New Releases
After the relatively slow month that was April 2009, May kicks off with a bang. This week, the much-anticipated ninth book in Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series hits shelves along with a new J.R.R. Tolkien novel.
The first eight books in the Sookie Stackhouse series, which begins with Dead Until Dark, have consistently surprised me with their ability to keep me, a twenty-something male geek, actively engrossed in a story clearly pitched more towards the Harlequin crowd. The key I think, is that every time the reader expects Sookie, the telepathic, vampire-loving, backwater barmaid to swoon or begin contemplating the vicissitudes of her love life, the story takes an even more bizarre turn.
I’d recommend sampling this series if you’re an urban fantasy or vampire fan, even if you are dude. The series has a lot of potential, and Harris hasn’t disappointed yet. (P.S. Don’t worry. It’s nothing like the t.v. series.)
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0441017157) Hardcover. Length: 320pp
The ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps—and nothing about weres. Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works—and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it. But there’s a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings—older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves—is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle. (Release: May 5)
Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro
Baen. (ISBN-13: 978-1416591603) Hardcover. Length: 512pp
Del was a rock singer. He was also the renegade son of the Ruby Dynasty, which made his career choice less than respectable, and gave him more to worry about than getting gigs and not getting cheated by recording companies, club owners, or his agent. For one thing, the Ruby Dynasty ruled the Skolian Imperialate, an interstellar Empire, which had recently had a war with another empire, the Eubian Concord. For another, Del was singing on Earth, which was part of a third interstellar civilization, and one which had an uneasy relationship with the Imperialate. Del undeniably had talent, and was rapidly rising from an unknown fringe artist to stardom. But, with his life entangled in the politics of three interstellar civilizations, whether he wanted that or not, talent might not be enough. (Release: May 5)
Enemies & Allies by Kevin J. Anderson
William Morrow. (ISBN-13: 978-0061662553) Hardcover. Length: 336pp
Sputnik silently circles in the skies above the fabled cities of the United States as danger lurks in the Earth’s darkest corners. In Gotham, the shadowy vigilante known as the Batman haunts Gotham’s streets . . . and the police are just as afraid of this Dark Knight as the city’s criminals are. In Metropolis, the notorious Lex Luthor is leveraging international tensions to build LuthorCorp into a military-industrial empire, competing against his business rival Wayne Industries, which is run by Gotham’s enigmatic millionaire, Bruce Wayne. When Batman’s and Superman’s paths cross, their lives change, and history will never be the same. (Release: May 5)
Fall of Light by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Ace Hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0441014682) Hardcover. 320pp
Opal LaZelle is a special effects make-up artist, transforming actors into fantastical and grotesque creatures. Unknown to the casts and crews of the films she works on, Opal is gifted in the art of magic—and she applies more than make-up when altering an actor’s features. Her latest job requires turning Corvus Weather into a dark god of the forest. But when Corvus’s performance becomes too convincing—on set and off—Opal realizes he’s not acting. Something has taken possession of Corvus. Something sinister tied to the town’s past, with the ability to absorb the very essence of life. Something Opal doesn’t have enough power to confront, much less drive from the man she has fallen in love with. (Release: May 5)
Flood by Stephen Baxter
Roc Hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0451462718) Hardcover. Length: 496pp
Four hostages are rescued from a group of religious extremists in Barcelona. After five years of being held captive together, they make a vow to always watch out for one another. But they never expected this… The world they have returned to has been transformed by water—and the water is rising. As it continues to flow from the earth’s mantle, entire countries disappear. High ground becomes a precious commodity. And finally, the dreadful truth is revealed: before fifty years have passed, there will be nowhere left to run… (Release: May 5)
In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake
Baen. (ISBN-13: 978-1416591597) Hardcover. Length: 400pp
Daniel Leary is Cinnabar’s most successful space captain; His friend, Lady Adele E Mundy, is its most efficient spy – but they’ve got their hands full this time as they face a wide array of new enemies from palace to reeking jungle, from gunfights in grimy hangars to the flagship’s bridge during a sprawling space battle, Leary and Mundy are in the thick of it again. Watch the galaxy explode. (Release: May 5)
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (ISBN-13: 978-0547273426) Hardcover. Length: 384pp
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a previously unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien, written while Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford during the 1920s and ‘30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It makes available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs. It includes an introduction by J.R.R. Tolkien, drawn from one of his own lectures on Norse literature, with commentary and notes on the poems by Christopher Tolkien. (Release: May 5)
Shadow Valley by Steven Barnes
Del Rey. (ISBN-13: 978-0345459039) Hardcover. Length: 272pp
The sequel to Great Sky Woman. Since the beginning of time, the peaceful Ibandi people had been sheltered by their god-mountains, Great Earth and Great Sky. When the savage Mk*tk threatened their way of life, their gods told Sky Woman—last of the true Dream Dancers—and her mate Frog Hopping to take the people north in search of new lands. As the Ibandi meet strange new peoples and discover a land of promise and plenty, the deeds of a man thought long dead will rouse the Mk*tk to a bloody frenzy and send them on a quest for vengeance that could shatter the Ibandi’s dreams. All is lost . . . unless Sky Woman can regain her power, unless Frog Hopping can become the first true warrior, and unless a dead man can find the heart to forgive. All their fates, and more, will be decided in the place called Shadow Valley. (Release: May 5)
Starfinder by John Marco
DAW Hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0756405519) Hardcover. Length: 400pp
Steam trains and electricity are rapidly changing the world. Moth of Calio is obsessed with the airships developed by his friend Fiona’s grandfather Rendor, and dreams of taking to the air one day like his heroes, the Skyknights. But not everyone is happy to see humans reach the skies. For thousands of years, the mysterious and powerful race known as the Skylords have jealously guarded their heavenly domain. But Moth and Fiona are about to breach the magical boundary between the world of humans and the world of the Skylords. (Release: May 5)
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