New Books and ARCs, 8/10/18
Posted on August 10, 2018 Posted by John Scalzi 22 Comments
Hey! It’s Friday! And that makes it a very time to show off another stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound this week. See anything here that piques your interest? Let us know in the comments.
Alternate Routes is my next-to-read book (as soon as I finish Spinning Silver). Told you last week there was something I wanted this week.
You’re just getting Provenance now? Read it already! Lots more fun than the Breq books, and no less thinky.
Is the one by Gordan Dickson a reissue? Loved the Dorsai series and the Dragon and the George
I’m always up for more Outlander stories.
My daughter’s waiting on Little Red Rodent Hood.
For me, the Tim Powers and Kat Howard books look great (as do so many more…).
So much to pick from! Tim Powers is always a great choice – such a deliciously skewed take on that whole reality business. And Catherynne Valente AND Ann Leckie?
(just noticed that Provenance is the Subterranean Press edition, not the Orbit trade hardcover)
New Hamster Princess! A new Valente is always welcome too.
I’d say Provenance, but I already have it lurking in my tbr pile.
“One Person, No Vote” would be my first pick.
I remember Dickson’s The Outposter A variant on the “Hero who knows exactly how everything works except himself” which we saw in Dorsai! crossed with “The aliens need not be implacably hostile if someone will just trouble to understand them” as seen in None but Man. Not quite as good as either of those IMO, but if you liked them, this will be good, and it isn’t as well known.
By the way I’m about 1/3 of the way through The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter which i picked up because the sequel was mentioned on Whatever recently. So far i like it. I also picked up the three volume reissue of Anderson’s “PsychoTechnic League” series, one volume of which was in a previous New books thread here. Good stuff.
@Kevin J. Coolidge Yes, the Dickson is a reprint. i first read it in the late 1970s, but it wasn’t new then. I’d have to check, but I rather suspect it dates to the 1950s.
Damn, how fast is Catherynne Valente writing? I can’t keep up!
New Ann Leckie, mmmmm. The Diana Gabaldon may be just a reissue in trade; it’s been out for over a year. ‘One Person, No Vote’ is an intriguing title, especially in view of the past couple of years of shenanigans.
And Oohhh! New Hamster Princess/ Vernon! Squee!
I rather like “The Outposter.” It’s of its time (1971), and not terribly deep, but it’s also a short, fun read. If you’re looking for a modern equvalent, I could see it as a variation in the vein of “Firefly” but with a not-terrifying-just-aggressive alien race pushing at the edges instead of Reavers. In the end, though, it’s definitely a Gordon R. Dickson book.
According to Goodreads, the Subterranean Press edition of Provenance is a signed limited edition.
I assume the pile of books is not stacked on top of a cat, but it kinda looks like it. You’re not doing another “Tape ___ to a cat” experiment, are you? :)
Gordon R. Dickson has always been to me the name I would look for at the local used book stores when I was seeking one of the few Philip K. Dick books that I still hadn’t read (look for the long row of Dickson books, then search to the left of that for any PKD books). The vast majority of the time there were plenty of Dickson books on the shelves, but no PKD books at all. The shopkeepers would tell me that the PKD books fly off the shelves soon after they get them. The reverse seemed to be true with the Dickson books (always plenty of those gathering dust).
Oh, and glad to be notified of the “Outlander” book. The S.O. has read most of those, and the library had an e-copy of this new one with no waiting. Thanks to John Scalzi for some positive karma with the missus!
To be honest? No. Nothing sparks any interest in this batch. BUT! Spine scrawl can be unconvincing. Front/Back can make a difference. But just based on the titles and authors, I’d still give them a skip.
What struck me is the high proportion of female authors. Can’t be a bad thing.
Ohhhhh the new Ann Leckie! I’m excited to check that one out. Ancillary Justice is one of the coolest and most ambitious Sci-Fi books I’ve ever read.
I had a hard time getting into the sequel, although I plan on giving that another go at some point. From my understanding Provenance takes places in the same universe as the Ancillary series, but it’s not a sequel.
Oooh! Cathedral of Myth and Bone. I’m really looking forward to that one.