Official Rachel Aaron Website
Order The Spirit Thief HERE
Chapter Excerpt [1st two chapters; pdf format]
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rachel Aaron lives in Atlanta with her family.
She graduated from University of Georgia with a degree in English Literature. She's fond of reading from her childhood and now has an ever-growing collection to show for it. She loves gaming, Manga & reality TV police shows. This is her debut.
PLOT SUMMARY: Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief. But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect.
The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while. Like a king…
The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while. Like a king…
CLASSIFICATION: For the most part, The Spirit Thief is a classical fantasy novel set in medieval times, the book invokes tales akin to those popularized by Terry Brooks & David Eddings in the early 80s.
FORMAT/INFO: The Spirit Thief is 310 pages long divided over twenty-eight numbered chapters. Narration is in the third person via many different characters such as Eli Monpress, Miranda Lyonette, Renaud, Nico, Josef Liechten, Marion & King Henrith. The Spirit Thief can be read as a standalone novel, but it is the first volume in a series of five books. There's also an "Extras" section which has an author interview as well as an excerpt from the next installment, "The Spirit Rebellion".
FORMAT/INFO: The Spirit Thief is 310 pages long divided over twenty-eight numbered chapters. Narration is in the third person via many different characters such as Eli Monpress, Miranda Lyonette, Renaud, Nico, Josef Liechten, Marion & King Henrith. The Spirit Thief can be read as a standalone novel, but it is the first volume in a series of five books. There's also an "Extras" section which has an author interview as well as an excerpt from the next installment, "The Spirit Rebellion".
ANALYSIS: Rachel Aaron is an author who came out of the left field when I noticed her books in Orbit's fall catalog. What drew me to The Spirit Thief was that the blurb promised a fun caper and there were two more sequels within the next couple of months as well. I checked out the excerpt on her website and found that I enjoyed and wanted to read more. So I requested a review copy from the author & Orbit readily obliged.
The first chapter introduces us to the titular character, Eli Monpress as he's locked away in a jail. He then proceeds to charm his way on the door as he convinces it to go back against its primary function of being a door and makes his escape so he can go on his way to complete the job. The second chapter introduces us to Miranda Lyonette, a spiritualist from the Spirit Court who is chasing Eli Monpress and his gang; she makes an entrance riding her ghost dog Gin who is a rather scary creature but extremely intelligent as well.
Eli's gang consists of Josef Liechten, a swordsman with a rather special sword and even more talent and Nico, a rather thin girl who wears a huge cloak and certain special cuffs and has a rather special presence (so to say). Eli wants to keep on increasing the bounty on his head which currently stands at twenty thousand since his ultimate aim is rather extravagant. His current plan to kidnap the king and demand ransom seems to be going well, when Miranda's presence causes a snag and an early encounter between the two showcases who is deadlier.
Complicating the whole situation is the reappearance of King Henrith's elder brother, Prince Renaud who is a wizard on his own and seems to fill in the regal post rather quickly, and of another person who is searching for one of Eli's gang with a plan of his own. Then the story proceeds on its linear track with enough twists and surprises to keep the reader amused and entertained. The book ends on a nice climax and also gives the reader something to ponder about, namely Eli Monpress's abilities and his origin.
There are hints of a deeper picture, especially in the League of Storms, an organization which seems to be the "magical military" and which searches for something that may be cataclysmic. Josef and Nico seem to share something meaningful since they have a past history which will most likely be explored in future volumes and could possibly be a focal point for the series.
The world building is medieval in origin and the magic system is based on the all around presence of spirits, especially in inanimate objects. There are major and minor spirits which can be reasoned, coerced and counseled with for granting their favors. The Spirit College serves as a training ground for Spiritualists (or wizards for a simpler term). They are taught to protect the world around them and gain the respect and services of spirits and thereby rise in rank. The League of Storms seems to guard against mad wizards, destructive demons... though not much is revealed in this series opener & there's the enigmatic person who seems to know the most about Eli and his special abilities.
The Spirit Thief was a great page turner and the characterization was well done, though a bit predictable. Rachel Aaron's greatest strength is that she has written a very engaging tale and the world scenario seems to have more surprises in store for the readers as the storyline will be unraveled in the future books. This book was a nice surprise and a complete winner for me.
Rachel Aaron has written a fun story which can be best described as "Terry Brooks Meets Scott Lynch" in a lighter vein. This book is a refreshing change from the gritty wave that fantasy seems to riding right now and is a nice throwback to the light classical fantasy. A very enjoyable read and with further sequels to follow soon, I'm sure the author has some neat plots planned for the readers. I'm hooked on for this series and will be following it eagerly.
Liviu's Short Take: In contrast to Mihir above, I cannot say I enjoyed The Spirit Thief that much and I have no plans to read more in the series, though I liked well enough the author's writing style to try a more interesting book by her.
In a nutshell, I found The Spirit Thief taking itself too seriously for a light fantasy, and being too light for a serious fantasy so my suspension of disbelief soon found itself suspended so to speak, though the engaging style of the author kept me fast reading it to the end, hoping it will get better content-wise. Sadly, it never did...
When I got an unexpected arc of The Spirit Thief (C from me for the author's narrative energy), I thought it will be something similar to the lighter but very entertaining and fun Lex Trent Versus the Gods by Alex Bell, but the first pages disabused me quickly since as mentioned the book is taking itself way too seriously for what it is, so try the excerpt linked above since I think it will be enough to decide if you want to read it or not.
9:01 AM | 
Posted by
Liviu |
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
“Passion Play” by Beth Bernobich (Reviewed by Robert Thompson & Liviu Suciu)
Official Beth Bernobich Website
Order “Passion Play” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read the Erythandra Short Story “River of Souls” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories”
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Beth Bernobich comes from a family of storytellers, artists and engineers. She juggles her time between working with computer software, writing, family, and karate. Her bibliography includes the short story collection, A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories (Lethe Press), the Ars Memoriae novella (PS Publishing), and numerous short stories that have appeared in publications such as Asimov's, Interzone, Postscripts, and Strange Horizons. Passion Play is her first novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: As the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants, Therez Zhalina has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot, but even in the best of families there are dark secrets. Therez has learned that for a woman of her age, beauty and social station, being passive and silent is the best way to survive.
But when Therez meets the man she is to marry, she realizes he is far crueler and more deadly than her father could ever be. So Therez chooses to run, a decision that changes her life forever, starting with her name: Ilse.
It also leads her to Raul Kosenmark, the master of a pleasure house . . . and the puppetmaster of a different sort altogether. Here, Ilse discovers a world of intrigue, wild magic, seduction and treachery where the fate of kingdoms lie in the balance. A world where Ilse must master her passions in order to win all that she desires...
CLASSIFICATION: Passion Play is a novel that blends together romance, classic fantasy tropes and political intrigue. Some comparisons have been made to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, and while there are a few similarities, Passion Play is not nearly as grandiose, sensual, or elegantly written. Instead, the book reminded me at times of Robin Hobb’s early stuff, some Kate Elliott, and C.E. Murphy’s Inheritors' Cycle, although Beth Bernobich has her own style. From an age-suitable standpoint, Passion Play contains profanity, graphic violence and some sexual content, but falls in PG-13 territory for most of the novel.
FORMAT/INFO: Passion Play is 368 pages long divided over twenty-eight numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person exclusively via Therez Zhalina, who changes her name to Ilse Zhalina about seventy pages in. Passion Play comes to an acceptable stopping point, but is the first volume in the Erythandra series which is expected to have at least three more sequels: Queen’s Hunt, Allegiance and The Edge of the Empire. October 12, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of Passion Play via Tor.
ROBERT'S ANALYSIS: Passion Play is a novel I’ve been anticipating for a while now thanks to Beth Bernobich’s short fiction (A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories, Ars Memoriae), which has been highly praised by Fantasy Book Critic’s very own Liviu Suciu. Add to that a number of glowing blurbs provided by the likes of Anne McCaffrey and Patricia Briggs, not to mention comparisons to one of my favorite authors of all time in Jacqueline Carey, and I couldn’t have been more excited for Beth Bernobich’s debut.
Starting out, Passion Play is a little slow, but I was immediately charmed by the author’s writing style which is confident, graceful, and eloquent. The real draw for me though was the book’s protagonist, 16-year-old Therez/Ilse Zhalina, in particular her journey from merchant’s daughter to runaway, to slave, to kitchen servant, to assistant secretary. To be honest, Therez’s coming-of-age tale is an overly familiar one, full of classic fantasy tropes like bullies and adjusting to a different social rank, but because I cared about the character so much, I was completely entranced by the adversity Therez/Ilse had to overcome.
Unfortunately, Passion Play is unable to maintain this level of enchantment for the entire book. By the time Therez/Ilse becomes Lord Raul Kosenmark’s full-time secretary, I was starting to notice a disturbing lack of substance in the novel, which was confirmed when I finished reading Passion Play. Even worse, upon reflection I realized this issue was present from the very beginning, when Therez first made her decision to run away from home instead of getting married. A decision that, looking back, now seems rather impulsive and foolish based on what little reasoning readers are given. In fact, I strongly believe Therez’s decision to run away and the sacrifices she makes in order to avoid returning home would have been much more believable and easier to understand if Beth Bernobich had spent more time detailing the difficulties of Therez’s home life.
Alas, Therez’s life-changing choices are only the tip of the iceberg. The novel’s lack of substance also extends to Therez’s superficial transformation into Ilse—it would have been more compelling if Therez had changed more than just her name; characters that are largely two-dimensional apart from Therez/Ilse and Lord Kosenmark; shallow world building; and a plot that features an unconvincing love story, confusing politics, and ineffective intrigue.
What makes this all so frustrating is that Passion Play could have been great. Therez/Ilse and Lord Kosenmark are, for the most part, strong and interesting central characters; the plot—involving an undying king, magical jewels, two kingdoms on the brink of war, a shadow court, and much more—has all the necessary ingredients for powerful drama, crafty deception and exciting adventure; and the secondary world that Beth Bernobich has imagined is bursting with untapped potential if the tantalizing glimpses of life dreams (dreams of past lives), Lir’s jewels, and the magical realm Anderswar are anything to go by.
The problem with Passion Play is in the details, or more precisely, the lack thereof. In other words, at 368 pages, Passion Play is not nearly long enough to provide the kind of details necessary for all that is happening in the book, especially when you consider that two years of Therez’s life is covered. As a result, so much of the novel just feels shortchanged, particularly the supporting characters, the magic system, and the world building.
At this point, I can’t help but compare Passion Play to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel novels. More specifically, I can’t help wonder how much better the novel would have been if it had been written by someone like Jacqueline Carey. An unfair conjecture perhaps, but I strongly believe Passion Play would have been significantly better if more time and detail had been spent on fleshing out the characters, the story and the world of Erythandra.
Fortunately, Passion Play is only a debut novel—and just the first in a series—so Beth Bernobich has plenty of time to correct the problems that plagued her debut, and live up to the immense potential and talent that she possesses...
LIVIU’S ANALYSIS: Passion Play was my most expected debut of the second half of the year so I came to it with extremely high expectations and they were mostly met though the book was not quite what I expected based on the pre-release blurb. However, considering the author's superb collection A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories, what I was looking for in the novel, first and foremost, were beautiful prose and great characters, with an epic story or sophisticated world building more of a bonus and Passion Play shines in those two aspects.
The writing is just wonderful, the narrative flows smoothly and once you start the novel, it is very hard to stop reading it. There are heart-wrenching, and even quite dark moments in the book, but the author's style renders them pitch perfect . . . emotional but not exploitative.
I quite liked Therez/Ilse as a character. Her strong will and determination to make her own way, coupled with her touching naivete about "outside life" that leads to trouble and suffering makes her a very memorable character whom we see evolving quite a lot even during the relatively short novel that Passion Play turned out to be. Lord Kosenmark is more of a mystery since we get only hints about his past, his motivations and his ambitions, but he fits the role of experienced mentor and possible romantic interest very credibly.
The comparison with Jacqueline Carey's debut Kushiel’s Dart is somewhat misleading because that novel was an epic saga with a large cast and with romantic and explicit elements on the side, while Passion Play is romantic fantasy with two characters — she and he (though "he" is a strange one indeed) — and essentially nobody else of note. As such, I utterly loved it and the Eastern European naming worked very well for me, while the hints about the big picture were quite exciting so the series has a huge potential in the epic/world building aspects too.
I really hated that the book ended since I wanted much more. The only niggle I had was the use of third-person narration instead of first-person since the book has only one POV anyway, and I love first-person narration whenever it is possible to be used, while the aforementioned Legacy of Kushiel series shows that you can have an epic story narrated in the first-person.
Passion Play (A+) is emotional and excellent, but to be continued for full appreciation with its 2011 sequel a Top 10 anticipated fantasy of mine.
Order “Passion Play” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read the Erythandra Short Story “River of Souls” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories”
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Beth Bernobich comes from a family of storytellers, artists and engineers. She juggles her time between working with computer software, writing, family, and karate. Her bibliography includes the short story collection, A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories (Lethe Press), the Ars Memoriae novella (PS Publishing), and numerous short stories that have appeared in publications such as Asimov's, Interzone, Postscripts, and Strange Horizons. Passion Play is her first novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: As the daughter of one of Melnek’s more prominent merchants, Therez Zhalina has lived most of her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. Many would consider hers a happy lot, but even in the best of families there are dark secrets. Therez has learned that for a woman of her age, beauty and social station, being passive and silent is the best way to survive.
But when Therez meets the man she is to marry, she realizes he is far crueler and more deadly than her father could ever be. So Therez chooses to run, a decision that changes her life forever, starting with her name: Ilse.
It also leads her to Raul Kosenmark, the master of a pleasure house . . . and the puppetmaster of a different sort altogether. Here, Ilse discovers a world of intrigue, wild magic, seduction and treachery where the fate of kingdoms lie in the balance. A world where Ilse must master her passions in order to win all that she desires...
CLASSIFICATION: Passion Play is a novel that blends together romance, classic fantasy tropes and political intrigue. Some comparisons have been made to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, and while there are a few similarities, Passion Play is not nearly as grandiose, sensual, or elegantly written. Instead, the book reminded me at times of Robin Hobb’s early stuff, some Kate Elliott, and C.E. Murphy’s Inheritors' Cycle, although Beth Bernobich has her own style. From an age-suitable standpoint, Passion Play contains profanity, graphic violence and some sexual content, but falls in PG-13 territory for most of the novel.
FORMAT/INFO: Passion Play is 368 pages long divided over twenty-eight numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person exclusively via Therez Zhalina, who changes her name to Ilse Zhalina about seventy pages in. Passion Play comes to an acceptable stopping point, but is the first volume in the Erythandra series which is expected to have at least three more sequels: Queen’s Hunt, Allegiance and The Edge of the Empire. October 12, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of Passion Play via Tor.
ROBERT'S ANALYSIS: Passion Play is a novel I’ve been anticipating for a while now thanks to Beth Bernobich’s short fiction (A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories, Ars Memoriae), which has been highly praised by Fantasy Book Critic’s very own Liviu Suciu. Add to that a number of glowing blurbs provided by the likes of Anne McCaffrey and Patricia Briggs, not to mention comparisons to one of my favorite authors of all time in Jacqueline Carey, and I couldn’t have been more excited for Beth Bernobich’s debut.
Starting out, Passion Play is a little slow, but I was immediately charmed by the author’s writing style which is confident, graceful, and eloquent. The real draw for me though was the book’s protagonist, 16-year-old Therez/Ilse Zhalina, in particular her journey from merchant’s daughter to runaway, to slave, to kitchen servant, to assistant secretary. To be honest, Therez’s coming-of-age tale is an overly familiar one, full of classic fantasy tropes like bullies and adjusting to a different social rank, but because I cared about the character so much, I was completely entranced by the adversity Therez/Ilse had to overcome.
Unfortunately, Passion Play is unable to maintain this level of enchantment for the entire book. By the time Therez/Ilse becomes Lord Raul Kosenmark’s full-time secretary, I was starting to notice a disturbing lack of substance in the novel, which was confirmed when I finished reading Passion Play. Even worse, upon reflection I realized this issue was present from the very beginning, when Therez first made her decision to run away from home instead of getting married. A decision that, looking back, now seems rather impulsive and foolish based on what little reasoning readers are given. In fact, I strongly believe Therez’s decision to run away and the sacrifices she makes in order to avoid returning home would have been much more believable and easier to understand if Beth Bernobich had spent more time detailing the difficulties of Therez’s home life.
Alas, Therez’s life-changing choices are only the tip of the iceberg. The novel’s lack of substance also extends to Therez’s superficial transformation into Ilse—it would have been more compelling if Therez had changed more than just her name; characters that are largely two-dimensional apart from Therez/Ilse and Lord Kosenmark; shallow world building; and a plot that features an unconvincing love story, confusing politics, and ineffective intrigue.
What makes this all so frustrating is that Passion Play could have been great. Therez/Ilse and Lord Kosenmark are, for the most part, strong and interesting central characters; the plot—involving an undying king, magical jewels, two kingdoms on the brink of war, a shadow court, and much more—has all the necessary ingredients for powerful drama, crafty deception and exciting adventure; and the secondary world that Beth Bernobich has imagined is bursting with untapped potential if the tantalizing glimpses of life dreams (dreams of past lives), Lir’s jewels, and the magical realm Anderswar are anything to go by.
The problem with Passion Play is in the details, or more precisely, the lack thereof. In other words, at 368 pages, Passion Play is not nearly long enough to provide the kind of details necessary for all that is happening in the book, especially when you consider that two years of Therez’s life is covered. As a result, so much of the novel just feels shortchanged, particularly the supporting characters, the magic system, and the world building.
At this point, I can’t help but compare Passion Play to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel novels. More specifically, I can’t help wonder how much better the novel would have been if it had been written by someone like Jacqueline Carey. An unfair conjecture perhaps, but I strongly believe Passion Play would have been significantly better if more time and detail had been spent on fleshing out the characters, the story and the world of Erythandra.
Fortunately, Passion Play is only a debut novel—and just the first in a series—so Beth Bernobich has plenty of time to correct the problems that plagued her debut, and live up to the immense potential and talent that she possesses...
LIVIU’S ANALYSIS: Passion Play was my most expected debut of the second half of the year so I came to it with extremely high expectations and they were mostly met though the book was not quite what I expected based on the pre-release blurb. However, considering the author's superb collection A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories, what I was looking for in the novel, first and foremost, were beautiful prose and great characters, with an epic story or sophisticated world building more of a bonus and Passion Play shines in those two aspects.
The writing is just wonderful, the narrative flows smoothly and once you start the novel, it is very hard to stop reading it. There are heart-wrenching, and even quite dark moments in the book, but the author's style renders them pitch perfect . . . emotional but not exploitative.
I quite liked Therez/Ilse as a character. Her strong will and determination to make her own way, coupled with her touching naivete about "outside life" that leads to trouble and suffering makes her a very memorable character whom we see evolving quite a lot even during the relatively short novel that Passion Play turned out to be. Lord Kosenmark is more of a mystery since we get only hints about his past, his motivations and his ambitions, but he fits the role of experienced mentor and possible romantic interest very credibly.
The comparison with Jacqueline Carey's debut Kushiel’s Dart is somewhat misleading because that novel was an epic saga with a large cast and with romantic and explicit elements on the side, while Passion Play is romantic fantasy with two characters — she and he (though "he" is a strange one indeed) — and essentially nobody else of note. As such, I utterly loved it and the Eastern European naming worked very well for me, while the hints about the big picture were quite exciting so the series has a huge potential in the epic/world building aspects too.
I really hated that the book ended since I wanted much more. The only niggle I had was the use of third-person narration instead of first-person since the book has only one POV anyway, and I love first-person narration whenever it is possible to be used, while the aforementioned Legacy of Kushiel series shows that you can have an epic story narrated in the first-person.
Passion Play (A+) is emotional and excellent, but to be continued for full appreciation with its 2011 sequel a Top 10 anticipated fantasy of mine.
Pablo De Santis at Harper Collins
INTRODUCTION: I have heard about Pablo de Santis in connection to his 2009 English language debut The Paris Enigma, one of the few recent mysteries I took a closer look at. While still on my reading pile, the few pages I browsed from it put the author's name on my "check any book on publication" list and indeed once I heard of "Voltaire's Calligrapher" with the very exciting blurb below, it became an asap novel.
"Dalessius is twenty when he comes to work for one of the Enlightenment’s most famous minds, the author and philosopher Voltaire. As the great man’s calligrapher, Dalessius becomes witness to many wonders—and finds himself in the middle of a secret battle between the malevolent remnants of the all-but-dead Dark Ages and the progressive elements of the modern age.
The calligrapher’s role in this shadowy conflict will carry him to many perilous places— through the gates of sinister castles and to the doors of a bizarre bordello; toward life-and death confrontations with inventive henchmen, ingenious mechanical execution devices, poisonous fish, and murderous automatons. As the conspiracy to halt the Enlightenment’s astonishing progress intensifies, young Dalessius’s courage—as well as Voltaire’s unique cunning and wit—are put to the ultimate test as they strive to ensure the survival of the future. "
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: "Voltaire's Calligrapher" stands at close to 150 pages divided into three parts and 38 chapters, all named. The novel is narrated in first person by the hero of the title, Dalessius a 20 year old calligrapher at the time of the novel's story, though the narration is done some 30+ years later and an ocean away...
A translation of the 2001 Spanish language original, "Voltaire's Calligrapher" is what one could call "weird historical fiction" getting very close to sff-nal content with strange automatons, poisoned inks and calligraphy as an exotic "alien" art.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: France 1762, a land in conflict between the tides of the Enlightenment as embodied for example by Voltaire and his famous writings and the obscurantism of the reactionary wing of the Church led by various officials who peddle miracles that can turn sinister as the Calas affair with which the novel starts - and which grounds it in the historical time-line - amply demonstrates. But it is also a time of inventions and technological advancement even if only on a cottage scale for now and "Voltaire's Calligrapher" brings all these strands together in the narration of Dalessius.
Trained as a calligrapher at the best schools and with a desire to be the "greatest such the world has known", Dalessius' hopes conflict with his uncle's wishes who runs a mortuary transport service from Paris and wants nothing to do with his free-spirited nephew's ideas. Our hero has to get shady jobs that land him into trouble when a lucky break sends Dalessius to Voltaire's refuge at Ferney where the "great man" alternates between hoping the king will let him go back to Paris and preparing to jump over the border into Switzerland to safety and away from the specter of the Bastille or worse .
Since the philosopher needs eyes and ears on the ground and Dalessius is young and resourceful, he is sent to "infiltrate" the Church and expose a plot against the Enlightenment. In the process, Dalessius makes friends with an executioner (retired) and works for various creepy guys, encountering lots of strange stuff that I will leave the reader to discover.
The first thing I noticed about the arc of "Voltaire's Calligrapher" is how physically thin it was. But the content is fully satisfying and offers a rich and complete reading experience. Each word counts and the visual description of the places Dallesius travels in or to - from the mortuary coach, to a "doomed" house, to places of execution, cemeteries, sinister dwellings, but also fairs, artists' workrooms and opulent churches and monasteries - are one of the main strength of the novel.
Add to this, the exotic details about calligraphy, automatons and the search for an effective means of mechanical executions among other stuff the author explores which make reading the novel worth by themselves, though the story is quite interesting too with several twists and turns.
"Voltaire's Calligrapher" has also some memorable action sequences which I greatly enjoyed though its strength lie in its "exoticism in a familiar setting" and of course in the wonderful writing style of the author that is conveyed quite well even in translation.
I would have liked the book to be longer since I would have enjoyed spending more time with Dalessius, but the novel does not feel rushed or short in any way. The one slight negative for me was that despite the title, Voltaire appears mostly behind the scenes so we really do not get to see him too much, but Dalesius and his friends and enemies make up for that.
"Voltaire's Calligrapher" (A+) shows how one can write a book that is exotic and familiar at the same time and that uses the innate "interestingness" of speculative fiction at its best, while staying within the bounds of historical possibility.
Fantasy Book Critic is excited to have Cinda Williams Chima stop by for a guest blog spot. Cinda Williams Chima is the author of the series The Heir Chronicles and The Seven Realms Series. Book Two of the Seven Realms series, The Exiled Queen was released this past month.
A big thank you goes out to Cinda Williams Chima for taking the time to visit with Fantasy Book Critic.
**************************************************************************
World Building 101 by Cinda Williams Chima
World-building is the business of all fiction writers—whether we write mainstream, literary, historical, romance or fantasy fiction. Writers build a world, lure readers into it, and endeavor to keep them there.
However, we tend to associate “world-building” with fantasy and science fiction, because those stories often take place in worlds vastly different from our own. Fantasy worlds include “supernatural” elements, inconsistent with the laws of nature as we know them.
High fantasy requires more world-building, because those stories are typically set in a long-ago-and-far-away quasi-medieval setting, which can require a lot of ‘splainin’ and scene blocking. That’s one reason that fantasy novels tend to be longer than mainstream fiction—it takes time and space to create fantastical landscapes and describe magical systems.
My first fantasy series, The Heir Chronicles, is set in a well-defined contemporary fantasy world. I called it “Ohio” (oh-hi-yo.) It turns out that Ohio is familiar to many people already. Except for people who live in LA and New York City who have flown over Ohio but have never actually landed there.
My new series is high fantasy, set in the mythical Seven Realms. I created this world for The Star-Marked Warder, an adult high-fantasy trilogy that I never finished. So when I began to write The Seven Realms quartet, much of the world-building was already done. I had a history, I had some smoldering conflicts, I had a magical system, characters, and a clash of cultures.
I even had a map.
Now, I am cartographically challenged. Drawing any kind of a map is a struggle for me. But I found I really needed one when writing the story so I wouldn’t get lost in the landscape. It helped to keep me oriented, and to prevent impossible things from happening, like people going south and ending up in the north.
Here is the map I drew.
And here is the map drawn by the cartographer my publisher hired.
For some people, a map represents a descent into the abyss of high fantasy. One of my Heir Chronicles fans was not happy when I admitted that my new series involved a princess and a thief. It seems she felt much more comfortable in the Midwest.
“I just know I’m going to open up the book, and there’ll be a map on the flyleaf.”
Well, yes.
Other people feel differently. One reviewer contacted me about The Demon King, which she’d just read in ARC form. “I need to know—will there be a map in the final book?”
“Yes,” I said, cautiously.
“Good,” she said. “Otherwise, it would have to be reflected in my review.”
Whew!
Magical Systems
Magical systems are part of the world-building in fantasy. There is a continuum in fantasy magic from the subtle (e.g., clairvoyance and charisma) to the extreme (transfiguration, for example, changing a prince into a frog.) I tend toward the more subtle forms of magic. Even though my wizards can conjure up magic powerful enough to destroy the world, no lamps are being turned into cats.
In my magical systems, magic is a kind of energy that changes the state of matter. This no doubt reflects the week I spent in high school physics.
One thing I’ve learned--in order to have story, you must have conflict. In order to have conflict, magic must have limits. If your viewpoint character is all-powerful, then he can solve any problem. And that’s not good for story.
Here are some common rules and limits on magic:
· Magic is costly: magic drains the practitioner or causes pain or damage or requires expensive materials
· Magic requires tools: performing magic requires an amulet, a wand, ring, a special cloak, or a spellbook that isn’t always available or can be taken away. For example, wizards in the Seven Realms series produce “flash”—magical energy, but they need to save it up in amulets in order to accumulate enough for use. Unfortunately for wizards, amulets are made by flash-crafters among the Clans, the upland tribes who have been squabbling with wizards for more than a thousand years.
· Magic is difficult: it requires considerable learning prior to use, with intricate spells, diagrams, etc. Small errors can have dire consequences
· Magical beings have weaknesses: vampires can’t go out in the daylight, or can’t cross water, and faeries can’t abide iron, and Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite
· Time limits: magic can only be done at certain times of day, times of the year, in the full moon, etc.
Finally, in building fictional worlds, remember that they are always based on our own. Readers connect and relate to people and magical characters whose motivations, emotions, talents and flaws are understandable. When readers ask me if Trinity, OH or the city of Fellsmarch are based on real places, I say, “Of course.” But maybe not one particular place.
That’s the magic of it.
The Demon King is now available in paperback, and The Exiled Queen released September 28. There will be four books in the Seven Realms series, followed by two more Heir books.
Excerpts from each of my books are available on my website, www.cindachima.com. Help for writers can be found under Tips for Writers, including a document called, “Getting Started in Writing for Teens.”
I blog at http://cindachima.blogspot.com/, where you’ll find rants, posts on the craft of writing, and news about me and my books.
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Carrie Vaughn is the author of the popular Kitty Norville series. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. This is her first solo adult title. She's also written a YA title which was released this year. The eight title in the Kitty Norville series was published recently & she's contracted for a few more.
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 299 pages divided over Seventeen chapters and seven unnamed-unnumbered interludes. Narration is in the third person and features four characters such as Evie Walker, Sinon/Alex and a couple of others. The plot is self contained and ends with this novel.
July 6, 2010 marked the North American hardcover publication of "Discord's Apple" via Tor Books.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Carrie Vaughn is an author with whom I was unfamiliar with. While I had heard about her Kitty the Werewolf series, I haven't had the chance to try them out. So when Discord's Apple came out and had two very appealing qualities: being a solo book and the fact that the blurb mentioned it being associated with the Trojan War vis-Ã -vis Greek mythology, I thought it was an excellent opportunity to give Carrie Vaughn's writing a try.
Discord's apple is a fusion of Greek myths and apocalyptic thriller with a bit of mild comedic flavor.
The story begins with Evie Walker, a comic book writer who's returning to her small town roots in Hope's Fort, Colorado from Los Angeles. She isn't returning because of a break up or some other reason, her prime reason for returning is that her dad Frank Walker seems to be dying and she must be at her dad's side if this is true.
What she does not know is that her Dad shares a unique heritage. One which has decreed that their ancestors often had to sacrifice quite a bit of their lives either in the form of re-location or extreme hardships.
Evie also has another small query on her hands in the form of her comic book as she seems to be at a crossroads as to the direction of the main character in her comic, Tracker, the solo female in a special ops unit and who is as confused as her creator.
On returning back she finds that her town in an upheaval of sorts due to the current world events (the time frame seems to be a few years into the future from now). The US homeland has been attacked again and has lead to a tremendous increase of security measures. Upon her return her father decides to pass on a family mantle to her which comes in the form of a special room which houses certain very very special artifacts. There are several people who will be returning to collect them, some of them patiently, others rather crudely. She also meets a stranger named Alex who has met her dad and seems to be in the search of something which is beyond his means.
Inserted in this tale is also the story of a certain Greek warrior who caused the fall of Troy with his words. The Achaen warrior Sinon, who lied to the Trojans about the horse and caused the downfall of Troy is the focus of this thread. Since there's nothing mentioned in further annals about Sinon as in this story it's shown what happened to him and how he literally becomes a plaything for the gods. Sinon's struggles to survive and retain his humanity then unfold in parallel chapters as those with Evie.
In the Central storyline, Evie and Alex have to face a nemesis of legend that even Hercules feared. This person wants the apple [Of Trojan fame] which is stored with Evie's Dad and will do anything to get it. Thus begins the string of events which will lead to the world's eventual conclusion however its up to Evie, Alex and their allies to prevent a total rout and shepherd humanity into a favorable outcome. We also are treated to what happened in Sinon's timeline which also affects events in the present timeline.
Weaving Greek mythology within contemporary settings, Carrie Vaughn has written a very delectable story. Although the story appears to be very fast, at the same time it manages to slow the reader down with its intricacies. I had a chance to re-read this story and found several things that I had missed when I had read it the first time.
Although the story has a very light tone, it deals with a lot of very heavy subjects. Carrie Vaughn has to be appreciated for the way that she weaved certain heavy scenes within the narrative. These parts were so smooth the that reader rarely realizes the gravity of the situation until that particular scene is over.
The only downside to this tale is that the ending is a bit ambiguous as to what actually happened. Even though there are lines given to indicate Evie and Alex's future, the tale is left open ended which might not be to every reader's liking. After finishing this book I'm definitely tempted to check out Carrie Vaughn's other titles and I'm sure she will find lots of new fans with this book. Whether you are a Carrie Vaughn fan or just trying her out for the first time, Discord's Apple will give you a sample of her writing style, try it out for yourself and see what you think!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Odds and Ends: My New Top 10 Anticipated Novels From the Rest of 2010 - Updated with Comments
Edit October 2/2010
As another case study in book selection, I will bring forward the original post from May, now that I have almost finished the list; I added comments and review links when available to all the books below. I also made a Goodreads list with my top 25 2010 novels which I plan to keep updating as needed - there are 27 books since I put two combos as below, with #26-27 being the second book of the combo, so the true position is with their "pair".
As an additional remark, out of the 27 books there, only Passion Play and The Noise Within are books I rated below my top A++ rating, since they are very good and with extraordinary but not-yet-fully-realized potential for the series. All the rest have my top rating and the ranking reflects mostly my priorities as novels go in general and sff in particular, rather than any "objective X is better than Y"; those novels are the cream of the crop of 2010 releases for me so far.
There were some big surprises for me since May. Most notably my current #1 novel of the year The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, the Booker shortlisted Room by Emma Donoghue (#3 mainstream, #12 overall) , the #2 sf (#5 sff and #6 overall) Aurorama by Jean Christophe Valtat, and the #4 fantasy (#6 sff and #7 overall) Cold Magic by Kate Eliott.
I still do not know why I forgot about The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett in the post below since that should have been there and as expected it became a top fantasy (#6 fantasy, #9 overall) .
**************************************************************
Here is the original post with comments added in italics:
From my original Top Ten Anticipated Books of 2010, I have read 7 so far (3A++, 1 A+, 2 A, 1 A-, no major disappointments) and the 8th (The Evolutionary Void/PF Hamilton) has just made its way to my house to be read asap; there is also more information available - including confirmation of publication for 2010 or of moving to 2011 - for some of the books in the extended Anticipated Books post, so I thought of doing a new post with the New Top 10 Expected Books which *I do not yet have* and which *are confirmed for 2010.*
While there are several debuts I am very interested in, I will not list them here since my record so far with predicting my degree of interest in such is mixed (see Tome of the Undergates vs The Last Page).
However since I loved Ms. Bernobich's collection "A Handful of Pearls" (FBC rv soon), I will make an exception for her debut which intrigues me a lot by its association with the Jacqueline Carey Kushiel series which is still my number one completed fantasy series of the 00's. I will cheat a bit and mention 14 novels since I cannot stop myself...
***************************************************************
1. The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers (utterly loved Heart of Veridon, so Horns of Ruin is the one novel I give best odds to top The Folding Knife as #1 sff of the year for me now that the new IM Banks Culture is confirmed for 2011 as is the new Mary Gentle novel)
This turned out to be very "not for me". Great narrative energy that kept me reading but a comic book plot with the 100 repetitions of "in the name of Morgan I smite you" incantation of superwoman on steroids Eva Forge made me thankful it was short enough so I could finish it. Well, Dead of Veridon comes out in 2011 and hopefully the subtlety missing here, will come back since the author writes too well for comics.
2. The Half Made World by Felix Gilman (now that the blurb is available in the Tor catalog(pdf file), this one is even more intriguing and I give it second best odds for #1)
A++ and top 10 fantasy; only half a duology though which lessened a bit its impact; full review soon;
3. Passion Play by Beth Bernobich (see above why)
A+ and great debut with extraordinary promise; full FBC review
4. Empire of Light by Gary Gibson (end of series and a dark horse for #1)
A+ and good ending of the series, but I still think the series could have been awesome and stalled slightly after the excellent first volume. FBC Review
5. The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky (beginning of new sub-arc in the Kinden series; hard to believe it will top the awesome Salute the Dark, but one can hope)
A++ and top fantasy (as a combo with Salute the Dark) of 2010; FBC review
6. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks (still of great interest and very curious if Mr. Weeks can keep the freshness and exuberance of his debut trilogy)
A++ and #3 fantasy of the year; FBC review
7. Wintertide by Michael Sullivan (another #5 in a series like the Tchaikovsky novel above that will be hard pressed to top the awesome #4, in this case The Emerald Storm)
A++ and #5 fantasy of the year (as a combo with The Emerald Storm which yes, it tops) FBC review soon
8. Empire by Steven Saylor (now confirmed for August; my favorite living non-sff author is always a must; I may do a dual review with its precursor Roma)
A++ and #4 mainstream novel of the year; FBC review
***************************************************************
9 (tie). Absorption by John Meaney (early reviews were somewhat mixed; on preorder from BD)
B- and disappointing; hope the next novel brings the scattered stuff here together; FBC Review
Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding (loved Retribution Falls, let's see if the author can keep the freshness and the pace)
B and somewhat disappointing; has some great stuff, but a lot of farcical stuff too which worked in Retribution Falls sometimes because it was new, sometimes because it was just slightly on the other side of the farce, while here it tips over; I may do a full review or not depending on how other novels line up; I am in for Iron Jackal
Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres (another end of series and a book that can get very high in my end of year lists)
the only 2010 one I am missing so far; hopefully will get it soon
The Immorality Engine by George Mann (cannot wait to see how the first arc of the Newbury/Hobbes series ends)
2011
Skywatcher by Jon Connington (loved the author's debut quite unexpectedly a lot and I really, really want to see what's next)
reading it now; seems as good as the first one;
edit 8/10 Skywatcher (B) was what I expected and more almost to the end, but then the author dropped the ball badly in misjudging the emotional balance of the novel and while it did not quite ruin my experience of the series, it definitely took it a notch down. Full FBC Review soon.
The Blood of Alexandria by Richard Blake (same as above, except that this is book three in a pretty anachronistic series that nonetheless managed to hook me by the narration of its irrepressible and cynical (anti)hero and which I plan to review soon - for fantasy lovers, this series is what I imagine Joe Abercrombie would write as historical fiction)
still unread, but will get to it sooner rather than later
Edit 6/30/2010 - a little update
The new IMB Culture novel has been brought forward to October 2010 so Surface Detail should be #1 there
Yes, Surface Detail should have been #1 since as expected it became my #1 sff and sf of the year and #2 overall. FBC Review soon
Absorption (FBC Rv, B-) was somewhat disappointing though i have high hopes for the sequel because its main fault was too many threads, too little pages
Passion Play (A+, first impressions here) was not quite what I expected and the Kushiel's comparisons area bit misleading since this one is almost pure romantic fantasy; loved it once I realized the way it goes and the series has great potential but the sequels will decide how great it will be.
Got Blood of Alexandria which is the same cynical fun of #1/#2 and will read soon and got Black Prism too which starts very well, also to be read soon
As another case study in book selection, I will bring forward the original post from May, now that I have almost finished the list; I added comments and review links when available to all the books below. I also made a Goodreads list with my top 25 2010 novels which I plan to keep updating as needed - there are 27 books since I put two combos as below, with #26-27 being the second book of the combo, so the true position is with their "pair".
As an additional remark, out of the 27 books there, only Passion Play and The Noise Within are books I rated below my top A++ rating, since they are very good and with extraordinary but not-yet-fully-realized potential for the series. All the rest have my top rating and the ranking reflects mostly my priorities as novels go in general and sff in particular, rather than any "objective X is better than Y"; those novels are the cream of the crop of 2010 releases for me so far.
There were some big surprises for me since May. Most notably my current #1 novel of the year The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, the Booker shortlisted Room by Emma Donoghue (#3 mainstream, #12 overall) , the #2 sf (#5 sff and #6 overall) Aurorama by Jean Christophe Valtat, and the #4 fantasy (#6 sff and #7 overall) Cold Magic by Kate Eliott.
I still do not know why I forgot about The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett in the post below since that should have been there and as expected it became a top fantasy (#6 fantasy, #9 overall) .
**************************************************************
Here is the original post with comments added in italics:
From my original Top Ten Anticipated Books of 2010, I have read 7 so far (3A++, 1 A+, 2 A, 1 A-, no major disappointments) and the 8th (The Evolutionary Void/PF Hamilton) has just made its way to my house to be read asap; there is also more information available - including confirmation of publication for 2010 or of moving to 2011 - for some of the books in the extended Anticipated Books post, so I thought of doing a new post with the New Top 10 Expected Books which *I do not yet have* and which *are confirmed for 2010.*
While there are several debuts I am very interested in, I will not list them here since my record so far with predicting my degree of interest in such is mixed (see Tome of the Undergates vs The Last Page).
However since I loved Ms. Bernobich's collection "A Handful of Pearls" (FBC rv soon), I will make an exception for her debut which intrigues me a lot by its association with the Jacqueline Carey Kushiel series which is still my number one completed fantasy series of the 00's. I will cheat a bit and mention 14 novels since I cannot stop myself...
***************************************************************
1. The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers (utterly loved Heart of Veridon, so Horns of Ruin is the one novel I give best odds to top The Folding Knife as #1 sff of the year for me now that the new IM Banks Culture is confirmed for 2011 as is the new Mary Gentle novel)
This turned out to be very "not for me". Great narrative energy that kept me reading but a comic book plot with the 100 repetitions of "in the name of Morgan I smite you" incantation of superwoman on steroids Eva Forge made me thankful it was short enough so I could finish it. Well, Dead of Veridon comes out in 2011 and hopefully the subtlety missing here, will come back since the author writes too well for comics.
2. The Half Made World by Felix Gilman (now that the blurb is available in the Tor catalog(pdf file), this one is even more intriguing and I give it second best odds for #1)
A++ and top 10 fantasy; only half a duology though which lessened a bit its impact; full review soon;
3. Passion Play by Beth Bernobich (see above why)
A+ and great debut with extraordinary promise; full FBC review
4. Empire of Light by Gary Gibson (end of series and a dark horse for #1)
A+ and good ending of the series, but I still think the series could have been awesome and stalled slightly after the excellent first volume. FBC Review
5. The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky (beginning of new sub-arc in the Kinden series; hard to believe it will top the awesome Salute the Dark, but one can hope)
A++ and top fantasy (as a combo with Salute the Dark) of 2010; FBC review
6. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks (still of great interest and very curious if Mr. Weeks can keep the freshness and exuberance of his debut trilogy)
A++ and #3 fantasy of the year; FBC review
7. Wintertide by Michael Sullivan (another #5 in a series like the Tchaikovsky novel above that will be hard pressed to top the awesome #4, in this case The Emerald Storm)
A++ and #5 fantasy of the year (as a combo with The Emerald Storm which yes, it tops) FBC review soon
8. Empire by Steven Saylor (now confirmed for August; my favorite living non-sff author is always a must; I may do a dual review with its precursor Roma)
A++ and #4 mainstream novel of the year; FBC review
***************************************************************
9 (tie). Absorption by John Meaney (early reviews were somewhat mixed; on preorder from BD)
B- and disappointing; hope the next novel brings the scattered stuff here together; FBC Review
Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding (loved Retribution Falls, let's see if the author can keep the freshness and the pace)
B and somewhat disappointing; has some great stuff, but a lot of farcical stuff too which worked in Retribution Falls sometimes because it was new, sometimes because it was just slightly on the other side of the farce, while here it tips over; I may do a full review or not depending on how other novels line up; I am in for Iron Jackal
Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres (another end of series and a book that can get very high in my end of year lists)
the only 2010 one I am missing so far; hopefully will get it soon
The Immorality Engine by George Mann (cannot wait to see how the first arc of the Newbury/Hobbes series ends)
2011
Skywatcher by Jon Connington (loved the author's debut quite unexpectedly a lot and I really, really want to see what's next)
reading it now; seems as good as the first one;
edit 8/10 Skywatcher (B) was what I expected and more almost to the end, but then the author dropped the ball badly in misjudging the emotional balance of the novel and while it did not quite ruin my experience of the series, it definitely took it a notch down. Full FBC Review soon.
The Blood of Alexandria by Richard Blake (same as above, except that this is book three in a pretty anachronistic series that nonetheless managed to hook me by the narration of its irrepressible and cynical (anti)hero and which I plan to review soon - for fantasy lovers, this series is what I imagine Joe Abercrombie would write as historical fiction)
still unread, but will get to it sooner rather than later
Edit 6/30/2010 - a little update
The new IMB Culture novel has been brought forward to October 2010 so Surface Detail should be #1 there
Yes, Surface Detail should have been #1 since as expected it became my #1 sff and sf of the year and #2 overall. FBC Review soon
Absorption (FBC Rv, B-) was somewhat disappointing though i have high hopes for the sequel because its main fault was too many threads, too little pages
Passion Play (A+, first impressions here) was not quite what I expected and the Kushiel's comparisons area bit misleading since this one is almost pure romantic fantasy; loved it once I realized the way it goes and the series has great potential but the sequels will decide how great it will be.
Got Blood of Alexandria which is the same cynical fun of #1/#2 and will read soon and got Black Prism too which starts very well, also to be read soon
This month Robert Thompson provided most of the book titles with additions by Cindy Hannikman, Liviu Suciu and Mihir Wanchoo. We are featuring 54 books. This month there were considerably more new sff releases but we tried to limit ourselves to a reasonable number and we chose the books most in tune with what's reviewed here.
The release dates are US unless marked otherwise and the books are first edition unless noted differently. The dates are on a best known basis so they are not guaranteed; same about the edition information. Since information sometimes is out of date even in the Amazon/Book Depository links we use for listings, books get delayed or sometimes even released earlier, we would truly appreciate if you would send us an email about any listing with incorrect information.
Sometimes a cover image is not available at the time of the post and also sometimes covers change unexpectedly so while we generally use the Amazon one when available and cross check with Google Images, the ultimate bookstore cover may be different.
**************************************************************
"Skywatcher" by Jon Connington. Release Date: October 1, 2010."Wintertide" by Michael Sullivan. Release Date: October 1, 2010.
“The Clockwork Three” by Matthew Kirby. Release Date: October 1, 2010.
“Odd Is Our Side” by Dean Koontz, Fred Van Lente & Queenie Chan. October 5, 2010
"Voltaire's Calligrapher" by Pablo de Santis. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
"1635: The Eastern Front" by Eric Flint. Release Date: October 5, 2010
**************************************************************
“The Wolf Age” by James Enge. Release Date: October 5, 2010.“The Cardinal's Blades” by Pierre Pevel. Release Date: October 5, 2010 (US Debut).
“The Magickers Chronicles: Volume Two” by Emily Drake. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“Frankenstein's Monster” by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“Kill the Dead” by Richard Kadrey. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“The Dead Path” by Stephen M. Irwin. Release Date: October 5, 2010 (US Debut).
**************************************************************
“Petty Magic” by Camille DeAngelis. Release Date: October 5, 2010.“Behemoth” by Scott Westerfeld. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“Halt’s Peril” by John Flanagan. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“The Unidentified” by Rae Mariz. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“The Witches' Kitchen” by Allen Williams. Release Date: October 5, 2010.
“The Half-Made World” by Felix Gilman. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
**************************************************************
“Passion Play” by Beth Bernobich. Release Date: October 12, 2010.“Fatal Error” by F. Paul Wilson. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
“Hold Me Closer, Necromancer” by Lish McBride. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
“The Heroes of Olympus” by Rick Riordan. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
“The Scorch Trials” by James Dashner. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
“The Goblin Gate” by Hilari Bell. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
**************************************************************
“The Dragons of Noor” by Janet Lee Carey. Release Date: October 12, 2010.“The Curse of the Wendigo” by Rick Yancey. Release Date: October 12, 2010.
“Crossing Over” by Anna Kendall. Release Date: October 14, 2010.
“The Jumbee” by Pamela Keyes. Release Date: October 14, 2010.
“The Rebel Prince” by Celine Kiernan. Release Date: October 18, 2010.
“The Company Man” by Robert Jackson Bennett. UK Release Date: October 18, 2010.
**************************************************************
“Hunger” by Jackie Morse Kessler. Release Date: October 18, 2010.“Against All Things Ending” by Stephen Donaldson. Release Date: October 19, 2010.
"In a Strange Room" by Damon Galgut. Release Date: October 19, 2010. (US Debut)
“All Clear” by Connie Willis. Release Date: October 19, 2010.
“Cryoburn” by Lois McMaster Bujold. Release Date: October 19, 2010.
“The Dragon's Apprentice” by James A. Owen. Release Date: October 19, 2010.
**************************************************************
“Dark Matter” by Michelle Paver. UK Release Date: October 21, 2010.“Corvus” by Paul Kearney. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Echo City” by Tim Lebbon. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Tracato” by Joel Shepherd. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Side Jobs” by Jim Butcher. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“The Clone Empire” by Stephen L. Kent. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
**************************************************************
“Kris Longknife: Redoubtable” by Mike Shepherd. Release Date: October 26, 2010.“Autumn” by David Moody. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Soul Stealers” by Andy Remic. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Rise Again” by Ben Tripp. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“The End of the Line” edited by Jonathan Oliver. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“City of Dreams & Nightmare” by Ian Whates. Release Date: October 26, 2010 (US Debut).
**************************************************************
“Servant of the Underworld” by Aliette de Bodard. October 26, 2010 (US Debut).“The Spirit Rebellion” by Rachel Aaron. Release Date: October 26, 2010.
“Surface Detail” by Iain M. Banks. Release Date: October 28, 2010.
“Initiate’s Trial” by Janny Wurts. UK Release Date: October 28, 2010.
“Version 43” by Philip Palmer. Release Date: October 28, 2010.
“Deadman's Road” by Joe R. Lansdale. Release Date: October 31, 2010.
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