Stormtroopers rush in like a lion and go out like alien lambs (or something like that) in March. Look for series additions or starts from, among others, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Dune Universe), H. Paul Honsinger (Man of War), Bethany Wiggins (Stung), Jenna Black (Replica), and Adam Christopher (Spider War).
Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.
Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.
WEEK ONE
Above—Isla Morley (March 4, Gallery)
Blythe Hallowell is sixteen when she is abducted by a survivalist and locked away in an abandoned missile silo in Eudora, Kansas. She focuses frantically on finding a way out, until the harrowing truth of her new existence settles in, the crushing loneliness, the terrifying madness of a captor who believes he is saving her from the end of the world, and the persistent temptation to give up. Nothing prepares Blythe for the burden of raising a child in confinement. She pushes aside the truth about a world he may never see for a myth that just might give meaning to their lives below ground. Their lives are ambushed by an event at once promising and devastating. As Blythe’s dream of going home hangs in the balance, she faces the ultimate choice: between survival and freedom.
Black Moon: A Novel—Kenneth Calhoun (March 4, Hogarth)
Insomnia has claimed everyone Biggs knows. Even his beloved wife, Carolyn, has succumbed to the red-rimmed eyes, slurred speech and cloudy mind before disappearing into the collapsing world. He ventures out into a world ransacked by mass confusion and desperation, where he meets others struggling against the tide of sleeplessness. Chase and his buddy Jordan are devising a scheme to live off their drug-store lootings; Lila is wandering the streets in an owl mask, no longer safe with her insomniac parents; Felicia abandons the sanctuary of a sleep research center to try to protect her family and reunite with Chase, an ex-boyfriend. Sleep has become a precious commodity. Biggs persists in his quest for Carolyn, finding a resolve and inner strength that he never knew he had.
Cured (Stung #2)—Bethany Wiggins (March 4, Walker Childrens)
Young Adult. Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way, until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family, details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life.
Hope Rearmed (Raj Whitehall #3-4)—David Drake and S.M. Stirling (March 4, Baen)
Omnibus edition. After the collapse of the galactic Web, civilizations crumbled and chaos reigned on thousands of planets. Only on planet Bellevue was there a difference. A Fleet Battle Computer named Center had survived from the old civilization. When it found Raj Whitehall, he and Center started Bellevue back on the road leading to the stars. Raj Whitehall has come close to reuniting the entire planet of Bellevue. Raj is loved by the people and his army. Even those closest to him, his band of sworn companions and his wickedly subtle but utterly loyal wife, hold him in awe. Raj battles only in the name of his emperor and has proven his loyalty again and again, still the half-mad jealousy and fear of that emperor Clerett is about to give Raj no choice but to revolt or face death.
Notes From the Internet Apocalypse—Wayne Gladstone (March 4, Thomas Dunne)
When the Internet suddenly stops working, society reels from the loss of flowing data and streaming entertainment. The economy tumbles and the government passes the draconian NET Recovery Act. For Gladstone, the Net’s disappearance comes particularly hard, following the loss of his wife. There are rumors that someone in New York is still online. Someone set apart from this new world where Facebook flirters “poke” each other in real life and members of Anonymous trade memes at secret parties. Where a former librarian can sell information as a human search engine and the perverted fulfill their secret fetishes at the blossoming Rule 34 club. With the help of his friends, Gladstone sets off to find the Internet. But is he the right man to save humanity from this Apocalypse?
The Memory of Sky: A Great Ship Trilogy (Marrow #3)—Robert Reed (March 4, Prime)
Diamond is an odd little boy, a seemingly fragile child, who proves to be anything but. An epic story begins when he steps into the world his parents have so carefully kept him from, a world where gigantic trees each house thousands of humans and another human species, the papio, rule its far edges. Does Diamond hold the promise to remake one species and, perhaps, change all of the Creation?
WEEK TWO
For Honor We Stand (Man of War #2)—H. Paul Honsinger (March 11, 47North)
In 2315, the Earth Union is losing a 30-year-long war with the Krag Hegemony. Space Commander Max Robicheaux now faces daunting challenges aboard the USS Cumberland: the dangers from the enemy without and clashes with crew and superiors within. Doctor Sahin receives a coded message summoning him to a secret meeting which aims to forge an alliance that could change the balance of power in Known Space. He must circumvent the fighter ships and heavily armed troops of the traitorous emir bent on killing him before he reaches the negotiating table. Both men must call upon their developing skills and growing friendship to bear the burden of carrying between the Krag Hegemony and the Earth Union a fateful ultimatum and the shocking answer.
Mentats of Dune (Dune Universe #5)—Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (March 11, Tor)
Gilbertus Albans has founded the Mentat School. Gilbertus walks an uneasy line between his own convictions and compromises in order to survive the Butlerian fanatics, led by the madman Manford Torondo. Mother Superior Raquella attempts to rebuild her Sisterhood School with her most talented student, Valya Harkonnen. Josef Venport conducts his own war against the Butlerians. VenHold Spacing Fleet controls nearly all commerce and he places an embargo on any planet that accepts Manford Torondo’s anti-technology pledge. The Mentats, the Navigators, and the Sisterhood all strive to improve the human race. They all know that as Butlerian fanaticism grows stronger, the battle will be to choose the path of humanity’s future, whether to embrace civilization, or to plunge into an endless dark age.
Nothing to Fear: A Tor.Com Original—Eric Walters (March 11, Tor.com)
“Nothing to Fear” is a new short story by Eric Walters. His most recent book is the thriller The Rule of Three. (Digital)
Resistance (Replica Trilogy #2)—Jenna Black (March 11, Tor Teen)
Young Adult. Nate Hayes is a Replica. The real Nate was viciously murdered, but thanks to Paxco’s groundbreaking human replication technology, a duplicate was created that holds all of the personality and the memories of the original. Or, almost all. Nate’s backup didn’t extend to the days preceding his murder, leaving him searching for answers about who would kill him, and why. After weeks spent attempting to solve his own murder with the help of his best friend and betrothed, Nadia Lake, Nate has found the answers he was seeking. The original Nate was killed because he knew a secret that could change everything. Thanks to Nadia’s quick thinking, the two of them hold the cards now. Neither of them fully understands just how deep the conspiracy runs.
The Detainee—Peter Liney (March 11, Jo Fletcher)
The Island is hopelessness. The Island is death. And it is to this place that all the elderly and infirm are shipped, the scapegoats for the collapse of society. There’s no escape, not from the punishment satellites that deliver instant judgment for any crime, including trying to get off the Island, and not from the demons that come on foggy nights, when the satellites are all but blind. But when one of the Island’s inhabitants, aging “Big Guy” Clancy, finds a network of tunnels beneath the waste, there is suddenly hope, for love, for escape, and for the chance to fight back. (U.S.)
Thief of the Ancients: Twilight of Kerberos Omnibus—Mike Wild (March 11, Abaddon)
The world of Twilight turns in the darkness, illuminated by the ethereal glow of the god-planet, Kerberos. This is a world of heroes and monsters, in which four unique individuals will stand against the end of everything. One of these is Kali Hooper, archaeologist and adventurer, exploring the lost places of the world and uncovering the mysteries and artefacts left behind by lost people in ancient days. Battling the forces of the sinister, oppressive Final Faith, stopping only occasionally for a pint at the Here There Be Flagons, Kali will unearth the secrets of Twilight’s past and discover the fates of the vanished Old Races. And, perhaps, she will reveal the truth of her own beginnings.
WEEK THREE
Elusion—Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam (March 18, Katherine Tegen)
Young Adult. A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without complications, or consequences. Regan is an Elusion insider. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, is about to release it nationwide. Since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape. When there are rumors of trouble in Elusion, Regan is determined to defend it. The critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. Regan discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty, a decision that will affect the lives of millions.
WEEK FOUR
Age of Shiva (Pantheon)—James Lovegrove (March 25, Solaris)
Zachary Bramwell, better known as the comics artist Zak Zap, is pushing forty and wondering why his life isn’t as exciting as the lives of the superheroes he draws. Then he’s shanghaied by black-suited goons and flown to Mount Meru, a vast complex built atop an island in the Maldives. Zak meets a trio of billionaire businessmen who put him to work designing costumes for a team of godlike super-powered beings based on the ten avatars of Vishnu from Hindu mythology. The Ten Avatars battle demons and aliens and seem to be the saviors of a world near collapse. Their presence is itself a harbinger of apocalypse. The Vedic “fourth age” of civilization, Kali Yuga, is coming to an end, and Zak has a ringside seat for the final war that threatens the destruction of Earth.
Lockstep—Karl Schroeder (March 25, Tor)
When Toby McGonigal finds himself lost in space, he expects his next drift into cold sleep to be his last. The planet he’s orbiting is frozen and sunless, and the cities are dead. When Toby wakes again, he’s surprised to discover a thriving planet, a strange and prosperous galaxy, and stranger still, that he’s been asleep for 14,000 years. Welcome to the Lockstep Empire, where civilization is kept alive by careful hibernation. Lockstep the center of the galaxy and Toby is shocked to learn that the Empire is still ruled by its founding family: his own. Toby’s brother Peter has become a tyrant. Peter sees Toby as a threat to his regime. With the help of a lockstep girl named Corva, Toby must survive the forces of this new Empire, outwit his siblings, and save human civilization.
The Burning Dark (Spider War #1)—Adam Christopher (March 25, Tor)
Captain Abraham Idaho Cleveland had led the Fleet into battle against an implacable machine intelligence capable of devouring entire worlds. After saving a planet, he finds himself relegated to one of the most remote backwaters in Fleetspace to oversee the decommissioning of a semi-deserted space station. All is not well aboard the U-Star Coast City. The station’s Commandant is nowhere to be seen, leaving Cleveland to deal with a hostile crew on his own. Alien shadows and whispers seem to haunt the corridors and airlocks. Cleveland reaches out to the universe via an old-fashioned space radio, only to tune in to a strange, enigmatic signal. Is the transmission just a random bit of static from the past, or a warning of an undying menace beyond mortal comprehension?
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series. You can find Suzanne on Facebook and on her website.
