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’s the Barnes & Noble science fiction and fantasy picks for March.
Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks for March
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Joe Golem and the Drowning City by Mike Mignola with illustrations by Christopher Golden (March 27, St. Martin’s Press)
Fifty years have passed since the great earthquake and the Drowning City is full of scavengers and water rats, poor people trying to eke out an existence, and those too proud or stubborn to be defeated by circumstance. Among them are fourteen-year-old Molly McHugh, on the run. Her flight will lead her into the company of a mysterious man, and his stalwart sidekick, Joe Golem, whose own past is a mystery to him, but who walks his own dreams as a man of stone and clay, brought to life for the sole purpose of hunting witches.
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Timeless (Parasol Protectorate Series #5) by Gail Carriger (March 2, Orbit)
Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?
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Soulless: The Manga by Gail Carriger with illustrations by Rem (March 2, Orbit)
The first in Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series is now in Manga form! Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? If you haven’t read this series yet, here is a great place to start.
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Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi by Troy Denning (March 13, Del Rey)
In the stunning finale of the epic Fate of the Jedi series, Jedi and Sith face off—with Coruscant as their battlefield. For the Sith, it’s the chance to restore their dominance over the galaxy that forgot them for so long. For Abeloth, it’s a giant step in her quest to conquer all life everywhere. For Luke Skywalker, it’s a call to arms to eradicate the Sith and their monstrous new master once and for all.
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Fair Game (Alpha and Omega) by Patricia Briggs (March 6, Ace)
They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind. Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can’t afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father’s dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.
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Bridge of Dreams (Ephemera Series) by Anne Bishop (March 6, Penguin)
When wizards threaten Glorianna Belladonna and her work to keep Ephemera balanced, her brother Lee sacrifices himself in order to save her—and ends up an asylum inmate in the city of Vision.
But a darkness is spreading through Vision, perplexing the Shamans who protect it. And Lee is the only one who can shed any light on its mysteries…
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The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiler Chronicles Series #2) Paperback by Patrick Rothfuss (March 6, Penguin)
Now in paperback—this book was voted Number One novel of the year in the Tor.com Readers’ Poll.
In The Wise Man’s Fear, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of his family, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived…until Kvothe.
Now, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
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Costume Not Included: To Hell and Back, Book 2 by Matthew Hughes (March 27, Osprey Limited)
Chesney’s efforts to Save The Day and Win the Girl make slow progress. Meanwhile, Boss Greeley’s deal with the Devil makes him ever-stronger, and untouchable, while the Reverend Hardacre digs deeper and finds that not everything in reality is quite what it seems…
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By a Thread (Elemental Assassin Series #6) by Jennifer Estep (Feb. 28, Pocket Books)
How often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis Mab Monroe a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco. But this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently.
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Legion of the Damned (Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Battle Series) by Rob Sanders (March 27, Games Workshop)
Following the trajectory of a blood-red comet, the berserk World Eaters blaze a path of destruction across the galaxy in its wake. The small cemetery world of Certus Minor appeals to the Space Marines of the Excoriators Chapter for protection, but the force dispatched to deal with this grim threat is far too small and their losses against the renegades are high. Just as all seems lost, salvation is borne out of legend itself as sinister spectral warriors descend upon this planet of the dead, and the enemies of the Imperium come face to face with those who have already travelled beyond the realm of the living…
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Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove (March 27, Solaris)
The Aztecs’ reign is one of cruel and ruthless oppression, encompassing regular human sacrifice. In the jungle-infested city of London, one man defies them: the masked vigilante known as the Conquistador. Then the Conquistador is recruited to spearhead an uprising, and discovers a terrible truth about the Aztec and their gods. The clock is ticking. Apocalypse looms, unless the Conquistador can help assassinate the mysterious, immortal Aztec emperor, the Great Speaker. But his mission is complicated by Mal Vaughn, a police detective who is on his trail, determined to bring him to justice.
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Fated: An Alex Versus Novel by Benedict Jacka (Feb 28, Penguin)
Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future—allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success. But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever’s inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none…
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A Rising Thunder by David Weber (March 6, Baen)
Honor Harrington is back as the thunder of battle rolls and the Solarian League directs its massive power against the Star Kingdom. Once again, Honor Harrington is thrust into a desperate battle that she must win if she is to survive to take the fight to the real enemy of galactic freedomthe insidious puppetmasters of war who lurk behind the Mesan Alignment!
Check back with us at the beginning of April for next month’s B&N Picks, and keep an eye out tomorrow for Independent Bookseller Picks from WORD in Brooklyn.
