New Releases Aug. 14-21 and Reader's Choice Giveaway

We have another reasonable week of new releases (but just wait—another whopper week is coming), with a good mix of urban fantsy, sci-fi, YA paranormals, fantasy, and paranormal romance. What do YOU want to read? As always, a Reader’s Choice giveaway—and it’s international. Get to reading!

The Urban Fantasy Anthology, by Peter S. Beagle

and Joe R. Lansdale (Aug. 15, Tachyon)

This anthology brings a myriad of modern fantasy voices under one roof. Previously difficult for readers to discover in its new modes, urban fantasy is represented here in all three of its distinct styles—playful new mythologies, sexy paranormal romances, and gritty urban noir. Features stories by Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Jeffrey Ford, Peter S. Beagle, Kelley Armstrong, Norman Partridge, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Bruce McAllister, Suzy McKee Charnas, Francesca Lia Block, Thomas M. Disch, Susan Palwick, Holly Black, Steven R. Boyett, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Powers and Al Sarrantonio. UF

Autumn: Purification, by David Moody

(Aug. 16, St. Martin’s Griffin)

A bastard hybrid of War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead, the Autumn series chronicles the struggle survivors are forced to contend with in a world torn apart by a deadly disease. In Autumn: Purification, the heroes from the original Autumn novel and Autumn: The City work together to survive in this horrifying new world. Without ever using the ‘Z’ word, the series offers a new perspective on the traditional zombie story. There’s no flesh eating, no fast-moving corpses, no gore for gore’s sake. Combining the atmosphere and tone of a George Romero film with the attitude and awareness of 28 Days Later, this novel is filled with relentless cold, dark fear. Third in the Autumn series. UF

Bargains and Betrayals, by Shannon Delany

(Aug. 16, St. Martin’s Griffin)

Locked away at Pecan Place, Jessie finds her situation to be even more dangerous than she feared. While she struggles to maintain her sanity and discover answers about the group that seems less and less like any legitimate government agency, Pietr fights to keep their relationship alive. But very aware that his mother’s time is running out, Pietr makes a deal he doesn’t dare tell Jessie about. Because the deal Pietr’s made could mean the death of far more than his tenuous relationship with the girl he loves. Third in the 13 to Life series. YA

Kitty’s Greatest Hits, by Carrie Vaughn

(Aug. 16,  Tor Books)

The first story collection from Vaughn gives longtime fans a window into the origins of some of their favorite characters. In “Conquistador de la Noche,” we learn the origin story of Denver’s master vampire, Rick; with “Wild Ride,” we find out how Kitty’s friend T.J. became a werewolf; and in “Life is the Teacher,” we revisit Emma, the human-turned-unwilling-vampire who serves the aloof vampire Master of Washington, D.C. This collection includes two new works: “You’re On the Air,” about one of Kitty’s callers after he hangs up the phone; and the eagerly awaited “Long Time Waiting,” the novella that finally reveals just what happened to Cormac in prison, something every Kitty fan wants to know. UF

Legacy: An Event Group Thriller, by David L. Golemon

(Aug. 16, Thomas Dunne)

The United States is ready to make a triumphant return to the moon, striking out boldly into the solar system in an attempt to regain the confidence of the heady days of the Apollo program.  The first of what are to be many missions to the lunar surface was designed to find the frozen water needed to prepare to build a base to launch an assault on Mars. But a shocking discovery at Shackleton Crater brings the first Prometheus mission to an abrupt halt. Remote robots uncover human skeletal remains and a base that had been destroyed countless millennia ago. The Event Group is tasked to unravel the mystery and to offer something that can either explain our ancient visitor or, at least, keep the world from descending into chaos. SF

Low Town, by Daniel Polansky

(Aug. 16, Doubleday)

In the forgotten back alleys and flophouses that lie in the shadows of Rigus, the finest city of the Thirteen Lands, you will find Low Town. It is an ugly place, and its cham­pion is an ugly man. Disgraced intelligence agent. Forgotten war hero. Independent drug dealer. After a fall from grace five years ago, a man known as the Warden leads a life of crime, addicted to cheap violence and expensive drugs. Every day is a constant hustle to find new customers and protect his turf from low-life competition like Tancred the Harelip and Ling Chi, the enigmatic crime lord of the heathens. The Warden’s life of drugged iniquity is shaken by his dis­covery of a murdered child down a dead-end street . . . set­ting him on a collision course with the life he left behind. F

Mayan December, by Brenda Cooper

(Aug. 16, Prime)

Alice Cameron is an archeoastronomer devoted to studying ancient Mayan culture. The era driving her career has always been the end of the Mayan baktun, so she’s on the Yucatan Peninsula in December 2012 with her daughter Nixie...and so are fellow serious scholars, plenty of end-of-the-world crazies, and, at an international summit, the U.S. president and other heads of state. When Nixie disappears into the past in the Mayan jungle, rationality and mysticism, the present and the past start merging. A savvy scientist, a handsome dreadlocked time-traveler, an ancient shaman, a noble Mayan couple, a computer nerd, and an 11-year old traverse the past and present in a search for the meaning of life and a way to save two worlds. UF

The Moon Maze Game, by Larry Niven

and Steven Barnes (Aug. 16, Tor)

The Year: 2085. Humanity has spread throughout the solar system. A stable lunar colony is agitating for independence.  Lunar tourism is on the rise. Against this background, professional “Close Protection” specialist Scotty Griffin, fresh off a disastrous assignment, is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to shepherd the teenaged heir to the Republic of Kikaya on a fabulous vacation. Ali Kikaya will participate in the first live action role-playing game conducted on the Moon itself. Pursued by armed and murderous terrorists, forced to solve gaming puzzles to stay a jump ahead, forced to juggle multiple psychological realities as they do...this is the game for which  they’ve prepared  their entire lives, and they are going to play it for all it’s worth. SF

The Omen Machine, by Terry Goodkind

(Aug. 16, Tor)

Hannis Arc, working on the tapestry of lines linking constellations of elements that constituted the language of Creation recorded on the ancient Cerulean scroll spread out among the clutter on his desk, was not surprised to see the seven ethereal forms billow into the room like acrid smoke driven on a breath of bitter breeze. Since the seven rarely used doors, the shutters on the windows down on the ground level several stories below stood open as a fearless show of invitation. The open shutters were meant to be a declaration for all to see, including the seven, that Hannis Arc feared nothing. Terry Goodkind returns to the lives of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell in a tale of a new and sinister threat to their world. The twelfth Sword of Truth novel.  F

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

(Aug. 16, Crown)

Part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera, Ready Player One is set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed. It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.  And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world.  SF

Second Grave on the Left, by Darynda Jones

(Aug. 16, St. Martin’s Press)

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier with only a single clue. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven... Well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Second in the Charley Davidson series. UF

The Tempering of Men, by Elizabeth Bear

and Sarah Monette (Aug. 16, Tor)

In Iskryne, the war against the Trollish invasion has been won, and the lands of men are safe again—at least for a while. Isolfr and his sister, the Konigenwolf Viradechtis, have established their own wolfhaell. Viradechtis has taken two mates, and so the human pack has two war leaders to face a new danger. An army of men approaches, one that wishes to conquer and rule. The giant trellwolves and their human brothers have never hunted men before. They will need to learn if they are to defend their homes. Second in the Iskryne World series.  F

The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011, by

Holly Black, Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, et al (Aug. 16, Prime)

A 36,000-word novella by George R.R. Martin set in his A Song of Ice and Fire universe highlights this collection of the year’s best short fiction, including stories from Michael Aaronovitch, Holly Black, Neil Gaiman, Simon R. Green, M.K. Hobson, M.L.N. Hanover, Caitlin Kiernan, Jay Lake, Joe R. Lansdale, Tanith Lee, Tim Powers, Ekaterina Sedia, GeneWolfe and many more. F

The Edinburgh Dead, by Brian Ruckley

(Aug. 17, Orbit)

Edinburgh: 1828. In the starkly lit operating theaters of the city, grisly experiments are being carried out on corpses in the name of medical science. But elsewhere, there are those experimenting with more sinister forces. Among the crowded, sprawling tenements of the labyrinthine Old Town, a body is found, its neck torn to pieces. Charged with investigating the murder is Adam Quire, Officer of the newly formed Edinburgh Police. The trail will lead him into the deepest reaches of the city’s criminal underclass, and to the highest echelons of the filthy rich. Soon Quire will discover that a darkness is crawling through this city of enlightenment,and no one is safe from its corruption. UF

See anything you want? So…International Reader’s Choice―you tell me. Just a note: if you like a title but it isn’t the first in a series, you can always request the first in that series instead. (That’s for Reader’s Choice contests only unless otherwise noted.) Your pick: ebook or print. As always, four entries possible and please include your e-mail: +1 for comment, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow @Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for a Tweet or RT about the contest. Now….go!