Cory Doctorow audiobooks now available at Downpour.com

Posted on 2013-11-17 at 15:08 by Sam

While I wasn't looking, a quartet of Cory Doctorow's audiobooks showed up at Downpour.com -- they aren't available on Audible.com due to Audible's DRM-only format and Doctorow's anti-DRM stance. I don't know when they arrived, but it's a welcome sight and one I've been asking for since Downpour's launch as a DRM-free multi-vendor alternative to Audible.com. So, as promised in a quick update on this week's Release Week write-up, here's some more links and pictures and verbiage about Doctorow's audiobooks, all from Random House Audio.

First up, Doctorow's 2008 novel Little Brother, which I very much enjoyed in audio, read by Kirby Heyborne (Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Stephen King's The Long Walk, Brom's Krampus, Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World, Gail Z. Martin's The Sworn, and Brian Jay Jones' Jim Henson: The Biography).

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cory doctorow, downpour, drm

Release Week: Marie Brennen's A Natural History of Dragons, Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice, S.M. Wheeler's Sea Change, Teresa Frohock's Miserere, Samuel Sattin's League of Somebodies, E.C. Myers' Fair Coin, and The Ship of Theseus

Posted on 2013-11-14 at 21:13 by Sam

NOVEMBER 6-12, 2013: A fairly quiet week in overall numbers — and nearly absent in concurrent new releases — is thunderously punctuated by some fantastic new audiobooks, taking big bites out of my “most missing in audio” list: Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, S.M. Wheeler’s Sea Change, Teresa Frohock’s Miserere, Samuel Sattin’s League of Somebodies, and E.C. Myers’ Fair Coin. Though it’s not all good news, as my “seen but not heard” list this week is highlighted by Nicola Griffith’s Hild (though an Anne Flosnick-narrated audiobook is coming in two weeks), Cherie Priest’s Fiddlehead, and Trish MacGregor’s Apparation. Also: 1. Late last month Dog Ear Audio posted a Kickstarter update with a sample of Janis Ian’s narration of When Women Were Warriors and it sounds so very, very good. Check it out — it’s a public update and so even if you weren’t a backer it should be available. And: 2. The Black Tribbles podcast posted its first podcast anthology of “afro-futuristic tales inspired by the late Octavia Butler”. Meanwhile, the week-long contest for a 6-month subscription to Audiobooks.com is up to just six entries for “most overlooked” speculative fiction novel of 2013, so if you want pretty decent odds at winning the contest, get your comment in by Monday. Enjoy! And stay tuned; we’re planning an absolutely huge epic fantasy audiobook giveaway to run soon. Update: Some big, big audiobook news to pass along as, and I don’t know exactly when they went up, but Cory Doctorow’s audiobooks (Makers, Little Brother, Pirate Cinema, and For the Win) all have gone live at Downpour.com. More links and info soon!

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

First up, and actually it has been available at Downpour.com for a couple of weeks now — it should be available on Audible.com by Friday — but somehow escaped my notice until this week, is one of my most missing in audio for 2013, Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, published in print and ebook by Tor Books in February and now in audio, read by the fantastic Kate Reading (Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker, Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera, Guy Gavriel Kay’s Ysabel) for Macmillan Audio. “You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten… . All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.”

Speaking of the most missing audiobooks of 2013, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice is also out this week from Recorded Books, just a few handfuls of weeks after its print and ebook publication by Orbit in early October. Narrator Celeste Ciulla is new to me, though not to my wishlist as she also narrates Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts and Shattered Pillars. Here, Ancillary Justice has been released to rave reviews, most recently being named a write-in semi-finalist for the Goodreads Choice Science Fiction novel of the year. “On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren—a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose—to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch. From debut author Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice is a stunning space opera that asks what it means to be human in a universe guided by artificial intelligence.”

And another of those “missing” audiobooks of 2013 has until now been Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler, published in print and ebook by Tor Books in June, also now in audio from Recorded Books, read by Bianca Amato (Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War, Jo Walton’s Small Change, Charles Stross’ Saturn’s Children). “The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken. In Octavius’ many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price. Her journey to win Octavius’ freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly’s quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.”

Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock has been one of my most missing audiobooks since its print/ebook publication by Night Shade Books in 2011. And here it finally is, narrated by Eileen Stevens (Lisa Shearin’s Raine Benares, Will McIntosh’s Love Minus Eighty, J.M. McDermott’s Never Knew Another, Michael Swanwick’s The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, Caitlin R. Kiernan’s The Red Tree, and Ekaterina Sedia’s The Alchemy of Stone) for Audible Frontiers: “Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru deserted his lover in Hell in exchange for saving his sister Catarina’s soul, but Catarina doesn’t want salvation. She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen’s hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven’s frontline of defense between Earth and Hell. When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina’s wrath isn’t so easy to escape!”

League of Somebodies By Samuel Sattin was published in print and ebook in April by Dark Coast Press, here narrated by John Keating for Audible Frontiers. We don’t get too many superhero novels, though an uptick in both frequency and excellence of late (James Maxey’s Nobody Gets the Girl, Austin Grossman’s Soon I Will Be Invincible, Carrie Vaughn’s After the Golden Age, Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart) makes for some fascinating reading and listening. “Lenard Sikophsky’s father has been feeding him plutonium since the age of six in the hopes of making him the world’s first bona fide superhero. First, he must pass the unusual tests of manhood locked in the centuries old tomb, The Manaton, a secret relic passed down for generations. Falling in love with the beautiful, compulsively suicidal Laura Moskowitz doesn’t make his life any easier. But with the guidance of the Sikophsky men, the antiquated rulebook, and of course a healthy amount of plutonium, Lenard accepts his fate as an exactor of justice… . Twenty years later, Lenard’s son Nemo is introduced to the same destiny as his father, only this time the violent entity called THEY are in dangerous pursuit. Lenard’s life and the legacy of his family are put to the test when he is forced to defend everything he loves.”

Fair Coin by E.C. Myers, narrated by Macleod Andrews for Audible Inc. One of the the March 2012 Pyr Teen titles (print/ebook), the October 2012 follow-on Quantum Coin is due out soon in audio as well. “Ephraim is horrified when he comes home from school one day to find his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. Even more disturbing than her suicide attempt is the reason for it: the dead boy she identified at the hospital that afternoon - a boy who looks exactly like him. While examining his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim discovers a strange coin that makes his wishes come true each time he flips it. Before long, he’s wished his alcoholic mother into a model parent, and the girl he’s liked since second grade suddenly notices him. But Ephraim soon realizes that the coin comes with consequences - several wishes go disastrously wrong, his best friend Nathan becomes obsessed with the coin, and the world begins to change in unexpected ways. As Ephraim learns the coin’s secrets and how to control its power, he must find a way to keep it from Nathan and return to the world he remembers.”

Lastly this week, something a bit… strange. Originally, Hachette Audio had some interesting plans for S., a Mulholland-published collaboration between creator J.J. Abrams (Lost, and now at the helm of both the Star Trek and Star Wars film franchises) and author Doug Dorst. The book is crammed with snippets and clips and so much non-textual content that in the end, Hachette went in another direction. That direction was producing the “novel within the novel”, Ship of Theseus, by fictional (or is he?) author V.M. Straka, as a standalone audiobook. Shades of “The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern” perhaps? Perhaps.

What I can and will tell you is that the audiobook is narrated by Graeme Malcolm, who I most recently heard on an absolutely masterful turn on Kim Stanley Robinson’s Shaman, and that: “Please note: In S., J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst conceived of a multi-layered novel-within-a-novel that involves handwritten notes in the margins and physical objects slipped between the pages. Because an audio edition is unable to recreate those innately visual pieces of the story and the intended experience of S., the text of Ship of Theseus has been recorded here.  Award-winning actor Graeme Malcolm reads the work of an incendiary novelist who may never have existed at all. What is Ship of Theseus, and who is its mysterious author V.M. Straka? Conceived by filmmaker J.J. Abrams and written by acclaimed novelist Doug Dorst, Ship of Theseus is the central novel within the experience that is S., a multi-faceted narrative of love and mystery. Ship of Theseus is at its core and is the final book written by a man shrouded in deception and violence. It tells the mystical adventure of an equally mysterious figure, who is struggling to discover his own identity. Abducted onto the eponymous ship, the main character is swept into a story that spans oceans and ports, mountains and caves, capitals and citadels. Two things sustain him: his lifelong search for his love, Sola; and the infernal purpose of the ship and its crew. Equal parts Kafka and Lovecraft, Ship of Theseus is both a frightening adventure and a philosophical treasure hunt.”

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

• Short: Circus of Blood: A Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter Novella By James R. Tuck, Narrated By Jim Beaver (Nov 6)
• Step Back in Time By Ali McNamara, Narrated By Katie Scarfe for Hachette Audio UK (Nov 7)
• Kids: Dragonbait By David McLain, Narrated By Jeff Hays (Nov 7)
• Seven Days: The Chronicles of Lumineia, Book 3 by Ben Hale, Narrated By Derek Perkins for Podium Publishing — Scheduled Release Date: 11-08-13
• Touchy and Feely: Sissy Sawyer Series, Book 1, Petrified, and The Ninth Nightmare: Night Warriors Series, Book 5 by Graham Masterson, under various narrators for Audible Ltd (Nov 8)
• The Magic Engineer: Saga of Recluce Series, Book 3 By L. E. Modesitt, Narrated By Kirby Heyborne for Tantor (Nov 11)
• Dragon’s Child: The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1 By M. K. Hume, Narrated By Steven Crossley for Recorded Books — Scheduled Release Date: 11-12-13
• LONG LIVE THE QUEEN by Kate Locke, read by Moira Quirk for Blackstone Audio (physical media) and Hachette Audio (digital download) -- the first book in this series, God Save the Queen, is a $2.99 Kindle Deal today, and is eligible for Whispersync for Voice upgrade for $4.99
• The Dark at the End: A Repairman Jack Novel, Book 15 By F. Paul Wilson, Narrated By Christopher Price for Brilliance Audio, along with Reprisal and Reborn By F. Paul Wilson, Narrated By Kurt Elftmann
• Into the Fire: The Thin Veil, Book 2 By Jodi McIsaac, Narrated By Kate Rudd for Brilliance Audio
• Blood Soaked and Contagious By James Crawford, Narrated By David Stifel for Audible Frontiers
• Eleven Twenty-Three By Jason S. Hornsby, Narrated By Chris Carwithen for Audible Frontiers
• Jam By Yahtzee Croshaw, Narrated By Yahtzee Croshaw for Open Book Audio
• Teen: More Than This By Patrick Ness, Narrated By Nick Podehl for Candlewick on Brilliance Audio
• Teen: Shadowlark By Meagan Spooner, Narrated By Angela Lin for Recorded Books
• Teen: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents By Terry Pratchett, Narrated By Stephen Briggs

• Earthrise: Her Instruments 1 By M.C.A. Hogarth, Narrated By Daniel Dorse
• Strays: The Glaring Chronicles, Book 1 By Matthew Krause, Narrated By Matthew Krause
• Zombie Fallout 7: For The Fallen By Mark Tufo, Narrated By Sean Runnette
• Zombie Rage: Walking Plague Trilogy, Book 2 By J.R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque, Narrated By David Doersch
• T By Mitchell J. Rycus, Narrated By Jim McCance

• Anthology: Space Opera edited by Rich Horton, Kage Baker, Elizabeth Bear and Jay Lake (Nov 6, 2013)
• Anthology: Coins of Chaos edited by Jennifer Brozek, with stories by Jay Lake, Richard Dansky, Nathaniel Lee, Seanan McGuire, and more (Hades Publications, Nov 6) — “17 short stories based on the The Hobo Nickel…. During and after the great depression Hobo Nickels were traded for food, sex, shelter, and power. In Coins of Chaos, twenty seemingly ordinary nickles are carved with dark representations of world evils and imbued with magical powers that transform the deliciously macabre bits of lost art into carriers of death, destruction, and ill luck.”
• One’s Aspect to the Sun by Sherry D. Ramsey (Tyche, Nov 6)
• Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (Transworld/Doubleday UK, Nov 7) -- latest Discworld book; US release due March 2014
• Anthology: Mister October, Volume I: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala and Mister October, Volume II: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala edited by Christopher Golden (JournalStone, Nov 8)
• Ambassador by Patty Jansen (Nov 9, 2013) — “You remember Cory Wilson from The Far Horizon? Well, he’s all grown up for this space opera/crime adventure.“
• Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest (Tor, Nov 12, 2013) — latest and sadly last novel in Priest’s Boneshaker series The Clockwork Century
• Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) — a discussion with the author at the LA Times; the author wrote about Anne Flosnick getting started in October as narrator; and  LibraryJournal says: “Since Griffith has won the Tiptree, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, the Premio Italia, and the Lambda Literary Award six times, you’re well advised to grab this fictionalized portrait of a girl name Hild who grew up in seventh-century Britain and became St. Hilda’s of Whitby. Griffith gives us a determined and uncannily perceptive Hild who seems capable of predicting the future (or at least of human behavior), a trait that puts her in the life-and-death position of being made the king’s seer. The writing itself is uncannily perceptive, with none of the flowery excess of some historical fiction writing, though the detailed narrative runs close to 600 pages. I thought of Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall even before I noted the comparison in the promotion.” -- coming to audio November 26 from Macmillan Audio
• Apparition by Trish J. MacGregor (Tor, Nov 12)
• The Waking that Kills by Stephen Gregory (Solaris, Nov 12) -- "A dark novel of Possession." reviewed on Tor.com by Niall Alexander as "As an insidious novel that gets under your skin and itches insatiably from within, The Waking That Kills does the business brilliantly—and beautifully, too."
• Collection: Horse of a Different Color by Howard Waldrop (Small Beer Pres,, Nov 12)
• Serial: No Lasting Burial (The Zombie Bible) by Stant Litore (Nov 12, 2013) -- "A first-century Israeli village lies ruined after zombies devour most of the coastal community. In their grief, the villagers threw the dead into the Sea of Galilee, not suspecting that this act would poison the fish and starve the few survivors on land. Yeshua hears their hunger. He hears the moans of the living and the dead, like screaming in his ears. Desperate to respond, he calls up the fish. Just one thing: The dead are called up, too. No Lasting Burial ushers readers into a vivid and visceral re-interpretation of the Gospel of Luke and the legend of the Harrowing of Hell. The hungry dead will rise and walk, and readers may never look at these stories the same way again." (from the author, the book will be released in print, ebook, and audiobook at the conclusion of the serial run)

• Superluminal (1983) By Vonda N. McIntyre, Narrated By Rachel Evans for Audible Inc.
• The Child By Keith F. Goodnight, Narrated By Nick Podehl for Brilliance Audio (Nov 13)
• Embers at Galdrilene: Dragon's Call, Book 1 By A. D. Trosper, Narrated By Valerie Gilbert for Silver Spirit Publishing (Nov 13)
• Leaflings By Darren Shell, Narrated By Sule Greg Wilson, Tim Paulson, Norma Jean Strickland for Ravenpheat Productions (Nov 13)
• Fountain of Secrets: The Relic Seekers, Book 2 By Anita Clenney, Narrated By Renee Raudman for Brilliance Audio (Nov 13)
• Fortress of Lost Worlds (GONJI #4) By T.C. Rypel, Narrated By Brian Holsopple for Audible (Nov 13)
• Short: Only a Shadow: A Story of the Fated Blades By Steve Bein, Narrated By Brian Nishii for Audible Frontiers (Nov 13)
• The Way Back: John Grimes, Book 22 By A. Bertram Chandler, Narrated By Aaron Abano for Audible Frontiers (Nov 13)
• Teen: Forever: Book III of the Fins Trilogy By Ashley Knight, Narrated By Martha Lee for Crossroad Press (Nov 13)
• Death by Silver By Melissa Scott, Amy Griswold, Narrated By Matthew Cresswell for Lethe Press (Nov 14)
• Invasion: New York: Invasion America, Book 4 By Vaughn Heppner, Narrated By Mark Ashby for Audible Frontiers (Nov 14)
• Fiction: Slam by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki (Blackstone Audio, November 15, 2013) — Shiner’s 1990 novel of a paroled tax evader, anarchist skateboarders, and, well, 23 cats. Somehow it was available at Audible in mid-October (and, via a $2.99 Kindle plus $2.99 Whispersync for Voice special, an instant grab once I saw it live there) but I wanted to go ahead and feature it on its official release date this week
• CARLUCCI’S EDGE by Richard Paul Russo, read by Kristoffer Tabori for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
• THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
• Demon's Door: Rook Series, Book 7 By Graham Masterton, Narrated By Chris Ragland for Audible Ltd (Nov 15)
• At the End By John Hennessy, Narrated By David DeVries for Audible Frontiers (Nov 15)
• Collection: Beyond the Rift by Peter Watts (Tachyon, Nov 18, 2013)
• The God-Stone War: Mageborn Series, Book 4 by Michael G. Manning, Narrated By Todd McLaren for Tantor Audio (Nov 18)
• For Whom the Spell Tolls By H.P. Mallory, Narrated By Therese Plummer (Nov 18)
• The Orphans’ Promise (Secret of Ji, Book Two) by Pierre Grimbert, translated by Matt Ross and Eric Lamb (Nov 19, 2013)
• Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers, read by Fiona Hardingham for Blackstone Audio (Nov 19) — published in print/ebook last year, a stand-alone follow-up to the fantastic The Stress of Her Regard
• Romulus Buckle & the Engines of War: The Chronicles of the Pneumatic, Book 2 By Richard Ellis Preston, Narrated By Luke Daniels for Brilliance Audio (Nov 19)
• The Isle of Glass By Judith Tarr, Narrated By James Patrick Cronin (Nov 19)
• Kindred and Wings and Hunter and Fox By Philippa Ballantine, Narrated By Caitlin Greer (Nov 19)
• A Study in Darkness: Book Two in The Baskerville Affair by Emma Jane Holloway, read by Angele Masters (Nov 19)
• Watcher of the Dark by Joseph Nassise (Tor, November 19) — read by Anthony Bowden for Audible Frontiers
• Metro 2033 By Dmitry Glukhovsky, Narrated By Rupert Degas for Audible Frontiers (Nov 19)
• The Phoenix in Flight: Exordium, Book 1 and Ruler of Naught: Exordium By Sherwood Smith, Dave Trowbridge, Narrated By James Patrick Cronin for Audible Inc (Nov 19)
• Bloodstone by Gillian Philip (Tor, Nov 19)
• Arcanum by Simon Morden (Orbit, Nov 19) — “A historical fantasy novel of medieval Europe in which the magic that has run the world for centuries is disappearing– and now the gifts of the gods must be replaced with the ingenuity of humanity.”
• Stone Guardian: Entwined Realms Series, Book 1 By Danielle Monsch, Narrated By Tavia Gilbert (Nov 19)
• Wild Fell by Michael Rowe (ChiZine, Nov 19, 2013)
• Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo by Miyuki Miyabe and translated from Japanese by Daniel Huddleston (Haikasoru, Nov 19, 2013) -- "In old Edo, the past was never forgotten. It lived alongside the present in dark corners and in the shadows. In these tales, award-winning author Miyuki Miyabe explores the ghosts of early modern Japan and the spaces of the living world—workplaces, families, and the human soul—that they inhabit. Written with a journalistic eye and a fantasist’s heart, Apparitions brings the restless dead, and those who encounter them, to life."
• The Phoenix in Flight: Exordium, Book 1 By Sherwood Smith, Dave Trowbridge, Narrated By James Patrick for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 11-19-13
• Non-Fiction: Report from Nuremberg: The International War Crimes Trial By Harold Burson, Narrated By Christian Rummel, Richard McGonagle, Gabrielle De Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki, Kristoffer Tabori, John Rubinstein, Harold Burson, Jim Meskimen, Arthur Morey, Joe Nocera, Robert Forster, and Scott Brick for Sky Boat (Dec 20)
• The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen and translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers (Pushkin Press, Nov 21, 2013) — “A highly contagious book virus, a literary society, and a Snow Queen-like disappearing author.”
• Nothing O’Clock (Dr. Who) by Neil Gaiman (Nov 21, 2013) — According to Bleeding Cool, here’s what Gaiman has to say about the book: “Nothing O’Clock stars the Eleventh Doctor, the Matt Smith Doctor, with Amy Pond as his companion. I set it somewhere during the first season of Matt Smith, mostly on Earth, in our time now and in 1984, but also somewhere else, a very, very long time ago. I had never created an original monster for Doctor Who and really enjoyed getting to create a creepy Doctor Who monster of the kind that we haven’t quite seen before… I hope that the Kin will get out there and occasionally give people nightmares. And that you will be worried if a man in a rabbit mask comes to your door and tries to buy your house.” -- both standalone and as part of a Doctor Who: 11 Doctors, 11 stories anthology for Dr. Who's 50th anniversary
• The Arrows of Time (Orthogonal)  by Greg Egan (Gollancz UK, November 21, 2013) — book 3 after The Clockwork Rocket and The Eternal Flame — the Night Shade Books US release has moved to 2014 -- audiobooks for the entire series are coming November 26 along with (on November 25) Diaspora, Distress, and Permutation City
• Short: We Robots By Sue Lange, Narrated By Katina Kalin for Audible Inc (Nov 25)
• Through the Black Veil By Steve Vera, Narrated By Alison Edwards for Carina Press (Nov 25)
• Freeze Frames By Katharine Kerr, Narrated By Katina Kalin for Audible Inc. (Nov 25)
• The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26) — audiobook coming January 4, 2014 from Brilliance Audio
• Last to Rise by Francis Knight (Orbit, Nov 26) — concluding volume in a new trilogy which started with Knight’s debut Fade to Black in early 2013
• Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford #3) by Kelley Armstrong (Nov 26, Plume Paperback)
• The Irreal Reader: Fiction & Essays from The Cafe Irreal edited by G.S. Evans and Alice Whittenburg (Guide Dog, November 2013)
• Collection: Bleeding Shadows by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean, November 2013)
• The launch titles for Broken River Books are due out by the end of November 2013: The Least of My Scars by Stephen Graham Jones; Gravesend by William Boyle; Peckerwood by Jedidiah Ayres; XXX Shamus by Red Hammond; and Street Raised by Pearce Hansen

• THE HEAVEN MAKERS by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• THE SMOKE RING by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• DOCTOR GEEK’S LABORATORY, SEASON 1 by Scott C. Viguié, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• Anthology: Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (Tor, Dec 3) — table of contents includes Joe Abercrombie, Lev Grossman, and Pat Cadigan, among others; an excerpt of Brandon Sanderson’s story is up at Tor.com as part of a series of excerpts from the anthology including Joe Abercrombie, Lev Grossman, Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Diana Rowland, Diana Gabaldon, and George R.R. Martin
• Darkwalker: A Nicolas Lenoir Novel by E.L. Tettensor (Roc, Dec 3, 2013)
• Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen) by John Gwynne (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013) — out late last year in the UK (Tor UK) now a US release from Orbit; winner of the 2013 David Gemmell Legend Awards Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer
• Rebel Spring: A Falling Kingdoms Novel by Rhodes, Morgan (Dec 3, 2013)
• A Dance of Mirrors (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013)
• Cloak and Spider: A Shadowdance Novella by David Dalglish (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013)
• Andromeda’s Choice (Legion of the Damned)  by William C. Dietz (December 3, 2013)
• Anthology: Kicking It edited by Faith Hunter and Kalayna Price (December 3)
• Collection: Her Husband’s Hands and Other Stories by Adam-Troy Castro (Prime Books, December 4)
• Fiction: THE COLLECTOR OF LOST THINGS by Jeremy Page, read by Michael Healy for Blackstone Audio (Dec 7)
• Kids: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and HOW TO BE A PIRATE by Cressida Cowell, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 10)
• Year’s Best SF 18  edited by David G. Hartwell (December 10, 2013)
• A Calculated Life by Anne Charnock, read by Susan Duerden (Brilliance Audio, Dec 10, 2013) — from the September 24 print/ebook release by 47North
• Harrowgate by Kate Maruyama (Brilliance Audio read by Nick Podehl, Dec 10, 2013) — “Michael should be overjoyed by the birth of his son, but his wife, Sarah won’t let him touch the baby or allow anyone to visit. Greta, an intrusive, sinister doula has wormed her way into their lives, driving a wedge between Michael and his family. Every time he leaves the Harrowgate, he returns to find his beloved wife and baby altered. He feels his family slipping away and, as a malevolent force begins to creep in, Michael does what any new father would do–he fights to keep his family together.” –from the September 24 print/ebook release by 47North
• Spectrum: A Novel by Jason K. Melby (Boxfire Press, Dec 10, 2013)
• The Doctor and the Dinosaurs (A Weird West Tale) by Resnick, Mike (Pyr, Dec 10, 2013)
• Collection: Cat ‘O Nine Tales: The Jane Yellowrock Stories by Faith Hunter (Dec 10)
• Non-Fiction: The Jane Yellowrock World Companion by Faith Hunter with Carol Malcolm (Dec 10)
• Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Janis Ian, Scott Brick, Kimberly Farr, Arthur Morey, Roxanne Hernandez Coyne, Kristoffer Tabori, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Karen Joy Fowler (Blackstone Audio, December 15, 2013) — the “definitive collection” of Shiner’s short fiction in the form of 41 stories
• One Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez, Narrated By Jimmy Smits for Blackstone Audio — Scheduled Release Date: 12-15-13
• PROTECTOR by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Grover Gardner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• THE GODMAKERS by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• Suspense: THE GHOST WRITER by John Harwood, read by Simon Vance for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• The Cormorant by Chuck Wendig (Angry Robot, Dec 31, 2013)
• The Grendel Affair: A SPI Files Novel by Lisa Shearin (Dec 31, 2013)
• The Iron Wolves by Andy Remic (Angry Robot and Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio, Dec 31, 2013)
• THE VASTALIMI GAMBIT by Steve Perry, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 31)
• A Study in Ashes: Book Three in The Baskerville Affair by Holloway, Emma Jane (Dec 31, 2013)
• Collection: Our Blood in Its Blind Circuit by J. David Osborne (Broken River, December 2013) -- "Twelve weird crime tales, a couple of which you've never read before!"

• SOUL CATCHER by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Jan 1, 2014)
• The Queen of Dreams by Peter Hamilton (Doubleday UK, 2 Jan 2014) — first children’s book by the epic sf author Peter F. Hamilton: “Taggie and Jemima are summer holidaying on their dad’s farm. They know just what to expect – a tumbledown cottage, sunshine and strawberry-picking. But then Jemima sees a white squirrel wearing glasses . . . And things become even more extraordinary when their dad is captured and whisked away to a faerie world. Magical adventures await, as the two sisters discover powers they never knew they had and a series of worlds to explore. But can Taggie and Jemima rescue their dad and defeat the evil King of Night?”
• The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Brilliance Audio, Jan 4) — published in print/ebook by Tor on Nov 26
• The Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson (Jo Fletcher Books, January 7, 2014) — a “Viking fantasy novel” by a new Icelandic author
• The Girl with All the Gifts by M.J. Carey (Orbit, Jan 7, 2014) — “Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her ‘our little genius’. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.” — link to cover
• Rex Regis by L. E. Modesitt (Tor, Jan 7, 2014)
• Fury of the Demon by Diana Rowland (Jan 7, 2014)
• Dreams of the Golden Age by Vaughn, Carrie (Jan 7, 2014) — sequel to After the Golden Age
• Work Done for Hire  by Joe Haldeman (Ace Hardcover, January 7, 2014) — novel about an ex-sniper turned sf screenwriter turned reluctant hitman; I’ve hear Haldeman read from this novel in draft and am very much looking forward to its release
• Love in the Time of Metal and Flesh by Jay Lake (Prime Books, January 7, 2014) — “Markus Selvage has been bent by life, ground up and spit out again. In San Francisco’s darkest sexual underground, he is a perpetual innocent, looking within bodies – his own and others’ – for the lost secrets of satisfaction. But extreme body modification is only the beginning of where he will go before he’s finished…”
• Rex Regis (Imager Portfolio)  by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Jan 7, 2014)
• 1636: Seas of Fortune  by Iver Cooper (January 7, 2014)
• Black Arts: A Jane Yellowrock Novel  by Faith Hunter (Jan 7, 2014)
• Darkest Fear (Birthright) by Cate Tiernan (Jan 7, 2014)
• Once In a Blue Moon by Green, Simon R. (Jan 7, 2014)
• Graphic novel: Cemetery Girl, Book One: The Pretenders (The Cemetery Girl Trilogy) by Harris, Charlaine and Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
• Anthology: Dark Duets by Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
• The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) by Brian Staveley (Jan 14, 2014) -- excerpts going up on Tor.com
• Watchers in the Night (Guardians of the Night) by Jenna Black (Jan 14, 2014)
• The Man Who Made Models: The Collected Short Fiction  by R.A. Lafferty (Centipede Press, January 14, 2014)
• Dawn of Swords (The Breaking World)  by David Dalglish (Jan 14, 2014)
• Hollow City (Miss Peregrine, #2)  by Ransom Riggs (Quirk Books, Jan 14, 2014)
• He Drank, and Saw the Spider: An Eddie LaCrosse Novel by Bledsoe, Alex (Jan 14, 2014)
• Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War) by Jaye Wells (Jan 21, 2014)
• Pandemic by Scott Sigler (Crown, Jan 21, 2014)
• The Secret of Magic by Johnson, Deborah (Putnam Adult, Jan 21, 2014) — “Regina Robichard works for Thurgood Marshall, who receives an unusual letter asking the NAACP to investigate the murder of a returning black war hero. It is signed by M. P. Calhoun, the most reclusive author in the country. As a child, Regina was captivated by Calhoun’s The Secret of Magic, a novel in which white and black children played together in a magical forest. Once down in Mississippi, Regina finds that nothing in the South is as it seems. She must navigate the muddy waters of racism, relationships, and her own tragic past. The Secret of Magic brilliantly explores the power of stories and those who tell them.”
• The Vanishing by Wendy Webb (Hyperion, Jan 21, 2014) —"Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead.”
• Non-Fiction: What Makes This Book So Great by Walton, Jo (Jan 21, 2014)
•  Red Rising by Brown, Pierce (Jan 28, 2014) — “Brown’s debut novel . . . is reminiscent of both Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and William Goldman’s The Lord of the Flies but has a dark and twisted power of its own that will captivate readers and leave them wanting more.”— Library Journal
• STARS: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian By Janis Ian (editor), Mike Resnick, Tad Williams, Joe Haldeman, and more, narrated by Gabrielle De Cuir, Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Susan Hanfield, Kathe Mazur, Sile Bermingham, Paul Boehmer, Janis Ian, Kristoffer Tabori for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 01-28-14
• The Book of the Crowman by Joseph D’ Lacey (Jan 28, 2014)
• A Darkling Sea by James Cambias (Tor, Jan 28, 2014)
• Shadow Ops: Breach Zone by Myke Cole (Jan 28, 2014)
• The Echo by James Smythe (Jan 28, 2014) — sequel to The Explorer
• The Unbound (The Archived, #2)  by Victoria Schwab (Jan 28, 2014)
• Maze by J.M. McDermott (Apex, January 2014)
• Leaving the Sea: Stories by Ben Marcus (Knopf, January 2014)
• The Emperor’s Blades (The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Stavely (Tor, January 2014) — “follows siblings Valyn, Kaden, and Adare, who are in different parts of the world when they learn about the assassination of their father, the Emperor. All of them are in danger of being the next targets, and all of them are caught in the maelstrom of conspiracy, intrigue, treachery, and magic that sweeps through Staveley’s auspicious debut novel.”
• Black Gum Godless Heathen by J David Osborne (Broken River Books, January 2014) -- sequel to Low Down Death Right Easy
• Annihilation (Southern Reach, Volume 1) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, Feb 4, 2014) — the first of a trilogy of “Southern Reach” novels being published in 2014 — “For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious, remote, and concealed by the government as an environmental disaster zone even though it is to all appearances pristine wilderness. For thirty years, too, the secret agency known as the Southern Reach has monitored Area X and sent in expeditions to try to discover the truth. Some expeditions have suffered terrible consequences. Others have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Now, as Area X seems to be changing and perhaps expanding, the next expedition will attempt to succeed where all others have failed. What is happening in Area X? What is the true nature of the invisible border that surrounds it?” Of the book, Kim Stanley Robinson says: “This swift surreal suspense novel reads as if Verne or Wellsian adventurers exploring a mysterious island had warped through into a Kafkaesque nightmare world. The reader will want to stay trapped with the biologist to find the answers to Area X’s mysteries.”
• Like a Mighty Army (Safehold) by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
• The Crimson Campaign (The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 2) by Brian McClellan (Orbit, February 2014)
• Like a Mighty Army (Safehold)  by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
• V-S Day: A Novel of Alternate History  by Allen Steele (Feb 4, 2014) — narrated by Ray Chase
• Empire of Men by David Weber and John Ringo (Feb 4, 2014)
• Cress (Lunar Chronicles, #3)  by Marissa Meyer (Feb 4, 2014)
• Burn (Pure, #3)  by Julianna Baggott (Feb 4, 2014)
• By Blood We Live (The Last Werewolf, #3)  by Glen Duncan (Feb 4, 2014)
• Stolen Crown: A Novel of Mithgar by McKiernan, Dennis L. (Feb 4, 2014)
• Three Princes by Wheeler, Ramona (Feb 4, 2014)
• The Waking Engine by David Edison (Feb 11, 2014)
• White Space (Dark Passages, #1)  by Ilsa J. Bick (Feb 11, 2014)
• The Martian: A Novel by Weir, Andy (Random House, Feb 11, 2014) — picked up by Random House after self-publishing success; 2013 audiobook by Podium Publishing
• With Silent Screams (The Hellequin Chronicles) by Steve McHugh (Feb 18, 2014)
• Influx by Suarez, Daniel (Dutton Adult, Feb 20, 2014)
• The Judge of Ages (Count to a Trillion) by John C. Wright (Feb 25, 2014)
• The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (Feb 25, 2014)
• Dreamwalker by C.S. Friedman (February 2014)
• Kids: Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy) by Green, Sally (Mar 3, 2014) — via Kate Atkinson (the author of Life after Life) a new middle grade series about witches in modern-day England
• Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson Novel)  by Patricia Briggs (Mar 4, 2014)
• Ghost Train to New Orleans (The Shambling Guides) by Mur Lafferty (Orbit, Mar 4, 2014) — sequel to The Shambling Guide to New York City
• The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons) by Marie Brennan (Mar 4, 2014)
• Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, March 4, 2014) — book 2 in The Stormlight Archive after The Way of Kings
• Hope Rearmed by S.M. Stirling and David Drake (March 4, 2014)
• Half-Off Ragnarok: An Incryptid Novel by Seanan McGuire (Mar 4, 2014)
• Murder of Crows: A Novel of the Others by Bishop, Anne (Mar 4, 2014)
• Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) by Corey, James S.A. (Mar 4, 2014)
• Blood and Iron (The Book of the Black Earth) by Jon Sprunk (Pyr, March 11, 2014)
• Resistance by Jenna Black (Mar 11, 2014)
• Working God’s Mischief (Instrumentalities of the Night)  by Glen Cook (Mar 11, 2014)
• The High Druid’s Blade: The Defenders of Shannara by Brooks, Terry (Mar 11, 2014)
• Mentats of Dune  by Brian Herbert (March 11, 2014)
• Ruins (Partials, #3)  by Dan Wells (March 11, 2014)
• Anthology: The Time Traveler’s Almanac by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Tor, Mar 18, 2014)
• The Pilgrims (The Pendulum Trilogy) by Will Elliott (Tor, Mar 18, 2014)
• The Lascar's Dagger: The Forsaken Lands by Glenda Larke (Mar 18, 2014)
• Raising Steam (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett (Mar 25, 2014)
• Lockstep  by Karl Schroeder (Mar 25, 2014)
• The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher (Mar 25, 2014)
• Truth and Fear (The Wolfhound Century) by Peter Higgins (Mar 25, 2014)
• Written in My Own Heart’s Blood: A Novel (Outlander) by Gabaldon, Diana (Mar 25, 2014)
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Mar 25, 2014)
• Code Zero (Joe Ledger, #6)  by Jonathan Maberry (March 2014)
• Anthology: KAIJU RISING (Kickstarter, March 2014)
• Dirtbags by Eryk Pruitt (Immortal Ink Publishing, March/April 2014) -- "The blame for a county-wide murder spree lies at the feet of three people broken by a dying mill town: Calvin, a killer; London, a cook; and Rhonda, the woman who loves them both. Neither they, nor the reader, see the storm brewing until it's too late in this Southern Gothic noir (or Southern neo-noir) that adds a transgressive, chicken-fried twist to a story ripped straight from the pages of a true crime novel."
• City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown/Broadway and Recorded Books, April 1, 2014) — “a second-world story of spies, subterfuge, and statesmanship set in a nation of dead gods.”
• The Revolutions by Felix Gilman (Tor, Apr 1, 2014) -- "Following his spectacularly reviewed The Half-Made World duology, Felix Gilman pens a sweeping stand-alone tale of Victorian science fiction, space exploration, and planetary romance in The Revolutions."
• Reign of Ash (Book Two in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga) by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, April 1, 2014) — follow-on to Ice Forged
• The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (April 1, 2014)
• Cauldron of Ghosts (Crown of Slaves) by David Weber (April 1, 2014)
• Baltic Gambit: A Novel of the Vampire Earth by E.E. Knight (April 1, 2014)
• Covenant: The Books of Raziel by Benulis, Sabrina (Apr 1, 2014)
• Peacemaker: Foreigner #15 by Cherryh, C. J. (Apr 1, 2014)
• Steles of the Sky (The Eternal Sky) by Bear, Elizabeth (Apr 8, 2014)
• Shipstar  by Larry Niven and Gregory Benford (Tor, April 8, 2014)
• Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)  by Laini Taylor (April 8, 2014)
• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by North, Claire (Redhook, Apr 8, 2014)
• Transhuman  by Ben Bova (April 15, 2014)
• Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan (Tachyon and Recorded Books, April 15, 2014)
• House of Ivy & Sorrow  by Natalie Whipple (Harper Teen, April 15, 2014)
• Kids: The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler (Apr 15, 2014)
• The Serpent of Venice: A Novel by Moore, Christopher (Apr 22, 2014)
• The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes (Gollanz UK, 17 Apr 2014) — from the author of Tome of the Undergates
• Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor (Hodder & Stoughton, April 2014) — “The Nigerian megacity of Lagos is invaded by aliens, and it nearly consumes itself because of it.”
• The Moon King by Neil Williamson (Newcon, April 2014) — Debut novel: “The story of The Moon King grew out of its setting, the sea-locked city of Glassholm, which is a thinly veneered version of Glasgow, Scotland where I live. Glasgow is a city of mood swings, brilliant with sun and warm sandstone one minute and dour with overcast and rain soaked tarmac the next. Summer days are long and filled with light. The winter months pass mostly in darkness. Living here, your spirit is tied to the city’s mood. As soon as I hooked that almost bipolar sense to the idea of natural cycles, the story blossomed. In Glassholm, the moon never sets and everything, from entropy to the moods of the populace, is affected by its phasing from Full to Dark and back to Full again. I wanted to know what would life be like there, what quirks nature might throw into the mix. And what would happen if it was discovered that the cyclic euphorias and depressions were not natural after all.”
• Immolation (Children, #1) by Ben Peek (Tor UK, Spring 2014) is “set fifteen thousand years after the War of the Gods. The bodies of the gods now lie across the world, slowly dying as men and women awake with strange powers that are derived from their bodies. Ayae, a young cartographer’s apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire. Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on her home. With the help of the immortal Zaifyr, she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. The saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her home to learn its terrible secret. Split between the three points of view, Immolation‘s narrative reaches its conclusion during an epic siege, where Ayae, Zaifyr and Bueralan are forced not just into conflict with those invading, but with those inside the city who wish to do them harm.”
• Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson (Tor, April 15, 2014) — “Caeli-Amur: a city torn by contradiction. A city of languorous philosopher-assassins and magnificent creatures from ancient myth: minotaurs and sirens. Three Houses rule over an oppressed citizenry stirring into revolt. The ruins of Caeli-Amur’s sister city lie submerged beneath the sea nearby, while the remains of strange advanced technology lie hidden in the tunnels beneath the city itself.”
• The Furies: A Thriller  by Mark Alpert (April 22, 2014)
• Thornlost (Glass Thorns) by Rawn, Melanie (Apr 29, 2014)
• Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 6, 2014) — “The bone-chilling, hair-raising second installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy. For thirty years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X—a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. After the twelfth expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) is the team’s newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than two hundred hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves—and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he’s promised to serve.”
• The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake (May 6, 2014) — Lt. Leary series
• The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)  by Elizabeth May (May 6, 2014) -- US release for fantasy novel published in 2013 in the UK
• The Silk Map: A Gaunt and Bone Novel by Willrich, Chris (Pyr, May 6, 2014)
• Graphic novel: All You Need Is Kill: The Graphic Novel by Nick Mamatas, Lee Ferguson, Fajar Buana, and Zack Turner, based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (VIZ Media/Haikasoru, May 6, 2014)
• After the End (After the End, #1)  by Amy Plum (May 6, 2014)
• The Oversight by Fletcher, Charlie (Orbit, May 6, 2014)
• Mirror Sight: Book Five of Green Rider by Britain, Kristen (May 6, 2014)
• King of Ashes: Book One of The War of Five Crowns by Raymond E. Feist (May 6, 2014)
• Queen of the Dark Things: A Novel by C. Robert Cargill (Harper Voyager, May 13, 2014) — follow-on to Dreams and Shadows
• Dead but Not Forgotten By Charlaine Harris (editor), Toni L. P. Kelner (editor) with stories by MaryJanice Davidson, Seanan McGuire, and more (Audible Frontiers, May 13, 2014) — “Charlaine Harris’ smash-hit Sookie Stackhouse series may have reached its conclusion, but the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, lives on in this all-new collection of 15 stories.”
• Renegade (MILA 2.0, #2)  by Debra Drizza (May 13, 2014)
• The Severed Streets by Cornell, Paul (May 20, 2014)
• A Dance of Shadows (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (May 20, 2014)
• Cyador's Heirs (Saga of Recluce) by L. E. Modesitt (May 20, 2014)
• Defenders by McIntosh, Will (May 27, 2014)
• Artemis Awakening by Jane Lindskold (Tor, May 27, 2014)
• Thief's Magic (Millennium's Rule) by Trudi Canavan (May 27, 2014)
• City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)  by Cassandra Clare (May 27, 2014)
• The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne (Random House/Crown, May 2014) — “traces the harrowing twin journeys of two women forced to flee their homes in different times in the near future. The first, Meena, is a Brahmin-caste student whose odyssey takes her from the coastal city of Mumbai toward Djibouti across a futuristic but treacherous bridge that spans the Arabian Sea. The second, Mariama, escapes from slavery as a small child in Mauritania, joining a caravan heading across Saharan Africa toward Ethiopia.” A big-name blurb is in from none less than Kim Stanley Robinson: “The Girl in the Road is a brilliant novel–vivid, intense, and fearless with a kind of savage joy. These journeys–Meena’s across the Arabian Sea and Mariama’s across Africa–are utterly unforgettable.”
• My Real Children by Jo Walton (Tor, May 2014) — “story about one woman and the two lives that she might lead”
• Veil of the Deserters (Bloodsounder’s Arc #2) by Jeff Salyards (Night Shade Books, June 3, 2014)
• Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, #3)  by Leigh Bardugo (Jun 3, 2014)
• Mr. Mercedes: A Novel by King, Stephen (Scribner, Jun 3, 2014)
• The Merchant Emperor (The Symphony of Ages) by Elizabeth Haydon (Jun 3, 2014)
• Cibola Burn (The Expanse) by Corey, James S. A. (Jun 5, 2014)
• Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne (Jun 17, 2014)
• The Long Childhood: A Novel (Long Earth) by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (Jun 17, 2014)
• Prince of Fools (The Red Queen’s War, #1)  by Mark Lawrence (Ace, June 2014)
• All Those Vanished Engines by Paul Park (Tor, Jul 1, 2014)
• The Rhesus Chart (A Laundry Files Novel) by Charles Stross (Jul 1, 2014)
• Tower Lord (A Raven’s Shadow Novel) by Anthony Ryan (Jul 1, 2014)
• The Shadow Throne: Book Two of the Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler (Jul 1, 2014)
• Shattering the Ley by Palmatier, Joshua (DAW Hardcover, Jul 1, 2014)
• Unwept: Book One of The Nightbirds by Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman (Jul 1, 2014)
• Skin Game (The Dresden Files #15) by Jim Butcher (Roc, July 3, 2014)
• Resistance by Samit Basu (Titan, Jul 8, 2014) -- follow-on to Turbulance
• A Plunder of Souls (The Thieftaker Chronicles) by D. B. Jackson (Jul 8, 2014)
• The Return of the Discontinued Man (A Burton & Swinburne Adventure) by Mark Hodder (Jul 8, 2014)
• The Path to Power (The Tarnished Crown Series) by Miller, Karen (Jul 8, 2014)
• Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone (Tor, Jul 15, 2014)
• The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3)  by Deborah Harkness (July 15, 2014)
• Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews (Jul 29, 2014)
• Half a King  by Joe Abercrombie (Harper Voyager, July 2014) -- "A classic coming-of-age tale, set in a brilliantly imagined alternative historical world reminiscent of the Dark Ages with Viking overtones, the book tells the story of Yarvi, youngest son of a warlike king. Born with a crippled hand, he can never live up to his father’s expectations of what a real man should be and his destiny is not the throne but the Ministry, not the sword and shield but the book and the soft word spoken."
• The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones (Greenwillow, Summer 2014) — “Fans of the late writer Diana Wynne Jones – who died in March 2011 – are in for an unexpected treat. In the summer of 2014, Greenwillow will publish a new title from the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author. Titled The Islands of Chaldea, the book is a standalone novel unconnected to any of the author’s earlier works. It is also the result of an unusual, asynchronous collaboration between the writer and her younger sister, Ursula Jones.”
• The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Viking Adult, August 5, 2014) — book three after The Magicians and The Magician King
• The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord (Del Rey, Aug 5, 2014)
• The House of the Four Winds (Dragon Prophecy) by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory (Aug 5, 2014)
• The Chaplain’s War by Brad Torgerson (Baen, 2014)
• Colossus by Stephen Messer (Random House Children’s Books, 2014)
• The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks (Orbit, 2014)
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, 2014) — the first of an announced trilogy of translated editions of this 400,000-copy-selling Chinese sf series
• Lock In by John Scalzi (Tor, Aug 26, 2014)
• Frostborn (Thrones & Bones #1) by Lou Anders (Random House Children’s Books, August 2014) — longtime Pyr editor Anders’ debut novel, a young reader book which “introduces Karn, who would rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones, and Thianna, half-frost giant, half-human, who team up when they are chased by wyverns, a dead Viking sea captain, and a 1200-year-old dragon.”
• Acceptance: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (Sep 1, 2014)
• Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale (Del Rey, 2014) — “His novella of a Roman invasion of ancient America, “A Clash of Eagles” in the Panverse Two anthology (edited by Dario Ciriello), won the 2010 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and he has recently sold a trilogy of novels set in the same universe. The first book, CLASH OF EAGLES, will appear from Del Rey in 2014.”
• Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin (Solaris, Summer 2014) — “It’s official! I’ll be writing a new urban fantasy novel for Solaris Books called “Deadly Curiosities” (from my short story universe of the same name) that will come out in summer, 2014!”
• The Scorched Earth by Drew Karpyshyn (Summer 2014) — sequel to 2013 novel Children of Fire
• Echopraxia by Peter Watts (August 16, 2014) — “We are going to the Sun, rs and Ks.  Whereas the last time out we froze in the infinite Lovecraftian darkness of the Oort, now we are diving into the very heart of the solar system— and man, there’s gonna be a hot time in the ol’ town tonight.”
• The Winter Long (October Daye, #8) by Seanan McGuire (September 2014)
• Mortal Beauty (Immortal Game, #1)  by Ann Aguirre (September 2014)
• Chimpanzee by Darin Bradley (Resurrection House, Fall 2014) -- "a delightfully weird existential near-fi conspiracy theory romance"
• Heraclix and Pomp by Forrest Aguirre (Resurrection House, Fall 2014) -- "an alternative history fantasy set in the Eastern Europe. It features a golem, a faery, and a mad scientist (well, more of 17th century alchemist/demonologist, but it’s the same trope)"
• Rooms by Lauren Oliver (Fall 2014)

• When Women Were Warriors by Catherine M. Wilson, read by Janis Ian for Dog Ear Audio — in late October, Dog Ear Audio posted a Kickstarter update with a sample of Janis Ian’s narration of When Women Were Warriors and it sounds so very, very good
• Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, read by the author for Simon & Schuster Audio — out in print/ebook in late October
• A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, coming from Audible
• Quantum Coin by E.C. Myers, coming from Audible (Fair Coin released Nov 6, 2014)
• All the Worlds Against Us (Jon and Lobo) by Mark L. Van Name (Baen) — Audible Frontiers has produced the previous books in the series, under fantastic narrations by Tom Stechschulte
• Tsarina  by J. Nelle Patrick (2014)
• The Thousand and One: Book II of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms by Saladin Ahmed (2014?)
• Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (Bobby Dollar #3) by Tad Williams (DAW, 2014)
• Ebon (Pegasus, #2)  by Robin McKinley (2014?)
• The Doors of Stone (Kingkiller Chronicle #3) by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW, 2014?)
• Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)  by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, 2014?)
• Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy #3)  by Ken Follett (2014?)
• The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire, #6) by George R.R. Martin (2015?)
• The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (Knopf, 2015) — “Knopf has acquired a new novel by Paolo Bacigalupi, the science fiction writer whose 2009 book “The Windup Girl” sold 200,000 copies and was considered one of the top novels of the year. The new book, “The Water Knife,” is set in a lawless, water-starved American Southwest in the not-too-distant future.”
• Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury USA, 2015) — first novel from 2010 Clarion Workshop graduate
• John Claude Bemis is set to launch a new Steampunk/alchemist series for young readers, to be published by Disney/Hyperion starting in 2015
• The Skull Throne (Demon Cycle, #4)  by Peter V. Brett (2015?)
• The City of Mirrors (The Passage, #3)  by Justin Cronin

Posted in Release Week | Tagged ancillary justice, ann leckie, ec myers, fair coin, jj abrams, marie brennan, miserere, samuel sattin, sea change, ship of theseus, teresa frohock

Received: October 2013

Posted on 2013-11-12 at 13:00 by Sam

Well, we had been taking it a bit slow in terms of review copies over the summer, a few each month. But we pretty much gorged as October rolled around. Something in the air? So, in that ongoing interest in full disclosure and all that, here are:

RECEIVED, OCTOBER 2013

The Bone Season By Samantha Shannon, Narrated By Alana Kerr for Audible for Bloomsbury (Sam).

Joyland By Stephen King, Narrated By Michael Kelly for Simon & Schuster Audio (Dave).

Welcome to Bordertown: New Stories and Poems of the Borderlands By Holly Black (editor), Ellen Kushner (editor), Narrated By Cassandra Campbell, MacLeod Andrews, Holly Black, and Ellen Kushner for Brilliance Audio (Dave).

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown By Holly Black, Narrated By Christine Lakin for Hachette Audio (Dave).

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, read by Khristine Hvam, Peter Ganim, Jay Snyder, Joshua Boone, Dani Cervone, and Jenna Hellmuth for Hachette Audio (Dave).

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, read by Will Patton for Simon & Schuster Audio (Dave) — reviewed as part of Dave’s All Hallow’s Eve series this year.

The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale, read by Will Collyer for Hachette Audio (Sam).

The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent, read by Ellen Archer for Hachette Audio (Sam).

Cemetery Plot By Alex Granados, Narrated By Henry Tenenbaum (Sam).

The Incrementalists By Steven Brust and Skyler White, Narrated By Ray Porter and Mary Robinette Kowal for Audible Frontiers (Sam).

METAtropolis: Green Space By Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, Seanan McGuire, Tobias S. Buckell, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Ken Scholes, Narrated By Dion Graham, Robin Miles, Mark Boyett, Scott Brick, Allyson Johnson, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Jennifer Van Dyck, and Jonathan Davis for Audible Frontiers (Sam).

Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams, read by George Newbern for Penguin Audio (Sam).

Posted in received, Uncategorized

Running down the Lists: 2013 early edition; and! a contest!

Posted on 2013-11-11 at 13:59 by Sam

One of the most popular posts of all time here at The AudioBookaneers is last year's rundown of the lists of the best books of the year, and who am I to argue against what the people want? So, while there are quite a few more lists that will come out over the coming weeks, I'll run down 3 of the bigger lists so far of "the best books of 2013" and, at the end, ask for your input as part of a contest with the prize being a free six month subscription to Audiobooks.com. First! The sources so far:

• PW's 101 Best Books of 2013 includes Rose Fox's picks in science fiction and fantasy, and has been one of my favorite of these lists over the past few years; spread across Fiction, Mystery, etc. and a too darned squeezed and small 5-book "SF/Fantasy/Horror" section.
• Goodreads is running its annual Goodreads Choice Awards for 2013, and the first round is seeded by user ratings on the site, with the second round coming from voting on those initial seedings along with write-in votes across quite a few (and often overlapping) categories, including Fiction, Paranormal Fantasy, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery and Thriller, Historical Fiction, Romance, Horror, etc. Update 11/11: As the write-in semi-finalists have just been announced, I've added the new books below.
• Not (never) to be out-done, Amazon.com also has its editor's picks for the top 100 books of 2013, including breakout lists (with additional picks outside that 100) for Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Literature & Fiction, Romance, Children's Books, and even their own Audiobooks list. Additionally, they have "celebrity picks" from (among others) Helene Wecker, George R.R. Martin, and Veronica Roth

Posted in Uncategorized

Release Week: Never Knew Another, Burning Paradise, Fortune's Pawn, Sea Hearts, and Once Upon a Time

Posted on 2013-11-06 at 17:39 by Sam

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2013: I've been excited about this week since I first learned that J.M. McDermott's "Dogsland" books Never Knew Another and When We Were Executioners were coming to audio, and! here they are, along with: a new novel by Robert Charles Wilson, Rachel Bach's new military sf novel Fortune's Pawn, Margo Lanagan's glimmering 2012 selkie fantasy, and the Paula Guran-edited Once Upon a Time anthology, and! plenty more besides in the "also out this week" listings including: Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People, David Dalglish's A Dance of Blades performed superbly by Elijah Alexander, the latest in the Infinivox series of "The Year's Top Short SF Novels", John Gardner's mythological epic poem Jason and Medeia, and Guy Endore's classic 1933 horror novel The Werewolf of Paris, read by Jean Brassard. I also want to highlight Annie Bellet's collection Till Human Voices Wake Us, which I delve into a bit below in a special "indie spotlight" section. Enjoy!

Georgia author J.M. McDermott is a passionate, creative, inspiring, fantastical genius. I've seen him read, breathless, sweating, his lushly layered "Dedalus and the Labyrinth" (the basis of his forthcoming novel Maze); I've been blown away by a read (and further still by a re-read) of his debut novel Last Dragon -- which until now has been the only of his novels to be available in audio. But! This week brings both of his extant Dogsland novels (book 3 is yet to be published) to audio. Originally published by Night Shade Books, Never Knew Another: Dogsland, Book 1 and When We Were Executioners: Dogsland, Book 2 are this week released by Audible Frontiers, narrated by Eileen Stevens (Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares, Amanda Hocking's Hollowland, and most recently for me Will McIntosh's Love Minus Eighty). Rich in language and layered in context, McDermott's Dogsland books have been noticed well by some of my favorite critics, including John H. Stevens (SF Signal's "Erudite Ogre") whom I tasked with reviewing the books for Bull Spec early last year. OK, I'll stop gushing. Here's the description of book one: "Fugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon. Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon's child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. The first story in the Dogsland Trilogy, Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet." Also! For those with the Kindle editions, both books offer a $3.99 Whispersync for Voice special at Audible.

Burning Paradise by Robert Charles Wilson is Wilson's latest novel, out this week from Tor, read by Scott Brick (Frank Herbert's Dune, Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief, Justin Cronin's The Passage) for Macmillan Audio. "From Robert Charles Wilson, the author of the Hugo Award–winner Spin, comes Burning Paradise, a new tale of humans coming to grips with a universe of implacable strangeness. Cassie Klyne, nineteen-years-old, lives in the United States in the year 2015—but it’s not our United States, and it’s not our 2015. Cassie’s world has been at peace since the Great Armistice of 1918. There was no World War II, no Great Depression. Poverty is declining, prosperity is increasing everywhere; social instability is rare. But Cassie knows the world isn’t what it seems. Her parents were part of a group who gradually discovered the awful truth: that for decades—back to the dawn of radio communications—human progress has been interfered with, made more peaceful and benign, by an extraterrestrial entity. And by interfering with our communications, this entity has tweaked history in massive and subtle ways. That humanity is, for purposes unknown, being farmed."

Next up is a well-regarded military sf debut, Fortune's Pawn: Paradox Series, Book 1 by Rachel Bach, narrated By Emily Durante for Tantor Media concurrent with the print/ebook release from Orbit (Nov 5) -- "Devi Morris isn't your average mercenary. She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It's a combination that's going to get her killed one day - but not just yet."

My last pick amongst the novels new to audio this week is Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan, narrated By Eloise Oxer and Paul English for Bolinda Audio. An expansion of the 2009 novella "Sea-Hearts" which won the 2010 World Fantasy Award and published in the US (Knopf, September 2012) and UK (David Fickling, February 2012) as The Brides of Rollrock Island, here the book takes its original title from the Australian release (Allen & Unwin, February 2012). "On remote Rollrock Island, the sea-witch Misskaella discovers she can draw a girl from the heart of a seal. So, for a price, any man might buy himself a bride; an irresistibly enchanting sea-wife. But what cost will be borne by the people of Rollrock? The men, the women, the children? Once Misskaella sets her heart on doing such a thing? Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire and revenge, of loyalty, heartache and human weakness, and of the unforeseen consequences of all-consuming love."

Finally, Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales edited by Paula Guran, with stories by Theodora Goss, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Tanith Lee, Genevieve Valentine, Nathan Ballingrud, and Richard Bowes among others, narrated by Kate Baker for Prime Books. Wow! I did not see this coming. Baker is the marvelous voice of the Clarkesworld Magazine podcast, and this anthology has original stories from a fantastic lineup:

"Eighteen extraordinary authors devise all-new fairy tales: imaginative reinterpretations of the familiar, evocative new myths, speculations beyond the traditional realm of 'once upon a time.' Often dark, occasionally humorous, always enthralling, these stories find a certain Puss in a near-future New York, an empress bargaining with a dragon, a princess turned into a raven, a king's dancing daughters with powerful secrets, great heroism, terrible villainy, sparks of mischief, and a great deal more. Brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares with meaning for today and tomorrow…"

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

Posted in Release Week | Tagged burning paradise, eileen stevens, jm mcdermott, margo lanagan, never knew another, once upon a time, paula guran, rachel bach, robert charles wilson, scott brick

Release Week: The Violent Century, The Necromancer's House, Parasite, Dead Set, Zendegi, Two Serpents Rise, The Prince of Lies, and Shadow's Lure

Posted on 2013-11-04 at 00:59 by Sam

OCTOBER 23-29, 2013: An absolutely packed release week so I’ll spare some of the usual dithering up here to make room. Briefly: new novels from Lavie Tidhar and Christopher Buehlman would be quite a week alone, but add a new novel from Mira Grant and bring Greg Egan’s Zendegi to audio — for starters — and there’s something for everyone this week. In the “also out this week” listings: Katabasis, continuing the Mongoliad saga (sans Neal Stephenson); Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens narrates Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (though nothing can top Simon Vance’s performance, this one’s darn good); an audiobook for The Poison Oracle to go along with the new reprint from Small Beer Press; Katherine Kellgren (Star Trek: Voyager’s Captain Janeway) narrates the first installment of a new romance fantasy from Nora Roberts; and Kass Morgan’s YA debut The 100, which forms the basis of a forthcoming television series, makes its slightly delayed appearance in audio. And! New in this week’s roundup is a newly-announced 2014 title, John Scalzi’s Lock In. Enjoy!

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar, Narrated By Jonathan Keeble (Hodder and Stoughton, October 24, 2013) — “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy meets Watchmen in Tidhar’s The Violent Century, the thoughtful and intensely atmospheric novel about the mystery, and the love story, that determined the course of history itself. The Violent Century is the sweeping drama of a time we know too well; a century of fear and war and hatred and death.  In a world where everyday heroes may become übermenschen, men and women with extraordinary powers, what does it mean to be a hero? To be a human? Would the last hundred years have been that much better if Superman were real? Would they even have been all that different?” Reviewed positively in The Guardian, Metro, and Tor.com among other places, and I’m very happy indeed that this is not a UK-only release. H&S has worldwide English rights for Tidhar’s next book as well, so hopefully that follows suit as well, too.

The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman, read by Todd Haberkorn for Tantor Audio, just inside a month after the Ace-published print/ebook from Oct 1, which until this week I only knew as a “Fantasy novel about a Russian man who practices withcraft confronted by Baba Yaga.” (via Locus Online). Buehlman is the author of Those Across the River and Between Two Fires — the latter of which was an eye-openingly good fantasy novel of the middle ages. Here: “Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.”

Parasite by Mira Grant, narrated by Christine Lakin for Hachette Audio concurrent with the Orbit print/ebook release is a new novel from the pseudonymous (otherwise known as Seanan McGuire) author of the Newsflesh trilogy. Here: “A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease. We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It’s been successful beyond the scientists’ wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them. But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives … and will do anything to get them.”

Speaking of standalone new works, Dead Set: A Novel By Richard Kadrey, Narrated By Kate Rudd, a standalone dark fantasy from the author of the Sandman Slim series: “After her father’s funeral, Zoe moved to the big city with her mother to start over. But change always brings trials, and life in the city is not so easy. Money is tight, and Zoe’s only escape, as has always been the case, is in her dreams - a world apart from her troubled real life where she can spend time with her closest companion: her lost brother, Valentine. But something or someone has entered their dreamworld uninvited. And a chance encounter at a used record store, where the vinyl holds not music but lost souls, has opened up a portal to the world of the restless dead. It’s here that the shop’s strange proprietor offers Zoe the chance to commune with her dead father. The price? A lock of hair. Then a tooth. Then…”

Zendegi By Greg Egan, Narrated By Parisa Johnston for Audible Inc. — published originally in 2010 by Night Shade Books (US) and Gollancz (UK) — “Set in a near future Iran (where the theocracy has been overthrown, but where Muslim religion still dominates the culture), an Arab/Muslim focused MMORG gaming companies cutting edge AI software might hold the key achieving “uploaded consciousness.” Martin is an Australian journalist who covered uprising and overthrow of the Iranian theocracy, and has since “gone native” with a Iranian wife and child.”

Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone (Tor Books and Blackstone Audio, October 29) — book one is in audio from Blackstone as well — here book two is narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla: “A novel set in the addictive and compelling fantasy world of Three Parts Dead. Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc - casual gambler and professional risk manager - to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him. But Caleb has more to worry about than the demonvinfestation, Mal, or job security when he discovers that his father - the last priest of the old gods and leader of the True Quechal terrorists - has broken into his home and is wanted in connection with the attacks on the water supply.”

Penultimately, The Prince of Lies: Night’s Masque Series, Book 3 By Anne Lyle, Narrated By James Langton for Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio. I’ve enjoyed Langton on Lyle’s fellow Angry Robot author David Tallerman’s fantasy series (Giant Thief) and he’s as spry as ever on Lyle’s more serious and sweeping take on Elizabethan fantasy: “Elizabethan spy Mal Catlyn has everything he ever wanted - his twin brother Sandy restored to health, his family estate reclaimed and a son to inherit it - and while his work is far from over, Mal still has a slim chance of eliminating his enemies whilst they are at their weakest. With Sandy’s help, Mal learns to harness his own magic in the fight against the guisers, but it may be too late to save England. Schemes set in motion decades ago are at last coming to fruition, and the barrier between the dreamlands and the waking world is wearing thin…”

Lastly this week, Shadow’s Lure: Shadow’s Saga, Book 2 by Jon Sprunk is out from GraphicAudio. Sprunk’s fantasy trilogy was published by Pyr in 2010-2012, and the first GraphicAudio production (Shadow’s Son) was terrifically well done, adapted (gently — slight things like the drops of “he said” and “she said” are unnecessary in their format) to a talented full cast presentation with immersive sound. Here: “In Othir, he was at the top of the food chain—an assassin beyond compare, a dark shadow in the night. But Caim left that life behind when he helped an empress claim her throne. And now his past has come calling again. Searching for the truth behind the murder and disappearance of his parents, Caim discovers a land in thrall to the Shadow. Haunted by temptations from the Other Side, he becomes mired in a war he does not want to fight.”

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

• The Books of Blood: Volume 3 By Clive Barker, Narrated By Scott Brick, Xe Sands, Jeffrey Kafer, Peter Bishop, Chris Patton for Crossroad Press (Oct 23)
• The Dagger and the Cross: A Novel of Crusades By Judith Tarr, Narrated By James Patrick Cronin (Oct 23)
• The Trials of Obed Marsh By Matthew Davenport, Narrated By Steven Gordon (Oct 23)
• Teen: Tunnels of Blood: The Saga of Cirque du Freak, Book 3 By Darren Shan, Narrated By Ralph Lister for Blackstone Audio
• Teen: The Enchanter Heir By Cinda Williams Chima, Narrated By Robert Ramirez for Recorded Books -- "At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a network that hunts the undead. Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic."
• When the Eagle Hunts By Simon Scarrow, Narrated By David Thorpe (Oct 24)
• Running with the Demon: Word and the Void, Book 1 By Terry Brooks, Narrated By George Wilson for Recorded Books (Oct 24)
• The Gathering: The Chronicles of Lumineia, Book 2 By Ben Hale, Narrated By Derek Perkins for Podium Publishing (October 25, 2013)
• The Rats: The Rats Series, Book 1 By James Herbert, Narrated By David Rintoul for Audible Ltd — Scheduled Release Date: 10-25-13
• The Quorum By Kim Newman, Narrated By Tom Lawrence for Audible Ltd (Oct 25)
• Undead Chaos By Joshua Roots, Narrated By William Dufris for Carina Press — Scheduled Release Date: 10-28-13
• Betrayal of Thieves: Legends of Dimmingwood, Volume 2 By C. Greenwood, Narrated By Ashley Arnold (Oct 28)
• Short: The Priests of Psi By Frank Herbert, Narrated By Joe Peck (Oct 28)
• The Influence By Bentley Little, Narrated By Joe Barrett for AudioGO — Scheduled Release Date: 10-29-13
• Defender: Kris Longknife, Book 11 By Mike Shepherd, Narrated By Dina Pearlman for Audible Frontiers (Oct 29)
• Katabasis: The Foreworld Saga, Book 4 By Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Mark Teppo, Angus Trim, Narrated By Luke Daniels for Brilliance Audio (Oct 29)
• Teen: Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta By Shannon Duffy, Narrated By Maxwell Glick— Scheduled Release Date: 10-29-13
• Teen: Fractured: Guards of the Shadowlands, Book 2 By Sarah Fine, Narrated By Amy McFadden for Brilliance Audio
• Teen: The City of Death By Sarwat Chadda, Narrated By Bruce Mann for Listening Library
• Teen: Waterfell: The Aquarathi By Amalie Howard, Narrated By Kate Metroka for Harlequin
• Teen: A Shimmer of Angels: The Angel Sight Series By Lisa M. Basso, Narrated By Katherine Skinner for Audible Inc.
• Abyss Deep: Star Corpsman, Book 2 By Ian Douglas, Narrated By David Drummond— Scheduled Release Date: 10-29-13
• Planetary Assault By B.V. Larson, Vaughn Heppner, David Van Dyke, Narrated By Mark Boyett for Audible Frontiers
• Paper Mage By Leah Cutter, Narrated By Emily Zeller for Audible (Oct 29)
• Amped By Douglas E. Richards, Narrated By Peter Berkrot for Recorded Books (Oct 29)
• Pale Gods By Kim Paffenroth, Narrated By Christopher Kipiniak for Audible Frontiers (Oct 29)
• Dark Witch: The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy, Book 1 by Nora Roberts, Narrated By Katherine Kellgren for Brilliance Audio -- begins a new trilogy from bestselling author Roberts, read by Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Janeway
• The Darkening Dream By Andy Gavin, Narrated By Eric Pollard, Marti Dumas -- fantasy novel from the creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter
• The Poison Oracle By Peter Dickinson, Narrated By Eric Yves Garcia for Audible Inc -- Dickinson's 1974 novel is the second novel of his to be recently reprinted by Small Beer Press
• The Demon in the Teahouse, In Darkness, Death, A Samurai Never Fears Death, Seven Paths to Death, and The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass: Samurai Detective Series, Book #4 by Dorothy Hoobler and Tom Hoobler, Narrated By Hayden Lee for Audible Inc.
• Fiction: Rustication: A Novel by Palliser, Charles (Oct 29, 2013) — “A vertiginous gothic masterpiece from the best-selling author of The Quincunx.”
• Teen: The 100: The 100 Series, Book 1 By Kass Morgan, Narrated By Justin Torres and Phoebe Strole for Hachette Audio -- the basis of an upcoming television series
• Teen: Horde (Enclave) by Ann Aguirre, read by Emily Bauer for Macmillan Young Listeners (Oct 29, 2013) — “The epic conclusion to the USA Today bestselling trilogy.”
• Teen: Some Quiet Place By Kelsey Sutton, Narrated By Jorjeana Marie for Audible Inc,.
• Teen: Relic: The Books of Eva, Book 1 By Heather Terrell, Narrated By Angela Brazil for Blackstone Audio
• Kids: Lost in Babylon: Seven Wonders, Book 2 By Peter Lerangis, Narrated By Johnathan McClain — Scheduled Release Date: 10-29-13
• Frankenstein By Mary Shelley, Narrated By Dan Stevens for Audible -- a new production of Shelley's classic, performed by the Downton Abbey actor
• Basilisk By Graham Masterton, Narrated By Adam Sims for Audible Ltd (Oct 29)
• Descendant By Graham Masterton, Narrated By Garrick Hagon for Audible Ltd (Oct 29)
• The Tale of the Vampire Bride, Book 1 By Rhiannon Frater, Narrated By Carol Hendrickson
• Battlenaut Crucible By Robert T. Jeschonek, Narrated By Randy Hames
• Forever Charmed: The Halloween LaVeau Series, Book 1 By Rose Pressey, Narrated By Saskia Maarleveld
• Short: The World Is Round By Gertrude Stein, Clement Hurd, Thacher Hurd, Narrated By Kate Mulgrew for Harper Audio
• Short: A Magic Broken By Vox Day, Narrated By Nick Afka Thomas (Oct 29)

• Scarlet Tides (The Moontide Quartet) by David Hair (Quercus UK, 24 Oct 2013)
• The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring (Quercus UK, 24 Oct 2013)
• Anthology: Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome by Stephen Jones and Alan Lee (Quercus UK, 24 Oct 2013) -- "Anthology of 15 original stories, subtitled “Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome”, based on tales by the Brothers Grimm. Authors include Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, Michael Marshall Smith, Peter Crowther, and Ramsey Campbell." (via Locus Online)
• The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting-Improvised-Men The Last Letter of H.P. Lovecraft by Gabriel Blackwell (Civil Coping Mechanisms, Oct 28, 2013) — “Though H. P. Lovecraft is famed mostly for the influential body of short fiction he left behind, he was also one of the most prolific correspondents of his time, the author of more than 100,000 letters. Undiscovered and unpublished until now, The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting-Improvised-Men is the last letter that Lovecraft wrote, finishing it just days before his death on March 15, 1937. This edition features extensive notes from the editor, Gabriel Blackwell.”
• The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh (Hydra, Oct 28, 2013)
• The Dead: v. 1 by David Gatward (Oct 29, 2013) -- new (and currently free) ebook re-release of a YA horror novel originally published in 2010 by Hodder Children's: "Lazarus Stone is about to turn sixteen when, one night, his normal life is ripped to shreds by a skinless figure drenched in blood. He has a message: The Dead are coming. Now Lazarus is all that stands in their way. To fulfil his destiny, he must confront not only the dark past of his family, but horrors more gruesome than even Hell could invent. And it all begins with the reek of rotting flesh ..."
• The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu (Angry Robot, Oct 29, 2013) — sequel to The Lives of Tao
• Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened… by Allie Brosh (Touchstone, Oct 29, 2013) — I’m not entirely sure that an audio edition for this 4-color illustrated book makes sense, but as the audiobook is coming (albeit delayed) read by the author for Simon & Schuster Audio, I’m definitely going to take a listen
• The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister by Martin, George R.R. (Oct 29, 2013)
• A Study in Darkness: Book Two in The Baskerville Affair by Holloway, Emma Jane (Oct 29, 2013)
• The Eidolon by Libby McGugan (Solaris, Oct 29, 2013) -- "SF thriller, the author’s first novel and first of a trilogy, about a physicist hired to sabotage the CERN Large Hadron Collider because its discoveries could bring about disaster." (via Locus Online)
• Allegiance (River of Souls) by Beth Bernobich (Tor Books, Oct 29, 2013)
• The Shadowhunter's Codex (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare, Joshua Lewis and Various (Oct 29, 2013) -- illustrated guide
• After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris and Lisa Desimini (Oct 29, 2013) -- guidebook to Harris' best-selling Sookie Stackhouse series
• Black Heart (A Black Wings Novel) by Christina Henry (Ace, Oct 29, 2013)
• Gamification/C-Monkeys by Keith Hollihan (ChiZine, Oct 22, 2013) -- dual-novella "flip book"
• Hellhound (A Deadtown Novel) by Nancy Holzner (Ace, Oct 29, 2013)
• The Clone Assassin by Steven L. Kent (Ace, Oct 29, 2013)

• A Hundred Words for Hate: A Remy Chandler Novel, Book 4 By Thomas E. Sniegoski, Narrated By Luke Daniels for Tantor Audio (Oct 30)
• The Katar Legacy By Tobin Loshento, Narrated By Matt Armstrong, Lisa Larsen, and Corey Snow for Open Book Audio (Oct 30)
• Lair: The Rats Series, Book 2 By James Herbert, Narrated By David Rintoul for Audible Ltd — Scheduled Release Date: 10-31-13
• Collection: If Angels Fight: Stories by Richard Bowes (Fairwood Press/Patrick Swensen, October 2013) — collection of 14 stories – 3 new – all newly collected
• Sea Hearts By Margo Lanagan, Narrated By Eloise Oxer, Paul English for Bolinda Publishing — Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 11-01-13
• Never Knew Another: Dogsland, Book 1 and When We Were Executioners: Dogsland,  Book 2 By J. M. McDermott, Narrated By Eileen Stevens for Audible Frontiers — Scheduled Release Date: 11-05-13
• Burning Paradise  by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor, November 5, 2013) — coming concurrently to Macmillan Audio, read by Scott Brick
• The Golden City by Cheney, J. Kathleen (Roc, Nov 5, 2013)
• Trade Secret: Liaden Universe Books of Before, Book 4 By Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Narrated By Kevin T. Collins for Audible Frontiers (Nov 5)
• Starhawk (A Priscilla Hutchins Novel)  by Jack McDevitt (Ace Hardcover, November 5, 2013)
• Contagion (Toxic City) by Tim Lebbon (Pyr, Nov 5, 2013) — book #3 in the Toxic City series
• Fortune’s Pawn (Paradox Series)  by Rachel Bach (Orbit, Nov 5, 2013)
• Twenty-First Century Science Fiction by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor, Nov 5, 2013)
• A Dance of Blades (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (Nov 5, 2013)
• Hell Bent: A Broken Magic Novel by Devon Monk (Roc, Nov 5, 2013)
• Kids: The Royal Ranger: Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 12 By John Flanagan, Narrated By John Keating — Scheduled Release Date: 11-05-13
• Kids: The Carpet People By Terry Pratchett, Narrated By Stephen Briggs — Scheduled Release Date: 11-05-13
• Domain: The Rats Series, Book 3 By James Herbert, Narrated By David Rintoul for Audible Ltd — Scheduled Release Date: 11-05-13
• Anthology: A Cosmic Christmas 2 You edited by Hank Davis (Baen, Nov 5, 2013) — “Twelve new stories of Christmas in very unusual circumstances, ranging from vampires to robots, from the hills of Appalachia to a high orbit space station, all celebrating the holiday in their own, off-beat ways.” Includes stories by (among others) Joe Haldeman, Connie Willis, and Tony Daniel
• Of Limited Loyalty: The Second Book of the Crown Colonies  By Michael A. Stackpole, Narrated By Peter Batchelor for Audible Frontiers (Nov 5)
• Non-Fiction: This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage By Ann Patchett, Narrated By Patchett for Harper Audio (Nov 5) — an essay collection including the title story, which was released as a standalone speech in 2011
• Short: Dragon Virus By Laura Anne Gilman, Narrated By Thomas Stephen, Jr. for Audible Inc. — Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 11-05-13
• Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee (Henry Holt and Co, Nov 5) — excerpt up at Tor.com
• Non-Fiction: Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives By Randi Zuckerberg, Narrated By Randi Zuckerberg for Harper Audio -- the book was reviewed positively by Natania Barron for GeekMom
• Anthology: Space Opera edited by Rich Horton, Kage Baker, Elizabeth Bear and Jay Lake (Nov 6, 2013)
• Seven Days: The Chronicles of Lumineia, Book 3 by Ben Hale, Narrated By Derek Perkins for Podium Publishing — Scheduled Release Date: 11-08-13
• Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest (Tor, Nov 12, 2013) — latest novel in Priest’s Boneshaker series The Clockwork Century
• Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nov 12, 2013) — “Since Griffith has won the Tiptree, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, the Premio Italia, and the Lambda Literary Award six times, you’re well advised to grab this fictionalized portrait of a girl name Hild who grew up in seventh-century Britain and became St. Hilda’s of Whitby. Griffith gives us a determined and uncannily perceptive Hild who seems capable of predicting the future (or at least of human behavior), a trait that puts her in the life-and-death position of being made the king’s seer. The writing itself is uncannily perceptive, with none of the flowery excess of some historical fiction writing, though the detailed narrative runs close to 600 pages. I thought of Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall even before I noted the comparison in the promotion.” — LibraryJournal
• Apparition by Trish J. MacGregor (Tor, Nov 12)
• Dragon’s Child: The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1 By M. K. Hume, Narrated By Steven Crossley for Recorded Books — Scheduled Release Date: 11-12-13
• LONG LIVE THE QUEEN by Kate Locke, read by TBD for Blackstone Audio (Nov 12)
• Fiction: Slam by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki (Blackstone Audio, November 15, 2013) — Shiner’s 1990 novel of a paroled tax evader, anarchist skateboarders, and, well, 23 cats.
• CARLUCCI’S EDGE by Richard Paul Russo, read by Kristoffer Tabori for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
• THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
• Collection: Beyond the Rift by Peter Watts (Tachyon, Nov 18, 2013)
• The Orphans’ Promise (Secret of Ji, Book Two) by Pierre Grimbert, translated by Matt Ross and Eric Lamb (Nov 19, 2013)
• HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES by Tim Powers, read by Fiona Hardingham for Blackstone Audio (Nov 19) — published last year, a stand-alone follow-up to the fantastic The Stress of Her Regard
• Watcher of the Dark by Joseph Nassise (Tor, November 19) — read by Anthony Bowden for Audible Frontiers
• Bloodstone by Gillian Philip (Tor, Nov 19)
• Arcanum by Simon Morden (Orbit, Nov 19) — “A historical fantasy novel of medieval Europe in which the magic that has run the world for centuries is disappearing– and now the gifts of the gods must be replaced with the ingenuity of humanity.”
• Wild Fell by Michael Rowe (ChiZine, Nov 19, 2013)
• Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo by Miyuki Miyabe and translated from Japanese by Daniel Huddleston (Haikasoru, Nov 19, 2013)
• The Phoenix in Flight: Exordium, Book 1 By Sherwood Smith, Dave Trowbridge, Narrated By James Patrick for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 11-19-13
• The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen and translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers (Pushkin Press, Nov 21, 2013) — “A highly contagious book virus, a literary society, and a Snow Queen-like disappearing author.”
• The Arrows of Time (Orthogonal)  by Greg Egan (Gollancz UK, November 21, 2013) — book 3 after The Clockwork Rocket and The Eternal Flame — the Night Shade Books US release has moved to 2014
• The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26) — audiobook coming January 4, 2014 from Brilliance Audio
• Last to Rise by Francis Knight (Orbit, Nov 26) — concluding volume in a new trilogy which started with Knight’s debut Fade to Black in early 2013
• The Irreal Reader: Fiction & Essays from The Cafe Irreal edited by G.S. Evans and Alice Whittenburg (Guide Dog, November 2013)
• Collection: Bleeding Shadows by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean, November 2013)

• THE HEAVEN MAKERS by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• THE SMOKE RING by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• DOCTOR GEEK’S LABORATORY, SEASON 1 by Scott C. Viguié, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 1)
• Anthology: Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (Tor, Dec 3) — table of contents includes Joe Abercrombie, Lev Grossman, and Pat Cadigan, among others
• Darkwalker: A Nicolas Lenoir Novel by E.L. Tettensor (Roc, Dec 3, 2013)
• Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen) by John Gwynne (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013) — out late last year in the UK (Tor UK) now a US release from Orbit; winner of the 2013 David Gemmell Legend Awards Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer
• A Dance of Mirrors (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013)
• Cloak and Spider: A Shadowdance Novella by David Dalglish (Orbit, Dec 3, 2013)
• Andromeda’s Choice (Legion of the Damned)  by William C. Dietz (December 3, 2013)
• Collection: Her Husband’s Hands and Other Stories by Adam-Troy Castro (Prime Books, December 4)
• Fiction: THE COLLECTOR OF LOST THINGS by Jeremy Page, read by Michael Healy for Blackstone Audio (Dec 7)
• Kids: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and HOW TO BE A PIRATE by Cressida Cowell, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 10)
• Year’s Best SF 18  edited by David G. Hartwell (December 10, 2013)
• A Calculated Life by Anne Charnock, read by Susan Duerden (Brilliance Audio, Dec 10, 2013) — from the September 24 print/ebook release by 47North
• Harrowgate by Kate Maruyama (Brilliance Audio read by Nick Podehl, Dec 10, 2013) — “Michael should be overjoyed by the birth of his son, but his wife, Sarah won’t let him touch the baby or allow anyone to visit. Greta, an intrusive, sinister doula has wormed her way into their lives, driving a wedge between Michael and his family. Every time he leaves the Harrowgate, he returns to find his beloved wife and baby altered. He feels his family slipping away and, as a malevolent force begins to creep in, Michael does what any new father would do–he fights to keep his family together.” –from the September 24 print/ebook release by 47North
• Collected Stories by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Janis Ian, Scott Brick, Kimberly Farr, Arthur Morey, Roxanne Hernandez Coyne, Kristoffer Tabori, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Karen Joy Fowler (Blackstone Audio, December 15, 2013) — the “definitive collection” of Shiner’s short fiction in the form of 41 stories
• One Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez, Narrated By Jimmy Smits for Blackstone Audio — Scheduled Release Date: 12-15-13
• PROTECTOR by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Grover Gardner for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• THE GODMAKERS by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• Suspense: THE GHOST WRITER by John Harwood, read by Simon Vance for Blackstone Audio (Dec 15)
• The Cormorant by Chuck Wendig (Angry Robot, Dec 31, 2013)
• The Grendel Affair: A SPI Files Novel by Lisa Shearin (Dec 31, 2013)
• The Iron Wolves by Andy Remic (Angry Robot and Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio, Dec 31, 2013)
• THE VASTALIMI GAMBIT by Steve Perry, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Dec 31)
• A Study in Ashes: Book Three in The Baskerville Affair by Holloway, Emma Jane (Dec 31, 2013)

• SOUL CATCHER by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Jan 1, 2014)
• The Queen of Dreams by Peter Hamilton (Doubleday UK, 2 Jan 2014) — first children’s book by the epic sf author Peter F. Hamilton: “Taggie and Jemima are summer holidaying on their dad’s farm. They know just what to expect – a tumbledown cottage, sunshine and strawberry-picking. But then Jemima sees a white squirrel wearing glasses . . . And things become even more extraordinary when their dad is captured and whisked away to a faerie world. Magical adventures await, as the two sisters discover powers they never knew they had and a series of worlds to explore. But can Taggie and Jemima rescue their dad and defeat the evil King of Night?”
• The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26) — audiobook coming January 4, 2014 from Brilliance Audio
• The Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson (Jo Fletcher Books, January 7, 2014) — a “Viking fantasy novel” by a new Icelandic author
• The Girl with All the Gifts by M.J. Carey (Orbit, Jan 7, 2014) — “Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her ‘our little genius’. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.” — link to cover
• Rex Regis by L. E. Modesitt (Tor, Jan 7, 2014)
• Fury of the Demon by Diana Rowland (Jan 7, 2014)
• Dreams of the Golden Age by Vaughn, Carrie (Jan 7, 2014) — sequel to After the Golden Age
• Work Done for Hire  by Joe Haldeman (Ace Hardcover, January 7, 2014) — novel about an ex-sniper turned sf screenwriter turned reluctant hitman; I’ve hear Haldeman read from this novel in draft and am very much looking forward to its release
• Love in the Time of Metal and Flesh by Jay Lake (Prime Books, January 7, 2014) — “Markus Selvage has been bent by life, ground up and spit out again. In San Francisco’s darkest sexual underground, he is a perpetual innocent, looking within bodies – his own and others’ – for the lost secrets of satisfaction. But extreme body modification is only the beginning of where he will go before he’s finished…”
• Rex Regis (Imager Portfolio)  by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Jan 7, 2014)
• 1636: Seas of Fortune  by Iver Cooper (January 7, 2014)
• Black Arts: A Jane Yellowrock Novel  by Faith Hunter (Jan 7, 2014)
• Darkest Fear (Birthright) by Cate Tiernan (Jan 7, 2014)
• Once In a Blue Moon by Green, Simon R. (Jan 7, 2014)
• Graphic novel: Cemetery Girl, Book One: The Pretenders (The Cemetery Girl Trilogy) by Harris, Charlaine and Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
• Anthology: Dark Duets by Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
• The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) by Brian Staveley (Jan 14, 2014)
• Watchers in the Night (Guardians of the Night) by Jenna Black (Jan 14, 2014)
• The Man Who Made Models: The Collected Short Fiction  by R.A. Lafferty (Centipede Press, January 14, 2014)
• Dawn of Swords (The Breaking World)  by David Dalglish (Jan 14, 2014)
• Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War) by Jaye Wells (Jan 21, 2014)
• Pandemic by Scott Sigler (Crown, Jan 21, 2014)
• Non-Fiction: What Makes This Book So Great by Walton, Jo (Jan 21, 2014)
•  Red Rising by Brown, Pierce (Jan 28, 2014) — “Brown’s debut novel . . . is reminiscent of both Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and William Goldman’s The Lord of the Flies but has a dark and twisted power of its own that will captivate readers and leave them wanting more.”— Library Journal
• STARS: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian By Janis Ian (editor), Mike Resnick, Tad Williams, Joe Haldeman, and more, narrated by Gabrielle De Cuir, Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Susan Hanfield, Kathe Mazur, Sile Bermingham, Paul Boehmer, Janis Ian, Kristoffer Tabori for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 01-28-14
• The Book of the Crowman by Joseph D’ Lacey (Jan 28, 2014)
• A Darkling Sea by James Cambias (Tor, Jan 28, 2014)
• The Echo by James Smythe (Jan 28, 2014) — sequel to The Explorer
• Maze by J.M. McDermott (Apex, January 2014)
• Leaving the Sea: Stories by Ben Marcus (Knopf, January 2014)
• The Emperor’s Blades (The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Stavely (Tor, January 2014) — “follows siblings Valyn, Kaden, and Adare, who are in different parts of the world when they learn about the assassination of their father, the Emperor. All of them are in danger of being the next targets, and all of them are caught in the maelstrom of conspiracy, intrigue, treachery, and magic that sweeps through Staveley’s auspicious debut novel.”
• Annihilation (Southern Reach, Volume 1) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, Feb 4, 2014) — the first of a trilogy of “Southern Reach” novels being published in 2014 — “For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious, remote, and concealed by the government as an environmental disaster zone even though it is to all appearances pristine wilderness. For thirty years, too, the secret agency known as the Southern Reach has monitored Area X and sent in expeditions to try to discover the truth. Some expeditions have suffered terrible consequences. Others have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Now, as Area X seems to be changing and perhaps expanding, the next expedition will attempt to succeed where all others have failed. What is happening in Area X? What is the true nature of the invisible border that surrounds it?” Of the book, Kim Stanley Robinson says: “This swift surreal suspense novel reads as if Verne or Wellsian adventurers exploring a mysterious island had warped through into a Kafkaesque nightmare world. The reader will want to stay trapped with the biologist to find the answers to Area X’s mysteries.”
• Like a Mighty Army (Safehold) by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
• The Crimson Campaign (The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 2) by Brian McClellan (Orbit, February 2014)
• Like a Mighty Army (Safehold)  by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
• V-S Day: A Novel of Alternate History  by Allen Steele (Feb 4, 2014) — narrated by Ray Chase
• Empire of Men by David Weber and John Ringo (Feb 4, 2014)
• The Waking Engine by David Edison (Feb 11, 2014)
• The Martian: A Novel by Weir, Andy (Random House, Feb 11, 2014) — picked up by Random House after self-publishing success; 2013 audiobook by Podium Publishing
• The Judge of Ages (Count to a Trillion) by John C. Wright (Feb 25, 2014)
• The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (Feb 25, 2014)
• Dreamwalker by C.S. Friedman (February 2014)
• Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson Novel)  by Patricia Briggs (Mar 4, 2014)
• Ghost Train to New Orleans (The Shambling Guides) by Mur Lafferty (Orbit, Mar 4, 2014) — sequel to The Shambling Guide to New York City
• The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons) by Marie Brennan (Mar 4, 2014)
• Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, March 4, 2014) — book 2 in The Stormlight Archive after The Way of Kings
• Hope Rearmed by S.M. Stirling and David Drake (March 4, 2014)
• Half-Off Ragnarok: An Incryptid Novel by Seanan McGuire (Mar 4, 2014)
• Murder of Crows: A Novel of the Others by Bishop, Anne (Mar 4, 2014)
• Blood and Iron (The Book of the Black Earth) by Jon Sprunk (Pyr, March 11, 2014)
• Resistance by Jenna Black (Mar 11, 2014)
• Working God’s Mischief (Instrumentalities of the Night)  by Glen Cook (Mar 11, 2014)
• The High Druid’s Blade: The Defenders of Shannara by Brooks, Terry (Mar 11, 2014)
• Mentats of Dune  by Brian Herbert (March 11, 2014)
• Anthology: The Time Traveler’s Almanac by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Tor, Mar 18, 2014)
• Lockstep  by Karl Schroeder (Mar 25, 2014)
• The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher (Mar 25, 2014)
• Written in My Own Heart’s Blood: A Novel (Outlander) by Gabaldon, Diana (Mar 25, 2014)
• Anthology: KAIJU RISING (Kickstarter, March 2014)
• City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown/Broadway and Recorded Books, April 1, 2014) — “a second-world story of spies, subterfuge, and statesmanship set in a nation of dead gods.”
• Reign of Ash (Book Two in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga) by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, April 1, 2014) — follow-on to Ice Forged
• The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (April 1, 2014)
• Cauldron of Ghosts (Crown of Slaves) by David Weber (April 1, 2014)
• Baltic Gambit: A Novel of the Vampire Earth by E.E. Knight (April 1, 2014)
• Covenant: The Books of Raziel by Benulis, Sabrina (Apr 1, 2014)
• Shipstar  by Larry Niven and Gregory Benford (Tor, April 8, 2014)
• Transhuman  by Ben Bova (April 15, 2014)
• The Serpent of Venice: A Novel by Moore, Christopher (Apr 22, 2014)
• The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes (Gollanz UK, 17 Apr 2014) — from the author of Tome of the Undergates
• Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor (Hodder & Stoughton, April 2014) — “The Nigerian megacity of Lagos is invaded by aliens, and it nearly consumes itself because of it.”
• The Moon King by Neil Williamson (Newcon, April 2014) — Debut novel: “The story of The Moon King grew out of its setting, the sea-locked city of Glassholm, which is a thinly veneered version of Glasgow, Scotland where I live. Glasgow is a city of mood swings, brilliant with sun and warm sandstone one minute and dour with overcast and rain soaked tarmac the next. Summer days are long and filled with light. The winter months pass mostly in darkness. Living here, your spirit is tied to the city’s mood. As soon as I hooked that almost bipolar sense to the idea of natural cycles, the story blossomed. In Glassholm, the moon never sets and everything, from entropy to the moods of the populace, is affected by its phasing from Full to Dark and back to Full again. I wanted to know what would life be like there, what quirks nature might throw into the mix. And what would happen if it was discovered that the cyclic euphorias and depressions were not natural after all.”
• Immolation (Children, #1) by Ben Peek (Tor UK, Spring 2014) is “set fifteen thousand years after the War of the Gods. The bodies of the gods now lie across the world, slowly dying as men and women awake with strange powers that are derived from their bodies. Ayae, a young cartographer’s apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire. Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on her home. With the help of the immortal Zaifyr, she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. The saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her home to learn its terrible secret. Split between the three points of view, Immolation‘s narrative reaches its conclusion during an epic siege, where Ayae, Zaifyr and Bueralan are forced not just into conflict with those invading, but with those inside the city who wish to do them harm.”
• Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson (Tor, April 15, 2014) — “Caeli-Amur: a city torn by contradiction. A city of languorous philosopher-assassins and magnificent creatures from ancient myth: minotaurs and sirens. Three Houses rule over an oppressed citizenry stirring into revolt. The ruins of Caeli-Amur’s sister city lie submerged beneath the sea nearby, while the remains of strange advanced technology lie hidden in the tunnels beneath the city itself.”
• The Furies: A Thriller  by Mark Alpert (April 22, 2014)
• Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 6, 2014) — “The bone-chilling, hair-raising second installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy. For thirty years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X—a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. After the twelfth expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) is the team’s newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than two hundred hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves—and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he’s promised to serve.”
• The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake (May 6, 2014) — Lt. Leary series
• Graphic novel: All You Need Is Kill: The Graphic Novel by Nick Mamatas, Lee Ferguson, Fajar Buana, and Zack Turner, based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (VIZ Media/Haikasoru, May 6, 2014)
• Queen of the Dark Things: A Novel by Cargill, C. Robert (Harper Voyager, May 13, 2014) — follow-on to Dreams and Shadows
• A Dance of Shadows (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (May 20, 2014)
• The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne (Random House/Crown, May 2014) — “traces the harrowing twin journeys of two women forced to flee their homes in different times in the near future. The first, Meena, is a Brahmin-caste student whose odyssey takes her from the coastal city of Mumbai toward Djibouti across a futuristic but treacherous bridge that spans the Arabian Sea. The second, Mariama, escapes from slavery as a small child in Mauritania, joining a caravan heading across Saharan Africa toward Ethiopia.” A big-name blurb is in from none less than Kim Stanley Robinson: “The Girl in the Road is a brilliant novel–vivid, intense, and fearless with a kind of savage joy. These journeys–Meena’s across the Arabian Sea and Mariama’s across Africa–are utterly unforgettable.”
• My Real Children by Jo Walton (Tor, May 2014) — “story about one woman and the two lives that she might lead”
• Veil of the Deserters (Bloodsounder’s Arc #2) by Jeff Salyards (Night Shade Books, June 3, 2014)
• The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones (Greenwillow, Summer 2014) — “Fans of the late writer Diana Wynne Jones – who died in March 2011 – are in for an unexpected treat. In the summer of 2014, Greenwillow will publish a new title from the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author. Titled The Islands of Chaldea, the book is a standalone novel unconnected to any of the author’s earlier works. It is also the result of an unusual, asynchronous collaboration between the writer and her younger sister, Ursula Jones.”
• The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Viking, August 2014) — book three after The Magicians and The Magician King
• The Chaplain’s War by Brad Torgerson (Baen, 2014)
• Colossus by Stephen Messer (Random House Children’s Books, 2014)
• The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks (Orbit, 2014)
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, 2014) — the first of an announced trilogy of translated editions of this 400,000-copy-selling Chinese sf series
• Lock In by John Scalzi (Tor, Aug 26, 2014)
• Frostborn (Thrones & Bones #1) by Lou Anders (Random House Children’s Books, August 2014) — longtime Pyr editor Anders’ debut novel, a young reader book which “introduces Karn, who would rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones, and Thianna, half-frost giant, half-human, who team up when they are chased by wyverns, a dead Viking sea captain, and a 1200-year-old dragon.”
• Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale (Del Rey, 2014) — “His novella of a Roman invasion of ancient America, “A Clash of Eagles” in the Panverse Two anthology (edited by Dario Ciriello), won the 2010 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and he has recently sold a trilogy of novels set in the same universe. The first book, CLASH OF EAGLES, will appear from Del Rey in 2014.”
• Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin (Solaris, Summer 2014) — “It’s official! I’ll be writing a new urban fantasy novel for Solaris Books called “Deadly Curiosities” (from my short story universe of the same name) that will come out in summer, 2014!”
• The Scorched Earth by Drew Karpyshyn (Summer 2014) — sequel to 2013 novel Children of Fire
• Echopraxia by Peter Watts (2014) — “We are going to the Sun, rs and Ks.  Whereas the last time out we froze in the infinite Lovecraftian darkness of the Oort, now we are diving into the very heart of the solar system— and man, there’s gonna be a hot time in the ol’ town tonight.”
• The Thousand and One: Book II of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms by Saladin Ahmed (2014)
• The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (Knopf, 2015) — “Knopf has acquired a new novel by Paolo Bacigalupi, the science fiction writer whose 2009 book “The Windup Girl” sold 200,000 copies and was considered one of the top novels of the year. The new book, “The Water Knife,” is set in a lawless, water-starved American Southwest in the not-too-distant future.”
• Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury USA, 2015) — first novel from 2010 Clarion Workshop graduate

• When Women Were Warriors by Catherine M. Wilson, read by Janis Ian for Dog Ear Audio
• Non-Fiction: Reports from Nuremburg by Harold Burson, an original production by Skyboat Media, performed by by Stefan Rudnicki, Scott Brick, John Rubinstein, Robert Forster, Richard McGonagle, Jim Meskimen, Kristoffer Tabori, Arthur Morey, and Christian Rummel — due out in November from Audible
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Lecki, read by Celeste Ciulla for Recorded Books -- due out in early December
• A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, coming from Audible
• Fair Coin and Quantum Coin by E.C. Myers, coming from Audible
• All the Worlds Against Us (Jon and Lobo) by Mark L. Van Name (Baen) — Audible Frontiers has produced the previous books in the series, under fantastic narrations by Tom Stechschulte

Posted in Release Week | Tagged anne lyle, christopher buehlman, greg egan, jon sprunk, lavie tidhar, max gladstone, mira grant, richard kadrey

All Hallow's Listen: Doctor Sleep

Posted on 2013-10-31 at 05:35 by Dave

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, Read by Will Patton Length: 18 hours, 35 minutes

As a parent, I often find myself dreaming for my kids - an easy and natural thing to do. We see these sweet children thriving, and we pour so much of into them, excited about all the possibilities waiting to be fulfilled when they’ll grow up to be. But there’s a fear buried as well - what if we fail? What if our kids fail? What if we live to see all our dreams for them fall by the wayside, and see them broken by the world?

Maybe you remember Danny Torrance, the sweet, psychic kid from The Shining? What happens when we see him grow up, struggle, and hit rock bottom?

But first we see Danny as a kid, a few years after the events in The Shining, which is nice because we also get to revisit Dick Halloran (screw you, Kubrick?) and Wendy Torrance. It reminds us just how much we love this kid - moreso after all he’s survived. It’s probably a good thing, because the next time we see Dan he’s a drifter in his thirties, puking his guts out into a full toilet. He’s wakes up with a girl whose name he can’t remember, has another hangover, and is literally wishing he was dead. It gets worse from there, and it’s just depressing as hell to see the sweet kid from The Shining so ground down by the world as an adult, trying to hide from his abilities, as well as well as some of the denizens from the Overlook Hotel. Dan’s almost worse off than his father. But that’s part of the brilliance of Doctor Sleep, and what makes it so successful. (And yes, if you haven’t read or listened to The Shining, I’d recommend you do that first.)

King writes that memories are the real ghosts - the ones we can never be rid of. There are horrible fathers here - monstrous men far less restrained than Jack Torrance. There are good dads, too - one of them is even a relatively well-adjusted author. But Jackie-boy’s memory is the one that haunts every day of Danny’s life, while some of the residents of the Overlook Hotel haunt him a little more literally. We see Dan at his absolute worst, and the rest of the book we stick with him as he joins AA, struggles with his sobriety, and go to work at a hospice where he helps dying patients move on peacefully.

As he gets back in touch with his abilities, Dan meets 12 year-old Abra Stone, a kid who Shines brighter than he ever did. People are after Abra, and anyone else who has the Shine. Abra enlists Dan to help her stop the True Knot, a group of vampire-like creatures who wander the countryside feasting off kids like Abra. And much like Dick Halloran once did for him, Dan becomes Abra’s mentor.

If I have one complaint, it’s that the True Knot, the psychic vampire villains of the piece, aren’t as terrifying as they should be. And for characters who torture and kill children, they’re a bit of a letdown. I think Doctor Sleep might’ve packed a bit more punch if King was willing to leave some of his characters with scars. That said, I think Abra Stone is a pretty empowering character - a young girl who refuses to be afraid, and unflinchingly chooses to fight back, and there’s a lot to be said for that.

Stephen King is without a doubt a natural storyteller, and he’s matched evenly on Doctor Sleep with a reading by Will Patton - every bit as much of a natural as King himself. Just as Campbell Scott’s reading seemed to match perfectly the barren landscape King placed his characters in in the Shining, Patton’s performance imbues the book like a weary, drifter traveling down what may be his last journey. I didn’t want it to end.

Doctor Sleep is that rare sequel that satisfies. A sequel to a 36 year old book shouldn’t work. Really, it shouldn’t. We’ve all had long-awaited sequels be incredible let downs. But amazingly, Doctor Sleep does work. I don’t think it’s as striking or as haunting of a book as The Shining, but I think it’s possibly more addictive of a listen. It calls back to The Shining in all the right places, and thankfully makes no effort to duplicate the setting or the storyline. Instead, it feels like a very natural continuation of a story and character we care about, and by the end, it actually brought a tear to my eye. Dan Torrance, all grown-up, feels like one of the most authentic characters I’ve read by King, someone we can root for and struggle with, and I couldn’t be happier to ride along with him and Abra on this journey.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with a review copy of this audiobook.

Posted in All Hallow's Listen, reviews

All Hallows Listen: The Shining

Posted on 2013-10-30 at 05:34 by Dave

The Shining
by Stephen King, Narrated by Campbell Scott
Length: 15 hours, 49 minutes

Some stories you discover long after they've become iconic.

I'd never read or heard The Shining before, and I've never seen the Kubrick movie. But The Shining is a story that has left a mark on our culture, and those kind of stories are always interesting to experience after the fact. Sometimes when you do, you kind of scratch your head, shrug, and say, "It was okay." Maybe it originated or popularized certain tropes, adn those tropes have either been done to death (or done better than the original). Other times, you experience the story, and at the end you're left thinking "OMFG that was iconic! I get it now!" The latter is pretty much my reaction to Stephen King's The Shining - one of the great horror stories of our time.

The set up for The Shining is simple and straightforward. Jack Torrance a talented writer struggling with sobriety as well as writer's block. His anger got so out of control once, he broke his own son Danny's arm. He is emotionally abusive to his wife Wendy. He brutally assaulted one of his own students, and lost his job for it. Which is where we find him at the beginning of the book - interviewing for a winter gig as the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. He needs the job to survive, and he believes if he can just lock himself (and his family) away fro the winter, he'll finish his play and earn a new lease on life. Because it's such an iconic horror story, even those of us who haven't experienced it before have a pretty good idea of where it's going. The mood, atmosphere, and impending doom King creates at the Overlook is staggering. This is a story about a family pushed to its limits and beyond. It's chilling to witness, particularly the disintegration of Jack Torrance.

In short, Jack Torrance is every writer's worst nightmare, especially Stephen King's. He's a monster before the story even starts, and it's hard to not make the connections with King himself (alcoholism, writer of some notoriety, etc.). Perhaps because of that, King still manages to find a little bit of humanity in him, and despite being an abusive monster, we have a little bit of sympathy for this awful man. Like Danny and Wendy, we almost want to make excuses for him.

What makes matters worse is that Danny is an incredibly special kid, possessing the titular shining. This allows him to see what people are thinking, to know what they're doing when they're not with him, to find lost things, and to have premonitions (he sees dead people). And before everyone else, Danny starts to realize what the Overlook is trying to do to his father, and the rest of his family. But because he loves his dad so much, he refuses to abandon him until it's too late.

The novel is perfectly matched with Campbell Scott's strong, minimalist narration. King paints with words a growing sense of claustrophobia and impending horror, and Scott's narration is a perfect mirror to the bare, cold snowed-in setting we're trapped in. It's a pretty perfect marriage of story and narration.

In short, The Shining is a horror icon that continues to earn its status, and is a must for horror fans.

Posted in All Hallow's Listen, reviews, Uncategorized

Release Week: The Republic of Thieves, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves, Cemetery Plot, and The Book(s) of Cthulhu

Posted on 2013-10-23 at 19:41 by Sam

OCTOBER 16-22, 2013: Roughly a half hundred new audiobooks in the roundup this week, headlined by the briefly-delayed audiobook for the long-awaited third book in Scott Lynch's acclaimed The Gentlemen Bastards series, The Republic of Thieves. The remainder of my picks this week probe the corners of the audiobook world a bit, finding another fantastic production from Skyboat Media, an ACX-published tale of overcrowded cemeteries, and a pair of Lovecraftian anthologies. In the "also out" listings, Audible has produced multiple collections from both Manly Wade Wellman and Clark Ashton Smith, Dan Simmons returns to a tale of terror with The Abominable, and Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy concludes with Allegiant. And there's a big mid-week release coming up, Lavie Tidhar's The Violent Century from Hodder & Stoughton, and a fantastic release week coming ahead with Christopher Buehlman's The Necromancer's House, Max Gladstone's Two Serpents Rise, Greg Egan's Zendegi, Richard Kadrey's Dead Set, Mira Grant's Parasite, and more. And it's nearly Halloween, which means it's about time for All Hallow's Listen... On that note, I note that Downpour.com's audiobook of the week is Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree, read by Bronson Pinchot. And speaking of Downpour, some big audiobook news this week as Blackstone, which was not too long ago bought by UK-based AudioGO, has turned around and bought AudioGO's US business instead, "effectively ending the nine-month merger". Meanwhile, there are some real gems in the "seen but not heard" listings this week, but I've done enough dithering already, so on to the...

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

By a good measure my top pick this week is The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch, read by Michael Page for Tantor Audio. The award-winning first audiobook in this series is one of the all-time best in epic fantasy; Del Rey published this highly anticipated third installment in print/ebook on Oct 8. But I do have to ask Tantor what they were thinking with this cover... It's rivaling the worst published audiobook covers I've ever seen. Anyway, here: "After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover, and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi. It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke's own long-lost love. Sabetha is Locke's childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke's life, and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds, Sabetha has just one goal-to destroy Locke forever. The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles, and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success."

Much more bite-sized at 5 hours than the nearly 24 hours of The Republic of Thieves is Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves by Maggie Schein, read by Janis Ian, directed by Stefan Rudnicki for Skyboat Media, with Schein's fellow South Carolina author Pat Controy reading his own introduction. Skyboat continues to produce exquisite work whether for its own release or for other studios, and Lost Cantos is no exception. Published in print by small (but spirited!) press Hunt Press in January of this year, any story championed by Rudnicki and co. is worth lending an ear towards: "A collection of fables in the literary tradition of Italo Calvino, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves brings together medicine men, monks, immortals, witches, seekers, souls in various stages of their cycles in and out of lived-life, and the occasional talking animal, all searching for the meaning of it all and each other. Each fable is a meditation on love, death, growth, pain, identity, self, spirit, and the natural world, as seen from the perspectives of the primal, the celestial, or the spiritual. Fragile yet beautifully strong, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves is for anyone seeking stories for a larger life." Author Schein posted a four-part behind-the-scenes audiobook blog series, starting with her experience watching Janis Ian read her words to producer Stefan Rudnicki.

Let me first get out of the way the fact that the author is a friend, and so despite our both coming from journalism backgrounds (his much more distinguished than mine to be sure!) I can't claim a particularly high level of impartiality. But, having finished the audiobook last night, I'm going to go ahead and include Cemetery Plot By Alex Granados, Narrated By Henry Tenenbaum in this week's picks. I've been looking forward to this "via ACX" production of his first novel for quite a while, and while it may sound like a backhanded compliment... it was surprising good. I've had mixed results with the self-published-via-ACX titles, and this one was very well narrated and produced, with intro music, a wind effect to separate the short scenes, and again the music to transition between the (also short) chapters. On some audiobooks this could be a bit much, but for this book it "works". Why? This book is, first and foremost, two books smashed together: a near-future "The Day After Tomorrow" of over-crowded and sprawling cemeteries told in the third person, and a few-decades-later zombie apocalypse told from the first person perspective of "Nathan", a "living dead medium" who can just make out, sometimes, what the zombies are trying to say, and uses this talent to extract money and supplies from those desperate to commune with their almost-departed loved ones. But it's got more: adepts of Alastair Crowley, science gone wrong, and even one more twist tossed in and the whole thing set on "pulp". Narrator Tenenbaum's voices are well-characterized, and in his production he's really done something fantastic to create the voices of the zombies -- thanks to this audiobook, I now know what a zombie's “Arrhghhfhghf” sounds like. It is a bit pricey for the length, but as we get ourselves hunkered down for the chillier nights as All Hallow's Eve approaches, it's worth checking out.

Lastly, two Ross Lockhart-edited anthologies originally published by Night Shade Books, The Book of Cthulhu: Tales Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft and The Book of Cthulhu II: More Tales Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, narrated By Fleet Cooper and Teresa DeBerry for Audible. (For some reason the first anthology is in "pderror" mode, but hopefully it'll be back soon.) Here: "Last year, Night Shade Books unleashed The Book of Cthulhu onto an unsuspecting world. Critically acclaimed as 'the ultimate Cthulhu anthology' and a 'must read’ for fans of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, The Book of Cthulhu went where no collection of mythos tales had gone before: to the very edge of madness and beyond. For nearly a century, H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of malevolent Great Old Ones existing beyond the dimensions of this world, beyond the borders of sanity, have captured and held the imaginations of writers and aficionados of the dark, the macabre, the fantastic, and the horrible. Now, because you demanded more, anthologist Ross E. Lockhart has risked all to dive back into the Cthulhu canon, combing through mind-shattering manuscripts and moldering tomes to bring you The Book of Cthulhu 2, with even more tales of tentacles, terror, and madness."

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

Posted in Release Week | Tagged acx, alex granadaos, cemetery plot, michael page, ross lockhart, scott lynch, skyboat media, stefan rudnicki, the book of cthulhu

Whispersync Deal: James Maxey's Bitterwood, read by Dave Thompson for Just $1.99

Posted on 2013-10-21 at 18:15 by Dave

Some of you know in my spare time, I record audiobooks (as well as PodCastle, a free fantasy fiction podcast). Yesterday, I woke up to a pleasant surprise - James Maxey's Bitterwood, which I narrate, is on sale at Audible for the super cheap price of $1.99 thanks to a Whisersync deal. That's just about 14 hours of me talking in the voices of a bunch of different dragons, and even singing a death hymn. It's actually a really wild, science fantasy kind of story, and the price is impossible to beat.

In order to get the audiobook for $1.99, you have to download the Kindle eBook first. That's no big deal, though, since the eBook is free.

Here's the blurb:

Bitterwood has spent the past twenty years hunting down dragons, one at a time. But he is getting old and the hate that he has carried in his heart since a group of dragon-soldiers killed his family is beginning to fade. When he kills the royal prince dragon, the king decides the only retribution is genocide of the human race. Bitterwood is forced to enter the Free City, the grand trap designed to eradicate mankind, with thousands of others. Can he lead from within, or can a select few dragons unite to stop the king's madness from becoming reality. Full of rich characters and drama, this is an amazingly astute vision of our own culture by way of a feudal kingdom where dragons rule, and humans are used as workers or pets.

And here's what Bob Reiss of the Guilded Earlobe says about it:

[Thompson] brings all the vast wonderful dragon characters to life in ways I didn’t expect. One of the reasons I feel I enjoyed this story more was Thompson had a gruffness to his voice that gave these dragons a quality that separated them from the human characters.

He also says I didn't give him ear herpes, which is a lovely thing to have on my resume!

I have no idea how long the book will be for sale, so if you're tempted, grab it while you can. I don't think it'll ever be less expensive than this.

People want to know if I'm gonna be finishing out this trilogy that James created, and the answer is - I should be able to tell you more about that soon!

Posted in Uncategorized