Here’s another pile of books for you to check out this August
15 new reads for the closing days of summer
August is humming along: it’s weird at how fast this part of the summer goes. I’ve been spending the last couple of days sinking into James S.A. Corey’s latest, The Mercy of Gods, which I’m really enjoying: it’s always great to find yourself transported into a new universe. It’s the first of a trilogy and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. Expect some more detailed thoughts in the near future.
In case you missed it, here's the first list for the month (find prior lists via the Book List tag):
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Alrighty, here are 15 more SF/F books for you to check out this month:
The Rise of the Cyberzines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1991 to 2020: The History of the Science-Fiction Magazines Volume V by Mike Ashley (August 28th)
Mike Ashley's series on the history of science fiction magazines has long been an essential tool for my work while writing about the history of the genre. Preceded by The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950, Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970, Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970 to 1980, and Science-Fiction Rebels: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1981 to 1990: The History of the Science-Fiction Magazine, Ashley has traced the evolution of science fiction in incredible detail, exploring how editors, writers, artists, and fans have influenced and nudged the genre in every possible direction.
I've been waiting for this one: it's the final installment that I've heard he's been working on for ages, and looks at how the internet and online publishing took over genre publishing and how it's helped to break down barriers and open up new avenues for authors all over the world.
Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud (August 27th)
I've long been a huge fan of Nathan Ballingrud's short fiction, and have his debut novel, The Strange, on my to-read list. His next looks really interesting: a spider once lived in a cave and its silk provided its worshippers with some incredible powers.
Fast forward to 1923, and a woman named Veronica Brinkley has arrived on the Moon to stay at a treatment facility called the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy. Its doctor's methods are unconventional: brain surgery and spiders, but it's been successful in treating those afflicted with various conditions. But lurking under the surface, there are some problems that have begun to crop up, and Veronica might be one of the reasons.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (August 27th)
I missed this when Matt Dinniman first self-published this back in 2020, but I've seen it pop up every now and again as it's blown up amongst fans. Ace Books picked up the rights to publish the first three installments in the series (Carl's Doomsday Scenario and The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, coming out in September and October, respectively.)
They follow a Coast Guard veteran named Carl, who're recently gone through a breakup and inherited his ex's cat while doing so. At the same time? Earth is being invaded by aliens that have leveled civilization and transformed the place into an intergalactic game show that resembles a dungeon in a video game. To survive, he and Princess Donut will have to work their way through the fantasy dungeons, encountering goblins, potions, and drug-dealing llamas along the way.
I've heard this described as being similar to Ernest Cline's Ready Player One and Andy Weir's The Martian, so I'm expecting it to be a light, fun romp.
Loka by S.B. Divya (August 13th)
S.B. Divya follows up her novel Meru, in which she introduced readers to a far-future Earth where humans have been restricted to their home planet, and where their posthuman descendants are free to explore beyond. When they discover an Earth-like planet, a Jayanthi, a human child adopted by posthuman Alloys and her Alloy pilot Vaha, it's an opportunity to explore and test relations between the two.
In this next installment of the series, we follow Akshaya, the hybrid daughter of a human mother and an alloy, who's deemed the future of life on Meru. But before she decides her future, she wants to explore Earth and figure out where her path really lies.
Publishers Weekly says "informed by the author’s experiences working in science and engineering, and struggles with long-Covid-induced chronic fatigue syndrome, the narrative explores questions of belonging and friendship with a clear-eyed precision, bringing to mind the heartfelt emotion of Becky Chambers’s Wayfarers series and the worldbuilding and deep ethical questions of The Terraformers by Analee Newitz."
A Darkness Returns by Raymond E. Feist (August 20th)
Raymond E. Feist kicks off a new fantasy series with A Darkness Returned, one that brings together his Firemane Saga (King of Ashes, Queen of Storms, and Master of Furies) and his Riftwar Cycle, which he began in 1982 with Magician (eventually re-released as Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master).
In this "conclusive" adventure, Hatushaly of the Firemane dynasty, his loved Hava, and friend Donte have been transported to the world Midkemia, where under the guidance of the magician Magnus and his reincarnated father Pug work to train them to save their home world Garn.
Publishers Weekly says that "all the usual Feist elements are here: skullduggery, high seas action, military clashes, and ever-expanding types of magic. It’s a grand setup for what could be the ultimate battle between all of Feist’s heroes and their age-old nemesis."
Napalm in the Heart by Pol Guasch and translated by Mara Faye Lethem (August 13th)
In the near future, the world has been devastated by war and natural disasters, a young man and his mother try and make a living at the edge of a forest. He spends his time exchanging letters with a lover across the forest, and they have to deal with soldiers who patrol the region. When he's forced to violently defend his mother, he leaves to try and find safe haven. It's a journey that will make him confront his own morals as he tries to avoid becoming the thing that he's running from.
Kirkus Reviews awarded the book a starred review, calling it "a bleakly brilliant novel of a near future in which humankind has descended into unspeakable brutality."
Dragons of Eternity by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis (August 6th)
Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis finish out their latest DragonLance trilogy (preceded by Dragons of Deceit and Dragons of Fate) in which Destina Rosethorn and her companions traveled back in time to the Third Dragon War and found that the Graygem of Gargath changed things. Upon returning home, they discovered their present was different, with the forces of evil ruling the world.
Now, they have to make one last-ditch effort to restore the River of Time and fix everything before it's too late.
Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson (August 20th)
On the magical island of Chynchin, Veycosi is training to become a griot (a sort of historian and magician), and is preparing to examine a rare book in order to join the Colloquium of Scholars. When elements of the Ymisen navy arrive to force a trade agreement with the island, Veycosi finds his plans derailed, and while he tries to help, he finds that he's out of his depth.
Things soon get worse: children start vanishing and the remnants of a long-frozen invading army begin coming back to life, Veycosi has to put aside his own issues and guilt over his role in the troubles, and figure out how to save his home.
Publishers Weekly says "Hopkinson’s worldbuilding astonishes: the isle of Chynchin features its own patron twin caiman goddesses who watch over a culture that freely mixes words and foods from around the world, even as its own social order clings to vestiges of class and caste distinctions.."
The Wind That Sweeps the Stars by Greg Keyes (August 20th)
Yash of Zeltah makes a journey to the city of Honaq to be wed to Prince Chej, where she's greeted by as an outsider and barbarian. Her impending wedding is designed to bring peace, but she's well aware that the world is already being torn apart by warfare.
Yash is more than just a barbarian: She's a skilled assassin, and has to defeat nine challenges in the form of masters, and she has to go up against monsters and soldiers to take out everyone in her path in order to save the world – all in a single day.
Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson (August 27th)
Devin Madson kicks off a new series with Between Dragons and Their Wrath, an epic fantasy in which the Celes Basin has conquered the world, only to find that its enemies have returned and are threatening its borders. In an effort to try and save the kingdom, Lord Reacher has declared himself supreme ruler, only to bring out internal tensions that have long festered under the surface.
The situation brings three unlikely characters together: an apprentice named Tesha who becomes a pawn in a political plot, Naili, a laundress to an alchemist who's given her strange powers, and Ashadi, a dragon rider who's worked to protect the basin who's been shot down and is being hunted. The three will have to fight to protect their home from enemies at home and afar.
Publishers Weekly says "This first installment serves mainly to lay the groundwork—the three protagonists’ paths don’t cross until the very end—but each individual’s complicated maneuvering still excites. Replete with backstabbing, secrets, and political intrigue, this is a promising start."
The Dragon in Winter by Jonathan Maberry (August 20th)
Jonathan Maberry brings his Kagen the Damned trilogy to a close with The Dragon in Winter. In Kagen the Damned and Son of the Poison Rose, we were introduced to Kagen, a former captain of the palace guard who was tasked with protecting the Emperor's family. When he's drugged and his wards killed, the empire collapses, and he goes on the run, abandoned by his gods and begins plotting out his next moves.
Now, Kagen has gathered new allies and have been working on building their strength to topple the Witch-king of Hakkia. Their task is difficult: but Kagen will stop at nothing to exact revenge.
Inversions by M.V. Melcer (August 13th)
M.V. Melcer brings out a new installment in her Guardian Cycle (following last year's Refractions), in which Earth's distant colony Bethesda has gone silent. Nathalie Hart is part of the rescue mission, dealing with the grief of her sister's death as she works to take over the mission when she's awoken early.
20 years later, word of the mission finally returns to Earth, which is on the verge of collapsing. Nathalie's nephew, Jason Nevsky, is working to figure out how to try and fix Earth's issues, but realizes that the planet's orbiting rulers, the Yun Ju, have more devious plans.
She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor (August 20th)
Nnedi Okorafor broke out with her novel Who Fears Death, an Africanfuturist novel about a woman struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic Africa, and who gives birth to a daughter with some frightening powers.
Okorafor has returned to the same world for a new trilogy of books, the She Who Knows trilogy, which follows Najeeba, who had The Call, something that only men and boys generally experience. She's eager to set off from her village to mine salt at the Dead Lake, and she finds that as she undertakes this journey, something about her presence on the road changes everything.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying, "as always with Okorafor’s work, the prose is sharp and immersive, the characters provide insight into family drama and healing, and the narrative seamlessly blends elements of fantasy, folklore, and speculative fiction."
The Sunforge by Sascha Stronach (August 6th)
Sascha Stronach's latest book is a followup to her 2022 debut, The Dawnhounds. The city of Radovan has been engulfed in flames, and the crew of the Kopek are stranded in its harbor. They’ve endured considerable hardship: they survived a biological attack, their captain has gone missing, and their new weaver, Yat, is trying to regain control of her mind.
To escape the harbor, they have to venture into the destroyed city and disable the technology that has them trapped, dodging enemy patrols. As They do so, Kiada has to deal with her own past and history with the city, and some of the people she encounters.
Publishers Weekly says “Stronach avoids the sophomore slump, moving her trilogy forward while still building to a satisfying payoff within this volume. This jam-packed adventure promises more good things to come.”
A Spectre is Haunting Greentree by Carson Winter (August 15th)
After she experiences a series of panic attacks, Carina takes up an offer from her friends: visit the town of Greentree, Oregon to start her a new life away from an abusive ex. When she arrives, she finds it's strange: the residents are wealthy, it still has a video store, and there are a ton of scarecrows everywhere. As she begins to discover more of the town's secrets, a violent revolution has begun brewing.
So, what catches your eye, and what are you reading now?