Books in the Mail (W/E 01/31/2009)

After a couple of relatively big hauls the past two weeks, last week's haul consisted of only one book. Not that I’m complaining since I’ve got plenty of good books to keep me busy for a while and this one seems a must-read.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy (The Chathrand Voyage Trilogy Book 1) by Robert V.S. Redick (Del Rey Hardcover 4/28/2009) – This book was generating quite a bit of buzz when Gollancz published it last year. Hobbit reviewed it at the time and liked it. Pirates, talking rats, and a strange artifact. What’s not to like?

Scant years after a terrible war that shook empires, a six-hundred-year-old ship sets sail for enemy lands in an attempt to forge an enduring peace between the world’s two greatest monarchies. A vast city afloat, the ancient vessel bears a royal bride-to-be; a stowaway tribe of foothigh warriors; an honest young tarboy with a heritage of treason; a rat with a magical secret; and a dark conspiracy centered around the Red Wolf, a legendary and dangerous artifact.

When the conspiracy is uncovered, the voyage takes a turn into perilous waters, and the sword-wielding young bride and her quick-witted tarboy companion must face deadly assassins, treacherous mermaids, and monstrous slavers to uncover secrets at the highest levels of power—secrets that will send heroes and traitors alike careening towards a mysterious destination that could destroy both empires at a stroke.

A publishing sensation in England, The Red Wolf Conspiracy marks the debut of a remarkably gifted young writer.