The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I discuss books I got over the last week—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (often these are unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

This covers two weeks since I was away for a few days and traveling home all day last Sunday, and there are some rather intriguing books that have shown up in the mail lately to cover today! I also went on a book shopping adventure during my trip and, of course, I couldn’t resist buying a few books I saw…

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

This collection of short stories by N. K. Jemisin will be released on November 27 (hardcover, ebook).

N. K. Jemisin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row for each book in her Broken Earth trilogy, and her story “The City Born Great” was nominated for a Hugo Award (and is included in this book!). She’s also one of my favorite authors so I was pretty excited when this one showed up!

 

Three-time Hugo Award winner N. K. Jemisin’s first collection of short fiction challenges and enchants with breathtaking stories of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.

N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.

Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul.

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

This middle grade space opera will be released on January 15, 2019 (hardcover, ebook).

I love the sound of this with its mix of science fiction and fantasy based on Korean mythology, plus I’ve wanted to read more by Yoon Ha Lee after enjoying “The Coin of Heart’s Desire” in the anthology Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales.

 

Rick Riordan Presents Yoon Ha Lee’s space opera about thirteen-year-old Min, who comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you’d never know it by looking at her.

To keep the family safe, Min’s mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times. Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She’s counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.

When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.

Min’s quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery. The outcome may not be what she had hoped, but it has the potential to exceed her wildest dreams.

This sci-fi adventure with the underpinnings of Korean mythology will transport you to a world far beyond your imagination.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Mirage (Mirage #1) by Somaiya Daud

This young adult science fiction novel was released last month (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). Entertainment Weekly has an excerpt from Mirage.

This was on my list of anticipated books of 2018 so I had to buy it when I found it on display in a store.

 

In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated home.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty―and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey

Banewreaker (The Sundering #1) by Jacqueline Carey

One of Jacqueline Carey’s earlier fantasy novels, Banewreaker is currently available in ebook and audiobook but is more difficult to find in print. I love Jacqueline Carey’s writing and am particularly fond of all her epic fantasy books I’ve read (especially her newest, Starless!) so I bought this when I came across it in a used bookstore.

Jacqueline Carey’s website has a sample from Banewreaker. Godslayer is the second half of The Sundering duology.

 

Following the triumphant success of her Kushiel series (Kushiel’s DartKushiel’s ChosenKushiel’s Avatar), Jacqueline Carey now turns her hand to another startling fable, an epic tale of gods waging war in their bid to control an entire universe and the mortals they use as chess pieces in a most deadly game.

Once, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord. First-born among them was Haomane, Lord-of-Thought and with his brother and sister gods, the Seven drew upon of the power of the Souma, claimed a race of beings for their own and began Shaping the world to their will.

But Haomane saw the ways of this new world and was displeased. For in his younger brother Satoris, once called the Sower, Haomane thought too prideful and in his gift, the quickening of the flesh too freely to the races…and to that of Man in particular. Haomane asked Satoris to withdraw his Gift from Men but he refused. And so began the Shapers’ War.

Eons have passed. The war that ensued Sundered the very world. Haomane and his siblings lay to one end of a vast ocean unable to touch their creations, Satoris and the races of the world on the other. Satoris has been broken and left adrift among the peoples of the world and is reviled, with most of the races believing that it was he alone who caused the rift and depriving them of the balm of the Seven. He sits in Darkhaven, controlling his own dominion–seeking not victory but neither vengeance.

But still Haomane is not content. Through Haomane’s whispers in the minds and hearts of the races of the world come a prophecy that if Satoris were defeated, the world could be made whole and all would bask in the light of the Souma again. And the few who stay by Satoris are viewed as the ultimate evil. And so the races come together to defeat Satoris, a being who helped engender them all but who is caught in his elder brother’s warp.

Strong storytelling with evocative, compelling, and unforgettable characters, Banewrecker ultimately asks the question:

If all that is considered good considers you evil, are you?

Unexpected Magic: Collected Stories by Diana Wynne Jones

Unexpected Magic: Collected Stories by Diana Wynne Jones

This collection of short stories and one novella by Diana Wynne Jones was another used bookstore purchase. I couldn’t resist getting it when I found a hardcover copy in decent condition, but it is currently available in mass market paperback and ebook.

 

Master storyteller Diana Wynne Jones presents ariveting collection of unpredictable tales, including:

  • A cat tells how the kindhearted wizard she owns is suddenly called upon to defeat a horrific Beast.
  • When Anne has mumps, her drawings come to life, and she must protect her home from them.
  • Four children become involved in the intrigue surrounding an innocent prince, an evil count, and a brave outlaw.

These fifteen stories and one novella will enchant, startle, and surprise!

Search Image by Julie E. Czerneda

Search Image (Web Shifter’s Library #1) by Julie E. Czerneda

Julie E. Czerneda’s newest science fiction novel will be released on October 2 (hardcover, ebook). Search Image is the first book in a new series about Esen from the Web Shifter trilogy, which begins with Beholder’s Eye.

 

The first book in the Web Shifter’s Library series returns to the adventures of Esen, a shapeshifting alien and member of an ancient yet endangered race, who must navigate the perils of a hostile universe.

Esen’s back! And the dear little blob is in trouble, again.

Things began so well. She and her Human friend Paul Ragem are ready to celebrate the first anniversary of their greatest accomplishment, the All Species’ Library of Linguistics and Culture, by welcoming his family back. He hopes. Having mourned his supposed death years ago, understandably, feelings are bent.

Instead, they’ve unexpected guests, starting with an old acquaintance. Paul’s father has gone missing under dire circumstances.

Before he can convince Esen to help him search, a friend shows up to use the Library. A crisis on Dokeci Na is about to explode into violence. To stop it, Evan Gooseberry needs answers. Unfortunately, the artifact he brought in trade holds its own distracting secret. A touch of very familiar blue. Web-flesh.

The race is on. Paul, to find his father. Esen, to search for a mysterious legacy while helping Evan avert an extinction. What none of them realize is the price of success will be the most terrible choice of all.

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