Fiction Affliction: Genre-Benders for April

Thirteen new genre-benders are blooming out this spring, including what’s being billed as the “most comprehensive compendium ever” on Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, something all Constant Readers will want to check out. There are also new series additions from Rusty Fischer, E.E. Knight, and Anna Carey, a new series start from A.A. Aguirre, a new Interworld novel from Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves, and new stories from Walter Mosley.




Zombies Don’t Forgive (Living Dead Love Story #2), by Rusty Fischer, (April 1, Medallion Press)


Appalachian Overthrow (Vampire Earth #10), by E.E. Knight, (April 2, Roc)

Captured and sold to the Kurian–allied Maynes Conglomerate, to work as a slave in the coal mines of Appalachia, Ahn-Kha is angered and appalled by the dangerous working conditions, and the brutal treatment inflicted upon his fellow miners. When a protest against shortages is deliberately and bloodily suppressed, Ahn-Kha sets himself against the ruling Maynes family and sets out on a trail of vengeance through the Coal Country. Finally, the people of the Coal Country are driven to the breaking point, and they now have a leader, a powerful and battle-hardened leader, determined to forge them into an army that will wage guerrilla warfare against the Maynes family and their Kurian masters, and free the Appalachians from their tyranny.

Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson, (April 2, Reagan Arthur)


Rise (Eve #3), by Anna Carey, (April 2, HarperCollins)

Young Adult. When she lost her soul mate, Caleb, Eve felt like her world had ended. Trapped in the palace, forced to play the part of the happy, patriotic princess of The New America—and the blushing bride of her father’s top adviser, Eve’s whole life is a lie. The only thing that keeps her going is Caleb’s memory, and the revolution he started. Now, Eve is taking over where Caleb left off. With the help of Moss, an undercover subversive in the King’s court, she plots to take down The New America, beginning with the capital, the City of Sand. Will Eve be able to bring about a new, free world when she’s called upon to perform the ultimate act of rebellion, killing her father?

Stepping Stone/The Love Machine: Crosstown to Oblivion, by Walter Mosley, (April 2, Tor)

Stepping Stone: Truman Pope overcame learning disabilities with the help of a sympathetic teacher and has labored for years as mailroom supervisor for a Manhattan financial firm. Pope’s staid routine comes to an abrupt halt when he sees a woman in the elevator whom no one else can see. The vision proves to be the first of a series of odd episodes that lead to an apocalyptic threat to mankind. Love Machine: Lois Kim tests the Datascriber, which Dr. Marchant Lewis has produced for her bosses at InterCybernetics, and realizes that she’s given Lewis access to her memories and desires and opened herself to the Co-Mind Lewis shares with Marie and three other associates. Lois adjusts to her new status and prepares to forge her comrades into the new vanguard of humanity.

Stung, by Bethany Wiggins, (April 2, Walker Children’s)

Young Adult. There is no cure for being stung. Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered, her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand, a black oval with five marks on either side, that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right. Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark. Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone, and on the wrong side of the wall.

The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy, by Bev Vincent, (April 2, NAL)

The ultimate compendium to King’s evolving magnum opus, presenting the mythology, history, and geography of this epic fantasy that has captivated generations of readers. Featuring interviews with Stephen King, Ron Howard, Dark Tower expert Robin Furth and others, Bev Vincent reveals The Dark Tower’s influential literary origins, examines its connections to the vast majority of King’s other novels, explores the expanded universe, catalogs the major characters, locations and concepts, and includes a travel guide to the story’s real-world locations., giving fans who have followed Roland’s journey, or those who are discovering it for the first time, an overview of the series and an inside look at the creative process of one of the world’s most popular authors.



No new releases.



London Falling, by Paul Cornell, (April 16, Tor)

The dark is rising. Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drug bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. Nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law. Now, the team must find a ’suspect’ who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again. They must hunt a supernatural force the only way they know how: using police methods, equipment and tactics. But they must all learn the rules of this new game, and quickly. More than their lives will depend on it. (U.S. release).



The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel, by Helene Wecker, (April 23, Harper)

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free. Meeting by chance, the two creatures become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. A powerful menace will bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.

The River of No Return, by Bee Ridgway, (April 23, Dutton)

Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life’s advantages. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to find something called the Talisman. In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. When Nick returns home as if from the dead, Julia suspects that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Julia and Nick are caught in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.

The Silver Dream: An Interworld Novel (Interworld #2), by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves, (April 23, HarperTeen)

Young Adult. Sixteen-year-old Joey Harker has just saved the Altiverse, the dimension that contains all the myriad Earths, from complete destruction. After mastering the ability to walk between dimensions, Joey and his fellow InterWorld Freedom Fighters are on a mission to maintain peace between the rival powers of magic and science who seek to control all worlds. When a stranger named Acacia somehow follows Joey back to InterWorld’s Base, things get complicated. No one knows who she is or where she’s from, or how she knows so much about InterWorld. Dangerous times lie ahead, and Joey has no one to rely on but himself and his wits, and, just maybe, the mysterious Acacia Jones.

Through the Door (Thin Veil #1), by Jodi McIsaac, (April 23, 47North)

It’s been seven years since the love of Cedar McLeod’s life left with no forwarding address. All she has left of him are heart-wrenching memories of happier times and a beautiful six-year-old daughter, Eden. Then, one day, Eden opens her bedroom door and unwittingly creates a portal that leads to anywhere she imagines. But they’re not the only ones who know of Eden’s gift, and soon the child mysteriously vanishes. Desperate for answers, Cedar digs into the past and finds herself thrust into a magical world of Celtic myths, fantastical creatures, and bloody rivalries. Teaming up with the unlikeliest of allies, Cedar must bridge the gap between two worlds and hold tight to the love in her heart, or lose everything to an ancient evil.

Bronze Gods (Apparatus Infernum #1), by A.A. Aguirre, (April 30, Ace)

Before the Architect closed the door, there were regular crossings, and a great war decimated both humans and Ferishers. The native fae who refused to treat with the invaders faded; their bodies withered and died, stranding them as hungry, angry spirits that haunt the countryside. Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work for the Criminal Investigation Department, keeping citizens safe. Together, they’re trying to keep a black tide from drowning the city. When the second body surfaces, murdered with the same type of infernal device, the entire CID must face the truth. There’s a madman on the loose, twining magic and blood. Mikani and Ritsuko musr unravel the conspiracy before the Royale killer completes his macabre plan.



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