Books Received in April 2014, part 2

Myths and Legends: Wizards: From Merlin to Faust by David and Leslie McIntee - Osprey's Myths and Legends series is great if you want an introduction to the topic at hand.  I knew some of the wizards mentioned, but this book had a lot of great information, both in terms of the myths covered and the history behind the wizards.

From the wise and mysterious soothsayer with his long grey beard to the deathless necromancer practicing his dark magics in a forgotten dungeon, wizards have captured our imaginations since the earliest days of human storytelling, presenting us with some of our greatest heroes and villains. This book collects the tales of the most interesting, popular, and important spell-casters from history, including such legendary figures as Merlin, Simon Magus, Hermes Trismegistus, Koschei the Deathless, Nicholas Flamel, Dr John Dee, and Johann Georg Faust. Written to appeal to the modern reader, each tale captures the drama, the tragedy, and the wonderment that has ensured that these stories have survived the passing centuries. Each story is also examined in its historical, mythological, and thaumaturgical contexts.

Jade Sky by Patrick Freivald - This book just sounds cool.

Matt Rowley hasn't been human for years. A commando for the International Council on Augmented Phenomena, he hunts down superhuman monsters the military can't handle. But his abilities come with a price: bloodthirsty whispers that urge him to acts of terrible violence. An encounter with a giant, angelic being with wings of smoke and shadow casts him into a world of inhuman brutality, demonic possession, and madness, where he must choose between his family and his soul.

The Overslight by Charlie Fletcher - I'm currently reading this and it's quite interesting so far.  

"The end always happens faster than you think."

Once there were hundreds of members of the Oversight, the brave souls who guard the borders between the mundane and the magic. Now there are only five.

When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight''s London headquarters, she could answer their hopes for new recruit, or she could be the instrument of their downfall.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - I've heard a lot of good things about this debut.

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naive new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne-or his life.

The Time Traveler's Almanac by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, Ed. - This is quite a large volume, and I hope time constraints don't make it an impossible read for me (collections take longer to review than novels) because it really has a wide range of stories in it.

The Time Traveler's Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century's worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.

This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu's "Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers").

In fact, this book is like a time machine of its very own, covering millions of years of Earth's history from the age of the dinosaurs through to strange and fascinating futures, spanning the ages from the beginning of time to its very end. The Time Traveler's Almanac is the ultimate anthology for the time traveler in "your" life.

Night Terrors by Tim Waggoner - Love the cover, love the synopsis.  Can't wait to read this.

When you dream, you visit the Maelstrom. Dream long enough and hard enough, and your dreams can break through into the living world.

So can your nightmares.

And who's there to catch the dreams and nightmares as they fall into reality?

Meet the Nightwatch. Pray you never need them...

The Buried Life by Carie Patel

The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation - Recoletta's top-secret historical research facility.

When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…

Books Received in April 2014, part 1

April turned out to be a much busier month than I'd anticipated.  Though the World's Biggest Bookstore closed at the end of March, I was still scheduled a fair amount (partly for returns at the WBB, partly to work at other stores).  I'm hoping to catch up on my reading in May and put a serious dent in my review pile.  There are some great books out and more coming out every day. :)


The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan - This book is very high on my to be read pile.  I loved the first one and can't wait to get back into this world.

The thrilling adventure of Lady Trent continues in Marie Brennan's "The Tropic of Serpents . . . "

Attentive readers of Lady Trent's earlier memoir, "A Natural History of Dragons, " are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world's premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career.

Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics.

The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell . . . where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.

Pillar To The Sky by William Forstchen - This is the first book of TOR's collaboration with NASA to help inspire and educate.

Pandemic drought, skyrocketing oil prices, dwindling energy supplies and wars of water scarcity threaten the planet. Only four people can prevent global chaos.

Gary Morgan--a brilliant, renegade scientist is pilloried by the scientific community for his belief in a space elevator: a pillar to the sky, which he believes will make space flight fast, simple and affordable.

Eva Morgan--a brilliant and beautiful scientist of Ukranian descent, she has had a lifelong obsession to build a pillar to the sky, a vertiginous tower which would mine the power of the sun and supply humanity with cheap, limitless energy forever.

Erich Rothenberg--the ancient but revered rocket-scientist who labored with von Braun to create the first rockets and continued on to build those of today. A legend, he has mentored Gary and Eva for two decades, nurturing and encouraging their transcendent vision.

Franklin Smith--the eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire who will champion their cause, wage war with Congress and government bureaucracy and most important, finance their herculean undertaking.

The Goddard Space Flight Center--the novel's pre-eminent hero, it's enormous army of scientists, engineers and astronauts will design, machine, and build the space elevator. They will fight endless battles and overcome countless obstacles every step of the way.
This journey to the stars will not be easy--a tumultuous struggle filled with violence and heroism, love and death, spellbinding beauty and heartbreaking betrayal. The stakes could not be higher. Humanity's salvation will hang in the balance.

Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler - I haven't heard much about this book, but it sounds pretty interesting.

Lord Scott Oken, a prince of Albion, and Professor-Prince Mikel Mabruke live in a world where the sun never set on the Egyptian Empire. In the year 1877 of Our Lord Julius Caesar, Pharaoh Djoser-George governs a sprawling realm that spans Europe, Africa, and much of Asia. When the European terrorist Otto von Bismarck touches off an international conspiracy, Scott and Mik are charged with exposing the plot against the Empire.

Their adventure takes them from the sands of Memphis to a lush New World, home of the Incan Tawantinsuyu, a rival empire across the glittering Atlantic Ocean. Encompassing Quetzal airships, operas, blood sacrifice and high diplomacy, Ramona Wheeler's "Three Princes" is a richly imagined, cinematic vision of a modern Egyptian Empire.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - Book 2 of the Stormlight Archive.

Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi.

Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

The Raven's Shadow by Elspeth Cooper

The Raven's Shadow, the third book of Elspeth Cooper's The Wild Hunt series finds war brewing on both sides of the Veil between the worlds. The desert of Gimrael is aflame with violence, and in the far north an ancient hatred is about to spill over into the renewal of a war that, a thousand years ago, forged an empire. This time, it may shatter one. Wrestling with his failing grip on the power of the Song, and still trying to come to terms with the horrifying events he witnessed in El Maqqam, Gair returns to the mainland with only one thing on his mind: vengeance. It may cost him his life, but when everything that he had to live for is being stripped away from him, that may be a fair price to pay. Old friends and old foes converge in a battle of wills to stem the tide of the Nimrothi clans as they charge south to reclaim the lands lost in the Founding Wars. If they succeed, the rest of the empire may be their next target. And with the Wild Hunt at their head, the overstretched Imperial Army may not be enough to stop them.

Cleopatra In Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack

A funny, action-packed graphic novel featuring fifteen-year-old Cleopatra - yes, THAT Cleopatra - who''s transported to the future and learns it''s up to her to save the galaxy!

When fifteen-year-old Cleopatra (yes, THAT Cleopatra) finds a mysterious tablet that zaps her to the far, REALLY far future, she learns of an ancient prophecy that says she is destined to save the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of the evil Xaius Octavian.

She enrolls in Yasiro Academy, a high-tech school with classes like algebra, biology, and alien languages (which Cleo could do without), and combat training (which is more Cleo''s style). With help from her teacher Khensu, Cleo learns what it takes to be a great leader, while trying to figure out how she''s going to get her homework done, make friends, avoid detention, and everything else that comes with being the future queen of the universe!

The Night Inside by Nancy Baker

Dependable grad student Ardeth Alexander finds herself trapped in a nightmare as the unwilling blood source for a captive vampire. When she discovers that her fellow prisoner is not the worst monster she faces, she realizes that the only way to survive is to make an irrevocable choice.

Book Review: Wizards: From Merlin to Faust by David & Lesley McIntee

Illustrated by Mark Stacey

Pros: covers several wizards, lots of good information

Cons: too short!

Like the other books in Osprey’s Myths and Legends series, Wizards is a great jumping off point for further research on the topic.  The book covers a variety of wizards throughout history, first through an engaging story and then explaining what we know about the historical person or people that gave rise to the myths.  Some of the wizards you’ll encounter in this collection are Hermes, Virgil, Zhang Guo Lao, Nicholas Flamel and Dr. John Dee.  There’s a great mix of well known and not so well known figures and while most of the wizards mentioned are Western, there are a few famous Eastern wizards as well.  There are some great images, both historic and new ones commissioned for this volume.  

As with the other books, it is simply a beginners guide, and as such is definitely too short.  But it’s a great volume and if you’re interested in wizards, alchemy, the occult or fantasy, you’ll find this an interesting read. 

Amazing Stories teams up with FuturesPast Editions to publish classic stories

From the press release:

Amazing Stories is pleased to announce the licensing of it's iconic trademark – Amazing Stories – to FuturesPast Editions Ebooks Publisher for the creation of a new imprint that will publish classics of science fiction, fantasy and horror, works drawn from Amazing Stories and it's companion magazines Amazing Stories Quarterly and Amazing Stories Annual.

The new imprint will be titled AMAZING STORIES CLASSIC REPRINTS. The imprint will feature the comet tail Amazing Stories logo, made famous by the magazine in the 1940s and 50s. Works will be published in both electronic and print formats.

FuturesPast Editions publisher and editor Jean Marie Stine will be selecting works of historical importance as well as works that should be commonly available but haven't been for one reason or another. The series is expected to launch with two anthology volumes featuring stories from past Amazing Stories anniversary issues. (Readers looking for particular works are encouraged to let their desires be known!)

“Amazing Stories is very excited about opening up this new collaboration with a respected and experienced publisher. We're looking forward to helping to bring back a lot of the classics of the genre and to provide yet another dimension to the world's first science fiction magazine."

About this new partnership, Jean Marie Stine says, "Amazing Stories has a long and storied history. It was the first science fiction magazine. Its pages were open to women writers from the beginning. It introduced Buck Rogers to the world. It published the first stories by Jack Williamson, Isaac Asimov, Walter M. Miller, Jr, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Howard Fast, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Roger Zelazny. Over the years it has published virtually every major writer in the field. We at FuturesPast Editions are thrilled to be associated with Amazing Stories, Experimenter Publishing and Steve Davidson. We look forward to a long and successful association."

Additionally, Amazing Stories online magazine will feature a regularly monthly classic reprint, branded under the FuturesPast Editions name; the first such classic reprint – Don Wilcox's The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years – was featured in the Amazing Stories 88^th Anniversary Edition, currently being published on the Amazing Stories website.

Nancy Kilpatrick Mini Tour in Western Canada

From the Press Release:

Nancy Kilpatrick's mini-tour

Horror author and editor Nancy Kilpatrick will be reading and signing inCalgary, Edmonton and Vancouver on her way to the World Horror Con in Portland Oregon. For your convenience here are the dates for all three cities along the tour.

Calgary
APRIL 29
Fish Creek Library
11161 Bonaventure Dr SE
Calgary, AB
7:00 pm
(Sponsored by the Calgary Public Library)
Facebook events page: Click Here.

Edmonton
MAY 1
Whitemud Crossing Library
4211 - 106 Street
Edmonton, AB
7:00 pm
(Sponsored by the Edmonton Public Library)
Facebook events page: Click Here.

Vancouver
MAY 5
The Grind
Gallery & Coffee Bar
4124 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
7:00-8:30 pm
(Sponsored by The Grind Gallery & Coffee Bar)

About Nancy Kilpatrick:

Award-winning author Nancy Kilpatrick has published eighteen novels, over one hundred and ninety short stories, five collections of stories, and has edited nine other anthologies. Much of her body of work involves vampires. Nancy writes dark fantasy, horror, mysteries and erotic horror, under her own name, her nom de plume Amarantha Knight, and her newest pen name Desirée Knight (Amarantha’s younger sister!) Besides writing novels and short stories, and editing anthologies, she has scripted four issues of VampErotic comics. As well, she’s penned radio scripts, a stage-play, and the non-fiction book The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined.

Nancy won the Arthur Ellis Award for best mystery story, is a three times Bram Stoker finalist and a five times finalist for the Aurora Award.

Shout-Out: Scan by Walter Jury and Sarah Fine

From the press release:

The book, described as a cross between MacGyver and War of the Worlds with shades of I Am Number Four, is a grounded, high-action YA thriller about a 16-year-old boy who has been preparing his whole life for "something important," only to discover it means he's one of the last humans left on Earth.

The cover blurb:

Tate and his father don't exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he's being prepared for when he steals one of his dad's odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush the school, killing his father in the process and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.

Even with all he knows like how to defend himself with useful tools made out of bubblegum, Tate fears he's still inadequate. With the help of his girlfriend and estranged mother, all Tate can really do is keep moving and ensure his father's invention stays out of the hands of his pursuers and that his father didn't die in vain.

Out May 6.

Stamps - Technology

Over the years my grandmother bought a ton of stamp sets for the kids who collected them.  But over time the kids stopped collecting the stamps but she kept on buying them.  Some of the sets have made their way to me, one of which dealt with technological advances.

It's cool to see what things various countries have commemorated via stamps.  This set had stamps from Australia, Indonesia, Antigua, the Republic of Congo, Belgium, Rwanda, Germany, etc.