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Category: New Treasures

A Tale of Magical Apocalypse: The Ley Trilogy by Joshua Palmatier

A Tale of Magical Apocalypse: The Ley Trilogy by Joshua Palmatier

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Shattering the Ley-small Threading the Needle-small Reaping the Aurora-small

Joshua Palmatier’s Ley Trilogy is one of the more original fantasy series out there. Set in Erenthrall, a vast city of light and magic fueled by a ley line network, the series follows a sprawling cast of rebels, traders, assassins, guardsmen, and magic wielders through a series of shattering events that bring apocalyptic change to their world, including quakes, magical distortions, and creatures beyond nightmare. The first novel is available in paperback from DAW, and the second in hardcover; the final volume arrives this August.

Shattering the Ley (484 pages, $25.95 in hardcover/$9.99 paperback/$7.99 digital, July 1, 2014)
Threading the Needle (453 pages, $27 in hardcover/$13.99 digital, July 5, 2016)
Reaping the Aurora (464 pages, $26 in hardcover, August 1, 2017)

All three covers are by Stephan Martiniere. Here’s the description for the opening volume.

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Vintage Treasures: Where Time Winds Blow by Robert Holdstock

Vintage Treasures: Where Time Winds Blow by Robert Holdstock

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Where Time Winds Blow Holdstock-small Where Time Winds Blow Holdstock-back-small

Several bloggers at Black Gate have piqued my interest in Robert Holdstock recently. In his November review of his pseudonymous sword & sorcery novel Berserker: Shadow of the Wolf, Fletcher Vredenburgh wrote:

Holdstock’s vision of the Viking age is merciless and dread-filled. The Norse are vicious, murderous bandits, continuously killing and raping their way across Ireland. The Norse themselves live in fear of the gods, no wonder in the face of murderous Berserkers. Haunts and monsters lurk in every shadow, sneaking from behind one tree to another. Men live under curses and the constant fear of sudden violent death. Most often death is unfair and ignoble.

And in his March review of Mythago Wood and Lavondyss, Derek Kunsken wrote:

There are a few novels I will return two over and over… one truly haunting work is Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood and Lavondyss. The novels won the World Fantasy Award in 1985 and the BSFA Award in 1988 respectively… reading Holdstock is to viscerally experience layers of deep, Jungian time. The wood is haunted not by ghosts of the past per se; it is haunted by the ancient memories of ghosts that each person carries within them, all the legends, remembered in story and forgotten.

The running theme through both reviews is that Holdstock is a master of setting, and that seems borne out by my most recent discovery, the Timescape paperback Where Time Winds Blow. It’s a standalone SF novel set on a strange SF planet where reality is fluid, and subject to mysterious winds that scream across the surface. That definitely sounds like my kind of book. Where Time Winds Blow was published by Timescape / Pocket Books in May 1982. It is 262 pages, priced at $2.95. The cover is by Carl Lundgren. I bought the copy above online this week for $2.79.

New Treasures: The Choice Series by Paul McAuley

New Treasures: The Choice Series by Paul McAuley

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Something Coming Through Paul McAuley-small Into Everywhere Paul McAuley-small

Paul MaAuley was an early contributor to Black Gate, with a review column titled On the Edge. His first novel, Four Hundred Billion Stars (1988), won the Philip K. Dick Award; his 1996 novel Fairyland won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel. His latest is a pair of contemporary SF novels about an enigmatic alien race who make an equally enigmatic gift to mankind… Alastair Reynolds calls the first one, Something Coming Through, “as tight and relentlessly paced as an Elmore Leonard thriller… the freshest take on first contact and interstellar exploration in many years.” Here’s the description for Something Coming Through.

The Jackaroo have given humanity fifteen worlds and the means to reach them. They’re a chance to start over, but they’re also littered with ruins and artifacts left by the Jackaroo’s previous clients. Miracles that could reverse the damage caused by war, climate change, and rising sea levels. Nightmares that could forever alter humanity — or even destroy it.

Chloe Millar works in London, mapping changes caused by imported scraps of alien technology. When she stumbles across a pair of orphaned kids possessed by an ancient ghost, she must decide whether to help them or to hand them over to the authorities. Authorities who believe that their visions point towards a new kind of danger. And on one of the Jackaroo’s gift-worlds, the murder of a man who has just arrived from Earth leads policeman Vic Gayle to a war between rival gangs over possession of a remote excavation site.

Something is coming through. Something linked to the visions of Chloe’s orphans, and Vic Gayle’s murder investigation. Something that will challenge the limits of the Jackaroo’s benevolence …

Something Coming Through was published by Gollancz on June 21, 2016. It is 384 pages, priced at $12.99 in paperback and $1.99 for the digital edition. The sequel, Into Everywhere, was published in paperback by Gollancz on June 14, 2016. It is 384 pages, priced at $19.99 in paperback and $5.99 for the digital edition.

Monsters, Magic & Mystery: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Monsters, Magic & Mystery: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

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Shadow and Bone-small Siege and Storm-small Ruin and Rising-small

I first discovered Leigh Bardugo with the bestselling Six of Crows and its sequel Crooked Kingdom, the acclaimed fantasy caper novels described as ““Harry Potter meets Game of Thrones.” And then I discovered Bardugo had a previous bestselling fantasy series set in the same world, The Grisha Trilogy, featuring monster hunting, mysterious magic, and a pseudo Imperial-Russia setting. That’s an irresistible combo right there.

The New York Times Book Review said, in their review of the opening volume Shadow and Bone, “Bardugo’s setup is shiver-inducing, of the delicious variety. This is what fantasy is for.” All three volumes in the series are available in paperback from a publisher called Square Fish (?), a Macmillam imprint.

There’s a lengthy excerpt from Shadow and Bone at Tor.com. While you chew that over, here’s the back covers for all three volumes.

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The Verge on 39 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Novels to Read in April

The Verge on 39 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Novels to Read in April

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Proof of Concept Gwyneth Jones-small Forgotten Worlds-small Brimstone Cherie Priest-small

Here we are on the last day of April. Setting aside the obvious question How the heck did that happen so fast?, it’s clear we need to take drastic action on our reading plan. We have about three weeks of reading to do and, uh, about two hours to do it in.

Well, best we use those last two hours productively. Over at The Verge, Andrew Liptak has some useful suggestions. Let’s see what he has for us.

Brimstone by Cherie Priest (April 4th)

During the First World War, Tomás Cordero wielded a flamethrower, and left the battlefield a broken man. He discovers that his wife died of the flu, after returning home, and he’s haunted by dreams of fire whenever he sleeps. In Cassadaga, Florida, Alice Dartle is a clairvoyant who also dreams of fire, and seeks out Cordero, trying to bring him some peace. However, the flames that bind them were started centuries ago, from someone whose hate extends beyond the grave.

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New Treasures: Dream Forever, the Conclusion of The Dream Walker Trilogy, by Kit Alloway

New Treasures: Dream Forever, the Conclusion of The Dream Walker Trilogy, by Kit Alloway

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Dreamfire-small Dreamfever-small Dream Forever-small

One of the nice things about review copies is that they force you to consider books that might normally slide under your radar.

Dream Forever is a tidy example. It’s got a pretty but fairly generic young adult cover — a teen girl sprawling on an abstract purple landscape — and it’s exactly the kind of thing my eyes would have surfed right past on the New Arrivals table. When a review copy arrived from St. Martin’s Press, I honestly forget about it for nearly a month.

But I picked it out of the stack this morning, and figured I should at least make an effort to learn what it’s about. And I discovered it’s the closing novel in a new trilogy from debut author Kit Alloway, featuring a talented dream walker trained by a secret society to battle horrific nightmares — not at all what I might have guessed from the cover design. Publishers Weekly called the opening novel “A suspenseful riddle full of intrigue,” and Kirkus Reviews said “The nightmare vignettes are rivetingly chilling. A dark and exciting paranormal adventure.”

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Uncover the Secret History of Lichport in The Undertaken Trilogy by Ari Berk

Uncover the Secret History of Lichport in The Undertaken Trilogy by Ari Berk

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Death Watch Ari Berk-small Mistle Child-small Lich Way Ari Berk-small

I love it when a book I’m interested in turns into a trilogy when I’m not looking. (It happens waaay more often than you think.) Most recently it happened with Ari Berk’s Death Watch, which I wrote about back in 2013, and which morphed into The Undertaken Trilogy when I ducked into the kitchen to make a sandwich.

I know, books pop up all the time in this industry, and God knows it seems unusual when a popular book doesn’t turn into a trilogy. But still, I was only in the kitchen for ten minutes, I swear.

Anyway, there used to be one novel featuring the adventures of Silas Umber, teenage undertaker in the crumbling seaside town of Lichport, and now there are three. Not sure how it happened, but I’m glad it did.

Death Watch (560 pages, $17.99 hardcover/$9.99 paperback/$8.99 digital, November 15, 2011)
Mistle Child (368 pages, $17.99 hardcover/$9.99 paperback/$8.99 digital, February 12, 2013)
Lych Way (336 pages, $17.99 hardcover/$12.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, February 25, 2014)

Publishers Weekly calls the opening volume “A thought-provoking gothic fantasy [and] genuinely eerie tale… Berk’s setting is atmospheric and creepy.” And Holly Black says it “mines a rich vein of ghostly folklore with vivid prose, style and wit. A marvelous tapestry.” Here’s the description for Death Watch.

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A Tale of Two Covers: The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

A Tale of Two Covers: The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

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The Loney UK-small The Loney-small

Andrew Michael Hurley self-published his first collection Cages and Other Stories (2006), and released his second, The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories (2008) through tiny Lime Tree Press. However, those days are over. His debut novel Loney, released in the UK in trade paperback by John Murray last year (cover above left) won the Costa First Novel Award, was listed as a Best Book of the Year by the London Times and Daily Mail, ranked a Best Summer Book by Publishers Weekly, won Best Book of the Year in the British Book Industry Awards, and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

It was published in the US by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt last May with a new cover (above right), and the buzz on this side of the pond was just as stellar. The New York Times Book Review said “The terrors of this novel feel timeless… There are abominations here, and miracles.” Jeff VanderMeer called it “Stunning,” and Stephen King said, “It’s not just good, it’s great. An amazing piece of fiction.”

Here’s the description.

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New Treasures: Gilded Cage by Vic James

New Treasures: Gilded Cage by Vic James

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Gilded Cage Vic James-smallIf you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for an exciting new fantasy series with fresh ideas, and Vic James’ debut Gilded Cage looks like it will fit the bill nicely. It’s the opening volume in a new series set in a modern England where magically gifted aristocrats rule and commoners are forced to serve them. Kirkus Reviews says it “Conjures up the specters of Les Misérables and Downton Abbey… an intriguing new fantasy series,” and Aliette de Bodard calls it ““A dark and intriguing vision of an alternate, magic-drenched Britain… kept me up long into the night.”

NOT ALL ARE FREE. NOT ALL ARE EQUAL. NOT ALL WILL BE SAVED.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of their noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty — but will her heart pay the price?

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution.

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate — or destroy?

Gilded Cage was published by Del Rey on February 14, 2017. It is 368 pages, priced at $20.00 in hardcover and $10.99 for the digital edition.

Robin Hobb Wraps Up the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy with Assassin’s Fate

Robin Hobb Wraps Up the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy with Assassin’s Fate

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Fool's Assassin-small Fool's Quest-small Assassin's Fate-small

Two decades ago Robin Hobb (who also writes fantasy as Megan Lindholm) burst on the scene with her debut the Farseer Trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest). They were almost immediately successful, and by 2003 Robin Hobb had sold over a million copies of her first nine novels.

The Farseer Trilogy is the first-person narrative of FitzChivalry Farseer, the illegitimate son of a prince, and his adventures with an enigmatic character called the Fool. The story continued in the Tawny Man Trilogy (Fool’s Errand, The Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate), and in 2013 Hobb announced she would pick up the tale decades later with the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy. The first two books are now in print in both hardcover and paperback, and the third and final volume arrives in hardcover next month. So for those of you who hang on until a series is complete to start the first book, the long wait is finally over.

Fool’s Assassin (667 pages, $28 hardcover, $8.99 paperback, $7.99 digital, August 12, 2014)
Fool’s Quest (784 pages, $28 hardcover, $8.99 paperback, $7.99 digital, August 11, 2015)
Assassin’s Fate (864 pages, $32 hardcover, $14.99 digital, May 9, 2017)

All three are published by Del Rey, with covers by Alejandro Colucci.

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