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Brooks, Michael :
13 Things That Don't Make Sense
(Doubleday 978-0-385-52068-3, $23.95, 240pp, hardcover, August 2008)
Associational nonfiction book about "the most baffling scientific mysteries of our time", expanded from a popular 2005 article in New Scientist magazine.
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Topics include missing mass, cold fusion, evidence of life on Mars, signals from ETs, the placebo effect, and homeopathy.
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Doubleday's site has this description.
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Amazon has its own review by New York Times science columnist Anahad O'Connor: "Mr. Brooks expertly works his way through these and other hotly debated quandaries in a smooth, engaging writing style reminiscent of Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould. At times, as I was deeply engrossed in parts of this book, I found myself as captivated and wide-eyed as I was decades ago when I picked up my first science books and found my calling..."
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Czerneda, Julie E. :
Riders of the Storm
(DAW 978-0-7564-0518-2, $24.95, 456pp, hardcover, September 2008, jacket painting Luis Royo)
SF novel, second in the "Stratification" sequence following Reap the Wild Wind (2007). In this book, exiles from Yena Clan face winter in the mountains, where they discover secrets about their past.
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The author's website has a description and excerpt.
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John Scalzi has this post about Czerneda, sexual selection, and her various books; "The best, however, is the groundwork for the finale to come. I can't wait. Because when I write Reunification, I will go over the next hill. I already know what's there. It's nothing I imagined that dark Saskatchewan night..."
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Gregory, Daryl :
Pandemonium
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-50116-5, $13, 288pp, trade paperback, September 2008, cover illustration Greg Ruth)
Alternate history fantasy novel, the author's first novel, about a plague of demon possessions studied by scientists since the 1950s. The book follows Del Pierce's attempt to exorcise the demon Hellion, a quest that leads to, among others, Valis, the demon possessing Philip K. Dick.
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Del Rey's site has this description and an excerpt.
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The author's website has this page for the book, with links to an interview and to several reviews, including Paul Witcover's review from Locus Magazine, July 2008, calling it "an unusually strong debut, a quirky fantasy whose Pynchonesque elements are more statisfying than the plot to which they are harnessed".
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Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its July 7th issue: "Believable characters, a multilayered plot and smooth prose define Gregory's darkly ambitious debut novel. ...Absorbing psychological discussions of possession abound, from Jungian archetypes to the eye of Shiva. Readers will delve deeply into Gregory's highly original demon-infested reality and hope for a sequel."
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Kirkpatrick, Russell :
Path of Revenge
(Orbit US 978-0-316-00715-3, $7.99, 677pp, mass market paperback, August 2008, cover illustration Steve Stone)
Fantasy novel, first book in a new series about Husk, a once-powerful magician planning his revenge.
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It was first published in Australia and New Zealand in December 2006, and won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for best novel published in New Zealand.
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The author's site has this page about the book, with an extract and maps.
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Orbit's website provides a link to a review at Highlander's Book Reviews.
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Kittredge, Caitlin :
Pure Blood
(St. Martin's Paperbacks 978-0-312-94830-6, $6.99, 326pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
Supernatural mystery/romance novel, second in a series following Night Life (April 2008), about a police detective and werewolf who's the only woman in her family who's not a witch.
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The publisher's site has this description with quotes from reviews, and an excerpt.
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Lee, Sharon, & Steve Miller :
Duainfey
(Baen 978-1-416-55552-0, $24, 318pp, hardcover, September 2008, cover art Tom Kidd)
Romantic fantasy novel, first of a duology, about a young woman, her reputation ruined, whose father arranges her marriage to Altimere of the Elder Fey.
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The second book, Longeye, will be published next April.
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Baen's website has this description with links to several chapters.
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Amazon has several reader reviews.
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Marco, John, & Martin H. Greenberg :
Imaginary Friends
(DAW 978-0-7564-0511-3, $7.99, 304pp, mass market paperback, September 2008)
Anthology of 13 original stories about imaginary friends.
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Authors include Rick Hautala, Jean Rabe, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jim C. Hines, Fiona Patton, Bill Fawcett.
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Amazon has a review by Harriet Klausner.
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Martinez, A. Lee :
Too Many Curses
(Tor 978-0-7653-1835-0, $14.95, 316pp, trade paperback, September 2008, cover art Eric Fortune)
Fantasy novel about Nessy, the housekeeper for the wizard Margle the Horrendous, who never killed his victims but turned them into various accursed forms, and whose death leaves Nessy to take care of them.
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Tor's website has this description, with an audio interview with the author about the book and his reputation as a humorous writer.
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Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Martinez (The Automatic Detective) staffs this whimsical fantasy with his trademark weird beings and sets it in the mysterious castle of powerful, cruel wizard Margle the Horrendous....Too insubstantial and smug for adults, this story might do better with teens."
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Rhodes, Natasha :
The Last Angel
(Solaris 978-1844165773, $7.99, 411pp, mass market paperback, August 2008)
Supernatural fantasy novel, second in a series following Dante's Girl (2007), about department store worker Kayla Steele, who battles supernatural entities stalking L.A. In this book, an angel is found murdered on Sunset Boulevard.
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Solaris' website has this description with quotes from reviews and a PDF sample chapter.
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Amazon has several reader reviews.
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Stein, Jeanne C. :
Legacy
(Ace 978-0-441-01626-6, $7.99, 296pp, mass market paperback, September 2008, cover art Cliff Nielsen)
Vampire novel, fourth book in the Anna Strong Chronicles following The Becoming, Blood Drive, and The Watcher.
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In the book Anna battles for an inheritance with a predatory werewolf.
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Stein's website has a description (scroll down) with links to sample reviews.
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Stirling, S. M. :
The Scourge of God
(Roc 978-0-451-46228-2, $25.95, 450pp, hardcover, September 2008, jacket art Larry Rostant)
Alternate history SF novel, second in a trilogy following The Sunrise Lands (2007), set a generation after a mysterious "Change" that rendered most technology inoperative. This book concerns clan leader Rudi MacKenzie's quest to reach Nantucket Island, origin of the Change.
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Stirling's official website has this description with links to sample chapters, a map, and various other extras.
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Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its July 28th issue: "Stirling eloquently describes a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF."
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