The Qwillery

Happy Monday!

There is one debut this week:

The Binding by Bridget Collins.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Fire Season (Eric Carter 4) by Stephen Blackmoore;

Amnesty (Amberlough Dossier 3) by Lara Elena Donnelly;

No Country for Old Gnomes (Tales of Pell 2) by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne;

Atlas Alone (Planetfall 4) by Emma Newman.

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

April 15, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Blood Bonds (e)	Yasmine Galenorn	PNR - Otherworld 21
Dreamtime: First Fantastic Collection (e)	Mark Le Dain	SF/NF - Completely Fractured Fiction 1
Succulent Prey (ri)	Wrath James White	H
Theory for the World to Come: Speculative Fiction and Apocalyptic Anthropology	Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer	LC/HC/PopCul/SF - Forerunners: Ideas First Series

April 16, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
NoBODY: A Novella (e)	Susan Wittig Albert	M/Occ - Crystal Cave 1
Ruinstorm	David Annandale	SF - Horus Heresy 46
Upon a Burning Throne	Ashok K. Banker	F
Dawnthief	James Barclay	F - Chronicles of the Raven 1
Fire Season	Stephen Blackmoore	UF/DF/CF - Eric Carter 4
Winds of Marque	Bennett R. Coles	SF - Blackwood & Virtue 1
The Binding (D)	Bridget Collins	LF/Hist
Amnesty	Lara Elena Donnelly	HistF/Th/Esp/Pol - Amberlough Dossier 3
The Complete Wayfarer Redemption Series: Wayfarer Redemption, Enchanter, Starman, Sinner, Pilgrim, Crusader (e)	Sara Douglass	F - Wayfarer Redemption
Perihelion Summer	Greg Egan	SF/HSF/AP/PA
Master & Apprentice	Claudia Gray	SF/MTI - Star Wars
A Time of Blood	John Gwynne	F/HistF - Of Blood & Bone 2
Warlords of Karak Eight Peaks	Guy Haley David Guymer	F - Warhammer Chronicles
No Country for Old Gnomes	Kevin Hearne Delilah S. Dawson	F/HU/FairyT/FolkT/LM - Tales of Pell 2
Myths and Mortals	Charlie N. Holmberg	F - Numina 2
Big Cat: And Other Stories	Gwyneth Jones	SF - Collection
Nest of the Monarch	Kay Kenyon	HistF - Dark Talents 3
Yesterday's Kin Trilogy: Tomorrow's Kin, If Tomorrow Comes, Terran Tomorrow (e)	Nancy Kress	SF/HSF/GenEng/AC - Yesterday's Kin Trilogy
The One (h2tp)	John Marrs	LF/SF/GenEng/Dys
Atlas Alone	Emma Newman	SF/HSF - Planetfall 4
Dark Constellations	Pola Oloixarac Roy Kesey (Tr)	LF/VisM/MR
All My Colors	David Quantick	DF/BH/Th/Cr
The Master of Dreams	Mike Resnick	F/DF - The Dreamscape Trilogy 1
Princess Bari	Hwang Sok-yong Sora Kim-Russell (Tr)	FairyT/FolkT/LM/GH/Fiction
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Thirteen	Jonathan Strahan (Ed)	SF/F - Anthology
Knight	Timothy Zahn	SF/SO/AC - Sibyl's War 2

April 19, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Unicorn Anthology	Peter S. Beagle (Ed) Jacob Weisman (Ed)	F - 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



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BH - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
Esp - Espionage
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PopCul - Popular Culture
Pol - Political
PP - Police Procedural
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
RF - Romantic Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary & Metaphysical

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

Dan Moren (2017)

The Bayern Agenda
The Galactic Cold War 1
Angry Robot Books, March 5, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 432 pages

A new Cold War threatens the galaxy, in this fast-paced and wisecracking thriller of spies and subterfuge.

Simon Kovalic, top intelligence operative for the Commonwealth of Independent Systems, is on the frontline of the burgeoning Cold War with the aggressive Illyrican Empire. He barely escapes his latest mission with a broken arm, and vital intel which points to the Empire cozying up to the Bayern Corporation: a planet-sized bank. There’s no time to waste, but with Kovalic out of action, his undercover team is handed over to his ex-wife, Lt Commander Natalie Taylor. When Kovalic’s boss is tipped off that the Imperium are ready and waiting, it’s up to the wounded spy to rescue his team and complete the mission before they’re all caught and executed.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Friendly Faces | Traitor, Pilot, Banker, Spy | Embassy Games | Going in Hot ]

Emma Newman (2013)

Atlas Alone
A Planetfall Novel 4
Ace, April 16, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

Hugo Award winner Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a novel about vengeance and the lengths to which one will go to save the future of humanity.

Six months after she left, Dee is struggling to manage her rage toward the people who ordered the nuclear strike that destroyed Earth. She’s trying to find those responsible, but she’s not getting very far alone.

A dedicated gamer, Dee is endeavoring to discover a mersive good enough to enable her to escape her trauma. When she is approached by a designer who asks her to play test his new game, she hopes it will be what she needs—but it isn’t like any mersive she’s played before. When a man suddenly dies in the real world, she realizes that at the same time in the game, she killed a character who bears a striking resemblance to the dead man—a man she discovers was one of those responsible for the death of millions on Earth.

Disturbed, but thinking it must be a coincidence, Dee continues the hunt for information. But when she finds out the plans for the future colony, she realizes that to save what is left of humanity, she might have to do something that risks what remains of her own.

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Chuck Wendig (2012)

Vultures
Miriam Black 6
Saga Press, January 22, 2019
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

In the sixth and final thriller of the “wildly entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews) Miriam Black series, Miriam tries to break the curse of her powers, but first she must face The Trespasser a final time.

Still reeling from the events of The Raptor and the Wren, Miriam must confront two terrifying discoveries: the Trespasser now has the power to inhabit the living as well as the dead, and Miriam is pregnant.

Miriam knows her baby is fated to die, but Miriam is the Fatebreaker. And if the rules have changed for her nemesis, her own powers are changing as well. Miriam will do whatever it takes to break her curse and save her child. But as Miriam once again finds herself on the hunt for a serial killer and in need of an elusive physic, she can feel the threads of her past coming together—and the pattern they’re forming is deadly.

To end the Trespasser’s influence in her world, Miriam must face her demon a final time. And, this time, one of them must die. Vultures is a heart-pounding conclusion to the series: “Think Six Feet Under cowritten by Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk” (SFX).

Book 1	Book 2
Book 3	Book 4

Book 5

Wanderers
Del Rey, July 2, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 800 pages

A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope. In the tradition of The Stand and Station Eleven comes a gripping saga that weaves an epic tapestry of humanity into an astonishing tale of survival.

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and are sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

Happy Monday!

There are five debuts this week:

The City of Lost Fortunes (A Crescent City Novel 1) by Bryan Camp;

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller;

From Unseen Fire (Aven Cycle 1) by Cass Morris;

The Spirit Photographer by Jon Michael Varese;

and

Collision Theory by Adrian Todd Zuniga.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The Guns Above (Signal Airship 1) by Robyn Bennis is out in Trade Paperback;

The Brass God (Gates of the World 3) by K. M. McKinley;

and

Before Mars (A Planetfall Novel 3) by Emma Newman.

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

April 16, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Ghost Memories (e)(ri)	Heather Graham	Th/GH - Bone Island Trilogy Prequel
Ghost Shadow (e)(ri)	Heather Graham	Th/GH - Bone Island Trilogy 1

April 17, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Lost: A Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus	Dan Abnett	SF - Gaunt's Ghosts
Traitor Born	Amy A. Bartol	Dys - Secondborn 2
The Guns Above (h2tp)	Robyn Bennis	SF/SP - Signal Airship 1
The City of Lost Fortunes (D)	Bryan Camp	CF - A Crescent City Novel 1
Future Fiction: New Dimensions in International Science Fiction (e)	Bill Campbell (Ed) Francesco Verso (Ed)	SF - Short Stories
Shadow Star: Book Three of the Saga Based on the Movie Willow (e)	Chris Claremont George Lucas	F - The Chronicles of the Shadow War 3
Shadow awn: Book Two of the Saga Based on the Movie Willow (e)	Chris Claremont George Lucas	F - The Chronicles of the Shadow War 2
Shadow Moon: Book One of the Saga Based on the Movie Willow (e)	Chris Claremont George Lucas	F - The Chronicles of the Shadow War 1
Dead But Once	Auston Habershaw	DF - Saga of the Redeemed 3
The Music of the Deep	Elizabeth Hall	CW
Champions of Chaos	Darius Hinks S. P. Cawkwell Ben Counter	F - Warhammer Chronicles 5
The Talisman (ri)	Stephen King Peter Straub	DF
Black House (ri)	Stephen King Peter Straub	H
The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel (ri)	Stephen King	P
Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (ri)	Stephen King	H - Collection
The Night Lies Bleeding	M.D. Lachlan	HistF - Wolfsangel 5
The Long Sunset	Jack McDevitt	SF - The Academy 8
The Brass God	K. M. McKinley	F - Gates of the World 3
Blackfish City (D)	Sam J Miller	F
Noir	Christopher Moore	F/HU
EMPulse2	Deborah D. Moore	SF/AP/PA
It's Not the End and Other Lies	Matt Moore	SF - Collection
From Unseen Fire (D)	Cass Morris	F/HistF - Aven Cycle 1
Before Mars	Emma Newman	SF/Psy - A Planetfall Novel 3
Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel	Daniel José Older	SF/SO/MTI - Star Wars
Harry Potter Talking Dobby and Collectible Book	Running Press	F
The Real-Town Murders	Adam Roberts	SF
Pocalypse Road (e)	Lilith Saintcrow	H/Z - Roadtrip Z3
Head On: A Novel of the Near Future	John Scalzi	SF/CyP/Th - Lock In 2
The Atrocities	Jeremy C. Shipp	SF/Gothic
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (h2tp)	Neal Stephenson Nicole Galland	SF/TT
The Spirit Photographer (D)	Jon Michael Varese	Hist/Sus
Jules Verne: The Essential Collection	Jules Verne	SF - Knickerbocker Classics
Collision Theory (D)	Adrian Todd Zuniga	LF/CoA/GH/HU

April 18, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Arrivals (e)	Michael R. Underwood	F - Born to the Blade, Season 1 - Episode 1

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
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
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
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
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
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.

Margaret Fortune (2015)

Archangel
Spectre War 2
Mass Market Paperback, April 3, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, March 7, 2017

Archangel is the second installment of the explosive, pulse-pounding Spectre War science fiction series.

An enemy you can’t kill. A soldier who can’t fight. An interstellar war that can’t be won . . . until now.

As a soldier of the Celestial Expanse, Guardian First Class Michael Sorenson knows better than anyone that when the Spectres invade, there are only two options. Run or die. However, his defensive war takes on a whole new spin when he’s recruited into Division 7, a Research & Development facility with the ultimate mission: to create a large-scale weapon that can kill Spectres en masse.

Here Michael joins a team of military elite who have the daring—and dangerous—task of taking new weapons prototypes out into the field for testing on enemy troops. Yet the closer they come to developing a working WMD, the more it becomes clear: There’s a saboteur in R&D.

With all signs pointing to a massive Spectre attack brewing on the horizon, the creation of a new weapons system yields an opportunity to end the threat once and for all. As the days count down toward its launch, Michael must hunt down the saboteur . . . before the saboteur hunts down him.

Emma Newman (2013)

Before Mars
A Planetfall Novel 3
Roc, April 17, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a standalone dark tale of a woman stationed on Mars who slowly starts to doubt her own memories and sanity.

After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist-in-residence. Already she feels like she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth–and she’ll be on Mars for over a year. Throwing herself into her work, she tries her best to fit in with the team.

But in her new room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note written in her own handwriting, warning her not to trust the colony psychologist. A note she can’t remember writing. She unpacks her wedding ring, only to find it has been replaced by a fake.

Finding a footprint in a place the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans, Anna begins to suspect that her assignment isn’t as simple as she was led to believe. Is she caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy, or is she actually losing her mind? Regardless of what horrors she might discover, or what they might do to her sanity, Anna has find the truth before her own mind destroys her.

Alex White (2016)

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe
The Salvagers 1
Orbit, June 26, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook,  432 pages

Furious and fun, the first book in this bold, new science fiction adventure series follows a ragtag group of adventurers as they try to find a legendary ship that just might be the key to clearing their name and saving the universe.

Boots Elsworth was a famous treasure hunter in another life, but now she’s washed up. She makes her meager living faking salvage legends and selling them to the highest bidder, but this time she got something real–the story of the Harrow, a famous warship, capable of untold destruction.

Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world–until she witnesses Mother murder a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah has only one lead: the killer also hunts Boots.

On the wrong side of the law, the two women board a smuggler’s ship that will take them on a quest for fame, for riches, and for justice.

Happy Monday!

There are 2 debuts this week:

Court of Twilight by Mareth Griffith;

and

Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders;

Breach of Containment (Central Corps 3) by Elizabeth Bonesteel;

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne;

In Constant Fear by Peter Liney is out in Trade Paperback;

and

Weaver's Lament (Industrial Magic 2) by Emma Newman.

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

October 15, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn Book One	Christie Golden	SF/F - Blizzard Legends
Editing the Soul: Science and Fiction in the Genome Age	Everett Hamner	HC/SF/ - AnthropoScene 2
Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive	Ethan Siegel	Sc - Star Trek

October 16, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Dragon Justice (e)	Laura Anne Gilman	UF - Paranormal Scene Investigations 4
Forever Vampire (e)	Michele Hauf	PNR - Forever 1
I Burn Paris	Bruno Jasieński Soren Gauger (Tr)	F
A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Volume 1 (e)	Mercedes Lackey	F
Storm Glass: A Fantasy Novel with Murder and Magic (e)	Maria V. Snyder	F - Chronicles of Ixia

October 17, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Six Months, Three Days, Five Others	Charlie Jane Anders	SF/F - Collection
Halloween Carnival Volume 3 (e)	Brian James Freeman (Ed)	H - Anthology
Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead: Return to Woodbury	Jay Bonansinga	H/Th/SupTh/MTI - The Walking Dead 8
Breach of Containment	Elizabeth Bonesteel	SF - Central Corps 3
Vallista	Steven Brust	F - Vlad Taltos 15
Ender's Game (Mini Book Edition)	Orson Scott Card	SF/SO - The Ender Quintet 1
Star Trek: The Next Generation Adult Coloring Book-Continuing Missions	CBS	CB - Star Trek
Forbidden Suns	D. Nolan Clark	SF/SO - The Silence 3
House of Shadows: An Enthralling Historical Mystery	Nicola Cornick	Hist/Gothic/R
It Devours!	Joseph Fink Jeffrey Cranor	F/HU - A Welcome to Night Vale Novel 2
In the Still of the Night	David L. Golemon	SupTh/H - The Supernaturals 2
The Autobiography of Jean Luc Picard	David A. Goodman	MTI/SF - Star Trek
Court of Twilight (D)	Mareth Griffith	CF
Shadowsword (h2tp)	Guy Haley	SF - Imperial Battle Tanks 2
Baneblade	Guy Haley	SF - Imperial Battle Tanks 1
A Plague of Giants	Kevin Hearne	F
From The Two Rivers (Mini Book Edition)	Robert Jordan	F - Wheel of Time 1
A Scandal in Battersea	Mercedes Lackey	HistF/F/FairyT/FolkT/LM - Elemental Masters 12
In Constant Fear (h2tp)	Peter Liney	SF - The Detainee 3
Infinite Ground (D - US)	Martin MacInnes	Psy/LF/M
Wild Cards I: Volume One (Mini Book Edition)	George R. R. Martin (Ed) Wild Cards Trust	SH/SF- Anthology
Deadlands: Boneyard	Seanan McGuire	SF - Deadlands 3
Feversong (h2mm)	Karen Marie Moning	PNR/FR - Fever 9
Weaver's Lament	Emma Newman	HistF/DF - Industrial Magic 2
The Two of Swords: Volume One	K. J. Parker	F - The Two of Swords
Edgedancer (Mini Book Edition)	Brandon Sanderson	F - The Stormlight Archive 2.5
Old Man's War (Mini Book Edition)	John Scalzi	SF - Old Man's War 1
Infinite Stars	Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Ed)	SF - Anthology
Predator: If It Bleeds	Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Ed)	MTI/SF - Anthology
Autumn (h2tp)	Ali Smith	LF/VM/CW
Shadowless	Hasan Ali Toptas Maureen Freely (Tr) John Angliss (Tr)	LF/MR
The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales (h2tp)	Dominik Parisien (Ed) Navah Wolfe (Ed)	FairyT - Anthology

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



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CB - Coloring Book
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
Fem - Feminist
FL - Family Life
Folklore - Folklore
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MF - Military Fantasy
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Noir - Noir
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Phil - Philosophy
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
Sc - Science
SH -Superheroes
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SO - Space Opera
SocHis - Social History
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
UFR - Urban Fantasy Romance
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical

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

Katherine Arden (2017)

The Bear and the Nightingale
Del Rey, June 27, 2017
Trade Paperback, 368 pages
Hardcover and eBook, January 10, 2017

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A magical debut novel for readers of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, and Neil Gaiman’s myth-rich fantasies, The Bear and the Nightingale spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

The Girl in the Tower
Del Rey, December 5, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Isabel Cooper (2011)

Highland Dragon Warrior
Dawn of the Highland Dragon 1
Sourcebooks Casablanca, September 5, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

"Another incredible, unique romance from the ingenious Cooper. Smartly written, fast-paced and brimming over with magic and surprises, this is exactly what readers crave and what Cooper continues to deliver."-RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ stars on Night of the Highland Dragon

Dragon shapeshifter Cathal MacAlasdair is on the brink of losing a dangerous power to his enemy when a whip-smart alchemist strikes a bargain...and lights a fire inside his heart.

Legend claims
When Scotland fell to English rule
The Highland dragons took a vow:
Freedom at any price.

The war may be over, but so long as English magic controls the Highlands, not even a dragon laird can keep his clan safe. What Cathal MacAlasdair needs is a warrior fierce enough to risk everything, yet gifted enough to outwit an enemy more monster than man.

What he needs is Sophia.

Alchemist Sophia Metzger traveled to Loch Arach in search of knowledge. She never dreamed she'd learn to do battle, ride through the stars on the back of a dragon, or catch the eye of a Highland laird. But as her quest turns to sizzling chemistry and inescapable danger, she'll soon discover the thrill of being caught in a dragon's claws...

Dawn of the Highland Dragon Series:
Highland Dragon Warrior (Book 1)
Highland Dragon Rebel (Book 2)
Highland Dragon Unleashed (Book 3)

Highland Dragon Rebel
Dawn of the Highland Dragon 2
Sourcebooks Casablanca, November 7, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Madoc of Avandos is on a journey to cement alliances. Targeted by an assassin, he needs a companion who can fight. When dragon shifter Moiread MacAlasdair returns from war, he knows she's the best woman for the job. Duty and political strength compel Moiread to agree, but when they cross into the otherworld and Madoc's life is threatened, Moiread jumps into protection mode-and will do whatever it takes to keep the man of her dreams alive.

Dawn of the Highland Dragon Series:
Highland Dragon Warrior (Book 1)
Highland Dragon Rebel (Book 2)
Highland Dragon Unleashed (Book3)

Emma Newman (2013)

Weaver's Lament
Industrial Magic 2
Tor.com, October 17, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 192 pages

Charlotte's magical adventures continue in Weaver's Lament, the sequel to Emma Newman's Brother's Ruin.

Charlotte is learning to control her emerging magical powers under the secret tutelage of Magus Hopkins.

Her first covert mission takes her to a textile mill where the disgruntled workers are apparently destroying expensive equipment.

And if she can’t identify the culprits before it’s too late, her brother will be exiled, and her family dishonoured…

Happy Anniversary to me!!!! 12 years ago today, in pretty much the same crappy weather, I got married. I had actually forgot (ooops) and probably wouldn't have remembered if my 88 year old next door neighbor hadn't dropped a card in my letterbox. Yikes! I haven't however, forgotten the two books I read this week. So before I go off to celebrate let me tell you what I read.


I received Larry Correia's Hard Magic in the post from the very generous Qwill several months ago and I mislaid it. How naughty was I? Especially as it was signed by the author himself and look how cute his signature is!

Jake Sullivan works for the Feds as private investigator....but he isn't your average PI. He has a unique ability to manipulate his environment allowing him to crush a rock with a mere flick of a finger, or change the gravity in a room, or to survive a fall from a tall building. Fresh out of jail Jake now works for the government and his next case sends him on the trail of an old friend...one who is as strong as he is. It's not long before Jake finds himself trapped between two warring factions of magical enhanced humans. Jake just wants to live a normal life but there is an evil coming and he might be the only one that can save the world.

I enjoyed Hard Magic and thought it was a jolly good read. I liked Jake and thought that Correia gave the 1920's a good twist with his magically enhanced characters. If you judge the book by the cover and the description you would assume that Jake was the main character but he really shares the limelight with the Faye, a teenage 'Traveller'. Quite a large part of the story centers on Faye and her ability to travel through space (not time). Jake and Faye are joined by a strong cast of supporting characters who help to give these main characters a bit more depth. While this is a standard 'good vs evil' story there are a couple of events that were a surprise. No spoilers here folks.


My next book was the final instalment of Emma Newman's The Split Worlds series with All Good Things. The story starts immediately after the events of book 4 where Cathy escapes her disastrous marriage to Will and is now staying with Lord Iron aka Sam. Sam has also given refuge to Bea, a sorceress who has killed many in an attempt to bring down barriers between the worlds. Joined by Max and the gargoyle, Sam and Cathy try to find a way to bring balance between the worlds while at the same time trying to stop anyone else getting killed in the process.

I have enjoyed this story but did not enjoy this final book. It felt like several chapters were missing as there is a big hole in one of the plot lines. I actually went back and re-read a couple of chapters as I thought my Kindle had jumped ahead. Cathy's husband Will was exceptionally annoying and in times Cathy was just a bit too whiny. Due to this I found the latter half of the book a bit jarring and rushed at the end. I wasn't really sad to see this story end which was too bad as I really enjoyed the earlier books.


That is all for me this week. I hope you have found something enjoyable to read. Until next week Happy Reading.

Hard Magic
Grimnoir Chronicles 1
Baen, April 24, 2012
Mass Market Paperback, 624 pages
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, May 3, 2011

Jake Sullivan is a war hero, a private eye-and an ex-con. He's free because he has a magical talent, being able to alter the force of gravity in himself and objects in his vicinity, and the Bureau of Investigation calls on him when they need his help in apprehending criminals with their own magical talents. But the last operation he was sent along to help with went completely wrong, and Delilah Jones, the woman the G-men were after, who just happened to be an old friend of Jake's in happier times, had a lot of magical muscle with her, too much muscle for the cops to handle, even with Jake's help.

It got worse. Jake found out that the Feds had lied to him about Delilah being a murderer as well as a bank robber, and they had lied about this being his last job for them-he was too valuable for them to let him go. And things were even worse than Jake imagined. There was a secret war being waged by opposing forces of magic-users, and Jake had no idea that he had just attracted the attention of one side, whose ruthless leaders were of the opinion that Jake was far too dangerous to be permitted to live...

All Good Things
The Split Worlds 5
Diversion, June 6, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 360 pages

From Emma Newman, the award-nominated author of Planetfall and Between Two Thorns, comes the long awaited conclusion to the Split Worlds series, described by Locus Magazine as “an intriguing mix of modern world, Victorian/Regency England, and faery.”

“A triumphant merger of Victorian values with modern magic” —Library Journal on A Little Knowledge

As the Iris family consolidates their hold on society within the secret world of the Nether, William Iris finds himself more powerful and yet more vulnerable than ever. His wife, Cathy, has left him, a fact that will destroy him if it becomes public. To keep his position—and survive—he needs to get her back, whatever the cost.

Cathy has finally escaped the Nether, but hates that she must rely so heavily on Sam’s protection. When the strange sorceress Beatrice offers her a chance to earn true freedom by joining the quest Sam has been bound to, Cathy agrees. But can she and Sam navigate Beatrice’s plans for the future without becoming two more of her victims?

And Beatrice, a self-taught and powerful killer, is not without her enemies. Rupert, the last sorcerer of Albion, is obsessed with finding and destroying her. He orders Max and his gargoyle to help him, pulling them away from protecting innocents. As the Arbiter and his partner face the ugly side of their responsibilities to Rupert, they begin to question where their loyalties should truly lie.

Amidst death, deceit, and the fight for freedom, friendships are tested, families are destroyed, and heroes are forged as the battle to control the Split Worlds rages to its climatic conclusion.

“Emma Newman is an extraordinary new voice in SF/F.” ––Paul Cornell, Hugo Award winner and author of London Falling and Saucer Country

The six shortlisted books for the 31st Arthur C. Clarke Award for best science fiction novel of the year published in 2016 have been announced:

• A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Ninefox Gambit – Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
• After Atlas – Emma Newman (Roc)
• Occupy Me – Tricia Sullivan (Gollancz)
• Central Station – Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)
• The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead (Fleet)

The winner will be announced at a public award ceremony held in partnership with Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Road, on Thursday 27th July 2017.

Sorry for missing last week. I was a bit behind schedule on quite a few things including the books I had planned on reading. But here I am with 2 books to tell you about.


I didn't think it was possible for Heide Goody and Iain Grant to get any funnier but they do. Beelzebelle - book 5 of the Clovenhoof series - is 100% crazy and 150% hilarious.

In this installment Jeremy ends up with a baby...well not his baby but after a series of ridiculous events he ends up taking care of baby Bea who is quickly renames Beelzebelle. When baby Belle won't stop crying Jeremy calls SCUM - not quite what you think - Sutton Coldfield Union of Mums with what he describes as a 'five boob emergency'. Somehow Jeremy is quite popular with the members of SCUM and when they protest against the local new church kicking them out of their hall for breast feeding it's up to Jeremy to fight for the cause. While Jeremy finds his feet (or in his case hooves) being a dad Michael is busy working for the leader of the aforementioned new church creating apps and basically missing the fact that his new boss isn't a very nice guy. Nerys and Ben are back and feature heavily in the plot especially after Clovenhoof destroys their block of flats and gets them kicked out. All these minor plots threads come together into one hilariously, crazy resolution. I dare you not to laugh all your way through.

I didn't think it was possible to laugh more during a book but I thought I was going to need surgery from busting my guts in nearly every chapter. From chesticles to lady cushions Goody and Grant just keep the laughs coming page after page.


Read number 2 is a gaslamp fantasy novella Brothers Ruin by Emma Newman. This is the first in Newman's Industrial Magic series. Set in a England in the 1850s where children who show magical talent are sold by their family to the Royal Society who use them as an elite force to protect the country. Charlotte is satisfied with her life as an book illustrator waiting to marry her plain but stable fiance. When Charlotte's brother comes to the attention of the Royal Society Charlotte knows she must do something. Charlotte's brother is not a magical talent but she is. In order to save him she combines her magic with his. When she discovers Doctor Ledbetter's evil plot she knows she must act and act quickly to save her family.

If you are looking for a quick read then look no further. I think that Brother's Ruin took only 2-3 hours to read cover to cover. I call this is a 2 commute book. My commute to work gives me about an hour of concentrated reading time and I had this book read in less than 3 trips to work. While it was quick to read I think that Newman left out too much detail and I felt that both Charlotte and the nefarious plot were a bit one dimensional. I was quite disappointed in this first instalment of the series. As with Newman's Split Worlds series the relationships between characters rely heavily on class structure and it takes the plucky but not very high class heroine to save the day. Worth a read if you want a story that isn't going to challenge you and doesn't take ages to read.


That's it for me. The next time you hear from me it will be April! Until then Happy Reading!

Beelzebelle
Clovenhoof Book 5
Pigeon Park Press, February 2016
      Trade Paperback, 396 pages
Pigeon Park Press, April 2016
      eBook, 396 pages

To the devil a daughter!

Parenthood can come as a shock to some. It’s especially shocking if you are Satan, the Prince of Hell, and are trying to live a quiet life of semi-retirement in suburban England under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof.

Clovenhoof quickly finds that being a single parent involves more than lullabies and nappies and has to contend with social disapproval, paternity tests and, possibly, the end of the world.

The fifth novel in the Clovenhoof series, Beelzebelle is an anarchic adventure, featuring a psychotic monkey au pair, runaway coffins, badly stuffed animals, strip dominoes, fire-breathing ferrets, pimped-up prams, well-meaning middle-class mums, apocalyptic floods, the largest act of public nudity Birmingham has ever seen and way too much homebrew Lambrini.

Brother's Ruin
Industrial Magic 1
Tor.com, March 14, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 192 pages

The year is 1850 and Great Britain is flourishing, thanks to the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts. When a new mage is discovered, Royal Society elites descend like buzzards to snatch up a new apprentice. Talented mages are bought from their families at a tremendous price, while weak mages are snapped up for a pittance. For a lower middle class family like the Gunns, the loss of a son can be disastrous, so when seemingly magical incidents begin cropping up at home, they fear for their Ben's life and their own livelihoods.

But Benjamin Gunn isn't a talented mage. His sister Charlotte is, and to prevent her brother from being imprisoned for false reporting she combines her powers with his to make him seem a better prospect.

When she discovers a nefarious plot by the sinister Doctor Ledbetter, Charlotte must use all her cunning and guile to protect her family, her secret and her city.

Brother's Ruin is the first in a new gaslamp fantasy series by Emma Newman.

Happy Monday. So it's the middle of March (more or less) and we're going to be hit with a Nor'easter tomorrow. The three main stations in the state are predicting 15"-25", 10"-20" and either 18"-24" and 12"-18" (depending on where you are in the state) - we seem to be on the line between the last 2 according to the last TV station. So I predict we may get a foot of snow at least where I live. I also predict no school tomorrow. Winter is not ready to give up. Now on to books...


There are 5 debuts this week:

The Return by Joseph Helmreich;

Himself by Jess Kidd;

Eggshells by Caitriona Lally;

The Hour of Daydreams by Renee Macalino Rutledge;

and

The Vine That Ate the South by J.D. Wilkes.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Regeneration (An Echo Hunter 367 Novel 2) by Stacey Berg;

The Craft Sequence Books I-V by Max Gladstone are out in an eBook bundle;

The Last Novelist (Or a Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel;

Brother's Ruin (Industrial Magic 1) by Emma Newman;

The Fallen (The Darkest Hand Trilogy 2) by Tarn Richardson;

The Last Mortal Bond (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne 3) by Brian Staveley is out in Trade Paperback;

and

The Astonishing Mistakes of Dahlia Moss (A Dahlia Moss Mystery 2) by Max Wirestone.

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

March 13, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Vampire Lover (e)	Linda Thomas-Sundstrom	PNR - Vampire Moons 1

March 14, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Sharp Ends: Stories from the World of the First Law (h2tp)	Joe Abercrombie	F - Collection
Regeneration (e)	Stacey Berg	SF/AP/PA - An Echo Hunter 367 Novel 2
In the Labyrinth of Drakes (h2tp)	Marie Brennan	F - The Lady Trent Memoirs 4
A Closed and Common Orbit	Becky Chambers	SF/SO - Wayfarers 2
The Battles of Tolkien	David Day	F/DF/Atlas
The Remnant	Charlie Fletcher	HistF - The Oversight 3
The Craft Sequence: Books I-V (e)	Max Gladstone	UF - Craft Sequence
The Return (D)	Joseph Helmreich	SF/Th
The Wanderers	Meg Howrey	LF/FL/SF
Himself (D)	Jess Kidd	LF
Black City Demon	Richard a. Knaak	UF/HistF
The Man with the Speckled Eyes	R.A. Lafferty	SF - Collected Fiction 4
Eggshells (D)	Caitriona Lally	CW/HU/LF
Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization	Tim Lebbon	F
Pilot X	Tom Merritt	SF/TT/AC
Travelers Rest (h2tp)	Keith Lee Morris	LF
The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories	Mahvesh Murad (Ed) Jared Shurin (Ed)	FairyT/FolkT/LM
Mama Day (e)	Gloria Naylor	MR - Vintage Contemporaries Series
Bailey's Cafe (e)	Gloria Naylor	Hist/MR - Vintage Contemporaries Series
Brother's Ruin	Emma Newman	HistF/DF - Industrial Magic 1
The Fallen	Tarn Richardson	DF - The Darkest Hand Trilogy 2
New York 2140	Kim Stanley Robinson	SF/SO
The Hour of Daydreams (D)	Renee Macalino Rutledge	LF/MR
The Lady of the Lake	Andrzej Sapkowski	F - The Witcher 5
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Eerie and Fantastic Chinese Stories of the Supernatural	Pu Songling Herbert A. Giles (Tr)	Sup - Collection
The Last Mortal Bond (h2tp)	Brian Staveley	F - Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne 3
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?	Jodi Taylor	SF/TT - Chronicles of St. Mary's 6
Disappearance at Devil's Rock (h2tp)	Paul Tremblay	H
The Vine That Ate the South (D)	J.D. Wilkes	SF/AB/MR
The Astonishing Mistakes of Dahlia Moss	Max Wirestone	M - A Dahlia Moss Mystery 2

March 15, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Exorcist Falls (Ke)	Jonathan Janz	H
The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard): A Tor.com Original (e)	Matthew Kressel	SF
People of the Sun (Ke)	Jason Parent	SF/AC

March 17, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Zombie Cinema	Ian Olney	HC - Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture

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



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CulH - Cultural Heritage
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GH - Ghosts
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PopCul - Popular Culture
PRS - Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
SF - Science Fiction
SO - Space Opera
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisMeta - Visionary and Metaphysical

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