New Scifi and Fantasy Releases: Week of August 8th

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As usual, this time of month is a slow one for new releases and although this week's list is pretty paltry there are still a couple of titles here that have caught my interest. The Madman of Venice by Sophie Masson includes both pirates and Venice, two subjects I always enjoy reading about, so I'll probably give this book a try. The Bone Palace by Amanda Downum also looks like a book worth checking out as does Death Most Definite, a new urban fantasy by Trent Jamieson.

So what do you think? Do you plan on adding any of this week's new releases to your book shelf?

Hope you have a great reading week!




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Shift
Tim Kring & Dale Peck
Genre:
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: August 10

A new caliber of thriller set at the collision of ’60s counterculture and the rise
of dark forces in world government. Heroes creator Tim Kring injects history with a supernatural, hallucinogenic what-if.

Set in the crucible of the 1960s, Shift is the story of Chandler Forrestal, a man whose life is changed forever when he is unwittingly dragged into a CIA mind-control experiment. After being given a massive dose of LSD, Chandler de¬velops a frightening array of mental powers. With his one-in-a-billion brain chemistry, Chandler’s heightened perception uncovers a plot to assassi¬nate President Kennedy.

Propelled to prevent the conspiracy of assassi¬nation and anarchy, Chandler becomes a target for deadly forces in and out of the government and is pursued across a simmering landscape peopled by rogue CIA agents, Cuban killers, Mafia madmen, and ex-Nazi scientists…all the while haunted by a beautiful woman with her own scandalous past to purge, her own score to settle. Chased across America, will Chandler be able to harness his “shift” and rewrite history?

Combining the nonstop style of Ludlum with the sinister, tangled conspiracies of DeLillo and Dick, and featuring cameos from Lee Harvey Oswald to Timothy Leary to J. Edgar Hoover, Shift is a thriller guaranteed to be equal parts heart-stopping and thought-provoking.


The Three Furies
Kaza Kingsley
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: August 10

Erec Rex continues his quest to become king in Kaza Kingsley's The Three Furies.



The Madman of Venice
Sophie Masson
Genre: YA
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 10 (US Debut)

Romance and mystery merge in this suspenseful tale inspired by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

Venice in 1602 is a vibrant and charming city. Yet beneath this splendor lies a sinister underworld in which murderous pirates and conniving noblemen have woven a tangled network.

Along with his daughter, Celia; his clerk, Ned; and his sister, Mistress Bess Quickly, Master Ashby, a prosperous merchant, sets forth from London to Venice to investigate the pirate attacks that have been plaguing English ships. But the group's mission turns out to be far more than they bargained for when Ashby is beseeched to find Sarah Tedeschi, a Jewish girl who has vanished from the Venetian Ghetto after being accused of witchcraft by the powerful Countess of Montemoro.

Is Sarah's disapperance somehow connected to the pirate attacks? Nothing is what it seems as Ned and Celia uncover secrets that have been hidden for far too long.




The Bone Palace
Amanda Downum
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit Us
Release Date: August 10

Death is no stranger in the city of Erisín, but some deaths attract more attention than others.

When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisín–a long-dead sorceress is making a bid not only for renewed life but for the throne as well, and Isyllt’s former lover is caught in her schemes. Soon Isyllt is torn between the living and the dead, between the man she still loves, and the royal family she’s sworn to defend.
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, Isyllt must decide who she’s prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls into blood and fire.


The Terminal State (Avery Cates, Bk 4)
Jeff Somers
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August

Avery Cates is an army man. Between the army’s new dental plan and a set of first class augments, he’s been given a second chance – albeit a quick one.
When a corrupt officer decides to make some money on the side by selling new recruits, Cates finds himself in uncharted territory. Sold to the highest bidder, his visions of escape and revenge quickly come to an end when he realizes who’s bought him – and for what. Because the high bidder is Canny Orel himself. And he wants Cates to do one last job as the System slides into chaos. Cates will have one shot at getting back at Canny – but this time, Canny is holding all the cards.


Death Most Definite
Trent Jamieson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 10

Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that’s exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him.
Steven is no stranger to death-Mr. D’s his boss after all-but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family.
Mr. D’s gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss- that is, Death himself.


Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love
Chris Roberson
Genre: Graphic Novels
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: August 10

When supernatural artifacts from the Homelands begin surfacing in the modern world, it falls to Cinderella, Fabletown's best kept (and best dressed) secret agent to stop the illegal trafficking. But can Cindy foil the dark plot before Fabletown and its hidden, exiled inhabitants are exposed once and for all? And how does her long lost Fairy Godmother factor into the equation?
Whether she's soaring through clouds, deep-sea diving, or cracking jaws, Cindy travels from Manhattan to Dubai and hooks up with a handsome, familiar accomplice who may be harboring secret motives of his own. Meanwhile, trouble brews back home in Fabletown when Cindy's overworked, underappreciated assistant decides to seize control of The Glass Slipper, Cindy's exclusive shoe boutique.