Upcoming

Upcoming: “The Cambodian Book of the Dead” by Tom Vater (Exhibit A)

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Exhibit A, the crime/thriller imprint under the Angry Robot banner, is still relative new (only three titles published so far, I believe). They seem to have a pretty good eye for stories, though. I haven’t had a chance to read any of the new novels, but I think that lapse is going to change, and soon. Today, I nabbed an eARC for Tom Vater’s intriguing-looking novel, The Cambodian Book of the Dead, which has the pitch, “where Apocalypse Now meets The Beach”…

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Was I swayed by the cover? Well… yes, I admit I was a little bit. It certainly helped grab my attention. Then I read the synopsis, and my interest was well-and-truly piqued. I been meaning to read more thrillers, too… Here’s the synopsis:

Private eye and former war reporter, Maier is sent to Cambodia to track down the missing heir to a Hamburg coffee empire.

His search leads him into the darkest corners of the country’s history, through the Killing Fields of the communist revolution, to the White Spider, a Nazi war criminal who reigns over an ancient Khmer temple deep in the jungle.

But the terrifying tale of mass murder that Maier uncovers is far from over. And soon Maier realises that, if he is to prevent more innocent lives from being destroyed, he will have to write the last horrific chapter himself.

The Cambodian Book of the Dead will be published by Exhibit A at the end of June (North America & eBook) and the beginning of July (UK).

Upcoming: “Playing Tyler” by T.L. Costa (Strange Chemistry)

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I haven’t been very good at keeping up on upcoming releases of late. At least, I haven’t been as investigative about it, waiting instead for information to filter its way to me. (Bit lazy, but there we go.) Anyway, I first saw the cover for T.L. Costa’s upcoming novel in a press release from Strange Chemistry, and it’s really stuck in my mind ever since. It’s a pair of powerful images in a simple composition, that really grabs the attention…

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I just really like that. Will I like the novel? Not a clue. But, I will be giving it a try pretty soon (I was lucky enough to get an eARC). Strange Chemistry has managed to hire some pretty great artists of late. Here’s hoping they keep up this string of strong cover images. (It’ll make all of our shelves look nicer…)

Here’s the synopsis…

When is a game not a game?

Tyler MacCandless can’t focus, even when he takes his medication. He can’t focus on school, on his future, on a book, on much of anything other than taking care of his older brother, Brandon, who’s in rehab for heroin abuse… again.

Tyler’s dad is dead and his mom has mentally checked out. The only person he can really count on is his Civilian Air Patrol Mentor, Rick. The one thing in life it seems he doesn’t suck at is playing video games and, well, that’s probably not going to get him into college.

Just when it seems like his future is on a collision course with a life sentence at McDonald’s, Rick asks him to test a video game. If his score’s high enough, it could earn him a place in flight school and win him the future he was certain that he could never have. And when he falls in love with the game’s designer, the legendary gamer Ani, Tyler thinks his life might finally be turning around.

That is, until Brandon goes MIA from rehab and Tyler and Ani discover that the game is more than it seems. Now Tyler will have to figure out what’s really going on in time to save his brother… and prevent his own future from going down in flames.

Playing Tyler will be published by Strange Chemistry in the UK, US and as an eBook at the beginning of July 2013. For more, be sure to check out Costa’s Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

Joey Hi-Fi brings Tony Ballantyne’s “DREAM LONDON” to life… (Solaris)

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Hot on the heels of Joey Hi-Fi’s two awesome covers for Charlie Human’s Apocalypse Now Now (Century), Solaris has unveiled the artist’s superb cover for Tony Ballantyne’s next novel, Dream London. The novel will be published in October 2013. In the meantime, here’s the synopsis:

Captain Jim Wedderburn has looks, style and courage by the bucketful. He’s adored by women, respected by men and feared by his enemies. He’s the man to find out who has twisted London into this strange new world, and he knows it.

But in Dream London the city changes a little every night and the people change a little every day. The towers are growing taller, the parks have hidden themselves away and the streets form themselves into strange new patterns. There are people sailing in from new lands down the river, new criminals emerging in the East End and a path spiraling down to another world.

Everyone is changing, no one is who they seem to be.

Upcoming: “Apocalypse Now Now” by Charlie Human (Century)

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Feast your eyes on this twisted, visual delight…

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This is, as I’m sure you can gather, the cover for South African author Charlie Human’s debut novel, Apocalypse Now Now. The cover was first unveiled on the always awesome Pornokitsch (whose post also has an interview with Charlie Joey Hi-Fi – go check it out).

I’ve been hearing about this book a lot recently (from one person in particular…), and he has done a sufficiently excellent job of making me ridiculously excited to get my grubby mitts on a copy.

Baxter Zevcenko is your average sixteen-year-old-boy — if by average you mean kingpin of a schoolyard porn syndicate and possible serial killer who suffers from surreal  nightmares. Which may very well be what counts as average these days. Baxter is the first to admit that he’s not a nice guy. After all, if the guy below you falls, dragging you down into an icy abyss you have to cut him loose — even in high school. That is until his girlfriend, Esmé, is kidnapped and Baxter is forced to confront a disturbing fact about himself — that he has a heart, and the damn thing is forcing him to abandon high-school politics and set out on a quest to find her. The clues point to supernatural forces at work and Baxter is must admit that he can’t do it alone. Enter Jackie Ronin, supernatural bounty hunter, Border War veteran, and all-round lunatic, who takes him on a chaotic tour of Cape Town’s sweaty, occult underbelly.

What do glowing men, transsexual African valkyries, and zombie-creating arachnids have to do with Esmé’s disappearance? That’s what Baxter really, really needs to find out.

The cover at the top, by Joey Hi-Fi, is the UK edition (to be published by Century in August 2013), but Apocalypse Now Now will also be graced with an equally sinister and moody cover (also by Joey Hi-Fi) in the author’s native South Africa:

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Art: VULKAN LIVES by Nick Kyme (Black Library)

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Just caught this on Amazon UK: the artwork for Nick Kyme’s next Horus Heresy novel, Vulkan Lives…

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Naturally, as someone who is rather addicted to the Heresy series, I can’t wait to get my mitts on this novel. Here’s the synopsis:

In the wake of the Dropsite Massacre at Isstvan V, the survivors of the Salamanders Legion searched long and hard for their fallen primarch, but to no avail. Little did they know that while Vulkan might have wished himself dead, he lives still. As the war continues without him, all eyes turn to Ultramar and Guilliman’s new empire there, and Vulkan’s sons are drawn into an insidious plot to end the Heresy by the most underhand means imaginable.

As far as I can tell, Vulkan Lives will be published in November or December 2013. Here’s the full artwork for the novel, which is rather eye-catching…

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In related Nick Kyme news, the author has also penned one of two upcoming Heresy audio-dramas, Censure (which is due to be published in October 2013)…

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In the depths of Calth’s arcology network, the Underworld War has raged for years. Aeonid Thiel, previously an honoured sergeant of the Ultramarines, once again finds himself in trouble – pitted against the daemonic forces of the Word Bearers, he has no choice but to venture back to the ravaged surface and brave the deadly solar flares that have scoured all life from this world. With a lowly Imperial Army trooper as his only companion, it falls to him to drive the maniacal Dark Apostle Kurtha Sedd and his warband from the overrun XIII Legion stronghold.

Upcoming: “The Raven’s Shadow” by Elspeth Cooper (Gollancz)

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Cooper-RavensShadowI’ve not been very good at keeping up with Elspeth Cooper’s Wild Hunt series. I enjoyed Songs of the Earth, but still need to catch up with Trinity Rising, the second novel in the series. The Raven’s Shadow is the third of four novel in the series, and will be published in August 2013. Here’s the synopsis:

Three moons are rising.

They are rising over the snowy Archen Mountains, where Teia struggles through the high passes to carry her warning to the Empire: the Nimrothi war band is poised to invade and at their head stands Ytha. She means to release the Wild Hunt – and with it Maegern the Raven, the Keeper of the Dead.

In the desert of Gimrael, the moons are rising over the fires of revolution – flames that have already robbed Gair of a friend and left him alone in a hostile city, unsure even if the Song is still his to command. He has one last duty to discharge, and then nothing will stand between him and his ultimate goal: vengeance.

And in the Nordmen’s chilly halls, Savin plays out a game in which kings and chieftains and men are but pawns on a chessboard that spans the Veil itself.

Three moons are rising. When the trinity is complete, the endgame will begin.

The fourth-and-final book in the series, The Dragon House is due to be published (according to Amazon UK) one month after this, in September 2013… Not sure if that can be right. Regardless, this is an interesting series, and well worth your attention.

Also on CR: Interview with Elspeth Cooper

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UPDATE: Just heard back from Elspeth – this is not the final artwork, but just one that Amazon UK has used and that seems to be doing the rounds on the internet. And, also, book four will be published in 2014. Updates to follow, as-and-when information becomes available. I also inserted a new synopsis, provided by the author, substituting it for the Amazon UK synopsis (below).

Sometimes those with the greatest potential must withstand the hardest blows. Fate, it seems, has nothing kind in store for Gair. First his lover and now his mentor have been killed – the first by the dangerous, ambitious Savin, the second in a revolutionary uprising. Alone, and with even his magical abilities betraying him, he has only one goal left: revenge. Far to the north, if Teia has one goal it is survival. Attempting to cross a high mountain pass in the teeth of winter is an act of desperation, but the message she carries cannot wait for spring. An invasion force is gathering behind her, and only an ancient order of knights can hold them back. The danger is real, there are enemies in the shadows, and time is running out…

Upcoming: “The Black Guard” by A.J. Smith (Head of Zeus)

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SmithAJ-BlackGuardThere’s been a little bit of buzz surrounding this novel, but not as much as I’ve expected. The Black Guard is the first in A.J. Smith’s The Long War fantasy series.

I actually read a little bit of a very early version of The Black Guard on submission when I was interning at a publisher last year, only to discover that Head of Zeus had already picked it up. Nevertheless, I was happy to learn it was going to make it to the shelves, and I look forward to reading the final version.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Duke of Canarn is dead, executed by the King’s decree. The city lies in chaos, its people starving, sickening, and tyrannized by the ongoing presence of the King’s mercenary army. But still hope remains: the Duke’s children, the Lord Bromvy and Lady Bronwyn, have escaped their father’s fate.

Separated by enemy territory, hunted by the warrior clerics of the One God, Bromvy undertakes to win back the city with the help of the secretive outcasts of the Darkwald forest, the Dokkalfar. The Lady Bronwyn makes for the sanctuary of the Grass Sea and the warriors of Ranen with the mass of the King’s forces at her heels. And in the mountainous region of Fjorlan, the High Thain Algenon Teardrop launches his Dragon Fleet against the Red Army. Brother wars against brother in this, the epic first volume of the long war.

It’ll be interesting to see how this shapes up. It’ll be released as a Special Edition and also a “standard” Hardcover in August 2013.

Upcoming (in the UK): “Libriomancer” by Jim C. Hines (Del Rey)

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Hines-LibriomancerUKJim C. Hines’ Libriomancer was released a while ago in the US, but I never got around to buying it when I was working there. No idea why… Anyway, luckily for me (and every other person in the UK), Del Rey will be publishing it on these shores very soon!

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of a secret society founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. As such, he is gifted with the magical ability to reach into books and draw forth objects.

But when Gutenberg vanishes without a trace, Isaac finds himself pitted against everything from vampires to a sinister, nameless foe who is bent on revealing magic to the world at large… and at any cost.

Libriomancer will be published on June 20th 2013. For the sake of completion, here’s the US cover (published by DAW):

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Look at all the Pretties Coming from Orbit…!

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That’s my rather fanboy-esque way of titling a post featuring a LOT of new artwork. I missed the original post, when it went up in March, but I thought I’d share some of the images on here. Because they’re pretty marvellous:

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Ones that really stand out for me are Peter Higgins’ Truth And Fear (I assume this will be published by Gollancz in the UK, as Wolfhound Century was):

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Simon Morden’s Arcanum, which I’ve never heard of (but his Sci-Fi has been very well received)…

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And the third book in Francis Knight’s debut trilogy, Last to Rise:

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Upcoming: “Grimoire of the Lamb” by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey/Orbit)

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Hearne-5-GrimoireOfTheLambJust caught this via the Twitters, and decided to share it on here. I’m a big fan of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles – despite having only read the first two, and being really slow about getting to the rest. Hearne announced today that there will be a new eNovella, GRIMOIRE OF THE LAMB, released on May 7th, 2013, in the U.S. Here’s what the author wrote on his website:

“This is an eBook novella on sale at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iBooks, etc., for $2.99. It’ll be available in the UK, Australia, and affiliated territories too, albeit with a different cover, and I believe (but haven’t confirmed) that it will be on audio too in the US & Canada…”

So it will be arriving in other territories, hopefully around the same time. With regards to the story, Hearne wrote,

“It’s set in 2005, four years before HOUNDED. Aenghus Óg hasn’t found him yet, Granuaile isn’t bartending at Rúla Búla, but we do get a cameo from the widow MacDonagh.”

Here’s the official synopsis, from Del Rey:

When he’s not vanquishing villainous gods or dodging demons, two-thousand-year-old Druid Atticus O’Sullivan can be found behind the counter of Third Eye Books and Herbs in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, literally minding his own business. But when an evil sorcerer – and amateur shoplifter – snatches an ancient Egyptian tome of black magic, The Grimoire of the Lamb, Atticus is not sheepish about pursuing him to the ends of the earth… or at least to the Land of the Pharaohs.

Unfortunately, Atticus already has enemies in Egypt – including cat goddess Bast, who wants her own book of mischief back from the Druid. In the streets of Cairo, she sends a feline phalanx after Atticus and his Irish wolfhound, Oberon. With fur still flying, Atticus must locate the sorcerer’s secret lair – where he will face killer crocodiles, spooky sarcophagi, and an ancient evil Egyptian who’s determined to order the sacrificial lamb special tonight.

Atticus in Egypt? Count me in. If you haven’t read any of the series before (shame on you!), then this could be a great point to give it a try.

Also on CR: Reviews of Hounded and Hexed, and an Interview with Kevin Hearne

The Iron Druid Chronicles: Hounded, Hexed, Hammered, Tricked, Trapped, Hunted (Novels) | Two Ravens & One Crow, Grimoire of the Lamb (Novellas)

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