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Saturdays in Books
Reviews of speculative fiction, YA, middle grade, and graphic novels, along with stray thoughts, links, and pictures.
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The SFWA European Hall of Fame: Sixteen Contemporary Masterpieces of Science Fiction from the Continent
The 2015 TBR Pile
The last few years, I've put together a book list in a semi-private G+ post. Until last year, I even did a good job of actually reading everything on it. (Ah, 2014, year of not reading anything I thought I would. Or anything much at all.)
This year, I thought I'd expand the list into a blog post with some notes about each title, including which will be e-books. I hear all the cool kids are doing it.
Karen Memory - Elizabeth Bear. Steampunk meets old west with an interesting sounding narrator.
The Many Faces of Josephine Baker - Peggy Caravantes. This MG book about Josephine Baker looks like a fun biography and is aimed at my niece's age group.
Storm in a Teacup - Emmie Mears (e-book). Based on the description, this would be a "maybe," but I read her Masked Songbird book and loved it to pieces. Plus Nashville, TN sounds like a fun UF setting. Mears is smart and subtle with character and not at all shy of violence and gore.
The Sweetest Heist in History - Octavia Spencer. A second Ninja Detective book? Hot. I loved the first one so of course I am picking this up right away. For my niece. Well, okay, maybe also for me.
The Mechanical - Ian Tregillis (e-book). Clockpunk alt-history expanding a universe introduced in a short story I loved. It's unlikely I'll like this as much as his last novel because, seriously, that's one of my all time favorite books. I might be a little excited about this one.
Persona - Genevieve Valentine. An author who's longer fiction I keep meaning to try. SF thriller has been kind of hit and miss for me as a genre, but this one sounds fantastic.
May releases:
This year, I thought I'd expand the list into a blog post with some notes about each title, including which will be e-books. I hear all the cool kids are doing it.
February releases:
Karen Memory - Elizabeth Bear. Steampunk meets old west with an interesting sounding narrator. The Many Faces of Josephine Baker - Peggy Caravantes. This MG book about Josephine Baker looks like a fun biography and is aimed at my niece's age group. Storm in a Teacup - Emmie Mears (e-book). Based on the description, this would be a "maybe," but I read her Masked Songbird book and loved it to pieces. Plus Nashville, TN sounds like a fun UF setting. Mears is smart and subtle with character and not at all shy of violence and gore. March releases:
The Sweetest Heist in History - Octavia Spencer. A second Ninja Detective book? Hot. I loved the first one so of course I am picking this up right away. For my niece. Well, okay, maybe also for me. The Mechanical - Ian Tregillis (e-book). Clockpunk alt-history expanding a universe introduced in a short story I loved. It's unlikely I'll like this as much as his last novel because, seriously, that's one of my all time favorite books. I might be a little excited about this one. Persona - Genevieve Valentine. An author who's longer fiction I keep meaning to try. SF thriller has been kind of hit and miss for me as a genre, but this one sounds fantastic.
The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh. A reimagining of A Thousand and One Nights as a YA romance. I don't even know what that means. I want to know what that means.
The Book of Phoenix - Nnedi Okorafor. Prequel to the excellent Who Fears Death. Gorgeous cover. This is one of two books Okorafor has coming out this year. I'm getting both.June releases:
Nemesis Games - James Corey. I've been a fan of this series for quite some time. These are also almost the only fiction my spouse reads. He'll get the e-book, but I'm still getting the physical ones with the gorgeous, gorgeous covers.July releases:
Lagoon - Nnedi Okorafor. I heard her read the first chapter at Worldcon in 2012, and it was indescribable. I expect this will be one of the stranger reads of the year for me.August releases:
Mechanica - Betsy Cornwell (ebook). Synopsis sounds a lot like a book I passed on a couple years back, but somehow this one sounds more appealing. Edge of Dawn - Melinda M. Snodgrass (e-book). Book three in this UF with a male lead where the supernatural elements are modern religion. The science vs. belief stuff is heavy handed in this series. The character interactions are frequently a special kind of corny full of meaningful looks. I find it quite appealing, and just a heck of a lot of fun both in spite and because of those things.
Kitty Saves the World - Carrie Vaughn (e-book). The final installment of a UF series I've loved for more than 10 installments. September releases:
A Pocket Full of Murder - R.J. Anderson. Another MG title. To quote the gr description, "A Veronica Mars-type girl joins forces with a mystery-loving street boy to solve a murder in a 1930s-style city driven by spell power."
The House of Shattered Wings - Aliette de Bodard. UF set in Paris. I've read a lot (but not all) of her short fiction and looking forward to this quite a bit. Chapelwood - Cherie Priest (undecided format). Sequel to Maplecroft, a novel where Lizzie Borden fights Cthulhu with an axe. This time, Lizzie is in Birmingham, Alabama. I have the first in paperback, but I'm betting I'll want to read this in bed, which makes e-book easier. Fortunately, I have some time to decide to cancel the ebook and go for paper if I need to.October releases:
Empire Ascendant - Kameron Hurley. Second book in an epic fantasy trilogy. I don't often find epic fantasy satisfying, but the first book pushed so many of the right buttons for me. Those buttons are D, E, I, R, and W.Ancillary Mercy - Ann Leckie. Final book in a trilogy that started with win-all-the-awards Ancillary Justice. I'm reading the second book right now. It came out during the dark two months of 2014 where I didn't finish a single book, and kept slipping from the top of my pile - I'm loving it so far.
This is by no means is that a complete list of titles I'm interested in. Just what I have preorderd so far. The next Owl book, the next White Trash Zombie book, I am Princess X, Mars Evacuees, and countless others will probably find their way into my library. And there are still a dozen books from last year I haven't read yet. I do so enjoy having problems like this.
Anything else I should add?
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