Amph SFF: Books New Releases

That list is so much easier to work with than what I've been doing.

 

Several of those look interesting. Oh, library . . .

 

I'm going to find more tomorrow or Tuesday. Sorry for the delay.

Rainbows End
by Vernor Vinge
Pub. Date: April 2007
?Format: Mass Market Paperback, 400pp
?Publisher: Tor Books
From visionary science fiction author Vernor Vinge, author of the Hugo Award?winning novels A Fire upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, comes a glimpse into the not-too-distant future: a technologically advanced, fully networked tomorrow that can offer people a second chance at life -- and more than a few opportunities to destroy it.

The year is 2025 when Robert Gu, suffering from Alzheimer's for years, receives a groundbreaking treatment and is fully cured. Now free of dementia, the internationally renowned 75-year old poet suddenly has a new outlook on life. He's attending a vocational school and trying hard to understand the brave new world around him. But his education leads him to the dark side of technology, into a world of bioterrorism, mind control, super-advanced spyware...and omniscient talking rabbits.

A departure of sorts from far-flung futuristic epics like A Fire upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky, and Marooned in Realtime, this is a more contemporary and intimate tale, featuring only a handful of central characters. And although the narrative scope of Rainbows End isn't as grand as the aforementioned titles, the overriding theme -- the pervasiveness (and invasiveness) of technology in everyday society -- packs one helluva disturbing and thought-provoking wallop. An eminent futurist, Vinge has filled this novel with numerous revolutionary technological advances: wearable wireless computers, contact lenses with virtual reality capabilities, and silent instant messaging technology, to name just a few. The very best science fiction authors are like modern-day prophets in that they offer readers a possible preview of the shape of things to come; Rainbows End is Vinge's most penetrating glimpse into the future.

Voidfarer: A Tale of the Moonworlds Saga
by Sean McMullen
?Format: Mass Market Paperback, 400pp
?Publisher: Tor Books

At first Wayfarer Inspector Danolarian thought the huge oval thing that had fallen from the sky was a dragon's egg. When it opened, however, he knew that it was much, much worse. His world was being invaded by pitiless sorcerers from Lupan, who could sweep whole armies aside, and even defeat the invulnerable glass dragons. Surrender or flight were the only options ... but not for Inspector Danolarian, his Wayfarer Constables, and his sweetheart, the sorceress Lavenci.
Although Danolarian is no sorcerer, he's no ordinary Wayfarer either. Faced with civilization crumbling around him, and organized resistance shattered by the invincible magic of the Lupanians, he chances upon an unlikely ally and begins to fight back. It won't be easy, for he has to rally the demoralized sorcerers of Alberin, organize its terrified citizens, stay one step ahead of his own past, and, most importantly, survive a dinner party with Lavenci's mother.


The Fortress of Glass (Crown of the Isles Series #1)
by David Drake
?Format: Mass Market Paperback, 416pp
?Publisher: Tor Books
The Fortress of Glass is the first in the Crown of the Isles trilogy, which will conclude the epic Lord of the Isles series. A true trilogy, the action extends over the whole three-book arc. The Fortress of Glass begins the story of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally brought into being by the group of heroes and heroines who have been central to all the books in the series. The group includes Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, his sister Ilna, with her adopted child Merota and piratical Chalcus. On giant triremes filled with soldiers and diplomats, they

 

Rollback looks to be pretty interesting.

 

Read the prequel and I'm waiting for this. Very good; a bit like Anita Blake but without all the whining

 

YAY! I'm excited to hear that cuz I picked up the first one the other day in the hopes that it would be better than Anita Blake. Haven't had time to start it yet though.

 

It's really good. It has a plot like Anita Blake where things just keep happening and new twists are constantly being added, but the sex isn't overdone and there was no Anita-style whining. Eagerly awaiting the next book

 

Apologies for the delay. Its been a rough two weeks for me from school and family stuff. I'm better now though.

Mother Leakey and the Bishop: A Ghost Story
?Authors: Peter Marshall
?Year: 2007-04-22
?Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
?Pages: 336
Halloween 1636: sightings of the ghost of an old woman begin to be reported in the small English coastal town of Minehead, and a royal commission is sent to investigate. December 1640: a disgraced Protestant bishop is hanged in the Irish capital, Dublin, after being convicted of an 'unspeakable' crime. In this remarkable piece of historical detective work, Peter Marshall sets out to uncover the intriguing links between these two seemingly unconnected events. The result is a compelling tale of dark family secrets, of efforts to suppress them, and of the ways in which they finally come to light. It is also the story of a shocking seventeenth-century Church scandal which cast its shadow over religion and politics in Britain and Ireland for the best part of three centuries, drawing in a host of well known and not-so-well-known characters along the way, including Jonathan Swift, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Walter Scott. A fascinating story in its own right, Mother Leakey and the Bishop is also a sparkling demonstration of how the telling of stories is central to the way we remember the past, and can become part of the fabric of history itself.

The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization ?Authors: Daniel Manus Pinkwater
?Year: 2007-04-23
?Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
?Pages: 200
The old powers try to come back, and the planet is plunged into chaos, and civilization is destroyed, and it gets all violent and evil? the old legends tell that a hero? with the sacred turtle, always ? Los Angeles, California. Neddie Wentworthstein is the guy with the turtle. Sandor Eucalyptus is the guy with the jellybean. Sholmos Bunyip wants the turtle . . . and he?ll stop at nothing to get it. This is the story of how Neddie, three good friends, a shaman, a ghost, and a little maneuver known as the French substitution determine the fate of the world.

A Fate Worse Than Dragons
?Authors: John Moore
?Year: 2007-04-24
?Publisher: Ace
?Pages: 240
In an attempt to win the hand of Princess Gloria in marriage, Sir Terry slays a dragon-only to discover he's killed the dragon in a neighboring kingdom and inadvertently earned the devotion of the wrong princess. And everyone knows that getting stuck with the wrong girl is truly a fate worse than dragons.

High Spirits (Charmed)
?Authors: Scott Ciencin
?Year: 2007-04-24
?Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
?Pages: 224
She sang her telegram to a Hollywood star -- now he entertains from afar.
Foe to friend, help in our quest to rid this mansion of an unwanted guest.
The Charmed Ones travel to Hollywood to attend a big bash hosted by Kevin Peterson, Paige's old flame. Kevin is holding the party at his recently purchased mansion, which he was able to afford because of rumors that it's haunted! Sure enough, ghostly goings-on begin almost immediately, but everyone believes that Kevin is the one behind the "haunting." He confides in Paige that he is not.
The ghost reveals himself to be Robert Maxwell, a star of stage and screen who vanished under mysterious circumstances in 1926 -- right after receiving a singing telegram. A friendly ghost, Maxwell just likes having an audience. But when people start to disappear and the house seals shut, the Charmed Ones realize something evil must also be lurking. It is only with the able assistance of their ghostly ally that they and the rest of the partygoers stand a chance.

[link=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/14165

 

Hope you and your family are okay

Ton of books!! The John Moore one looks good; he's always good.

 

Thanks, Nat!

I'm excited about the new Charmed book!

 

Zodiac

I like how that book is described lisar

 

Ok...so there appears to be a billion books coming out this week. I've been working on this for awhile now and the end still isn't in sight. Here's what I have so far and more will follow tomorrow.


1634: The Baltic War
?Authors: David Weber , Eric Flint
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Baen
?Pages: 448
The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville¿the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident¿are caught in the middle of it. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and Denmark¿former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans represent¿which are besieging the German city of Luebeck. Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy¿s ironclad ships¿desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.


A Nameless Witch
?Authors: A. Lee Martinez
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: TOR Books
?Pages: 320
A tale of vengeance, true love, and cannibalism

Being born undead can have its disadvantages, such as eternal youth and flawless beauty ---things most unsuitable for a witch. Hiding behind the guise of a grimy old crone, the witch is content living outside Fort Stalwart with her unlikely band of allies: a troll named Gwurm, an enchanted broom, and a demonic duck named Newt. She leads a simple life filled with spells, potions, and the occasional curse.

So when a White Knight arrives at Fort Stalwart, the witch knows her days of peace are at an end. The Knight is just days in front of a horde of ravenous goblings, and Fort Stalwart lies right in the horde?s path. But the goblings are just the first wave of danger, and soon the witch and the Knight must combine forces on a perilous quest to stop a mad sorcerer from destroying the world.

Filled with menace, monsters, and magic, A Nameless Witch is a properly witchly read by the award-winning author of Gil?s All Fright Diner and In the Company of Ogres.


All Together Dead
?Authors: Charlaine Harris
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Ace Hardcover
?Pages: 336
Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.
The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

Ardneh's Sword
?Authors: Fred Saberhagen
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
?Pages: 352
It's been a thousand years since the time of Ardneh, the transcendent being that saved humanity from th

 

27 Word document pages later....

Relentless (Dominion Trilogy)
?Authors: Robin Parrish
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Bethany House
?Pages: 448
Action-packed suspense of a reluctant larger-than-life hero who finds himself in the vortex of rapidly changing world events. Dominion Trilogy book 1.

Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2007 Edition
?Editors: Rich Horton
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Leisure Books
?Pages: 400
Self explanatory description from the title.

Seraphs
?Authors: Faith Hunter
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Roc Trade
?Pages: 368
The thrilling follow-up to Bloodring from "a new, strongly unique voice in the dark fantasy genre." (Kim Harrison)
Living among humans in a post-apocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix has learned to count on her friends, but she's lost count of her enemies. She is a source of both fear and fascination for the people of Mineral City: Her powers can save them from the forces of evil, but also attract demon spawn and succubae. And fighting on her own turf nearly gets Thorn and those she holds dear killed.
But Thorn's ultimate test awaits deep under the snow-covered mountains beyond the village, where an imprisoned, fallen seraph desperately needs her help. There, hidden in the hellhole, the armies of Darkness assemble to ensure this subterranean rescue will be Thorn's final descent.

The Best of the Destroyer
?Authors: Warren Murphy , Richard Sapir
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: Forge Books
?Pages: 544
In combination with the launch of The New Destroyer, brand-new novels continuing this bestselling, action-packed series, Forge is publishing this omnibus of three of the definitive Destroyer novels. Hand-picked by co-creator and co-author Warren Murphy, these three novels serve as both a revisit to the golden age of the series and a great introduction to what Remo Williams and his Sinanju master, Chiun, have been up to for the past thirty years. Included are:

The Destroyer: Chinese Puzzle

The US President calls upon the service of Remo and Chiun to smash an Asian conspiracy that could lead to a US-China confrontation . . . if the superhuman weapon of destruction fails, it could mean the end of the USA.

The Destroyer: Slave Safari

There is a secret only Chiun knows. America has committed a sin against him he cannot pardon -- and he will not even share it with Remo Williams, the Destroyer, whom he has taught all his skills and loves as a son. Deep in Africa, countless feuds that have blazed for many centuries are quickly being resolved by death and massacre. A massive conspiracy is unearthed surrounding the centuries-old slave trade, and only Remo can unravel it.

The Destroyer: Assassin's Playoff

After a brutal fight in the streets of New Jersey, Remo and Chiun find themselves in battle after battle. Their arch-enemy and fellow assassin, the Maestro of Mayhem known as Nuihc, is hoping to knock out his competition. It all comes to a boil in Chiun's hometown in North Korea as the Destroyer finds himself in a fight to the death.

The Blood Knight: Book Three of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone
?Authors: Greg Keyes
?Year: 2007-05-01
?Publisher: del Rey
?Pages: 576
Brimming with passion and adventure, Greg Keyes?s epic saga of a royal family?s fall from power through treachery and dark magic, set amid the return of ancient evils whose malevolence threatens to annihilate humanity, bids fair to become a classic of its kind. Now, in the eagerly awaited third installment, Keyes draws the threads of his tapestry ever tighter, illuminating old mysteries and introducing new ones as events build toward a shattering climax.

The legend

 

Woah, no kidding!!

Bergdorf Blondes I've read. It was okay, but not worth $13.

I usually love Juliet Marillier (the first two books of her Sevenwaters trilogy wer fantastic, though I didn't like the third). This book I got halfway through and I read the last page. Ana doesn't end up with Faolan, she ends up with her husband-to-be's brother and breaks Faolan's heart and I just couldn't finish it.

I also read Druid's Sword. Sara Douglass was one of the first big fantasy authors I've read, and I really loved the first three books of the Wayfarer Redemption series (they weren't as good when I re-read this year, though). Her Threshhold is fantastic. But Druid's Sword is the fourth book in a quartet. She started out in the first books by having a glimpse at the fourth book at the beginning of each of five sections; the idea was that all of these characters would keep being reborn throught time until they got things right. The bad guy was supposed to be Hitler here, because this is WWII. Well, Ms. Douglass decided she liked him, so she put him with the female lead. This girl was supposed to eventually end up with the male lead, after all the centures of fighting and hating each other and hurting each other. But no. Now he ends up with her daughter with the 'bad guy.' The 'glimpses at the future' she blew off as a dream. It just really irritated me that she didn't stick to what was pretty obviously the plan.


I really want to read Kushiel's Scion. I have it upstairs waiting for me. It's the fourth book in a series I'm really enjoying, and I just finished the second over the weekend. Really excited


No Humans Involed looks interesting, though I'll have to get the others first.


Once Upon an Autumn Eve is the third or foruth book in a series. I've read the first book, but it was just okay. I've got the second waiting for me and I'm looking forward to this and the other book.


Speaking of Sara Douglass . . . I do plan on reading this latest one, but I never finished the Wayfarer Redemption books, which I need to do first.

 

Bloodtide
?Authors: Melvin Burgess
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Simon Pulse
?Pages: 384
London is in ruins, a once highly advanced city now a gated wasteland.
Within its walls, a bloody war rages between two clans. Hope is
sparse, but the people believe the gods have risen from the dead.
Odin himself has come to play a part in the lives of two twins, a
brother and sister from the Volson clan. Siggy and Signy must come to
grips with their destiny as London's future teeters on the edge of a
knife....

Crusader
?Authors: Sara Douglass
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Voyager
?Pages: 608
At the start of Douglass's powerful conclusion to her Wayfarer Redemption saga (after 2005's Pilgrim), the surviving people of Tencendor have taken refuge in Sanctuary, where they are under siege by star-traveling demons, the TimeKeepers. When treason threatens the resistance, DragonStar, the swordswoman Faraday and other fighters leave Sanctuary in an effort to defeat their opponents through attrition rather than pitched battle. Along the way, the defenders confront any number of knotty ethical dilemmas. Faraday resolves the ambiguities of her feelings for DragonStar, and a host of secondary characters (headed by DragonStar's father, Axis) all play roles that most long-standing readers of this complex fantasy series will find satisfying.

Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths: The Lost Chronicles, Volume One
?Authors: Tracy Hickman , Margaret Weis
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
?Pages: 608
Tanis Half-Elven... Flint Fireforge... Tasslehoff Burfoot... the classic Dragonlance characters are back!

Picking up where the first book of the classic Dragonlance Chronicles left off, this tale follows the Companions of the Lance on their adventures following the rescue of the refugees of Pax Tharkas. Flint and Tanis Half-Elven travel to the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, while the rest of the Companions confront challenges of their own.

Night of Long Shadows: The Inquisitives, Book 2
?Authors: Paul Crilley
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
?Pages: 320
Explore the dark under-belly of Khorvaire with Eberron's version of the private detective - The Inquisitives!

Nights of the Long Shadow: the three nights of the year when the darkest powers of the world gain strength and rise to prey upon the unwary. When one of Sharn's most famed Inquisitives is hired to investigate a brutal murder at Morgrave University, his brilliance may be his damnation, as he uncovers a trail of blood leading from the deediest neighborhoods of the City of Towers to the highest reaches of power.

Pilgrim
?Authors: Sara Douglass
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Voyager
?Pages: 768
The Star Gate is destroyed and the Star Dance is dead. Icarii Enchanters, gods, and humans alike are helpless as the TimeKeeper Demons lay waste to Tencendor. There must be hope left, but no one knows where to find it. Death lurks in every twist of the Maze, but only those who have the courage to endure death can learn the secrets of the ancient enemy. Caelum SunSoar and his parents know that the only way is to discover the ancient secrets that lay trapped in the mountain Star Finger, while Faraday, martyred heroine, grows ever more fearfuland ever more bitter. Must she lose everything to the land?

Sinner
?Authors: Sara Douglass
?Year: 2007-05-08
?Publisher: Voyager
?Pages: 656
The land Tencendor has been united for more than forty years. The Starman Axis defeated the dreaded monster Gorgrael and by fulfilling his destiny he has brought peace finally to the three races of this land: the Icarii bird people, the Avar tree people, and the humans who for generations controlled (and oppressed) the other two races. Attaining god-like powers, Axis chose to retire to the ethereal sp

 

I picked up Spindrift, by Allen M. Steele. It's a pretty good read thus far, nice installment to the Coyote series.

 

I've got two of those, otherwise I'd consider getting that.


Does anyone know if the Torchwood novels will be released in paperback? I want the Dan Abnett one but I'm not keen on hardback books.

 

Are you not keen because of the price? They're listed at $8.99 on Amazon right now, but I couldn't find anything about a paperback release on there. I'll keep looking.

Or 4.99 on the UK sites.

 

No, that's not the problem, the problem is with the covers. I like paperbacks as the cover bends, which is good at the beginning and end of a book.

 

The 4.99 is a result between the US dollar and UK Pound, it's about 2:1 between the two. It's not cheaper.

 

Yeah. I knew that. I just saw that she was from the UK so I looked at the UK site and gave it to her in non-dollars.

 

9Tail Fox
Authors: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Year: 2007-05-15
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Pages: 280

Sergeant Bobby Zha of the SFPD is desperate to find out who murdered him. But he also needs the answers to some other questions. Like, why is he in another man's body? Why is someone trying to kill him, again... And why is he being haunted by a nine-tailed Celestial fox? From the shell-shattered ruins of Stalingrad in 1942 to the present-day politics of San Francisco's Chinatown, 9Tail Fox is evocative of place and crystal-clear in its depiction of character.

A Manhattan Ghost Story
Authors: T. M. Wright
Year: 2007-05-15
Publisher: Telos Publishing
Pages: 200
Do you see ghosts? Photographer Abner Cray arrives in Manhattan to begin work on an illustrated book of the city. However he finds that Art, the owner of the flat he is staying in, has gone missing, leaving behind a beguiling and sensuous young lady called Phyllis Pellaprat to whom he's instantly attracted. Soon Abner is deeply involved with Phyllis and is wholly unprepared for the revelation that Art is actually wanted for her murder - an event which took place some time earlier. When Phyllis disappears, Abner wanders the streets, and he sees what appear to be disaffected and strangly acting people everywhere - hailing taxis, selling puppies on street corners, pushing baby carriages, and he starts to suspect ... This classic novel was first published nearly twenty-five years ago: it's a hypnotic, spooky page-turner that is by turns a terrifying slide into madness and an effective love story. "T M Wright is a rare and blazing talent." Stephen King "Wright convincingly proves that he understands, as few do, how to give a scare without spilling blood all over the page." Publishers Weekly "T M Wright is the best ghost story writer alive today." American Fantasy Magazine

All the Cats of Cairo
Authors: Inda Schaenen
Year: 2007-05-15
Publisher: Brown Barn Books
Pages: 232

No description.

Demon Theory: A Novel
Authors: Stephen Graham Jones
Year: 2007-05-15
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pages: 304
On Halloween night, following an unnerving phone call from his diabetic mother, Hale and six of his med school classmates return to the house where his sister disappeared years ago. While there is no sign of his mother, something is waiting for them there, and has been waiting a long time.

Written as a literary film treatment littered with footnotes and experimental nuances, Demon Theory is equal parts camp and terror, combining glib dialogue, fascinating pop culture references, and an intricate subtext as it pursues the events of a haunting movie trilogy too real to dismiss.

There are books about movies and movies about books, and then there?s Demon Theory ? a refreshing and occasionally shocking addition to the increasingly popular ?intelligent horror?

In War Times
Authors: Kathleen Ann Goonan
Year: 2007-05-15
Publisher: TOR Books
Pages: 352
Sam Dance is a young enlisted soldier in 1941 when his older brother Keenan is killed at Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, Sam promises that he will do anything he can to stop the war.

During his training, Sam begins to show that he has a knack for science and engineering, and he is plucked from the daily grunt work of twenty-mile marches by his superiors to study subjects like code breaking, electronics, and physics in particular, a science that is growing more important to the war effort. While studying, Sam is seduced by a mysterious female physicist that is teaching one of his courses, and given her plans for a device that will end the war, perhaps even end the human predilection for war forever. But the device does something less, and more, than that.

After his training

 

Richard Morgan is a fantastic author. That book's most likely worth checking out.

 

The Juliet Marillier one I may not read. The second book in that series I put down because I didn't like the ending. I'll probably just ask my friends to tell me what happens

 

This will be up later tonight. Sorry for the delay. I was gone for the weekend to my brother's graduation.