New Release Tuesday In the Realms of SciFi and Fantasy

Star Trek: Titan: Synthesis by James Swallow (Author)
Product Description: The Starship Titan continues on her outward voyage of discovery. Ranging farther and farther from Federation space, Captain William Riker and the crew look forward to living Starfleet's mission: seeking out new life, discovering new civilizations.

Striking a "sandbank" -- a spatial distortion -- the Titan is knocked out of warp, her crew shaken up but uninjured. Titan has stumbled across a battlefield, and floating in it, shattered and in pieces, are the remains of a ship. Searching for survivors, they discover the ship never had a crew. The away team removes the computer core, looking for answers. Once the device is restored, it becomes clear this is not just a computer, but a thinking, reasoning artificial intelligence.

It identifies itself as SecondGen White-Blue, and it comes from a civilization composed entirely of sentient computers. Eons ago these artificial intelligences were charged to be the first line of defense against The Null -- a destructive force so all-consuming that generation upon generation have waged unending war trying to find a way to beat back this terror. Captain Riker offers to assist them, but years of war have left the AIs distrustful and suspicious, especially of organics.

The tide of the battle is turning, and The Null is winning. Set free, it will destroy everything in this system and then, unchecked, spread its mindless destruction into the heart of the Federation.

Kris Longknife: Undaunted by Mike Shepherd (Author)

Product Description: Kris Longknife encounters some peaceful aliens who have come to warn humanity of an unidentifiable force that is roaming the galaxy, obliterating everything in its path-a path now leading directly toward the human worlds.

Never After by Laurell K. Hamilton (Author), Yasmine Galenorn (Author), Marjorie M. Liu (Author), Sharon Shinn (Author)

Product Description: The bonds of love...The bonds of matrimony...The bonds between husband and wife...Let's face it—some bonds are made to be broken.Here, for the first time ever, are four stories from today's most provocative authors that take the classic idea of the "faerie tale wedding" and give it a swift kick in the bustle.

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New Release Tuesday May 26 2009

The City & The City by China Mieville (Hardcover)
This book is a nice example of crossover genres. It combines urban fantasy with mystery.

A review by Jessica Moyer states “Fantasy author Miéville (Looking for Jake, 2005) puts his own unique spin on the detective story. Inspector Tyador Borlu, a lonely police detective, is assigned to the murder of a young woman found dumped in a park on the edge of Beszel, an old city, decaying and mostly forgotten, situated in an unspecified area on the southeastern fringes of Europe. But Beszel does not exist alone; it shares much of the same physical space with Ul Qoma. Each city retains a distinct culture and style, and the citizenry of both places has elaborate rules and rituals to avoid the dreaded Breach, which separates the two across space and time. This unique setting becomes one of the most important and well-developed characters in the novel, playing a pivotal role in the mystery when Tyador discovers that his murder case is much more complex than a dumped body, requiring “international” cooperation with the Ul Qoman authorities. Eschewing the preliminary world-building techniques of many fantasy books, Miéville dumps the reader straight into Tyador’s world of crosshatching and unseeing, only gradually developing and explaining his one-of-a kind setting. Suggest to readers who enjoyed Michael Chabon’s alternate-history mystery, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007), or to fans of the futuristic urban setting in A. L. Martinez’s Automatic Detective (2008). An excellent police procedural and a fascinating urban fantasy, this is essential reading for all mystery and fantasy fans.”

For our vampire and erotic theme enthusiasts, I suggest
Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Publishers Weekly describes this book as “Anita's endlessly erotic adventures as a living vampire with many weird lovers. Anita serves her vampire sweetie Jean-Claude, Master of the City of St. Louis, obsessed with feeding him and her own need to leech off of others' sexual pleasure or ardeur while retaining her rep as vampire executioner (despite the seeming conflict of interest), U.S. marshal and necromancer. She's also accompanying her bed-buddy Jason Schuyler to visit his dying estranged father in North Carolina. After arriving, Jason's mistaken for his rich cousin Keith Summerland, who's ditched his bride-to-be to run off with the wife of a vampire Master, giving Anita a case to solve between wild orgies with wereanimals. Hamilton chronicles Anita's escapades with a growing air of ennui, which longtime readers can't help sharing as sex increasingly takes the place of plot and character development.”

And, finally, as an attempt to link the theme of fantasy and the recent Memorial holiday, may I suggest a popular military Sci-fi story,
Sempter Human: Book Three of the Inheritance Trilogy by Ian Douglas Okay, maybe I’m reaching a bit to relate this to Memorial Day as these are Star Marines and the story takes place in another galaxy but this is, after all a fantasy and sci-fi theme blog (*grin*)…work with me.
The description of this book reads “Chaos has erupted throughout the known galaxy, threatening countless colonies and orbital habitats—as the Associative struggles vainly to keep the peace. Extreme measures are called for in these times of dire crisis, and the Star Marines are awakened from their voluntary 850-year cybe-hibe sleep. But General Trevor Garroway and his warriors are about to discover that the old rules of engagement have drastically changed…

The end begins with an old-style assault on rebels at the Tarantula Stargate. But true terror looms at the edges of known reality. Humankind's eternal enemy—the brutal, unstoppable Xul—approaches, wielding a weapon monstrous beyond imagining. Suddenly not only is the future in jeopardy, but the past is as well—and if the Marines fail to eliminate their relentless xenophobic foe once and for all, the Great Annihilator will obliterate every last trace of human existence.
So, pull up a chair, your favorite coffee-house beverage (or whatever you prefer), and try a touch of fantasy/sci-fi blended with a familiar genre. You may like the variation.

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