Release Week: Thieftaker, Gun Machine, Great North Road, and Scoundrels

Posted on 2013-01-01 by montsamu

Well here it is, the first release week of 2013 — though most of this week’s haul do herald from 2012. There’s historical fantasy, Warren Ellis, an epic-length sf novel from Peter F. Hamilton, and a new Timothy Zahn Star Wars novel. And, at the bottom, another Whispersync for Voice price quirk. And, don’t forget! The currently running Audible Holiday Sale ends on Wednesday, January 2, at 11:59 PM ET. And come back soon as Dave and I are trying to cobble together our year-in-review. Happy New Year! Next Tuesday brings just a ridiculous haul of something like 100 audiobooks, from the final installment of the Wheel of Time to piles and piles of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms audiobooks.

Thieftaker: Thieftaker Chronicles, Book 1 (2012) by D. B. Jackson, Narrated by Jonathan Davis for Audible Frontiers — Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins — This one came out in the wee days of 2012, after being first published in print in early fall. “D.B. Jackson” is a new pseudonym for David B. Coe, under which he’ll be writing historical fantasy: “Boston, 1765: In D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker, revolution is brewing as the British Crown imposes increasingly onerous taxes on the colonies, and intrigue swirls around firebrands like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. But for Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others…until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a prominent family.”

Thieftaker: Thieftaker Chronicles, Book 1 | [D. B. Jackson] Gun Machine | [Warren Ellis]

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis, Narrated by Reg E. Cathey for Hachette Audio — Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins — “After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for 20 years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose. Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he’s walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan’s most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City’s history.”

Great North Road By Peter F. Hamilton, Narrated By Toby Longworth for Tantor Audio — Length: 36 hrs and 34 mins — Out from Macmillan in the UK in September, concurrent with the New Year’s Day US release from Del Rey: “A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family – composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone “brothers” have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies. Or maybe not so friendly.”

Great North Road | [Peter F. Hamilton] Scoundrels: Star Wars | [Timothy Zahn]

Scoundrels: Star Wars By Timothy Zahn, Narrated By Marc Thompson for Random House Audio — Length: 14 hrs and 1 min — Concurrent with another New Year’s Day hardcover release, this one (obviously) from LucasBooks: “Han Solo should be basking in his moment of glory. After all, the cocky smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon just played a key role in the daring raid that destroyed the Death Star and landed the first serious blow to the Empire in its war against the Rebel Alliance. But after losing the reward his heroics earned him, Han’s got nothing to celebrate. Especially since he’s deep in debt to the ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. There’s a bounty on Han’s head – and if he can’t cough up the credits, he’ll surely pay with his hide. The only thing that can save him is a king’s ransom. Or maybe a gangster’s fortune?”

ALSO OUT TUESDAY:

EARLIER THIS WEEK:

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

Love Is Strange

  • Apocalypse: Year Zero by Sarah Langan, Sarah Pinborough, Rhodi Hawk, and Alexandra Sokoloff (Dec 21) — “Four end-of-the-world novellas by four award-winning dark fantasy authors … Each of [four] very different women finds herself in the middle of an apocalyptic disaster: the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the tsunami in Thailand, Hurricane Katrina, and Southern California’s dreaded “Big One.” Each survives the ordeal with great personal loss: the death of loved ones, disfigurement, mental collapse. But each also finds herself in sudden possession of mysterious powers of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. As the women are inexorably drawn together, their powers increase, but they quickly realize those powers can be used for evil as well as for good. And with the signs of a coming Armageddon building around them, the women start to wonder… What if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse aren’t men at all?”
  • Love Is Strange by Bruce Sterling (40k, Dec 22) — Um… what? Sterling takes on a paranormal romance between a witch and a futurist. I’m in. When’s the audiobook coming?!
  • The Shadow’s Heir by K.J. Taylor (Ace, Dec 24)
  • Blood Winter by Diana Pharaoh Francis (Pocket, Dec 26)
  • Glass Thorns (Glass Thorns 1) by Melanie Rawn (Titan, Dec 28)
  • Doktor Glass by Thomas Brennan (Ace, Dec 31)
  • Ember: A Penguin Special from Roc by James K. Decker (Roc, Dec 31) — prequel novella to The Burn Zone
  • Nell Gwynne’s On Land and At Sea by Kage Baker & Kathleen Bartholomew (Subterranean, Dec 31)
  • The Dog in the Dark: A Novel of the Noble Dead by Barb Hendee & J.C. Hendee (Roc Hardcover, Dec 31)
  • The Circle by Bentley Little (Cemetery Dance, December)
  • Sunset of the Gods by Steve White (Baen, Jan 1)
  • Tiger by the Tail (Paladin of Shadows #6) by John Ringo and Ryan Sear (Baen, January 1)

ON PRE-ORDER LISTINGS:

COMING SOON:

Ice Forged

  • Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, January 8) — no audio news — “Condemned as a murderer for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine “Mick” McFadden has spent the last six years in Velant, a penal colony in the frigid northern wastelands of Edgeland. Harsh military discipline and the oppressive magic of the governor’s mages keep a fragile peace as colonists struggle against a hostile environment. But the supply ships from Dondareth have stopped coming, boding ill for the kingdom that banished the colonists.”
  • EVER AFTER by Kim Harrison, read by Marguerite Gavin (Blackstone Audio, January 22) — The Hollows, book 11
  • THE DISASTER DIARIES by Sam Sheridan, read by Donald Corren (Blackstone Audio, 24 January)
  • Mageborn: The Blacksmith’s Son (2011 by Michael G. Manning (Tantor Audio, January) — “In the first book in an enthralling new fantasy series, Mordecai, the son of a blacksmith, discovers his magical birthright. As he journeys to understand the power within him, he finds himself drawn into a dangerous plot.”
  • THE FREE LUNCH by Spider Robinson, read by Spider Robinson (Blackstone Audio, 1 February)
  • FALLING STARS by Michael Flynn, read by Malcolm Hillgartner (Blackstone Audio, 1 February) — The Firestar Saga, Book 4
  • AFTERMATH by Charles Sheffield, read by Gary Dikeos (Blackstone Audio, 1 February) — The Supernova Alpha Series, Book 1
  • THE STOCKHOLM OCTAVO by Karen Engelmann, read by Simon Vance (Blackstone Audio, 15 February)
  • Imager’s Battalion: Book 6 in the Imager Portfolio by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., read by William Dufris (Tantor Audio, February)
  • The Night of the Swarm (Book 4 in the Chathrand Voyage series) By Robert V. S. Redick, Read By Michael Page (Tantor Audio, February)
  • THE VEILED WEB by Catherine Asaro, read by Caroline Shaffer (Blackstone Audio, 1 March)
  • CHAOSBOUND by David Farland,read by Ray Porter (Blackstone Audio, 1 March)
  • STARFIRE by Charles Sheffield, read by Gary Dikeos (Blackstone Audio, 1 March)
  • Teen: THE PLANET THIEVES by Dan Krokos (Blackstone Audio, 21 May)
  • RED HORSE by Alex Adams (Blackstone Audio, 28 May) — sequel to White Horse
  • Fiction: WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler (Blackstone Audio, 31 May)

——–

WHISPERSYNC FOR VOICE PRICE QUIRK:

I keep finding these almost randomly. This time it’s The Second Ship: The Rho Agenda, Book 1 by Richard Phillips, read by MacLeod Andrews for Brilliance Audio. Normally $13.99, member priced at $9.79, if you buy the Kindle version for $2.99 you can get the audiobook for $1.99 for a total of $4.98.

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