[[[Going Home]]] by A. American. Plume, $15.99, 451pp, tp, 9780142181270. Fiction.
[[[Surviving Home]]] by A. American. Plume, $15.99, 499pp, tp, 9780142181287. Fiction.

From the publisher of the bestselling non-fiction survivalist bible How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It by James Wesley Rawles, comes the first of two novels in a four novel series about one man’s battle to save himself and his family when the inevitable societal collapse he’s been prepping for befalls America and every modern convenience and the personal freedoms people take for granted every day, disappears in an instant.

A self-publishing success story, self-taught novelist A. American published the first book in the fast paced apocalyptic series “Going Home,” in November 2012 and it quickly gained thousands of loyal readers and fans who clamored for his follow-up “Surviving Home” which is being published simultaneously with “Going Home” from Plume.

Following Plume’s trade paperback edition (which has been repackaged and is being distributed wherever books are sold), A. American will author two more titles that Plume will release at a later date to be announced.

In Going Home, when Morgan Carter’s car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: the country’s power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored — if it ever will be. An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back.

During the grueling trek from Tallahassee to his home in Lake County, chaos threatens his every step but Morgan is hell bent on getting home to his wife and daughters — and he’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Now in Surviving Home Morgan Carter has finally reunited with his loving wife and daughters. Morgan knows that their happiness is fleeting, as the worst is yet to come. Though for years Morgan has been diligently preparing for emergency situations, many of his neighbors are completely unready for life in this strange new world — and they’re starting to get restless.

With the help of his closest companions, Morgan fights to keep his home secure — only to discover shocking information about the state of the nation in the process.

 

[[[Kindred and Wings]]] by Philippa Ballantine. (A Shifted World novel), Pyr, $18.00, 255pp, tp, 9781616147792. Fantasy.

On the back of the dragon Wahirangi, Finn the Fox flees the world he has known. As he sets out to find the brother he never knew of, he still holds in his heart the memory of the Hunter. He has denied his love for her, but he cannot deny it forever.

In the halls of the Last Believers, Talyn begins to uncover her own mysteries, but her lust for the death of the Caisah is still strong and clouds her vision. She must choose her path, as the Seer of her people or as the assassin of the overlord.

Meanwhile, Byre, Talyn’s brother, must venture into the fiery world of the Kindred, to rebuild the pact that his ancestors made. He will risk everything he is as he forms a new pact that will change his people forever.

Dragons and myths will be reborn, as the Hunter and her Fox face each other once more.

 

[[[The Captains Close Up, with William Shatner]]]. Etertainment One DVD, $19.98, 150 minutes.

Since first soaring onto TV screens in the 1960s, Star Trek has become one of the most durable and beloved franchises of all time. At the center of each Star Trek incarnation is what has become a truly iconic character: The Captain. The Captains Close Up is a five episode mini-series, as seen on Epix, that “boldly goes where no man has gone before,” giving viewers an intimate look at the actors that have inhabited this role — all through the eyes of the man who played the first Captain more than 45 years ago: William Shatner.

Based on the multi-million dollar budget feature documentary The Captains, written and directed by Shatner, The Captains Close Up provides an even deeper behind-the-scenes look at the actors who have mdae the Star Trek an international phenomenon. Each episode features William Shatner conducting an in-depth, one-on-one interview with one of his fellow Captains, and delves into tohe working challenges and personal rewards each actor garnered from his or her groundbreaking role at the Star Trek Starfleet helm.

Episodes:
* “William Shatner” (Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, 7 Star Trek feature films) featuring Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk, J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness)
* “Patrick Stewart” (Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, 4 Star Trek feature films)
* “Avery Brooks” (Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
* “Kate Mulgrew” (Captain Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager)
* “Scott Bakula” (Captain Jonathan Archer, Star Trek: Enterprise)

DVD Bonus Features:
* Additional Interviews with William Shatner (exclusive to the DVD release) shot on the Paramount Studios Lot

 

[[[The Transgressive Iain Banks: Essays on a Writer Beyond Borders]]] edited by Martyn Colebrook and Katharine Cox. McFarland, $40.00, 208pp, tp, 9780786442256. Non-fiction.

This collection of 12 new essays brings together prominent literary experts to explore the importance of Scottish writer Iain (M.) Banks, both his mainstream and science fiction work. It considers Banks as an habitual border crosser who makes things fresh and new by subversive and transgressive strategies. The essays are divided into four thematic areas — the Scottish context, the geographies of his writing, the impact of genre and a combined focus on gender, games and play — and will be of particular interest to scholars of contemporary literature, Scottish literature and science fiction.

[Contributors: Martyn Colebrook, Katharine Cox and David Haddock; David Pattie; James Kneale; Tim Middleton; Bethan Jones; Kirsty A. Macdonald; Emily Garside and Katharine Cox; Sarah Falcus; Will Slocombe; Joseph Norman; and William Stephenson.]

 

[[[Warbound]]] by Larry Correia. (Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles), Baen, $25.00, 434pp, hc, 9781451639087. Dark urban fantasy.

The Ultimate Predator

Only a handful of people in the world know that mankind’s magic comes from a living creature, a refugee from another universe. The Power showed up here in the 1850s because it was running from something. Now it is 1933, and the Power’s hiding place has been discovered by a killer.

The Power’s nemesis is a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Earth is next. Jake Sullivan, former private eye, knows the score. The problem is hardly anyone believes him. The world’s most capable active, Faye Vierra, could back him up, but she is hiding from the forces that think she is too dangerous to let live. So Jake has put together a ragtag crew of airship pirates and Grimnoir knights and sets out on a suicide mission to stop the predator before it is too late.

 

[[[Stuck on Star Trek]]] illustrated by Joe Corroney. Universe, $19.95, 10pp + 2 bound-in sticker sheets, hc, 9780789324764.

After more than 40 years, 11 feature films, and six television series, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek has endured as a beloved pop culture phenomenon, with the latest films engendering a whole new generation of Trekkies. Now, millions of fans across the world will set their phasers to “Fun” as Universe Publishing goes where no other publisher has gone before: Stuck on Star Trek! This spiral-bound book has ten pages each depicting a familiar setting from the original series; from the bridge of the Enterprise, the transporter room, sick bay, and even various alien environments. Two sheets of reusable vinyl “Kling-on” stickers of the main characters from the Starfleet crew including Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Scotty, Chekov, Uhura, Sulu, Bones, even the ever-doomed Red Shirt guy, as well as Klingon and Romulan adversaries are included. Stuck on Star Trek even includes communicators, phasers, universal translators, and speech bubbles. And Tribbles. Lots of Tribbles.

The book also comes with a fold-out stand that allows for easy play and display, enabling devoted Trekkies of all ages to reenact their favorite scenes, or to imagine entirely new ones at home, in their cubicles, or while waiting in line at ComicCon. Interactive and portable, Stuck on Star Trek is sure to be a most welcome gift and allows our favorite Starfleet crew to live long and prosper!

 

[[[Wrath-Bearing Tree]]] by James Enge. (A Tournament of Shadows, Book Two), Pyr, $18.00, 377pp, tp, 9781616147815. Fantasy.

Into the Unguarded Lands…

The masked powers of Fate and Chaos are killing gods in the land of Kaen, facing the Wardlands across the Narrow Sea.

Vocates Aloe Oaij and Morlock Ambrosius go into the Unguarded Lands, on a mission to find the reasons for the godslaying, and to avert any threat to the lands the Graith of Guardians has sworn to protect.

After crash-landing on the hostile coast of Kaen, they will face vengeful frightened gods, a calmly murderous dragon, a demon called Andrakhar, and a bitter old necromancer named Merlin Ambrosius.

Amid these dangers they will find that they can trust no one but themselves — and each other.

 

[[[Pathfinder Tales: King of Chaos]]] by Dave Gross. Paizo, $8.99, 425pp, pb, 9781601255587. Fantasy.

Demon Apocalypse

After a century of imprisonment, demons have broken free of the wardstones surrounding the Worldwound. As fiends flood south into civilized lands, Count Varian Jeggare and his hellspawn bodyguard Radovan must search through the ruins of a fallen nation for the blasphemous text that opened the gate to the Abyss in the first place — and which might hold the key to closing it. In order to succeed, however, the heroes will need to join forces with pious crusaders, barbaric local warriors and even one of the legendary god callers. It’s a race against time as the companions fight their way across a broken land, facing off against fiends, moonsters, and a vampire intent on becoming the god of blood — but will unearthing the dangerous book save the world, or destroy it completely?

From best-selling author Dave Gross comes a new adventure set against the backdrop of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

 

[[[Dearly, Beloved]]] by Lia Habel. Del Rey, $16.99, 496pp, tp, 9780345523358. Fantasy.

Can the living coexist with the living dead?

That’s the question in Dearly, Beloved that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites. Romance meets walking-dead thriller in the second novel of Lia Habel’s highly addictive series begun with Dearly, Departed.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man… of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the illness — and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling.

 

[[[Assignment in Eternity]]] by Robert A. Heinlein. Baen, $7.99, 336pp, pb, 9781451639070. Science fiction collection.

Two Short Novels

Robert A. Heinlein is widely and justly regarded as the greatest practitioner of the art of science fiction who has ever lived. Here are two of his greatest short novels:

Gulf: In which the greatest superspy of them all is revealed as the leader of a league of supermen and women who can’t quite decide what to do with the rest of us… Prequel to the New York Times best seller, Friday.

Lost Legacy: In which it is proved that we are all members of that league — or would be, if we but had eyes to see….

Plus two great stories

Two of the Master’s finest: one on the nature of Being, the other on what it means to be a Man.

 

[[[The Exodus Towers]]] by Jason M. Hough. (The Dire Earth Cycle: Two), Del Rey, $9.99, 527pp, pb, 9780345537140. Science fiction.

Fresh on the heels of his highly acclaimed debut, The Darwin Elevator, Jason M. Hough continues The Dire Earth Cycle with The Exodus Towers. The sudden appearance of a second space elevator in Brazil only deepens the mystery about the aliens who provided it: the Builders. Scavenger crew captain Skyler Luiken and brilliant scientist Dr. Tania Sharma have formed a colony around the new Elevator’s base, utilizing mobile towers to protect humans from the Builders’ plague. But they are soon under attack from a roving band of plague-immune soldiers. Cut off from the colony, Skyler must wage a one-man war against the new threat as well as murderous subhumans and thugs from Darwin — all while trying to solve the puzzle of the Builders’ master plan… before it’s too late for the last vestiges of humanity.

 

[[[Dead Set]]] by Richard Kadrey. Harper Voyager, $22.99, 320pp, hc, 9780062283016. Paranormal Fantasy. On-sale date: 29 October 2013.

After her father’s funeral, Zoe and her mother moved to the big city to start over. But life there is not so easy; money is tight and a new school brings trials. Fortunately, she has an escape: her dreams. A world of freedom and solace removed from the loneliness and anxieties of real life, Zoe’s dreamscape offers another, more precious, gift. It is the only place where she can spend time with her closest companion — her lost brother, Valentine.

Yet something is very wrong. An unfamiliar and uninvited presence has entered their private realm and now threatens Zoe and Valentine — a disturbing turn of events that is compounded by an impossible discovery. A chance encounter at a used record store, where the grooves of the vinyl discs hold not music but lost souls, has opened up a portal to the world of the restless dead. Now, the shop’s strange proprietor is offering Zoe the chance to commune with the father whose passing took a piece of her heart. The price? A lock of hair. Then a tooth. Then…

How far into this eerie world will Zoe go to discover what she truly needs? And once she does, will there be enough left of her to come back?

 

[[[Children of Fire]]] by Drew Karpyshyn. Del Rey, $26.00, 494pp, hc, 9780345542236. Fantasy.

Drew Karpyshyn has made his mark with imaginative, action-packed work on several acclaimed videogames, including Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, as well as in a succession of New York Times bestselling tie-in novels. Now Karpyshyn introduces a brilliantly innovative epic fantasy of perilous quests, tormented heroes, and darkest sorcery — a thrilling adventure that vaults him into the company of such authors as Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson, and Peter V. Brett.

Long ago the gods chose a great hero to act as their agent in the mortal world and to stand against the demonic spawn of Chaos. The gods gifted their champion, Daemron, with three magical Talismans: a sword, a ring, and a crown. But the awesome power at his command corrupted Daemron, turning him from savior to destroyer. Filled with pride, he dared to challenge the gods themselves. Siding with the Chaos spawn, Daemron waged a titanic battle against the Immortals. In the end, Daemron was defeated, the Talismans were lost, and Chaos was sealed off behind the Legacy — a magical barrier the gods sacrificed themselves to create.

Now the Legacy is fading. On the other side, the banished Daemron stirs. And across the scattered corners of the land, four children are born of suffering and strife, each touched by one aspect of Daemron himself — wizard, warrior, prophet, king.

Bound by a connection deeper than blood, the Children of Fire will either restore the Legacy or bring it crashing down, freeing Daemron to wreak his vengeance upon the mortal world.

 

[[[Come and Take Them]]] by Tom Kratman. (a new sequel to A Desert Called Peace), Baen, $25.00, 592pp, hc, 9781451639360. Science fiction. On-sale date: November 2013.

Number five in the Carerra military science fiction series that started with A Desert Called Peace. Miltary leader Carrera faces down a threat from progressive totalitarians and wins the freedom of his country on a frontier planet.

The Carrera saga continues with entry number five, and the sequel to Amazon Legion. Carrera. Relentless. Machiavellian. Without compunction. Victorious. Pity his enemies. Be thankful he is on the side of freedom from totalitarian domination.

On the colony planet of Terra Nova, soldier turned political leader Carrera has achieved his revenge, destroying those who killed his wife and children in a terrorist strike, and helping to establish a free country. But Carrera’s fight is not over.

War with the Tauran Union is inevitable. Carrera has been preparing his new country for this all-out conflict for years, intending to drive out the last vestige of foreign imperialism in Balboa, the Tauran Union Security Force. He doesn’t care that he’s outnumbered one hundred to one. He doesn’t care that the Taurans are one thousand times wealthier. A true Machiavellian, Carrera is convinced that gold cannot always find good soldiers, but that good soldiers can always find gold. After all, his good soldiers have already found quite a bit. Moreover, he’s been preparing for the war he intends to start and fight on his own terms, while the TU has been preparing for a progressive fantasy.

But then his own government calls a halt even as the commander of the United Earth Peace Fleet, High Admiral Marguerite Wallenstein, injects a dose of realism and spine into the Tauran Union. Any other government, giving similar orders, Carrera would overthrow without hesitation. But this is his own creation; he must follow these orders.

But the Taurans are provoking Balboa mercilessly, and Carrera knows that sooner or later, he must fight — only now the task will be more difficult and more bloody. No matter. When that time comes, Carerra knows he will do whatever it takes to win. He is, after all, Carrera.

 

[[[In Retrospect]]] by Ellen Larson. Five Star, $25.95, 368pp, hc, 9781432827335. Dystopian Murder Mystery. On-sale date: 20 November 2013.

Former elite operative Merit Rafi suffered during her imprisonment at the end of a devastating war, but the ultimate torment is being forced to investigate a murder she would gladly have committed herself.

The year is 3324. In the region once known as Turkey, the Rasakans have attacked the technologically superior Oku. The war is a stalemate until the Oku commander, General Zane, abruptly surrenders. Merit, a staunch member of the Oku resistance, fights on, but she and her comrades are soon captured. An uneasy peace ensues, but the Rasakans work secretly to gain control of the prized Oku time-travel technology. When Zane is murdered, the Rasakans exert their control over Merit, the last person on Earth capable of Forensic Retrospection.

Merit, though reinstated to her old job by the despised Rasakans, knows she is only a puppet. If she refuses to travel back in time to identify Zane’s killer, her family and colleagues will pay the price. But giving in to Rasakan coercion means giving them unimaginable power. She has only three days to make this morally wrenching choice; three days to change history.

As the preliminary investigation progresses, Merit uncovers evidence of a wider plot. How did the Rasakans defeat the technologically superior Oku? Why did the Oku surrender prematurely? How did the Rasakans discover her true identity? Merit realizes she will only find the answers by learning who killed the traitor, General Zane.

In Retrospect is a good old-fashioned whodunit set in a compelling post-apocalyptic future.

 

[[[Fanged Fan Fiction: Variations on Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries]]] by Maria Lindgren Leavenworth and Malin Isaksson. McFarland, $40.00, 236pp, tp, 9780786470440. Non-fiction.

Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries have sparked intense fan activity and generated a large quantity of fan fiction: stories which test the limits of an already existing fictional work and explore gaps and discrepancies within it. Working from the idea that texts constitute archives, expanded and altered by each addition, close readings of a selection of fanfics illustrate particular transformative practices in the online environment. The central figure of the vampire is read through the lens of fanfic authors’ contributions to the archives, particularly regarding how figuratively or literally refanged versions of the trope are used to subvert norms established in the source texts concerning depictions of sexuality, sexual practices, and monstrosity. Complex relationships between authorial power and subversion, between mainstream messages and individual interpretations, are examined through fanfic analyses, the findings contributing to discussions about contemporary literary creativity.

 

[[[From Up on Poppy Hill]]] written by Hayao Miyazaki; directed by Goro Miyazaki. Gkids, $34.95, DCD/Blu-Ray 2-Pack, 91 minutes + extras. Fantasy.

This September, GKids, in conjunction with Cinedigm, invites home viewers to experience the latest masterwork from Studio Ghibli: From Up on Poppy Hill, from the creators of Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and many other animated masterpieces. Written by legendary studio founder Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Goro Miyazaki, the film marks the first feature-lenght collaboration between father and son — and the results are stunning. Fresh off a triumphant domestic and international theatrical run, Cinedigm will release this acclaimed gem in multiple formats: Blu-ray+ DVD 2-Pack ($34.95 srp), DVD 2-pack ($29.95 srp) and Cable VOD on September 3, 2013.

The dazzling, hand-drawn From Up on Poppy Hill is set in Yokohama in 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the Olympics. The mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi (Sarah Bolger) and Shun (Anton Yelchin) — but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart. From a screenplay by Academy Award-winner Hayao Miyazaki, the English language version is directed by multiple Academy Award-winner Gary Rydstrom from a script adaptation by Karey Kirkpatrick (James and the Giant Peach, Chicken Run, Charlotte’s Web) and features an all-star English voice cast including Gillian Anderson, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Fuhrman, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Noth, Emily Osment, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Saxton, Alex Wolff and Anton Yelchin. Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy executive produced.

The Blu-ray+ DVD combo and DVD releases of From Up on Poppy Hill both contain over three hours of bonus materials and include: original Japanese language and English language versions with subtitles and dubtitles; feature-length storyboards; celebrity cast recording featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews; an interview with Goro Miyazaki; original Japanese trailer and TV spots; the music video for the theme song by Aoi Teshima; and a featurette about Yokohama, exploring the history of the sea-side setting where the film takes place. Bonuses exclusive to the Blu-ray edition include a staff speech and press conference by Hayao Miyazaki days after the Fukushima earthquake, and a 20-page booklet containing the original project proposal by Hayao Miyazaki and a letter from Goro Miyazaki.

 

[[[Shadows of the New Sun: Stories in Honor of Gene Wolfe]]] edited by J.E. Mooey and Bill Fawcett. Tor, $25.99, 336pp, hc, 9780765334589. SF anthology.

Tor Books is proud to present Shadows of the New Sun, an all-star tribute to Gene Wolfe, who has repeatedly won SF’s highest honors, including the Nebula, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy awards. Edited by Bill Fawcett and J.E. Mooney, Shadows of the New Sun features to work of Neil Gaiman, Jody Lynn Nye, David Brin, Nancy Kress, and many others, plus two new short stories by Gene Wolfe himself.

Perhaps no living author of imaginative fiction has earned the awards, accolades, respect, and literary reputation of Gene Wolfe. His prose has been called subtle and brilliant, inspiring not just lovers of fantasy and science fiction, but readers of every stripe, transcending genre and defying preconceptions.

In this volume, a select group of Wolfe’s fellow authors pay tribute to the award-winning creator of The Book of the New Sun, The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Soldier of the Mist, The Wizard Knight and many others, with entirely new stories written specifically to honor the writer hailed by The Washington Post as “one of America’s finest.”

[Contributors: Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Timothy Zahn, Steven Savile, David Drake, Nancy Kress, Jack Dann, Michael Swanwick, Michael A. Stackpole, Mike Resnick and Barry Malzberg, Aaron Allston, Todd McCaffrey, Judi Rohrig, William C. Dietz, Marc Aramini, Jody Lynn Nye, and David Brin.]

 

[[[Ice and Shadow]]] by Andre Norton. Baen, $7.99, 646pp, pb, 9781451639131. Science fiction.

Two young rebels — each pitted against an alien world

Two outstanding novels set in legendary storyteller Andre Norton’s Forerunner universe, in one volume.

Ice Crown: Roane, a young archaeologist, makes planetfall on a previously off-limits world. She is looking for artifacts of the mysterious Forerunners, an advanced race which vanished from the galaxy eons before humans had even harnessed fire. The planet’s human colonists have been cut off from the rest of the galaxy for centuries. Now Roane must fight to save the enslaved populace and her own inner essence by locating a powerful artifact — the Ice Crown — that could bring new freedom to a planet locked in slavery.

Brother to Shadows: Jofre, a young initiate to the Brotherhood of Assassins, is betrayed and cast out by a corrupt nemesis. Needing funds, he is employed as a bodyguard by Zurzal, a reptilian alien scientist who has developed a device to view the past through Forerunner technology. But the ruler of a feudal world wants the device for dark reasons of his own, and the tyrant’s agents will ruthlessly eliminate Jofre if he gets in their way — if the guild assassin following his trail doesn’t catch up with him first.

 

[[[Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising]]] by Lara Parker. Tor, $14.99, 400pp, tp, 9780765332592. Fantasy.

Tor Books is proud to present an all-new Dark Shadows novel, written by one of the TV series’ most popular characters, Angelique herself, Lara Parker. Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising is filled with the full measure of eroticism, spellbinding suspense, and gripping storytelling that made the original television series a timeless hit.

When a portrait is lost that has maintained Quentin Collins’s youthful appearance for over a century — and has also kept his werewolf curse at bay — Quentin begins to dread the full moon.

Meanwhile, David, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Collins fortune, has fallen in love with Jacqueline, a young girl living at the Old House who is the reincarnation of Angelique. David and Jacqueline are swept back in time to the Prohibition era of the 1920s, where David uncovers the dark secrets of the Collins family history.

Most threatening of all, Dr. Nathaniel Blair, an expert in the paranormal, has come to Collinwood because he suspects they are harboring a vampire. Fortunately, Barnabas Collins has returned to his coffin after a disastrous flirtation with life as a human. Nevertheless, what Blair discovers places the entire Collins family in jeopardy.

 

[[[Crooked]]] by Richard Pett. Broken Eye Books, 548pp, tp, 9781940372006. Fantasy.

The doors to the Empire Museum closed decades ago, but in the ochre glow of the pyrebeetle lanterns, the exhibits still stare and occasionally move. Fueled by the sweat of the low-caste factory workers, the city of Brine hovers over the edge of a thousand, thousand millwheels fueled by the twice-daily cascade of tidal waters.

In Brine, even death cannot end toil. The carcasses of horses blankly pull the cabs of the wealthy. Dead workers lurch in the factories, fueling the ever-growing Empire. With no more land to claim, the puppet queen has decreed another kind of expansion: a darker path into the lands Between.

But in the shadow of Empire’s expansion, this new land’s strange inhabitants stare hatefully out at the invaders. Slowly, they begin to step out of the reflections, out of the smog-shrouded alleys. Fighting back.

And in the museum, dead things begin to stir once more.

 

[[[Battle Magic]]] by Tamora Pierce. Scholastic, $17.99, 464pp, hc, 9780439842976. YA fantasy. On-sale date: October 2013.

The drums of war are beating.

Mages Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy are visiting the mystical mountain kingdom of Gyongxe when they are suddenly called away. The emperor of Yanjing has invited them to see his glorious gardens.

During their brief stay, though, the mages see far more than splendid flowers. They see the emperor’s massive army, his intense cruelty, and the devastating magic that keeps his power in place.

It’s not until they leave that they discover he’s about to launch a major invasion of Gyongxe. The mountain land is home to many temples… including the First Temple of the Living Circle, which Rosethorn has vowed to defend.

With time running out, the mages race to warn their Gyongxe friends of the emperor’s plans.

Duty, mystery, magic, and terror will drive them apart on the way. And while new friends will do their best to bring the mages together again on the field of battle, deadly enemies hide in every mountain pass, just waiting to destroy them.

 

[[[Queen of Wands]]] by John Ringo. Baen, $7.99, 486pp, pb, 9781451639179. Fantasy.

Spreading love and faith one dead demon at a time

Soccer mom and demon-fighter Barbara Everette is back in an intricately interwoven monster noir thriller, the sequel to the best-selling Princess of Wands, as USA Today and New York Times best-selling author John Ringo brings a new twist to urban fantasy.

Barbara has a problem. It seems Janea, Barbara’s associate and one of the Foundation of Love and Universal Faith’s best field operatives, has been thrown into a coma by some very nasty magic she’s stirred up. Barbara must track down the perpetrators and break the spell or Janea’s soul will be forever lost on the astral plane. Oh, and if she can’t break the spell, zombies will destroy all mankind.

Meanwhile, Janea, a stripper and High Priestess of Freya when she isn’t fighting demons, must contend with a spiritual journey of her own. Where to locate one’s true inner essence? At a science fiction convention, of course. But when rescuers pursue Janea into her vision of a geeky alternate reality, she finds this is one science fiction convention where the Guest of Honor could turn out to be Death Himself.

 

[[[Zombie Massacre]]] a film by Marco Ristori and Luca Boni. Entertainment One, $24.98, DVD/Blu-ray, 90 minutes. Horror.

A bacteriological weapon developed by the US Government to create an army of super soldiers spreads an epidemic, turning the citizens of a quiet town into mutated zombies. All citizens have become infected. In order to conceal the outbreak, a plan is hatched to detonate an atomic bomb inside the local nuclear power plant and pretend that a terrible accident occurred. No one has to know the truth. But when a team of mercenaries is put together to carry out the mission, they must first wage war against the horde of monsters in order to succeed. Who will survive in this Zombie Massascre, presented by Uwe Boll (In the Name of the King, Bloodrayne) and from Marco Ristori and Luca Boni, the directors of Eaters…

 

[[[The Grim Company]]] by Luke Scull. (the first book in a dark epic fantasy trilogy), Roc, $26.99, 400pp, hc, 9780425264843. Fantasy.

From Luke Scull — a thrilling new voice in fantasy — comes The Grim Company, the first novel in a dark and bloody epic trilogy. Released earlier this year by Head of Zeus in the United Kingdom, The Grim Company garnered fantastic buzz with genre fans across the pond. Ferocious and funny, it’s fantasy on a grand scale that is sure to appeal to fans of George R.R. Martin and Brent Weeks.

The gods are dead, murdered by the wizards who stole their immortality and now rule over a divided world. In the Grey City of Dorminia, the depotic Magelord Salazar and his depraved troop of Augmentors control with fear and their mindhawks, which can detect dissent in the minds of the citizens. But they are all that stands in the way of the demons and abominations — manifestations of chaotic magical energy — that plague the highlands and threaten the city. The world is desperately in need of a savior. What it gets instead is a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans, and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.

 

[[[The Walking Dark]]] by Robin Wasserman. Knopf, $17.99, 464pp, hc, 9780375868771. Fiction.

They called it the killing day.

Twelve people dead, in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand… except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn’t even know why she killed — or whether she’ll do it again.

Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas — something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleaner from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world. West, the golden boy at war with himself. Daniel, desperate for a different life. Cass, who’s not sure she deserves a life at all. Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, who believes in fate, who believes in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far.

They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town — and in themselves.

 

[[[Fire Season]]] by David Weber and Jane Lindskold. (A Star Kingdom Novel), Baen, $9.99, 287pp, tp, 9781451639216. Science fiction.

Loyalties tested by fire

Fire weather… That’s what the treecats call those rare seasons when the slightest spark can set aflame the vast green reaches they call home.

Teenager Stephanie Harrington rapidly learns just how deadly those fires can be. Guided by her treecat companion, Lionheart, Stephanie and her good friend Karl Zivonik venture into the heart of a raging inferno to rescue twin treecats put at risk by human carelessness. Only the trio’s absolute trust for each other stands between them and disaster.

But Sphinx isn’t the only thing ripe for burning. Stephanie has fallen hard for new arrival to Sphinx, Anders Whittaker. When Anders vanishes without a trace, Stephanie is at the forefront of the search. Then a lightning strike sets the Copperwall Mountains aflame and as a provisional ranger she is ordered to ehr post.

Will Stephanie choose to honor the claims of her planet or those of her heart?

 

[[[Pirates of the Timestream]]] by Steve White. Baen, $14.00, 247pp, tp, 9781451639094. Science fiction.

Piracy is a thing of the past — and future

Special operations officer Jason Thanou of the Temporal Regulatory Authority must once again plunge into Old Earth’s blood-drenched past to combat the plots of the Transhumanist underground.

Jason and his companions travel to the seventeenth century and encounter the real pirates of the Caribbean. To Jason’s horror, he learns that the Teloi aliens who were the grim reality behind the pagan pantheons of antiquity — aliens Jason believed he’d successfully destroyed — are still alive, and aiding the Transhumanists in founding an unspeakable cult.

Jason must somehow thwart the plans of the sinister aliens while at the same time preventing reality from falling into chaos. But he will find an unexpected ally against the buccaneers: the person of Henry Morgan himself.

 

[[[Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations]]] by Michael Z. Williamson. Baen, $15.00, 336pp, tp, 9781451639056. Science fiction collection.

Duty, Honor, Bravery

Duty in the face of danger on a planetary scale. Pride and competence in the face of idiotic clients who hate that they need your services, and an enemy who wants to make your bad day even worse. These are stories of the warriors and civilians who get things done in extreme situations, whether it’s rescue from a ship broken in space and leaking air and radiation, hard choices by a brigade of mercenary swords in a world of blood and magic, or scramble and response by troops in the Sandbox doing what it takes to make it through another scorching, rocket-filled day.

A hard-hitting collection of the best fiction and nonfiction from Michael Z. Williamson, creator of the popular Freehold military SF saga.