* Armstrong, Kelley : Living with the Dead
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-80664-9, $22, 372pp, hardcover, November 2008)

Supernatural fantasy novel, ninth in the "Women of the Otherworld" series following Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted, Broken, No Humans Involved, and Personal Demon. In this book, Hope Adams' friend Robyn Peltier becomes trapped in the supernatural Otherworld.
• Bantam's site has this description, and an excerpt.
• The author's website has this page about the book, with a description and links to various editions.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Armstrong's newest is definitely more accessible as a stand-alone than her previous ones, but still, without having read the rest of the series, it's a bit confusing. The characters are great..."

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* Card, Orson Scott : Ender in Exile
(Tor 978-0-7653-0496-4, $25.95, 377pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket art John Harris)

SF novel, a direct sequel to Card's Ender's Game (1985), concerning 12-year-old Ender Wiggin and his exile from Earth following his victory over the alien buggers.
• Tor's website has this description with a video interview with Card, and an excerpt.
• Wikipedia has this page about the series, with a diagram illustrating the chronology of the various novels and stories.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which says "this philosophical novel covers familiar events, but puts new emphasis on their ethical ramifications". The review concludes "Fans will find this offering illuminating, and it's also accessible to thoughtful readers new to the series."

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* Ford, Jeffrey : The Drowned Life
(HarperPerennial 978-0-06-143506-5, $14.95, 290pp, trade paperback, November 2008)

Collection of 16 stories first published from 2002 to 2007.
• Contents include "The Night Whiskey", "The Way He Does It", "The Dreaming Wind", and the title story. The book also includes supplemental "P.S." contents at the end, including a autobiographical profile by the author, and an essay "The Metaphysics of Fiction Writing".
• The publisher's site has this description with its "browse inside" feature.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Throughout these 16 stories, Ford covers much stylistic terrain, weaving between science fiction, realistic stories with fantastic elements and even some nearly straight-up (and successful) comedy. Readers of all stripes should be able to find something here to love."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews the book in the November issue of Locus Magazine: "One of the reasons Jeffrey Ford is a terrific storyteller is that he often he doesn't narrate stories so much as explore them -- almost as though the stories were there all along and he's looking around in the background and asking What about that guy? or What's beneath that rock?"

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* King, Stephen : Just After Sunset
(Scribner 978-1-4165-8408-7, $28, 367pp, hardcover, November 2008)

Collection of 13 stories, 12 of them previously published, with 54-page "N." original to this volume. It's King's first story collection since Everything's Eventual (2002).
• King provides an introduction and "Sunset Notes" about the stories.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has a video interview with King, and the Publishers Weekly starred review: "Most of these 13 tales show him at the top of his game, molding the themes and set pieces of horror and suspense fiction into richly nuanced blends of fantasy and psychological realism."

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* Lindskold, Jane : Thirteen Orphans
(Tor 978-0-7653-1700-1, $24.95, 367pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket art Sam Weber)

Fantasy novel, first of a new series, based on Chinese folklore, about a college student who discovers that her ancestors came from another world to Earth, where they hid their magic system in the game of mah-jong.
• Tor's site has this description.
• The author's website has a sample chapter.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it "enjoyable but unremarkable". Amazon has a review by Harriet Klausner.

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* Marillier, Juliet : Heir to Sevenwaters
(Roc 978-0-451-46233-6, $23.95, 395pp, hardcover, November 2008, cover art John Jude Palencar)

Fantasy novel set in the land of the author's Sevenwaters trilogy (Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, and Child of the Prophecy), in which Clodagh, daughter of the lord of Sevenwaters, and her cousin Cathal attempt to rescue a human child replaced by a changeling.
• The publisher's site has this description.
• The author's site has this description and a gallery of cover art of the simultaneous US, UK, and Australian editions.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Marillier's gripping tale of adventure and enduring love bobbles slightly at the start, mostly due to Clodagh's modern attitude and cadence, but slides quickly and assuredly into a grand tale of ancient Erin."

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+ McCaffrey, Todd : Dragonheart
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49114-5, $27, 538pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket illustration Les Edwards)

SF novel in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. This is the author's second solo novel in the series, following Dragonsblood (2006). It concerns a contagion affecting newly hatched dragons, which in turn threatens Pern's ability to protect itself against the Thread.
• Del Rey's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has several reader reviews.

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* Meluch, R. M. : Strength and Honor
(DAW 978-0-7564-0527-4, $24.95, 378pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket painting Stephan Martiniere)

Military SF novel, fourth in the series about the USS Merrimack, in a 25th century with American and Roman interstellar empires battling an alien threat called the Hive, following The Myriad (2005), Wolf Star (2006), and The Sagittarius Command (2007).
• In this book the Roman forces declares war against the US, and the Hive renews its invasion.
• DAW's site has this description.
• The author's website has this excerpt.

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* Modesitt, L. E., Jr. : The Lord-Protector's Daughter
(Tor 978-0-7653-2163-3, $22.95, 284pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket art Raymond Swanland)

Fantasy novel, a stand-alone novel in the author's Corean Chronicles and final book in the series, following Legacies (2002), Darknesses (2003), Scepters (2004), Alector's Choice (2005), and Cadmian's Choice (2006).
• It concerns the daughter of the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona who discovers an embezzlement plot and struggles to save her father and her land.
• Tor's site has this description.
• Amazon's "look inside" feature includes an excerpt, and Amazon's page for the book reproduces the Publishers Weekly review.

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* Ringo, John, & Travis B. Taylor : Claws that Catch
(Baen 978-1-416-55587-2, $25, 343pp, hardcover, November 2008, cover art Kurt Miller)

SF novel, fourth in the Looking Glass sequence following Into the Looking Glass (2005), Vorpal Blade (2007), and Manxome Foe (2008).
• In this book the ship Vorpal Blade II confronts a new alien menace.
• Baen's site has this description -- "Great Ideas! Cool Space Ships! Evil Alien Butt Blasted to Smithereens!" -- and links to several chapters.
• Amazon has several reader reviews.

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* Shinn, Sharon : Fortune and Fate
(Ace 978-0-441-01636-5, $24.95, 403pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket illustration Donato Giancola)

Fantasy novel, fifth in the "Twelve Houses" series following Mystic and Rider (2005), The Thirteenth House (2006), Dark Moon Defender (2006), and Reader and Raelynx (2007).
• The author's website has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, "Despite the tweeny dialogue and predictable derring-do, Shinn combines a substantial range of appealing characters with a solid reinforcement of women's capabilities in peace and war, making the story comfortable, if not profound."
• Amazon has several reader reviews.

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* Wagner, Hank, Christopher Golden & Stephen R. Bissette : Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman
(St. Martin's Press 978-0-312-38765-5, $29.95, 13+546pp, hardcover, November 2008, jacket illustration Dave McKean)

Nonfiction study of the works of Neil Gaiman, including fiction, films, comics, scripts, etc. The book includes two sections of plates with photographs, book covers, and artwork. Several appendices include a timeline and related websites.
• The publisher's site has this description with a contest to win posters signed by Dave McKean.
• Amazon's "look inside" feature includes the table of contents and an excerpt.
• Amazon has a reader review note from co-author Hank Wagner, quoting a review from Voice of Youth Advocates.

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