Page 74 - Publishers_Weekly

Review_FICTION

cult, the book’s 19 stories include the political tensions on Earth strand Caitlin uous, and subtle. He takes a while to
complete episodic novel “The Three Taggart indefinitely in a city on the moon, reveal the true nature of the supernatural
Impostors,” whose frame narrative about separated from her planetside eight-year- aspect of the story and its ultimate direc-
the clash between materialism and mysti- old daughter, Emily. When she learns tion, and the focus on character interac-
cism provide context for the stories usu- Emily is about to be thrown into the hor- tion and storytelling makes for a cerebral
ally excerpted from it (notably “Novel of rible government-run foster care system, experience that may leave some readers
the Black Seal,” about an incautious Caitlin, desperate to get home quickly, wishing for a bit more dynamism. (Mar.)
investigator’s encounter with a hideous accepts a dangerous asteroid mining job.
survival from the pagan past). Worth has Then her mining ship crashes into the Lake Silence:
also harvested a number of sketches from asteroid and a piece of rock breaks off on a The World of the Others, Book 6
Machen’s later collections that are notable trajectory aimed directly at Earth. Caitlin Anne Bishop. Ace, $27 (416p) ISBN 978-0-399-
for their depictions of ordinary lives is a starkly 58724-5
touched subtly by the strange. This is a drawn and sym- The sixth installment of Bishop’s para-
must-have collection of landmark tales pathetic protag- normal series (after 2017’s Etched in Bone),
of horror. (Apr.) onist who set in an alternate upstate New York, con-
doesn’t want to stitutes a fresh take on a series concept
School for Psychics: Book One be a hero but that had been stalling. It is a standalone
K.C. Archer. Simon & Schuster, $16 trade rises to every thriller, set near a village called Sproing in
paper (368p) ISBN 978-1-5011-5933-6 nerve-racking, the Finger Lakes. New to the cast is nar-
In this earnest, naive paranormal potentially rator Vicki DeVine, who, unlike past
thriller, a group of psychics in training lethal challenge protagonists, is an ordinary human
slowly learn that misdirection can be as with a stub- woman. Recently divorced from an abu-
dangerous as mind control. Teddy Cannon, bornness that sive wheeler-dealer, she has come to Lake
unsuccessful card shark, is recruited to will make readers cheer through gritted Silence to renovate the property that con-
study at a secretive foundation’s academy teeth. The situation is constantly bleak, stituted her settlement. The Jumble is
intended to prepare people with mental but it’s easy to believe she can find a way to exactly that: a dilapidated sprawl of build-
gifts for careers in security and law enforce- save the day. Funny, grim, and technical ings, abandoned by humans but not by the
ment. It’s hard to believe that Teddy and but not oppressively so, this story of sacri- world’s supernatural predators, the Others.
her fellow young adults—some of whom fice born of love, duty, and redemption Vicki plans to reopen it as a modest resort
have done police work or had run-ins with should appeal to any SF fan. Agent: Jennifer until a body is discovered on her land.
the law—would so blithely sign up for a Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Literary. (Mar.) Abruptly, this unassuming, hesitant
militaristic training program without woman must cope with a police investiga-
some skepticism about its motives. After Spirits of the Vasty Deep tion as well as a conspiracy by developers
a series of mysterious thefts and disap- Brian Stableford. Snuggly, $17.95 trade to seize the Jumble. Many core elements of
pearances at the academy and a sabotaged paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-943813-54-4 prior plots are intact, notably the Others’
obstacle course Teddy barely survives, she In this slow-burning, introspective inevitable dominance, which dampens the
decides she wants answers. She convinces fantasy from Snuggly publisher Stableford tension. But the pleasures of these books
some of her fellow students to break into (The Mirror of Dionysus), eccentric writer have always lain in worldbuilding and
an FBI facility to uncover just who is out Simon Cannick becomes involved in the character growth. Centering these on a
to get them, egged on by a jailed psychic mysterious doings of an unusually long- woman liberating herself (personally and
connected to Teddy’s birth parents. The lived family after he inherits a cottage professionally) from abuse makes this epi-
book has the brio of a first novel, with in the small Welsh town of St. Madoc. sode unexpectedly timely. Agent: Jennifer
sudden swings of emotion and outrage Simon just wants a quiet place to work Jackson, Donald Maass Literary. (Mar.)
that would do a hormonal teenager proud. on his increasingly esoteric material.
The pages turn at a rapid pace, but it takes However, he quickly catches the interest ★ Guardian Angels and Other
a bit longer than necessary for a veteran of the Murdens, an insular clan whose Monsters
poker player to realize that, if she can’t matriarch claims to be well over two Daniel H. Wilson. Vintage, $16 trade paper
spot the sucker at the table, it’s her. Agent: centuries old, and soon discovers an unex- (304p) ISBN 978-1-101-97201-4
Molly Atlas, ICM. (Apr.) pected connection to them. As he investi- Wilson’s spectacular first collection
gates the family’s supposed ties to ancient, brings together 14 original stories that
★ Zero Limit mythical sea creatures, Simon begins to explore artificial intelligence in its many
Jeremy K. Brown. 47North, $14.95 trade suspect his arrival in St. Madoc was no incarnations, sprinkled with horror ele-
paper (302p) ISBN 978-1-503-94665-1 coincidence and that he has a specific role ments and wielding a decidedly human-
Up-and-comer Brown’s hard SF novel is to play in a millennia-old plan. Stableford istic edge. In “The Nostalgist,” an elderly
a nail-biter about a onetime war hero draws deep on small-town sensibilities man holds onto the memory of childhood
turned underdog forced into trying to save and English folklore to craft a gradually in the best way he knows how. “God
Earth from a planetary cataclysm. Rising unfolding tale that’s atmospheric, ambig- Mode” is a poignant tale of memory and

66 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ JANU AR Y 22, 2018