* Adams, John Joseph, ed. : Epic
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-084-1, $17.95, 608pp, trade paperback, November 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 5 Oct 2012

Anthology of 17 epic fantasy stories, first published from 1961 to 2012, with half of them just published in the last five years or so.
• Authors include Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. Le Guin, Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin, and Tad Williams. Brent Weeks provides a foreword.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

(Fri 19 Oct 2012)
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* Eads, Sean : The Survivors
(Lethe 978-1-59021-299-8, $15, 236pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 3 Oct 2012

SF novel about aliens who invade Earth and ignore humanity but are obnoxious just because they get in everyone’s way.
• Lethe’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “a short novel reminiscent of 1970s ‘big idea’ science fiction”, and says the ending “is undeniably powerful, and points to the possibility of greater success in Eads’s future.”

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+ Jones, Stephen, ed. : A Book of Horrors
(St. Martin’s Griffin 978-1-250-01852-6, $15.99, 448pp, trade paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 18 Sep 2012

First US edition (UK: Jo Fletcher, September 2011)

US edition of anthology of 14 original horror stories, first published last year in the UK and currently a finalist for this year’s World Fantasy Awards, as are novellas from the book by Robert Shearman and Elizabeth Hand.
• Other authors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, John Ajvide Lindqvist, and Dennis Etchison.
• Parent publisher Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function also provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “Jones passes up the coy and cute for the purely frightening in this exemplary anthology for those who ‘understand and appreciate the worth and impact of a scary story.'”

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* Jones, Stephen, ed. : The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: 23
(Running Press 978-0762445974, $13.95, 512pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 23 Oct 2012

Anthology of 26 horror stories first published in 2011.
• Authors include Christopher Fowler, Joel Lane, Joan Aiken, Evangeline Walton, and Robert Silverberg.
• The book includes a long introduction, “Horror in 2011”, and a necrology.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Lowry, Lois : Son
(Houghton Mifflin 978-0547887203, $17.99, 400pp, hardcover, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• The Giver Quartet #4

Young adult dystopian SF novel, fourth in a sequence following The Giver (1994, winner of the Newbery Medal), Gathering Blue (2000), and The Messenger (2004), set in a society where emotions and colors don’t exist.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a link to an excerpt.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function also provides an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review, describing how the story is divided into three sections, concludes, “If the latter sections don’t quite keep up with the thrilling revelations of the first, Lowry still ties together these stories in a wholly satisfying way.”

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* Resnick, Mike : Stalking the Zombie
(American Fantasy Press 978-0961035259, $25, 224pp, hardcover, August 2012, cover art Douglas Klauba)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 22 Aug 2012

Collection of eight humorous stories about detective John J. Mallory, hero of novels Stalking the Unicorn, Stalking the Vampire, and Stalking the Dragon, with the title story original to this book.
• Connie Willis provides a preface.
• The publisher’s site has a brief description, ordering options, and quotes from reviews of the novels.

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* Rucker, Rudy : Turing & Burroughs: A Beatnik SF Novel
(Transreal Books 978-0985827236, $16, 248pp, trade paperback, September 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 14 Sep 2012

Counterfactual SF novel about Alan Turing and William Burroughs.
• The publisher’s site has a short description, while Rucker’s site has this page for the book with links to “booklength” notes for the book, an interview, and reviews.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Paul Di Filippo reviewed the book for Locus Online: “Rucker accomplishes a significant feat by mashing up Greg Bear-level speculations with a kind of On the Road vibe, full of slang-laden hipster contempt for the Establishment and a desire to break free of stifling conventions.”

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* Sagara, Michelle : Cast in Peril
(Harlequin/Luna 978-0373803507, $14.95, 544pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 18 Sep 2012
• Chronicles of Elantra #8

Fantasy novel, eight in the “Chronicles of Elantra” series following Cast in Shadow (2005), Cast in Courtlight (2006), Cast in Secret (2007), Cast in Fury (2008), Cast in Silence (2009), Cast in Chaos (2010), and Cast in Ruin (2011), about Kaylin Neya, member of an elite team that keeps the city of Elantra safe.
• The author’s site has this page for the book with a description and link to a PDF preview.
• Tor.com ran a review by Liz Bourke, who concludes the payoff awaits another volume; “I can recommend this volume with merely lukewarm enthusiasm: it is another Kaylin book, and entertaining, but if the payoff in the next one isn’t damn well amazing, I’ll be retroactively disappointed.”

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* Sanderson, Brandon : The Emperor’s Soul
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-092-6, $14.95, 175pp, trade paperback, November 2012, cover art Alexander Nanitchkov)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 10 Oct 2012

Short fantasy novel about a heretic thief whose chance for redemption involves creating a new soul for a dying emperor.
• Tachyon’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview. Tor.com posted this excerpt.

(Fri 19 Oct 2012)
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* Stephens, John : The Fire Chronicle
(Knopf 978-0-375-86871-9, $17.99, 437pp, hardcover, October 2012, jacket art Jon Foster)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Oct 2012
• Books of Beginning #2

Young adult fantasy novel, second in a series following The Emerald Atlas (2011), about three children kept in an orphanage for ten years to protect them from a horrible evil.
• Parent publisher Random House’s site has this synopsis with a preview function.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review, calling it even stronger than the first book; “Fans of The Emerald Atlas will find much to love: the adventure-driven plot, a scattering of deliciously scary moments, and Stephens’s offbeat take on Tolkienesque dragons, dwarves, and elves (…) are sure to delight.”

(Wed 17 Oct 2012)
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* Travers, Antony Innis : The Lee Shore
(Alfresco Press 978-0984762903, $15, 376pp, trade paperback, June 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 20 Jun 2012

Speculative fiction novel with elements of magical realism, subtitled “A Parable of Apocalypse, Carnal Knowledge & Quantum Theory; a Sailing Primer . . . & a Love Story”.
• It’s the featured (and only) book on the publisher’s site, which has this description with links to further details, a PDF excerpt, the author’s bio, and the author’s website.

(Tue 2 Oct 2012)
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* Trent, Tiffany : The Unnaturalists
(Simon and Schuster Books for Younger Readers 978-1-442-42206-3, $16.99, 320pp, hardcover, August 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Aug 2012
• Unnaturalists #1

Alternate history steampunk fantasy novel about a teenage girl who works in her father’s museum for unnatural creatures.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Science, magic, myth, and alternate history all work together to create an intriguing alternate world with more depth than many books in the genre. This is a world worth visiting.”
• Gwenda Bond reviews the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “The satisfying conclusion is a perfect set up for the already-announced companion volume to come. Fans of Trent’s previous YA fantasy Hallowmere series will be glad of her return, and will no doubt delight in the marvels of New London. But The Unnaturalists should entice plenty of readers who like steampunk, fantasy, and even historical fiction, to visit this singular new fantasy locale.”

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