Sunday, February 05, 2012

Books in the Mail (W/E 2012-02-04)

Another batch of new books, most of which are the March 2012 releases from DAW, for your perusal this Superbowl Sunday.

Betrayer (Foreigner #12) by C. J. Cherryh (DAW M Mass Market Paperback 03/06/2012) – Every spring Cherryh publishes a new installment in this popular saga, and to coincide with the new installment, the previous installment is re-issued in mass-market paperback. My (now) colleague at Tor.com Jo Walton did a nice re-read of the series.


The twelfth book in Hugo Award winner C.J. Cherryh's epic Foreigner series.

The civil war among the alien atevi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri his son and heir, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the Bujavid, their seat of power.

But factions that remain loyal to the opposition are still present, and the danger these rebels pose is far from over.


Deceiver (Intruder #13) by C. J. Cherryh (DAW Hardcover 03/06/2012) – Every spring Cherryh publishes a new installment in this popular saga, this being the 13, which comes out the same time as the mass-market paperback re-issue of the 12 book. My (now) colleague at Tor.com Jo Walton did a nice re-read of the series.

In the wake of civil war, Bren Cameron, the brilliant human diplomat of the alien atevi civilization, has left the capital and sought refuge at his country estate, Najida. But now he is trapped inside Najida-which has been surrounded by enemies- with the powerful grandmother of his ally, Tabiniaiji, atevi leader of the Western Association. Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, is not inclined to be passive and sends Bren into enemy territory, to the palace of the leader of the rebels.

Bren's mission is to negotiate with Machigi-a young atevi lord who has never actually seen a human-and somehow persuade him to cease his hostile actions against the west. Is Bren a shrewd enough negotiator to stay alive, and not alienate Ilisidi or Tabini, while also representing the interests of their enemy?


The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Roc, Trade Paperback 03/06/2012) – I read Kiernan’s last novel, The Red Tree from Roc shortly after it was published in 2009 and thought it one of the stand-out novels of that year. So yeah, I’ll be reading this one for sure.

India Morgan Phelps-Imp to her friends-is schizophrenic. Struggling with her perceptions of reality, Imp must uncover the truth about her encounters with creatures out of myth-or from something far, far stranger...



Discount Armageddon (An InCryptid Novel) by Seanan McGuire (DAW Mass Market 03/06/2012) – To be perfectly honest, looking at this cover, I’d normally set the book aside. However, McGuire is the real name of Mira Grant whose Newsflesh Trilogy is 100-proof Awesome Sauce, plus the description here sounds fun.

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...



Echoes of Betrayal (Book Three of Paladin’s Legacy ) by Elizabeth Moon (Del Rey Hardcover 02/21/2012) – I liked the first two in this series (Oath of Fealty and Kings of the North) and earlier this year I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) the first trilogy set in this world, The Deed of Paksenarrion) which is now in my Omnibus Hall of Fame [© PeterWilliam]. So yeah, I’m looking forward to this one.

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming. The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.



The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray (DAW Mass Market 03/06/2012) –The March 2012 Monthly anthology from DAW comes to us courtesy of an editorial duo who previously edited After Hours: Tales from Ur-Bar, which published just about exactly a year ago. This new book contains the usual gang for these things like Seanan McGuire, Jim Hines, Jay Lake, Anton Strout, and Kari Sperring.


What if the fae were still here, living among us? Perhaps living in secret, doing their best to pass for human. Or perhaps their existence is acknowledged, but they're still struggling to fit in. How have they survived? Are they outcasts clinging to the edges of society, or do their powers ensure success in the mortal realm?

Here are fourteen fabulous tales--ranging from humor to dark fantasy--that explore how the creatures of the fae realm are fitting into the modern world.

From a mortal who offers to do internet marketing for Oberon...to a woman bent on reclaiming her baby from the Queen of the fae...to a dryad grove menaced by urban expansion...to a Selkie in need of a new home and career...these are original looks at how the world of the imagination can survive and perhaps even thrive in the everyday mortal lands.


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