The Qwillery

Happy Last Monday in May. Today's list only includes the remaining May releases. Look for the June release list and debuts list on June 1st.

There is one debut this week:

The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye.



From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Vicious (Villains 1) by V.E. Schwab is reissued in Hardcover.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

May 29, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Canto Bight (h2mm)	Saladin Ahmed Rae Carson Mira Grant John Jackson Miller	SF - Star Wars
Cold as Thunder	Jerry Apps	Dys
Twelve Days (h2tp)	Steven Barnes	SupTh/SF
Venus (ri)	Ben Bova	SF/SO - The Grand Tour 4
Dead Indian Wars	Clark Casey	H - Damnation 2
The Plague (e)	Kevin Chong	LF
Jam	Yahtzee Croshaw	SF/HU/AP/PA/H
Mogworld	Yahtzee Croshaw	F/HU/P/DF
Eve of Darkness (ri)	S. J. Day Sylvia Day	Marked 1
Shadow Keeper	Christine Feehan	PNR - A Shadow Riders Novel 3
Strange Music (h2mm)	Alan Dean Foster	SF/AC - Adventures of Pip & Flinx 15
Beyond the Sea (h2mm)	David L. Golemon	SF - Event Group Thrillers 12
The Slave Prince	Jeyna Grace	F
Fade to Black	Heather Graham	SupTh/GH/PNR -  Krewe of Hunters 24
Torched: A Dragon Romance	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Kings 13
Into the Drowning Deep (h2tp)	Mira Grant	SF
Learning How To Drown	Cat Hellisen	SF/F - Collection
Star Trek Prometheus - The Root of All Rage	Christian Humberg Bernd Perplies	SF/MTI
The War of Vengeance	Nick Kyme Chris Wraight C L Werner	F - Warhammer Chronicles 6
The Elementals (ri)	Morgan Llywelyn	F
The Honey Farm (D)	Harriet Alida Lye	PsyTh/LF/Sus
The Last Hunt	Robbie MacNiven	SF - White Scars
The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals	Aaron Mahnke	SocSci/ Folklore/Mythology - The World of Lore
Nightflyers & Other Stories	George R. R. Martin	SF/H - Collection
Nightflyers: The Illustrated Edition	George R. R. Martin	SF/AC/H
Blood Enemies (tp2mm)	Susan R. Matthews	SF - Under Jurisdiction 7
Assassin's Price (h2mm)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - The Imager Portfolio 11
Red Claw (ri)	Philip Palmer	SF/SO
The Only Child (h2tp)	Andrew Pyper	LF
The Dame (ri)	R. A. Salvatore	F - Saga of the First King 3
Vicious (ri)	V. E. Schwab	SH/P - Villains 1
In Evil Times (tp2mm)	Melinda Snodgrass	SF - Imperials 2
Black Wolves of Boston (h2mm)	Wen Spencer	CF
City of Monsters	Jason Starr	MTI/Cr/CF - Gotham 2
A Different Flesh (ri)	Harry Turtledove	AH/SF
Agent of Byzantium (ri)	Harry Turtledove	AH
Blood Fury (h2mm)	J.R. Ward	PNR - Black Dagger Legacy 3
The Carrion Throne (h2tp)	Chris Wraight	SF - Vaults of Terra 1

May 30, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Shaun Hutson Omnibus: No. 2: "Heathen" and "Lucy's Child"	Shaun Hutson	H
Dreadnought (e)	Cassandra Khaw	F - Born to the Blade, Season 1, Episode 7
Lingua Cosmica: Science Fiction from around the World	Dale Knickerbocker (Ed)	SF - Anthology

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CulH - Cultural Heritage
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
Fict - Fiction
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PopCul - Popular Culture
Psy - Psychological
Psy Th - Psychological Thriller
SF - Science Fiction
SciFan - Science Fantasy
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary and Metaphysical

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Vicious
Villains 1
Tor Books, May 29, 2018
Hardcover w/ Dust Jacket, 400pages
Original Hardcover and eBook, September 24, 2013

A hardcover run-on repackage of New York Times bestseller V.E. Schwab's Vicious, a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, and superpowers which will include:

*A new cover by Will Staehle, cover artist of the iconic Shades of Magic trilogy covers

*Schwab's Tor.com short story set within the Vicious universe, "Warm Up"

*A teaser for the upcoming sequel, Vengeful

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

"A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one…highly recommended!" —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Marvel Universe vs The Avengers and Patient Zero

Vicious
Villains 1
Tor Books, May 29, 2018
Trade Paperback, 400pages
Original Trade Paperback: January 20, 2015

A trade paperback repackage of New York Times bestseller V.E. Schwab's Vicious, a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, and superpowers which will include:

*A new cover by Will Staehle, cover artist of the iconic Shades of Magic trilogy covers
*Schwab's Tor.com short story set within the Vicious universe, "Warm Up"
*A teaser for the upcoming sequel, Vengeful

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

"A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one…highly recommended!" —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Marvel Universe vs The Avengers and Patient Zero

Vengeful
Villains 2
Tor Books, September 25, 2018
Hardcover w/ Dust Jacket and eBook, 400 pages

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

From the author of A Darker Shade of Magic comes Vengeful, the highly-anticipated sequel to V. E. Schwab's debut adult novel Vicious, a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, and superpowers.

A super-powered battle of genius, cruelty, and the lengths one will go for vengeance—V. E. Schwab returns with the end to the Villains duology.

Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever.

Sydney Clarke once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she's alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol. And then there's Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn't know about his most recent act of vengeance.

Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains.

And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.

Entertainment Weekly's 27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now

“Schwab's characters feel vital and real, never reduced to simple archetypes... In a genre that tends toward the flippant or pretentious, this is a rare superhero novel as epic and gripping as any classic comic. Schwab's tale of betrayal, self-hatred, and survival will resonate with superhero fans as well as readers who have never heard of Charles Xavier or Victor von Doom.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A brilliant exploration of the superhero mythos and a riveting revenge thriller.” —The Guardian on Vicious

"V.E.Schwab's Vicious is the superhero novel I've been waiting for: fresh, merciless, and yes, vicious. Wow." —Mira Grant, NYT bestselling author of Blackout

"Vicious is dark and intricate and daring...you can't turn the pages fast enough. I loved it."—Dan Wells, NYT bestselling author of Savages

A Darker Shade of Magic
Shades of Magic 1
Tor Books, January 19, 2016
Trade Paperback, 416 pages
Hardcover and eBook, February 24, 2015

A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...This is a book to treasure."—Deborah Harkeness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy

Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light

A Darker Shade of Magic
  Collector's Edition
Shades of Magic 1
Tor Books, October 31, 2017
Hardcover, 432 pages

A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in V.E. Schwab's New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic trilogy, is now available in a special collector's edition.

With a revamped, metallic ink detailed cover and reading ribbon, this edition will also feature the following bonus material:
*End papers featuring fan art
*A glossary of Arnesian and Antari terms
*An interview between author and editor
*Original (never before seen!) tales from within the Shades of Magic world

"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy...a gem of a tale. This is a book to treasure." —Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light

A Gathering of Shadows
Shades of Magic 2
Tor Books, January 17, 2017
Trade Paperback, 512 pages
Hardcover and eBook, February 23, 2016

From #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab

"Addictive and immersive, A Gathering of Shadows cements this series as a must-read." —Entertainment Weekly, grade A

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games-an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries-a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again-and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall...in V.E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows.

Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light

A Conjuring of Light
Shades of Magic 3
Tor Books, March 13, 2018
Trade Paperback, 640 pages
Hardcover and eBook, February 21, 2017

Witness the fate of beloved heroes and notorious foes in the heart-stopping conclusion to V.E. Schwab’s New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic trilogy.

*Kirkus' Best Fiction of 2017*

This edition will include the following special features:
*Full glossary of terms from the entire series
*Q&A between V.E. Schwab and her editor

As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons has reached its breaking point.

In the wake of tragedy, Kell—once assumed to be the last surviving Antari—begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. Lila Bard, once a commonplace—but never common—thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry.

An ancient enemy returns to claim a city while a fallen hero tries to save a kingdom in decay. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light

The Shade of Magic Series
Tor Books, August 15, 2017
eBooks, 1314 pages

This discounted ebundle includes: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light

Witness the fate of beloved heroes and notorious foes in V.E. Schwab’s New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic series.

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

A Darker Shade of Magic — Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

A Gathering of Shadows — Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Element Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned.

A Conjuring of Light — As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons has reached its breaking point. In the wake of tragedy, Kell—once assumed to be the last surviving Antari—begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. Lila Bard has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry.

Tor books by V. E. Schwab
The Shades of Magic series
A Darker Shade of Magic
A Gathering of Shadows
A Conjuring of Light

The Villains series
Vicious

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery.

V.E.:  Thank you so much for having me! Crazy that the time has finally come.



TQ:  When and why did you start writing?

V.E.:  As an only child with a vivid imagination, I’ve been creating fictional worlds—of which I am queen, or God—and populating them for as long as I can remember. I’ve never been great at living in the real world, but I’m ace at making up my own. As for the writing part, I started putting stories on paper when I was in middle school, and then transitioned to poetry in high school. In college I toyed with poetry, non-fiction, screenplays, short fiction, before finally trying my hand at a book, just to see if I could. Luckily (in retrospect), that book didn’t sell, but my next one did. I simply haven’t stopped since. Though, in truth, I can still see myself trying my hand at other forms. It’s a dream of mine to write for comic books and movies. Maybe one day ;)



TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

V.E.:  Like, in my writing? Or while I’m writing? In my writing, I always try to sneak in “half-” as in “half-rotted.” I have no idea why, but the phrasing always shows up. As a writer, I end up perching on the least comfortable furniture in the house, Gollum-style, when I’m plot-stuck. I’m pretty sure I mutter to myself as well.



TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

V.E.:  I’m a connect-the-dots-er. Before I seriously start writing a book, I come up with the 5-10 plot points/moments that must be there for the book to be my book. Sometimes they are twists and sometimes they are gasp moments and sometimes they’re very quiet beats, but they’re vital to the story I want to tell. Once I have those, I let myself find my way between them. This gives me enough freedom to discover plot without wandering too far from my charted course.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

V.E.:  The beginnings. And the endings. And the middles.

In truth, I think the most challenging thing has been getting better, because as you get better, you get worse. Worse at handling the fact that you still have to write something before you can make it better. You become more aware of what you’re doing, but you still have to get through the messing up part, and the going astray part, and the stumbling. And the self-awareness…I can tell when something’s wrong before I know how to fix it. I can predict which things people will like, or be frustrated with, or miss. Too many voices in my head.



TQ:  Describe Vicious in 140 characters or less.

V.E.:  Two pre-med students discover the key to superpowers--near-death experiences--and set out to create their own abilities. It doesn't end well.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Vicious?

V.E.:  I’ve always loved hero and villain culture, specifically the anti-hero that exists in between the classic two. I knew I wanted to write a villain lead (we all know the phrase, “Every villain is the hero of their own story”) and I wanted to play with the idea that there are no heroes and villains in the world, only people with labels put on them, by themselves or someone else.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Vicious?

V.E.:  I did a lot of medical research. The whole foundation for supernatural powers in VICIOUS is this idea that under the right circumstances—the threat of imminent demise--a permanent chemical shift could take place in a person. Eli, the book’s antagonist, claims that it’s equal parts mind and body, the mental state as important as the physical. It becomes as much about psychology as physiology. But the physiological aspects are key, especially when it comes to the bringing people back part. I consulted EMTs and medical professionals, and did a lot of research on adrenaline, various modes of death, and which of those modes one could feasibly revive from, especially with household or hospital-stolen equipment.



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

V.E.:  Victor was the easiest. My editor and I joke that Victor is my sociopathic supervillain alter ego. He lives inside my head with perfect clarity. Eli on the other hand is a much more emotional character, the product of a traumatic religious upbringing. He has a serious sense of being “burdened with glorious purpose” to borrow Loki’s phrase, and was much more challenging.



TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Vicious?

V.E.:  Ooooohhh, that’s hard. I honestly think Eli and Victor’s death scenes (that’s not a spoiler, they both kill themselves fairly early in the book in an attempt to generate abilities) are my favorite. Which is pretty sick, I guess, but I am intensely proud of both. ☺



TQ:  What's next?

V.E.:  So many things. I’m in the middle of a YA series about a library of the dead (the second book, THE UNBOUND, hits shelves in January). I’m writing a set of three Middle Grade books about a Doctor Who-esque guardian angel—EVERYDAY ANGEL--that kicks off next summer. And I’m working on an adult fantasy set in three Londons—one you know, two you don’t—full of cross-dressing pirates and thieves and bad magic and sadist kings.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

V.E.:  Thank you so very much for having me!

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Cover Art by Victo Ngai

Cover Illustration © Kerem Beyit