* Adams, John Joseph, ed. : Lightspeed: Year One
(Prime Books 978-1607013044, $16.95, 480pp, trade paperback, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Anthology of 48 stories — all of the stories published by online Lightspeed Magazine in its first year, from June 2010 through May 2011.
• Stories include one or two classic reprints in each issue, by Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, George R.R. Martin, Joe Haldeman, and others.
• Authors of original stories include Vylar Kaftan, Carrie Vaughn, Adam-Troy Castro, Ted Kosmatka, Charles Yu, and Yoon Ha Lee.
• Prime’s website has this description with the complete table of contents.

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* Anthony, Piers : Well-Tempered Clavicle
(Tor 978-0765331342, $25.99, 320pp, hardcover, October 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011
• Xanth #35

Humorous fantasy novel, 35th in the popular, pun-filled “Xanth” series, following Knott Gneiss (2010).
• Tor’s website has this description of the book with a link to a PDF excerpt.

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* Bolaño, Roberto : The Third Reich
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux 978-0-374-27562-4, $25, 288pp, hardcover, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Associational thriller about a German man, vacationing with his girlfriend in Spain, who is obsessed with a strategy game called the Third Reich.
• The novel was written in 1989 and discovered after the author’s death in 2003. Bolaño is best known for 2666, published in English in 2008.
• Parent publisher Macmillan’s site has this description.
• The Publishes Weekly review concludes, “Infused with unease and menace, deliberately ambiguous about reality vs. perception, Bolaño’s novel is a psychological thriller without a convincing payoff. Its atmosphere, however, clearly prefigures the preoccupations of the author’s later masterpieces.”

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* Carey, Jacqueline : Saints Astray
(Grand Central 978-0446571425, $14.99, 356pp, trade paperback, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011
• Santa Olivia #2

Near-future SF novel, sequel to Santa Olivia (2009).
• The publisher’s site has this description and a link to an “OpenBook” feature with an excerpt.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function also has an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly has this review, which calls it “another lively tale of postpandemic America”.

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* Crichton, Michael, & Richard Preston : Micro
(Harper 978-0-06-087302-8, $28.99, 448pp, hardcover, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

SF thriller about a team of scientists recruited to Hawaii to work in a mysterious microbiology lab.
• The novel, unfinished by Crichton, was completed by Richard Preston.
• Harper’s site has this description.
• Amazon has an enthusiastic review by James Rollins.
• Entertainment Weekly‘s review by Keith Staskiewicz spells it out: “Crichton shrinks his characters down to the size of rice grains and has them battle for ­survival against not dinosaurs, but insects. Of course, the real villain is that perpetual troublemaker, scientific hubris…”

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* Duncan, Dave : When the Saints
(Tor 978-0-7653-2348-4, $27.99, 336pp, hardcover, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011
• Brothers Magnus #2

Fantasy novel, sequel to Speak to the Devil (2010), set in 15th-century Europe.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a link to a PDF extract.
• Kirkus Reviews included this book on its Best SF and Fantasy of 2011 list, with this review: “An authoritative reworking of history, combining a splendid welter of religious and political intrigues with Duncan’s typically inventive, deft handling of magic and character-driven action.”
• Amazon reviewer Harriet Klausner calls it an “excellent Renaissance Era paranormal thriller”.

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* Frey, J. M. : Triptych
(Dragon Moon Press 978-1-897492-13-0, $19.95, 286pp, trade paperback, May 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 12 Mar 2011

SF novel, the author’s first novel, about alien refugees who arrive on Earth, challenging humanity’s tolerance with the revelation that the alien Kalp mate in threes.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “Time travel, aliens, and the politics of sexuality combine with tragic violence in Frey’s deeply satisfying debut.”
• Published in May, this book is listed belatedly as one of Publishers Weekly‘s Best SF/F Books of 2011.

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* Guran, Paula, ed. : New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird
(Prime Books 978-1607012894, $15.95, 528pp, trade paperback, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Anthology of 27 stories, first published in the past decade, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
• Authors include Laird Barron, Neil Gaiman, Paul McAuley, China Miéville, Kim Newman, Cherie Priest, Michael Shea, and Charles Stross.
• Prime Books’s website has this description with the complete table of contents.

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* Mayer, Andrew P. : Hearts of Smoke and Steam
(Pyr 978-1616145330, $16, 327pp, trade paperback, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Steampunk novel, second of a trilogy following the author’s first novel The Falling Machine (May 2011), set in 1880 New York.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The author’s blog has the same description.

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* Neumeier, Rachel : The Griffin Mage
(Orbit 978-0316193542, $15.99, 1024pp, trade paperback, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 16 Nov 2011

Omnibus collection of three novels in the “Griffin Mage” trilogy: Lord of the Changing Winds (May 2010), Land of the Burning Sands (Jun 2010), and Law of the Broken Earth (Dec 2010).
• The author’s site has this page about the trilogy.
• The Publishers Weekly review of volume 3 called it a “vivid, satisfying conclusion” to the trilogy, and concluded, “Most compelling is the world and its magical laws, which invite further related stories.”

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* Sherman, Delia : The Freedom Maze
(Small Beer Press/Big Mouth House 978-1931520300, $16.95, 258pp, hardcover, November 2011)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Young adult fantasy novel, about a 13-year-old girl who slips 100 years into the past, where she is mistaken for a slave.
• Small Beer Press’ site has this description, with a link to a PDF extract, and quotes from numerous reviews.
• Tor.com’s review by Brit Mandelo concludes, “I highly recommend The Freedom Maze, not only for its beauty, but because it is one of the most engaging and challenging novels of the year, filled with magic and truth.”
• Kirkus Reviews gave it a star: “Multilayered, compassionate and thought-provoking, a timely read on the sesquicentennial of America’s Civil War.”

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