* Bein, Steve : Daughter of the Sword
(Roc 978-0-451-46477-4, $16, 480pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Fated Blades #1

Urban fantasy novel, the author’s first novel and apparently first of a series, about a female detective in Tokyo investigating the theft of a samurai sword with magical powers.
• Penguin’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “Bein’s scrupulous attention to verisimilitude helps bring all the settings to life, respectfully showcasing Japan’s distinctive cultures and attitudes.”

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* Bray, Libba : The Diviners
(Little, Brown 978-0-316-12611-3, $19.99, 608pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 18 Sep 2012
• Diviners #1

Fantasy novel, first of a trilogy, about a young woman exiled from her hometime in Ohio to live with her uncle in 1920s New York.
• The series site has a preview, a trailer, a tour calendar, background on the characters and much else.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Bray empties a wealth of topics into her complicated narrative—labor reform, a steampunkish robotics experiment, flapper culture, religious zealotry—but her trademark humor is less apparent.”
• Adrienne Martini reviews the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “What Bray does so well in her most recent books is balance between madcap adventure and resonant tragedy. … The Diviners is a textbook case of how to organize this sort of supernatural mystery.”

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* Buehlman, Christopher : Between Two Fires
(Ace 978-1937007867, $25.95, 432pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Historical fantasy novel set in 1348, about a disgraced knight and a little girl who claims the Black Death is part of a larger war on heaven.
• Penguin’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The author’s first novel, Those Across the River, is currently a World Fantasy Award finalist.

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* Campbell, Jack : The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight
(Ace 978-1937077822, $26.95, 400pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• The Lost Stars #1

Military SF novel, first in a new sequence related to his “Lost Fleet” series, set on the Syndicate World of Midway.
• Penguin’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Carey, Jacqueline : Dark Currents
(Roc 978-0-451-46478-1, $26.95, 368pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Agent of Hel #1

Contemporary fantasy novel, first of a new series, set in a small midwestern town visited both by humans and by various supernatural entities.
• Penguin’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “Carey turns to contemporary fantasy, showing off her talent for building engaging, detailed settings that feel utterly natural despite their inherent strangeness.”

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* Connolly, Tina : Ironskin
(Tor 978-0-7653-3059-8, $24.99, 304pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Romantic fantasy novel, the author’s first novel.
• Neither Amazon nor the publisher’s site has a description, oddly; the author’s site does.
• Amazon does have a preview via its “Look Inside” function.
• Macmillan/Tor’s site has this page for the book with an excerpt and a trailer.
• The Publishers Weekly review begins, “Steeped in the gothic tradition and borrowing freely from Jane Eyre, this debut romantic fantasy takes few risks with an old-school tale of love, betrayal, and redemption.”

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* Doctorow, Cory : Pirate Cinema
(Tor Teen 978-0-7653-2908-0, $19.99, 384pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Young adult SF novel, set in near-future Britain in which a 16-year-old obsessed with sampling old movies is victim of Draconian laws that cut off his family’s internet access for a year.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “another down-and-dirty tale of technological guerrilla warfare”, and comments, “Doctorow, a noted free Internet advocate (and PW columnist), handles his topic with great passion, creating engaging and believably geeky characters who share his fervor for both the Web and the new forms of art and communication it has made possible.”

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* Drake, David : Night & Demons
(Baen 978-1-4516-3847-9, $13, 576pp, trade paperback, October 2012, cover by Alan Pollack)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Collection of 28 fantasy and horror stories.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several stories.

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+ Fforde, Jasper : The Last Dragonslayer
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Harcourt 978-0-547-73847-5, $16.99, 296pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• The Chronicles of Kazam #1

First US edition (UK: Hodder & Stoughton, November 2010)

Young adult fantasy novel, first in a series that was first published in the UK in 2010, about a 15-year-old running an employment agency for magicians in an age in which magic is fading.
• The author’s site has this Dragonslayer page, and this description of the first book.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Publisher Weekly gives this a starred review: “Adult author Fforde’s foray into children’s books will delight readers who like their fantasy with a dash of silliness.”

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* Fforde, Jasper : The Woman Who Died a Lot
(Viking 978-0-670-02502-2, $26.95, 384pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• BookWorld/Thursday Next #7

Fantasy novel, seventh about literary detective Thursday Next following The Eyre Affair (2001), Lost in a Good Book (2002), The Well of Lost Plots (2003), Something Rotten (2004), First Among Sequels (2007), and One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (2011)
• Viking’s site has this description with an excerpt
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Toast has become the newest fad food, spawning a popular chain of topless toast bars known as Tooters. Such details help flesh out this endearingly-bizarre fantasy world limited only by Fforde’s impressive imagination.”

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* Flint, Eric, & Charles E. Gannon : 1635: The Papal Stakes
(Baen 978-1451638394, $25, 672pp, hardcover, October 2012, cover art Tom Kidd)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Ring of Fire #19

Alternate history novel in the “Ring of Fire” series that began with Flint’s 1632 (2000), concerning 17th century European history as affected by West Virginians from the 20th century.
• Baen’s site has this description, with links to several chapters.

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* Gladstone, Max : Three Parts Dead
(Tor 978-0-7653-3310-0, $24.99, 368pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about a magical Craftswoman in the city of Alt Coulumb whose task is to resurrect a dead god.
• Macmillan’s site has this descripton with an excerpt, and blurbs from Jerry Pournelle, John Crowley, James Morrow, and others.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “The combination of legal thriller and steam-powered fantasy may seem improbable, but Gladstone makes it work with an appealing cast and a setting rich with imaginative details…”

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* Healey, Trebor : Faun
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-385-8, $15, 286pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Oct 2012

Fantasy novel about a 14-year-old boy for whom puberty entails furry legs and horn nubs on his head.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “Both strikingly beautiful and coarsely humorous”, and concludes, “Though perhaps too adult for most actual teens, the themes of self-discovery in a world that doesn’t understand you will appeal strongly to grown fans of supernatural YA.”

(Mon 2 Jul 2012)
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* Hendee, Barb : Ghosts of Memories
(Penguin/Roc 978-0-451-46484-2, $7.99, 336pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Vampire Memories #5

Fantasy novel, fifth in the “Vampire Memories” series following Blood Memories (2008), Hunting Memories (2009), Memories of Envy (2010), and In Memories We Fear (2011).
• It’s about a reluctant vampire, Eleisha Clevon, seeking a world for others of her kind.
• Penguin’s site has this description.

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* Hunter, Faith : Death’s Rival
(Penguin/Roc 978-0-451-46485-9, $7.99, 336pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Jane Yellowrock #5

Urban fantasy novel, fifth in the series following Skinwalker (2009), Blood Cross (2010), Mercy Blade (2011), and Raven Cursed (Jan. 2012), about a shapeshifting vampire-hunter of Cherokee descent.
• The author’s website has a description of the book with an excerpt.

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* Jerome, Celia : Sand Witches in the Hamptons
(DAW 978-0-7564-0767-4, $7.99, 320pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Willow Tate #5

Fantasy romance novel, fifth in a series following Trolls in the Hamptons (2010), Night Mares in the Hamptons (2011), Fire Works in the Hamptons (2011), and Life Guards in the Hamptons (May 2012), about a graphic novelist with the ability to bring her fantasy subjects to life.

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* Lackey, Mercedes : Redoubt
(DAW 978-0-7564-0745-2, $25.95, 336pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Collegium Chronicles #4

SF novel, fourth volume in the “Collegium Chronicles” following Foundation (2008), Intrigues (2010), and Changes (2011), set early in the history of Valdemar.
• Penguin’s site this description.

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* Lebbon, Tim : London Eye
(Pyr 978-1-61614-680-1, $16.95, 280pp, hardcover, October 2012, cover illustration Steve Stone)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Toxic City #1

Young adult post-apocalypse novel about a group of teenagers sneaking into the city of London, which has been isolated from the world following a terrorist attack, determined to discover the truth about the survivors inside.
• Pyr’s site has this description.

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+ Lindqvist, John Ajvide : Little Star
(St. Martin’s/Dunne 978-0-312-62051-6, $27.99, 544pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012

Horror novel about a an abandoned child raised by adoptive parents who becomes a singing sensation in Stockholm.
• Macmillan’s site has this description, which compares the author the Stephen King, with an excerpt
• The UK edition was published August 30, 2012, by Quercus.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes that the book “ignores the supernatural elements of [the author’s] previous works, instead providing terror via a group of sociopaths and artists”, and concludes, “Lindqvist mixes in satire of popular music, multiple character POVs, often biting commentary on teen life, and many sudden and horrific acts. Not everything sticks, but there’s enough to make a truly gripping horror novel.”

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* McKillip, Patricia A. : Wonders of the Invisible World
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-087-2, $14.95, 288pp, trade paperback, October 2012, cover art Thomas Canty)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Oct 2012

Collection of 16 stories, first published from 1985 to 2007, plus the author’s 2004 WisCon Guest of Honor speech, and an introduction by Charles de Lint.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with the table of contents and quotes from reviews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Endlessly astonishing and impressive fantasist McKillip travels the shadowy twilight realm between worlds and returns with the raw stuff of dreams.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the September issue of Locus Magazine: “There’s a striking variety of fiction here, and while the collection may be a bit modest to regard as a retrospective, it does include stories from as far back as 1985, and could well serve as a kind of road map of McKillip’s literary imagination.”

(Thu 20 Sep 2012)
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* Myers, E. C. : Quantum Coin
(Pyr 978-1-61614-682-5, $16.95, 340pp, hardcover, October 2012, cover illustration Sam Weber)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Coin #2

Young adult novel, sequel to the author’s first novel Fair Coin (March 2012), about a teenage boy who discovered a strange coin that grants him access to parallel worlds.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The author’s site also has a description.

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* Valente, Catherynne M. : The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
(Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends 978-0-312-64962-3, $16.99, 272pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Fairyland #2

Young adult fantasy novel, sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (2009), about a girl from Nebraska who travels to Fairyland. Illustrations are by Ana Juan.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt and a video trailer.
• John Scalzi’s “The Big Idea” post today has Valente writing about her new book.

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* Weber, David, & Jane Lindskold : Fire Season
(Baen 978-1-4516-3840-0, $18.99, 304pp, hardcover, October 2012, cover art Daniel Dos Santos)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Star Kingdom #2

Young adult science fiction novel, second in a series after A Beautiful Friendship (2011), about a young woman who moves with her parents to a new planet and becomes a forest ranger.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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* Wilkins, Connie, & Steve Berman, eds. : Heiresses of Russ 2012: The Year’s Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-159-5, $18, 302pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Oct 2012

Anthology of 14 stories first published in 2011.
• Authors include David D. Levine, Amal El-Mohtar, Laird Barron, Steve Berman, Nalo Hopkinson, and An Owomoyela.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the book “is high on adventure and lyrical storytelling, and low on identity angst and feminist politics”.

(Mon 2 Jul 2012)
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