Audiobook release day: Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners by Ellen Kushner

Neil Gaiman Presents continues with its next selection, Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners By Ellen Kushner Narrated by Ellen Kushner, Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, and Simon Jones:

This is an “illuminated” audiobook with sound effects like doors closing, background noise at a restaurant, “the ring of steel”, and a full cast of characters around Kushner’s narration of her 1987 novel. (Elsewhere, Gaiman talked with Salon.com about audiobooks — very much worth checking out!)

ALSO OUT TODAY:

• Degrees of Freedom By Simon Morden Narrated by Toby Leonard Moore For Recorded Books — “Simon Morden scored hits with the first two volumes (Equations of Life and Theories of Flight) of his acclaimed Samuil Petrovitch series. The final book in the trilogy, Degrees of Freedom finds Petrovitch still trying to make his way in the post-apocalyptic nightmare world he calls home.”
• The Scottish Prisoner By Diana Gabaldon Narrated by Jeff Woodman and Rick Holmes For Recorded Books — “This fourth novel featuring popular character Lord John Grey is told both from Lord Grey’s perspective and from that of Jamie Fraser, the star of the Outlander series.”
• Acquainted with the Night By Piper Maitland Narrated by Justine Eyre For Brilliance Audio — vampires in Bulgaria, archaeology and international suspense, etc.YA: Legend By Marie Lu Narrated by Mariel Stern and Steven Kaplan For Penguin Audio — “What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.”
• Four audiobooks by American fiction author Nicholson Baker including The Mezzanine (1986),  Vox (1993), The Fermata (1995), and the recently-released House of Holes
• Queen of America: A Novel By Luis Alberto Urrea Narrated by Luis Alberto Urrea For Hachette Audio — magical realism in turn-of-the-last-century (late 1800s) Arizona and San Francisco, sequel to The Hummingbird’s Daughter: A Novel

MISSING IN ACTION:

• Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories Volume 1 by Valve & Michael Avon Oeming (Dark Horse)
• Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough (Ace)
• Blood of Aenarion by William King (Black Library)
• Death and Resurrection by R.A. MacAvoy (Nov 28, 2011) — Kindle edition, with print edition coming in December
• The Emperors Knife by Mazarkis Williams (Night Shade Books, Nov 29, 2011)

LATER THIS WEEK:

• Timecaster by Joe Kimball, Narrated by Patrick Lawlor For Brilliance Audio (Dec 1)

NEXT WEEK (Dec 6):

• Earthbound by Joe Haldeman (Ace) — concludes his Marsbound trilogy
• The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott and Colette Freedman, read by Kate Reading for Macmillan Audio (Dec 6; Tor Books)
• Non-fiction: Nested Scrolls: The Autobiography of Rudolf von Bitter Rucker by Rudy Rucker (Tor Books, Dec 6, 2011)
• YA: Planesrunner (Everness #1) by Ian McDonald (Pyr)
• YA: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, read by Ed Westwick and Heather Lind for Simon & Schuster Audio (Dec 6; Margaret K. McElderry Books) — second in her The Infernal Devices series after last year’s Clockwork Angel (IndieBound; Audible.com) and her previously successful Mortal Instruments series — IndieBound pre-order
• Anthology: Human for a Day by Martin H. Greenberg and Jennifer Brozek (Dec 6, 2011)

TWO WEEKS (Dec 13):

• Artemis by Philip Palmer (Dec 12; Orbit) — no audio news (and I’ve seen this print book in stores already)
• Pilgrim of the Sky written and narrated by Natania Barron (Candlemark & Gleam)
• The Liminal People by Ayize Jama-Everett (Dec 13, 2011) – Kindle eBook (print edition coming in January, Small Beer Press)
• Myths of Origin: Four Short Novels collects 4 previously released short novels by Catherynne M. Valente (Dec 15; Wyrm) — no audio news

THREE WEEKS (Dec 20):

• Anthology: Wild Cards II: Aces High edited by George R. R. Martin Narrated by Luke Daniels For Brilliance Audio
• Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright (Tor Books) — no audio news
• The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick (Pyr) — book two in his Weird West Tales
• Winning Mars by Jason Stoddard (Prime Books) — expanded and updated from his Interzone-published novella and the 2007 Creative Commons-licensed e-book (no audio news)
• Non-Fiction: Postcolonialism and Science Fiction by Jessica Langer (Dec 20, 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan)

FOUR WEEKS (Dec 27):

• Empire State by Adam Christopher (Dec 27, Angry Robot) — “Adam Christopher’s debut novel is a noir, Philip K Dick-ish science fiction superhero story… As captivating as a kaleidoscope… just feel it in all its weird glory.” – Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother
• The Demi-Monde: Winter: A Novel (The Demi-Monde Saga) by Rod Rees (Dec 27, 2011, William Morrow) — published early this year by Quercus in the UK
• City of Light and Shadow: City of a Hundred Rows, Book 3 by Ian Whates (Dec 27, 2011, Angry Robot)
• Collection: Gothic High-Tech by Bruce Sterling (Dec 31, 2011, Subterranean Press)
• Short: All About Emily by Connie Willis and illustrated by J. K. Potter (Dec 31, 2011, Subterranean)