New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of February 27

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Yesterday was my birthday and I'm now trying to come to grips with the fact that my 20's really are behind me, and that I am firmly entrenched in the 30's. So far 31 hasn't been that much fun but I'll wait to see how it plays out.

On the plus side, I treated myself to a few birthday books from The Book Depository, one of which includes Patricia Brigg's new release, River Marked. I was also tempted to get Patrick Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear, which is one of the books that I have been anticipating the most, but I'm gong to have to wait until the price goes down on that one. Though next week Jasper Fforde's newest Thursday Next book will be released, so it's going to be a tie as to which one I'll be splurging on.
Decisions...decisions...

And in addition to my books, I also received this wonderful rendition of "Happy Birthday" from my adorable niece:

(I'm pretty sure she does know my name but got confused because her own name is Sima. Or maybe not. Whatever, I'll take what I can get)

In the meantime I'm actually on a bit of a non-genre kick, and I'm very much enjoying Juliet, by Anne Fortier and The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond.

Hope you all have a great reading week!




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A Hundred Words for Hate (A Remy Chandler Novel)
Thomas E. Sniegoski
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 1

As an Angel, Remy possesses powers and skills only to be used if the situation calls for it. And the sudden reappearance of the Garden of Eden is just such a situation. Two opposing forces of immortals want the Key to the Gates of Eden, so Remy must turn for help to a fallen angel who is sometimes friend, sometimes foe-and always deadly.

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A Mighty Fortress (Safehold, Bk 3)
David Webber
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 1

Young Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm. Cayleb and Sharleyan have created the Charisian Empire, the greatest naval power in the history of Safehold, and they’ve turned Charis into a place of refuge for all who treasure freedom.

Their success may prove short-lived. The Church of God Awaiting, which controls most of Safehold, has decreed their destruction. Mother Church’s entire purpose is to prevent the very things to which Charis is committed. Since the first attempt to crush the heretics failed, the Church has no choice but to adopt some of the hated Charisian innovations for themselves. Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path.

But there are still matters about which the Church knows nothing, including Cayleb and Sharleyan’s adviser, friend, and guardian— the mystic warrior-monk named Merlin Athrawes. Merlin knows all about battles against impossible odds, because he is in fact the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died a thousand years before. As Nimue, Merlin saw the entire Terran Federation go down in fire and slaughter at the hands of a foe it could not defeat. He knows that Safehold is the last human planet in existence, and that the stasis the Church was created to enforce will be the human race’s death sentence if it is allowed to stand.

The juggernaut is rumbling down on Charis, but Merlin Athrawes and a handful of extraordinary human beings stand in its path. The Church is about to discover just how potent the power of human freedom truly is.

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A Touch of Gold
Joyce and Jim Lavene
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 1

Long before he became curator of the Duck Historical Museum, Max Caudle discovered its greatest treasure-a wooden chest full of gold. But a thief with his eye on the gold fires a cannonball into the museum, destroying the building-and killing Max.

Injured in the explosion, Dae finds her abilities have been amplified, overwhelming her with intense visions every time she touches an object. Now if ex-FBI agent-and burgeoning beau-Kevin Brickman can help Dae decipher her visions, she just might be able to stop the modern-day buccaneer from killing again.

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Accidentally Catty
Dakota Cassidy
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 1

Katie Woods never thought she'd be forty-one, divorced, and thrust back into the dating world. To start fresh, Katie uproots her veterinary practice to upstate New York-not exactly the hottest dating scene on the planet. But when an unconscious cougar appears at her clinic, Katie's newly single life gets a much needed jolt of the supernatural kind.

After Katie examines the cougar and leaves him caged overnight, she's shocked to find a big strapping specimen of young, hot man in its place. And when the scratch she got during the exam results in some unnatural side effects, Katie has more to deal with then her animal attraction to a much younger guy-she has to figure how to stop herself from becoming a cougar of the four-legged variety.

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After Hours: Tales from Ur-Bar
Joshua Palmatier - Editor
Patricia Bray - Editor
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy Anthology
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 1


Science fiction and fantasy readers have long shown an affinity for a good "bar story". Now some of today's most inventive scriveners have decided to tell their own tall tales-from an alewife's attempt to transfer the gods' curse to Gilgamesh, to Odin's decision to introduce Vikings to the Ur-Bar, from the Holy Roman Emperor's barroom bargain, to a demon hunter who may just have met his match in the ultimate magic bar, to a bouncer who discovers you should never let anyone in after hours in a world terrorized by zombies.

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Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce, Bk 16)
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 1

The keep of Westwind, located in the cold mountainous heights called the Roof of the World, is facing attack by the adjoining land of Gallos. Arthanos, son and heir to the ailing Prefect of Gallos, wishes to destroy Westwind because the idea of a land, no matter how small and how isolated, where women rule is total anathema to him.

Saryn, Arms-Commander of Westwind, is dispatched to a neighboring land, Lornth, to seek support against the Gallosians. But Zeldyan, regent of Lornth, has problems in her family. To secure Zeldyan’s aid, Saryn must pledge her personal support--and any Westwind guard forces she can raise--to the defense of Zeldyan and her son.

The fate of four lands, including Westwind, rest on Saryn's actions.

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Blackout: Cal Leandros Novel
Rob Thurman
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 1

When half-human Cal Leandros wakes up on a beach littered with the slaughtered remains if a variety of hideous creatures, he's not that concerned. In fact, he can't remember anything-including who he is.

And that's just the way his deadly enemies like it...

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Daybreak Zaro
John Barnes
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: March 1

A year has passed since "Daybreak" when techno viruses were unleashed into the atmosphere, destroying everything electronic and mechanical they contacted.

The chaos and panic that followed split the United States government in two. And new societies, populated by "tribes," recognize no authority within their boundaries. If either government is going to retake the country, the United Tribes will have to be recognized.

And the "Daybreakers" who caused the technological catastrophe are preparing to strike again.

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Dead on Delivery
Eileen Rendahl
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 1

There are two men who have bitten the dust after a delivery from Messenger Melina Markowitz. As she tries to put together the pieces of this puzzle, she discovers that the two victims share common friends, common unexplained absences, and a common crime. Now, dark forces from the local community have been unleashed, drawing Melina into the web of a powerful woman, her voodoo, and her vengeance...

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Demon Glass (Hex Hall, Bk 2)
Rachel Hawkins
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: March 1

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Acher to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

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Demon Song
Cat Adams
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 1

In a world where magic is real and the supernatural is almost normal, bodyguard Celia Graves has survived a vampire attack which made her a half-vampire and awakened her latent Siren abilities. She’s battled a Siren Queen to the death and twice faced down a demon that wants to kill her--slowly. She’s also had her heart broken--twice--by her old flame, magician Bruno DeLuca.

Perhaps the worst thing was the discovery that Celia’s life has been warped by a curse laid on her during childhood--the cause of everything from the death of her little sister to the murder of her best friend the same night that Celia became an Abomination.

An ancient rift between the demonic dimension and our own--sealed during the destruction of Atlantis--begins to open, threatening to loose all the demons of hell on humanity (including the one personally bent on destroying Celia). Celia’s hellish recent experiences have given her the unique combination of abilities needed to close the rift. But to overcome the curse, which nearly guarantees her failure, she’ll need to join forces with people she no longer trusts...and put people she has come to care about directly in harm’s way.

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Falling Under
Gwen Hayes
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: NAL
Release Date: March 1

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams.

As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear.

And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.

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Hastur Lord (A Novel of Darkover)
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Deborah J. Ross
Genre: Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 1

Regis Hastur, lord of the most powerful of the seven domains of Darkover, learns that the Terran Federation's operatives are pressuring Darkover to give up its closed world status and become a full member of this intergalactic empire. But Regis knows that if Darkover joins the Federation his beloved home planet will become nothing more than a military hub, sapped of its resources and cultural heritage. Still there are those among Darkover's ruling families who are tempted by the promise of increased technology that membership in the Federation would bring.

Meanwhile, Regis learns that he has an older illegitimate brother, Rinaldo. But his joy in finding his sibling is short-lived, as Regis's enemies try to force him to abdicate leadership of Darkover in favor of his older brother. They hope to manipulate Rinaldo into agreeing to join the Federation. But unbeknownst to anyone, Rinaldo has a plan of his own...

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Jaclyn the Ripper
Karl Alexander
Genre:
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 1

In Time After Time, H.G. Wells used his time machine to chase after Jack the Ripper who was on a killing spree in 1979 San Francisco. After H.G. met Amy Catherine Robbins, the love of his life, and banished the serial killer to the indefinite future, H.G. and Amy returned to 1893 London, believing they could live happily ever after.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. In Jaclyn the Ripper, Amy returns to the present to tell her parents what happened to their missing daughter, accidentally freeing Jack from his prison in the far future while also transforming Jack into a woman. Jaclyn the Ripper sets out on a new killing spree in 2010 Los Angeles, vowing revenge on H.G. and Amy.

H.G. follows Amy to modern L.A., but neither he nor Amy knows Jaclyn is on their trail. In the brave new world of the new millennium, H.G. must navigate a world of cell phones, the internet, and identity theft and find his wayward wife . . . before the Ripper slays her. With the panache, excitement, and thrills that made Time After Time so popular, Karl Alexander has penned another winning tale of Wells: author, inventor, and unlikely hero.

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Late Eclipses (October Daye, Bk 4)
Seanan McGuire
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 1

October "Toby" Daye is half-human, half-fae-the only changeling who's earned knighthood. But when someone begins targeting her nearest and dearest, it becomes clear that Toby is being set up to take the fall for everything that's happening.

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Never Again (Wizards of Nevermore, Bk 1)
Michele Bardsley
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: March 1

Welcome to Nevermore, Texas, population 503, where witches and wizards live side by side with humans, and where witch Lucy Rackmore is in trouble. Ever since her former lover snuffed out her magical abilities, everyone in town is looking to settle a score with her family. And Lucy's only hope for survival may be her ex-brother-in-law-whom her sister betrayed and nearly killed.

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Other Kingdoms
Richard Matheson
Genre:
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 1

1918. A young American soldier, recently wounded in the Great War, Alex White comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul. True, the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent spirits, but surely those are just old wives’ tales.

Aren’t they?

A frightening encounter in the forest leads Alex into the arms of Magda Variel, an alluring red-haired widow rumored to be a witch. She warns him to steer clear of the wood and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself. Drawn to its verdant mysteries, he finds love, danger…and wonders that will forever change his view of the world.

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Nerds : How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies, and Trekkies Can Save Americaand Why They Might Be Our Last Hope
David Anderegg
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Tarcher
Release Date: March 3

Thick glasses, socially awkward, a math whiz with a pocket protector- everyone knows what a nerd is. But where did this stereotype come from? Children aren't born knowing what a "nerd" or "geek" is, so why do they know by the age of five or six that they don't want to be one? In this revised and updated paperback edition of his thought-provoking book, family psychotherapist and psychology professor David Anderegg reveals how the systematic disparagement of "nerds" in our culture is bad for our children and even worse for America. In Nerds, Anderegg examines why science and engineering have become socially poisonous disciplines, why adults wink at the derision of "nerdy" kids, and what the cost of this rising tide of anti- intellectualism is to both our children and our nation. Drawing upon education research, psychological theory, and his own interviews with nerdy and non-nerdy kids alike, Anderegg argues that in order to prepare rising generations to compete in the global marketplace, we need to revisit how we think about "nerds."

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Primal Bonds (Shifters Unbound, Bk 2)
Jennifer Ashley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: March1

When a female Shifter comes to town seeking refuge, Feline Shifter Sean Morrissey claims the new arrival and finds a beautiful woman who looks him straight in the eye without fear, stirring the mating frenzy within him.

To relocate to a new Shiftertown, half-Fae, half-Shifter Andrea Gray must accept a new mate. But Andrea's intense attraction to Sean is something she never expected-a perilous complication for a woman with a troubled past.

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River Marked
Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: March 1

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...
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Shalador's Lady (A Black Jewels Novel)
Anne Bishop
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 1


For years the Shalador people suffered the cruelties of the Queens who punished those who defied them. And even though the refugees have found sanctuary in Dena Nehele, they have never been able to call it home.

Now that Dena Nehele has been cleansed of tainted Blood, the Rose- Jeweled Queen, Lady Cassidy, knows that restoring the land will require all her heart and courage as she summons the untested power within her.

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Sleight of Hand
Peter S. Beagle
Genre: FantasyAnthology
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Release Date: March 1

Abundant with tales of quiet heroism, life-changing decisions, and determined searches for deep answers, this extraordinary collection of contemporary fantasy explores the realms between this world and the next. From the top of the Berlin Wall to the depths of the darkest seas, gods and monsters battle their enemies and innermost fears, yet mere mortals make the truly difficult choices. A slightly regretful author and a vengeful-but-dilapidated dragon square off over an abandoned narrative; the children of the Shark God demand painful truths from their chronically absent father; and a bereaved women sacrifices herself to change one terrible moment, effortlessly reversed by a shuffle of the deck. Whether melancholic, comedic, or deeply tragic, each new tale is suffused with misdirection and discovery, expressed in the rich and mesmerizing voice of a masterful storyteller.

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The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two)
Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 1


"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

My name is Kvothe.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view-a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man's Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, an escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe uncovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, is forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived...until Kvothe.

In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

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Twilight's Dawn
Anne Bishop
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: March 1

Anne Bishop's "darkly fascinating"* (SF Site) Black Jewel novels have enthralled readers and critics alike with their mixture of fantasy, intrigue, and romance. Now in Twilight's Dawn, Bishop returns to the Blood realm with four all-new captivating novellas.