Showing posts with label New Release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Release. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

New Release Tuesday for Sci-fi and Fantasy



Here are this week's new release suggestions for the realms of sci-fi and fantasy:


The Magicians: A Novel by Lev Grossman (Author)
Quentin Coldwater, a Brooklyn high school student devoted to a children's series set in the Narnia-like world of Fillory, is leading an aimless existence until he's tapped to enter a mysterious portal that leads to Brakebills College, an exclusive academy where he's taught magic. Coldwater, whose special gifts enable him to skip grades, finds his family's world mundane and domestic when he returns home for vacation. He loses his innocence after a prank unintentionally allows a powerful evil force known only as the Beast to enter the college and wreak havoc. Eventually, Coldwater's powers are put to the test when he learns that Fillory is a real place and how he can journey there. Genre fans will easily pick up the many nods to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis, not to mention J.R.R. Tolkien in the climactic battle between the bad guy and a magician.


Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway (Paperback)
A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor with a stunning futuristic vision to give us an electrifyingly original tale of love, friendship and the apocalypse.There couldn’t be a fire along the Jorgmund Pipe. It was the last thing the world needed. But there it was, burning bright on national television. The Pipe was what kept the Livable Zone safe from the bandits, monsters and nightmares the Go Away War had left in its wake. The fire was a very big problem. Enter Gonzo Lubitsch and his friends, the Haulage & HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company, a team of master troubleshooters who roll into action when things get particularly hot. They helped build the Pipe. Now they have to preserve it—and save humanity yet again. But this job is not all it seems. It will touch more closely on Gonzo’s life, and that of his best friend, than either of them can imagine. And it will decide the fate of the Gone-Away World.Equal parts raucous adventure, comic odyssey, geek nirvana and ultracool epic, The Gone-Away World is a story of—among otherthings—pirates, war, mimes, greed and ninjas. But it is also the story of a world, not unlike our own, in desperate need of heroes—however unlikely they may seem.



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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

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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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

New Release Tuesday

In celebration of New Release Tuesday, I would like to introduce you to the books being released today on Amazon.com in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres.

New Releases in Fantasy and Sci-Fi May 19, 2009


Monster Manual 2: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook (D&D Supplement)(Hardcover)
by Rob Heinsoo (Author), Chris Sims (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Hundreds of old and new monsters for your 4th edition D&D(R) game!

This core rulebook presents hundreds of monsters for your D&D campaign. Classic monsters such as centaurs and frost giants make their first 4th edition appearance here. In addition, this book includes scores of new monsters to challenge characters of heroic, paragon, and epic levels.

Product Details
Hardcover: 224 pages
Published: Wizards of the Coast (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0786951017
Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds





Jedi Academy Training Manual (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) (Hardcover)
by Rodney Thompson (Author)

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
"So, you wish to learn the ways of the Force..."

Written as the ultimate Jedi training manual, The Jedi Academy: Training Manual game supplement reveals the secrets of the Jedi across all eras of the Star Wars saga, from the earliest days of the Old Republic to the Dark Times and the reemergence of the Jedi Order after the fall of the Galactic Empire. It gives players exciting new talents, feats, Force powers, and equipment for their Jedi characters. It also elaborates on the known Jedi fighting styles and provides new ways to build your character around a particular fighting style.

Product Details
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0786951833
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds



Victory of Eagles (Temeraire) (Mass Market Paperback)
by Naomi Novik (Author)
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Naomi Novik continues her alternate history of the Napoleonic wars in this fifth adventure featuring British Capt. William Laurence and his faithful celestial dragon, Temeraire. Picking up after Empire of Ivory, a disgraced Laurence has been convicted of treason, sentenced to a prison ship and is only one step away from the hangman's noose. Temeraire is relegated to a breeding area in Wales along with other dragons viewed as past their prime. When Bonaparte invades England, Laurence and Temeraire are soon free to fly and fight for king and country. Vance fully inhabits Novik's vividly realized fantasy world. His battle scenes are exciting as he describes all the intricate fighting tactics without sacrificing the thrills. With keen vocal characterizations, he portrays a wide variety of individuals, both human and nonhuman, with the dialogue between Temeraire and some snobbish, older dragons singularly entertaining. A Del Rey hardcover (Reviews, May 19). (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review
“Invigorating . . . filled with spectacle . . . Naomi Novik has not sounded a wrong note yet in this sweeping, lustrous saga. . . . [This is] a glorious series whose future status as a genre classic is now assured.”—SF Reviews

“Engrossing . . . sheer page-turning excitement.”—Booklist

“Dragonslayer meets Master and Commander.”—Entertainment Weekly

Product Details:
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Del Rey (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0345512253
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 7 ounces



No Prisoners (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) (Paperback)
by Karen Traviss (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The Clone Wars rage on. As insurgent Separatists fight furiously to wrest control of the galaxy from the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine cunningly manipulates both sides for his own sinister purposes.

Torrent Company’s Captain Rex agrees to temporarily relieve Anakin Skywalker of Ahsoka, his ubiquitous–and insatiably curious–Padawan, by bringing her along on a routine three-day shakedown cruise aboard Captain Gilad Pellaeon’s newly refitted assault ship. But the training run becomes an active–and dangerous–rescue mission when Republic undercover agent Hallena Devis goes missing in the middle of a Separatist invasion.

Dispatched to a distant world to aid a local dictator facing a revolution, Hallena finds herself surrounded by angry freedom fighters and questioning the Republic’s methods–and motives. Summoned to rescue the missing operative who is also his secret love, Pellaeon–sworn to protect the Republic over all–is torn between duty and desire. And Ahsoka, sent in with Rex and six untested clone troopers to extract Hallena, encounters a new and different Jedi philosophy, which shakes the foundation of her upbringing to the core. As danger and intrigue intensify, the loyalties and convictions of all involved will be tested. . . .

Product Details: Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: LucasBooks (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0345508997
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces



Flinx Transcendent: A Pip & Flinx Adventure (Hardcover)by Alan Dean Foster (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for Alan Dean Foster’s Pip & Flinx series:

“An entertaining, imaginative adventure with a likable protagonist.”
—Library Journal

“Entertaining . . . Foster knows how to spin a yarn.”
—Starlog


From the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Praise for Alan Dean Foster’s Pip & Flinx series:

“An entertaining, imaginative adventure with a likable protagonist.”
—Library Journal

“Entertaining . . . Foster knows how to spin a yarn.”
—Starlog

Product Details:
Hardcover: 416 Pages
Publisher: Del Rey (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0345496072
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds




Order 66 (Star Wars: Republic Commando) (Mass Market Paperback)
by Karen Traviss (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The Clone Wars rage to their bloody climax. Treachery reigns. Treason takes courage. Commandos, Jedi, and the entire Galactic Republic must face the end of life as they know it . . . and the dreaded dawn of a new empire.

Even as the Clone Wars are about to reach an explosive climax, no one knows whether victory will favor the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) or the Separatists. But no matter who wins, the stakes are highest for elite Special Ops clones like the Republic Commandos in Omega and Delta squads–and the notorious renegade Advance Recon Commando troopers known as Null ARCs. And now even the deadliest weapon may not be powerful enough to defeat the real menace: the apocalyptic horror to be unleashed when Palpatine utters the chilling words The time has come. Execute Order 66. Translation: The Jedi have tried to stage a coup, and all must be shot on sight.

With their faith in the Republic and their loyalty to their Jedi allies put to the ultimate test, how will the men of Omega and Delta squads react to the most infamous command in galactic history?

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 496 Pages
Publisher: LucasBooks (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN 978-0345513854
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces


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