* Basara, Svetislav, translated by Randall A. Major : The Cyclist Conspiracy
(Open Letter 978-1934824580, $15.95, 254pp, trade paperback, March 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 Mar 2012

Philosophical fantasy novel by a Serbian author, first published in 1988.
• The publisher’s site has this description, with a link to an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it the “first English translation of a 1988 Serbian classic” and concludes, “At once a rich philosophical tome and vision-altering spoof of the same, this ‘meta-goulash’ will interest readers of Jorge Luis Borges’s Labyrinths and Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman.”

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* Brockmann, Suzanne : Born to Darkness
(Ballantine 978-0-345-52127-9, $26, 528pp, hardcover, March 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 Mar 2012
Fighting Destiny #1

Paranormal romance SF/fantasy novel, about special forces trained to tap the brain’s hidden powers, concerning Tough girl Mac, who discovers that an active sexual life, not celibacy, enhances her powers.
• The author’s site has this description with a link to an excerpt.
• Amazon has a statement by the author.
Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “While a departure from Brockmann’s romantic military suspense novels, this story does contain some of her trademark elements—a military hero, a same-sex romance between secondary characters, and sizzling connections to explore in future titles—but never feels formulaic or stale, and the drama pulls readers in from page one.”

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* Dukas, Bernard : The Spanish Gatekeeper Book III: Og’yre War
(Kaladar Books 978-0-9831929-4-7, $11.95, 212pp, trade paperback, February 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Mon 20 Feb 2012
The Spanish Gatekeeper #3

Fantasy novel, third of a trilogy following The Spanish Gatekeeper (2010) and The Spanish Gatekeeper Book II: Gwellem’s Hitch (2011), about a boy and his cousin in 1900 Spain who are lured into a fairytale world wracked by civil war.
• Book site http://thespanishgatekeeper.com/ has this description.

(Fri 16 Mar 2012)
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* Harkaway, Nick : Angelmaker
(Knopf 978-0-307-59595-9, $26.95, 496pp, hardcover, March 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 Mar 2012

SF novel about a clock repairman who activates a 1950’s doomsday device.
• This is the author’s second novel, following The Gone-Away World.
• The author’s site has this description. Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• John Scalzi’s blog has this Big Idea post today with background from the author.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Perhaps inspired by the New Wave science fiction of Michael Moorcock, the London crime novels of Jake Arnott, and the spy fiction of John le Carré (the author’s father), the novel ends up being its own absurdist sendup of pulp story tropes and end-of-the-world scenarios.”

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* Hirshberg, Glen : The Janus Tree and Other Stories
(Subterranean 978-1-59606-408-9, $40, 232pp, hardcover, January 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 31 Jan 2012

Collection of 11 horror stories, including title story “The Janus Tree”, winner of a Shirley Jackson award in 2008.
• Subterranean’s site has a description with the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes that “The quiet star of the collection is ‘Miss Ill-Kept Runt,’ in which a little girl awakens from a nap in the car and realizes that the people in the front seat are not her parents…”

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* Ikezawa, Natsuki : The Navidad Incident
(Haikasoru 978-1-4215-4222-5, $24.99, 350pp, hardcover, March 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 Mar 2012

Magical-realist fantasy novel, subtitled “The Downfall of Matías Guili”, set on a fictional south sea island, about a tour bus of Japanese war veterans that mysteriously vanishes.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Online ‘zine Words Without Borders has a different excerpt.

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* Nelson, Ellis : Into the Land of Snows
(Jupiter Storm 978-1-938257-01-8, $13.95, 200pp, trade paperback, February 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Feb 2012

Young adult fantasy novel about a 16-year-old boy who visits his father at a Mt. Everest base camp, when a deadly avalanche occurs.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a link to an excerpt.

(Thu 1 Mar 2012)
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* Niswander, Adam : The Nemesis of Night
(Hippocampus Press 978-0-9846386-4-2, $20, 343pp, trade paperback, December 2011)
Nominal Publication Date: Sun 18 Dec 2011
Shaman Cycle #5

Fantasy novel, a supernatural thriller about Native American shamans, latest novel in the author’s “Shaman Cycle”, following following The Charm (1993), The Serpent Slayers (1994), and The Hound Hunters (1995), and The War of the Whisperers (2009), which transplants H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror to the American southwest.
• The publisher’s site has this description.

(Thu 16 Feb 2012)
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* Oates, Joyce Carol : Mudwoman
(Harpercollins/Ecco Press 978-0-06-209562-6, $26.99, 448pp, hardcover, March 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 Mar 2012

Psychological thriller about a woman who becomes the first female president of an Ivy League university, her involvement with a building crisis concerning war with Iraq, and a psychic encounter with her past.
• The publisher’s description compares it to works by Daphne DuMaurier and Henry James. The page has a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Oates’s prose, dominated by run-on sentences to imitate fury or swiftness and a colloquial voice lacking nuance, is uninspired, but fans will relish the depth of this inquiry.”
• This Washington Post profile of Oates calls the book “one of her most personal, autobiographical and deeply felt novels.”

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* Schultz, David E., & S. T. Joshi, eds. : H.P. Lovecraft: Letters to James F. Morton
(Hippocampus Press 978-0-9844802-3-4, $25, 493pp, trade paperback, December 2011)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 18 Oct 2011

Nonfiction collection of letters between H.P. Lovecraft and prolific correspondent James F. Morton, with annotations by the editors.
• The publisher’s site has this description.

(Thu 16 Feb 2012)
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* Schwader, Ann K. : Twisted in Dream
(Hippocampus Press 978-1-61498-004-9, $15, 205pp, trade paperback, December 2011, cover by Loretta Young-Gautier)
Nominal Publication Date: Mon 31 Oct 2011

Poetry collection, subtitled “The Collected Weird Poetry of Ann K. Schwader”.
• The foreword is by Robert M. Price, and interior illustrations are by Steve Lines.
• The publisher’s site has this description with blurbs from W.H. Pugmire, S.T. Joshi, and others.

(Thu 16 Feb 2012)
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