Maester Llama Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 So we have threads for the books coming out in the upcoming year, and they're among my favourite features of the discussion here. But often they highlight books that are some distance out; that's part of their appeal. My idea for this thread is to make a space to discuss / make people aware of / remind people of books that have just become available that we could, at least in theory, get pretty much right now. If this is a thread that we end up using I'm sure it'll evolve on its own, but I'm thinking that it might be good to focus on things that really are "new releases," things from no further back than the last couple months -- with flexibility of course, to make the thread a place where people can come to learn about new stuff they might not have run across otherwise, as well as things they might have thought looked cool when they were a long way off and then forgotten about. If you've read whatever it is and want to explain its awesomeness / advise us to stay away from it that'd be great, but I figure we should maybe keep detailed discussion and spoilers for monthly reading threads and individual book threads respectively. I see this as a resource focused mostly on "what just came out" with hopefully a slight side-order of "is it good or not?" My apologies if this thread is a repeat. I've never seen one quite like it and the search function appears to be borked right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buff daddy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I like this idea, except if it was for the last couple of months, instead of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester Llama Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Good call. Months it shall be! I just didn't want to create a situation where we ended up using the "new release" thread to talk about books that were half a year old. I'll make the appropriate edits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester Llama Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 There are two books that have come out in the last two weeks that look quite interesting to me and seem to be flying somewhat under the radar. Both are by authors whose stuff I've read before and enjoyed pretty well. Both are standalone: Corsair, by James L. Cambias: Near-future sf thriller about space pirates. I only see online marketing in the course of browsing around so I'm sure there's a lot I'm missing but based on my limited exposure Tor doesn't seem to be pushing this much at all, which is weird since Cambias' quite good A Darkling Sea seemed to have at least a bit of an impact last year. Came out last week and I haven't yet seen any pro reviews. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Science-James-L-Cambias/dp/0765379104/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431533037&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair Dreams of Shreds and Tatters, by Amanda Downum: Lovecraftian horror set in Vancouver, featuring the Yellow King mythology that's originally from the writings of Robert Chambers and most recently showed up in True Detective. Downum's first novels were the Necromancer Chronicles gothy secondary world fantasies, the first of which seems to have gotten a resounding "meh" from the interwebs [i haven't read it] but the last two of which are very good. This is her first novel-length contemporary fantasy / horror work. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Shreds-Tatters-Amanda-Downum/dp/1781083274/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431534676&sr=1-1&keywords=dreams+of+shreds+and+tatters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Hmm I was poking at both a Darkling Sea and Corsair at B&N the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puntificator Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 There were five fantasy novels that came out in April that I read and found to be really, really good. It's unusual for me to find so many fantasy books coming out in a single month, that I enjoyed this much. Some of these have been discussed in other threads, but I'll mention all five anyway: Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo; The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu; A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall; The Vagrant by Peter Newman; The Vorrh by Brian Catling (this is a US debut, not a worldwide one). Another April novel that looks good so far (I've only just started it) that I may have to add to this list later is Hunt for Valamon by DK Mok. Of the May novels that I've bought so far, there are three I am most looking forward to getting to (besides the already mentioned Dreams of Shreds and Tatters, which is also high on my list): The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies by Martin Millar; The Sword of the North by Luke Scull (another US debut); and Lord of Ashes by Richard Ford. I had also bought an eBook collection of three short stories called Three Slices which has a new Kevin Hearne Iron Druid Chronicles story (the other two stories are by Delilah S. Dawson and Chuck Wendig), and an eBook short story (bought in April) by Elliott James called Bulls Rush In—I am eager to read these as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Heh, you pick up the books at about the same rate I do it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puntificator Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Heh, you pick up the books at about the same rate I do it seems. Those are just the books I'm psyched about. I picked up a few others in April and May that I didn't mention for various reasons, such as: books that don't yet look as interesting and I'll probably get to much later on (like Vermilion or The Shattered Court); books that I read and disliked intensely (like Desert Rising); books that I'm annoyed about because I think they could have been done much better with some good editing (e.g., Blackguards); etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 There were five fantasy novels that came out in April that I read and found to be really, really good. It's unusual for me to find so many fantasy books coming out in a single month, that I enjoyed this much. Some of these have been discussed in other threads, but I'll mention all five anyway: Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo; The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu; A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall; The Vagrant by Peter Newman; The Vorrh by Brian Catling (this is a US debut, not a worldwide one). Another April novel that looks good so far (I've only just started it) that I may have to add to this list later is Hunt for Valamon by DK Mok. I've read 3 books from the April list, with one addition : The Grace of Kings by Ken LiuA Crown For Cold Silver by Alex MarshallThe Vagrant by Peter NewmanClash of Iron by Angus Watson to-read:The Dead Lands by Benjamin PercyA Few Words For The Dead by Guy AdamsWhen We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord Out of the 3 above,i might read the Gaylord book since i've previously read and liked his work written under the pen name Alden Bell. May: Looking at the ISFDB forthcoming books for May list,these look interesting: Valkyrie's Song by M.D. LachlanSword of Destiny by Andrzej SapkowskiThe Damned by Tarn RichardsonThe Border by Robert McCammonThe Book of Phoenix by Nnedi OkoraforLord of Ashes by Richard FordDreams of Shreds & Tatters by Amanda DownumThe Watchman of Eternity by Paul WitcoverThe Tabit Genesis by Tony GonzalesMother of Eden by Chris BeckettThe Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day In May by Mark Z. DanielewskiThe Subprimes by Karl Taro GreenfeldLove Is Red by Sophie JaffSeveneves by Neal StephensonUprooted by Naomi NovikRadiant State by Peter HigginsWhen The Heavens Fall by Marc TurnerThe Scarlet Gospels by Clive BarkerIf You Could See Me Now by Peter StraubLong Black Curl by Alex BledsoeThe Iron Ship by K. M. McKinleyThe Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalup Out of these,i'm reading Lord of Ashes by Richard Ford right now,i'm only a few chapters in.This is the final book in the trilogy.After i finish this,i will probably either start Sword of Destiny or Valkyrie's Song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unJon Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 This is a great thread! Just grabbed The Mechanical. I don't think I've ever had a miss with an REG rec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unJon Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 dp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 One I read the other week is The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan. It's a bit too slight to be really great, but it's a nice interesting take on a different sort of post-apocalyptic world, with a dash of fairytale thrown in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Jonathan Strahan's Best SFF of the Year Vol. 9 came out on Tuesday, and the few stories I have had time to read have been awesome. Caitlin Kiernan's Interstate Love Song alone made the book worth it for me, it was that good (though it's not actually SFF unless I am missing something, but who cares, it's brilliant). Rachel Swirsky's novella Grand Jete is in it too, I've read it before, but it's also excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puntificator Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 I've read 3 books from the April list, with one addition : The Grace of Kings by Ken LiuA Crown For Cold Silver by Alex MarshallThe Vagrant by Peter NewmanClash of Iron by Angus WatsonI have Clash of Iron, but didn't mention it because I am holding off on reading it until the third book in the series, Reign of Iron, comes out in September, so I can read them one after the other. I did like the first book, Iron Age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buff daddy Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Oh shit, I didn't know Benjamin Percy's new one had already come out! I loved Red Moon, and the premise of this new one sounds even more interesting & epic. Thread already paid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hannu Rajaniemi has a collection of his short stories out this week called Collected Fictions. I really enjoyed his Jean le Flambeur books so I'll be picking this up at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I have Clash of Iron, but didn't mention it because I am holding off on reading it until the third book in the series, Reign of Iron, comes out in September, so I can read them one after the other. I did like the first book, Iron Age. If you liked Iron Age,then you'll probably like book #2 even more.The story expands beyond Britain as some characters travel to Gaul,the Germanic tribes are introduced,including their crazy leader King Hari the Fister (Ariovistus) :D Two characters are off to Rome,and Julius Caesar is introduced and becomes one of the main protag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I just received, as part of my Kickstarter contribution, the just-released paperback edition of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology. Interesting so far. It's published by PM Press, for those curious about such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 This is a great thread! Just grabbed The Mechanical. I don't think I've ever had a miss with an REG rec. Uh oh, the pressure's on. I hope you enjoy it! If When you do check out his earlier trilogy - The Milkweed Triptych. I liked it even more than The Mechanical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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