Summer is in full swing in New York, and as temperatures soar we’re already dreaming of crisp fall days—and of course the books we can’t wait to curl up with! Below, check out the cover designs and descriptions for all the novellas and novels that Tor.com Publishing will be bring out from September though November.
It’s an exciting new season for us–a little scary, a bit futuristic, sometimes funny, often adventurous, and always (we hope) compelling.
All titles will be available world-wide in print, ebook, and audio. Most ebooks are priced at $2.99 (or the equivalent.) As always, we will continue to publish free short fiction weekly.
Cold Forged Flame
Written by Marie Brennan
Illustrated by Greg Ruth
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available September 13
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
The sound of the horn pierces the apeiron, shattering the stillness of that realm. Its clarion call creates ripples, substance, something more. It is a summons, a command. There is will. There is need. And so, in reply, there is a woman.
At the beginning―no―at the end―she appears, full of fury and bound by chains of prophecy.
Setting off on an unexplained quest from which she is compelled to complete, and facing unnatural challenges in a land that doesn’t seem to exist, she will discover the secrets of herself, or die trying. But along the way, the obstacles will grow to a seemingly insurmountable point, and the final choice will be the biggest sacrifice yet.
The Warren
Written by Brian Evenson
Illustrated by Victor Mosquera
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available September 20
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
X doesn’t have a name. He thought he had one—or many—but that might be the result of the failing memories of the personalities imprinted within him. Or maybe he really is called X.
He’s also not as human as he believes himself to be.
But when he discovers the existence of another—above ground, outside the protection of the Warren—X must learn what it means to be human, or face the destruction of their two species.
Impersonations
Written by Walter Jon Williams
Illustrated by Jaime Jones
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available October 4
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
Having offended her superiors by winning a battle without permission, Caroline Sula has been posted to the planet Earth, a dismal backwater where careers go to die. But Sula has always been fascinated by Earth history, and she plans to reward herself with a long, happy vacation amid the ancient monuments of humanity’s home world.
Sula may be an Earth history buff, but there are aspects of her own history she doesn’t want known. Exposure is threatened when an old acquaintance turns up unexpectedly. Someone seems to be forging evidence that would send her to prison. And all that is before someone tries to kill her.
If she’s going to survive, Sula has no choice but to make some history of her own.
Hammers on Bone
Written by Cassandra Khaw
Illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available October 11
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
John Persons is a private investigator with a distasteful job from an unlikely client. He’s been hired by a ten-year-old to kill the kid’s stepdad, McKinsey. The man in question is abusive, abrasive, and abominable.
He’s also a monster, which makes Persons the perfect thing to hunt him. Over the course of his ancient, arcane existence, he’s hunted gods and demons, and broken them in his teeth.
As Persons investigates the horrible McKinsey, he realizes that he carries something far darker than the expected social evils. He’s infected with an alien presence, and he’s spreading that monstrosity far and wide. Luckily Persons is no stranger to the occult, being an ancient and magical intelligence himself. The question is whether the private dick can take down the abusive stepdad without releasing the holds on his own horrifying potential.
Everything Belongs to the Future
Written by Laurie Penny
Designed by FORT
Cover Photograph © Getty Images
Available October 18
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
Time is a weapon wielded by the rich, who have excess of it, against the rest, who must trade every breath of it against the promise of another day’s food and shelter. What kind of world have we made, where human beings can live centuries if only they can afford the fix? What kind of creatures have we become? The same as we always were, but keener.
In the ancient heart of Oxford University, the ultra-rich celebrate their vastly extended lifespans. But a few surprises are in store for them. From Nina and Alex, Margo and Fidget, scruffy anarchists sharing living space with an ever-shifting cast of crusty punks and lost kids. And also from the scientist who invented the longevity treatment in the first place.
A Taste of Honey
Written by Kai Ashante Wilson
Illustrated by Tommy Arnold
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available October 25
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
Long after the Towers left the world but before the dragons came to Daluça, the emperor brought his delegation of gods and diplomats to Olorum. As the royalty negotiates over trade routes and public services, the divinity seeks arcane assistance among the local gods.
Aqib bgm Sadiqi, fourth-cousin to the royal family and son of the Master of Beasts, has more mortal and pressing concerns. His heart has been captured for the first time by a handsome Daluçan soldier named Lucrio. in defiance of Saintly Canon, gossiping servants, and the furious disapproval of his father and brother, Aqib finds himself swept up in a whirlwind romance. But neither Aqib nor Lucrio know whether their love can survive all the hardships the world has to throw at them.
The Burning Light
Written by Bradley P. Beaulieu and Rob Ziegler
Illustrated by Richard Anderson
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available November 1
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
Disgraced government operative Colonel Chu is exiled to the flooded relic of New York City. Something called the Light has hit the streets like an epidemic, leavings its users strung out and disconnected from the mind-network humanity relies on. Chu has lost everything she cares about to the Light. She’ll end the threat or die trying.
A former corporate pilot who controlled a thousand ships with her mind, Zola looks like just another Light-junkie living hand to mouth on the edge of society. She’s special though. As much as she needs the Light, the Light needs her too. But, Chu is getting close and Zola can’t hide forever.
The Iron Beast
(No Man’s Land #3)
Written by Andy Remic
Illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love
Designed by Christine Foltzer
Available Novemeber 8
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
A war is being waged in an impossible world.
The Skogsgra and the Naravelle have launched their final offensive, and Private Jones and his companions are caught in the melee.
Tens of thousands will die before the battle is over.
They travel deep underground, to find and release the Iron Beast… the one creature that can end not one world war, but two.
But at what cost… ?
Lost Child of Lychford
(Witches of Lychford #2)
Written by Paul Cornell
Designed by FORT
Cover Photograph © Getty Images
Available November 22
Pre-order Now: iBooks | Kindle | Nook
What’s it about?
It’s December in the English village of Lychford—the first Christmas since an evil conglomerate tried to force open the borders between our world and… another.
Which means it’s Lizzie’s first Christmas as Reverend of St. Martin’s. Which means more stress, more expectation, more scrutiny by the congregation. Which means… well, business as usual, really.
Until the apparition of a small boy finds its way to Lizzie in the church. Is he a ghost? A vision? Something else? Whatever the truth, our trio of witches (they don’t approve of “coven”) are about to face their toughest battle, yet!
