Sponsored by Tor Books.
Battle has raged around the great city of Tar Valon. Inside, a Foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount is born an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before the forces of the Shadow have an opportunity to kill him. New Spring begins Moiraine Damodred and Lan Mandragoran’s quest to find the Dragon Reborn that will lead to the events of The Eye of the World and their fateful meeting with Rand al’Thor. New Spring is a perfect jumping-on point for readers wanting to more before the forthcoming TV show.
Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with some news and some indie releases to check out today. I’m walking down club music memory lane thanks to one of my happy links and wondering what happened to all my old Eurphoria CDs. Follow that bass beat into the weekend, space pirates, get out your glow sticks, and dance safe.
I’ve got two musical interludes that made me smile today: Frog Beat and Bongo Cat in Space (if the music is familiar and you’re not sure why, remember almost 20 years ago when PPK did ResuRection?)
Looking for non-book things you can do to help in the quest for justice? blacklivesmatter.card.co and The Okra Project.
News and Views
FIYAHCon has released the shortlist for the first ever Ignyte Awards—and it’s open to the public to vote. (Also, WHAT A LIST!) Link is at the bottom of the post.
The North American Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (NASFiC) will be happening virtually this weekend and is free for anyone to attend. Want to find out how?
Tor.com is giving away free ebooks of Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi until tomorrow.
New Zealand authors are teaming up to bring you witchy fiction with a dash of romance to brighten your September.
Robert J. Sawyer says we’re all living in a sci-fi novel now
The Flawed Fantasy of the Chosen One
Honest trailer for The Old Guard
Serious Eats did a history of astronaut ice cream
On Book Riot
5 SFF books about rebellion and overthrowing the government
High fantasy vs. low fantasy: your guide
This month you can enter to win $50 at your favorite indie bookstore and a 1-year Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Free Association Friday: Recent Indie Releases
Indie books don’t show up as reliably on my new release lists (sometimes I only know about them due to a lucky Twitter moment or the authors emailing me), so I don’t get to put them in the Tuesday newsletter very often. So let’s play Tuesday on a Friday and look at some recent books from indie authors!
Ex Inferis by Nazri Noor – Being the half-human son of a demon prince has its major perks, and Quilliam leans into his life of luxury and excess. That is, up until he finds out he’s the Chosen of Asmodeus, destined to destroy the world that happens to be where he keeps all his stuff.
Of Flesh and Feathers by L.M. Pierce – Some disaster has fallen humanity; the caretaker of Chickory’s flock no longer comes to feed the birds or take their eggs, and everything stinks of death. Fayne, a member of the flock, begins having prophetic dreams of safety that lies further than any chicken has every traveled. Chickory, with the help of the farm dog, must try to get her flock to safety and discover what has turned their once-loving keepers into monsters.
The Pegasus Pulp Sampler by Cora Buhlert – A collection of short stories and novellas from Cora, who has also been nominated for the Hugo Award for Fan Writer.
Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora edited by Zelda Knight – This is exactly what it says on the tin, and you’ll be getting stories from Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Nuzo Onoh, Nicole Givens Kurtz, and more.
Road Seven by Keith Rosson – Strongly advised to get out of the country after being involved in a drunken and possibly fatal hit-and-run accident, Mark Sandoval decides to spend his exile hunting for unicorns, after a woman from a tiny island off the coast of Iceland sends him grainy footage that could be nothing else. What’s waiting for Mark is a lot stranger and more dangerous than just a unicorn, however.
Black Dawn by K. Gorman – Karin Makos is a genetically engineered creation who has escaped the lab where she was raised and is quietly trying to live a normal life. But when a system-wide attack leaves decimates humanity, she must take to the stars and look to the past she has spent so long running from to find answers–and save those she cares for.
Kill Three Birds by Nicole Givens Kurtz – In the Kingdom of Aves, where humans have wings, Hawks are sent to investigate criminal activity and other difficult situations due to their special hawk-like vision. When a missing girl is found dead in a small mountain village, the Hawk Prentice is dispatched to see what she will see… but she soon discovers it’s not one dead bird, but three.
A Queen’s Pride by N.D. Jones – After centuries of war between humans and shifters, two nations have emerged on the continent of Zafeo: the human territory of Vumaris and the feline shifter nation of Shona. After eight decades of peace, however, the humans are ready to restart the war. They try to assassinate the rulers of Shona and kidnap their daughter, Asha. Now it’s up to Asha to save those she loves—and decide what she will do to her enemies.
See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.