Locus: This book is in conversation with a number of others, first of all with Bear’s own—this future is tied to her Jacob’s Ladder trilogy (Dust, Chill, and Grail) via a mention of that “famous ship from history.” There are also strong echoes of C.J. Cherryh and Iain M. Banks—especially the latter, since the Synarche is clearly a cousin of the Culture: an ancient, galaxy-spanning, multi-species polity dedicated to what we might call rational and utopian values (also prone to […]
Review: Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Library Journal: When the humans decided to strike against the terra indigene, they were hit with a force that decimated all the people living in towns in Thaisia. Now both humans and Othersthose who survivedattempt to revive some of the ruined areas for cooperative living. In Bennett, Jana Paniccia becomes deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff who holds bitter memories of the humans’ actions. Tolya Sanguinati attempts to build relationships with the town of Prairie Gold, and Inuit shopkeeper Jesse Walker, while […]
Review: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson
Bookseller: A cinematic novel that perfectly blends funny and emotional. Some friendships are larger than life.
Review: Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Kirkus: Yoon Ha Lee’s first foray into the field is an absolute winner (not that I should have expected anything different, given the author’s awesome track record with the Ninefox Gambit books). Dragon Pearl is everything that I want in a sci-fi adventure story (for a reader of any age): it’s smart, fast-paced, and balanced nuanced world building with solid characterizations and exciting capers spanning different planets, space ships (and space ship battles), and supernatural twists. I especially loved the […]
Starred Review: The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson
School Library Journal: A brain aneurysm killed July Cooper, but it can’t destroy her bond with Dino DeLuca. July rises from the dead at the funeral home owned by Dino’s family, and though the two teens had been on the outs for the past year, they are drawn together as they attempt to conceal July’s reanimation. What ensues is messy. July’s body is slowly rotting, and the two trade barbed words while untangling why their friendship ended after Dino met […]
Review: Junction by Daniel M. Bensen
Publishers Weekly: Bensen has created some larger-than-life characters, but the true star of the tale is Junction itself. The author’s creativity gambols across the planet along with his characters, and the journey is as much about the weird creatures as it is about the human drama.
Review: If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Kirkus: Her arduous journey toward transfiguration—while also dissecting her strained relationships with both parents—makes this a valuable addition to the contemporary realistic fiction genre. The message that being kinder does not mean compromising who you are, but rather unveiling the better and more authentic version of one’s self, is admirable. A refreshing mean-girl transformation story akin to 10 Things I Hate About You.
Review: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
Kirkus: Bear, then, offers plenty of big, bold, fascinating ideas in a narrative that culminates in a double showdown with a dazzling array of said thoughtful beings…. Impressive at the core. Readers who relished the Jacob’s Ladder trilogy will certainly enjoy this one.
January Subsidiary Rights Deals
World English Audio rights Anna Kashina’s SHADOWBLADE, to Michael Olah at Dreamscape Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier, for Jennie Goloboy.
January Translation Deals
French rights to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s WILD COUNTRY, a novel of the Others, to Bragelonne, by Robin Batet at the Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson. French rights to Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor’s AKATA WITCH, to L’école des Loisirs, by Robin Batet at Anna Jarota Agency on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Donald Maass. German rights to Robert McCammon’s BOY’S LIFE, to Luzifer, by Kathrin Nehm at […]







