New Books and ARCs, 2/21/20
Posted on February 21, 2020 Posted by John Scalzi 22 Comments
And now, for your delight and edification: This week’s stack of new books and ARCs at the Scalzi Compound!
(Yes, I took the photo before I went to LA.)
What here is drawing your attention and admiration? Share your feelings in the comments!
Three great looking ones in a row: Shorefall, Elizabeth Bear, and the Initiate.
Legacy of Heorot! Awesome
Legacy of Heorot is awesome, and I have been entertained by Blake Crouch’s previous works (though I often find the conceits frequently gloss over or fail to address at all some glaring issues) so I’m looking forward to reading that one.
My copy of The Best of Elizabeth Bear arrived from Subterranean Press! I was very tempted by Iain Banks’ Use of Weapons as well.
Use of Weapons was awesome, but I’m still desperately waiting for the rest of Banks’ back catalog (Inversions, The Algebraist, etc) to be available in ebook in the US.
If you haven’t read Use of Weapons, buckle up. This one is great, and you’d think I would have followed up and read the rest of the Culture series by now… Instead I mashed it up with All in the Family to make a stupid political point through a fanfic (seriously, not my usual smartassery here). I have a hell of a way of showing gratitude towards authors that move me.
Legacy of Heorot sound awesome.
Legacy of Heorot must be a reprint. Read it years ago, good story!
Banks, of course.
I’ve collected every single book he’s ever written and not a single one of them isn’t excellent. Such a shame he is no longer with us.
Rwizi’s SCARLET ODYSSEY and Van Loan’s THE SIN IN THE STEEL both sound interesting. I’m also interested in the new series from Wagers, since I enjoyed her previous books. :-)
Scarlet Odyssey is a damn good name for a book, as is the sin in the steel..
RECURSION was fantastic! It’s on my Goodreads Favorites shelf. I reviewed it here (no spoilers):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3043446934
Arbysmom, I still haven’t gotten around to Recursion, but Crouch is always an excellent ready. Dark Matter was transcendent.
A Pale Light in the Black caught my eye and the description online increases my interest. I like military and space opera, great escape stuff. It’s still winter in the north, so escape is good. and I’m hoping the female lead is realistic and not the author’s anima-woman.
Use of Weapons was totally brilliant — and too painful for me to reread, though I’ve kept it on my shelf when other books have been given away.
I’m exploring Elizabeth Bear and recent Robert Jackson Bennett books have been great! So those top my interest. Looks like C.T. Ritzi is a first time author! I’d give him a try.
Legacy of Heorot is the first *Baen* edition; I forget who the original publisher was, but it was back in the late eighties. I noticed Baen is putting out a new Heorot novel in April.
They did the same thing last year with Tim Powers. His latest was on Baen, and they re-released at least some of his back catalog. I would not be surprised to see them do this with other authors.
Thanks for the clarification.
There was a follow-up to the Heorot story, title escaped my memory ages ago…
Breaking Silence because, in my utterly jokester mind, I imagined a book about passing gas. I’ll go stand in the corner but I get to take Smudge and my SamSam with me!
I think Beowulf’s Children or something like that was the sequel to Legacy of Heorot.
Feist and Wagers for me.
I’m all about the B names: Bennett, Bear, and Banks!