Books Received, February 25 — March 3
4 Mar, 2023
The Last Man on Earth edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, & Charles G. Waugh (August 1985)
Stories tell of the last survivor of an alien purge, a time traveler, an immortal who outlives all of his companions, a scientist who tries to postpone the end of his race, and an individual who stays behind when Earth is abandoned
The Dragon Eater by J. Scott Coatsworth (March 2023)
Raven’s a thief who just swallowed a dragon. A small one, but still …Now he’s growing scales, the local fauna is acting strangely, and his world is shaking itself to pieces. And his familiar, Spin, is no help at all.
His best friend Aik has been pining for him for years, and things are coming to a head. A guardsman and a thief? That would be … messy. And there’s also Aik’s judgmental ex Silya, who hates Raven and is facing a magical coming-of-age problem of her own.
The unlikely trio must deal with strange beasts, alien artifacts, and a sentient silver sphere. If they don’t figure out what’s happening to Raven and the world around them, it might be the end of everything.
When events spin out of control with world-ending consequences, what’s a thief to do?
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea by Lady Hyegyong
Lady Hyegyong’s memoirs, which recount the chilling murder of her husband by his father, form one of the best known and most popular classics of Korean literature. From 1795 until 1805 Lady Hyegyong composed this masterpiece, depicting a court life Shakespearean in its pathos, drama, and grandeur. Presented in its social, cultural, and historical contexts, this first complete English translation opens a door into a world teeming with conflicting passions, political intrigue, and the daily preoccupations of a deeply intelligent and articulate woman.
JaHyun Kim Haboush’s accurate, fluid translation captures the intimate and expressive voice of this consummate storyteller. Reissued nearly twenty years after its initial publication with a new foreword by Dorothy Ko, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong is a unique exploration of Korean selfhood and an extraordinary example of autobiography in the premodern era.
Ravensong by TJ Klune (August 2023)
Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves. It should have been enough. And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.
Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them. But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within. Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken.
Schrader’s Chord by Scott Leeds (September 2023)
I told you they were real.
After his estranged father’s mysterious death, Charlie Remick returns to Seattle to help with the funeral. There, he discovers his father left him two parting gifts: the keys to the family record store and a strange black case containing four ancient records that, according to legend, can open a gate to the land of the dead.
When Charlie, his sister, and their two friends play the records, they unwittingly open a floodgate of unspeakable horror. As the darkness descends, they are stalked by a relentless, malevolent force and see the dead everywhere they turn.
With time running out, the only person who can help them is Charlie’s resurrected father, who knows firsthand the awesome power the records have unleashed. But can they close the gate and silence Schrader’s Chord before it’s too late?
Locus, March 2023 published by Locus Publications
Moira’s Pen: A Queen’s Thief Collection by Megan Whalen Turner (November 2022)
Journey to the world of the Queen’s Thief in this beautifully illustrated collection, featuring bestselling and award-winning author Megan Whalen Turner’s charismatic and incorrigible thief, Eugenides. Discover and rediscover friends old and new, and explore the inspiration behind Megan Whalen Turner’s rich and original world. A stunning and collectible volume to return to again and again. This collectible companion to the New York Times – bestselling Queen’s Thief series is ideal for longtime fans, as well as readers discovering Megan Whalen Turner’s epic and unforgettable world for the first time. The collection includes all of the author’s previously published short fiction set in the world of the Queen’s Thief, as well as never-before-published stories, vignettes and excerpts, poetry and rhymes, a guide to objects from museums around the world that inspired the author, and a very special recipe for almond cake.
The kings and queens of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis all make unforgettable appearances, as do beloved and surprising characters from throughout the series and beyond. Meet Eugenides as a young boy in “Breia’s Earrings,” and Irene as a young princess in “The Princess and the Pastry Chef.” The six novels in the acclaimed and bestselling Queen’s Thief series are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. This collectible volume features illustrations and decorations throughout, illustrated endpapers, a stunning full-color jacket with embossed foil and gold stamping, a cast list, maps, and an introduction by the author.
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward (August 2023)
In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of a sun-drenched summer of his youth and of the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the terrible tragedy that forever bonded him with his friends Nat and Harper in unknowable ways. Of a horror that has followed them over the years.
Wilder has returned to the town decades later in an attempt to recount that summer’s events in his memoirs. But as he writes, Wilder begins to fear his grip on the truth is fading, and events in the manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. He’s even started seeing a dark-haired woman down in the icy waters below the cottage, but nobody else can.
No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does…