Science fiction and Fantasy Books Coming In June

I usually post this on the first of the month but as I'll be away for a few weeks I'm posting it early. I've noticed that a lot of publishers and other sites have been slow in updating their upcoming books sections, so I'm sure some things have been missed on this list.

I probably won't be posting anything until the end of May/beginning of June, so have a great month everyone and check back later for more book reviews, author interviews and reading lists.

Coming in June

Hardcover:
Into the Storm - Taylor Anderson
Ninth Circle - Alex Bell
A Fire in the North - David Bilsborough
Kushiel’s Mercy - Jacqueline Carey
Tigerheart - Peter David
Grantville Gazette IV - Eric Flint, Ed.
Daemons are Forever - Simon Green
Valor’s Trial - Tanya Huff
Havemercy - Jaida Jones
Snow Queen - Mercedes Lackey
Escapement - Jay Lake
Hawkspar - Holly Lisle
Very Hard Choices - Spider Robinson
Wise Man’s Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
King’s Shield - Sherwood Smith
After the Downfall - Harry Turtledove
Summer Palace - Lawrence Watt-Evans
Forgotten Realms: Dragon Forge - James Wyatt

Trade Paperback:
Dmitri: A Tale of Old & New Russia - Olive Jeanfreau Alexander
Sidewise in Crime - Lou Anders, Ed.
Invisible Ring - Anne Bishop (reprint)
Midnight Never Come - Marie Brennan
The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company - Glen Cook
The Mall of Thulium - Seamus Cooper
Star Trek DSN: These Haunted Seas - David George III & Heather Jarman
A Wind Named Amnesia - Hideyuki Kikuchi
Hounds of Ash - Greg Keyes
Lenkhmar 6: Swords and Ice Magic - Fritz Leiber
The Execution Channel - Ken Macleod
Masters of the Pit - Michael Moorcock
The Spider: City of Doom - Norvell Page
Dragonlight - Donita Paul
House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds
Blood heir - Brian Rubkley
Son of Man - Robert Silverberg
Spectre - Phaedra Welson
Mirrored Heavens - David Williams

Mass Market:
Metal Swarm - Kevin Anderson
Blood & Iron - Elizabeth Bear
Tower of Shadows - Drew Bowling
Alton Gift - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Final Sacrifice - Patricia Bray
Ragamuffin - Tobias Buckell
Lost Fleet Valiant - Jack Campbell
Passage at Arms - Glen Cook
Touching Silver - Jamie Craig
Infoquake - David Louis Edelman
Night of Knives - Ian Esselmont
Murder in LaMut - Raymond Feist & Joel Rosenberg
Shadows Return - Lynn Flewelling
Man With the Golden Torc - Simon Green
Future Americas - John Helfers
Magic The Gathering: Eventide - Cory Herndon
Hart of Valor - Tanya Huff
Cold Minds - Kristin Landon
Dragonforge - James Maxey
Star Wars: Jedi Twilight: Coruscant Nights - Michael Reaves
Deeper Blue - John Ringo
Last Vampire - Patricia Rosemour
Paladin II: Knight Moves - Joel Rosenberg
Everfree - Nick Sagan
Forgotten Realms: Siege of Darkness - R.A. Salvatore (reprint)
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Gordath Wood - Patrice Sarath
Outrageous Fortune - Tim Scott
Forgotten Realms: Ascendancy of the Last - Lisa Smedman
New World - Michael Stackpole
Halting State - Charles Stross
The Margarets - Sheri Tepper
War Hammer: Runefang - C.L. Werner
Exodus - Steve White
Star Trek DSN: Fearful Symmetry - Olivia Woods
Pound of Flesh - Susan Wright
Dragon & Judge - Timothy Zahn

Interview Endcap

The author interviews I'm posting online are also being displayed in store. As my latest interviewee asked to see photos, I've decided it would be fun to post them here to show what my endcaps look like and how I plan them.

As Rob Thurman just had her third book published, I've put her interview on my new author endcap (for authors with 2 books or less). In other cases I've been putting the interivews either on my SF endcap (currently Military SF) or my fantsy endcap (On the Wings of... which recently switched out to Blast from the Past, for pulp SF/Fantasy).

Again in Rob's case, the top row has her books framed by the two pages of her interview. If authors have numerous books they get the second row too. As there are several newer authors who, like Rob, have male protagonists, I've showcased them on the second row. I've cheated a bit and added the Supernatural tie-ins (since they crossover nicely with her novels). This allows customers to discover a new featured author or, if they've read her books before, find sometheing comparable.

Who said sales is boring?

Author Interview - Rob Thurman

Novels:
Nightlife
Moonshine
Madhouse

Website: www.robthurman.net/

> Pitch your latest novel or the first novel of your series.

That's a difficult choice. The first book, Nightlife, is a rollercoaster from beginning to end with the added kick of seeing how a villain thinks from a first person point of view. And villains aren't always brooding and dark as they torment their enemies. Some villains have one helluva good time doing it. In that way I think Nightlife is a rare opportunity to see evil from the inside and find out it tends to enjoy its work much more than the rest of us. My latest novel in the series, Madhouse, is a mixture of urban fantasy and horror (with the requisite snark and sarcasm.) So, in a way, you get two genres in one--and as horror seems to be disappearing as a separate genre and being gobbled up by general fiction, it was a great chance to showcase one very seriously insane monster and yet keep the other elements of urban fantasy combined with it.

> What are your favourite books?

The Stand is and always will be the greatest book ever written. As for the others, I'm going to have to go with series: The Jhereg series by Stephen Brust, the Tiger and Del series by Jennifer Robeson, the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, and I'll have to finish up old school: The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

> In the books you've written, who is you favourite character and why?

Truthfully, I don't have a favorite between the three: Cal, Niko, and Robin Goodfellow. However, Niko is pure wish fulfillment. I always wanted a brother who'd have your back no matter what, kick the ass of anyone who messed with you, was unwavering in his loyalty and yet had a sarcastic give and take that kept you on your toes. Of course, in reality, if I had a brother, it would've been nothing but atomic wedgies and purple nurples until one of us buried the other in the backyard. Reality...who needs it?

> If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Are you kidding? Even my characters wouldn't change places with themselves. They live in a deadly and dangerous world. It's nothing but kill, angst, snark, kill, angst, snark, kill, angst, snark...you get the picture. If they could get hold of me, they'd make me pay for what I've inflicted on them and it would not be a pretty picture.

> What was the first novel (published or unpublished) that you wrote and how long did it take to write it?

Casanova...a mystery. Unpublished and it took a year. Nightlife was my second novel and it took about nine months.


> Share an interesting fan story.

A fan wanting her book signed plopped an enormous amount of cleavage on the table in front of me and wouldn't leave once I signed her book. As the minutes dragged on, I rather feared she wanted me to sign the twins, so to speak. It was a bit of an awkward moment.

> What was the most fun book signing, convention, etc. you've attended and why?

San Diego Comic Con...because I can be a fan there along with everyone else. They have it all. Movies, television, comics, video games and gaming. Over a 100,000 fans all gathered together to share in mass geekiness. I saw so many Sci-Fi actors I lost count. I even saw Clive Owen.

> What's the worst thing about writing?

The starvation.

> What is something you didn't know about the publishing industry before you had your fist book published?

I didn't know anything about the publishing industry. Not a fact, not a clue. If I had known how the publishing/agency business worked before trying to sell a book, I never would've even made the attempt. Sometimes ignorance is definitely bliss.

> How many rejection letters did you get for your fist novel or story?

Too many to count. It was quite literally rejected by every agent and/or publishing house in the country. It was only on the second time around it was picked up by an editor who wasn't afraid to try something a little different from the norm (as in 'no women in leather pants slaying vampires--although only the unsexy vampires naturally.') In fact, the agent I have now also rejected Nightlife. Yet now she's the agent for the series. It's a bizarre field, boys and girls.

The Martian General's Daughter - Theodore Judson

The year is 2293. The emperor of the Pan-Polarian Empire is dead. General Peter Black is unwillingly hailed as a potential contender to the throne.

His story, narrated by his daughter through his present actions and flashbacks, is that of the last honourable man in a world ruled by an Emperor worse than Nero. As the Empire declines due to the indulgences of its ruler and various viral and metalic plagues, we see how history repeats itself.

The dreary potential future is lightened for the readers by such things as the religion of El Bis, the Supreme Singer of Songs and the use of recent literary characters as 'classics'.

Throughout the book General Black's enemies come to learn that his naivete when it comes to politics does not equal incompetence when it comes to battle - political or otherwise.

Pros:
- an obviously well developed though untold 'history' that brings our world to this impass
- the metal plagues that slowly wipe out electronics was unique and used to advantage
- clever use of 'classics'
- alternating chapters allow the reader to learn the past as necessary to understand present events

Cons:
- since the story is narrated there is a distance between the reader and the story
- the title is a bit misleading as the characters are only on Mars for about 10 pages (in real time only a few months)

The Plucker - Brom

This book may be illustrated but it is definitely not for kids. The story is witty, sad and downright terrifying at times.

Meet Jack. He has recently, much to his surprise and horror, been relegated to the Underbed, the place where unwanted toys go. With his cheery bells and his acrobatic abilities Jack doesn't understand how he's ended up under the bed, watching the other toys play out there. But then ten year old Thomas's dad gives him a really creepy toy. Thomas chucks it under the bed too and the toy breaks, unleashing a plucker. At which point Jack discovers there are worse fates than being forgotten.

Though told through toys, Brom's book packs a punch and shows you what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. It's a remarkable coming of age story with a touch of romance, voodoo and fighting. And the illustrations are fabulous.

It All Started On A Farm

This list started as an endcap idea, but as there weren't enough titles I couldn't actually use it. Still, it's pretty impressive the number of SF and F books that begin with characters on a farm, dreaming of better things... Once again, the list isn't comprehensive. I've either read the books, skimmed them or looked at the first chapter and found out that's where they begin. I'm sure I've missed some other good titles. But for now here's the list.

Star Wars - George Lucas
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Magic of Recluse - L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Deed of Parksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon
A Plague of Angels - Sheri Tepper
A Brother's Price - Wen Spencer
Mort - Terry Pratchett
Pillars of the World - Anne Bishop
Airs Beneath the Moon - Toby Bishop (horse farm)
Song in the Silence - Elizabeth Kerner (horse farm)
Devlin's Luck - Patricia Bray (the book doesn't start on a farm but the story does, if you read far enough)
Princess Bride - William Goldman (Buttercup's part at least)

The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

The basis for the video game THE WITCHER, The Last Wish is an interesting novel. Built as a frame story incorporating several short story adventures that Geralt, the Witcher, undertakes, the book blends several fairy tales (Snow White, Beauty and the Beast) and a lot of common and uncommon mythology (vampires, striga, djinn). But don't expect the traditional interpretations for any of the stories or creatures he borrows.

Pros:
good writing
interesting stores with unique takes on a variety of mythologies
Geralt as a killer with a conscience makes for a great protagonist

Cons:
confusing at times
each story is left without a conclusion (you have a fair idea of what's happened but the stories end just that bit too soon for proper satisfaction)