Fiction Affliction: February Releases in Science Fiction

Nineteen new releases appear on the science fiction shelves this month, with adult series additions from, among others, Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor (Boundary), Timothy Zahn (Cobra Rebellion), and D.J. Molles (The Remaining), and young adult titles galore.

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here. Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.

WEEK ONE

Radio Silence (Off the Grid #1)—Alyssa Cole (February 2, Carina)

New Adult. Arden Highmore is majorly cynical, but even she wouldn’t have predicted the end of the world, or at least the world as she knew it. One winter day, everything modern society has grown to rely on, electricity, cell phones, and plumbing, stops working. Arden and her best friend, John, flee to his family’s cabin near the Canadian border. On the way there, they’re assaulted by scavengers, but saved by John’s hot brother, Gabriel, who takes an instant dislike to Arden. The duo think they’ve finally found refuge at the Seong’s cabin, but things aren’t quite as peaceful as they seem: John’s parents are missing. Maggie, their teenage sister, resents Gabriel for treating her like a child. No one knows what is going on in the outside world, and in the midst of all that, Arden and Gabriel are finding that there’s a thin line between love and hate, indeed. (Digital)

Castaway Planet (Boundary #4)—Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor (February 3, Baen)

Lost in the dark, half a year into their journey to the colony world of Tantalus, Sakura Kimei, her family, and her best friend, the alien “Bemmie”>nicknamed Whips, are torn from the safety of their colony ship. In a crippled lifeboat, they had one chance to find a habitable world. But even then, they would find that their apparent salvation was a world of a thousand secrets.

Cobra Outlaw (Cobra Rebellion #2)—Timothy Zahn (February 3, Baen)

The Broom clan of Cobra warriors finds itself pressed between two star empires headed for war. On the planet Aventine, the Broom’s homeworld, pater familia Paul Broom has been taken prisoner by Commodore Santeros, an operative of the Dominion of Man. Paul is due to have his memories sifted through by the dreaded and often destructive Dominion MindsEye. Santeros hopes to strike a deal with Qasama. Rebellion is brewing against Dominion atrocities and Dominion scheming, with outlaw Cobra warriors Lorne and Jody Broom in the vanguard. Cobra Jason Broom poses as an escaped slave on a secret Troft prison planet where humans are sent to gladiatorial combat to the death for Troft amusement and wagering. He is seeking information on Troft factions. If he can identify moderate elements, he may save the Cobra worlds, and head off an interstellar war in the bargain

Dark Intelligence (Transformation #1)—Neal Asher (February 3, Night Shade)

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he’s been brought back from the dead. What’s more, he died in a human vs. alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a world surrounded by hostile Prador forces, but Penny Royal, the AI inside the rescue ship sent to provide backup, turned rogue, annihilating friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction and killing Spear. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and Spear vows for revenge. Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate, but after competitors attacked she needed power and protection. Negotiating with Penny Royal, she got more than she bargained for: Turning part-AI herself gave Isobel frightening power. Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal. He cheats her in the process and finds himself in her crosshairs. Will Spear finish his hunt before he himself becomes the hunted?

Echo 8Sharon Lynn Fisher (February 3, Tor)

As a parapsychologist working for Seattle Psi, Tess has devoted her life to studying psychic phenomena. When doppelgangers begin appearing from a parallel world that’s been struck by an asteroid, nothing in her training will help her survive what’s to come. After dislocating to Seattle Psi from the other Earth, Jake is confined by a special task force for study. When he drains life energy from Tess, it causes a ripple effect across two worlds, and creates a bond neither of them expected. Ross is an FBI agent ordered to protect Tess while she studies Jake. He and Tess have a history, and a connection the Bureau hopes to use to its own advantage. By the time Ross realizes his mission could be compromised, it’s already too late. He’ll have to choose between his love for Tess and his duty to protect the people of his own Earth.

Impulse (Lightship Chronicles #1)—Dave Bara (February 3, DAW)

Lieutenant Peter Cochrane of the Quantar Royal Navy believes he has his future clearly mapped out. Everything changes when Peter is summoned to the office of his father, Grand Admiral Nathan Cochrane, and given devastating news: the death of a loved one. In a distant solar system, an attack upon Lightship Impulse resulted in the deaths of Peter’s former girlfriend and many of her shipmates. Peter’s plans are torn asunder as he is transferred to a Unified Space Navy ship under foreign command. His superiors have given him secret orders that might force him to become a mutineer. The ship’s Historian leads Peter and his shipmates into a galaxy of the unknown. It’s an overwhelming responsibility for Peter, and one false step could plunge humanity into an apocalyptic interstellar war.

Invaded (Alienated #2)—Melissa Landers (February 3, Disney-Hyperion)

Young Adult. Cara always knew life on planet L’eihr would be an adjustment. With Aelyx, her L’eihr boyfriend, back on Earth, working to mend the broken alliance between their two planets, Cara is left to fend for herself at a new school. Things look up when Cara is appointed as representative to a panel preparing for a human colony on L’eihr. On Earth, Aelyx, finds himself thrown into a PR campaign to improve human-L’eihr relations. Humans don’t know that their survival depends on this alliance: only Aelyx’s people have the technology to fix the contamination in the water supply that human governments are hiding. The leaders of his world suddenly seem desperate to get humans on their side, and hardly bat an eye at extremists’ multiple attempts on Aelyx’s life. The Way clearly needs humans’ help, but with what? And what will they ask for in return?

Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: A NovelJudd Trichter (February 3, Thomas Dunne)

Bad luck for Eliot Lazar, he fell in love with an android, a beautiful C-900 named Iris Matsuo. That’s the kind of thing that can get you killed in late 21th century Los Angeles or anywhere else for that matter, anywhere except the man-made island of Atlantis. Which is where Eliot and Iris are headed once they get their hands on a boat. Then one night Eliot knocks on Iris’s door only to find she was kidnapped, chopped up, sold for parts. Eliot vows to find the parts to put Iris back together again, and to find the sonofabitch who did this to her and get his revenge. With a determined LAPD detective on his trail and time running out in a city where machines and men battle for control, Eliot Lazar embarks on a bloody journey that will take him to edge of a moral precipice from which he can never return, from which mankind can never return.

Red Sands: An Orbs PrequelNicholas Sansbury Smith (February 3, Simon & Schuster/Simon451)

Jeff and his little brother David are alone. Their parents have disappeared along with the rest of the world, replaced by glowing blue orbs and a terrifying army of aliens. But the boys are survivors. Living in the tunnels beneath the White Sands military base, escaping from hungry aliens, and searching for supplies, they hatch a plan. The boys will fight back, and before they’re through the white sands will run red with blood. (Digital)

SoulprintMegan Miranda (February 3, Bloomsbury)

Young Adult. With the science of soul-fingerprinting a reality, Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned for the crimes her past-self committed. In an attempt to clear her name, Alina unintentionally trades one prison for another when she escapes, aided by a group of teens whose intentions and motivations are a mystery to her. As she gets to know one of the boys, sparks fly, and Alina believes she may finally be able to trust someone. But when she uncovers clues left behind from her past life that only she can decipher, secrets begin to unravel. Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat the past.

Terminal White (Outlanders #72)—James Axler (February 3, Gold Eagle)

The Cerberus rebels remain vigilant, defending mankind’s sovereignty against the alien forces conspiring to gain control of the planet. Now a dark and deadly intelligence plots to eradicate what it means to be human: free will. In the northern wilderness, behind an artificial curtain of winter, the legacy of the deposed god kings lives on. An experimental testing ground, where computers have replaced independent choice, is turning citizens into docile, obedient sheep. The brainchild of a dedicated Magistrate of the old order, Terminal White promises to achieve the subjugation of the human race. As the Cerberus warriors infiltrate and get trapped in this mechanized web, humanity’s only salvation may be lost in a blinding white doom.

The Human Engineer: A Tor.Com OriginalJessica Brody (February 4, Tor)

Ever since Diotech Corporation released the first artificial womb, a safe and convenient new way to birth human babies, controversy for the cutting-edge product has risen as swiftly as the demand. For Rickar Hallix, however, the biomedical engineer who invented the womb, life has become steadily worse. When Rickar stumbles upon a possible defect in the latest batch of product, he suddenly finds himself thrust into the center of the endless, cut-throat battle between corporate greed and the security of human life. (Digital)

 

WEEK TWO

Edison’s Alley (The Accelerati Trilogy #2)—Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman (February 10, Disney-Hyperion)

Young Adult. Both Nick and the Accelerati have learned that the strange objects Nikola Tesla left in Nick’s attic are pieces of a Far Range Energy Emitter, capable of transmitting “free energy” to the globe. Some components of the contraption are still missing. Each piece is with the person who needs it the most. Nick finds his judgment impaired by Caitlin’s intoxicating closeness. The Accelerati are still around every corner, and they manage to beat Nick to a few more objects. They use the few pieces of Tesla’s technology they’ve recovered to create a storm and convince local officials that the Tesla F.R.E.E. is hazardous. The objects are confiscated by the Accelerati as the town brings in a wrecking ball to demolish Nick’s house. The Accelerati transport the objects back to their lab, hidden under the Edison Museum in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Nick knows that is where he’ll find his destiny.

Rebellion (Extraction #2)—Stephanie Diaz (February 10, St. Martin’s Griffin)

Young Adult. It’s been seven days since Clementine and Logan, along with their allies, retreated into hiding on the Surface. The rebels may have won one battle against Commander Charlie, but the fight is far from finished. He has vowed to find a way to win, no matter the cost. Do the rebels have what it takes to defeat him, and put an end to this war? As Clementine and Logan enter a desperate race against time to defeat Commander Charlie, and attempt to weaken his power within his own ranks, they find themselves in a terrifying endgame that pits them against a brutal enemy, and each other. With every step, Clementine draws closer to losing Logan, and losing control of herself.

 

WEEK THREE

No new releases

 

WEEK FOUR

Dove Arising (Dove Chronicles #1)—Karen Bao (February 24, Viking Juvenile)

Young Adult. Phaet Theta has lived her whole life in a colony on the Moon. She’s barely spoken since her father died in an accident nine years ago. She cultivates the plants in Greenhouse 22, lets her best friend talk for her, and stays off the government’s radar. Then her mother is arrested. The only way to save her younger siblings from the degrading Shelter is by enlisting in the Militia, the faceless army that polices the Lunar bases and protects them from attacks by desperate Earth-dwellers. Training is brutal, but it’s where Phaet forms an uneasy but meaningful alliance with the preternaturally accomplished Wes, a fellow outsider. Rank high, save her siblings, free her mom: that’s the plan. Until Phaet’s logically ordered world begins to crumble.

Empire (The Chronicles of the Invaders #2)—John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard (February 24, Atria/Emily Bestler)

Earth has been conquered and occupied. The Resistance still fights the invaders, but they are nothing more than an annoyance to the Illyri, an alien race of superior technology and military strength. When caught, the young rebels are conscripted. They join the Brigades, sent to fight at the edges of the growing Illyri Empire. Paul Kerr is one such soldier, torn from his home and his beloved Syl Hellais. She is the first alien child born on Earth, and a being possessed of powers beyond imagining. Both must endure the terrible exile that Syl’s race has deemed punishment for their love. There is another species involved, known only as the Others, and the Illyri will kill to keep their existence secret. Paul and Syl must find a way to reveal the truth behind the Empire, and save all that they hold dear from the hunger of the Others. Even at the cost of their own lives. (U.S.)

Kalahari (Corpus #3)—Jessica Khoury (February 24, Razorbill)

Young Adult. When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide. It’s up to Sarah, the daughter of zoologists, to keep them alive and lead them to safety. Battling dehydration, starvation and the pangs of first love, she does her best to hold it together. Soon a terrifying encounter makes Sarah question everything she’s ever known about the natural world. A silver lion, as though made of mercury, makes a vicious, unprovoked attack on the group. After a narrow escape, they uncover the chilling truth behind the lion’s silver sheen: a highly contagious and deadly virus that threatens to ravage the entire area, and eliminate life as they know it. Sarah and the others must not only outrun the virus, but its creators, who will stop at nothing to wipe every trace of it.

Stone in the Sky (Tin Star #2)—Cecil Castellucci (February 24, Roaring Brook Press)

Young Adult. Tula will need to rely on more than just her wits to save her only home in the sky. After escaping death a second time, Tula Bane is now even thirstier for revenge. She spends much of her time in the Tin Star Café on the Yertina Feray, the space station she calls home. But when it’s discovered that the desolate and abandoned planet near the station has high quantities of a precious resource, the once sleepy space station becomes a major player in intergalactic politics. In the spirit of the Gold Rush, aliens from all over the galaxy race to cash in, including Tula’s worst enemy.

The Remaining: AllegianceD.J. Molles (February 24, Orbit)

This is the fifth novel in the series following Special Forces Captain Lee Harden and a group of survivors struggling to survive while rebuilding an America devastated by a bacterium that has turned 90 percent of the population into a ravenous horde. Through an overwhelming storm of pain and adversity Captain Lee Harden has fought and survived. But his mission continues. Recovering from his wounds, mental and physical, he must rally his companions at Camp Ryder and push back against the still swarming hordes of the infected that threaten to extinguish an already devastated society.


Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series, including the upcoming Pirate’s Alley. You can find Suzanne on Facebook and on her website.

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