New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of August 5-11

Tweet

Science Fiction 

When Diplomacy Fails
Michael Z. Williamson
Publisher: Baen
Release Date: August 7


Alex Marlow and Ripple Creek Security's best personal security detail return to action. This time, they really don't like their principal, World Bureau Minister Joy Herman Highland–a highly-placed bureaucrat with aspirations to elected office. Even worse, Highland’s assistant wants to publicize every movement and action for his boss’s pending campaign, which is anathema to good security.With a person of this status, it's not a case of someone wanting her dead. The only question is how many people want her dead, and what are they bringing to the fight?The enemies are from without, within and all over. They have resources, funding and political cover. Ripple Creek needs to be cautious.But the enemy also needs to worry. They’re going to be getting in each others' way in the process of carrying out their plans. And Ripple Creek has no qualms about explosions on galactic news. In fact, they enjoy it.

Fantasy

Charon's Claw
R.A. Salvatore
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Release Date: August 7

In the 3rd book of the #4 New York Times best-selling Neverwinter Saga, Drizzt draws his swords once more to aid his friends. His lover, Dahlia Sin’felle, can speak of nothing but the moment she will face the Netherese lord Herzgo Alegni once again. Drizzt has already followed a trail of vengeance beside Dahlia. Can he justify one more battle to settle a grudge he does not understand? Artemis Entreri too seeks vengeance. He offers to aid Dahlia in her mission to destroy Alegni. But Charon’s Claw, Alegni’s sentient sword, dominates Entreri’s movements—if not his mind. And then there’s the way Entreri looks at Dahlia. Can Drizzt trust his old foe?

King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Bk 2)
Mark Lawrence
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: August 7

The Broken Empire burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings battle for the all-throne. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.

A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds. Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king.

Faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan

The Wild Road
Jennifer Roberson
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 7

Alisanos, the deepwood, is more than just a forest...
...it is sentient, and predatory. Home to demons and worse, its mercurial boundaries can suddenly shift miles in any direction to encompass previously safe human lands - and those taken by the deepwood are forever changed.
Audrun, a human woman trapped within the forest, is reunited with her four children, only to learn that each has been marked by the deepwood's wild magic. And her newly born fifth child, captured by a winged demon, is still missing. Audrun has sworn to find the infant, but can a mere human possibly hope to outwit the monstrous inhabitants of Alisanos...and the nightmarish deepwood itself?

Libriomancer
Jim C. Hines.
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 7

saac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically "reach" into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that "leaked "from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . 

The Fate of the Dwarves
Markus Heitz
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 7

There has been no word from the courageous warrior Tungdil since the bitter struggle that took place at the Black Abyss. Dragons, magicians, and the cruel älfar have advanced far into the kingdom Girdlegard, ruthlessly seizing vast areas of land. It seems that the dwarves are facing their next battle with very little hope of survival.

But then the inexplicable happens; a dwarf warrior dressed in black armor returns from the abyss - with a formidable army in tow. This warrior calls himself Tungdil, and for his most loyal friend Ireheart and his allies, this means a new hope. But soon doubts begin arise . . . Could this really be Tungdil the dwarf, or is this warrior following his own dark agenda? It is a question of the future of Girdlegard - and the future of all the dwarves.

In the final installment of this spectacular fantasy epic, the greatest of the dwarves' adventures begins . . 

The Constantine Affliction
T. Aaron Payton
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Release Date: August 7

1864. London is a city in transition. The Constantine Affliction–a strange malady that kills some of its victims and physically transforms others into the opposite sex–has spread scandal and upheaval throughout society. Scientific marvels and disasters, such as clockwork courtesans, the alchemical fires of Whitechapel, electric carriages, and acidic monsters lurking in the Thames, have forever altered the face of the city.

Pembroke “Pimm” Hanover is an aristocrat with an interest in criminology, who uses his keen powers of observation to assist the police or private individuals–at least when he’s sober enough to do so. Ellie Skyler, who hides her gender behind the byline “E. Skye,” is an intrepid journalist driven by both passion and necessity to uncover the truth, no matter where it hides.

When Pimm and Skye stumble onto a dark plot that links the city’s most notorious criminal overlord with the Queen’s new consort, famed scientist Sir Bertram Oswald, they soon find the forces of both high and low society arrayed against them. Can they save the city from the arcane machinations of one of history’s most monsters–and uncover the shocking origin of...

THE CONSTANTINE AFFLICTION

Shadowlands
Violette Malan
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 7

The long-awaited sequel to Violette Malan's acclaimed debut novel, "The Mirror Prince."
The war in the Land of the Faerie has finally ended. Prince Cassandra dispatches Stormwolf, formerly a Hound but cured by his prince's magic and restored to the Rider he once was, to the Shadowlands to call home the People who remain refugees there. But Stormwolf finds the Hounds of the Wild Hunt now prey upon the souls of the humans, draining them of the magic which is the very lifeblood of the People. With the help of Valory Martin, a mortal psychic, Stormwolf must find the magic needed to defeat the Hunt before it's too late.

My Favorite Fangs: The Story of the Von Trapp Family Vampires
Alan Goldsher
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 7

Maria von Trapp is sweet, innocent, and can sing like an angel. Oh, and she’s also a bloodthirsty vampire. When Maria is kicked out of the Abbey where she’s been residing for the past thousand or so years, she lands a job caretaking the family von Trapp, a rowdy clan in need of some serious discipline… or vampirification. After Maria turns the von Trapp children into children of the night and marries the von Trapp patriarch, the family seems destined for eternal (really, really eternal) bliss. But Hitler’s Undeath Squads are on the march, intent on ridding Europe of bloodsuckers. And Maria will have to do everything in her power—supernatural or otherwise —to save her vampire brood. In the open vein of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Alan Goldsher's My Favorite Fangs is a hilarious horror novel that will have readers screaming, ”Do Re Mi.” Or just plain screaming.

The Grass King's Concubine
Kari Sperring
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: August 7

When a wealthy young woman, obsessed with a childhood vision of a magical Shining Palace, sets out with her true love to search for a legendary land, she discovers the devastated WorldBelow - the realm of the Grass King - and the terrifying Cadre, who take her prisoner, and demand she either restore the king's concubine... or replace her.

The Iron Wyrm Affair
Lilith Saintcrow
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 7

Emma Bannon, Prime sorceress in the service of the Empire, has a mission: to protect Archibald Clare, a failed, unregistered mentath. His skills of deduction are legendary, and her own sorcery is not inconsiderable. It doesn’t much help that they dislike each other, or that Bannon’s Shield, Mikal, might just be a traitor himself. Or that the conspiracy killing registered mentaths and sorcerers alike will just as likely kill them as seduce them into treachery toward their Queen. In an alternate London where illogical magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head, Bannon and Clare now face hostility, treason, cannon fire, black sorcery, and the problem of reliably finding hansom cabs.

The game is afoot…

The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2012 
edited by Rich Horton 
Publisher: Prime Books 
Release Date: August 8

From the publisher's web site: This fourth volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Kij Johnson, Kelly Link, Paul McAuley, RJ Parker, Robert Reed, Rachel Swirsky, Catherynne M. Valente, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, F&SF, Strange Horizons, Subterranean, Tor.com, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

Young Adult

Courtship and Curses
Marissa Doyle
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: Aug 7

Sophie’s entrance into London society isn’t what she thought it would be: Mama isn’t there to guide her, Papa is buried in his work fighting Napoleon, and Sophie’s newly acquired limp keeps her from dancing at any of those glittering balls. If it weren’t for her shopping escapades with her new French friend Amélie and a flirtation with the dashing Lord Woodbridge, she would think this season a complete disaster.

But when someone uses magic to attack Papa the night of Sophie’s first ball, her problems escalate, especially when it becomes clear that all the members of the War Cabinet are being targeted. Can she catch the culprit and keep her own magic powers hidden long enough to win herself a match?

Girl of Nightmares (Anna, Bk 2)
Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: August 7

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with. Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor. 

Glitch
Heather Anastasiu
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 7

In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.

In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.

Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure
James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Release Date: August 6

One last chance...
For Max, Fang, Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy.
Before it all ends.

Are you ready for the final chapter? Are you ready for the ultimate flight? Because THIS IS IT. One last incredible, explosive adventure with an astonishing ending that no one could have seen coming.

Precinct 13
Tate Hallaway
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: August 7

Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment... When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off. After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1)
Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel
Release Date: August 7

Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.



 

Rivals and Retribution (13 to Life #5)
Shannon Delany
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 7

In Rivals and Retribution, the fifth book in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany, Pietr and Jessie will find themselves caught in a pack war with a new breed of werewolves.

Jessie Gillmansen is in trouble again and she's in for the fight of her life--and Pietr's! With Marlaena’s dangerous wolf pack putting more pressure on the Rusakova family, change is inevitable and when it comes, it brings a heavy price that forces Alexi into action to save his youngest brother's heart, head, and life. In the stunning conclusion of this celebrated paranormal series two werewolf families fight for control of the small town of Junction, control of each other and--most elusive of all--control of themselves.

Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: August 7

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Urban Fantasy

Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6)
Chloe Neill
Publisher: New American Library
Release Date: August 7

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

Queen of Wands
John Ringo
Publisher: Baen
Release Date: August 7


Barbara Everette has a problem.  It seems Janea, Barbara’s assistant and The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith's best operative, has been thrown into a coma by some very nasty magic she’s stirred up. Barbara must track down the perpetrators and break the spell or Janea's soul will be forever lost on the astral plane. Oh, and if she can't break the spell, zombies will destroy all mankind.

Meanwhile, Janea, a high-dollar call girl, stripper and High Priestess of Freya when she isn’t fighting demons, must contend with a spiritual journey of her own.  It’s a journey into Janea’s acceptance of herself in all her dimensions (and what dimensions they are!). Where to locate one’s true inner essence? At a science fiction convention, of course. But when rescuers pursue Janea into her vision of a geeky alternate reality, we find this is one science fiction convention where the Guest of Honor could turn out to be Death Himself.

Finally, the Christian soccer mom and the Norse priestess stripper face their greatest challenge ever when an ancient Old One rears Her ugly face, and the Mother of Darkness walks among us. Since this is one Mother who is quite immune to any conventional power, including nuclear weapons, it seems humanity’s only hope is God. The question being: Is God willing to save humanity? 

Fortunately for the rest of us, Barbara and Janea are determined to fight to the last ounce of faith to find out.

Seawitch (Greywalker #7)
Kat Richardson
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: August 7

A quarter century ago, the Seawitch cruised away from her dock and disappeared with everyone on board. Now, the boat has mysteriously returned to her old berth in Seattle and the insurance company has hired Harper to find out what happened. But Harper is not the only one investigating. Seattle Police Detective Rey Solis is a good cop, albeit one who isn’t comfortable with the creepy cases that always seem to end up in Harper’s lap. As Solis focuses on the possible murder of a passenger’s wife, Harper’s investigation leads her to a powerful being who may be responsible for the disappearance of the Seawitch’s passengers and crew.

Two Weeks' Notice (Revivalist #2)
by Rachel Caine
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: August 7

After dying and being revived with the experimental drug Returne, Bryn Davis is theoretically free to live her unlife—with regular doses to keep her going. But Bryn knows that the government has every intention of keeping a tight lid on Pharmadene’s life-altering discovery, no matter the cost.

And when some of the members of a support group for Returne addicts suddenly disappear, Bryn begins to wonder if the government is methodically removing a threat to their security, or if some unknown enemy has decided to run the zombies into the ground…(less) 

In the House of the Wicked (Remy Chandler, Bk 5)
Thomas E. Sniegoski 
Publisher: Roc 
Release Date: August 7

Remy Chandler is about to go where he’s not
wanted...
PI Remy Chandler has always been able to rely on his angelic powers when the situation called for it. But now his human and angelic natures are sharing the same space, and Remy can feel himself becoming more and more volatile. Then Ashlie Berg, a young woman who is like a daughter to him, vanishes without a trace. A once-formidable sorcerer has taken her. The man wants vengeance against those he believes wronged him—and Remy will be the instrument of his wrath—or Ashlie will most certainly die…

Paranormal Romance 

Dying For You 
MaryJanice Davidson 
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: August 7


Collected in this anthology of death-defying passion are four of MaryJanice Davidson’s wildest novellas of paranormal romance, featuring an amorous ghost, a witch and witch-hunter, a love-struck psychic, and a vampire and a werewolf.

4-in-1 novella reissue

Together for the first time, four devilishly entertaining novellas by the New York Times bestselling author prove that there’s not only life after death, but desire too...

The Fixer-Upper (originally published December 2004 in Berkley trade paperback MEN AT WORK anthology and November 2005 in mass market paperback) Cathy’s new home is handsomely furnished—by an amorous male ghost. If only she had something she could...touch. Her neighbor may have a lousy personality, but he does have a perfect body. Now, spirit is about to meet flesh, to Cathy’s delight.

Paradise Bossed (originally published July 2006 in Berkley Sensation trade paperback SURF’S UP anthology and May 2009 in mass market paperback) While traveling in the Cayman Islands, Nikki loses her life in a tragic accident, but has no intention of cutting her vacation short. When a handsome male psychic is engaged to get a grip on Nikki’s spirit, he does more. He finds himself falling in love with her.

Driftwood (originally published January 2007 in Berkley Sensation mass market paperback OVER THE MOON anthology) A Cape Cod werewolf agonizes over the death of a woman by his own paw. Well, to be fair, he never really killed her. She’s a vampire. Now she needs his help to kill the bloodsucker who turned her.

Witch Way (originally published March 2007 in Berkley Sensation trade paperback DEMON’S DELIGHT anthology) For centuries their families have been embroiled in a violent, irreversible feud. Today, can a witch and a witch-hunter find common ground...without killing each other first? Sometimes opposites do attract. 

Heart Secret 
Robin D. Owens 
Publisher: Berkley Trade 
Release Date: August 7

On the faraway planet Celta, there are some things you can never tell—until someone discovers your Heart Secret…

When a virulent disease killed the woman he loved and her baby, Garrett Primross was left alive, a reluctant survivor. Now, as a private eye, he strives to banish the memories of his past and rebuild his life. The Healers of Celta have something else in mind: Discover why he survived.

He is monitored by Healer Artemisia Panax—his HeartMate, a love he never pursued. Still mourning his loss, he refuses to acknowledge her. Since her family was publicly disgraced, she's used to such treatment. She wants nothing more than to guard her livelihood and protect the secrets she's sworn to keep.

Thrown together by duty, Garrett and Artemisia find the body of the last Black Magic Cultist who ruined her family. Suspicion flares, but they have little choice but to investigate the crime together. When their own lives are placed in danger, they realize that denying their HeartMates is only denying their own future.

Wilder (The Chosen Ones, Bk 5) 
Christina Dodd 
Publisher: Signet Select 
Release Date: August 7

As a young man, Aleksandr Wilder abandoned his duty--and for that lapse, he was tortured, tormented ... and transformed. Now he prowls the tunnels beneath the city, fighting on the frontline against the forces of hell, never daring to dream that he can live as a man again.

After seven years fighting the world's ultimate evil, Chosen One Charisma Fangorn has become a tough, strong warrior without illusions or joy...even her gift of hearing the earthsong has faded. Deaf to her own instincts, she never suspects that a monster lurks in the dark underneath the streets. When Aleksandr finds Charisma under attack, he rescues and cares for her, and hope stirs once more in his heart...and in the world. But in the secret recesses of his soul, he knows the truth. A woman so exceptional could never love a beast...could she? 

Time Untime
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 7

The Mayans aren’t the only ones with a 2012 prophecy…

Long before recorded history, there was a warrior so feared that everyone trembled before his wrath. Only a brutal betrayal by the one closest to him could defeat him. But not even death was the end of a man so strong.

The Time Untime approaches…

Kateri Avani has been plagued her entire life with dreams she doesn’t understand. Images of places she’s never been and of a man she’s never seen. Her quest for answers has driven her to Las Vegas where she hopes to finally silence the demons in her mind.

What she never anticipates is coming face to face with the warrior who has haunted her her entire life.

Ren Waya came back from the dead to keep the prophecy he began from coming true and ending the world. For thousands of years, he has fought the same evil that once possessed him. But now that evil has brought back the one person he can’t fight. The one person who once held the most sacred part of him.

His heart.

But if he doesn’t kill Kateri, the deadliest of evils will reemerge and destroy everyone else on the planet. It was a sacrifice he made once.

Will he be able to make it again?