New Books, 29 May
* Alexander, Cassie : Nightshifted
(St. Martin’s Paperbacks 978-0-312-55339-5, $7.99, 352pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 May 2012
• Nightshifted #1
Urban fantasy novel, first of a series and the author’s first novel, about a new nurse in a hospital that serves vampires, werewolves, and zombies.
• The publisher’s site has this description, with an excerpt.
• The author’s site also has an excerpt, and titles of the next two volumes.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it a “solid urban fantasy debut”.
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* Anderson, Kevin J., ed. : Blood Lite III: Aftertaste
(Pocket Books 978-1451636246, $7.99, 528pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
Anthology of 30 original humorous horror stories, presented by the Horror Writers Association.
• Authors include Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kelley Armstrong, Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Lisa Morton.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
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* Ballantine, Philippa, & Tee Morris : The Janus Affair
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-204978-0, $7.99, 416pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #2
Steampunk fantasy novel, second of a series following Phoenix Rising (2011), about two agents in a clandestine organization in Victorian London.
• Series site The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences has a description with quotes and links to numerous reviews.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
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* Battis, Jes : Bleeding Out
(Ace 978-1937007638, $7.99, 256pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• OSI #5
Fantasy novel, fifth OSI novel following Night Child (2008), A Flash of Hex (2009), Inhuman Resources (2010), and Infernal Affairs (2011) about an Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver’s Mystical Crime Lab.
• In this book, OSI Tess Corday investigates the death of Vancouver’s premiere necromancer.
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* Brooke, Keith : Harmony
(Solaris 978-1-78108-001-6, $8.99, 416pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
SF novel about alien invaders destroying Earth’s cities as a band of human survivors searches for sanctuary.
• Solaris’ site has this description.
• The author’s site has this page with the same description, a comment by the author, and a blurb from Alastair Reynolds.
• The novel is being published in the UK as alt.human.
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* Brown, Eric : The Devil’s Nebula
(Abaddon 978-1-78108-023-8, $7.99, 352pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Weird Space #1
SF space opera novel, first of a shared world series, about the human Expansion and the Vetch Empire both threatened by an evil race from another dimension.
• Abaddon’s site has this description.
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* Flewelling, Lynn : Casket of Souls
(Ballantine Spectra 978-0-345-52230-6, $7.99, 496pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Nightrunner #6
Fantasy novel, sixth book in the “Nightrunner” series following Luck in the Shadows (1996), Stalking Darkness (1997), Traitor’s Moon (1999), Shadows Return (2008), and The White Road (2010).
• Bantam’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function also provides an excerpt.
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* Grant, Mira : Blackout
(Orbit 978-0-316-08107-8, $9.99, 560pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 May 2012
• Newsflesh #3
Postapocalyptic zombie novel, third in the “Newsflesh” trilogy following Feed (2010) and Deadline (2011), both of which were nominated for the Hugo Award.
• Orbit’s site has this post about the book’s release, with a link to a sample chapter.
• The author is Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant.
• The author’s site has this page about the trilogy. Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “another thoughtful high-energy tale of life and politics among the dead and not-so-dead.”
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* Guran, Paula, ed. : Obsession: Tales of Irresistible Desire
(Prime Books 978-1607013433, $15.95, 360pp, trade paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
Anthology of 19 stories, a mix of originals and reprints.
• Authors include Edgar Allan Poe, Fritz Leiber, Stewart O’Nan, Michael Blumlein, Pat Cadigan, Elizabeth Hand, Tanith Lee, and John Shirley.
• Prime’s site has this description and order page with the table of contents and the editor’s introduction.
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* Hartwell, David G., & Kathryn Cramer, eds. : Year’s Best SF 17
(Harper Voyager US 978-0-06-203587-5, $7.99, 512pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
Anthology of 23 stories first published in 2011, with an introduction by the editors, and introductions to each story.
• Authors include Ken MacLeod, Nnedi Okorafor, Charlie Jane Anders, Neil Gaiman, Gregory Benford, Bruce Sterling, Nancy Kress, and Carolyn Ives Gilman.
• Harper’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview, including the table of contents.
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* Jacka, Benedict : Cursed
(Ace 978-1-937007-59-1, $7.99, 304pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Alex Verus #2
Urban fantasy novel, second in a series following Fated (March 2012), about a London magician who can foresee the future.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, as they did the first book: “Readers will savor this tasty blend of magic, explosions, and moral complexity.”
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* Jamieson, Trent : Night’s Engines
(Angry Robot 978-0857661876, $7.99, 400pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• The Nightbound Land #2
Dark fantasy novel, second of a duology following Roil (2011), about four last human cities fighting an encroaching storm called the Roil.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description with quotes from reviews and a preview function.
• The author’s site has this page for the duology.
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* Johnson, Les, & Jack McDevitt, eds. : Going Interstellar
(Baen 978-1451637786, $7.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, June 2012, cover art Sam Kennedy)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
Anthology of 13 essays and stories about interstellar flight.
• Contributors include Ben Bova, Jack McDevitt, Louise Marley, Michael Bishop, and Mike Resnick.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to samples and the table of contents.
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* Koch, G. J. : Alexander Outland: Space Pirate
(Night Shade Books 978-1597804233, $14.99, 300pp, trade paperback, June 2012, cover art John Stanko)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
SF adventure novel about a rogue space pilot whose piracy business is challenged by an invisible space armada.
• Night Shade’s site has this description and order page.
• The author’s website has links to reviews.
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* Lundoff, Catherine : Silver Moon
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-379-7, $15, 218pp, trade paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sun 20 May 2012
• A Woman of Wolf’s Point #1
Fantasy novel, first of a series, about a 50-year-old woman whose entry into menopause triggers her coming out both as a werewolf and as a lesbian.
• Lethe’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• John Scalzi’s blog posted this Big Idea background by the author.
• The Publishers Weekly review says, “After a slightly awkward start, this series launch gains speed, effectiveness, and depth with a decidedly different approach to the modern werewolf story.”
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+ Masterton, Graham : Festival of Fear
(Severn 978-0-7278-6408-6, $28.95, 240pp, hardcover, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2012
Collection of 12 horror stories.
• Severn House’s site has this description and order page. The UK edition appeared in January.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the book “offers little festivity, but features vibrant dialogue and distinctively eerie plot twists.”
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* Remic, Andy : Toxicity
(Solaris 978-1-78108-004-7, $8.99, 416pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Anarchy #1
SF novel, first of a series, set in a utopian galaxy where all races live in harmony, concerning an ECO terrorist trying to sabotage the Company that processes the galaxy’s waste products.
• Solaris’ site has this description.
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* Shearin, Lisa : All Spell Breaks Loose
(Ace 978-1-937007-71-3, $7.99, 304pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Raine Benares #6
Fantasy detective novel, sixth and concluding volume in the Raine Benares series about a sorceress who finds missing people and things, following Magic Lost, Trouble Found, Armed & Magical, The Trouble with Demons, Betwitched & Betrayed, and Con & Conjure.
• The author’s site has a description and a page of links to sample chapters.
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* Shevdon, Mike : Strangeness and Charm
(Angry Robot Us 978-0857662248, $7.99, 384pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Courts of the Feyre #3
Urban fantasy novel, third in a series following Sixty-One Nails (2010) and Road to Bedlam (2010), about a London man’s relationship with the supernatural Feyre races.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description with a preview function.
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* Swift, E. J. : Osiris
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-417-2, $26.99, 400pp, hardcover, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Osiris Project #1
SF novel, first of a trilogy, about the ocean city of Osiris, presumed to be the last city that survived the Great Storm 40 years before.
• Night Shade’s site has this description and order page.
• The Publishers Weekly review is mixed: “Swift’s imaginative debut, the first in a trilogy, is a dystopian thriller with complex characterizations and a riveting main plot, though both are marred by an unsatisfying, implausible resolution.”
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* Tobin, Paul : Prepare to Die!
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-420-2, $26.99, 350pp, hardcover, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
Fantasy novel about the man who became the superhero Reaver, a muscleman whose punches take a year off a bad guy’s life, who returns to his childhood home when he’s given only two weeks to live.
• Night Shade’s site has this description and order page.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The deconstruction of superheroes has been accomplished before, but rarely has it been done with the vigor and affection of comics veteran Tobin in his nearly pitch-perfect superhero tale for grownups.”
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* Van Name, Mark L. : No Going Back
(Baen 978-1-4516-3810-3, $22, 336pp, hardcover, May 2012, cover art John Picacio)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Jon & Lobo #6
Military SF novel, fifth novel in a series following One Jump Ahead (2007), Slanted Jack (2008), Overthrowing Heaven (2009), and Children No More (2010), about nano-enhanced warrior Jon Moore and his assault vehicle Lobo.
• Baen’s site has this description, with links to several chapters.
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* Wells, Jaye : Blue-Blooded Vamp
(Orbit 978-0-316-17845-7, $7.99, 336pp, mass market paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 22 May 2012
• Sabina Kane #5
Urban fantasy novel, fifth and concluding volume of the series about half-vampire, half-mage Sabina Kane, an assassin for her vampire rulers, following Red-Headed Stepchild (2009), The Mage in Black (2010), Green-Eyed Demon (2011), and Silver-Tongued Devil (2012).
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review says, “Wells brings her Sabina Kane urban fantasy series to a satisfactorily fast-paced conclusion…”
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* Williams, Liz : Worldsoul
(Prime Books 978-1-60701-295-5, $14.95, 288pp, trade paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 29 May 2012
• Worldsoul #1
Fantasy novel, first of a series, about a nexus city between Earth and the other dimensions of the Liminality, and its Library that maintains order in the absence of the governing Skein.
• Prime’s website has this description and order page.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the setting offers “tremendous options for stories” but “This first book, however, hints at the possibilities rather than taking full advantage of them.”
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