* Belcher, R. S. : The Shotgun Arcana
(Tor 978-0-7653-7458-5, $25.99, 400pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466842731
• Six-Gun Tarot #2

Historical fantasy novel, follow-up to The Six-Gun Tarot (2013), set in a Nevada town in 1870.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “fantastical romp through science, legends, and the Bible.

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* Brust, Steven : Hawk
(Tor 978-0-7653-2444-3, $24.99, 320pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781429944823
• Vlad Taltos #14

Fantasy novel, 14th in the series about Vlad Taltos, following Jhegaala (2007), Iorich (2010), and Tiassa (2011).
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Buehlman, Christopher : The Lesser Dead
(Berkley 978-0-425-27261-9, $25.95, 368pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698146327

Vampire novel set in 1978 New York City.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “Buehlman offers up a colony of fierce, brazenly unscrupulous vampires who reclaim the genre from angsty goths and return it to its fearsome and ferocious origins.

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* Campbell, Jack : The Lost Stars: Imperfect Sword
(Ace 978-0-425-27225-1, $26.95, 384pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698143326
• The Lost Stars #3

Military SF novel, third in a new sequence related to his “Lost Fleet” series, following The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight (2012) and The Lost Stars: Perilous Sword (2013), set on the Syndicate World of Midway.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• The author is John G. Hemry writing as Jack Campbell.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Campbell’s focus on the details of the Midway fleet and ground forces makes for a fast-paced thrill ride that leaps nimbly from harrowing to heartbreaking to heroic. The tentative steps of establishing a new society are no less intense. Both new and returning readers will dive right in.

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* Campbell, John L. : Ship of the Dead
(Berkley 978-0-425-27264-0, $15, 368pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698146341
• Omega Days #2

Zombie novel, second in a series following Omega Days (May 2014).
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “If the playing-out of individual character themes and conflicts suggests conflicts of good and evil that are too clear-cut, the frequent and chilling zombie encounters highlight both Campbell’s competence in presenting horrific gore and his insistence that dedication to humanity is also the strongest definition of faith.

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* Carey, Jacqueline : Poison Fruit
(Roc 978-0-451-46531-3, $26.95, 448pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698158634
• Agent of Hel #3

Contemporary fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following Dark Currents (2012) and Autumn Bones (2013), set in a small midwestern town visited both by humans and by various supernatural entities.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Fans of the lighter parts of Carey’s world will enjoy the continued influence of the town’s quirky coven and the introduction of beer-swigging bogle Skrrzzzt, while those more interested in Daisy’s personal arcs will be happy with the emotionally satisfying closure to the series.

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* Connolly, Tina : Silverblind
(Tor 978-0-7653-7514-8, $24.99, 272pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466845404
• Ironskin #3

Romantic fantasy novel, third in a series following Ironskin (2012, a Nebula finalist) and Copperhead (2013), about a half-fey woman in an alternate England.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Connolly offers some playful takes on gender and appearance and gently explores a variety of sexual orientations, placing subtle clues to the nature of her universe in her chapter headings. Her sympathies, however, remain more with the ecology of her magical setting than the tale of rag-tag bohemians fighting the rise of fascism.

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* Davis, Hank, ed. : The Baen Big Book of Monsters
(Baen 978-1-4767-3699-0, $14, 496pp, trade paperback, October 2014, cover art Bob Eggleton)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-316-4

Halloween-themed anthology of 21 reprint and original stories.
• Authors include Arthur C. Clarke, H.P. Lovecraft, Howard Waldrop, Murray Leinster, and Henry Kuttner, with originals by Wen Spencer, Sarah A. Hoyt, Larry Correia, and others.
• Baen’s site has this description (click the ‘back’ link once), with links to several chapters.

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+ Fforde, Jasper : The Eye of Zoltar
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-0547738499, $16.99, 416pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Chronicles of Kazam #3

First US edition (UK: Hodder & Stoughton, April 2014)

Middle-grade fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following The Last Dragonslayer (2010) and The Song of the Quarkbeast (2011).
• Houghton’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Fowler, Christopher : Nyctophobia
(Solaris 978-1781082119, $9.99, 320pp, mass market paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• UK edition: 978-1781082102 (Thu 9 Oct 2014)

Horror novel about a couple who purchase an unusual home in southern Spain, a house with a neglected side shrouded in darkness.
• Solaris’ site has this post with comments from the editors and both the UK and US covers.
• Paul Di Filippo will have a review for Locus Online later this month.

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+ Hair, David : The Scarlet Tides
(Quercus/Jo Fletcher 978-1-623-65829-8, $26.99, 704pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Moontide Quartet #2

First US edition (UK: Quercus/Jo Fletcher, October 2013)

US edition of fantasy novel, second in a series following Mage’s Blood, about war between two continents.
• Quercus’ site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the book “is mostly dizzying movement, plunging headfirst into a convoluted series of plots, unraveling alliances, and tightening nooses.

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* Harper, S. J. : Reckoning
(Roc 978-0425263303, $7.99, 304pp, mass market paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101599327
• Fallen Siren #2

Fantasy novel, second of a series following Cursed (2013), about two FBI agents, one cursed and the other a werewolf.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• Harper is a pseudonym for Jeanne C. Stein and Samantha Sommersby.

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* Hunter, Faith : Broken Soul
(Roc 978-0-451-46595-5, $7.99, 336pp, mass market paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101636190
• Jane Yellowrock #8

Urban fantasy novel, eighth in the series following Skinwalker (2009), Blood Cross (2010), Mercy Blade (2011), Raven Cursed (Jan. 2012), Death’s Rival (2012), Blood Trade (2013), and Black Arts (Jan. 2014), about a shapeshifting vampire-hunter of Cherokee descent.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The continuing character development and fascinating new horizons will assuage dedicated fans.

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* Joshi, S. T. : The Madness of Cthulhu
(Titan 978-1781164525, $15.95, 400pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014

Anthology of 16 stories, all but two original to this book, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.
• Authors include Harry Turtledove, John Shirley, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and others, with reprints by Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Silverberg.
• Titan’s site has this description.

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* Khanna, Rajan : Falling Sky
(Pyr 978-1-61614-982-6, $17, 260pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014

Post-apocalyptic SF novel, the author’s first novel, set generations after a plague turned most people in North America into ‘ferals’, and survivors live in airships.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “solid and memorable and concludes, “Though the pace drags a little, this postapocalyptic adventure is a fine start to Khanna’s career.

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* Lackey, Mercedes : Closer to Home
(DAW 978-0756408992, $25.95, 368pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698157774
• The Herald Spy #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series within Lackey’s Valdemar Saga, following the Collegium Chronicles.
• Penguin’s site has this description.

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* Latham, Rob, ed. : The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction
(Oxford University Press 978-0199838844, $150, 640pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 1 Oct 2014

Nonfiction anthology of 44 original essays divided into four sections, considering science fiction as genre, as medium, as culture, and as worldview.
• Contributors include Gary K. Wolfe, Farah Mendlesohn, Gary Westfahl, Brian Attebery, Roger Luckhurst, Adam Roberts, and Andrew M. Butler.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a Google preview fuction, and the complete table of contents.

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* Leckie, Ann : Ancillary Sword
(Orbit US 978-0-316-24665-1, $16, 400pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316246644
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781478931263
• UK edition: 978-0356502410 (Tue 7 Oct 2014)
• Imperial Radch #2

Military SF novel, second in a trilogy following the author’s multiple-award winning Ancillary Justice (2013).
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Readers new to the author will be enthralled, and those familiar with the first book will find that the faith it inspired has not been misplaced.

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* Morgan, Richard K. : The Dark Defiles
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49310-1, $18, 656pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-345-54565-7
• A Land Fit for Heroes #3

Fantasy novel, conclusion of a trilogy following The Steel Remains (2008) and The Cold Commands (2011), about three veterans who take different paths in an ongoing war.
• Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The UK edition coming in November will be a hardcover.

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* Newman, Kim : An English Ghost Story
(Titan 978-1-78116-559-1, $14.95, 304pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• UK edition: 978-1781165584 (Fri 10 Oct 2014)

Fantasy novel about a British family that buys a home in the country.
• Titan’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it a “well crafted if predictable haunted house tale, and concludes, “Newman’s innovative suggestion is that it is we, not our ghosts, who are responsible for our problems, but the obviousness of the plot and a transparent moralistic message obscure and diminish the underlying concept.

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* Rawlik, Pete : The Weird Company: The Secret History of H.P. Lovecraft’s Twentieth Century
(Skyhorse/Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-545-2, $15.99, 288pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B00MSYUXW6
• Reanimators #2

Horror novel, a follow-up to the author’s first novel Reanimators (2013), that blends many elements of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.
• Amazon has the publisher’s description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Readers who share Rawlik’s devotion to Lovecraft may enjoy the abundant allusions to his novels, stories, and poetry; those with less comprehensive knowledge of the canon will find no thread to lead them through this maze of jarring elements.

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* Somers, Jeff : We Are Not Good People
(Simon & Schuster/Gallery 978-1-4516-9679-0, $16.99, 688pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781451696820
• Ustari Cycle #1

Urban fantasy novel, first of a new series, about mages whose spells are made more powerful by using human blood. This is a revision and expansion of the author’s 2013 novel Trickster.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a Google preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “By turns frightening and sorrowful, this is a story that offers no good choices to its characters. The ever-present violence is balanced by compassion, which in turn is eroded by the grim fight to save humankind. There is very little resolution in this twisting labyrinth of a plot; the conclusion either defies logic or resets the cycle of bloodshed.

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* Strahan, Jonathan, ed. : Fearsome Magics: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy 2
(Solaris 978-1781082133, $9.99, 352pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• UK edition: 978-1781082126 (Thu 9 Oct 2014)

Anthology of 14 original fantasy stories; a follow-up to the 2013 anthology Fearsome Journeys.
• Authors include Garth Nix, K.J. Parker, Ellen Klages, Robert Shearman, and Nina Kiriki Hoffman.
• Strahan’s site has the complete table of contents.
• Solaris’ site has this description.
• Rich Horton reviews the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine, especially recommending stories by Justina Robson and Genevieve Valentine.

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* Torgersen, Brad R. : The Chaplain’s War
(Baen 978-1-4767-3685-3, $15, 368pp, trade paperback, October 2014, cover art David Seeley)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-315-7
• Chaplain’s War #1

Military SF novel, the author’s first novel and first book in a series, about a chaplain on a ship fighting mantis cyborgs. It incorporates two previously published stories, “The Chaplain’s Assistant” and “The Chaplain’s Legacy”.
• Baen’s site has this description (click the ‘back’ link from this page) with links to an author’s note and several chapters.

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* Twelve Hawks, John : Spark
(Random House/Doubleday 978-0-385-53867-1, $25.95, 320pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-385-53868-8
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-0-553-39906-6
• UK edition: 978-0593073315 (Thu 9 Oct 2014)

Near-future thriller about a corporate assassin whose Cotard’s syndrome makes him especially effective in his job, until the condition starts to wear off.
• Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Twelve Hawks’s prose, cold and clinical at times, yet punctuated with moments of great sensitivity, matches the tone and mood of his setting perfectly.

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* VanderMeer, Jeff, & Desirina Boskovich : The Steampunk User’s Manual
(Abrams Image 978-1419708985, $24.95, 256pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014

Nonfiction guide, subtitled “An Illustrated Practical and Whimsical Guide to Creating Retro-Futurist Dreams”, about creating steampunk art, fashion and architecture, storytelling, music and performance, and dreams; with illustrations.
• Abrams’ site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Weber, David, & Timothy Zahn : A Call to Duty
(Baen 978-1-4767-3684-6, $25, 384pp, hardcover, October 2014, cover art David Mattingly)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-313-3
• Manticore Ascendant #1

Military SF novel, first book of a new series set in Weber’s Honorverse.
• Baen’s site has this description (click the ‘back’ link once to get there) with links to several chapters.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Though this astronautical adventure is filled with technical details and military protocol, the minutiae never outweigh the intrigue and political drama.

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* Wells, Martha : Stories of the Raksura, Volume One: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud
(Skyhorse/Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-535-3, $15.99, 240pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B00KK6BJJU
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: B00M8HB4DK

Collection of original novellas and short stories set in the author’s Raksura books (The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, and The Siren Depths).
• Skyhorse’s site has a page for volume 2 (due next April), but not one for this book.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Longtime fans and new readers alike will enjoy Wells’s deft touch with characterization and the fantastic.

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