Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher, the second book in the Cinder Spires series, has debuted on the New York Times fiction bestsellers lists at #15 on the hardcover list and #14 on the print & ebook combined list!

Exordia by Seth Dickinson

“Anna sees an alien casually dining in Central Park’s Turtle Pond. On a lark, she confronts the alien and thus begins a relationship, and soon an NSA operative and his lifelong colleague in quasilegal intrigues take her back to her birthplace in Tawakul, Kurdistan. The Exordia have set off electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) all over Earth, taking most of the world back to the eighteenth century. But humanity isn’t entirely helpless. Canadians were the first to reach the site of a huge alien artifact that the Exordia wish to claim or destroy. Then the Ugandans arrived, then the Chinese, and Russians, and each group suffered losses. When the Americans arrive, they join forces with the remnants, but by bringing Anna, they’ve brought her renegade Exordian friend. Another alien operative is also on the ground, opposed to Anna. Now, the humans have 14 hours to activate the artifact or the Exordia battlecruiser will start nuking cities. Dickinson brings the same richness of characterization that made his Baru Cormorant series (The Traitor Baru Cormorant, 2015) so compelling, but this one reads like a Michael Crichton thriller on psychedelics—in a good way.” — Booklist, Starred Review

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

“After a lengthy hiatus, bestseller Butcher returns to his Cinder Spires series with an explosive second installment (following 2015’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass), again starring aeronaut Capt. Francis Madison Grimm. In a world grown uninhabitable, humanity resides in several autonomous spires rising above the planet’s surface. Now war is brewing between Grimm’s home, Spire Albion, and Spire Aurora. The story opens with Grimm and the crew of Predator on a mission to a colony spire—only to discover that the human colony has been wiped out and in its place is a colony of kittens. These sentient felines make an agreement to reveal what awesome force destroyed the colony in return for a new home for their clan. From there, one plot thread follows Spirearch Guard Commander Benedict and Sgt. Bridget Tagwynn on a mission to secure territory from another cat chieftain. Meanwhile, the Predator accompanies a diplomatic mission to a trade conference on Spire Olympia. Spire Aurora has sent the duelist Rafe Valesco as part of its delegation, and Grimm has been assigned to keep his combative friend, Commodore Bayard, from dying on Valesco’s sword. Conflict and etherialist magic soon escalate, and Butcher tops everything off with a dash of romance and plenty of steampunk airship combat. Fans will find this is worth the wait.” — Publishers Weekly

System Collapse by Martha Wells

“The seventh of Martha Wells’s Murderbot long-form stories, System Collapse is a novel-length sequel to Network Effect, picking up within days of that novel’s conclusion. Murderbot fans are unlikely to be disappointed here: Wells is on form with the series’ trademark black humour, razor-sharp tension, Murderbot’s all-too-relatable interpersonal interactions, action, and high stakes.

But despite its action-adventure bones, System Collapse is a more low-key, introspective novel than many of the Murderbot stories have been so far. As is usual for Martha Wells’ work, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you haven’t read the Murderbot stories, I don’t advise starting here. But I do advise starting them: if you enjoy them, you’ll enjoy this one too.” — Locus

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

“The Spires have kept humanity safe from the dangers of the surface of the world, but now war looms between Spires Albion and Aurora, as other Spires must begin to choose sides to ensure their survival. A trade summit at Spire Olympia is the opportunity for Lord Albion, the Spirearch, to secure the alliances needed to hold off Aurora, and he sends Captain Grimm and his airship, the AMS Predator, to support the diplomatic mission. When Aurora’s Armada reveals a secret weapon that can destroy entire Spires, it will take diplomacy, duels, and incredible skill to align the Spires with Albion—if it is not already too late. Multiple points of view from established and new characters widen the worldbuilding. With eight years between books, fans will enjoy reconnecting with the characters through a reread of the first book, yet new readers can also read this as a stand-alone. VERDICT Butcher’s long-awaited sequel to The Aeronaut’s Windlass is an exciting epic fantasy, set in the sky and filled with airships, magic, and the connections of blood and found family.” — Booklist