Books Received, June 29 — July 5
6 Jul, 2024
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Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson (September 2024)
The highly anticipated return of Kate Atkinson’s “irresistible” (New York Times) private eye Jackson Brodie, whose newest adventure pays homage to Agatha Christie in the latest installment of a series described by The Washington Post as “Raymond Chandler meets Jane Austen.”
Marooned overnight by a snowstorm is a cast of characters and a setting that even Agatha Christie might recognize — a vicar, an Army major, a Dowager, a sleuth and his sidekick — except that the sleuth is Jackson Brodie, and the “sidekick” is DC Reggie Chase
Netherford Hall by Natania Barron (August 2024)
Pride and Prejudice and Witches
After a mysterious fire at their home in Regency London displaces Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her now much-reduced family to their ancestral seat of Netherford Hall in Kent, she faces a new threat in the form of her tenant — the chaotic and lovely Poppy Brightwell.
The repairs on the old pile are prohibitive, Edith’s standing is uncertain, and her inheritance has been challenged by a forgotten American branch of the family. It is clear she needs to marry, soon and wisely — but the lively girl from Harrow House gradually comes to occupy all of her thoughts.
As tenants, rivals, suitors and enemies start to circle Netherford, and dark secrets about both women’s pasts come to light, Edith and Poppy must confront what it means to fight for love and family, and to be their authentic selves.
The Relentless Legion by J. S. Dewes (November 2024)
J. S. Dewes is back with her acclaimed and action packed Divide series (The Last Watch, The Exiled Fleet) where The Expanse meets the Night’s Watch.
The Sentinels have rallied under the leadership of Adequin Rake, and Cavalon Mercer has uncovered the horrifying genetic solution his grandfather is about to unleash on the unsuspecting outer colonies.
Both Rake and Cavalon race against time to save the universe once again. They’ll need every resource, every ally who might answer the call.
It might not be enough.
FIYAH No. 31: DISABILITY FIYAH published by Fiyah Literary Magazine (July 2024)
Still the Sun by Charlie N. Holmberg (July 2024)
An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world’s past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Pell is an engineer and digger by trade – unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.
Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower’s other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.
Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions – and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the tower’s strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune (February 2025)
A spine-tingling standalone novel by bestselling author TJ Klune — a supernatural road-trip thriller featuring an extraordinary young girl and her two unlikely protectors on the run from cultists and the government.
There’s nothing more human than a broken heart.
In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his only brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington, DC.With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon, to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not.
Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary ten-year-old girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
Weave the Lightning by Corry L. Lee (July 2024)
It has been decades since magical storms have been seen in Bourshkanya’s skies. Their return should be Celka’s greatest moment — giving the resistance the weapons they need to overthrow the tyrannical Stormhawk — but after a lifetime of hiding her gift from the State, she’s had too little training. Hazy lessons from a father lost to the secret police aren’t enough, and calling down magical lightning with no clue how to control it is too reckless, even for her.
Gerrit, son of the Stormhawk, is unable to safely use his magic despite the State’s best training. Fleeing the Army, he stumbles upon high wire walker Celka in her travelling circus and senses the gift she’s hiding.
Fearing capture, Celka ambushes Gerrit. She can’t trust an arrogant tool of the State, but his knowledge of magic begins to fill the holes in her education, while her easy intuition unlocks Gerrit’s own control.
As the resistance demands more from Celka and the secret police close in on Gerrit’s trail, the two must decide how much they’re willing to risk for their beliefs — and for each other.
Locus, July 2024 published by Locus Publications (July 2024)
How Space Physics Really Works: Lessons From Well-Constructed Science Fiction by Andrew May (June 2023)
There is a huge gulf between the real physics of space travel and the way it is commonly portrayed in movies and TV shows. That’s not because space physics is difficult or obscure – most of the details were understood by the end of the 18th century – but because it can often be bafflingly counter-intuitive for a general audience. The purpose of this book isn’t to criticize or debunk popular sci-fi depictions, which can be very entertaining, but to focus on how space physics really works. This is done with the aid of numerous practical illustrations taken from the works of serious science fiction authors – from Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke to Larry Niven and Andy Weir – who have taken positive pleasure in getting their scientific facts right.
A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne (July 2024)
My name has only been whispered, heretofore…
England, 1591. Rose Rushe’s passion for life runs deep — she loves mead and music, meddles with astrology, and laughs at her mother’s warnings to guard her reputation. When Rose’s father dies and a noble accuses her and her dear friend Cecely of witchcraft, they flee to the household of respected alchemists in London. But as their bond deepens, their sanctuary begins to feel more like a cage. To escape, they turn to the occult, secretly casting charms and selling astrological advice in the hopes of building a life together. This thriving underground business leads Rose to fair young noble Henry and playwright Will Shakespeare, and so begins a brief, tempestuous, and powerful romance — one filled with secret longings and deep betrayals.
In this world of dazzling masques and decadent feasts, where the stars decide futures, Rose will write her own fate instead.
From the author of The Book of Gothel comes the lush, magical story behind Shakespeare’s sonnets, as told by one of his most famous subjects — the incendiary and mysterious Dark Lady.