Low Town (The Straight Razor Cure) by Daniel Polansky

Drug dealers, hustlers, brothels, dirty politics, corrupt cops . . . and sorcery. Welcome to Low Town.


In the forgotten back alleys and flophouses that lie in the shadows of Rigus, the finest city of the Thirteen Lands, you will find Low Town. It is an ugly place, and its cham­pion is an ugly man. Disgraced intelligence agent. Forgotten war hero. Independent drug dealer. After a fall from grace five years ago, a man known as the Warden leads a life of crime, addicted to cheap violence and expensive drugs. Every day is a constant hustle to find new customers and protect his turf from low-life competition like Tancred the Harelip and Ling Chi, the enigmatic crime lord of the heathens.


The Warden’s life of drugged iniquity is shaken by his dis­covery of a murdered child down a dead-end street . . . set­ting him on a collision course with the life he left behind. As a former agent with Black House—the secret police—he knows better than anyone that murder in Low Town is an everyday thing, the kind of crime that doesn’t get investi­gated. To protect his home, he will take part in a dangerous game of deception between underworld bosses and the psy­chotic head of Black House, but the truth is far darker than he imagines. In Low Town, no one can be trusted.

Low Town is narrated by Warden, a drug dealer and addict who had grown up an orphan on the dangerous streets of Low Town and rose to become a valuable agent of the government's Secret Service department. But several years ago something happened that landed Warden back in Low Town on the other side of the law, now running the local drug trade with an iron fist. Somehow the brutal life that the Warden has lived has not yet hardened him completely and when a young girl is found savagely murdered he finds himself driven to hunt down the murderer. But once Warden identifies the girl's murderer he realizes the situation is a lot worse than he could have imagined and that a horror from his past may be about to descend on Low Town, unless he can stop it. Warden's former colleagues from the police force are also eager to bring a stop to the murders and they intend to use Warden to so do, and if he doesn't survive, all the better.

I'm not big on gritty stories detailing bloody acts of violence and scenes of misery and abuse so I was a bit apprehensive as to what I would find in the pages of this book, based on its description. But as soon as I started reading Low Town I forgot about my concerns because the casual writing style easily drew me into the story and kept my attention focused on the drama of the unfolding events.

Despite the Warden's reputation on the street and his unsavory occupation as a drug lord he's not an unsympathetic character. He's not as hardened as one would expect from someone in his position and his obvious care for his friends and his lack of casual violence or cruelty make him someone that readers can still connect with. The wry humor in which he expresses himself also helps his appeal. I actually found it a bit irritating at how willing Warden was to repeatedly take responsibility for reprehensible events that were not his fault but still laid at his feet. So I might actually say that I found him to be perhaps just a little too good to be believable, though I suppose if this wasn't the case it would have been a lot harder for readers to care about him.

From the moment that Warden finds the body of the murdered little girl he is on a mission to find out the truth about what happened to her. Egged on by his friends, and threated by his superiors, Warden turns to his contacts for assistance and follows clues around the city until he determines who he believes the murderer to be. From that point on Warden is focused on finding the necessary proof to convict the suspected murderer of his crimes.

Low Town is probably best described as a detective noir story with a few fantasy elements mixed in, but not really enough to properly categorize it as a fantasy novel. I wouldn't call it a mystery either because we aren't really given any clues to help us determine the culprit but instead we tag along with Warden as he rushes from one contact to another without seeming to make any progress. I would have been completely surprised by the ending if Polansky hadn't shown his hand (a bit clumsily) a few chapters from the end, pretty much pointing out the culprit to us.

I was relieved to find that Low Town didn't include of scenes of brutal violence and torture a'la a Joe Abercrombie novel, though the danger and menace of the setting was a constant presence in the background.

For me what really set this book apart from other detective noir, fantasy stories was the writing. In addition to the casual narration style that made it so easy to slip into the story, I really just enjoyed the writing itself. I frequently reread certain sentences and passages just because I liked the way they were phrased, and not necessarily for any particular idea being expressed.

The only complaint I have about the book is that I would have liked to have gotten to know some of the secondary characters a bit better. These include Wren, a young street urchin that Warden takes under his wing, the Crane, an elderly wizard who befriended Warden in his youth, and Celia, a woman who Warden had saved from a childhood on the streets. Though the characters I would have really liked to have gotten to know better were Adolphus and his wife Adeline, who run the pub in which Warden lived. While the two do show up frequently in the story, usually serving Warden breakfast ( Adolphus) or chastising him for something ( Adeline) we only get a superficial look at them and their relationship with Warden, mostly through these interaction. Though there was one memorable scene between Warden and Adolphus that really made me wish Polansky had focused more on the relationship between the two, because it could have been a very powerful element in the story.

I was so fixed on my purpose that I nearly rebounded off Adolphus, who stood at the foot of the steps, rendered nearly invisible by the low light and his own uncanny stillness. Beneath his heavy overcoat a ragged suit of studded leather stretched taut against his chest, and he'd dug up his old kettle helmet, the steel dented by five years of close calls. Apart from his dress he was also festooned with weapons, two short blades hanging at his side and a battle-ax strapped to his back.

'What the hell are you wearing?' I asked, astounded. 

The savagery in his eyes left me with no doubt that my comrade was quite serious in his choice of attire. 'You didn't think you were going alone? This isn't our first time over the top. I've got my eyed on your back, as always.' 

Was he drunk? I sniffed at his breath- apparently not. 'I don't have time for this. Watch Adeline, I'll be back in a few hours.' 

'Wren's my son,' he said, without affectation of aggrandizement. 'I'll not sit by the fire while his life is in danger.' 

The Oathkeeper spare us from such pointless nobility. 'Your offer is appreciated, but unnecessary.' 

I tried to squeeze by, but he put one hand against my collar and held me firm against he banister. 'It wasn't an offer.' 

The streaks of gray outnumbered the black in his once charcoal hair. His pockmarked face was heavy. Was I that old? Did I look that foolish, my collar pulled up like a hoodlum, steel bulging from my pockets, a middle-aged man playing at adventures of youth?

...I brushed off Adolphus's hand and took a step back up the stairs, giving myself enough room to maneuver. 'You're fat- you were always big, but you're fat now. You're slow and you can't sneak, and you don't have it in you to kill a man anymore, not the way I'm going to do it. I'm not sure that you ever did. I've no time to flatter your vanity- every second you waste the boy gets closer to death. Get..out of my way.' 

For a moment I thought I had overplayed my hand and he would knock my head off my shoulders. But then he turned his face to the ground and all the energy seemed to slump out of him, like a hole at the bottom of a jug. He turned away from the staircase, his collection of cutlery jangling. 

'Look after Adeline,' I said. 'I'll be back in an hour or two.' 

That was far from certain, but there was no point in saying so. 

I slipped out into the night.

Low Town is a very impressive debut novel that I would highly recommend. I can't wait to find out what Daniel Polansky has in store for us next.

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of November 13

Fantasy

The Dragon Arcarna

Pierre Pevel

Publisher: Gollancz

Release Date: November 17

The swashbuckling adventure, perfect for fans of THE THREE MUSKETEERS continues! This is Paris. This is 1633. This is a world under attack from dragons. Cardinal Richelieu is on his guard against the greatest danger he, or France, has faced. A secret society known as the Black Claw is plotting in the shadows. They have already struck twice, and with their third blow they mean to finish their task. Unless the Cardinal's Blades can stop them. They are all prepared to risk their lives for the Crown, this time the question is not whether they will need to . . . it's whether or not they will survive. Who are the Dragon Arcana, what secret are the Chatelaine nuns trying so hard to protect, and if an ancient dragon is unleashed on Paris will the Blades really stand a chance against it . . . ?

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Urban Fantasy

Tricks of the Trade (Paranormal Scene Investigations #3)

Laura Anne Gilman

Publisher: Luna

Release Date: November 15

WHEN MAGIC GOES WRONG, WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL?

The name’s Torres, Bonnie Torres, and I’m a paranormal scene investigator—rooting out the truth about crimes of magic. It’s dangerous and boring and scary and fascinating. Though not everyone in the Cosa Nostradamus is happy we’re around, which can make things…tricky.

Working two cases—looking into a murder for the NYPD, and a rich man’s break-in—should be well within our

abilities. But when things start getting weird in the Electric Apple, Private Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigations is stretched to the limits, trying to keep one step ahead and out of trouble. Add in rumors

of a powerful creature gunning for us and it’s not just our rep on the line this time—if we don’t solve this case,

everyone will suffer.

Fortunately, around here, when the going gets weird, the weird hire us.…

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Young Adult

Death Watch

Ari Berk

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: November 15

They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree.

One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn’t come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos’s brother, Charles.

Even as Silas eagerly explores his father’s town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber’s ornate, museum-like house—something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father’s disappearance. When Silas’s search leads him to his father’s old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.

Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport’s secret history—and discovers that he has taken on his father’s mantle as Lichport’s Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father—no matter the cost.

Immortal Darkness (The Phantom Diaries #3)

Kailin Gow

Publisher: theEDGEbooks.com

Release Date: November 15

The highly-anticipated third book in the Phantom Diaries series, a modern supernatural re-telling of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera.  Who will Annette choose, and will she have to give up everything for the choice she makes?

Lightbringer

K. D. McEntire

Publisher: Pyr

Release Date: November 15

The Never is a place of greys, a world a breath beyond our own, layered just past the memories of yesterday and the fleeting present moment. It is here, in this dismal limbo, that ghosts such as Piotr, Lily, and Elle must sort out an existence, both protecting the children called Lost and themselves from the walking darkness that is the army of rotting Walkers.

Caught between her duty to her calling as the Lightbringer and her concern for her new ghostly friends, Wendy must walk the line between the two worlds, aiding Piotr in his fight against the Walkers as well as searching out the wandering soul of the one who means the most to her. Time, however, is running out and in the end... who will she choose?

Molly O'Brien and The Mark of the Dragon Slayer

Kathleen Damiani

Publisher: Larson Publications NY

Release Date: November 16

When Molly meets Sophia (Queen of Wisdom!), adventure begins! The mysterious dragonslayer mark on Molly's thigh calls for an education few receive. Sophia enlists her into an urgent mission: saving Earth from imminent destruction by Ialdobaoth, the Great Dragon of crystallized thoughts from humanity's past. Sophia leads Molly to where possible futures are created and undone.

The Pledge

Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Release Date: November 15

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Shatter Me

Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: November 15

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

The Space Between

Brenna Yovanoff

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: November 14

Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

This second novel by rising star Brenna Yovanoff is a story of identity, discovery, and a troubled love between two people struggling to find their place both in our world and theirs.

Void (Hex, Shadows, Ghosts)

Rhiannon Lassiter

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: November 15

The CPS, a secret government agency, is on a mission to seek and destroy the Hex - human mutants with supercomputer minds. They are young. They look like normal teens. They must never be allowed to grow up.

But the CPS hasn't discovered Raven. Soon they will feel her power and know her rage.

Raven and her brother, Wraith, must use Raven’s Hex powers and Wraith’s street ski

...moreThe CPS, a secret government agency, is on a mission to seek and destroy the Hex - human mutants with supercomputer minds. They are young. They look like normal teens. They must never be allowed to grow up.

But the CPS hasn't discovered Raven. Soon they will feel her power and know her rage.

Raven and her brother, Wraith, must use Raven’s Hex powers and Wraith’s street skills to save first their long-lost sister, and then the entire Hex community. But before they start, Raven must overcome her mantra: work alone and think only of herself. Even then the challenges don't stop as they must crack the top-secret and high-tech security of the CPS, ally with a political-terrorist group, and then ultimately take down the evil European Federation.

And even the best laid plans can go awry.

Wherever You Go

Heather Davis

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Release Date: November 14

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

    

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

    

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Go is is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

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Paranormal Romance

Knight of Runes

Ruth A. Casie

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: November 14

England, 1605

When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka Tyler wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style, he’s intrigued.

Rebeka is no ordinary seventeenth-century woman—she’s travelled back from the year 2011, and she desperately wants to return home. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to find out what’s killing Arik’s land. But as she works to decode the ancient runes that are the key to solving this mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.

As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik’s household schemes to keep them apart, and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. To defeat him, Arik and Rebeka must combine their skills. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.

Lord of the Abyss

Nalini Singh

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: November 15

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Just for fun: Sesame Street does Glee

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).