New Books Tuesday: May 22

didic (68)in #news • 6 years ago (edited)

Many people know that Wednesday is New Comics day. Somewhat less known is the fact that Tuesday, in the US, is New Books day.

Weekly disclaimer: This weekly post highlights some of the books being published on any given week, usually in the science fiction and fantasy genres, both YA and books for adults. I am VERY likely to miss cool new books, so please feel free to tell me about them in the comments. Sometimes these will be books I've read a pre-publishing copy of, but most of the time, they will not. These are books I find notable, but I certainly don't read fast enough in English to be able to read all the cool books that come out every week.

If last week was "many books, I don't care," this week is the opposite. The list is half as long as last week's, but I actually care to some degree or another about every single book on it!

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey

This book collects Gailey's two 2017 novellas, River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, which both tell a single story. I read and loved both novellas, which tell an alternate history which almost happened: the US importing a bunch of hippos for their meat. Fortunately for all involved, in real life there was an expert who explained to Congress that hippos are actually the most dangerous mammals in Africa, and the idea lost by a vote. In Gailey's story, it passed, and now there's a whole new wild wild south, where the hippos roam. I may get this just for the new short story.

Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire Legrand

Two women, a millennium apart, magic, a cosmic war. Assassins and rebels. Just as I thought I was out of epic fantasy, the description of this series opener is pulling me back in.

The Testament of Loki by Joanne M. Harris

The Gospel of Loki was extremely well reviewed, and I am generally delighted by Chocolat author Harris becoming part of the sff world, on twitter and in her fiction. The first book was a retelling of the norse myths, but this one is a sequel, and I'm super intrigued by that!

84K by Claire North

Claire North is a rising star in sff for adults and young adults, and her new novel has a terrifyingly close vision: A world in which all crimes are resolved by a fine, if you can afford it. A world in which the rich can literally get away with murder.

Twelve Tomorrows edited by Wade Roush

I don't generally care for so called "hard SF," but the selection of authors for this year's annual MIT Technology Review's anthology is compelling. I mean, put stories by Elizabeth Bear, SL Huang, Ken Liu, Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, and Sarah Pinsker in one book, and you have my attention.