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Baker, A. Deborah. Under the Smokestrewn Sky. Tor.com. (The Up-and-Under, Bk. 4). Oct. 2023. 208p. ISBN 9781250848475. $21.99. FANTASY

In wrap-up to the “Up-and-Under” quartet, Avery and Zib have almost arrived at the Impossible City after marching relentlessly across field and through forest, but danger still awaits. From the multi-award-winning Seanan McGuire, writing as Baker; with a 40,000-copy first printing.

Basu, Samit. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport. Tor.com. Oct. 2023. 416p. ISBN 9781250827517. $28.99. SF

Lina was programmed before birth to save her city, Shantiport, a failed gateway to the stars, even as her monkey-bot brother longs to roam the universe. All hell breaks loose when Shantiport's reigning tech billionaire compels Lina to seek out a powerful artifact. From international best-selling Indian novelist Basu (The City Inside); with a 75,000-copy first printing.

Broder, Melissa. Death Valley. Scribner. Oct. 2023. 240p. ISBN 9781668024843. $27. CD. MAGIC REALISM

Undone by the illness of both her father and her husband, a woman escapes to a motel in the California high desert and while hiking discovers a huge, out-of-place cactus that has a gaping hole on one side. She enters to find her life completely changed. Following the multi-best-booked Milk Fed.

Davis-Goff, Sarah. Silent City. Flatiron: Macmillan. Oct. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9781250262622. $27.99. Downloadable. DYSTOPIAN

Fierce shrake, whose bites cause infection or death, have overrun Ireland, with survivors gathering in the authoritarian Phoenix City and protected by an all-women fighting force. When two women are executed, Orpen realizes that she must flee, even if it means heading into grave danger. Irish author David-Goff follows up her well-received Last Ones Left Alive; with a 50,000-copy first printing.

Guanzon, Thea. The Hurricane Wars. Harper Voyager. Oct. 2023. 480p. ISBN 9780063277274. $30. CD. FANTASY/ROMANCE

Born and raised in the midst of the Hurricane Wars, her country besieged by the Night Emperor, orphaned Talasyn shimmers with light magic. That magic dangerously threatens the enemy, which is why the emperor’s son, Prince Alaric, targets her on the battlefield. But their clash of powers leads to something unexpected. A debut novel with a 100,000-copy first printing.

Harrow, Alix E. Starling House. Tor. Oct. 2023. 320p. ISBN 9781250799050. $28.99. Downloadable. FANTASY

In 19th-century Kentucky, E. Starling wrote a well-known fantasy called The Underland and then disappeared, leaving behind the now tumbledown Starling House, inhabited by its last moody heir, Arthur. Opal takes a job there, hoping to earn money to help her brother. But the house starts feeling like home, and soon she’s teaming up with Arthur to uncover its secrets. From the Hugo Award–winning Harrow; with a 250,000-copy first printing.

Kadrey, Richard & Cassandra Khaw. The Dead Take the A Train. Tor Nightfire. (Carrion Duology, Bk. 1). Oct. 2023. 384p. ISBN 9781250867025. $28.99. CD/downloadable. FANTASY

Burned-out, bottom-rung Julie Crews wants to make it in New York City’s world of magic, and her obvious ambition gets here hired by an eldritch god to commit an act of revenge. But she inadvertently sets off a chain of events that threatens the entire world. First in the “Carrion City” duology from two top authors; with a 150,000-copy first printing.

Kelly, Greta. The Queen of Days. Harper Voyager. Oct. 2023. 384p. ISBN 9780063240964. $30. CD. FANTASY/EPIC

For fun, money, and vengeance after his parents’ murders, Balthazar commits his family of thieves to stealing a statue at a celebration for the god Karanis, with the Queen of Days foisted on him as part of the heist. The ceremony ends up unleashing the god himself, and with the statue he intended to inhabit smashed, Balthazar is forced to hunt for a part that went missing or the world’s done for. From the author of the “Warrior Witch” duology; with a 75,000-copy first printing.

Maniscalco, Kerri. Throne of the Fallen. Little, Brown. Oct. 2023. 384p. ISBN 9780316557290. $29. Downloadable. FANTASY/EPIC

To defuse the rakish Lord Phillip Vexley’s threats of blackmail, talented artist Miss Camilla Antonius teams up with a town newcomer, the Prince of Envy himself, and learns about her own true nature as they travel through the Shifting Islands and try not to fall in love. The adult debut of No. 1 New York Times best-selling Maniscalco; with a 350,000-copy first printing.

Mosley, Walter. Touched. Atlantic Monthly. Oct. 2023. 176p. ISBN 9780802161840. $26. SF

Awakening from a deep sleep that might have lasted for centuries, Martin Just realizes that humanity is a deadly virus and that he is the Cure. He lives with his wife and children in the Hollywood hills, the only Black family on their block, and to defend them sometimes finds himself blessed with outsized strength and entering an alternate consciousness as he battles a relentless stalker, a pale-faced embodiment of death. The masterly Mosley in sf mode.

Sanderson, Brandon. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Tor. Oct. 2023. 384p. ISBN 9781250899699. $29.99. FANTASY

They belong to the Cosmere universe, but Yumi and Painter are two very different people. Yumi comes from a verdant world of spirits and meditation, while Painter’s dark-lit, tech-driven world is full of nightmares. Suddenly, however, their lives are conjoined, and they must work together to save each other’s communities. From the Hugo Award-winning Sanderson; with a 300,000-copy first printing.

Taub, Melinda. The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch. Grand Central. Oct. 2023. 400p. ISBN 9781538739204. $30. Downloadable. FANTASY

In this fantastical reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, narrated by youngest sister Lydia Bennet, Kitty is really a barn cat, Wickham is indeed a demon, and Lydia herself is a witch just learning her craft. What will strait-laced Mr. Darcy think of all this magic? From the Emmy Award–winning Taub, author of the YA novel Still Star-Crossed; with a 30,000-copy first printing.

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