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Future Treasures: Ash and Silver by Carol Berg

Future Treasures: Ash and Silver by Carol Berg

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Ash and Silver-smallThe first two novels set on the world of Sanctuary were Flesh and Spirit (2007) and Breath and Bone (2008). Carol Berg returned to Sanctuary with Dust and Light last year, which BG writer D. B. Jackson called “A tale of magic and politics, of intrigue and betrayal.” Now she concludes the saga of a sorcerer whose past is veiled in shadows with Ash and Silver.

Ever since the Order of the Equites Cineré stole his memory, his name, and his heart, thinking about the past makes Greenshank’s head ache. After two years of rigorous training, he is almost ready to embrace the mission of the Order — to use selfless magic to heal the troubles of Navronne. But on his first assignment alone, the past comes racing back, threatening to drown him in conspiracy, grief, and murder.

He is Lucian de Remeni — a sorcerer whose magical bents for portraiture and history threaten the safety of the earth and the future of the war-riven kingdom of Navronne. He just can’t remember how or why.

Fighting to unravel the mysteries of his power, Lucian must trace threads of corruption that reach from the Pureblood Registry into the Order itself, the truth hidden two centuries in the past and beyond the boundaries of the world…

Ash and Silver will be published by Roc on December 1, 2015. It is 475 pages, priced at $16 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover art is by Gene Mollica.

New Treasures: The Lazarus Gate by Mark A. Latham

New Treasures: The Lazarus Gate by Mark A. Latham

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The Lazarus Gate-smallMark Latham has had an interesting career. He’s the former editor of White Dwarf, Games Workshop’s flagship magazine, and the head of their ultra-successful Warhammer 40K line. He’s also a game designer is his own right, with several tabletop games to his credit.

His debut novel, The Lazarus Gate, is the opening volume in a new Victorian supernatural series. Captain John Hardwick, a tough but troubled army veteran, is recruited by a mysterious club to combat a growing threat to the British Empire. It’s an intriguing new gaslight fantasy, reminiscent of James Blaylock and Arthur Conan Doyle.

London, 1890. Captain John Hardwick, an embittered army veteran and opium addict, is released from captivity in Burma and returns home, only to be recruited by a mysterious gentlemen’s club to combat a supernatural threat to the British Empire.

This is the tale of a secret war between parallel universes, between reality and the supernatural; a war waged relentlessly by an elite group of agents; unsung heroes, whose efforts can never be acknowledged, but by whose sacrifice we are all kept safe.

The Lazarus Gate was published by Titan Books on September 29, 2015. It is 399 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback, and $5.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Julia Lloyd.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

Future Treasures: The Rising by Ian Tregillis

Future Treasures: The Rising by Ian Tregillis

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The Rising Ian Tregillis-smallIan Tregillis is the author of the Milkweed alternate history trilogy for Tor (Bitter Seeds, The Coldest War, and Necessary Evil), and Something More Than Night, a murder mystery set in heaven. Emily Mah interviewed him for us in 2012.

His latest fantasy series is The Alchemy Wars trilogy, an epic tale of liberation and war. The first novel, The Mechanical, was released in March; Publishers Weekly called it “Superb alternate history filled with clockwork men and ethical questions on the nature of free will… rich characters and gripping story really make this tale soar,” and it was cited by Flavorwire as one of the 10 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels of 2015 (So Far). The second, The Rising, will be released early next month.

Jax, a rogue Clakker, has wreaked havoc upon the Clockmakers’ Guild by destroying the Grand Forge. Reborn in the flames, he must begin his life as a free Clakker, but liberation proves its own burden.

Berenice, formerly the legendary spymaster of New France, mastermind behind her nation’s attempts to undermine the Dutch Hegemony — has been banished from her homeland and captured by the Clockmakers Guild’s draconian secret police force.

Meanwhile, Captain Hugo Longchamp is faced with rallying the beleaguered and untested defenders of Marseilles-in-the-West for the inevitable onslaught from the Brasswork Throne and its army of mechanical soldiers.

The Rising will be published by Orbit Books on December 1, 2015. It is 480 pages, priced at $16.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition.

Vintage Treasures: John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman

Vintage Treasures: John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman

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John the Balladeer-small John the Balladeer-back-small

Manly Wade Wellman, whom Karl Edward Wagner called “the dean of fantasy writers,” was one of the great 20th Century fantasists, particularly in the field of the “occult detective.” He created several memorable occult investigators, including Judge Pursuivant and John Thunstone. But his most enduring creation is surely Silver John, also known as John the Balladeer.

Silver John, a Korean War vet who becomes a wandering singer in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, appeared in around 20 stories published between 1951 and 1987, chiefly in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later in anthologies like Shadows and Whispers. The stories were gathered in several volumes over the years, and these books are highly collectible today. In 1988 Baen Books released a complete collection of the Silver John stories in paperback, John the Balladeer, with a captivating painting by Steve Hickman.

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New Treasures: Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace

New Treasures: Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace

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Envy of Angels-small Envy of Angels-back-small

Tor.com has had some impressive success with their stellar line-up of Fall novellas. Their first title, Kai Ashante Wilson’s The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2015, and after a strong critical response for the second novella, Witches of Lychford, Paul Cornell has already announced a sequel.

Their most recent release, Matt Wallace’s Envy of Angels: A Sin du Jour Affair, the first entry in a new urban fantasy series, was published on October 20. Matt Wallace is also the author of the futuristic sports thriller Slingers. The sequel to Envy of Angels, Lustlocked, has already been announced for January. (Click on the front and back covers above for bigger versions.)

Envy of Angels is the seventh title in Tor.com‘s debut publishing venture, which includes exciting new releases from K. J. Parker, Nnedi Okorafor, Alter S. Reiss, Daniel Polansky, and many others. Tor.com‘s Marketing & Publicity Manager, Mordicai Knode, talked about the genesis of the line in his first article for us, “Why Novellas? Tor.com‘s Stellar New Fantasy & SF Releases.”

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New Treasures: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

New Treasures: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

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Shadows of Self-smallTwo years ago, after the release of his novel The Rithmatist, I noted that Brandon Sanderson was one of the hardest-working writers in this industry. By my count, I put his production for 2013 at 2,046 pages of fiction — still less than his output for 2010, but who’s counting.

It’s 2015, and what the heck — let’s count. Using Al von Ruff’s Internet Science Fiction Database, I did a very rough tabulation of Sanderson’s output over the last six years, considering fiction books only (no short stories or non-fiction).

2015 (4 books, so far) 980 pages
2014 (4 books) 1,802 pages
2013 (6 books) 2,046 pages
2012 (2 books) 264 pages
2011 (3 books) 364 pages
2010 (4 books) 2,162 pages

It’s up and down, as you might expect. But for those counting along at home, that’s 7,618 pages over six years, or 1,270 pages per year. That’s pretty damned impressive.

Of course, we don’t count success as a writer by raw output, but by quality. And there, too, Sanderson excels. In 2006 and 2007 he was nominated for the John W. Campbell award for best New Writer, and he has won the David Gemmell Legend Award twice, for The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, the first two novels in his ambitious ten-volume series The Stormlight Archive. His 2013 novella The Emperor’s Soul was nominated for the World Fantasy Award, and won the Hugo Award.

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Future Treasures: The Geomancer by Clay and Susan Griffith

Future Treasures: The Geomancer by Clay and Susan Griffith

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The Geomancer-smallClay and Susan Griffith are the authors of The Vampire Empire trilogy from Pyr, set in an alternate future in which a horrible plague of vampires swept first over the northern regions of the world in 1870, and the popular Crown & Key trilogy from Del Rey. Now they’ve launched a brand new urban fantasy series set in the Vampire Empire universe, featuring the vampiric couple Gareth and Adele.

The uneasy stalemate between vampires and humans is over. Adele and Gareth are bringing order to a free Britain, but bloody murders in London raise the specter that Adele’s geomancy is failing and the vampires might return. A new power could tilt the balance back to the vampire clans. A deranged human called the Witchfinder has surfaced on the Continent, serving new vampire lords. This geomancer has found a way to make vampires immune to geomancy and intends to give his masters the ability to kill humans on a massive scale.

The apocalyptic event in Edinburgh weakened Adele’s geomantic abilities. If the Witchfinder can use geomancy against humanity, she may not have the power to stop him. If she can’t, there is nowhere beyond his reach and no one he cannot kill.

From a Britain struggling to rebuild to the vampire capital of Paris, from the heart of the Equatorian Empire to a vampire monastery in far-away Tibet, old friends and past enemies return. Unexpected allies and terrible new villains arise. Adele and Gareth fight side-by-side as always, but they can never be the same if they hope to survive.

The Geomancer: Vampire Empire will be published by Pyr on November 3, 2015. It is 319 pages, priced at $17 in trade paperback and $11.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Chris McGrath.

Future Treasures: The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

Future Treasures: The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

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The Shards of Heaven-smallMichael Livingston’s short stories in Black Gate revealed a keen talent for mixing history and fantasy — especially his acclaimed tale “The Hand That Binds (BG 9),” a fabulous retelling of the legend of Beowulf. His story “At the End of Babel” (Tor.com) is another fine example. His first novel, on sale next month from Tor Books, reveals the secret history of Ancient Rome, and the hidden magic behind the history we know.

Julius Caesar is dead, assassinated on the senate floor, and the glory that is Rome has been torn in two. Octavian, Caesar’s ambitious great-nephew and adopted son, vies with Marc Antony and Cleopatra for control of Caesar’s legacy. As civil war rages from Rome to Alexandria, and vast armies and navies battle for supremacy, a secret conflict may shape the course of history.

Juba, Numidian prince and adopted brother of Octavian, has embarked on a ruthless quest for the Shards of Heaven, lost treasures said to possess the very power of the gods — or the one God. Driven by vengeance, Juba has already attained the fabled Trident of Poseidon, which may also be the staff once wielded by Moses. Now he will stop at nothing to obtain the other Shards, even if it means burning the entire world to the ground.

Caught up in these cataclysmic events, and the hunt for the Shards, are a pair of exiled Roman legionnaires, a Greek librarian of uncertain loyalties, assassins, spies, slaves… and the ten-year-old daughter of Cleopatra herself.

Michael Livingston’s The Shards of Heaven reveals the hidden magic behind the history we know, and commences a war greater than any mere mortal battle.

The Shards of Heaven will be published by Tor Books on November 24, 2015. It is 414 pages. priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital version. It is the opening volume in an epic new historical fantasy series set against the rise of the Roman Empire.

New Treasures: Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman

New Treasures: Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman

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Silver on the Road-smallLaura Anne Gilman’s 2009 novel Flesh and Fire, the opening book in The Vineart War, was nominated for a Nebula Award. Her latest novel is an immensely appealing Weird Western featuring Isobel, who on her sixteenth birthday makes the choice to work for the devil in his territory west of the Mississippi. But this is not the devil you know. This is a being who deals fairly with immense — but not unlimited — power, and who offers opportunities to people who want to make a deal… and they always get what they deserve.

East of the Mississippi, in the civilized world, dime store novels and gossips claim that the territory to the west is home to monsters and magic, wild Indians and disreputable whites. They claim that in order to survive, any who live there must make a deal with the Devil.

Some of this is true.

Isobel is a child of the Territory. She grew up in a saloon, trained to serve drinks and fold laundry, to observe the players at the card tables and report back to her boss on what she saw. But when she comes of age, she is given a choice….

Isobel chooses power. Chooses risk. Chooses to throw her cards in with the Devil, Master of the Territory.

But the costs of that power are greater than she ever imagined; the things she must do, the person she must become… And she needs to learn her new role quickly: pressures from both outside the Territory and within are growing, and the Devil’s Hand has work to do…

Silver on the Road it the opening novel in a new series titled The Devil’s West. It was published by Saga Press on October 6. It is 382 pages, priced at $26.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by John Jude Palencar. Read an excerpt at Laura Anne Gilman’s website.

James Bond in Outer Space: The Croyd Spacetime Maneuvres Novels of Ian Wallace

James Bond in Outer Space: The Croyd Spacetime Maneuvres Novels of Ian Wallace

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Croyd-small Dr. Orpheus-small Pan Sagittarius-small

As I’ve mentioned a few times, one of the great things about collecting vintage SF and fantasy paperback is the constant new discoveries. A recent discovery of mine is Ian Wallace, who published 14 novels between 1952 and 1989, all but two part of a series that began with Croyd in 1967.

“Ian Wallace” was the pen name of John Wallace Pritchard, a local Chicago science fiction writer. He was a practicing clinical psychologist, and spent much of his career working for the Detroit public schools system. His first novel, Every Crazy Wind, was published in 1952 under his real name; his second, Croyd, was published as “Ian Wallace,” and began a lengthy series following the adventures of an organization of time-traveling superhumans. In the opening volume, Croyd is assigned to protect Earth from an alien invasion, but finds his mind transferred into the “inferior body” of a human woman — and his own body in the employ of an alien agent.

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