Martha Wells's Blog, page 39

Tuesday Book Recs

(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)

(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)

(Buy your audiobook from an independent store here: https://blog.libro.fm/shopbookstoresnow/



* Available now The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got six. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.


* Preorder: The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater
Fitzwater winningly returns to the character of Cinrak the Dipper, star of several previous stories, in a collection that spans the titular Capybara Pirate's career. From dreams of a life away from the orphanage where she was raised, to full fledged leading member of the IRATE pirate union, these stories of found family, finding oneself, and having adventures across the ocean are funny, poignant, colorful, and a lot of bloody good fun.


* The Fortress by S.A. Jones
Jonathon Bridge has a corner office in a top-tier law firm, tailored suits and an impeccable pedigree. He has a fascinating wife, Adalia, a child on the way, and a string of pretty young interns as lovers on the side. He’s a man who’s going places. His world is our world: the same chaos and sprawl, haves and have-nots, men and women, skyscrapers and billboards. But it also exists alongside a vast, self-sustaining city-state called The Fortress where the indigenous inhabitants–the Vaik, a society run and populated exclusively by women–live in isolation. When Adalia discovers his indiscretions and the ugly sexual violence pervading his firm, she agrees to continue their fractured marriage only on the condition that Jonathan voluntarily offers himself to The Fortress as a supplicant and stay there for a year. Jonathon’s arrival at The Fortress begins with a recitation of the conditions of his stay: He is forbidden to ask questions, to raise his hand in anger, and to refuse sex.


* Novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.


* Preorder Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find. Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.


* Upon A Burning Throne by Ashok Banker
In a world where demigods and demons walk among mortals, the Emperor of the vast Burnt Empire has died, leaving a turbulent realm without an emperor. Two young princes, Adri and Shvate, are in line to rule, but birthright does not guarantee inheritance, for any successor must sit upon the legendary Burning Throne and pass The Test of Fire. Imbued with dark sorceries, the throne is a crucible—one that incinerates the unworthy.


* A Bond Undone by Jin Yong
Torn between following his heart and fulfilling his filial duty, Guo Jing journeys through the country of his parents with Lotus, encountering mysterious martial heroes and becoming drawn into the struggle for the supreme martial text, the Nine Yin Manual. But his past is catching up with him. The widow of an evil man he accidentally killed as a child has tracked him down, intent on revenge.


* Novella The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster
When the Dragon Ships began to tear through the trade lanes and ravage coastal towns, the hopes of the archipelago turned to the Windspeakers on Tash. The solemn weather-shapers with their eyes of stone can steal the breeze from raiders' sails and save the islands from their wrath. But the Windspeakers' magic has been stolen, and only their young apprentice Shina can bring their power back and save her people. Tazir has seen more than her share of storms and pirates in her many years as captain, and she's not much interested in getting involved in the affairs of Windspeakers and Dragon Ships. Shina's caught her eye, but that might not be enough to convince the grizzled sailor to risk her ship, her crew, and her neck.


* Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her—a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.

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The DoubleClicks Present...

Stay Home With Us! March 23-27

https://www.youtube.com/thedoubleclicks/live


All Times PDT:

Monday

4-6 The Doubleclicks Recording & Chat


Tuesday

11:00 am Interview with Becky Chambers, author of The Wayfarers series

12:00 pm - ? Jackbox Games with pals


Wednesday

4-6 The Doubleclicks Songwriting & Chat


Thursday

11:00 am Interview with Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries series

12:00 pm - ? Jackbox Games with pals


Friday

8:00 - 9:30 pm Doubleclicks All-Request Pajama Jam Concert

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If you need a mental break, remember this video exists: ...

If you need a mental break, remember this video exists: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21199367

Suggested by muccamukk, this is a great one too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJlPnPYlg8A

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Network Effect ordering info

Wow, this has been a long week already.


Here are some indy stores you can order Network Effect from:

San Diego, Mysterious Galaxy: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781250229861

St. Louis, Left Bank Books https://www.left-bank.com/book/9781250229861

Toronto, Bakka Phoenix https://www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com/?q=h.tviewer&using_sb=status&qs=network+effect

If you preorder from Murder By the Book in Houston, I'll be able to sign those since I can physically get to that location even though the event is most likely cancelled: https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells

If you have preordered Network Effect you can submit your receipt or a screenshot and get a free Dr. Mensah short story here:

https://read.macmillan.com/promo/murderbotshortstorypreordergiveaway/

(This is a giveaway by the publisher. I didn't set the rules and I don't make the decisions. If something upsets you and you scream at me or call me names, I will block you.)

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Update

We're trying to self-isolate as much as possible except for necessary errands. My husband is working from home which is good. The University told students not to come back for classes when spring break ended this past weekend, has cancelled all events, and is trying to arrange for distance learning for all classes.

Our food situation is really good, despite all the toilet paper panic. HEB can restock a store that's been destroyed by a hurricane within 24 hrs so I don't think this is a new situation for them. I went on Tuesday and there was plenty of produce, including carrots and potatoes and other basics. A huge pallet of canned food and packaged food was being maneuvered through the store and one of the managers was going down the aisle singing "beans beans beans."

There was finally an order for the restaurants to shut down last night and only offer take-out, drive-through, or curbside, so that's good.

I still haven't gotten my replacement credit card after (the old one got stolen) and figured out yesterday Capital One lied about me being able to get the number earlier through the app, just so I'd download the app, as far as I can tell.

That's about it.

Book Stuff:

Book rec/list posts: https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/tag/book+rec

Libro.fm for audiobooks from independent stores: https://blog.libro.fm/shopbookstoresnow/

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Wednesday Book Recs

(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)

(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)


* Preorder Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
Princess Sun has finally come of age. Growing up in the shadow of her mother, Eirene, has been no easy task. The legendary queen-marshal did what everyone thought impossible: expel the invaders and build Chaonia into a magnificent republic, one to be respected—and feared. But the cutthroat ambassador corps and conniving noble houses have never ceased to scheme—and they have plans that need Sun to be removed as heir, or better yet, dead. To survive, the princess must rely on her wits and companions: her biggest rival, her secret lover, and a dangerous prisoner of war.


* Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
Award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?


* A Conjuring of Assassins by Cate Glass
Romy and her three partners in crime—a sword master, a silversmith, and her thieving brother—have embraced their roles as the Shadow Lord's agents, using their forbidden magic to accomplish tasks his other spies cannot. Now, the Shadow Lord needs them to infiltrate the home of the Mercediaran Ambassador and prevent him from obtaining information that would lead to all-out war with Cantagna's most dangerous enemy.


* Preorder The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer
New York 1905—The Vanderbilts. The Astors. The Morgans. They are the cream of society—and they own the nation on the cusp of a new century. Thalia Cutler doesn’t have any of those family connections. What she does know is stage magic and she dazzles audiences with an act that takes your breath away. That is, until one night when a trick goes horribly awry. In surviving she discovers that she can shapeshift, and has the potential to take her place among the rich and powerful. But first, she’ll have to learn to control that power…before the real monsters descend to feast.


* A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell
Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic. With stories by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, J. Marcelle Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, L. L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.


* Carved From Stone and Dream by T. Frohock
February 1939, Catalonia has fallen. Los Nefilim is in retreat. With the Nationalist forces hard on their heels, the members of Los Nefilim—Spanish Nephilim that possess the power to harness music and light in the supernatural war between the angels and daimons—make a desperate run for the French border. Diago Alvarez, a singular being of angelic and daimonic descent, follows Guillermo and a small group of nefilim through the Pyrenees, where the ice is as treacherous as postwar loyalties—both can kill with a single slip. When a notebook of Los Nefilim’s undercover operatives falls into a traitor’s hands, Diago and Guillermo risk their lives to track it down. As they uncover a pocket realm deep within the Pyrenees, Diago discovers his family is held hostage.


* The Fenmere Job by Marshall Ryan Maresca
An uneasy calm has filled the neighborhood of North Seleth, as the survivors of the Holver Alley fire return to normal, honest lives. But Asti and Verci Rynax and the rest of the Holver Alley Crew know the peace won't last. Josie Holt, once an ally to the Rynaxes, is now working her own agenda with the mage circle that has moved into the neighborhood. Asti learns that Josie plans to smuggle the drug efhân through North Seleth, which can only mean she is in league with the Fenmere cartel. The Rynax brothers want to wait for the right moment to strike at Josie, but they and the rest of the crew agree that they have to stop the efhân shipment, keep the drugs out of their neighborhood, and stop Fenmere from getting a toehold on the neighborhood.


* Breath of Gods by Tina LeCount Myers
In the Northlands of Davvieana, power rests in the hands of the High Priest of the Order of Believers. But his earthly supremacy is contested. Those few Piijkij that remain continue to honor the oath of the Brethren of Hunters: protect the Olmmoš people from danger. This time, however, it is not the immortal Jápmemeahttun who represent a threat to human freedom, but their own kind. Against insurmountable odds, this small band of dedicated men will use any and all means open to them to bring down the man who betrayed them all.


* When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey
Keeping your magic a secret is hard. Being in love with your best friend is harder. Alexis has always been able to rely on two things: her best friends, and the magic powers they all share. Their secret is what brought them together, and their love for each other is unshakeable—even when that love is complicated. Complicated by problems like jealousy, or insecurity, or lust. Or love. That unshakeable, complicated love is one of the only things that doesn't change on prom night. When accidental magic goes sideways and a boy winds up dead, Alexis and her friends come together to try to right a terrible wrong.


* Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
Nick Prasad has always enjoyed a quiet life in the shadow of his best friend, child prodigy and technological genius Joanna ‘Johnny’ Chambers. But all that is about to end. When Johnny invents a clean reactor that could eliminate fossil fuels and change the world, she awakens primal, evil Ancient Ones set on subjugating humanity. From the oldest library in the world to the ruins of Nineveh, hunted at every turn, they will need to trust each other completely to survive...


* Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.

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Events cancelled

I just found out my book tour, scheduled for May, is cancelled. It's totally the only option, but it was going to be my first tour, so it does make me sad.

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I'm back

So I'm back from the JoCo Cruise and so far so good. No one got sick on the boat, and there were various measures in place (Purell stations everywhere, instructions for handwashing, and everyone greeted each other by touching elbows or waving jazz hands instead of handshakes or hugs).

Some quick news:

If you have preordered Network Effect (out in ebook, hardcover, and audiobook on May 5) you can submit your receipt or a screenshot and get a free Dr. Mensah short story here:

https://read.macmillan.com/promo/murderbotshortstorypreordergiveaway/

(This is a giveaway by the publisher. I didn't set the rules and I don't make the decisions. If something upsets you and you scream at me or call me names, I will block you.)

As of now I'm still scheduled for a signing at Murder by the Book in Houston on May 9. If you preorder the book there you can get it signed and shipped to you. If worse comes to worst and things are cancelled, I live close enough that I can go to the store and sign the preorders. https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells

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Another one day ebook sale

Today (3/5) Rogue Protocol is on sale for $2.99 on kindle https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Protocol-Murderbot-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B0756JSWGL/

Artificial Condition will be on sale at that price tomorrow.

It's also on sale for $2.99 at B&N https://barnesandnoble.com/w/rogue-protocol-martha-wells/1127026387?ean=9781250185433

iBooks https://books.apple.com/us/book/rogue-protocol/id1276189945

and Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rogue-protocol

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Ebook sale

There's a one day (3/4) Amazon sale on the ebook of The Murderbot Diaries: Exit Strategy:

https://www.amazon.com/Exit-Strategy-Murderbot-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B078X1N8VF

It's down to $2.99. Rogue Protocol will be on sale tomorrow, and Artificial Condition on Friday.

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