Everfair - Tor/Forge Blog

More SFF Classics are Back: Tor Essentials of 2023

March 22, 2023March 29, 2023Rachel Taylor

Our Tor Essentials line was created to give readers new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles that have stood the test of time, and to bring back ones current SFF fans might have missed out on in the past. Check out every Tor Essentials title coming out in 2023 here!

King Rat by China Mieville

Something is stirring in London’s dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond’s father, and left Saul to pay for the crime. But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul’s prison cell and leads him to freedom: a shadow called King Rat. King Rat reveals to Saul his own royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world for him, the world below London’s streets. With drum-and-bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the ones that would destroy him, and those that have shaped his own bizarre identity. Now with a new introduction by Tim Maughan, author of Infinite Detail.

ON SALE 4/4/23!

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

In this re-imagining of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo, African American missionaries join forces with British socialists to purchase land from the Congo Free State’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, which they name Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven for native populations of the Congo as well as settlers from around the world, including dream-eyed Europeans attempting to create a better society, formerly enslaved people returning from America, and Chinese railroad builders escaping hard labor. Using the combined knowledge of four continents, Everfair becomes a land of spying cats and gulls, nuclear dirigibles buoyed by barkcloth balloons, and silent pistols that shoot poison knives. With this technology, Everfair will attempt to defeat the Belgian tyrant Leopold II. But even if they can defeat their great enemy, a looming world war and political infighting may threaten to destroy everything they have built. Now with a foreward from award-winning author Cadwell Turnbull.

ON SALE 6/13/23!

Knight’s Wyrd by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald

On the eve of his knighting, Will Odosson learns his wyrd, or destiny: He shall meet death before a year has passed. Will rushes north to release his betrothed from their engagement, but on the way he is beset by all manner of horrors–a man-eating troll, carnivorous mermaids, a magic-working dragon . . . and something far worse: an evil unlike anything Will ever imagined. Knight’s Wyrd is an award-winning gem that’s perfect for revival as a Tor Essential and will appeal to fans of books like Hild and Spear, and films like The Green Knight–-a medieval fantasy with the authentic lived-in strangeness of the real Middle Ages. It was originally published by a pair of YA imprints, but it works equally well as an adult read. Now with an introduction written for this edition by Sherwood Smith.

ON SALE 8/22/23!

Small Change by Jo Walton

In 1941 the European war ended in the Farthing Peace, a rapprochement between Britain and Nazi Germany. The balls and banquets of Britain’s upper classes never faltered, while British ships ferried “undesirables” across the Channel to board the cattle cars headed east. In three brilliant novels set between the late 1940s and the early 1960s of this alternate world, Jo Walton explores how a free society can become an unfree one, how easily traditional powers-that-be can accommodate themselves to tyranny, and what a difference a few courageous men and women can make. Alternately charming, heartstopping, and astonishingly deft, this trilogy is a work of total relevance to our modern age. This new Tor Essentials edition of the Small Change trilogy includes a new introduction by J. Bradford de Long, author of Slouching Toward Utopia and one-time Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

ON SALE 9/5/23!

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

After thousands of years of searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. Two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free, innovative traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds. The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches. But first, both groups must wait at the aliens’ very doorstep, for their strange star to relight and for the alien planet to reawaken, as it does every two hundred and fifteen years…Amidst terrible treachery, the Qeng Ho must fight for their freedom and for the lives of the unsuspecting innocents on the planet below, while the aliens themselves play a role unsuspected by Qeng Ho and Emergents alike. This new Tor Essentials edition includes an introduction by the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning Jo Walton, author of Among Others.

ON SALE 10/3/23!

eBook Deals / What's New

$2.99 eBook Sale: November 2022

November 1, 2022April 30, 2024a cat1 Comment

It might be NOvember, but just look at these hot eBook deals! You could never say NO to books like Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez or The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu!

Anyway, check out these epic deals 😎

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on “Away Missions” alongside the starship’s famous senior officers. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

Duke and Earl are just passing through Rockwood county in their pick-up truck when they stop at the Diner for a quick bite to eat. They aren’t planning to stick around-until Loretta, the eatery’s owner, offers them $100 to take care of her zombie problem. Given that Duke is a werewolf and Earl’s a vampire, this looks right up their alley. But the shambling dead are just the tip of a particularly spiky iceberg. Seems someone’s out to drive Loretta from the Diner, and more than willing to raise a little Hell on Earth if that’s what it takes.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Fabian Socialists from Great Britain join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated. Shawl’s speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history.

The Beautiful Ones by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he has traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage. With Hector’s help, Nina’s talent blossoms, as does her love for him.

Invisible Planets edited by Ken Liu

Invisible Planets, edited by multi award-winning writer Ken Liu–translator of the bestselling and Hugo Award-winning novel The Three Body Problem by acclaimed Chinese author Cixin Liu—is his second thought-provoking anthology of Chinese short speculative fiction. Invisible Planets is a groundbreaking anthology of Chinese short speculative fiction.

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Amid the whir of city life, a young woman from Harlem is drawn into the glittering underworld of Manhattan, where she’s hired to use her knives to strike fear among its most dangerous denizens. Ten years later, Phyllis LeBlanc has given up everything—not just her own past, and Dev, the man she loved, but even her own dreams. Still, the ghosts from her past are always by her side—and history has appeared on her doorstep to threaten the people she keeps in her heart. And so Phyllis will have to make a harrowing choice, before it’s too late—is there ever enough blood in the world to wash clean generations of injustice?

Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus

The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan. With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they’ve built.

The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker—and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children—leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world. Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies.

Willful Child by Steven Erikson

These are the voyages of the starship A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life-forms, to boldly blow the…And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space.’

Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu

When Chen’s parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball lightning, he devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mysterious natural phenomenon. His search takes him to stormy mountaintops, an experimental military weapons lab, and an old Soviet science station. The more he learns, the more he comes to realize that ball lightning is just the tip of an entirely new frontier. While Chen’s quest for answers gives purpose to his lonely life, it also pits him against soldiers and scientists with motives of their own: a beautiful army major with an obsession with dangerous weaponry, and a physicist who has no place for ethical considerations in his single-minded pursuit of knowledge.

Lists / What's New

Six Essential Titles Coming from Tor in 2022

January 16, 2022May 1, 2024a cat

Tor Essentials’ goal is to provide readers with fresh new editions to science fiction and fantasy works of lasting value and merit, and we’ve got a whole collection of vital titles that the modern genre fan shouldn’t miss! So read on below for all the Tor Essentials coming in 2022, and once you’re through the list, take a trip to your local bookstore and/or library and read on, and on, and on.

The Black Company by Glen Cook

With a new introduction by Steven Erikson, author of The Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead. Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her…

ON SALE 2/22/22!

Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin

With a new introduction by Amal El-Mohtar, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author.

These three spacefaring adventures mark the beginning of grand master Ursula K. Le Guin’s remarkable career. Set in the same universe as Le Guin’s groundbreaking classics The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, these first three books of the celebrated Hainish Series follow travelers of many worlds and civilizations in the depths of space. The novels collected in this Tor Essentials edition are the first three ever published by Le Guin, a frequent winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards and one of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers of all time.

ON SALE 3/15/22!

Up Against It by Laura J. Mixon

With a new introduction by James S. A. Corey, author of the Expanse novels.

Jane Navio is the resource manager of Phoecea, an asteroid colony poised on the knife-edge of a hard vacuum of unforgiving space. A mishap has dumped megatons of water and methane out the colony’s air lock, putting the entire human population at risk. Jane discovers that the crisis may have been engineered by the Martian crime syndicate, as a means of executing a coup that will turn Phocaea into a client-state. And if that wasn’t bad enough, an AI that spawned during the emergency has gone rogue…and there’s a giant x-factor in the form of the transhumanist Viridian cult that lives in Phocaea’s bowels. Jane’s in the prime of her career—she’s only a bit over a century old—but the conflict between politics and life-support is tearing her apart. To save her colony and her career, she’s going to have to solve several mysteries at once—a challenge that will put her up against all the difficulties, contradictions, and awkward compromises entailed in the human colonization of outer space.

ON SALE 4/26/22!

Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock

With a new introduction by Michael Swanwick, author of The Iron Dragon’s Daughter.

The mystery of Ryhope Wood, Britain’s last fragment of primeval forest, consumed George Huxley’s entire long life. Now, after his death, his sons have taken up his work. But what they discover is numinous and perilous beyond all expectation. For the Wood, larger inside than out, is a labyrinth full of myths come to life, “mythagos” that can change you forever. A labyrinth where love and beauty haunt your dreams…and may drive you insane.

ON SALE 7/12/22!

Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford

With a new introduction by Francis Spufford, author of Golden Hill.

John M. Ford (1957-2006) was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet whose work was held in high regard by peers ranging from Neil Gaiman to Robert Jordan to Jo Walton to Roger Zelazny, alongside innumerable others. His novels include the World Fantasy Award-winning The Dragon Waiting, the Philip K. Dick Award-winning Growing up Weightless, and the contemporary thriller The Scholars of Night. His debut novel Web of Angels (1980) has been called “cyberpunk before there was cyberpunk.” He spent the latter decade-and-a-half of his writing life in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

ON SALE 9/27/22!

The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe

With a new introduction by Brian Evenson, winner of the O. Henry Award.

Far out from Earth, two sister planets, Saint Anne and Saint Croix, circle each other in an eternal dance. It is said a race of shapeshifters once lived here, only to perish when men came. But one man believes they can still be found, somewhere in back of the beyond. In The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Gene Wolfe skillfully interweaves three bizarre tales to create a mesmerizing pattern: the harrowing account of the son of a mad genius who discovers his hideous heritage; a young man’s mythic dreamquest for his darker half; and the bizarre chronicle of a scientist’s nightmarish imprisonment. Like an intricate, braided knot, the pattern at last unfolds to reveal astonishing truths about this strange and savage alien landscape.

ON SALE 11/8/22!

Which book is at the top of your TBR? Let us know in the comments!

eBook Deals / What's New

$2.99 eBook Sale: January 2021

January 2, 2021May 2, 2024Rachel Taylor1 Comment

We’re kicking off 2021 in the best way possible—SALES!!!! Below, check out which of our SFF books you can snag as $2.99 ebooks throughout the entire month of January!

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Shawl’s speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.

Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade

Everyone loves Mathias. Naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in head first, pulling his best friend Aaslo along for the ride. However, saving the world isn’t as easy, or exciting, as it sounds in the stories. The going gets rough and folks start to believe their best chance for survival is to surrender to the forces of evil, which isn’t how the prophecy goes. At all. As the list of allies grows thin, and the friends find themselves staring death in the face, they must decide how to become the heroes they were destined to be or, failing that, how to survive.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people—even her soul. When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire’s civil service, and claw her way high enough to set her people free. But the cost of winning the long game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru imagines.

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Nina is an information broker with a mission—she and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to save the hopeless in a crumbling America. Knox is the bitter, battle-weary captain of the Silver Devils. His squad of supersoldiers went AWOL to avoid slaughtering innocents, and now he’s fighting to survive. They could burn down the world, destroying each other in the process… Or they could do the impossible: team up.

The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley

In The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

Wild Cards I by George R. R. Martin

There is a secret history of the world—a history in which an alien virus struck the Earth in the aftermath of World War II, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers. Some were called Aces—those with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Others were termed Jokers—cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities. Some turned their talents to the service of humanity. Others used their powers for evil. Wild Cards is their story.

The Mongrel Mage by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

In the world of Recluce, powerful mages can wield two kinds of magic—the white of Chaos or the black of Order. Beltur, however, has talents no one dreamed of, talents not seen in hundreds of years that blend both magics. On the run from a power hungry white mage, Beltur is taken in by Order mages who set him on the path to discover and hone his own unique gifts and in the process find a home. However, when the white mage he fled attempts to invade his new home, Beltur must hope his new found power will be enough to save them all.

Soleri by Michael Johnston

Detailed and historical, vast in scope and intricate in conception, Soleri bristles with primal magic and unexpected violence. It is a world of ancient and elaborate rites, of unseen power and kingdoms ravaged by war, where victory comes with a price, and every truth conceals a deeper secret.

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass

In Cantagna, being a sorcerer is a death sentence. Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is caught thieving with the aid of magic, Romy’s aristocratic influence is the only thing that can spare his life—and the price is her banishment. Now back in Beggar’s Ring, she has just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it.

Lists / What's New

5 SciFi Novels That Reimagine the Past

September 10, 2020May 2, 2024Rachel Taylor5 Comments

Alternate histories occupy a murky space in science fiction, as they can easily lean more speculative than scientific. Sci-fi loves to ask its audience plenty of “what ifs?”, but we’ve gathered a list of novels that focus on asking how those same scenarios might have played out further back in the timeline. Check it out here!

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal (Lady Astronauts #3)

The Relentless Moon, the third installment in Mary Robinette Kowal’s Hugo and Nebula award-winning Lady Astronauts series, takes us to the stars. Earth is quickly becoming inhabitable after a disaster-inducing meteor strikes 1950’s America. The only viable solution is to fast-track a spaceflight exodus. Despite impending doom, there are still many threats of sabotage against the space program as humankind’s first Moon colony struggles to find its footing.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

From noted short story writer Nisi Shawl, Everfair is a brilliant alternate-history novel set in the Belgian Congo. What if the African natives developed steam power ahead of their colonial oppressors? What might have become of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier? Shawl manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history.

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

From Annalee Newitz, founding editor of io9, comes a story of time travel, murder, and the lengths we’ll go to protect the ones we love. The Future of Another Timeline weaves together the lives of one punk 90’s teen and a woman intent on fighting back against a small elite group with the power to change the past, present, and future. As war breaks out across the timeline, is it possible for one person’s actions to make a difference? Available in paperback on 10/06!

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel (A History of What Comes Next #1)

Showing that truth is stranger than fiction, Sylvain Neuvel weaves a sc-fi thriller reminiscent of Blake Crouch and Andy Weir, blending a fast moving, darkly satirical look at 1940’s rocketry with an exploration of the amorality of progress and the nature of violence in A History of What Comes Next. It’s a darkly satirical first contact thriller, as seen through the eyes of the women who make progress possible and the men who are determined to stop them.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis (Noumena #1)

From our friends over at St. Martin’s Press, Axiom’s End is Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis’s debut novel. Set a little over a decade ago in 2007, a U.S. government leak unveils that first contact has already happened. Cora Sabino is intent on becomes the first human interpreter for the alien population.

Fearless Women / Lists

5 Sci-Fi Novels for Fans of Hidden Figures

June 26, 2018May 8, 2024torforge

As SF/F nerds, we loved the math, science, diversity, and real-life space adventures in Hidden Figures. In fact, we were hungry for more. There are plenty of lists recommending more non-fiction titles similar to Margot Lee Shetterly’s masterpiece, but not many featuring fiction. So we rounded up 5 great science fiction novels sure to grab the imagination of everyone who loved the fiercely talented women of Hidden Figures.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series takes place in an alternate 1950s America, where the East Coast was devastated by a meteorite strike. The meteorite wiped out entire cities along the coast, killing millions and causing, possibly, a global warming event. As a result, America jump starts the space race, locked not into a competition with the Soviet Union, but an actual race for humanity’s survival among the stars. The Earth of Kowal’s series still has a lot of the hangups of our actual past (and present)—including, most prominently, the racism and sexism the women in Hidden Figures fought so hard against—and her diverse cast of women must fight to push their way into the front lines of science.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Much as the women in Hidden Figures had to deal with the very real legacy of racism in America, the characters in Nisi Shawl’s fictional Belgian Congo must deal with the legacy of colonialism in this alt history steampunk novel. The plot follows a diverse cast of characters in the titular Everfair, a colony created by well-meaning Westerners to create a safe haven for everyone, including escaped slaves. Of course, well-meaning doesn’t necessarily mean self-aware, and we see the Fabian Socialists from Great Britain struggling with their own unacknowledged racism, as they try to force Western values on the colonial inhabitants. Told from a multiplicity of voices—Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans—Shawl’s speculative novel is an examination of complex relationships in an often ignored period of history.

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

If your favorite part of Hidden Figures was how it combined science, ambition, and the personal lives of its leading women, then definitely check out Radiance by Catherynne Valente. Set in an alternate history 1986 where humanity has spanned the solar system, yet talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family, Radiance follows Severin Unck as she creates her final film: a documentary investigation of the disappearance of a colony on Venus. Combining love, loss, family, quantum physics, and silent film, this pulpy space opera mystery does its best to unravel the scientific and human mysteries of a fantastical universe.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

If you love reading about strong women who defy societal expectations because of their love of math and science, then the next book you should pick up is Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor. The titular Binti is a member of the Himba people, who never leave their homeworld. So when Binti denies her family and her people to attend the galaxy’s most prestigious university, Oomza Uni, she has to run away to get there. On the journey, her ship is attacked by Meduse, an alien race, and Binti must use all her resources—her intelligence, her mathematical and communication skills, and a piece of ancient Earth tech—to stay alive.

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang

Hidden Figures is a story of women of color pushing boundaries to create a scientific future that they have a place in. While that fight is definitely not over, there are potential new conflicts on the horizon as well. Namely: if and when humanity actually creates artificial intelligence, how will we treat it? What will be the relationship between people and artificial entities? These are some of the questions at the core of Ted Chiang’s novella The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Chiang follows two people and the artificial intelligence they created as they deal with the upgrades and obsolescence that are inevitable for software. The question of nature versus nurture is about to take on a whole new meaning.

New Releases / What's New

New Releases: 9/12/17

September 12, 2017May 13, 2024torforge

Happy New Release Day! Here’s what went on sale today.

Iraq + 100 by Hassan Blasim

In a calm and serene world, one has the luxury of imagining what the future might look like. Now try to imagine that future when your way of life has been devastated by forces beyond your control.

Iraq + 100 poses a question to Iraqi writers (those who still live in that nation, and those who have joined the worldwide diaspora): What might your home country look like in the year 2103, a century after a disastrous foreign invasion?

The Man in the Tree by Sage Walker

Humanity’s last hope of survival lies in space…but will a random death doom the venture?

Our planet is dying and the world’s remaining nations have pooled their resources to build a seed ship that will carry colonists on a multi-generational journey to a distant planet.

Everything is set for a bright adventure…and then someone is found hanging dead just weeks before the launch. Fear and paranoia spread as the death begins to look more and more like a murder.

When I Cast Your Shadow by Sarah Porter

A teenage girl calls her beloved older brother back from the grave, with disastrous consequences….

Haunted by her dead brother, unable to let him go, Ruby must figure out whether his nightly appearances in her dreams are the answer to her prayers—or a nightmare come true.

NEW IN PAPERBACK

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

What if the African natives developed steam power ahead of their colonial oppressors? What might have come of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier?

Fabian Socialists from Great Britain join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

Strikeout of the Bleacher Weenies by David Lubar

Welcome to the Weenie Zone! Here are thirty hilarious and harrowing stories that will scare you, make you laugh, or get you to see the world in a whole new way. Find out where the author got the idea for each story at the end of the book.

Thessaly by Jo Walton

The goddess Athena thought she was creating a utopia. Populate the island of Thera with extraordinary men, women, and children from throughout history, and watch as the mortals forge a harmonious society based on the tenets of Plato’s Republic.

Meanwhile, following his famous spurning by a nymph, Athena’s ever-curious brother Apollo has decided to live a mortal human life on the island, in an effort to gain a better understanding of humanity.

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

When Vassa’s stepsister sends her out to buy lightbulbs in the middle of the night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair…

NEW IN MANGA

Kase-San and Shortcake Story and art by Hiromi Takashima

Non Non Biyori Vol. 8 Story and art by Atto

Lists

Books to Read If You Need More Heroes Like Wonder Woman in Your Life

June 13, 2017May 10, 2024torforge

by Lauren Jackson, Senior Publicist

If you’re like me and you saw Wonder Woman opening weekend (and are possibly planning on seeing it again this weekend), I know you’re craving more warriors, pirates, explorers, and revolutionaries of the “badass woman” variety. Tor is here to help with nine books that’ll inspire you to become an Amazonian warrior of Themyscira.

Red Right Hand by Levi Black
Charlie isn’t a hero; she’s a survivor. Already wrestling with the demons of her past, a diabolical stranger reveals that she wields a dark magick, and he wants her to use it. But ultimately what she does with her power is in her hands.
Firebrand by A. J. Hartley
Once a steeplejack who scaled the highest buildings in the city of Bar-Selehm, Ang Sutonga is now an investigator, working to expose political corruption and quash the xenophobia and racism taking over her city. Instead of climbing to great heights, she must go undercover and expose the darkest secrets of the rich and powerful before they destroy Bar-Selehm.
Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
Pyrre Lakatur made an appearance in Staveley’s beloved Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne series, but her backstory tells how she became the badass priestess serving the god of death. Hint: it involves a lot of mind-blowing swordplay and bloodshed.
Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan
Throughout this five-book series, readers follow the always daring and often dangerous adventures of Lady Isabella Trent, dragon naturalist, as she goes to the far corners of the world in the name of scientific discovery.
The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis
Josette Dupre is the Corps’ first female airship captain, patrolling the front lines of battle all while contending with a crew who doubts her expertise and an aristocrat hellbent on cataloguing and exposing every moment of weakness. But, when her enemies make a move no one was prepared for, Josette comes into her own and shows everyone what a “weak woman” airship captain can really do.
Roar by Cora Carmack
Known for her contemporary new adult novels, Carmack’s heroine in Roar, Aurora, turns fantasy tropes on their head. In the course of the novel, Aurora transforms from a powerless, sheltered princess, used by power-hungry men, into a true force of nature… literally (and we’ll leave it there).
Updraft by Fran Wilde
When Kirit Densira, a trader, breaks an obscure law, she’s forced to atone by learning the rules and becoming a part of her world’s governing body, the Singers. But as she gains more knowledge of her new craft, so does her doubt that the laws are right. So… what does she do? The only thing she can do: start a revolution.
Everfair by Nisi Shawl
This alternative history novel doesn’t lack for diverse voices, especially ones that have been historically silenced. One of them belongs to Lisette Toutournier, a queer spy who founded the book’s titular country… one that serves as a safe haven for native populations of the Congo during the disastrous colonization by Belgium.
The Queen of Swords by R. S. Belcher
What happens when a descendant of pirates and assassin has her daughter kidnapped? RS Belcher answers the question with Maude Stapleton, who hunts for her daughter, Constance (who comes with her own impressive powers), while also staving off cults that want to use her for their own, nefarious ends.

Events / What's New

On the Road: Tor/Forge Author Events for January

January 1, 2017May 7, 2024torforge

Tor/Forge authors are on the road in January! See who is coming to a city near you this month.

Susan Dennard, Windwitch

Sunday, January 8
Book People
Austin, TX
2:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Monday, January 9
The King’s English Bookshop
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Tuesday, January 10
Barnes & Noble
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Wednesday, January 11
Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Portland, OR
7:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Thursday, January 12
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Friday, January 13
Kepler’s Books
Menlo Park, CA
7:00 PM
Also with Alexandra Bracken.

Sunday, January 15
Parnassus Books
Nashville, TN
2:00 PM

Monday, January 16
Spellbound Children’s Bookshop
Asheville, NC
6:00 PM

Tuesday, January 17
Main Street Books
St. Charles, MO
7:00 PM

Wednesday, January 18
Anderson’s Bookshop
Naperville, IL
7:00 PM

Sunday, January 22
Books-a-Million
Beverly Hills, MI
2:00 PM

Heather Graham & Jon Land, The Rising

Tuesday, January 17
Bank Square Books
Mystic, CT
6:00 PM

Thursday, January 19
Barnes & Noble at Warwick Center
Warwick, RI
6:00 PM

Friday, January 20
Barrington Books Retold
Cranston, RI
6:30 PM

Saturday, January 21
Wakefield Books
Wakefield, RI
12:00 PM

Saturday, January 21
Books on the Square
Providence, RI
4:00 PM

Sunday, January 22
Stax Discount Books
Marlborough, MA
11:00 AM

Tuesday, January 24
St. Louis County Library – Weber Road Branch
St. Louis, MO
7:00 PM

Thursday, January 26
Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL
7:00 PM

Friday, January 27
Vero Beach Book Center
Vero Beach, FL
6:00 PM

Saturday, January 28
Books-A-Million
Kissimmee, FL
2:00 PM

Sunday, January 29
Winter Park Public Library
Winter Park, FL
2:00 PM
Books provided by the Writer’s Block Bookstore.

Kim Liggett, The Last Harvest

Wednesday, January 11
Half Price Books
Oklahoma City, OK
7:00 PM

Friday, January 13
Book People
Austin, TX
7:00 PM
Also with Chandler Baker and Neal Shusterman.

Nisi Shawl, Everfair

Friday, January 6
The Book Bin
Salem, OR
7:00 PM

Carrie Vaughn, Martians Abroad

Tuesday, January 17
Tattered Cover
Denver, CO
7:00 PM

Thursday, January 19
Old Town Library
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Books provided by Old Firehouse Books.

Sunday, January 29
Jean Cocteau Cinema
Santa Fe, NM
1:00 PM

Events / What's New

On the Road: Tor/Forge Author Events for November

November 1, 2016May 10, 2024torforge1 Comment

Tor/Forge authors are on the road in November! See who is coming to a city near you this month.

Shannon Baker, Stripped Bare

Tuesday, November 15
New Life Presbyterian Church
Alburquerque, NM
7:00 PM

Tina Connolly, Seriously Shifted

Monday, November 7
Powell’s Books
Beaverton, OR
7:00 PM

Monday, November 14
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 15
Corvallis-Benton County Library
Corvallis, OR
4:00 PM

Wednesday, November 16
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
7:30 PM

Todd Fahnestock, The Wishing World

Saturday, November 12
Second Star to the Right Bookstore
Denver, CO
2:00 PM

Leanna Renee Hieber, Eterna and Omega

Monday, November 14
Little City Books
Hoboken, NJ 07030
7:00 PM
Also with Nisi Shawl

Mary Robinette Kowal, Ghost Talkers

Tuesday, November 8
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 9
Murder by the Book
Houston, TX
6:30 PM

Thursday, November 10
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
7:30 PM

Sunday, November 13
Borderlands Café
San Francisco, CA
3:00 PM

Michael Livingston, The Gates of Hell

Sunday, November 20
M. Judson Booksellers
Greenville, SC
4:00 PM

Seanan McGuire, Every Heart a Doorway

Monday, November 21
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM
Also with Dan Wells

Malka Older, Infomocracy

Saturday, November 12
The Harvard Coop
Cambridge, MA
7:00 PM

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Say No More

Tuesday, November 1
Brookline Booksmith
Brookline, MA
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 2
Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 3
Vero Beach Book Center
Vero Beach, FL
6:00 PM

Friday, November 4
Concord Festival of Authors
Concord, MA
7:30 PM
Also with Peter Swanson, Thomas O’Malley, and Douglas Graham Purdy, moderated by Kate Flora

Sunday, November 6
Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ
2:00 PM

Monday, November 7
Tattered Cover
Littleton, CO
7:00 PM
Also with Laura DiSilverio

Wednesday, November 9
Mystery to Me Bookstore
Madison, WI
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 10
Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Oakmont, PA
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 17
New Bedford Art Museum
New Bedford, MA
6:00 PM
Also with Peter Abrahams and Hallie Ephron
Hosted by the New Bedford Free Public Library

Friday, November 18
Jabberwocky Bookshop
Newburyport, MA
7:00 PM

Monday, November 28
Bookends
Winchester, MA
6:00 PM
Also with Jerry Thornton

Nisi Shawl, Everfair

Saturday, November 12
Book Riot Live
New York, NY
2:30 PM

Monday, November 14
Little City Books
Hoboken, NJ
7:00 PM

Dan Wells, Extreme Makeover

Tuesday, November 15
Little Professor Book Center
Homewood, AL
5:30 PM

Wednesday, November 16
Volumes Bookcafe
Chicago, IL
7:00pm
Also with Mary Robinette Kowal and Wesley Chu

Thursday, November 17
Jean Cocteau Cinema
Santa Fe, NM
7:00 PM
Also with Bracken MacLeod and Robert Brockway

Friday, November 18
The King’s English Bookshop
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 19
Borderlands Books
San Francisco, CA
5:00 PM

Sunday, November 20
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
2:00 PM

Monday, November 21
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM
Also with Seanan McGuire

Rick Wilber, Alien Morning

Friday, November 4
Books at Park Place
St. Petersburg, FL
5:00 PM

Friday, November 12
University of South Florida – St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, FL
6:00 PM
Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading

Sunday, November 13
American Bookbinders Museum
San Francisco, CA
6:30 PM
SF in SF – also with Nick Mamatas

Monday, November 14
Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 16
Old Firehouse Books
Fort Collins, CO
6:00 PM
Also with Kevin Anderson

Thursday, November 17
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
7:30 PM
Also with Gerald Brandt

King Rat by China Mieville

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Knight’s Wyrd by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald

Small Change by Jo Walton

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

The Beautiful Ones by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

Invisible Planets edited by Ken Liu

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus

The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Willful Child by Steven Erikson

Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu

Susan Dennard, Windwitch

Heather Graham & Jon Land, The Rising

Kim Liggett, The Last Harvest

Nisi Shawl, Everfair

Carrie Vaughn, Martians Abroad

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