Shelf Awareness: Witchmark, C.L. Polk’s debut, introduces a magically infused world reminiscent of early 20th-century England, with gas-lit rooms, cloaks and carriages. Dr. Miles Singer has created a life for himself mostly devoid of magic. Having fled his powerful family as a young man, he joined the Aeland army, went to war against the Laneeri, and now works in a veterans’ hospital. But in a world where most witches are sent to asylums, supposedly for their own safety, Miles must […]
Library Journal: Auben Mutze is an intelligent, extroverted youth with a bit of a wild side. This makes him one of the more popular kids at his impoverished high school, even as he knows that he has few chances to escape the world in which he lives. He is a twin, with vices – six, to be exact – branded on his arm. This also marks him as a lesser twin to his brother Kasim, whose quieter nature and single vice brand means he has a shot […]
Booklist: The first half of Kowal’s two-book tale—The Fated Sky will follow—begins in 1952 when a meteorite strikes Earth, causing a global cataclysm. The eastern coast of the U.S. crumbles, and the rest of the world faces a climate shift. A former WASP pilot and a brilliant mathematician, Elma York works for the International Aerospace Coalition, along with her engineer husband, expediting efforts to colonize other planets. Recognizing that she and her female colleagues are just as qualified as the men, Elma fights for their right to become astronauts. […]
Wall Street Journal: Incurably foul-mouthed . . . non-stop action.
Agnes Gomillion’s Afrofuturistic debut novel THE RECORD KEEPER plus a sequel sold to Gary Budden at Titan Books in a World English deal by Paul Stevens. When a model student discovers that the laws she has dedicated herself to upholding are the very laws responsible for the enslavement and extermination of her people, she leads an uprising to topple the government.
Daily Mail (UK): Saddle up the war boar and set off on a wild, gory thrill-ride that ends in an awesome climax and begs for a sequel.
Library Journal: In 1952, Elma York and her husband are celebrating their marriage in the Poconos when a meteor strikes, destroying Washington, DC, and most of the eastern seaboard. As a mathematician and WASP pilot, Elma knows the need for space exploration, but now that Earth is poised to fall owing to a climate change of apocalyptic proportions, that timetable has been pushed into the fast lane. Elma wants to be one of those to enter space, and when a program invites women to take the same astronaut […]
Booklist: Drayden’s latest is a dark, riveting tale about two brothers at odds that explores what it truly means to possess virtues, what it truly means to possess vices, and what it truly means to be brothers. Auben Mutze is a twin. His lesser status as the inferior twin is marked by six brands down his arm, and each brand symbolizes a vice he possesses. In contrast, Auben’s twin brother, Kasim, possesses only one vice. The single vice marks Kasim as the supposedly superior twin. The twins’ different […]
Locus: So much about how Kowal structures Elma’s journey works, from her early days as a math whiz and the effect it had on her psyche, through her growth as a competent and confident professional. Equally lovely is the supportive and charming relationship between Nathaniel and Elma. You can’t help but root them both on. The back third of The Calculating Stars is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying – and nicely sets up The Fated Sky, which is the second half of Elma’s story. Just one month […]
Audio rights to Molly Tanzer’s CREATURES OF CHARM AND HUNGER, to Brian Sweany at Recorded Books, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure. Audio rights to Nalo Hopkinson’s THE SALT ROADS, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Donald Maass.