Angel Burn (Angel #1) by L.A. Weatherly

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces, and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in an action-packed, romantic trilogy, L..A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip - and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.

They’re out for your soul . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind.

I haven't read many of the recent books involving angels but those that have read featured angels that are either kindly, benevolent beings or stern arbitrators or justice. But with either representation, they were the good guys. Not so in Angel Burn, where the angels are villainous and sinister, despite their exceptional beauty. And to me, that's what made this book really unique, this unexpected twist on the traditional way that angels are generally viewed.

When Willow accidentally discovers that there are angels living among them, and that they use people's energy to feed, she becomes a target. Although Willow had always known that there was something unusual about her, she would have never guessed that it was due to her being partially an angel herself. It should not be possible for such a person to exist and when the angels find out about Willow they intend to see her dead because she may be the key to their own destruction. Only with the help of Alex, a boy who has been killing angels all of his life, may Willow manage to stay alive, and perhaps bring about the fulfill the prophecy the angels fear.

When Alex finds out the truth about Willow and decides to saver her instead of kill her, the two of them head out on the road to seek out an ally to help them. I love a good road trip story (the next best thing to going on a road trip myself) so I really enjoyed this part of the story. At first Alex and Willow distrust and dislike each other but along the way, as they get to know each other better, the feelings develop into something else. I really liked the fact that they actually spend time getting to know each other before deciding that they are in-love, which is often not the case in these kind of books.

Alex was a great character, and one that I would have loved spending hours in a car with if I were a teenager. Willow wasn't quite as captivating. Although she should have been really interesting, with her psychic abilities and her interest in fixing cars, for some reason that I can't pinpoint, she really wasn't. There wasn't enough depth to her and she just cried way too much for my liking. I liked female characters who are stronger and do a better job at hiding their vulnerability.

The ending was kind of strange and definitely not what I expected. While usually I enjoy being surprised by endings this one was more of a sizzle where you expect a bang, and usually I like that bang. But it did surprise me, which was something. And it made me curious as to how they next book would proceed.

Reading Angel Burn was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours and I think that it's a book I would have really loved when I was a teenager. So I would definitely recommend it for the YA readers that it is intended for as well as for those adults that enjoy reading YA book.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Although I had finished reading The Way of Kings almost two months ago for some reason I've been unable to put together an intelligent review of this book, though I have tried several times. Usually, the reviews degenerate into over-enthusiastic ramblings in which I rave about every aspect of the book in a rather embarrassing manner. Other times I can't think of anything to say other than "it's really good- just read it." But this time I'm going to try to find a balance between the two so that I can finally get a review written that I don't feel compelled to delete immediately afterward.

Let's start with a synopsis.

The Way of Kings begins with the assassination of the King of Alethi during celebrations of a treaty between the Alethi kingdom and the people of Parshendi. Six years later the Alethis are locked into a war with no foreseeable end, as they attempt to destroy the Pareshendi who they blame for the murder of their king.

The main players in this story include:

Kaladin, a once respected officer in the army but now a slave due an act of of treachery committed by a man that he trusted.

Shallan, a young noble-woman who has seeked out the scholarly Princess Jasanah in the hope of becoming her ward. But Shallan's real purpose is to gain the princess's trust in order to steal from her a magical object that may save Shallan's family from ruin.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin, the brother of the late king, who is troubled by recent visions that he believes may provide answers about events of the past. Though others fear he is just going insane.

The war between the Alethi and the Parshendi has been raging for six years and Dalinar has begun to worry that their absence from the kingdom for so long will weaken the king's rulership. But when Dalinar suggests ending the war he is viewed by the king and his advisors as weak, and his own loyalties become suspect. Dalainr's visions are becoming stronger, showing him glimpses of the past and of the Knight Radiants, before they had disappeared, leaving the people vulnerable to the evil hunting them. These visions show Dalinar that there is more to life then fighting with the Parshendi and trying to capture the magical gemstones they each battle for, but these are ideas are ones he must keep to himself if he wants to remain by the king's side.

Meanwhile Kaladin has been brought to the war camp and given work in the most dangerous job available, as a bridgman. The job of the bridgemen is to run ahead of the army, carrying the bridges that will allow them to cross chasms, and then remove them afterwards. This places the bridgmen in front of the enemy's lines, and most bridgmen don't survive for more than a couple of battles. But there is something keeping Kaladin alive when everyone around him is being killed off, and he decides that rather then giving up he will show his fellow bridgmen that there may be a way for them to live.

Back in the city of Kharbranth Shallan has finally managed to catch up with the Princess Jasanah and after much persuasion convinces her to give Shallan a try. While thoughts of the Soulcast she must steal from the Princess are never far from her mind Shallan unexpectedly finds herself caught up in the research Jasanah has assigned to her, and she begins to feel reluctance about the role she must play.

In the first half of The Way of Kings the chapters frequently switch between the POV's, along with those of several other characters. Because of this frequent switch, I had a hard time getting into the story at first but as each of the POV's started to last longer I was able to really connect with each character and lose myself in their individual stories.

In addition to the three main characters that I had mentioned, there are also many other characters with roles essential to the story though they are too many to name them all. Yet somehow Sanderson manages to give each of them a depth and complexity that many authors don't manage when only working with one or two central characters.

In between the main story-lines Sanderson also interjects short interludes in which we get glimpses of events taking place in other parts of this world. In one interlude we meet Ishikk who lives in a land in which the surface is covered in water and where submerging your feet in water all the time is a way of life. In another interlude, we are introduced to Rysn, a merchant apprentice from a land in which grass survives by moving out of the way of people and animals, and where people grow their eyebrows down to their ears. In this interlude Rysn watches as her Mentor conducts negotiations with the a group of foreign Shin merchants, who are eager to exchange valuable metal for crates of worthless chicken. While most of these interludes don't really tie into the central story lines, I was really impressed with how Sanderson used them to provide a broader view of the world he has created here and the different cultures that occupy it.

The Way of Kings is a big book and I have to admit that even I was a bit intimidated by it at first, even though I had been waiting all year to read it. For the most part the story moves forward slowly and deliberately, skillfully weaving together each new thread that is added in. But despite the slow pace I was never bored or impatient since each detail felt like it was necessary to the story, and the narration was so compelling. Once the story got a hold of me I started wishing that this was the never-ending- story it appeared to be, one which would always be available for me to dip into. At the same time, though, I very much looked forward to finishing the book just so I could find out what surprises awaited in the last pages. It's just such a pleasure to read a book by an author that you trust to reward your emotional investment in their book with a fantastic ending, as Sanderson always does. And I was definitely not disappointed.

Since The Way of Kings is just the first book in a projected ten book series I had been a bit apprehensive as to how the story would play out and if anything would actually be resolved in the first volume. I would really hate to read 1,000 page book only to be left hanging at the end with more questions than answers. To my relief, Sanderson does provide resolutions and enough answers to satisfy me while also springing some of those surprising revelations that I had been looking forward to.

For anyone that enjoys epic-fantasy, or just a really good book, The Way of Kings is a must-read.

(There, I think I've finally managed it with a minimum of gushing. Success!)

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of November 6

There are some great books this week, from Brandon Sanderson's newest Mistborn book (a must-have for me) to the final book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series (which I haven't read but I know others love) and even a retelling of Snow White from Jane Yolen. There are also several sequels here to books that I have been wanting to read but haven't yet had a chance to do so, such as Jay Lake's Green Universe books and Jasper Fforde's The Last Dragon Slayer series (love that cover!) I'm even tempted by this new Stephen King book, 11/22/63, even though I swore off of his books after reading Thinner (after which I have never been able to look at a pie the same way way again).

I'm glad to know that I have all these great books waiting for me, once I manage to get through the pile currently waiting on my nightstand (and my ebook reader..)

Hope you have a great reading week!

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Science Fiction

11/22/63

Stephen King

Publisher: Scribner

Release Date: November 8

November 22nd, 1963 was a rapid-fire sequence of indelible moments: Shots ring out; a president slumped over; a race to the Dallas hospital; an announcement, blood still fresh on the First Lady's dress. But what if President John F. Kennedy didn't have to die; if somehow his assassin could have been thwarted? For Maine schoolteacher Jake Epping, those hypothetical what if's become real possibilities when he walks through a portal to the past. Without special skills and still unfamiliar with his new/old surroundings, he struggles to discover a way to change the history he left. Like its Under the Dome predecessor, Stephen King's 960-page novel shows that this master of suspense is back at the top of his game.

The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick

edited by Pamela Jackson & Jonathan Lethem

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Release Date: November 7

Based on thousands of pages of typed and handwritten notes, journal entries, letters, and story sketches, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of an author who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and the divine. Edited and introduced by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem, this will be the definitive presentation of Dick’s brilliant, and epic, final work. In The Exegesis, Dick documents his eight-year attempt to fathom what he called "2-3-74," a postmodern visionary experience of the entire universe "transformed into information." In entries that sometimes ran to hundreds of pages, Dick tried to write his way into the heart of a cosmic mystery that tested his powers of imagination and invention to the limit, adding to, revising, and discarding theory after theory, mixing in dreams and visionary experiences as they occurred, and pulling it all together in three late novels known as the VALIS trilogy. In this abridgment, Jackson and Lethem serve as guides, taking the reader through the Exegesis and establishing connections with moments in Dick’s life and work.

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Fantasy

The Alloy of Law

Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.  After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

Endurance (Green Universe, Bk 2)

Jay Lake

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

Green is back in Copper Downs. Purchased from her father in sunny Selistan when she was four years old, she was harshly raised to be a courtesan, companion, and bedmate of the Immortal Duke of Copper Downs. But Green rebelled. Green killed the Duke, and many others, and won her freedom. Yet she is still claimed by the gods and goddesses of her world, and they still require her service. Their demands are greater than any duke&’s could have been.

Godslayers have come to the Stone Coast, magicians whose cult is dedicated to destroying the many gods of Green’s world. In the turmoil following the Immortal Duke’s murder, Green made a God out of her power and her memories. Now the gods turn to her to protect them from the Slayers.

Scholar (Imager Portfolio)

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

Hundreds of years before the time of Imager, the continent of Lydar is fragmented. Years of war have consolidated five nations into three--Bovaria, Telaryn, and Antiago. Quaeryt is a scholar and a friend of Bhayar, the young ruler of Telaryn. Worried about his future and the escalating intrigues in Solis, the capital city, Quaeryt persuades Bhayar to send him to Tilbor, conquered ten years earlier by Bhayar’s father, in order to see if the number and extent of occupying troops can be reduced so that they can be re-deployed to the border with warlike Bovaria.

Quaeryt has managed to conceal the fact that he is an imager, since the life expectancies of imagers in Lydar is short. Just before Quaeryt departs, Bhayar’s youngest sister passes a letter to the scholar-imager, a letter that could well embroil Quaeryt in the welter of court politics he had hoped to leave behind. On top of that, on his voyage and journey to Tilbor he must face pirates, storms, poisonings, attempted murder, as well as discovering the fact that he is not quite who he thought he was. To make it all worse, the order of scholars to which he belongs is jeopardized in more ways than one.

Stands A Shadow

Col Buchanan

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

In Farlander, the first book of the Heart of the World series, readers met Ash, an aging master assassin of the famed order of Roshun, and his apprentice Nico, a boy who always managed to be in the wrong place at the right time. Ash and Nico, one with failing health and the other with little training, were sent on a suicidal mission to fulfill a contract against the favored son of the Holy Matriarch, the ruler of Mann. The assassination of the Matriarch's son maintained the honor and reputation of the Roshun, but further destabilized a nation already beset by strife. For Ash, fulfilling the contract came at an enormous personal cost.

Now in Stands a Shadow, driven by grief and anger, Ash embarks on a journey that takes him through the Free Ports and towards the embattled city of Bar-Khos. He arrives at the city as the Holy Matriarch of Mann orders her forces to breach the walls of Bar-Khos and bring it under her control. Renouncing the ways of the Roshun, Ash disguises himself among the Mannian soldiers, determined to go to any lengths to have his revenge against the Matriarch. . . .

The Heart of the World series is an epic adventure that, through the lens of its vibrant and unique world and engaging characters, asks intriguing questions and illuminates the humanity at the core of both hero and villain. Stands a Shadow is the second book in the series.

When the Saints (Brothers Magnus #2)

Dave Duncan

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

When we left the Brothers Magnus, they had assembled in Cardice to help Anton Magnus defend the castle from attack by a neighboring state with a significant military advantage and several officers who at any moment could request help from saints—or, depending on your perspective, from the devil.

But Cardice has a secret weapon in the form of young Wulfgang Magnus, who can ask a few favors of his own from these devil-saints. The only problem is that Wulf is in love with Madlenka, the countess from Cardice who was forcibly married to Anton to explain why he’s suddenly leading the country.

Even Wulf is unsure if family and political loyalty should override love. He’s also beginning to realize that the magical battle he’s stepped into has some serious rules that he doesn’t know, and has no way to learn. And when several wild cards in every battle can tap into nearly limitless sources of magic, who knows how far and wide the battle might range?

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Horror

Fighting to Survive (As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #2)

Rhiannon Frater

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: November 8

Katie and Jenni have found new lives with the survivors of their makeshift fort, but danger still lurks. Nothing is easy in the new world where the dead walk and every day is a struggle to keep safe. As the elements, bandits, and the zombie horde threaten their safe haven, Jenni and Katie join the other survivors in fighting to survive as the world dies.

Them Or Us (Hater, Bk 3)

David Moody

Publisher: Thomas Dunne

Release Date: November 8

The war which has torn the human race apart is finally nearing its end. The population has been devastated and the world reduced to a poisoned, rubble-strewn ruin. With most towns and cities now uninhabitable, and with the country in the grip of a savage nuclear winter, both Hater and Unchanged alike struggle to survive through each day.

Hundreds of Hater fighters have settled on the east coast in the abandoned remains of a relatively undamaged town under the command of Hinchcliffe – a ruthless bastard who’ll stop at nothing to eradicate the last few Unchanged and consolidate his position at the top of this new world order. This fledgling society is harsh and unforgiving – your place in the ranks decided by how long and how hard you’re prepared to fight.

Danny McCoyne is the exception to the rule. His ability to hold the Hate and to use it to hunt out the remaining Unchanged has given him a unique position in Hinchcliffe’s army of fighters. But as the enemy’s numbers reduce, so the pressure on McCoyne increases until he finds himself at the very centre of a pivotal confrontation, the outcome of which will have repercussions on the future of everyone who is left alive.

A year ago, Danny McCoyne was an overlooked nobody living a miserable, empty life. Today it’s down to him alone to make a crucial series of decisions and decide who prevails. Will it be them, or us?

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Young Adult

The Dead Gentleman

Matthew Cody

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Release Date: November 8

The dead are up and walking, and the Gentleman is at the door...

Featuring a kid hero, time travel, and otherworld portals in unexpected places (maybe there are monsters under your bed), The Dead Gentleman is a wild ride between parallel New York City timestreams—1901 and today. Eleven-year-old Tommy Learner is a street orphan and an unlikely protege to the Explorers, a secret group dedicated to exploring portals—the hidden doorways to other worlds. But while investigating an attercop (man-eating spider) in the basement of an old hotel, Tommy is betrayed—and trapped. And it's then that his world collides with that of modern-day Jezebel Lemon, who—until the day she decides to explore her building's basement—had no bigger worries than homework and boys. Now, Jezebel and Tommy must thwart the Dead Gentleman—a legendary villain whose last unconquered world is our own planet Earth, a realm where the dead stay dead. Until now. Can two kids put an end to this ancient evil and his legions of Gravewalkers?

Inheritance

Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Release Date: November 8

Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the much-anticipated, astonishing conclusion to the worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.

Past Continuous (Future Imperfect #2)

K. Ryer Breese

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: November 8

Ade Patience has done what he was told he couldn’t. He’s broken the rules, used his powers to save a life. And no good deed goes unpunished. . . .

Senior year finds Ade and his girlfriend, Vauxhall, deeply in love, indulging themselves with wild dates and exploring their newly strengthened abilities. Only Ade isn’t as happy as he should be. He’s got an itch that he can’t seem to scratch and it has everything to do with his joining the Pandora Crew, a group of radical oracles hell-bent on disturbing the peace, performing Jackass-style stunts, and spreading the mayhem.

When Ade realizes that his involvement with the Pandora Crew is due to his absorbing some of Jimi Ministry’s abusive childhood, he discovers that the only way to rid himself of the infectious memories is to erase his past. And it just so happens that the one guy who can do that lives a few blocks down the street.

The procedure works. The “Jimi cancer” is cleared out. But when Ade returns to his life, he finds that changing the past has changed the present. Vauxhall has no idea who he is and he has to woo her all over again. And it won’t be easy. There are three other people vying for Vauxhall’s attention. Three other guys he has to literally battle to win her back. The worst part: they’re all twisted versions of Ade.

Erasing the past has dramatically altered the present and Ade must join forces with his former rival to defeat . . . himself.

Prized

Caragh M. O'Brien

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Release Date: November 8

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime.  In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

Shattered

Kailin Gow

Publisher: theEDGEbooks.com

Release Date: November 8

Kama has made her choice, but now the revolution has begun.  Book 2 of the international bestselling DESIRE series about a dystopian society touched by magic.

Snow in Summer: The Tale of an American Snow White

Jane Yolen

Publisher: Philomel

Release Date: November 10

With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin, Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden. And her life in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale; her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on her, and she is about to get a new baby brother. But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim. Things get even worse when her father marries a woman who brings poisons and magical mirrors into Summer's world. Stepmama puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good - and is afraid she's powerless to stop her.

This Snow White tale filled with magic and intrigue during the early twentieth century in Appalachia will be hard to forget.

 

The Song of the Quarkbeast (The Last Dragonslayer #2)

Jasper Fforde

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Release Date: November 10

As the background Wizidrical Power slowly builds after the Big Magic, King Snodd IV of Hereford realises the man who controls Magic controls almost anything.

But one person stands between him and his plans for power and riches: Jennifer Strange, sixteen-year-old acting manager of Kazam.

It may involve a trip on a magic carpet at the speed of sound to the Troll Wall, it may involve a second Quarkbeast sniffing around town. It might also involve the mysterious Transient Moose, and a powerless sorceress named Once Magnificent Boo. But one thing is certain: Jennifer Strange and her faithful assistant Tiger Prawns will not relinquish the noble powers of magic to big business and commerce without a fight.

Unison Spark

Andy Marino

Publisher: Henry Holt

Release Date: November 8

Everyone is obsessed with Unison, the social network that knows you better than you know yourself. Everyone who can afford it, that is. Living beneath the vast ceiling that separates Eastern Seaboard City into rich topside and poor sub-canopy zones, fifteen-year-old Mistletoe can only dream of logging in and has to make do with technological hand-me-downs.

Worlds collide when Ambrose Truax, the privileged heir to the Unison empire, wanders into the dangerous sub-canopy streets and Mistletoe saves him from suspicious, uniformed men. They soon discover that they share eerily similar dreams, hinting at a significant past.

Together, Ambrose and Mistletoe begin to unravel the mystery of their identities and learn that they’re pawns in a bigger game: the Unison 3.0 upgrade, a whole new kind of Friendship.

Look what I got...

I received a lovely package the other day from L.M Long, author of the YA book Founder. I had won the book in a giveaway but didn't really expect to get anything else along with it because of the shipping costs and so I was really excited to find it in my mailbox.

The package, which seems to have an Amazon theme related to the book,  included a beautiful butterfly clip that appears to be made out of feathers.

As well as an autographed copy of Founder, autographed bookmarks, a fountain pen (which makes me want to go out and get some nice stationary to match, though then I'd have to find someone to write to) a bag of Brazilian nuts (yum!) and a beautiful photograph of a poison dart frog (which my 3yr old keeps trying to steal from me).

This package really brightened up my week and I'm really looking forward to getting started on the book (while snacking on some of those delicious nuts).

Interview with Gili Bar-Hillel

Whenever I visit a bookstore, after checking out the small selection of English books available,  I like to peruse the Hebrew SciFi & Fantasy section to see which books have been translated into Hebrew. I'm always curious as to how these particular books were chosen for translation, what the process involved, and perhaps, why other books that I've enjoyed are not on the bookshelf ( I am baffled by the fact that I have not seen any Brandon Sanderson in Hebrew). When I recently came across Gili Bar-Hillel on Twitter, and found out that she works as book translator for Israeli publishers, I jumped at the chance to have some of my questions about the subject answered.

Luckily for me Gili graciously agreed to an interview, and I preceded to inundate her with questions, all of which she patiently answered (including the second batch, that came after I discovered that Gili now works in the YA acquisition department for an Israeli publisher. What a job!)



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Thanks so much Gili for taking the time to do this interview.


Can you start of by telling me about your job as a translator?


GB: I'm less of a translator than I used to be: nowadays I'm more on the publishing end of things. That is, I read and evaluate books in English, decide which books are appropriate for my imprint (the Young Readers series for Graff Publishing), negotiate rights, select the translators, push the translation through the different stages, have final say in editing decisions, cover design, marketing... I don't translate for my own imprint because I believe there needs to be a system of checks and balances and I can't edit myself. I've been turning down new translation projects because I simply don't have the time, unless I'm offered something particularly delicious.



How do you begin the process of translating a book from English to Hebrew?



GB: Usually translators are approached by publishers and offered a project: a translator who is in demand can afford to be choosy. I've been fortunate enough that in some instances I was able to suggest projects to publishers and have them take me up on my offer: that's how The Annotated Peter Pan came about. With a book I haven't read before, I usually ask to read the book before deciding if it's something I want to translate. I've been very fortunate and to date all the books I've translated have been books that I liked, and several were books I absolutely adored. Reading a book once just for the experience is important in several ways: it helps to understand the emotional impact of different parts of the book, to establish a roadmap of the plot, to mark out potential challenges in advance... then I translate, then reread what I translated and edit as necessary, then it's off to the publisher for outside editing. My preferred way to work is to be in touch with the editor, and to see and approve all the changes. This is important both because I don't always agree with the editors and I can sometimes catch their mistakes, and because reviewing good changes is the only way to learn and improve.


How closely do you work with the authors whose work you translate?

GB: It really depends on the author. I mean, obviously, some authors are already dead... but living authors run the gamut from those who want absolutely nothing to do with their translators, like J.K.Rowling, to those who are thrilled to be in touch with their translators and will share all sorts of insights. I've even heard of an author who added a few paragraphs especially for the Hebrew translation. Obviously it's most fun when the author does answer questions, and I believe authors benefit from this as well, because few readers develop a relationship with the text that is as close and detailed as a translator's.


Do you just work with genre books or non-genre as well?

GB: My first steps in translation were not even in literature: I once translated a manual for contractors working at Intel. Boring as all hell, but pays about three times as much as literature. I translated "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely which is non-fiction. And several of the children's books I've translated are not genre books, but I do prefer children's and/or YA books to adult literature, simply because it's my forte and my favorite reading material.


How many books have you translated so far?


When last I counted it was about 40...



How did you get started as a book translator?

GB: I wanted to be a theater director but theater did not love me. Children's books did, and they stalked me down and MADE me translate them.


What are books are you currently working on?

GB:  Again, I'm not translating that much any more. If I do take a new translation project, it has to be something short and particularly attractive like a classic or a beloved childhood book. I just translated The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy, which was the first proper book I read when I first started reading at age 5; next in line which I couldn't turn down: The 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith.

What is the most challenging aspect of translating a book?


GB:  Dealing with cultural gaps and differences in idiom. Sometimes there are things that are deceptively simple in one language, but completely alien to another. Verbs like "frown", "gasp", "scuttle"... the meaning is very clear but Hebrew just doesn't do that.


Do you only translate from English to Hebrew?

GB:I translate from English to Hebrew and more rarely from Hebrew to English, which is a completely different way of translating... It's like the difference between pouring from a washtub into a jug, and pouring from a jug into a washtub.



What has been your most interesting experience as a book translator?

GB: Translating the Harry Potter books was a life altering experience, mostly because it brought me celebrity (and sometimes notoriety) on a scale very seldom experienced by translators. I was not merely a translator, I was an ambassador of Potter, with all the implied diplomatic complications.


Fantasy books are often full of imaginary words created by the author and I am curious how you go about translating such words. Do you rewrite them in Hebrew, make up your own words to replace them, or use some other method?


GB:  I play it by ear, depending on my understanding of the original. When an author is as playful and inventive as Rowling, I feel the translation should be playful and inventive as well, and I enjoy making up my own words. But sometimes invented words are just a brand name or something pseudo-scientific, and the Hebrew should follow that as well. I give many detailed examples in my lectures, and do have an FAQ set up on my website in Hebrew where I discuss many examples, though I haven't updated it in a while.



Have there been any Hebrew scifi or fantasy books translated into English? Is there any particular Israeli speculative fiction book that you would like to see translated into English?

GB:  I'm not a good person to ask this question of, I don't read a lot of Israeli fiction. Some would argue that Meir Shalev writes magical realism, and all his books are translated. Shimon Adaf's book Sunburned Faces is being translated and it's highly worthwhile, it's not clearly fantasy but dabbles in fantasy... his book The Buried Heart is a much more classic there-and-back-again children's book, I'm sorry it has not been translated. And Assaf Ashery has written an urban fantasy, Waiting in the Wings, that could easily be translated. (I should mention that both these authors are personal friends of mine.)


Do you ever get to meet the authors whose books you translate? If so, which author were you most excited to meet, or, which author would you want to meet the most?


GB:  I met Diana Wynne Jones, an author I absolutely idolized, and I had translated her Howl's Moving Castle. Dan Ariely who wrote Predictably Irrational is a colleague of my mother's and specifically asked for me to translate his book. Some authors I've translated have been so friendly online that I feel I've met them, for example Wendy Orr who wrote Nim's Island. It's always nicer when the authors are forthcoming, but you translate the book to the best of your ability either way.


And since you mentioned that you work in acquiring books for translation, I'd love to ask you some questions about this as well.


Can you tell me how you decide which books would be suitable for Israeli teens and kids?


GB:  I go by my gut. Israeli kids are not that different from kids in other countries, and the differences seem to be diminishing with global culture and the internet.


How do Israeli YA readers' taste in books compare to American readers?

GB: Again, not that different.


For what reasons would you choose to not translate a book into Hebrew?

GB:  Sometimes there are technical difficulties: Scott Westerfeld has a series, "The Midnighters", in which 13-letter words play an important part, and I couldn't think of any way around that. It's nearly impossible to generate 13-letter words in Hebrew. Or I might turn down a book set, say, in a Catholic school if I think the cultural differences are too numerous to explain - though if the book has true depth and quality, that shouldn't really matter. I might turn down a book that is too rooted in local culture and dialect for being too difficult to translate. I've given these examples as books that I would turn down even if they are good, but of course I turn down 99% of books simply because I don't like them or think they are not good enough.


What is currently the most popular YA book, translated from English?


Fads come and go. The Hunger Games is doing well now, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a big hit in Israel. I don't get too excited about bestsellers. I'm more interested in books that have staying power, classic qualities that you can imagine future generations still appreciating. At the same time, bestsellers are our bread and butter, and they allow us to continue working. The Percy Jackson books that we publish are such bestsellers: I enjoy them and believe in them, but I can't say I'm confident they will still be loved 20 years from now; however they do allow us to publish books like The Homeward Bounders or Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones, which don't sell nearly as well but which I feel are classics for the ages.



What books are you currently reading?


GB:  I'm reading Tantony by Australian author Ananda Braxton-Smith, set on the same island as her stunning book Merrow. So much of the appeal of these books is in the language, I can't decide if they would even translate into Hebrew without losing too much of their soul.

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Thanks again Gili for a fantastic interview!

For more information about Gili Bar-Hillel you can visit her blog (though it's mostly in Hebrew) or follow her on Twitter.

Cold Fire (Spiritwalker #2) by Kate Elliott

Only one thing is certain: when Hallows' Night comes, the Wild Hunt will ride - and it feeds on mortal blood.

Cat and her cousin Bee are caught in a maze of intrigue, treachery, and magic. Everyone seems to want something from them: the Cold Mages are trying to take them prisoner, and the warlord who wants to conquer all of Europa seems sure they have a special destiny to aid him whether they want to or not. Worse, hidden powers deep in the spirit world are rising, and they are the most dangerous of all. Cat must seek allies and figure out who she can trust in order to save the ones she loves. For if she doesn't, everything will be lost.

Cold Fire, the second book in Kate Elliott's Spirit Walker trilogy, picks up right where Cold Magic left off. Cat and Bee have escaped from their house after it was taken over by the Cold Mages who intend to have Cat killed and Bee married off to one of their own. With nowhere else to go, the two girls turn to the aid of a troll solicitor who Cat had recently befriended. But just as Cat and Bee think they might be safe for the moment, Camajita, a escaped rebel leader, arrives at the doorstep as well, followed by several other unexpected and unwelcome visitors, that have Cat and Bee fleeing once again.

Cold Magic was one of my favorite books of last year and I had really been looking forward to this sequel. I couldn't wait for the chance to spend more time with Cat, Bee and Rory, find out more about Cat's parents and- most importantly- see how Cat and Andevai's relationship would develop. Cold Fire did provide me with most of the answers that I was hoping for, and time with these great characters as well, but it didn't quite satisfy me in the same way that Cold Magic did.

The first problem I had with Cold Fire was the beginning. The first chapter of the book is actually the same as the last chapter of Cold Magic, but with a bit more detail. Because it's been several months since I had read Cold Magic I might have appreciated this reminder of how the last book had ended, if the chapter wasn't so full of secondary characters from the first book, whose purpose I couldn't remember. I had no trouble with Bree, Cat and Rory were but for the life of me I couldn't remember who all the numerous other characters crowding the pages were supposed to be. After the first two chapters I was so confused that I just went back and reread the last section of Cold Magic, which helped a great deal. Though usually I just don't have the time to be able to do this.

Once I got a sense of what was going on I was better able to enjoy the story, and enjoy it I did, although it continued to feel somewhat disjointed to me. 

After fleeing the law offices Cat and Bee are on the run again and for the next half of the book Cat is shuttled from one location to another, with barely a moment's rest between each crazy adventure. After a near- escape to the Spirit World Cat finds herself a captive of a powerful creature that preses her into his service before spitting her out onto a secluded island of zombie-like pariahs, after which she eventually makes her way to a large city where she gets caught up in the middle of the political tug-of-war.

I suppose I felt that there was just too much going on in this book, and not all of the story lines received equal attention. While in the Spirit World Cat is forced to take on a task which supposedly causes her a lot of worry but to which she actually gives very little thought, until the very end where it seems to be resolved as an afterthought.  On the other hand, the political strife between the Cold Mages, the Warlords and the rebels takes up a lot of the story, though I'm not a big fan of politics in my books and had trouble following it all (a problem that extends to real-life politics as well).

I also felt that there were too many secondary characters thrown into the story without adding very much to it. And those characters that I wanted to get to know better, such as Bee and Rory, and even Andevai's sister, weren't focused on enough. I was particularly disappointed in regard to Rory who I really liked in Cold Magic and was looking forward to finding out more about in this book. But Rory isn't even present for most of Cold Fire and when he is doesn't actually do very much and has no personality to speak of.

On the other hand I was really happy that Elliott does let us spend a lot of time getting to know Andevai better and that his and Cat's relationship was resolved, and not dragged out as I feared it might have been. We also do find out about Cat's parents, especially her father, so the answers that I was hoping for were provided. There is also no end of excitement and even though it did feel like a bit too much, once I got past the awkward beginning I couldn't put the book down.

The bottom line is that if you read and enjoyed Cold Magic you're going to want to read Cold Fire as well. It might not be as good as the first book but it's still a fun read that moves the story forward nicely and ends with an exciting climax that will make you eager to get your hands on the next book. Plus there is no way that you would want to pass up on some of the delicious scenes here between Cat and Andevai. Those were definitely my favorite parts of the book. And Elliott even offers an extra, "adult", Cat and Andevai chapter on her website, which I did read, though I admit that I prefer the pure romance that's already delivered in the book.

New Science Fiction & Fantasy Releases: Week of October 31

Science Fiction

The Ascendant Stars

Michael Cobley

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: November 3

Battle-ready factions converge above Darien, all with the same objective. The goal is control over this newly-discovered planet and access to the powerful weapons at its heart. Despotic Hegemony forces dominate much of known space and they want this world too, but Darien's inhabitants will fight for their future. However, key players in this conflict aren't fully in control. Hostile AIs have infiltrated key minds and have an agenda, requiring nothing less than the destruction or subversion of all organic life. And they are near to unleashing their cohorts, a host of twisted machine intelligences caged beneath Darien. Fighting to contain them are Darien's hidden guardians, and their ancient ally the Construct, on a millennia-long mission to protect sentient species. As the war reaches its peak, the AI army is roaring to the surface, to freedom and an orgy of destruction. Darien is first in line in a machine vs. human war - for life or the sterile dusts of space.

Firebird

Jack McDevitt

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: November 1

Forty-one years ago the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies.

Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system where they too vanished. And following Robin's trail into the unknown puts Benedict and Kolpath in danger... 

Stone Spring

Stephen Baxter

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: November 1

Ten thousand years ago, a vast and fertile plain exists linking the British Isles to Europe. Home to a tribe of simple hunter-gatherers, Northland teems with nature's bounty, but is also subject to its whims.

Fourteen-year-old Ana calls Northland home, but her world is changing. The air is warming, the ice is melting, and the seas are rising. Then Ana meets a traveler from a far-distant city called Jericho-a city that is protected by a wall. And she starts to imagine the impossible...

A Fighting Chance

William C. Dietz

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: November 1

Earth has fallen. And the men, women, and cyborgs of the Confederacy must dig deep within their warrior hearts to make one final stand against an alien aggressor...
On a rim world, Captain Antonio Santana is reunited with diplomat Christine Vanderveen to protect the severely wounded Ramanthian Queen, who has fled there to avoid assassination. And they'll risk everything to save the Confederacy, billions of lives-and their future together.  

The Ninth Circle (Tour of the Merrimack #5)

R. M. Meluch

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: November 1

Fifth in the hard-hitting military science-fiction series.

On the distant world of Zoe, an expedition finds DNA-based life. When alien invaders are also discovered, Glenn Hamilton calls on the U.S.S. Merrimack for help. But the Ninth Circle and the Palatine Empire have also found Zoe. Soon everyone will be on a collision course to determine the fate of this planet.

I, Robot: To Protect

Mickey Zucker Reichert

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: November 1

First in an all-new trilogy inspired by Isaac Asimov's legendary science fiction collection I, Robot.

2035: Susan Calvin is beginning her residency at a Manhattan teaching hospital, where a select group of patients is receiving the latest in diagnostic advancements: tiny nanobots, injected into the spinal fluid, that can unlock and map the human mind.

Soon, Susan begins to notice an ominous chain of events surrounding the patients. When she tries to alert her superiors, she is ignored by those who want to keep the project far from any scrutiny for the sake of their own agenda. But what no one knows is that the very technology to which they have given life is now under the control of those who seek to spread only death...

Wolf Among the Stars

Steve White

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: November 1

A near-future Earth has shaken off the devastating colonization by alien Lokaran invaders and totalitarian rule by the alien’s puppets, the Earth First party. But now Earth is flung into galactic intrigue and war. The Lokaron empire teeters on the edge of a fratricidal meltdown and a cabal of ancient enemies hope to use Earth as a proxy to destroy the empire and rule over a new Galactic Dark Age.

Now Captain Andrew Roark, the son of heroes of the rebellion and an officer trained in Lokaran space warfare tactics, joins with a highly capable Lokar who opposes the empire but wishes to see it transformed rather than destroyed. Together they must uncover a conspiracy to control Earth, and then obtain the secret key to defeating it. War for galactic control looms, and freedom for Earth—so recently escaped from under the boot-heel of one oppressor—is once again in the balance.

Daylight on Iron Mountain

David Wingrove

Publisher: Corvus

Release Date: November 1 (UK)

CHANGE IS ON THE AIR: The generals of the Middle Kingdom await the decision of the emperor.The campaign to secure the border from China to Iraq has reached a strange impasse. Two blood enemies have united against their common cause. But with the lives of thousands at his whim, the exalted Tsao Ch'un, the Son of Heaven, cannot decide. Destroy the Middle East in one blinding flash? Or take another path? THE WAY IS UNCLEAR: In the court of Tsao Ch'un, men of power have become smiling lackeys, whose graces conceal their fear, or their ambition. With his family held hostage by the empire, General Jiang Lei finds himself appointed to a special task: the orchestration of the last great war against the West. The total dominion of America. WAR APPROACHES: But life in the world of levels continues. No hint of war, or want, or discontent can infiltrate the oppressive, ordered society that replaces the world Jake Reed once knew. Since the first airships rolled over the horizon, nothing has been the same. His new life means new thinking, new customs, a new way of behaving, and with his every move scrutinized, Jake can only serve the bureaucracy of new China. But he is not the only citizen who feels discontent with the anodyne new order...

Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka

John Kessel, James Patrick Kelly

Publisher: Tachyon

Release Date: November 1

Dystopic and comedic, this anthology explores top fiction from generations of writers and artists who have drawn inspiration from Franz Kafka's writings. The stories in this illuminating collection include Philip Roth's alternate history in which Kafka survived into the 1940s and emigrated to America; Jorge Luis Borges' bizarre lottery that develops into a mystical system; Carol Emshwiller’s woman seeking to be accepted as officially male by a society of men; and Paul Di Filippo's hero who works as a magazine writer by day but is a costumed crime fighter by night. Rounding out the exceptional lineup is R. Crumb's humorous work, "A Hunger Artist" from Kafka for Beginners alongside a new English translation of the story itself. Each author also responds to the question Why Kafka? and discusses his writing, its relevance and relation to their own work, and his enduring legacy.

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Fantasy

Out of Oz

Gregory Maguire

Publisher: William Morrow.

Release Date: November 1

The marvelous land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes, that Dorothy.

Amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now, Rain will take up her broom in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the extraordinary bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises — the hallmarks of the brilliant and unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

The Wild Ways (Emporium #2)

Tanya Huff

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: November 1

Alysha Gale's cousin Charlotte is a Wild Power, who allies herself with a family of Selkies in a fight against offshore oil drilling. The oil company has hired another of the Gale family's Wild Powers, the fearsome Auntie Catherine, to steal the Selkies' sealskins. To defeat her, Charlotte will have to learn what born to be Wild really means in the Gale family... 

Courts of the Fey

edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Russell Davis

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: November 1

Fantasy, whether classic or contemporary, has always been based on the conflict between the forces of Light and Darkness. Now some of the genre's most inventive authors bring readers into the Seelie Court, where all serve the Queen of Air and Light, and the Unseelie Court, where the forces of Darkness hold sway.

The Folded World (Dirge for Prester John #2)

Catherynne M. Valente

Publisher: Night Shade Books

Release Date: November 1

John of Constantinople is a deeply devout man, driven from his home by the Icon Wars of Byzantium. After crossing the Sea of Sand, he finds a fantastical world where The Word of God has not yet spread. Despite his own moral qualms, he cheats his way into power, making himself king for the greater glory of God. This is his story.

The Revenge of the Dwarves

Markus Heitz

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: November 3

Though hailed a hero by his people, the course of life has not run smooth for the battle-weary Tungdil the dwarf. But there is no rest for this warrior yet - as he must now find the strength to face the most formidable enemy the kingdom has ever encountered . . .

A new evil has risen from the depths of the earth to terrorize the land of Girdlegard. Monstrous creatures - half-orc, half-älfar - are roaming the kingdom, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. These merciless hybrids are on a mission to obtain the most powerful weapon known to the dwarf race - and whoever holds this weapon will control the world.

Then when the fossilized Magus Lot-Ionan is stolen, Tungdil spies total disaster on the horizon. With the very existence of the dwarves under threat, he will have to resort to his trusty double ax and risk everything he knows to save his country from annihilation . . .

Spellbound

Larry Correia

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: November 1

Dark fantasy goes hardboiled in #2 of the hard-hitting Grimnoir Chronicles by the New York Times best-selling creator of Monster Hunter International.

The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so—successfully and in secret—since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir. The knights must become fugitives while they attempt to discover who framed them.

Thing go from bad to worse when Jake Sullivan, former p.i. and knight of the Grimnoir, receives a telephone call from a dead man—a man he helped kill.. Turns out the Power jumped universes because it was fleeing from a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. That predator has just landed on Earth.

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Steampunk

The Hunter

Theresa Meyers

Publisher: Zebra

Release Date: November 1

Colt Jackson has gotten his name on many a wanted poster with success in the family business: hunting supernaturals across the frontier. Lately, though, there's a sulphur stink in the wind and the Darkin population is exploding. A rift in the worlds is appearing. To close it, Colt will have to do the unthinkable and work with a demon to pass arcane boundaries no human alone can cross. Except when he summons his demon, he doesn't get some horned monstrosity: he gets a curvy redheaded succubus named Lilly, who's willing to make a bargain to become human again. He also gets Lilly's secret expertise on the machinations on the dark side of the rift. And her charm and cleverness help to get them out of what his silver-loaded pistol and mechanical horse can't. Of course, when all hell breaks loose, he might have to sacrifice his soul. But what's adventure without a little risk?

Heart of Steel (Iron Seas, Bk 2)

Meljean Brooks

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Release Date: November 1

As the mercenary captain of the Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her only loyalty bound to her ship and her crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, Yasmeen will be damned if she gives him another opportunity to take control.

Treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair -- he wants her coldhearted captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. To reclaim it, Archimedes is determined to seduce the stubborn woman who once tossed him to a ravenous pack of zombies, but she's no easy conquest.

When da Vinci's sketch attracts a dangerous amount of attention, Yasmeen and Archimedes journey to Horde-occupied Morocco -- and straight into their enemy's hands. But as they fight to save themselves and a city on the brink of rebellion, the greatest peril Yasmeen faces is from the man who seeks to melt her icy heart...

The Doomsday Vault 

Steven Harper

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: November 1

In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale-towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

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Horror

Hell & Gone

Duane Swierczynski

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Release Date: October 31

The second of three high-energy thrillers arriving back-to-back from cult crime fiction sensation Duane Swierczynski.

Left for dead after an epic shootout that blew the lid off a billion-dollar conspiracy, ex-cop Charlie Hardie quickly realizes that when you're dealing with The Accident People, things can get worse. Drugged, bound and transported by strange operatives of unknown origin, Hardie awakens to find himself captive in a secret prison that houses the most dangerous criminals on earth.

And then things get really bad. Because this isn't just any prison. It's a Kafkaesque nightmare that comes springloaded with a brutal catch-22: Hardie's the warden. And any attempt to escape triggers a "death mechanism" that will kill everyone down here--including a group of innocent guards. Faced with an unworkable paradox, and knowing that his wife and son could be next on the Accident People's hit list, Hardie has only one choice: fight his way to the heart of this hell hole and make a deal with the Devil himself.

The Janus Tree and Other Stories

Glen Hirshberg

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Release Date: October 31

A young girl, lying in the way-back of a station wagon during an all-night family road trip, becomes convinced that the people up front are no longer her parents.

* A dutiful Jewish nephew slowly comes to understand--and fear--his aging aunts' obsession with the exotic animals wandering loose on a nearby farm in suburban Baltimore.

* A Japanese immigrant, isolated in a California mountain town while caring for her dying husband, begins seeing Tall Things in the corners of her house. Whisperers. They tell her they are coming to live in her mouth.

* And in the Shirley Jackson Award-winning title novelette, a decaying mining town in Montana provides the backdrop for a desperate battle between a troubled, pugnacious pre-teen, the bully who has terrorized him, and the much more sinister force neither child realizes has come for them.

Welcome back to Glen Hirshberg country, where griefs are at least as dangerous as ghosts. Where terror and wonder become not just inextricable but often indistinguishable. Where the worlds of imagination and everyday reality color and corrode and sometimes overwhelm each other.

A country surprisingly like your own.

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Urban Fantasy

Courting Darkness (Sisters of the Moon #10)

Yasmine Galenorn

Publisher: Jove

Release Date: November 1

Camille D'Artigo is Priestess of the Moon Mother and wife of a dragon. But her dragon father-in-law doesn't want her in the family. Captured and swept off to the Dragon Reaches, Camille must find a way to escape before her husband's father breaks her spirit...

 
The Curse of Four

Caitlin Kittredge

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Release Date: October 31

Jack Winter used to be a bad man, but he left black magic and wickedness behind him for a simpler life exorcising ghosts in London. Then Fiona Hannigan, the girl he abandoned to a life of depraved sorcery, turns up murdered and it's not long before Jack finds himself accused of the crime, along with three other slayings. Someone is hunting London's black magicians--and they've decided Jack is going to pay the price.

Running from the police and pursued by his own ghosts, Jack must go back to the supernatural underworld he left behind to find who wanted Fiona dead, who framed him for the deed and why the spirit of Aleister Crowley is turning up in his living room. Because it's not just Jack's ghosts who are running free in London--older, darker spirits are stirring, and the same person who murdered Fiona has their sight set on performing a binding ritual to gain unimaginable power. Jack's out of options and out of time, and his past may be the only thing that can save him...if he can survive the trip.

Death Magic (World of the Lupi #8)

Eileen Wilks

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: November 1

DEATH MAGIC opens with Special Agent Lily Yu in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé--lupi prince Rule Turner—to testify before a Senate subcommittee about her role in the magical collapse of a mountain last month. She is not there to tell them about the strange legacy she carries from that event—or about the arcane bond between her and Rule--or what her boss in Unit Twleve of the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division is really up to. She sure won’t tell them that the lupi are at war with an Old One who wants to remake humanity in her own image.

Lily is managing the conflict between her duty as an officer of the law and the need for secrecy pretty well . . . until the rabidly anti-magic senator who chairs that committee is murdered. The line between right and wrong, always so clear to her, becomes hopelessly blurred as events catapult them all towards disaster, and prophecies of a cataclysmic end to the country she loves and serves--and to the entire race of lupi--seem well on their way to being fulfilled.

Drink Deep

Chloe Neill

Publisher: NAL

Release Date: November 1

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

The Guardian (Dream-Hunter #5)

Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publisher: St. Martin’s

Release Date: November 1

Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian…

Seth’s time is running out. If he can’t hand over the entrance to Olympus, his own life and those of his people will be forfeit. No matter the torture, Seth hasn’t been able to break the god in his custody. Then there’s the beautiful Dream-Hunter Lydia: She isn’t just guarding the gates of Olympus—she’s holding back one of the world’s darkest powers. If she fails, an ancient curse will haunt the earth once more and no one will be safe. But evil is always seductive...

Magic on the Line (Allie Beckstrom #7)

Devon Monk

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: November 1

Allison Beckstrom has willingly paid the price of pain to use magic, and has obeyed the rules of the Authority, the clandestine organization that makes-and enforces-all magic policy. But when the Authority's new boss, Bartholomew Wray, refuses to believe that the sudden rash of deaths in Portland might be caused by magic, Allie must choose to follow the Authority's rules, or turn against the very people for whom she's risked her life.

To stop the plague of dark magic spreading through the city, all that she values will be on the line: her magic, her memories, her life. Now, as dead magic users rise to feed upon the innocent and the people closest to her begin to fall, Allie is about to run out of options.

Fire Works in the Hamptons

Celia Jerome

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: November 1

Graphic novelist Willow Tate has a paranormal talent for "drawing" beings from the realm of Faerie into our world. So why did she foolishly make the hero of her next book a fire wizard? Now she has to contend with a rash of "fire" flies, a gorgeous firefighter, and an arsonist who seems determined to set East Hampton ablaze...

Under Attack

Hannah Jayne

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: November 1

Sophie Lawson is a human immune to magic, which comes in handy for helping paranormal beings transition into everyday life. But fallen angel Alex Grace and his search for the Vessel of Souls is one curse she never saw coming. Suddenly an unexplainable string of killings and destruction has even San Francisco's demons fearing for their immortal lives. And Sophie isn't about to trust Alex's all-too-vulnerable charm or his secret agenda. Now their hunt is revealing dangerous secrets about Sophie's past, and malevolent power hellishly close to turning one irreverent human into the ultimate supernatural weapon.

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Young Adult

Crossed (Matched, Bk 2)

Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton

Release Date: November 1

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Dark Eden

Patrick Carman

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Release Date: November 1

Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night's experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

Patrick Carman's Dark Eden is a provocative exploration of fear, betrayal, memory, and— ultimately—immortality.

Dark Inside

Jeyn Roberts

Publisher: Schuster Books For Young Readers

Release Date: November 1

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

Darker Still

Leanna Renee Hieber

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: November 1

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

Last Breath (The Morganville Vampires, #11)

Rachel Caine

Publisher: NAL

Release Date: November 1

With her boss preoccupied researching the Founder Houses in Morganville, student Claire Danvers is left to her own devices when she learns that three vampires have vanished without a trace. She soon discovers that the last person seen with one of the missing vampires is someone new to town—a mysterious individual named Magnus. After an uneasy encounter with Morganville’s latest resident, Claire is certain Magnus isn’t merely human. But is he a vampire—or something else entirely?

Reckoning

Lili St. Crow

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: November 1

Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealous djamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.

Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?

Twisted Heart

Eden Maguire

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release Date: November 3

Tania has moved on. Her gap year takes her across Europe, leaving beloved Orlando in college in Dallas. But despite this, life is a new and exciting vibe of artists, sculptures, parties and passion. But the threat of revenge is never far away. Zoran's mission to destroy young love and steal their souls is not over. Far from home, Tanya needs Orlando more than ever as she must find a way to thwart the Dark Angel's sinister power.

My Very UnFairy Tale Life

Anna Staniszewski

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Release Date: November 1

"You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They're lies. All lies."—Twelve-year-old Jenny has spent the last two years as an adventurer helping magical kingdoms around the universe. But it's a thankless job, leaving her no time for school or friends. She'd almost rather take a math test than rescue yet another magical creature! When Jenny is sent on yet another mission, she has a tough choice to make: quit and have her normal life back, or fulfill her promise and go into a battle she doesn't think she can win.

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Paranormal Romance

Avenger's Angel (The Lost Angel #1)

Heather Killough-Walden

Publisher: Signet

Release Date: November 1

When four female angels were created for the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Azrael, a chaos spurned by jealousy erupted, and the archesses were secreted to Earth. The four favored archangels followed, prompting a search that has lasted millennia. But for Uriel, the former Archangel of vengeance, the search ends the moment he lays eyes on Eleanor Granger, his one true archess. Can he protect her from the danger lying in wait for her - and win her heart?

Embrace the Highland Warrior

Anita Clenney

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: November 1

When the powerful demon that left Shay for dead discovers her empty grave, he comes seeking retribution, believing she possesses an ancient book he has sought for centuries. Knowing she can't fight the demon alone, Shay returns to her clan and the Scottish Warrior who betrayed her...the only man she's ever loved, where she discovers that betrayal isn't always what it seems. Sometimes it's far worse.

Heart of Darkness

Lauren Dane

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: November 1

Someone is illegally siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. When Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country, discovers that it's the hot owner of a notorious underground club, she strokes an unusual deal that may plunge them all into the heart of darkness.

Genie Knows Best

Judi Fennell

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: November 1

Be careful what you wish for...

Samantha Blaine is about to make a fateful discovery. A tall, dark, handsome, ohmygosh kind of fateful discovery...

Kal is very pleased to meet his attractive new master-especially since he intends to seduce her into granting him freedom. But when seriously dark magic spells trouble for both of them, Kal can't help himself from falling for the woman who holds his fate in her hands...

Warmly acclaimed by readers and critics alike, Judi Fennell brings to life a fabulous world of magic and mayhem where wishes come true in the most unexpected ways!

Nightshine (Kyndred #4)

Lynn Viehl

Publisher: Signet Select

Release Date: November 1

As a psychic, Samuel Taske can see the future, but he never predicted that he'd fall for San Francisco paramedic Charlotte Marena, the woman he's been charged with protecting. GenHance-the biotech company willing to do anything to acquire superhuman DNA-is after them. And when Samuel discovers that his Takyn powers have abandoned him, Charlie and her secret nighttime telepathic ability are their only hope for survival..

Lords of Wolfyn (Royal House of Shadows #3)

Jessica Andersen

Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne

Release Date: November 1

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of “Little Red Riding Hood” catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women. A wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man . . .

Dayn cursed the Sorcerer that turned him wolfyn and damned him to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength. Strength he needed to rescue his royal palace. But as a man, he craved Reda’s heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to safe his kingdom…or fight to save his woman