Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Post for the Week of February 9th.
We share the 10 books from this week that caught our eye featuring Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thrillers, and more. Enjoy!
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
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The Dust of Dawn by Eloise J. Knapp
Narrated by Andrew B. Wehrlen
Zabat’s Comet promises a stunning astronomical display as it narrowly passes our planet. Then a solar flare nudges it hurtling toward Earth. Humanity crumbles during the countdown to doomsday.
But Zabat is more than just a comet. The impact brings not swift extinction but a massive cloud of dust that appears to have a mind of its own. A sinister intelligence. A force that threatens to change what’s left of humanity.
Jack, Colleen, Lara, and Dan survived the violent chaos of the countdown. They survived the threat of extinction. Now, they’re about to find out that after doomsday, there are horrors even worse than death.
“The Dust of Dawn is a suffocating thriller that will keep you turning the pages and wondering what’s going to happen next. An apocalypse unlike any I’ve read.” (Nicholas Sansbury Smith, USA Today best-selling author of the Hell Divers series)
“Eloise Knapp once again shows her ability to look at the most overused ideas with sharp, fresh eyes and deliver amazing stories. Eerie and thought provoking in a way few post-apocalyptic thrillers manage. A wonderfully disturbing book.” (Peter Clines, NYT best-selling author of Paradox Bound and Dead Moon)
Murder Theory by Andrew Mayne
Narrated by Will Damron
The desire to kill is becoming contagious in this riveting novel of conceivable mad science by The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.
Computational biologist and serial-killer hunter Dr. Theo Cray receives an off-the-record request from the FBI to investigate an inexplicable double homicide. It happened at the excavation site where a murderer had buried his victims’ remains. In custody is a forensic technician in shock, with no history of aggression. He doesn’t remember a thing. His colleagues don’t even recognize the man they thought they knew. But an MRI reveals something peculiar. And abnormal.
What on earth made him commit murder?
After discovering that a mysterious man has been stalking crime scenes and stealing forensic data, Cray has a radical and terrifying theory. Now he must race against time to find a darker version of himself: a scientist with an obsession in pathological behavior who uses his genius not to catch serial killers – but to create them.
Alter by Jeremy Robinson
Narrated by Luke Daniels
Stranded in the Amazon rainforest, a lost man fights for survival and discovers that the root of evil doesn’t just reside in the world’s darkest corners, but inside the hearts of all mankind. Dr. Gregory Zekser is on a mission to visit the furthest reaches of the Amazon, providing medical aid to recently contacted tribes.
As a general practitioner and food pantry director, his life in Massachusetts can be chaotic, but serving people is what he does best, and he doesn’t mind sacrificing his personal life to help others, at home or half way around the world. But any hope of returning home to his wife, daughter, and comfortable life are eradicated when the small plane carrying him back to civilization plummets into the unknown depths of the jungle.
Swallowed by endless green, with both pilots dead, Greg struggles to stay alive in a world that wants to infect his body, suck him dry, and eat him whole. Ravaged by illness and dehydration, and stalked by a ruthless predator, Greg’s life teeters on the edge of oblivion until a scream lets him know that he is not alone.
His first encounter with an uncontacted tribe ends in death – the first of many. Driven to the brink of madness, and then beyond, Greg finds himself caught up in a feud that existed before his arrival, but will only end with his death – or his enemies’.
International best-selling author, Jeremy Robinson, the master of taking creative and original concepts and fusing them with realistic and emotive characters, explores the depths to which a man can descend, and what it takes to climb back out.
The Rule of Three by Adrian J. Smith
Narrated by Raphael Corkhill
What would you do to survive the apocalypse?
Jack Gee, hiking the New Zealand mountains, is blissfully unaware of the Hemorrhage virus sweeping the world. A desperate message from his wife, Dee, alerts him, and he must return to Hamilton. On the way, he is captured by flesh-eating Variants and taken to their meat locker. To escape, he will need to draw on all his experience as an outdoorsman, but first, he must find the will to survive.
Surrounded by Variants, Dee is trapped in her Hamilton basement with a group of survivors. With Jack missing, and dwindling food supplies, she must leave the basement, her only defense a katana.
The nightmare has just begun. Will they find each other in the chaos?
Galaxy’s Edge, Part IV by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Galaxy’s Edge, Part IV contains Turning Point through to the end of Message for the Dead.
Fight to win. Survive the future.
With the galaxy in turmoil, the Legion initiates Article Nineteen, a hard reset designed to halt the corruption and ineptitude that continues to spill forth from the Galactic Core. But when the House of Reason aligns itself with the bloodthirsty zhee extremists, the Legion has no choice but to commit to a savage campaign of Total War.
As Legion Commander Keller attempts to coax the Republic and Black Fleet into a winner-take-all battle at the heart of the Galactic Core, Wraith uncovers secrets from Tyrus Rechs’s past. Determined to liberate his crew from the clutches of a dormant fleet controlled by a hostile AI, the soldier-turned-rogue comes face to face with the galaxy’s greatest threat.
Meanwhile, Captain Chhun and Victory Squad follow intelligence that could land a powerful blow against Goth Sullus and his fledgling empire, and Exo and Wraith, in an tenuous alliance, move toward a slumbering fleet that could permanently alter the delicate balance of power among Legion, Republic, and Empire – or could just as easily eradicate the galaxy altogether.
Chhun and Kill Team Victory find themselves taking on new roles inside the Legion, and the fight for control of the Galactic Republic hits its zenith with the arrival of the malevolent Cybar.
Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Offworlders are only worth the price on their heads.
After three decades as a Pervenio Corporation Collector, chasing wanted offworlders and extinguishing protests throughout the solar system, Malcolm Graves doesn’t bother asking questions. So long as the pay is right, he’s the man for the job. But his latest assignment doesn’t afford him that luxury.
A high-profile bombing on Earth has the men who sign Malcolm’s paychecks clamoring for answers. They force him to team up with a strange, augmented partner who’s more interested in statistics than instinct, and ship them both off to Titan to hunt down a suspected group of extremists: Titanborn rebels who will go to any length to free their home from the tyranny of Earth’s corporations.
Heading into hostile territory, Malcolm will have to use everything he’s learned to stay alive. But he soon realizes the situation on the ground is much more complex than he anticipated…and much more personal.
Check out the thrilling first book in a gritty and innovative science-fiction series perfect for fans of The Expanse and Blade Runner.
Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space-opera adventure – the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.
In the far-distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three high houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her high house is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.
Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now, her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.
When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her house. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.
But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive devil, you may lose more than you bargained for….
A People’s Future of the United States by Victor LaValle – editor, John Joseph Adams – editor
Narrated by Various
A glittering landscape of 25 speculative stories that challenge oppression and envision new futures for America – from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, G. Willow Wilson, Charlie Jane Anders, Hugh Howey, and more.
In these tumultuous times, in our deeply divided country, many people are angry, frightened, and hurting. Knowing that imagining a brighter tomorrow has always been an act of resistance, editors Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams invited an extraordinarily talented group of writers to share stories that explore new forms of freedom, love, and justice. They asked for narratives that would challenge oppressive American myths, release us from the choke hold of our history, and give us new futures in which to believe.
They also asked that the stories be badass.
The result is this spectacular collection of 25 tales that blend the dark and the light, the dystopian and the utopian. These tales are vivid with struggle and hardship – whether it’s the othered and the terrorized, or dragonriders and covert commandos – but these characters don’t flee, they fight.
Thrilling, inspiring, and a sheer joy to listen to, A People’s Future of the United States is a gift for anyone who believes in our power to dream a just world.
Featuring stories by
Violet Allen
Charlie Jane Anders
Lesley Nneka Arimah
Ashok K. Banker
Tobias S. Buckell
Tananarive Due
Omar El Akkad
Jamie Ford
Maria Dahvana Headley
Hugh Howey
Lizz Huerta
Justina Ireland
N. K. Jemisin
Alice Sola Kim
Seanan McGuire
Sam J. Miller
Daniel José Older
Malka Older
Gabby Rivera
A. Merc Rustad
Kai Cheng Thom
Catherynne M. Valente
Daniel H. Wilson
G. Willow Wilson
Charles Yu
The Fourth Phase by Adrian J. Smith
Narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Would you risk it all to save your family?
The Hemorrhage Virus tore through America and swept the globe, leaving no country untouched. New Zealand was no exception. Those infected mutated into monsters, monsters that became known as Variants.
Seven weeks have passed since Jack and Dee’s quiet world shattered. Along with a small band of survivors, they fled to Mayor Island. Determined to help stem the Variant scourge, they volunteer for what remains of the army. Led by Captain Ben Johns, a grizzly retired NZ SAS soldier, they are sent on a dangerous mission to rescue a scientist. They must call on all their skills and courage to overcome a deadly foe.
They thought the worst was over, but humanity’s fight for the future of mankind has just begun. Evil forces have a score to settle with the survivors in New Zealand.
Micromium by David B. Gittlin
Narrated by Cait Frizzell
The year is 2038. Earth’s biosphere is on the brink of destruction from the effects of global warming and pollution. The World Energy Council has awarded a lucrative contract to a major US corporation to mine a precious ore discovered by the first manned mission to land on Mars. One kilo of Micromium can power a large city for a year without environmental side effects. A few grains of the ore can fuel a car for a year or longer. Micromium promises to provide clean energy to a thirsty planet far into the future.
When two people die in a mining accident on Mars, the World Energy Council sends Commander Logan Marchant and a crack team of astronaut specialists to investigate.
Confronted with a lack of cooperation from the mining colonists, the investigation is further complicated by Logan’s growing attraction to the team’s beautiful and brainy geologist. While tensions and tempers rise, Logan and the audit team make one shocking discovery after another, until the investigation leads them into mortal danger, and ultimately, to a surprising conclusion.
Song of the Dead by Douglas Lindsay
Narrated by Angus King
Book 1 in the DI Westphall series.
A dead man walks into a police station. He tells a tale – bizarre as it is grotesque – of kidnap and organ harvesting. John Baden’s story of being held prisoner for 12 years sounds far-fetched – but it’s all about to get much, much stranger.
DI Ben Westphall has been given the case because of his background in MI6. He also has a knack for getting inside people’s heads and seeing things others would miss. Westphall is no ordinary detective, and this is no ordinary case.
When his suspects start dying, Westphall realises someone is killing to cover up the truth. But what exactly is the truth? To find out, he’ll have to question everything he’s been told, before there’s no one left to ask.
The Fenix Projects, Book 1 by Katie Soy
Narrated by S.L. Crawley
A Seattle detective begins investigating the murder of a sex-trafficking survivor in the care of a local nonprofit organization.
He unknowingly launches a series of events that reveal founder and CEO Elizabeth Knight and her team are not who they say they are.
A respected advocate and lecturer on human-rights issues in her community, Elizabeth is forced to face a past once carefully erased after crafting a future much more fitting to her wealthy family’s legacy.
Following an electrifying career that allowed her to watch red tape, politics, and money enable oppression and corruption around the world, she decided to leave her NYC home for a fresh start on the Pacific Northwest coast. Tragedy strikes five years after beginning her nonprofit work, and she’s forced to stay one step ahead of the Seattle Police Department in a deadly game that threatens her identity, and the lives of those closest to her.
Based on true events, The Fenix Projects follows the journey of a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing care to sex-trafficking survivors. Elizabeth has a small team dedicated to providing support, education, and awareness for survivors through housing, medical care, scholarships, and counseling.
Set against the Seattle skyline, The Fenix Projects is an action-packed thriller exposing the dark side of human trafficking in the Pacific Northwest in a high-stakes battle for modern vigilante justice.
Alter is AMAZING. The way the main character changes through his ordeal is jaw dropping. Saying literally anything else woukd be a spoiler.
Alright, I’ll have to check Alter out! Thanks