New York Times Best Seller List
In June, one science fiction book and two fantasy books made it to the New York Times best seller list (adult fiction, hardcover):
THE WATER KNIFE, by Paolo Bacigalupi (Knopf) (science fiction)
The author of The Windup Girl delivers a near-future thriller that casts new light on how we live today—and what may be in store for us tomorrow. This book made a brief appearance in 15th position on the NYT best seller list.
DEAD ICE, by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley) (fantasy)
The vampire hunter Anita Blake helps the F.B.I. investigate zombie porn.
WICKED CHARMS, by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton (Bantam) (fantasy)
Lizzy Tucker and her partner, Diesel, join a hunt for buried treasure.
B&N Bookseller’s Picks for June 2015
The Fold, by Peter Clines (Crown)
A science-fiction thriller about the dangers of teleportation devices.
Briar Queen: A Night and Nothing Novel, by Katherine Harbour (Harper Voyager)
In this installment of The Night and Nothing series, Finn Sullivan discovers that her town, Fair Hollow, borders a dangerous otherworld.
A comment, if I may. I had a bit of fun listing the adjectives and other qualifiers used in the blurb for this book: “dark, moody, mystical, bewitching, intriguing, dangerous, painful, bohemian, terrifying, placid, picture-perfect, eerie, supernatural, wealthy, beautiful, terrifying (again!), striking, mysterious, powerful, brave, malevolent, diabolical, comfortable, magical, shocking, lush, gorgeously written, star-crossed, bestselling.” Whoever wrote this blurb should be nominated for the Purple Prose Award.
Book blurbs are becoming little more than a collection of clichés loaded with empty qualifiers (well, the same can often be said about the books themselves). That makes me sad, unhappy, depressed, downcast, miserable, downhearted, despondent, despairing, disconsolate, dispirited, wretched, broody, glum, gloomy, doleful, dismal, blue, melancholic, low-spirited, woeful, woebegone, forlorn, unsatisfied, and so on.
From a High Tower, by Mercedes Lackey (DAW)
The newest adventure in Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series, featuring a retelling of Rapunzel’s not-so-happily-ever-after ending.
Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey (Orbit)
The fifth novel in James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series—now being produced for television by the SyFy Channel.
Nova, by Margaret Fortune (DAW)
Young adult space opera novel about a genetically engineered human bomb.
The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth, by S.M. Stirling (Roc)
In this anthology, S. M. Stirling invites more than a dozen other writers to join him in expanding his rich Emberverse canvas. The Emberverse is a long-running series of novels set in a post-apocalyptic world where technology failed and magic re-emerged.
The Darkling Child: The Defenders of Shannara, by Terry Brooks (Del Rey)
A stand-alone novel set in the legendary Shannara universe by the NYT bestselling author Terry Brooks.
The Shadow Revolution: Crown & Key, by Clay & Susan Griffith (Del Rey)
A new Victorian-era urban fantasy novel about werewolf hunters.
Trailer Park Fae, by Lilith Saintcrow (Orbit)
Lilith Saintcrow returns to dark urban fantasy with a new series where the faery world inhabits diners, dive bars and trailer parks.
Virtues of War, by Bennett R. Coles (Titan Books)
A military space opera novel praised by Steven Erikson as “top-notch military SF.”
Note: this is a selection, not the complete list.
