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Brennan, Herbie :
Ruler of the Realm
(Bloomsbury 1-58234-881-2, $18.95, 430pp, hardcover, October 2006, jacket illustration Cliff Nielsen)
Fantasy novel, third in the author's "Faerie Wars" series, following Faerie Wars (2003) and The Purple Emperor (2004).
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The first book, Faerie Wars, has just been reissued in mass-market paperback by Tor.
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Website Faerie Wars has maps, extracts, games, screensavers, etc.
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The publisher's site has this extract.
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Doctorow, Cory :
Overclocked
(Thunder's Mouth Press 1-56025-981-7, $15.95, 285pp, trade paperback, February 2007)
Collections of six stories, subtitled "Stories of the Future Present", with introductions to each story by the author.
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Contents include 2005 novelette "I, Robot", Hugo Award nominee and Locus Award winner, "Anda's Game", which was reprinted in the Best American Short Stories 2005, and 2006 contenders "When Sysadmins Rules the Earth" and "I, Row-Boat".
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The author has this page for the book, with notes about book launch parties and free downloads under the Creative Commons license.
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Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which says the book "explores the benefits and consequences of online systems in this provocative collection of six mostly long stories. ... Most 'meat'-minded readers will find much to savor."
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Flint, Eric, ed. :
The Grantville Gazette III
(Baen 1-4165-0941-0, $25, 313pp, hardcover, January 2007, cover illustration Tom Kidd)
Alternate history anthology of 7 stories set in the universe of Flint's 1632 and sequels, plus a serial installment and 4 nonfiction articles.
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Baen's site has a description with links to excerpts, including Flint's preface and stories by Virginia DeMarce, David Carrico, and Gorg Huff.
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The stories were first published online via Baen's WebScriptions, where this anthology is up to Volume X.
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Amazon has the Booklist review by Roland Green, who notes that the book "boasts the same combination of charm and intelligence as its predecessors and again has continuing character Anne Jefferson on the cover in less than she really enjoys wearing."
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Green, Simon R. :
Hell to Pay
(Ace 0-441-01460-7, $6.99, 264pp, mass market paperback, January 2007, cover art Jonathan Barkat)
Fantasy novel, seventh in the author's "Nightside" series and first in a new story arc, about detective John Taylor in an otherworldly realm in the middle of London, that began with Something from the Nightside (2003) and most recently included Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (2006).
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Green's Wikipedia entry has a description of the series and a list of the previous books.
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Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which concludes "the most entertaining aspect lies not in Taylor's investigation but in anticipating what Green's twisted imagination will conjure next."
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Kerr, P. B. :
The Children of the Lamp: Cobra King Of Kathmandu
(Orchard Books 0439670233, $16.99, 9+373pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket illustration Peter Meseldzija)
YA fantasy novel, third in a series following The Akhenaten Adventure and The Blue Djinn of Babylon, about fraternal half-djinn twins. In this book the twins try to help a fellow djinn whose friend was murdered by the bite of a king cobra.
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The UK edition was published in August 2006 by Scholastic.
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Scholastic's site has this description.
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Kiernan, Caitlín R. :
Daughter of Hounds
(Roc 978-0-451-46125-4, $14, 431pp, trade paperback, January 2007, cover painting Cliff Nielsen)
Horror novel about psychic sensitive Deacon Silvey and ghouls in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Roc's site has this description: "They are the Children of the Cuckoo. Stolen from their cribs and concealed in shadows to be raised by ghouls..."
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The author's journal is Mericale, Scheheraz'Odd & Touchshriek, Inc..
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Amazon has the Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews, the latter concluding "Kiernan's storytelling is stellar, and the misunderstandings and lies of stories within the main story evoke a satisfying tension in the characters."
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Tim Pratt reviews the book in the January 2007 issue of Locus Magazine: "This is possibly Kiernan's best novel yet, a thrilling page-turner that also features the depth, complexity, and unflinching willingness to contemplate the dark that we've come to expect from her books."
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Meyer, Kai :
The Stone Light
(McElderry 0689877897, $16.95, 350pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket illustration Melvyn Grant)
First US edition (UK: Egmont, May 2006)
Young adult fantasy novel, secont in a trilogy following The Water Mirror, set in a fantastical version of medieval Venice. In this book the young girl Merle faces an army of Egyptian mummies unleashed on the city.
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The book was originally published in German in 2002.
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The publisher's site has this description with an excerpt.
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Amazon has a School Library Journal review, which concludes "Although readers new to the series may be left unmoved, enthusiasts of the first book will fly through this one and await the conclusion of the trilogy."
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Simmons, Dan :
The Terror
(Little Brown 0-316-01744-2, $25.99, 769pp, hardcover, January 2007)
Historical fantasy/horror novel about the 1845 Franklin Expedition, which never returned from its search for a Northwest Passage, aboard two ships called Erebus and Terror.
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The parent publisher's site -- it's now Hachette Book Group USA -- has this description and an excerpt.
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Simmons' news page has reprints of reviews and an audio excerpt.
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Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, which notes "the monstrous creature from the ice, the thing like a polar bear but many times larger, possessed of a dark and vicious intelligence" and concludes "This complex tale should find many devoted readers and add significantly to Simmons's already considerable reputation.", plus the Washington Post review by David Masiel.
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Weber, David :
Off Armageddon Reef
(Tor 0-765-31500-9, $25.95, 605pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket art Stephen Youll)
Far future SF novel -- the author's first for Tor, following a long association with Baen Books -- in which human survivors of a war with aliens sacrifice human rights and scientific inquiry in order to survive.
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Tor's site has this page for Weber and the book, with a description, excerpt, bio, video interview, etc.
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Amazon has the starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist; the latter concludes "Shifting effortlessly between battles among warp-speed starships and among oar-powered galleys, Weber brings the political maneuvering, past and future technologies, and vigorous protagonists together for a cohesive, engrossing whole."
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Wilce, Ysabeau S. :
Flora Segunda
(Harcourt 0-15-205433-2, $17, 431pp, trade paperback, January 2007, jacket illustration Owen Richardson)
Fantasy novel, subtitled "Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog", about a girl who lives in her family's castle, Crackpot Hall, which has 11,000 constantly moving rooms.
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Harcourt has this page for the author and the book, with an interview, a contest, and an excerpt.
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Wilce's official website has sections for The Authoress Explained, Alta Califa, the Bibliotheca of Crackpot Hall, and of course Flora Segunda.
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Amazon's 'search inside' function includes an excerpt. Amazon has the Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews, the former calling the castle "a kind of blending of Gormenghast and Hogwarts", the latter concluding "Fantasy buffs will relish the surprising plot twists, the satisfying ending, and the possibility of future escapades."
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Gary K. Wolfe and Faren Miller both reviewed it in the December '06 issue of Locus Magazine, Wolfe commenting "what sets Flora Segunda apart as one of the truly memorable fantasies of this year is less its series of adventures than its exploration of family relationships and the nature of power." ... "As with the best fantasies, the grotesque imaginary gardens of Flora Segunda have real toads in them."
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