Kirkus: Packed with action and mystery, this is a good Dresden story with plenty for new and old fans alike. Molly’s power is growing, and if you’ve read the books, you know where that is heading, and it adds tension to those scenes. Murphy, too, is growing and we get to see a lot of her in this installment. The art is amazing, per usual – done by Carlos Gomez and Sean Izaakse.
Kirkus: If your boyfriend is erased from history, is it because the universe is shrinking, or have you totally lost your mind?
During senior year in high school, college applications and prom dates are the stresses du jour. But Oswald “Ozzie” Pinkerton’s also include trying to convince anyone (family, friends, an alphabetical string of therapists) that his boyfriend, Tommy, ever existed. They theorize that Ozzie is obsessive and slightly touched; he theorizes that the universe is shrinking and that Tommy was a casualty of restricting astral girth. As Ozzie tracks the solar system’s diminishing waist size, his still-existing world unravels and conversely weaves new chapters. One of these chapters is Calvin, a once-golden, now-reclusive student. When the two are paired for a physics project, Ozzie weighs his loyalty to absent Tommy against his growing attraction to present Calvin. A varied cast of characters populates the pages: there’s a genderqueer girl who prefers masculine pronouns, a black boyfriend, an Asian/Jewish (by way of adoption) best friend, and a bevy of melting-pot surnames. Ozzie is a white male, and he is respectfully called out on underestimating the privilege he enjoys for being just that. Though Ozzie primarily narrates in the past tense (with sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll drifting through the background), intermittent flashbacks in the present tense unveil the tender, intimate history of Ozzie’s relationship with Tommy. An earthy, existential coming-of-age gem.
Georgian rights to Robert McCammon’s BOY’S LIFE, to Books In Batumi, by Nada Cipranic at Prava I Prevodi, in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Bulgarian rights to Robert Jackson Bennett’s CITY OF BLADES, Book 2 of the Divine Cities series, to Bard, by Tamara Vukicevic at Prava I Prevodi, in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Polish rights to Robert Jackson’s Bennett’s CITY OF BLADES, Book 2 of the Divine Cities series, to Papierowy Ksiezyc, by Nada Cipranic at Prava I Prevodi in association with Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure.
Martha Wells THE MURDERBOT DIARIES: ALL SYSTEMS RED, in which a security droid, that has for its own reasons hacked its Company governor chip, may be the only hope for a small team of scientists that discovers a neighboring mission has been sabotaged, and a sequel, in a two-book deal to Lee Harris at Tor.com by Jennifer Jackson.
British debut author Anna Stephens’ GODBLIND, the first in a grimdark series full of fight scenes and intrigue that pits the followers of the bloodthirsty Red Gods, exiled for a thousand years, against the thriving kingdom of Rilpor, and only one man, a Watcher who can glimpse the future, has a chance of stopping the invasion, to Bradley Englert at Skyhorse by Cameron McClure at Donald Maass on behalf of Harry Illingworth at DHH Literary, in a three book deal, for publication in Spring 2017. (UK rights sold to Harper Voyager at auction, German rights sold to Blanvalet, French rights sold to Bragelonne)
New York Times best-seller Anne Bishop’s untitled novel set in the world of the Others series but featuring new characters, in which they find themselves caught up in a chilling mystery, after a series of vicious murders rock a small community, and a second Others novel, to Anne Sowards at Ace in a six-figure deal by Jennifer Jackson.
Where the Water Falls, a debut thriller by investigative journalist Jeremy Finley. When four-year-old William Chance vanishes from the woods behind his family’s home, there’s only one witness: an older brother who whispers “the lights took him” and never speaks again. As every resource is exhausted, the boy’s grandmother, Lynn, must finally admit to herself that she’s heard the phrase “the lights took him” before. A long-buried secret from her past may be the only key to finding her missing grandchild. A two-book deal to Peter Wolverton at St. Martins Press by Paul Stevens.
Congratulations to Mary Robinette Kowal on winning a 2016 Earphones Award for Ghost Talkers!
Imagine that the British military of the Great War utilized intelligence gleaned in their soldiers’ final moments by having the dead “report in” for debriefing with spiritualists. Kowal spins this idea into a thoroughly satisfying and believable novel blending fantasy, history, and suspense. The story is peopled with mediums, officers, servants, and gossips–some American, most English, and a few German–and with a plot that makes fine use of action as well as emotions. Kowal goes a giant step further with her narration, which is fully voiced, perfectly smooth, and paced with spot-on accuracy to invest every passage with compelling listening. With such a unique and thoroughly developed story, and a performance that brings it as fully to life, this is a must-listen for everyone.
U.S. rights to Elizabeth Bear’s Ancestral Night and a sequel, a weird, wide-ranging SF saga in the mold of Iain M. Banks, a duology originally acquired by Gollancz who will publish in the U.K., to Navah Wolfe at Saga Press.
Cassandra Khaw’s A SONG FOR QUIET, a standalone follow-up to HAMMERS ON BONE in which rambling bluesman Deacon Jones meets trouble on his journey from Georgia to Arkham, and a madman who calls himself John Persons may be the only one who can help, to Carl Engle-Laird at Tor.com for publication in 2017, by Michael Curry.