* Ahlborn, Ania : Seed
(47North 978-1612183664, $14.95, 250pp, trade paperback, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012

Horror novel about a man and his family pursued by a demon from the man’s childhood. It’s the author’s first novel.
• The Amazon page has a description, and its “Look Inside” function provides a preview. There are currently 214 reader reviews, averaging 4.2 out of 5 stars.
• The author’s site explains that the book is revised from its 2011 self-publication, which reached the #1 spot on Amazon’s bestselling horror list. Two more novels are forthcoming.

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* Anderson, Taylor : Iron Gray Sea
(Roc 978-0451464545, $25.95, 448pp, hardcover, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 3 Jul 2012
• Destroyman #7

Alternate history SF novel, seventh in the “Destroyermen” series following Into the Storm, Crusade, Maelstrom, Distant Thunders, Rising Tides, and Firestorm, about a World War II US battleship transported back in time to an era when two intelligent dinosaur species are fighting a war.
• The author’s site has descriptions of the first six books.

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* Bernobich, Beth : Queen’s Hunt
(Tor 978-0-7653-2218-0, $24.99, 336pp, hardcover, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012
• River of Souls #2

Fantasy novel, second in a series following Passion Play (2010), about a woman who’s separated from her supposedly-estranged lover, and on a quest to find fabled jewels.
• Tor’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review says “The promise of Passion Play is realized in this complex sequel … a masterful story of romance, honor, and a little bit of suspense, with plenty of history, geography, and mythology thrown in for good measure.”
• Faren Miller reviewed it in the June issue of Locus Magazine, concluding, “Bernobich turns the quest saga into a crazy-quilt of intimate portraits – the perfect antidote to those bombastic info-dumps some publishers still tout as the latest thing in fantasy.”

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* Card, Orson Scott, & Aaron Johnston : Earth Unaware
(Tor 978-0-7653-2904-2, $24.99, 368pp, hardcover, July 2012, jacket art John Harris)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012
• Formic Wars #1

SF novel, first in a prequel trilogy to Card’s Ender’s Game, set 100 years earlier, about a mining ship that encounters an alien vessel.
• Tor’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes that the trilogy “will cover the same ground as the recent Formic War comics from Marvel”, and concludes, “Fans won’t find anything to actively dislike, and they might appreciate the added development of characters who were one-dimensional in the comics, but there’s little to love.”

(Fri 6 Jul 2012)
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* Golden, Christopher, ed. : 21st Century Dead
(St. Martin’s Griffin 978-0-312-60584-1, $14.99, 352pp, trade paperback, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012

Anthology of 19 original zombie stories, follow-up to The New Dead (2010).
• Authors include Orson Scott Card, Jonathan Maberry, Caitlin Kittredge, John Skipp, Dan Chaon, and others.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt of Mark Morris’ story.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review cites Dan Chaon’s story as a stand-out; “The others, competently written, will please casual readers but may not do much for passionate zombie enthusiasts.”
• Stefan Dziemianowicz reviews the book in the July issue of Locus Magazine, also citing Dan Chaon’s story: “Though there are other good stories in this somewhat uneven anthology, this one alone is worth the price of the book and proof that, in the hands of writers sensitive to the materials they are working with, the otherwise overworked zombie story is still able to surprise.”

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* Golemon, David L. : Ripper
(St. Martin’s 978-0-312-58080-3, $25.99, 368pp, hardcover, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012
• Event Group Thriller #7

SF thriller, seventh in the “Event Group” series following Event (2006), Legend (2007), Ancients (2008), Leviathan (2009), Primeval (2010), and Legacy (2011), about a secret US government agency investigating the paranormal. Earlier titles were bylined David Lynn Golemon.
• This book concerns the real Jack the Ripper.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “strong on ideas but weak on execution”.

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* Jeffers, Alex : You Will Meet a Stranger Far from Home
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-103-8, $15, 179pp, trade paperback, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 14 Jul 2012

Collection of 10 linked stories.
• The author’s site has this description with blurbs from Tanith Lee and Christopher Barzak.
• The Publishers Weekly review says the collection “presents a curious but engrossing blend of cultures, sexualities, and gender identities in worlds where magic is both ethereal and ever-present. … Jeffers has an elevated writing style that fits snugly with the stories’ subtle but persistent titular wonder.”

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* Lerner, Edward M. : Energized
(Tor 978-0-7653-2849-6, $27.99, 333pp, hardcover, July 2012, jacket art Stephan Martiniere)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012

Near future SF thriller, about the politics of harnessing solar power satellites to solve Earth’s energy demands.
• Tor’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The novel was serialized in Analog magazine from June 2011 to October 2011.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “a taut near-future thriller about an energy-starved Earth held hostage by a power-mad international cartel”, and concludes, “Lerner’s vision of the future is both topical and possible in this crisp, fast-paced hard SF adventure.”

(Tue 3 Jul 2012)
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* Newell, Dianne, & Victoria Lamont : Judith Merril: A Critical Study
(McFarland 978-0-7864-4836-4, $40, trade paperback, May 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 15 Jun 2012

Nonfiction study of the influential editor and writer, who lived from 1923 to 1997.
• McFarland’s site has this description , with the table of contents, which includes a bibliography and an index.
• Don D’Ammassa posted a review on his nonfiction page five days ago: “This is a critical examination of her admittedly very small body of work, with special emphasis on her handling of genre questions and the idea of the frontier. Merril was indeed far ahead of her time.”

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* Parker, K. J. : Sharps
(Orbit 978-0-316-17775-7, $15.99, 471pp, trade paperback, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012

Fantasy novel, a standalone, about a fencing tournament staged to decide the fate of two warring kingdoms.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Orbit’s site has this author spotlight.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Parker’s settings and characterizations never miss a beat, and the intricate political interplay of intrigue is suspenseful almost to the last page.”
• Faren Miller reviews the book in the July issue of Locus Magazine: “This is another splendid offering from K.J. Parker, the (pseudonymous) British fantasist who seems incapable of writing in anything but top form.”

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* Tregillis, Ian : The Coldest War
(Tor 978-0-7653-2151-0, $25.99, 352pp, hardcover, July 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Jul 2012
• The Milkweed Triptych #2

Alternate history novel, second in a trilogy following the author’s first novel Bitter Seeds (2010), about a British secret agent in 1939 investigating supernatural beings created by the Nazis.
• The publisher’s site has this description, with an excerpt.
• The author’s site has quotes from reviews and a link to an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology, also nicely expanding characters (particularly Gretel) who had seemed one-dimensional previously. The monstrous, extra-dimensional Eidolons add a genuinely convincing menace that transcends the more banal evil motivations of the political game players ….”

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