For over a decade, Barnes & Noble buyer Jim Killen has been a driving force behind Barnes & Noble’s science fiction and fantasy sections. Each month on Tor.com, Mr. Killen curates a list of science fiction & fantasy titles, sometimes focused on upcoming titles and sometimes focused on a theme.
Here are the Barnes & Noble science fiction and fantasy picks for May!
Deadly Shores: Destroyermen—Taylor Anderson
(May 6, Roc—Hardcover)
Taylor Anderson’s explosive WWII alternate-history series continues! The long-planned raid on the heart of the Grik Empire has grown more ambitious—and dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on its original intent. Many Lemurians see an opportunity to reconquer their sacred homeland, which was stolen long ago, and have no intention of simply striking a blow and then pulling back. Others, Lemurian and human, have their own agendas—which may not be in the best interests of the Alliance. Complicating matters further is Reddy’s suspicion that his task force is being stalked by an unknown power bent on aiding the Grik for reasons of its own. As the raid begins and chaos reigns, Reddy has no choice but to risk everything, but will the final cost be more than the Alliance can bear?
Doctor Who: The Wheel of Ice— Stephen Baxter
(May 6, Ace Trade—Paperback)
The Wheel. A ring of ice and metal turning around a moon of Saturn, home to a mining colony supplying a resource-hungry Earth—a colony plagued by problems. Equipment failures and thefts are on the rise. Children tell stories of mysterious creatures glimpsed aboard the Wheel. And some of the younger workers refuse to go down into the warren-like mines. And then one of them, surfing Saturn’s rings, saves an enigmatic blue box from destruction.
Once on the Wheel, the Doctor and his companions, Jamie and Zoe, face a critical situation when the colonists suspected them of sabotage. They soon find themselves caught in a mystery that reaches back to the creation of the solar system, a mystery that could destroy the Wheel—and kill them all.
Klingon Art of War—Keith R. A. DeCandido
(May 6, Pocket Books/Star Trek —Hardcover)
Star Trek expert Keith R.A. DeCandido has written the ultimate guide to fighting well and dying with honor. Passed down from the time of Kahless, ten precepts have shaped Klingon culture and indoctrinated Klingons in the Way of the Warrior. With this new translation, people from all walks of life—and all worlds—can harness the ancient Klingon wisdom and learn to embody courage, discipline, and honor.
Remember: Choose your enemies well, choose death over chains, and guard honor above all.
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast—Jack Campbell
(May 6, Ace—Hardcover)
Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary embarks on a thrilling new adventure to defend the Alliance and safeguard the future! Geary and the crew of the Dauntless think their job is done when they safely escort alien ambassadors to Earth. But when two of Geary’s key lieutenants vanish, the search for his missing men leads Geary on a far-flung chase, ultimately ending at the one spot in space from which all humans have been banned: the moon Europa. As Geary spearheads a desperate battle to protect the Alliance against a shrewd and powerful enemy, he’s left with just one question: Who are they?
Midnight Crossroad—Charlaine Harris
(May 6, Penguin—Hardcover)
Charlaine Harris, the bestselling creator of Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, brings us to a darker locale in her new trilogy…Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town. There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own). Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth.
Mirror Sight (Green Rider Series #5)— Kristen Britain
(May 6, DAW—Hardcover)
Mirror Sight is the highly-anticipated fifth installment of the Green Rider series! Karigan G’ladheon is a Green Rider—a seasoned member of the elite messenger corps of King Zachary of Sacoridia. King Zachary sends Karigan and a contingent of Sacoridians into the mysterious Blackveil Forest, which has been tainted with dark magic by a twisted immortal spirit named Mornhavon the Black. After a confrontation with Mornhavon, Karigan is jolted out of Blackveil Forest and wakes in darkness. She’s lying on smooth, cold stone, but as she reaches out, she realizes that the stone is not just beneath her, but above and around her as well. She’s landed in a sealed stone sarcophagus, some unknown tomb, and the air is becoming thin…
The Oversight—Charlie Fletcher
(May 6, Orbit—Paperback)
“The end always happens faster than you think.”
Once there were hundreds of members of the Oversight, the brave souls who guard the borders between the mundane and the magic. Now there are only five. When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight’s London headquarters, she could answer their hopes for new recruit, or she could be the instrument of their downfall.
The Sea Without a Shore—David Drake, Stephen Hickman
(May 6, Baen—Hardcover)
#10 in the nationally best-selling Republic of Cinnabar Navy space adventure series! Cinnabar’s chief spymaster is also a mother—and her son is determined to search for treasure in the midst of a civil war. Who better to hold the boy’s hand—and to take the blows directed at him—than Captain Daniel Leary, the Republic of Cinnabar Navy’s troubleshooter, and his friend the cyberspy Adele Mundy?
Daniel and Adele face kidnappers, hijackers, pirates and a death squad—even before they can get to their real business of ending the war on Corcyra. Only with planetary peace can the boy they’re escorting get on with his mission. The boy thinks the treasure he’s looking for is a thousand years old. Daniel and Adele know that it’s probably a dream—but if the treasure is real, it just might be tens of thousands of years older than anyone imagines…
Sparrow Hill Road—Seanan McGuire
(May 6, DAW—Paperback)
Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross—a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea.
They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose”, a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. But she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.
You can’t kill what’s already dead.
Batman/Superman Vol. 1: Cross World (The New 52)—Greg Pak, Jae Lee (Illustrator), Ben Oliver (Illustrator)
(May 6, DC—Hardcover)
The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are close friends in the modern day—but the two weren’t always such close allies. Discover how two of the World’s Finest Super Heroes met for the first time in the New 52, and the mysterious adventure that takes them to a whole new world-the world of Earth 2! The heroes of the main DC Universe meet their Earth 2 counterparts for the first time!
Collects Batman/Superman #1-4 and Justice League #23.1: Darkseid.
Clockwork Angels—Kevin J. Anderson, Neil Peart
(May 13, ECW—Paperback)
Internationally bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson teams up with Rush lyricist and drummer Neil Peart to expand the story set out in Clockwork Angels, the twentieth studio album by the legendary rock band. In Owen Hardy’s quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. He travels through a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life. Owen’s journeys begin at a fabulous carnival with clockwork wonders beyond his imagination, and take him aboard airships, far into the Redrock Desert to seek lost cities, through storms at sea to encounters with pirates … and give him a chance at love.
Thief’s Magic—Trudi Canavan
(May 13, Orbit—Hardcover)
Two outcasts must strike out on their own in a world where industrial revolution is powered by magic! When Tyen, a student of archaeology, unearths a sentient book called Vella, he learns that she was once a young sorcerer. Transformed into book, she has been collecting information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen’s world faces. Meanwhile Rielle, a powerful magician in her own right, uses her talents to steal from Angels, and plan a life for herself far from the restrictive society she was born into. Can Rielle escape before the Angels exact their vengeance? Can Tyen protect Vella from all those grasping for her knowledge? Not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic, the laws of their lands—not even the people they trust.
Batman Vol. 4: Zero Year-Secret City (The New 52)— Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo (Illustrator)
(May 13, DC—Hardcover)
The fourth volume in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s best-selling run on Batman!
Still dealing with the death of his son and the aftermath of Death of the Family, Batman must stop a robbery by Bruce Wayne? Twists and turns are around every corner as Bruce must clear his name and stop this mysterious perpetrator, all leading to the epic “Zero Year.”
Collects issues #21-24, #0 and Batman Annual #2 in Scott Snyder’s landmark run in this #1 New York Times bestselling series.
Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale—Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Francesco Francavilla (Illustrator)
(May 13, Archie Comic Publications, Incorporated—Paperback)
When Jughead’s beloved pet Hot Dog is killed in a hit and run, Jughead turns to the only person he knows who can help bring back his furry best friend—Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Using dark, forbidden magic, Sabrina is successful and Hot Dog returns to the land of the living. But he’s not the same… and soon, the darkness he brings back with him from beyond the grave begins to spread, forcing Archie, Betty, Veronica and the gang to try to escape from Riverdale!
The Art of Neil Gaiman—Hayley Campbell
(May 20, HarperCollins—Hardcover)
The Art of Neil Gaimanis the first book to tell the full story of Gaiman’s amazing creative life. Never-before-seen manuscripts, notes, cartoons, drawings, and personal photographs from Neil’s own archives are complemented by artwork and sketches from all of his major works and his own intimate recollections. Each project is examined in turn, from genesis to fruition, and positioned in the wider narrative of Gaiman’s creative life, affording unparalleled access to the inner workings of the writer’s mind.
Utterly comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, The Art of Neil Gaiman is the fully authorized account of the life and work of one of the world’s great storytellers.
A Dance of Shadows—David Dalglish
(May 20, Orbit—Paperback)
In book #4 of the Shadowdance series, Haern is the King’s Watcher, born an assassin only to become the city of Veldaren’s protector against the thief guilds. When Lord Victor Kane attacks the city, determined to stamp out all corruption, foreign gangs pour in amidst the chaos in an attempt to overthrow the current lords of the underworld. And when a mysterious killer known as the Widow begins mutilating thieves, paranoia engulfs the city. Haern knows someone is behind the turmoil, pulling strings. If he doesn’t find out who — and soon — his beloved city will burn. Light or darkness: where will the line be drawn?
Coffin Hill Vol. 1: Forest of the Night—Caitlin Kittredge, Inaki Miranda (Illustrator)
(May 20, DC—Paperback)
Following a night of sex, drugs and witchcraft in the woods, Eve Coffin wakes up naked, covered in blood and unable to remember how she got there. One friend is missing, one is in a mental ward—and one knows that Eve is responsible. Years later, Eve returns to Coffin Hill, only to discover the darkness that she unleashed ten years ago in the woods was never contained. It continues to seep through the town, cursing the soul of this sleepy Massachusetts hollow, spilling secrets and enacting its revenge.
Collects COFFIN HILL #1-7.
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys—Gerard Way, Sierra Hahn (Editor), Becky Cloonan (Artist), Shaun Simon
(May 20, Dark Horse—Paperback)
Years ago, the Killjoys fought against the tyrannical megacorporation Better Living Industries, costing them their lives, save for one—the mysterious Girl. Today, the followers of the original Killjoys languish in the Desert while BLI systematically strips citizens of their individuality. As the fight for freedom fades, it’s left to the Girl to take up the mantle and bring down the fearsome BLI or else join the mindless ranks of Battery City! Join Gerard Way and Shaun Simon as they sing the stories of the fabulous Killjoys, the final chapter of the Danger Days saga by My Chemical Romance.
Skin Game (Dresden Files Series #15)—Jim Butcher
(May 27, Roc—Hardcover)
Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day. As Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Mab has just traded Harry’s skills to pay off one of her debts, and he’s honor-bound to obey. Now he must help a group of supernatural villains—led by one of Harry’s most dreaded and despised enemies, Nicodemus Archleone—to break into the highest-security vault in town, so that they can then access the highest-security vault in the Nevernever. It’s a smash and grab job to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure hoard in the supernatural world—which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld and generally unpleasant character. Dresden’s always been tricky, but he’s going to have to up his game to survive this mess—assuming his own allies don’t end up killing him before his enemies get the chance.
