The Qwillery

Happy Monday!


There are no debuts this week.


From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The Bone Ships (Tide Child Trilogy 1) by RJ Barker;

The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone is out in Trade Paperback;

The Monster Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade 2) by Seth Dickinson is out in Trade Paperback;

Fallen (Alex Verus 10) by Benedict Jacka;

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz;

Unearthed (A Death Seeker Novel 1) by Cecy Robson;

Grave Importance (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 3) by Vivian Shaw;

A Savage Generation (ri) by David Tallerman;

and

Venom: Lethal Protector Prose Novel by James R. Tuck is out in Mass Market Paperback.

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

September 23, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
A Fist or a Heart	Kristín Eiríksdóttir Larissa Kyer (Tr)	LF/CW/VisM
Maps of Utopia: H. G. Wells, Modernity and the End of Culture (ri)	Simon J. James	SF/HC

September 24, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Winter Vow (h2mmp)	Tim Akers	F - Hallowed War 3
Harpy Thyme (e)	Piers Anthony	F/HU - Magic of Xanth 17
Demons Don't Dream (e)	Piers Anthony	F/HU - Magic of Xanth 16
Geis of the Gargoyle (e)	Piers Anthony	F/HU - Magic of Xanth 18
The Bone Ships	RJ Barker	F - Tide Child Trilogy 1
The Mansion (h2tp)	Ezekiel Boone	H
The Kingdom of Copper (h2tp)	S. A Chakraborty	F - Daevabad Trilogy 2
The Water Dancer	Ta-Nehisi Coates	HistF/MR
Star Destroyers (tp2mm)	Tony Daniel (Ed) Christopher Ruocchio (Ed)	SF/SO - Anthology
The Monster Baru Cormorant (h2tp)	Seth Dickinson	F - The Masquerade 2
Gift of Griffins (h2mm)	V. M. Escalada	F/DF - Faraman Prophecy 2
Toxic Game (h2mm)	Christine Feehan	PNR/GenEng - GhostWalker 15
Shatter War (h2tp)	Dana Fredsti David Fitzgerald	SF/TT - Time Shards
The Monster of Elendhaven	Jennifer Giesbrecht	DF/H
Siege of Stone: Sister of Darkness (h2mm)	Terry Goodkind	F - Nicci Chronicles 3
The Late Great Wizard (tp2mm)	Sara Hanover	F - Wayward Mages 1
Japanese Ghost Stories	Lafcadio Hearn Paul Murray (Ed)	Occ/Sup/H/SupTh
The Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Keigo Higashino	MR
The World That We Knew	Alice Hoffman	LF
Fallen	Benedict Jacka	UF/CF - Alex Versus 10
The Orchid Throne	Jeffe Kennedy	FR - Forgotten Empires 1
The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham	Leslie S. Klinger (Ed)	H/Classics
Heartsong	TJ Klune	PNR - Green Creek 3
Steel Crow Saga	Paul Krueger	F
The Bartered Brides (h2mm)	Mercedes Lackey	HistF/Gaslamp - Elemental Masters 13
Past Master	R. A. Lafferty	SF/HU/TT
Bright Morning Star	Simon Morden	HSF/AC
The Future of Another Timeline	Annalee Newitz	SF/TT
Only Some Can Hear My Voice	Brian O'Grady	SF/AP/PA/UF/TechTh/PolTh/SupTh
The Warrior Moon	K Arsenault Rivera	F/HistF - Ascendant 3
Year One (h2mm)	Nora Roberts	F/PNR/SupTh/SF/AP/PA/Dys - Chronicles of The One 1
Unearthed (e)	Cecy Robson	UF/DF - Death Seeker 1
The Secret of Life (ri)	Rudy Rucker	SF/CyP
The Sex Sphere (ri)	Rudy Rucker	SF/CyP
Mistborn: The Final Empire (ri)	Brandon Sanderson	F - Mistborn 1
Immortal Born	Lynsay Sands	PNR - An Argeneau Novel 30
The Consuming Fire (h2mm)	John Scalzi	SF/SO - Interdependency 2
The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr	Susan Holloway Scott	Hist/Bio/AH
The Fool and Other Moral Tales	Anne Serre Mark Hutchinson (Tr)	FairyT/FolkT/LM
Grave Importance	Vivian Shaw	CF/P/UF - A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 3
Archangel's War	Nalini Singh	PNR - Guild Hunter 12
The Sky-Blue Wolves (h2mm)	S.M. Stirling	SF/AP/PA/AH -  Novel of the Change 15
The Riyria Revelations: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, Heir of Novron	Michael J. Sullivan	F
Split Tooth (h2tp)	Tanya Tagaq	LF/MR
Violet	Scott Thomas	GH/Sus/H
Venom: Lethal Protector Prose Novel (h2mm)	James R. Tuck	SH/CF
The Savior (h2mm)	J.R. Ward	PNR - Black Dagger Brotherhood 17
Uncompromising Honor (h2mm)	David Weber	SF/So - Honor Harrington 19
The Beauty (tp2mm)	Aliya Whiteley	SF/AP/PA
Sisters of the Fire (h2tp)	Kim Wilkins	F - Daughters of the Storm 2

September 26, 2019

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
One by One (ri)	D.W. Gillespie	H/DF - Fiction Without Frontiers
The Guardian (ri)	J.D. Moyer	SF/AP/PA/DF - Fiction Without Frontiers
A Savage Generation (ri)	David Tallerman	H - Fiction Without Frontiers

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



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
Bio - Biographical
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CulH - Cultural Heritage
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romane
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
H - Horror
HC - History & Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
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
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PolTh - Political Thriller
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
RF - Romantic Fantasy
RS - Romantic Suspense
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

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

G.S. Denning (2016)

The Sign of Nine
Warlock Holmes 4
Titan Books, May 21, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

"If you ever wondered how much better Sherlock would be if people could hurl hellfire at each other, well this one is for you." Starburst Magazine on A Study in Brimstone

Warlock Holmes may have demons in his head, but now Dr. John Watson has a mummy in his bloodstream. Specifically that of the sorcerer Xantharaxes, who when shredded and dissolved in an 8% solution, results in some extremely odd but useful prophetic dreams. There's also the small matter of Watson falling for yet another damsel-du-jour, and Warlock deciding that his companion needs some domestic bliss...

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Signe Pike (2018)

The Lost Queen
The Lost Queen 1
Atria Books, June 4, 2019
Trade Paperback, 560 pages
Hardcover and eBook, September 4, 2018

“Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of The Gracekeepers) in the first book of an exciting historical trilogy that reveals the untold story of Languoreth—a powerful and, until now, tragically forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland—twin sister of the man who inspired the legendary character of Merlin.

Intelligent, passionate, rebellious, and brave, Languoreth is the unforgettable heroine of The Lost Queen, a tale of conflicted loves and survival set against the cinematic backdrop of ancient Scotland, a magical land of myths and superstition inspired by the beauty of the natural world. One of the most powerful early medieval queens in British history, Languoreth ruled at a time of enormous disruption and bloodshed, when the burgeoning forces of Christianity threatened to obliterate the ancient pagan beliefs and change her way of life forever.

Together with her twin brother Lailoken, a warrior and druid known to history as Merlin, Languoreth is catapulted into a world of danger and violence. When a war brings the hero Emrys Pendragon, to their door, Languoreth collides with the handsome warrior Maelgwn. Their passionate connection is forged by enchantment, but Languoreth is promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of the High King who is sympathetic to the followers of Christianity. As Rhydderch's wife, Languoreth must assume her duty to fight for the preservation of the Old Way, her kingdom, and all she holds dear.

“Moving, thrilling, and ultimately spellbinding” (BookPage), The Lost Queen brings this remarkable woman to life—rescuing her from obscurity, and reaffirming her place at the center of the most enduring legends of all time. “Moving, thrilling, and ultimately spellbinding, The Lost Queen is perfect for readers of historical fiction like The Clan of the Cave Bear and Wolf Hall, and for lovers of fantasy like Outlander and The Mists of Avalon” (BookPage).

Vivian Shaw (2017)

Grave Importance
A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 3
Orbit, September 24, 209
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

A charmingly witty fantasy adventure in the world of Strange Practice, starring Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, who must solve a dangerous medical mystery at a secret French spa for mummies.

Oasis Natrun: a private, exclusive, highly secret luxury health spa for mummies, high in the hills above Marseille, equipped with the very latest in therapeutic innovations both magical and medical. To Dr. Greta Helsing, London’s de facto mummy specialist, it sounds like paradise. But when Greta is invited to spend four months there as the interim clinical director, it isn’t long before she finds herself faced with a medical mystery that will take all her diagnostic skill to solve.

A peculiar complaint is spreading among her mummy patients, one she’s never seen before. With help from her friends and colleagues — including Dr. Faust (yes, that Dr. Faust), remedial psychopomps, a sleepy scribe-god, witches, demons, a British Museum curator, and the inimitable vampyre Sir Francis Varney — Greta must put a stop to this mysterious illness before anybody else crumbles to irreparable dust…

…and before the fabric of reality itself can undergo any more structural damage.

Grave Importance is the third Dr. Greta Helsing Novel – perfect for fans of Neverwhere and V. E. Schwab.


Dr. Greta Helsing novels
Strange Practice
Dreadful Company
Grave Importance

Book 1

Book 2

Happy last Monday in July! This post covers only the remainder of July. Look for the August release list and the 2018 DAC August Debuts on August 1st.


There is one debut this week:

Planetside by Michael Mammay




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Zero Day (The Hatching 3) by Ezekiel Boone is out in Trade Paperback;

Arabella The Traitor of Mars (The Adventures of Arabella Ashby 3) by David D. Levine;

Dreadful Company (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 2) by Vivian Shaw;

and

A Wolf Apart (The Legend of the All Wolves) by Maria Vale.

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

July 30, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Krewe of Hunters Collection Volume 7: Dying Breath\Dark Rites\Wicked Deeds (e)	Heather Graham	SupTh/PNR - Krewe of Hunters Series 21

July 31, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Portents: A Collection of Cainsville Tales	Kelley Armstrong	F - Cainsville Collection
Clementine: A Song for the End of the World	John T Biggs	MR/GenEng/PA - Clementine 1
Zero Day (h2tp)	Ezekiel Boone	H - The Hatching Series 3
The Core (h2mm)	Peter V. Brett	F - The Demon Cycle 5
Shadow's Bane	Karen Chance	UF - Dorina Basarab 4
Keepers	Brenda Cooper	SF/AP/PA - Project Earth 2
The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim	Marcia Douglas	LF/MR
Red Vengeance (tp2mm)	Brendan DuBois	SF - Dark Victory 2
Pale as Death	Heather Graham	RS/SupTh/PNR/GH - Krewe of Hunters 25
Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction (3rd Edition)	James Gunn	HC/SF
Stranger in a Strange Land (ri)	Robert A. Heinlein	SF/AC/LF
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (ri)	Robert A. Heinlein	SF/Pol
Punishment: A Thriller (h2tp)	Scott J. Holliday	PP - Detective Barnes 1
Dragonsworn (h2mm)	Sherrilyn Kenyon	FR/P/UF - Dark-Hunter Novels 21
Dark Light: Dawn (h2mm)	Jon Land Fabrizio Boccardi (Cr)	SupTh/SF/AP/PA
The Gathering Edge (h2mm)	Sharon Lee Steve Miller	SF - Liaden Universe 20
Swords Against Death (ri)	Fritz Leiber	F
Arabella The Traitor of Mars	David D. Levine	SF/SP - The Adventures of Arabella Ashby 3
Planetside (D)	Michael Mammay	SF
Wychwood (tp2mm)	George Mann	F/M
The Predator: Hunters And Hunted Official Movie Prequel	James A. Moore	MTI/SF/AC - Predator
A Study in Honor	Claire O'Dell	SF
A Dune Companion	Donald E. Palumbo (Ed) C.W. Sullivan III (Ed)	Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy 62
I Am Legend As American Myth: Race and Masculinity in the Novel and Its Film Adaptations	Amy J. Ransom	HC/SF/F
Dreadful Company	Vivian Shaw	CF/P/UF - A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 2
Ant-Man: Natural Enemy: A Novel of the Marvel Universe	Jason Starr	MTI/SH - Marvel Novels 5
Armistice: The Hot War (h2mm)	Harry Turtledove	AH/SF - The Hot War 3
A Wolf Apart	Maria Vale	PNR/FR - The Legend of All Wolves 2
The Future Is Blue	Catherynne M. Valente	F - Collection
The Killing of Worlds (ri)	Scott Westerfeld	SF/SO - Succession 2
Gears and God: Technocratic Fiction, Faith, and Empire in Mark Twain's America	Nathaniel Williams	HC/SF
Quillifer (h2tp)	Walter Jon Williams	F - Quillifer 1
The Descent of Monsters	JY Yang	F - The Tensorate Series 3

Cr - Creator
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
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)
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
HuF - Humorous Fantasy
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash Up
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
RS - Romantic Suspense
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SS - Short Stories
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

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

Ruthanna Emrys (2017)

Winter Tide
The Innsmouth Legacy 1
Tor.com, June 12, 2018
Trade Paperback, 368 pages
Hardcover and eBook, April 4, 2017

"Winter Tide is a weird, lyrical mystery — truly strange and compellingly grim. It's an innovative gem that turns Lovecraft on his head with cleverness and heart" —Cherie Priest

After attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future.

The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race.
Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature.

Winter Tide is the debut novel from Ruthanna Emrys. It is the first book in the Innsmouth Legacy series.

THE INNSMOUTH LEGACY
Book 1: Winter Tide
Book 2: Deep Roots

Deep Roots
The Innsmouth Legacy 2
Tor.com, July 10, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

"Wicked for the Cthulhu Mythos" —Seanan McGuire on the Innsmouth Legacy

Ruthanna Emrys’ Innsmouth Legacy, which began with Winter Tide and continues with Deep Roots, confronts H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos head-on, boldly upturning his fear of the unknown with a heart-warming story of found family, acceptance, and perseverance in the face of human cruelty and the cosmic apathy of the universe. Emrys brings together a family of outsiders, bridging the gaps between the many people marginalized by the homogenizing pressure of 1940s America.

Aphra Marsh, descendant of the People of the Water, has survived Deep One internment camps and made a grudging peace with the government that destroyed her home and exterminated her people on land. Deep Rootscontinues Aphra’s journey to rebuild her life and family on land, as she tracks down long-lost relatives. She must repopulate Innsmouth or risk seeing it torn down by greedy developers, but as she searches she discovers that people have been going missing. She will have to unravel the mystery, or risk seeing her way of life slip away.

Dale Lucas (2017)

The Fifth Ward: Friendly Fire
The Fifth Ward 2
Orbit, May 29, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 432 pages

In the most dangerous district of the city, the Fifth Ward, Rem and Torval have been perfecting their good cop, bad cop routine while protecting residents from drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being typical humans.

But when a perplexing case of arson leads to a series of gruesome, unsolvable murders, the two partners must challenge their own assumptions and loyalties if they are to preserve their partnership, wrest justice from the chaos, and keep their ward from tearing itself apart.

“A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can’t help but root for.” — Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

“A glorious tour through fantasy’s seamier side. A wilder ride than Middle Earth, and you’ll love every minute of it!” — Jon Hollins, author of the Dragon Lords series

For more from Dale Lucas, check out The Fifth Ward: First Watch.

Vivian Shaw (2017)

Dreadful Company
A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 2
Orbit, July 31, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

Contemporary fantasy in the world of Strange Practice, starring Dr. Greta Helsing, whose family has been keeping the supernatural community not-alive and well for generations.

When Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, is unexpectedly called to Paris to present at a medical conference, she expects nothing more exciting than professional discourse on zombie reconstructive surgery and skin disease in bogeymen — and hopefully at least one uneventful night at the Opera.

Unfortunately for Greta, Paris happens to be infested with a coven of vampires — and not the civilized kind. If she hopes to survive, Greta must navigate the darkest corners of the City of Lights, the maze of ancient catacombs and mine-tunnels underneath the streets, where there is more to find than simply dead men’s bones.

Dr. Greta Helsing novels
Strange Practice
Dreadful Company

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Vivian:  Thank you! I've been writing since I was very small; I think I started my first trilogy around age 11 or 12. Those weren't novel-length, probably around 20,000 words, but for a kid that's not too shabby. Mostly I wrote books because I loved reading them, and I had my own stories I wanted to tell.



TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Vivian:  Not gonna lie, I had to look this one up. I think I prefer George R.R. Martin's are you an architect or a gardener taxonomy of writers, but of the three options you present I'm definitely a hybrid. I have the plot of any given arc or scene outlined -- i.e. this character has to do this thing or get to this place -- and the specific means by which I get that done often just comes to me as I go along. I find it helpful to talk over a scene with someone else, because complaining out loud about how it's not working or I can't come up with an idea almost always kickstarts my brain into figuring out the answer.



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

Vivian:  Doing it when I don't want to, or I'm tired, or I can't come up with good words but I'm on deadline and I have to produce.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

Vivian:  The authors who have been most influential on me are Mervyn Peake, Robin McKinley, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman; but I find inspiration everywhere, from architecture to urban exploration blogs to medical case studies. I'm interested in so many things.



TQ:  Describe Strange Practice in 140 characters or less.

Vivian:  Greta Helsing, doctor to London’s monstrous and undead, fights to defend her community alongside characters out of classic vampire lit.



TQ:  Tell us something about Strange Practice that is not found in the book description.

Vivian:  There's not only ghouls, but demons, a witch, lots of detail about the geography of the London sewer system, and frank discussion of the nature of Heaven and Hell. Also, I'd like to state for the record that I wrote the first version of this novel as a National Novel Writing Month entry back in 2004, so my concept of vampires in Volvos just barely predates Stephenie Meyer's in Twilight.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Strange Practice?

Vivian:  Two main threads gave rise to the original concept: the wonderfully spooky world of London's subterranean network of tunnels and shelters and conduits (and the amazing 1940s-vintage electrical technology that was at least up until recently still being used down there) and a challenge I gave myself to see how many characters from classic gothic/horror literature I could put together into a story. The original version included Dracula and Carmilla as well, but they ended up being reserved for future books in the series.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Strange Practice?

Vivian:  Lots of it. I mean lots. Nothing infuriates me more than an author who has either not bothered to do the research or has done the bare minimum to get themselves some useful-sounding buzzwords and concepts but failed to investigate what they actually mean. I spent a lot of time on Google Street View working out what my characters would have seen while moving through particular spaces, and I tracked down some actual plans for one of the deep-level shelters connected to a Tube station. Incidentally, while there is no deep-level shelter at the St. Paul's station, one was planned for that location -- but excavations were halted when concerns for the stability of the cathedral's foundation arose. Also the details of the science of mirabilics, my universe's version of magic, took a long time to work out and I wish I could have included more of that in the book.



TQ:  What do you think are the reasons for the ongoing popularity of the Van Helsing / Helsing family?

Vivian:  Vampire hunters have always been exciting. The original Van Helsing wasn't even slightly sexy, but he was an expert and he could advise Stoker's characters through their extraordinary experience; it's not surprising that later readers of the novel should have wondered about the possibilities of expanding the character and examining his backstory, wondering what kind of exciting adventures he could have had prior to the events of Dracula. Also, the name is cool.



TQ:  Please tell us about the cover for Strange Practice.

Vivian:  The cover artist is Will Staehle, the designer behind Unusual Co. (http://unusualco.com/) For Strange Practice Staehle has taken elements of immediately-recognizable modern London -- the landmark London Eye, the Shard, the Tower, Westminster Palace, even the Thames Flood Barrier -- and combined them with an old-fashioned Victorian engraving design that to me brings to mind the work of Edward Gorey, one of my favorite artists. The combination of modern and elegantly old-fashioned elements echoes the book's juxtaposition of characters from classic horror lit with the modern day.



TQ:  In Strange Practice who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Vivian:  Greta is dead easy, because she is an ordinary human: she has no powers at all other than skill and training and intelligence. I used to want to be a doctor myself, I read medical textbooks for fun, I'm fascinated with the history of medicine and therefore it's a lot of fun writing characters who work in the medical field. August Cranswell is also a human, but he's a bit more difficult because I don't have the knowledge background in museum studies that I do in medicine. Probably the Gladius Sancti monks were the most difficult, because I have the least in common with them, and it was challenging to get inside their heads.



TQ:  Which question about Strange Practice do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Vivian:  There are so many! One of the questions I'd love to answer is are arc rectifiers real? They absolutely are, and they're fantastically weird and gorgeous. The actual electromagnetic principles on which they work are elegantly simple, even for someone like me who has no official science background at all, and it is oddly satisfying to be able to see the principles in action rather than simply knowing they exist. Up until fairly recently a few of them were still on display, and even still in use, but I don't know if any of them are currently active. Google "mercury arc rectifier" and look at the videos to see what I mean.



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Strange Practice.

Vivian:

Ruthven wasn't much of a traditionalist. He didn't even own a coffin, let alone sleep in one; there simply wasn't room to roll over, even in the newer, wider models, and anyway the mattresses were a complete joke and played merry hell with one's back.

and maybe

"You are not human," she said at last, "but you are people. All of you. The ghouls, the mummies, the sanguivores, the weres, the banshees, the wights, the bogeys, everyone who comes to me for help, everyone who trusts me to provide it. You are all people, and you all deserve medical care, no matter what you do or have done, and you deserve to be able to seek and receive that care without putting yourselves in jeopardy. What I do is necessary, and while it isn't in the slightest bit easy, it is also the thing I want to do more than anything else in the world."

or

Sir Francis Varney was also damned, with the Devil and his angels and all the reprobate, and it was keeping him up at nights.



TQ:  What's next?

Vivian:  The next book in the Greta Helsing series, Dreadful Company, will be coming out next year. It's set in Paris, and follows Greta's somewhat complicated adventures in and under the city. Also featured: M. R. James monsters; remedial psychopomps; vampires in leather pants; a werewolf, and potential disruptions in the fabric of reality. The third book, Grave Importance, is set in a mummy spa and resort outside of Marseille where Greta is spending a year as acting medical director. There's also a lot of other projects I'm planning for the future, including a popular-history book on the space program and a science fantasy epic co-written with my wife, the author Arkady Martine.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Vivian:  Thank you for having me!

Strange Practice
A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1
Orbit, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead.

Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills - vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies.

It's a quiet, supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

About Vivian

Photo by Emilia Blaser

Vivian Shaw was born in Kenya and spent her early childhood at home in England before relocating to the US at the age of seven. She has a BA in art history and an MFA in creative writing, and has worked in academic publishing and development while researching everything from the history of spaceflight to supernatural physiology. In her spare time, she writes fan fiction under the name of Coldhope.



Website  ~  Twitter @ceruleancynic  ~  Blog

Happy Monday!

There are 5 debuts this week:

The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein

The Five Daughters of the Moon (The Waning Moon Duology 1) by Leena Likitalo;

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed;

Strange Practice (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1) by Vivian Shaw;

and

Talon of God by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Nod by Adrian Barnes is out in Mass Market Paperback;

Red Right Hand (The Mythos War 1) by Levi Black is out in Trade Paperback;

The Wilding Sisters by Eve Chase;

Killing Is My Business (Ray Electromatic Mysteries 2) by Adam Christopher;

Time Siege (Time Salvager 2) by Wesley Chu is out in Trade Paperback;

Sovereign (Nemesis 2) by April Daniels;

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts 1) by Vic James is out in Trade Paperback;

Raid (Wastelanders 2) by K.S. Merbeth;

and

Blood Gamble (Disrupted Magic 2) by Melissa F. Olson.

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

July 24, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Betrayed by Blood (e)	Beth Dranoff	PNR - Mark of the Moon 2
Accidental Sire (e)	Molly Harper	PNR - Half-Moon Hollow 14

July 25, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Wildfire	Ilona Andrews	PNR - Hidden Legacy 3
The Unholy Consult	R. Scott Bakker	F - Aspect-Emperor 4
Nod (tp2mm)	Adrian Barnes	Dys/LF/SF/AP/PA
Red Right Hand (h2tp)	Levi Black	DF/H - The Mythos War 1
Tomorrow War: Serpent Road	J. L. Bourne	TechTh - The Chronicles of Max 2
The Wilding Sisters	Eve Chase	CW/CoA/FL
Killing Is My Business	Adam Christopher	SF/Noir/PI - Ray Electromatic Mysteries 2
Time Siege (h2tp)	Wesley Chu	SF/TT - Time Salvager 2
Glory Imperialis: An Astra Militarum Omnibus	Mark Clapham Andy Hoare Richard Williams	SF - Astra Militarum
The Dream Keeper's Daughter	Emily Colin	R/TT/F/HistF
Sovereign	April Daniels	SH - Nemesis 2
Death's Bright Day (h2mm)	David Drake	SF - RCN 11
Dark Carousel (h2mm)	Christine Feehan	PNR - Carpathian 30
Dark Screams: Volume Seven (e)	Brian James Freeman (Ed) Richard Chizmar (Ed)	H - Dark Screams Anthology
Resurrection	John French	SF - The Horusian Wars 1
Battlefront II: Inferno Squad	Christie Golden	SF/MTI - Star Wars
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: The Official Movie Novelization	Christie Golden	SF/MTI
Dark Rites	Heather Graham	PNR/SupTh - Krewe of Hunters 22
The Fifth Doll	Charlie N. Holmberg	HistF
Gilded Cage (h2tp)	Vic James	F/Dys/SF - Dark Gifts 1
Assassin's Price	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - The Imager Portfolio 11
The Punch Escrow (D)	Tal M. Klein	SF/TechTh
The Five Daughters of the Moon (D)	Leena Likitalo	HistF/DF - The Waning Moon Duology 1
Red Tithe	Robbie MacNiven	SF - Carcharodons 1
Bone White	Ronald Malfi	H/GH/Th
Gather the Daughters (D)	Jennie Melamed	LF
Raid	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA - Wastelanders 2
Blood Gamble	Melissa F. Olson	UF - Disrupted Magic 2
Copper Veins	Jennifer Allis Provost	Dys/FR - Copper Legacy 3
Strange Practice (D)	Vivian Shaw	CF - A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1
Extinction Age	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF/AP/PA - The Extinction Cycle 3
Talon of God (D)	Wesley Snipes Ray Norman	UF
Age of Swords	Michael J. Sullivan	F - The Legends of the First Empire 2
After the Downfall	Harry Turtledove	AH

July 26, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
These Deathless Bones: A Tor.com Original (e)	Cassandra Khaw	H
Hounds of the Underworld	Dan Rabarts Lee Murray	M/Noir/H - Path of Ra 1

July 27, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
She-wolf: A Cultural History of Female Werewolves (ri)	Hannah Priest	LC/SF/F
The Leper House (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO
Broken Voices (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO
The Scratch (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO

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


AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GH - Ghost(s)
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GO - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Noir - Noir
Occ - Occult
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PRS - Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RPGs - Role Playing Games
Satire - Satire
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superhero(es)
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisMeta - Visionary and Metaphysical
W - Western
Z - Zombies

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

Christopher Brown

Tropic of Kansas
Harper Voyager, July 11, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 480 pages
    Science Fiction, Apocalyptic,  Post-Apocalyptic

“Futurist as provocateur! The world is sheer batshit genius . . . a truly hallucinatorily envisioned environment.”—William Gibson, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author

“Timely, dark, and ultimately hopeful: it might not ‘make America great again,’ but then again, it just might.”—Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling and award winning author of Homeland

Acclaimed short story writer and editor of the World Fantasy Award-nominee Three Messages and a Warning eerily envisions an American society unraveling and our borders closed off—from the other side—in this haunting and provocative novel that combines Max Barry’s Jennifer Government, Philip K. Dick’s classic Man in the High Castle, and China Mieville’s The City & the City

The United States of America is no more. Broken into warring territories, its center has become a wasteland DMZ known as “the Tropic of Kansas.” Though this gaping geographic hole has no clear boundaries, everyone knows it's out there—that once-bountiful part of the heartland, broken by greed and exploitation, where neglect now breeds unrest. Two travelers appear in this arid American wilderness: Sig, the fugitive orphan of political dissidents, and his foster sister Tania, a government investigator whose search for Sig leads her into her own past—and towards an unexpected future.

Sig promised those he loves that he would make it to the revolutionary redoubt of occupied New Orleans. But first he must survive the wild edgelands of a barren mid-America policed by citizen militias and autonomous drones, where one wrong move can mean capture . . . or death. One step behind, undercover in the underground, is Tania. Her infiltration of clandestine networks made of old technology and new politics soon transforms her into the hunted one, and gives her a shot at being the agent of real change—if she is willing to give up the explosive government secrets she has sworn to protect.

As brother and sister traverse these vast and dangerous badlands, their paths will eventually intersect on the front lines of a revolution whose fuse they are about to light.

Jesús Carrasco
Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)

Out in the Open
Riverhead Books, July 4, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 240 pages
    Dystopian, Hispanic and Latino, Literary

“A harrowing, humane, and very beautiful book.” —Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You

A searing dystopian vision of a young boy’s flight through an unnamed, savaged country, searching for sanctuary and redemption—a debut novel from one of Europe’s bestselling literary stars.

A young boy has fled his home. He’s pursued by dangerous forces. What lies before him is an infinite, arid plain, one he must cross in order to escape those from whom he’s fleeing. One night on the road, he meets an old goatherd, a man who lives simply but righteously, and from that moment on, their paths intertwine.

Out in the Open tells the story of this journey through a drought-stricken country ruled by violence. A world where names and dates don’t matter, where morals have drained away with the water. In this landscape the boy—not yet a lost cause—has the chance to choose hope and bravery, or to live forever mired in the cycle of violence in which he was raised. Carrasco has masterfully created a high stakes world, a dystopian tale of life and death, right and wrong, terror and salvation.

David Demchuk

The Bone Mother
ChiZine Publications, July 18, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 300 pages
    Occult & Supernatural, Horror,
    Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
    Fantasy, Dark Fantasy

Three neighboring villages on the Ukrainian/Romanian border are the final refuge for the last of the mythical creatures of Eastern Europe. Now, on the eve of the war that may eradicate their kind—and with the ruthless Night Police descending upon their sanctuary—they tell their stories and confront their destinies.

Eerie and unsettling like the best fairy tales, these incisor-sharp portraits of ghosts, witches, sirens, and seers—and the mortals who live at their side and in their thrall—will chill your marrow and tear at your heart.

J. Danielle Dorn

Devil's Call
Inkshares, July 18, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook 275 pages
    Occult & Supernatural, Horror, Westerns

“The Revenant with witches.” ―James Demonaco, screenwriter and director of The Purge series

On a dark night in the summer of 1859, three men enter the home of Dr. Matthew Callahan and shoot him dead in front of his pregnant wife. Unbeknownst to them, Li Lian, his wife, hails from a long line of women gifted in ways that scare most folks―the witches of the MacPherson clan―and her need for vengeance is as vast and unforgiving as the Great Plains themselves.

Written to the child she carries, Devil’s Call traces Li Lian’s quest, from the Nebraska Territory, to Louisiana, to the frozen Badlands, to bring to justice the monster responsible for shooting her husband in the back. This long-rifled witch will stop at nothing​―​and risk everything​―​in her showdown with evil.

Sean Gandert

Lost in Arcadia
47North, July 1, 2017
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 412 pages
    Literary, Science Fiction

“This insightful study of a world in flux, framed by a dystopian future America and a disintegrating family, is disturbingly timely.” —Publishers Weekly

The America of 2037 is a country distracted by, infatuated with, and addicted to Arcadia. The brainchild of reclusive genius Juan Diego Reyes, Arcadia is a wickedly immersive, all-encompassing social-media platform and virtual-reality interface. Although Arcadia has made the Reyes family fabulously wealthy, it’s left them—and the rest of the country—impoverished of that rare currency: intimacy. When Juan Diego mysteriously vanishes, the consequences shatter the lives of the entire Reyes clan.

As matriarch Autumn struggles to hold the family together, siblings Gideon, Holly, and Devon wrestle with questions of purpose and meaning—seeking self-worth in a world where everything has been cheapened. Outside the artificial safety of Arcadia, America has crumbled into an unrecognizable nation where a fundamentalist ex-preacher occupies the Oval Office, megacorporations blithely exploit their full citizenship, and a twenty-foot-high Great Wall of Freedom plastered with lucrative advertising bestrides the US-Mexican border.

In a polarized society now cripplingly hooked on manufactured highs, the Reyes family must overcome the seduction of simulation to find the kind of authentic human connection that offers salvation for all.

David Burr Gerrard

The Epiphany Machine
G.P. Putnam's Sons, July 18, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages
    Literary, Alternative History, Science Fiction
    (SpecFic Debut)

Everyone else knows the truth about you, now you can know it, too.

That’s the slogan. The product: a junky contraption that tattoos personalized revelations on its users’ forearms. It’s an old con, playing on the fear that we are obvious to everybody except ourselves. This particular one’s been circulating New York since the 1960s. The ad works. And, oddly enough, so might the device…

A small stream of city dwellers buy into this cult of the epiphany machine, including Venter Lowood’s parents. This stigma follows them when they move upstate, where Venter can’t avoid the whispers of teachers and neighbors any more than he can ignore the machine’s accurate predictions: his mother’s abandonment and his father’s disinterest. So when Venter’s grandmother finally asks him to confront the epiphany machine and inoculate himself against his family’s mistakes, he’s only too happy to oblige.

Like his parents before him, Venter is quick to fall under the spell of the device’s sweat-stained, profane, and surprisingly charming operator, Adam Lyons. But unlike them, Venter gets close enough to Adam to learn a dark secret. There’s an undeniable pattern between specific epiphanies and violent crimes. And Adam won’t jeopardize the privacy of his customers by alerting the police.

It may be a hoax, but that doesn’t mean what Adam is selling isn’t also spot-on. And in this sprawling, snarling tragicomedy about accountability in contemporary America, the greater danger is that Adam Lyon’s apparatus may just be right about us all.

Michael Guillen

The Null Prophecy
Regnery Fiction, July 10, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 448 pages
    Technological Thriller, Science Fiction
    Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic

The Future of the World Is at Stake! Scientists have spotted holes opening up in Earth’s magnetosphere, and now a massive, deadly eruption of solar radiation is hurtling toward the planet at one million miles per hour. With only three days before impact, the American president turns to two unlikely heroes: inventor Calder Sinclair and physicist-turned-news-correspondent Allie Armendariz. While racing the clock, Calder and Allie battle personal demons as well as each other, all the while inching closer to a staggering truth foretold in ancient literature that will dramatically impact the world’s future: The Null Prophecy.The Future of the World Is at Stake! Scientists have spotted holes opening up in Earth’s magnetosphere, and now a massive, deadly eruption of solar radiation is hurtling toward the planet at one million miles per hour. With only three days before impact, the American president turns to two unlikely heroes: inventor Calder Sinclair and physicist-turned-news-correspondent Allie Armendariz. While racing the clock, Calder and Allie battle personal demons as well as each other, all the while inching closer to a staggering truth foretold in ancient literature that will dramatically impact the world’s future: The Null Prophecy.

Michael F. Haspil

Graveyard Shift
Tor Books, July 18, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
    Urban Fantasy, Thriller, Supernatural Thriller,
    Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural

Police procedurals go supernatural in this gritty urban fantasy debut by Michael F. Haspil in Graveyard Shift

Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, born in ancient Rome, are vice cops in a special Miami police unit. They fight to keep the streets safe from criminal vampires, shape-shifters, bootleg blood-dealers, and anti-vampire vigilantes.

When poisoned artificial blood drives vampires to murder, the city threatens to tear itself apart. Only an unlikely alliance with former opponents can give Alex and Marcus a fighting chance against an ancient vampire conspiracy.

If they succeed, they'll be pariahs, hunted by everyone. If they fail, the result will be a race-war bloodier than any the world has ever seen.

“Gritty urban fantasy and hard-boiled noir packed into a hand grenade of awesome!” —Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown

Gabe Hudson

Gork, the Teenage Dragon
Knopf, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages
    Literary, Fantasy, Humorous, Science Fiction,
    Action & Adventure

A wacky, exuberant, heartfelt debut novel: the unholy child of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, and Sixteen Candles—and this time with dragons.

“No good human won’t love this dragon named Gork.” —Dave Eggers

“A one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story.” —Tracy K. Smith, U.S. Poet Laureate

Gork isn’t like the other dragons at WarWings Military Academy. He has a gigantic heart, two-inch horns, and an occasional problem with fainting. His nickname is Weak Sauce and his Will to Power ranking is Snacklicious—the lowest in his class. But he is determined not to let any of this hold him back as he embarks on the most important mission of his life: tonight, on the eve of his high school graduation, he must ask a female dragon to be his queen. If she says yes, they’ll go off to conquer a foreign planet together. If she says no, Gork becomes a slave.

Vying with Jocks, Nerds, Mutants, and Multi-Dimensioners to find his mate, Gork encounters an unforgettable cast of friends and foes, including Dr. Terrible, the mad scientist; Fribby, a robot dragon obsessed with death; and Metheldra, a healer specializing in acupuncture with swords. But finally it is Gork’s biggest perceived weakness, his huge heart, that will guide him through his epic quest and help him reach his ultimate destination: planet Earth.

A love story, a fantasy, and a coming-of-age story, Gork the Teenage Dragon is a wildly comic, beautifully imagined, and deeply heartfelt debut novel that shows us just how human a dragon can be.

Simone Kelly

Like a Fly on the Wall
William Morrow Paperbacks, July 11, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook 448 pages
    Suspense, Mystery

From talented debut author Simone Kelly comes this suspenseful novel that crackles with intrigue, sex, and plenty of surprises—perfect for fans of Eric Jerome Dickey and Carl Weber.
Meet Jacques Berradi. Moroccan-born and Manhattan-raised, his genuine, sexy-smooth allure goes hand in hand with a unique gift. Since Jacques was young, he has had the ability to read peoples’ energies, communicate with spirit guides, and even catch glimpses of people’s futures. Now a professional “intuitive counselor,” Jacques’s clients pay him handsomely for his insight. Unfortunately, Jacques’s psychic abilities don’t come with an off switch to tune out the world’s noise, nor do they always provide him with easy answers; recently Jacques has begun having dark, alarming dreams about his beloved father, a Moroccan immigrant who died when he was a boy.

Meet Kylie Collins, an adventurous, Miami twentysomething who is trying to find her footing after being laid off from a cushy music industry job. When a mishap brings them together, Kylie is instantly mesmerized by Jacques’s cool demeanor and intuitive abilities, and he’s captivated by her outgoing charm and breezy good looks. Seeking to learn more about her family history—including the identity of the father she’s never known—Kylie visits Jacques’s office to gain some insight about her future, and about her free-spirited and headstrong Jamaican mother, True.

But on the night that they meet, a rolling blackout cuts off power throughout Miami. Kylie and Jacques, and a few of his clients, head to the only place in the neighborhood with enough light to see: Like a Fly on the Wall Detective Agency. There, Kylie serendipitously lands herself the perfect new job as an apprentice private eye.

As partners, Jacques and Kylie are an unstoppable duo. Can Jacques’s intuition reveal the scandalous history of Kylie’s mother and father? Will Kylie’s newfound detective skills uncover evidence about the death of Jacques’s father? And will the chemistry that charges their friendship bubble over into something much, much hotter…?

Daphne Rose Kingma

The Magical World of Madame Métier: A Spiritual Fairy Tale
Skyhorse Publishing, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 296 pages
    Contemporary Women, Visionary & Metaphysical
    Magical Realism, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

Reminiscent of the enchanted realism of Alice Hoffman’s bestselling novels, The Magical World of Madame Metier weaves together magic, romance, and a powerful bond of friendship in celebration of the female spirit.

Facing destitution after the untimely death of her husband, Madame Métier revisits a long-forgotten talent—the creation of healing botanical creams and lotions. Her rediscovery of this sacred practice marks the beginning of her spiritual odyssey of self-actualization and empowerment. Meanwhile, two eccentric friends of hers begin a passionate affair that ends their respective marriages. Invigorated by their relationship, Monsieur Sorbonne searches for his life’s passion while Mademoiselle Objet helps Madame Métier with her new business. While the couple explores the nuances of their romance, Madame Métier finds herself in a relationship with a mysterious being who redefines her understanding of human love. Just as things are looking up, Mme. Métier’s creams result in a customer’s death, and the three friends face an ordeal of profound doubt, spiritual crisis, and persecution that threatens to tear them apart.

Daphne Rose Kingma brings insights from her self-help books to a modern fairy tale that is both enlightening and entertaining. This is an extraordinary debut about the nature of love and relationships.

Tal M. Klein

The Punch Escrow
Geek & Sundry, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback, 300 pages
    Hard Science Fiction, Thrillers, Technological Thrillers,

Dubbed the “next Ready, Player One,” by former Warner Brothers President Greg Silverman, and now in film development at Lionsgate.

“I read a lot of books but haven’t enjoyed one as much as The Punch Escrow in a long time. Klein creates a plausibly real future that sucks you in. He powers his story with action, twists, and a dash of humor.” ―Andy Lewis, Book Editor, The Hollywood Reporter

It's the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport―the world’s most powerful corporation, in a world controlled by corporations.

Joel Byram spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. He’s pretty much an everyday twenty-second century guy with everyday problems―until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting.

Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.

Leena Likitalo

The Five Daughters of the Moon
The Waning Moon Duology 1
Tor.com, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 224 pages
     Historical Fantasy, Dark Fantasy

Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fueled by evil magic.

The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

Alina, six, fears Gagargi Prataslav and his Great Thinking Machine. The gagargi claims that the machine can predict the future, but at a cost that no one seems to want to know.

Merile, eleven, cares only for her dogs, but she smells that something is afoul with the gagargi. By chance, she learns that the machine devours human souls for fuel, and yet no one believes her claim.

Sibilia, fifteen, has fallen in love for the first time in her life. She couldn't care less about the unrests spreading through the countryside. Or the rumors about the gagargi and his machine.

Elise, sixteen, follows the captain of her heart to orphanages and workhouses. But soon she realizes that the unhappiness amongst her people runs much deeper that anyone could have ever predicted.

And Celestia, twenty-two, who will be the empress one day. Lately, she's been drawn to the gagargi. But which one of them was the first to mention the idea of a coup?

Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fuelled by evil magic.

Dale Lucas

The Fifth Ward: First Watch
The Fifth Ward 1
Orbit,  July 11, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 416 pages
    Epic Fantasy

A watchman of the Yenara City guard has gone missing. The culprit could be any of the usual suspects: drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, or humans being typical humans.

It's up to two reluctant partners -- Rem, a hungover miscreant who joins the Watch to pay off his bail, and Torval, a maul-wielding dwarf who's highly unimpressed with the untrained and weaponless Rem -- to uncover the truth and catch the murderer loose in their fair city.

"A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for." -- Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"A glorious tour through fantasy's seamier side. A wilder ride than Middle Earth, and you'll love every minute of it!" -- Jon Hollins, author of the Dragon Lords series

Lee Markham

The Truants
The Overlook Press, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 272 pages
     Horror, Dystopian

A fresh twist on the vampire mythos, The Truants is a dystopian novel of startling intensity, narrated by immortal old-ones.

Contorting the conventional vampire narrative into a startling tale of immortality, blood lust, and rage contaminating London’s inner-city youth like a virus, The Truants tells the story of the last of the old-ones―creatures afflicted with a condition not unlike vampirism: ancient, bloodthirsty, and unable to withstand sunlight.

The last old-one has decided to end his life, but before he can act he is held up at knifepoint. His assailant disappears, the knife in his pocket, the blood of the old-one seared into its sharpened edge. The knife trades hands, drawing blood again, and the old-one is resurrected through his victims’ consciousness and divided, spreading through the infected. With his horde of infected youth, the old-one must reclaim the knife to regain control of his soul. But someone is out to stop him...

Jennie Melamed

Gather the Daughters
Little, Brown and Company, July 25, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
    Literary

NEVER LET ME GO meets THE GIVER in this haunting debut about a cult on an isolated island, where nothing is as it seems.
 
Years ago, just before the country was incinerated to wasteland, ten men and their families colonized an island off the coast. They built a radical society of ancestor worship, controlled breeding, and the strict rationing of knowledge and history. Only the Wanderers--chosen male descendants of the original ten--are allowed to cross to the wastelands, where they scavenge for detritus among the still-smoldering fires.

The daughters of these men are wives-in-training. At the first sign of puberty, they face their Summer of Fruition, a ritualistic season that drags them from adolescence to matrimony. They have children, who have children, and when they are no longer useful, they take their final draught and die. But in the summer, the younger children reign supreme. With the adults indoors and the pubescent in Fruition, the children live wildly--they fight over food and shelter, free of their fathers' hands and their mothers' despair. And it is at the end of one summer that little Caitlin Jacob sees something so horrifying, so contradictory to the laws of the island, that she must share it with the others.

Born leader Janey Solomon steps up to seek the truth. At seventeen years old, Janey is so unwilling to become a woman, she is slowly starving herself to death. Trying urgently now to unravel the mysteries of the island and what lies beyond, before her own demise, she attempts to lead an uprising of the girls that may be their undoing.

GATHER THE DAUGHTERS is a smoldering debut; dark and energetic, compulsively readable, Melamed's novel announces her as an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

John Leonard Pielmeier

Hook's Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself
Scribner, July 18, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 288 pages
     Fiction, Action & Adventure

A rollicking debut novel from award-winning playwright and screenwriter John Pielmeier reimagines the childhood of the much maligned Captain Hook: his quest for buried treasure, his friendship with Peter Pan, and the story behind the swashbuckling world of Neverland.

Long defamed as a vicious pirate, Captain James Cook (a.k.a Hook) was in fact a dazzling wordsmith who left behind a vibrant, wildly entertaining, and entirely truthful memoir. His chronicle offers a counter narrative to the works of J.M. Barrie, a “dour Scotsman” whose spurious accounts got it all wrong. Now, award-winning playwright John Pielmeier is proud to present this crucial historic artifact in its entirety for the first time.

Cook’s story begins in London, where he lives with his widowed mother. At thirteen, he runs away from home, but is kidnapped and pressed into naval service as an unlikely cabin boy. Soon he discovers a treasure map that leads to a mysterious archipelago called the “Never-Isles” from which there appears to be no escape. In the course of his adventures he meets the pirates Smee and Starkey, falls in love with the enchanting Tiger Lily, adopts an oddly affectionate crocodile, and befriends a charming boy named Peter—who teaches him to fly. He battles monsters, fights in mutinies, swims with mermaids, and eventually learns both the sad and terrible tale of his mother’s life and the true story of his father’s disappearance.

Like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Hook’s Tale offers a radical new version of a classic story, bringing readers into a much richer, darker, and enchanting version of Neverland than ever before. The characters that our hero meets—including the terrible Doctor Uriah Slinque and a little girl named Wendy—lead him to the most difficult decision of his life: whether to submit to the temptation of eternal youth, or to embrace the responsibilities of maturity and the inevitability of his own mortality. His choice, like his story, is not what you might expect.

Vivian Shaw

Strange Practice
A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1
Orbit, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages
     Contemporary Fantasy

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead.

Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills - vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies.

It's a quiet, supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

Wesley Snipes
Ray Norman

Talon of God
Harper Voyager, July 25, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages
    Urban Fantasy

The acclaimed actor makes his fiction debut with this enthralling urban fantasy in which a holy warrior must convince a doctor with no faith to help stop a powerful demon and his minions from succeeding in creating hell on earth—a thrilling adventure of science and faith, good and evil, damnation and salvation.

Imagine that everyone you have ever known or loved was forced against their will into a state of demonic possession and spiritual slavery. Imagine an unholy cabal of the world’s richest and most powerful men directing this sinister plan in order to cement their unbridled control of the planet.

Imagine two heroes emerging from that darkness to do battle with the forces of evil.

Set in the mean streets of Chicago, Talon of God is the action-packed adventure centered around the Lauryn Jefferson, a beautiful young doctor who is dragged into a seemingly impossible battle against the invisible forces of Satan’s army and their human agents that are bent on enslaving humanity in a mission to establish the kingdom of hell on Earth.

But Lauryn is a skeptic, and it’s only as she sees a diabolical drug sweep her city and begins to train in the ways of a spirit warrior by the legendary man of God, Talon Hunter, that she discovers her true nature and inner strength. Facing dangerous trials and tests, it’s a true baptism by fire. And if they fail, millions could die. And rivers of blood would flow throughout the land.

Imagine such horror. Such pain. And imagine what it would take to fight against it. For only the strongest and most faithful will survive?

Get ready. Armageddon approaches quickly.

Anna Stephens

Godblind
Godblind Trilogy 1
Talos, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages
    Epic Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Dark Fantasy

For fans of Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, and Mark Lawrence comes a brutal grimdark fantasy debut of dark gods and violent warriors.

The Mireces worship the bloodthirsty Red Gods. Exiled from Rilpor a thousand years ago, and left to suffer a harsh life in the cold mountains, a new Mireces king now plots an invasion of Rilpor’s thriving cities and fertile earth.

Dom Templeson is a Watcher, a civilian warrior guarding Rilpor’s border. He is also the most powerful seer in generations, plagued with visions and prophecies. His people are devoted followers of the god of light and life, but Dom harbors deep secrets, which threaten to be exposed when Rillirin, an escaped Mireces slave, stumbles broken and bleeding into his village.

Meanwhile, more and more of Rilpor’s most powerful figures are turning to the dark rituals and bloody sacrifices of the Red Gods, including the prince, who plots to wrest the throne from his dying father in the heart of the kingdom. Can Rillirin, with her inside knowledge of the Red Gods and her shocking ties to the Mireces King, help Rilpor win the coming war?

David Williams

When the English Fall
Algonquin Books, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 256 pages
Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Hard Science Fiction

A riveting and unexpected novel that questions whether a peaceful and nonviolent community can survive when civilization falls apart.

When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community in Pennsylvania is caught up in the devastating aftermath. Once-bright skies are now dark. Planes have plummeted to the ground. The systems of modern life have crumbled. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) become more and more desperate, they begin to invade Amish farms, taking whatever they want and unleashing unthinkable violence on the peaceable community.

Seen through the diary of an Amish farmer named Jacob as he tries to protect his family and his way of life, When the English Fall examines the idea of peace in the face of deadly chaos: Should members of a nonviolent society defy their beliefs and take up arms to defend themselves? And if they don’t, can they survive?

David Williams’s debut novel is a thoroughly engrossing look into the closed world of the Amish, as well as a thought-provoking examination of “civilization” and what remains if the center cannot hold.

Leslie Peter Wulff

Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer
Night Shade Books, July 11, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 256 pages
    Dark Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Walt thinks he’s left his problems behind him when he runs away from a broken home to live with his eccentric uncle. The simple, semi-rural, semi-anti-social lifestyle seems at first to be exactly what Walt wants, but he soon learns his new life isn’t just about ditching school and drinking beer with his friends.

Uncle Brucker is a Rat Killer; a tireless rat tracker, an expert in rat lore, a speaker of the rat language, and a decorated veteran of two bloody uprisings. His uncle begins to train Walt in the ways of rat killing, and explains to his nephew the ancient and bloody history of men and rats. Before the rise of men, he says, rats ruled the earth. They’ve been hiding in another dimension ever since they were kicked out by humanity, planning to retake the planet.

In the middle of Walt’s training, Uncle Brucker is called away by mysterious men from the government. When he fails to return from his mission, Walt discovers a portal to the rat dimension and realizes he must travel alone to Rat Land to save his uncle. Perhaps the most unusual dark fantasy debut of the year, Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer is a surreal exploration of honor, duty, and inter-dimensional genocide.

Lee Markham

The Truants
The Overlook Press, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 272 pages
Horror, Dystopian

A fresh twist on the vampire mythos, The Truants is a dystopian novel of startling intensity, narrated by immortal old-ones.

Contorting the conventional vampire narrative into a startling tale of immortality, blood lust, and rage contaminating London’s inner-city youth like a virus, The Truants tells the story of the last of the old-ones―creatures afflicted with a condition not unlike vampirism: ancient, bloodthirsty, and unable to withstand sunlight.

The last old-one has decided to end his life, but before he can act he is held up at knifepoint. His assailant disappears, the knife in his pocket, the blood of the old-one seared into its sharpened edge. The knife trades hands, drawing blood again, and the old-one is resurrected through his victims’ consciousness and divided, spreading through the infected. With his horde of infected youth, the old-one must reclaim the knife to regain control of his soul. But someone is out to stop him...

David Williams

When the English Fall
Algonquin Books, July 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 256 pages
Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Hard Science Fiction

A riveting and unexpected novel that questions whether a peaceful and nonviolent community can survive when civilization falls apart.

When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community in Pennsylvania is caught up in the devastating aftermath. Once-bright skies are now dark. Planes have plummeted to the ground. The systems of modern life have crumbled. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) become more and more desperate, they begin to invade Amish farms, taking whatever they want and unleashing unthinkable violence on the peaceable community.

Seen through the diary of an Amish farmer named Jacob as he tries to protect his family and his way of life, When the English Fall examines the idea of peace in the face of deadly chaos: Should members of a nonviolent society defy their beliefs and take up arms to defend themselves? And if they don’t, can they survive?

David Williams’s debut novel is a thoroughly engrossing look into the closed world of the Amish, as well as a thought-provoking examination of “civilization” and what remains if the center cannot hold.

Michael F. Haspil

Graveyard Shift
Tor Books, July 18, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
Urban Fantasy, Thrillers, Police Procedural

Police procedurals go supernatural in this gritty urban fantasy debut by Michael F. Haspil in Graveyard Shift

Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, born in ancient Rome, are vice cops in a special Miami police unit. They fight to keep the streets safe from criminal vampires, shape-shifters, bootleg blood-dealers, and anti-vampire vigilantes.

When poisoned artificial blood drives vampires to murder, the city threatens to tear itself apart. Only an unlikely alliance with former opponents can give Alex and Marcus a fighting chance against an ancient vampire conspiracy.

If they succeed, they'll be pariahs, hunted by everyone. If they fail, the result will be a race-war bloodier than any the world has ever seen.

“Gritty urban fantasy and hard-boiled noir packed into a hand grenade of awesome!” —Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown

Leena Likitalo

The Five Daughters of the Moon
Tor.com, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 224 pages
Historical Fantasy, Dark Fantasy

Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fueled by evil magic.

The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

Alina, six, fears Gagargi Prataslav and his Great Thinking Machine. The gagargi claims that the machine can predict the future, but at a cost that no one seems to want to know.

Merile, eleven, cares only for her dogs, but she smells that something is afoul with the gagargi. By chance, she learns that the machine devours human souls for fuel, and yet no one believes her claim.

Sibilia, fifteen, has fallen in love for the first time in her life. She couldn't care less about the unrests spreading through the countryside. Or the rumors about the gagargi and his machine.

Elise, sixteen, follows the captain of her heart to orphanages and workhouses. But soon she realizes that the unhappiness amongst her people runs much deeper that anyone could have ever predicted.

And Celestia, twenty-two, who will be the empress one day. Lately, she's been drawn to the gagargi. But which one of them was the first to mention the idea of a coup?

Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fuelled by evil magic.

Vivian Shaw

Strange Practice
A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1
Orbit, July 25, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages
Contemporary Fantasy

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead.

Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills - vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies.

It's a quiet, supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

RJ Barker

Age of Assassins
The Wounded Kingdom 1
Orbit, August 1, 2017
Paperback and eBook, 432 pages
Epic Fantasy

IT'S A GAME OF ASSASSIN VERSUS ASSASSIN

Girton Club-foot has no family, a crippled leg, and is apprenticed to the best assassin in the land.

He's learning the art of taking lives, but his latest mission tasks him with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder.

Age of Assassins is the first in an epic new trilogy set in a world ravaged by magic, featuring a cast of assassins, knights, ambitious noblemen, and fools.

Marina J. Lostetter

Noumenon
Harper Voyager, August 1, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 432 pages
Science Fiction, Space Opera

With nods to Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama series and the real science of Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, a touch of Hugh Howey’s Wool, and echoes of Octavia Butler’s voice, a powerful tale of space travel, adventure, discovery, and humanity that unfolds through a series of generational vignettes.

In 2088, humankind is at last ready to explore beyond Earth’s solar system. But one uncertainty remains: Where do we go?

Astrophysicist Reggie Straifer has an idea. He’s discovered an anomalous star that appears to defy the laws of physics, and proposes the creation of a deep-space mission to find out whether the star is a weird natural phenomenon, or something manufactured.

The journey will take eons. In order to maintain the genetic talent of the original crew, humankind’s greatest ambition—to explore the furthest reaches of the galaxy— is undertaken by clones. But a clone is not a perfect copy, and each new generation has its own quirks, desires, and neuroses. As the centuries fly by, the society living aboard the nine ships (designated Convoy Seven) changes and evolves, but their mission remains the same: to reach Reggie’s mysterious star and explore its origins—and implications.

A mosaic novel of discovery, Noumenon—in a series of vignettes—examines the dedication, adventure, growth, and fear of having your entire world consist of nine ships in the vacuum of space. The men and women, and even the AI, must learn to work and live together in harmony, as their original DNA is continuously replicated and they are born again and again into a thousand new lives. With the stars their home and the unknown their destination, they are on a voyage of many lifetimes—an odyssey to understand what lies beyond the limits of human knowledge and imagination.

Ladee Hubbard

The Talented Ribkins
Melville House, August 8, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 304 pages
Contemporary Fantasy

At seventy-two, Johnny Ribkins shouldn’t have such problems: He’s got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it’s curtains for Johnny.

What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African-American family that has been gifted with super powers that are rather sad, but superpowers nonetheless. For example, Johnny’s father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he’s been there or not.

In the old days, the Ribkins family tried to apply their gifts to the civil rights effort, calling themselves the Justice Committee. But when their, eh, superpowers proved insufficient, the group fell apart. Out of frustration Johnny and his brother used their talents to stage a series of burglaries, each more daring than the last.

Fast forward a couple decades and Johnny’s on a race against the clock to dig up loot he’s stashed all over Florida.  His brother is gone, but he has an unexpected sidekick: his brother’s daughter, Eloise, who has a special superpower of her own.

Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois’s famous essay “The Talented Tenth” and fuelled by Ladee Hubbard’s marvelously original imagination, The Talented Ribkins is a big-hearted debut novel about race, class, politics, and the unique gifts that, while they may cause some problems from time to time, bind a family together.

Spencer Ellsworth 

A Red Peace
The Starfire Trilogy 1
Tor.com, August 22, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 224 pages
Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military SF

A Red Peace, first in Spencer Ellsworth's Starfire trilogy, is an action-packed space opera in a universe where the oppressed half-Jorian crosses have risen up to supplant humanity and dominate the galaxy.

Half-breed human star navigator Jaqi, working the edges of human-settled space on contract to whoever will hire her, stumbles into possession of an artifact that the leader of the Rebellion wants desperately enough to send his personal guard after. An interstellar empire and the fate of the remnant of humanity hang in the balance.

Spencer Ellsworth has written a classic space opera, with space battles between giant bugs, sun-sized spiders, planets of cyborgs and a heroine with enough grit to bring down the galaxy's newest warlord.

Brian Allen Carr

SIP
Soho Press, August 29, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 304 pages
Science Fiction, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic

A lyrical, apocalyptic debut novel about addiction, friendship, and the struggle for survival …

It started with a single child, and quickly spread: you could get high by drinking your own shadow. At night, lights were destroyed so that addicts could sip shadow in the pure light of the moon.

Gangs of shadow addicts chased down children on playgrounds, rounded up old ladies from retirement homes. Cities were destroyed and governments fell. And if your shadow was sipped entirely, you became one of them, had to find more shadow, at any cost, or go mad.

150 years later, what’s left of the world is divided between the highly regimented life of those inside dome-cities that are protected from natural light (and natural shadows), and those forced to the dangerous, hardscrabble life in the wilds outside. In rural Texas, Mira, her shadow-addicted friend Murk, and an ex-Domer named Bale, search for a possible mythological cure to the shadow sickness—but they must do so, it is said, before the return of Halley’s Comet, which is only days away.

Curtis Craddock

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors
The Risen Kingdoms 1
Tor Books, August 29, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 416 pages
Epic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy

A delightful and engrossing fantasy debut featuring an intelligent heroine and her guardian, a royal musketeer.

In a world of soaring continents and bottomless skies, where a burgeoning new science lifts skyships into the cloud-strewn heights, and ancient blood-borne sorceries cling to a fading glory, Princess Isabelle des Zephyrs is about to be married to a man she has barely heard of, the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.

Born without the sorcery that is her birthright but with a perspicacious intellect, Isabelle believes her marriage will stave off disastrous conflict and bring her opportunity and influence. But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer-assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third. Aided and defended by her loyal musketeer, Jean-Claude, Isabelle plunges into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies. Step by dangerous step, she unravels the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth more perilous than any deception.