Ebook Review: Synthetic Dreams by Kim Knox

Pros: good pacing, tense moments, intricate plot, hot romance

Cons: limited worldbuilding, stereotypical characters

Vynessa Somerton grew up in N-District, a privileged member of society, who fell from grace for selling illegal glamor.  Now she lives in S-District and struggles to survive.  When the government starts vanishing other highly skilled programmers, she discovers she has a protector, an incredibly handsome man, who wants her to save his brother, who vanished and was replaced 7 years earlier, in return for saving her life.

As a novella Synthetic Dreams is necessarily fast paced.  Once the action starts, it doesn't let up.  The romance is also fast, but doesn't feel forced, getting hot at times and maintaining a nice simmer throughout the action. 

The plot is intricate, with a series of revelations at the end you won't predict.  It's necessarily linear, with no deviations.  Even the romance serves to heighten the action rather than as a plot device itself.

While there are no info dumps, there is some stilted conversation as important information that the characters should already know is dealt to readers.  It's mostly unobtrusive, as the author does a good job of keeping these to one lines at a time.  The worldbuilding is unfortunately limited and makes the ending a little confusing, as the nature of the Halls and Tiers of the Mind are never fully explained.  Still, it's surprising how vividly Knox paints her world, given the limited description.

The characters don't have time to develop from stereotypes into three dimensional characters.  Vynessa has physical scars and low self-esteem when it comes to her attractiveness.  And while she's good with tech, she quickly realizes she needs Paul's help to survive what's coming for her.  Paul, meanwhile, is tall, dark and handsome with a perfect physique and the need to rescue his lady in distress. 

Negatives aside, given the length of the story you don't really notice the problems until after you're done.  Though the ending could have been slowed a bit so as to explain a few things more thoroughly, it was a quick, intelligent read.

Out today from Carina Press.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Coming in June 2011

As usual, this list has been compiles via the Indigo website, with the exception of the Carina ebook listings*.  In some instances, the publisher websites had conflicting dates, in which case I went with the publisher's information.  Dates are subject to change and though I try my best to be inclusive, I'm sure books have been missed.  If you notice a mistake or an omission, please leave a comment and I'll fix it ASAP.  

*With regards to ebooks, it's impossible to know what's coming out (because there's so much and no firm database for them, especially when listing books a month in advance), so for now I'm just including Carina Press.  In addition to now having a 'coming soon' page, their ebooks have all been professionally edited and have a traditional publisher (Harlequin) backing them.  In time I may try to add more ebooks, but for now this category is experimental.

Hardcover:

Naamah's Blessing – Jacqueline Carey

The Plain Man – Steve Englehart

Doctor Who: Hunter's Moon – Paul Finch

The Stranger's Woes – Max Frei

Doctor Who: Dead of Winter – James Goss

For Heaven's Eyes Only – Simon Green

The Noble Pirates – R. R. Jean

Unnatural Issue – Mercedes Lackey

Wild Cards: Fort Freak – George Martin, Ed.

Dragon's Time – Anne & Todd McCaffrey

Doctor Who: Way Through the Woods – Una McCormack

Jim and the Flims – Rudy Rucker

The Pack – Jason Starr

Hex – Allen Steele

Exiles: Clan of the Claw – S.M. Stirling, Harry Turtledove, John Ringo & Jody Lynn Nye

Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook – Steve Tribe

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities – Anne & Jeff Vandermeer, Ed.

Star Wars: Heirs to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition) – Timothy Zahn

Trade Paperback:

Waking the Witch – Kelley Armstrong

Moondance At Stonewylde – Kit Berry

Book of Dragon – Steven Brust

A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs 

Chicks Kick Butt – Rachel Caine & Kerrie Hughes, Ed.

Leviathan Wakes – James Corey

Raising Stony Mayhall – Daryl Gregory

Farnham's Freehold – Robert Heinlein

Sword of Fire and Sea – Erin Hoffman

ParaSpheres 2: Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction – Ken Keegan, Ed. 

Happily Ever After – John Kilma, Ed.

Warhammer: Dwarfs – Nick Kyme

Pinion – Jay Lake

Hell's Belles – Paul Magrs

The Osiris Ritual – George Mann

Nina in Utopia – Miranda Miller

The Magic of Recluse – L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Who Fears Death – Nnedi Okorafor

The Deadliest Bite – Jennifer Rardin

The Traitor's Gate – Sarah Silverwood

Shadowborn – Alison Sinclair

Shadow's Lure – Jon Sprunk

Afterblight Chronicles: America – Simon Spurrier

Alien Invasion – Travis Taylor & Bob Boan

On the Third Day – Rhys Thomas

The Banshee's Walk – Frank Tuttle

Warhammer 40K: Battle of the Fang – Chris Wraight

Mass Market Paperback:

The Map of All Things – Kevin Anderson

Hexed – Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James and Jeanne Stein

Spectyr – Philippa Ballantine

Kindling the Moon – Jenn Bennett

Forgotten Realms: The Spectral Blaze – Richard Lee Byers

Lure of the Wicked – Karina Cooper

Countdown – Greg Cox

Dark Sun: Under the Crimson Sun – Keith DeCandido

1635: The Tangled Web – Virginia DeMarce

Feast – Merrie Destefano

What Distant Deeps – David Drake

Burn the Night – Jocelynn Drake

The Sorceress of Karres – Eric Flint & Dave Freer

The January Dancer – Michael Flynn

Zadayi Red – Caleb Fox

The Shadow Men – Christopher Golden

Deadline – Mira Grant

Deep in the Woods – Chris Green

From Hell With Love – Simon Green

Forgotten Realms: Elmisnter Must Die – Ed Greenwood

Hexed – Kevin Hearne

Memories of Envy – Barb Hendee

Warhammer: Sigvald – Darius Hinks

Migration – James Hogan

Transformers: Exodus – Alex Irvine

Saltation – Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Esperanza – Trish MacGregor

Star Trek: Vanguard: Declassified – David Mack

Green-eyed Envy – Kasey Mackenzie

Dragongirl – Todd McCaffrey

Imager's Intrigue – L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Degrees of Freedom – Simon Morden

Deadly Dreams – Andre Norton

Tongues of Serpents – Naomi Novik

Black Heart Loa – Adrian Phoenix

Hot & Steamy: Tales of Steampunk Romance – Jean Rabe & Martin Greenberg, Ed.

Thistle Down – Irene Radford

The Golden Key – Melanie Rawn

The Bear – R. A. Salvatore

Warhammer 40K: Atlas Infernal – Rob Sanders

Lightborn – Alison Sinclair

Children No More – Mark L. Van Name

Untold Adventures: A Dungeons & Dragons Anthology – Various

Kitty's Big Trouble – Carrie Vaughn

Dark War – Tim Waggoner

Mistification – Kaaron Warren

Carina ebooks:

Quarter Square – David Bridger

The Naked Truth – Lilly Cain

Goddess With a Blade – Lauren Dane

Soul Survivor – Misty Evans

The Devil's Garden – Jane Kindred

Last Car to Anwnn Station – Michael merriam

Kat's Tale – Bettie Sharpe

Young Adult:

Fairy Bad Day – Amanda Ashby

The Nine Lives of Chloe King – Liz Braswell

The Demon's Surrender – Sarah Rees Brennan

For the Win – Cory Doctorow

The Lost Heiress – Catherine Fisher

By Rocket to the Moon – Otto Willi Gail

Hereafter – Tara Hudson

Possession – Elana Johnson

Passion – Lauren Kate

Shadowmagic: Price Of Hazel and Oak – John Lenahan

Mrs Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

Dead Rules – Randy Russell

Spellbound – Cara Lynn Shultz

The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya – Nagaru Tanigawa

Eternity – Heather Terrell

Ashes, Ashes – Jo Treggiari

The Vampire Stalker – Allison Van Diepen

The Sevenfold Spell - Book Review

by Tia Nevitt

Pros: great characterization, interesting premise

Cons: short (I would have loved more description), simplistic writing

This is a novel being published by Carina Press. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, it's a new branch of Harlequin Enterprises specializing in digital books (as in, there won't necessarily ever be a print version of the books published by them). The books are sold non-DRM protected, for reasonable prices.

I got a copy of The Sevenfold Spell via Netgalley, for review purposes. The book came out on September 27th for the extremely low price of $2.99 US. The price is less surprising when you take into account the fact that the book is only 97 pages.

The premise was intriguing so I decided to give it a read. The story begins with all spinning wheels in this unnamed country being destroyed. A curse has been laid on the princess that when she turns 16 she will prick her finger on one and die. Another fairy mitigates the curse so that she will simply fall asleep but the royal family is determined that this event never occur. At no point do they consider the hardships this will cause those who have no other means of income than spinning thread.

Enter Talia and her mother, spinsters who find themselves living off of money Talia saved up for her dowry. With her prospects ruined, her only suitor's father has decided to send the boy to a monastery rather than have them wed.

Talia enjoys a few weeks of pleasure with him before he leaves, ruining her reputation and awakening her desires.

The book isn't quite a romance, nor is it erotica (though is has a few quick, explicit scenes), nor is it fantasy (though there are fairies). It's a fairy tale, from the point of view of someone who doesn't have a fairy godmother.

While there's little description in the novel, Talia is a well realized character. Her motivations are sound, even when she makes 'bad' choices. She experiences true growth in the novel, and gives one potential lover, Andrew, some good advice. And, being based on fairy tales, despite how bleak things become, it does have a happy ending.

Ultimately, it's a quick, entertaining read. Talia's a great character and Tia's interpretation of Sleeping Beauty is good.

Carina Press

I stumbled across Carina Press, a subsidiary of Harlequin Enterprises, via NetGalley. It's a new press that focuses on romance, but will accept other genres as well. How does it differ from Harlequin's other imprints? I'll let their site FAQ explain:

1. As Carina Press is a division of Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, how is it different?

   At the very basic level, Harlequin is a traditional print publisher with a robust digital-offering, while Carina Press is a digital-first publisher.

   Both the contract and distribution channels are very different:

   • The Carina Press contract does not include an advance or DRM, and authors are compensated with a higher royalty.
   • Unlike Harlequin there is no guaranteed series distribution (no standing order, no direct mail, no overseas translation markets).
   • Carina Press titles will be sold direct to consumers through the Carina Press website, and we’ll be securing 3rd party distribution with retailers such as Books On Board, Fictionwise and Amazon.

2. Will my manuscript be edited and copy edited?

   Yes. Carina Press goes through the same rigorous acquisition and editorial development processes as traditional print publishers.

3. Will I be charged to publish my book with Carina Press?

   No. Carina Press is not a vanity publisher and the author is not asked to pay for publication, editing, cover art or other services.

In other words, it's an ebook press. Harlequin provides the editorial services and is willing to publish things that don't work in book form, for example they'll accept shorter manuscripts than regular publishers. I read one of their titles, The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt, and the review will be up tomorrow.

So, if you're a writer and you're considering your publication options, here's another one.