* Card, Orson Scott : Shadows in Flight
(Tor 978-0-7653-3200-4, $21.99, 237pp, hardcover, January 2012, jacket art John Harris)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012
• The Shadow Series #5

SF novel, fifth in the sequence of novels paralleling Card’s Hugo and Nebula award winning Ender’s Game (1985) and its sequels — following Ender’s Shadow (1999), Shadow of the Hegemon (2001), Shadow Puppets (2002), and Shadow of the Giant (2005).
• Tor’s Macmillan site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the book “mingles transcendent strangeness and didacticism”.

(Fri 23 Dec 2011)
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* Cook, Glen : A Path to Coldness of Heart
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-329-8, $24.99, 430pp, hardcover, January 2012, cover art Raymond Swanland, cover design Noble, Claudia)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012
• Dread Empire #3

Fantasy novel in the author’s Dread Empire series, the long-awaited final volume following Reap the East Wind (1987) and An Ill Fate Marshalling (1988).
• Night Shade Books’ site has this description, with links to their recent reprints of the two earlier books.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Readers familiar with the Dread Empire will appreciate the final chapters, which arrive with a rush of events and information that pull together for a spellbinding conclusion, but a more careful introduction to the villains would assist those new to the series.”

(Wed 21 Dec 2011)
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* Cross, Julie : Tempest
(St. Martin’s Griffin 978-0-312-56889-4, $17.99, 352pp, hardcover, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012
• Tempest #1

Young adult SF novel, first of a trilogy, about a 19-year-old boy in 2009 whose talent for time traveling leaves him stuck in 2007.
• Parent publisher Macmillan’s site has this description, with an audio excerpt, numerous quotes from reviews, and a text excerpt.
• Entertainment Weekly reports that the book has already been optioned for film.
• The Publishers Weekly review says “Debut author Cross launches a trilogy with an exciting and complex page-turner about difficult choices.”

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* Flint, Eric, & Paula Goodlett : Grantville Gazette VI
(Baen 978-1451637687, $25, 448pp, hardcover, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 3 Jan 2012

Anthology of alternate history stories set in the universe of Flint’s 1632 and sequels, concerning a 20th century American town sent back in time to 17th century Europe.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several stories, and an introduction explaining that this book, like the previous volume, is a collection of the best stories from half a dozen issues of the online magazine.

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* Flynn, Michael : In the Lion’s Mouth
(Tor 978-0-7653-2285-2, $25.99, 303pp, hardcover, January 2012, jacket art Sparth)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012
• January Dancer #3

Far future space opera novel, third in a series following The January Dancer (2008) and Up Jim River (2010).
• Tor’s Macmillan website has this description.
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Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review gives it a star, calling it a “powerful tale of far-future humanity” and concluding, “Space opera fans will be swept away by the poetic rhythm and subtle plot construction, and the open-ended conclusion will leave them clamoring for future Donovan buigh adventures.”

(Tue 3 Jan 2012)
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* Goss, Theodora : The Thorn and the Blossom
(Quirk Books 978-1594745515, $16.95, 82pp, trade paperback, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012

Fantasy novella, subtitled “A Two-Sided Love Story”, about a love affair about two people who meet in a bookstore, which can be read from either character’s perspective.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a video trailer.
• Amazon has a Q&A with the author, and somewhat mixed reader reviews.

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* Lang, Michele : Dark Victory
(Tor 978-0-7653-2318-7, $25.99, 320pp, hardcover, February 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012
• Lady Lazarus #2

Fantasy novel, sequel to Lady Lazarus (2011), about a Jewish witch fighting the Nazis.
• Parent publisher Macmillan’s site has this description with numerous quotes from reviews of this and the prior book.
• Publishers Weekly has this review.

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* Marcus, Ben : The Flame Alphabet
(Knopf 978-0-307-37937-5, $25.95, 289pp, hardcover, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012

Literary SF/horror novel about an epidemic that causes the sounds of children’s speech to become lethal.
• The author’s site has this description, with quotes from reviews and links to various interviews.
• Salon just posted this interview with the author.
• Wikipedia has this author profile.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “The novel’s first part plays like The Twilight Zone as a normal community becomes exposed to this mysterious infection. The second part reads like a Kafkaesque nightmare as Sam, separated from Claire, winds up in an isolated research facility, where he is put to work creating a new language that will be immune from the virus. The third part …”

(Tue 10 Jan 2012)
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* O’Malley, Daniel : The Rook
(Little, Brown 978-0-316-09879-3, $25.99, 486pp, hardcover, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 11 Jan 2012

Fantasy thriller, the author’s first novel, about a woman who wakes in a park with no memories but with a note from her former self describing how to rediscover her identity.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an OpenBook function providing and excerpt.
• Author site The Rook Files provides an excerpt and a trailer.
• John Scalzi’s blog has this The Big Idea post with the author explaining his work.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “Dry wit, surprising reversals of fortune, and a clever if offbeat plot make this a winner. Dr. Who fans will find a lot to like.”

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* Phillips, Gin : Come In and Cover Me
(Penguin/Riverhead 978-1-59448-844-3, $26.95, 352pp, hardcover, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 12 Jan 2012

Literary fantasy novel about an archaeologist haunted by the ghost of her older brother, who died in a car crash when she was 12 years old.
• The author’s site has this description with a reading guide.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review says “Though Phillips’s second novel initially seems like a Harlequin romance for intellectuals (albeit one gussied up with necromancy and archeology), the result proves surprisingly moving….”

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* Yamamoto, Hiroshi, translated by Nathan Collins : MM9
(Haikasoru 978-1-4215-4089-4, $14.99, 285pp, trade paperback, January 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jan 2012

SF novel about Japan besieged by natural disasters and monster attacks — 9 on the “monster magnitude” scale.
• Haikasoru’s website has this description with an excerpt.

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