Locus Online
 
MONITOR

New Books 4th week July
Daniel Abraham
Kelley Armstrong
Eoin Colfer
Nancy A. Collins
Greg Egan
Michael Grant
Mary Hoffman
Henry Melton
Garth Nix
Nisi Shawl
Charlene Teglia
S.L. Viehl
Robert Freeman Wexler

New Books 3rd week July
L.A. Banks
Sarah Beth Durst
Fran Friel
James C. Glass
Greenberg & Hughes
James Patrick Kelly
Kristin Landon
Pat McNamara et al
Justine Musk
Wendy Corsi Staub
David Weber

2008 Archive

2008 Books Directories

Advertisement
KEY

This page lists selected newly published SFFH books seen by Locus Online (independently from the listings compiled by Locus Magazine).

Review copies received will be listed (though reprints and reissues are on other pages), but not galleys or advance reading copies. Selections, some based only on bookstore sightings, are at the discretion of Locus Online.

* = first edition
+ = first US edition
Date with publisher info is official publication month;
Date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received.

LINKS

Links Portal

Bookseller Links

Your purchase of books through Amazon.com and Amazon UK links (click on titles or covers) helps support Locus Online

Publisher Links


 
New SF/F/H books : last week July 2008
posted 2 August 2008

* Andre-Driussi, Michael : Lexicon Urthus: A Dictionary for the Urth Cycle, Second Edition
(Sirius Fiction 978-0-9642795-1-3, $19.95, 20+419pp, trade paperback, August 2008)

Nonfiction dictionary of names and terms from Gene Wolfe's Urth Cycle, which includes the four "Book of the New Sun" novels (The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, and The Citadel of the Autarch), its sequel The Urth of the New Sun, the novella Empires of Foliage and Flower, and several short stories.
• The first edition was published in 1994, and earned the editor a World Fantasy Award nomination. This edition adds 300 new entries to the first edition's 950+, plus updated maps, commentaries, and a synopsis of the narrative.
• The publisher's site has this description, which includes a list of the booklets of additions and errata that have been incorporated into this new volume.
• A hardcover edition is also available.

(Wed 30 Jul 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Baxter, Stephen : Flood
(UK: Gollancz 978-0-575-08056-0, £18.99, 473pp, hardcover, July 2008)

Near-future catastrophe novel in which sea levels rise and flood coastal cities -- not only because of global warming. It's first of a diptych, to be followed next year by Ark.
• The publisher's site has this description, with an author Q&A.
• The author's site has links to an article on the background of the novel, The Flooding of London, and several short works related to the novel exclusively on the site.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the June issue of Locus Magazine, noting that the publisher is promoting it as "entry-level SF", "making few conceptual demands of the reader and replete with the kind of melodramatic coincidences and touching reunions of pop disaster tales"; but Wolfe concludes "for what it is, a largely old-fashioned disaster tale presented with spectacle and efficient pacing, Flood is a pretty effective entertainment."

(Mon 28 Jul 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

|

* Bear, Elizabeth : Hell and Earth
(Roc 978-0-451-46218-3, $14, 419pp, trade paperback, August 2008, cover art Paul Youll)

Fantasy novel in the author's "Promethean Age" series about war between Faerie and the iron world, following Ink and Steel published last month, and prequel to Blood and Iron (2006) and Whiskey and Water (2007). These books concern Christopher Marlowe and Will Shakespeare.
• The author's site has this page about the series, listing forthcoming titles and noting "The four novels listed at the top of the page are only the beginning of the vast mad edifice I hope someday to construct. ..."
• The Publishers Weekly's review cautions that "this complex and character-driven tale is best read with the other Promethean Age novels close at hand, not least because it lacks the all-important dramatis personae."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Bear, Greg : City at the End of Time
(UK: Gollancz 978-0-575-08188-8, £18.99, 470pp, hardcover, July 2008, cover illustration Steve Lailey)

Far future SF epic about a city named Kalpa, the last refuge of humanity, and three people from modern-day Seattle who dream of that future and who possess ancient artifacts called sum-runners.
• Gollancz' site has this description and quotes from reviews.
• The US edition from Ballantine Del Rey will be out in August.
• Book site http://www.cityattheendoftime.com/ has links to a slideshow about Seattle, to fatelines, to blog Dreams of the City at the End of Time, to merchandise (t-shirts, mugs), and to author appearances.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the June issue of Locus Magazine, calling it "wildly ambitious" and "his first foray into large-scale cosmological SF in years". He concludes, "Readers who've been waiting for more than a decade for Bear to return to the visionary epics of the Eon or Forge of God series had better hold on to their hats."

(Mon 28 Jul 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

|

* Beckett, Galen : The Magicians and Mrs. Quent
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-58982-5, $23, 498pp, hardcover, August 2008, jacket art Phillip Heffernan)

Fantasy novel, the author's first novel, set in an alternate England, about a young woman who becomes governess at a country estate while pursuing a cure for her magician father.
• Bantam's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes the influences of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and H.P. Lovecraft.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews the book in the August issue of Locus Magazine, calling it a "striking fantasy, a mix of Victorian gothic and Regency comedy of manners" and an "extraordinarily accomplished first novel".

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Briggs, Patricia : Cry Wolf
(Ace 978-0441016150, $7.99, 294pp, mass market paperback, August 2008, cover art Daniel Dos Santos)

Fantasy novel, first in new series "Alpha and Omega", about a woman who becomes a rare type of werewolf. It's set in the world of Briggs' previous series about Mercy Thompson, Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed.
• The author's website has her comments on the background of the book and a sample chapter.

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Carlson, Jeff : Plague War
(Ace 978-0-441-01617-4, $7.99, 292pp, mass market paperback, August 2008)

Science fiction novel about survivors of a nanotech plague, sequel to last year's Plague Year. This book concerns competition for a vaccine that could cure the plague.
• The author's website has a first chapter excerpts from both books.
• Amazon has posts by the author, including a video trailer called "4 Minutes Above 10,000 Feet".

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Drake, Jocelynn : Nightwalker
(Eos 978-0-06-154277-0, $7.99, 370pp, mass market paperback, August 2008, cover art Don Sipley)

Dark fantasy novel, first in the Dark Days series, about Mira, a centuries-old enforcer for a secret organization who has the special ability to create fire.
• The publisher's site has this description with its "browse inside" feature including an excerpt.
• The author's website also has an excerpt, plus several pages of history about the book's characters and essays about the book's concepts.

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Flewelling, Lynn : Shadows Return
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-59008-1, $7.5, 522pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Michael J. Komarck)

Fantasy novel, fourth book in the "Nightrunner" series following Luck in the Shadows (1996), Stalking Darkness (1997), and Traitor's Moon (1999). In this book master spies Seregil and Alec are ambushed and sold into slavery.
• Bantam's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed it in the June issue of Locus Magazine: "This isn't your typical action-filled fantasy spy adventure, being rather slow and grim, but it picks up nicely in the end, pulling together for a satisfying conclusion despite some unexpected twists to explore in future volumes."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Frost, Gregory : Lord Tophet
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49759-8, $14, 222pp, trade paperback, August 2008, cover illustration Thomas Thiemeyer)

Fantasy novel, second in a duology following Shadowbridge (January 2008), set on an ocean-covered world whose inhabitants live on a complex system of linked bridges. This book concerns Leodora, the daughter of shadow-puppeteer Bardsham.
• Del Rey's site has this page for the book, and an excerpt.
• The Amazon page also has an excerpt. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review in its May 25th issue: "Frost brings the charm of an ancient storyteller and the wit of a contemporary tale-spinner to this dramatic tale, effortlessly manipulating his troupe of mortals and immortals and bringing the truths and myths of Shadowbridge equally to life."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the July issue of Locus Magazine: "Lord Tophet is far less a sequel than a conclusion, picking up directly from the action in Shadowbridge with no recaps for new or forgetful readers. ... it retains most of the charms of that highly original world (the interpolated tales, the implication of a world made of Story) without fully opening it up."

(Wed 16 Jul 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Howard, Chris : Seaborn
(Juno 978-0-8095-7281-6, $7.99, 380pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Timothy Lantz)

Fantasy novel, the author's first novel, about an ancient undersea world, a Seaborn king's granddaughter who's been exiled to the surface, and a California college student possessed by a Seaborn sorcerer.
• The publisher's site has this description with a text excerpt, links to audio excerpts, and a profile of the author.
• The author's blog includes this Everything Seaborn page, with a link to book site SaltwaterWitch.com; both have links to publicity items, background on story and characters, chapter excerpts and a short story.

(Fri 11 Jul 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Maxey, James : Dragonforge
(Solaris 978-1844165810, $7.99, 555pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Michael Komarck)

Science fantasy novel, follow-up to Bitterwood (2007), about a future in which dragons have conquered humanity. In this book war breaks out between the humans and dragons, despite those who fought for peace between the two races.
• The publisher's site has this page for the book, with a PDF sample chapter.
• The author has set up this mini-site about the books.

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Modesitt, L. E., Jr. : Mage-Guard of Hamor
(Tor 978-0-7653-1927-2, $27.95, 621pp, hardcover, July 2008, jacket art Darrell K. Sweet)

Fantasy novel, 15th book in the Saga of Recluce and the second half of the story that began in the previous book Natural Ordermage (2007), about Rahl, an apprentice with a bad attitude who's exiled from Recluce to learn how to control his magic.
• Tor's website has this description.
• Amazon's "search inside" function includes an excerpt.

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Resnick, Mike : Stalking the Vampire
(Pyr 978-1-59102-649-5, $25, 268pp, hardcover, August 2008, cover illustration Dan Dos Santos)

Humorous fantasy novel subtitled "A Fable of Tonight", sequel to Stalking the Unicorn (1987, just reprinted in paperback by Pyr), set in an alternate Manhattan, in which private investigator John Justin Mallory pursues a vampire that's threatened his assistant.
• Pyr's site has this description.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Readers with a taste for supernatural whimsy will find much to enjoy."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Ringo, John : The Last Centurion
(Baen 978-1-4165-5553-7, $25, 439pp, hardcover, August 2008, cover by Kurt Miller)

Near-future SF novel about an American Army officer trying to preserve his homeland in the aftermath of global catastrophes that strike in the next decade.
• Book site The Last Centurion has an episode guide, a video interview with the author, merchanside (t-shirts, mugs, caps), etc.; the book information page includes a radio interview schedule that ties the book to the current presidential campaign. (The Library Journal review on the book's Barnes & Noble page implies that the book's villain is a certain "whiny bitch" in the White House.)
• Baen's webscription site has this page with links to several chapter excerpts.

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Scott, Tim : Love in the Time of Fridges
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-38441-3, $12, 364pp, trade paperback, August 2008, cover art Jeff Lavaty)

Humorous SF novel subtitled "A Sci-Fi Thriller (of sorts)", the author's second novel after last year's Outrageous Fortune. This book is set in a future New Seattle obsessed with eliminating all possibility of danger, in which ex-cop Huckleberry Lindbergh investigates a conspiracy involving talking refrigerators.
• Bantam's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review is mixed: "Accelerating mad action and vivid, cleverly written glimpses of bystanders contrast sharply with the weak female characters: despite their all-seeing and revealing eyes, the two women rarely shift beyond plot objects, and the talking fridges have more personality."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* Turtledove, Harry : The Man with the Iron Heart
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-50434-0, $27, 532pp, hardcover, July 2008)

Alternate history novel in which Nazi resistance following the end of World War II was not neutralized by the assassination of SS Obergruppenfhrer Reinhard Heydrich, the notorious "Man with the Iron Heart", in 1942, and Allied forces face a prolonged German guerilla war.
• Del Rey's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review noted "The parallels to the current situation in Iraq are obvious but cleverly drawn, leaving readers on both sides of the war debate with much to think about."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

* What, Leslie : Crazy Love
(Wordcraft of Oregon 978-1-877655-59-3, $13.95, 197pp, trade paperback, July 2008, cover painting Jessica Plattner)

Collection of 17 stories, first published from 1998 to 2004 with one story apparently original to this book. Contents include "The Cost of Doing Business", winner of a Nebula Award in 2000.
• Kate Wilhelm provides an introduction.
• The publisher's site has this description with quotes from reviews and blurbs from Ursula K. Le Guin, Molly Gloss, and Karen Joy Fowler.
Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review in its May 12th issue: "No matter how brief or long, no matter how bizarre, each tale in this collection grabs readers and demands they rethink how they see all the myriad forms of love."

(Sun 22 Jun 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|

+ Wilkins, Kim : The Veil of Gold
(Tor 978-0-7653-2006-3, $25.95, 495pp, hardcover, July 2008)

Supernatural fantasy novel drawn from Russian history, about researchers pursuing a magical statue of a golden bear who disappear in the Russian wilderness.
• The book was published earlier as Rosa and the Veil of Gold by HarperCollins Australia in 2005 and Orion UK in 2006.
• Tor's website has this description.
• The author's site has a description on this page of supernatural thrillers, with a link to a YouTube video of the author talking about the book.
Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review in its May 25th issue, saying it "refracts Russian history through a brilliantly jeweled kaleidoscope of folklore in this sparkling tale." PW concludes "Wilkins's human characters are endearing and her mythic monsters spring into vibrant life. Adult fairy tales don't come any better than this."

(Fri 1 Aug 2008) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

|


  TOP
© 2008 by Locus Publications. All rights reserved.