Fictitious

Mage Against The Machine, the debut novel from author Shaun Barger, is an explosive and emotional collision between fantasy and science fiction. It intertwines the stories of a young Magi soldier from an isolated world of government controlled magic, and a cybernetically enhanced resistance fighter struggling against a planet-conquering artificial intelligence. Mage Against The Machine is available now from Saga Press.

Gwenda Bond's work includes a trilogy of Lois Lane YA novels, and the "Cirque American" book series, as well as the audio drama podcast "Dead Air". Her latest novel, "Suspicious Minds", is the first official "Stranger Things" tie-in and works as a prequel to the hit Netflix series. "Suspicious Minds" is available now from Del Rey books.

Gareth Hanrahan is an author and role playing game writer/designer. His new novel, The Gutter Prayer, is a brilliant mash-up of fantasy, alchemical steampunk, and Lovecraftian horror. It follows three unlikely companions – a thief, a Stoneman and a ghoul – as they are pulled headlong into their ancient city's hidden magical war. The Gutter Prayer is available now in stores everywhere from Orbit Books.

Jordanna Max Brodsky's previous series, the Olympus Bound trilogy, found the ancient gods of Greece living in modern Manhattan. Her passion for history and mythology is on display again with her latest novel, The Wolf in the Whale – which follows the quest of a young Inuit shaman to defend her people, and her own identity, from the wars of men and their gods. The Wolf in the Whale arrives in stores on January 29, 2019, from Red Hook Books.

S.A. Chakraborty is the author of The Daevabad trilogy, which includes her acclaimed debut novel The City of Brass, and its sequel, The Kingdom of Copper, which is available January 22nd, 2019 from Harper Voyager. It's a lushly written, emotionally complex fantasy series with a fascinating, middle east-inspired mythology.

Fleeting and unsubtle, Sylvain Neuvel's The Test is, appropriately, all about choices. What decisions will a person make when their future is on the line? How do those choices change under pressure, when the lives of others depend on them? And who are we to judge if those actions make someone good, make them worthy?

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. Her latest novel, the young adult fantasy The Gilded Wolves, arrives in stores on January 15th from Wednesday Books. It's a fast-paced heist adventure set in a darkly glamorous version of Paris in 1889, featuring a magic system forged from a twist of biblical mythology, and a highly quotable cast of dysfunctional yet fiercely competent young thieves.

Fictitious Bonus Book Review: Bleak, propulsive, and frighteningly plausible, Robert Jackson Bennett's concise novella Vigilance examines an America which has embraced gun violence as inevitable and marketable. Yet the greatest weapons wielded in this warning tale are the tools of media manipulation, used to keep a diminishing populace paranoid yet eager for more corporate-sponsored bloodshed.

Recorded at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, this live panel discussion features super-star TV-scribe Jane Espenson, Marvel's Cloak & Dagger co-executive producer Christine Boylan, young adult breakout author Tomi Adeyemi, Marvel & DC comics writer Erica Schultz, bestselling paranormal romance author Rebecca Zanetti, and Nerdist and Geek & Sundry writer Kendall Ashley. Moderated by Fictitious host Adron Buske. If you're interested in what makes a great villain so compelling and captivating, you'll find a lot of ideas to explore in this discussion. WARNING: there's a fair amount of good-natured swearing in this episode. It's probably not one to listen to with the kids.

Isaac Marion is the author of the "Warm Bodies" series, which views the zombie apocalypse from the unique perspective of one of the Dead (who is trying very hard not to be). The bestselling first novel has been translated into 25 languages and was adapted as the hit 2013 film "Warm Bodies". The series includes prequel novella "The New Hunger" and sequel novel "The Burning World", and completes with his latest book, "The Living".