This page is updated as books are received throughout the month.
Close Contact by Katherine Allred
(An Alien Affairs novel, Book 2), Eos, $7.99, 324pp, pb, 9780061672439. Science fiction/romance.
When special agent Kiera Smith revealed a major conglomerate’s plan to take over the galaxy, she also inadvertently revealed that she was an illegally engineered GEP (genetically engineered person) with a set of highly specialized skills. Her mad-scientist creator ignored the Galactic Federation’s strict GEP protocols, and the result was a person that was stronger, faster, and more highly evolved than ever though possible. On a desperate search to seek out and recruit other GEPs like Agent Smimth, the Federation strumbles upon an unassuming and very uninterested Echo Adams, and immediately turns her life upside-down.
A self-proclaimed party girl whose interests include dancing, wining and dining, and long trips to the spa, Echo Adams is now in a government mandated job that utilizes her newly discovered psi-abilities. As an undercover operative on the reclusive planet Madrea, it’s up to Agent Adams to help rescue an alien life form that has mysteriously disappeared, ward off the advances of a handsome military general, and come to terms with life as a secret government operative.
The Stoneholding: Legacy of the Stone Harp: Book One by James G. Anderson & Mark Sebanc
Baen, $7.99, 606pp, pb, 9781439133491. Fantasy.
One song, one harp, one man against the dark night of chaos
Darkness looms over the ancient world of Ahn Norvys, and the Great Harmony of Ardiel lies rent asunder. Prince Starigan, heir to the throne, has been abducted, and power has been usurped by a traitorous cabal.
In the mountainous highlands of Arvon is the small but ancient clanholding of Lammermorn, the Stoneholding. The gathering forces of evil, led by the dark figure of Ferabek, have attacked the Stoneholding, desperate to unearth the lost prince. Wilum, the aged High Bard, has fled for his life with a ragged band of survivors, including Kalaquinn Wright, the wheelwright’s son.
Kal is green in years, but as night covers Ahn Norvys, he must somehow find Prince Starigan, rekindle the Sacred Fire, and in so doing save what remains of the hallowed order of things and discover his destiny, a destiny that lies far beyond The Stoneholding.
War Games by Christopher Anvil (edited by Eric Flint)
Baen, $7.99, 618pp, pb, 9781439133507. Science fiction.
Let the games begin!
War is a serious business—or is it? Christopher Anvil turns his sardonic outlook loose on the subject and considers what might happen if:
* Someone devised a computer war game so realistic and addictive that the people in charge of battle on both sides didn’t have the time or inclination to start a real war.
* Another device gave every homeowner the power to block off his property from any incursion, even by nuclear weapons.
* A secret organization pulls the plug on an impending war by causing the commanders on both sides to be unable even to think of any of the words they need to order their forces into action.
* And, in a full-length novel, The Steel, the Mist and the Blazing Sun, the devastation after World War III has not put an end to war—not as long as men survive who still want to conquer and dominate; nor as long as others will fight, not just to survive, but to defend freedom.
The many faces of war, examined by a master of science fiction adventure with a wryly humorous twist.
[Contents: “Truce by Boomerang”; “A Rose by any Other Name”; “The New Member”; “Babel II”; “The Trojan Bombardment”; “Problem of Command”; “Uncalculated Risk”; “Torch”; “Devise and Conquer”; “War Games”; “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”; “The Spy in the Maze”; “The Murder Trap”; “Gadget vs. Trend”; “Top Line”; “Ideological Defeat”; The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun; and “Philosopher’s Stone”.]
A Legacy of Demons by Camille Bacon-Smith
DAW, $7.99, 344pp, pb, 9780756406035. Fantasy.
Bradley, Ryan, and Davis—Occult Investigators…
Ensconced in their upscale Philadelphia offices, Evan Davis and his partners, Brad and Lily, attract the kinds of jobs no one else can safely handle—cases with a dangerous, otherworldly slant. But no one is better equipped to handle these assignments, for Lily Ryan and Kevin Bradley—or Brad—are in reality powerful daemon lords, and Evan Davis is Brad’s half-daemon, half-human son.
Now, however, Evan, Brad, and Lily are facing a challenge in which the complete destruction of Earth would be a barely noted event.
When a daemon belonging to a rival lord comes to their offices in mortal guise seeking to hire them, the three detectives find themselves trapped by an agreement that goes against all daemonic protocol. Soon, what seems to be a simple commission to buy a select item at an estate sale in New York becomes an extremely perilous situation, involving both armies of daemons and wealthy mortals who have delved far too deeply into the dark arts. Only time will tell whether Evan and his partners can bring the case to a successful conclusion with themselves and the mortal plane still intact.…
Brains: a zombie memoir by Robin Becker
Eos, $13.99, 192pp, tp, 9780061974052. Fiction.
Contemporary American literature is so passé—former college professor Jack barnes has a new passion: Brains. It’s in his nature… he’s a zombie. But he’s not your normal, vacant-eyed, undead idiot. No, Jack Barnes has something most other victims of the zombie outbreak don’t have: cognition. In fact, he can even write. And Brains is Jack’s truly disturbing—yet strangely heartwarming—story.
Mayem erupts throughout the country as the zombie population explodes, every news channel warns humans of the impending war between zombie and man and every remaining human holds a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide. Convinced he’ll bring about a peaceful coexistence between zombies and humans if he can demonstrate his unique condition to the unaffected, Barnes sets off on a grueling cross-country journey to plead his case in front of his creator, Howard Stein, the man responsible for the zombie virus.
Along the way he meets more like him, rotting brain-eaters who have retained some sort of cognitive ability, and soon forms a small army that will stop at nothing—well, maybe a few quick cerebrum snacks—to reach their maker. There’s Guts, the agile, dread-locked boy who can run like the wind; Joan, the matronly nurse adept at re-attaching appendages and securing spilled innards; Annie, the young girl with a fierce quick-draw; and Ros, who can actually speak coherent sentences.
Barnes’s team of super-zombies becomes a formidable, efficient, brain-eating machine. They form a family as Guts and Annie become the children Jack never had as a human. Together they make their way through an eerie new world of roving zombie hunters, empty McMansions, and clogged highways on a quest to attain what all men, women—and apparently zombies—yearn for: equality.
Forget George A. Romero’s blank-faced, robotic flesh eaters, or the aggressive, rage-filled killers from 28 Days Later. The undead brain munchers here form a thoughtful, shrewd, focused group with a purpose (besides just noshing on grey matter).
Brains is a gore-splattered, blood-soaked, sometimes humorous, and surprisingly touching story that will have readers rooting for Barnes and his zombie posse to the very end. With a unique first-person viewpoint from the other side of the zombie epidemic, Brains makes for a perfect addition to the undead canon.
Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh
(the new Foreigner novel), DAW, $7.99, 390pp, pb, 9780756406042. Science fiction.
The civil war among the alien atewi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri, his son and heeir, and his huan paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the Bujavid, their seat of power. But factions that remain loyal to the opposition are still present, and the danger these rebels pose is far from over. Since the rebellion, Bren Cameron’s apartment in the capital has been occupied by an old noble family from the Southern district—the same district from which the coup was initiated. This family now claims loyalty to Tabini, but the aiji is dubious, and dealing with these possible rebel infiltrators will require finesse on Tabini’s part. To avoid additional conflict, Bren has decided to absent himself from the Bujavid and visit Najida, his country estate on the west coast.
Tabini-aiji has once again taken over the job of training his young son in the traditional ways of the atevi, and has Cajeiri under strict supervision. But after two years in space, surrounded by human children, Cajeiri bristles in this highly controlled and boring environment. He misses his human associates in space, he misses the company of his wily great-grandmother, but most of all, he misses his close association with nand’ Bren. Desperate for freedom and adventure, disregarding the obvious danger, Cajeiri escapes the tightly guarded Bujavid with his young bodyguards and sets out secretly to join Bren on the coast.
Determined to insure his son’s safety, abini recalls Ilisidi from her home in the East, asking her to find Cajeiri and secure him at Bren’s estate. But it has been a long time since Bren has been to Najida, and the war has shifted allegiances in many quarters. A district that once was considered a safe haven might now be a trap. .And with Bren, Cajeiri, and Ilisidi all under one roof and separated from their allies, that trap is now baited.
Robin Hood: The Story Behind the Legend novelization by David B. Coe
Tor, $7.99, 304pp, pb, 9780765366276. Movie tie-in.
In 13th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and challenge the crown to alter the balance of power between the king and all of his subjects. And whether outlaw or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people.
Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard I’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life.
With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.
What Distant Deeps by David Drake
Baen, $25.00, 400pp, hc, 9781439133668. Science fiction. On-sale date: 7 September 2010.
No Rest for the Weary
Captain Daniel Leary and his friend, the spy Adele Mundy, have been in the front lines of Cinnabar’s struggle against the totalitarian Alliance. Now these galactic superpowers have signed a peace of mutual exhaustion—
But the jackals are moving in!
The Republic of Cinnabar was on the verge of collapse under the weight of taxes, casualties, and war’s disruption of trade. That the Alliance of Free Stars was in even worse condition helped only because it has made peace possible.
Years of war have been hard on Daniel and harder still on Adele, whose life outside information-gathering is a tightrope between despair and deadly violence. Their masters in the RCN and the Republic’s intelligence service have sent them to the fringes of human space to relax away from danger.
But the barbarians of the outer reaches have their own plans, plans which will bring down both Cinnabar and the Alliance. The enemies of peace include traitors, giant reptiles, and barbarian pirates whose ships can outsail even Daniel Leary’s splendid corvette, the Princess Cecile.
Unless Daniel, Adele, and their unlikely allies succeed, galactic civilization will disintegrate into blood and chaos.
So they will succeed—or they’ll die trying!
Threshold by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor
Baen, $25.00, 309pp, hc, 9781439133606. Science fiction.
When the strange fossil she’d discovered had ended up giving her a trip to Mars, Helen Sutter thought she’d gone about as far as any paleontologist would ever go in her lifetime. But when you’ve also married A.J. Baker, overconfident super-sensor expert for the only private agency in space—the Ares Corporation—and your best friend Madeline Fathom Buckley is a former secret agent who’s just signed on as the chief of security for the newly created and already embattled Interplanetary Research Institute of the United Nations, there’s always somewhere farther to go.
The newest discoveries will take her, A.J., and their friends Jackie, Joe, and Madeline to the mysterious asteroid Ceres—and beyond, in a desperate race to Jupiter’s perilous miniature system of radiation-bombarded moons. The next gold rush is on—for alien technology, hidden in lost bases around the system. And there are people willing to do anything to get it—even plan the first interplanetary war, four hundred million miles from home!
Year’s Best SF 15 edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
Eos, $7.99, 494pp, pb, 9780061721755. Science fiction anthology.
The short story is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas in science fiction today. It is where the hot new authors emerge and where the beloved giants of the field continue to publish.
Now, building on the success of the first fourteen volumes, Eos will once again present a collection of the best stories of 2009 in mass market. Here, selected and compiled by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Craer, two of the most respected editors in the field, are stories with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of the strange and the familiar, of the unknown and the unknowable.
With stories from an all-star team of science fiction authors, The Year’s Best SF 15 is an indispensable guide for every science fiction fan.
[Contributors: Vandana Singh, Robert Charles Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee, Bruce Sterling, Nancy Kress, Ian Creasey, Gwyneth Jones, Gene Wolfe, Marissa K. Lingen, Peter Watts, Paul Cornell, Sarah L. Edwards, Brian Stableford, Peter M. Ball, Alastair Reynolds, Brenda Cooper, Geoff Ryman, Michael Cassutt, Charles Oberndorf, Mary Robinette Kowal, Stephen Baxter, Genevieve Valentine, Eric James Stone, and Chris Roberson.]
The Clockwork Man by William Jablonsky
Medallion, $14.95, 298pp, tp, 9781605420998. Steampunk. On-sale date: September 2010.
Ernst’s world is one of endless admirers, including foreign dignitaries and heads of state. Hailed as a marvel of late nineteenth-century automation, he is the crowning achievement of his master, Karl Gruber. A world-famous builder of automated clocks, Gruber has reached the pinnacle of his art in Ernst—a man constructed entirely of clockwork.
Educated and raised in the Gruber household to be a gentle, caring soul, Ernst begins to discover a profound love for his master’s daughter, Giselle. Just as their relationship becomes intimate, however, tragedy strikes and the family falls apart. Ernst’s serene and happy existence is shattered and changed forever.
Abandoned, knowing no other life but the one he has led, Ernst allows himself to wind down in a kind of suicide.
Over one hundred years later, he awakens in a strange new land, the world he’s known long gone. Along with his mentor and guide, a well-meaning if slightly unstable homeless man, Ernst attempts to piece together the events that brought him to his new home—and to let go of the century-old tragedy that still haunts him.
Twelve by Jasper Kent
Pyr, $17.00, 458pp, tp, 9781616142414. Fantasy. On-sale date: September 2010.
Russia, 1812.
It began as a last stand against Napoleon’s invading army.
It would end as a fight against an enemy of mankind itself.&38230;
The voordalak—a creature of legend, the tales of which have terrified Russian children for generations. But for Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov—a child of more enlightened times—it is a legend that has long been forgotten. Besides, in the autumn of 1812, he faces a more tangible enemy: the Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte.
City after city has fallen to the advancing French, and it now seems that only a miracle will keep them from Moscow itself. In desperation, Aleksei and his comrades enlist the help of the Oprichniki—a group of twelve mercenaries form the furthest reacehes of Christian Europe, who claim that they can turn the tide of the war. It seems an idle boast, but the Russians soon discover that the Oprichniki are indeed quite capable of fulfilling their promise… and much more.
Unnerved by the fact that so few can accomplish so much, Aleksei remembers those childhood stories of the voordalak. And as he comes to understand the true, horrific nature of these twelve strangers, he wonders at the nigghtmare they’ve unleashed in their midst.…
Full of historical detail, thrilling action, and heart-stopping supernatural moments, Twelve is storytelling at its most original and exciting.
Ivy’s Ever After by Dawn Lairamore
Holiday House, $16.95, 320pp, hc, 9780823422616. YA Fantasy.
No Storybook Ending for this Princess: A Fractures Fairy Tale for Tweens
Princess Ivy is no ordinary princess. She’s feisty, clever, and a bit of a tomboy. She dreads the fate of the Dragon Treaty, which decrees that on her fourteenth birthday she is to be imprisoned in the tower, guarded by a dragon to await rescue by a brave and handsome prince. But Ivy doesn’t care to be rescued, and Elridge is a peace-loving dragon who doesn’t care to be slain. Worse still, the prince isn’t brave, but evil—and only Ivy knows his true intentions. What’s a princess to do?
In this funny, fractured fairy tale for tween readers, traditions are turned on their head as Princess Ivy joins forces with the dragon to thwart her so-called savior and save the kingdom. Together they embark on a perilous quest to find Ivy’s missing fairy godmother—encountering hungry trolls, swamp spirits, and mischievous fairies along the way. Can the fairy godmomther help them escape their fate?
The Dragon Variation by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
(contains Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, and Conflict of Honors), Baen, $12.00, 962pp, tp, 9781439133699. Science fiction.
Three space adventure novels in the popular Liaden Universe series in one popularly-priced Omni edition:
Local Custom—Master Trader Er Thom yos’Galan knows that Liaden custom is to be matched with a proper bride and provide his clan, Korval, with an heir. Yet his heart is immersed in another universe, influenced by another culture, and lost to a woman not of his world. And to take a Terran wife such as scholar Anne Davis is to risk both his honor and reputation—not to mention the lives of loved ones.
Scout’s Progress—Aelliana Caylon is a brilliant mathematician, revered by pilots for the life-saving revisions she brought to the ven’Tura Piloting Tables. Despite this, her home life is terrifying, as the target of her elder brother’s spite and her mother’s indifference. Convinced that she has no recourse, Aelliana endures, until, on a dare, she plays a game of chance and wins a spaceship. Suddenly she has a way to escape her drab life—if she can qualify as a pilot, and survive her brother’s abuse.
Conflict of Honors—Declared legally dead by a High Priestess of the Goddess and abandoned by her mother, Priscilla Delacroix has roamed the galaxy for ten years, surviving and becoming a woman of extraordinary skills. Now, she’s been betrayed and abandoned once again, left on a distant planet by the Liaden starship on which she had been an important officer. But she’s not alone: starship captain Shan yos’Galan has his own score to settle with the same enemy and is about to offer her an alliance.
Mouse & Dragon by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Baen, $22.00, 360pp, hc, 9781439133811. Science fiction.
Aelliana Caylon has endured much, and finally, she appears to have won all: a spaceship, comrades, friends—and the love of a pilot she adores.
Even better that her lover—the man who was destined for her, a man as much a loner as she—is also the Delm of Korval, arguably the most powerful person on all of Liad. He has the power to remove her and protect her from the toxic environment of her home Clan. Best of all, he agrees to sit as her co-pilot and her partner in a courier business.
Even happy endings sometimes show a few flaws. Such as Aelliana’s home clan being not as agreeable to letting her go as it had first seemed. And the fact that someone is stealing pilots in the Low Port, which falls within the Delm of Korval’s honor. Oh, and the revelation that the man she loves—the man who is destined for her—isn’t entirely the man she thought he was. And finally, she discovers that even the lift from Liad she’d so fervently desired, is part of a larger plan, a plan requiring her to be someone she never thought she was, or could be.
Five Odd Honors by Jane Lindskold
Tor, $27.99, 368pp, hc, 9780765317025. Fantasy.
Highly acclaimed fantasy author Jane Linskold returns with a brand new installment in her Breaking the Wall series. Five Odd Honors expands the fantasy setting only glimpsed in Thirteen Orphans. This new novel is a triumphant sequel in a series that is sure to befcome a fantasy classic.
The Thirteen Orphans and their allies have opened the ninth gate into the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice… and discover that the Lands have been altered almost beyond recognition. Investigating, the Orphans learn that the Center of the world is sealed behind nearly impassable barriers composed of each of the five elements of Chinese myth. Combining ancient and modern magics, a scouting party penetrates the barriers, only to be captured and given over to tortures designed to separate the Orphans from their magical abilities.
On Earth, Pearl bright, the Tiger, is attacked—is this treachery by our world’s magical traditions or has one of the Orphans betrayed her? Brenda Morris learns of the Orphans’ dangers when it is nearly too late—but along with the sidhe, who are drawn to her Irish heritage, Brenda risks her life to help rescue those trapped in the Lands.
A Story of betrayal and redemption, of bravery in the face of terror, and of loyalty and hatred that reach beyond the grave, Five Odd Honors continues Jane Lindskold’s stunning Breaking the Wall series.
The Ascent by Ronald Malfi
Medallion, $24.95, 262pp, hc, 9781605420677. Thriller. On-sale date: September 2010.
At the top of the world, no one can hear you scream…
After the death of his wife, successful sculptor Tim Overleigh trades in his lucrative career for the world of extreme sports. But when a caving accident nearly ends his life, Tim falls into a self-destructive downward spiral.
On the cusp of losing his mind, Tim runs into an old friend who tried to convince him to join a team of men climbing the Godesh ridge in Nepal. The journey requires crossing the Tibetan beyul—the hidden lands—to seek out the elusive Canyon of Souls.
Knowing he needs to get away and put his life back on track, Tim departs for Nepal. But what begins as a journey steeped in Tibetan folklore and mysticism soon turns into an experiment in torment, destruction, and death. Will any of the men escape the mountain with their lives?
The Game of Stars andn Comets by Andre Norton
(contains The Sioux Spaceman, Eye of the Monster, The X Factor, and Voorloper), Baen, $7.99, 712pp, pb, 9781439133729. Science Fiction.
Four novels of rapid-fire interstellar adventure, set in a common universe, by the Grand Master of the form:
* The X Factor: Only Diskan Fentress’s mutant powers had a chance of stopping the looting of his new world.
* Voorloper: Three survivors—an embittered wanderer, his son, and a young girl with a healing power—know they have nothing to lose and set out to find the secret of the Shadow Death that blights the planet Voor.
* The Eye of the Monster: Rees Naper had survived the onslaught of the alien Ishkurian “crocs,” but had to cover miles of jungle and pass through croc armies to reach safety. To do that, he would have to think like a croc, move like a croc… and see though the eye of the monster.
* The Sioux Spaceman: Kade Whitehawk chose to join the battle for Ikkinni freedom, even though that choice made him a renegade to his own people, and would almost certainly mean his death.
This is the first time these novels have appeared in one mass market volume.
Cheat the Grave: The Fifth Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson
Eos, $7.99, 360pp, pb, 9780061456770. Fiction.
Vicki Pettersson is well known for her passionate protagonist and epic action; but in this novel, it’s the mind blowing intrigue that will keep readers turning the pages. She continues her thrilling saga of superheroes behind the scenes in Sin City, painting both gritty fight scenes and heartfelt emotion with incredible imagination.
Joanna Archer is working hard to put the painful events of her recent past behind, doing her best to embrace mortality after being superhuman. But some doors, once opened, can’t so easily be shut. Stalked by a madman, Joanna is forced back into Vegas’s underworld—where allies are now enemies, enemies are no longer easy to spot, and the entire Zodiac has been reduced to an uneasy shade of gray.
Forming new alliances, Joanna begins piecing together shocking discoveries about the mother who abandoned her, the lover who betrayed her, and the daughter who will soon follow in her footsteps. But in order to win back all those things, she must face off against a death-dealer who carries his soul in a blade… one that’s screaming her name.
Eye of the Storm by John Ringo
Baen, $7.99, 586pp, pb, 9781439133620.
Science fiction.
Beneath A Banner Burned…
In an instant the world changed for Lieutenant General Michael O’Neal. His beloved Corps of the last remaining ACS destroyed beneath the guns of the Fleet, his staff shot before his eyes, arrested on the charge of war crimes, he faces a short, one-sided, trial, a trip to the Fleet Penal Facility and a bullet to the back of the head while trying to “escape.”
The Boundaries Blur
General Tam Wesley faces trying one of the most beloved heroes in Federation, not to mention a friend of decades, on trumped up charges. He alternative is having the last corps of humans that haven’t sold their souls to the Darhel be taken apart like a chicken.
Then he finds out the bad news…
The Chaos Has Returned
With a new invasion from a previously unknown race threatening the Federation capital, Darhel Tir Dal Ron faces his ultimate nightmare: He is going to have to reinstate the one man human soldiers trust, a man with the power and knowledge to destroy the Darhel oligarchy forever. And instead convince him, against all logic, to save the Darhel.
Somebody is going to die. General Michael O’Neal, Supreme Commander, Federation Forces, just has to pick who.
The Comic Book Curriculum: Using Comics to Enhance Learning and Life by James Rourke
Libraries Unlimited, $35.00, 160pp, tp, 9781598843965. Non-fiction.
Comics have more depth than might be supposed. Superman is an immigrant from another planet. Batman exhibits a high level of moral development. The Bushido code is alive and well in Wolverine, while Spider-Man’s greatest strength is his compassion for others. What if these qualities vould be tied to classroom topics, inspiring kids to read and learn?
The Comic Book Curriculum: Using Comics to Enhance Learning and Life shows teachers how to use these ever-popular stories to enliven any classroom. The book does not suggest replacing classic works with comics. What it does offer is ideas and techniques for using comics to generate interest in a topic and for transferring that enthusiasm to more traditional classroom lessons.
The first section of the book introduces superheroes and the somtimes surprising depth and thoughtfulness of comics. For example, it shows how the X-Men can be used to illuminate the Civil Rights movement, the dangers of fundamentalism, and the power of diversity. Similar treatment is afforded to other popular characters such as Batman and Superman, and curriculum connections are made to topics that include the struggle between freedom and security, Norse mythology, the Holocaust, and nuclear disarmament. The second part of the book offers specific tools that will help teachers use comics as a welcome—and effective—doorway to learning.
Shadow’s Son by Jon Sprunk
Pyr, $16.00, 280pp, tp, 9781616142018. Fantasy.
In the holy city of Othir, treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, just the place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and few scruples.
Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers, and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last victim, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. But in this fight for his life, Caim only trusts his knives and his instincts, but they won’t be enough when his quest for justice leads him from Othier’s hazardous back alleys to its shining corridors of power. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow’s Son…
The Wish List by Gabi Stevens
Tor, $6.99, 384pp, pb, 9780765365033. Paranormal romance.
Accountant Kristin Montgomery has just had her life flipped upside down.
She’s always known her three “aunts” weren’t actually her aunts—but to find out that they’re actually real fairy godmothers? With magic wands and everything? And that she, a certified CPA who loves the logical world of numbers, is also a fairy godmother? That’s a little much for a girl to accept!
But accept it is exactly what Kristin has to do in Gabi Steven’s debut paranormal romance, The Wish List. And if the wand the aunts pressed on her wasn’t enough, she also has to prove to her new arbiter that she can handle the magic and responsibility.
Tennyson Ritter is seriously annoyed to have been pulled away from his important research to babysit a brand new fairy godmother. As someone who grew up in the magical world, he’s impatient with Kristin’s lack of knowledge and understanding, earning him the nickname “troll” for his nasty disposition. He can’t help but be drawn to Kristin tough. She may be innocent of the dangers of the Arcani world, but she’s smart and stubborn—and she has enough raw power to do some real damage.
Unfortunately, that power has drawn the attention of some not-so-nice elements. Kristin and Tennyson discover that someone badly wants to possess Kristin’s power before she has enough control to protect herself. Tennyson thought the Arcani civil war was behind them, but elements seem to be rising again, all intent on converting Kristin to their cause. Or, failing that, killing her…First of a trilogy.
Stars When the Sun Shines by Wayne Stier
Weiser, $18.95, 192pp, hc, 9781578634736. Memoir.
Readers who gravitated to Eat, Pray, Love to follow an enlightening spiritual odyssey, or to The Last Lecture with its message to live in the moment in spite of impending finality, will find profound satisfaction in the late Wayne Stier’s memoir, Stars When the Sun Shines. The authors—whose name refers to steering by the stars—defied the dire prediction that he would not live through his twenties by living another forty-some years that he filled with literal and spiritual adventure. An admirer of Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut, and Zeami—the Shakespeare of ancient Japan—Stier weaves into his story a joy in adventure, an appreciation of the absurdities life hands us, and a Zen approach to his fate and more.
It all started in small-town Minnesota. After he was diagnosed with cancer and told he had a less-than-fifty percent chance of surviving for more than five years, Stier and his wife Mars responded by seizing the day and moving to Japan. That was the first step in a journey of discovery during which Stier embraced several lifetimes’ worth of new and fascinating experiences—in the span of one man’s life. From performing on the Noh stage, to taking Hawaiian breathing lessons, to gamely joining an hilarious Okinawan rodeo, Stier said a resounding “Yes!” to every new experience life offered.
But, as his Stars When the Sun Shines proves, he did not stop at living life to the fullest just for himself. He also found the time to write this memoir and share his secrets for celebrating what it means and feels like to be magnificently alive in the face of impending death. In the end, Stier’s writing burns through illusions to conclusions about a life made so full that he forgot he was dying.
Stier’s extraordinary memoir is full of memorable lines and lessons. Some are funny: “Rule of slapstick—stand up quick and pretend it didn’t happen.” Some are reminiscent of koan wisdom: “A dog’s bark is a dot pointing out the silence.” Some come from people who served as guides along the way. For instance, in Bali, an old man told Stier to remember that the sky is filled with shining stars even when the sun is shining. Ultimately, these and countless other observations are so wise and inspiring that they will do nothing short of change the reader’s view—and experience—not just of the world but of life itself.
Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
Eos, $15.99, 522pp, tp, 9780061723810. Fantasy anthology.
From Joe Abercrombie to Gene Wolfe, Swords & Dark Magic is a must-have collection of the most respected fantasy writers delivering stunning new tales of sword and sorcery.
Multiple-award winning editors Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders present the first major new sword and sorcery anthology in over a quarter century. Swords & Dark Magic is filled with wondrous tales from some of the bestselling and brightest writers working in the genre.
[Contributors: Joe Abercrombie, C.J. Cherryh, Glen Cook (with an all-new Black Company story), James Enge, Steven Erikson, Greg Keyes, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Tim Lebbon, Tanith lee, Scott Lynch, Michael Moorcock (with an all-new Elric novella), Garth Nixx, K.J. Parker, Michael Shea (with a fully authorized new Cugel the Clever adventure), Robert Silverberg (with an all-new Majipoor tale), Bill Willingham, and Gene Wolfe.]
Wings of Fire edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon
Night Shade, $15.95, 500pp, tp, 9781597801874. Fantasy anthology.
Dragons: Fearsome fire-breathing foes, scaled adversaries, legendary lizards, ancient hoarders of priceless treasures, serpentine sages with the ages’ wisdom, and winged weapons of war…
Wings of Fire brings you all these dragons, and more, seen clearly through the eyes of many of today’s most popular authors.
Edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon, Wings of Fire collects the best short stories about dragons. From writing wyrms to snakelike devourers of heroes; from East to West and everywhere in between, Wings of Fire is sure to please dragon lovers everywhere.
[Contributors: Peter S. Beagle, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R.R. Martin, Holly Black, Michael Swanwick, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Patricia A. McKillip, Orson Scott Card, Barry N. Malzberg, Jane Yolen, Margo Lanagan, Elizabeth Bear, Anne McCaffrey, James P. Blaylock, Pat Murphy, Naomi Novik, Gordon R. Dickson, Elizabeth A. Lynn, Robert Reed, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Harlan Ellison & Robert Silverberg, C.J. Cherryh, Roger Zelazny, S.P. Somtow, and Lucius Shepard.]
Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky
(Shadows of the Apt, Book 4), Pyr, $16.00, 324pp, tp, 9781616142391. Fantasy. On-sale date: September 2010.
The vampiric sorcerer Uctebri has at last got his hands on the Shadow Box and can finally begin his dark ritual—a ritual that the Wasp-kinden Emperor believes will grant him immortality—but Uctebri has his own plans for both the Emperor and the Empire. The massed Wasp armies are on the march, and the spymaster Stenwold must see which of his allies will stand now that the war has finally arrived. This time the Empire will not stop until a black and gold flag waves over Stenwold’s own home city of Collegium.
Tisamon the Weaponsmaster is faced with a terrible choice: a path that could lead him to abandon his friends and his daughter, to face degradation and loss, that might possibly bring him before the Wasp Emperor with a blade in his hand—but is he being driven by Mantis-kinden honor, or manipulated by something more sinister?
Overthrowing Heaven by Mark L. Van Name
Baen, $7.99, 554pp, pb, 9781439133712. Science fiction.
No good deed goes unpunished…
It began as a favor to a woman trying to get away from an abusive household.
Jon Moore grew up on an island of outcasts and in a prison laboratory. When he escaped, memories of the things he’d done still haunted him and he often helped those in need. His kindnesses frequently didn’t work out well. This one really didn’t work out well.
It hurled Jon and Lobo, the intelligent assault vehicle and Jon’s only friend, down an accelerating, dangerous spiral involving: private armies and government covert ops teams; a courtesan who always seems a step ahead of him; rival superpowers that define ethics as whatever doesn’t get in their way; and a brilliant, amoral scientist to whom human beings are just more experimental animals—and who mimght be Lobo’s creator.
Jon and Lobo take the reader on a headlong rush hthrough armed enemies and untrustworthy allies and encounter what just might be the worst danger their partnership will face: the truth.