Cover Artist: Julie Dillon

Biography (from the website):

Hi! My name is Julie Dillon, and I'm a freelance illustrator living and working in Northern California.

I received my BFA in Fine Arts from Sacramento State University in 2005, with continued education at the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco and Watts Atelier.

Awards:

• 2013 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Professional Artist
• 2012 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Artist.
• 2011 Chesley Award Winner for "The Dala Horse" in Best Interior Illustration Art.
• Winner of Best Color Work, Best Artist, and Best in Show at ArmadilloCon Art Show.
• 2010 Chesley Award Winner for “Planetary Alignment” in Best Unpublished Color, and 2010 Chesley Nominee for “Honeycomb” in Best Magazine Art.
• Included in Spectrum 17, 18, 19 and 20.
• “Artificial Dreams” featured as the cover art for Corel Painter 12’s 20th Anniversary Can
• Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show Best Cover Illustration in 2010 for “The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola”

Examples:

(All images are the property of Julie Dillon)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The Fictional Man - Al Ewing

Release Date: May 7th, 2013
Publisher: Solaris
Age Group:  Adult
Pages: 336
Format: e-book
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an hones review










Hollywood: Niles Golan is writing a remake of a camp-classic spy movie. The studio has plans for a franchise, so rather than hiring an actor, the protagonist will be 'translated' into a cloned human body.

It's common practice - Niles' therapist is a Fictional. So is his best friend. So, maybe, is the woman in the bar he can't stop staring at. Fictionals are a part of daily life now, especially in LA.

In fact, it's getting hard to tell who's a Fictional and who's not...

Funny, clever, profound and moving, The Fictional Man is set to be Al Ewing's break-through novel.

Review:

I knew when I started this book it would be well outside my comfort zone. I mostly read (and enjoy) High/Epic Fantasy and the occasional SciFi or Horror book. I sensed “The Fictional Man” would be something I couldn’t stash in one particular genre and that it would be different than what I’d normally read. However, I was intrigued by the idea of ‘Fictionals’ walking among ordinary people and how it would affect normal life.

Al Ewing takes us to an alternative LA where most movies don’t have a star actor anymore, but a Fictional, a person specifically written out and made to fit a certain role. Imagine Sherlock Holmes dashing around or Katniss from the Hunger Games buying groceries in the store around the corner. And I’m not talking about someone portraying these characters, no, I’m talking about the actual characters, taken from the pages and brought to life in a cloned human body.

The main character is Niles Golan, an author with a huge ego and whose life is a complete train wreck. He’s tasked with rewriting a spy movie and although he’d love to see his own books adapted for the big screen (and have his character made as a fictional), he takes this opportunity with both hands. His best friend is a Fictional, so is his ‘therapist’ and he wants to create a fictional. You’d think he’s a big Fictional-loving man. But he’s not.

It was really interesting to see this story develop. The story itself (and especially the rewrite of the movie) isn’t that important. This book makes you think about the ethics of cloning people, about how the reaction to these persons may be. It confronts you with the prejudices of the common people towards the Fictionals. It introduces you to how certain Fictionals might feel and how diverse even that is. Throughout the story we can see a change in Niles. At the end of the book he’s not the same Niles we got to know in the first part of the book.

It’s the little things that hint at these changes. For instance, Niles has some sort of inner voice that makes up scenarios as he goes through life. Obviously, Niles is always the hero, the stronger man, the bad-ass in these made up stories and obviously it never works out that way. But the more the book continuous, the more the tone of this narrative, inner voice begins to change.

As I said in the beginning, this book was not really in my comfort zone and it’s not a book I’ll probably reread some years from now, but it was very interesting to read nonetheless. It has a very ethical-debate, psychological tone going on and I like to read these sort of books occasionally.

All in all, not entirely my cup of tea, but interesting enough to keep me hooked. 

Release Friday - May (2)

MAY 7, 2013

The Tower - Jean Johnson
Guardians of destiny #1

When serpent crept into their hall:
Danger waits for all who board,
Trying to steal that hidden tone.
Painted Lady saves the lord;
Tower’s master’s not alone. 

In a fertile valley undisrupted by the aether-shattering death of the old Aian Empire, the Tower and its Guardians have entertained generations of wealthy mirror-scrying mages while adventurers from around the world risk their lives for fortune and fame. But on the one day the Tower stood unguarded, an intruder tried to seize the magic powering the vast structure. Now, locked out of the Tower’s innermost chambers, Kerric Vo Mos must brave the deadly traps keeping trespassers at bay in order to reclaim control.

Unfortunately, Kerric wields a pen far better than a sword, and the way into the Tower’s sanctum is treacherous. Only the help of an experienced player like Myal the Mendhite can get him to where he must go. But mutual respect will not be enough. Passion must also be employed, along with armor and weapons, as they embark on a perilous quest past monsters, riddles, and other dangers that even the Tower’s most dedicated viewers have never seen before.

Fall of Night - Rachel Caine

The Morganville Vampires #14

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble...

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane. 

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires. 

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make...

The End Games - T. Michael Martin

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

Reboot - Amy Tintera

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Red Moon - Benjamin Percy

Award -winning author Benjamin Percy presents an explosive and deeply layered literary thriller set in the American West. They live among us. 

They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers.

They change.

When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero. Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy. So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge...and the battle for humanity will begin.

Generation V - M.L. Brennan

American Vampire #1

Reality Bites

Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human.

But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.

But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.…

Magician's End - Raymond E. Feist

The Chaoswar Saga #3

The final volume in the epic Riftwar Cycle.

The dragons are calling...

Civil war is tearing apart the Kingdom of the Isles, for the throne lies empty and rivals are converging. Having spirited his beloved Princess Stephane safely out of Roldem, Hal -now Duke of Crydee- must turn his attention to the defence of the ancient realm so that a king can be anointed by the Congress of Lords, rather than by right of might.

But the greatest threat may well lie out of the hands of men. Somewhere in the Grey Towers Mountains something not of this world is emerging. It will require that alliances be made between mortal enemies if disaster is to be averted.

Elves and men must stand together, ancient heroes must rise again, dragons must fly and Pug, Magnus and the other magic-users of Midkemia must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice if the whole world is to be saved.

Never - K.D. McEntire

Lightbringer #3

The Lightbringer trilogy's dramatic conclusion!

The Never is on the brink of destruction by the Lady Walker. Wendy, shorn of her Light by the Reapers, must be the one to save it from the beasts between the worlds. Now no more powerful than an average spirit, Wendy reluctantly strikes a balance between Elise, the new Reaper matriarch, and Jane, a Reaper gone rogue. Torn between her duty to her friends, the Riders, and her duty as the Lightbringer, Wendy must rush to learn the secrets left behind.

She must make the ultimate sacrifice to bring the worlds into balance once more... even if it costs her very soul.

MAY 14, 2013

The Human Division - John Scalzi

Old Man's War #5

Following the events of The Last Colony, John Scalzi tells the story of the fight to maintain the unity of the human race.

The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance—an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.

Against such possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won’t be easy, either. It will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning…and a brilliant “B Team,” centered on the resourceful Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you’re struggling to preserve the unity of the human race.

Being published online from January to April 2013 as a three-month digital serial, The Human Division will appear as a full-length novel of the Old Man’s War universe, plus—for the first time in print—the first tale of Lieutenant Harry Wilson, and a coda that wasn’t part of the digital serialization.

The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson

Rithmatist #1

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense—the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

Spirit and Dust - Rosemary Clement-Moore

Goodnight Family

Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional homicide.

But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.

Mending The Moon - Susan Palwick

Melinda Soto, aged sixty-four, vacationing in Mexico, is murdered by a fellow American tourist. 

Back in her hometown of Reno, Nevada, she leaves behind her adopted son, Jeremy, whom she rescued from war-torn Guatamala when he was a toddler—just one of her many causes over the years. And she leaves behind a circle of friends: Veronique, the academic stuck in a teaching job from which she can't retire; Rosemary, who's losing her husband to Alzheimer's and who's trying to lose herself in volunteer work; Henrietta, the priest at Rosemary's and Melinda's church.

Jeremy already had a fraught relationship with his charismatic mother and the people in her orbit. Now her death is tearing him apart, and he can barely stand the rituals of remembrance that ensue among his mother’s friends. Then the police reveal who killed Melinda: a Seattle teenager who flew home to his parents and drowned himself just days later.

It's too much. Jeremy's not the only one who can't deal. Friendships fray. But the unexpected happens: an invitation to them all, from the murderer's mother, to come to Seattle for his memorial. It's ridiculous. And yet, somehow, each of them begins to see in it a chance to heal. Aided, in peculiar ways, by Jeremy's years-long obsession with the comic-book hero Comrade Cosmos, and the immense cult of online commentary it's spawned.

Shot through with feeling and inventiveness, this is a novel of the odd paths that lead to home.

The Tyrant's Law - Daniel Abraham

The Dagger and The Coin #3

The great war cannot be stopped. 

The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it.

Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul.

Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can forsee.


Return to the critically acclaimed epic by master storyteller Daniel Abraham, The Dagger and the Coin.

The Name of the Wind - The Kingkiller Chronicle #1 - Patrick Rothfuss

Release Date: First published: March 27th, 2007
Publisher: Gollancz
Age Group:  Adult
Pages: 662
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought












Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

Review:

Lots and lots of people have reviewed this book before me. It’s not a new book, it was actually first published in 2007. It has 105.784 ratings on Goodreads with an average score of 4,56 and 9.930 people reviewed it there. Pfieuw. I don’t really know if I can add something new to that pile of reviews and the many opinions about this book that are already out there. But I want to add my voice to the others, I want to tell  you all about this book. Why? Because it was so damn good.

I won’t analyze the novel in great detail, I just want to find the words to express how much I enjoyed reading it and what I especially liked about it.

The story is told from a very unique perspective: it’s a story within a story. Kvothe, the main characters decides to document his life and tells his story to a scribe. This way we get a whole story in the past and this is interspersed with a few chapters in the present, getting some comments from Kvothe, his student and the scribe, as well as some action-packed scenes where we get a glimpse of the supernatural part of this book.

The first person perspective really takes you deep into the story, making it very personal and intimate. I’ve heard it’s not always easy to write from a first person perspective, because of the reasons I mentioned above, but Rothfuss does a splendid job. This was maybe one of the best books with this perspective I’ve read so far.

Another thing that was so wonderful about this book is the details. There are so many tiny things Rotfuss describes, so many things others wouldn’t think about, but he just goes ahead and describes the food, the clothes, everything. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t too much, not at all. It was just right. Just right to give this already beautiful story and extra lift.

The story itself is awesome (I really don’t have another word for it), but I won’t go deeper into that, I want you to find out for yourselves.

I especially loved the part where Kvothe attends the University though, maybe because I’m a Uni student myself or it reminded me of a more adult version of Harry Potter, I don’t know, but that vibe that Rothfuss creates at the university… It felt like I was a student there myself, like I walked the courtyards and could see the many students all around me. After finishing the book this left me with some kind of a  hole inside, I really was so fully submerged in this story it was a bit hard for me to return to reality and attend a University where there’s no magic but just massive books about bacteria, plants and diseases.

This brings me to the magic system. I’ve heard arguments about whether or not a magic system should be explained or not. I’ve read both and I have enjoyed both. But Rothfuss created such a clever system, with so much detail, I was astounded by it. I’m always baffled that such things can sprout from a single mind. That, my friend, is the true magic in this world.

The book was so beautifully written it released a tidal wave of emotions in me. People watching me read this book (my parents and the people who are working on our garden) will have seen me laugh several times and they may have even seen me sniffling and trying to hide some tears. This story doesn’t just suck you in from the very first page, it envelops you, it takes you in its embrace and refuses to let go. It will stay with you long after you’ve finished the last pages.

I’ve read dozens of memorable quotes in “The Name of The Wind” and each of them I wanted to feature in this review, but it just were too many and I can’t choose one of them. They’re all so wonderful, so breathtaking. So I’ll let you discover them on your own and hope you’ll feel the same way as I did reading this masterpiece. Mesmerized, full of emotions and longing for more.  

This is one of the big ones in the Fantasy scene and every fan of the genre should read this book. 

Rating:

Release Monday - May (1)

I'm back! First order of the day: find out what books we missed the last couple weeks. There have been quite a few, so I decided to do several posts about them this week. So you can all catch up without it being to much all at once. 
Ready? Set. Go!

May 1, 2013

The Nightlife: Paris - Tarvis Luedke
The Nightlife #3

Vampire master Michelle, and her slave, Aaron Pilan, flee to Paris, leaving behind the slaughter in Las Vegas. Aaron made the costly mistake of taking a bloodslave, and then married her. The tragedy of his wife's death has driven a rift between them and Michelle is desperate to heal the breach.

Struggling with his predatory alter ego, Aaron is fractious, rebelling against his master. He desires another bloodslave, and that Michelle cannot allow. She opens her heart and soul to Aaron and he relives, through her memories, her dark, gritty tale of survival in the savagery of WWII Paris under the German occupation. Michelle's staggering revelations are deeply disturbing. The confrontation of master versus slave comes full circle as the couple faces death and separation.

And they are not alone in Paris. An investigator has followed them from Vegas seeking the unique gifts of Michelle’s blood. He’s watching and waiting for the opportunity to make his move against them.

Find out what happens in the third novel of the Nightlife Series.

The Mystery - Garth Nix & Sean Williams

Troubletwisters #3

Magical twins, mystery and danger, unexplained events, and an Evil that refuses to be contained ... Twins Jack and Jaide are troubletwisters and in this book they must use their elusive Gifts to search Rourke Castle for the mysterious Golden Card of Translocation.

Can twins Jack and Jaide find the mysterious Golden Card of Translocation and make it out of Rourke Castle alive?
When eccentric Young Master Rourke dies in suspicious circumstances, troubletwisters Jack and Jaide are sent on a mission by their father to retrieve a lost Golden Card from somewhere within the vast Rourke estate. But secret agents for The Evil are also in pursuit of the card, and the troubletwister twins know that whoever finds it first will gain access to a Gift more powerful or terrible than any other. Together they negotiate secret passages, talking parrots and animated suits of armour, while trying to control their own fledgling Gifts. It rapidly becomes impossible to know who to trust and who might be an agent - even among those closest to them.

MAY 7, 2013

The Fictional Man - Al Ewing

Hollywood: Niles Golan is writing a remake of a camp-classic spy movie. The studio has plans for a franchise, so rather than hiring an actor, the protagonist will be 'translated' into a cloned human body.

It's common practice - Niles' therapist is a Fictional. So is his best friend. So, maybe, is the woman in the bar he can't stop staring at. Fictionals are a part of daily life now, especially in LA.

In fact, it's getting hard to tell who's a Fictional and who's not...

Funny, clever, profound and moving, The Fictional Man is set to be Al Ewing's break-through novel.

The Originals - Cat Patrick

17-year-olds Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey Best grew up as identical triplets... until they discovered a shocking family secret. They're actually closer than sisters, they're clones. Hiding from a government agency that would expose them, the Best family appears to consist of a single mother with one daughter named Elizabeth. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey take turns going to school, attending social engagements, and a group mindset has always been a de facto part of life...

Then Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, a guy who seems to see into her very soul. As their relationship develops, Lizzie realizes that she's not a carbon copy of her sisters; she's an individual with unique dreams and desires, and digging deeper into her background, Lizzie begins to dismantle the delicate balance of an unusual family that only science could have created.

Shield of Sea and Space - Erin Hoffman

The Chaos Knight #3

Vidarian Rulorat, called the Tesseract, a powerful magic-user whose abilities spread across multiple elements, finds himself at war with the Alorean Import Company, a powerful cabal of merchants wealthy enough to buy nations. By opening the gate between worlds, Vidarian released the Starhunter, goddess of chaos. With her coming, wild magic returned to the world of Andovar, bringing with it shape-changers and strange awakened elemental technologies, including many-sailed ships powered by air magic, and mechanical automata lit from within by earth and fire.

Now, Vidarian discovers that the Alorean Import Company is determined to eliminate two-thirds of this new life on Andovar in the hopes of hoarding more magic for themselves in a new, worldwide plutocracy. Along with his human, gryphon, and shapechanger allies, he must stop the Company if he is to safeguard any future for the diverse life of Andovar, including his and Ariadel’s newborn daughter.

With the existence of whole species hanging in the balance, Vidarian is locked in a race for the future of the world.

Guardian - Jack Campbell

Beyond the Frontier #3

Admiral Geary’s First Fleet of the Alliance has survived the journey deep into unexplored interstellar space, a voyage that led to the discovery of new alien species, including a new enemy and a possible ally. Now Geary’s mission is to ensure the safety of the Midway Star System, which has revolted against the Syndicate Worlds empire—an empire that is on the brink of collapse.

To complicate matters further, Geary also needs to return safely to Alliance space not only with representatives of the Dancers, an alien species, but also withInvincible, a captured warship that could possibly be the most valuable object in human history. Despite the peace treaty that Geary must adhere to at all costs, the Syndicate Worlds regime threatens to make the fleet’s journey back grueling and perilous.

And even if Geary escortsInvincibleand the Dancers’ representatives safely unharmed, the Syndics’ attempts to spread dissent and political unrest may have already sown the seeds of the Alliance’s destruction...

Shadows of Falling Night - S.M. Stirling

Shadowspawn #3

At last, S. M. Stirling, the New York Times bestselling author of the Novels of the Change, presents the stunning climax to his Shadowspawn trilogy—the ultimate confrontation, in which the fate of all humanity hangs in the balance....
She’s back....

Near-purebred home nocturnus Adrian Brézé and his human mate, Ellen, thought they had dealt with his twin sister, Adrienne. In fact, they thought she was dead.

But she survived and now leads a faction of the Shadowspawn—the ancient, shape-shifting, blood-drinking breed who secretly control the world—that wants to leave just enough of the human race alive to satisfy their hunger and serve their needs. She has nothing but hatred and contempt for her brother, who remains on the side of humanity, fighting with the Brotherhood against the Shadowspawn.

To defeat him, she has suborned his mentor—the greatest warrior of the Brotherhood. The man thinks he’s bringing a weapon to the Council of Shadows that will wipe out the Shadowspawn’s leaders. In truth, his actions will make Adrienne demon-goddess of the world...unless Adrian and Ellen can turn him back in time.

The Mist-Torn Witches - Barb Hendee

The Mist-Torn Witches #1

National bestselling author Barb Hendee presents a dark, fascinating new series set in the world of the Noble Dead Saga... the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...

In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.

But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.

A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their "skills" to find the killer.

With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.

The Havoc Machine - Steven Harper

Clockwork Empire #4

In a world riddled with the destruction of men and machines alike, Thaddeus Sharpe takes to the streets of St. Petersburg, geared toward the hunt of his life…

Thaddeus Sharpe’s life is dedicated to the hunting and killing of clockworkers. When a mysterious young woman named Sofiya Ekk approaches him with a proposition from a powerful employer, he cannot refuse. A man who calls himself Mr. Griffin seeks Thad’s help with mad clockwork scientist Lord Havoc, who has molded a dangerous machine. Mr. Griffin cares little if the evil Lord lives or dies; all he desires is Havoc’s invention.

Upon Thad’s arrival at Havoc’s laboratory, he is met with a chilling discovery. Havoc is not only concealing his precious machine; he has been using a young child by the name of Nikolai for cruel experiments. Locked into a clockwork web of intrigue, Thad must decipher the dangerous truth surrounding Nikolai and the chaos contraption before havoc reigns…

Nightbound - Lynn Viehl

Lords of the Darkyn #3

Beaumaris of York has many secrets. No human can know that he’s an immortal Darkyn assigned to Knight’s Realm, the Kyn stronghold disguised as a medieval theme park. And none of his brethren can discover that he’s a half-breed, rescued from slavery as a child. Lately Beau has been yearning for action—and he’s about to find it with his new mission.

Brilliant archaeologist Dr. Alys Stuart is infamous for her extraordinary theories—especially those concerning the mysterious Knights Templar—and she is unaware that her research is funded by the Kyn coffers. When the Kyn sends a vexingly good-looking man to assist—and protect—her, she doesn’t expect the surge of attraction she feels for him.

When a powerful Templar artifact surfaces, Alys and Beau must trust each other enough to stop mankind’s greed for immortality from sparking a war between mortals and Kyn that will destroy the world.

Invisibility - Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits - Chuck Wendig

The force of nature that is Chuck Wendig returns with an original urban fantasy novel, creating a brand new series for Abaddon Books.

Five years ago, it all went wrong for Cason Cole. He lost his wife and son, lost everything, and was bound into service to a man who chews up human lives and spits them out, a predator who holds nothing dear and respects no law. Now, as the man he both loves and hates lies dying at his feet, the sounds of the explosion still ringing in his ears, Cason is finally free. The gods and goddesses are real. A polytheistic pantheon—a tangle of divine hierarchies—once kept the world at an arm’s length, warring with one another for mankind’s belief and devotion. It was a grim and bloody balance, but a balance just the same. When one god triumphed, driving all other gods out of Heaven, it was back to the bad old days: cults and sycophants, and the terrible retribution the gods visit on those who spite them. None of which is going to stop Cason from getting back what’s his...