Incoming Books ~ April 21st, 2012

Incoming Books ~ April 21st, 2012.

Books, books, and more books! Boxes and boxes, packed and unpacked. Can anyone ever have enough books? We say a resounding “NO WAY”! Ask us how many boxes of books we packed and unpacked in our recent move. (approximately 25 boxes – okay small boxes but still.) 

What’s even better is we have some more here to share, in our - Incoming Books feature. And the most fun part is hearing which ones you, our friends and readers want the most. So please tell us:

Which of these not so new, new, or soon to be published books you would pick up and read first?

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Macmillan | Tor

Blue Magic (Blue Magic Series, #2) ~ by A.M. Dellamonica; Tor Books; 4/10/2012

This powerful sequel to A.M. Dellamonica's Sunburst Award–winning contemporary fantasy Indigo Springs starts in the small town in Oregon where Astrid Lethewood discovered an underground river of blue liquid—Vitagua—that is pure magic. Everything it touches is changed. The secret is out—and the world will never be the same. Astrid’s best friend, Sahara, has been corrupted by the blue magic, and now leads a cult that seeks to rule the world. Astrid, on the other hand, tries to heal the world.

Conflicting ambitions, star-crossed lovers, and those who fear and hate magic combine in a terrible conflagration, pitting friend against friend, magic against magic, and the power of nations against a small band of zealots, with the fate of the world at stake.

Indigo Springs (Blue Magic Series, #1) ~ A.M. Dellamonica; Tor Books; 10/27/2009

Indigo Springs is a sleepy town where things seem pretty normal . . . until Astrid’s father dies and she moves into his house. She discovers that for many years her father had been accessing the magic that flowed, literally, in a blue stream beneath the earth, leaking into his house. When she starts to use the liquid "vitagua" to enchant everyday items, the results seem innocent enough: a “’chanted” watch becomes a charm that means you're always in the right place at the right time; a “’chanted” pendant enables the wearer to convince anyone of anything . . .

Also, we have Alyx Dellamonica for guest post/question and answer coming up in a few days and it’s a terrific post. She has one heck of an imagination. So check it out!

Seige (As the World Dies, #3) ~ by Rhiannon Frater; Tor Books; 4/24/2012

Siege is the conclusion to Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies trilogy, which should appeal to fans of The Walking Dead. Both The First Days and Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner.

The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking dead and living bandits.

Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and married to Travis, who has been elected Mayor. Jenni, her stepson, Jason; and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers.

In Siege, the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of the US military. What’s left of the US government has plans for this group of determined survivors.

The First Days (#1) – July 2011; (Link to Shellie’s review for the book.)

Fighting to Survive (# 2) - November 2011; (Link to our Incoming Books post with this book.)

 

 

Royal Street ~ by Suzanne Johnson; Tor Books; 4/10/2012

Book one of a planned series:  As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.
To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

Shadow Blizzard (book 3) ~ by Alexey Perhov; Tor Books; 4/24/2012

Shadow Blizzard is the third book by the international bestselling fantasy author Alexey Pehov. Like Shadow Prowler and Shadow Chaser, Shadow Blizzard is epic fantasy at its best; this is the third book in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold, Siala's master thief, on his quest for the magic Horn that will restore peace to his world. After the loss of friends and comrades, after betrayal and battle, after capture by fearsome orcs, Harold finally reaches the dreaded Hrad Spein. But before he can complete his quest by stealing the magic horn, he will have to brave the most fearsome obstacles yet—obstacles that have destroyed everyone before him...and Harold must do so alone.

Shadow Prowler (#1) February 2011

After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring. By next spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.  Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can find some way to stop them.

But Harold isn’t alone.  An Elfin princess, Miralissa, her entourage, ten Wild Hearts, the most experienced and dangerous fighters in their world, and the king’s court jester all join him in his quest. These companions will form a bond of friendship and honor that must carry them over a series of frightful obstacles before they can reach their goal: Hrad Spein, the mysterious Palaces of the Bones.  Only there will they find the key to undoing the ancient curse that hangs over their world and ridding the land of the Nameless One forever.
Reminiscent of Moorcock's Elric series, Shadow Prowler is the first work to be translated into English from Russian by the bestselling, new generation fantasy author Alexey Pehov. 

Shadow Chaser (#2) February 2012; (See the incoming books including this second in the series.)

Misc. Indie Authors:

Broken Time ~ by Emily Devenport; July 22, 2011

This now self published book was originally published traditionally under one of the author’s pen names. It was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award and can be purchased in ebook format at Smashwords for 99 cents. It’s a science fiction novel with romantic elements. Here is what it’s all about:

They say Time can't stand still. They're wrong.

Siggy Lindquist was looking for something better than the life she left behind. What she found is a job at the Institute for the Criminally Insane, home to the galaxy's deadliest criminals -- human monsters caged for the rest of their unnatural lives.

Now all Siggy wants to do is get through each day with her safety and sanity intact. But when two of the Institute's most dangerous inmates take an interest in her, for their own twisted reasons, she is caught up in a potential war between two races -- a war that only a forgotten secret from her past can prevent. Desperate to avert disaster, Siggy finds herself in a galaxy-spanning race against time -- and time stands still for no one. Or does it?

Wood ~ by Robert Dunbar; Uninvited Books: 2/23/2012

Blessed is the Creature that knows its purpose.

Woods surround a blighted section of a nameless city, and at night something creeps forth into the streets, something that preys upon humans ... and may ultimately replace them.

This is literary horror at its best. Highly recommended for those wanting an intelligent scare which is tasteful and thought provoking but will also scare your socks off too. It’s a novella by the author of Willy – link to Shellie’s recent review of Robert Dunbar’s previous novel. Great stuff!   

General Fiction:

The Cove ~ by Ron Rash; Harper Collins; 4/10/2012

Deep in the rugged Appalachians of North Carolina lies the cove, a dark, forbidding place where spirits and fetches wander, and even the light fears to travel. Or so the townsfolk of Mars Hill believe–just as they know that Laurel Shelton, the lonely young woman who lives within its shadows, is a witch. Alone except for her brother, Hank, newly returned from the trenches of France, she aches for her life to begin.

Then it happens–a stranger appears, carrying nothing but a beautiful silver flute and a note explaining that his name is Walter, he is mute, and is bound for New York. Laurel finds him in the woods, nearly stung to death by yellow jackets, and nurses him back to health. As the days pass, Walter slips easily into life in the cove and into Laurel's heart, bringing her the only real happiness she has ever known.

But Walter harbors a secret that could destroy everything–and danger is closer than they know. Though the war in Europe is near its end, patriotic fervor flourishes thanks to the likes of Chauncey Feith, an ambitious young army recruiter who stokes fear and outrage throughout the county. In a time of uncertainty, when fear and ignorance reign, Laurel and Walter will discover that love may not be enough to protect them.

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That’s it folks. So please do tell: which of these incredible books would you read first?