Merry August all! And oh god oh god - it's already August!
I trust you all are staying safe, in particular considering Delta. It's been a bit of a brutal year and it seems that the virus isn't done fighting. That said, each day is another day we learn more about this virus and identify more ways to fight back. Cases in point here and here.
I've pulled a list of new releases coming in August. It's not exhaustive, but simply ones that peaked my interest. Here's to keeping your bookshelves stocked! As per usual, the links here are from Bookshop.org and if you purchase using these links, FC may get a small commission.
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky, (Aug 3, 2021)
Space operas are generally my speed and this new entry from Tchaikovsky seems promising.
After destroying Earth, sentient beings called Architects suddenly disappeared. Humans, in an effort to save themselves, had created elite fighters, such as Idris - an enhanced human - with the ability to communicate directly with the Architects. When the war ended and the Architects vanished, Idris and his kind are obsolete, scraping a living however they can.
Fifty years later, Idris and his salvage ship crew come across a strange creation, clearly the work of the Architects. This kicks off a mission to find out what the artifact means, whether the Architects have returned, and if so why.
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston (Aug 10, 2021)
Black Herran was a dread demonologist, and the most ruthless general in all Essoran. She assembled the six most fearsome warriors to captain her armies: a necromancer, a vampire lord, a demigod, an orcish warleader, a pirate queen, and a twisted alchemist. Together they brought the whole continent to its knees... Until the day she abandoned her army, on the eve of total victory.
40 years later, she must bring her former captains back together for one final stand, in the small town of Tarnbrooke - the last bastion against a fanatical new enemy tearing through the land, intent on finishing the job Black Herran started years before.
Seven bloodthirsty monsters. One town. Their last hope.
Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell (Aug 24, 2021)
Amahle collects memories and stories from across the galaxy and vicariously lives these lives. As she does so, she recognizes a voice from her distant past speaking directly to her. Not an issue. But then the same person shows up in more collected memories, regardless of time and distance and the story they tell is sinister - stories of impending doom.
The Second Rebel by Linden Lewis (Aug, 24, 2021)
This is Lewis' second book in The First Sister Trilogy, which introduced us to an expansive solar system in which groups of humans belonged to one of the four inner planets. With multiple perspectives and plots, the second book expands on the first and we get to meet Astrid, who in the first book was a voiceless "Sister" tasked with providing comfort to a Gaen captain. She's also tasked with spying on him by the Sisterhood. Meanwhile, other characters pick up where the first book left off, all in all adding even more scope to the stories and characters. For continuity, if you're new to this world, start with the first book.
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu (Aug 31, 2021)
Introspective stories set in speculative world are, I think, a balancing act. And the prospect of that done well is what I'm excited about here.
Anima is an extrasensory human in the city of Ora whose job and purpose is to watch and protect ær citizens, which æ does via an organic network called the Gleaming. Anima's world is restricted to that of Ora, until a travelers enters the city, with stories and trinkets from around the world. Now, Anima begins to question ær own purpose, having been exposed to life and possibilities beyond Ora.