+ Aldiss, Brian : An Exile on Planet Earth: Articles and Reflections
(The Bodelian Library, University of Oxford 978-1851243730, $35, 179pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 1 Sep 2012

First US edition (UK: The Bodelian Library, February 2012)

Nonfiction collection of 12 essays, most revised from earlier publication, on the author’s life and work.
• The UK publisher’s site has this description.
• The author’s official site has this post about the book launch, with photos.

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* Archer, Jill : Dark Light of Day
(Ace 978-0-425-25715-9, $7.99, 384pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Noon Onyx #1

Urban fantasy novel, first novel of a series, set in a post-Armageddon world in which demons are worshiped, about the daughter of a politician who possesses a rare magical power.
• The author’s site has a description, quotes from reviews, and a blog tour schedule.

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* Beaudoin, Sean : The Infects
(Candlewick Press 978-0-7636-5947-9, $17.99, 384pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Humorous young adult zombie novel about a camp for juvenile delinquents where the counselors all turn into zombies.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review says, “Horror goes hand in hand with dark comedy in this wickedly unpredictable adventure, as Beaudoin simultaneously skewers the fast food industry and familiar zombie tropes.”

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+ Cobley, Michael : Seeds of Earth
(Orbit 978-0-316-21398-1, $7.99, 640pp, mass market paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Humanity’s Fire #1

First US edition (UK: Orbit, March 2009)

SF novel, first of a series, in which various human and AI factions battle over the planet Darien and the weapons it contains.
• Orbit’s website has this extract.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “a well-constructed space opera with a sense of vast scope, populated with an array of beautifully differentiated intelligences both organic and artificial.”

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* Currie, Evan : Odyssey One: The Heart of Matter
(Amazon/47north 978-1612182353, $14.95, 629pp, trade paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Odyssey One #2

Military SF novel, second (a bit confusingly) in the Odyssey One series, following Into the Black: Odyssey One (March 2012), about humanity’s first starship, now defying orders to search for the unseen force behind an interstellar conflict.
• Amazon has a description, but not a preview.

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* Frost, Mark : The Paladin Prophecy
(Random House 978-0-375-87045-3, $17.99, 560pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Paladin Prophecy #1

Young adult fantasy novel, first of a trilogy, by the author who co-created TV series Twin Peaks. It’s about a teenaged boy used to concealing his exceptional physical and mental abilities, until he slips up and attracts nationwide attention.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Despite the feeling that Frost threw in everything but the kitchen sink, his story has serious entertainment value and pulls together satisfyingly by book’s end, while laying the groundwork for the sequels.”

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* Gropp, Richard E. : Bad Glass
(Del Rey 978-0-345-53393-7, $15, 432pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Dark fantasy novel, the author’s debut novel, about a photographer who sneaks into a quarantined Spokane, which has been overrun by strange creatures and bizarre phenomena.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review says, “Gropp’s promising debut is taut SF-tinged horror told primarily in vivid descriptions of Dean’s photos. … [R]eaders will have to be content with well-drawn psychological portraits of realistically flawed people trapped in a rapidly degenerating terrifying mess.”

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* Guran, Paula, ed. : Rock On: The Greatest Science Fiction & Fantasy Hits
(Prime Books 978-1-607013-15-0, $15.95, 384pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Anthology of 24 stories, two of them original, about rock and roll.
• Authors include Elizabeth Bear, Edward Bryant, Elizabeth Hand, Alistair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, and Norman Spinrad.
• Prime’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Despite the sometimes inconsistent quality and nature of the stories, this diverse collection will appeal to most rock-and-roll and genre fans.”

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* Habel, Lia : Dearly, Beloved
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-52334-1, $16.99, 496pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Dearly #2

Young adult novel, second in a series following Dearly, Departed (2011), about zombies in a Victorian society recreated in 2195.
• The publisher’s site has this synopsis with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review of the first book called it “a heart-pounding and nontraditional take on the steampunk and zombie apocalypse genres.”

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* Johnson, Kij : At the Mouth of the River of Bees
(Small Beer Press 978-1-931520-80-5, $16, 297pp, trade paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Collection of 18 stories, first published from 1989 to 2011, with one story original to this book. This is the author’s first collection.
• Stories include Hugo and Nebula winner “The Man Who Bridged the Mist”, World Fantasy winner “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss”, Sturgeon winner “Fox Magic”, and Nebula winners “Ponies” and “Spar”.
• Small Beer’s site has this description with the table of contents, and links to text and/or audio of several stories.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, concluding that the stories “are sometimes off-putting, sometimes funny, and always thought provoking.”
• Gary K. Wolfe’s review from the August issue of Locus Magazine is posted here.

(Mon 17 Sep 2012)
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* Jones, Diana Wynne : Reflections: On the Magic of Writing
(Greenwillow 978-0-06-221989-3, $24.99, 400pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Collection of more than 25 essays, speeches, and biographical pieces.
• According to the publisher’s description, the contents were chosen by the author before her death in 2011. The publisher’s page has a “Read Now” function.

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* Lockhart, Ross E. : The Book of Cthulhu II
(Night Shade Books 978-1597804356, $15.99, 400pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Anthology of fantasy and horror stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos.
• Authors include Fritz Leiber, Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, Laird Barron, and W.H. Pugmire.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.

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* Lovegrove, James : Redlaw: Red Eye
(Solaris 978-1-781080-50-4, $8.99, 384pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Redlaw #2

Vampire novel, second of a trilogy following Redlaw (2011), about a London office in charge of policing the community of vampires, known as Sunless.
• Solaris’ site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Publishers Weekly said about the first book: “The breakneck pace and the mix of crime and horror elements make the story almost as entertaining as it is predictable.”

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* Millet, Lydia : The Shimmers in the Night
(Small Beer Press/Big Mouth House 978-1-931520-78-2, $16.95, 256pp, hardcover, September 2012, cover by Sharon McGill)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Sykes Children #2

Young adult novel, second of a series about the Sykes children following The Fires Beneath the Sea (2011).
• Small Beer’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.

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* Pratchett, Terry : Dodger
(HarperCollins 978-0-06-200949-4, $17.99, 368pp, hardcover, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Young adult historical novel with elements of alternate history, about a young thief named Dodger whose intervention in the beating of a girl leads him into an adventure involving Sweeney Todd, Charles Dickens, and Benjamin Disraeli.
• Harper’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “Full of eccentric characters and carefully detailed London scenes, the tale embodies both Dickens’s love for the common man and a fierce desire for social justice.”

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* Schafer, Courtney : The Tainted City
(Night Shade Books 978-1597804035, $15.99, 380pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• The Shattered Sigil #2

Fantasy novel, sequel to the author’s first novel The Whitefire Crossing (2011), about a smuggler who guides caravans through treacherous Whitefire Mountains.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.

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* Sizemore, Susan : Personal Demon
(Ace 978-0425254721, $7.99, 288pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Laws of the Blood #6

Vampire novel, sixth in a series about vampire who enforce vampire rules, following The Hunt, Partners, Companions, Deceptions, and Heroes (1999-2003).
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Spradlin, Michael P. : Blood Riders
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-202309-4, $7.99, 400pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

Dark fantasy western about a Civil War veteran hired by the US government to track down a frontier tribe of vampires.
• Harper’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The final showdown convincingly resolves all the plot threads and provides fans of the vampire western genre a delightful read.”

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* Stephenson, Neal, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo & et al : The Mongoliad: Book Two
(Amazon/47North 978-1-61218-237-7, $14.95, 440pp, trade paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Foreworld Saga #2

Alternate history novel, second of a series, about an attempt to save Europe from the Mongol invasion of the 13th century.
• The series began as an online collaboration in conjunction with a series of apps for smartphones. Wikipedia has details. The series site is mongoliad.com.
• Amazon’s page has a preview via its “Look Inside” function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Suggestions of revelations to come combine with expertly crafted fight sequences and immensely enjoyable characters to hold the reader’s interest despite the story ending no further along than it was at the beginning.”

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* Strout, Anton : Alchemystic
(Ace 978-1937007799, $7.99, 304pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Spellmason Chronicles #1

Urban fantasy novel, first in a new series, about a struggling artist in New York who discovers that an ancestor could work magic on stone.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Tallerman, David : Crown Thief
(Angry Robot 978-0857662507, $7.99, 416pp, mass market paperback, October 2012, cover art Angelo Rinaldi)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Easie Damasco #2

Fantasy novel, second of a series following the author’s first novel Giant Thief (Feb. 2012), about a thief who manages to steal a giant from two opposing factions.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description with a link to an extract.

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