Featuring: David Annandale, Paul Fischer, Jackson Ford, Lee Goldberg, Gregg Hurwitz, Justin C. Key, Oliver Munday, K. J. Parker, Nathaniel Rich, Lai Sanders, Joanna Stern, Richard Swan

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David Annandale, APOSTLE (Black Library)

Legitur is a world devoted to the sacred writings of the Imperial Creed. Endlessly producing mountains of scripture, it considers itself an exemplar of piety. But there are deep secrets here – undreamt of by the ruling Ecclesiarchy, hidden amongst the shadows of the towering paper hives – and one being who was born of these secrets.

Cerastes, Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers, has returned to the world he once called home. Though his host has been crushed by the fearsome Palatine Aesura and her Sororitas of the Order of the Thorn, Cerastes’ dark ambition is undaunted. He will have his revenge. He will resurrect the Eightfold Bane. And he will convert the world he despises to the worship of Chaos. Legitur is about to receive the Word, and it will burn with the fires of revolution.

A new WH40k novel by Annandale is always something to be cheered. It’s been a little while, though, since I read anything by the author, so this is a very welcome return. In this novel, he brings back a character from a short story, “Sacred Hate”, which is available separately or included in the Galaxy of Horrors anthology (the latter is much better value, so I bought it and have read the short story already, and it’s an intriguing set-up for the full-length). Apostle is out now, published by Black Library in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Interview with David Annandale (2012); Guest Post on “My Favourite Novel”; Reviews of “The Carrion Anthem”, The Damnation of Pythos, Roboute Guilliman, Ruinstorm, and Spear of Ultramar

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram

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Paul Fischer, THE LAST KINGS OF HOLLYWOOD (Celadon)

The untold, intimate story of how three young visionaries—Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg—revolutionized American cinema, creating the most iconic films in history while risking everything, redefining friendship, and shaping Hollywood as we know it.

In the summer of 1967, as the old Hollywood studio system was dying, an intense, uncompromising young film school graduate named George Lucas walked onto the Warner Bros backlot for his first day working as an assistant to another up-and-coming, largely-unknown filmmaker, a boisterous father of two called Francis Ford Coppola. At the exact same time, across town on the Universal Studios lot, a film-obsessed twenty-year-old from a peripatetic Jewish family, Steven Spielberg, longed to break free from his apprenticeship for the struggling studio and become a film director in his own right.

Within a year, the three men would become friends. Spielberg, prioritizing security, got his seven-year contract directing television. Lucas and Coppola, hungry for independence, left Hollywood for San Francisco to found an alternative studio, American Zoetrope, and make films without answering to corporate capitalism.

Based on extensive research and hundreds of original interviews with the inner circle of these Hollywood icons, The Last Kings of Hollywood tells the thrilling, dramatic inside story of how, over the next fifteen years, the three filmmakers rivalled and supported each other, fell out and reconciled, and struggled to reinvent popular American cinema. Along the way, Coppola directed The Godfather, then the highest-grossing film of all-time, until Spielberg surpassed it with Jaws — whose record Lucas broke with Star Wars, which Spielberg surpassed again with E.T. By the early 1980s, they were the richest, best-known filmmakers in the world, each with an empire of their own. The Last Kings of Hollywoodis an unprecedented chronicle of their rise, their dreams and demons, their triumphs and their failures — intimate, extraordinary, and supremely entertaining.

As a child of the 80s, who loves movies, there was no way this book was going to just pass me by. One of my most-anticipated non-fiction books of the year. The Last Kings of Hollywood is out now, published by Celadon Books in North America and Faber & Faber in the UK.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, BlueSky

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Jackson Ford, SISTERS OF THE LIZARD (Orbit)

A group of charmingly-named Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland from an invading enemy.

All Sayana wanted was to enjoy her life in the rolling grasslands of the Tapestry. After she and her fellow Rakada managed to ride humongous, fire-breathing lizards to face down the Great Khan’s army, they should have been able to kick back a little for once. Not too much to ask, right?

Instead, the Tapestry is in turmoil—invading armies threaten, the other raider clans are at war, and inside his fortress city of Karkorum, the Khan broods and plots. What’s more, the Rakada’s giant lizards are getting sick, and they have no idea how to cure them. If they die, there’s no telling what might happen to the Tapestry.

But then the Rakada receive a vision—apparently from the gods. A deep emerald pool surrounded by bone-white sands—one that may be able to heal their lizards. With no other option, the raiders set out on an epic quest across the mountains and into the desert.

But the danger that awaits them will be one greater than they’ve ever faced before. These guys really can’t catch a break.

The second novel in Ford’s acclaimed Rakada series, which looks like a lot of fun. I’m a big fan of the author’s work, and highly recommend his books to anyone who enjoys fantasy and sci-fi. Sisters of the Lizard is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America and in the UK.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Lee Goldberg, MURDER BY DESIGN (Thomas & Mercer)

In a world carefully constructed for murder, solving crimes takes a keen mind and eye…

Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and, due to a traumatic brain injury, impulsively rude. He’s also a brilliant insurance investigator who solves baffling crimes by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible. Enter Wally Nash: a struggling actor hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets.

Their first case together looks like a simple accident. Caroline Crowley took a nasty fall down a staircase at a shopping mall in front of dozens of witnesses. Video clearly shows the deadly misstep. But Bixby is certain she was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. The mall itself made the crime intentional, if not inevitable.

Now Bixby must prove his outrageous theory before a very cunning killer gets others on his hit list to murder themselves, too.

Another new series from Goldberg, the author of the Eve Ronin series (which I must get caught up on…!), among others. This one introduces Edison Bixby, insurance investigator. Looking forward to giving this a try. (Before I catch up on the Eve Ronin novels? We’ll see.) Murder By Design is due to be published by Thomas & Mercer in North America and in the UK, on June 1st.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Gregg Hurwitz, ANTIHERO (Minotaur)

Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet―one where he not only has to protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy.

Once a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

When Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world, has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to help him. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned. Evan offers his help―and sets out finding the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides. In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice with a measure of mercy.

The eleventh novel in the Orphan X series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series, so every new book is a must-read for me. Hopefully get to this soon-ish. Antihero is out now, published by Minotaur Books in North America and Michael Joseph in the UK.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky

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Justin C. Key, THE HOSPITAL AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Harper)

In a time not so far from our own, society is run by a global AI system controlled by an all powerful corporation. The Shepherd Organization oversees every medical school in the country save one in New Orleans, the renegade Hippocrates which still insists on human-led medicine. 

It is the last choice school for an ambitious young New Yorker named Pok. But after his father — himself a physician — dies under mysterious circumstance that seems connected to “the shepherds” and their megalomaniacal young CEO, Pok finds himself on a quest for answers that leads right to Hippocrates. Once enrolled, he stumbles upon a further mystery: a strange illness is plaguing newcomers to New Orleans who grew up under shepherd rule.

What is causing this fatal anomaly?  And how does it relate to the mystery of Pok’s father’s death and his own mysterious past?

This novel received a flurry of positive pre-publication buzz, so I decided to give it a look. Great and intriguing premise, too: “set in a near future where artificial intelligence runs the world”, a young medical student “must unravel family secrets to uncover the truth of his father’s mysterious death.” The Hospital at the End of the World is out now, published by Harper in North America.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Oliver Munday, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD (Simon & Schuster)

A collection of short stories depicting the evolving role of fatherhood in contemporary society — perfect for readers of Jamel Brinkley’s A Lucky Man and Phil Klay’s Redeployment.

From stories about a father who shows up hungover to chaperone his daughter’s kindergarten bowling trip, to another who rediscovers his love of graffiti, and a father who pays for his legal fees and apartment through his OnlyFans earnings, Head of Household is a short story collection that reckons with divorce, financial anxiety, and sexuality to create a collage of the beleaguered father, a man on the frontlines of a masculinity in crisis — stories of men salvaging the shreds of their identities while staging puppet shows and pretending to be ponies for their children.

This is the first story collection from graphic designer Munday. An interesting premise, and I’m looking forward to reading it very soon. Head of Household is due to be published by Simon & Schuster in North America and in the UK, on March 26th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via

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K. J. Parker, SISTER SVANGERD AND THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (Orbit)

This is the second novel in Parker’s latest series, The Loyal Opposition. I haven’t (yet) had the chance to read the first book, but I really hope to get caught up ASAP — there seem to just be too many great books at the moment.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Parker’s fiction; especially his shorter works, many of which are amongst my favourites — if you haven’t had a chance to try his TorDotCom and Subterranean Press novellas, I’d highly recommend them.

I have no idea why a proper synopsis for this novel is unavailable this close to publication, but check out the first book’s plot to get an idea of the series. Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America and in the UK, on May 12th.

Also on CR: Reviews of The Devil You Know, The Last Witness, Downfall of the Gods, My Beautiful Life, Prosper’s Demons, Academic Exercises, The Big Score, The Long Game, Pulling the Wings off Angels, and Making History

Follow the Author: Goodreads
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Nathaniel Rich, CLOUDTHIEF (MCD)

Why settle for nothing, when you can steal everything?

Forget banks, casinos, museums — society’s most valuable treasure sits in the giant, anonymous data centers that power modern life. There, in endless rows of hard drives, lies the sum of our civilization’s knowledge, all of the world’s personal and private truths, uploaded and saved. They wait unseen, unexploited, and, most critically, unguarded.

Tim is a climate journalist disillusioned with chronicling the end of the world. Virginia is an evasive, paranoid, and technologically savvy con artist who has found an ingenious way to live off the grid in the heart of Manhattan. Joined by desire and desperation, they hatch a plan to steal secrets. But they have secrets of their own — secrets they can’t tell each other, secrets that could destroy them both…

With their last few dollars and some dimestore wigs they set out for the outskirts of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the unlikely site of the world’s largest repository of knowledge — a data center the size of a small city — to attempt a brazen heist that, whether they fail or succeed, will change their lives forever.

But the heist is only the beginning.

Thought this sounded like an interesting, timely mystery/thriller. I haven’t had a chance to read any of Rich’s previous novels, but I do have them and intend to get caught up when I can. Looking forward to reading it soon, and I’ll post a review closer to publication. Cloudthief is due to be published by MCD in North America and in the UK, on July 14th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Lai Sanders, THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU (Simon & Schuster)

Shelley Hu’s life is over. A viral video cost her a spot at Columbia Law, her prestigious Manhattan law firm internship, and her hopes to build a better life for herself and her mother. Now Shelley is back in Kissimmee, Florida, working the night shift at a kitschy motel near Disney World — the very same job she held in high school. Shelley’s life is a black hole while those who caused the incident that cost her everything have been free to happily move on with their lives. But one night, the beautiful, enigmatic Sophia Moon checks in to Shelley’s motel with her husband and young son. Sophia’s appearance is far from random — she too has experienced a public shaming, and she proposes a plan to help Shelley get back what she deserves and enact revenge on the three people responsible for the worst day of her life.

Shelley returns with Sophia to New York with a new identity, new career, and new ambitions. Shelley ingratiates herself in her targets’ worlds until they begin to suffer one odd calamity after another. Soon Sophia’s support turns to obsession, as Shelley is forced to reckon with Sophia’s dark and mysterious past and the chilling truth that Sophia’s real plans are far beyond what Shelley ever imagined.

When I was offered this book for review, the synopsis caught my attention. Not only does it sound interesting, but the plot sounded very familiar — “Isn’t there another novel with a very similar synopsis coming out?” But, actually, I think it’s just the premise in general is so of-the-moment that it feels familiar. Nevertheless, I am very much looking forward to giving it a try. The Plans I Have For You is due to be published by Simon & Schuster in North America and in the UK, on March 17th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Joanna Stern, I AM NOT A ROBOT (Harper)

What happens when artificial intelligence moves into your home, drives your car, and starts making your decisions? Wall Street Journal senior tech columnist Joanna Stern surrendered her life to artificial intelligence for one year. The results are both hilarious and alarming.

We’ve all heard that AI is going to change our lives, but what does that really mean for ordinary people—not the tech bros who tried to sell us a cruise to the metaverse or an NFT of a cartoon monkey? What are the salient sights, habits, and sounds that will permeate our lives? What are things that we can barely perceive right now, but will soon become second nature to us?

In this informative and engaging book Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal takes you on a time machine trip to the very near future, where AI promises to be your doctor, chauffeur, teacher, masseuse, and even . . . romantic partner. She introduces us to the many very real humans who are inventing the future. Unlike other AI books, Stern’s book is full of fun, humor, and creativity as Joanna tests new technology and explores how people are living (and playing) with it already.

It was hard to imagine buying things with a single tap when the Internet became part of your consciousness in 1994. You didn’t think you’d be video calling a doctor, who’d just confirm what you’d already found using something called Google. And did you ever think that you’d snap a photo on your pocket-sized supercomputer for people to “heart?” 

Technology profoundly changes everyday life, and this book is a very human journey into a brave new world—a world that’s exciting, and, yes, a little scary.

Earlier this year, you may have come across a very funny Wall Street Journal article, “We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine”. That piece (which I circulated to almost everyone I know) was by Joanna Stern, so when I saw that I Am Not a Robot was on the way, I knew I wanted to read it. Really looking forward to this. (I remain someone who does not want the new “AI” tools being foisted upon us. But, there’s no doubt that it’s an interesting subject to read about.) I Am Not a Robot is due to be published by Harper in North America on May 12th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Richard Swan, THE INFINITE STATE (Tor Books)

The Infinite State begins at a flashpoint in the lives of a widowed party member, a disgraced investigator, and a hypersled pilot — entangled in a plot to escape the suffocating authority of a fascist state.

WHO GIVES YOU LIFE?
PATER AETERNUS.

Katherine Fuller’s husband is dead. As an esteemed member of Pater Aeternus — governing party of the fascist, galaxy-spanning Decurion Empire — he has left behind an estate of immeasurable wealth. And Katherine is going to inherit it.

WHO GIVES YOU PURPOSE?
PATER AETERNUS.

Life under the Eternal Father is rigidly stratified, surveilled, and controlled — each new day to be endured, not lived. But with Katherine’s newfound fortune, she is presented with a rare and dangerous opportunity: purchase a virgin world, and create a better, fairer society.

WHO GIVES YOU JOY?
PATER AETERNUS.

But the Empire cannot allow its wayward daughter to succeed. And as Katherine works in secret, recruiting allies she’s not even sure she can trust, she will discover exactly how far Pater Aeternus is willing to go to stop her. Because Katherine is going to create something nobody has seen for many years.

The first in a new series from the author of the very good Empire of the Wolf and Great Silence series. I very much enjoyed the author’s first trilogy (I’ve fallen behind on his latest — but I’ll be reading it soon!), and I’m very much looking forward to reading his new sci-fi series. The Infinite State is due to be published by Tor Books in North America (August 4th) and Gollancz in the UK (August 6th).

Also on CR: Interview with Richard Swan (2022); Reviews of The Justice of Kings, The Tyranny of Faith, and The Trials of Empire

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via NetGalley