Books in the Mail (W/E 2014-06-28)

Two books this week, each part of a series...

Scarlet Tides (The Moontide Quartet #2) by David Hair (Jo Fletcher Books Hardcover 10/07/2014) – Sequel to the well-received Mage’s Blood publishing a year and a month after the first book. I

The Moontide has come, and a scarlet tide of Rondian legions is flooding into the East, slaughtering and pillaging in the name of Emperor Constant. But the Scytale of Corineus, the source of ultimate magical power, has slipped through the emperor’s fingers. His ruthless Inquisitors are desperately seeking the artefact, before it falls into the hands of those who would bring down the Empire.

But there are some who have pledged to end the cycle of war and restore peace to Urte. They are the unlikeliest of heroes: a failed mage, a gypsy and a lowly market-girl.

As East and West clash more violently than ever before, Urte will discover that love, loyalty and truth can be forged into weapons as deadly as swords and magic.

Hellhole: Inferno by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Hardcover 08/12/2014) – Conclusion the author team’s first (I think) non-Dune trilogy.

After the events of Hellhole Awakening, the people of Hellhole and the shadow-Xayans scramble to rally against the threat from the still-living rogue Xayans. Back on Sonjeera, the Monarchy is in an uproar after their surprising defeat and the breakaway of the Deep Zone planets. The dowager Queen decides to go to Hellhole on a diplomatic mission, hoping to keep her power. But after touring Hellhole, Queen Michella is shaken, and begins to realize that she can never have the old Monarchy back.

Before the Queen can return to Sonjeera, she’s captured by the rogue Xayans and learns the reason for their attack: the orthodox Xayans had developed their minds to the point where they could evolve and, in so doing, trigger another Big Bang, wiping out everything. 

The rogue Xayans thought they succeeded in stopping the ascension, but the orthodox Xayans on Hellhole are nearly ready. Now, twenty-two huge asteroids from the outer reaches of the solar system are bearing towards Hellhole, summoned by the rogue sect as a last resort. Can all these lives and the planet itself be saved?

Hellhole Inferno is the thrilling conclusion to Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Hellhole trilogy.

Friday Link-Wrap: Wexler @SFFWorld and Lowachee @SF Signal

Here's the (seemingly now) weekly round up of reviews and assorted geekery which I've posted this week....

Tuesday my review of Django Wexler's The Thousand Names, first of his Shadow Campaigns military / flintlock fantasy series went up at SFFWorld:

War is raging between the Vordanai Empire and the Khandar; a rebelling colony led by a religious group known as the Redeemers. Into this fray (after a prologue, natch) we follow two characters; soldiers, who are embroiled in the military campaign. The first in Django Wexler’s The Shadow Campaigns, The Thousand Names is a military fantasy novel cut from a different swath of cloth. It involves guns and magic, falling into what has now come to be known as Flintlock Fantasy. The story is told primarily from the point of view of two soldiers: Marcus d’Ivoire and Winter Ihrenglass and their experiences in different parts of the military campaign, whose command is taken over by Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, an enigmatic figure to say the very least.

...

A magical / supernatural backdrop is mostly hinted at through the majority of the novel until the denouement. Much comes to a head when the titular MacGuffin, The Thousand Names comes more intricately woven into the plot. At this point, the novel took a bit of a pleasant and surprising turn. It felt to me as if Django was channeling a bit Lucas and Spielberg because the story veered a bit into pulpy Raiders of the Lost Ark territory.

Yesterday, my latest Completist column was posted to SF Signal, wherein I suggest why you should read Karin Lowachee's Warchild novels:

Military Science Fiction is and has been one of the most popular sub-genres in science fiction, but the books here are quite different from the typical first-person Soldier-in-Training-Then-Fighting-a-War story. Karin Lowachee made something of a splash with her debut novel, Warchild. It won the second WarnerAspect (Hachette’s SF imprint prior to Orbit) first novel contest, sported a glowing blurb on the cover from Tim Powers, and a terrific cover from Matt Stawicki.

Much of Military SF is written by white guys, and here we have a decidedly non-white guy (Karin grew up in South America and is a woman) giving us some excellent Military SF. In the military depicted in the novels, there is no real demarcation between men and women who serve, both serve and it is barely noted (especially in Warchild). In other words, the men and women fighting together is a seamless feature of the world rather than a stand out bug. Lowachee also broaches topics not often seen in Military SF like homosexuality and the damaging effects on children.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2014-06-21)

Two debuts this week, and all three look interesting. At least one of this I will be reading.

Flight of the Golden Harpy by Susan Klaus (Tor Hardcover 06/17/2014) – Debut novel which has a Planetary Romance feel ..

Kari, a young woman, returns to the jungle planet of Dora after ten years in Earth’s schools determined to unravel the mysteries surrounding the harpies, a feral species with the appearance half-bird, half-human. 

The human colonists believe harpies are dangerous animals, which are known to steal women. The creatures are hunted like wild game, their wings considered rare trophies. But Kari distrusts these rumors. When she was attacked by a monster in the jungle as a child, a male harpy with rare golden coloring rescued her. 

Constant hunting by men has driven the harpies to the brink of extinction. Is Kari’s savior, the elegant golden harpy, is still alive? If so, how long can he and his flock survive the ravages of mankind?

Susan Klaus's Flight of the Golden Harpy is an imaginative and romantic fantasy novel that questions what it means to be human.

California Bones by Greg van Eekhout (Tor Hardcover 06/10/2014) – This sounds like an interesting horror/dark fantasy-urban fantasy-spy mash up.

When Daniel Blackland was six, he ingested his first bone fragment, a bit of kraken spine plucked out of the sand during a visit with his demanding, brilliant, and powerful magician father, Sebastian.

When Daniel was twelve, he watched Sebastian die at the hands of the Hierarch of Southern California, devoured for the heightened magic layered deep within his bones.

Now, years later, Daniel is a petty thief with a forged identity. Hiding amid the crowds in Los Angeles—the capital of the Kingdom of Southern California—Daniel is trying to go straight. But his crime-boss uncle has a heist he wants Daniel to perform: break into the Hierarch's storehouse of magical artifacts and retrieve Sebastian's sword, an object of untold power. 

For this dangerous mission, Daniel will need a team he can rely on, so he brings in his closest friends from his years in the criminal world. There's Moth, who can take a bullet and heal in mere minutes. Jo Alverado, illusionist. The multitalented Cassandra, Daniel’s ex. And, new to them all, the enigmatic, knowledgeable Emma, with her British accent and her own grudge against the powers-that-be. The stakes are high, and the stage is set for a showdown that might just break the magic that protects a long-corrupt regime.

Extravagant and yet moving, Greg van Eekhout's California Bones is an epic adventure set in a city of canals and secrets and casual brutality--different from the world we know, yet familiar and true.

The Midnight’s Queen (Noctis Magicae Book One) by Sylvia Izzo Hunter (Ace Trade Paperback 09/02/2014) – Hunter’s debut; I’d been hearing good things about this from her agent for quite a while. Looking forward to this one.

“In the hallowed halls of Oxford’s Merlin College, the most talented—and highest born—sons of the Kingdom of Britain are taught the intricacies of magickal theory. But what dazzles can also destroy, as Gray Marshall is about to discover…

Gray’s deep talent for magick has won him a place at Merlin College. But when he accompanies four fellow students on a mysterious midnight errand that ends in disaster and death, he is sent away in disgrace—and without a trace of his power. He must spend the summer under the watchful eye of his domineering professor, Appius Callender, working in the gardens of Callender’s country estate and hoping to recover his abilities. And it is there, toiling away on a summer afternoon, that he meets the professor’s daughter.

Even though she has no talent of her own, Sophie Callender longs to be educated in the lore of magick. Her father has kept her isolated at the estate and forbidden her interest; everyone knows that teaching arcane magickal theory to women is the height of impropriety. But against her father’s wishes, Sophie has studied his ancient volumes on the subject. And in the tall, stammering, yet oddly charming Gray, she finally finds someone who encourages her interest and awakens new ideas and feelings.

Sophie and Gray’s meeting touches off a series of events that begins to unravel secrets about each of them. And after the king’s closest advisor pays the professor a closed-door visit, they begin to wonder if what Gray witnessed in Oxford might be even more sinister than it seemed. They are determined to find out, no matter the cost…

Friday Round-up: Corey & Howey at SFFWorld and Sullivan at Tor.com

This week's Friday round-up includes another Tor.com piece and SFFWorld review from, plus

First up is my book review of Cibola Burn, the latest installment of (IMHO) the best space based Science Fiction series on the shelves today, James S.A. Corey's The Expanse:

New Terra is not just a potentially inhabitable planet, it is the first inhabitable planet around a distant star (named Ilus) which also has rich deposits of minerals rare and useful. Chrisjen Avasarala, a very high official of the Earth government and a fan-favorite viewpoint character from Caliban’s War, appoints Holden as a mediator with the task of settling the tensions between the people who have made the pilgrimage to New Terra as colonists and Royal Charter Energy (RCE), the company trying to stake a claim for the planet as their own. A group of terrorists have detonated a bomb on the planet’s main Launchpad, destroying an RCE ship and killing the half the people aboard.

...

Corey has always populated these novels with strong characters. We’ve come to know Holden fairly well over the course of these four novels, and while it is great to see returning characters (Bobbie Draper was a POV character and she returns as a POV character in the prologue here), meeting new people is always a feature. The standout here was Elvi, a determined scientist who fits the mold of ‘scientist hero’ in the same vein as many protagonists from the Golden Age aside from her gender. One of the most telling things we learn through her is how the “life” on New Terra cannot be really measured by any known means.

I wrote another #Torbit piece, in support of Hachette/Orbit authors for Tor.com.  This time, I focused on Michael J. Sullivan:

Each omnibus collects two Riyria novels, and the first two, Theft of Swords and Rise of Empire, contain stories that were previously self-published. However, the third volume, Heir of Novron, is split between a previously self-published work and a brand new conclusion to the series titled Percepliquis. Sullivan didn’t want to put-off his long-time readers too much by demanding that they re-purchase book five, so Orbit allowed a compromise of sorts for this final novel, but more on that later.

The series tells the tale of two friends and brothers in arms: Royce Melborn, a thief, and Hadrian Blackwater, a mercenary. The two call themselves Riyria and are known as a competent duo, working outside the thieves’ guild and taking on jobs for nobles who would otherwise not want to get their hands dirty. Off the bat, Sullivan gives readers fully-formed protagonists who are mature rather than the clichéd farmboys of epic fantasy. In fact, the feel of the story at the outset has more of a sword and sorcery adventure than epic fantasy. Of course, the comparison many people have made to Royce and Hadrian is to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. The relationship between Royce and Hadrian comes across as something that is long-standing.

Also at SFFWorld, Nila reviews another one of Hugh Howey's post-apocalyptic (though not related to Wool) novels, Sand:

Original released as a serial, in Hugh Howey’s latest novel we are introduced to a family falling apart after their father left them for a better place. Actually, he left them to find a better place, but nonetheless, he left them. In his wake, his wife, daughter and three sons struggle to make it in a post-apocalyptic Colorado.

The story is set long after a cataclysmic event that left the world filled with sand and wind. The populations in and around Low-Pub (Pueblo, CO), Springston (Colorado Springs, CO), and Danvar (Denver, CO) have re-arranged themselves into shuffling towns that move with the sands. Water is limited, like it always is in the west, but it is made even harder to acquire because of the constantly shifting sands. The old towns (and knowledge) have long been buried and people have devised a way to dive deep into the sands to recover artifacts that can be used up top.

I will also mention that I "engage" in the comments of this week's episode of Rocket Talk, the Justin Landon-run podcast for Tor.com.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2014-06-14)

Just two books this week and one of them arrived in ARC format a while back.

Nice Dragons Finish Last (Volume 1 of The Heartstrikers Series) by Rachel Bach (07/15/2014) – As my recent write about Rachel for Tor.com indicates, I’m a fan of her work. She’s dipping her toes into the self-publishing realm with this one, which looks fun.

As the youngest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: stay quiet, don’t cause trouble, and keep out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t cut it in a family of ambitious predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove to his mother that he can be a ruthless dragon or lose his true shape forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are seen as monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes that humans are more trustworthy than dragons....

The Shadow Throne (Book Two of The Shadow Campaigns) by Django Wexler (Roc Hardcover 07/01/2014) – Nearly exactly a year after Wexler’s debut published to much acclaim, he’s published two other things (the YA The Forbidden Library and the novella John Golden Freelance Debugger) and now the second book in his Flintlock Fantasy series. This is the final/hardcover of the ARC I received a little over a month ago.

Anyone can plot a coup or fire an assassin’s bullet. But in a world of muskets and magic, it takes considerably more to seize the throne.

The ailing King of the Vordan lies on his deathbed. When he dies, his daughter, Raesinia Orboan, will become the first Queen Regnant in centuries—and a ripe target for the ambitious men who seek to control her. The most dangerous of these is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information and master of the secret police. Having meticulously silenced his adversaries through intimidation, imprisonment, and execution, Orlanko is the most feared man in the kingdom.

And he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.

Exposure would mean ruin, but Raesinia is determined to find a way to break herself—and her country—out of Orlanko’s iron grip. She finds unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, fresh from a brilliant campaign in the colony of Khandar, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d’Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass.

As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could free Vordan from Orlanko’s influence—at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke’s tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise.

SFFWorld/Tor.com Round-up: Hulick, Aaron/Bach, Campbell and Hunt

Been a busy week for me on the intarwebs.  Or rather, things I'd been working on last week and a bit prior saw the light of day over the past week or so. I mentioned the SF Signal stuff yesterday, so today, I'll mention the SFFWorld and Tor.com stuff.

Wednesday, my review of Sworn in Steel, Douglas Hulick's second Tales of the Kin novel was posted to SFFWorld. This is a fun Sword & Sorcery series that I hope to be reading for a while.  Think one part Brust, one part Lynch, throw in a little Wendig and a dose of Goodfellas and you'll get an idea.  The second novel, Sworn in Steel, was just as good as the first:

The events of Among Thieves had major ramifications on Drothe and the criminal underworld of Ildrecca, where he made his home. One of those ramifications has seen his closest friend – Bronze Degan – disappear, though Drothe manages to learn where Degan went rather quickly and despite knowing Degan likely doesn’t want him to follow, Drothe tries to find his friend. This is problematic, because Drothe’s station has moved up in the world considerably as a result of the fallout of Among Thieves. By leaving Ildrecca to travel across the sea to this faraway nation of Djan he is leaving some very important responsibilities behind. Another Degan*, who only gives the name Wolf, compels Drothe to leave Ildrecca to find Bronze Degan after framing Drothe for the murder of one of Drothe’s rivals. Wolf sees Degan as a very important key in unraveling the truth of the Order of Degans. Drothe also manages to get involved with a troupe of actors who join him on his journey.

Also on Wednesday, a new piece I wrote for Tor.com went live. My fine editors (Bridget McGovern & Irene Gallo) at Tor.com have been doing their part to step-up for Hachette/Orbit authors because of the problems between Hachette & amazon.com. For my part, I put together this overview/review spotlight on Rachel Aaron/Rachel Bach, Aaron and Bach: A Tale of Two Rachels:

Rachel Aaron is an Orbit author, through and through, under both her real name and the pseudonym Rachel Bach. She is a writer who was cultivated by Orbit and whose audience grew through some smart publishing decisions in the early days of Orbit’s US imprint. To wit, Orbit US launched in 2007 and her debut, The Spirit Thief, published in October 2010.

Then there’s Rachel’s Paradox series of novels—comprised of Fortune’s Pawn, Honor’s Knight, and Heaven’s Queen—published under the pen name Rachel Bach. Aaron was very open about the pseudonym being used to differentiate her SF from her Fantasy. This isn’t to say there aren’t parallels between what Rachel is doing in her Bach and Aaron books, just a little bit more of some stuff in Bach (more swearing, more sex) and a different setting (secondary fantasy world v. Space Opera). If the Eli books are PG-13, then the Paradox books are more of an R rating.

Over at SFFWorld, Mark Chitty took a look at the latest Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier novel, Steadfast:

After the events of Guardian, Geary and his fleet are touring Earth before making preparations to leave Sol with the alien Dancers. But when two of his lieutenants go missing the fleet track them down only to be faced with a problem none of them expected: having to make a rescue from the strictly off-limits moon of Europa. Back in Alliance space, Geary is ordered to the edges of Alliance territory to settle refugee issues from a Syndic system. Once there he discovers that information that the Alliance has been presenting isn’t quite what it seems, and that’s only the start of his troubles…

Steadfast was both the novel I was expecting, and the novel I wasn’t. Let me tackle the first point. Quite simply, Steadfast is a Lost Fleet novel.

Lastly, Mark Yon reviewed In Dark Service, the start of a new series from Stephen Hunt (of SF Crowsnest):

It is good to read of a world that is a bit more than the usual setting, and I liked the point that one of the key features of this novel is the planet itself. The sheer size of Pellas reminded me of Dune’s Arrakis or even Jack Vance’s Big Planet in its scale. By building a world too big to traverse in your lifetime, this also creates an enormous blank canvas upon which the cast (and the writer) can play. As in the best planetary romances, Pellas is filled with different places and settings, groups and societies, all a little beyond the usual. There’s glimpses of an intriguing backstory too that suggests that Pellas has a long history. I am hoping that much of this will develop further as the tale expands.

Completiest and Mind Meld at SF Signal

Last week my latest Completist column posted to SF Signal, this time featuring Peeps, the young adult vampire apocalypse duo from Scott Westerfeld:

Vampires, we all know them and at one point they were supposed to be scary creatures that could take over your soul, drink your blood and destroy you. Well, over the years to say the vampire has lost some of its scary edge is an understatement. While Dracula did have some sexiness to him, the modern perception of the vampire is less scary and more sexy. Enter Scott Westerfeld and his two book series which includes Peeps and The Last Days. These books tell the story of a world on the brink of apocalypse, overrun by vampires, but not your average vampires and are rarely referred to as such. Rather, they are “peeps” as the title indicates, peep being a shortening of the term parasite positive. You see, in Westerfeld’s tale, parasites cause the stricken person to shun both the light and that which he or she loved in their previous life. Throughout the first novel Peeps, Westerfeld injects a logical scientific explanation for many of the tropes of the vampire legend. By doing this, Westerfeld allows the novel to be read on many levels: a vampire novel, a young adult novel [which it is marketed as], a horror novel (mashed up with science fiction), or a dark fantasy novel.

Also, my role at SF Signal has grown in the past few weeks. In addition to the occasional book review, I am now one of the Mind Meld curators for the SF Signal overlords John DeNardo and JP Frantz.  As such, my first Mind Meld posted yesterday and asked the question:

Q: How long do you have a book before you read it? We, as biblioholics and voracious readers often accumulate books at a greater pace than we can read them. What is the longest you’ve had a book before you’ve read it and/or how long do you typically let a book sit before you read it?

The participants included:

1. Ellen B. Wright, the Senior Marketing Sorceress for Orbit books 
2. My long time friend and colleague from SFFWorld - Mark Yon (aka Hobbit)
3. Kristen Bell, purveyor of the fine blog/web site Fantasy Café
4. Mark Chitty, another SFFWorld colleague, but he and I have been internet pals before he was writing for SFFWorld back when he was running the great SF blog Walker of Worlds
5. Twitter chum Kathryn A. Ryan (aka @Loerwyn)
6. N.E. White, Writer/Editor and fellow SFFWorld moderator and reviewer (and editor of the forthcoming Wars to End All Wars themed anthology (for which I'm reading some stories and doing some edits)
7. Jennie Ivins, a fellow NJ SFF fan and one of the folks behind Fantasy-Faction
8. SFF blogger and fellow beer aficionado Joe Sherry
   and lastly...
9. The great Sarah Chorn owner and supreme overseer of Bookworm Blues.

So go find out what they had to say! (http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2014/06/mind-meld-how-long-do-you-have-a-book-before-you-read-it/)

Books in the Mail (W/E 2014-06-07)

Very strangely, a little over a year ago, I received the predecessor series books to two of these two. Last year, those were the only two books I received. Also in a strange twist of fate, about a month ago I recieved the arc of Tower Lord and the first book in Molles's Remaining series and this week I received the final copy of Tower Lord and the second book in Molles's Remaining series.

Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3) by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston (Tor Hardcover 06/10/2014)– Third in the pre-Ender series from Card and Johnston, which is publishing nearly exactly a year after the previous volume.

The story of The First Formic War continues in Earth Awakens.

Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card’s bestselling novel Ender’s Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna. No one had seen any sign of other space-faring races; everyone expected that First Contact, if it came, would happen in the future, in the empty reaches between the stars. Then a young navigator on a distant mining ship saw something moving too fast, heading directly for our sun.

When the alien ship screamed through the solar system, it disrupted communications between the far-flung human mining ships and supply stations, and between them and Earth. So Earth and Luna were unaware that they had been invaded until the ship pulled into Earth orbit, and began landing terra-forming crews in China. Politics and pride slowed the response on Earth, and on Luna, corporate power struggles seemed more urgent than distant deaths. But there are a few men and women who see that if Earth doesn’t wake up and pull together, the planet could be lost.

The Aftermath (Volume 2 of The Remaining) by DJ Molles (Orbit, Paperback 06/24/2014) – Second in Molles Zombie Apocalypse / Military Science Fiction mash-up. This might be perfect pool-side reading over the summer. This one publishes nearly exactly a month (less 3 days) from book 1



To Captain Lee Harden, the mission to rescue his countrymen and rebuild the nation seems like a distant memory.




 
Wounded and weaponless, he has stumbled upon a group of survivors who may be his last hope. But a tragedy in the group causes a deep rift and forces him into action.

 
And in the chaos of a world overrun by infected, Lee is pursued by a new threat: someone who will stop at nothing to keep him from his sworn duty.

Tower Lord (Raven’s Shadow Book Two) by Anthony Ryan (Ace Hardcover 07/02/2013) – Second novel in Anthony’s series, the first of which was his debut Blood Song which blew me away last year. This is the final version of the ARC which arrived about a month ago. My reading plans are pretty tied up for the immediate future, but as soon as those are finalized, this will be one of the first books I jump into.

“The blood-song rose with an unexpected tune, a warm hum mingling recognition with an impression of safety. He had a sense it was welcoming him home.” 

Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer. The greatest warrior of his day, and witness to the greatest defeat of his nation: King Janus’s vision of a Greater Unified Realm drowned in the blood of brave men fighting for a cause Vaelin alone knows was forged from a lie. Sick at heart, he comes home, determined to kill no more. 

Named Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches by King Janus’s grateful heir, he can perhaps find peace in a colder, more remote land far from the intrigues of a troubled Realm. But those gifted with the blood-song are never destined to live a quiet life. Many died in King Janus’s wars, but many survived, and Vaelin is a target, not just for those seeking revenge but for those who know what he can do. 

The Faith has been sundered, and many have no doubt who their leader should be. The new King is weak, but his sister is strong. The blood-song is powerful, rich in warning and guidance in times of trouble, but is only a fraction of the power available to others who understand more of its mysteries. Something moves against the Realm, something that commands mighty forces, and Vaelin will find to his great regret that when faced with annihilation, even the most reluctant hand must eventually draw a sword.


Shattering the Ley (Erenthal #1) by Joshua Palmatier (DAW, Hardcover 07/01/2014) –A brand new series for Palmatier whose work I’ve read and enjoyed. This cover is really eye catchy (though the fonts could use a little work).


Erenthrall—sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day.

At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins.

When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron’s chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron’s guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined . . . and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall’s destruction — or its salvation.

Books (None) in the Mail (W/E 2014-05-31)

A slow week with no new arrivals over the past seven days. No complaints because I've got plenty to read and review for the near future (plus something else on the horizon to keep me reading).

All that said, here's another picture of Sully.