Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-11-14)

Slow week here, which is good and will allow me to catch up with what I've already got on Mount Toberead

Pirate’s Prophecy (A Pathfinder Tales novel) by Chris Jackson (Paizo Trade Paperback 02/02/2016) – Jackson’s third book for the popular Pathfinder world sees him pick up the story of the pirate Torius Vin first introduced in Pirate’s Honor and continued in Pirate’s Promise.

Paizo Publishing is the award-winning publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, and board games.Pathfinder Tales: Pirate's Prophecy is the continuation of their popular novel series.

Captain Torius Vin and the crew of the Stargazer have given up the pirate life, instead becoming abolitionist privateers bent on capturing slave ships and setting their prisoners free. But when rumors surface of a new secret weapon in devil-ruled Cheliax, are the Stargazers willing to go up against a navy backed by Hell itself?

I, Robot: To Preserve by Mickey Zucker Reichert (Roc Hardcover 02/02/2016) – The final installment in Reichert’s authorized trilogy featuring characters inspired by those in Asimov’s I, Robot milieu.

Inspired by Science Fiction Grand Master Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot stories.

2037: Robotic technology has evolved into the realm of self-aware, sentient mechanical entities. But despite the safeguards programmed into the very core of a robot’s artificial intelligence, humanity’s most brilliant creation can still fall prey to those who believe the Three Laws of Robotics were made to be broken...

N8-C, better known as Nate, has been Manhattan Hasbro Hospital’s resident robot for more than twenty years. A prototype, humanoid in appearance, he was created to interact with people. While some staff accepted working alongside an anthropomorphic robot, Nate’s very existence terrified most people, leaving the robot utilized for menial tasks and generally ignored.

Until one of the hospital’s physicians is found brutally murdered with Nate standing over the corpse, a blood-smeared utility bar clutched in his hand. As designer and programmer of Nate’s positronic brain, Lawrence Robertson is responsible for his creation’s actions and arrested for the crime.

Susan Calvin knows the Three Laws of Robotics make it impossible for Nate to harm a human being. But to prove both Nate’s and Lawrence’s innocence, she has to consider the possibility that someone somehow manipulated the laws to commit murder...

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

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-09-26)

Gee, I wonder which book stands out this week?

The Aeronaut’s Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1) by Jim Butcher - (Roc Hardback 09/29/2015) – What needs to be said? This is a brand new Steampunk series from genre superstar and one of my favorite authors Jim Butcher. 

Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors…

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…

Life of Zarf: The Troll Who Cried Wolf by Rob Harrell (Hardcover Dial for Young Readers 09/29/2015) – Second book in this series about Zarf and it looks like a fun series at that.

Fractured fairy tales meet modern day middle school in book two of this funny series for fans of Shrek and Timmy Failure. 

Even after rescuing the king from deadly Snuffweasels, Zarf is scum on the bottom rung of the middle school social ladder. After all, he is still a troll. But at least he still has his two best friends, Kevin and Chester . . . until Kevin disappears, that is. Now Zarf is at an all-time low. It seems a band of wolves are seeking revenge for the constant disgrace they’ve suffered over the years, and Little Red Ridinghood’s kid might be next on their list. Now it’s up to Zarf to crank out a solution from that troll brain of his, and save his best friend before it’s too late. 

Award-winning comic creator Rob Harrell has middle-grade humor mastered. This second book in his Life of Zarf series is packed with even more witty one-liners and clever twists on classic folk and fairytales.

Beyond the Pool of Stars (A Pathfinder Tales novel) by Howard Andrew Jones (Paizo Trade Paperback 10/06/2015) – This is Jones’s third Pathfinder novel and I loved his second installment of The Chronicles of Sword and Sand so I hope I can get to this one. This is the final copy of the ARC I received in July.

Mirian Raas comes from a long line of salvagers, adventurers who use magic to dive for sunken ships off the coast of tropical Sargava. When her father dies, Mirian has to take over his last job: a dangerous expedition into deep jungle pools, helping a tribe of lizardfolk reclaim the lost treasures of their people. Yet this isn’t any ordinary job, as the same colonial government that looks down on Mirian for her half-native heritage has an interest in the treasure, and the survival of the entire nation may depend on the outcome… 

Saturn Run by John Sandford and CTEIN (Putnam Hardcover 10/06/2015) – Sandford is a well-established thriller writer and here he turns to a more Science Fictional tal.

For fans of THE MARTIAN, an extraordinary new thriller of the future from #1 New York Times–bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author John Sandford and internationally known photo-artist and science fiction aficionado CTEIN. 

Over the course of thirty-seven books, John Sandford has proven time and again his unmatchable talents for electrifying plots, rich characters, sly wit, and razor-sharp dialogue. Now, in collaboration with Ctein, he proves it all once more, in a stunning new thriller, a story as audacious as it is deeply satisfying. 

The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope—something is approaching Saturn, and decelerating. Space objects don’t decelerate. Spaceships do. 

A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete. A conclusion the Chinese definitely agree with when they find out. 

The race is on, and a remarkable adventure begins—an epic tale of courage, treachery, resourcefulness, secrets, surprises, and astonishing human and technological discovery, as the members of a hastily thrown-together crew find their strength and wits tested against adversaries both of this earth and beyond. What happens is nothing like you expect—and everything you could want from one of the world’s greatest masters of suspense.

Friday Round-Up: Dawson @SFSignal and Wexler & Beaulieu @SFFWorld

Friday Round-Up Time, you know what that means….

Last week, my review of Django Wexler’s third Shadow Campaigns novel, The Price of Valor posted to SFFWorld:

The third book in a five book series is the exact middle book of the series and while there are some elements of the novel that give it a feel of treading water (the Winter/Jane relationship seemed a bit drawn out), on the whole, Django Wexler manages to reveal more layers of the plot of the antagonists and more about his characters. Janus has been an enigma for much of the series thus far, a character who immediately commands respect and awe from those who serve him, and frustration to those who either oppose him or find themselves at odds with him (even if Janus doesn’t realize it). His air of always knowing what to do and being several steps ahead of the opposition have given him a well-earned reputation as a master tactician. The person most frustrated by him is Jane, and specifically, what an important fixture he is in Winter’s life. Winter, oh Winter, what a great character you are. She is surrounded by a cabal of well-rounded characters who don’t blend into each other and for their “minor” status in the cast of characters, manage to have their own stand-out voices.

Some closure here, but dammit, the unresolved elements and giant hints of things to come have the next installment in The Shadow Campaigns quite high on my I NEED TO READ WHEN IT PUBLISHES list. With The Price of Valor, Django Wexler continues to prove that he’s got a great story to tell. Great characters painted on a fascinating backdrop with military and political conflict make for an excellent novel, and an excellent installment in a thoroughly entertaining Military/Flintlock Fantasy saga.

Also last week, Friday to be specific, my audio book review of Delilah Dawson’s Hit was posted to SF Signal.

Hit is the first of a series and Delilah Dawson does a fantastic job of introducing Patsy as the protagonist and first person narrator. The young girl is forced into her situation; becoming a bounty hunter for Valor National because if she doesn’t take a gun (and leave the cannoli), they’ll kill her and her mother because of overwhelming debt Mom built up after job losses and cancer treatments. Patsy gets her list, is assigned a painted-over mail truck and plays the role of delivery person in order to get her targets. When Patsy greets the target, she gives them something to sign as “confirmation of delivery” of the “fruit basket” she has. Once the agreement is signed (and never read before it is signed), Patsy offers each target the same choice: pay off the debt, become a bounty hunter, or eat a bullet. 

The natural dystopic comparison is to The Hunger Games, if only because both novels feature a very head-strong, likeable, engaging, young female protagonist. If anything, the America and world revealed in Hit could be seen almost as a precursor to the fractured and realigned national boundaries of Panem. There’s a certain South Park episode that served as partial inspiration to the novel/series/world, but the story takes off from the notion set forth in that episode with Dawson’s wonderful pacing and character development.

Lastly, and most recently, my review of the stunning Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu posted to SFFWorld this week:

We begin in the fighting pits, witnessing 19-year old Çeda (pronounced Chayda) Ahyanesh’ala – known to many as the White Wolf – defeat a champion pit fighter, an opponent much larger and more experienced than her. An opponent of her own choosing. This opening was perfect, we get a sense of Çeda as a strong, deceptively imposing physical presence, a flavor of Sharakhai itself, and as the fight ends, a hint of her character and motivations. I dare say that if you aren’t drawn in by Bealieu’s powerful and magnetic opening, you should check yourself.

There’s also a nice interplay of fantasy flavors here, the more intimate and personal elements closely associated with Sword and Sorcery against the larger scale (worldly) elements associated with Epic Fantasy. Through Çeda’s introduction in a fighting/gladiatorial pit, the feel is initially Sword and Sorcery, something that could very easily be compared to a Robert E. Howard Conan story.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-08-29)

This week's Books in the Mail post is (mostly) brought to you by Tor.

The Sleeping King by Cindy Dees and Bill Flippin (Tor 09/08/2015) – This is a first as far as I know; a novel based on a Live Action Role Playing-Game (LARP) Dragoncrest.

The Sleeping King is the start of a new fantasy series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Cindy Dees.

Dees has won a Golden Heart Award, two RITAs for Category Suspense and Adventure and has also twice snared RT's Series Romantic Suspense of the Year. She is a great storyteller, and the adventures in her more than fifty novels are often inspired by her own life. Dees is an Air Force vet-the youngest female pilot in Air Force history-and fought in the first Gulf War. She's had amazing adventures, and she's used her experiences to tell some kickass stories.

But as much as she love romances, Cindy's other passion has been fantasy gaming. For almost twenty years she's been involved with Dragon Crest, one of the original live action role-playing games. She's the story content creator on the game, and wanted to do an epic fantasy based on it, with the blessing and input of Dragon Crest founder Bill Flippin.

The Sleeping King is the first in an epic fantasy series, featuring the best of the genre: near immortal imperial overlords, a prophecy of a sleeping elven king who's said to be the savior of the races . . . and two young people who are set on a path to save the day.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (Tor 09/15/2015) – I’ve been seeing good things about this book for months, from Kameron Hurley in particular.

In Seth Dickinson's highly-anticipated debut The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a young woman from a conquered people tries to transform an empire in this richly imagined geopolitical fantasy.

Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people-even her soul.

When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire's civil service, and claw her way high enough to set her people free.

Sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru discovers it's on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize.

But the cost of winning the long game of saving her people may be far greater than Baru imagines.

Planetfall by Emma Newman (Roc Trade Paperback 11/03/2015) – After a successful fantasy trilogy (The Split Worlds Trilogy) with Angry Robot, Emma Newman (proprietor of the entertaining “Tea and Jeopardy” podcast) turns her pen to a science fiction novel. I’ll be reviewing this one for Tor.com.

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown.

More than twenty-two years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided, alone. All that time, Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment, and harboring a devastating secret.

Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi.

The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart…

The Builders by Daniel Polansky (Tor.com (The Imprint) Hardcover 09/01/2015) – Polansky is an author I’ve seen great things about, so this is my first sampling of his work. My buddy Justin is the editor on this one. Despite (rather BECAUSE) of that, I’m looking forward to this one. My review for this will appear on Tor.com.


A missing eye.

A broken wing.

A stolen country.

The last job didn't end well.

Years go by, and scars fade, but memories only fester. For the animals of the Captain's company, survival has meant keeping a low profile, building a new life, and trying to forget the war they lost. But now the Captain's whiskers are twitching at the idea of evening the score.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-08-22)

The weekly batch of arrivals here a casa de ‘O Stuff…

Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke (Saga Press Hardcover 10/27/2015) – Clarke has written some very well received fantasy novels and this is her first novel with more Hard Science Fictional leanings. Looks like it could be fun.

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union meets The Windup Girl when a female PI goes up against a ruthless gangster—just as both humans and robots agitate for independence in an Argentinian colony in Antarctica.

In Argentine Antarctica, Eliana Gomez is the only female PI in Hope City—a domed colony dependent on electricity (and maintenance robots) for heat, light, and survival in the icy deserts of the continent. At the center is an old amusement park—now home only to the androids once programmed to entertain—but Hope City’s days as a tourist destination are long over. Now the City produces atomic power for the mainland while local factions agitate for independence and a local mobster, Ignacio Cabrera, runs a brisk black-market trade in illegally imported food.

Eliana doesn’t care about politics. She doesn’t even care—much—that her boyfriend, Diego, works as muscle for Cabrera. She just wants to save enough money to escape Hope City. But when an aristocrat hires Eliana to protect an explosive personal secret, Eliana finds herself caught up in the political tensions threatening to tear Hope City apart. In the clash of backstabbing politicians, violent freedom fighters, a gangster who will stop at nothing to protect his interests, and a newly sentient robot underclass intent on a very different independence, Eliana finds her job coming into deadly conflict with Diego’s, just as the electricity that keeps Hope City from freezing begins to fail…

From the inner workings of the mob to the story of a revolution to the amazing settings, this story has got it all. Ultimately, however, Our Lady of the Ice questions what it means to be human, what it means to be free, and whether we’re ever able to transcend our pasts and our programming to find true independence.

Dragon Heart by Cecilia Holland (Tor Hardcover 09/01/2015) – Holland is a master storyteller, whoh as written historical fantasy and science fiction. This is her take on a sea dragon story.

Where the Cape of the Winds juts into the endless sea, there is Castle Ocean, and therein dwells the royal family that has ruled it from time immemorial. But there is an Empire growing in the east, and its forces have reached the castle. King Reymarro is dead in battle, and by the new treaty, Queen Marioza must marry one of the Emperor's brothers. She loathes the idea, and has already killed the first brother, but a second arrives, escorted by more soldiers. While Marioza delays, her youngest son, Jeon, goes on a journey in search of his mute twin, Tirza, who needs to be present for the wedding.

As Jeon and Tirza return by sea, their ship is attacked by a shocking and powerful dragon, red as blood and big as the ship. Thrown into the water, Tirza clings to the dragon, and after an underwater journey, finds herself alone with the creature in an inland sea pool. Surprisingly, she is able to talk to the beast, and understand it.

So begins a saga of violence, destruction, and death, of love and monsters, human and otherwise.

In Dragon Heart, Cecelia Holland, America's most distinguished historical novelist steps fully into the realm of fantasy and makes it her own.

Liar’s Island (A Pathfinder Tales novel) by Tim Pratt (Paizo Trade Paperback 08/15/2015) – I’ve got quite a few of Pratt’s novels on Mount Toberead now, he’s one of the authors whose work I really want to catch up with, this is his third Pathfinder novel featuring these characters.

Rodrick is a con man as charming as he is cunning. Hrym is a talking sword of magical ice, with the soul and spells of an ancient dragon. Together, the two travel the world, parting the gullible from their gold and freezing their enemies in their tracks. But when the two get summoned to the mysterious island of Jalmeray by a king with genies and elementals at his command, they'll need all their wits and charm if they're going to escape with the greatest prize of all-their lives. From Hugo Award winner Tim Pratt comes a tale of magic, assassination, monsters, and cheerful larceny, in Pathfinder: Liar's Island, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Chapelwood (The Borden Dispatches #2) by Cherie Priest (Roc 09/01/2015) – Second installment of Priests Lovecraftian Historical fantasy. .

From Cherie Priest, the award-winning author of Maplecroft, comes a new tale of Lizzie Borden’s continuing war against the cosmic horrors threatening humanity…

Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet. And from the church known as Chapelwood, an unholy gospel is being spread by a sect that worships dark gods from beyond the heavens. 

This darkness calls to Lizzie Borden. It is reminiscent of an evil she had dared hoped was extinguished. The parishioners of Chapelwood plan to sacrifice a young woman to summon beings never meant to share reality with humanity. An apocalypse will follow in their wake which will scorch the earth of all life.

Unless she stops it…

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-08-15)

Time for the weekly rundown of the review copies which arrived the previous week!

Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale (Broadway Books Trade Paperback 09/08/2015) – The Doctor Who short novels are very popular in the UK, this one features the 12th Doctor.

An original adventure tying in to the ninth season of Doctor Who, the spectacular hit series from BBC Television, featuring the new 12th Doctor as played by Peter Capaldi.

"I do hope you’re all ready to be terrified!"

The Phaeron disappeared from the universe over a million years ago. They travelled among the stars using roads made from time and space, but left only relics behind. But what actually happened to the Phaeron? Some believe they were they eradicated by a superior force… Others claim they destroyed themselves.

Or were they in fact the victims of an even more hideous fate?

In the far future, humans discover the location of the last Phaeron road – and the Doctor and Clara join the mission to see where the road leads.

Each member of the research team knows exactly what they’re looking for – but only the Doctor knows exactly what they’ll find.

Because only the Doctor knows the true secret of the Phaeron: a monstrous secret so terrible and powerful that it must be buried in the deepest grave imaginable…

Sorcerer to the Crown (A Sorcerer Royal Novel) by Zen Cho (Ace Hardcover 09/01/2015) – For many, this is one of the more anticipated debut novels of the year.


In this sparkling debut, magic and mayhem clash with the British elite...

The Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, one of the most respected organizations throughout all of England, has long been tasked with maintaining magic within His Majesty’s lands. But lately, the once proper institute has fallen into disgrace, naming an altogether unsuitable gentleman—a freed slave who doesn’t even have a familiar—as their Sorcerer Royal, and allowing England’s once profuse stores of magic to slowly bleed dry. At least they haven’t stooped so low as to allow women to practice what is obviously a man’s profession…

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers and eminently proficient magician, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up. But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (Roc Hardcover 08/18/2015) – There’s been a lot of pre-publication buzz on this one. de Bodard has written some well-received and award-worthy fiction, but this one, from everything I’ve seen will push her to the next level.


Multi-award winning author Aliette de Bodard, brings her story of the War in Heaven to Paris, igniting the City of Light in a fantasy of divine power and deep conspiracy…

In the late twentieth century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins, the aftermath of a Great War between arcane powers. The Grand Magasins have been reduced to piles of debris, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine has turned black with ashes and rubble and the remnants of the spells that tore the city apart. But those that survived still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.

Once the most powerful and formidable, House Silverspires now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.

Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen angel; an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction; and a resentful young man wielding spells of unknown origin. They may be Silverspires’ salvation—or the architects of its last, irreversible fall. And if Silverspires falls, so may the city itself.

Doctor Who: Royal Blood by Una McCormack (Broadway Books Trade Paperback 09/08/2015) – The Doctor Who short novels are very popular in the UK, this one features the 12th Doctor.

An original adventure tying in to the ninth season of Doctor Who, the spectacular hit series from BBC Television, featuring the new 12th Doctor as played by Peter Capaldi.

“The Grail is a story, a myth! It didn’t exist on your world! It can’t exist here!”

The city-state of Varuz is failing. Duke Aurelian is the last of his line, his capital is crumbling, and the armies of his enemy, Duke Conrad, are poised beyond the mountains to invade. Aurelian is preparing to gamble everything on one last battle. So when a holy man, the Doctor, comes to Varuz from beyond the mountains, Aurelian asks for his blessing in the war.

But all is not what it seems in Varuz. The city-guard have lasers for swords, and the halls are lit by electric candlelight. Aurelian’s beloved wife, Guena, and his most trusted knight, Bernhardt, seem to be plotting to overthrow their Duke, and Clara finds herself drawn into their intrigue...

Will the Doctor stop Aurelian from going to war? Will Clara’s involvement in the plot against the Duke be discovered? Why is Conrad’s ambassador so nervous? And who are the ancient and weary knights who arrive in Varuz claiming to be on a quest for the Holy Grail…?

Doctor Who: Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell (Broadway Books Trade Paperback 09/08/2015) – The Doctor Who short novels are very popular in the UK, this one features the 12th Doctor.

An original adventure tying in to the ninth season of Doctor Who, the spectacular hit series from BBC Television, featuring the new 12th Doctor as played by Peter Capaldi.

“I'm an archaeologist, but probably not the one you were expecting.”

Christmas 2015, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Imagine everyone's surprise when a time portal opens up in Sydney Cove. Imagine their shock as a massive pyramid now sits beside the Harbour Bridge, inconveniently blocking Port Jackson and glowing with energy. Imagine their fear as Cyrrus "the mobster" Globb, Professor Horace Jaanson and an alien assassin called Kik arrive to claim the glowing pyramid. Finally imagine everyone's dismay when they are followed by a bunch of con artists out to spring their greatest grift yet.

This gang consists of Legs (the sexy comedian), Dog Boy (providing protection and firepower), Shortie (handling logistics), Da Trowel (in charge of excavation and history) and their leader, Doc (busy making sure the universe isn't destroyed in an explosion that makes the Big Bang look like a damp squib).

And when someone accidentally reawakens The Ancients of the Universe - which, Doc reckons, wasn't the wisest or best-judged of actions – things get a whole lot more complicated…

Updraft by Fran Wilde (Tor 09/01/2015) – This is Wilde’s debut novel and it looks like it will be a lot of fun. Just look at that awesome cover!! This is the hardcover of the ARC I received in May, and as nice as the ARC looked, this one is gorgeous.

Welcome to a world of wind and bone, songs and silence, betrayal and courage.

Kirit Densira cannot wait to pass her wingtest and begin flying as a trader by her mother's side, being in service to her beloved home tower and exploring the skies beyond. When Kirit inadvertently breaks Tower Law, the city's secretive governing body, the Singers, demand that she become one of them instead. In an attempt to save her family from greater censure, Kirit must give up her dreams to throw herself into the dangerous training at the Spire, the tallest, most forbidding tower, deep at the heart of the City.

As she grows in knowledge and power, she starts to uncover the depths of Spire secrets. Kirit begins to doubt her world and its unassailable Laws, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead to a haunting choice, and may well change the city forever-if it isn't destroyed outright.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-06-20)

A nice batch of books this week, two of which are finished copies of previously received ARCs.

Lady of Magick (Noctis Magicae Book Two) by Sylvia Izzo Hunter (Ace Trade Paperback 09/01/2015) –I really enjoyed Hunter’s debut (Midnight Queen

) last year and really pleased to see the second publish exactly a year after the first one. The copy I received is a bound galley. .

“Sylvia Izzo Hunter brought “both rural Brittany and an alternative Regency England to vivid life”* in The Midnight Queen, her debut novel of history, magic, and myth. Now, in her new Noctis Magicae novel, Sophie and Gray Marshall are ensnared in an arcane plot that threatens to undo them both.

In her second year of studies at Merlin College, Oxford, Sophie Marshall is feeling alienated among fellow students who fail to welcome a woman to their ranks. So when her husband, Gray, is invited north as a visiting lecturer at the University in Din Edin, they leap at the chance. There, Sophie’s hunger for magical knowledge can finally be nourished. But soon, Sophie must put her newly learned skills to the test.

Sophie returns home one day to find a note from Gray—he’s been summoned urgently to London. But when he doesn’t return, and none of her spells can find a trace of him, she realizes something sinister has befallen him. With the help of her sister, Joanna, she delves into Gray’s disappearance, and soon finds herself in a web of magick and intrigue that threatens not just Gray, but the entire kingdom.

Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Tor 07/14/2015) – I like First Contact novels and this one looks to work that trope in an interesting way.

From Nebula and Hugo Award-nominated Carolyn Ives Gilman comes Dark Orbit, a compelling novel featuring alien contact, mystery, and murder.

Reports of a strange, new habitable planet have reached the Twenty Planets of human civilization. When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she's been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest.

Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions.

Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science.

Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Meyer (Tor 09/01/2015) – My SFSignal pal Paul Weimer brought this book to my attention. Ilana has written for various Web sites, this is her debut novel.

Long ago, poets were Seers with access to powerful magic. Following a cataclysmic battle, the enchantments of Eivar were lost–now a song is only words and music, and no more. But when a dark power threatens the land, poets who thought only to gain fame for their songs face a task much greater: to restore the lost enchantments to the world. And the road to the Otherworld, where the enchantments reside, will imperil their lives and test the deepest desires of their hearts.

ALIVE (Generations Trilogy #1) by Scott Sigler (Del Rey Hardcover 07/14/2015) – I listened to Scott’s first podcast two novel Infected and Contagious. This is one; however, seems poised to be an explosive next-level type of novel for Scott. I saw Myke Cole mention the book on twitter with an infectious level of positivity so I’m looking forward to getting my grubby hands on a copy of this one closer to the summer. This is the final/finished copy of the EARC I received in May.

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.

Bombs Away: The Hot War by Harry Turtledove (Del Rey Hardcover 07/14/2015) – If I had to guess, this might be the 50th Turtledove book (inclusive of all editions – Finished, ARC, Hardvover, Mass Market Paperback) I’ve received over the years here at the O’ Stuff.

In his acclaimed novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has scrutinized the twisted soul of the twentieth century, from the forces that set World War I in motion to the rise of fascism in the decades that followed. Now, this masterly storyteller turns his eyes to the aftermath of World War II and asks: In an era of nuclear posturing, what if the Cold War had suddenly turned hot? 

Bombs Away begins with President Harry Truman in desperate consultation with General Douglas MacArthur, whose control of the ground war in Korea has slipped disastrously away. MacArthur recognizes a stark reality: The U.S. military has been cut to the bone after victory over the Nazis—while China and the USSR have built up their forces. The only way to stop the Communist surge into the Korean Peninsula and save thousands of American lives is through a nuclear attack. MacArthur advocates a strike on Chinese targets in Manchuria. In actual history, Truman rejected his general’s advice; here, he does not. The miscalculation turns into a disaster when Truman fails to foresee Russia’s reaction. 

Almost instantly, Stalin strikes U.S. allies in Europe and Great Britain. As the shock waves settle, the two superpowers are caught in a horrifying face-off. Will they attack each other directly with nuclear weapons? What countries will be caught in between? 

The fateful global drama plays out through the experiences of ordinary people—from a British barmaid to a Ukrainian war veteran to a desperate American soldier alone behind enemy lines in Korea. For them, as well as Truman, Mao, and Stalin, the whole world has become a battleground. Strategic strikes lead to massive movements of ground troops. Cities are destroyed, economies ravaged. And on a planet under siege, the sounds and sights of nuclear bombs become a grim harbinger of a new reality: the struggle to survive man’s greatest madness.

The Prince of Valor by Django Wexler (Roc July 2015) – I read the first two Shadow Campaigns novels last year and thought The Shadow Throne was awesome. This is the final/published version of the ARC I received in May.

In the latest Shadow Campaigns novel, Django Wexler continues his "epic fantasy of military might and magical conflict" following The Shadow Throne and The Thousand Names, as the realm of Vordan faces imminent threats from without and within.

In the wake of the King’s death, war has come to Vordan.

The Deputies-General has precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with the steadfast soldier Marcus D’Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.

As the hidden hand of the Sworn Church brings all the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, the enigmatic and brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends, only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle.

And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary...

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-02-21)

Only one the books to arrive this week was a physical book, the remaining were ebooks. Some neat looking titles, too.

Dark Intelligence (Transformation Book One) by Neal Asher (Nightshade books Trade Paperback 02/03/2015) – Latest chapter in Asher’s mega popularPolity series, though this one launches a new series that seems a good entry point for new readers. The only book I’ve read from Neal is The Skinnerwhen it was the SFFWorld SF Book Club selection back in August 2005. .

One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed...

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a world surrounded by hostile Prador forces, but Penny Royal, the AI inside the rescue ship sent to provide backup, turned rogue, annihilating friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction and killing Spear. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and Spear vows for revenge at any cost.

Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate, but after competitors attacked she needed power and protection. Negotiating with Penny Royal, she got more than she bargained for: Turning part-AI herself gave Isobel frightening power, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret, and the dark AI triggered a transformation that has been turning her into something far from human…

Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal across worlds to its last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and quickly finds himself in her crosshairs. As Isobel continues to evolve into a monstrous predator, it’s clear her rage will eventually win out over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt before he himself becomes the hunted?

Dark Intelligence is the explosive first novel in a brand new trilogy from military SF master Neal Asher and a new chapter in his epic Polity universe.

Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop (Ace Hardcover 03/03/2015) – Bishop is a huge name in the genre, one of those big-selling well-received writers who churns out book after book. While she made a name for herself with fantasy of the more Epic variety, this urban fantasy series (this being the third book) seems to be growing her fanbase even more.

The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…

Evensong by John Love (Nightshade books Trade Paperback 01/06/2015) – Love’s second novel brings things back to earth after his well-received debut, the space opera Faith. .

A near-future thriller where those who protect humanity are not always completely human.

The future is a dangerous place. Keeping the world stable and peaceful when competing corporate interests and nation-states battle for power, wealth, and prestige has only gotten harder over the years. But that’s the United Nations’ job. So the UN has changed along with the rest of the world. When the UN’s “soft” diplomacy fails, it has harder options. Quiet, scalpel-like options: The Dead—biologically enhanced secret operatives created by the UN to solve the problems no one else can.

Anwar Abbas is one of The Dead. When the Controller-General of the UN asks him to perform a simple bodyguard mission, he’s insulted and resentful: mere bodyguard work is a waste of his unique abilities. But he takes the job, because to refuse it would be unthinkable.

Anwar is asked to protect Olivia del Sarto, the host of an important upcoming UN conference. Olivia is head of the world’s fastest-growing church, but in her rise to power she has made enemies: shadowy enemies with apparently limitless resources.

Anwar is one of the deadliest people on earth, but her enemies have something which kills people like him. And they’ve sent it for her. It’s out there, unstoppable and untraceable, getting closer as the conference approaches.

As he and Olivia ignite a torrid affair, Anwar must uncover the conspiracy that threatens to destroy her, the UN, and even The Dead.

King of the Cracksmen (The Others #3) by Dennis O’Flaherty (Night Shade Books eBook 01/27/2015) – O’Flaherty has a great deal of Hollywood experience and turns those skills to his debut, a steampunk adventure.

The year is 1877. Automatons and steam-powered dirigible gunships have transformed the United States in the aftermath of the Civil War. All of the country’s land west of the Mississippi was sold to Russia nearly fifty years earlier, and “Little Russia,” as it’s now called, is ruled by the son of Tsar Alexander II. Lincoln is still president, having never been assassinated, but he’s not been seen for six months, and rumors are flying about his disappearance. The country is being run as a police state by his former secretary of war Edwin Stanton, a power-hungry criminal who rules with an iron fist.

Liam McCool is an outlaw, known among other crooks as “King of the Cracksmen.” But his glory days as a safecracker and the head of a powerful New York gang end when he’s caught red-handed. Threatened with prison unless he informs on his own brethren fighting a guerilla war against Stanton’s tyranny, McCool’s been biding his time, trying to keeping the heat off him long enough to escape to San Francisco with his sweetheart Maggie. But when she turns up murdered, McCool discovers a trail of breadcrumbs that look to lead all the way up to the top of Stanton’s criminal organization. Joining forces with world-famed lady reporter Becky Fox, he plunges deep into the underground war, racing to find Maggie’s killer and stop Stanton once and for all.

King of the Cracksmen is an explosive, action-packed look at a Victorian empire that never was, partTo Catch a Thief, part Little Big Man, steampunk as you’ve never seen it before

Friday Round-Up: Czerneda, Gladstone, Brennan, SF Signal & SFFWorld

I didn't realize I lapsed so much in these round up posts. I've posted & participated in quite a few things since I last gathered my contributions in one blog post.

A couple of Fridays ago, my December Completist column posted to SF Signal, featuring Species Imperative by Julie Czerneda, an omnibus of her series of the same name comprised of Survival, Migration, and Regeneration.

The star of the trilogy, of course, is Mac. She is one of the most plausible and believable scientist protagonists I’ve come across in Hard Science Fiction. Make no mistake about Species Imperative being Hard SF, just because it features Biology rather than Quantum Physics or the science behind space travel as its feature science, Czerneda applies no less a rigorous approach to the science/biology in the novel through Mac. Her deductive reasoning, how Mac infers things about the Dhyrn’s homeworld, her conclusions about the relationship between the Dhryn and the Ro are all logical scientific reasonings. Most importantly because these are novels, Czerneda makes for great dramatic tension and narrative pull with Mac.

There’s a tradition of Science Fiction wherein the scientist is hero, gallantly (and often flawlessly) solving the problems raised by a story or novel’s plot. That tradition also tends to gender-default to male characters. Czerneda goes the other direction and gives readers a flawed well-rounded character at the height of her chosen vocation who is a woman. In Mac, she’s given readers one of the more engaging scientist-heroes in the genre, and just an admirable character as a whole.

A couple of weeks ago, my review of Max Gladstone's wonderful debut, Three Parts Dead, was posted to SFFWorld. I love the milieu and Max is one of the smartest writers I've encountered in the genre. Met him at a couple of Tor.com events and he comes across just as nice and cool as he is a good writer. Not a bad combo.

There’s a great balance in the characters who comprise the main cast; our protagonist is female, as is her boss. Another supporting character, Cat, has a strong character arc that parallels and intertwines with the main plot. These women have power in this world, or are the most forthcoming in their quest to gain a foothold with it. Despite the church’s power being represented by a man, Elayne exhibits no qualms about dealing with him and these people if not on an equal level, then a level on which she has a moral high ground. What makes these women such great characters, especially Tara and Elayne, is that they have agency of their own and are not defined by their relationship to men in the novel. Granted, Tara’s relationship with her former professor at college is an integral element in the novel, but it isn’t the only defining aspect of who she is. Cat, on the other hand, is a bit of a dependent character, but that dependency is not intertwined with her gender. She is, in essence, an addict.

In many ways, the world Gladstone has created reminds me of the cityscapes of China Miéville’s New Crobuzon (Perdido Street Station and The Scar), in large part, because of the mix of arcane, eldritch darkness and non-human races set primarily in a city.

Over the past week at SFFWorld, Mark Yon has been posting the Best of Year thoughts from him, Mark Chitty, and Nila White:

• SFFWorld Best of 2014: Part 1 – Fantasy & Horror
• SFFWorld Best of 2014: Part 2 – Science Fiction
• SFFWorld Best of 2014: Part 3 – Genre Film & TV

Speaking of Best of 2014, I was asked to mention a few books in Tor.com's Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2014.

Last week, I was on the SF Signal Podcast (Episode 273): The Best SF&F Book, TV Show, Movie, Comic Book, Game or other thing you consumed in 2014. Host Patrick Hester talked to Sarah Chorn, Jeff Patterson, Django Wexler, John Stevens, Fred Kiesche, and me.

This past week at SFFWorld, my review of ML Brennan's debut novel Generation V was posted. I've read my fair share of Vampire novels and enjoyed this one, which was a good start to the series (which either goes by Generation V or American Vampire):

Brennan, through Fort, has a rather snarky modern prose which is perfectly contrasted against the mannered and high-society aura surrounding his family: mother Madeline, brother Chivalry, and his sister Prudence. Through much of the novel, at least the first third and what felt like a significant part of the middle third, Fort is very much a doormat. He lets his roommates walk all over him, (the most current roommate owes him a few months worth of rent), his ‘girl-friend,’ (who slept with the aforementioned roommate) has different ideas of what their relationship should be, and his over-bearing boss doesn’t exactly have an open door policy. While being a bit of a pushover for his older, more powerful vampire brother can be understandable, added to the other characters who trampled over Fort, I was more frustrated with Fort’s lack of backbone and ability to assert himself against the people who are pushing him down. In my head, I kept thinking that he needed to stand up for himself.

New York Comic Con 2014 - Day One - Friday

New York Comic-Con 2014 is marks the third time I’ve attended the convention, and the second year in a row I’ve attended with press pass. This year, 2014, is also the first year wherein I’ve attended three days. The owners of the comic shoppe where I get my stash have been friends with my wife’s family for quite a while; Leslie’s mother worked with the owner’s father. So Leslie helped staff their double booth on Sunday and as such, she was given an exhibitor pass so she went with me on Saturday, worked the booth on Sunday, and she let her brother use the exhibitor pass so he could go with me on Friday.

So wow, this event seems to grow each year but I was surprised Friday, in terms of the crowds and the fact that there was cool air blowing through. So, he (Mike) and I walked the hall a little bit in the morning when we arrived before the Geek Geek Revolution panel I wanted to attend. Mike is much more into video games than I am, so he checked out their booths and some other things while I headed down to the back of the Javits Center for the GGR panel. Waiting on line for it, I saw Jennie Ivins and the man known on twitter as SheckyX, so we chatted as we entered the panel and they both introduced me to Garrett from Ranting Dragon. Big thanks to Jennie for securing a few seats for us in one of the first couple of rows.

The Geek Geek Revolution panel was essentially a geek trivia challenge and featured John Scalzi, Peter V. Brett, Amber Benson, Maureen Johnson, Lou Anders, and M.D. Payne. The panel was moderated by Patrick Rothfuss. Amber and Maureen set Scalzi in their sights, but when Amber didn’t raise her hand before Scalzi on the Buffy questions, the winner was pretty much set from there. Should Rothfuss ever decided to foolishly give up his writing career, he'd be a great game show host. Damn can that man project his voice.

Afterwards, I got a few books signed, including The Daylight War by Peter and my ARC of Name of the Wind by Patrick.

After that, I headed up to the publisher’s area and chatted with some of the fine folks who help to make the books I read and love. I stopped by HarperCollins’s booth and was chatting with their new editor, David Pomerico about a few books coming out from them in the nearish future (Dave was particularly excited about his first signing for HC and it does sound quite good). We got to talking about cover art, how Richard Anderson does great work and seems to be in very high demand when Kameron Hurley’s agent dropped in the booth. Kameron’s agent also handles Brian Staveley; both Brian and Kameron’s books have cover art by Anderson and I had to tell Kameron’s agent how fucking awesome The Mirror Empire was.

After that, I headed to the Penguin booth where I was able to snag a copy of Daniel José Older’s Half Resurrection Blues. I chatted with the great Colleen Lindsay for a bit and told her she needs to write a book about Mugsy. Iwas also able to snag a copy of Anton Strout’s Alchemystic and Tom Sniegowski’s A Kiss Before Apocalyps to have them signed by the authors. (I've been wanting to read Alchemystic for a while since I've become a big fan of the Disney cartoon Gargoyles.) The Tor and Hachette booths were near them too, so I caught up with Ardi (Tor’s awesome publicist) and Ellen (Orbit’s sorceress publicist).

All in all, a lot of walking during Friday, but a day well spent.