The Great Geek Manual

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction by Gene Wolfe
Tor Books. (ISBN: 978-0765321350) Hardcover. Length: 480pp
In these 31 self-selected stories, Wolfe mixes pulp adventure, ghost stories and noir with self-reference, meta-fiction, unreliable narrators and puns. His protagonists faces threats both modern (political correctness in “Petting Zoo,” corporate capitalism in “Hour of Trust”) and eternal (sexual temptation in “Bed and Breakfast”) and learn to trust fantasy over fact (“The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories,” “And When They Appear”). The result is a highly flattering career retrospective of a postmodern fabulist disguised as a mild-mannered SF writer. March 17

Imager: The First Book of the Imager Portfolio by L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Tor Books. (ISBN: 978-0765320346) Hardcover. Length: 432pp
Apprentice portraitist Rhennthyl finds out the hard way that he has the magical ability called Imaging: an explosion kills his master right after Rhenn wishes for just such an event. Rhenn’s ability, which allows him to form objects from thin air and slay with a glance, appears to be quite strong, and he begins training as a covert operative. Just when he starts to relax into his new career, an unknown assassin tries to kill him. March 17

The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
Tor Books. (ISBN: 978-0765317568) Hardcover. Length: 272pp
Altagracia – her friends call her Grace – works at Sanchez Motorworks, customizing hot rods. Finding the line in a classic car is her calling. Now Grace has to find the line in her own life. A few blocks around the Alverson Arms is all her world — from the little grocery store where she buys beans, tamales, and cigarettes (“cigarettes can kill you,” they tell her, but she smokes them anyway) to the record shop, to the library where Henry, a black man confined to a wheelchair, researches the mystery of life in death – but she’s got unfinished business keeping her close to home. March 17

One Second After by William R. Forstchen
Forge Books. (ISBN: 978-0765317582) Hardcover. Length: 352pp
one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages…A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies. March 17

Player’s Handbook 2: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook
Wizards of the Coast. (ISBN: 978-0786950164) Hardcover. Length: 224pp
New classes, races, and other options for your D&D game. This book builds on the array of classes and races presented in the first Player’s Handbook, adding both old favorites and new, never-before-seen options to the game. March 17

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley
Del Rey. (ISBN: 978-0345505873) Paperback. Length: 336pp
Manhattan veterinarian Abra Barrow has more sense about animals than she has about men. So when her adored journalist husband returns from a research trip to Romania and starts pacing their apartment like a caged wolf, Abra agrees to move with him to a rural mansion upstate in order to save her marriage. But Abra soon discovers that nothing in the bucolic town of Northside is what it seems. The local tavern serves a dangerous, predatory underworld. As the moon waxes full, Abra must choose between trusting the man she married, taking a chance on a seductive stranger, or following her own animal instincts. February 24

City without End by Kay Kenyon
Pyr. (ISBN: 978-1591026983) Hardcover. Length: 433pp
Book 3 of the Entire and the Rose. On this stage unfolds a mighty struggle for dominance between two universes. Titus Quinn has forged an unstable peace with the Tarig lords. The ruinous capability of the nanotech surge weapon he possesses ensures d‚tente. But it is a sham. In what the godwoman Zhiya calls “a fit of moral goodness,” he’s thrown the weapon into the space-folding waters of the Nigh. This clears the way for an enemy he could have never foreseen: the people of the Rose. A small cadre led by Helice Maki is determined to take the Entire for itself and leave the earth in ruins. The transform of earth will begin deep in a western desert and will sweep over the lives of ordinary people, entangling Quinn’s sister-in-law Caitlin in a deepening and ultimate conspiracy. February 24
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Last Week’s Best-Selling Genre Books

1. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
2. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Coraline (Movie Tie-in Edition) by Neil Gaiman
5. Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
6. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
7. Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
8. Daemon by Daniel Suarez

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

Escape From Hell by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Tor Books. (ISBN: 9780765316325) Hardcover. Length: 336pp
The long-awaited follow-up to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s classic science-fiction reimagining of Dante’s Inferno. February 17

Steal Across the Sky by Nancy Kress
Tor Books. (ISBN: 978-0756405380) Hardcover. Length: 320pp
The aliens appeared one day, built a base on the moon, and put an ad on the internet: “We are an alien race you may call the Atoners. Ten thousand years ago we wronged humanity profoundly. We cannot undo what has been done, but we wish humanity to understand it. Therefore we request twenty-one volunteers to visit seven planets to Witness for us. We will convey each volunteer there and back in complete safety. Volunteers must speak English. Send requests for electronic applications to witness@Atoners.com.”February 17

Last Week’s Best-Selling Genre Books

1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
5. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
6. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
7. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
8. Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
9. Watchmen by Alan Moore
10. Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Ace Hardcover. (ISBN: 978-0441016761) Hardcover. Length: 309pp
The fourth book in the truly excellent Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series. In a world where “witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people,” it takes a very unusual woman to call it home. By day, Mercy Thompson is a car mechanic in Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shape-shifter with some unusual talents, Mercy’s found herself maintaining a tenuous harmony between the human and the not-so- human on more than one occasion. This time she may get more than she bargained for. February 3

Crime Spells by Martin H. Greenberg
DAW. (ISBN: 978-0756405380) Paperback. Length: 320pp
When magic is used for criminal purposes, all sorts of ethical and logistical questions arise beyond the realm of everyday law and order. Now, sixteen top tale-tellers offer fascinating new stories of those who commit magic crimes, those who investigate them, and those who prosecute them. From a young woman who uses out-of-body excursions to research paranormal crimes to a bookie who’s been paying for hex protection against magical interference to an artist who does divination through his sketched visions which may lead to a murderer’s undoing, here are powerful tales of magical crimes and punishments. February 3

Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Lani Diane Rich
St. Martin’s Paperbacks. (ISBN: 978-0312944377) Paperbacks. Length: 400pp
Abby has just arrived in Summerville, Ohio, with her placid Newfoundland, Bowser. She’s reluctantly inherited her grandmother’s coffee shop, but it’s not long before she’s brewing up trouble in the form of magical baked goods and steaming up her life with an exasperating college professor. And then there’s Daisy, a web code writer, and her hyperactive Jack Russell, Bailey. Her tightly-wound world spins out of control when she discovers the chaos within and meets a mysterious dog trainer whose teaching style is definitely hands-on. Finally there’s Shar, professor of ancient history at Summerville College, who wakes up one morning to find her neurotic dachshund, Wolfie, snarling at an implacable god sitting at her kitchen table, the first thing in her life she hasn’t been able to footnote. What on earth is going on in this unearthly little town? It’s up to Abby, Daisy, and Shar to find out before an ancient goddess takes over Southern Ohio, and they all end up in the apocalyptic doghouse… February 3
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Last Week’s Best-Selling Genre Books

1. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
2. Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
3. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
4. Nation by Terry Pratchett
5. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
6. Foundation by Mercedes Lackey
7. The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks
8. A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
9. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
10. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

Agincourt: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell
Harper. (ISBN: 978-0061578915) Length: 464pp
Cornwell returns to the Hundred Years War era in this action-packed if slightly melodramatic epic about King Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Nicholas Hook, an English forester, is on the run after interfering with a rapist priest and ends up a mercenary defender at Soissons, where he saves a young and beautiful novitiate, Melisande. With his French prize in tow, he returns to England and signs on with Henry’s army as an archer. January 20

The Clone Wars Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) by Rodney Thompson, et all
Wizards of the Coast. (ISBN: 978-0786949991) Length: 224pp
This book includes new information for heroes on both sides of the war, including new talents, feats, prestige classes, and equipment designed to tailor characters to the unique feel of the Clone Wars conflict. Release: January 20
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Last Week’s Best-Selling Genre Books

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
5. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
6. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
7. The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
8. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
9. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
10. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

The Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills
Orbit. (ISBN: 9780316035422) Paperback. Length: 560pp
Gerald Dunwoody is a wizard. Just not a particularly good one. He’s blown up a factory, lost his job, and there’s a chance that he’s not really a Third Grade wizard after all. So it’s off to New Ottosland to be the new Court Wizard for King Lional.

Bones of the Dragon by Weis & Hickman
Tor Books. (ISBN: 978-0765319739) Length: 416pp
Book one of the Dragonships of Vindras series, the latest from Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. Need I say more? In this Viking-themed story, dragonships have real dragons and the gods fight side by side with their heroes. Named Chief of Chiefs of the sea-raiding Vindrasi, Skylan Ivorson discovers that his victory over the last chief came through another’s treachery, his betrothed is in love with his best friend and his gods may be dead. Impetuously, he plunges ahead on a quest to recover the sacred Vektan Torque, but betrayal leaves the voyagers in chains.

Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo
Thomas Nelson. (ISBN: 978-1595544988) Hardcover. Length: 304pp
This is the third book in the Dreamhouse Kings Series. It’s hard to believe that things could have gotten worse for the King family-but they have. Dad’s in handcuffs, the school bully has just found the secret portal that leads from the high school to the house, and Xander is sure he’s found Mom, but they can’t get back to her. Then Jesse arrives, and he seems to be a virtual Obi Wan of knowledge about the place. But is he the key they need to unlock the secrets, or just a crazy old man? Dangers are increasing from within and without when Xander makes a startling discovery that explains why they haven’t found any rooms that lead to the future. Alongside the threats, though, they’re also starting to find some surprising allies.
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New Releases

After the Downfall by Harry Turtledove
Night Shade Books. (ISBN: 978-1-59780-130-0) Hardcover. Price: $24.95 Length: 324pp
An alternate history fantasy novel in which the Russians invade Berlin in 1945, and a German officer finds himself transported to a magical world of wizards and unicorns. Publishers Weekly says the main character’s “slow enlightenment breaks no new ground, but his story will appeal to fans of Turtledove’s straightforward style and military know-how.”

The Company by K. J. Parker
Orbit. (ISBN: 978-0-316-03853-9) Hardcover. Length: 419pp Price: $24.99
A fantasy novel about five war veterans who colonize an abandoned island, whose friendship is strained by the discovery of gold. Publishers Weekly says “This exquisitely written novel by a pseudonymous popular author blends gritty military fantasy with the 18th-century ‘island story’ tradition.”

Dark Rain by Tony Richards
Harper. (ISBN: 978-0-06-147466-8) Mass market paperback. Length: 388pp Price: $7.99
Horror novel about a small town in Massachusetts inhabited by descendants of the witches who escaped the Salem witch trials.

Doomwyte by Brian Jacques
Philomel. (ISBN: 978-0-399-24544-2) Hardcover. Length: 373pp Price: $23.99
The latest young adult fantasy novel in the long-running Redwall animal fantasy series. This book tells the tale of the Doomwytes, sinister ravens in pursuit of a fabled treasure.

Foundation by Mercedes Lackey
DAW. (ISBN: 978-0-7564-0524-3) Hardcover. Length: 340pp Price: $25.95
A science fiction novel set in the Valdemar of Lackey’s earlier works, this book follows an orphan slave who is discovered to have special talents. Locus Magazine rather sardonically says that Lackey “returns to her tried-and-true formula: an abused child is rescued when Chosen by a Companion to become a Herald, and turns out to have special talents that may turn out to save the kingdom…”
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Last Week’s Best-Selling Genre Books

1. Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion
2. The Shack
3. Twilight
4. Breaking Dawn (Twilight 4)
5. Brisingr (Inheritance 3)
6. Eclipse (Twilight 3)
7. New Moon (Twilight 2)
8. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
9. The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide
10. Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire 2)

New Releases

The following books will be released this week:

Caine Black Knife by Matthew Stover
Del Rey. (ISBN: 978-0-345-45587-1) Length: 343pp
The third book in a fantasy series that follows a warrior in a far-future reality show. In this book Caine returns, after 30 years, to the site of his victory over the Black Knives tribe. Publishers Weekly review concludes that “Stover has a gift for brutal, detailed action sequences, and Caine is at his most enthralling when he’s fighting or discussing tactics, but the high levels of (occasionally creative) profanity and the cliffhanger ending may put off some readers.”

City of Jade by Dennis L. McKiernan
Roc. (ISBN: 978-0-451-46231-2) Hardcover. Length: 353pp
A fantasy novel in the Mithgar series, in which Aravan, captain of the Elven ship Eroean, embarks on an expedition to find the mythical lost city of jade.

Fast Forward 2 by Lou Anders
Pyr. (ISBN: 978-1-59102-692-1) Trade paperback. Length: 360pp
An anthology of fourteen stories, from authors including Paul Cornell, Kay Kenyon, Nancy Kress, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Cory Doctorow, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, and Paolo Bacigalupi.
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