This month is a really good month though, plenty of releases and a couple of excellent books out, including my current read of the year: Orbus by Neal Asher (review). Another great space opera is Nova War by Gary Gibson (review), which is the sequel to Stealing Light, and the series is well worth reading. Pyr also have the US release of The Quiet War by Paul McAuley, a book that has received very good reviews since its release in the UK last year - I'll be picking this one up for sure! Speaking of Paul McAuley, Gollancz are releasing some books from his back catalog with some nifty new covers. There is the new book by Iain Banks, Transition, which sounds interesting even though it's not his typical type of SF book - worth looking in to. And how can I close my recommendations without the mention of the re-releases of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books - if you've not read them already now will be as good a time as any to pick them up!
Remember to see the news on the latest fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal releases for the month with Doug's picks below and head over to SciFiGuy.ca for a full list of all the latest Fantasy and Paranormal releases for August!
Happy reading.....
Space Hulk:The Novel by Gav Thorpe (Black Library) | SeptIn the darkness of a derelict space hulk, the faith and fury of the Blood Angels are tested to the limit.
In this companion novel to the Space Hulk game, a battle is raging between Terminators of the Blood Angels Space Marines and a macabre alien race. But their resolve and skill is pitted against something that haunts their past, because the thousands of foes they face are the same creatures that six centuries ago nearly decimated the Chapter.
As a survivor of the earlier massacre, Sergeant Lorenzo has more to prove than any other. Carrying the stigma of the failure, he now fights for personal deliverance and to redeem the Chapter's honour.
The Lost by Dan Abnett (Black Library) | SeptThe Tanith First–And–Only are among the most legendary regiments of Imperial Guard and at their head stands Commissar Ibram Gaunt, unflinching in duty and unrelenting in combat. The Lost sees the very future of the regiment in jeopardy as Gaunt battles the forces of Chaos across the Sabbat Worlds, from rescue missions to the horrors of the battlefield, the Tanith First–And–Only must survive extreme dangers or be forever lost.
Black Library exclusive edition: Many followers of the Tanith series have hardback editions of The Founding and The Saint sat proudly on their shelves and so we bring the third Gaunts Ghosts omnibus in the same format, exclusively direct from the Black Library. Available only while stocks last direct from our website and at Games Day UK 2009.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Pan) | Sept 01Thirty years of celebrating the comic genius of Douglas Adams…
On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace bypass and his best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words: DON’T PANIC.
The weekend has only just begun…
Volume One in the Trilogy of Five
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The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (Pan) | Sept 01Thirty years of celebrating the comic genius of Douglas Adams…
If you’ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the end of the Universe?
Which is exactly what the crew of the Heart of Gold plan to do. There’s just the small matter of escaping the Vogons, avoiding being taken to the most totally evil world in the Galaxy and teaching a space ship how to make a proper cup of tea.
And did anyone actually make a reservation?
Volume Two in the Trilogy of Five
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Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams (Pan) | Sept 01Thirty years of celebrating the comic genius of Douglas Adams…
After a series of events which have involved Arthur Dent being alternately blown up and insulted in more bizarre regions of the Galaxy that he has ever dreamt existed, he finds himself stranded on Prehistoric Earth. Luckily an amazing rescue by Ford Prefect and a time eddy, cleverly disguised as a sofa, lands them in the middle of Lords two days before the world is due to end.
It’s just not cricket…
Volume Three in the Trilogy of Five
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So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams (Pan) | Sept 01Thirty years of celebrating the comic genius of Douglas Adams…
There is a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. It’s not an easy thing to do and Arthur Dent thinks he’s the only human who’s been able to master this nifty little trick – until he meets Fenchurch, the girl of his dreams.
Fenchurch knows how the world could be made a good and happy place. Unfortunately she’s forgotten. Convinced that the secret lies within God’s Final Message to His Creation they go in search of it.
And in a dramatic break with tradition – actually find it…
Volume Four in the Trilogy of Five
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Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams (Pan) | Sept 01Thirty years of celebrating the comic genius of Douglas Adams…
Arthur Dent hadn't had a day as bad as this since the Earth had been blown up.
Depressed and alone, Arthur finally settles on the small planet Lamuella and becomes a sandwich maker. Looking forward to a quiet life, his plans are thrown awry by the unexpected arrival of his daughter.
There’s nothing worse than a frustrated teenager with a copy of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in their hands. When she runs away – Arthur goes after her determined to save her from the horrors of the universe.
After all – he’s encountered most of them before…
Volume Five in the Trilogy of Five
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V: The Original Miniseries by Kenneth Johnson and A.C. Crispin (Tor) | Sept 01Kenneth Johnson’s Warner Bros. television seriesV swept the nation and drew in hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Now, the novel V is finally back in print, with an all-new, never-before-seen revised ending.
V tells the exciting story of mysterious Alien visitors who are ready to solve Earth’s problems. But soon after arriving, the Aliens’ true nature is revealed, and like so many oppressive regimes of Earth’s past, as long as people are not directly under attack, they will turn a blind eye to their tyrannical overlords. Now it is up to a small band of resistance fighters who know the aliens’ true nature to stand up for all of humanity. Few people are quick to join their cause, and the fight to expose the aliens to the public will not be an easy one.
With fast-paced action, political intrigue and memorable characters, V is sure to stir fond memories for fans of the original miniseries, as well as make fans out of a new generation.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Fools' Experiments by Edward M. Lerner (Tor) | Sept 01We are not alone, and it’s our own damn fault...
Something demonic is stalking the brightest men and women in the computer industry. It attacks without warning or mercy, leaving its prey insane, comatose – or dead.
Mayhem is on the rise. Something far nastier than any virus, worm, or Trojan horse program is being evolved in laboratory confinement by well-intentioned but misguided researchers. When their artificial life-form escapes onto the Internet, no conventional defense against malicious software can begin to compete. As disasters multiply, computer scientist Doug Carey knows that unconventional measures may be civilization’s last hope.
And that any artificial life-form learns very fast...
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor) | Sept 01Robert J. Sawyer’s award-winning science fiction has garnered both popular and critical acclaim. TheNew York Times called Frameshift “filled to bursting with ideas, characters, and incidents.” His novels are fixtures on the Hugo and Nebula ballots. Now, his award-winning novel Flash Forward is becoming a network TV series, expected to air in the fall of 2009.
In pursuit of an elusive nuclear particle, an experiment goes incredibly awry, and, for a few moments, the consciousness of the entire human race is thrown ahead by about twenty years. As the implications truly hit home, the pressure to repeat the experiment builds. Everyone wants a glimpse of their future, a chance to flash forward and see their successes…or learn how to avoid their failures.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Red Dust by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 03Mars, 600 years in the future, is dying.
Five hundred years after the Chinese conquered the Red Planet, the great work of terraforming is failing. The human-machine Consensus of Earth had persuaded the AI Emperor to follow the Golden Path into a vast virtual reality universe, leaving behind an ungoverned planet swept by hunger riots and the beginnings of civil war.
Enter Wei Lee, a lowly itinerant agricultural technician: rock 'n' roll fan, dupe, holy fool - and unlikely Messiah. After stumbling on an anarchist pilot hiding near the wreckage of her spacecraft, he's drawn into a revolutionary plot that has been spinning for decades. With the help of a ghost, the broadcasts of the King of the Cats, a Yankee yak herder, and a little Girl God, Lee travels across the badlands, swampy waterways and vast dust seas to a showdown at the summit of the biggest volcano in the Solar System. Not even the God-like Consensus can predict the outcome of his struggle to define his own destiny . . .
Epic in scope, Red Dust's spectacular, fast-paced story brilliantly brings to life the planet that has captured our imagination like no other.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk
400 Billion Stars by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 03Dorothy Yoshida is a telepath, and a really rather good one at that.
She's also a scientist, and when a small planet begins to manifest some unusual signs she is sent to investigate. The planet is more than it seems, and on further investigation the scientists begin to suspect it has been artificially altered.
But despite their suspicions the only life they can detect is on the surface, none of which has advanced far above the level of animals. And despite the hopes of mankind to find something which will help them in a burgeoning war against other species, there seems to be nothing there to aid them.
With Dorothy's arrival, however, they are in for some surprising discoveries.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk
Eternal Light by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 03In the aftermath of an interstellar war an enigmatic star is discovered, travelling towards the Solar System from the galactic core. Its appearance adds a new and dangerous factor in the turbulent politics of the inhabited worlds as the rival factions - the power-holders of the ReUnited Nations, the rebels who secretly oppose their power, and the Religious Witnesses - all see advantages to be gained.
But what awesome technology started the star on its journey half a million years ago - and why?
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Pasquale's Angel by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 03Florence in the year 1518 is riven by scientific and sociological change caused b the wonderful devices of the Great Engineer, Leonardo da Vinci. Now he is old and lives as a recluse working behind the walls of his castle. The Raphaelites, artists and anti-technologists led by Raphael of Urbino, call for his excommunication.
Pasquale di Cione fiesole, an apprentice painter witnesses an assassination attempt on Raphael at a Cathedral service. The weapon falls into his hands, and he is soon on the run from engineers and artists, desperate to prove his innocence.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk
Fairyland by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 03
The 21st century.
Europe is divided between the First World bourgeoisie, made rich by nanotechnology and the cheap versatile slave labour of genetically engineered Dolls and the Fourth World of refugees and homeless displaced by war and economic upheaval. In London, Alex Sharkey is trying to make his mark as a designer of psychoactive viruses, whilst staying one step ahead of the police and the Triad gangs. At the cost of three hours of his life, he finds an unlikely ally in a scary, super-smart little girl called Milena, but his troubles really start when he helps Milena quicken intelligence in a Doll, turning it into the first of the fairies.
Milena isn't sure if she's mad or if she's the only sane person left in the world; she only knows that she wants to escape to her own private Fairyland and live forever. Although Milena has created the fairies for her own ends, some of the Folk, as fey and dangerous as any in legend, have other ideas about her destiny . . .
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk
Going Under by Justina Robson (Gollancz) | Sept 03Book three of the Quantum Gravity Series sees Lila Black back from her adventures in Demonia and struggling to cope with the even stranger world of Faerie.
And these Faeries couldn't be less like Tinkerbell. These Faeries are capricious, unknowable and dangerous. And they will be Lila's toughest test yet.
Lila may have reached some sort of peace over the fate of her parents, she may have built some bridges with her sister but when you're half cyborg, when you contain enough high-tech weaponry to win a small war, when you don't know your heart, still love an elf and don't trust your bosses you can be capricious unknowable and quiter dangerous enough yourself.
This is a fast moving SF fantasy full of thrills and adventures but informed with a ready wit and prepared to touch on serious themes of identity, reality and sexual politics.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick (Gollancz) | Sept 03It is 1962 and the Second World War has been over for seventeen years: people have now had a chance to adjust to the new order. But it's not been easy. The Mediterranean has been drained to make farmland, the population of Africa has virtually been wiped out and America has been divided between the Nazis and the Japanese. In the neutral buffer zone that divides the two superpowers lives the man in the high castle, the author of an underground bestseller, a work of fiction that offers an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers didn't win the war. The novel is a rallying cry for all those who dream of overthrowing the occupiers. But could it be more than that? Subtle, complex and beautifully characterized, The Man in the High Castle remains the finest alternative world novel ever written, and a work of profundity and significance.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk
Fate of the Jedi: Abyss by Troy Denning (Century) | Sept 03Luke and Ben Skywalker arrive in the mysterious part of space called The Maw in search of more clues as to what caused Jacen Solo's downfall into the dark side. But they are not the only ones exploring The Maw: a Sith Master and her apprentice arrive there, too, having followed the delinquent ancient Sith ship found by Ben in The Legacy of the Force -- and they're thrilled to find Luke there, because they are determined to kill him. But there's another powerful being hiding in The Maw. It's enormously strong, purely evil, and it has its own plans for Luke Skywalker...
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Doctor Who: The Taking of Chelsea 426 by David Llewelyn (BBC Books) | Sept 03The Chelsea Flower Show – hardly the most exciting or dangerous event in the calendar, or so the Doctor thinks. But this is Chelsea 426, a city-sized future colony floating on the clouds of Saturn, and the flowers are much more than they seem.
As the Doctor investigates, he becomes more and more worried. Why is shopkeeper Mr Pemberton acting so strangely? And what is Professor Wilberforce’s terrible secret?
They are close to finding the answers when a familiar foe arrives, and the stakes suddenly get much higher. The Sontarans have plans of their own, and they’re not here to arrange flowers...
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Doctor Who: The Krillitane Storm by Christopher Cooper (BBC Books) | Sept 03When the TARDIS materialises in medieval Worcester, the Doctor finds the city seemingly deserted. He soon discovers its population are living in a state of terror, afraid to leave their homes after dark, for fear of meeting their doom at the hands of the legendary Devil’s Huntsman.
For months, people have been disappearing, and the Sheriff has imposed a strict curfew across the city, his militia maintaining control over the superstitious populace with a firm hand, closing the city to outsiders. Is it fear of attack from beyond the city walls that drives him or the threat closer to home? Or does the Sheriff have something to hide?
After a terrifying encounter with a deadly Krillitane, the Doctor realises the city has good reason to be scared.
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Doctor Who: Autonomy by Daniel Blythe (BBC Books) | Sept 03Hyperville is 2013's top hi-tech 24-hour entertainment complex – a sprawling palace of fun under one massive roof. You can go shopping, or experience the excitement of Doomcastle, WinterZone, or Wild West World. But things are about to get a lot more exciting – and dangerous...
What unspeakable horror is lurking on Level Zero of Hyperville? And what will happen when the entire complex goes over to Central Computer Control?
For years, the Nestene Consciousness has been waiting and planning, recovering from its wounds. But now it’s ready, and its deadly plastic Autons are already in place around the complex. Now more than ever, visiting Hyperville will be an unforgettable experience...
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Transition by Iain Banks (Little, Brown) | September 03A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?
On the Concern’s books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Orbus by Neal Asher (Tor UK) | September 04In charge of an old cargo spaceship, the Old Captain Orbus flees a violent and sadistic past, but he doesn’t know that the lethal war drone, Sniper, is a stowaway, and that the past is rapidly catching up with him.
His old enemy the Prador Vrell, mutated by the Spatterjay virus into something powerful and dangerous, has seized control of a Prador dreadnought, murdering its crew, and is now seeking to exact vengeance on those who tried to have him killed.
Their courses inexorably converge in the Graveyard, the border realm lying between the Polity and the Prador Kingdom, a place filled with the ruins left by past genocides and interplanetary war. But this is the home of the Golgoloth, monster to a race of monsters, the place where a centuries-long cold war is being fought.
Meanwhile, the terrifying Prador King is coming, prepared to do anything to ensure Vrell’s death and keep certain deadly secrets buried . . . and somewhere out there something that has annihilated civilizations is stirring from a slumber of five million years.
The cold war is heating up, fast.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Nova War by Gary Gibson (Tor UK) | Sept 04In Stealing Light, Dakota discovered the Shoal’s dark and dangerous secret, now she works towards stopping not only the spread of this knowledge, but also the onset of the Nova war.
Found adrift near a Bandati colony world far away from Consortium space, Dakota and Corso find themselves prisoners of the Bandati.
It becomes rapidly clear to them, that the humanity’s limited knowledge of the rest of the galaxy – filtered through the Shoal – is direly inaccurate. The Shoal have been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, with their own FTL technology for over fifteen thousand years.
Realising that the Shoal may be the Galaxy’s one chance at sustained peace, Dakota is forced to work with Trader to prevent the spread of deadly knowledge carried on board the Magi ships. But it seems that the Nova War is inevitable…
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The Osiris Ritual by George Mann (Snow Books) | Sept 07Sir Maurice Newbury, Gentleman Investigator for the Crown, imagines life can be a little quieter from now on after his dual success in solving The Affinity Bridge affair. But he hasn't banked on his villainous predecessor, Knox, hell bent on achieving immortality, not to mention a secret agent who isn't quite as he seems.... So continues an adventure quite unlike any other, a thrilling steampunk mystery and the second in the series of Newbury & Hobbes investigations.
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Salamander by Nick Kyme (Black Library) | Sept 07Hailing from the volcanic world of Nocturne, Space Marines from the Salamanders Chapter are in search of an ancient artefact that leads to a world overrun by Chaos. They are the fire–born: implacable warriors with iron hard determination. But all is not what it seems as far more dangerous foe is revealed. As bitter rivalries break out amongst the Salamanders their endurance will be tested to the limit. Will the Salamanders survive long enough to discover the truth about this world and the revelations that will shake the very foundations of this Chapter forever?
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Baen) | Sept 07Theo Waitley has lived all her young life on Delgado, a Safe World that is home to one of the galaxy's premier institutions of higher learning. Both Theo's mother, Kamele, and Kamele's onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi, are professors at the university, and they all live comfortably together, just like they have for all of Theo's life, in Jen Sar's house at the outskirts of town.
Suddenly, though, Theo's life changes. Kamele leaves Jen Sar and moves herself and Theo back into faculty housing, which is not what Theo is used to. Once settled back inside the Wall, Kamele becomes embroiled in faculty politics, and is appointed sub-chair of her department. Meanwhile, Theo, who has a notation in her file indicating that she is "physically challenged" has a series of misadventures, including pulling her best friend down on the belt-ride to class, and hurting a team mate during a scavage game.
With notes piling up in her file, Theo only wants to go "home," to the house in the suburbs, and have everything just like it used to be.
Then, Kamele uncovers evidence of possible dishonest scholarship inside of her department. In order to clear the department, she and a team of senior professors must go off-world to perform a forensic document search. Theo hopes this will mean that she'll be left in the care of the man she calls "Father," Professor Kiladi, and is horrified to learn that Kamele means to bring Theo with her!
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
The Serrano Succession by Elizabeth Moon (Baen) | Sept 08Change of Command: Esmay and Barin are reconciled—but their universe is falling apart! The exposure of defective rejuvenation drugs has sent fear sweeping across the known galaxy, including the Regular Space Service, while neighboring states fear the aggressive expansion of the Familias Regnant. Fear begets violent reactions—from foreign governments, from great Families determined to hold on to power, from internal rivalries in the Fleet—and nothing escapes the resultant bloodbath unscathed, including Esmay and Barin.
Against the Odds: The worst has happened: Fleet is tearing itself apart. Some of the mutineers see injustice in the unequal spread of the rejuvenation drugs that offer virtual immortality to the rich; others are simply thirsty for power, or for blood. But when Esmay Suiza-Serrano is unceremoniously booted out of Fleet, the apparent victim of Family politics, she has no idea of the conflict into which she has been thrown. As the noose tightens on galactic civilization, great battles will be fought and greater loves affirmed . . . and old friends will meet their destinies.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Exile -and Glory by Jerry Pournelle (Baen) | Sept 08Old Earth: a cesspool of corruption and stagnation. In space there’s hope -- but you’d better be tough and true to your purpose, because this high frontier spells death for the stupid and the spineless! Combines multiple New York Times #1 best-seller Jerry Pournelle’s High Justice and Exiles to Glory in one mega-volume.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Very Hard Choices by Spider Robinson (Baen) | Sept 08Smelly. Hermit by necessity. The world’s most receptive telepath. But now sinister forces within the government are after Smelly for their own nefarious purposes, and only empathetic journalist Russel Walker, with the aid a mysterious former spook who may not have Smelly’s best interest at heart, can stop them!
The sequel to the touching and creepy Very Bad Deaths, another spell-binding thriller and tome of wisdom from master storyteller (and Nebula and three-time Hugo-Award-winner), Spider Robinson!
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
The Quiet War by Paul McAuley (Gollancz) | Sept 10Twenty-third century Earth, ravaged by climate change, looks backwards to the holy ideal of a pre-industrial Eden. Political power has been grabbed by a few powerful families and their green saints. Millions of people are imprisoned in teeming cities; millions more labour on Pharaonic projects to rebuild ruined ecosystems.
On the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the Outers, descendants of refugees from Earth's repressive regimes, have constructed a wild variety of self-sufficient cities and settlements: scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts; the last outposts of every kind of democratic tradition. The fragile detente between the Outer cities and the dynasties of Earth is threatened by the ambitions of the rising generation of Outers, who want to break free of their cosy, inward-looking pocket paradises, colonise the rest of the Solar System, and drive human evolution in a hundred new directions. On Earth, many demand pre-emptive action against the Outers before it's too late; others want to exploit the talents of their scientists and gene wizards. Amid campaigns for peace and reconciliation, political machinations, crude displays of military might, and espionage by cunningly wrought agents, the two branches of humanity edge towards war . . .
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
The Quiet War by Paul McAuley (Pyr) | Sept 22Twenty-third century Earth, ravaged by climate change, looks backwards to the holy ideal of a pre-industrial Eden. Political power has been grabbed by a few powerful families and their green saints. Millions of people are imprisoned in teeming cities; millions more labour on Pharaonic projects to rebuild ruined ecosystems. On the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the Outers, descendants of refugees from Earth's repressive regimes, have constructed a wild variety of self-sufficient cities and settlements: scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts; the last outposts of every kind of democratic tradition.
The fragile detente between the Outer cities and the dynasties of Earth is threatened by the ambitions of the rising generation of Outers, who want to break free of their cosy, inward-looking pocket paradises, colonise the rest of the Solar System, and drive human evolution in a hundred new directions. On Earth, many demand pre-emptive action against the Outers before it's too late; others want to exploit the talents of their scientists and gene wizards. Amid campaigns for peace and reconciliation, political machinations, crude displays of military might, and espionage by cunningly wrought agents, the two branches of humanity edge towards war...
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Transition by Iain M. Banks (Orbit) | September 23A dazzling feat of the imagination, the new novel from Iain M. Banks, set in our world, confirms his place as a master storyteller and writer of extraordinary vision.
The Philosopher is a torturer, and proud of it. AC is a dealer who became a trader who became a hedge-fund manager. Madame d’Ortolan seems to control nearly everything, while Mrs. Mulverhill the younger hopes to frustrate her. Mr. Oh is a reluctant assassin, amongst many other things. The person in the hospital bed is not entirely sure who they might be, or where, or even when.
What all of these characters have in common is the Concern: an organization committed to protecting the world from outside threats. The world itself, however, is far more complex than we imagine; and the threats far more subtle."
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
When Duty Calls by William C. Dietz (ACE) | Sept 29As the war with the Ramanthian continues, Captain Antonio Santana and his force of biobods and cyborgs find themselves surrounded by enemy forces, faced with annihilation at every turn. On the home front, diplomat Christine Vanderveen finds herself torn between her love for Santana and her new loyalty towards the charismatic, recently elected president of the Clone Republic. As Christine fights her own divided heart, light years away, Santana is in a battle for his life. And this battle may be his last.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Rolling Thunder by John Varley (ACE) | Sept 29Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland—otherwise known as Podkayne—has joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy, passing the audition with a little help from some higher-ups. And now she’s going to Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons, to be an entertainer. But she’s about to learn that there can be plenty of danger to go around in the Martian Navy, even if you’ve just signed on to sing.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Grand Junction by Maurice G. Dantec (Del Rey) | Sept 29Visionary, gripping, sumptuous and tantalizing, Grande Junction is a masterwork of hip, literary science fiction.
On October 4, 2057, most electronic devices on Earth are infected and destroyed by unknown viruses, and billions of people dependent on machine interfaces are killed as a result. Twelve years later, the survivors are sunk in a new Dark Age, a grim afterworld in which the only law is the law of the jungle.
In the sprawling ruins of Grande Junction, a thriving urban community centered on an abandoned spaceport, civilization is hanging on by its fingernails. In this last fragile outpost of knowledge and reason, hope and faith, a second wave of lethal viruses is unleashed–viruses that attack human beings directly, stripping away language, thought, humanity itself.
But it is also here that a young boy, a guitar-playing prodigy named Link de Nova, discovers within himself the power to fight a malevolent entity determined to remake the world in its own bleak image. Now, as the viruses spread and enemies converge on Grande Junction, Link and his friends and protectors, Chrysler Campbell and Yuri McCoy, prepare to fight for the survival of the human race with rifles, radios, and rock ’n’ roll.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
Summer releases of urban fantasy remained strong and with the advent of September the (almost) fall season kicks off with lots of terrific titles from both debut authors and books from popular authors with established series. Last week, Tim Holman at the Orbit blog posted an article about the state of Urban Fantasy in the broader SF&F marketplace. He observed that of the 20 bestselling fantasy books of 2008, no fewer than 15 were urban fantasy and that last week; no fewer than 28 of the Top 50 fantasy bestsellers in the US were urban fantasy titles. If you haven’t sampled the genre what are you waiting for? Here are some highlights of titles that I am looking to acquire and recommend.
ANTHOLOGIES:
I find that urban fantasy excels at producing fine anthologies whether it be short story collections or novella’s and September brings us –Must Love Hellhounds (with IIona Andrews, Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh and Meljean Brook) (and other authors)
This anthology of novella’s from four urban fantasy heavy hitters promises some fresh new stories from their author’s respective series universes.
DEBUT AUTHORS:
I am always on the lookout for new voices and with the growth and popularity of urban fantasy it seems there are debut authors every month. For September there are three that I have read ARC’s of or am dying to try. They are –Soulless by Gail Carriger
The first book in the Parasol Protectorate Series, is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of vampires, dirigibles, and tea.
Drawn Into Darkness by Annette McCleave
This first book in the Soul Gatherers series is a gripping tale of good versus evil with angels, demons, and even Death (a woman).
Rosemary and Rue Seanan McGuire
The first book in the October Daye series about a changeling PI solving mysteries in San Francisco, in a world where the hidden world of the fae is real.
CONTINUING SERIES:
September offers the newest instalments in established series including –An Echo in the Bone Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
This is the long awaited seventh book in Gabaldon’s highly popular Outlander historical fantasy saga of Jaime Fraser and Claire. This is tops on my list.
Witch Craft by Caitlin Kittredge
Book 4 about Nocturne City, where werewolves, witches and demons roam the streets at night, and Luna Wilder, a werewolf police detective must keep the peace.
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
The tenth book in her Women of the Otherworld features takes werewolf Elena Michaels with mated pack enforcer Clayton on an adventure in the Alaskan wilds.
Guardian by Claire Delacroix
While not strictly urban fantasy, this sequel to last year’s Fallen about a fallen angel in a post-apocalyptic America is a must for fans of intelligent science fiction romance.
Dawnbreaker by Jocelynn Drake
This powerful dark urban fantasy , the third in the Dark Days continues the quest of Mira, vampire and pyromancer, to save the potential destruction of humanity from the threat of the evil Naturi.
NEW SERIES:
September also brings us the start of a couple of eagerly anticipated new series -On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
The start of a new series by the author of the tremendously popular Kate Daniels books.
Covet by JR Ward
A new series about fallen angels from the author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books.
FANTASY/SF/YA:
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins This young adult novel is the sequel to the hugely popular Hunger Games.
The Drowning City by Amanda Downum
A fantasy debut. Publishers Weekly says – “Downum effectively combines action, magic, police procedure and political intrigue in this complex and striking debut.”
Head over to SciFiGuy.ca for all the latest Fantasy and Paranormal releases for August!
1 comments:
I like the sound of McAuley's Fairyland. I remember reading Sawyer's FlashForward when it was first released. Terrific book.
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