New Books in Fantasy

As you may know, university presses publish a lot of good books. In fact, they publish thousands of them every year. They are different from most trade books in that most of them are what you might called "fundamental research." Their authors--dedicated researchers one and all--provide the scholarly stuff upon which many non-fiction trade books are based. So when you are reading, say, a popular history, you are often reading UP books at one remove. Of course, some UP books are also bestsellers, and they are all well written (and, I should say, thoroughly vetted thanks to the peer review system), but the greatest contribution of UPs is to provide a base of fundamental research to the public. And they do a great job of it.

How do they do it? Today I talked to Kathryn Conrad, the president of the Association of University Presses, about the work of UPs, the challenges they face, and some terrific new directions they are going. We also talked about why, if you have a scholarly book in progress, you should talk to UP editors early and often. And she explains how! Listen in.

Marshall Poe is the editor of the New Books Network. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Welcome to New Books in fantasy and adventure, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. Today we’ll be talking with Emily Roberson about her debut YA novel, Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019), a mythological retelling.

In this modern version of the myth of Theseus and Ariadne, Ariadne is a complacent Daddy‘s girl when we meet her. As her father’s favorite, she’s spared the humiliation her sisters accede to when they star in their own reality TV show, the Paradoxes. Sure, Daddy might have a martini-stocked bar in each room of his fabulous palace, as well as a sacrificial altar for augury in case the mood to sacrifice a dove seizes him. But when your mother is infamous for coupling with a bull, while hidden in wooden cow statue, Father looks like the better bet, even if he does have an agenda for everyone.

Ariadne is also the Keeper of the Labyrinth, which means that every year she leads the chosen Athenians into the Labyrinth for their televised demise. Each year, the fourteen Athenians come to Crete to be feted, each one sure that he or she will be the one to defeat the Minotaur, and each year the slaughter is televised to diminishing audience interest. That all changes the year Theseus, the illegitimate son of the King of Athens, arrives in Crete intent on preventing further deaths. Ariadne finds herself attracted to Theseus, a serious and authentic young man, who happens to eb gorgeous as well. However, their developing romance soon becomes more fodder for the reality show her family stars in, and Ariadne must face some hard truths about her life.

Emily has been a bookseller in Little Rock, a newspaper reporter in Vicksburg, a marketing manager in Boston, and a writer in Chapel Hill and Dallas. She graduated from Brown University and has a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, three sons and no pets. You can find her on the web at on instagram @robersonemilym and on twitter @RobersonEmily.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire.  You can follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor, or visit her website at gabriellemathieu.com

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Melissa Albert's novel The Hazel Wood(Flatiron Books, 2018) is a shivery delight, like a dazzling vintage ball gown of paisley silk, slithering over your head. Reading it is like drowning in musk rose petals and damson wine.

It begins in an almost conventional manner, with a missing person mystery. Alice and her mother, Ella, live a peripatetic existence, which takes them from Nacogdoches, Texas to Brooklyn, New York. Alice copes with the frequent moves by becoming a loner, though she feels a fierce loyalty to her mother, and curiosity about her grandmother, a mysterious reclusive writer of fairy tales. When Ella meets and marries Harold, Alice and she stay still long enough for her past to catch up with them. One day Ella disappears, abducted in front of Harold. This is no ordinary kidnapping though, as Alice and her friend Finch soon find out. Their search for Ella takes them deeper and deeper into another reality, and the secrets of Alice’s origin, and things start to get really weird.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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A picaresque novel about a serious boy with special powers, The Lost Puzzler takes place in an impoverished, technologically backwards world. After the fall of the advanced Tarakan Empire, the remaining population struggles to get by on what remains of their technology. Others turn to a rural existence, adhering to religious dogma which condemns all those who still seek out technology.

Children who spontaneously exhibit tattoos are linked to the fallen Tarakanian society, sought after by those who collect Tarakanian technology, and ostracized or killed by the religion rural faction.

Two boys, born years apart, both possess the markings which indicate special powers. One, Rafik, flees death in his religiously conservative village only to be passed from hand to hand, as various factions try to make use of his powers. Rafik possesses one of the most useful mutations, the ability to open the locks that guard caches of the lost Tarkanian technology. Those locks are made of intricate puzzles that can only be solved by a Puzzler, someone who has the power to arrange symbols into patterns.

The other tattooed young man, whose only mutation is the ability to see through materials, is a scribe in the society of Historians. Decades later, he is tasked with finding out what happened to Rafik, and why it changed the course of history for the worse. An elusive fighter and communications specialist, the alluring Vincha, knows most of Rafik’s story, but our scribe must find a way to convince her to talk. Unfortunately, he’s not the only one looking for Vincha.

The Lost Puzzler: The Tarakan Chronicles (Harper Voyager, 2019), is Eyal Kless’s first novel in English. Eyal’s website is eyalkless.com, and he loves to hear from readers.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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Brianna, our narrator, is the daughter of a country inn-keeper. Her quick thinking and compassion during a job interview earn her a coveted position as lady’s maid for Lady Marguerite, the daughter of the governor of Orenza. Like many members of the nobility in this fantasy world, Marguerite has Echoes, people who look and act just like her, but rarely move of independent volition and don’t speak. (Echoes were originally created by the Goddess to protect nobles by foiling assassination attempts.) As a lady’s maid, Brianna must attend to dressing and coiffing all four of them, something she enjoys and shows a talent for.

Down-to earth and conscientious, Brianna soon makes new friends. Her new employer, who is sweet and gentle, also turns out to be lonely and in need of a confidante. The eligible and single Lady Marguerite is a pawn in the kingdom’s politics. Her parents hope Prince Cormac will choose her as his bride, smoothing over a possible rebellion in the Western provinces. Though Prince Cormac is pleasant enough, Marguerite has secretly given her heart to someone else. Brianna’s other new friend, Nico, a handsome and jocular fellow, unfortunately turns out to be the apprentice to the King’s inquisitor. Though Brianna is shocked to learn of his profession, she has a hard time resisting his attention. Nico seems to care for her, and defends his professional duties persuasively, claiming his work keeps the kingdom safe.

When Nico follows her and learns that Marguerite has a secret, Brianna is torn. Nico claims she can trust him, but Brianna is not so sure. The stakes are raised when the king’s illegitimate son assaults Lady Marguerite. The resulting struggle has tragic consequences, which force Brianna to masquerade as Marguerite’s Echo herself during public appearances, while acting as lady’s maid the rest of the time.  Will she succeed in fooling Nico in order to protect Lady Marguerite?

A romantic fantasy, Sharon Shinn’s new Uncommon Echoes series is an Audible exclusive, with Echo in Onyx, Echo in Amethyst, and Echo in Emerald releasing simultaneously.  Paperback release is slated for summer 2019. To hear an excerpt, click here.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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When sixteen-year-old Bobby Ether is abducted and brought to the secluded Jade Academy in Tibet, monks teach him and other special students how to tap into their Anima—the universal energy that connects all living things. But the headmistress of the academy is secretly exploiting the students, looking for genetic triggers to create a new breed of humans with metaphysical abilities. As his powers increase, Bobby is thrust into a cesspool of conspiracy, lies, and betrayal. A jade amulet left by his clairvoyant grandfather may provide answers, but what exactly is his family's connection to this mysterious place?

Can Bobby master his talents in time to uncover the truth? If not, his fate—and the fate of the entire Jade Academy—may be sealed.

Join Jim Stein as he talks about to Scott Boyer about his new YA fantasy Bobby Ether and the Academy (2013)

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Rin, an orphan raised by a family that treats her badly, is no Harry Potter, despite the superficial similarities. No kindly wizards await her; there are no summons from a cute feathered familiar. She studies day and night to be able to attend the military academy at the city of Sinegard, the capital of Nikara. She wins a coveted place at the Academy through sheer endurance, but once she arrives, she realizes how far she still has to go. The rich and educated students are dismissive or downright cruel to Rin, because she comes from a farming district in the south of Nikara, and has darker skin.

After several strenuous years at the Academy, another student’s taunts and bullying lead to a fight, during which Rin displays supernatural ability during combat. Until that moment, Rin displays no unusual traits other than exceptional endurance in the face of pain and disappointment. Only the eccentric Lore teacher, Jiang, understands that she has the ability to call down a god to inhabit her body, allowing her to fight with supernatural powers. He’s hoping he can convince her this path will only lead to madness and destruction.

Rin initially listens to Jiang, but when she is assigned to the Cike, an assassination squad, after graduation, she falls under the sway of the commander, the charismatic and powerful Altan. Altan, like her, is a Speerly, a member of an island race almost obliterated by the genocide of the Mugen, the enemy of the Nikara.

When the Mugen invade Nikara again, Altan and his small band of outcast assassins try in vain to win a significant victory. After discovering the slaughter of the entire population of a town and trying to console a former classmate who survived multiple rapes, Rin is willing to try anything to save the rest of Nikara. But will the solution Altan proposes be the ultimate catastrophe?

Join me as I talk to R. F. Kuang about her novel The Poppy War (Harper Voyager, 2019).

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Circe is an immortal naiad, the daughter of the Sun God, Helios. Ignored or belittled by her divine kin because of her human-sounding voice, dull-colored hair, and quiet manner, she turns to her little brother for company, and then eventually, meets a human man who seems to offer her adoration. Yet her good will and nurturing are wasted on these relationships.

Stung because the man she loves does not recognize her worth, Circe uses her newly found power of witchcraft to transform her romantic rival into a monster. This act has serious consequences; the new gods of Olympus are angered, and demand that her father punish her. She is exiled to the island of Aiaia. Alone at last, without the mockery of the gods, Circle develops inner resilience and wisdom, refining her plant lore, and finding companionship among the animals of the island.

But Circe is immortal, and her island paradise will not remain undiscovered forever. Through the ages many mortals visit her; some seek to exploit her, and others appreciate her.  Gods visit her island as well. Hermes becomes an occasional lover, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, a frightening opponent.

In her wonderful book Circe (Little, Brown and Company, 2018), Madeline Miller makes the ancient myths come alive with her vivid luscious writing style, and her sympathetic portrayal of the witch Circe, a peripheral character in the Odyssey.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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Henri is a middle-aged doctor, one of the few employed people left in the U.S, though the reader suspect his job might be in danger. The hospital administrator, Serena, keeps reducing staff. A large sector of the population, the Absolved are freed from doing any work and receive a guaranteed minimum income. Their days are spent watching sports on TV, or like Henri’s wife, Rachel, staying productive with charity work. Another contingent of people can’t register for the guaranteed income; they’re known as the dispossessed.

Political upheaval results as another election draws near; the liberal president who promised jobs has been unable to deliver, and a demagogue throws his hat in the ring for the highest office. However, Henri remains an ironic observer of society; he is too preoccupied by his affair with a failed medical student, his demanding wife and his shots of whisky at a dive bar to engage. That is, until he sacrifices his own career for his mistress, and his life beings to unravel.

Join me, as I speak with Matthew Binder about The Absolved (Black Spot Books, 2018).

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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The Night Tiger (Flatiron Books, 2019) is much more than just a fantasy novel—it’s also a mystery, a historical novel, and a love story. Yang-Sze Choo accomplishes all this in one deft package. Set in Malaysia in the 1930s, in the state of Perak, The Night Tiger closely follows three narrators, mysteriously interlinked by their names. There is a clever orphan named Ren who works as a houseboy, a spunky and funny young beauty, Ji Lin, and a British surgeon, William Acton.

Though the novel is grounded in mundane concerns, such as Ji Lin’s effort to pay back her mother’s gambling debt before her step-father discovers it, there are also numinous aspects, such as the waking-dream states that Ji-Lin and Ren enter, during which they communicate with Ren’s dead brother. Even as Ji Lin tried to cope with the restricted options available to a woman of that time period, and surgeon William Acton grapples with his lusty urges, a shimmer of the supernatural imbues the narrative, and a sense of transcendent beauty weaves its way through the chapters.

One of the supernatural aspects concerns were-tigers. Ren’s former master, a colleague of the surgeon William Acton, has recently died. Before his passing, he implored Ren, his loyal houseboy, to locate his missing finger. It seems if he is buried without it, his spirit will roam as a were-tiger. Ren has only forty-nine days during which he can bury the finger with the corpse; should he not suceed, the spirit of his former master will never find peace.

The book opens as Ji-Lin has discovers the missing finger in her pocket, as a result of a chance encounter with a salesman. She is unaware of its significance but would like nothing better than to be rid of this macabre item. Through a series of events, Ji-Lin and Ren meet, exchange stories, and befriend each other. Their fates are linked through ancient Confucian tradition with other characters. Ji-Lin, Ren, and William Acton all have names which denote Confucian virtues; there is also Ji-Lin’s alluring step-brother, whose motivation for helping Ji-Lin is shrouded, and Ren’s dead brother, Yi. One of the five is deeply flawed and may bring doom onto the rest.

Yang-sze’s characters are engrossing, beckoning you into look deep into their psyches, and the setting of colonial Malaysia is a refreshing change to Eurocentric fantasy literature.

Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the upcoming epic fantasy, Girl of Fire. She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor.

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