Monday, November 7, 2011

More Reviews and Health Update

Good Doctors visit today. Everything healing on schedule. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.


Blood Bound
Rachel Vincent
Mira, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778312550


The four friends (Liv, Anne, Kori and Elle) swore an oath to never ask one another for help because if requested, the one asked would be compelled to do anything to accomplish the mission. Now despite the written pact Anne burned the document so she can make Liv Warren the bloodhound tracker locate the killer of her late thirty-four year old Asian husband Shen Liang; father of their five years old daughter Hadley.

Liv the lone wolf has no choice due to that childhood blood oath, on which refusal means horrible death. When Hadley goes missing she has a more endearing reason to investigate. Liv and her former boyfriend Cam Caballero team up on the hunt in which his agenda is to learn why she ended their relationship.

Blood Bound is superb first romantic urban fantasy investigative thriller as Rachel Vincent creates a fascinating dangerous world in which people are Skilled or Unskilled. The story line is fast-paced but held together by dynamic Liv whose convicted history impacts her big time today with the oath, her relationship with Cam, and her insistence she is not a blood splatterer anymore. Readers will enjoy the new paranormal Vincent world as fascinating Liv escorts fans around the deadly bloody landscape. Harriet Klausner

Low Town
Daniel Polansky
Doubleday, $25.95
ISBN: 9780385534468


Of the Thirteen Cities, Rigus is by far the grandest. However, while that magnificent city shines, a suburb Low Town is the diametrically opposite with violent crime and rampant drug addiction and prostitution on every block corner of the rundown precinct.

Low Town
is run with an iron fist by the distrusting Warden. He was once a hero during the Great War only a few years ago and was a member of the Black House police before he was disgraced and sent into exile. An addict Warden has even nastier rivals that he keeps at bay because he expects the worst in people. The Warden has one ally of sorts in Crane the magician. When kids in his precinct disappear, the Warden wants to ignore them. However, the first corpse he discovers alarms him and forces him to ally with his former law enforcement compatriots the Black House to insure a proper investigation occurs.

Although somewhat difficult to delineate the recent past with the present, Low Town is a gritty post-apocalyptic investigative noir starring a vicious antihero. The dystopian story line is at it best during the inquiry that besides providing a good murder mystery enables readers to picture the slummy precinct and understand the helplessness of the impoverished. This is an engaging first tale as Daniel Polansky paints a draconian future. Harriet Klausner

The Magic of Recluse
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Tor, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765331120


The world is torn between order and chaos. On the island Recluce, order rules to the absolute degree superseding individual liberties. Teenage Lerris bounces between undesirable ennui and unhealthy questioning. His skeptical interrogation for truth has the Brotherhood black wizards believing he has the potential of becoming a high level wizard or otherwise permanent exile.

Though doubting his skills, he accepts the mission of learning the chaos in the worlds outside of his homeland. Lerris leaves the island content for war ravaged chaotic Candar where in Freetown he is pronounced as a rogue wizard subject to assassination. Antonin the white chaos wizard tries to kill the stunned teen, but he escapes using his black order magic. Justen the grey wizard mentors the lad but he flees when he learns the grey wizards steal souls. He reaches Fenard where he becomes an apprentice to an ailing incompetent but kind woodworker Destrin and takes over making the business successful for his teacher and the family. As his skills develop, Lerris knows he must go home.

This is a twentieth anniversary reprinting of the first Saga of Recluce fantasy. The story line holds up well as the Modesitt magical system remains logical between the whites of chaos, the black of order and the greys of chaos and order. The coming of age adventure stars a young hero who learns life lessons in accountability and responsibility for others. Although an anticipated final wizards’ duel between Lerris and Antonin never quite achieves the expected level, fans will appreciate the opening act of order vs. chaos vs. order-chaos. Harriet Klausner

Body of Sin
Eve Silver
Harlequin HQN, $7.99
ISBN: 9780373775927


The Underworld god Sutekh brutally killed his youngest son soul reaper Lokan Krayl who allowed his father to torture and kill him to keep his daughter Dana safe. Lokan’s stunned three brothers (Dagan, Alastor and Mal) diligently worked to bring their sibling’s lost soul back into his body (see Sins of the Heart, Sins of the Soul and Sins of the Flesh). They succeed, but though alive Lokan remains trapped inside of purgatory.

Dana’s other parent Bryn Carr fears for her daughter’s life. She, like Lokan did with her, hid her paranormal skills from him. Now she needs Lokan to protect Dana from her vicious paternal grandfather. Bryn enters purgatory to escort Lokan through the 12 Gates to earth.

The latest Otherkin “Sin” fantasy continues deftly to deploy the Egyptian mythology that is the base of the superb saga. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Lokan fails to escape purgatory and never slows down. The engaging tale works with multiple subplots pushing to conclusion the overarching theme; whether it is the present in which his siblings work on freeing their soulmates, he and Bryn team up; or the past look at when the lead couple met. Although the romance takes a back seat to the action, fans will enjoy the final brother’s epic tale. Harriet Klausner

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Reviews

Reviews from Harriet

Zone One
Colson Whitehead
Doubleday, Oct 18 2011, $25.95
ISBN: 9780385528078

Now known as Mark Spitz, he wanted to live in Manhattan after witnessing the lifestyle of his Uncle Lloyd vs. the boredom of his parents who proved reincarnation exists having done the numbing drill for the zillionth time. He assumed law school was the ticket to New York, New York though his grades were lacking; selling high end coffee to the rich and wannabes is not the way to swim to the gold. Instead the Last Night Plague became his avenue as he joined the clean up crew and became known as Mark Spitz of the Omega Unit.

On orders from the government VIPs in a safe opulent green zone in Buffalo, the army reclaimed Zone One, everything below Canal Street. The leaders push the American Phoenix Rising renewal highlighted by the upbeat song Stop! Can You Hear the Eagle Roar? Spitz and the other Omega Unit civilian volunteers conduct a dangerous building by building search for the infected living dead in Zone One. Three days of search and destroy has left Spitz on the brink of lunacy; that will be dubbed by the psychology department as Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder.

Using the zombie craze as a means, Colson Whitehead writes an intriguing brilliant satire that lampoons Manhattan and by default America. The story line focuses on volunteer exterminator Spitz who over three days goes from gung ho to burn out. Timely with the recent debt fiasco, assault on public workers to pay political tabs and the middle class financial depression, this terrific complicated American allegory is summed up by the protagonist’s father: “things will be even worse than they are now." Harriet Klausner

Sunrise of Avalon
Anna Elliott
Simon & Schuster, $16.00
ISBN: 9781416589914


Former High Queen Widow Isolde and her intrepid protector Trystan the mercenary are in love and marry in secret following efforts to keep his brutal sire, the Cornwall King Marche from becoming the High King of Britain (see Dark Moon of Avalon). Because of his shame of his ruthless father’s heritage and his own activities as a solder, Trystan keeps some of himself apart from his beloved. She, in turn, fails to inform her beloved that she is carrying his child.

Marche and his allies Saxon King of Kent Octa of the “Bloody Knife" and the High King Madoc begin a terror campaign to destroy the opposition. Trystan tries to serendipitously subvert their unholy alliance. Isolde pleads with Madoc to withdraw for the good of the nation, but he informs her Octa captured his son Rhun. Lord Marche recaptures Isolde and demands a second marriage of political convenience as they were briefly married last year and he is unaware she is wed to his son. She and Rhun escape leading to his sire attacking the Saxons in the Battle of Britain.

The final Trystan & Isolde Arthurian mythos (see Twilight of Avalon) is an exciting complicated (at times too convoluted) thriller as betrayal, treachery and broken alliances are the norm. Politics makes strange bedfellows with human hostage being the choice of the times. Although readers will want to smack Trystan on the head for his inability to fully accept Isolde’s love of him, fans of Anna Elliot’s saga will enjoy the outcome of Arthur’s legacy determined by “helpless” women. Harriet Klausner

Where Demons Fear to Tread
Stephanie Chong
Mira, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778312475


In West Hollywood, yoga instructor Serena St. Clair, the tyro angel, enters Devil’s Paradise nightclub. Her celestial mission to protect the soul of notorious Nick “It Boy” Ramirez starts with getting him out of the local hot spot. However, the club’s owner Julian Ascher intercepts Serena before she can retrieve her wayward celeb.

Julian is the most powerful demon in Southern California; his mission is to eradicate Nick’s soul. He bets the angelic rookie into coming with him for a week in Las Vegas with the stakes being Nick’s soul that he currently possesses. In Sin City, Serena struggles with the temptation of the enemy that would cost her soul while Julian struggles with the same enticement that would redeem his soul.

This is an entertaining romantic urban fantasy starring beloved enemies who distrust one another partly because of the taboo attraction. The story line is fast-paced but rather thin with no twists as the plot follows what the audience anticipates will occur during the initial encounter in Devil’s Paradise. Still fans will enjoy the trek Where Demons (and angels) Fear to Tread. Harriet Klausner

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Solaris Rising

Two of the biggest names in contemporary science fiction – Peter F. Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds – have spoken about their work in a fresh new anthology of SF from Solaris.

The authors of the Night's Dawn Trilogy and the Revelation Space series are both included in Solaris Rising – the first in an exciting new series of anthologies set to reaffirm Solaris’s proud reputation for producing high quality SF.

"Original fiction anthologies are the lifeblood of SF, the proving ground for new ideas and themes, as well as a great place to discover new writers,” Alastair Reynolds. “Solaris Rising fills a vital need, and I'm very pleased to have been a part of it."

In a book full of boundless variety, energy and imagination, award-winning editor Ian Whates gathers the most accomplished writers in the genre including Ian McDonald, Paul di Filippo, Stephen Baxter, Adam Roberts, Pat Cadigan, Eric Brown, Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton.

"When Ian asked me to contribute to this anthology and showed me the other names involved I never hesitated,” Peter F. Hamilton. “Even though my story isn't quite SF in the true sense, I'm still pleased it managed to get in there."

Bizarre futures, gritty other worlds and strange realms, Solaris Rising exemplifys the diversity and innovation that continue to make science fiction the most thrilling genre there is.

Solaris Rising (edited by Ian Whates)

OUT NOW!

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-08-7 $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-09-4

Friday, November 4, 2011

Press release

Babylon Steel

by Gaie Sebold

Your fantasies fulfilled on 27th December (UK) and on 5th January 2012 (US & Can)

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-37-7

$7.99 (US & Canada) ISBN 978-1-907992-38-4

Also available as an eBook

Ex-sword-for-hire Babylon Steel runs the best brothel in the city. She’s got elves using sex magic upstairs, S&M in the basement, a green troll cooking breakfast in the kitchen, and she’d love you to visit, except…

She’s not having a good week. The Vessels of Purity are protesting against brothels, her girls are disappearing, and if she can’t pay her taxes she’s going to lose her business. Despite giving up the mercenary life, when the mysterious Darask Fain pays her to find a missing heiress, she has to take the job. And then her past starts to catch up with her in other, more dangerous ways.

Babylon Steel sees the start of an exciting new fantasy series. Witty and fresh, debut author Sebold delivers the most exciting take on the fantasy genre in years.

"A unique and richly realised setting, a vivid cast, a plot that coils and divides and fakes and deceives...

Ingenious, gripping, and full of pleasures on every level. Exceptional."


– Mike Carey, author of NYT Best Seller The Unwritten and the Felix Castor novels

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Gonzo Steampunk Alternative History

Powell’s new ‘alternative history, gonzo cyberpunk’ novel picked up by Solaris

Solaris is proud to announce it has commissioned the next book from one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction, Gareth L. Powell.

Ack-Ack Macaque will be published in January 2013. Based on a short story published in 2007, the author describes the story as ‘a fusion of alternate history and gonzo cyberpunk’.

In a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s, Powell has crafted an environment where nuclear-powered Zeppelins encircle the globe, electronic ghosts stalk the living, and a king lies dying; a world in which a half-brained woman struggles to solve a deadly riddle in order to regain her stolen soul, and a monkey sets about killing as many online gamers as possible, in order to avert Armageddon.

With the scale of Iain M. Banks and the intrigue of Alistair Reynolds, Powell’s The Recollection was published by Solaris earlier this year and brought a stunning breath of fresh air into epic science-fiction – an astounding novel about both personal human relationships and their place in the vastness of time and space.

“It’s a real thrill to discover a great new voice in SF,” said Jonathan Oliver, editor-in-chief of Solaris. “I was utterly blown away by Gareth’s The Recollection and Ack-Ack-Macaque will show again how diverse and incisive a writer Powell is.”

“Gareth Powell is going to be a major voice in SF” – Paul Cornell

“Just the way SF should work”
– Warren Ellis on the Ack-Ack Macaque short story

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Cubiale 7

Having already conquered the world of roleplaying games, one of the most dynamic RPG publishers in Britain is now advancing into the world of fiction.

Cubicle 7 is pleased to announce the forthcoming launch of its new fiction imprint – Cubicle 7 Fiction.

In cooperation with the established and successful Solaris and Abaddon Books imprints, Cubicle 7 Fiction will publish between three and five novels and anthologies a year based upon its terrific science fiction, fantasy, and speculative properties.

The first title will be Sarah Newton’s far future adventure, Mindjammer. The novel and its universe can be explored at the new website www.mindjammer.com

Mindjammer will be released in ebook format late this month, with a release of physical print edition to follow. Additional titles will be announced in the months to come.

Cubicle 7 has already earned a stellar reputation thanks to the quality of the RPG games, which range from aliens and trans-humans to vistas of a far-flung future and Steampunk dystopias peopled by Frankensteinian monsters. Its stable of imagination-fuelled intellectual properties has inspired and driven numerous roleplaying game lines.

“With Solaris, Abaddon, and Cubicle 7 all under the Rebellion umbrella, we have a great opportunity to expand the scope of our settings,” said Dominic McDowall-Thomas, CEO of Cubicle 7. “We’re in a great position to take advantage of the expertise and resources of an established publishing house, and we can bring our properties to life in a way that supports the games but also allows the fiction to stand on its own.”

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Theme Planet

Theme Planet by Andy Remic

Blazing into action on 8th December in the UK and 29th November in US & Canada

£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-10-0

$8.99 (US & Canada) ISBN 978-1-907992-11-7

Also available as an eBook

It’s better than sex! It’s better than drugs! If you haven’t been sick yet, you soon will be...

Welcome to Theme Planet, an entire alien world dedicated to insane rides, excessive hedonism and dangerous adventure - the No. 1 destination for fun-seeking human holidaymakers galaxy-wide!

Amba Miskalov is an Anarchy Android – beautiful, merciless and deadly. Sent to Theme Planet on a dangerous assassination mission, Amba stumbles upon a plot to undermine and destroy Earth’s all-powerful Oblivion Government – and its Ministers of Joy. Will Amba remain loyal to her creators and tormentors, support the enemy – or just annihilate them all?

The writer behind the popular Combat K novels returns with a new series set in the world of The Anarchy – another blistering SF journey that fans will love and new readers will find full of action infused adventure!


“Hard-hitting, galaxy spanning, no-holds barred, old fashioned action adventure.”


– The Guardian on War Machine