This week we get a bit of a break in the number of new
releases.
My TBR pile and my book
budget both need that!
However, there
are still some very interesting books coming out this week including those by some industry heavy-hitters like Neil Gaiman, John Scalzi, Daniel Abraham. For me, though, I'm going to be pimping up Alex Bledsoe's "Shall We Gather." It's a digital short set in the world of the Tufa, in which last year's
The Hum and the Shiver took place. That was one of my absolute favorite reads of 2012, and the ARC of the new one, Wisp of a Thing, is shouting at me from atop the TBR pile.
Also, if you get a chance, hop over to
Paranormal Unbound and weigh in on my discussion about the whole Charlaine Harris/end of Sookie series brouhaha. And thanks to Ella at
Speculative Salon for the awesome review of
River Road today!
Now….What do you want to read? As always, leave a comment
telling me the book you’d most like to win, and maybe random.org will make your
wishes come true. Your choice of print or digital unless otherwise stated.
International? Of course! As long as Book Depository delivers to your country,
please enter. If you’d prefer the first book in a series listed here, that’s
okay, too.
An uneasy quiet has settled upon Midkemia in the wake of a
surprise invasion. Leaderless, the Kingdom is on the brink of anarchy and civil
war, unless Hal conDoin, Duke of Crydee, and his brothers can rally their
allies to crown a new king. War has left the land vulnerable to an agency of
horrific destruction not of this world. The bravery of determined warriors is
not enough to ensure the Kingdom's preservation without the magic of the Master
Sorcerer Pug. A powerful spell has trapped him, his son Magnus, and two
unlikely allies in an unfamiliar realm. They must find their separate ways
home, a journey of memory and discovery that will illuminate the truth of the
destiny that awaits them. To save Midkemia Pug will have to pay the ultimate
price.
In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman delivered the
commencement address at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, in which he
shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the
fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think
outside the box. Most of all, he urged them to make good art. The book Make
Good Art, designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd, contains the full text
of Gaiman’s inspiring speech.
The Dark Warriors, men who have been bound by gods, fighting
a deadly war that normal humans know nothing about. It is a brutal, unforgiving
battle that may cost them their souls, unless they can find the one woman whose
love can set them free. Dr. Veronica “Ronnie” Reid is not just another pretty
face. She is a world-renowned archeologist who has a “knack” for finding
unexpected treasures. She gets more than the unexpected when she meets a tall,
dark and mysteriously powerful man named Arran. Arran is a man with a dark
secret, a Highlander whose barely controlled power lurks just beneath the
surface. He is a Warrior, one of an elite few who are bound with the power of a
god. He is searching for answers and Ronnie could be the key. (ebook Only)
The gods have created a world that is safe and calm and
rather wonderful. They have built mountains, forests, and seas and filled the
world with animals, people, and unnamed beasts. Now their days are fat with
long naps in the clouds, mutual admiration, and tea and cake. But their world
has gaps in it filled with emptiness, gaps that intrigue Harry, Sue, and little
Ben until they begin to see what might fill them. One by one the children
conjure, from twigs and leaves and stones, a mousy thing, a chirpy thing, and a
twisty legless thing. But as the children’s ideas grow bolder, the power of
their visions proves greater and more dangerous than they, or the gods, could
ever have imagined. Is it possible to unmake what’s been made? (U.S. Release)
The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published
annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories in the Nebula
Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of
America(R). The editor selected by SFWA's anthology committee (chaired by Mike
Resnick) is two-time Nebula winner, Catherine Asaro. This year's volume
includes stories and excerpts by Connie Willis, Jo Walton, Kij Johnson, Geoff
Ryman, John Clute, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Ferrett Steinmetz, Ken Liu, Nancy
Fulda, Delia Sherman, Amal El-Mohtar, C. S. E. Cooney, David Goldman, Katherine
Sparrow, E. Lily Yu, and Brad R. Torgersen.
The Never is on the brink of destruction by the Lady Walker.
Wendy, shorn of her Light by the Reapers, must be the one to save it from the
beasts between the worlds. Now no more powerful than an average spirit, Wendy
reluctantly strikes a balance between Elise, the new Reaper matriarch, and
Jane, a Reaper gone rogue. Torn between her duty to her friends, the Riders,
and her duty as the Lightbringer, Wendy must rush to learn the secrets left
behind. She must make the ultimate sacrifice to bring the worlds into balance
once more, even if it costs her very soul.
Abby Barnes had a plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in
journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper. But one tiny choice, taking
a drama class her senior year of high school, changed all that. On the eve of
her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set. The next
morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there.
With the help of her friend Caitlin, Abby discovers that this new reality is
the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an
alternate version of her life.
Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school.
Abby must learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is,
the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within
reach.
When one world brushes another, asking the right question
can be magic. (ebook only)
Laura finds peace and purpose in the home of a midwife and
healer. She enrolls in Salerno's famed medical school. Laura falls hard for a
fellow student who abandons her for a wealthy wife. Her mother rejects her as
"impure." Her heart is bitter. When she sees a chance for revenge,
she takes for her own Bieta, the newborn daughter of a woman whose husband
regularly raided the physician's garden for herbs. Determined to protect her
daughter from the ravages of the world, Laura isolates the girl in a tower.
Bieta escapes, and finds adventure, and love. Bieta's betrayal of her mother's
love comes at a price as lives are ruined and families are torn apart. Laura's
medical knowledge cannot heal her broken heart; only a great act of love can
bring everyone forgiveness and peace.
Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result
of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And
she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional
homicide. But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing.
Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a
murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal. Before the promotion can
go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking,
and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is
kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic, and Daisy, to get
what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.
More than half a millennium in the future, in the shadow of
the looming Cydonian Pyramid, a pampered girl named Lah Lia has been raised for
one purpose: to be sacrificed through one of the mysterious diskos that hover
over the pyramid’s top. But just as she is about to be killed, a strange boy
appears from the diskos, providing a cover of chaos that allows her to escape
and launching her on a time-spinning journey in which her fate is irreversibly
linked to his. Tucker Feye and Lah Lia each hurtle through time, relating their
stories in alternating viewpoints that converge at crucial moments. Fans of the
first adventure will be intrigued by the chance to see the world through Lah
Lia’s eyes, no matter how disturbing the vision might be.
The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union
has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. The CU has
defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an
ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are
known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new
alliance. They’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. Against such
possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won’t be easy. It
will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning, and a “B Team,” centered on
Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable
and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you’re struggling to
preserve the unity of the human race.
Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a
mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into
two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only
defense against the Wild Chalklings, merciless creatures that leave mangled
corpses in their wake. Having overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild
Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. As the son of a lowly
chalkmaker, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art
that he would do anything to practice. Students start disappearing. Assigned to
help the professor investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find
themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery, one that will change Rithmatics,
and their world, forever.
The great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako
had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict.
Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace.
No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue
banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has
placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past
and in her soul. Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara
Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in
the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that
will change the war in ways not even he can forsee.
Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman
she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the
time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping
someone, anyone, will hear her. Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet,
forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been
shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest
lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again. Dani
disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal
that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother, until now.
Five entries possible: +1 for
comment to tell me what book you want, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter
follow, +1 for a Tweet or RT about the contest, +1 for a Facebook follow.
This contest is international to any place Book Depository ships. Contests end
at midnight CDT U.S. on Saturday, and winners are announced on Sunday’s blog.
It’s the responsibility of the winner to contact me with their mailing info.
Books unclaimed after a month will go into the Book Horde list (see tab at the
top of the page).
Now….go forth and comment!
