belcher 3/1/2016 Tor The Devil You Know K. J. Parker 3/1/2016 Tor.com Submerged Thomas F. Monteleone 3/1/2016 Samhain The Last Days of Magic Mark Tompkins 3/1/2016 Viking Arkwright Allen Steele 3/1/2016 Tor United States of Japan Peter Tieryas…

Upcoming Releases: February 21 – 27, 2016
Upcoming Releases / February 20, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR     FANTASY       SCIENCE FICTION         HORROR     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR   Miasma Greg Cox 2/22/2016 Pocket Books Alliance S.K. Dunstall 2/23/2016 Ace A Gathering of Shadows V.E. Schwab 2/23/2016 Tor Good Girls Glen Hirshberg 2/23/2016 Tor The Absconded Ambassador Michael R. Underwood 2/23/2016 Tor.com