This page is updated as books are received throughout the month.
Eternal Prey by Nina Bangs
(Gods of the Night), Avon, $7.99, 370pp, pb, 9780062018953. Paranormal romance.
The souls of ancient predators reside in the bodies of not-so-ordinary men. In a modern world of darkness they are…
Gods of the Night
A magnificent creature, Utah wants vengeance against the bloodsuckers who murdered his brother. Once the beast within him is unleashed, he won’t rest until every vampire is destroyed. But he never expected to encounter a leader of his immortal enemies who was so beautiful, bewitching… and mortal.
It is Lia’s destiny and her duty to stop the renegade vampires who are intent on annihilating the human and non-human races alike. But she never dreamed that Utah, once a deadly foe, would now become her ally and protector, or that loving him would be more dangerous than anything she’s ever faced before. For when Utah frees his predator soul, there will be no end to the carnage.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: The Delta Anomaly by Rick Barba
Simon Spotlight, $7.99, 224pp, tp, 9781442412415. YA science fiction/tie-in.
After a rough week at Starfleet Academy, James T. Kirk and his friends blow off steam at San Francisco’s hottest new club. Their good times come to a screeching halt, however, when one of the cadets is attacked by someone who seemingly appears out of thin air.
Bones and his medical team save the cadet’s life, but they uncover the horrifying consequences of the attack. Meanwhile, Starfleet’s investigation reveals the assailant is actually a brutal serial killer from the past—a mysterious entity known only as the Doctor. Who is the Doctor, and why has he returned after disappearing more than twenty years ago?
At the urging of Commander Spock, Cadet Uhura is called in to help a decipher a chilling message from the Doctor. Spock has no idea that by enlisting Uhura’s help, he has paced her firmly in the Doctor’s sights.
Before long Kirk, Uhura, and Bones are caught up in the Doctor’s dangerous web as they race against time to stop the killer before he strikes again.
The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg
(a novel of the Collegia Magica), Roc, $16.00, 518pp, tp, 9780451463749. Fantasy.
By order of His Royal Majesty Philippe de Savin-Journia y Sabria, Anne de Vernase is hereby summoned to attend His Majesty’s Court at Merona.…
Anne de Vernase rejoices that she has no talent for magic. Her father’s pursuit of depraved sorcery has left her family in ruins, and he remains at large, convicted of treason and murder by Anne’s own testimony. Now the tutors at Collegia Seravain inform her that her gifted younger sister has died in a magical accident. It seems but life’s final mockery that cool, distant Portier de Savin-Duplais, the librarian turned royal prosecutor, arrives with the news that the king intends to barter her hand in marriage.
Anne quickly recognizes that the summoning carries implications far beyond a bleak personal future. Merona, the royal city, is beset by plagues of rats and birds and mysterious sinkholes that swallow light and collapse buildings. Whispers of hauntings and illicit necromancy swirl about Dante, the queen’s volatile sorcerer. And a murder in the queen’s inner circle convinces Anne that her sister’s death wasn’t accidental. Unable to trust anyone, Anne, who is devoted to science and reason, must take on her sister’s magical legacy to discover the truth—and thrust herself into a centuries-old struggle that could forever alter the boundaries of magic, nature, and the divine.
Dark Prince by Christine Feehan
(Author’s Cut Special Edition), William Morrow, $25.99, 496pp, hc, 9780062009623. Fiction. On-sale date: 8 March 2011.
Christine Feehan is joining the William Morrow family. To celebrate, they’re publishing a revised and expanded version of the first Carpathain novel that propelled Feehan’s phenomenal career, Dark Prince. For the first time in hardcover, with 100 extra pages of never-before-seen material, this special edition “Author’s Cut” is a must-have for fans of Feehan’s bestselling Dark series, and anyone who loves an enthralling paranormal read.
Mikhail Dubrinsky is the Dark Prince: he came to Raven Whitney in the night, a predator—strength and power chiseled his features. The seduction was deep and elemental; he affected her soul. His need. His darkness. His terrible haunting loneliness. Her senses aroused, she craved the dangerous force of his body. Burned for him. And he had only touched her with his mind.
Raven came to him at dawn, his bleakest hour. As the beast raged inside Mikhail, threatening to consume him, he vented his centuries-old despair in an anguished cry that filled the waning night. And she answered, a ray of light, piercing his darkness. A beautiful angel. Her compassion, courage, and innocence awakened in him an exquisite longing and tenderness. He knew he must possess her, for only she could tame his savage side and lift the dark shadow from his soul. Apart they were desolate, bereft. Intertwined physically and spiritually, they could heal one another and experience an eternity of nights filled with love.
Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer
Medallion, $9.95, 304pp, tp, 9781605423821. Young adult fantasy. On-sale date: April 2011.
Maddy Swift is just a normal girl—a high school junior surviving class with her new best friend and hoping the yummy new kid, Stamp, will ask her out. When he finally does, her whole life changes.
Sneaking out to meet Stamp at a party one rainy night, Maddy is struckc by lightning. After awakening, she feels lucky to be alive. Over time, however, Maddy realizes that she’s become the thing she and everyone else fear the most: the living dead.
With no heartbeat and no breath in her lungs, Maddy must learn how to survive as a zombie. Turns out there’s a lot more to it than shuffling around 24/7 growling, “Brains.” Needing an afterlife makeover is only the beginning of her problems. As Barracuda Bay High faces zombie Armageddon, Maddy must summon all of her strength to protect what matters most—just as soon as she figures out exactly what that is.
Crimson Wind by Diana Pharaoh Francis
(a Horngate Witches book), Pocket, $7.99, 354pp, pb, 9781416598152. Urban Fantasy.
There are good guys. There are bad guys. And then there’s Max.
Max knows what trusting the wrong person can cost you. Her former friend Giselle, a powerful witch, enslaved Max years ago, turning her into a Shadowblade—a deadly warrior compelled to fight for Giselle. But there’s more at stake now than Max’s thirst for revenge. The Guardians, overseers of the magical world, have declared war on humanity and on any witches not standing with them. Max and Giselle have come to an uneasy truce in order to protect what’s left of Horngate, their coven’s home. Max would do anything for Horngate—even give herself over to a mysterious otherworldly creature in the nearby mountains in exchange for his help. But first, she intends to save the mortal family she left behind. And Alexander, the Shadowblade warrior who could be her closest ally or her deadliest enemy, is going with her.
On a road trip into the unknown, Max and Alexander face wild magic, desperate enemies, and battles that bruise both body and soul. But the greatest challenge will come from unexpected revelations that test everything Max believes about who she is—and where her loyalties lie.…
Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
Harper Voyager, $7.99, 560pp, pb, 9780061138041. Urban Fantasy.
Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she’s never faced off against her own kind… until now.
Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—her worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom. But trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and a lowlife ex-boyfriend-turned-thief.
Of Truth and Beasts by Barb & J.C. Hendee
(a novel of The Noble Dead), Roc, $26.95, 440pp, hc, 9780451463753. Fantasy.
In each of its novels, the Noble Dead saga has swept readers into “action sequences that fantasy lore is made of” and “Tolkienesque fantasy and vampire-infused horror.” Now young journeyer Wynn Hygeorht finds herself cast into the wilds on a dangerous quest for knowledge that may instead lead to her own doom.…
Wynn has returned safely to the Guild of Sagecraft with her companions, the vampire Chane Andraso and Shade, an elven wolf. Though Wynn managed to regain her seized journals, she received only a glimpse of the ancient texts penned by forgotten vampires, and once again, the volumes have slipped from her grasp. The price for her brief success may prove costly.
For the animosity of her guild superiors has grown even fiercer. This time, instead of cloistering her, they purposely give her a mission so tedious, it will keep her out of the way for as long as possible. But Wynn has her own plans.
She sets out in search of another dwarven stronghold: a place few have ever heard of called Baalale Seatt. It may well be the last resting place of the Orb of Spirit—one of five such mysterious devices used by the Ancient Enemy in the mythical war of the Forgotten History. Whatever caused Baalale to fall to the enemy, she knows that one mythical figure was somehow involved: the infamous Lord of Slaughter. And that dwarven mass murderer’s direct descendant, an errant Stonewalker, will never let Wynn out of his sight.
If only that were all she had to worry about.
God’s War by Kameron Hurley
Night Shade, $14.99, 300pp, tp, 9781597802147. Science Fiction. On-sale date: February 2011.
In a ravaged war torn land, a government assassin is about to break the law. Kameron Hurley’s debut novel is part cyberpunk, and part military SF, but all action and excitement.
Some days, Nyx was a bel dame—an honored, respected, and deadly government-funded assassin—other days, she was a butcher and a hunter; a woman with nothing to lose. Now the butcher has a bounty to bring in. Nyx and her rag-tag team of mercenaries are about to take up a contract that will shake the foundations of two warring governments.
Bugpunk at its best. Night Shade Books is proud to present the debut novel from Kameron Hurley.
Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra
Gallery/Permuted Press, $15.00, 212pp, tp, 9781439180693. Fiction.
George Zaragosa is a young schoolteacher living in the shdaow of his fiancee’s unsolved murder. Now he just wants to go home to his family. He has made the journey before, traveling from Austin to San Uvalde. It is usually a short drive. But he knows this time is going to be different.
It began in New York City, when the dead arose from the hospitals and morgues, attacking the living and pulling them into their growing hordes. State by state, the nation goes into lockdown, whole cities and towns fight for survival, and George must navigate military roadblocks, FEMA camps, and street thugs to make it home. But most of all, his journey down the road will require him to stave off the horrifying creatures hungering for his flesh.…
The Weiser Feild Guide to the Paranormal: Abductions, Apparitions, ESP, Synchronicity, and More Unexplained Phenomena from Other Realms by Judith Joyce
Weiser, $14.95, 224pp, tp, 9781578634880. Non-fiction.
…a stranded motorist is approached by a figure—not quite human; the phone rings and the voice on the other end belongs to someone nearly forgotten—and long dead; an unidentified killer stalks a rural farmyard—preying on livestock and draining their blood.
Welcome to the world of the paranormal, known to most through media and nightmares, but for the unlucky few it’s a terrifying, waking reality. Join paranormal investigator and psychic Judith Joyce as she illuminates this dark realm with professional insight and haunting clarity. The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal is your guidebook to what is real and unreal, fiction and fact, covering all aspects of paranormalism, from cryptis to psychics, telekinesis to telepathy.
Ghost Country by Patrick Lee
Harper, $7.99, 368pp, pb, 9780061584442. Thriller.
For decades, inexplicable technology has passed into our world through the top secret anomaly called the Breach.
The latest device can punch a hole into the future…
What Paige Campbell saw when she opened a door into seventy years from now scared the hell out of her. She and her Tangent colleagues brought their terrible discovery to the President—and were met with a hail of automatic gunfire after leaving the White House. Only Paige survived.
Fearing a terrifying personal destiny revealed to him from the other side of the Breach, Travis Chase abandoned Tangent… and Paige Campbell. Now he must rescue her—because Paige knows tomorrow’s world is desolate and dead, a ghost country scattered with the bones of billions. And Doomsday will dawn in just four short months… unless they can find the answers buried in the ruins to come.
But once they cross the nightmare border into Ghost Country, they might never find their way back…
Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht
(a book of The Fey and the Fallen), Night Shade, $14.99, 300pp, tp, 9781597802130. Fantasy. On-sale date: February 2011.
Fallen angels and the fey clash against the backdrop of Irish/English conflicts of the 1970s in this stunning debut novel by Stina Leicht.
Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that he was the bastard of a protestant—His mother never spoke of him, and Liam assumed he was dead.
But when the war between the fallen, and the fey began to heat up, Liam and his family are pulled into a conflict that they didn’t know existed. A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970s era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into both conflicts.
Only the direct intervention of Liam’s real father, and a secret catholic order dedicated to fighting “The Fallen” can save Liam… from the mundane and supernatural forces around him, and from the darkness that lurks within him.
Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley
Pyr, $16.00, 370pp, tp, 9781616142513. Science fiction.
The first Turing gate, a mere hundred nanometers across, is forced open in 1963, at the high-energy physics laboratory in Brookhaven; three years later, the first man to travel to an alternate history takes his momentous step, and an empire is born.
For fifteen years, the version of America that calls itself the Real has used its Turing gate technology to infiltrate a wide variety of alternate Americas, rebuilding those wrecked by nuclear war, fomenting revolutions and waging war to free others from communist or fascist rule, and establishing a Pan-American Alliance. Then a nation exhausted by endless strife elects Jimmy Carter on a reconstruction and reconciliation ticket, the CIA’s covert operations are wound down, and the Real begins to wage peace rather than war.
But some people believe that it is the Real’s manifest destiny to impose its idea of truth, justice, and the American way in every known alternate history, and they’re prepared to do anything to reverse Carter’s peacenik doctrine. When Adam Stone, a former CIA field officer, one of the Cowboy Angels who worked covertly in other hisotires, volunteers for reactivation after an old friend begins a killing spree across alternate histories, his mission uncovers a startling secret about the operation of the Turing gates and leads him into the heart of an audacious conspiracy to change the history of every America in the multiverse—including our own.
Cowboy Angels is a vivid, helter-skelter thriller in which one version of America discovers the true cost of empire building, and one man discovers that an individual really can make a difference.
Never Knew Another by J.M. McDermott
(book one of The Dogsland Trilogy), Night Shade, $14.99, 250pp, tp, 9781597802154. Fantasy. On-sale date: February 2011.
Fugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon.
Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon’s child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet.
From J.M. McDermott, author of the critically acclaimed Last Dragon, comes the stunning new fantasy novel, Never Knew Another—a sweeping fantasy novel that revels in the small details of life.
Pilot & Huxley: The First Adventure by Dan McGuiness
Scholastic/Graphix, $7.99, 62pp, tp, 97805452650414. Fantasy graphic novel, ages 7-9.
Pilot & Huxley: The First Adventure is the first in a series by Australian creator Dan McGuiness. Publishers Weekly said “It’s delightfully surreal and filled with imaginative dialogue,” and Kirkus called this full-color debut “A zany, gross-out graphic novel that reads like a madcap, G-rated South Park episode.” When best buddies Pilot & Huxley get zapped to another dimension by aliens seeking to enslave the planet earth, it totally ruins their day! Then things get really weird: they must travel through a swamp of bees, battle a sea creature, and defeat the Grim Reaper! But with luck, some fast thinking, and help from a monster who can transform into a girl (or vice versa), they might just make it home in one piece. Find out more at www.PilotandHuxley.com.
Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki
Bearstache, $17.95, 470pp, tp, 9780982167120. Fiction/Anthology.
The machine could tell, from just a sample of your blood, how you were going to die.
It didn’t give you the date and it didn’t give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. And it was frustratingly vague in its predictions: dark, and seemingly delighitn in the ambiguities of language. OLD AGE, it had already turned out, could mean either dying of natural causes, or shot by a bedridden man in a botched home invasion. The machine captured that old-world sense of irony in death—you can know how it’s going to happen, but you’ll still be surprised when it does.
We tested it before announcing it to the world, but testing took time—too much, since we had to wait for people to die. After four years had gone by and three people died as the machine predicted, we shipped it out the door. There were now machines in every doctor’s office and in booths at the mall. You could pay someone or you could probably get it done for free, but the result was the same no matter what machine you went to. They were, at least, consistent.
{Author and illustrator contributors: Camilla Alexa, Matthew Bennardo, Daliso Chaponda, John Chernega, Chris Cox, Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, Alexander Danner, James Foreman, Tom Francis, Rafa Franco, Shaenon K. Garrity, William Grallo, C.E. Guimont, Sherri Jacobsen, Douglas J. Lane, K.M. Lawrence, David Malki, Erin McKean, Camron Miller, Ryan North, Pelotard, Brian Quinlan, T.J. Radcliffe, Gord Sellar, Jeff Stautz, James Lafond Sutter, J Jack Unrau, Bartholomew von Klick, Julia Wainwright, Jeffrey Channing Wells, David Michael Wharton, Kit Yona, John Allison, Kate Beaton, Brandon Bolt, Vera Brosgol, Jeffrey Brown, Scott C., Mitch Clem, Danielle Corsetto, Aaron Diaz, Rene Engstrom, Jess Fink, Dorothy Gambrell, KC Green, Matt Haley, Christopher Hastings, Paul Horn, John Keogh, Karl Kerschl, Kazu Kibuishi, Adam Koford, Roger Langridge, Les McClaine, Brian McLachlan, Kevin McShane, Dylan Meconis, Carly Monardo, Nationa of Amanda, Ramon Perez, Jesse Reklaw, Katie Sekelsky, Kean Soo, Cameron Stewart, Kris Straub, Marcus Thiele, Kelly Tindall, Dean Trippe, and Shannon Wheeler.]
Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium3 by Jake Parker
Scholastic/Graphix, $10.99, 160pp, tp, 9780545117173. Fantasy graphic novel, ages 7-9.
The galaxy’s most fearless agent is back!
Evil King Bognarsh has enslaved an entire planet, and Missile Mouse is the only operative the Galactic Security Agency trusts to save the day. Teamed up with his new robotic partner, Agent 44, Missile Mouse must free Tanium3 from the clutches of Bagnarsh and his favorite hired gun, the notorious Blazing Bat.
Strap in and hold tight—Missile Mouse is on the job!
Plus—Get the scoop on heroes, villains, gadgets, vehicles, and more in the Missile Mouse Guide to the Universe.
Bookdocks Fantasy edited by Jean Rabe & Martin H. Greenberg
DAW, $7.99, 306pp, pb, 9780756406530. Fantasy anthology.
There’s magic in the Appalachians. And there might be leprechauns in the Smokies. Apple Holler could well be the home of a colony of elves hiding out from the rest of humanity. the Mississippi Delta could be the haven of sirens and mermaids. A group of hippies might still wield psychedelic sorcery from Haight-Ashbury… but have transplanted it and themselves to a trailer park in Alabama. Trolls could be living under that red Georgia clay… hey, maybe it’s red from the blood of the trolls’ victims over the years.…
Urban fantasy is popular, but what if you took that modern fantasy and moved it to the “sticks,” with no big city in sight? Trailer parks, fishing shacks, sleepy little towns, or specks on the map so small that if you blink while driving through you’ll miss them. Vampires, wizards, aliens, and elves might be tired of all that urban sprawl and prefer a spot in the country—someplace where they can truly be themselves without worrying about what the neighbors think?
[Contributors: Gene Wolfe, Timothy Zahn, Chris Pierson, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Steven Savile, Patrick McGilligan, Raymond Benson, Dylan Birtolo, Elizabeth A. Vaughan, D.L. Stever, Anita Ensal, Anton Strout, C.J. Henderson, Kelly Swails, Vicki Johnson-Steger, Linda P. Baker, John Lambshead, Jay Lake, Brian A. Hopkins, and Donald J. Bingle.]
The Buntline Special: A Weird West Tale by Mike Resnick
Pyr, $16.00, 322pp, tp, 9781616142490. Steampunk/western/fantasy/alternate history.
The year is 1881. The United States of America ends at the Mississippi River. Beyond lies the Indian nations, where the magic of powerful Medicine Men has halted the advance of the Americans east of the river. An American government desperate to expand its territory sends Thomas Alva Edison out West to the town of Tombstone, Arizona, on a mission to discover a scientific means of counteracting magic. Hired to protect this great genius, Wyatt Earp and his brothers.
But there are plenty who would like to see the Earps and Edison dead. Riding to their aid are old friends Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson. Against them stand the Apache wizard Geronimo and the Clanton gang. Battle lines are drawn, and the Clanton gang, which has its own reasons for wanting Edison dead, sends for Johnny Ringo, the one man who might be Doc Holliday’s equal in a gunfight. But what shows up instead is The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo, returned from the dead and come to Tombstone looking for a fight.
Welcome to a West like you’ve never seen before, where “Bat Masterson” hails from the ranks of the undead, where electric lights shine down on the streets of Tombstone, while horseless stagecoaches carry passengers to and fro, and where death is no obstacle to The Thing That Was Once Johnny Ringo. Think you know the story of the O.K. Corral? Think again, as five-time Hugo winner Mike Resnick takes on his first steampunk western tale, and the West will never be the same.
Arance Circle by Linda Robertson
Pocket/Juno, $7.99, 416pp, pb, 9781439190259. Urban Fantasy.
Even magic can’t solve everything…
After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alemedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan.
And that’s not all… Seph’s boyfriend JOhnny has revealed himself as the waerewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the waere world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed… and at what cost?
Soul Hunt by Margaret Ronald
Harper Voyager, $7.99, 310pp, pb, 9780061662430. Urban Fantasy.
The hunter has become the hunted…
Without even realizing what she was doing, Genevieve Scelan has made a bad bargain. The Red Sox fanatic and supernatural tracker known as “hound” for her extraordinary power of scent wishes she could leave magic behind now that she’s eradicated the evil cabal that oppressed Boston’s undercurrent for centuries. But now her talent’s fading, the local adepts’ squabbles are turning ugly, and worse, she’s just discovered that she owes a very large debt to someone… or some thing. And in the undercurrent, debts are taken very seriously.
Evie has until midwinter to pay up… or else. So when she gets a job that might save her—even if she’s breaking all her own rules to take it—she can’t pass it up. Now, with danger at her back and uncertain allies beside her, she’ll trace the very bones of Boston itself to protect both the city and the people she loves.
Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland
DAW, $7.99, 310pp, pb, 9780756406523. Fantasy.
My name is Kara Gillian and I’m a homicide detective…
But that’s not all. I sense the “arcane” in our world, and there’s quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. I’m also a summoner of demons, which comes in handy now that I work on a task force that deals with supernatural or paranormal crimes. My partners, Ryan and Zack, are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they’re not summoners, which sometimes makes it tough for them to understand what I’m dealing with.
To complicate things even more, I managed to get myself into a “situation” with one of the most powerful of demons—Demon Lord Rhyzkahl—who, in exchange for saving Ryan’s life, struck a bargain with me that definitely works better for him. It doesn’t help that this beautiful Demon Lord finds me attractive—something Ryan doesn’t appreciate. And I know Rhyzkahl has something on Ryan, but so far, I can’t find out what.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and… mud. But how can I concentrate on the case when I’m not even sure who—or what—my partners are?
Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book One by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski
Scholastic/Graphix, $10.99, 220pp, tp, 9780545141024. Fantasy, ages 9-12.
A thrilling return to the world of Bone.
Quest for the Spark: Book One
Something evil has poisoned the Dreaming and is now invading the Waking World. As the darkness spreads, the people of the Valley—even Queen Thorn—are caught in the grip of nightmares, and it’s up to one boy to save them all.
Twelve-year-old Tom Elm has spent his life turnip farming, but he’s always felt destined for something greater. When his family falls into a dangerous sleep, Tom, along with Roderick the raccoon, teams up with three lost explorers from Boneville, Percival Bone and his nephew and niece. Together with a Veni Yan warrior, a mysterious shape-shifting woman, and two stupid Rat Creaturs, this mismatched group sets out on a quest to find the lost pieces of the Spark. Without its vanquishing light, Tom’s family—and the entire Valley—might never wake up again.
The Dark Griffin by K.J. Taylor
(The Fallen Moon, Book One), Ace, $7.99, 372pp, pb, 9780441019786. Fantasy.
Ace Books is thrilled to announce The Fallen Moon series by K.J. Taylor as we release all three books in three consecutive months! The series brings fantasy readers what they are looking for—an amazing story about humans and their intelligent magical companions—but with a twist! Told from the point of view of the anti-hero, The Dark Griffin will have readers cheering for the “dark side.”
Set in the land of Cymria, K.J. Taylor transports readers to a place where humans and griffins rule side by side. In The Dark Griffin, Arren Cardockson, a griffin’s companion who descends from the Northerner slave regions, accepts the task of capturing a wild griffin and finds that trouble awaits him. Betrayed by those he trusted and forced to fight for his life, Arren finds himself shackled by his own decisions. Will Arren be able to fulfill his destiny?
The next adventure in K.J. Taylor’s remarkable fresh fantasy series, The Griffin’s Flight, will be published by Ace in February and concludes with The Griffin’s War in March. Perfect for those who love Brent Weeks and George R.R. Martin, this book will satisfy every reader’s thirst for a brilliant new fantasy series. But this time, fans won’t have to wait long to read the entire series through from beginning to end.
Numbers: The Chaos by Rachel Ward
Scholastic/Chicken House, $17.99, 352pp, hc, 9780545242691. Action, Adventure / Love & Romance / Science Fiction. On-sale date: March 2011.
In February 2010, debut novelist author Rachel Ward introduced American readers to Jem and her uncommon gift. Anyone she meets, she knows the exact date they will die, just by looking into their eyes. Part fast-paced thriller nad part love story, Numbers followed Jem and fellow outsider Spider through their adventures in London. In Numbers: The Chaos, Ward is back with the earth-shattering sequel.
Adam has inherited his mother’s curse. When he looks into someone’s eyes, he envisions the date of their death. In fact, the very first number he sees is hers. After he scrawled it on a childhood drawing, Jem knew she’d die when her son was very young.
Orphaned, Adam has grown up by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But as rising tides flood the coast, they flee to London. The city is an alien, anarchic place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can’t help but notice how many people’s number are in January 2027. How many are on New Years day. Can Adam, with the help of his damaged friend Sarah, stop a catastrophe? Or are they too, counted among the “twenty-sevens?”
Rachel Ward once again deftly tackles issues of love, friendship and belonging, while crafting a thriller that’s exciting until the last page.
Worlds of Honor #5: In Fire Forged by David Weber
Baen, $25.00, 336pp, hc, 9781439134146. Science fiction. On-sale date: February 2011.
Honor Harrington is arguably the most popular character in modern science fiction, but there are many other stories in the Honorverse besides those in which she has the central role. This fifth volume in the popular Worlds of Honor series explores some of those stories with the help of such top writers as best-selling author Jane Lindskjold, New York Times best-selling author Timothy Zahn, and more—including an all-new Honor Harrington adventure, set in her younger years, when a mob of space pirates made the mistake of tangling with Commander Harrington. That was a fatal mistake—for the pirates…
[Contributors: Jane Lindskold, Timothy Zahn, David Weber, and Andy Presby.]
The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts, and Zombies by H.G. Wells and Eric S. Brown
Gallery, $15.00, 308pp, tp, 9781451609752. Fiction.
Never before in the history of warfare had destruction been so indiscriminate and so universal as it is in The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts, and Zombies. Panic descends upon planet Earth once more as H.G. Wells’s terrifying cosmic invaders blaze a path of fiery destruction across Victorian England, leaving thousands of undead in their wake.
The streets of London run wild as invaders from Mars wreak havoc on the living, slaying the populace with Heat-Rays and poisonous clouds of black smoke. Humanity struggles to survive against technology far beyond their own, meeting fear and death at every turn.
But that’s not the only struggle mankind must face. The dead are rising from their graves with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Friends, neighbors, and loved ones are fighting the war of the worlds, and the Earth is forever changed.
Who will triumph when man, Martian, and flesh-eating monster meet? Packed with fearsome supernatural creatures at every turn, Wells’s original masterpiece is scarier, gorier, and more suspenseful than ever!
City of Night by Michelle West
(a novel of The House War), DAW, $8.99, 548pp, pb, 9780756406448. Fantasy.
The House War is the story of the battle for control of the most powerful of the ruling Houses in the Essalieyan Empire—House Terafin. But it is also the tale of Jewel Markess. Rescued from her precarious existence as an orphan in the slums of the capital city of Averalaan by Rath—who abandoned his own family when his sister joined House Terafin—Jewel is gathering together children less fortunate than herself, creating her own den.
But now times are truly desperate within Averalaan’s hundred holdings. Street children are disappearing, theft and violence are increasing, and even Jewel’s den is finding it hard to make ends meet.
They’ve been living on their own for some time, but Rath is still their mentor and continues to sell the items they find in the ancient undercity hidden beneath the streets of Averalaan. Then suddenly he orders them to avoid the undercity.
Yet Rath himself refuses to heed the warnings of Jewel’s seer dreams. Instead, he allies with the mages of the Order of Knowledge in a secret war against demonic foes, knowing he’ll be targeted for death—or worse. In a last attempt to protect Jewel and her den-kin, he provides a note of introduction to the head of House Terafin—the sister he’d sworn never to contact.
For only within the well-guarded Terafin manse will the den stand any chance of escaping the unnatural forces reaching out to claim them.…
House Name by Michelle West
(a novel of The House War), DAW, $25.95, 480pp, hc, 9780756406516. Fantasy.
House Name is the third novel in The House War, the series that began with The Hidden City and City of Night. Set in the same rich fantasy universe as Michelle West’s Sacred Hunt duology and her six-book Sun Sword series, the House War novels recount the events leading to the momentous battle between the demonic minions of the Lord of the Hells and defenders of the Essalieyan Empire—a realm with a long and bloody history. The empire is ruled by the Twin Kings, themselves the sons of gods. It is also controlled by The Ten, the heads of the most influential Houses in Averalaan, the capital of the Empire.
But The House War focuses not only on the larger war but also on the campaign to control the most powerful of the ruling Houses in the Essalieyan Empire—House Terafin.
As House Name opens, former street orphan Jewel and her den have been given shelter in House Terafin. The price for them to remain there is that Jewel must prove her value to the House. And saving The Terafin, the rule of the House, from a demonic assassination attempt is certainly a good start.
Now Jewel has been assigned the task of finding the entryways to the ancient undercity that lies beneath the streets of the empire’s capital, Averalaan. But even with the aid of the most powerful First Circle Mage of the Order of Knowledge, Jewel’s search seems hopeless. All of the ways into the undercity seem to be magically disappearing before Jewel can lead the mage to them. And if they can’t find a means to reach the undercity, they will not be able to prevent the demon kin from whatever attack they are planning.
Not only does Jewel fear that failure on her part will see her den expelled from House Terafin, but she has been troubled by grim visions of the future—visions of the death and destruction of all she has come to hold dear.
Yet it is not until the unthinkable happens—a direct attack on House Terafin—that the stakes are raised to a whole new level. And both Jewel and the Terafin can only hope that it is not already too late to prevent the demon kin from reaching the goal they have worked centuries to achieve—the return of the Lord of the Hells to the mortal realm.…
The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer by Lucy Weston
Gallery, $15.00, 310pp, tp, 9781439190333. Fiction.
Revealed at last in this new vampire saga for the ages, The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer as told by Lucy Weston, is the true, untold story of the “Virgin Queen” and her secret war against the vampire king of England.
On the eve of her coronation, Elizabeth Tudor is summoned to the tomb of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to learn the truth about her bloodline—and her destiny as a Slayer. Born to battle the bloodsucking fiends who rule the night, and sworn to defend her beloved realm against all enemies, Elizabeth soon finds herself stalked by the most dangerous and seductive vampire of all.
He is Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur, who sold his soul to destroy his father. After centuries in hiding, he has arisen, determined to rule a world of eternal night and to claim the young Elizabeth as his Queen. Horrified by his enticements of everlasting beauty and protection from all enemies, Elizabeth embraces her powers as a Slayer even as she realizes that the greatest danger comes from her own secret desire to yield… to bare her throat in ecstasy and allow the vampire king to drink deeply of her royal blood.
The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer is told by Lucy Weston, the vampire prey immortalized in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the aftermath of a fire at Windsor Castle, Lucy found journals that belonged to Queen Elizabeth, revealing heretofore unknown information about her life as a vampire slayer.
A reluctant vampire herself, Lucy Weston brings these journals to light in order to strike back at the dangerous vampires she despises. Having lived long enough as a vampire to enter the digital age, readers can learn the details of Lucy’s story and track her modern day adventures online—on her blog (lucywestonvampire.com), and on Twitter (twitter.com/Lucy_Weston).