BONESHAKER BY CHERIE PRIEST: In an alternate America of the 1880s, Leviticus Blue invents a mining machine that is supposed to revolutionize the growing town of Seattle. Instead he loses control of the Bone-shaking Drill Engine, which breaks loose and tears through the underground of Seattle, causing buildings and roads to collapse within the tunnels made by the machine. Then a mysterious blight gas is released that somehow turns anyone who breathes enough of it into the living dead.
Sixteen years pass and the city is walled off, turning it into a zombie graveyard. There are those who live on the inside of the wall, eking out a survival, always terrified they will breathe the gas and be turned. Then there are those who live on the outside of the wall, having abandoned their city, living in poverty, trying their best to get by. Finally there are the zeppelins and airships that ferry, transport, and smuggle items into and out of Seattle.
Briar Wilkes, husband to the late Leviticus Blue, is doing her best to get by, while supporting a growing teenage boy. Only Ezekiel wants to find out more about his dad, wondering if he might still be alive, and whether he was truly to blame for the tragedy that befell Seattle. Ezekiel sneaks past the wall through a sewer pipe and travels into the doomed town. Briar soon discovers that her greatest fear has come true, and she must go in after him. She will make friends on the inside, but also enemies, while fighting to find out if her son is still alive, as well as making sure she doesn’t get turned by the blight gas.
Cherie Priest has created a wonderfully original story in what she says is a response to the Steampunk look of hat and goggles. The result is a fun, action-packed book that explores the relationship of a mother and son with an unusual past, along with designed yellowed pages and brown print that gives Boneshaker a whole unique look. THE UNWRITTEN, VOLUME 1: TOMMY TAYLOR AND THE BOGUS IDENTITY BY MIKE CAREY AND PETER GROSS: In their first full series collaboration since the award-winning Lucifer, writer Mike Carey and artist Peter Gross present The Unwritten: a unique story about tales and writing and magic, taking the reader on journeys into different and unusual worlds with some familiar and recognizable characters and some very unpredictable happenings.
A bestselling fantasy series that is as big as Harry Potter features a hero by the name of Tommy Taylor. The creator of the series, Wilson Taylor, has gone missing, disappeared and hasn’t been seen in years. Meanwhile his son, Tommy Taylor, is reaping the benefits of the series, attending signings and conventions, and has become a worldwide sensation. “A literary legend made flesh.” Only rumors have started that Tom Taylor may not actually be who he says he is; and while the well-known man flees from angry crowds, he finds himself joining up with unusual characters, as well as finding elements of the story he knows so well somehow coming true.
Mike Carey and Peter Gross have created a fresh and original series that explores a fantasy world and a world of supposed real life and then magically blurs the borders, both with powerful words and incredible art, keeping readers thinking, but completely hooked, wanting to know what’s going to happen next. THE VIKINGS: A HISTORY BY ROBERT FERGUSON: There have been many books written on the Vikings, and everyone has their own stereotypical – and in most cases, inaccurate – idea of who the Vikings were and what they were like; media has done much to reaffirm these clichés. Thankfully, there is The Vikings: A History by a “leading authority in the field of Scandinavian studies,” Robert Ferguson. Ferguson puts all the misconceived and incorrect notions of Vikings to rest, launching into a comprehensive history of these northern peoples and what affect they had on Europe from the eighth centuries on through the first millennium. Ferguson pulls from many sources, and presents not just the viewpoint of the Vikings and their achievements, but also short histories on the northern British Isles, Charlemagne, and the various kingdoms of the European continent, showing how greatly affected they were by the Viking attacks and takeovers. The Vikings: A History will clear away the image of a horn-helmeted brute and replace it with a developed, complex culture that was intelligent and creative, and had reasons for the attacks against the various peoples of Europe.
JACK: SECRET CIRCLES BY F. PAUL WILSON: In the first of the young adult trilogy, Jack: Secret Histories, Jack and Weezy discovered a very unusual secret pyramid in the Pine Barrens. And now Repairman Jack is back in Jack: Secret Circles, where another strange structure has been discovered, once again in the Pine Barrens. But this time they’re not going to tell anyone about it, as Weezy knows the government is behind it all, or at least has something to do with it. Their friend Eddie thinks it’s more likely the work of the Jersey Devil. And then Jack’s five-year-old neighbor goes missing, even though Jack told him to go home, and he needs to get him back. Finally there’s the guy who comes out of the Barrens, supposedly lost for days, on the run from some big and terrifying monster. F. Paul Wilson continues his trilogy of his popular character, Repairman Jack, as a teenager. The story is a combination of the Hardy Boys and The X-Files, with an excitement-infused voice that brings out the adventuresome kid in every reader.
BREATHERS BY S. G. BROWNE: Zombies are a very popular subject matter these days, with movies, horror novels, anthologies, and many graphic novels being written, created and published about the living dead. Many of them seek to terrify the reader with gruesome details, while the movies involving the undead running at ridiculous speeds attempt to make viewers scream. Then there are those stories that feature zombies – and vampires and werewolves – in a lust-filled, sexual mishmash that I really don’t want to think about. And then there’s Breathers.
Breathers is a fun, funny, and at times serious look at the life of someone who one day wakes up and is a zombie. How much would your life change? How would your parents not only think of you, but treat you? Would they allow you to live in their home (formerly your home)? What about your social life?
Breathers is the story of Andy Warner who has just this happen to him. It’s a world where zombies are seen as less than real people . . . because they aren’t. They have no rights, no respect from anyone, and are hounded and ridiculed by all who see them. Andy lives with his parents, in the basement, where he’s not allowed to interact very much with them, certainly not eat with them or engage in social gatherings. When outside, he must keep away from crowded areas, and is not allowed to socialize with large groups of zombies. His “un-life” is pretty much pointless.
But that all changes when he begins attending a help group known as Undead Anonymous. There he befriends some fellow zombies and gets close to a girl named Rita. The help group is allowed by the government as it helps to enforce the laws telling zombies what they can and cannot do; mostly cannot. And then things begin to change when they bring some new friends along who share this tasty venison that miraculously seems to make the zombies feel better and even heal the wounds that caused their deaths.
S. G. Browne has created a very entertaining, tongue-in-check and matter-of-fact novel about zombies and how they would be treated by the human race who has done so well in the past with anything that is different. Browne is never over the top or preachy, but many of his words echo off events and reactions of humanity’s past. And ultimately it does leave one asking themselves a question: how would you treat a zombie if they knocked on your door? NYPHRON RISING BY MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN: Things take a turn for the worse in the third installment of The Riyria Revelations – after Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha – as war comes sweeping through to Melengar and its people have little hope and respect for their recent, young king. Princess Arista has been running around playing diplomat and trying to secure allies for Melengar, with nothing to show for it. Meanwhile the enemy Nyphron Empire continues to grow in strength and numbers. Arista has one more trick up her sleeve, and with the help of her good friends, Royce and Hadrian, goes on this last journey far south in a last effort to secure an ally, but also to unravel a mystery of Hadrian’s past. Surprising results are revealed about our unknown thief that ties into the whole story of the Riyria Revelations. The wizard Esrahaddon continues to be up to no good, while we learn more of the enigmatic man known as Degan Gaunt.
THE ELECTRIC CHURCH BY JEFF SOMERS: It’s the future. A dystopian future where everything has pretty much gone to hell. Our main character is Avery Cates. Cates is not a good guy, in fact he’s a very bad man. He’s a professional killer who goes through life assassinating people for what money he can get to survive. While the police know about Cates, he’s very good at not getting caught. He’s developed quite a reputation in fact.
Then there’s the Electric Church. A religious group that is growing into a world-dominating force, gaining members and converts daily. It’s members are known as Monks: cyborgs that still posses a human brain. When one meets a Monk – a scary-looking thing with wires coming out of its head – one is immediately scared stiff, as the Monk calmly and pleasantly engages you in conversion, telling you the merits of the Electric Church and why you should join.
Cates is set-up and is captured by someone high up in the police authority. He’s been caught for a reason: to be offered a deal, a hit. In exchange for a large amount of money and his freedom, he is to assassinate the head of the Electric Church. Why? Because to convert someone to the Electric Church involves killing the person and taking their brain. There’s a reason the Electric Church is growing so quickly, and eventually will simply take over the entire population, unless Cates can do something about it.
Written with the swagger and toughness of Blade Runner meets Stanley Kubrick, author Jeff Somers gives Cates a very unique and individual voice, setting the tone for The Electric Church, where anything can happen, and you need to keep reading to find out what’s next for Cates. The story continues in The Digital Plague, The Eternal Prison, and the forthcoming The Terminal State. A MAGE OF NONE MAGIC BY A. CHRISTOPHER DROWN: In the first book of the Heart of the Sisters series, A. Christopher Drown sets the stage for your ordinary fantasy novel with an apprentice magician – Niel – while traveling, finds himself caught up in a quest with an unusual group of people who think he’s much greater and stronger than he appears to be, but Niel soon learns that he has more of a role to play in this world.
THE CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT BY A. J. ADAMS: Anyone who has a worked a shift in any form of retail has stories to tell of those customers; A. J. Adams has experienced this personally after working in various forms of retail. In 2007 he decided that retail employees needed a voice and created Notalwaysright.com. Since then many turn to this therapeutic website for catharsis, therapy, or just a good laugh; while others use it as their forum to voice their anger, shock, and dumbfoundedness at some of the people that exist in this world. The Customer is Not Always Right collects one hundred of the most popular submitted stories, as well as some that were never published on the site. One of my favorites is this ditty from a flight attendant:
Flight attendant: “What can I help you with?”
Passenger #1: “The plane seems to be shaking a lot, and I almost spilled my bottle of water.”
Passenger #2: “Yeah, and it’s also really noisy. We can barely hear each other talk.”
Flight attendant: “Well, the shaking is the turbulence that the plane is flying through, and the noise is coming from the engines.”
Passenger #2: “Can’t you turn the engines off?” STEPHEN KING’S THE STAND, VOLUME 1: CAPTAIN TRIPS BY ROBERTO AGUIRE-SACASA, MIKE PERKINS, ET. AL.: After the success of the popular graphic novel series of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, Marvel has decided to take on the epic story of Stephen King’s The Stand. For those not familiar with the story: a government-made lethal virus gets out of the lab after an accident that has the now infected guard fleeing for the hills with his infected wife and kid. The virus spreads at an alarming rate and soon there’s only a select population left. These people have dreams of two people: Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg; they will have to choose whether they’ll be fighting on the side of good or evil. In true Marvel style, the artwork is stunning, combining elements of the TV mini-series, as well as incorporating exact scenes from the book; but Perkins also establishes his own style and look for The Stand. In Captain Trips, readers meet our main characters and see just how devastating this virus is, and to what extent the government will go to to prevent panic and keep things quiet. A must for any King fan, and for anyone interested in The Stand.
THE COURT OF THE AIR BY STEPHEN HUNT: Stephen Hunt’s debut novel, The Court of the Air, is a fun romp through the steampunk world as he successfully combines a Victorian, Dickensian feel with interesting machinery and a strange and unusual world. It is the story of two orphans – you can’t get more Dickensian than that! – who are on the run from various deadly and clandestine groups. There is Molly, who is being chased by assassins of a mysterious group; she fortunately finds some friends along the way and is able to go underground, into the sewers and caverns below, discovering another world. Then there is Oliver, who has been framed for his uncle’s death, and must flee for his life. He takes to the air, escaping the fey-hunting Special Guard, in a great air ship.. They both draw the attention of the Court of the Air, an unknown and secret organization that spells dread for all.
While this first book in the series is somewhat overloaded with gimmicks and gadgets and characters and things going on that can often lose the reader who must stay focused to follow the story, Hunt has nevertheless created a unique and entertaining steampunk story that continues in The Kingdom Beyond the Waves.
BY BLOOD WE LIVE EDITED BY JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS: Vampires and zombies continue to be incredibly popular, and after editing a collection of zombie stories in Living Dead, John Joseph Adams now turns to the tale of the vampire in By Blood We Live. Featuring stories from Stephen King to Neil Gaiman to Kelley Armstrong to Jane Yolen; after reading this book you’ll either be sick of the blood-sucking fiends or be stocking up on garlic and crosses.
The collection kicks off with Neil Gaiman’s twisted tale of Snow White moving on to the only short story Anne Rice has published, “The Master of Rampling Gate.” The book features thirty-six vampire stories including writers like Robert J. Sawyer, Garth Nix, and Eric Van Lustbader: writer’s you wouldn’t expect to be in this collection. It runs the gamut from the terrifying to the romantic to the steamy to the outlandish to the science fiction type. One of the most disturbing stories is from Harry Turtledove, “Under St. Peter’s,” as a newly elected pope must perform a sacred ritual under the gaze of an unknown order, where they travel deep beneath the Vatican and find a man waiting there, a man who has been there for a very long time, a man we all know very well . . . and he’s hungry for blood.
While overall readers may realize that there are only so many ways to tell a vampire story and that some featured in this collection may seem similar and somewhat mundane, By Blood We Live gives readers a chance to get their fill on these denizens of the night, as well as discovering a number of new authors they may never have planned to read. CATCHING FIRE BY SUZANNE COLLINS: We last left Katniss winner of the Hunger Games, and for the first time in history a co-winner with Peeta, but she knows what they did has upset the government and the President, who would love nothing more than to execute them for that they did. But the couple has become a sensation, worshiped and celebrated across the districts. Katniss’s actions have even sparked riots and rebellions in the other districts, which she never expected to do. The government doesn’t hesitate, stopping, destroying and killing those who are to blame, while Katniss wonder’s what her fate might be.
Meanwhile Katniss is also fighting with what her heart desires, but is it Peeta or her friend Gale. Who will she choose? Then the unbelievable happens, creating a series of events that brings the nightmare back to her and what she thought she was done with, she must now face again, only this time the stakes are raised even further.
Suzanne Collins is a talented writer with a story-telling style that is able to suck in any reader and keep them locked in and hooked to the very last page. There should be stickers on her books warning that once the reader starts, they won’t be able to stop! And once fans are done with Catching Fire, they only have to wait until August 24th, 2010, though they may want to check our her earlier series, The Underland Chronicles. THE LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER BY JOHN IRVING: In John Irving’s twelfth novel, the Twisted River of the title is a small logging and sawmill settlement in New Hampshire. Irving begins the book with a drowning and a death and then spends the next twenty pages with an in-depth history of the logging industry; finally in the second chapter some of his unique characters are introduced and it begins to feel like a classic Irving novel that fans love to read. A cook and his twelve-year old son have to flee when the boy accidentally kills a woman he thought was a bear with an iron skillet. And so begins a lifetime spent watching their backs, as the son grows up to become a successful novelist (emulating Irving’s footsteps).
Written in the style of A Prayer for Owen Meany, Irving likes to ply the reader with foreshadowing (and in some cases fiveshadowing) to set up what is to come. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Irving novel if there weren’t some unexpected events, as everyone knows this writer likes to be ruthless with his characters. Politics, the Vietnam War, abortion, and many other daily life troubles affect the characters, sending them off on unpredictable tangents. The Last Night in Twisted River begins in New Hampshire, then moves on to Boston and finally Toronto (where Irving has a home), taking the characters through their lives to the final sentence of the book, which is how Irving likes to begin his books: “He felt that the great adventure of his life was just beginning – as his father must have felt, in the throes of dire circumstances of his last night in Twisted River.
THE LOST SYMBOL BY DAN BROWN: Dan Brown begins his third book featuring the symbologist Robert Langdon with a trip on a private jet to our country’s capital. Readers will think Langdon has done pretty well for himself to be traveling in this way, when it is revealed that he is being flown to Washington DC after receiving an urgent call from a colleague to perform a lecture at the National Statuary Hall at the Capitol. There he finds an empty room with no indications of a lecture to be performed, but instead a recently severed hand with the fingers posed in a specific way, the index and thumb tattooed.
And so begins The Lost Symbol adventure, as Brown takes readers on a ride they won’t soon forget. Langdon soon finds himself forcefully helping Inoue Sato, the head of the CIA’s Office of Security as they attempt to track down the owner of the severed hand, Langdon’s close friend Peter Solomon. Brown has taken his time with this novel, doing the research and creating a fuller, more rounded story over The Da Vinci Code, keeping the reader more entranced with what’s going on, but also making sure to inform them about the subject and history of Freemasonry and how it all ties in with the Founding Fathers.
The solution to the overall mystery becomes a relatively obvious one for any skilled mystery readers, but the story is compelling, filled with details and supposed facts that will have readers wondering about the founding of this very country and who these people really were.
BOOKLIFE: STRATEGIES AND SURVIVAL TIPS FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY WRITER BY JEFF VANDERMEER: Jeff VanderMeer is a writer who’s done a little bit of everything, whether it’s publishing compelling fiction, editing his own anthologies (as well as co-editing with his wife, Anne), going on book tours for author appearances, or presenting writer workshops around the country. He’s the sort of guy who has a lot of say about writing and publishing and advice he can offer just about any level of writer. Fortunately, he’s done just that in his new book Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st-Century Writer.
Booklife is a book for any kind of writer whether he’s someone who’s never published anything and is looking to make it in the business, or whether she has a few books under her belt and is looking to make it really big. Booklife has a little something for everyone, no matter what sort of writer they are. The book is divided into two parts: Public Booklife, which covers how to present both yourself and your work as a writer, how best to organize and carry out successful signings and book tours, and – most importantly – creating and managing your goals so you can really make it as a writer. The second part, Private Booklife, covers some of the mechanics of writer, how important feedback is – and not just from friends and family, and using some of the lessons from the first part of the book in different and constructive ways to make your writing the best it can be.
And it doesn’t all end when you reach the last page of Booklife, there is the booklifenow.com website, filled with helpful articles, tips and strategies, updated three times a week, and affiliated with Publisher’s Weekly Booklife portal. Booklife is not just a book, but a whole package experience that gives you ideas and suggestions to help you achieve your goals; it’s not necessary to do every thing this book tells you; it’s up to get what you want out of it, which depends on how much work you put into it. But Booklife will certainly help you along the way to becoming that bestselling writer you’ve always dreamed of. CANTICLE BY KEN SCHOLES: In his debut novel, Lamentation, Ken Scholes set the stage for his five-book epic, bringing his complex cast of characters together to the catastrophic ruins of the once great city and library of Windwir. Now, in the second book of the Psalms of Isaak, Scholes sends his characters off in opposite directions, on their own quests and journeys, each with different goals. Along the way, some will meet as friends, some as enemies, some as lovers. Readers will also learn more about the incredible world of the Named Lands and the Outlying Regions, as the characters travel deep into them, uncovering the ancient history of this realm that has been hidden, kept secret, misunderstood, and barely hinted at in Lamentation. Scholes continues his genre-blending of fantasy with science fiction (or is it the other way round?) with a new form of invisible assassin able to move faster and more deadly than the Rudolfo’s trained spies and warriors, as well as his memorable mechoservitors . Readers will be hooked from beginning to end, and then left waiting for the third book due out fall 2010; however there is a free story available at the TOR site for those impatient set within the same world.
DEPRAVED BY BRYAN SMITH: When the world is getting you down, and the problems seem never ending, take a trip to the quaint, quiet town of Hopkins Bend, Tennessee. Only, don’t spend too much time interacting with the locals, or checking out the sights and surrounding countryside; in fact, you should probably only stop by Hopkins Bend if it’s an absolute emergency and only for a few minutes. Because there’s a big dark secret about Hopkins Bend that visitors know nothing about, because the visitors never make it out alive. Stories surround the town of bizarre practices, unholy rituals, murder, and even cannibalism. Each year the Holiday Feast is celebrated and for any tourist who doesn’t know better, coming to Hopkins Bend will be the last stop you make in your lifetime. So you should just stay away from the town, but the book Depraved by Bryan Smith about the town is great, with gritty, gory details, and no limit to the . . . depravity . . . which will have you reading on, turning the page, even though you can’t bear to find out any more.
DEAN KOONTZ’S FRANKENSTEIN: BOOK THREE DEAD AND ALIVE BY DEAN KOONTZ: Sadly this final showdown, in the concluding volume of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein, doesn’t deliver the climax and denouement that addicted readers were impatiently waiting years for. The many monsters that Victor Helios has created are starting to malfunction, performing cannibalistic on themselves, as well as attacking and killing innocents. Helios pretends it is a minor thing, capturing those that are malfunctioning and dumping them in a specific place where all his other rejected freaks are; little does he know there is an uprising forming developing with these rejects, as they come up with an ultimate plan to capture and kill their master. Meanwhile, Deucalion is working his way through Helios’s creatures, killing and shutting them down one by one in an attempt to get closer to his creator. And the detectives who are on the case are doing their best to stay live, being greatly outmatched against these monsters. It all comes down to a final scene that I won’t reveal for the readers, but will ultimately leave everyone feeling dissatisfied and unrequited.
DEAN KOONTZ’S FRANKENSTEIN: BOOK TWO CITY OF NIGHT BY DEAN KOONTZ: In Prodigal Son, readers learned of the existence of Victor Helios’s (formerly known as Dr. Frankenstein) creatures which he has continued to make over the centuries. In City of Night, readers learn the extent to which these many hundreds to creatures have infiltrated every level of society. They look much like you or I, but are incredibly powerful, and in many ways unstoppable. The creature known as Deucalion – the original monster created by Frankenstein – has returned to New Orleans to try and stop them and end Victor’s experiments, along with the help of Detectives Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison. Carson and Michael have a growing relationship for each other that aches to stretch beyond the boundaries of professional partners, but they know they have to stop Helios first before they can give into their desires. While Deucalion was programmed to never harm his master, Helios, he infiltrates the complex network, taking down the creatures and freaks, which he has no qualms about doing.
LEVIATHAN BY SCOTT WESTERFELD: Most people are familiar with the events that sparked the inception of World War I, namely the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. Leviathan begins with the assassination, but then goes on its own alternate history tangent where their son, Prince Aleksander, must flee with his loyal servants from those looking to kill him. And then Westerfeld introduces the Clankers: great mechanical machines – some the size of small buildings – that travel across the European continent battling each other with their mighty guns. Aleksander is traveling in the Cyklop Stormwalker.
Meanwhile, Westerfeld introduces Deryn Sharp, a teenage girl looking to be an airman in the British Air Service. That’s right, airman, and she cuts her hair short and keeps herself disguised as a guy and soon joins the crew – through a string of unusual circumstances and adventures – of the great ship Leviathan. The British are Darwinists, and instead of monstrous machines, they use genetically-engineered amalgamations of animals to create enormous creatures. The Leviathan is a massive flying whale that houses an entire ecosystem, as well as a full crew within its mighty girth.
After an intense air battle, the Leviathan must flee, its injured body lumbering along, until it crash lands into the Alps, not too far from the Prince, who soon pays the strange creature a visit and our two heroes meet for the first time. And as the creature heals itself and Deryn and Aleksander get to know each other, the first book comes to a close. While the alternate, fantastic world setting is somewhat reminiscent of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Leviathan focuses more on setting the stage without dealing any epic punches, which will likely be made in successive books in the series.
Leviathan is a beautifully designed book, and deserves some awards for this, with its wonderfully Steampunk eye-catching cover, the inlay of the Darwinist/Clanker map of Europe, and the beautiful illustrations within the pages. The story will capture you, the design entrance you, leaving you wanting the next book in the series.