2018 Reading Year in Review

Been a few years since I did a reading year in review here at the Blog o’ Stuff, the most recent being 2015. For completeness sake, here are the previous years I’ve put up a reading year in review, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006. Much of my writing has been divided between about twice-per-month book reviews over at SFFWorld and one or two posts per week at my beer blog, The Tap Takeover. So, without further adieu, of the 80 or so books I read in 2018, below are those I enjoyed the most.

OK, back to the books. I’ll start with some stats as I do every year: I read 80 books in 2018.  In 2018, I posted 28 reviews to SFFWorld and 3 to The Tap Takeover.

Here are some stats:

• 34 2018/current year releases
• 43 can be considered Fantasy
• 24 can be considered Science Fiction
• 25 can be considered Horror
• 19 audiobooks
• 14 total debut
• 3 Non fiction

The first two (three if you consider slot #1 to be two books) on the list below are easily the top two reads of the year for me, the remainder can pretty easily swap places as they all were fantastic so I’m going alphabetical by author’s last name. Rather than a top 10 list of entries, like in year’s past, I went with 12. Because there are 12 months in the year.

The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal. 

I’m lumping these two together because they form a single story and were published in back to back months. These are the two of the best Science Fiction novels I read this year, and some of the best Science Fiction I’ve ever read.

A wonderful, seamless blend of character study, hard science fiction, and alternate history. In 1952, the space race is in its infancy and the world is changed, one may say shattered, when a meteor crashes into the ocean off the East Coast of the United States. Told from the first person point of view of Elma, Mary Robinette Kowal gives a personal, bird’s eye view of the global catastrophe and humanity’s efforts to survive. Elma and Nathaniel are directly involved in the salvation efforts; Elma was a WASP (the Women Airforce Service Pilots) in World War II who also happens to be a physics and mathematics genius. Her husband is no slouch either, Nathaniel is chosen to become the lead engineer in the space program.

I was completely absorbed and enthralled with Elma York, a character who immediately leapt to the uppermost reaches of favorite first-person narrators. She’s a hero, a person we can all look up to for the “faults” in her character and how forward-thinking she is. I almost think of her as Leslie Knope (from the great TV show Parks and Recreation) with Nathaniel as her Ben for their hopeful attitude as individuals and their complementary, supportive, and empowering relationship as husband and wife. Hell, if this wonderful novel ever makes it the screen, there’s your stars.

In The Calculating Stars, Kowal takes an exciting time in human history, shakes it up on a global scale, makes it more exciting, and on top of that, takes us on an extremely, intimate personal story. This is the type of Science Fiction we all need right now, such a wonderfully forward-thinking and smart novel told through the voice of an immediately classic protagonist.

The characterization is remarkable throughout. Nathaniel, Elma’s husband, isn’t in the novel as much as he was in The Calculating Stars. This is logical and understandable, Elma spends much of her time in space while Nathaniel is back on Earth. However, their relationship, through their coded letters, is still a highlight and a backbone of who Elma is. As I said in my review of The Calculating Stars, their marriage is probably one of the strongest, most realistic, most loving, and supportive relationships I’ve ever read in any novel.

Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch, and How Craft Beer Became Big Business by Josh Noel 

This book turned out to be the one I was most looking forward to reading and the one that absolutely delivered on the promise. I reviewed this over at my beer blog, here's an excerpt of the review:

As the title suggests, the book is quite evenly divided between “Barrel-Aged Stout,” which chronicles the rise of Goose Island and “Selling Out,” which chronicles Anheuser-Busch InBev’s purchase of the brewery. Soon after that purchase, AB InBev itself launched into a spending spree gobbling up regional craft/independent breweries that in hindsight, seems like a very calculated move, but at the time was a very jarring few years.

Candid, factual, gripping, emotional, educational, eye-opening, fascinating – all these things and more. Anybody who appreciates well-crafted beer will enjoy this book. Readers looking for a unique peek into how a multi-billion dollar conglomerate operates (regardless of your beer preferences) will be fascinated to see how an economic landscape can change in just a few short years.
Barrel Aged Stout and Selling Out is an un-put-downable book that tells a gripping story of perhaps the most important post-Prohibition handful years of Beer History in America. This is definitely a book that will remain within easy reach for reference and for re-reads.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

From my SFFWorld reviews (linked above):

Our protagonist, accomplished thief Sancia Grado, is hired to steal a highly-sought after box. She also receives instructions not to open this box but of course curiosity gets the better of her. When she opens the box, she sees a key. It doesn’t seem like much until she grabs it and it speaks to her. Literally. This key, whose name is Clef, connects with Sancia very strongly in large part because of the plate in her head that makes her a scrived human. That “modification” is also part of why she’s such a good thief, she is able to gain a fundamental, almost elemental understanding of anything she touches. Sancia had no choice in this “modification” so naturally seeks revenge against the larger powers that be who allowed this to happen. Those powers are the four houses, or “campos” that run everything in the Venetian inspired city of Tevanne.

Foundryside is a deft combination and weaving of story that was incredibly difficult to set aside. With heist and crime fiction elements that are reminiscent of Scorsese’s The Departed, mythic, fantastic world building that reminded me of both Brandon Sanderson and Rachel Aaron*, and characters that both shine on their own and echo some iconic characters (I found myself comparing Gregor to Batman in some scenes), Bennett has once again unleashed an imaginative epic that is a reading delight.

What Does this Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson

For those not in the know, Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer of legendary British Heavy Metal band, Iron Maiden. Maiden happens to be one of my 3 or 4 favorite bands so this was a delightful book to “read.” I consumed this via audio book, with Bruce Dickinson providing the narration, that seemed the best way to read it and I think I was correct. In addition to having a powerful singing voice, Bruce is a charming fellow. Through this autobiography, a little light is shed on Bruce’s early years, with much of the book focusing on his time in the limelight with Iron Maiden. A must read/listen for anybody who enjoys music biographies and especially Heavy Metal music.

Kings of the Wyld / Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames 

Sure, I’m grouping these two together, but I read them both this year and separated only by a few short months. From my two reviews (linked above): Heavy Metal/Hard Rock and Fantasy have long been intertwined, just look at some album covers from the 1970s and 1980s from bands like Iron Maiden, Manowar, or Ronnie James Dio (whose first band was called Elf) to more recent bands like Blind Guardian or Rhapsody. You’d think there’d be a novel like Kings of the Wyld years ago. You’d be wrong and sure a band of mercenaries and a world described in Rock/Heavy Metal metaphors is a neat hook, Eames has such great humor and storytelling chops that the novel rises above even that great idea.

Although Bloody Rose is set in the same world as Kings of the Wyld six years after the conclusion of the novel and features some of those characters (i.e. a major plotline in Kings of the Wyld was Gabe’s quest to save Rose), the novel can work on its own.

Eames’s tells his story in a very easy-going fashion which ultimately, exudes a great sense of fun. That said, Eames tackles some headier themes, of bad parents, PTSD, abuse, becoming a parent, and how responsibility can be smoothed over. Sure, he’s having a lot of fun with the story, but the story also has Some Things To Say.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

As most folks know, Mira Grant is a pen name for Seanan McGuire. I’ve become a convert to all of her fiction over the past year and this is a very strong, creepy, science-fueled novel. Mermaids are real in this novel, and a deep sea expedition is trying to find them. This novel is equal parts horror and science fiction and quite simply a powerful, wonderful novel. I consumed this one via audio book and that added to the creepiness. As much as we all know mermaids are likely not real, McGuire packs enough real-life science into so much of the plot that the mermaids might just be believable. Great characters and a wonderfully brisk pace make this a fantastic read. I’m cheating a bit on this one because it first published in November 2017, but I read the audio early in the year and the paperback published in May 2018.

Scourged by Kevin Hearne

This book is the finale in Hearne’s long(ish) running Iron Druid Chronicles series. 10 books in total (9 novels and a collection of short stories as well as randomly released short stories) over the course of about 8 years, I’ve found these books immensely enjoyable. Hearne does a wonderful job of throwing as many world mythologies into the stew of this series with Atticus O’Sullivan at the heart of the story, especially as he’s become the lynch-pin of the Norse Ragnarok. This one may have made me shed a tear or two, but not in ways I expected it to do so.

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

This was an absolute blast for me, especially given that my favorite genre of music is Heavy Metal. Over the course of a very short time, Grady Hendrix is becoming one of the preeminent horror writers.

In a brief amount of time, Grady’s become a leading voice in the horror genre and although I’ve only read one other novel (the outstanding My Best Friend's Exorcism) by him, it is clear to me he’s a writer with great skill and honesty in his fiction. In We Sold Our Souls Grady managed to combine two of my favorite things in the world with this novel: heavy metal music and horror fiction. To that combo, he added a phenomenal protagonist in Kris Pulaski, the lone woman in the band Dürt Würk and our primary P.O.V. character. Kris is at the bottom of her rope despite having a once moderately successful gig as the guitarist for 1980s Metal band Dürt Würk. That all changed when her one-time best friend and lead singer of Dürt Würk Terry Hunt broke away from the band on “Contract Night.” This was a night few can remember, but changed the fate of the band forever. Grady does a masterful job immersing the reader in the heavy metal world and playing with some dark elements like Black Iron Mountain, the driving force behind Terry’s new band Koffin.

Grady takes readers on a cross-country journey that never falters, never takes a guitar solo of a break and is a relentless novel. Highly, highly recommended. This novel as dark, cynical, fun, and a wonderfully paced vision quest.

October Daye by Seanan McGuire

For the series binge that brought me the most reading enjoyment, I have to go with this series. I traveled quite a bit in 2018 and what helped through many of those plane rides were books 2 through 7 of McGuire’s best known series. These are mysteries wrapped up in an urban fantasy setting that are wonderful page turners and a long-game of a character study on the eponymous Toby Daye. McGuire has a deft hand with character and an equally smart vision of world-building for a world that seems like our own, but is actually connected to the world of Fae.

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon.
I’ll subtitle this as my favorite re-read of 2018

McCammon was up there with King, Straub, and Koontz in 1980s horror and this is his biggest, most audacious novel. Often compared to King’s The Stand, I would argue Swan Song is a stronger novel. I’d been wanting to re-read this novel for years and finally sucked it up and read it via audio. I do love using just one credit for these big audio books, especially when as masterfully performed as this one was by Tom Stechschulte. Nuclear War/World War III happens and the remaining bits of humanity are scattered across the world. Some make it out of the war OK, but not many, and all are changed in some way. Either by their experiences, but trinkets they pick up, or scarred “Job’s masks” they grow. This is a powerful, dark, yet hopeful look at the end and how humanity might claw its way back to life.

Blackwater: The Complete Saga by Michael McDowell

I blame Grady Hendrix for this one, who featured the old paperbacks in his Paperbacks From Hell overview of the Horror Genre of the 1970s-1990s. Counter to that, I did this one via audio since audible had the 6 short books of the series as one volume masterfully narrated by Matt Godfrey. This masterful, gothic, familial saga traces the legacy of the Caskey family from the appearance of a strange women named Elinor Dammert during the disastrous flood that struck Perdido, Alabama in 1919. The Caskeys have long established their place in Perdido’s lumber tycoons. What unfolds is pure beauty and joyful reading experience. I’d love to see Guillermo del Toro focus his film-making lens on this gothic saga.

Speed of the Dark by Elizabeth Moon

Moon is a master storyteller, having written what is arguably a very definitive Military Fantasy series in The Deed of Paksenarrion as well as a finely crafted Military SF series, Vatta’s War. While those novels are very good, Moon turns to something a bit more grounded – Autism and a potential corrective/cure for it. Set “twenty minutes from now,” Moon tells the story of Lou Arrendale and wonderfully captures his voice and the struggles he deals with on a daily basis. A powerful novel that deservedly received the Nebula Award for Best Novel

Books in the Mail (W/E 2016-01-16)

Just two books this week, and books for which I'd already received copies.

Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Hardcover 01/26/2016) – I’ve enjoyed every installment of this series Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed, Tricked, and Hunted This is the hardcopy of the ARC I received in November.

Iron Druid Atticus O’Sullivan, hero of Kevin Hearne’s epic New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series, has a point to make—and then drive into a vampire’s heart.

When a Druid has lived for two thousand years like Atticus, he’s bound to run afoul of a few vampires. Make that legions of them. Even his former friend and legal counsel turned out to be a bloodsucking backstabber. Now the toothy troublemakers—led by power-mad pain-in-the-neck Theophilus—have become a huge problem requiring a solution. It’s time to make a stand.

As always, Atticus wouldn’t mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ornery archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll trouble: Turns out when you stiff a troll, it’s not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki’s mark and elude his powers of divination—a quest that will bring her face-to-face with several Slavic nightmares.

As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won’t come without a price: In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.

Praise for Kevin Hearne and The Iron Druid Chronicles

“[The Iron Druid books] are clever, fast paced and a good escape.”—Jason Weisberger, Boing Boing

“Celtic mythology and an ancient Druid with modern attitude mix it up in the Arizona desert in this witty new fantasy series.”—Kelly Meding, author of Chimera

“Outrageously fun.”—The Plain Dealer, on Hounded

“Superb . . . plenty of quips and zap-pow-bang fighting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Hounded

“Exciting . . . [Atticus] is one of the best main characters currently present in the urban fantasy genre.”—Fantasy Book Critic, on Tricked

“Funny, razor-sharp . . . plenty of action, humor, and mythology.”—Booklist (starred review), on Shattered

ALIVE (Generations Trilogy #1) by Scott Sigler (Del Rey Hardcover 02/02/2016) – I listened to Scott’s first podcast two novel Infected and Contagious and loved this when it published in hardcover last summer.

For fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising comes a gripping sci-fi adventure in which a group of teenagers wake up in a mysterious corridor with no knowledge of who they are or how they got trapped. Their only hope lies with an indomitable young woman who must lead them not only to answers but to survival.


“I open my eyes to darkness. Total darkness. I hear my own breathing, but nothing else. I lift my head . . . it thumps against something solid and unmoving. There is a board right in front of my face. No, not a board . . . a lid.”


A teenage girl awakens to find herself trapped in a coffin. She has no idea who she is, where she is, or how she got there. Fighting her way free brings little relief—she discovers only a room lined with caskets and a handful of equally mystified survivors. Beyond their room lies a corridor filled with bones and dust, but no people . . . and no answers.

She knows only one thing about herself—her name, M. Savage, which was engraved on the foot of her coffin—yet she finds herself in charge. She is not the biggest among them, or the boldest, but for some reason the others trust her. Now, if they’re to have any chance, she must get them to trust each other.


Whatever the truth is, she is determined to find it and confront it. If she has to lead, she will make sure they survive. Maybe there’s a way out, a rational explanation, and a fighting chance against the dangers to come. Or maybe a reality they cannot comprehend lies just beyond the next turn.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-11-07)

One of these will be my next read.

Ash and Silver (A Sanctuary Novel #2) by Carol Berg (Roc, Trade Paperback 12/01/2015) - Berg has been on my radar for a couple of years, even more so over the past couple of years. My friend Sarah Chorn, (has a blurb for book one in the front matter of this one!) raves about Berg, so maybe with the duology published, I’ll jump into them.

Navronne's brutal civil war has exposed corruption that could bring the once glorious kingdom to its knees, unless someone can be found to stop it. . .

Ever since the secretive Order of the Equites Cineré - the Knights of the Ashes - stole his memory, his name, and his heart, considering the past makes Greenshank's head ache. After two rigorous years of training he is ready to embrace the mission of the Order - to use selfless magic to heal Navronne's troubles. But on his first assignment, the past comes roaring back, threatening to drown him in conspiracy, grief, and murder. 

He is Lucian de Remeni - a sorcerer whose magical bents for portraiture and history threaten the safety of the earth and the future of the war-riven kingdom of Navronne. He just can't remember how or why. 

To untangle his missing past and a cryptic outsider’s plan for his future, Lucian must evade the brutal justice of elemental beings, solve a crime hidden in the depths of history, and locate a city beyond the boundaries of the human world . . .

Made to Kill by Adam Christopher (The L.A. Trilogy #1) - (Tor Hardcover 11/03/2015) – Christopher has a really impressive output and this one is a robot noir mystery. Sounds like it could be fun

It was just another Tuesday morning when she walked into the office--young, as I suspected they all might be, another dark brunette with some assistance and enough eye black to match up to Cleopatra. And who am I? I'm Ray, the world's last robot, famed and feared in equal measure, which suits me just fine--after all, the last place you'd expect to find Hollywood's best hit man is in the plain light of day.

Raymond Electromatic is good at his job, as good as he ever was at being a true Private Investigator, the lone employee of the Electromatic Detective Agency--except for Ada, office gal and super-computer, the constant voice in Ray's inner ear. Ray might have taken up a new line of work, but money is money, after all, and he was programmed to make a profit. Besides, with his twenty-four-hour memory-tape limits, he sure can keep a secret.

When a familiar-looking woman arrives at the agency wanting to hire Ray to find a missing movie star, he's inclined to tell her to take a hike. But she had the cold hard cash, a demand for total anonymity, and tendency to vanish on her own.

Plunged into a glittering world of fame, fortune, and secrecy, Ray uncovers a sinister plot that goes much deeper than the silver screen--and this robot is at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Made to Kill is the thrilling new speculative noir from novelist and comic writer Adam Christopher

Black Wolves by Kate Elliott (Orbit Books Trade Paperback 11/03/2015) – This one has been on my radar for quite some time as I’ve been reacquainting myself with Elliott’s fiction.

An exiled captain returns to help the son of the king who died under his protection in this rich and multi-layered first book in an action-packed new series. 

Twenty two years have passed since Kellas, once Captain of the legendary Black Wolves, lost his King and with him his honor. With the King murdered and the Black Wolves disbanded, Kellas lives as an exile far from the palace he once guarded with his life. 

Until Marshal Dannarah, sister to the dead King, comes to him with a plea-rejoin the palace guard and save her nephew, King Jehosh, before he meets his father's fate. 

Combining the best of Shogun and Marco Polo, Black Wolves is an unmissable treat for epic fantasy lovers everywhere.

Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Mass Market Paperback 01/26/2016) – I’ve enjoyed every installment of this series Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed, Tricked, and Hunted

Iron Druid Atticus O’Sullivan, hero of Kevin Hearne’s epic New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series, has a point to make—and then drive into a vampire’s heart.

When a Druid has lived for two thousand years like Atticus, he’s bound to run afoul of a few vampires. Make that legions of them. Even his former friend and legal counsel turned out to be a bloodsucking backstabber. Now the toothy troublemakers—led by power-mad pain-in-the-neck Theophilus—have become a huge problem requiring a solution. It’s time to make a stand.

As always, Atticus wouldn’t mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ornery archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll trouble: Turns out when you stiff a troll, it’s not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki’s mark and elude his powers of divination—a quest that will bring her face-to-face with several Slavic nightmares.

As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won’t come without a price: In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.

Praise for Kevin Hearne and The Iron Druid Chronicles

“[The Iron Druid books] are clever, fast paced and a good escape.”—Jason Weisberger, Boing Boing

“Celtic mythology and an ancient Druid with modern attitude mix it up in the Arizona desert in this witty new fantasy series.”—Kelly Meding, author of Chimera

“Outrageously fun.”—The Plain Dealer, on Hounded

“Superb . . . plenty of quips and zap-pow-bang fighting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Hounded

“Exciting . . . [Atticus] is one of the best main characters currently present in the urban fantasy genre.”—Fantasy Book Critic, on Tricked

“Funny, razor-sharp . . . plenty of action, humor, and mythology.”—Booklist (starred review), on Shattered

Snapshot Reviews: Sigler, Hearne, Aaron & Walton

This is a quick burns review of some books I read over the past couple of months.

First up is Scott Sigler’s Infected, one of the first “podcast novels” and a book that helped to make Sigler a hot commodity in the genre. I recall a couple of posts on Jeff VanderMeer’s blog (here and here about Infected when the book was published in hardcover. I listened to this one as it was available for free on iTunes. The story combines elements of military thriller and alien invasion for a very fun and engaging story. Sigler himself performs the audio for the story and gives each of the characters a distinct voice (though it is pretty easy to tell that Sigler is all the voices). The main players here are CDC scientist Margaret Montoya, CIA operative Dew Philips, Dew’s boss CIA Deputy Director Murray Longworth, who track down the source of strange, disturbing and violent deaths and Perry Dawsey, former college football star and our main point of view of an infected person. I haven’t “read” too many audio books but I think I’m going to change that. Well, I’ll at least continue the series with Contagious, the sequel to this one since it is free and on my iPod. (I even mentioned Scott's forthcoming novel Alive on a recent On My Radar post for SF Signal.)

I also recently finished Kevin Hearne’s second to most recent Iron Druid Novel, Hunted (published in 2013). It has been a couple of years (Trapped in 2012) since I followed along with Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon and tagging along on their journey reminded me how much fun these books are. In this one, not only is Atticus being pursued by two of the hunt goddesses (Artemis and Diana), Loki is looking for him, in the hopes of kickstarting Ragnarok. On more than one occasion I was laughing out loud at something in the story and my wife, ensconced in her own thing, turned to ask why I was laughing. Along the way, Atticus is blind-sided, has several conversations with Odin, pals up again with the Perun, the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, and says goodbye an old friend.

I've got the next book on Mount Toberead, I don't think I'll wait as long to read it as I did between reading Hunted and and Shattered, the next book and the Kevin's "promotion" to Hardcover.

I also breezed through Rachel Aaron’s writing book 2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Better, and Writing More of What You Love. I am looking forward to starting the next book I’m going to write after coming away from Rachel’s book with some excellent things to incorporate into my writing process (such as it is). I've seen Kameron Hurley, Patrick Hester and other writers give this book a shout-out at least once a week on twitter. There are some great ways to approach writing in this book. 

Rachel’s written some really fun and entertaining novels so I think taking some writing advice from her seems a pretty logical thing to do.

I’ll finish with The Just City by Jo Walton, a book that was anticipated by a great many readers including myself. I thoroughly enjoyed Among Others and thought the concept of this one was interesting: people plucked out of time by the Greek Gods to form a new society set apart from the world. There’s a slight similarity to the classic Philip Jose Farmer novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go in concept. Unfortunately, I had to slap a DNF stamp on The Just City. I felt no urgency in the plot or from the characters and felt a bit bored by the whole thing and quit just before finishing the first third of the novel because nothing grabbed me.

I think I'm the odd one on this one because I've seem very good reviews on the book from people whose reading tastes often align with mine, like Sarah Chorn and Stefan Raets.

SFFWorld Review & Interview Round up: Micahel J. Sullivan, David J. Peterson, Heinlein and Hearne

Here's a gathering of recent reviews and interviews that we've  have posted to SFFWorld over the past few weeks. Recent interviews include:

David J. Peterson, who created the languages of Dothraki and Valyrian for Game of Thrones

SF Said author of Phoenix.

Most recently, I reviewed Michael J. Sullivan's The Crown Tower (Volume 1 of The Riyra Chronicles.  I found this to be a successful prequel to his Riyria Revelations: 

Hadrian Blackwater is a former soldier and arena fighter wandering the world, looking for purpose. Hadrian is on his way to meet with his father’s old acquaintance at Sheridan University, when a young boy known only as Pickles encourages Hadrian to board a boat. Along the way, several people are killed on the boat, almost including Hadrian himself. When Hadrian finally arrives at the university he discovers his father father’s old acquaintance is Arcadius, the Professor of Lore at Sheridan University. What’s more surprising is that the mysterious hooded man whom he suspected of killing the people on his boat is waiting in Arcadius’s office. The man, of course, is Royce Melborn whom Hadrian’s father’s friend pair up and assign a mission of stealth – to steal a book from the Crown Tower.

Running parallel to Hadrian’s storyline is that of Gwen DeLancy, the “hooker with aheart of gold.” [WARNING: Clicking that link will send you to the rabbit hole known as TVTropes] As much as The Crown Tower is an origin of sorts for the Riyria (Hadrian more so than Royce), Sullivan devotes nearly as much narrative to Gwen’s story. Here, Sullivan gave the novel its truest villains in the drunk, violent customer Stane and Gwen’s boss, Raynor Grue. When Stane kills a prostitute in The Hideous Head Tavern and Alehouse (Grue’s establishment) and gets away with it, Gwen decides she needs to leave Grue’s employ to start her own brothel, Medford House.

Mark's re-read of Heinlein's classic novels as part of the Virginia Edition. The latest is for Farmer in the Sky:

There’s some nice links to some of the earlier novels and stories. The Space Patrol (see Space Cadet) is mentioned, as too the song The Hills of Green Earth and its blind composer Rhysling. Colonies on Mars and Venus, briefly mentioned, relate to Heinlein’s other tales. Heinlein was clearly starting to make his stories of the future interrelate. He even introduces the idea that there has been in the past a space-faring race that has left their mark in space.

So, what does Heinlein bring to the table that is new this time around?

The first shock is that the first part is written from the point of view of Bill. After the previous books were traditional second-person perspective, this is a bolder stylistic move, and one that creates a more personal standpoint. The second shock is that from the start the book does not read positively. This is a surprise, as the juveniles were stories written predominantly for boys and meant to highlight the virtues of the Scouts, and yet from the beginning this is not the positive characteristics you expect from a Scout. On the first page Bill has to deal with a trainee Scout who he calls a twerp from the outset. There is an argument between Bill and his widowed father George over George’s decision to embark on the Mayflower. The world around them is clearly not good, with food rationing in place and rations often cut, George going without meals to ensure that their nutrition intake is sufficient.

Last week, I reviewed the fifth installment of Kevin Hearne's entertaining Iron Druid Chronicles, Trapped:

Five books deep into a series that appears as if it can go at least double that number provides a writer with a certain level of comfort, as it can for the readers of that series. After all, that’s part of why readers return to successful series and why authors continue to write them. On the other hand, progression and stagnation can enter as the series progresses. Not so with Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, each book builds on the predecessor and most importantly no action Atticus or any other character takes is without consequences. Atticus killed possibly the most recognizable Norse god and two books later, the ramifications of that action (and Atticus’s actions in early novels) and the events surrounding it are plaguing the last Druid. In short, Hearne continues to admirably walk the fine line between safety/comfort and progression/consequences.

An element that’s always been an undercurrent of these novels is Hearne’s reverence for storytelling.  Whether in the backstory of Atticus or the short mythic stories other characters tell to Atticus (the stories Väinämöinen’s told in Hammered, the ‘truth’ about the Svartálfar Norse dark elves revealed here in Trapped), the past always ties into current events and provides powerful, resonant, and layered storytelling. Again, the idea of consequences as a powerful theme in these novels becomes more apparent.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2013-06-01)

Just one book this week and it is an electronic ARC...no complaints because it isn't a bad thing if Mount Toberead doesn't grow for one week.

Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles #6) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Mass Market Paperback 11/27/2012) – This is one of my more highly anticipated 2012 releases, not only because my review of Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed. I thought Tricked was good even if it felt a bit like a placeholder. I still have #5 Trapped on Mount Toberead so now seems as good a time as any to catch up with the series. That little blurb on the cover and below happens to be from one of my reviews of one of the books.

“It may be possible that Hearne and Atticus are the logical heir to Butcher and Dresden.”―SFFWorld

For a two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt—Artemis and Diana—for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound Oberon are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is . . . run like hell.

Crashing the pantheon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok—AKA the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living—and still have a world to live in.

Don’t miss Kevin Hearne’s novella “Two Ravens and One Crow” in the back of the book.

“An exciting mix of comedy, action, and mythology . . . [Atticus] is one of the best main characters currently present in the urban fantasy genre.”—Fantasy Book Critic, on Tricked

“Superb . . . eminently readable . . . plenty of quips and zap-pow-bang fighting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Hounded

Books in the Mail (W/E 2012-11-10)

It looks as if the publishers made up for no books last week with a big batch this week. The three authors for whom I’ve received the most books over the past few years had books arrive on my doorstep this week,.

The Red Knight (Book 1 of The Traitor Son Cycle #1) by Miles Cameron (Orbit (Hardcover 01/22/2013) – This one’s getting quite a bit of pre-publication buzz. This seems to be RIGHT up my alley.

Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.

Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.

It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.

The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.

Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . .


The Creative Fire (Book one of Ruby’s Song by Brenda Cooper (Pyr Trade Paperback 11/06/2012) – Cooper launches a new series with Pyr, this one looks quite interesting.

Nothing can match the power of a single voice. . . .

Ruby Martin expects to spend her days repairing robots while avoiding the dangerous peacekeeping forces that roam the corridors of the generation ship the Creative Fire. The social structure of the ship is rigidly divided, with Ruby and her friends on the bottom. Then a ship-wide accident gives Ruby a chance to fight for the freedom she craves. Her enemies are numerous, well armed, and knowledgeable. Her weapons are a fabulous voice, a quick mind, and a deep stubbornness. Complicating it all—an unreliable AI and an enigmatic man she met—and kissed—exactly once—who may hold the key to her success. If Ruby can't transform from a rebellious teen to the leader of a revolution, she and all her friends will lose all say in their future.

Like the historical Evita Peron, Ruby rises from the dregs of society to hold incredible popularity and power. Her story is about love and lust and need and a thirst for knowledge and influence so deep that it burns.

Andromeda’s Fall by William C. Dietz (Ace Hardcover 12/04/2012) – First in precursor series to Dietz’s popular Legion of the Damned Military SF series.

The roots of the Legion of the Damned lie deep within the mythology of the future. But now, national bestselling author William C. Dietz goes back to the Legion’s early days with the story of one recruit’s rebirth and redemption…

Hundreds of years in the future, much has changed. Advances in medicine, technology, and science abound. Humanity has gone to the stars, found alien life, and established an empire.

But some things never change...

All her life, Lady Catherine Carletto (called Cat) has lived for nothing but the next party, the next lover, the next expensive toy. Until, in a bloodthirsty power grab, Imperial Princess Ophelia and her cadre of synth assassins murder her brother the emperor, and go on to purge the galaxy of his friends and supporters—including Cat’s family. The Carlettos are known to be staunch supporters of the Emperor and Carletto Industries has been in the forefront of his pet project—developing cybernetic technology for use by the masses.

Now Cat, one of the last surviving Carlettos, is on the run. And, like countless others before her, she finds her sanctuary among the most dangerous of society’s misfits.

Welcome to the Legion.

Cat Carletto vanishes, and in her place stands Legion recruit Andromeda McKee. A woman with a mission—to bring down Empress Ophelia—or die trying.


The Sum of Her Parts (Tipping Point Trilogy #3) by Alan Dean Foster (Del Rey 11/27/2012) – Third in the series which began with The Human Blend.

In this thrilling science fiction adventure—the triumphant conclusion to the Tipping Point trilogy—New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster returns to a near future in which genetic manipulation and extreme body modification have changed profoundly what it means to be human.

Dr. Ingrid Seastrom was once a respected American physician. Whispr, whose body has been transformed to preternatural thinness, was once a streetwise thief. Now, in a world on the edge of catastrophe from centuries of environmental exploitation, they are allies—thrust together by fate to unravel an impossible mystery—even as they are stalked by a relentless killer.

Ingrid and Whispr are hunted fugitives bound together by a thread: a data-storage thread made of a material that cannot exist, yet somehow does. Their quest to learn its secrets—and, in Whispr’s case, sell them to the highest bidder—has brought them to South Africa’s treacherous Namib desert. Beyond its dangers waits a heavily guarded research facility that promises answers, if they can survive long enough to get there. But that won’t be easy, not with Napun Molé on their trail. They’ve already escaped the assassin twice, and as far as Molé is concerned, finishing them off isn’t just a job anymore . . . it’s personal.


Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles #5) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Mass Market Paperback 11/27/2012) – This is one of my more highly anticipated 2012 releases, not only because my review of Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed. I thought Tricked was good even if it felt a bit like a placeholder.

After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.
Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.




Alien vs Alien (Kitty Kat: Alien Super-Being Exterminator Book 6) by Gini Koch (DAW Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – Koch’s writing speed is very impressive, this is the sixth book in the series (and second this year) since it launched in 2010.

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries.








Elemental Magic: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey (DAW Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – Lackey opens up another of her popular secondary worlds to other writers.

This collection of all-new stories revisits Mercedes Lackey's universe in which the powerful Lord Alderscroft and his fellow Masters monitor the magical doings in their realm, and find, guide, protect and train all those in the British Isles who have the ability to control the elements. Original.







Crossed Blade (Crossed Blade #2) by Kelly McCullough (AceMass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) –Third in a series which began last year, and second published this calendar year so McCullough seems to be a quick writer.


For six years, former temple assassin Aral Kingslayer has been living as a jack of the shadow trades, picking up odd jobs on the wrong side of the law. But the past is never dead, and Aral’s has finally caught up to him in the beautiful, dangerous form of Jax Seldansbane—a fellow Blade and Aral’s onetime fiancée.

Jax claims that the forces that destroyed everything Aral once held dear are on the move again, and she needs his help to stop them. But Aral has a new life now, with a fresh identity and new responsibilities. And while he isn’t keen on letting the past back in, the former assassin soon finds himself involved in a war that will leave him with no way out and no idea who to trust…


Iced by Karen Marie Moning (Dellacorte Press Hardcover 10/30/2012) – A new series from the popular Moning, though this one seems as if it is connected to her previous work, the Fever Series.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules — and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the few humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.
Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks — and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin — before everything and everyone in it gets iced.


Mecha Rouge (A Novel of the Armor Wars) by Brett Patton and (Roc, Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – A year later and the sequel to Patton’s first novel in this future Military SF series hits shelves. Say one thing for the folks at the Penguin imprints…they keep most of their authors on a pretty good schedule.

When you don’t know which side to trust, go rogue.

Matt Lowell is the hottest new recruit in the Universal Union’s select group of pilots. Their job—control the supremely powerful biochemical robotic avatars known as Mecha. Now, the Prime of Universal Union herself has offered him an unprecedented opportunity: return to Earth to train a new elite force for a covert mission that’s imperative to the future of the Union.

When he and his team embark on their mission—on a border world that may be a target for the anarchical Corsairs—Matt finds that everything is not as it seems. The world is home to a dark secret that underlies the very foundation of the Union itself, and suddenly Matt doesn’t know which side he and his mighty Mecha should be fighting for—or against.


< Supervolcano: All Fall Down by Harry Turtledove (Roc Hardcover 12/04/2012) – Here is book #43 by Turtledove I’ve received over the past few years.

In Supervolcano: Eruption, one of nature’s most destructive forces released its ferocity on an unsuspecting world. Now,New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove reveals how the survivors of the disaster adapt to their new environment…
In the aftermath of the supervolcano’s eruption in Yellowstone Park, North America is covered in ash. Farmlands cannot produce food. Machinery has been rendered useless. Cities are no longer habitable. And the climate across the globe grows colder every day.

Former police officer Colin Ferguson’s family is spread across the United States, separated by the catastrophe, and struggling to survive as the nation attempts to recover and reestablish some measure of civilization… .

Uglies: Cutters by Scott Westerfeld (W), Devin Grayson (W), and Steven Cummings (A) (Del Rey 12/042012) – Second graphic novel installment in Westerfeld’s extremely popular near future SF saga

Experience the riveting, dystopian Uglies series seen as never before—through the eyes of Shay, Tally Youngblood’s closest and bravest friend, who refuses to take anything about society at face value.

“From the moment we are born, we are considered threats in need of ‘special’ management. We are watched and shaped and exploited by a force most of us never see. . . . All to keep us safe. . . . Do you feel safe?! Or do you feel like you’re in a cage?”—Shay

In Pretties, Tally Youngblood and her daring best friend, Shay, both underwent the operation that turned them from ordinary Uglies into stunning beauties. Now this thrilling new graphic novel reveals Shay’s perspective on living in New Pretty Town . . . and the way she sees it, there’s more to this so-called paradise than meets the eye.

With the endless parties and custom-made clothes, life as a Pretty should be perfect. Yet Shay doesn’t feel quite right. She has little to no memory of her past; it’s as if something in her brain has inexplicably changed. When she reunites with Tally and the Crims—her rebellious group of friends from Uglyville—she begins to recall their last departure to the wild, and the headstrong leader she used to be. And as she remembers the truth about what doomed their escape, Shay decides to fight back—against the status quo, against the mysterious Special Circumstances, even against her own best friend.

The Kings Blood and Tricked Reviewed at SFFWorld

Mark returns to the weekly Tuesday reviews-at-SFFWorld post, joining me in his usual spot.

You folks know the drill by now, I give a bit about each book, insert the cover image and link to the review.

Mark reviewed one of the most anticipated fantasy releases of the yea, The King’s Blood, the second novel in Daniel Abraham’s The Dagger and The Coin sequence:

 

After the set up of Book One, things here start to move into new positions. The Apostate is revealed (if it wasn’t already known) as a major character from Book One. Captain Marcus Wester is now at work in his new job, working with his friend Yardem Hane for Magistra Cithrin bel Sarcour and the Medean Bank in Porte Oliva. Cithrin herself is struggling with the restrictions she agreed to in order to keep her position in the Bank in Book One, now working under Pyk Usterhall, a stern notary from the Bank to ensure her transactions are in the traditions of the Medean.

…

Like an expert chess match, key pieces start to move into place this time around. Some of the actions the characters take are interesting and not what might be expected. The characters themselves become much more developed this time around. We learn more of Wester’s and Cithrin’s past, and we start to get more details of the dragons of the past. Geder in particular is, by turns, thoughtful, scholarly and violent as he reluctantly adjusts to his new position. Throughout the book there’s some life-changing decisions made, life-altering consequences and some major betrayals.

Kevin Hearne burst onto the scene last year with the first three installments of The Iron Druid Chronicles in successive months. The latest installment, Tricked, published in April and my review for it went up at SFFWorld today:

Once Atticus gets on with his new life, it isn’t long before the Native American trickster deity Coyote comes calling on the favor Atticus owes him for ‘killing’ him. It isn’t anything big for our favorite Druid, he just convince the Colorado earth elemental to make a gold mine for Coyote’s people. Of course more complications ensue over the course of the novel as a pair of skinwalkers, some of the nastier monsters of Coyote’s people. Atticus came to the attention of these skinwalkers thanks to Hel, the Norse god of the underworld and Loki’s offspring. Clearly, Atticus and company have their hands quite full.
…

While I breezed through the first three installments of The Iron Druid Chronicles, I felt the pacing was not as well balanced here in Tricked. There’s almost…just almost a sense that Hearne was trying to cover too many plot points in the novel. On the other hand, for a 350 page novel, the fact that he packed so much into so few pages was pretty impressive.

Tricked might even serve as a decent entry point for new readers since Atticus and his crew are indeed starting over after their ‘deaths.’ I get a sense that Hearne has big things in plan for Atticus and Tricked might just be an intake of breath compared to what is facing our Druid power trio down the road.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2012-04-07)

This is one of the largest batches of arrivals at the 'o Stuff household in quite some time. Lots from Black Library the mass markets for late April/Early May from Del Rey, the monthly (May 2012) Mass Markets from DAW, the May 2012 releases from Ace and an upcoming red little dandy from Orbit.


Prospero Burns (Audio) (Horus Heresy) by Dan Abnett and read by Martyn Eliis (Black Library, Abridged CD 04/10/2012) – Two Horus Audio adaptations this week. The BL folks are bouncing around the series not putting these things out in the same order in which the books were publisherd.

The Emperor is enraged. Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion has made a terrible mistake that endangers the very safety of Terra. With no other choice, the Emperor charges Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, with the apprehension of his brother from the Thousand Sons home world of Prospero. This planet of sorcerers will not be easy to overcome, but Russ and his Space Wolves are not easily deterred. With wrath in his heart, Russ is determined to bring Magnus to justice and bring about the fall of Prospero.

Invincible (The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier #2) by Jack Campbell (Ace Hardcover 05/01/2011) – I read the first installment of this sequels series The Lost Fleet: Dreadnaught about a year ago when it first published and enjoyed it. So, when the opportunity arose for me to write and participate in Military Science Fiction on Tor.com I jumped at the chance to contribute an appreciation for The Lost Fleet: Dauntless. In other words, I’ll be reading this one, which arrived almost exactly a year after the previous volume and as I was reading his earlier work on the Hemry name Stark’s War.

Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary earned his rank after being revived from cryogenic sleep to lead the Alliance to victory against the Syndicate Worlds. But his superiors question his loyalty to the regime. Now in command of the First Fleet, Geary is tasked with exploring the frontier beyond Syndic space, a mission he fears deliberately puts the fleet--and himself--in harm's way. An encounter with the alien enigmas confirms Geary's fears. Attacked without warning, he orders the fleet to jump star systems--only to enter the crosshairs of another hostile alien armada. Ignoring all of the First Fleet's attempts to communicate peaceful intentions, this system's species sends its ships into battle on suicide runs while it guards the exiting jump point with a fortress of incalculable power. Now, with a faction of his officers determined to eliminate this new threat at any cost, Geary must figure out how to breach the enemy's defenses so the fleet can reach the jump point without massive casualties--even though the enigmas could be waiting on the other side.

Battleship by Peter David (Del Rey Mass Market Paperback 04/24/2012 ) – Peter David is THE go-to guy for film novelizations. Not sure what to think of a movie based off of a board game, but this film does have Liam Neeson.

YOU SANK THE WRONG BATTLESHIP

During a routine naval drill at Pearl Harbor, American forces detect a ship of unknown origins that’s crashed in the Pacific Ocean. Lieutenant Alex Hopper, an officer aboard the USS John Paul Jones, is ordered to investigate the ominous-looking vessel—which turns out to be part of an armada of ships that are stronger and faster than any on Earth. And that’s when the Navy’s radar goes down. Ambushed by a ravenous enemy they cannot see, a small U.S. fleet makes their last stand on the open ocean, armed with little more than their instincts, to defend their lives—and the world as we know it.

The official novel of the blockbuster film!
Based on the screenplay by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber


The Emperor’s Gift by Aaron Dembski-Boween (Black Library, Hardcover 06/07/2012) –Dembski-Bowden seems to have a book a month publishing with Black Library and the good thing about that is this – his WH fiction is well regarded. This is seemingly the launch of a new series and odd thing about the hardcover, it doesn’t have a dust jacket.


The Grey Knights are all that stands between mankind and the ravages of Chaos. Since their secretive beginnings during the Horus Heresy, these legendary Space Marine daemon hunters have journeyed into the dark realms of the warp – and beyond – in pursuit of their supernatural enemies. Through an intensive regime of psychic training, new recruits are brought to the clandestine fortress of Titan to join the hallowed and vaunted ranks of the 666th Chapter. More than ever, these legendary battle-brothers must be vigilant and ever ready to defend the Imperium for the forces of Chaos are never truly defeated, and Armageddon beckons…


(Star Wars: Scourge by Jeff Grubb (Del Rey Mass Market Paperback 04/24/2012 ) – Grubb has done A LOT of work for Wizards of the Coast/Dungeons and Dragons, I think this is his first Star Wars novel

In the heart of crime-ridden Hutt Space, a Jedi Scholar searches for justice.

While trying to obtain the coordinates of a secret, peril-packed, but potentially beneficial trade route, a novice Jedi is killed—and the motive for his murder remains shrouded in mystery. Now his former Master, Jedi archivist Mander Zuma, wants answers, even as he fights to erase doubts about his own abilities as a Jedi. What Mander gets is immersion into the perilous underworld of the Hutts as he struggles to stay one step ahead in a game of smugglers, killers, and crime lords bent on total control.


Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles #4) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Mass Market Paperback 04/24/2012) – This is one of my more highly anticipated 2012 releases, not only because my review of Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed.

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Life Guard in the Hamptons (Willow Tate #4) by Celia Jerome (DAW Mass Market Paperback 05/07/2012 ) – The continuing the adventures of Jerome’s artist who can bring things from Faerie into the real world.

SOMETHING'S FOUL IN PAUMANOK HARBOR.

Graphic novelist Willow Tate has never wanted supernatural powers. But if you're from the little Long Island town of Paumanok Harbor you don't always have a choice. Still, she's managed to survive a giant red troll, night mare horses, and fire-setting bugs. This time it's a creature from Unity who needs her help. And it doesn't hurt that handsome veterinarian Matt Spenser is ready and willing to assist Willow in her efforts...

God Save the Queen (Immortal Empire #1) by Kate Locke (Orbit Hardcover 07/03/2012) – Locke is a pseudonym for Kate Cross, and with this novel, she seemingly takes a page out of Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula and launches a new pan-name and alternate history / urban fantasy / Steampunk / vampire saga.

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.
Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Spectra, Mass Market Paperback 04/24/2012) – With the MASSIVE popularity of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones Bantam is re-releasing GRRM’s backlist in mass market. Some consider this book to be his best.

A THRILLING REINVENTION OF THE VAMPIRE NOVEL BY THE MASTER OF MODERN FANTASY, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Abner Marsh, a struggling riverboat captain, suspects that something’s amiss when he is approached by a wealthy aristocrat with a lucrative offer. The hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet; nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York’s reasons for traversing the powerful Mississippi are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious York’s actions may prove. Not until the maiden voyage of Fevre Dream does Marsh realize that he has joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare—and humankind’s most impossible dream.

Eye of Vengeance (Space Marines) by Graham McNeill, Narrated by Sean Barrett, performed by Rupert Degas and Saul Reichlin (Black Library, Abridged CD 05/10/2012) –One of the growing library of audio dramas BL is releasing, focusing on McNeill’s popular Space Marines.

When the twisted Dark Mechanicus priests of the Bloodborn descend upon Quintarn, the Ultramarines are quick to move in defence of their prized agri-world. However, it soon becomes apparent that the planet’s fate will not be decided by the massed battle companies of the Space Marines, but by the actions of just one lowly sergeant – Torias Telion. A master marksman and Scout with a long history of service to the Chapter, Telion must now face the worst of the Bloodborn’s technological terrors and secure the city of Idrisia from the enemy advance, if the Ultramarines are to have any hope of prevailing against an enemy whose numbers swell with every victory.


A Thousand Sons (Audio) (Horus Heresy) by Graham McNeill and read by Martyn Ellis (Black Library, Abridged CD 4/10/2012) –These audio versions are a lot of fun, as my reviews for Horus Rising and False Gods might suggest. The folks at BL jumped a few volumes in the saga but this tale takes place around the time of the second book, so it makes chronological sense

Censured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their homeworld of Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret. But when the ill-fated primarch forsees the treachery of Warmaster Horus and warns the Emperor with the very powers he was forbidden to use, the Master of Mankind dispatches fellow primarch Leman Russ to attack Prospero itself. But Magnus has seen more than the betrayal of Horus and the witnessed revelations will change the fate of his fallen Legion, and its primarch, forever.

A Thousand Sons is the story of Primarch Magnus the Red and the Thousand Sons Legion of Space Marines, mainly taking place before the Heresy starts. Following a reprimand by the Emperor for dabbling in sorcery, Magnus and his Legion secretly continue to study the forbidden subjects. Around the time of Horus' corruption (Book 2), Magnus learns through sorcery of his brother's impending betrayal. He tries – again through sorcery – to warn the Emperor, believing that the gravity of the news would justify his disobedience. However, Magnus overreaches with his powers and damages the vital and secret project the Emperor was undertaking (Book 1), endangering the safety of Terra itself in the process. The Emperor is enraged and orders Primarch Leman Russ and his Space Wolves Legion, accompanied by other Imperial forces, to Prospero, the Thousand Sons Legion's home world. They are to bring Magnus and his Legion to Terra to account for themselves

Chicory Up (The Pixie Chronicles #2) by Irene Radford (DAW Mass Market Paperback 5/7/2012) – This series continues with the spice and herb flavored titles about a girl with pixie friends from Oregon.

Halloween approaches and the town of Skene Falls is gearing up for one of its most important fund-raising festivals. The best part of the soggy scarecrows, witch hats, and fake cobwebs strewn about town will be the haunted maze inside the beloved Ten Acre Wood.

But Haywood Wheaton has escaped from jail and mutated into an insane half-Pixie, half-Faerie with a vengeance. He’s leading bands of enthralled dandelion Pixies and attacking humans as well as other Pixies. Will his poison dipped hawthorn spike swords and his fascination with fire destroy the entire festival before it gets started?

Once again Thistle Down gathers her friends, both Pixie and human, to save the town. But it may send her back to Pixie forever and end the deep love between her and Dick.

POD by Stephen Wallenfels (Ace Mass Market Paperback 04/24/2012) – This is an alien invasion story, and quite frankly, we haven’t had quite as many of them lately. From the little I gathered on the intarwebs, it looks like Mr. Wallenfels published an earlier version of this novel with a small press. .

Surviving a massive alien siege is one thing-­surviving humanity is another.

I'm all cried out. I'm still alone. The sky is full of giant spinning black balls that kill anyone stupid enough to go outside. I've only been out of the car twice-once to pee and once to look at the sky. That one look was enough for me. Now I sit alone in the car, staring out the window like a rat in a cage. But I don't have anyone to look at. The parking garage is empty, except for twisted-up cars, broken glass, and the smell of leaking gasoline.

POD is the story of a global cataclysmic event, told from the viewpoints of Megs, a twelve-year-old streetwise girl trapped in a hotel parking garage in Los Angeles; and sixteen-year-old Josh, who is stuck in a house in Prosser, Washington, with his increasingly obsessive-compulsive father. Food and water and time are running out. Will Megs survive long enough to find her mother? Will Josh and his father survive each other?

Shadow Raiders (The Dragon Brigade #1) by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes (DAW, Mass Market Paperback 05/07/2012) – That Margaret Weis sure likes writing about dragons, this is the first in a ‘swashbuckling’ series with a new co-author..

Lord Captain Stephano de Guichen, formerly of the Dragon Brigade, and his disparate group of friends who call themselves the Cadre of the Lost, are hired by the powerful Countess de Marjolaine, to find a Royal Armory journeyman who has mysteriously vanished, along with an invention that could revolutionize warfare. The Countess fears the invention may fall into the hands of their enemies. Always in need of money, Stephano and his friends undertake what they think is an easy job, only to discover they are being dogged by spies and targeted by assassins.

Meanwhile, Father Jacob Northrop, a priest of the feared Arcanum, and his Knight Protector, Sir Ander Martel, are dispatched to investigate the massacre of a hundred nuns at the Abbey of Saint Agnes. A lone survivor claims the nuns were attacked by demons from Hell.

Stephano and his friends take to the skies in their airship, the Cloud Hopper, still on the trail of the journeyman. Their route takes them near the Abbey of Saint Agnes. As they draw near, the Cloud Hopper comes under attack by what appear to be demons riding giant bats. Stephano teams with Father Jacob and Sir Ander and a dragon from his old brigade to fight the hellish forces.

After the battle, one question is on everyone's mind: Are these truly demons sent by the Evil One? Is this the Apocalypse?

As Father Jacob searches the Abbey to find the answer, he uncovers a startling secret that nearly gets him and Sir Ander killed. Stephano's search for the journeyman almost ends in disaster, as he and his friends encounter the deadly Freyan assassin, Sir Henry Wallace.
Schemes and tricks, lies and intrigues culminate in an exciting chase through the skies that comes to a shocking end, when friends and foes alike are caught up in the unexpected and terrifying conclusion.