This page is updated as books are received throughout the month.
Moving Mars by Greg Bear
Orb, $14.95, 448pp, tp, 9780765318237. Science Fiction. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
Moving Mars is a story of human courage and love set within the greater saga of a planetary liberation movement. Now, this classic book returns to print with a new Orb edition that will bring back Bear’s wonderful work to old fans, as well as introduce him to a new audience of all ages.
Mars is a colonial world, governed by corporate interests on Earth. The citizens of Mars are hardworking, but held back by their lack of access to the best education, and the desire of the Earthly powers to keep the best new inventions for themselves. The young Martians—the second and third generations born on Mars—have little loyalty to Earth, and a strong belief that their planet can be independent. The revolution begins slowly, but will grow in power over decades of political struggle until it becomes irresistible.
Told through the eyes of an extraordinary character, Moving Mars is Greg Bear’s brilliant conception of the human colonization of the red planet, with lovingly painted details and a grand historical sweep, embellishing an audacious scientific speculation.
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
Roc, $15.00, 418pp, tp, 9780451460882. Fantasy. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
In a land torn apart by civil war, pestilence, and shaky alliances, a man branded a traitor may be the world’s only hope…
Valen has spent much of his life rebelling against his pre-ordained destiny, including his own mother predicting his violent death in water, blood, and ice. The ominous predictions seem to be coming true when Valen is abandoned by a comrade in the dank, rainy wilderness, exhausted, and lingering on the cusp of death, his only solace a stolen book of maps.
Yet Valen is saved from his certain demise when he is offered sanctuary in a nearby monastery. There, Valen discovers that his book—rumored to lead men into the realm of angels—gains him entry into a shadowy world of secret societies, royalty, holy men, and madmen, all seeking to unlock the mystery of the impending dark age. With all that the book offers, the key to the coming doom is buried in forgotten myth and secrets of Valen’s own past.
Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull
Orb, $15.95, 448pp, tp, 9780765316806. Fantasy (originally published in 1997).
Orb Books is pleased to announce the re-release of Freedom and Necessity, a classic title by two notable authors in the fantasy genre, Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Not since Wilkie Collins or Arthur Conan Doyle has a novel offered such a profusion of guns, swordfights, family intrigues, women disguised as men, occult societies, philosophical discussions, and, of course, passionate romance. Freedom and Necessity truly has something for everyone.
It is 1849. Across Europe, the high tide of revolution has crested, leaving recrimination and betrayal in its wake. From the high councils of Prussia to the corridors of Parliament, the powers-that-be breathe sighs of relief, but though the threat of revolt from below is past, the divisions within their ranks threaten to consume them….
London man-about-town James Cobham comes to himself in a country inn with no idea how he got there, and discovers that he is presumed drowned. He decides to keep his survival a secret, for James Cobham is now a wanted man—wanted by conspiring factions of the government and the Chartists alike, and targeted by a magical conspiracy inside his own family.
And so the adventure begins on a path that will lead the reader through every corner of mid-nineteenth-century Britain, from the parlors of the elite to the dens of the underclass. Freedom and Necessity is a fortuitous return for Brust and Bull’s followers and an exciting new world for fans of Jonathan Stranger & Mr. Norrell or The Prestige. Readers old and new will be delighted by exploring the England of Freedom and Necessity.
Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins (Book five in the Underland Chronicles)
Scholastic, $17.99, 412pp, hc, 9780439791434. Children’s fantasy. On-sale date: May 2007.
In this action-packed and suspenseful fifth and final installment of the acclaimed Underland Chronicles, Suzanne Collins unfolds the fate of the great child warrior, Gregor the Overlander.
Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from young Gregor. Gregor knows it must say something awful but he never imagined just how awful: It calls for the warrior’s death. Now, with an army of rats approaching, and his mom and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor’s hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess, Gregor’s burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars.
Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern
Fantasy edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
Berkley, $25.00, 401pp, hc, 9780425215180. Fantasy anthology. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
Contributors: Kage Baker, Peter S. Beagle, Terry Bisson, Orson Scott Card, Eoin Colfer, Terry Dowling, Andy Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Nancy Kress, Ta, nith Lee, Patricia A. McKillip, Garth Nix, Mary Rosenblum, Tad Williams, Gene Wolfe, and Jane Yolen.
For thousands of years, wizards have stalked through the human imagination, appearing in every age and every culture dating back to prehistoric times. Sometimes they are benevolent and wise, sometimes evil and malign, and sometimes—both.
Now, in the anthology Wizards, the world’s top fantasists conjure up their own tales of these magical beings. This all-original, never-before-printed collection of adult and young adult fantasy includes selections from New York Times bestselling authors Neil Gaiman, Eoin Colfer, Garth Nix, legendary authors Patricia McKillip, Orson Scott Card, and Tad Williams, as well as other beloved story-tellers.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes the story “The Witch’s Headstone,” a novella-length piece from his much anticipated novel-in-progress, in which an eight-year-old boy learns the power of kindness from a long-dead sorceress.
Only one woman possesses two kinds of magic—enough to unite two kingdoms in Garth Nix’s “Holly and Iron.”
Patricia McKillip’s “Naming Day” gives a sorcery student a lesson in breaking the rules.
And a famished dove spins a tale worthy of a meal, but perhaps not the truth, in “A Fowl Tale” by Eoin Colfer.
These are just a few of the stories that will cast a spell over readers in this once-in-a-lifetime collection showcasing authors who are known as weavers of their own magic.
The Fire Thief Fighs Back by Terry Deary (Book three in the Fire Thief Trilogy)
Kingfisher, $9.95, 224pp, hc, 9780753459706. Children’s fantasy. On-sale date: 20 June 2007.
In his first installment of the wild and wonderful Fire Thief trilogy, international best-selling author Terry Deary reinvented the myth of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to the human race.
In Book II, Flight of the Fire Thief, Prometheus traveled through time to a murky metropolis called Eden City to escape the gods’ revenge. There he befriended a motley assortment of comic characters and learns what humans have done with his gift of fire.
In this third and final installment of the Fire Thief trilogy, The Fire Thief Fights Back, we meet Sam, who together with his mother, is swindling folks of Eden City with their medicine show, selling “miracle” cures to their gullible audiences. When the ruse is rumbled and Eden City residents go after them, Prometheus steps in to help out. They also find an unlikely ally in Zeus—who helps them out of their predicament, but not without a cost…
Young readers will love Deary’s comical and cinematic writing, and the spirited wit of Sam, our guide on this wild ride through space and time. Both the mythology of ancient Greece and the rough-and-tumble beginnings of America are reflected in this thoroughly enjoyable and smart conclusion to the much-lauded Fire Thief. Readers are in for an unexpected and memorable climax!
Antagonist by Gordon R. Dickson and David W. Wixon (A Novel of the Childe Cycle)
Tor, $27.95, 429pp, hc, 9780312853884. Science fiction.
Tor Books, the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the world, has teamed up with Sci Fi Channel, the channel that fuels the imagination, to bring their readers and fans the best of new science fiction and fantasy. Each month, one carefully selected Tor title receives the Sci Fi stamp of approval, which appears on the spine and cover of the book. Gordon R. Dickson’s Antagonist is the latest Tor book to be included in the Sci Fi essential books program.
Gordon R. Dickson’s Childe Cycle of novels depicting the future of the human race has been one of the grand epics of science fiction. At the time of his death in 2001, Dickson was writing Antagonist, the tale of Bleys Ahrens’ turn toward darkness. Now Dickson’s longtime assistant David W. Wixon has brilliantly finished the long-awaited Antagonist, working from Dickson’s copious notes. It is a fitting capstone to one of the most ambitious series in SF history.
The story of the Childe Cycle is the story of a new human evolution: the development of a real, hardwired sense of “responsiblity” shared by all human beings. Donal Graeme was a Dorsai, a mercenary soldier, and mutant gifted with insight into the existence of another mutant, Bleys Ahrens.
Following Young Bleys and Other, Antagonist advances the story of Bleys Ahrens, a man with formidable powers and a clear vision of the struggle in which he’s involved, but an increasingly deficient sense of human values. His quest for supreme power, begun with the best of motives, has now become something darker and fiercer. The course he pursues may bring about the advent of Homo superior—or destroy the human race.
Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson (A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen)
Tor, $15.95, 608pp, tp, 9780765316516. Fantasy.
After decades of internecine warfare, the tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of the Hiroth. There is peace—but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst, deadly.
To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfill its long-prophesized renaissance as an Empire reborn, has enslaved all its less-civilized neighbors. All, that is, save one—the Tiste Edur. And it must be only a matter of time before they too fall—either beneath the suffocating weight of gold, or by slaughter at the edge of a sword. Or so destiny has decreed.
Yet as the two sides gather for a pivotal treaty neither truly wants, ancient forces are awakening. For the impending struggle between these two peoples is but a pale reflection of a far more profound, primal battle—a confrontation with the still-raw wound of an old betrayal and the craving for revenge at its seething heart.
The Heart of Stars by Kate Forsyth (Book Three of Rhiannon’s Ride)
Roc, $7.99, 425pp, pb, 9780451461445. Fantasy. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
With the clan bitterly split and the court torn apart, only fierce Rhiannon and her winged mare have any chance of rescuing the royals. But what duty requires, the heart may regret… When the royal twins are kidnapped by an evil necromancer with plans for revenge, Rhiannon embarks on a trip to save the one woman she hates above all others: Princess Olwynne. Yet as the journey becomes more harrowing, Rhiannon fears that saving the princcess could mean risking everything she values most: her mare, her freedom, and even her own life.
The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community by Diana Pavlac Glyer
Kent State University Press, $45.00, 293pp, hc, 9780873377900. Non-fiction (fantasy literature/British literature/creative writing).
The creators of Narnia and Middle-earth, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were close friends and professional colleagues. They met frequently with a community of fellow writers at Oxford in the 1930s and 1940s, all sharing their works-in-progress. The group became known as the Inklings.
This important study challenges the standard interpretation that Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and the other Inklings had little influence on one another’s work, drawing on the latest research in composition studies and the sociology of the creative process. Diana Glyer invites readers into the heartt of the group, examining diary entries and personal letters and carefully comparing the rough drafts of their manuscripts with their final, published work.
Her analysis not only demonstrates the high level of mutual influence that characterized this writers group but also provides a lively and compelling picture of how writers and other creative artists challenge, correct, and encourage one another as they work together in community.
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Ace, $24.95, 323pp, hc, 9780441014941. Paranormal mystery. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris delivers her finest Southern Vampire paranormal mystery to date in All Together Dead, the seventh book in the series.
Life for Sookie Stackhouse is never simple, but with three weddings and the long-planned vampire summit on her calendar, she is particularly busy. Fortunately for her, she has the support of her new housemate, the young witch Amelia Broadway (and her familiar, Bob the cat) and, even more importantly, the new man in her life, the were-tiger Quinn. Sookie, still hurting after learning how her first love, the vampire Bill Compton, betrayed her, finds all three of the weddings stressful. She is glad to leave Bon Temps behind for the politics of the vampire summit—no matter that Quinn, Bill, and her former vampire love Eric, will all be in attendance.
But what Sookie doesn’t know is that there are some, both human and otherwise,
who don’t want the meeting to go well. And if they are not stopped, the vampire summit will become one large funeral for the living—and the undead—alike… Can Sookie solve the mystery before it’s too late and save those around her? Things will heat up before they cool down in this wonderful new novel from Charlaine Harris.
The Plants of Middle-earth: Botany and Sub-Creation by Dinah Hazell
Kent State University Press, $22.95, 125pp, hc, 9780873388832. Non-fiction (literary criticism/Tolkien/fantasy literature).
Beautifully illustrated with dozens of original full-color and black-and-white drawings, The Plants of Middle-earth connects readers visually to the world of MIddle-earth, its cultures and characters and the scenes of their adventures. Tolkien’s use of flowers, herbs, trees, and other flora creates verisimilitude in Middle-earth, with the flora serving important narrative functions. This botanical tour through Middle-earth increases appreciation of Tolkien’s contribution as preserver and transmitter of English cultural expression, provides a refreshing and enlivening perspective for approaching and experiencing Tolkien’s text, and allows readers to observe his artistry as sub-creator and his imaginative life as medievalist, philologist, scholar, and gardener.
The Plants of Middle-earth draws on biography, literary sources, and cultural history and is unique in using botany as the focal point for examining the complex network of elements that comprise Tolkien’s creation. Each chapter includes the plants’ description, uses, history, and lore, which frequently lead to their thematic and interpretive implications. The book will appeal to general readers, students, and teachers of Tolkien as well as to those with an interest in plant lore and botanical illustration.
The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye by Bruce Hennigan
iUniverse, $18.95, 287pp, tp, 9780595403967. Christian fantasy/thriller.
The foundations of Christianity have never been more debated and questioned in the media as they are today. With the mainstream success of Dan Brown novels and more recently James Cameron’s documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, many people are concerned with the conflict between faith and reason; science and God; and myth and historical fact. Is it possible to reconcile scientific fact with religious beliefs in the modern world today?
The author, a radiologist and Christian author delves into these hotly debated questions in his new book. The novel is a fast-paced thriller that combines science, supernatural elements and an underlying Christian theme.
In The 13th Demon, Jonathan Steel is a man searching for a demonic presence that has murdered his family. Steel and a band of experts, including priests and scientists, trace the demon to a small church plagued by evil. Once there, they must rely on their spirituality and scientific skill to rid the church of the evil spirit.
Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines
DAW, $6.99, 343pp, pb, 9780756404420. Fantasy (sequel to Goblin Quest). On-sale date: May 2007.
In Goblin Hero, Jim Hines returns to the rib-tickling misadventures of Jog, the unlikely hero of Goblin Quest. Though Jig has been captured by adventurers and dragged unwillingly along on their foolish quest, he’s also survived both the Necromancer and the Dragon. So, if people want to insist he’s a hero, he isn’t going to fight about it. Unfortunately, now that Jig has been dubbed a hero, he is a threat to the power of Kralk, the head goblin. Now, Jig must prove that he is the true “Goblin Hero” by venturing out into ogre territory on a quest for a formidable, but mysterious adversary.
Queen of the Orcs, Book I: King’s Property by Morgan Howell
Del Rey, $6.99, 315pp, pb, 9780345496508. Fantasy. On-sale date: 31 July 2007.
First-time author Morgan Howell delivers Queen of the Orcs, an exciting new fantasy trilogy beginning with King’s Property. The series will continue in August 2007 with the publication of Clan Daughter and in September 2007 with the publication of Royal Destiny.
Born into hardship, Dar learns to rely on herself alone. When her family betrays her, Dar is conscripted into King Kregant’s army and its brutal campaign to conquer a neighboring country. Now she is bound as a slave to a dreaded regiment of orcs, creatures legendary for their savagery and deadly skill in combat.
Rather than cower, Dar rises to the challenge. She learns the unique culture and language of the orcs, survives treachery from both allies and enemies, and struggles to understand a mystical gift that brings her dark, prophetic visions. As the war escalates—amid nightmarish combat and shattering loss—Dar must seize a single change at freedom.
As bestselling and Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Moon says, “Howell’s depiction of orc culture is fascinating—these orcs are as big, strong, and dangerous as any in fantasy, but they also have moral and ethical issues of importance. This is… a book to think about.”
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
Simon & Schuster, $25.00, 305pp, hc, 9781416534570. Fantasy. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
Award-winning author Susan Hubbard explores a strange dark world in The Society of S. At turns humorous and terrifying, Hubbard’s stunning new novel is a tightly woven literary mystery certain to be an instant classic that will delight readers of all ages.
Thirteen-year old Ariella Montero has led a sheltered life in a Victorian mansion in Saratoga Springs, New York. Classically educated at home by her father, she is more at home with Poe, Keats, and Kerouac than with the real world. When she makes her first friend, with the daughter of the family’s housekeeper, a series of events begins that will splinter Ari’s safe world and make her question everything she’s been taught.
Ari’s first lesson: She’s not normal. She’s an “other”—half-vampire, half-human—and a fledgling member of The Society of S. S stands for Sanguinists, a group devoted to ethics, environmentalism, and equality with humans. Unfortunately, not all vampires, or humans, are similarly enlightened.
Murder comes to Saratoga Springs, sending Ari on the road to track down her mother, whom she’s never met. Guided by luck, intuition, and a smattering of logic, she embarks on a startling exploration of her family’s history. Her journey leads her south, to Asheville, Savannah, and on to Florida—settings captured in rich, meticulous detail. Hubbard depicts Ari’s coming of age with “uncommon poignance” (Publishers Weekly), wit, and style, and The Society of S raises provocative, fresh questions about what it means to be human and how it feels to be an eternal outsider confronting an impermanent world.
Warriors: The Lost Warrior created by Erin Hunter, written by Dan Jolley, art by James L. Barry
TokyoPop/HarperCollins, $6.99, 96pp, tp, 9780061240201. Manga action fantasy. On-sale date: May 2007.
Drawn from Erin Hunter’s #1 nationally best-selling Warriors books and featuring a very special note from the author to Warriors fans, Warriors: The Lost Warrior manga series, created by Dan Jolley and James Barry, tells the untol dtale of the feline hero Graystripe—his life with humans and his ultimate quest to be reunited with his clan. Graystripe’s story in Warriors: The Last Warrior manga series bridges between Hunter’s “The New Prophecy” and the next installment of the Warriors novel series “Power of Three.”
As Erin Hunter writes to Warriors fans: “Manga brings out the best in Graystripe. The drawings are so powerful and so direct. Alongside the punchy dialogue, they speak volumes. I love them, and I am so proud of the all-new action Graystripe. Well done, Graystripe! Well done, manga!”
TokyoPop Publisher Mike Kiley said “It is truly an honor to bring such a wonderful children’s series to manga form. Our creators had such a great time crafting this project with Erin Hunter and I think the end result did this very special story proud.”
The Lost Warrior is the first of a trilogy. The second will be released in December 2007.
Warriors: Power of Three #1: The Sight by Erin Hunter
HarperCollins, $16.99, 363pp, hc, 9780060892012. Children’s fanasy.
A dazzling feline twist on classic epic fantasy, The Sight is the first book in the brand-new arc of the national bestselling series Warriors: The Power of Three.
The Sight continues where an ancient prophecy left off. The ominous prophecy says that three young cats—grandchildren of the legendary clan leader Firestar—will have greater power than any cat before: power to raise their Clan to new heights or to destroy it utterly.
Fans and booksellers are rejoicing that this dramatic series filled with action, adventure, and betrayal is coming their way.
Written by Erin Hunter, this exciting series began with a small housecat in Warriors #1: Into the Wild and continues to captivate readers with the sixth installment of the thrilling spin-off series The New Prophecy. These cats’ devoted fans have catapulted them onto national bestseller lists, and the support for the series grows stronger with every book. Visit the world of the Clans online at www.warriorcats.com.
Seraphs by Faith Hunter
Roc, $14.00, 357pp, tp, 9780451461476. Fantasy. On-sale date: 1 May 2007.
From the author of Bloodring comes it’s thrilling follow-up…
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 fear and fascination for the citizens of Mineral City, and her efforts to save them from the forces of evil may lead to her own demise. One would think that battling demon spawn and seccubae would be challenging enough.
Yet in Seraphs, Thorn must undergo the ultimate test. Under the snow-capped mountains beyond Mineral City, an imprisoned fallen seraph desperately seeks her help. There, Thorn must brave the mountain’s hellish depths to attempt a rescue. All the while, the armies of Darkness assemble in hordes to insure Thorn not only fails in her mission, but also does not escape alive.
Wolf’s Blood by Jane Lindskold (the final book of the Firekeeper Saga)
Tor, $27.95, 540pp, hc, 9780765314802. Fantasy.
The Fire Plague, or querinalo, is a devastating disease that affects only those with magical capabilities. With the opening of inter-world gates, it was released from the Old World into the New after ages of dormancy. In Wolf’s Blood, the final installment to Jane Lindskold’s sweeping saga, Firekeeper and her companions Blind Seer and Derian Carter seek to uncover the mysteries of the querinalo.
Firekeeper, along with Derian and others, has built a home on Nexus Islands—a middle point between worlds. They trade goods with kingdoms of the New World, providing an important service traveling via the gates. But no one knows for certain how the Plague is carried—only that it reappeared when the gates were first reopened. As a result, the denizens of Nexus Island have shut down the trade routes, refusing to allow travelers through. They cannot risk exposing the worlds to the plague once more.
Wolf’s Blood touches on more political topics as King Bryessidan of the Kingdom of the Mires believes that there is an internal coup taking place on the island, putting the power balance in a state of upheaval. Suspicions run high, but what he and the other kingdoms of the New World do not realize is that Firekeeper and the residents of Nexus Island are desperate to keep the querinalo at bay. Spurred by the Meddler, a spirit-like entity with a keen interest in Firekeeper, they embark on a quest to understand the true history of the Fire Plague and its source, in the hopes that they will also find a cure.
With Wolf’s Blood, Jane Lindskold weaves in the final threads to the epic journey that began with Through Wolf’s Eyes. She has always possessed a deep interest in wolves and feral children, and she continues to seamlessly blend these elements into this wonderful story that explores the human condition and the true meaning of love. Lindskold’s intricate storyline will appeal to the fantasy audience, though her vivid characters and incorporation of intelligent animals will also draw in readers who may be less familiar to the genre.
Soul Song by Marjorie M. Liu
Leisure, $6.99, 336pp, pb, 9780843957662. Paranormal romance. On-sale date: 3 July 2007.
In the span of six books, Marjorie M. Liu has managed to not only become a bestselling author but to build a reputation for herself as a writer who pushes boundaries. Her novels—which are part fantasy, part romance, and part thriller—challenge readers to broaden their world view, to imagine what would happen if the extraordinary (shapeshifters, gargoyles, telepaths, etc.) brushed shoulders with the ordinary…
In Soul Song, a woman with an incredible musical talent discovers just how strange—and dangerous—a world with such things can be. She herself is far from normal; she can foresee violence, violent death to be specific. But one attempt to block fate finds her caught up in a dangerous web, and only M’Cal, a dark stranger who has a peculiar affinity for the sea, may be able to keep her from meeting her own end. M’Cal, however, has a motive for staying close. He hass been charged with the task of stealing her soul with a song.
Wired by Liz Maverick
Shomi, $6.99, 253pp, pb, 9780505527240. Action-romance. On-sale date: 3 July 2007.
In July 2007, Dorchester Publishing will break new ground in the romance realm with the debut of Wired, the first book in Dorchester’s Manga-inspired imprint: Shomi (show-me).
Fresh, edgy, and filled with fast-paced action, Liz Maverick’s Wired is the perfect example of the novels in this innovative new line and the perfect answer to those who are longing for something beyond vampires and werewolves.
In Wired, Maverick takes readers on a taut, twisting ride that finds L. Roxanne Zaborovsky caught between two men—and a multitude of realities. The men are wirecrossers, people who traverse the ever-shifting dimensions (or wires) of time. One man seeks to alter events, and the other strives to counteract those changes. The key to both of their futures lies in Roxanne, but only one can have her and only one can prevail when the final wire is crossed.
Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (introduction by Gene Wolfe)
Oxford University Press, $29.95, 384pp, hc, 9780195305678. Non-fiction. On-sale date: 1 May 2007
The crossover between the language of science fiction and the words used in everyday speech is much greater than most people realize. As science fiction becomes science fact—cloning, space travel, genetically engineered foods—new words are often coined by science fiction writers. Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction charts the intersection between classic science fiction and modern language.
Brave New Words is the OED of speculative fiction. It shows exactly how sci-fi words and their associated concepts have developed over time, with full citations and bibliographic information. Jeff Prucher of the New England Science Fiction Association opens a window on a whole genre of literature through the words invented and passed on by science fiction’s most talented writers.
Brave New Words shows how many words we consider everyday vocabulary—space shuttle, blast off, and robot—have their roots in imaginative literature and not in hard science!
Brave New Words covers the shared language of science fiction, as well as the vocabulary of science fiction criticism and its fans—those terms that are used by many authors in multiple settings. Words coined in science fiction have become part of the vocabulary of any number of subcultures and endeavors, from comics, to neo-paganism, to aerospace, to computers, to environmentalism, to zine culture. This is the first book to document this vocabulary transfer from fiction into fact.
Not just a useful reference and an entertaining browse, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction also documents the enduring legacy of science fiction writers and fans.
A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney
Del Rey, $24.95, 337pp, hc, 9780345476913. Fantasy (volume 3 of The Guardians series). On-sale date: 17 July 2007.
New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney delivers another enthralling romantic fantasy with A Distant Magic—a new entry in the Guardians series that includes A Kiss of Fate and Stolen Magic.
Jean Macrae was born into a leading Scottish Guardian family. Her father and brother are masters of the extraordinary powers that all Guardians use to protect their homeland. But what magic Jean can muster is painful to use, and she seldom calls upon it.
During a visit to Marseilles to attend a Guardian wedding, Jean meets a handsome stranger who kidnaps her, claiming the Macrae family owes him a blood debt. Her abductor, Captain Gregorio, threatens to sell her into slavery on the Baarbary Coast. Will he follow through, or as her Guardian magic subtly suggests, can his mind be changed by a woman with whom he is swiftly falling in love?
With Mary Jo Putney’s dazzling historical detail and unforgettable characters, A Distant Magic enchants as a powerful romance of two people brought together from different worlds.
Falling Upwards by Kassandra Sims
Tor, $6.99, 228pp, pb, 9780765355812. Paranormal romance.
Neva Jones is a thirty-something business woman from Mobile, Alabama, recently returned from a business trip to Wales. Across the pond, she met March, a dark-haired and blue-eyed Welshman who is ten years her junior. Busy enough managing the perplexity of her own life, Neva dismisses teh young hottie… but can’t get his baby face off her mind.
Back in Mobile, Neva is plagued with bad dreams, and one night meets an owl who tells her to jump in a lake. Her make-believe plunge leads her to another dimension, a place where March is trapped in a never-ending curse. She is presented with a puzzling quest to free March. Neva’s saved herself plenty during her thirty-one years; she figures she can solve the riddle to save her Welshman. And then, if this fairy tale is real, they’ll be together forever.
Zig Zag by José Carlos Somoza
Rayo/HarperCollins, $24.95, 504pp, hc, 9780061193712. Science fiction/thriller.
With relentless suspense, shocking twists, and a fascinating exploration of the profound responsiblity of science in the age of terrorism, Zig Zag is an original, intellectually satisfying thriller that will leave readers thinking long after the last page is turned. In 2005, an elite group of scientists are sequestered on a remote island to explore the most important scientific discovery since Relativity. But when something goes fatally wrong, they disband—never to speak of the project again. Now, ten years later, brilliant young physics professor Elisa Robledo learns that each member of her former team is being brutally murdered one by one. Elisa must race to figure out why—before whomever it is—or whatever it is—strikes again.
It’s the year 2015, and physics professor Elisa Robledo is teaching students at a European university about String Theory—the concept of nine spatial dimensions beyond Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that is currently challenging the field of physics. Suddenly, she notices a headline in the newspaper in front of her that makes her freeze in horror: a former colleague has been brutally and mysteriously murdered. While authorities are baffled, Elisa understands the implications: It is her own death sentence. Her worst fears are confirmed a few hours later when someone calls her cell pohone and utters just two terrifying words: Zig Zag.
Frantically trying to figure out how to save her own life, Elisa enlists the aid of her colleagure, Professor Victor Lopera. She has just a few hours to get to a pre-arranged meeting—a meeting where her fate will be decided. In the meantime, she reveals to Victor the dark truth she has held for ten long years—the story of a science experiment gone terribly wrong.
Elisa was fresh out of graduate school when she was hand-picked by renowned physicist Professor David Blanes to participate in a highly confidential, government-funded research project. Along with an intense, highly competitive former classmate and a group of eight other scientistss, Elisa is sequestered on a remote island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. With its pristine beaches, the island looked like paradise—aside from the fact that it was surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.
It was on the island that the group participated in experiments manipulating String Theory: Professor Blanes theorized that every particle of light has internal time-strings coiled within it, like the rings in a tree trunk. Using mathematical calculations, it was possible to isolate and identify these time-strings, chronologically. The team, using a precise amount of energy, managed to “open” the time-strings—a process that reflected images from the past exactly as they occurred. Ultimately, their work had the potential to reveal such milestone events as of the crucifixion of Christ, or the earth when dinosaurs still roamed. Using satellite cameras, the team was able to record images they “opened.” They call the project: Zig Zag—after the effect the signals had of boomeranging back and forth from earth back to the orbiting satellites.
But soon after the experiments begin, Elisa feels something is wrong. She senses a presence at night, and is soon plagued by depraved dreams that are barely distinguishable from reality. The others feel it too, a sense of evil in their midst. And they start to wonder if they are the only ones on the island. But before they can figure out what is happening, time runs out: When one member of the team is found dead and another missing, the project is terminated. The research team is dismissed—and warned not to contact each other again.
Now, ten years later, the Zig Zag team gathers together after three more former members of the research group are found dead. All of the murders are almost impossibly violent. None have witnesses. And all have only one thing in common: the victims were part of project Zig Zag.
Elisa and her colleagues realize their only hopoe for survival is to return to the island and figure out what went so terribly wrong—how the research they naively thought was meant to do only good has unleashed an inexplicable evil.
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks (Book Two of the Fourth Realm Trilogy)
Doubleday, $24.95, 384pp, hc, 9780385514293. On-sale date: 10 July 2007.
In the summer of 2005, novelist John Twelve Hawks’ critically acclaimed debut The Traveler—the first in a gripping new trilogy—became a New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year.
In a post-9/11 world, The Traveler struck home with its disturbing yet familiar themes of state-sponsored paranoia, the dismantling of individual privacy and the ever-increasing number of personal liberties a society is willing to relinquish in return for a sense of security.
Now John Twelve Hawks returns to the world of The Traveler in the long-awaited sequel The Dark River. Picking up where The Traveler left off, The Dark River follows the Harlequin warrior Maya and her charge, Gabriel Corrigan—one of the fabled and endangered mystics known as Travelers—from New York’s Chinatown to a thousand year old Irish monastery, from the catacombs in Rome to the ruins of WWII bunkers in Berlin, as they race to stop the Tabula from unleashing a powerful weapon of surveillance that will change the balance of power across the globe. Thought-provoking and relentless, The Dark River is poised to become one of the smash bestsellers of the summer.
The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation by Drew Westen
Public Affairs, $26.95, 480pp, hc, 9781586484255. Political science. On-sale date: June 2007.
In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins. The marketplace that matters most of the time in American politics is the marketplace of emotion, filled with values, images, anomalies, moral sentiments, and moving oratory. Drew Westen, professor of psychology, shows—through a tour of speeches, ads, and campaign strategy in American elections from the dawn of the television era through the 2006 midterm elections—what happens when candidates start with the wrong vision of mind, and shows how the political landscape would change if candidates began with a twenty-first century understanding of how the mind and brain really work.
The Silverskin Legacy, Book Three: Onaj’s Horn by Jo Whittemore
Llewellyn, $8.95, 312pp, tp, 9780738711256. Fantasy.
The Final Chapter in The Silverskin Legacy!
Home. Megan and Ainsley were supposed to go back home to Earth. But a treacherous spell, an evil ‘mage,’ and dangerously twisted unicorn magic have wreaked havoc on their plans.
To counteract the malevolent spell and save Arylon, Megan and Ainsley seek the help of the White Order of Unicorns. But Ainsley and the leader of the unicorns succumb to the mage’s dark magic, and the new alliance fails.
The key to breaking the spell is a secret so powerful that it will forever change the lives of those who reveal it. Will Megan discover the secret before it’s too late—and will she dare use it?
Onaj’s Horn captivatingly concludes The Silverskin Legacy series, following Escape from Arylon and Curse of Arastold.
Astropolis, Book I: Saturn Returns by Sean Williams
Ace, $7.99, 319pp, pb, 9780441014934. Science fiction.
After his stunning new space opera Geodesica, national bestselling author Sean Williams is back with Saturn Returns, the first in a compelling new hard-science fiction trilogy.
After two centuries of torpor, Imre Bergamasc awakens to a harrowing reality: he has been the victim of an elaborate murder plot. Reborn into a body that is not his own, Bergamasc struggles to understand the mysteries behind his condition, searching both the ends of the galaxy and the remnants of his centuries-old memories. During his quest to learn about his own murder, he discovers that his fate is somehow linked to the ruinous state of the cosmos he once knew. The Continuum, a complex system providing instantaneous transport throughout the Milky Way, lies in decay and Bergamasc seeks to unravel the events that connect his assassination to a ruthless cosmic crime.