New Books, fourth week August
* Barclay, James : Ravensoul
(Pyr 978-1616143817, $16, 432pp, trade paperback, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 23 Aug 2011
• Legends of the Raven #4
Fantasy novel, fourth in the “Legends of the Raven” series following Elfsorrow, Shadowheart, and Demonstorm (all US 2010; UK editions earlier).
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Beagle, Peter S., & Joe R. Lansdale, eds. : The Urban Fantasy Anthology
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-018-6, $15.95, 431pp, trade paperback, August 2011, cover by Elizabeth Story)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 15 Aug 2011
Anthology of 20 stories, all but one, by Steven R. Boyett, previously published from 1983 to 2009.
• Authors include Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Thomas M. Disch, Tim Powers, and Suzy McKee Charnas.
• The book is divided into three sections, with introductions by Charles de Lint, Paula Guran, and Joe R. Lansdale.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with the complete table of contents.
• Publishers Weekly‘s review says “An odd feeling of embarrassment wafts from the essays introducing the three sections of this eclectic collection…”
(Tue 9 Aug 2011)
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Cooper, Brenda : Mayan December
(Prime Books 978-1-60701-263-4, $14.95, 384pp, trade paperback, September 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
SF novel set in 2012 concerning the Mayan calendar’s prediction of apocalypse.
• Prime’s website has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” provides a preview.
• Publishers Weekly‘s review calls it an “elegantly understated narrative of the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, a pleasant outlier in a subgenre known for apocalyptic histrionics.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Goodkind, Terry : The Omen Machine
(Tor 978-0-7653-2772-7, $29.99, 528pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
• Sword of Truth #14
Fantasy novel concerning two characters, Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell, from the author’s popular “Sword of Truth” series.
• Tor’s site has description.
• The author’s site has this page with a short excerpt.
• Amazon has nearly 90 reader reviews, mostly positive though with a minority report.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Guran, Paula, ed. : The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2011 Edition
(Prime Books 978-1607012818, $19.95, 544pp, trade paperback, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
Anthology of 31 stories first published in 2010.
• Prime’s website has this description, with the complete table of contents.
• Authors include Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Tanith Lee, Gene Wolfe, Margo Lanagan, Peter Watts, and Tim Powers.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
+ Hoffman, Paul : The Last Four Things
(Dutton 978-0-525-95218-3, $25.95, 400pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 4 Aug 2011
• Left Hand of God #2
First US edition (UK: Penguin UK/Michael Joseph, May 2011)
Historical fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following The Left Hand of God (2010).
• Publishers Weekly calls it an “underwhelming sequel”.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Kollin, Dani, & Eytan Kollin : The Unincorporated Woman
(Tor 978-0-7653-1904-3, $26.99, 416pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
• Unincorporated Man #3
Following The Unincorporated Man (2009) and The Unincorporated War (2010).
• Tor’s site has this description and PDF excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly concludes, ” Minimal backstory and a huge cliffhanger make this suitable only for readers who have committed to seeing the series through to the end.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Millhauser, Steven : We Others: New and Selected Stories
(Knopf 978-0307595904, $27.95, 400pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 23 Aug 2011
Collection of 21 stories, seven of them previously uncollected, including the novella title story, the other 14 drawn from the author’s previous collections.
• Knopf’s site has this description.
• A reader review on Amazon details which stories were published in the author’s earlier volumes.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Monette, Sarah, & Elizabeth Bear : The Tempering of Men
(Tor 978-0-7653-2470-2, $25.99, 304pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
• Companion to Wolves #2
Fantasy novel, sequel to A Companion to Wolves (2007).
• Tor’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly‘s review said “This well-wrought tale serves as an exciting adventure as well as a thought-provoking and often disturbing deconstruction of companion animal fantasies.”
• Faren Miller reviews it in the August issue of Locus Magazine.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Niven, Larry, & Steven Barnes : The Moon Maze Game
(Tor 978-0-7653-2666-9, $25.99, 368pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
• Dream Park #4
SF novel in the authors’ Dream Park series that began with Dream Park (1981), followed by The Barsoom Project (1989) and The California Voodoo Game (1992).
• Tor’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The authors treat disabled gamer Asako as a cheap source of pathos, and it’s hard not to sympathize with revolutionaries trying to overthrow Ali’s father in the name of democracy, but readers willing to overlook these flaws will enjoy a cat-and-mouse chase in which role-playing serves as perfect training for heroics and survival.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Polansky, Daniel : Low Town
(Doubleday 978-0-385-53446-8, $25.95, 341pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
Dystopian SF novel, the author’s first novel, set in Rigus, a city of the Thirteen Lands, where a disgraced intelligence agent named Warden, leading a life of crime, investigates a murdered child.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Amazon also has a preview, and three dozen mostly positive reader reviews.
• Publishers Weekly said “Polansky hits all the right notes in his intelligent first novel, a blend of dystopian fantasy and hard-boiled crime. … Sharp, noir-tinged dialogue and astute insights into class struggle mark Polansky as a writer with a future.”
(Mon 25 Jul 2011)
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Rawn, Melanie : The Diviner
(DAW 978-0-7564-0681-3, $25.95, 384pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Aug 2011
• Golden Key Universe #1
Fantasy novel, first of a new series, about the survivor of a royal family massacre who dedicates himself to vengeance.
• The author’s site has a description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly says ” Rawn weaves a rich tapestry of war, magic, and relationships in this historical fantasy prequel to 1996’s The Golden Key. … Rawn at her best remains a mesmerizing writer, and there is some of her best here.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
+ Robson, Justina : Down to the Bone
(Pyr 978-1616143794, $16, 427pp, trade paperback, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 23 Aug 2011
• Quantum Gravity #5
SF novel, following Keeping It Real (UK 2006, US 2007), Selling Out (2007), Going Under (2008), and Chasing the Dragon (2009).
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
(Fri 29 Jul 2011)
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
* Vaughn, Carrie : Kitty’s Greatest Hits
(Tor 978-0-7653-2696-6, $14.99, 320pp, hardcover, August 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Aug 2011
Collection of 14 stories set in the world of Kitty Norville.
• Tor’s site has this description with blurbs from Gene Wolfe and others.
• Publishers Weekly concludes “The crowning novella, ‘Long Time Waiting,’ will leave readers hoping for Cormac to get a full novel of his own.”
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed the book in the July issue of Locus Magazine: “Overall, it’s a decent mix of tales, some rather slight, but all easy reading.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)
Note: beginning August 2011, Monitor listings will be based on publisher schedules and availability on Amazon, rather than on confirmation of physical publication (i.e. via purchase, review copies, or sightings in bookstores). As before, titles are listed only once they are published; we do not list galleys or advance reading copies.
In addition, some titles (especially latter volumes in ongoing series) will be listed at the bottom of each page, without description.
Locus Online will endeavor to list, with or without description, all significant titles from the principal SF/F and mainstream publishers (omitting for the most part YA, horror, media and gaming ties, and self-published books). Publishers are welcome to alert Locus Online of scheduled titles, but such notice does not guarantee listings; and again, galleys and ARCs are discouraged.
* = first edition
+ = first US edition
Date with publisher info is official publication month.
‘Nominal Publication Date’ is the day of publication, typically as indicated by Amazon.com.
If physical copies have been seen or received, that date is given following the book description.
