Incoming Books ~ January 4, 2013

It’s our incoming books for January 4th, 2013.

Our first for the new year. We have some goodies here that we’re both excited about.

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Macmillan – Tor/Forge

Ash (David Ash,  #3) ~ by James Herbert http://www.james-herbert.co.uk/

Deep in the countryside, ghost hunter David Ash is investigating a mysterious, secluded stately home. Reports from locals regarding strange goings-on make him think the house is haunted... But not even David Ash's long professional history of warding off evil spirits can prepare him for the shocking discovery that awaits.

International bestselling horror writer James Herbert weaves a terrifying narrative featuring his best-loved character, David Ash, the skeptical detective of the paranormal introduced in the UK number one bestsellers, Haunted and The Ghosts of Sleath.

Prepare to be chilled to the marrow…

Tor Books; December 2012; Hardcover; 704 pages.

The Seed Trilogy: Earthseed; Farseed; and Seed Seeker ~ by Pamela Sargent  http://www.pamelasargent.com/

The classic YA science fiction adventure by Nebula and Locus Award–winning author Pamela Sargent

The ship hurtles through space. Deep within its core, it carries the seed of humankind. Launched by the people of a dying Earth over a century ago, its mission is to find a habitable world for the children—fifteen-year-old Zoheret and her shipmates—whom it has created from its genetic banks.

To Zoheret and her shipmates, Ship has been mother, father, and loving teacher, preparing them for their biggest challenge: to survive on their own, on an uninhabited planet, without Ship’s protection. Now that day is almost upon them...but are they ready to leave Ship? Ship devises a test. And suddenly, instincts that have been latent for over a hundred years take over. Zoheret watches as friends become strangers—and enemies. Can Zoheret and her companions overcome the biggest obstacle to the survival of the human race—themselves?

Earthseed (Book 1 )- Tor Teen; February 2012; Trade Paperback;  288 pages; Age Range: 13 and up.

Farseed (Book 2) - Tor Teen; 1/8/2013; Trade Paperback; 288 pages; Age Range: 13 and up.

Seed Seeker (Book 3) – still available in hardcover and soon to be released in paperback format (and I am thinking a great new cover.)

Dinosaur Thunder (#3 of the Dinosaur Adventure Series) ~ by James F. David

Eighteen years ago, the prehistoric past collided with the present as time itself underwent a tremendous disruption, transporting huge swaths of the Cretaceous period into the twentieth century. Neighborhoods, towns, and cities were replaced by dense primeval jungles and modern humanity suddenly found itself sharing the world with fierce dinosaurs. In the end, desperate measures were taken to halt the disruptions and the crisis appeared to be over.  Until now.

New dinosaurs begin to appear, rampaging through cities. A secret mission to the Moon discovers a living Tyrannosaurus Rex trapped in an alternate timeline. As time begins to unravel once more, Nick Paulson, director of the Office of Security Science, finds a time passage to the Cretaceous period where humans, ripped from the comforts of the twenty-first century, are barely surviving in the past. Led by a cultlike religious leader, these survivors are at war with another sentient species descended from dinosaurs.

As the asteroid that ends the reign of dinosaurs rushes toward Earth, Nick and his allies must survive a war between species and save the future as we know it.

Dinosaur Thunder is a terrifying, futuristic thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton and Douglas Preston.

Forge Books; December 2012; Hardcover; 384 pages.

The Rise of Ransom City (#2 of the Half Made World series) ~ by Felix Gilman http://felixgilman.com/

This is the story Harry Ransom. If you know his name it’s most likely as the inventor of the Ransom Process, a stroke of genius that changed the world.

Or you may have read about how he lost the battle of Jasper City, or won it, depending on where you stand in matters of politics.

Friends called him Hal or Harry, or by one of a half-dozen aliases, of which he had more than any honest man should. He often went by Professor Harry Ransom, and though he never had anything you might call a formal education, he definitely earned it.

If you’re reading this in the future, Ransom City must be a great and glittering metropolis by now, with a big bronze statue of Harry Ransom in a park somewhere. You might be standing on its sidewalk and not wonder in the least of how it grew to its current glory. Well, here is its story, full of adventure and intrigue. And it all starts with the day that old Harry Ransom crossed paths with Liv Alverhyusen and John Creedmoor, two fugitives running from the Line, amidst a war with no end. 

Tor Books; November 2012; Hardcover; 368 pages.

Luck of the draw Xanth (Volume 36 of 37) ~ by  Piers Anthony http://www.hipiers.com/

The second to the last of this incredible series.

Bryce is summoned to Xanth as part of a wager between the Demons Earth and Xanth. To his surprise, he has left behind his home and family and eighty-year-old body forever, in exchange for youth and magic….and a quest. He must court and marry Princess Harmony, who is anything but willing to be courted!

Luck of the Draw is Anthony’s thirty-sixth pun-filled adventure in the magical land of Xanth.

Tor Books; December 2012; Hardcover;  352 pages.  

Apex Books

Dark Faith Invocations ~ edited by Maruice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon

Religion, science, magic, love, family—everyone believes in something, and that faith pulls us through the darkness and the light.  The second coming of Dark Faith cries from the depths with 26 stories of sacrifice and redemption.

Sublet an apartment inside God's head.  Hunt giant Buddhas in a post-apocalyptic future.  Visit a city where an artist’s fantastic creations alter reality.  Discover the deep cosmic purpose behind your office vending machine.  Wield godlike powers and suffer the most heartbreaking of human limitations.
Join Max Allan Collins, Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Jennifer Pelland, Laird Barron, Tom Piccirilli, Nisi Shawl, and a host of the genre's best writers for an exploration into the things we hold dear and the truths that shatter us.

Join Max Allan Collins, Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Jennifer Pelland, Laird Barron, Tom Piccirilli, Nisi Shawl, and a host of the genre's best writers for an exploration into the things we hold dear and the truths that shatter us.

Trade Paperback; ISBN: 978-1-937009-07-6; 292 pages

Simon & Schuster – Various Imprints

The Mysterious Madam Morpho ~ Delilah S. Dawson

Taking place after Wicked as They Come, this original eBook features a mysterious lady and a reclusive mechanical genius who find love and danger in a traveling circus.

An elusive woman arrives at Criminy’s doorstep with a steamer trunk, begging for a position in the caravan to perform her unique new act. She opens her trunk to reveal a menagerie of brilliantly colored butterflies. The woman, who calls herself Madam Morpho, is on the run from a dark past in London, where she was forced to leave her equipment behind and abscond with only her tiny performers. Playing a hunch, Criminy hires Madam Morpho on the spot. Taking her down to meet Mr. Murdoch, the reclusive talented engineer who keeps the carnival’s clockworks running, Criminy instructs them to work together to design and build a groundbreaking new circus for the butterflies. Amid the magical ambiance of the circus and the hint of danger from Madam Morpho’s pursuers, she and Mr. Murdoch soon find that their scientific collaboration has produced chemistry of a more romantic kind.

Pocket Books, October 2012; eBook, 100 pages

Songs of Love and Darkness ~ by various authors

Featuring five of the greatest authors of fantasy, romance, and science fiction, this exclusive eBook set is a chilling collection of unearthly delights and harrowing thrills.

Featuring stories by Mary Jo Putney, Carrie Vaughn, Yasmine Galenorn, M.L.N. Hanover, and Lisa Tuttle these contemporary tales of ill-fated love, originally published in the anthology Songs of Love and Death (edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) explore romance in five wildly creative settings—from the hidden supernatural side of New York City to werewolf-occupied West Texas. Available at a special low price, these stories promise to keep you up all night.

Pocket Star, October 2012; eBook, 80 pages. 

Vicious Circle  ~ by Linda Roberson

A continuing series with the newest out in March 2013.

Being a witch doesn't pay the bills, but Persephone Alcmedi gets by between reading Tarot cards, writing her syndicated newspaper column, and kenneling werewolves in the basement when the moon is full -- even if witches aren't supposed to mingle with wolves. She really reaches the end of her leash, though, when her grandmother gets kicked out of the nursing home and Seph finds herself in the doghouse about some things she's written. Then her werewolf friend Lorrie is murdered...and the high priestess of an important coven offers Seph big money to destroy the killer, a powerful vampire named Goliath Kline. Seph is a tough girl, but this time she bites off more than she can chew. She needs a little help from her friends -- werewolf friends. One of those friends, Johnny, the motorcycle-riding lead singer for the techno-metal-Goth band Lycanthropia, has a crush on her. And while Seph has always been on edge around this 6'2" leather-clad hunk, she's starting to realize that although their attraction may be dangerous, nothing could be as lethal as the showdown that awaits them.

Book 1 - Pocket Books, June 2009; Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages.

• Book 2 - December 2009; Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages.
• Book 3 - June 2010; Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages.
• Book 4 - December 2010; Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages.
• Book 5 - December 2011; Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages.

Seven Locks ~ by Christine Wade

The Hudson River Valley, 1769: A man mysteriously disappears without a trace, abandoning his wife and children on their farm at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. At first many believe that his wife, who has the reputation of being a scold, has driven her husband away, but as the strange circumstances of his disappearance circulate, a darker story unfolds. And as the lines between myth and reality fade in the wilderness, and an American nation struggles to emerge, the lost man’s wife embarks on a desperate journey to find the means to ensure her family’s survival . . .

Atria Books, January 2013 Trade Paperback, 352 pages.

 

 All Standing ~ by Kathryn Miles

The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, the Legendary Irish Famine Ship recounts the journeys of this famous ship, her heroic crew, and the immigrants who were ferried between Ireland and North America. Spurred by a complex web of motivations—shame, familial obligation, and sometimes even greed—more than a million people attempted to flee the Irish famine. More than one hundred thousand of them would die aboard one of the five thousand aptly named “coffin ships.” But in the face of horrific losses, a small ship named the Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger. Shipwright John Munn, community leader Nicholas Donovan, Captain James Attridge, Dr. Richard Blennerhassett, and the efforts of a remarkable crew allowed thousands of people to find safety and fortune throughout the United States and Canada.

Interwoven in their tale is the story of Nicholas Reilly, a baby boy born on the ship’s maiden voyage. The Reilly family climbed aboard the Jeanie Johnston in search of the American Dream. While they would find some version of that dream, it would not be without a struggle—one that would deposit Nicholas into a deeply controversial moment in American history. Against this backdrop, Miles weaves a thrilling, intimate narrative, chronicling the birth of a remarkable Irish-American family in the face of one of the planet’s greatest human rights atrocities.

Free Press, January 2013 Hardcover, 256 pages.

Misc. Publishers

An Unmarked Grave ~ by Charles Todd

Even deadlier than the bloody engagements on the battle-scarred fields of France, the Spanish influenza epidemic in the spring of 1918 is bringing hundreds of new patients to World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford. But war and disease are not the only killers to strike with cold and brutal efficiency.

Concealed among the countless dead waiting for burial is the body of an officer whose end was not hastened by a German bullet or an airborne virus. This soldier was murdered, and his death touches Bess deeply, for he was a family friend who once served in her father's regiment.

Falling ill herself before she can report the heinous crime, Bess recovers too late to consult with the only other witness, who, by all official accounts, has since hanged himself. Bess refuses to let a killer escape justice, though her persistence turns an assassin's attention in her direction. Or is she already his next target?

1/2/2013;  Trade PB;  Harper Collins

The Hidden Ones (vol 1) ~ by Nancy Madore  http://www.nmadore.com/

As CEO of her own thriving company, Nadia Adeire is flush with success, but a secret society dating back to the Essenes believes her to be one of the ancient djinn—the notorious demoness of Hebrew legend, Lilith. What’s more, they have reason to believe that she’s plotting a catastrophic attack on the world.

Nadia is snatched from her ‘perfect’ life and trapped in a maze between a present day disaster and the ancient legends of the djinn. The only way out is to retrace the steps of her deceased grandmother, Helene. The deeper Nadia goes into the past, the harder it will be for her return unscathed. But it is the only way to stop the impending disaster that was set in motion five thousand years ago.

This chain of events has now reached the point where the djinn need more than just our bodies to survive. They must take back control of the earth, just as in the days when they ruled as gods.

November 1st 2012;  390 pages;  Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Untimed ~ by Andy Gavin http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/author/

Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, his own mother can’t remember his name. So when a mysterious clockwork man tries to kill him in modern day Philadelphia, and they tumble through a hole into 1725 London, Charlie realizes even the laws of time don’t take him seriously. Still, this isn’t all bad. Who needs school when you can learn about history first hand, like from Ben Franklin himself. And there’s this girl… Yvaine… another time traveler. All good. Except for the rules: boys only travel into the past and girls only into the future. And the baggage: Yvaine’s got a baby boy and more than her share of ex-boyfriends. Still, even if they screw up history — like accidentally let the founding father be killed — they can just time travel and fix it, right? But the future they return to is nothing like Charlie remembers. To set things right, he and his scrappy new girlfriend will have to race across the centuries, battling murderous machines from the future, jealous lovers, reluctant parents, and time itself.

Paperback, 325 pages; Published December 17th 2012; Mascherato.

The Holder’s Dominion ~ by Genese Davis  http://genesedavis.com/

After her father’s death on a mountain rescue mission, Kaylie Ames watched her family shatter. She fled Tacoma for college in faraway Austin, figuring that even the worst campus drama would be a relief. But when her old friend Elliott turns up on his knees in the grocery store aisle, raving about something called a morphis, Kaylie feels compelled to enter Elliott’s unfamiliar world.

Guided by Elliott and his friends, Kaylie signs on to the massively popular online game Edannair. There she discovers a world of beautiful vistas and magical creatures, where people from all over the globe step into the roles of warriors on fantastical quests. But a real-world evil threatens the players: the mysterious Holder, leader of the elite team known as Sarkmarr, is coercing his followers into traumatic offline dares known as “morphis assignments.” To save her friends, Kaylie must infiltrate Sarkmarr and survive the Holder’s tests. 

Will she find the courage there to hold her real-world family together?

Paperback, 382 pages; expected publication: March 1st 2013; Beaver's Pond Press