Welcome to the February 2009 edition of Fantasy Book Critic’s monthly SPOTLIGHT which covers fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, YA, and more. Notable titles this month include the latest from Dan Simmons, Christopher Moore, Jeff Lindsay, Lincoln Child, Whitley Strieber, Shaun Tan, James Morrow, Nancy Kress, Stephen R. Lawhead, C.S. Friedman, Ian McDonald, Trudi Canavan, etc. Urban fantasy fans should be particularly happy, especially with new releases from Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Kelley Armstrong, and many others. Myself, I’m particularly excited for Stephen Hunt’s The Rise of the Iron Moon, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Dragonfly Falling and Eric Nylund’s Mortal Coils. Then there’s a ton of other interesting titles as well such as Lamentation, Hater, Last Days—the debut title from new publisher Underland Press, The Manual of Detection, Amberville, The Accord, Blood & Ice, Palimpsest and too many others to keep track of...
NOTE: Previous spotlights are listed at the end of this article Also, unless stated otherwise, all release dates are for the US. Finally, providing valuable assistance with the Spotlight as usual is Liviu C. Suciu:
“Tales From Outer Suburbia” by Shaun Tan. Release Date: February 1, 2009. You thought you knew suburbia. Then you meet an exchange student from another world, discover a secret room that lets you escape to a place of perfect beauty, find a neighborhood where brightly painted missiles decorate every yard, and wait for a blind reindeer who demands a very special offering... These are the odd, magical details of everyday suburban life that might forever go unnoticed, were they not finally brought to light by Shaun Tan, author and illustrator of the award-winning New York Times bestseller The Arrival.
Official Shaun Tan Website
Order “Tales From Outer Suburbia” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
Read Reviews via Scott William Foley
NOTE: “Tales From Outer Suburbia” was first published in Canada on October 28, 2008, and will be published in the UK on March 1, 2009 (Templar).
“Last Days” by Brian Evenson. Release Date: February 1, 2009. Still reeling from his brutal dismemberment, former underground detective Kline is forcibly recruited to solve a murder inside a secret society of fundamentalist self-mutilators. As Kline becomes more deeply involved with the group, he begins to realize the stakes are higher than he previously thought. Armed only with his wits and a gift for self-preservation, Kline must navigate a gauntlet of lies, threats, and misinformation, discovering that his survival depends on an act of sheer will…
Official Brian Evenson Website
Order “Last Days” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Bibliophile Stalker, Fantasy Book Critic, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Hellnotes + OF Blog of the Fallen
NOTE: “Last Days” was first published in 2003 as a limited-edition novella titled “The Brotherhood of Mutilation”. Its success led Evenson to expand the story into a full-length novel.
“Shambling Towards Hiroshima” by James Morrow. Release Date: February 1, 2009. In the summer of 1945, war is reigning in the Pacific Rim, while Syms Thorley continues his life as a B-movie actor in the U.S.. But the U.S. Navy would like to use Thorley in their top-secret Knickerbocker Project: a breed of gigantic, fire-breathing, mutant iguanas. Thorley is to don a rubber Gorgantis suit and star in a film that simulates the destruction of a miniature Japan—if the demonstration succeeds, the Japanese will surrender, sparing thousands of lives. If it fails, the mutant lizards will be unleashed...
Official James Morrow Website
Order “Shambling Towards Hiroshima” HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
Read Reviews via Bibliophile Stalker + Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“The Well Between the Worlds” by Sam Llewellyn. Release Date: February 1, 2009. Lyonesse is the land of legends and magic. It's the forgetten land where King Arthur once resided with Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. But thousands of years after the great king walked this country, it has become a place of shadows, where men hunt and capture the monsters that lurk below in the dark depths of the sea. Lyonesse is slowly sinking, and it is up to one boy, Idris, to save his people and his land. Can he stand up to the forces of evil that aim to stop him?
Official Sam Llewellyn Website
Order “The Well Between the Worlds” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-April 6, 2009)
NOTE: “The Well Between the Worlds” is Book One of the two-part Lyonesse saga.
“The Demon Hunter” by Kevin Emerson. Release Date: February 1, 2009. A series of gruesome attacks on humans threatens to undermine the vampires' secretive existence. As the attacks mount, so does the evidence, and it points to Bane and his newly learned Occupying skills. Yet Oliver, Emalie, and Dean suspect a larger, more sinister plot is afoot, with roots tracing back to Oliver's destiny, and possibly even further, to the mystery surrounding his human parents. Bane may hold the key to Oliver uncovering his past and changing his future, so it falls on Oliver, Emalie, and Dean to rescue Bane from the Half Light Consortium and clear his name...
Official Kevin Emerson Website
Official Oliver Nocturne Website
Order “The Demon Hunter” HERE
NOTE: “The Demon Hunter” is the fourth Oliver Nocturne novel after “Blood Ties”.
“Pride” by Rachel Vincent. Release Date: February 1, 2009. “I'm on trial for my life. Falsely accused of infecting my human ex-boyfriend—and killing him to cover up the crime. Infecting a human is one of three capital offenses recognized by the Pride—along with murder and disclosure of our existence to a human. I'm two for three. A goner. Now we've discovered a rogue stray terrorizing the mountainside, hunting a wild teenage tabbycat. It's up to us to find and stop him before a human discovers us. With my lover Marc's help, I think I can protect the vulnerable girl from both the ambitious rogue and the scheming of the territorial council. If I survive my own trial…”
Official Rachel Vincent Website
Order “Pride” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Bitten by Books + Darque Reviews
NOTE: “Pride” is the third Werecats novel after “Stray” and “Rogue”.
“Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side” by Beth Fantaskey. Release Date: February 1, 2009. In Jessica Packwood’s senior year, a bizarre new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’ soul from eternal destruction...
Official Beth Fantaskey Website
Order “Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side” HERE
Read Reviews via Karin’s Book Nook + Lurv à la Mode
“Malice” by Chris Wooding. UK Release Date: February 2, 2009. Seth & Kady have heard all the stories about Malice—a secret comic book about a strange and awful world full of traps & tricks, overseen by the sinister Tall Jake. Rumour has it, if you call on Tall Jake and do the ritual, he'll come and take you away to Malice. Once there, you won't get out. But it's just a rumour, right? Seth & Kady think so. Until their friend Luke starts talking about a strange comic he's reading, and disappears the next day. Now they're forced to follow the trail and find out what happened to their friend. To find out if Malice is real...
Official Chris Wooding Website
Order “Malice” HERE
Read Reviews via The BookBag
“The Fetch” by Laura Whitcomb. Release Date: February 2, 2009. Calder is a Fetch, a death escort, the first of his kind to step from Heaven back to Earth.And the first to fall in love with a mortal girl. But when he climbs backwards out of that Death Scene, into the chaos of the Russian Revolution, he tears a wound in the ghost realm, where the spirits begin a revolution of their own...
Official Laura Whitcomb Website
Order “The Fetch” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via The Book Muncher
“Kill For Me” by Karen Rose. Release Date: February 2, 2009. Six teenage girls have been kidnapped. Five have been murdered. One survived. Only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence... “Kill For Me” is the thrilling conclusion in the Vartanian trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose, after “Die For Me” and “Scream For Me”...
Official Karen Rose Website
Order “Kill For Me” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews HERE
“We’ll Always Have Paris” by Ray Bradbury. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Over the course of a storied literary career that has spanned more than half a century, Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles) has taken us to many wonderful places. In “We'll Always Have Paris”—a new collection of never-before-published stories—the inimitable Bradbury once again does what few writers have ever done as well. So get ready to travel far and wide once again with America's preeminent storyteller...
Official Ray Bradbury Website
Order “We’ll Always Have Paris” HERE
“Mortal Coils” by Eric Nylund. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Nothing interesting ever happened to 15-year-old twins Eliot & Fiona Post while they’ve lived under the strict, oppressive rule of their grandmother. A chance visit, however, reveals that they are the offspring of an Immortal and an Infernal. Now, to settle the epic custody battle between these two families, the fallen angels create three diabolical temptations, and the gods fashion three heroic trials to test Eliot & Fiona. More than ever the twins need to stick together to survive and to learn how to use their budding supernatural abilities . . . for family allegiances are ever-shifting in the ancient, secret world they have entered...
Official Eric Nylund Blog
Order “Mortal Coils” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Fantasy Book Critic
Read Interviews via BookSpot Central + Mike Brotherton
“Wings of Wrath” by C.S. Friedman. US Release Date: February 3, 2009. Against a backdrop of knife-edged politics and fearsome prophecies, those who are sworn to protect the human lands must discover the truth that lies at the heart of ancient legends, and find a way to defeat an enemy that once brought mankind to the very brink of destruction. Thus continues the Magister Trilogy—a true high fantasy replete with vampire-style magic, erotic action, war, treachery, sorcerous danger, and one of the most terrifying dragon-like creatures in fantasy...
Official C.S. Friedman Website
Order “Wings of Wrath” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
NOTE: “Wings of Wrath” is the second book in the Magister Trilogy after “Feast of Souls”
“The Walls of the Universe” by Paul Melko. Release Date: February 3, 2009. John Rayburn thought he had problems. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home, and eventually settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it. But the actions of John and his doppelgänger soon draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for their own ominous purposes...
NOTE: Previous spotlights are listed at the end of this article Also, unless stated otherwise, all release dates are for the US. Finally, providing valuable assistance with the Spotlight as usual is Liviu C. Suciu:
“Tales From Outer Suburbia” by Shaun Tan. Release Date: February 1, 2009. You thought you knew suburbia. Then you meet an exchange student from another world, discover a secret room that lets you escape to a place of perfect beauty, find a neighborhood where brightly painted missiles decorate every yard, and wait for a blind reindeer who demands a very special offering... These are the odd, magical details of everyday suburban life that might forever go unnoticed, were they not finally brought to light by Shaun Tan, author and illustrator of the award-winning New York Times bestseller The Arrival.Official Shaun Tan Website
Order “Tales From Outer Suburbia” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
Read Reviews via Scott William Foley
NOTE: “Tales From Outer Suburbia” was first published in Canada on October 28, 2008, and will be published in the UK on March 1, 2009 (Templar).
“Last Days” by Brian Evenson. Release Date: February 1, 2009. Still reeling from his brutal dismemberment, former underground detective Kline is forcibly recruited to solve a murder inside a secret society of fundamentalist self-mutilators. As Kline becomes more deeply involved with the group, he begins to realize the stakes are higher than he previously thought. Armed only with his wits and a gift for self-preservation, Kline must navigate a gauntlet of lies, threats, and misinformation, discovering that his survival depends on an act of sheer will…Official Brian Evenson Website
Order “Last Days” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Bibliophile Stalker, Fantasy Book Critic, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Hellnotes + OF Blog of the Fallen
NOTE: “Last Days” was first published in 2003 as a limited-edition novella titled “The Brotherhood of Mutilation”. Its success led Evenson to expand the story into a full-length novel.
“Shambling Towards Hiroshima” by James Morrow. Release Date: February 1, 2009. In the summer of 1945, war is reigning in the Pacific Rim, while Syms Thorley continues his life as a B-movie actor in the U.S.. But the U.S. Navy would like to use Thorley in their top-secret Knickerbocker Project: a breed of gigantic, fire-breathing, mutant iguanas. Thorley is to don a rubber Gorgantis suit and star in a film that simulates the destruction of a miniature Japan—if the demonstration succeeds, the Japanese will surrender, sparing thousands of lives. If it fails, the mutant lizards will be unleashed...Official James Morrow Website
Order “Shambling Towards Hiroshima” HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
Read Reviews via Bibliophile Stalker + Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
“The Well Between the Worlds” by Sam Llewellyn. Release Date: February 1, 2009. Lyonesse is the land of legends and magic. It's the forgetten land where King Arthur once resided with Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. But thousands of years after the great king walked this country, it has become a place of shadows, where men hunt and capture the monsters that lurk below in the dark depths of the sea. Lyonesse is slowly sinking, and it is up to one boy, Idris, to save his people and his land. Can he stand up to the forces of evil that aim to stop him?Official Sam Llewellyn Website
Order “The Well Between the Worlds” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-April 6, 2009)
NOTE: “The Well Between the Worlds” is Book One of the two-part Lyonesse saga.
“The Demon Hunter” by Kevin Emerson. Release Date: February 1, 2009. A series of gruesome attacks on humans threatens to undermine the vampires' secretive existence. As the attacks mount, so does the evidence, and it points to Bane and his newly learned Occupying skills. Yet Oliver, Emalie, and Dean suspect a larger, more sinister plot is afoot, with roots tracing back to Oliver's destiny, and possibly even further, to the mystery surrounding his human parents. Bane may hold the key to Oliver uncovering his past and changing his future, so it falls on Oliver, Emalie, and Dean to rescue Bane from the Half Light Consortium and clear his name...Official Kevin Emerson Website
Official Oliver Nocturne Website
Order “The Demon Hunter” HERE
NOTE: “The Demon Hunter” is the fourth Oliver Nocturne novel after “Blood Ties”.
“Pride” by Rachel Vincent. Release Date: February 1, 2009. “I'm on trial for my life. Falsely accused of infecting my human ex-boyfriend—and killing him to cover up the crime. Infecting a human is one of three capital offenses recognized by the Pride—along with murder and disclosure of our existence to a human. I'm two for three. A goner. Now we've discovered a rogue stray terrorizing the mountainside, hunting a wild teenage tabbycat. It's up to us to find and stop him before a human discovers us. With my lover Marc's help, I think I can protect the vulnerable girl from both the ambitious rogue and the scheming of the territorial council. If I survive my own trial…”Official Rachel Vincent Website
Order “Pride” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Bitten by Books + Darque Reviews
NOTE: “Pride” is the third Werecats novel after “Stray” and “Rogue”.
“Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side” by Beth Fantaskey. Release Date: February 1, 2009. In Jessica Packwood’s senior year, a bizarre new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’ soul from eternal destruction...Official Beth Fantaskey Website
Order “Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side” HERE
Read Reviews via Karin’s Book Nook + Lurv à la Mode
“Malice” by Chris Wooding. UK Release Date: February 2, 2009. Seth & Kady have heard all the stories about Malice—a secret comic book about a strange and awful world full of traps & tricks, overseen by the sinister Tall Jake. Rumour has it, if you call on Tall Jake and do the ritual, he'll come and take you away to Malice. Once there, you won't get out. But it's just a rumour, right? Seth & Kady think so. Until their friend Luke starts talking about a strange comic he's reading, and disappears the next day. Now they're forced to follow the trail and find out what happened to their friend. To find out if Malice is real...Official Chris Wooding Website
Order “Malice” HERE
Read Reviews via The BookBag
“The Fetch” by Laura Whitcomb. Release Date: February 2, 2009. Calder is a Fetch, a death escort, the first of his kind to step from Heaven back to Earth.And the first to fall in love with a mortal girl. But when he climbs backwards out of that Death Scene, into the chaos of the Russian Revolution, he tears a wound in the ghost realm, where the spirits begin a revolution of their own...Official Laura Whitcomb Website
Order “The Fetch” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via The Book Muncher
“Kill For Me” by Karen Rose. Release Date: February 2, 2009. Six teenage girls have been kidnapped. Five have been murdered. One survived. Only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence... “Kill For Me” is the thrilling conclusion in the Vartanian trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose, after “Die For Me” and “Scream For Me”...Official Karen Rose Website
Order “Kill For Me” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews HERE
“We’ll Always Have Paris” by Ray Bradbury. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Over the course of a storied literary career that has spanned more than half a century, Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles) has taken us to many wonderful places. In “We'll Always Have Paris”—a new collection of never-before-published stories—the inimitable Bradbury once again does what few writers have ever done as well. So get ready to travel far and wide once again with America's preeminent storyteller...Official Ray Bradbury Website
Order “We’ll Always Have Paris” HERE
“Mortal Coils” by Eric Nylund. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Nothing interesting ever happened to 15-year-old twins Eliot & Fiona Post while they’ve lived under the strict, oppressive rule of their grandmother. A chance visit, however, reveals that they are the offspring of an Immortal and an Infernal. Now, to settle the epic custody battle between these two families, the fallen angels create three diabolical temptations, and the gods fashion three heroic trials to test Eliot & Fiona. More than ever the twins need to stick together to survive and to learn how to use their budding supernatural abilities . . . for family allegiances are ever-shifting in the ancient, secret world they have entered...Official Eric Nylund Blog
Order “Mortal Coils” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Fantasy Book Critic
Read Interviews via BookSpot Central + Mike Brotherton
“Wings of Wrath” by C.S. Friedman. US Release Date: February 3, 2009. Against a backdrop of knife-edged politics and fearsome prophecies, those who are sworn to protect the human lands must discover the truth that lies at the heart of ancient legends, and find a way to defeat an enemy that once brought mankind to the very brink of destruction. Thus continues the Magister Trilogy—a true high fantasy replete with vampire-style magic, erotic action, war, treachery, sorcerous danger, and one of the most terrifying dragon-like creatures in fantasy...Official C.S. Friedman Website
Order “Wings of Wrath” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
NOTE: “Wings of Wrath” is the second book in the Magister Trilogy after “Feast of Souls”
“The Walls of the Universe” by Paul Melko. Release Date: February 3, 2009. John Rayburn thought he had problems. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home, and eventually settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it. But the actions of John and his doppelgänger soon draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for their own ominous purposes...Official Paul Melko Website
Order “The Walls of the Universe” HERE
“Duplicate Effort” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Retrieval Artist Miles Flint is on a personal mission—to bring down the corrupt law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xender. Then a journalist working with him is murdered. But before he can begin to investigate, his daughter Talia goes missing. Talia—one of six clones of Miles’ long-dead child—has gone off to find the other five. As Miles pursues her, he begins to fear that her search for her “sisters” and his for the killer are on a collision course…
Official Kristine Kathryn Rusch Website
Order “Duplicate Effort” HERE
NOTE: “Duplicate Effort” is the seventh Retrieval Artist novel after “Recovery Man”.
“Maelstrom” by Taylor Anderson. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Having sided with the peaceful Lemurians against the savage, reptilian Grik, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the U.S.S. Walker, are once again at war. As the raging conflict approaches, Reddy, his crew, his allies, and his loved ones face annihilation. But if there is one thing they have learned about their new world, it is that hope—and help—may be just over the horizon...
Official Taylor Anderson Website
Order “Maelstrom” HERE
NOTE: “Maelstrom” is the thrilling conclusion in the Destroyermen trilogy after “Into the Storm” and “Crusade”.
“Worlds” by Eric Flint. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Known for his New York Times best-selling alternate history novels, Eric Flint is equally a master of short fiction, and this large volume gathers the best of Flint’s shorter works including several stories and short novels set in the author’s celebrated Ring of Fire alternate history series. In addition to the fiction, Eric Flint has also written an introduction to “Worlds” and an introduction for each story, making this collection an irresistible book for the author’s many fans...
Official Eric Flint Website
Order “Worlds” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Man-Kzin Wars XII” edited by Larry Niven. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Kzin, formerly invincible conquerors of all they encountered, had a hard time dealing with their ignominious defeat by the leaf-eating humans. Some secretly hatched schemes for a rematch, others concentrated on gathering power within the Kzin hierarchy, and some shamefully cooperated with humans, though often for hidden motives. In war and in uneasy peace, Kzin and humans continue their adventures, as told by Hal Colebatch, Paul Chafe, and Michael Joseph Harrington, expanding on the concepts created by New York Times bestselling writer Larry Niven...
Official Larry Niven Website
Order “Man-Kzin Wars XII” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Rx for Chaos” by Christopher Anvil. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Science and technology have made our lives easier, cured diseases, with achievements that an earlier age would have considered impossible. But once in a while, the law of unintended consequences breaks loose. Christopher Anvil (Federation of Humanity) considers these two faces of technological innovatio. Sometimes the result is a literal life-saver; but at other times a breakthrough may not break quite the way it was supposed to...
Official Christopher Anvil Wikipedia Website
Order “Rx for Chaos” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Foxfire” by Barbara Campbell. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Years after their exile, legendary hero Darak and his wife Griane have founded their own tribe and raised four children. A rebel force, led by Darak’s own daughter, seeks to recruit him to their cause. But the greatest danger comes from their youngest son, R igat—actually sired by the Trickster God... “Foxfire” is the stunning final novel in Barbara Campbell’s powerful debut fantasy trilogy, Trickster’s Game, after “Heartwood” and “Bloodstone”...
Official Barbara Campbell Website
Order “Foxfire” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike” by Philip K. Dick. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike was written by Philip K. Dick in the winter and spring of 1960. This novel, Dick said, is about Leo Runcible, “a brilliant, civic-minded liberal Jew living in a rural WASP town in Marin County, California.” Runcible, a real estate agent involved in a local battle with a neighbor, finds what look like Neanderthal bones and dreams of rising real estate prices because of the publicity...
Official Philip K. Dick Website
Order “The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike” HERE
“The High City” by Cecelia Holland. Release Date: February 3, 2009. In the early years of his reign, Basil II rules as co-emperor with his brother Constantine, and makes war on a would-be usurper. Basil’s most trusted troops are foreign mercenaries, the Varangian guard hired from the North. Rus and Norsemen, Viking raiders, and wild horsemen from the steppes fall upon the elegant city of Constantinople like wolves on a garden party. Among them is the wily young son of an Irish slave, who comes to the notice of the emperor’s wife. But being noticed by an angry emperor is not safe at all...
Official Cecelia Holland Website
Order “The High City” HERE
Read Reviews via BookLoons + SFRevu
NOTE: “The High City” is the fifth Corban Loosestrife novel after “Varanger”.
“The Séance” by John Harwood. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Constance Langton grows up in a household marked by death, her mother in perpetual mourning for the child she lost. Desperate to coax her mother back to health, Constance takes her to a séance. But the meeting has tragic consequences. So begins “The Séance”, John Harwood’s brilliant second novel, a haunting tale of apparitions, a cursed manor house, and two generations of women determined to discover the truth...
Official John Harwood Wikipedia Website
Order “The Séance” HERE
Read Reviews HERE
NOTE: “The Séance” was published in the UK on April 3, 2008 (Jonathan Cape).
“Without Warning” by John Birmingham. Release Date: February 3, 2009. A wave of inexplicable energy slams into the United States and America, as we know it, is gone. In one instant, all around the world, things will never be the same... In this astounding work of alternate fiction, John Birmingham hurtles us into a scenario that is unimaginable but shatteringly real: a world of financial ruin where a cloud of noxious waste–from America’s burning cities–darkens Europe, while men and women in offices around the globe struggle to make decisions that cannot hold and opportunists unleash their secret demons...
Official John Birmingham Blog
Order “Without Warning” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Red Letter Day
“The Juggler” by Sebastian Beaumont. UK Release Date: February 3, 2009. Mark left his job, his wife, his friends, his seven month old baby...everything. He set out with only two things: An address and a bag containing £40,000 in cash. But it is not so easy to start again. Now, Mark must find his way in a nameless town where friendships turn into a web of deceit and motives are always suspect. Mark's journey, both physical and metaphysical, takes him through layers of reality and towards refuge of an unexpected kind…
Order “The Juggler” HERE
NOTE: “The Juggler’s” release date was pushed back from November 2008.
“Captain Freedom” by G. Xavier Robillard. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Software pirates! Mostly extinct dinosaurs! Giant barbarians! Crooning criminals! Captain Freedom's beat them all, saved the world, and looked fantastic doing it—but he couldn't fend off middle management. The Superhero lifestyle is all that Captain Freedom has ever known. What's he supposed to do now? Enter politics? Write a children's book? Freedom's in a bad way, but with the guidance of his new life coach, maybe Freedom can stumble in a new direction—even if it means having to make peace with his parents . . . or finally commit to a single long-term archenemy...
Official G. Xavier Robillard Website
Order “Captain Freedom” HERE
Browse Inside HERE
“Enclave” by Kit Reed. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The world is in chaos: war, plague, global ecological collapse. Parents everywhere seek sanctuary for their children, the future of mankind. For those who are rich and powerful enough, safety can be found at the Clothos Academy, but only 100 students will be admitted before it is sealed off from the terrors outside. But all is not as it seems, both within the Academy and without. Worse, a stranger has entered the Academy . . . and he has brought Death...
Official Kit Reed Website
Order “Enclave” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookspot Central
“Bone Crossed” by Patricia Briggs. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Shapeshifter and car mechanic Mercy Thompson has learned why her race was almost exterminated: they have a hidden talent for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack—and her interesting relationship with its Alpha—but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way. So Mercy had better watch her back…
Official Patricia Briggs Website
Order “Bone Crossed” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “Bone Crossed” is the fourth Mercy Thompson novel after “Moon Called”, “Blood Bound”, and “Iron Kissed”.
“The Thirteenth” by L.A. Banks. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Anti-Christ is positioned for emergence, the powers of darkness have released the pale horse of the apocalypse, plagues from hell ravage the country, the nation is under martial law, and the entire Neteru Guardian team is on the run, having been labeled as America's most-wanted terrorists. If things weren't bad enough, the Dark Realm breaks the sixth Biblical seal, which plunges the world into perpetual darkness . . . and irrevocably into the Armageddon...
Official L.A. Banks Website
Official Vampire Huntress Website
Order “The Thirteenth” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Thirteenth” is the twelth and final book in the Vampire Huntress series.
“Evermore” by Alyson Noel. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, 16-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste, who is gorgeous, exotic, wealthy, and possesses many fascinating secrets...
Official Alyson Noel Website
Official Immortals Website
Order “Evermore” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews, Frenetic Reader + Planet Books
NOTE: “Evermore” is the first book in the author’s new Immortals series.
“Dreams of the Dead” by Thomas Randall. Release Date: February 3, 2009. 16-year-old Kara Foster is an outsider in Japan, trying her best to fit in at private school. Fortunately she’s befriended by Sakura, a fellow outsider struggling to make sense of her sister’s unsolved murder some months ago. Unfortunately, the calm doesn’t last for long. Kara begins to have nightmares, and soon other students in the school turn up dead, viciously attacked by someone . . . or something. Is Sakura getting back at those she thinks are responsible for her sister’s death? Or has her dead sister come back to take revenge for herself?
Official Thomas Randall Website
Order “Dreams of the Dead” HERE
NOTE: “Dreams of the Dead” is the first book in the Gaijin Girl YA series.
“Counter Clockwise” by Jason Cockcroft. Release Date: February 3, 2009. What if your mother were hit by a bus? And what if your father disappeared one day through a hole in the bathroom wall? Is there a way to change the course of your life's history? What if time moved... In this dazzling debut novel, Jason Cockcroft—an illustrator of many acclaimed picture books including Jason and the Golden Fleece—has crafted a mind-bending adventure with a startlingly original narrative structure...
Order “Counter Clockwise” HERE
Read Reviews via Reading Room
“Mortal Sins” by Eileen Wilks. Release Date: February 3, 2009. On a personal trip with her lover & mate Rule Turner of the Nokolai werewolf clan, agent Lily Yu of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division becomes caught in an investigation involving death magic. An investigation where nothing adds up. To complicate matters, the mother of Rule’s son is challenging his plan to bring his son to live among the Nokolai. But family must take a back seat when the violence escalates, and there’s no rhyme or reason for the killer’s next strike—a killer who may not even be of this world...
Official Eileen Wilks Website
Order “Mortal Sins” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: "Mortal Sins” is the fifth World of the Lupi novel after “Night Season”.
“Kiss of Fate” by Deborah Cooke. Release Date: February 3, 2009. For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have commanded the four elements and guarded the earth’s treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth’s treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin... “Kiss of Fate” is the third Dragon Fire novel after “Kiss of Fire” and “Kiss of Fury”...
Official Deborah Cooke Website
Order “Kiss of Fate” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Lear’s Daughters” by Marjorie B. Kellogg with William B. Rossow. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Set in the future on a distant world, “Lear’s Daughters” tackles the issues of global warming, pollution, exploitation of resources, and disastrous climate change. Long out of print, “Lear’s Daughters” is a reworking of The Wave and the Flame and Reign of Fire, and has been completely rewritten by the authors to reflect the cutting-edge knowledge and research on environmentalism of the twenty-first century...
Order “Lear’s Daughters” HERE
“Magic's Design” by Cat Adams. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Born into the mage guild of firecrafters, Talos is a magic wielder and an agent of the Overworld Police whose job is to protect Earth from magicians intent on enslaving humanity. Mila has always had the gift of healing, but never realized that her skill was born of an ancient magic that only firecraft can fully unlock. Together, Tal & Mila discover that the source of their powers is in unity, but if the Tree of Life dies, and all the magic in the world is extinguished ... will it matter?
Official Cat Adams Website
Order “Magic’s Design” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Undone” by Rachel Caine. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Once she was Cassiel, a Djinn of limitless power. Now, she has been reshaped in human flesh as punishment for defying her master—and living among the Weather Wardens, whose power she must tap into regularly or she will die. And as she copes with the emotions and frailties of her human condition, a malevolent entity threatens her new existence... “Undone” is the first book in the new Outcast series from Rachel Caine, author of the Weather Warden series and the Morganville Vampires...
Official Rachel Caine Website
Order “Undone” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews
“Dogs and Goddesses” by Jennifer Crusie (Bet Me), Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich. Release Date: February 3, 2009. In the two of Summerville, Ohio, something very strange is going on. It’s up to Abby, Daisy, Shar and their dogs—Abby’s placid Newfoundland, Bowser; Daisy’s hyperactive Jack Russell, Bailey; and Shar’s neurotic dachshund, Wolfie—to find out before an ancient goddess takes over Southern Ohio, and they all end up in the apocalyptic doghouse…
Official Dogs and Goddesses Website
Order “Dogs and Goddesses” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Crime Spells” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Loren L. Coleman. Release Date: February 3, 2009. When magic is used for criminal purposes, all sorts of ethical & logistical questions arise beyond the realm of everyday law and order. Now, 16 top tale-tellers offer fascinating new stories of those who commit magic crimes, those who investigate them, and those who prosecute them. From a young woman who uses out-of-body excursions to research paranormal crimes to a bookie who’s been paying for hex protection against magical interference, here are powerful tales of magical crimes and punishments...
Official Martin H. Greenberg Wikipedia Website
Official Loren L. Coleman Wikipedia Website
Order “Crime Spells” HERE
“Would-Be Witch” by Kimberly Frost. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The family magic seems to have skipped over Tammy Jo Trask. But when her locket—an heirloom that happens to hold Edie’s soul—is stolen in the midst of a town-wide crime spree, it’s time for Tammy to find her inner witch. Tammy turns to the only person in town who can help: the very rich and highly magical Bryn Lyons. He might have all the answers, but the locket isn’t the only heirloom passed down in Tammy’s family. She also inherited a warning: stay away from Lyons...
Official Kimberly Frost Website
Order “Would-Be Witch” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Ruthie’s Book Review
“Ravenous” by Sharon Ashwood. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Holly Carver is a witch who sometimes relies on the help of Alessandro Caravelli for her family’s preternatural investigations business. Alessandro is the oldest and strongest vampire in Fairview—and he’s made no secret of his desire for Holly. But while she aches to succumb to his suggestive wiles, she knows it would be trouble. Then Alessandro’s queen, Omara, complicates matters when she turns up in Fairview and demands he use Holly to trap Geneva—the most evil demon of all...
Official Sharon Ashwood Website
Order “Ravenous” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via LoveVampires + Tez Says
NOTE: “Ravenous” is the first book in The Dark Forgotten series.
“The Rise of the Iron Moon” by Stephen Hunt. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Born into captivity, orphan Purity Drake one day finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant from the North. Her strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals as they conquered his own nation. As Jackals girds itself for war against an army of near-unkillable beasts serving an ancient evil with a terrible secret, it soon becomes clear that their only hope is a strange little royalist girl and the last, desperate plan of an escaped slave…
Official Stephen Hunt Website
Order “The Rise of the Iron Moon” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Reviews of The Court of the Air + The Kingdom Beyond the Waves
NOTE: “The Rise of the Iron Moon” is set in the same Victorian-style world as “The Court of the Air” and “The Kingdom Beyond the Waves”.
“The Magician's Apprentice” by Trudi Canavan. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. In the village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer. But her life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers she has magical gifts and is apprenticed to the local magician. Her new role offers more opportunities than she had ever hoped for, but along with the excitement and privilege, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. For great danger looms on the horizon for Tessia and her world…
Official Trudi Canavan Website
Order “The Magician’s Apprentice” HERE (US-February 23, 2009) + HERE (UK)
Read An Extract HERE
NOTE: Set hundreds of years before the events of The Magicians' Guild, “The Magician’s Apprentice” is a new novel set in the world of Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy.
“My Work is Not Yet Done” by Thomas Ligotti. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Junior manager Frank Dominio is suddenly demoted and then fired. But as he prepares to even the score with those responsible for his demise, he unwittingly finds an ally in a dark and malevolent force that grants him supernatural powers. Frank takes his revenge in the most ghastly ways imaginable—but there will be a terrible price to pay once his work is done... Destined to be a cult classic, this tale of corporate horror and demonic retribution will strike a chord with anyone who has ever been disgruntled at work.
Official Thomas Ligotti Website
Order “My Work is Not Yet Done” HERE
NOTE: “My Work is Not Yet Done” was originally published in limited release by Mythos Books in June 2002. The US version will be published on April 28, 2009 (Virgin Books).
“UFO In her Eyes” by Xiaolu Guo. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Silver Hill Village, 2012. On the 20th day of the seventh moon, Kwok Yun’s world is upturned when she sights a UFThing and helps the Westerner whom she discovers in the shadow of the alien craft. Not long after, the village is crawling with men from the National Security & Intelligence Agency and Kwok Yun becomes a local celebrity. As UFO Hotels spring up, and the local villagers go out of business, Xiaolu Guo’s startling parable of change imagines an uneasy future for rural China and its relations not only with Beijing but the wider world beyond...
Official Xiaolu Guo Website
Order “UFO In her Eyes” HERE
“Dragonfly Falling” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. UK Release Date: February 6, 2009. Totho and Salma arrive at Tark to spy on the menacing Wasp army, but are mistakenly apprehended as enemy agents. By the time they are freed, the city is already under siege. Over in the imperial capital, the young emperor Alvdan is becoming captivated by a remarkable slave who claims to know of magic that can grant eternal life. In Collegium, meanwhile, Stenwold is still trying to persuade the city magnates of the dangerous threat that the Wasp Empire represents...
Official Shadows of the Apt Website
Official Adrian Tchaikovsky Website
Order “Dragonfly Falling” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Empire in Black & Gold”
Read Interviews via Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews
NOTE: “Dragonfly Falling” is the second novel in the Shadows of the Apt epic fantasy series after “Empire in Black & Gold”.
“He Is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson” edited by Christopher Conlon. Release Date: February 7, 2009. Richard Matheson is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Now Gauntlet Press has assembled a spectacular anthology of original, never-before published stories by today's best writers—stories set in Matheson's own fictional universes, and published with the author’s complete cooperation! And, among the many contributions to the book, is the first collaboration ever between Stephen King and his son Joe Hill...
Official Richard Matheson Wikipedia Website
Order “He Is Legend” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookgasm
NOTE: Other contributors include F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale, Whitley Strieber, Richard Christian Matheson, William F. Nolan, Gary Braunbeck, Thomas Monteleone, John Shirley and an introduction by Ramsey Campbell. Also features the original full-length screenplay “Conjure Wife”. Cover art and six interior illustrations are provided by Matheson's favorite artist Harry O. Morris. All editions of the book are sold out except for the Unsigned Limited Edition.
“Drood” by Dan Simmons. Release Date: February 9, 2009. Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens' life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens' friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), “Drood” explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and his final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, “Drood” is Dan Simmons at his powerful best…
Official Dan Simmons Website
Order “Drood” HERE
Read Reviews via Booklist + Fantasy Book Critic
“Fool” by Christopher Moore. Release Date: February 10, 2009. “This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!” Verily speaks bestselling author Christopher Moore as he takes on the legendary Bard in a twisted and insanely funny tale of a moronic monarch and his deceitful daughters...
Official Christopher Moore Website
Order “Fool” HERE
“Tuck” by Stephen R. Lawhead. Release Date: February 10, 2009. The story of Rhi Bran y Hud—Robin Hood—concludes as Abbot Hugo and the Norman invaders attempt to wipe out King Raven and his flock once and for all. Their merciless attack, the first of many to come, heralds a dark and desperate day for the realm of Elfael. Bran and his few stalwarts desperately need encouragement and reinforcement if they are to survive. But Friar Tuck, a most unconventional priest, has a daring solution to their dilemma that will radically alter all we've known about the legendary figure known as Robin Hood...
Official Stephen R. Lawhead Website
Order “Tuck” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-April 2, 2009)
Read Reviews via TitleTrakk
NOTE: “Tuck” is the thrilling conclusion to Stephen R. Lawhead’s King Raven Trilogy after “Hood” and “Scarlet”.
“Fade” by Lisa McMann. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Janie and Cabel continue to work for Captain, this time investigating an alleged sex ring. But no one's talking. In fact, the suspected teachers are universally loved by the kids, and the one break they catch takes a turn for the deadly. Meanwhile, Janie has discovered Martha Stubin's journals, and what she learns through them chills her to the bone. For not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared...
Official Lisa McMann Website
Order “Fade” HERE
Read Reviews via Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Karin’s Book Nook + Maw Books Blog
NOTE: “Fade” is the second book in the Wake trilogy after “Wake”.
“Cybermage” by Alma Alexander. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Thea is out of sorts this year at the Wandless Academy —in all ways, magical and otherwise—and that's before she discovers she's an elemental mage, a magician so rare that only four others are known to exist. Now the Federal Bureau of Magic needs Thea's help to unlock the mysterious white cube—the same cube found over the summer and that the dangerous Alphiri are still after. To stay ahead of the Alphiri and the wiles of the FBM, Thea needs her friends—all of them...
Official Alma Alexander Website
Order “Cybermage” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Gift of the Unmage”
NOTE: “Cybermage” is the final installment of the richly invented Worldweavers trilogy after “Gift of the Unmage” and “Spellspam”.
“Raven” by Allison Van Diepen. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Zin dances with fire in every step; speaks with a honey sweet voice; and sees with eyes that can peer into your soul. Their friendship is the only thing that saves her from the boredom of school and the turmoil of her family life. It’s no wonder why Nicole is madly in love with him. But Zin is like no man Nicole has ever met, and he carries with him a very old secret. When Nicole uncovers the truth, her love may be the only thing that can save him from it...
Official Allison Van Diepen Website
Order “Raven” HERE
“The Naked God” by Peter F. Hamilton. Release Date: February 11, 2009. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she acquires some strange & powerful allies whose goal doesn't match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonridge meanwhile, degenerates into a horrendous land battle, while Joshua Calvert and Syrinx fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God—which an alien race believes holds the key to overthrowing the possessed...
Official Peter F. Hamilton Website
Order “The Naked God” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Infinity Plus + SF Reviews
NOTE: “The Naked God” is the conclusion to The Night Dawn’s Trilogy after “The Reality Dysfunction” & “The Neutronium Alchemist”, and was first published in 1999. The US version was originally broken up into two separate volumes, Flight and Faith.
“The Yggyssey” by Daniel Pinkwater. Release Date: February 16, 2009. The ghosts of Los Angeles are disappearing right and left and Iggy Birnbaum is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, no matter what Neddie Wentworthstein and Seamus Finn say. There’s just the little matter of traveling to another plane of existence, first . . . and then, of course, not pissing off a witch once she gets there... “The Yggyssey” is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed “The Neddiad”, as told from the point of view of Ned's friend, Iggy.
Official Daniel Pinkwater Website
Order “The Yggyssey” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman. Release Date: February 17, 2009 (Reissue). Earth's leaders oppose a fierce alien enemy that are inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But “home” may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...
Official Joe Haldeman Website
Order “The Forever War” HERE
NOTE: “The Forever War” was originally published in 1974 and is a SF classic winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. This reissue features a new introduction by John Scalzi.
“Lamentation” by Ken Scholes. Release Date: February 17, 2009. An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke and knows that war is coming. Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant. Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others’ throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered…
Official Ken Scholes Website
Order “Lamentation” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
”Escape From Hell” by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. Release Date: February 17, 2009. Allan Carpenter escaped from hell once but remained haunted by what he saw and endured. He has now returned, on a mission to liberate those souls unfairly tortured and confined. Partnering with the legendary poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpenter is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned. But now that he's returned to this Dantesque Inferno, can he ever again leave?
Official Larry Niven Website
Official Jerry Pournelle Website
Order “Escape From Hell” HERE
NOTE: “Escape From Hell” is a sequel to “Inferno” which was revised and reissued on September 2, 2008.
”Steal Across the Sky” by Nancy Kress (Beggars in Space). Release Date: February 17, 2009. An alien race calling them selves Atoners appeared one day, built a base on the moon, and put an ad on the internet seeking twenty-one volunteers to visit seven planets to Witness for them, so we could understand how they wronged humanity ten thousand years ago. At first, everyone thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t. This is the story of three of those volunteers, and what they found on Kular A and Kular B...
Official Nancy Kress Website
Order “Steal Across the Sky” HERE
“Hater” by David Moody. Release Date: February 17, 2009. One day rational, normal people suddenly become remorseless killers. Called “Haters” by the media, these attackers strike without warning in an escalating crescendo of inexplicable violence. Anyone can become a victim—or a Hater. When mortal terror roams abroad—what happens to a society? When neighbor fears neighbor—who is safe? And who can be trusted? In the tradition of H.G. Wells and Richard Matheson, this is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad—a world infected with fear, violence and HATE…
Official David Moody Website
Order “Hater” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
Read Excerpts HERE
Read Reviews via Bookgeeks, Plants & Books + SF Signal
“The Valley of Shadows” by Brian Cullen. Release Date: February 17, 2009. After months of searching, The Seekers finally close in on the Chalice of Fire that was stolen by Bricriu Poisontongue. But the wily thief slips away and as The Seekers follow, their way is overrun with vampires and other creatures of the night controlled by the evil escaped wizard Maliman. It is when Bricriu makes his way to the Valley of the Shadows though, a region ruled by the dead, that, the Seekers meet the greatest challenge of their search...
Order “The Valley of Shadows” HERE
NOTE: “The Valley of Shadows” is the second volume in a trilogy that began with “Seekers of the Chalice”.
“The Farwalker’s Quest” by Joni Sensel. Release Date: February 17, 2009. Magically flying great distances and only revealing their messages to the intended recipient, telling darts haven’t been used for years, and no one knows how they work. So when two strangers show up looking for the dart that Ariel and her best friend Zeke found, they realize that their discovery is not only interesting, but very dangerous. The telling dart and the strangers lead them on a journey more perilous and encompassing than either can imagine, and in the process both Zeke and Ariel find their true calling...
Official Joni Sensel Website
Order “The Farwalker’s Quest” HERE
Read Reviews via Becky’s Book Reviews
“Critical Mass” by Whitley Strieber. Release Date: February 17, 2009. What would we do if a nuclear weapon was detonated in Washington, and the US government suddenly disappeared? What would we do if a terrorist organization announced that it had concealed nuclear weapons in ever major western city and then demanded that the entire planet embrace its twisted brand of Muslin fundamentalism? Like Whitley Strieber's classics Warday and The Coming Global Superstorm, “Critical Mass” is torn straight from the dark pages of a very dangerous and very possible future.
Official Whitley Strieber Website
Order “Critical Mass” HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
“Body Surfing” by Dale Peck. Release Date: February 17, 2009. From one of America's most acclaimed writers comes a startling and visionary novel about a race of demons who inhabit humans and wreak havoc on the lives of two small-town boys. In “Body Surfing”, celebrated author Dale Peck presents a beautifully written page-turner of a literary thriller. It is a mesmerizing tale in which a complete parallel universe is filled with shockingly dark corners where the secrets of human nature wait to be discovered...
Official Dale Peck Wikipedia Website
Order “Body Surfing” HERE
“The Judging Eye” by R. Scott Bakker. Release Date: February 19, 2009 (US Debut). Set twenty years after the end of The Thousandfold Thought—the conclusion to the Prince of Nothing trilogy—Bakker reintroduces us to a world that is at once familiar but also very different from the one readers thought they knew. Delving even further into his richly imagined universe of myth, violence, and sorcery, and fully remolding the fantasy genre to broaden the scope of intricacy and meaning, R. Scott Bakker has once again written a fantasy novel that defies all expectations and rewards the reader with an experience unlike any to be had in the canon of today’s literature…
Official R. Scott Bakker Website
Order “The Judging Eye” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via BlogCritics, Fantasy Book Critic, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Neth Space, Leap in the Dark, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + The Wertzone
NOTE: “The Judging Eye” was published in the UK on January 15, 2009 (Orbit) and in Canada on January 20, 2009.
“Dexter By Design” by Jeff Lindsay. UK Release Date: February 19, 2009. Blood spatter analyst Dexter is used to blood at work, and blood when he's out with the dark passenger—the voice that guides him on his deadly outings. But he's not sure what to make of the man who uses bodies as his canvas. If Dexter is to escape the scalpel and avoid becoming the latest exhibit, he needs somewhere to run . . . and he might just have found the perfect place. With his wedding looming, completing his nice-guy disguise, Dexter's honeymoon might just save his skin…
Official Jeff Lindsay Website
Order “Dexter By Design” HERE
NOTE: “Dexter By Design” is the fourth Dexter novel after “Darkly Dreaming Dexter”, “Dearly Devoted Dexter” and “Dexter in the Dark”. The US version will be published on September 1, 2009 (Doubleday).
“The Manual of Detection” by Jedediah Berry. Release Date: February 19, 2009. In this tightly plotted yet mind-expanding debut novel, an unlikely detective, armed only with an umbrella, a singular handbook and his wits, must untangle a string of crimes committed in and through people’s dreams… “The Manual of Detection” is an imaginative work of fiction that defies comparison and is a brilliantly conceived, meticulously realized novel that will change what you think about how you think...
Official Jedediah Berry Website
Order “The Manual of Detection” HERE (US) + HERE
Listen To An Excerpt HERE (MP3)
“Cyberabad Days” by Ian McDonald. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Ian McDonald’s “River of Gods” painted a vivid picture of a near future India, 100 years after independence. “Cyberabad Days”—a collection of eight stories, one Hugo nominee and one Hugo winner among them, as well as a twenty-five thousand word original novella—is a triumphant return to the India of 2047, a new, muscular superpower of one and a half billion people in an age of artificial intelligences, climate-change induced drought, water wars, and much more...
Official Ian McDonald Blog
Order “Cyberabad Days” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookspot Central + Green Man Review
“City Without End” by Kay Kenyon. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In The Entire and the Rose series, Kay Kenyon has created her most vivid and compelling society yet—the universe Entire. On this stage unfolds a mighty struggle for dominance between two universes. In the middle of it all is Titus Quinn, his estranged daughter in the fabled Rim City encircling the heart of the Entire, and the beautiful and resourceful Ji Anzi who—sent on a journey to other realms—holds the key to Quinn’s heart and his overarching mission…
Official Kay Kenyon Website
Order “City Without End” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “City Without End” is the third book in Kay Kenyon’s The Entire and the Rose after “Bright of the Sky” and “A World Too Near”.
“The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume III” edited by George Mann. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Following the successful format established by The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volumes One and Two, this new anthology brings together an eclectic selection of all-original stories by some of the genre's best-loved and most popular writers including Daniel Abraham, Stephen Baxter, Ken MacLeod, John Meaney, Alastair Reynolds, Ian Watson and many others…
Official Solaris Books Website
Official George Mann Blog
Order HERE (US) + HERE (UK-March 2, 2009)
“Palimpsest” by Catherynne M. Valente. Release Date: February 24, 2009. There is a city you have never heard of. It is a city of dreams and flesh, of night-terrors and exaltation. It is a city that exists as a virus, passed from person to person, on skin and on bone, streets and alleys and factories and orchestral halls crawling and thriving, infinitesimally small, on the bodies of those who have been touched by Palimpsest. And once you have entered this place, once you have tasted it, you will do anything to get back…
Official Catherynne M. Valente Website
Order “Palimpsest” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
”The Caryatids” by Bruce Sterling. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Alongside William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling stands at the forefront of a select group of writers whose pitch-perfect grasp of the cultural and scientific zeitgeist endows their works of speculative near-future fiction with uncanny verisimilitude. To read a novel by Sterling is to receive a dispatch from a time traveler. Now, with “The Caryatids”, Sterling has written a stunning testament of faith in the power of human intellect, creativity, and spirit to overcome any obstacle—even the obstacles we carry inside ourselves...
Official Bruce Sterling Wikipedia Website
Order “The Caryatids” HERE
Read Reviews via SF Reviews
“Black Blood” by John Meaney. Release Date: February 24, 2009 (US Debut). In “Black Blood”—the sequel to “Bone Song”—author John Meaney (The Nulapeiron Sequence) offers his intoxicating blend of futuristic noir and gothic fantasy in a thriller that carries a cop with a personal vendetta across the barrier between life and death. Here, in a morbidly lush necropolis, Lieutenant Donal Riordan is no longer the man he was and he must stop a conspiracy of killers whose power is fueled by spilling…
Official John Meaney Website
Order “Black Blood” HERE
Read Reviews via Strange Horizons
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Bone Song”
NOTE: “Black Blood” is known as “Dark Blood” in the UK (Released March 2008).
“Blood and Ice” by Robert Masello. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Set shortly after the Crimean War and on an expedition to modern-day Antarctica, this epic novel combines two worlds in the midst of a frozen landscape. For when a modern-day photo-journalist discovers two bodies frozen under the Antarctic ice, he opens up a whole new realm of scientific discovery. Robert Masello’s hardcover debut, “Blood and Ice”, is a tour de force, a dazzling tale of suspense, the supernatural, and romance that spans centuries…
Official Robert Masello Website
Order “Blood and Ice” HERE + HERE (UK-March 5, 2009)
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Green Man Review
NOTE: The UK edition will be published on March 5, 2009 by Harvill Secker.
“The Accord” by Keith Brooke. Release Date: February 24, 2009. When Noah and Priscilla escape into the Accord—a virtual utopia where the soul lives on after death and your perceptions are bound only by your imagination—to flee Priscilla’s murderous husband, he plots to destroy the whole Accord and them with it. In revenge, they arrange to have him assassinated but their success comes at the price of giving him the keys to the virtual kingdom. How can they hope to escape their stalker when he can become anything or anyone he desires, and where does the pursuit of revenge stop for immortals in an eternal world?
Official Keith Brooke Website
Order “The Accord” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-March 2, 2009)
NOTE: The short story that the novel was based on was chosen for Gardner Dozois’ Year’s Best Science Fiction.
“The Third Claw of God” by Adam-Troy Castro. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Employed by the Diplomatic Corps but secretly aiding the AI masters of the universe, Counselor Andrea Cort despises the Bettelhines—unrepentant death merchants who have prospered from the annihilation of civilizations. Now curiosity compels her to answer a cryptic summons to their home world, where the only law is Bettelhine law. But a murder attempt greets her arrival at Xana—and far graver peril awaits Andrea as the true reason for her summons threatens to destroy her more completely than the Claw of God...
Official Adam-Troy Castro Website
Order “Third Claw of God” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Emissaries From the Dead”
NOTE: “The Third Claw of God” is a sequel to “Emissaries From the Dead”.
“Hope’s Folly” by Linnea Sinclair. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Admiral Philip Guthrie is on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool—except for the woman Rya Bennton. Rya has been in love with Guthrie since she was a girl, but can her childhood fantasies survive the truth. It’s an impossible mission: A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both...
Official Linnea Sinclair Website
Order “Hope’s Folly” HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews
NOTE: “Hope’s Folly” is the third Gabriel’s Ghost novel after “Gabriel’s Ghost” and “Shades of Dark”.
“1942” by Robert Conroy. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a resounding success–-except for one detail: a second bombing mission, to destroy crucial oil storage facilities, was aborted that day. Now, in this gripping and stunning work of alternate history, Robert Conroy (1901, 1862, 1945) reimagines December 7, 1941, to include the attack the Japanese didn’t launch, and what follows is a thrilling tale of war, resistance, sacrifice, and courage...
Official Robert Conroy Wikipedia Website
Order “1942” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Terminal Freeze” by Lincoln Child. Release Date: February 24, 2009. A breathtaking discovery at the top of the world . . . A terrifying collision between modern science and Native American legend . . . In this riveting new thriller, Lincoln Child weaves together a stunning Arctic landscape, a terrifying mythic creature, and a pervasive mood of chaos—and fear. With “Terminal Freeze”, Child demonstrates why he has become a major bestselling author, and why his novels electrify and enthrall so many...
Official Lincoln Child Website
Order “Terminal Freeze” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE + HERE
“The Coldest Mile” by Tom Piccirilli. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Raised to be a thief and getaway driver, Chase left the bent life for his true love, Lila. For ten years he walked the straight and narrow—until Lila was murdered. Now Chase is looking for his grandfather Jonah, the stone-cold-killer con man who raised him as the last living repository of his family’s darkest secrets. In returning to his criminal roots, Chase hopes to save Jonah’s infant daughter from the life that Chase himself can’t escape...
Official Tom Piccirilli Website
Order “The Coldest Mile” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Coldest Mile” is a sequel to the “The Cold Spot”.
“Amberville” by Tim Davys. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Eric Bear thinks that he has escaped his past of drug-addicted days, gambling, and working for the notorious underworld boss Nicholas Dove. But Eric hasn’t gotten as far away as he thinks and is enlisted for one last job—to get Dove off of the Death List. The problem is, nobody knows if the Death List really exists. So Eric gathers together his team from the old days and embarks on a search where he learns that nothing in his world is as it seems...
Order “Amberville” HERE
NOTE: “Amberville”, Swedish author Tim Davys’ first novel about Mollison Town and its stuffed animal inhabitants, is both a noir novel with an unusual cast and an utterly original meditation on good and evil. It was originally published in Sweden in 2007.
“White Witch, Black Curse” by Kim Harrison. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, has taken her fair share of hits, and broken lines she swore she would never cross. But when her lover was murdered, it left a deeper wound than Rachel ever imagined, and now she won’t rest until his death is solved . . . and avenged. Whatever the cost. Yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when an apex predator moves to the top of the Inderlander food chain, Rachel’s past comes back to haunt her. Literally…
Official Kim Harrison Website
Order “White Witch, Black Curse” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “White Witch, Black Curse” is the seventh Rachel Morgan novel after “The Outlaw Demon Wails”.
“Spell Games” by T.A. Pratt. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Mad sorcerers, psychic vampires, an army of vengeful demons, Marla Mason would rather face them all than her con artist brother, Jason. As Felport’s chief sorcerer, Marla would ordinarily consider it her duty to protect her town from such an unscrupulous ne’er-do-well. As his sister, things are a lot…trickier. Now, as Marla attempts to train an apprentice oracle whose magical wires have gotten crossed, Jason is setting up an elaborate sting and drawing her ever-so-corruptible partner Rondeau into the ruse...
Order “The Walls of the Universe” HERE
“Duplicate Effort” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Retrieval Artist Miles Flint is on a personal mission—to bring down the corrupt law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xender. Then a journalist working with him is murdered. But before he can begin to investigate, his daughter Talia goes missing. Talia—one of six clones of Miles’ long-dead child—has gone off to find the other five. As Miles pursues her, he begins to fear that her search for her “sisters” and his for the killer are on a collision course…Official Kristine Kathryn Rusch Website
Order “Duplicate Effort” HERE
NOTE: “Duplicate Effort” is the seventh Retrieval Artist novel after “Recovery Man”.
“Maelstrom” by Taylor Anderson. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Having sided with the peaceful Lemurians against the savage, reptilian Grik, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the U.S.S. Walker, are once again at war. As the raging conflict approaches, Reddy, his crew, his allies, and his loved ones face annihilation. But if there is one thing they have learned about their new world, it is that hope—and help—may be just over the horizon...Official Taylor Anderson Website
Order “Maelstrom” HERE
NOTE: “Maelstrom” is the thrilling conclusion in the Destroyermen trilogy after “Into the Storm” and “Crusade”.
“Worlds” by Eric Flint. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Known for his New York Times best-selling alternate history novels, Eric Flint is equally a master of short fiction, and this large volume gathers the best of Flint’s shorter works including several stories and short novels set in the author’s celebrated Ring of Fire alternate history series. In addition to the fiction, Eric Flint has also written an introduction to “Worlds” and an introduction for each story, making this collection an irresistible book for the author’s many fans...Official Eric Flint Website
Order “Worlds” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Man-Kzin Wars XII” edited by Larry Niven. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Kzin, formerly invincible conquerors of all they encountered, had a hard time dealing with their ignominious defeat by the leaf-eating humans. Some secretly hatched schemes for a rematch, others concentrated on gathering power within the Kzin hierarchy, and some shamefully cooperated with humans, though often for hidden motives. In war and in uneasy peace, Kzin and humans continue their adventures, as told by Hal Colebatch, Paul Chafe, and Michael Joseph Harrington, expanding on the concepts created by New York Times bestselling writer Larry Niven...Official Larry Niven Website
Order “Man-Kzin Wars XII” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Rx for Chaos” by Christopher Anvil. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Science and technology have made our lives easier, cured diseases, with achievements that an earlier age would have considered impossible. But once in a while, the law of unintended consequences breaks loose. Christopher Anvil (Federation of Humanity) considers these two faces of technological innovatio. Sometimes the result is a literal life-saver; but at other times a breakthrough may not break quite the way it was supposed to...Official Christopher Anvil Wikipedia Website
Order “Rx for Chaos” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
“Foxfire” by Barbara Campbell. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Years after their exile, legendary hero Darak and his wife Griane have founded their own tribe and raised four children. A rebel force, led by Darak’s own daughter, seeks to recruit him to their cause. But the greatest danger comes from their youngest son, R igat—actually sired by the Trickster God... “Foxfire” is the stunning final novel in Barbara Campbell’s powerful debut fantasy trilogy, Trickster’s Game, after “Heartwood” and “Bloodstone”...Official Barbara Campbell Website
Order “Foxfire” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike” by Philip K. Dick. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike was written by Philip K. Dick in the winter and spring of 1960. This novel, Dick said, is about Leo Runcible, “a brilliant, civic-minded liberal Jew living in a rural WASP town in Marin County, California.” Runcible, a real estate agent involved in a local battle with a neighbor, finds what look like Neanderthal bones and dreams of rising real estate prices because of the publicity...Official Philip K. Dick Website
Order “The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike” HERE
“The High City” by Cecelia Holland. Release Date: February 3, 2009. In the early years of his reign, Basil II rules as co-emperor with his brother Constantine, and makes war on a would-be usurper. Basil’s most trusted troops are foreign mercenaries, the Varangian guard hired from the North. Rus and Norsemen, Viking raiders, and wild horsemen from the steppes fall upon the elegant city of Constantinople like wolves on a garden party. Among them is the wily young son of an Irish slave, who comes to the notice of the emperor’s wife. But being noticed by an angry emperor is not safe at all...Official Cecelia Holland Website
Order “The High City” HERE
Read Reviews via BookLoons + SFRevu
NOTE: “The High City” is the fifth Corban Loosestrife novel after “Varanger”.
“The Séance” by John Harwood. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Constance Langton grows up in a household marked by death, her mother in perpetual mourning for the child she lost. Desperate to coax her mother back to health, Constance takes her to a séance. But the meeting has tragic consequences. So begins “The Séance”, John Harwood’s brilliant second novel, a haunting tale of apparitions, a cursed manor house, and two generations of women determined to discover the truth...Official John Harwood Wikipedia Website
Order “The Séance” HERE
Read Reviews HERE
NOTE: “The Séance” was published in the UK on April 3, 2008 (Jonathan Cape).
“Without Warning” by John Birmingham. Release Date: February 3, 2009. A wave of inexplicable energy slams into the United States and America, as we know it, is gone. In one instant, all around the world, things will never be the same... In this astounding work of alternate fiction, John Birmingham hurtles us into a scenario that is unimaginable but shatteringly real: a world of financial ruin where a cloud of noxious waste–from America’s burning cities–darkens Europe, while men and women in offices around the globe struggle to make decisions that cannot hold and opportunists unleash their secret demons...Official John Birmingham Blog
Order “Without Warning” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Red Letter Day
“The Juggler” by Sebastian Beaumont. UK Release Date: February 3, 2009. Mark left his job, his wife, his friends, his seven month old baby...everything. He set out with only two things: An address and a bag containing £40,000 in cash. But it is not so easy to start again. Now, Mark must find his way in a nameless town where friendships turn into a web of deceit and motives are always suspect. Mark's journey, both physical and metaphysical, takes him through layers of reality and towards refuge of an unexpected kind…Order “The Juggler” HERE
NOTE: “The Juggler’s” release date was pushed back from November 2008.
“Captain Freedom” by G. Xavier Robillard. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Software pirates! Mostly extinct dinosaurs! Giant barbarians! Crooning criminals! Captain Freedom's beat them all, saved the world, and looked fantastic doing it—but he couldn't fend off middle management. The Superhero lifestyle is all that Captain Freedom has ever known. What's he supposed to do now? Enter politics? Write a children's book? Freedom's in a bad way, but with the guidance of his new life coach, maybe Freedom can stumble in a new direction—even if it means having to make peace with his parents . . . or finally commit to a single long-term archenemy...Official G. Xavier Robillard Website
Order “Captain Freedom” HERE
Browse Inside HERE
“Enclave” by Kit Reed. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The world is in chaos: war, plague, global ecological collapse. Parents everywhere seek sanctuary for their children, the future of mankind. For those who are rich and powerful enough, safety can be found at the Clothos Academy, but only 100 students will be admitted before it is sealed off from the terrors outside. But all is not as it seems, both within the Academy and without. Worse, a stranger has entered the Academy . . . and he has brought Death...Official Kit Reed Website
Order “Enclave” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookspot Central
“Bone Crossed” by Patricia Briggs. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Shapeshifter and car mechanic Mercy Thompson has learned why her race was almost exterminated: they have a hidden talent for vampire slaying. Unfortunately for Mercy, the queen of the local vampire seethe has discovered her true identity. Mercy may be protected from direct reprisals by the werewolf pack—and her interesting relationship with its Alpha—but that just means Marsilia will come after Mercy some other way. So Mercy had better watch her back…Official Patricia Briggs Website
Order “Bone Crossed” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “Bone Crossed” is the fourth Mercy Thompson novel after “Moon Called”, “Blood Bound”, and “Iron Kissed”.
“The Thirteenth” by L.A. Banks. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The Anti-Christ is positioned for emergence, the powers of darkness have released the pale horse of the apocalypse, plagues from hell ravage the country, the nation is under martial law, and the entire Neteru Guardian team is on the run, having been labeled as America's most-wanted terrorists. If things weren't bad enough, the Dark Realm breaks the sixth Biblical seal, which plunges the world into perpetual darkness . . . and irrevocably into the Armageddon...Official L.A. Banks Website
Official Vampire Huntress Website
Order “The Thirteenth” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Thirteenth” is the twelth and final book in the Vampire Huntress series.
“Evermore” by Alyson Noel. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, 16-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste, who is gorgeous, exotic, wealthy, and possesses many fascinating secrets...Official Alyson Noel Website
Official Immortals Website
Order “Evermore” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews, Frenetic Reader + Planet Books
NOTE: “Evermore” is the first book in the author’s new Immortals series.
“Dreams of the Dead” by Thomas Randall. Release Date: February 3, 2009. 16-year-old Kara Foster is an outsider in Japan, trying her best to fit in at private school. Fortunately she’s befriended by Sakura, a fellow outsider struggling to make sense of her sister’s unsolved murder some months ago. Unfortunately, the calm doesn’t last for long. Kara begins to have nightmares, and soon other students in the school turn up dead, viciously attacked by someone . . . or something. Is Sakura getting back at those she thinks are responsible for her sister’s death? Or has her dead sister come back to take revenge for herself?Official Thomas Randall Website
Order “Dreams of the Dead” HERE
NOTE: “Dreams of the Dead” is the first book in the Gaijin Girl YA series.
“Counter Clockwise” by Jason Cockcroft. Release Date: February 3, 2009. What if your mother were hit by a bus? And what if your father disappeared one day through a hole in the bathroom wall? Is there a way to change the course of your life's history? What if time moved... In this dazzling debut novel, Jason Cockcroft—an illustrator of many acclaimed picture books including Jason and the Golden Fleece—has crafted a mind-bending adventure with a startlingly original narrative structure...Order “Counter Clockwise” HERE
Read Reviews via Reading Room
“Mortal Sins” by Eileen Wilks. Release Date: February 3, 2009. On a personal trip with her lover & mate Rule Turner of the Nokolai werewolf clan, agent Lily Yu of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division becomes caught in an investigation involving death magic. An investigation where nothing adds up. To complicate matters, the mother of Rule’s son is challenging his plan to bring his son to live among the Nokolai. But family must take a back seat when the violence escalates, and there’s no rhyme or reason for the killer’s next strike—a killer who may not even be of this world...Official Eileen Wilks Website
Order “Mortal Sins” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: "Mortal Sins” is the fifth World of the Lupi novel after “Night Season”.
“Kiss of Fate” by Deborah Cooke. Release Date: February 3, 2009. For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have commanded the four elements and guarded the earth’s treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth’s treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin... “Kiss of Fate” is the third Dragon Fire novel after “Kiss of Fire” and “Kiss of Fury”...Official Deborah Cooke Website
Order “Kiss of Fate” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Lear’s Daughters” by Marjorie B. Kellogg with William B. Rossow. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Set in the future on a distant world, “Lear’s Daughters” tackles the issues of global warming, pollution, exploitation of resources, and disastrous climate change. Long out of print, “Lear’s Daughters” is a reworking of The Wave and the Flame and Reign of Fire, and has been completely rewritten by the authors to reflect the cutting-edge knowledge and research on environmentalism of the twenty-first century...Order “Lear’s Daughters” HERE
“Magic's Design” by Cat Adams. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Born into the mage guild of firecrafters, Talos is a magic wielder and an agent of the Overworld Police whose job is to protect Earth from magicians intent on enslaving humanity. Mila has always had the gift of healing, but never realized that her skill was born of an ancient magic that only firecraft can fully unlock. Together, Tal & Mila discover that the source of their powers is in unity, but if the Tree of Life dies, and all the magic in the world is extinguished ... will it matter?Official Cat Adams Website
Order “Magic’s Design” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Undone” by Rachel Caine. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Once she was Cassiel, a Djinn of limitless power. Now, she has been reshaped in human flesh as punishment for defying her master—and living among the Weather Wardens, whose power she must tap into regularly or she will die. And as she copes with the emotions and frailties of her human condition, a malevolent entity threatens her new existence... “Undone” is the first book in the new Outcast series from Rachel Caine, author of the Weather Warden series and the Morganville Vampires...Official Rachel Caine Website
Order “Undone” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews
“Dogs and Goddesses” by Jennifer Crusie (Bet Me), Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich. Release Date: February 3, 2009. In the two of Summerville, Ohio, something very strange is going on. It’s up to Abby, Daisy, Shar and their dogs—Abby’s placid Newfoundland, Bowser; Daisy’s hyperactive Jack Russell, Bailey; and Shar’s neurotic dachshund, Wolfie—to find out before an ancient goddess takes over Southern Ohio, and they all end up in the apocalyptic doghouse…Official Dogs and Goddesses Website
Order “Dogs and Goddesses” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Crime Spells” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Loren L. Coleman. Release Date: February 3, 2009. When magic is used for criminal purposes, all sorts of ethical & logistical questions arise beyond the realm of everyday law and order. Now, 16 top tale-tellers offer fascinating new stories of those who commit magic crimes, those who investigate them, and those who prosecute them. From a young woman who uses out-of-body excursions to research paranormal crimes to a bookie who’s been paying for hex protection against magical interference, here are powerful tales of magical crimes and punishments...Official Martin H. Greenberg Wikipedia Website
Official Loren L. Coleman Wikipedia Website
Order “Crime Spells” HERE
“Would-Be Witch” by Kimberly Frost. Release Date: February 3, 2009. The family magic seems to have skipped over Tammy Jo Trask. But when her locket—an heirloom that happens to hold Edie’s soul—is stolen in the midst of a town-wide crime spree, it’s time for Tammy to find her inner witch. Tammy turns to the only person in town who can help: the very rich and highly magical Bryn Lyons. He might have all the answers, but the locket isn’t the only heirloom passed down in Tammy’s family. She also inherited a warning: stay away from Lyons...Official Kimberly Frost Website
Order “Would-Be Witch” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Ruthie’s Book Review
“Ravenous” by Sharon Ashwood. Release Date: February 3, 2009. Holly Carver is a witch who sometimes relies on the help of Alessandro Caravelli for her family’s preternatural investigations business. Alessandro is the oldest and strongest vampire in Fairview—and he’s made no secret of his desire for Holly. But while she aches to succumb to his suggestive wiles, she knows it would be trouble. Then Alessandro’s queen, Omara, complicates matters when she turns up in Fairview and demands he use Holly to trap Geneva—the most evil demon of all...Official Sharon Ashwood Website
Order “Ravenous” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via LoveVampires + Tez Says
NOTE: “Ravenous” is the first book in The Dark Forgotten series.
“The Rise of the Iron Moon” by Stephen Hunt. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Born into captivity, orphan Purity Drake one day finds herself on the run with a foreign vagrant from the North. Her strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals as they conquered his own nation. As Jackals girds itself for war against an army of near-unkillable beasts serving an ancient evil with a terrible secret, it soon becomes clear that their only hope is a strange little royalist girl and the last, desperate plan of an escaped slave…Official Stephen Hunt Website
Order “The Rise of the Iron Moon” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Reviews of The Court of the Air + The Kingdom Beyond the Waves
NOTE: “The Rise of the Iron Moon” is set in the same Victorian-style world as “The Court of the Air” and “The Kingdom Beyond the Waves”.
“The Magician's Apprentice” by Trudi Canavan. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. In the village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer. But her life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers she has magical gifts and is apprenticed to the local magician. Her new role offers more opportunities than she had ever hoped for, but along with the excitement and privilege, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. For great danger looms on the horizon for Tessia and her world…Official Trudi Canavan Website
Order “The Magician’s Apprentice” HERE (US-February 23, 2009) + HERE (UK)
Read An Extract HERE
NOTE: Set hundreds of years before the events of The Magicians' Guild, “The Magician’s Apprentice” is a new novel set in the world of Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy.
“My Work is Not Yet Done” by Thomas Ligotti. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Junior manager Frank Dominio is suddenly demoted and then fired. But as he prepares to even the score with those responsible for his demise, he unwittingly finds an ally in a dark and malevolent force that grants him supernatural powers. Frank takes his revenge in the most ghastly ways imaginable—but there will be a terrible price to pay once his work is done... Destined to be a cult classic, this tale of corporate horror and demonic retribution will strike a chord with anyone who has ever been disgruntled at work.Official Thomas Ligotti Website
Order “My Work is Not Yet Done” HERE
NOTE: “My Work is Not Yet Done” was originally published in limited release by Mythos Books in June 2002. The US version will be published on April 28, 2009 (Virgin Books).
“UFO In her Eyes” by Xiaolu Guo. UK Release Date: February 5, 2009. Silver Hill Village, 2012. On the 20th day of the seventh moon, Kwok Yun’s world is upturned when she sights a UFThing and helps the Westerner whom she discovers in the shadow of the alien craft. Not long after, the village is crawling with men from the National Security & Intelligence Agency and Kwok Yun becomes a local celebrity. As UFO Hotels spring up, and the local villagers go out of business, Xiaolu Guo’s startling parable of change imagines an uneasy future for rural China and its relations not only with Beijing but the wider world beyond...Official Xiaolu Guo Website
Order “UFO In her Eyes” HERE
“Dragonfly Falling” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. UK Release Date: February 6, 2009. Totho and Salma arrive at Tark to spy on the menacing Wasp army, but are mistakenly apprehended as enemy agents. By the time they are freed, the city is already under siege. Over in the imperial capital, the young emperor Alvdan is becoming captivated by a remarkable slave who claims to know of magic that can grant eternal life. In Collegium, meanwhile, Stenwold is still trying to persuade the city magnates of the dangerous threat that the Wasp Empire represents...Official Shadows of the Apt Website
Official Adrian Tchaikovsky Website
Order “Dragonfly Falling” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Empire in Black & Gold”
Read Interviews via Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews
NOTE: “Dragonfly Falling” is the second novel in the Shadows of the Apt epic fantasy series after “Empire in Black & Gold”.
“He Is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson” edited by Christopher Conlon. Release Date: February 7, 2009. Richard Matheson is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Now Gauntlet Press has assembled a spectacular anthology of original, never-before published stories by today's best writers—stories set in Matheson's own fictional universes, and published with the author’s complete cooperation! And, among the many contributions to the book, is the first collaboration ever between Stephen King and his son Joe Hill...Official Richard Matheson Wikipedia Website
Order “He Is Legend” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookgasm
NOTE: Other contributors include F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale, Whitley Strieber, Richard Christian Matheson, William F. Nolan, Gary Braunbeck, Thomas Monteleone, John Shirley and an introduction by Ramsey Campbell. Also features the original full-length screenplay “Conjure Wife”. Cover art and six interior illustrations are provided by Matheson's favorite artist Harry O. Morris. All editions of the book are sold out except for the Unsigned Limited Edition.
“Drood” by Dan Simmons. Release Date: February 9, 2009. Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens' life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens' friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), “Drood” explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and his final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, “Drood” is Dan Simmons at his powerful best…Official Dan Simmons Website
Order “Drood” HERE
Read Reviews via Booklist + Fantasy Book Critic
“Fool” by Christopher Moore. Release Date: February 10, 2009. “This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!” Verily speaks bestselling author Christopher Moore as he takes on the legendary Bard in a twisted and insanely funny tale of a moronic monarch and his deceitful daughters...Official Christopher Moore Website
Order “Fool” HERE
“Tuck” by Stephen R. Lawhead. Release Date: February 10, 2009. The story of Rhi Bran y Hud—Robin Hood—concludes as Abbot Hugo and the Norman invaders attempt to wipe out King Raven and his flock once and for all. Their merciless attack, the first of many to come, heralds a dark and desperate day for the realm of Elfael. Bran and his few stalwarts desperately need encouragement and reinforcement if they are to survive. But Friar Tuck, a most unconventional priest, has a daring solution to their dilemma that will radically alter all we've known about the legendary figure known as Robin Hood...Official Stephen R. Lawhead Website
Order “Tuck” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-April 2, 2009)
Read Reviews via TitleTrakk
NOTE: “Tuck” is the thrilling conclusion to Stephen R. Lawhead’s King Raven Trilogy after “Hood” and “Scarlet”.
“Fade” by Lisa McMann. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Janie and Cabel continue to work for Captain, this time investigating an alleged sex ring. But no one's talking. In fact, the suspected teachers are universally loved by the kids, and the one break they catch takes a turn for the deadly. Meanwhile, Janie has discovered Martha Stubin's journals, and what she learns through them chills her to the bone. For not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared...Official Lisa McMann Website
Order “Fade” HERE
Read Reviews via Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Karin’s Book Nook + Maw Books Blog
NOTE: “Fade” is the second book in the Wake trilogy after “Wake”.
“Cybermage” by Alma Alexander. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Thea is out of sorts this year at the Wandless Academy —in all ways, magical and otherwise—and that's before she discovers she's an elemental mage, a magician so rare that only four others are known to exist. Now the Federal Bureau of Magic needs Thea's help to unlock the mysterious white cube—the same cube found over the summer and that the dangerous Alphiri are still after. To stay ahead of the Alphiri and the wiles of the FBM, Thea needs her friends—all of them...Official Alma Alexander Website
Order “Cybermage” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Gift of the Unmage”
NOTE: “Cybermage” is the final installment of the richly invented Worldweavers trilogy after “Gift of the Unmage” and “Spellspam”.
“Raven” by Allison Van Diepen. Release Date: February 10, 2009. Zin dances with fire in every step; speaks with a honey sweet voice; and sees with eyes that can peer into your soul. Their friendship is the only thing that saves her from the boredom of school and the turmoil of her family life. It’s no wonder why Nicole is madly in love with him. But Zin is like no man Nicole has ever met, and he carries with him a very old secret. When Nicole uncovers the truth, her love may be the only thing that can save him from it...Official Allison Van Diepen Website
Order “Raven” HERE
“The Naked God” by Peter F. Hamilton. Release Date: February 11, 2009. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she acquires some strange & powerful allies whose goal doesn't match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonridge meanwhile, degenerates into a horrendous land battle, while Joshua Calvert and Syrinx fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God—which an alien race believes holds the key to overthrowing the possessed...Official Peter F. Hamilton Website
Order “The Naked God” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Infinity Plus + SF Reviews
NOTE: “The Naked God” is the conclusion to The Night Dawn’s Trilogy after “The Reality Dysfunction” & “The Neutronium Alchemist”, and was first published in 1999. The US version was originally broken up into two separate volumes, Flight and Faith.
“The Yggyssey” by Daniel Pinkwater. Release Date: February 16, 2009. The ghosts of Los Angeles are disappearing right and left and Iggy Birnbaum is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, no matter what Neddie Wentworthstein and Seamus Finn say. There’s just the little matter of traveling to another plane of existence, first . . . and then, of course, not pissing off a witch once she gets there... “The Yggyssey” is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed “The Neddiad”, as told from the point of view of Ned's friend, Iggy.Official Daniel Pinkwater Website
Order “The Yggyssey” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman. Release Date: February 17, 2009 (Reissue). Earth's leaders oppose a fierce alien enemy that are inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But “home” may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...Official Joe Haldeman Website
Order “The Forever War” HERE
NOTE: “The Forever War” was originally published in 1974 and is a SF classic winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. This reissue features a new introduction by John Scalzi.
“Lamentation” by Ken Scholes. Release Date: February 17, 2009. An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke and knows that war is coming. Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant. Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others’ throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered…Official Ken Scholes Website
Order “Lamentation” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
”Escape From Hell” by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. Release Date: February 17, 2009. Allan Carpenter escaped from hell once but remained haunted by what he saw and endured. He has now returned, on a mission to liberate those souls unfairly tortured and confined. Partnering with the legendary poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpenter is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned. But now that he's returned to this Dantesque Inferno, can he ever again leave?Official Larry Niven Website
Official Jerry Pournelle Website
Order “Escape From Hell” HERE
NOTE: “Escape From Hell” is a sequel to “Inferno” which was revised and reissued on September 2, 2008.
”Steal Across the Sky” by Nancy Kress (Beggars in Space). Release Date: February 17, 2009. An alien race calling them selves Atoners appeared one day, built a base on the moon, and put an ad on the internet seeking twenty-one volunteers to visit seven planets to Witness for them, so we could understand how they wronged humanity ten thousand years ago. At first, everyone thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t. This is the story of three of those volunteers, and what they found on Kular A and Kular B...Official Nancy Kress Website
Order “Steal Across the Sky” HERE
“Hater” by David Moody. Release Date: February 17, 2009. One day rational, normal people suddenly become remorseless killers. Called “Haters” by the media, these attackers strike without warning in an escalating crescendo of inexplicable violence. Anyone can become a victim—or a Hater. When mortal terror roams abroad—what happens to a society? When neighbor fears neighbor—who is safe? And who can be trusted? In the tradition of H.G. Wells and Richard Matheson, this is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad—a world infected with fear, violence and HATE…Official David Moody Website
Order “Hater” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
Read Excerpts HERE
Read Reviews via Bookgeeks, Plants & Books + SF Signal
“The Valley of Shadows” by Brian Cullen. Release Date: February 17, 2009. After months of searching, The Seekers finally close in on the Chalice of Fire that was stolen by Bricriu Poisontongue. But the wily thief slips away and as The Seekers follow, their way is overrun with vampires and other creatures of the night controlled by the evil escaped wizard Maliman. It is when Bricriu makes his way to the Valley of the Shadows though, a region ruled by the dead, that, the Seekers meet the greatest challenge of their search...Order “The Valley of Shadows” HERE
NOTE: “The Valley of Shadows” is the second volume in a trilogy that began with “Seekers of the Chalice”.
“The Farwalker’s Quest” by Joni Sensel. Release Date: February 17, 2009. Magically flying great distances and only revealing their messages to the intended recipient, telling darts haven’t been used for years, and no one knows how they work. So when two strangers show up looking for the dart that Ariel and her best friend Zeke found, they realize that their discovery is not only interesting, but very dangerous. The telling dart and the strangers lead them on a journey more perilous and encompassing than either can imagine, and in the process both Zeke and Ariel find their true calling...Official Joni Sensel Website
Order “The Farwalker’s Quest” HERE
Read Reviews via Becky’s Book Reviews
“Critical Mass” by Whitley Strieber. Release Date: February 17, 2009. What would we do if a nuclear weapon was detonated in Washington, and the US government suddenly disappeared? What would we do if a terrorist organization announced that it had concealed nuclear weapons in ever major western city and then demanded that the entire planet embrace its twisted brand of Muslin fundamentalism? Like Whitley Strieber's classics Warday and The Coming Global Superstorm, “Critical Mass” is torn straight from the dark pages of a very dangerous and very possible future.Official Whitley Strieber Website
Order “Critical Mass” HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
“Body Surfing” by Dale Peck. Release Date: February 17, 2009. From one of America's most acclaimed writers comes a startling and visionary novel about a race of demons who inhabit humans and wreak havoc on the lives of two small-town boys. In “Body Surfing”, celebrated author Dale Peck presents a beautifully written page-turner of a literary thriller. It is a mesmerizing tale in which a complete parallel universe is filled with shockingly dark corners where the secrets of human nature wait to be discovered...Official Dale Peck Wikipedia Website
Order “Body Surfing” HERE
“The Judging Eye” by R. Scott Bakker. Release Date: February 19, 2009 (US Debut). Set twenty years after the end of The Thousandfold Thought—the conclusion to the Prince of Nothing trilogy—Bakker reintroduces us to a world that is at once familiar but also very different from the one readers thought they knew. Delving even further into his richly imagined universe of myth, violence, and sorcery, and fully remolding the fantasy genre to broaden the scope of intricacy and meaning, R. Scott Bakker has once again written a fantasy novel that defies all expectations and rewards the reader with an experience unlike any to be had in the canon of today’s literature…Official R. Scott Bakker Website
Order “The Judging Eye” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via BlogCritics, Fantasy Book Critic, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Neth Space, Leap in the Dark, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist + The Wertzone
NOTE: “The Judging Eye” was published in the UK on January 15, 2009 (Orbit) and in Canada on January 20, 2009.
“Dexter By Design” by Jeff Lindsay. UK Release Date: February 19, 2009. Blood spatter analyst Dexter is used to blood at work, and blood when he's out with the dark passenger—the voice that guides him on his deadly outings. But he's not sure what to make of the man who uses bodies as his canvas. If Dexter is to escape the scalpel and avoid becoming the latest exhibit, he needs somewhere to run . . . and he might just have found the perfect place. With his wedding looming, completing his nice-guy disguise, Dexter's honeymoon might just save his skin…Official Jeff Lindsay Website
Order “Dexter By Design” HERE
NOTE: “Dexter By Design” is the fourth Dexter novel after “Darkly Dreaming Dexter”, “Dearly Devoted Dexter” and “Dexter in the Dark”. The US version will be published on September 1, 2009 (Doubleday).
“The Manual of Detection” by Jedediah Berry. Release Date: February 19, 2009. In this tightly plotted yet mind-expanding debut novel, an unlikely detective, armed only with an umbrella, a singular handbook and his wits, must untangle a string of crimes committed in and through people’s dreams… “The Manual of Detection” is an imaginative work of fiction that defies comparison and is a brilliantly conceived, meticulously realized novel that will change what you think about how you think...Official Jedediah Berry Website
Order “The Manual of Detection” HERE (US) + HERE
Listen To An Excerpt HERE (MP3)
“Cyberabad Days” by Ian McDonald. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Ian McDonald’s “River of Gods” painted a vivid picture of a near future India, 100 years after independence. “Cyberabad Days”—a collection of eight stories, one Hugo nominee and one Hugo winner among them, as well as a twenty-five thousand word original novella—is a triumphant return to the India of 2047, a new, muscular superpower of one and a half billion people in an age of artificial intelligences, climate-change induced drought, water wars, and much more...Official Ian McDonald Blog
Order “Cyberabad Days” HERE
Read Reviews via Bookspot Central + Green Man Review
“City Without End” by Kay Kenyon. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In The Entire and the Rose series, Kay Kenyon has created her most vivid and compelling society yet—the universe Entire. On this stage unfolds a mighty struggle for dominance between two universes. In the middle of it all is Titus Quinn, his estranged daughter in the fabled Rim City encircling the heart of the Entire, and the beautiful and resourceful Ji Anzi who—sent on a journey to other realms—holds the key to Quinn’s heart and his overarching mission…Official Kay Kenyon Website
Order “City Without End” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “City Without End” is the third book in Kay Kenyon’s The Entire and the Rose after “Bright of the Sky” and “A World Too Near”.
“The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume III” edited by George Mann. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Following the successful format established by The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volumes One and Two, this new anthology brings together an eclectic selection of all-original stories by some of the genre's best-loved and most popular writers including Daniel Abraham, Stephen Baxter, Ken MacLeod, John Meaney, Alastair Reynolds, Ian Watson and many others…Official Solaris Books Website
Official George Mann Blog
Order HERE (US) + HERE (UK-March 2, 2009)
“Palimpsest” by Catherynne M. Valente. Release Date: February 24, 2009. There is a city you have never heard of. It is a city of dreams and flesh, of night-terrors and exaltation. It is a city that exists as a virus, passed from person to person, on skin and on bone, streets and alleys and factories and orchestral halls crawling and thriving, infinitesimally small, on the bodies of those who have been touched by Palimpsest. And once you have entered this place, once you have tasted it, you will do anything to get back…Official Catherynne M. Valente Website
Order “Palimpsest” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Watch the Book Trailer HERE
”The Caryatids” by Bruce Sterling. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Alongside William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling stands at the forefront of a select group of writers whose pitch-perfect grasp of the cultural and scientific zeitgeist endows their works of speculative near-future fiction with uncanny verisimilitude. To read a novel by Sterling is to receive a dispatch from a time traveler. Now, with “The Caryatids”, Sterling has written a stunning testament of faith in the power of human intellect, creativity, and spirit to overcome any obstacle—even the obstacles we carry inside ourselves...Official Bruce Sterling Wikipedia Website
Order “The Caryatids” HERE
Read Reviews via SF Reviews
“Black Blood” by John Meaney. Release Date: February 24, 2009 (US Debut). In “Black Blood”—the sequel to “Bone Song”—author John Meaney (The Nulapeiron Sequence) offers his intoxicating blend of futuristic noir and gothic fantasy in a thriller that carries a cop with a personal vendetta across the barrier between life and death. Here, in a morbidly lush necropolis, Lieutenant Donal Riordan is no longer the man he was and he must stop a conspiracy of killers whose power is fueled by spilling…Official John Meaney Website
Order “Black Blood” HERE
Read Reviews via Strange Horizons
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Bone Song”
NOTE: “Black Blood” is known as “Dark Blood” in the UK (Released March 2008).
“Blood and Ice” by Robert Masello. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Set shortly after the Crimean War and on an expedition to modern-day Antarctica, this epic novel combines two worlds in the midst of a frozen landscape. For when a modern-day photo-journalist discovers two bodies frozen under the Antarctic ice, he opens up a whole new realm of scientific discovery. Robert Masello’s hardcover debut, “Blood and Ice”, is a tour de force, a dazzling tale of suspense, the supernatural, and romance that spans centuries…Official Robert Masello Website
Order “Blood and Ice” HERE + HERE (UK-March 5, 2009)
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via Green Man Review
NOTE: The UK edition will be published on March 5, 2009 by Harvill Secker.
“The Accord” by Keith Brooke. Release Date: February 24, 2009. When Noah and Priscilla escape into the Accord—a virtual utopia where the soul lives on after death and your perceptions are bound only by your imagination—to flee Priscilla’s murderous husband, he plots to destroy the whole Accord and them with it. In revenge, they arrange to have him assassinated but their success comes at the price of giving him the keys to the virtual kingdom. How can they hope to escape their stalker when he can become anything or anyone he desires, and where does the pursuit of revenge stop for immortals in an eternal world?Official Keith Brooke Website
Order “The Accord” HERE (US) + HERE (UK-March 2, 2009)
NOTE: The short story that the novel was based on was chosen for Gardner Dozois’ Year’s Best Science Fiction.
“The Third Claw of God” by Adam-Troy Castro. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Employed by the Diplomatic Corps but secretly aiding the AI masters of the universe, Counselor Andrea Cort despises the Bettelhines—unrepentant death merchants who have prospered from the annihilation of civilizations. Now curiosity compels her to answer a cryptic summons to their home world, where the only law is Bettelhine law. But a murder attempt greets her arrival at Xana—and far graver peril awaits Andrea as the true reason for her summons threatens to destroy her more completely than the Claw of God...Official Adam-Troy Castro Website
Order “Third Claw of God” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Emissaries From the Dead”
NOTE: “The Third Claw of God” is a sequel to “Emissaries From the Dead”.
“Hope’s Folly” by Linnea Sinclair. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Admiral Philip Guthrie is on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool—except for the woman Rya Bennton. Rya has been in love with Guthrie since she was a girl, but can her childhood fantasies survive the truth. It’s an impossible mission: A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both...Official Linnea Sinclair Website
Order “Hope’s Folly” HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews
NOTE: “Hope’s Folly” is the third Gabriel’s Ghost novel after “Gabriel’s Ghost” and “Shades of Dark”.
“1942” by Robert Conroy. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was a resounding success–-except for one detail: a second bombing mission, to destroy crucial oil storage facilities, was aborted that day. Now, in this gripping and stunning work of alternate history, Robert Conroy (1901, 1862, 1945) reimagines December 7, 1941, to include the attack the Japanese didn’t launch, and what follows is a thrilling tale of war, resistance, sacrifice, and courage...Official Robert Conroy Wikipedia Website
Order “1942” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Terminal Freeze” by Lincoln Child. Release Date: February 24, 2009. A breathtaking discovery at the top of the world . . . A terrifying collision between modern science and Native American legend . . . In this riveting new thriller, Lincoln Child weaves together a stunning Arctic landscape, a terrifying mythic creature, and a pervasive mood of chaos—and fear. With “Terminal Freeze”, Child demonstrates why he has become a major bestselling author, and why his novels electrify and enthrall so many...Official Lincoln Child Website
Order “Terminal Freeze” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE + HERE
“The Coldest Mile” by Tom Piccirilli. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Raised to be a thief and getaway driver, Chase left the bent life for his true love, Lila. For ten years he walked the straight and narrow—until Lila was murdered. Now Chase is looking for his grandfather Jonah, the stone-cold-killer con man who raised him as the last living repository of his family’s darkest secrets. In returning to his criminal roots, Chase hopes to save Jonah’s infant daughter from the life that Chase himself can’t escape...Official Tom Piccirilli Website
Order “The Coldest Mile” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Coldest Mile” is a sequel to the “The Cold Spot”.
“Amberville” by Tim Davys. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Eric Bear thinks that he has escaped his past of drug-addicted days, gambling, and working for the notorious underworld boss Nicholas Dove. But Eric hasn’t gotten as far away as he thinks and is enlisted for one last job—to get Dove off of the Death List. The problem is, nobody knows if the Death List really exists. So Eric gathers together his team from the old days and embarks on a search where he learns that nothing in his world is as it seems...Order “Amberville” HERE
NOTE: “Amberville”, Swedish author Tim Davys’ first novel about Mollison Town and its stuffed animal inhabitants, is both a noir novel with an unusual cast and an utterly original meditation on good and evil. It was originally published in Sweden in 2007.
“White Witch, Black Curse” by Kim Harrison. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Rachel Morgan, kick-ass witch and bounty hunter, has taken her fair share of hits, and broken lines she swore she would never cross. But when her lover was murdered, it left a deeper wound than Rachel ever imagined, and now she won’t rest until his death is solved . . . and avenged. Whatever the cost. Yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when an apex predator moves to the top of the Inderlander food chain, Rachel’s past comes back to haunt her. Literally…Official Kim Harrison Website
Order “White Witch, Black Curse” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “White Witch, Black Curse” is the seventh Rachel Morgan novel after “The Outlaw Demon Wails”.
“Spell Games” by T.A. Pratt. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Mad sorcerers, psychic vampires, an army of vengeful demons, Marla Mason would rather face them all than her con artist brother, Jason. As Felport’s chief sorcerer, Marla would ordinarily consider it her duty to protect her town from such an unscrupulous ne’er-do-well. As his sister, things are a lot…trickier. Now, as Marla attempts to train an apprentice oracle whose magical wires have gotten crossed, Jason is setting up an elaborate sting and drawing her ever-so-corruptible partner Rondeau into the ruse...Official Tim Pratt Website
Official Marla Mason Website
Order “Spell Games” HERE
Read Reviews via MentatJack
“Jailbait Zombie” by Mario Acevedo. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The suburbs of Denver were bad enough. Now the Colorado mountains are being overrun with the undead—the kind of supernatural folk that spell trouble for Felix Gomez and his kind. To kill an army of zombies run by gangsters, the vampire detective must team up with a precocious teen with clairvoyant powers. But she demands something big in return: she wants to be undead too… “Jailbait Zombie” is the fourth Felix Gomez novel after “The Undead Kama Sutra”...
Official Mario Acevedo Website
Order “Jailbait Zombie” HERE
“Deader Still” by Anton Strout. Release Date: February 24, 2009. It’s been 737 days since the Department of Extraordinary Affairs’ last vampire incursion, but that streak appears to have ended when a boat full of dead lawyers is found in the Hudson River. Using the power of psychometry—the ability to divine the history of an object by touching it—agent Simon Canderous discovers that the booze cruise was crashed by something that sucked all the blood out of the litigators. Now, his workday may never end—until his life does...
Official Anton Strout Website
Order “Deader Still” HERE
NOTE: “Deader Still” is the second Simon Canderous novel after “Dead To Me”.
“Made To Be Broken” by Kelley Armstrong. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Kelley Armstrong, the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series returns with her latest novel featuring an exciting heroine with a lethal hidden talent. This time Nadia Stafford is hot on the trail of a young woman no one else cares about—and a killer who’s bound to strike again... “Made To Be Broken” is the second novel in the Nadia Stafford series after “Exit Strategy”.
Official Kelley Armstrong Website
Order “Made To Be Broken” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Road Trip of the Living Dead” by Mark Henry. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Funny, sexy, ghoulish, and fabulous—Mark Henry’s second Amanda Feral novel after “Happy Hour of the Damned” brings Seattle’s favorite fashionable zombie back for more outrageously ghoulish adventures. This time Amanda, her best zombie friend Wendy and the clueless Gil embark on a road trip—and it’ll take more than biting wit and a flair for accessorizing for Amanda to get herself and her friends out of the trouble they find themselves in...
Official Mark Henry Website
Order “Road Trip of the Living Dead” HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + SciFiGuy
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Happy Hour of the Damned”
“The Swan Maiden” by Jules Watson. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In this lush, romantic retelling of one of the most enduring Irish legends, acclaimed Celtic historical author Jules Watson (The White Mare, The Dawn Stag, The Boar Stone) reignites the tale of Deirdre—the Irish Helen of Troy—in a story that is at once magical, beautiful, and tragic. Brimming with life and its lusts, “The Swan Maiden” is a soaring tale of enchantment and eternal passions—and of a woman who became legend...
Official Jules Watson Website
Official Marla Mason Website
Order “Spell Games” HERE
Read Reviews via MentatJack
“Jailbait Zombie” by Mario Acevedo. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The suburbs of Denver were bad enough. Now the Colorado mountains are being overrun with the undead—the kind of supernatural folk that spell trouble for Felix Gomez and his kind. To kill an army of zombies run by gangsters, the vampire detective must team up with a precocious teen with clairvoyant powers. But she demands something big in return: she wants to be undead too… “Jailbait Zombie” is the fourth Felix Gomez novel after “The Undead Kama Sutra”...Official Mario Acevedo Website
Order “Jailbait Zombie” HERE
“Deader Still” by Anton Strout. Release Date: February 24, 2009. It’s been 737 days since the Department of Extraordinary Affairs’ last vampire incursion, but that streak appears to have ended when a boat full of dead lawyers is found in the Hudson River. Using the power of psychometry—the ability to divine the history of an object by touching it—agent Simon Canderous discovers that the booze cruise was crashed by something that sucked all the blood out of the litigators. Now, his workday may never end—until his life does...Official Anton Strout Website
Order “Deader Still” HERE
NOTE: “Deader Still” is the second Simon Canderous novel after “Dead To Me”.
“Made To Be Broken” by Kelley Armstrong. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Kelley Armstrong, the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series returns with her latest novel featuring an exciting heroine with a lethal hidden talent. This time Nadia Stafford is hot on the trail of a young woman no one else cares about—and a killer who’s bound to strike again... “Made To Be Broken” is the second novel in the Nadia Stafford series after “Exit Strategy”.Official Kelley Armstrong Website
Order “Made To Be Broken” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
“Road Trip of the Living Dead” by Mark Henry. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Funny, sexy, ghoulish, and fabulous—Mark Henry’s second Amanda Feral novel after “Happy Hour of the Damned” brings Seattle’s favorite fashionable zombie back for more outrageously ghoulish adventures. This time Amanda, her best zombie friend Wendy and the clueless Gil embark on a road trip—and it’ll take more than biting wit and a flair for accessorizing for Amanda to get herself and her friends out of the trouble they find themselves in...Official Mark Henry Website
Order “Road Trip of the Living Dead” HERE
Read Reviews via Darque Reviews, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + SciFiGuy
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “Happy Hour of the Damned”
“The Swan Maiden” by Jules Watson. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In this lush, romantic retelling of one of the most enduring Irish legends, acclaimed Celtic historical author Jules Watson (The White Mare, The Dawn Stag, The Boar Stone) reignites the tale of Deirdre—the Irish Helen of Troy—in a story that is at once magical, beautiful, and tragic. Brimming with life and its lusts, “The Swan Maiden” is a soaring tale of enchantment and eternal passions—and of a woman who became legend...Official Jules Watson Website
Order “The Swan Maiden” HERE
“Starclimber” by Kenneth Oppel. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries are invited aboard the Starclimber, a vessel that literally climbs its way into the cosmos. Before they even set foot aboard the ship though, catastrophe strikes: Kate announces she is engaged—and not to Matt. Despite this bombshell, Matt and Kate embark on their journey into space, but soon the ship is surrounded by strange and unsettling life-forms, and the crew is forced to combat devastating mechanical failure. For Matt, Kate, and the entire crew of the Starclimber, what began as an exciting race to the stars has now turned into a battle to save their lives...
Official Kenneth Oppel Website
Official Starclimber Website
Order “Starclimber” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: Award-winning and bestselling author Kenneth Oppel brings us back to a rich world of flight and fantasy in this breathtaking new sequel to “Airborn” and “Skybreaker”. “Starclimber” was first published in Canada on August 26, 2008.
“The Singing” by Alison Croggon. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The climactic volume of the epic Books of Pellinor quartet follows the Bards of Edil-Amarandh on a vital quest to merge their powers against a nameless evil. In an increasingly battle-ravaged land, Maerad, Cadvan, and Hem desperately search for one another as they make their separate journeys. Can brother and sister find each other in time to fight the all-powerful Nameless One, and are they strong enough—even reunited—to defeat him before all is lost?
Official Alison Croggon Website
Official The Books Of Pellinor Website
Order “The Singing” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via SFF World
“Death’s Daughter” by Amber Benson. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Calliope Reaper-Jones just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig’s List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss. But when her father—who happens to be Death himself—is kidnapped, and the Devil’s Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle—only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first...
Official Amber Benson Wikipedia Website
Order “Death’s Daughter” HERE
NOTE: Amber Benson is best known for her role on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. She is currently writing both novels and comic books and has so far collaborated with Christopher Golden, Eric Powell, Terry Moore and Ben Templesmith.
“The Case of the Dragon Slayer” by Kouhei Kadono & Kazuma Kaneko. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In all the world, there have only ever been seven dragons, creatures of incalculable strength and wisdom with magical powers beyond those of even the greatest wizard. Some say the dragons are as old as time. Others say they will live forever. They are wrong. A dragon has died. Even worse: It was murdered. And if the killer is not found soon, a cataclysmic war will break out that could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of people...
Official Kouhei Kadono Wikipedia Website
Order “The Case of the Dragon Slayer” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Case of the Dragon Slayer” is the first book in the four-volume Jiken series which was originally released in Japan from 2000-2005.
“Crimson” by Gord Rollo. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The small town of Dunnville is no stranger to fear. Evil has stalked its dark streets once before, leaving in its wake a legacy of blood and madness. No one in the town likes to talk about it much and some folks deny it ever happened. But four boyhood friends are about to discover the truth, and what the boys have released from an icy well is no legend. It’s very real indeed, and it will soon terrify Dunnville to its very core. The nightmares of the past are about to begin again...
Official Gord Rollo Website
Order “Crimson” HERE
Read Reviews via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + The Horror Review
“Raven: Blood Eye” by Giles Kristian. UK Release Date: February 26, 2009. For two years Osric lived a simple life, apprentice to the mute old carpenter who took him in when others would have him cast out. But when Norsemen from across the sea burn his village they also destroy his new life, and Osric finds himself a prisoner of these warriors. Their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, believes the Norns have woven this strange boy's fate together with his own, and Osric becomes immersed in the Norsemen's world and driven by their lust for adventure...
Official Giles Kristian Website
Order “Raven: Blood Eye” HERE
Read Reviews via Fantasy Book Review, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Realms of Speculative Fiction + The Bookbag
Previous Spotlights:
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
“Starclimber” by Kenneth Oppel. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries are invited aboard the Starclimber, a vessel that literally climbs its way into the cosmos. Before they even set foot aboard the ship though, catastrophe strikes: Kate announces she is engaged—and not to Matt. Despite this bombshell, Matt and Kate embark on their journey into space, but soon the ship is surrounded by strange and unsettling life-forms, and the crew is forced to combat devastating mechanical failure. For Matt, Kate, and the entire crew of the Starclimber, what began as an exciting race to the stars has now turned into a battle to save their lives...Official Kenneth Oppel Website
Official Starclimber Website
Order “Starclimber” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: Award-winning and bestselling author Kenneth Oppel brings us back to a rich world of flight and fantasy in this breathtaking new sequel to “Airborn” and “Skybreaker”. “Starclimber” was first published in Canada on August 26, 2008.
“The Singing” by Alison Croggon. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The climactic volume of the epic Books of Pellinor quartet follows the Bards of Edil-Amarandh on a vital quest to merge their powers against a nameless evil. In an increasingly battle-ravaged land, Maerad, Cadvan, and Hem desperately search for one another as they make their separate journeys. Can brother and sister find each other in time to fight the all-powerful Nameless One, and are they strong enough—even reunited—to defeat him before all is lost?Official Alison Croggon Website
Official The Books Of Pellinor Website
Order “The Singing” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read Reviews via SFF World
“Death’s Daughter” by Amber Benson. Release Date: February 24, 2009. Calliope Reaper-Jones just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig’s List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss. But when her father—who happens to be Death himself—is kidnapped, and the Devil’s Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle—only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first...Official Amber Benson Wikipedia Website
Order “Death’s Daughter” HERE
NOTE: Amber Benson is best known for her role on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. She is currently writing both novels and comic books and has so far collaborated with Christopher Golden, Eric Powell, Terry Moore and Ben Templesmith.
“The Case of the Dragon Slayer” by Kouhei Kadono & Kazuma Kaneko. Release Date: February 24, 2009. In all the world, there have only ever been seven dragons, creatures of incalculable strength and wisdom with magical powers beyond those of even the greatest wizard. Some say the dragons are as old as time. Others say they will live forever. They are wrong. A dragon has died. Even worse: It was murdered. And if the killer is not found soon, a cataclysmic war will break out that could lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of people...Official Kouhei Kadono Wikipedia Website
Order “The Case of the Dragon Slayer” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
NOTE: “The Case of the Dragon Slayer” is the first book in the four-volume Jiken series which was originally released in Japan from 2000-2005.
“Crimson” by Gord Rollo. Release Date: February 24, 2009. The small town of Dunnville is no stranger to fear. Evil has stalked its dark streets once before, leaving in its wake a legacy of blood and madness. No one in the town likes to talk about it much and some folks deny it ever happened. But four boyhood friends are about to discover the truth, and what the boys have released from an icy well is no legend. It’s very real indeed, and it will soon terrify Dunnville to its very core. The nightmares of the past are about to begin again...Official Gord Rollo Website
Order “Crimson” HERE
Read Reviews via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review + The Horror Review
“Raven: Blood Eye” by Giles Kristian. UK Release Date: February 26, 2009. For two years Osric lived a simple life, apprentice to the mute old carpenter who took him in when others would have him cast out. But when Norsemen from across the sea burn his village they also destroy his new life, and Osric finds himself a prisoner of these warriors. Their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, believes the Norns have woven this strange boy's fate together with his own, and Osric becomes immersed in the Norsemen's world and driven by their lust for adventure...Official Giles Kristian Website
Order “Raven: Blood Eye” HERE
Read Reviews via Fantasy Book Review, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, Realms of Speculative Fiction + The Bookbag
Previous Spotlights:
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
3:01 AM | 
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Robert |
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5 comments:
this month contains few gems for me except the return of simmons and bruce sterling.
the paranormal/urban fantasy is on overkill. some has been great, but now its just getting silly. 'im a detective with magic powers and broken past, my love life is crap and protect a city for some ridiculous reason.'
and yet, few have personality of the best writers that have done that for years with needing a tv series deal: emma bull/charles de lint. granted they aren't writing noiromance or chicklet buffy stories, so no one may notice.
okat, rant done! :D
I cross-check the list against various lists of new releases (BN, BoB, Amazon.uk) and urban paranormal is what's hot, so it is what's being published in droves.
But the reviews here are or will be:
Drood (up), Judging Eye (up), Mortal Coils (up), Steal Across the Sky (done, tbp), Walls of the Universe (done, tbp), Wings of Wrath (done, tbp), Solaris SF 3 (done, tbp), Dragonfly Falling (done, tbp), The Juggler (tbd when book out), The Rise of the Iron Moon (tbd when book out) Lamentation (done, tbp), Palimpsest (tbd when I get the book), Blood and Ice (posted), Black Blood (done, tbp), The Accord (tbd), The Third Claw of God (tbd), Raven Blood Eye (tbd), and possible several others that Robert knows about, so I think that you will find a lot of variety in the list above...
I know that I have a lot of books to review and I don't believe any of my books are of the paranormal/urban type that I know about.
But just like Late Sept/October all the books are usually horror based because of Halloween I just chalk up this month as one of those that I can catch up on my reading.
Thank you for compiling these lists. They are really helpful.
--Eric
You're more than welcome Eric :D Hopefully the spotlights will continue to be helpful...
Raul, as Liviu mentioned, urban fantasy is what's currently hot and has been for several months. In fact, there are probably several urban fantasy/paranormal romance titles that I overlook every month. Just imagine if I included all of those ;)
I agree it's overkill right now, and I'm interested to see how much longer the subgenre can stay popular, but as long as people keep buying the books, publishers will keep producing them. The key is to figure out which titles are actually worth reading...