Mere months away from its world premiere, the cast and crew of Star Trek: Picard took to the stage at Madison Square Garden for New York Comic-Con to share tidbits about the show. Moderated by CBSN anchor and CBS News national correspondent Vladimir Duthiers, the discussion included Sir Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Isa Briones (Dahj), Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal “Chris” Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Harry Treadaway (Narek), and Evan Evagora (Elnor), as well as executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, and Heather Kadin, co-executive producer and director Hanelle Culpepper and supervising producer Kirsten Beyer.

It was certainly an exhilarating atmosphere in MSG’s Hulu Theater, especially when Stewart stepped onto the stage and was greeted by a standing ovation. The crowd’s excitement only enhanced when he announced that New York Comic-Con fans would be the first to view the “quite unseen” second trailer for Picard.

Check out our takeaways from the Picard panel and the watch the new trailer here below!

A Little Hatred
The Age of Madness Book 1
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Joe Abercrombie
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: September 17, 2019

I first discovered Joe Abercrombie’s novels back in 2010, with his fantasy revenge story Best Served Cold set in his First Law world. The book was grim – about as grim as they get – with a cast of despicable characters you can’t help but root for despite their questionable morals and actions. It was due to his ability to write incredible character-driven fiction that I continued on, quickly devouring his other First Law novels. Now, almost six years since the publication of his last book set in that same universe (Red Country), Abercrombie has released A Little Hatred, the first book in the new Age of Madness trilogy that brings readers back to the world of the First Law and solidifies Abercrombie as, what his acolytes call him, “the Lord of Grimdark.”

Reentry
Hardcover | Kindle
By Peter Cawdron
Publisher: HMH Books | John Joseph Adams
Release Date: June 11, 2019

What is life? What does it mean to truly live and who – or what – is actually living? These are a few of the prevalent questions and themes that drive the plot of Peter Cawdron’s latest novel, Reentry. A sequel to Retrograde, Reentry sees Dr. Liz Anderson and some of her colleagues return to Earth after their battle with artificial intelligence on Mars – an Earth much different from the one they had left behind.

All Roads End Here
The Final War #2
Paperback | Kindle
Written by David Moody
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: February 12, 2019

When I first read the description of David Moody’s All Roads End Here, I have to say that I was very intrigued. The summary sounds like a wildly unique take on zombie fiction, and if I’m being completely honest, I love zombie fiction. So in order to fully prepare myself for the novel and this review, I read the first installment in this series, One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning. After having read two of Moody’s novels set in his “Hater” universe (there’s another trilogy that takes place during the events of this series), I can say without a doubt in my mind that this is the scariest version of a “zombie” tale that I have ever read.

The Rule of Many
The Rule of One Book 2
Hardcover | Paperback
Written by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders
Publisher: Skyscape
Release Date: May 7, 2019

Dystopian novels are such a common sub-genre of science fiction these days that I find it increasingly difficult to find one that I have any interest in reading, let alone finish. Which is why when I was presented with the opportunity to review The Rule of Many by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders – the second in a series – I was shocked to find the premise enthralling: identical twin sisters are forced to keep their lives as secretive as possible as they live in a more technologically advanced United States of America, sometime in the future, that has outlawed families from having more than one child.

And the kicker? Their father, who helps them keep their sisterhood hidden, is the Director of Family Planning for Texas (i.e. the guy who makes sure all families only have one child).