Sorry for last week’s absence of the weekly book list. I was in NYC to cover BEA. But we’re back! Enjoy!
Here’s a list of all of sci-fi and fantasy coming out this week.
Released Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini
How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.
The Midnight Palace, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery….
Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .
Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night–and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.
Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all.
In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger—not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours.
Darri’s sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister . . . if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom—not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else.
In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?
Queen of the Dead (A Ghost and Goth Novel), by Stacey Kade
After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare – former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead – finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this – ugh – “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.
Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.
Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is – ahem – willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.
Packed with romance, lovable characters, and a killer cliffhanger, Queen of the Dead is the out-of-this-world sequel to The Ghost and the Goth.
Subterranean Press is proud to present Robert McCammon’s first contemporary novel in nearly two decades, a tale of the hunt and unlikely survival, of the life and soul, set against a supernatural backbeat. Robert McCammon, author of the popular Matthew Corbett historical thrillers (Speaks the Nightbird, Mister Slaughter), now gives us something new and completely unexpected: The Five, a contemporary novel as vivid, timely, and compelling as anything he has written to date.
The Five tells the story of an eponymous rock band struggling to survive on the margins of the music business. As they move through the American Southwest on what might be their final tour together, the band members come to the attention of a damaged Iraq war veteran, and their lives are changed forever.
The narrative that follows is a riveting account of violence, terror, and pursuit set against a credible, immensely detailed rock and roll backdrop. It is also a moving meditation on loyalty and friendship, on the nature and importance of families those we are born into and those we create for ourselves and on the redemptive power of the creative spirit. Written with wit, elegance, and passionate conviction, The Five lays claim to new imaginative territory, and reaffirms McCammon’s position as one of the finest, most unpredictable storytellers of our time.
Bloodforged (Ulrika the Vampire), by Nathan Long
Unable to adapt to Lahmian society, Ulrika seeks her own way, striking out to the Chaos-besieged city of Praag to seek old friends and glory in battle. On her arrival, she finds a devastated but defiant people and the invaders repelled. But the Ruinous Powers can take many forms, and now a more insidious threat is rising from within – a Slaaneshi cult that seeks to claim dominion in Praag. Shunned by her Lahmian sisters, decried by the humans she seeks to protect, Ulrika treads a lonely path as she tries to find the root of this destructive plot. Caught between the will of the vampires and the insane designs of Chaos sorcerers and cultists, Ulrika must call upon all of her cunning and savagery if she is to triumph…
Deadline (Newsflesh Book 2), by Mira Grant
Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has.
But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.
Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.
What Distant Deeps, by David Drake
#8 in the best-selling RCN military science fiction series.
Master and Commander to the stars. Captain Daniel Leary and master spy Adele Mundy must once again save the Cinnabar Republic despite itself. The jackals are moving in! The barbarians of the outer reaches intend to play both Cinnabar and Cinnabar’s sworn enemy, the totalitarian Alliance, against each other and bring both empires down like an enormous house of cards. The barbarian pirates have commandeered and hot-rodded starships that can outmaneuver even Captain Leary’s trusty RCN corvette. But speed and tech don’t count for everything. The Princess Cecile has the incomparable Daniel Leary and his trusted aide and friend Adele Mundy in command. Faced with such grit, bravery and intelligent misdirection the pirates might find they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
Chicago, 2064: Talon Avalon is a timecaster-one of a select few peace officers who can operate a TEV, the Tachyon Emission Visualizer, which records events (most specifically, crimes) that have already happened. With crime at an all-time low, Talon has little to do except give lectures to school kids and obsess on his wife’s profession as a licensed sex partner. Until one of her clients asks Talon to investigate a possible murder. When Talon uses the TEV to view the crime, the identity of the killer is unmistakable-it’s him, Talon Avalon.
The Fly-By-Nights, by Brian Lumley
150 years ago the world ended. Bombs fell, winter came, and the survivors fled underground in search of safety. Now they struggle to preserve what’s left — sleeping by day, and battling fearsome vampiric fly-by-nights after sunset.
Resources are scarce and security is scarcer in this fallout-poisoned world, but one subterranean clan of hardy souls clings to life, scavenging and scraping by until their water supply goes catastrophically bad. Forced to seek a new life above, they leave their long-time home to caravan across the stricken planet’s surface, where the light is toxic and the night hides unspeakable monsters.
It is a difficult existence without promise or direction, until word from a band of fellow refugees fizzes through the choppy radio static. The Kindred promise help, companionship, and a new settlement in a distant valley…if only the clan can reach them.
For between the Kindred and the Clan stand a hundred miles of impossible terrain and countless fly-by-nights, and within the Clan itself trouble brews when two very different men fight for the love of one woman who has already made her choice.
It’s the oldest story ever told, but this time it could mean the end of humanity.
The Fecund’s Melancholy Daughter, by Brent Hayward
The city is crumbling . . . Clouds over Nowy Solum have not parted in a hundred years. Gods have deserted their temples. In the last days of a dying city, the decadent chatelaine chooses a forbidden lover, separating twin outcasts and setting them on independent trajectories that might finally bring down the palace. Then, screaming from the skies, a lone god reappears, briefly, and a limbless prophet is carried through South Gate, into Nowy Solum, with a message for all: beyond the city, something ancient and monumental has come awake.
Revenant (A Zoe Martinique Investigation), by Phaedra Weldon
Zoe Martinique is getting used to the strange turn her life has taken since she discovered her ability to travel outside her body. Now beings from another astral plane are being hunted by her old enemy, the Phantasm, and it’s up to her to save them and preserve the cosmic balance.
Degrees of Freedom (Samuil Petrovitch), by Simon Morden
The Six Degrees of Petrovitch
Michael is an AI of incalculable complexity trapped under the remains of Oshicora tower. Petrovitch will free him one day, he just has to trust Michael will still be sane by the time he does.
Maddy and Petrovitch have trust issues. She’s left him, but Petrovitch is pretty sure she still loves him.
Sonja Oshicora loves Petrovitch too. But she’s playing a complicated game and it’s not clear that she means to save him from what’s coming.
The CIA wants to save the world. Well, just America, but they’ll call it what they like.
The New Machine Jihad is calling. But Petrovitch killed it. Didn’t he?
And the Armageddonists tried to kill pretty much everyone by blowing the world up. Now, they want to do it again.
Once again, all roads lead back to Petrovitch. Everyone wants something from him, but all he wants is to be free…
Dead on the Delta, by Stacey Jay
Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dre-ams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.
But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a sixyear- old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .
The Breaking (Skinners), by Marcus Pelegrimas
Shapeshifters, vampires, and all manner of monstrosities are raining hell down on a small western town—which is why Skinner Paige Strobel is headed there with a band of Old World Skinners who have been battling monsters for centuries using antiquated, yet oddly effective weaponry. Meanwhile, Paige’s sometime-partner/sometime-lover Cole Warnecki is being held prisoner by persons—or things—unknown: framed, tortured, and beaten for the slaughter of cops at a vampire warehouse in Denver.
For Paige and Cole, a search for answers has become a battle for survival. The future of unsuspecting humankind is balanced on a knife blade. And the Apocalypse is a certainty unless they can uncover the truth behind a terrible force powering monsters and hunters alike . . . and find out why—after horrific werewolf attacks in KC and bloody carnage in Philly—Skinners are suddenly, inexplicably, turning against Skinners . . .
Captives (The Druids Saga), by Barbara Galler-Smith & Josh Langston
The Druids Saga continues with Book Two: Captives. Set against the backdrop of Pre-Roman Gaul, and the Roman occupied city of ancient Rhodes, Celtic seer Mallec and healer Rhonwen struggle to survive enslavement, a merchant of evil, and the wrath of Julius Caesar. Together they must escape and protect an ancient magic from one who would abuse it.
Concrete Savior (Dark Redemption, Book 2), by Yvonne Navarro
THEY SAY NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. BRYNNA MALAK IS LIVING PROOF .
A fallen angel in human form, Brynna is trying to earn another chance at heaven. So far, her road to redemption is littered with casualties, especially since Lucifer’s minions are intent on dragging her back to hell. And being mortal only got more complicated since Brynna became involved with Detective Eran Redmond.
Still, Brynna’s relationship issues—like the fact that one glimpse of her can drive men crazy with desire—may have to wait. A mysterious “hero” is saving Chicago’s citizens from certain death, with strange and sinister consequences. Brynna knows too much about demonkind to believe in coincidences. Some dark force is at work here, and Brynna may be the only one who can stop it. . . .
Infernal Affairs (OSI), by Jes Battis
A dead body on the beach turns out to be a live demon on the run from some of the nastiest bounty hunters in this dimension-or the next. Protecting one demon from another, Tess gets wrapped up in a case that’s as dangerous as it is mind-boggling, especially when it begins to involve her own past.
Released Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Daniel’s father has gotten himself killed and left another mess for Daniel to clean up. To save his world from destruction, he must fight off his father’s killers while discovering a way to save his world. Time is running out, and Daniel must choose to either walk in his father’s footsteps or to reinvent himself into the one to save his world.
The Vampire Stalker, by Allison Van Diepen
What if the characters in a vampire novel left their world–and came into yours?
Amy is in love with someone who doesn’t exist: Alexander Banks, the dashing hero in a popular series of vampire novels. Then one night, Amy meets a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Alexander. In fact, he IS Alexander, who has escaped from the pages of the book and is in hot pursuit of a wicked vampire named Vigo. Together, Amy and Alexander set out to track Vigo and learn how and why Alexander crossed over. But when she and Alexander begin to fall for each other, Amy wonders if she even wants him to ever return to the realm of fiction.
A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl’s unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.
Epidemics, floods, droughts–for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she’s rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can’t continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There’s something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.
Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom, by Jenny Nimmo
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author Jenny Nimmo is back with a brand-new series chronicling the origin and the adventures of Charlie Bone’s magical ancestor, the Red King!
Timoken is a prince born in a secret kingdom. At his birth, a forest jinni bestows magical gifts upon him: a cloak made by the last moon spider and a potion called Alixir. When the peaceful land is attacked, Timoken and his sister, Zobayda, must find a new kingdom to call home. Together, with only the magical gifts and a talking camel, the siblings set off.
In this brand-new series, bestselling author Jenny Nimmo takes readers on an extraordinary quest with one of her most powerful and mysterious characters, the one who started it all for Charlie Bone and the children of the Red King.
The Eternal Sea, by Angie Frazier
Romance and adventure are just around the corner . . .
After the thrilling journey that led Camille through the dangerous discovery of love, secrets, and a magical stone that grants immortality, Camille has everything she wants. She’s escaped the men who wanted her dead, and now she is ready to build a new life with Oscar, her one true love. But things are not to be so simple. Oscar is acting strangely, and before they can even board a ship from Australia back home, to San Francisco, Camille learns that the journey is not over. If she does not follow the magic of the curse of Umandu, her life and Ocar’s could be in grave danger.
Kin of Cain is a Christian sequel to Beowulfset in the post-Civil War and Great Depression Adirondacks and in the antediluvian world of Genesis 4. It features figures from those eras, weaving a fictional story throughout the Old English and Biblical epics.
Grendel and his mother are dead … but something from the race of Cain survived. Escaping an abusive past and nightmares of killing her father, Sarah Crandall discovers her family s history in Nod, east of Eden, through the strange Pass of Fire in the Great Depression Adirondacks. There, in the home of her ancestors built upon the foundation of Hrothgar s hall, she fights the spirit of her great-grandmother waiting to possess her and the horror that loved her in centuries past.
In Enoch, the city built by Cain in rebellion to God s curse to wander the earth, Sarah must choose to become Adah of the Biblical prophecy or lose her life. Love, redemption, sacrifice, and the consequences of sin feature heavily in this twisted Beauty and the Beast tale that will leave you wondering if you are not also … kin of Cain.
Nina in Utopia, by Miranda Miller
A breathtakingly original novel of time travel, Bedlam, and a mad Victorian painter
London, 1854: Nina, the wife of an ambitious doctor, is heavily traumatized by the death of her young daughter and finds herself mysteriously transported 150 years into the future. A tourist in the 21st century, she believes she is witnessing a Utopia, with the grime and evil of Victorian London expunged, and while in the future, she embarks upon a brief affair. Returning to her own time, her husband takes fright hearing her experiences and has her committed to Bedlam, where she meets Richard Dadd and finds another Utopia under the charge of a doctor with 21st-century ideas on patient rehabilitation. Meanwhile, her husband is on a collision course with her lover who is traveling to find her from another time, in this mesmerizing blend of time travel, Victoriana, and romance.
Released Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
City of the Snakes (The City), by Darren Shan
For ten years Capac Raimi has ruled the City. Created by the first Cardinal to continue his legacy, Capac cannot be killed.
Then Capac disappears. His trusted lieutenant, Ford Tasso, suspects the mysterious villacs, ancient and powerful Incan priests. To Ford, only one man has the cunning to outwit such adversaries-Al Jeery, who has taken the guise of his father, the terrifying assassin Paucar Wami.
Al has no love for Capac and no wish to tangle with the villacs. Until Ford promises him the one thing he truly craves-retribution against the man who killed those he loved most and destroyed his life. Lured into the twisted, nightmarish world of the Incan priests, Al will learn more about the City than he ever imagined, and be offered more power than he ever desired.
But in the City, everything comes at a cost…
The Deadliest Bite (Jaz Parks), by Jennifer Rardin
I have two choices. Carve Brude’s name into Hell’s bile-encrusted gates. Or lose my soul.
After an assassination attempt on Vayl, I find myself pulled into a tangled web that takes the gang to Romania. So how will I save a ghost, rescue a demon, and cheat the Great Taker out of a soul he’s slavering for while defeating my nastiest foe yet so that Vayl can, at last, cherish a few precious years with his sons? With careful planning, major violence, and one (hopefully) final trip to Hell.
List from Borders.com and descriptions/reviews from Amazon.com