Here's a stack of books to check out this August
17 new books to add to your TBR
I've been in something of a book rut the last couple of weeks: there's one book that I've been reading that I was really looking forward to that just isn't grabbing me. The sunk cost fallacy is always something that's hovering in the back of my mind when it comes to books, especially ones that I've had high hopes for, and I'm always curious where I make the decision to give up on a book that isn't working for me – and why. Sometimes, it's the narrator of the audiobook that throws me out completely, other times, it's the amount of attention that my brain has to process the plot/writing style/pace/etc.
I tend to cycle through reads: my to-read list is pretty long at the moment, and sometimes it's a matter of turning over to another one and another one and seeing what'll catch my attention at the moment. This seems to have worked: I recently picked up Chris Nashawaty's The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982, which is a pretty light and breezy history of some of the most formative blockbusters to hit theaters. I think it really appeals to my interests as a fan, and if you're a TO reader, I think you'll enjoy it as well. I've got some other books that I'll be cycling through as well.
As usual, I'll put a call for new supporting subscribers. This newsletter is free to read, but it isn't free to produce. Putting this together takes time and resources, and your support would go a long way towards helping keeping it here on Ghost and beholden to you, the reader.
There are a couple of ways to support Transfer Orbit:
- Sign up as a supporting member: $4 a month or $40 a year. Supporting subscribers get access to the Transfer Orbit Slack channel and various news / commentary posts throughout the week. I really enjoy this Slack channel, and I use it to drop a ton of other news and links and things to keep you informed about the SF/F world.
- Purchase a book that catches your eye through one of the affiliate links below. TO gets a small cut of the sales made through Bookshop.org.
- Tell your friends / fellow readers / networks about what you're reading here and encourage them to sign up: word of mouth is a big thing for a small newsletter like this.
Thanks in advance for considering!
Okay, here are 17 new books to check out this August:
Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby (August 13th)
The staff and CEO of a company known for developing some impressive AI / emotion-mapping software encounter some problems when their plane crashes on a tropical island. The survivors discover that it's not quite abandoned: there's a private palace installed on it, fully tricked out with the latest technologies, but without any connection to the outside world.
Kristen, the company's "Chief Emotional Manager" is working to keep her colleagues safe as they figure out their next steps, and the house seems to have some strange secrets about it – and why it's been left abandoned. Library Journal says "Ashby has created an eerily familiar future world and characters who are both sympathetic and horrific."
The Deading by Nicholas Belardes (July 23rd)
The small California fishing town of Baywood has been known for its birding and oyster farming, but there's something horrific lurking under the ocean not far away. Sea snails begin washing ashore and attacking anything they can touch, and an infection begins to spread amongst the wildlife and people, transforming them.
To try and contain the problem, the government cuts off the town, leaving those stuck inside to fend for themselves. Publishers Weekly says "this patchwork of familiar horror plot motifs offers some fun scares.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark (August 6th)
I've really enjoyed P. Djèlí Clark's fantasy and horror fiction. His novella Ring Shout is a phenomenal read that still lives rent-free in my head, while his novel A Master of Djinn showcased a phenomenal world with an outstanding plot.
I've been intriguing by what his next book brings: a new fantasy about Eveen the Eviscerator, a skilled assassin for hire in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. She and her guild adhere to three simple rules: the contract has to be just, they can only kill th person they've been contracted to kill, and if you take a job? You carry it out.
When the Festival of the Clockwork King throws the city of Tal Abisi into chaos, Eveen finds herself face to face with her past and a vow that she's bound to. Kirkus Reviews says that it's "well crafted, exciting, darkly comic, and just gory enough."
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (August 6th)
This is probably one of the books that I'm most excited to read this year. I've long been a fan of James S.A. Corey's The Expanse series, and now that that series has come to a close, I've been wondering what they'd turn to for their next act. That comes in the form of a brand new space opera series, The Captive's War, which kicks off with The Mercy of Gods.
In the distant future, the Carryx–an alien civilization that's part Empire, part hive–has been fighting to conquer the galaxy, taking over or destroying any civilization that gets in their way. They're now fighting an implacable enemy, and the humans living on Anjiin might be able to help with that fight.
As the Carryx arrive and begin stealing the Anjiin's best and brightest, Dafyd Alkhor is one of the scientists swept up and dropped into an unthinkable and unimaginable war alongside other captive species. In order to survive, they have to figure out a bigger game, understand their captors and try to manipulate them.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying "The sense of wonder associated with the story’s magnitude is simply breathtaking...The beginning of what could be Corey’s most epic—and entertaining—series yet. Simply mind-blowing."
I've been reading and savoring this one for a couple of weeks: it's about to get tossed onto the top of my reading list. Stay tuned for more.
Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright (August 13th)
Shan LeClaire is the daughter of a powerful Blood Worker who's fallen from grace. She's spent her life perfecting her blood magic, and has been fighting to amass as much power as she can. To save her brother, she kills her father to take over the family. At the same time, when Samuel Hutchinson comes across the victim of a magical serial killer, he's pulled back into the magical world and the court of the Vampire King that he's tried to extract himself from.
With a serial killer on the loose, the Eternal King tasks Samuel, Shaun, and a Royal Blood Worker named Isaac into the city to try and stop the bloodshed. The trio will have to figure out their loyalties and priorities, even as they find themselves growing closer to one another.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss (August 6th)
This one looks like it's tailored perfectly for my interests The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss. As the title suggests, it's a walk through the story of American bookselling, going back to Benjamin Franklin's bookstore in Philadelphia and up through the timeline of history to explore how books have been sold over the centuries, from small indie bookstores to the major retailers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying "Along the way, he chronicles the history of over a dozen notable bookstores, interspersing these chapters with ruminations on the role of the buyer, the importance of the UPS driver, and other bits of bookstore arcana that refreshingly focus on the behind-the-scenes experience of bookselling."
House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias (August 6th)
Growing up in a slum in Puerto Rico, Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo have endured a lot: accidents, hurricanes, violence, and deaths. When Bimbo's mother is killed, and that her death was at the hands of a gang working for a drug kingpin, they swear revenge. As they do so, a hurricane brews off the coast, bringing with it evil spirits that are waiting to come ashore.
Publishers Weekly says that "Iglesias blends the history and myths of Puerto Rico into a gritty coming-of-age story, whose violent excesses may be off-putting to some readers. Readers who like their horror bloody, however, will be pleased."
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (August 6th)
Cordelia has grown up knowing that her mother is strange. She's kept her from having any friends, she forces her to sit still and quiet for hours, the house she grew up in has no doors, and she's an evil sorceress.
When they abruptly move to a new home of a wealthy family, Cordelia realizes that they're her mother's next victims, and that for the first time, she feels at home. As her mother's plans become apparent, she has to figure out how to save them and face the woman who raised her.
Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying "Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher’s fans and newcomers alike."
In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran August 6th)
Ashâke grows up as an acolyte in a temple, awaiting the day that she'll be made a priest and will serve her order out in the world. But she's the only one that her gods refuse to interact with, and she's spent years watching as her peers grow up and leave the order.
Desperate, she sets out to trap an orisha, and instead of snaring one, she have a powerful vision that brings her to the attention of an ancient enemy that could destroy her world.
In Locus Magazine, Wole Talabi says that it's "immersive, entertaining, and well-crafted, with an atmospheric tone and an intriguing cast of characters, In the Shadow of the Fall is a small African epic fantasy with big scope and big stakes, and I look forward to its conclusion."
Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past by Tore C. Olsson (August 6th)
I haven't played the Red Dead Redemption video games, but they've looked like fun: open world westerns that let you play out adventures on the American frontier. What's equally interesting to me is the actual violent history of the American west, and that's the topic of Dr. Tore C. Olsson's new book: a deep dive into the game and the history that inspired it.
According to Olsson, the book came out of an experimental class that he taught at University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he used the game to frame the real-world history of the region. Kirkus Reviews says "Olsson has much to say about connecting the past to the present in ways that are novel and fun."
Time's Agent by Brenda Peynado (August 13th)
When humanity discovers "Pocket Worlds," small and hidden alternate realities, researchers begin a series of missions to explore their potential and what they can learn from them. An archeologist named Raquel and her wife, Marlena believed that these worlds might hold the key to solving all of our problems, but decades after their discovery, they're controlled by corporations who've ruthlessly monetized them. Raquel has found herself in disgrace while Marlena lives in her own pocket world, refusing to speak with her spouse. When Raquel finds an opportunity to redeem herself, she jumps at the chance.
Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying "steeped in Peynado’s Dominican culture, the novel’s setting and its seemingly sudden destruction point to the evils of colonialism while demonstrating that this has all happened before and will again."
Hum by Helen Philips (August 6th)
In the near future, robots and artificial intelligence rules the world. After she loses her job to an AI system and to escape crippling debt, May volunteers for an experimental procedure to change her face.
Now somewhat flush with cash, she takes her family on a three-day trip to the Botanical Garden, a lush, natural refuge from their home city. When she's separated from her children, she has to figure out how to trust one of the robots in order to bring her family back together.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying "Writing with precision, insight, sensitivity, and compassion, Phillips renders the way love and family bonds—between partners, parents and children, and siblings—can act as a balm and an anchor amid the buffeting winds of a fast-changing, out-of-control world."
The Drowning House by Cherie Priest (July 23rd)
I've really enjoyed Cherie Priest's supernatural tales, particularly her recent psychic mysteries Grave Reservations and Flight Risk. In her next book, she's turning back to some of the gothic horror that she's really known for.
In The Drowned House, a storm washes a house back onto shore in the Pacific Northwest. A woman who encounters it knows exactly what it portends, and she dies of a heart attack next to it. Her grandchild, Simon, goes missing, and his two estranged friends, Melissa and Leo, set out to find out what happened.
Writing in The New York Times, author Gabino Iglesias notes that "Priest has a knack for creating a palpable atmosphere of dread in her books, and that’s on full display in this novel," and that it's "an immersive, memorable read."
New Adventures in Space Opera edited by Jonathan Strahan (August 13th)
Jonathan Strahan has edited a ton of anthologies over the years, and he always puts together an excellent selection of short stories. His latest is New Adventures in Space Opera, in which he says in the introduction is a sort of spiritual successor to 2007's The New Space Opera and 2009's The New Space Opera 2, which he edited with the late Gardner Dozois, both of which came out of discussions in the early 2000s about what the nature of space opera was at that point in time.
This anthology picks up the baton, and features an exciting roster of authors, including Alastair Reynolds, Charlie Jane Anders, Yoon Ha Lee, Arkady Martine, Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, and more.
Publishers Weekly says that it's got "plentiful action, enigmatic and complex worldbuilding, sinister technology, and vast space vistas impress. It’s a gift for sci-fi lovers."
Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (August 6th)
While I generally focus on science fiction and fantasy for these book lists, I do enjoy mysteries as well. Sarah Stewart Taylor is a fellow Vermont author, and her latest caught my eye because it's taking a step back into the state's history as a Boston detective arrives in a small town and finds himself immersed in a local crisis: a New York transplant and farmer set himself and his barn on fire, and it seems as though there's more to the story than folks are letting on.
I'm a huge fan of Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther novels, and this feels like it's going to hit a lot of those same vibes. Library Journal gave it a starred review.
The History of Middle-Earth Box Set #3 by Christopher Tolkien and J.R.R. Tolkien (August 13th)
The next boxed set in J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien's History of Middle-earth series arrives (following the first and second boxed sets in February and May). This set includes the works The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated, exploring the creation of Tolkien's vast Middle-earth legendarium. The final boxed set drops in September.
The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Virdi (August 13th)
R.R. Virdi follows up last year's The First Binding with the next installment in the series, The Doors of Midnight. In that first book, he follows a storyteller named Ari who's traveled across the Mutri Empire who encounters a mysterious woman who shares a past with him – one that's catching up to both of them.
In this new adventure, Ari's is awaiting the judgement after a prince is murdered, and as Virdi jumps from the past to the present, we learn a bit more about Ari's exploits and how he ended up in his predicament. Fantasy Book Critic notes that "TDOM is The Dark Knight to The First Binding in every department."
As always, thanks for reading. Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for another August list.
Which one of these catches your eye, and what is currently on your reading list? Let me know in the comments!