New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of August 29

So this is the week I have been waiting for all year, when Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings will finally be released. A year never seems so long as when you are waiting to get your hands on a particular book. And ever since reading Gail Carriger's Changeless, which ended in that agonizing cliffhanger, I've been impatiently counting down the days until Blameless would finally become available (author's can be so cruel that way).

While these are the two books I have been particularly waiting for there are many other awesome books hitting the bookshelves this week though I'm sure I probably have overlooked some of them as this list was already getting unwieldy. One book that I have never heard of before but sounds like it could be really good is The Native Star by M.K Hobson, and I hope I'll get a chance to give that book a try.

Meanwhile, I have over fifty books that I lugged back home with me from my visit to the US and should keep me busy for a while so I'm not sure when I'll actually have a chance to read any of these new releases (except for Blameless and The Way of Kings, which I will attack as soon as I receive them). I just finished a book I really enjoyed called The Magicians and Mrs. Quent (review will be coming soon) and I plan on starting Justin Cronin's The Passage next, which I am really excited about.

So how about you? Will you be running out to get any of this week's new releases?

Hope you have a great reading week!




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The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: August 31


Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths,

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.



The Waters Rising
Sheri S. Tepper
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Eos
Release Date: August 31

Long ago was the Big Kill, a time when the slaughterers walked the earth unseen, killing, departing, returning to kill again and again. Since then mountains have risen, deserts have fallen, the last of humankind has scattered; myth, superstition, and legend have replaced knowledge; and the great waters rising are changing the world.
In the west, the people of Norland live in small kingdoms, unaware that a hideous evil from ages past has been revived. Powers are being used. Curses are being laid . . . and the waters are rising as never before.
As forests drown, swamps become lakes, and roads disappear, houses—whole towns—are hitched to teams of oxen and moved upward. Misery is compounded when the Sea King declares war. No ships may sail on the new, growing oceans, and refugees from sunken islands continue to arrive.
And in Norland a cursed princess fights death, awaiting the one who can save not her, but perhaps humanity. She is tended by one fearful young girl, her servant and soul carrier, Xulai, a child of her own kind from the mystical kingdom of Tingawa. Upon her mistress's death, Xulai must return to their homeland to fulfill a sacred mission.
Accompanied by her protectors, Great Bear and Precious Wind, and guided by the mysterious wanderer Abasio and his talking horse, Big Blue, the band begins a journey to this land across the western sea where the waters' rising has long been expected. Their odyssey, fraught with peril and wonder, is long enough for plans to be made that are so strange, so audacious, that they are instantly dismissed; plans so potentially successful that an ancient killer must be awakened to stop their fulfillment.





The Usurper
Rowena Corey Daniels
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Solaris
Release Date: August 31

Now a slave, Piro finds herself in the Merofynian Palace where, if her real identity is discovered, she will be executed. Meanwhile, Fyn is desperate to help his brother, Bryen, who is now the uncrowned King. Bryen never sought power but now he finds himself at the centre of a dangerous resistance movement as the people of Rolencia flee vicious invaders. How can Byren defeat the invaders, when half his warriors are women and children, and the other half are untrained boys and old men?


A Star Shall Fall (Onyx Court, Bk 3)
Marie Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: August 31

The Royal Society of London plays home to the greatest minds of England. It has revolutionized philosophy and scientific knowledge. Its fellows map out the laws of the natural world, disproving ancient superstition and ushering in an age of enlightenment.

To the fae of the Onyx Court, living in a secret city below London, these scientific developments are less than welcome. Magic is losing its place in the world—and science threatens to expose the court to hostile eyes.

In 1666, a Great Fire burned four-fifths of London to the ground. The calamity was caused by a great Dragon—an elemental beast of flame. Incapable of destroying something so powerful, the fae of London banished it to a comet moments before the comet’s light disappeared from the sky. Now the calculations of Sir Edmond Halley have predicted its return in 1759.

So begins their race against time. Soon the Dragon’s gaze will fall upon London and it will return to the city it ravaged once before. The fae will have to answer the question that defeated them a century before: How can they kill a being more powerful than all their magic combined? It will take both magic and science to save London—but reconciling the two carries its own danger…



The Sky That Wraps
Jay Lake
Genre: Short Story Anthology
Publisher: Subterranean
Release Date: August 31

This collection of short fiction from award winning-author Jay Lake represents his favorites of his own work, both current and classic. With an emphasis on recent publications since his last short fiction collection in 2007, The Sky That Wraps showcases his reach in fantasy, science fiction, and the ambiguous territory in between. This volume includes two all-new stories, 'Coming for Green' and 'To Their Late Escape', as well as previously uncollected fan favorites 'The American Dead' and 'The Sky That Wraps The World Round, Past the Blue and Into the Black.' Twenty other stories round out this wide-ranging survey of Lake's work.



The Native Star
M.K. Hobson
Genre: Fantasy/Alternate History
Publisher: Spectra
Release Date: August 31

In the tradition of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, this brilliant first novel fuses history, fantasy, and romance. Prepare to be enchanted by M. K. Hobson’s captivating take on the Wild, Wild West.

The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics. Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her possession—and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks who want the object for themselves.

Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied with Emily in a race against time—and across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine—in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable magic of all—the magic of the human heart.


Noise
Darin Bradley
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Spectra
Release Date: August 31

In the aftermath of the switch from analog to digital TV, an anarchic movement known as Salvage hijacks the unused airwaves. Mixed in with the static’s random noise are dire warnings of the imminent economic, political, and social collapse of civilization—and cold-blooded lessons on how to survive the fall and prosper in the harsh new order that will inevitably arise from the ashes of the old.

Hiram and Levi are two young men, former Scouts and veterans of countless Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Now, on the blood-drenched battlefields of university campuses, shopping malls, and gated communities, they will find themselves taking on new identities and new moralities as they lead a ragtag band of hackers and misfits to an all-but-mythical place called Amaranth, where a fragile future waits to be born.


The Skin Map
Stephen R. Lawhead
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: August 31

It is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure. Chasing a map tattooed on human skin. Across an omniverse of intereing realities. To unravel the future of the future.
Kit Livingston's great-grandfather appears to him in a deserted alley during a tumultuous storm. He reveals an unbelievable story: that the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legend or the weekend hobby of deluded cranks, but pathways to other worlds. To those who know how to use them, they grant the ability to travel the multi-layered universe of which we ordinarily inhabit only a tiny part.
One explorer knew more than most. Braving every danger, he toured both time and space on voyages of heroic discovery. Ever on his guard, and fearful of becoming lost in the cosmos, he developed an intricate code--a roadmap of symbols--that he tattooed onto his own body. This Skin Map has since been lost in time. Now the race is on to recover all the pieces and discover its secrets.
But the Skin Map itself is not the ultimate goal. It is merely the beginning of a vast and marvelous quest for a prize beyond imagining.
The Bright Empires series--from acclaimed author Stephen Lawhead--is a unique blending of epic treasure hunt, ancient history, alternate realities, cutting-edge physics, philosophy, and mystery. The result is a page-turning, fantastical adventure like no other.


The Lucifer Code
Charles Brokaw
Genre:
Publisher: Forge
Release Date: August 31

AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT HAS REMAINED CONCEALED FOR CENTURIES -- WITHIN ITS PAGES LIES THE KEY TO THE MOST UNHOLY SECRET KNOWN TO MANKIND.

A sacred brotherhood has sworn, generation after generation, to protect this terrifying truth from those who would use it to unleash doomsday upon mankind.

When the unthinkable happens, and the holy scroll is uncovered, the race is on to reveal the true meaning of the cryptic language. Only one man, Dr. Thomas Lourds, the world's foremost scholar of ancient languages, who we first met in the bestselling novel The Atlantis Code, can safely decipher this most deadly scripture.

Lourds soon becomes the bait in the most lethal manhunt -- knowing he must confront the true face of evil if the world is to be saved



Blameless
Gail Carriger
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 31

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.



Game of Cages (Twenty Palaces, Bk 2)
Harry Connolly
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Del Ray
Release Date: August 31

A SECRET HIGH-STAKES AUCTION

As a wealthy few gather to bid on a predator capable of destroying all life on earth, the sorcerers of the Twenty Palace Society mobilize to stop them. Caught up in the scramble is Ray Lilly, the lowest of the low in the society—an ex–car thief and the expendable assistant of a powerful sorcerer. Ray possesses exactly one spell to his name, along with a strong left hook. But when he arrives in the small town in the North Cascades where the bidding is to take place, the predator has escaped and the society’s most powerful enemies are desperate to recapture it. All Ray has to do is survive until help arrives. But it may already be too late.



Sacrifice (Mortal Path, Bk 2)
Dakota Banks
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Eos
Release Date: August 31

A demon's enslaved executioner—a ravager of lives and souls—Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom . . . and salvation. Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—to make up for the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power—and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood. But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness. And if Maliha dies before the mission is accomplished, the hell she once knew will seem like a picnic compared to the eternal torments awaiting her.


The Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Bk 1)
Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: August 31

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.


Halo
Alexandra Adornetto
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: August 31

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.
Is love a great enough power against evil?



Mysterium
Robert Charles Wilson
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Orb Books
Release Date: August 31 (Reprint).

In a top-secret government installation near the small town of Two Rivers, Michigan, scientists are investigating a mysterious object discovered several years earlier. Late one evening, the local residents observe strange lights coming from the laboratory. The next morning, they awake to find that their town was literally cut off from the rest of the world...and thrust into a new one!

Soon the town is discovered by the bewildered leaders of this new world--at which point, the people of Two Rivers realize that they’ve arrived in a rigid theocracy. The authorities, known as the Bureau de la Covenance Religieuse, have ordered Linneth Stone, a young ethnologist, to analyze the arrivals and report her findings to the Lieutenant in charge.

What Linneth finds will challenge the philosophical basis of her society and lead inexorably to a struggle for power centering on the mysterious object that Two Rivers’s government scientists were studying when the town slipped between worlds.




Dark Peril
Christine Feehan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 31

Dominic of the Dragonseeker Carpathians is on a desperate mission, in the very heart of enemy territory. Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people. She has long been fighting to save women who are able to shift from the hands of the man who slaughtered her family and everyone she loved-her own father. They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, a the end of their time, they find each other, a complication neither saw coming.



The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan. Bk 2)
Kelly Gay
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: August 31

It takes a strong woman to keep the peace in a city of endless night. . . .
Deep beneath Underground, a cunning bid for power and revenge has begun—one that threatens to make Atlanta the new battleground in the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. The powers of hellish Charbydon have the upper hand after plunging the city into primordial night. And under the cover of darkness, a serial killer targets the most powerful Elysians in the city, the angelic Adonai. For Detective Charlie Madigan and her siren partner Hank, tracking deadly predators is all in a day’s work . . . but this case will test the limits of their strength and friendship as it draws them into a deadly world of power plays, ancient myths, explosive secrets, and a race against time that risks all that Charlie holds dear.



Radiance
Alyson Noel
Genre: YA
Publisher: Square Fish
Release Date: August 31

Riley Bloom died, aged twelve, in a car crash with her parents and her beloved dog Buttercup. Her sister Ever survived - but that's another story. Riley must let go of Ever and all the things that tied her to life and discover what she's meant to be in the afterlife. Riley is a soul catcher. That means helping the unhappy lost souls who stick around in the human realm to move on - and find their own place, over the bridge, in the great hereafter. With her spirit guide, Bodhi, and Buttercup by her side, Riley embarks on an adventure that will take her around the world - sending ghosts back where they belong, until she can finally make it there herself



Born to Bite
Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: August 31

Legend has it that Armand Argeneau is a killer in the bedroom . . .
But with all three of his late wives meeting unfortunate and untimely ends, is this sexy immortal a lover or a murderer? That's what Eshe d'Aureus intends to find out. As an enforcer, it's her job to bring rogue vampires to justice, even if the rogue in question makes her blood race red hot.
Armand knew she was trouble the moment Eshe roared into town on her motorcycle, clad in tight black leather. She claims she's hiding from dangerous fiends, though he suspects something more. But after three wives who've all had trouble remaining, well, undead, Armand is reluctant to open his heart again. Then strange accidents start to happen, each deadlier than the last, and Armand realizes he may not have much time to prove he's a lover, not a slayer.



Unraveled
Gena Showalter
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 31

Since coming to Crossroads, Oklahoma, former outcast Aden Stone has been living the good life. Never mind that one of his best friends is a werewolf, his girlfriend is a vampire princess who hungers for his blood, and he's supposed to be crowned Vampire King—while still a human! Well, kind of.
With four—oops, three now—human souls living inside his head, Aden has always been "different" himself. These souls can time-travel, raise the dead, possess another's mind and, his least favorite these days, tell the future.
The forecast for Aden? A knife through the heart.
Because a war is brewing between the creatures of the dark, and Aden is somehow at the center of it all. But he isn't about to lie down and accept his destiny without a fight. Not when his new friends have his back, not when Victoria has risked her own future to be with him, and not when he has a reason to live for the first time in his life….




Chosen (Anna Strong, Bk 6)
Jeanne Stein
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: August 31

Anna Strong's primitive vampire instincts are getting harder to control. And a new enemy wants to take advantage of that fact, for Anna has been chosen to shape the destiny of all vampires-and all humans.




The Haunted (The Hollow, Bk 2)
Jessica Verday
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: August 31

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with--the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead--Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume-making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all.
But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade, and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and to the famous legend that binds their fates--a legend whose dark truths they are only beginning to guess....


Nevermore
Kelly Creagh
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Atheneum
Release Date: August 31

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
His life depends on it.

By The Mountain Bound
Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: August 31

For five hundred years the immortal Children of the Light, einherjar and valkyrie, have lived together in the North of Valdyrgard. They were born out of the Sea, each with a shining crystal sword in his or her hand; they are Angels of Light created in the formation of a new world. But three have come before them, from the death-throes of the old world, Midgard: the world-girdling Serpent, Bearer of Burdens; the Wolf Fenris, eater of the Sun, who now takes the form of an einherjar; and his demon sister, stealer of souls.

The Children spend their days feasting, fighting, hunting, and guarding their human charges. But one dreadful day a woman is washed up from the sea, a Lady who is no mortal, though she is not valkyrie either. Thus begins the breaking of the Children of the Light, the tarnishing of their power, and the death of Valdyrgard.

By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to Elizabeth Bear’s highly acclaimed All the Windwracked Stars, and tells the painful tale of love and betrayal, sorcery and battle, that led up to the day when Muire was left alone in the snow at the end of the world.


Neuropath
R. Scott Bakker
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: August 31

It all begins and ends with The Argument: Free will is an illusion. The soul? Merely neurons firing.

Someone is determined to prove the truth of The Argument, no matter who has to die.

Psychology professor Tom Bible is surprised to find the FBI on his doorstep, asking for help analyzing the prime suspect in a series of gruesome murders. That’s not what Tom does—he’s just a teacher, not a profiler. But in this case, the FBI feels Tom has special knowledge.

The suspect is his best friend Neil Cassidy.

Using the neuroscience he developed at the NSA, Neil can control the human brain. With just the flip of a switch, he can manipulate pain, pleasure, faith, morality....even love. He taunts the FBI with videos, forcing them to watch as his victims destroy themselves at the direction of their captor. He leaves no clues and the FBI cannot predict his next victim. Only Tom Bible has insight into his mind.


Revamped
Lucienne Diver
Genre: Young Adult PNR
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: September 1

Gina's Rules for Surviving Super Spy Club Training:

1. First, the dirt and sweat are just too horrible to contemplate.

2. Unless you enjoy cold showers, be the first one to the bathroom in the morning.

3. Cargo pants make you look hip-py.

4. Making out on missions, unless it's part of your cover, is totally grounds for extra
push-ups.

5. When going goth, you've totally got to strike words like totally, awesome, and
phat from your vocabulary.

6. Who's actually running the Super Spy Club, you ask? I could tell you, but then
I'd have to kill you.



Spy Glass
Snyder, Maria
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: September 1

After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has st olen some of her blood—and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever…



Truthseeker
C.E Murphey
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Del Ray
Release Date: August 31

Gifted with an uncanny intuition, Lara Jansen nonetheless thinks there is nothing particularly special about her. All that changes when a handsome but mysterious man enters her quiet Boston tailor shop and reveals himself to be a prince of Faerie. What’s more, Dafydd ap Caerwyn claims that Lara is a truthseeker, a person with the rare talent of being able to tell truth from falsehood. Dafydd begs Lara to help solve his brother’s murder, of which Dafydd himself is the only suspect.

Acting against her practical nature, Lara agrees to step through a window into another world. Caught between bitterly opposed Seelie forces and Dafydd’s secrets, which are as perilous as he is irresistible, Lara finds that her abilities are increasing in unexpected and uncontrollable ways. With the fate of two worlds at stake and a malevolent entity wielding the darkest of magic, Lara and Dafydd will risk everything on a love that may be their salvation—or the most treacherous illusion of all.

Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

It is common knowledge to those familiar with fairy tales that if you meet an elderly woman along the way who requests something from you it is best to give it to her graciously. If you do so, you will likely be rewarded, and if not, you will be sure to regret it.

Stepsisters, Dirbani and Tana live together with Dirbani's mother in a village, struggling to make ends meet after the death of their father. One day Dirbani goes out to collect water from the village well and encounters an elderly woman who requests from her a drink of water. Kind-hearted Dirbani quickly rushes to give the woman a ladle of cool water and in return she receives a blessing. Upon returning home Dirbani discovers that every time she speaks, flowers and diamonds fall out of her mouth. Realizing that her daughter has encountered a goddess, Dirbani's mother rushes Tana out of the house in hopes that she too will encounter the elderly woman. Instead Tana is approached by a beautiful, majestic woman that requests a drink from her jug. Immediately realizing who the woman must be, practical, plain spoken Tana becomes fearful that she is not as deserving as her sweet sister for a blessing, though she receives one anyways. Soon every word that Tana speaks gives birth to snakes and toads.

Dirbani and Tana's lives are suddenly turned upside down as they are forced to leave their village due to the strong reactions their gifts have invoked in the villagers. A passing prince takes Dirbani into his home, where she lives in the lap of luxury and falls in love for the first time, even as she realizes the danger that her new gift has placed her in. Tana is forced to flee from the village because the governor, who hates snakes, has sent men to hunt her down for being a witch. For the first time in their lives the two sisters are separated from each other and they each must find a way to persevere against the challenges and dangers they face even as they attempt to discover the reason the goddess had chosen to bless them as she did.

I really enjoyed this retelling of the French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and the interesting alterations the author had made. Rather than one sister being good and the other selfish and greedy, as in the original tale, in this story the sisters love and care for each other, despite their very different personalities. And even though one sister receives diamonds and flowers and the other toads and frogs, both sisters are viewed as having been blessed, as frogs and snakes are viewed as creatures of the goddess and are much welcomed by the villagers.

I also really enjoyed the romantic story lines which follow Tana's love for the jeweler's son, who she believes only sees her as a friend and Dirbani's growing affection for the prince, who she knows she can never have. The only fault I found with the book is that the story ends a little to abruptly for my liking, just short of the "happily ever after" ending, which was about to take place. Readers are forced to have to imagine it for themselves rather than getting to read it, which I was disappointed about.

Heather Tomlinson has succeeded in retelling a classic fairy tale in a delightful and engaging manner, while adding her own unique twists, and I enjoyed every minute of it. This was a wonderful book that I would recommend to readers of all ages, despite its YA status, and especially to those who enjoy fairy tales, strong female heroines and a bit of romance.

New Scifi and Fantasy Releases: Week of August 22

I was going to skip this week's listing of new releases because I have a pretty busy day today, as I'm flying back to Israel this evening, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so since this is the week of two highly anticipated new releases, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. I also thought I would throw in a book from last week's releases that looked interesting, The Last Page by Anthony Huso. And since I had so thoroughly enjoyed Stephen Deas's The Adamantine Palace I was pleased to see that he has a new book coming out this week, The Thief-Taker's Apprentice, which I hope to get to read.

Hope you have a great reading week!

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The Last Page
Anthony Huso
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: August 17

The city of Isca is set like a dark jewel in the crown of the Duchy of Stonehold. In this sprawling landscape, the monsters one sees are nothing compared to what’s living in the city’s sewers.
Twenty-three-year-old Caliph Howl is Stonehold’s reluctant High King. Thrust onto the throne, Caliph has inherited Stonehold’s dirtiest court secrets. He also faces a brewing civil war that he is unprepared to fight. After months alone amid a swirl of gossip and political machinations, the sudden reappearance of his old lover, Sena, is a welcome bit of relief. But Sena has her own legacy to claim: she has been trained from birth by the Shradnae witchocracy—adept in espionage and the art of magical equations writ in blood—and she has been sent to spy on the High King.
Yet there are magics that demand a higher price than blood. Sena secretly plots to unlock the Cisrym Ta, an arcane text whose pages contain the power to destroy worlds. The key to opening the book lies in Caliph’s veins, forcing Sena to decide if her obsession for power is greater than her love for Caliph.
Meanwhile, a fleet of airships creeps ever closer to Isca. As the final battle in a devastating civil war looms and the last page of the Cisrym Ta waits to be read, Caliph and Sena must face the deadly consequences of their decisions. And the blood of these conflicts will stain this and other worlds forever.



Delcroix Academy: The Candidates
Inara Scott
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: Aug 24

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.

But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.

And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.




Bearers of the Black Staff (Legends of Shannara, Bk 1)
Terry Brooks
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: August 24

The Genesis of Shannara trilogy – Armageddon’s Children, The Elves of Cintra, and The Gypsy Morph – charted the fall of our own world into the hands of once-men and demons…and the escape of a few humans, Elves, and others into a remote mountain valley walled in by impenetrable magic. For five-hundred years the survivors have lived peacefully, learning to coexist and to build a new world with the limited resources and skills available to them. Now the magic that kept them safe for so many centuries is wearing down. Frightening creatures are penetrating the barriers and wreaking havoc on the valley within. It is time for the four peoples to stand together and create the new world of Shannara.



Mockingjay (Hunger Games, Bk 3)
Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA Dystopia
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: August 24

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.



A Crack in the Sky
Mark Peter Hughes
Genre: YA Dystopia
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 24

Thirteen-year-old Eli Papadopoulos is worried. Even though he’s a member of the most powerful family in the world. Even though his grandfather founded InfiniCorp, the massive corporation that runs everything in the bustling dome-cities. Even though InfiniCorp ads and billboards are plastered everywhere, proclaiming:

DON'T WORRY! INFINICORP IS TAKING CARE OF EVERYTHING!

Recently, Eli noticed that there’s something wrong with the artificial sky. It keeps shorting out, displaying strange colors and random images. And though the Department of Cool and Comfortable Air is working overtime, the dome-city is hotter than it’s ever been.
Eli has been raised to believe that the dome-cities are safe, that the important thing is to keep working and consuming, and that everyone is secure and comfortable in InfiniCorp’s capable hands.
But now he begins asking questions.
All of a sudden, operatives from a dangerous band of terrorists keep contacting him. The Friends of Gustavo—or Foggers—want to tear down everything InfiniCorp has created. They promise Eli that they have the truth he seeks—if he’s brave enough to handle it.
Eli isn’t convinced. And he’s about to find out that in the dome-cities, being a Papadopoulos isn’t enough to save a rule-breaker like him from being sent far away to learn right-thinking. In his new home, the Tower, Eli meets Tabitha, once at the top of her Internship class, now a forgotten slave. Together, and with help from Eli’s beloved pet mongoose, Marilyn, they just might be able to escape . . . and try to make a life for themselves in the scorched wilderness outside the domes.



The Black Prism
Brent Weeks
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 25

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.



The Thief-Taker's Apprentice
Stephen Deas
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz
Release Date: August 26

Berren has lived in the city all his life. He has made his way as a thief, paying a little of what he earns to the Fagin like master of their band. But there is a twist to this tale of a thief. One day Berren goes to watch an execution of three thieves. He watches as the thief-taker takes his reward and decides to try and steal the prize. He fails. The young thief is taken. But the thief-taker spots something in Berren. And the boy reminds him of someone as well. Berren becomes his apprentice. And is introduced to a world of shadows, deceit and corruption behind the streets he thought he knew. Full of richly observed life in a teeming fantasy city, a hectic progression of fights, flights and fancies and charting the fall of a boy into the dark world of political plotting and murder this marks the beginning of a new fantasy series for all lovers of fantasy - from fans of Kristin Cashore to Brent Weeks.

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

After reading so many reviews effusively praising Brightly Woven I found myself curious about this book and I decided to read it even though the description didn’t particularly grab me. But about a quarter way into it I went back to check if I had gotten the correct title because this book did not seem to merit all the wonderful things I had read about it. Since it was a relatively easy read I decided to complete the book and suspend my judgment until I finished, but even after doing so my opinion remained unchanged.

At first I was easily drawn into the story by the engaging narrative and the interesting scene that the story opens up to, of a town receiving rain for the first time after a long drought. Soon afterwards the narrator, Sydelle, runs into a wizard who has suddenly appeared in the town and who seems to have been the cause of the much-needed rain. Sydelle’s parents are so grateful to the wizard, Wayland North, that they offer him a reward and he chooses their daughter. Sydelle is horrified when she discovers that her parents have given her to the wizard, although North promises her that after they complete the journey on which has is embarked, she may chose to leave him if she wishes to. And so Sydelle and North leave behind the village and head towards the city of Provincea in order to meet with the head sorceress and try to avert the forthcoming war.

Up until this point I was enjoying the story very much and looking forward to discovering more about the two main characters, North and Sydelle, who I had already come to like. But instead of getting to follow the two on their journey out of the village the next chapter finds North and Sydelle at a pub, a week later, and the dynamic between the two characters has changed. Sydelle still appears to hate North for dragging from her home against her will, but she has also softened towards him somewhat. North has started calling Sydelle by nicknames and teasing terms of endearment, and occasionally gives her hair an affectionate tug. At this point the interactions between the two suggest that their relationship has changed based on experiences shared over the past week which the reader was not privy to, and this really irritated me. From this point on the relationship between the two is clearly moving towards an eventual romance, which turns out to be a central element of the story, but for me the romance feels contrived because I didn’t really see it develop. Sydelle quickly goes from hating North to loving him, without a satisfactory transitional stage in between. While North seems to have liked Sydelle all along I didn’t really catch when it is exactly that he fell in love with her, or why. Because their romance was a main part of the story the whole story fell flat for me because of my dissatisfaction with the way it was presented.

The main story line didn’t really do much for me either. I didn’t find North and Sydelle’s journey, or the little side trips that they took, to be particularly interesting and I had a hard time following the political crisis that was taking place. The author also didn't do much world building so I had no sense of what all the places that North and Sydelle passed through were like, so the outside world ended up feeling rather colorless.

The one thing I could say that I liked about Brightly Woven is the character of North, who strongly reminds me of one of my favorite book wizards, Howl from Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle. He is appealingly roguish and charming but also cocky and vain, though these qualities often mask the vulnerabilities which he tries so hard to hide. And even though he is a powerful wizard, North is hopeless when is comes to directions and would constantly be getting lost if not for Sydelle, which added to his appeal.

But one likable protagonist is not enough to salvage this book for me and overall I found Brightly Woven to be a disappointment, nothing like the brilliant debut novel I had been expecting. It was not memorable or magical and even those elements that had a bit of spark ended up falling flat because they were not developed properly, such as Sydelle and North’s romance. Considering all of the raving reviews that had read I must suppose that there are many reads who quite enjoyed this book, but I am certainly not one of them.

The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

The Adamantine Palace lies at the center of an empire that grew out of ashes. Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey. Then a way of subduing the dragons alchemicly was discovered and now the dragons are bred to be little more than mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat. And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his lover and bed her daughter. A man fit to be king? But unknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, unsubdued, returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire. But because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons ...

It’s been many years since I last read a book featuring dragons because for some reason dragons just don’t appeal to me now as much as they did when I was younger. But after reading The Adamantine Palace I found myself wondering what I might have been missing out on over the years because this books was really fantastic. The Adamantine Palace is one of those books that remind me of why I was attracted to fantasy in the first place, though it is rather more sophisticated than those fantasy books of my youth.

In addition to the engaging writing style, the wonderful world building and the steady pacing which kept me completely hooked all the way through the book, I was particularly impressed by the way the characters are presented. The story is told from the perspective of each character so the reader comes to intimately understand and sympathize with each one, even though many of them are enemies of one another.The dragons receive similar treatment as well. At first we only view them through the eyes of the humans but eventually we get into the head of the one of the dragons and receive a new perspective of the unfolding events. Initially I had felt sympathetic for the plight of the dragons, for their having been drugged and enslaved by humans for the past hundred years, but once it becomes clear what the dragons are like in their natural form I felt my sympathy shift to their human captors. There is no black and white in The Adamantine Palace, no clear lines separating villains from heroes, which is part of what makes this story a complex and deeply satisfying read.

The only complaint I have is that none of the various story-lines are actually resolved by the conclusion of the book and, in fact, the book ends just as events get even more heated. This means that you will want to have the sequel, The King of the Crags, close by so that you can immediately delve into it once you finish The Adamantine Palace. I certainly wish I had been properly prepared as now I have to wait impatiently for the week, or so, that it will take The King of the Crags to be delivered to my mailbox.

I highly recommend The Admantine Palace to all readers of fantasy. Even if it has been years since you last read a book about dragons, don't hesitate to give this one a try. You will not be disappointed.

My Turn To Brag

Almost every book blog that I follow dedicates one post a week to listing all of the books that the blogger had received over the past week, either from publishers, other blogs or the library. I have never put up such a post myself because I don't receive new books that frequently and I usually don't even read those posts because they just serve to make me jealousto of all the awesome books everyone else is getting. But in the two week that I have been in America I have accumulated an impressive selection of books which I am quite proud of, from the various second hand shops and flea markets I have visited ( boy how I've missed flea markets!) and now it's my turn to do a bit of bragging...

At today's trip to the flea market I picked up The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (because one can never have too many copies) and Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (my favorite of the Discworld books, so far), for 25 cents each! I would probably have gotten more books if my two year had not decided that he was done waiting for me, and knocked all the books on the ground.



By Philadelphia's Franklin Mills Mall there is a wonderful second hand shop where, in addition to some great clothes and toys, I bought these books for 50 cents each:


Marley & Me by John Grogan (I don't usually read dog books but I've heard great things about this one and have been wanting to read it.)


Uglies by Scott Westerfeld



Summerland by Michael Chabon




Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie



Wicked by Gregory Maguire


Sideways Stories from Wayside School ( I love Wayside School!)




And for review I received Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal, which is a book I've been really interested in reading. I also received the following books for review from author Danielle Ackley-McPahil:

• Yesterday's Dreams
• Tomorrow's Memories
• Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad
• The Halfling's Court: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale

I also received my first graphic novel, Foiled,by Jane Yolen, which is signed by both Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro, the artist. My mother had bought it for me when Jane Yolen did a signing in Philadelphia and I am really looking forward to reading it, since I have never read a graphic novel before.

And finally, these are the books that I had gotten out of the library, which I had dragged my brother to (since he has a car and a library card) on my first full day in the US:

Sasha by Joel Shepherd
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst ( I started this one but didn't feel like finishing it)
The Enchanted Emporium by Tanya Huff
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
Candor by Pam Bachorz
The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon (The only non-genre book I let myself get out and I really hope I get the chance to read it)
The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

Yes, perhaps I did go a little crazy at the library and I probably won't get around to reading all of the books that I had gotten out (though apparently the library lets you get 50 books out at one time, and had I been able to carry more I would have tried to do so) but I just love looking at them on the shelf and knowing that they are nearby. I only wish that I could read faster...(plus I have to squeeze in time to spend with family) So far I have read three of them and I'm currently in the middle of The Adamantine Palace, which I am enjoying tremendously.

So that's it. I'm done with my bragging and now I have to figure out how the heck I'm going to get all my newly acquired books into the suitcases (and I haven't even mentioned the 42 books that my in-laws bought me from a bookstore that was going out of business) But it is a challenge that I don't mind attempting.

Now I'm off to do some reading...