Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with some new releases and some books to help you get on an R. F. Kuang kick! You can bet I am excited as all get out that her new book’s coming out today. I cannot wait to throw myself down on the couch and get reading — and past me gave a gift to present me with a preorder. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process.
Bookish Goods
The Poppy War-inspired t-shirt by BookaholicStore
Since I’m thinking about R. F. Kuang’s books, I went looking for something The Poppy War-inspired. And wow, this quote. “War doesn’t determine who’s right. It determines who remains.” $20.
New Releases
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang
Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation is also known as Babel — and it’s what Robin Swift, a man orphaned by a cholera outbreak in Canton, has been studying for all his life. But Babel isn’t just for translation. It’s a center of silver working, a magic that’s made the British Empire an unparalleled world power. And soon, Robin must choose between the empire that he was raised in and the motherland he lost as a child.
Terminal Peace by Jim C. Hines
The Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse, led by Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos, were never supposed to fight a war. They were trained to clean spaceships. But a war is what they’ve got on their hands, one with the xenocidal Prodryans, and its escalation might…also be their fault. But if they want to save humanity and ever have a chance to clean things up, they have to figure it out — and not go feral in the process.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
With R. F. Kuang’s next novel coming out, I want to bring your attention back to her first series, which is meaty and pulls no punches. And then also recommend another series that might scratch a similar itch…
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
Rin is a war orphan from Rooster Province; when she aces the Keju, a test that can be taken by anyone in the Empire, no one believes she didn’t cheat. This wins her entrance into the most elite military school. But as a dark-skinned peasant girl, she’s targeted by her classmates even before she discovers a magical power within her and that she was chosen by a god — and that perhaps the story of her people is not what she was taught.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
The island of Kekon is powered by jade, the source of most conflict in its borders. The Kaul family are Green Bone Warriors who have used their magical abilities to protect Kekon from foreign invaders. But with those wars have been won, and the youngest Kauls turn their attention toward solidifying their own power…until a new drug that allows even foreigners to use jade changes all calculus and threatens to start a new war.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.