The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. 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, along with series information and the publisher’s book description.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
This is a day late due to household chores and needing to make some blog upgrades over the weekend, but I wanted to highlight the two books that came in the mail last week. They are both debut novels that I’m very excited about—in fact, they were both featured in my Anticipated 2023 Speculative Fiction Book Releases post!
The Surviving Sky (The Rages Trilogy #1) by Kritika H. Rao
Kritika H. Rao’s epic science fantasy debut novel will be released in the US and UK on June 13 (paperback, ebook).
Tor.com has an excerpt from The Surviving Sky, and the Titan Books website has information on where to buy it depending on location.
The author discussed the themes and trying to summarize all that went into The Surviving Sky in her Women in SF&F Month 2022 guest post, “In Defense of Questions”:
I always knew I was writing science fantasy, but in the early days of writing The Surviving Sky, when people asked me what my book was about, I—like many writers—fumbled the answer magnificently. After all, I was spending an entire book’s worth of words to answer that very question. If I could tell you what it was about in a few pat lines, I wouldn’t need to write that book.
Of course, since then, I’ve learned my loglines and my tropes, my tweet-length synopses and my clever metaphors. It’s a story about a husband-wife duo who are trying to save their marriage while they try to save their flying plant city from crashing into jungle storms. It’s a meditation on power and privilege, who we love, why we love, and the cost of love. It’s a critique of capitalism, a story about duty and shared human society, a reflection on our relationship to survival and our damaged environment, and an exploration into the way all of our actions impact our very consciousness. It’s very epic, very awesome, and it has EVERYTHING AAAA!
She also delved into the dynamic between the two main characters and the challenges presented by the married couple’s differing worldviews in her guest post:
I think this, in the end, was my favorite part of writing this book; the fact that I could pose questions, often from two very opposing perspectives with Iravan and Ahilya who are on opposite sides of the spectrum, without making a judgement call on the answer. While all the plot questions are answered, deeper questions like this are explored with many possible answers; and that answer, dear reader, is up to you.
My job as a writer is merely to incite curiosity—whether it is on theories of power or of consciousness. The way I see it—questions are far more interesting than answers. We forget the role of dialectics in knowledge-building when we engage in competitive debate—and my hope with The Surviving Sky is that readers are caught in the passions of the two characters and their opposing viewpoints so much that it makes them question their own point of view when it comes to the above themes amongst others.
I just love the sound of this book with its focus on a couple with different views, floating cities, and exploration of so many different things: capitalism, power and privilege, society, relationships with each other and the environment, and more. Plus it’s science fantasy!
Enter a lush world of cataclysmic storms, planet-wide jungles, floating cities and devastating magic in this first book of an explosive new science fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin, Tasha Suri and Martha Wells.
High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. Here, architects are revered deeply, with humanity’s survival reliant on a privileged few. If not for their abilities, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.
Charismatic and powerful, Iravan is one such architect. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his archeologist wife, they are a method to suppress non-architects. Their marriage is thorny and fraught—yet when a jungle expedition goes terribly wrong, jeopardizing their careers, Ahilya and Iravan must work together to save their reputations. But as their city begins to plummet, their discoveries threaten not only their marriage, but their entire civilization.
The Jasad Heir (The Scorched Throne #1) by Sara Hashem
Sara Hashem’s political fantasy debut novel will be released in the US on July 18 (trade paperback, ebook, audiobook). It’s coming out in the UK on July 20 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).
Gizmodo has an excerpt from The Jasad Heir.
I’ve wanted to read this Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy novel ever since I saw the acquisition announcement at Orbit Books, which says:
The Jasad Heir is an epic tale of scorched kingdoms, forbidden magic, and cunning royals. Sylvia is the heir of the shattered kingdom, Jasad. Forced into hiding after her family is massacred, she knows to keep her head down, remain alone, and never use her magic. But one act of kindness changes everything and Sylvia is thrust into a game with her fallen kingdom’s greatest enemy—a game that could resurrect her kingdom or leave it in ashes forever.
It has so many elements I love: forbidden magic, someone with a secret identity, a game between foes, and enemies who find they might actually not hate each other after all.
A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy and becomes embroiled in a complex game that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever In this unmissable Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy debut.
Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic was outlawed. Its royal family murdered. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe. The Heir of Jasad escaped the massacre, and she intends to stay hidden, especially from the armies of Nizahl that continue to hunt her people.
But a moment of anger changes everything. When Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, Sylvia accidentally reveals her magic—and captures his attention. Now Sylvia’s forced to make a deal with her greatest enemy: Help him hunt the rebels in exchange for her life.
A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity, even as hatred shifts into something more between the Heirs. And as the tides change around her, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she abandoned.
The scorched kingdom is rising, and it needs a queen.
