Must-Have Monday #197
Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other genres sneak in occasionally too.
SIX books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Autistic queer MC, F/F
Published on: 30th July 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Navigational Entanglements", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aliette de Bodard", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
Award-winning author of The Red Scholar’s Wake Aliette de Bodard comes for your heart with a compelling tale of love, duty, and found-family in an exciting new space opera that brings xianxia-style martial arts to the stars .
Jockeying navigator clans guide spaceships through the an area of space populated by the mysterious but deadly creatures known as Tanglers. When a Tangler escapes the Hollows for the first time in living memory, each clan must send a representative to help capture it—but the mission may be doomed and the hearts of two clan juniors may be in danger too.
Việt Nhi is not good with people. Or politics. Which is a problem when the Rooster clan sends her on the mission against her will, forcing her to work with an ill-matched group of squabbling teammates from rival clans, including one who she can’t avoid, and maybe doesn’t want to.
Hạc Cúc of the Snake clan has always been better at poisoning and stabbing than at making friends, but she’s drawn to Nhi’s perceptiveness and obliviousness to social conventions—including the ones that really should make Nhi think twice about spending time with her.
But when their imperial envoy and nominal leader is poisoned, this crew of expendable apprentices will have to learn to work together—fast—before the invisible Tangler can wreak havoc on a civilian city and destroy the fragile reputation of the clans. Along the way, Nhi and Hạc Cúc will have to learn the hardest lesson of to see past their own misconceptions and learn to trust their growing feelings for each other.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Bodard is back with a new sci fi novella! I believe this one is not set in her Xuya universe, but that just means we get to see her invent a new setting! Which is always interesting; Bodard is an EXCELLENT worldbuilder…
Long Live Evil (Time of Iron, #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, New Adult
Representation: Sapphic POV character; major Black bi/pansexual character, secondary F/F
Published on: 30th July/1st August 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Long Live Evil (Time of Iron, #1)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Rees Brennan", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both "brilliant" (Holly Black) and "supremely satisfying" (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.
When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series.
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.
So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.
THIS IS A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…
The publication of this one is a little complicated; the Irish and UK ebook is out tomorrow, but the paper release isn’t till 1st August, and the US won’t see it until near the end of August!
It’s SO worth the wait though – I’ve followed Brennan’s career obsessively since her very first novel, Demon’s Lexicon, and this, her Adult debut??? Is MAGNIFICENT. So meta, so delicious, so clever!
Twisted Magic (Knights of the Twisted Tree Book 1) by Barbara J. Webb Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 30th July 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Twisted Magic (Knights of the Twisted Tree Book 1)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara J. Webb", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
His magic could heal anything, except a broken heart.
Fleeing losses he can't bear to face and a war he doesn't want to remember, Korin has come to Triome, the greatest city in the world, for a fresh start. But Triome holds its own dark secrets, and Korin may not have left all his enemies behind.
A disease stalks the city, a disease made of magic that only a wizard like Korin can cure. But he can't fight it alone, and his new allies may not be as friendly as they seem. Especially handsome Ádan, who awakens feelings and memories that Korin would rather have left behind, and whose smiling face may be hiding the darkest secret of all.
I’m always interested in stories about magical healers, and this one looks promising! It’s novella-length, too, so, good for anyone looking for a quicker read.
Deep Black by Miles Cameron Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Representation: Black MC, autistic-coded love interest, secondary nonbinary character
Published on: 1st August 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Deep Black", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miles Cameron", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
Marca Nbaro had always dreamed of serving aboard the Greatships, with their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city.They are the lifeblood of human-occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species.And now, out in the darkness of space, something is targeting them.
Nbaro and her friends are close to locating their enemy, in this gripping sequel to the award-nominated Artifact Space, but they are running out of time - and their allies are running out of patience . . .
Written by one of the most exciting new voices in SF, this space thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
I NEED IT SO BAD!!! The first book in this series made my Best of 2021 list, and I have been PINING for the next one, AND IT’S FINALLY NEARLY HERE!!! *grabby hands* Gimme gimme GIMME!
Extremophile by Ian Green Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Published on: 1st August 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Extremophile", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Green", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
Charlie and Parker are punks by night, biohackers by day, living in the stuttering decay of near-future climate-collapse London.
They pay for the beer they don't steal with money from their sketchy astronomy site Zodiac Code, while Charlie's bio-bespoke augments equip the criminals, punks, and eco-warriors of London. They have to deal with disgruntled clients, scene kids who don't dig their band, and a city that's run by corporates and criminals. Their world is split into three Green – who are still trying to save the world; Blue – who try to profit while they can, and Black – who see no hope left.
When a group of extremist Green activists hire them for a series of jobs ranging from robbery to murder, Charlie – who struggles to feel anything except Black – wants to walk away. But Parker still believes they can make a difference, and urges her to accept.
As they enter an escalating biological arms race against faceless corporations, amoral biohackers, and criminal cyberpunks, Charlie will have to choose what she believes in. Is there still hope, and does she have a right to grab it?
This sounds extremely weird, but in a most interesting way! The reviews are very mixed though; it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it.
In the Valley, A Shadow by Samantha Tano Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 1st August 2024
Goodreads
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2024-07-29T10:38:25+00:00", "description": "Biohackers, villainous portal fantasies, and plenty of space shenanigans!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-197\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "In the Valley, A Shadow", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samantha Tano", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}
An action-packed sci-fi western tale of revenge, love, and identity.
The frontier planet Celestine, millennia from now. It was supposed to be the furthest Alix could get from the Xypha Corporation, that all-consuming entity at the heart of humanity’s interstellar expansion.
After the Xypha forward station arrives in orbit, Alix, a transgender pilot, finds herself out of work and her ship grounded. She’ll do anything to pay off her mounting debts so she can fly again—even if it means killing for the meanest crime boss in the Isidis Valley.
As Xypha’s influence grows, Alix is trapped in a web of betrayal and politics that threatens more than just her life.
Armed with a pair of Plasveld-7s, a sharp wit, and with the love of her life by her side, Alix embarks on a deadly path across the valley. Can she flee Xypha’s creeping shadow, or is it time to stop running and stand her ground?
Anti-corporate trans sci fi??? Um, yes please???
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #197 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
