Release Week: A Sudden Outbreak of Magic, Ruins, and a Neil Gaiman gift edition and charity short

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Release Week: A Sudden Outbreak of Magic, Ruins, and a Neil Gaiman gift edition and charity short

Posted on 2012-10-31 at 17:43 by Sam

The last release week in October has a few intriguing new titles, along with a new “gift edition” of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and, as Dave already mentioned, a free short story by Gaiman as well.

A Sudden Outbreak of Magic: Contagious Magic By Michael Jasper, Narrated by Alyson Grauer is the one I’ve been waiting on the longest. At 8 hrs and 16 mins it is the first book in a series, in which book two is out in print and ebook, and book three is coming soon. I’ve been following the route of this book from pitch to publication in audio via Audible’s ACX: “A Sudden Outbreak of Magic stars Kelley and Jeroan Strickland, twin teenagers whose family just moved to Dubuque, Iowa. One cold morning in November, Kelley gets “infected” by magic after reading aloud from a small leather bound book she finds. She also blows up the family home in the process. Soon Kelley and Jeroan must face up to a power-hungry, centuries-old Sorcerer who wants to rid the world of what he calls “renegade” magic-users. Only Kelley’s new way of using magic will save their new city and their magically infected friends, though she may lose her brother in the process. A Sudden Outbreak of Magic is a novel about ancient power, growing up, and finding your place within those two very different realms.”

Teen: Ruins: Pathfinder, Book 2 By Orson Scott Card, Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, and Emily Janice Card for Brilliance Audio, simultaneously released with the hardcover from Simon Pulse — continuing the story of 2010’s Pathfinder (Simon Pulse, October 30) — Series: Pathfinder, Book 2 — Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins — “When Rigg and his friends crossed the Wall between the only world they knew and a world they could not imagine, he hoped he was leading them to safety. But the dangers in this new wallfold are more difficult to see. Rigg, Umbo, and Param know that they cannot trust the expendable, Vadesh - a machine shaped like a human, created to deceive - but they are no longer certain that they can even trust one another.”

Stardust: The Gift Edition By Neil Gaiman, Narrated by Neil Gaiman — Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins — with a new introduction by Gaiman, accounting for the 11 additional minutes of the “gift edition” of the audiobook which corresponds from the simultaneously published new edition from William Morrow: “This special gift edition will be beautifully packaged in a smaller trim size with a one-piece fine cloth case, a gold-stamped cover, and a whimsical interior design, featuring a frontispiece illustration and line chapter opener ornamentation by noted artist Charles Vess. It will also contain an introductory note by Neil Gaiman.” Oh, you don’t know what Stardust is about? Here quotes: “Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie … and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man’s life.”

Also new from Gaiman this week is the 12-minute free short story Click-Clack the Rattlebag: A Free Short Story Written and Performed by Neil Gaiman. As explained by Dave in his brief review note, every free download benefits charities at DonorsChoose.org. So if somehow you haven’t downloaded this yes, get to it, and Happy Hallowe’en and a good All Hallows Listen to all.

ALSO OUT TUESDAY:

EARLIER THIS WEEK: SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:
  • The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon, Oct 10) -- no audio news
  • Collection: Shoggoths in Bloom by Elizabeth Bear (Prime Books, Oct 23)
  • Anthology: Bloody Fabulous edited by Ekaterina Sedia (Prime Books, Oct 23) -- "Anthology of 14 “Stories of Fantasy and Fashion”, of which six are reprints and the rest original to this book. Authors include Holly Black, Kelly Link, Rachel Swirsky, Nick Mamatas, and Genevieve Valentine." (via Locus Online)
  • Swords of Waar by Nathan Long (Night Shade Books, Oct 23) -- sequel to Jane Carver of Waar
  • The Tangled Bridge by Rhodi Hawk (Tor, Oct 30) -- "Southern gothic thriller, second in a series following A Twisted Ladder (2009), about a psychologist battling members of her own family in order to save a little boy from the demons her family controls." (via Locus Online)
  • Rapture: Book Three of the Bel Dame Apocrypha by Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books, Oct 23, 2012) -- books one and two are in audio, so I would anticipate book 3 coming soon
  • Cemetery Plot by Alex Granados (Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, Oct 30) — “The apocalypse isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” in this story of a future earth crowded by cemeteries and the walking dead (no audio news)
  • Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson — book one in a new prequel trilogy to Erikson’s Malazan series — published in print by Tor in September, forthcoming from Brilliance Audio which is also putting out the Malazan series in audio -- apparently delayed
  • Death’s Apprentice A Grimm City Novel By K.W. Jeter and Gareth Jefferson Jones (Thomas Dunne and Dreamscape Audio, Oct 30) — “Death’s young apprentice must stand on his own as he leads an uprising against the Devil.” -- apparently delayed in digital audio, shows in stock in CD and MP3-CD
  • The Lion in Chains (A Foreworld Side Quest) by Mark Teppo (Brilliance Audio, Oct 30) — a “side quest” in the world of The Mongoliad -- apparently delayed
  • The War of Vengence: The Great Betrayal (Time of Legends) by Nick Kyme (Games Workshop, Oct 30, 2012)
  • The Clone Sedition by Steven L. Kent (Ace, Oct 30, 2012)
  • Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Tor, Oct 30, 2012) --"Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world—a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts.""
  • Stray Souls (Magicals Anonymous) by Kate Griffin (Orbit, Oct 30, 2012) -- book 5 in a series
  • Collection: Remember Why You Fear Me: The Best Dark Fiction of Robert Shearman by Robert Shearman (ChiZine, Oct 30, 2012)
  • Hell to Heaven: Journey to Wudang: Book Two by Kylie Chan (Harper Voyager, Oct 30, 2012)
  • Non-fiction: Computing for Ordinary Mortals by Robert St. Amant (Oxford University Press, Oct 31) -- via Scalzi's Big Idea
  • Trial of the Clone by Zach Weinersmith (Breadpig) -- a choose your own adventure disguised as a paperback, via Scalzi's Big Idea
LATER THIS WEEK:
  • A very long list of Dragonlance tie-in novels are set to be released in audio on October 31, though not the principal two Weis and Hickman trilogies -- a huge list of Forgotten Realms tie-in novels is set to come next week as well
  • The Warlock’s Curse: Veneficas Americana #3 by M.K. Hobson (Demimonde, Oct 31) — Kickstarter-funded self-published third book after The Native Star and The Hidden Goddess were published by Spectra (no audio news)
  • The Walls Of Madness by Craig Saunders (Crowded Quarantine Publications, Oct 31, 2012) -- "The Walls of Madness Bill Hunter sees things other people only imagine; he sees the low beasts and the dark man, too. A man called Marlin. People call him crazy. But sometimes nightmares are real. Sometimes the walls are thin. And sometimes, in the dead of night, that man, that Marlin, comes through..."
  • This Chained City by Daniel Thompson (Austin & Macauley Publishers, Oct 31, 2012)
  • The Boolean Gate by Walter Jon Williams (Subterranean, Oct 31, 2012)
  • Malim's Legacy by Jo Reed (Wild Wolf Publishing, Oct 31, 2012) -- "Malim, time-traveller, psychopath and heir to the Family's tyrannical dynasty, is dead. An uneasy truce exists between the head of the Family, Rendail, and his estranged son, Arghel. But the fragile peace is about to be shattered."
  • Collection: Baba Yaga's Daughter and Other Stories of the Old Races by C. E. Murphy and Tom Canty (Subterranean Press, Oct 31, 2012)
  • Firestar: Firestar Saga, Book 1 By Michael Flynn, Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner -- Length: 31 hrs and 18 mins -- scheduled release date: November 1
  • Non-Fiction: Reflections & Refractions by Robert Silverberg (Nonstop Press, Nov 1, 2012) -- an expansion of Silverberg's essay collection
Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged emily janice card, michael jasper, neil gaiman, orson scott card, release week, stardust, stefan rudnicki