Space looks pretty great these days, doesn’t it? Let’s go there—in books! Head off to the Star Wars universe with From a Certain Point of View, a collection that retells A New Hope in short stories from dozens of authors—or with The Force Doth Awaken, Ian Doescher’s latest Shakespearean version of a Star Wars tale. John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War gets a nifty mini-book edition; it’s the pirate life for the characters in R.E. Stearns’ Barbary Station; and, if you can’t pick just one, the anthology Infinite Stars will give you plenty of space-faring options!
Keep track of all the new releases here. Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.
WEEK ONE
Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View (October 3, Del Rey)
Anthology. On May 25, 1977, the world was introduced to Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and a galaxy full of possibilities. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, more than forty contributors lend their vision to this retelling of Star Wars. Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors, trendsetting artists, and treasured voices from the literary history of Star Wars, including Delilah S. Dawson, Kieron Gillen, Christie Golden, Chuck Wendig, Claudia Gray, Nnedi Okorafor, Ken Liu, Daniel José Older, and many more.
Class: Joyride—Guy Adams (October 3, HarperTeen)
Young adult. Poppy is a quiet girl, right up until she steals a car and drives it through a shop window. Max is a nice guy, but then he kills his whole family. Just for fun. Amar always seems so happy, so why is he trying to jump to his death from the school roof? No one can figure out why teenagers are behaving so strangely—and dangerously. Stories of impossible car accidents, random attacks, even cold blooded murder make Miss Quill’s class sit up and take notice. Kids are going berserk, and some of them are even dying. Then Ram wakes up in a body he doesn’t recognize, and if he doesn’t figure out why, he may well be next.
William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh—Ian Doescher (October 3, Quirk)
Experience The Force Awakens as a Shakespeare play, complete with Elizabethan verse, Shakespearian monologues, and theatrical stage directions! As the noble Resistance clashes with the vile First Order, Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, and BB-8 are pulled into a galaxy-wide drama—in iambic pentameter! Star Wars fans and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike will enjoy the authentic meter, reimagined movie scenes and dialogue, and hidden Easter eggs throughout. Chewbacca speaks! Leader Snoke gives a soliloquy! And the romance of Han Solo and Leia Organa takes a tragic turn that Shakespeare would approve of. All with woodcut-style illustrations that place Star Wars characters into an Elizabethan galaxy. The story may take place in a galaxy far, far away, but you’ll be convinced it was written by the Bard.
Seize Today (Forget Tomorrow #3)—Pintip Dunn (October 3, Entangled Teen)
Young adult. Seventeen-year-old Olivia Dresden is a precognitive. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can see the way for everyone to be their best self—if only they would make the right decisions. No one is more conflicted than her mother, and Olivia can only watch as Chairwoman Dresden chooses the dark, destructive course every time. Olivia remains fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be, but when the chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, the striking and strong-willed boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia sees a vision of her own imminent death … at Ryder’s hand. Despite her bleak fate, she rescues Ryder and flees with him, drawing her mother’s fury and sparking a romance as doomed as Olivia herself. As the full extent of Chairwoman Dresden’s gruesome plan is revealed, Olivia must find the courage to live in the present—and stop her mother before she destroys the world.
Uncanny—Sarah Fine (October 3, Skyscape)
Young adult. Cora should remember every detail about the night her stepsister, Hannah, fell down a flight of stairs to her death, especially since her Cerepin—a sophisticated brain-computer interface—may have recorded each horrifying moment. But when she awakens after that night, her memories gone, Cora is left with only questions—and dread of what the answers might mean. When a downward spiral of self-destruction forces Cora to work with an AI counselor, she finds an unexpected ally, even as others around her grow increasingly convinced that Hannah’s death was no accident. As Cora’s dark past swirls chaotically with the versions of Hannah’s life and death that her family and friends want to believe, Cora discovers the disturbing depths of what some people may do—including herself.
Satellite—Nick Lake (October 3, Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Young adult. Moon 2 is a space station that orbits approximately 250 miles above Earth. It travels 17,500 miles an hour, making one full orbit every ninety minutes. It’s also the only home that 15-year-old Leo and two other teens have ever known. Born and raised on Moon 2, Leo and the twins, Orion and Libra, are finally old enough and strong enough to endure the dangerous trip to Earth. They’ve been “parented” by teams of astronauts since birth and have run countless drills to ready themselves for every conceivable difficulty they might face on the flight. But has anything really prepared them for life on terra firma? Because while the planet may be home to billions of people, living there is more treacherous than Leo and his friends could ever have imagined, and their very survival will mean defying impossible odds.
Ringer—Lauren Oliver (October 3, HarperCollins)
Young adult. In the world outside of the Haven Institute, Lyra and Caelum are finding it hard to be human—and Lyra, infected at Haven with a terrible disease, finds her symptoms are growing worse. When Caelum leaves without warning, Lyra follows him, seeking a pioneering organization in Philadelphia that might have a cure. But what they uncover there is a shocking connection to their past, even as their future seems in danger of collapsing. Though Gemma just wants to go back to her normal life after Haven, she soon learns that her powerful father has other plans for the replicas—unless she and her boyfriend Pete can stop him. But they soon learn that they aren’t safe either. The Haven Institute wasn’t destroyed after all, and now Gemma is the one behind the walls.
The Genius Plague—David Walton (October 3, Pyr)
Neil Johns has just started his dream job as a code breaker in the NSA when his brother, Paul, a mycologist, goes missing on a trip to collect samples in the Amazon jungle. Paul returns with a gap in his memory and a fungal infection that almost kills him. But once he recuperates, he has enhanced communication, memory, and pattern recognition. Others, like Paul, have also fallen ill and recovered with abilities they didn’t have before. The survivors, from entire remote Brazilian tribes to American tourists, all seem to be working toward a common, and deadly, goal. Paul sees the fungus as the next stage of human evolution, while Neil is convinced that it is driving its human hosts to destruction. Brother must oppose brother on an increasingly fraught international stage, with the stakes: the free will of every human on earth.
To Fall Among Vultures (Union Earth Privateers #2)—Scott Warren (October 3, Parvus Press)
Humanity has spent decades carefully establishing a quiet foothold in an uncaring galaxy brimming with hostile powers. That all unraveled six months ago when Captain Victoria Marin and her crew of Vultures stumbled into the center of a conflict between two of the galaxy’s three apex civilizations. Eager to get off the intergalactic radar, the Vultures spent the last six months laying low, running routine salvage and recon missions. The scavenged xenotech they and the other privateers ship back to Earth are crucial to securing humanity’s place among the stars. But when an alien Commander shows up on her doorstep offering Earth its first true defensive alliance, Vick has no choice but to pledge her crew of crafty privateers to their cause. Vick and her Vultures are drawn into a grudge almost a thousand years in the making, and survival for one race could mean extinction for the other.
WEEK TWO
The Power—Naomi Alderman (October 10, Little, Brown)
In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there’s a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power—they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets.
Tool of War—Paolo Bacigalupi (October 10, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Tool, a half-man/half-beast designed for combat, is capable of so much more than his creators had ever dreamed. He has gone rogue from his pack of bioengineered “augments” and emerged a victorious leader of a pack of human soldier boys. But he is hunted relentlessly by someone determined to destroy him, who knows an alarming secret: Tool has found the way to resist his genetically ingrained impulses of submission and loyalty toward his masters… The time is coming when Tool will embark on an all-out war against those who have enslaved him. From one of science fiction’s undisputed masters comes a riveting page-turner that pulls no punches.”
The Knowing—Sharon Cameron (October 10, Scholastic Press)
Young adult. Samara is one of the Knowing, and the Knowing do not forget. Hidden deep in the comfort and splendor of her underground city, a refuge from the menace of a coming Earth, Samara learns what she should have never known and creates a memory so terrible she cannot live with it. So she flees, to Canaan, the lost city of her ancestors, to Forget. Beckett has flown through the stars to find a dream: Canaan, the most infamous social experiment of Earth’s antiquity. Beckett finds Samara in the ruins of the lost city, and uncovers so much more than he ever bargained for — a challenge to all he’s ever believed in or sworn to. When planets collide and memories clash, can Samara and Beckett save two worlds, and remember love in a place that has forgotten it?
Children of the Fleet (Fleet School #1)—Orson Scott Card (October 10, Tor Books)
Children of the Fleet is a new angle on Card’s bestselling series, telling the story of the Fleet in space, parallel to the story on Earth told in the Ender’s Shadow series. Ender Wiggin won the Third Formic war, ending the alien threat to Earth. Afterwards, all the terraformed Formic worlds were open to settlement by humans, and the International Fleet became the arm of the Ministry of Colonization, run by Hirum Graff. MinCol now runs Fleet School on the old Battle School station, and still recruits very smart kids to train as leaders of colony ships, and colonies. Dabeet Ochoa is a very smart kid. Top of his class in every school. But he doesn’t think he has a chance at Fleet School, because he has no connections to the Fleet. That he knows of. At least until the day that Colonel Graff arrives at his school for an interview.
To Guard Against the Dark (Reunification #3)—Julie E. Czerneda (October 10, DAW)
Jason Morgan is a troubling mystery to friends and enemies alike: once a starship captain and trader, then Joined to the most powerful member of the Clan, Sira di Sarc, following her and her kind out of known space. Only to return, alone and silent. But he’s returned to a Trade Pact under seige and desperate. The Assemblers continue to be a threat. Other species have sensed opportunity and threaten what stability remains, including those who dwell in the M’hir. What Morgan knows could save them all, or doom them. For not all of the Clan followed Sira. And peace isn’t what they seek.
Dare Mighty Things—Heather Kaczynski (October 10, HarperTeen)
Young adult. Eighteen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she is to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe. Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take, but nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her. As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down…even if it costs her everything.
(Id)entity (Phoenix Horizon #2)—PJ Manney (October 10, 47North)
In the guise of political revolutionary Thomas Paine, bioengineer Peter Bernhardt brought down the corrupt and powerful Phoenix Club—and then turned revolution into evolution by becoming the first artificial human intelligence: Major Tom. In the two years since Major Tom revealed his digital existence and spread his freedom manifesto, he has been revered as a god and vilified as a demon. The United States and Europe have splintered into ideologically independent regions. Russia and China prepare to expand their empires. In the midst of the chaos, pirates attack a seastead in the Pacific Ocean, capturing one of Major Tom’s allies. A mysterious and powerful group wages a secret war. To rescue his ally, Major Tom must first regain his own humanity and somehow save a species he no longer identifies with, and which seems determined to destroy itself.
Last Star Burning—Caitlin Sangster (October 10, Simon Pulse)
Young adult. Sev is branded with the mark of a criminal—a star burned into her hand—as penalty for being the daughter of the woman who betrayed their entire nation. As further punishment, Sev is forced to do hard labor to prove that she’s more valuable alive than dead. When the government blames Sev for a horrific bombing, she must escape the city or face the chopping block. Unimaginable dangers lurk outside the city walls, and Sev’s only hope of survival lies with the most unlikely person—Howl, the chairman’s son. Though he promises to lead her to safety, Howl has secrets, and Sev can’t help but wonder if he knows more about her past—and her mother’s crimes—than he lets on. But in a hostile world, trust is a luxury. Even when Sev’s life and the lives of everyone she loves may hang in the balance.
WEEK THREE
Breach of Containment (Central Corps #3)—Elizabeth Bonesteel (October 17, Harper Voyager)
Now an engineer on a commercial shipping vessel, former Central Corps Commander Elena Shaw finds herself drawn into the galactic conflict when she picks up the artifact on Yakutsk—and investigation of it uncovers ties to the massive, corrupt corporation Ellis Systems, whom she’s opposed before. Before Elena can pursue the artifact’s purpose further, disaster strikes: all communication with the First Sector—including Earth—is lost. The reason becomes apparent when news reaches Elena of a battle fleet, intent on destruction, rapidly approaching Earth. And with communications at sublight levels, there is no way to warn the planet in time. Armed with crucial intel from a shadowy source and the strange artifact, Elena may be the only one who can stop the fleet, and Ellis, and save Earth. But for this mission there will be no second chances—and no return.
Ender’s Game—Orson Scott Card (October 17, Tor Books)
Reissue. This engaging, collectible, miniature hardcover of the Orson Scott Card classic and worldwide bestselling novel, Ender’s Game, makes an excellent gift for anyone’s science fiction library.
Forbidden Suns (Silence #3)—D. Nolan Clark (October 17, Orbit)
Aleister Lanoe has been on a mission since before he can remember. Honing his skills as a fighter pilot and commander through three centuries of constant warfare, he has never met a foe he cannot best. But now he faces a mission which may be his last: take vengeance on the alien race who has coldly and systematically erased all the sentient life in its path. In all his years at war, the stakes have never been higher…
The Innocence Treatment—Ari Goelman (October 17, Roaring Brook Press)
Young adult. Lauren has a disorder that makes her believe everything her friends tell her—and she believes everyone is her friend. Her innocence puts her at constant risk, so when she gets the opportunity to have an operation to correct her condition, she seizes it. But after the surgery, Lauren is changed. Is she a paranoid lunatic with violent tendencies? Or a clear-eyed observer of the world who does what needs to be done? Told in journal entries and therapy session transcripts, Ari Goelman’s The Innocence Treatment is a collection of Lauren’s papers, annotated by her sister long after the events of the novel.
Monster (Monster #1)—Michael Grant (October 17, Katherine Tegen Books)
Young adult. It’s been four years since a meteor hit Perdido Beach and everyone disappeared. Everyone, except the kids trapped in the FAYZ—an invisible dome that was created by an alien virus. Inside the FAYZ, animals began to mutate and teens developed dangerous powers. The terrifying new world was plagued with hunger, lies, and fear of the unknown. Now the dome is gone and meteors are hitting earth with an even deadlier virus. Humans will mutate into monsters and the whole world will be exposed. As some teens begin to morph into heroes, they will find that others have become dangerously out of control…and that the world is on the brink of a monstrous battle between good and evil.
Last Chance (Rains Brothers #2)—Gregg Hurwitz (October 17, Tor Teen)
Young adult. The New York Times bestselling author of Orphan X, Gregg Hurwitz, returns to Creek’s Cause to follow the Rains brothers as they fight an alien threat that has transformed everyone over the age of 18 into ferocious, zombie-like beings, in this thrilling sequel to The Rains. Battling an enemy not of this earth, Chance and Patrick become humanity’s only hope for salvation.
Enhanced (Flying #2)—Carrie Jones (October 17, Tor Teen)
Young adult. Seventeen-year-old Mana has found and rescued her mother, but her work isn’t done yet. Her mother may be out of alien hands, but she’s in a coma, unable to tell anyone what she knows. Mana is ready to take action. The only problem? Nobody will let her. Lyle, her best friend and almost-boyfriend (for a minute there, anyway), seems to want nothing to do with hunting aliens, despite his love of Doctor Who. Bestie Seppie is so desperate to stay out of it, she’s actually leaving town. And her mom’s hot but arrogant alien-hunting partner, China, is ignoring Mana’s texts, cutting her out of the mission entirely. They all know the alien threat won’t stay quiet for long. It’s up to Mana to fight her way back in.
Wild Cards I: Volume I—George R.R. Martin, editor (October 17, Tor Books)
Reissue. Great for gift-giving, a specially packaged pocket-sized (4″x6″) edition of the first volume of George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards shared-world series! There is a secret history of the world—a history in which an alien virus struck the Earth in the aftermath of World War II, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers. Some were called Aces—those with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Others were termed Jokers—cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities. Some turned their talents to the service of humanity. Others used their powers for evil. Wild Cards is their story.
Old Man’s War—John Scalzi (October 17, Tor Books)
Reissue. A perfect for gift for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan’s collection, John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe. John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it to the stars. The bad news is that, out there, planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
Infinite Stars—Bryan Thomas Schmidt, editor (October 17, Titan Books)
Anthology. The seductive thrill of uncharted worlds, of distant galaxies… and the unknown threats that lurk in the vastness of the cosmos. From Foundation to Lensman, Star Wars to Guardians of the Galaxy, space opera continues to exert its magnetic pull on us all. Herein lie canonical tales of the Honorverse, the Lost Fleet, Dune, Vatta’s War, Ender Wiggin, the Legion of the Damned, the Imperium, and more. Also included are past masterpieces by authors whose works defined the genre, including a Miles Vorkosigan adventure, a story from the author of the Dragonriders of Pern, and a rare tale co-authored by the screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back. Nebula and Hugo Award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and Science Fiction Grand Masters—these authors take us to the farthest regions of space.
WEEK FIVE
The Rift Frequency (Rift Uprising #2)—Amy S. Foster (October 31, Harper Voyager)
For three years Ryn was stationed at The Battle Ground Rift site—one of the fourteen mysterious and unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths—and then she met Ezra Massad. Falling in love and becoming a rebel Citadel wasn’t part of Ryn’s life plan, but she and Ezra began to decode what’s really going on with the Allied Rift Coalition. What they discovered was enough to start a civil war. When the base explodes with infighting and Ezra gets caught in the fray, he is accidentally pushed through the Rift, taking a stolen laptop—and the answers it could give Ryn—with him. All Ryn wants is to locate Ezra and get back to her Earth. But that’s not easy when she’s traveling the multiverse with Levi, the painfully guarded Citadel who shoved Ezra through in the first place. And Ryn is quickly learning that inside the multiverse there is no normal—it’s adapt, or die—and the one weapon she really needs to win the war back home is the truth.
The Empress (Diabolic #2)—S. J. Kincaid (October 31, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Young adult. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—one where creatures like Nemesis will be given worth and recognition, where science and information can be shared with everyone and not just the elite. But the ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature. Nemesis will protect Tyrus at any cost, but she cannot protect him by being the killing machine she once was. She will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire—or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne. But if proving her humanity means that she and Tyrus must do inhuman things, is the fight worth the cost of winning it?
Barbary Station—R.E. Stearns (October 31, Saga Press)
Adda and Iridian are newly minted engineers, but aren’t able to find any work in a solar system ruined by economic collapse after an interplanetary war. Desperate for employment, they hijack a colony ship and plan to join a famed pirate crew living in luxury at Barbary Station, an abandoned shipbreaking station in deep space. But when they arrive there, nothing is as expected. The pirates aren’t living in luxury—they’re hiding in a makeshift base welded onto the station’s exterior hull. The artificial intelligence controlling the station’s security system has gone mad, trying to kill all station residents and shooting down any ship that attempts to leave—so there’s no way out. Adda and Iridian have one chance to earn a place on the pirate crew: destroy the artificial intelligence. The last engineer who went up against the AI met an untimely end, and the pirates are taking bets on how the newcomers will die. But Adda and Iridian plan to beat the odds. There’s a glorious future in piracy … if only they can survive long enough.
