Flint, Eric, & Dave Freer : Pyramid Power
(Baen 978-1-416-55596-4, $7.99, 513pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Baen, August 2007)

Fantasy novel, sequel to Flint's Pyramid Scheme (2001), about an alien artifact that sends people back to various mythological pasts. This book concerns a strike force assembled to rescue a VIP stranded in Classical Greece.
• Baen's Webscription site has this description with links to several chapters.

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Foster, Alan Dean : Patrimony
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-48508-3, $7.99, 255pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Ballantine Del Rey, October 2007)

SF novel in the series about empath Philip Lynx and his mini-dragon companion Pip that began with The Tar Aiym Krang in 1972 and most recently included Trouble Magnet in 2006. In this book, Flinx pursues the identity of his father on the planet Gestalt.
• The next book in the series, Quofum, is due from Del Rey in hardcover next month.
• Del Rey's site has this description.

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Gilman, Felix : Thunderer
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-59110-1, $6.99, 527pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Bantam Spectra, January 2008)

Epic fantasy novel, the author's first novel, about a mystical bird whose appearance over the vast city of Ararat triggers a man's efforts to map the city.
• Bantam's website has this description, an excerpt, and a YouTube video.
• The next book in the series, Gears of the City, is due in hardcover in January 2009.
• The author's site has blurbs from Jeff VanderMeer and David Keck, and a blog.

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Lackey, Mercedes, & James Mallory : The Phoenix Unchained
(Tor 978-0-765-35506-5, $7.99, 382pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Tor, October 2007)

Fantasy novel, first in "The Enduring Flame" trilogy, a sequel to the authors' earlier "Obsidian Trilogy", set 1000 years later as both magic and darkness are being reintroduced into the world.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.
• The second book in the trilogy, The Phoenix Endangered, was published in hardcover last month.

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Laumer, Keith, edited by Eric Flint : The Long Twilight and Other Stories
(Baen 978-1-416-55572-8, $7.99, 500pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Baen, February 2007)

Omnibus of two novels -- The Long Twilight (1969) and Night of Delusions (1972) -- and four stories first published from 1969 to 1978.
• Baen's site has this description with links to several chapters of the first novel.

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Lima, Maria : Matters of the Blood
(Juno Books 978-0-8095-7303-5, $7.99, 367pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Juno Books, April 2007)

Dark fantasy mystery/romance novel, the author's first novel, about a woman from a paranormal family in Texas who has a vision foretelling the murder of her cousin.
• Her second novel, Blood Bargain, will be out in December.
• Parent publisher Wildside's website has this description with blurbs from Charlaine Harris and others.

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Martinez, A. Lee : The Nameless Witch
(Tor 978-0-765-35458-7, $6.99, 320pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Tor, May 2007)

Humorous fantasy novel about a witch who hides her eternal youth and a White Knight who arrives to fend off a horde of goblins.
• Tor's website has this page for the book -- "A tale of vengeance, true love, and cannibalism." -- with an excerpt.

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McIntosh, Fiona : Emissary: Book Two of the Percheron Saga
(Eos 978-0-06-089912-7, $7.99, 525pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)

Fantasy novel, second in the series following Odalisque (2007), set in a world inspired by the Constantinople of the Ottoman Empire.
• The third novel, Goddess, was out in June.
• The HarperCollins site has this description and a 'browse inside' link showing the first few pages of maps and text.

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Niven, Larry, & Edward M. Lerner : Fleet of Worlds
(Tor 978-0-765-35783-0, $7.99, 292pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Tor, September 2007)

SF novel set in Niven's "Known Space" universe, concerning relations between humans and Puppeteers some 200 years before the discovery of the Ringworld.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.
• The latest book in the series, Juggler of Worlds, came out in hardcover in September.
• Russell Letson reviewed the book last year in Locus Magazine, concluding "Niven & Lerner have produced a novel that can stand on its own as well as in its role as part of the Known Space franchise. Newbies should enjoy the ride, and long-time fans will have the additional fun of finding behind-the-scenes views of earlier stories..."

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Palmer, Philip : Debatable Space
(Orbit US 978-0-316-06809-3, $7.99, 533pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Orbit US, January 2008)

Far future SF novel about a space pirate who kidnaps the former president of humanity, Lena Smith.
• The parent publisher's site has this brief description. The Orbit site has this extract.
• D. Douglas Fratz' Sci Fi Weekly review gave in an A: "clearly one of the best first novels to appear in the science-fiction field in recent years, and it marks Philip Palmer as a writer to watch for SF readers seeking innovative, cutting-edge space opera.".

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Roberson, Chris : Set the Seas on Fire
(Solaris 978-1-84416-568-1, $7.99, 397pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: BL Publishing/Solaris US, September 2007)

SF adventure novel, follow-up to Paragaea (2006), about a Napolean-era English frigate lost in the South Pacific.
• The publisher's site has this description and a PDF sample chapter.
• The author's website notes that this book "is a substantially expanded version of the novel previously published in a POD edition under this title." The site for the earlier book includes character biographies, a map, and excerpts.

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Smith, Michael Marshall : The Servants
(Eos 978-0-06-149416-1, $14.95, 213pp, trade paperback, September 2008)

Contemporary fantasy novel about Mark, an 11-year-old boy living with his ill mother in Brighton, who discovers ghostly servants in the old quarters beneath their house.
• The first edition was a 2007 hardcover from by Earthling Publications, now out of print. Their page for the book has a synopsis and quotes from reviews.
• The book is currently a finalist for this year's World Fantasy Awards.
• The Eos website has this description with its "browse inside" feature including the first 36 pages of text.
• Amazon has Publishers Weekly's starred review, which called it a "superb, offbeat" fantasy; "IHG Award-winner Smith (Spares) portrays a child's irrational anger with devastating accuracy, and Mark's visits to the surreal and intensely symbolic world of the servants are powerfully depicted."

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Stirling, S. M. : The Sunrise Lands
(Roc 978-0-451-46225-1, $7.99, 512pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
(First edition: Roc, September 2007)

Alternate history SF novel, first of a trilogy set in a near-future when US society has disintegrated following a mysterious event called the "Change" that rendered most technology inoperative. This book concerns leaders from Oregon's Willamette Valley embarking on a mission across North America to investigate mysteries on the island of Nantucket.
• The second book, The Scourge of God, came out last month in hardcover.
• Stirling's official website has a brief description (scroll down) with 11 sample chapters and a map, titles of the next two volumes, and various 'extras'.
• Amazon has Roland Green's Booklist review: "...readers who have survived Stirling's usual high body count will recognize brilliant action fiction and alternate history when they see it and happily hang fire for more."

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Stross, Charles : The Merchants' War
(Tor 978-0-765-35589-8, $7.99, 374pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Tor, October 2007)

Fantasy novel, fourth in The Merchant Princes series following The Family Trade (2004), The Hidden Family (2005), and The Clan Corporate (2006), about a Boston biotech journalist who learns she is heiress in a family who trades across parallel universes.
• Tor's website has this description (which calls it Volume 4 of 6) and an excerpt.
• Russel Letson, last year in Locus Magazine, said the book "is every bit as much fun as the earlier books, and maybe just a little tougher".

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Turtledove, Harry : The Gladiator
(Tor 978-0-765-35379-5, $6.99, 288pp, mass market paperback, October 2008)
(First edition: Tor, June 2007)

Alternate history novel, fifth in the "Crosstime Traffic" series following Gunpowder Empire (2003), Curious Notions (2004), In High Places (2005), and The Disunited States of America (2006). This book is set a century after the Soviet Union won the Cold War.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.
• The sixth book in the series, The Valley-Westside War, appeared in hardcover in July.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "the best yet in this SF series with substantial YA crossover".

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