New Releases Nov. 22-28 and Reader's Choice

Kind of a medium-sized list this week, given that it’s Thanksgiving week—but holy cow are there a bunch next week, so enjoy the lull before the onslaught! Which of these do you most want to read? Comment with your pick, and good old Random.org might choose your name to win a copy!

As always, Reader’s Choice is an international giveaway, so dig in. (And if a book in a series catches your eye, you can always request the first in the series instead.)

*Genre key (at the end of each listing): SF=science fiction; F=fantasy; UF=urban fantasy; H=horror; PR=paranormal romance; YA=young adult; MG=middle grade; alt history=alternative history; dyst=dystopia; steampunk.

Bride of the Night, by Heather Graham 

(Nov. 22, HQN)

She’s the vampire that could destroy a nation. At least, that’s what Pinkerton detective Finn Dunne thinks of Tara Fox. Capturing her aboard a ship sneaking its way northward, he’s convinced she’s been sent to take out President Lincoln. Tara has always been caught between worlds. When her strange dreams began, she thought of them as abstract visions. But she now knows that she must travel to Washington, D.C., and protect the president at all costs. If Tara has to go through Finn—or bring vampire reinforcements—to save Lincoln, she will do whatever it takes, even if it costs her her heart. PR

Unleashed, by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie 

(Nov. 22, Delacorte)

Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie, authors of the Wicked series, have created a new trilogy, the Wolf Springs Chronicles, which introduces readers to a town of secrets and the new girl who’s about to start believing in werewolves. PR-YA

Immortal Rider, by Larissa Ione 

(Nov. 22, Grand Central)

Sexy, powerful, and immortal, Limos is on a crash-course with destiny. She’s been marked as Satan’s bride and her jealous fiancé wants her all to himself. The only way this Horseman can keep herself—and everyone else—safe is to keep her distance. But not even Limos can save herself from the secrets she’s kept—or resist the seductive allure of one very brave human. Arik Wagner knows the saying “love hurts” better than most, yet he never thought stealing a kiss from Limos would land him in Hell. Literally. With the Apocalypse looming and Satan demanding his bride, will Arik and Limos surrender to the desire smoldering between them? Or will giving in to passion unleash hell on earth? Second in the Lords of Deliverance series. PR

Lord of the Abyss, by Nalini Singh 

(Nov. 22, Harlequin)

Once upon a time, the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs, and time is running out. As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy. PR

In the Forests of the Night, by Kersten Hamilton 

(Nov. 22, Clarion)

Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have rescued Tea’s and Aiden’s father and have made it out of Mag Mell alive, bringing a few new friends with them. But The Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Teagan soon realizes that she is not the target of the goblins. In fact, the goblins call her princess, and call her to come out and play. Something is happening to her, and she suspects it’s an infection she picked up in Mag Mell. An infected cat-sídhe becomes her test subject, and Teagan is determined to cure it of the sickness that seems to rot its flesh. If she can find a cure for the cat-sídhe, then maybe there is hope for her. Second in the Goblin Wars series. UF-YA

Bad Blood, by Kristin Painter 

(Nov. 22, Orbit)

Samhain approaches, bringing with it the final melding of the mortal and othernatural worlds. No one knows just how much power the night holds. Violent murders occur in Paradise City as counterfeit comarré are systematically hunted. The police and the Kubai Mata have more than enough trouble to keep themselves occupied. As war erupts at home, Malkolm and Chrysabelle head to New Orleans to recover the Ring of Sorrows. Chrysabelle is forced to make a life and death decision and will realize that her relationship to Malkolm may have fatal consequences. The clock is ticking. Third in the House of Comarre series. UF

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird, edited by Paula Guran 

(Nov. 22, Prime)

For more than eighty years H.P. Lovecraft has inspired writers of supernatural fiction, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and gaming. In the first decade of the twenty-first century the best supernatural writers no longer imitate Lovecraft, but they are profoundly influenced by the genre and the mythos he created. This volume presents some of the best of this new Lovecraftian fiction from authors including China Mieville, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Sarah Monette, Kim Newman, Cherie Priest, Michael Marshall Smith, Charles Stross, Rafael Tavares, and David Barr Kirtley. SF-UF-H

Hearts of Smoke and Steam, by Andrew P. Mayer 

(Nov. 22, Pyr)

Sir Dennis Darby has been murdered, the Automaton has been destroyed, and Sarah Stanton has turned her back on a life of privilege and comfort to try and find her way in the unforgiving streets of New York. But Lord Eschaton, the villain behind all these events, isn’t finished with her yet. His plans to bring his apocalyptic vision of the future to the world are moving forward, but to complete his scheme he needs the clockwork heart that Sarah still holds. But she has her own plans for the Automaton’s clockwork heart — Sarah is trying rebuild her mechanical friend, and when she is attacked by The Children of Eschaton, the man comes to her rescue may be the one to make her dreams come true. Second in the Society of Steam series. Steampunk.

Autumn: Disintegration, by David Moody 

(Nov. 22, St. Martin’s Griffin)

The penultimate chapter in Moody’s horror series. Forty days have passed since the world died. Billions of corpses walk the Earth. Everything is disintegrating.  A group of eleven men and women have survived against the odds. On an almost daily basis, they attack the dead with brutal ferocity, tearing through them with utter contempt. Somewhere nearby, out of sight and out of earshot, is another group that has adopted a completely different survival strategy. Where the others have used brutality and strength, these people have demonstrated subtlety, planning, and tactics. A series of horrific events force the two groups together. Backed into a corner and surrounded by hundreds of thousands of corpses, they all know that their final battle with the dead is about to begin. UF-H

The Forgotten Warrior, by Erin Hunter 

(Nov. 22, HarperCollins)

With a divided StarClan driving a treacherous rift between the four warrior Clans, the spirits of the Dark Forest are gaining strength. Ivypool’s role as a spy becomes more dangerous with each passing day, and Dovewing is haunted by nightmares about the mountains. Then an outsider appears in ThunderClan’s midst, spreading discord and pushing the Clans farther apart. As tensions mount and Clanmates turn against one another, the warrior cats will be forced to choose whose word they can trust — before it’s too late. Fifth in the Warriors: Omen of the Stars series. F

Legends of the Dragonrealm III, by Richard A. Knaak 

(Nov. 22, Gallery)

The epic fantasy series Legends of the Dragonrealm continues in this omnibus edition, which includes three bonus novellas never before in print. F

Somewhere Beneath Those Waves, by Sarah Monette 

(Nov. 22, Prime)

The first non-themed collection of author Sarah Monette’s short fiction. From Hugo-award winner Elizabeth Bear’s introduction: “Monette’s prose is lapidary, her ideas are fantastical and chilling. She has studied the craft of fantastic fiction from the pens of masters and mistresses of the genre. She is a poet of the awkward and the uncertain, exalter of the outcast, the outre, and the downright weird. There is nothing else quite like Sarah Monette’s fiction.” F

Theft of Swords, by Michael J. Sullivan (Nov. 23, Orbit)

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles — until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires in order to keep a secret too terrible for the world to know? Sullivan’s six-volume Riyria Revelations series was published with limited distribution before being picked up by Orbit earlier this year. This volume incorporates the first two novels in the series, The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha. The four subsequent titles will be published in two omnibus editions in December and January. F

See anything you want? International Reader’s Choice―you tell me. 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!