Book Bombed! The Doctor and the Kid! Darkness Falling! Red Phoenix! The Complete Drive-In!

Thanks to Pyr Publishing, I've just been book bombed! Luckily enough I decided to eat lunch at home today, otherwise I would have been forced to wait for the UPS man to come back around.

Although it's not due to hit shelves until December, I have an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Mike Resnick's newest Weird West Tale, sitting on my bookshelf. I recently mentioned, in August's Updates and More, that the cover for The Doctor and the Kid had been released on the net, and now I'm happy to announce that there's a synopsis for those interested, as well. Here it is:

The time is 1882. With the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral behind him, the consumptive Doc Holliday makes his way to Deadwood, Colorado, with Kate Elder, where he plans to spend the rrest of his life, finally moving into the luxurious facility that specializes in his disease.

But one night he gets a little to drunk and loses everything he has at the gaming table. He realizes he needs to replenish his bankroll, and quickly, so that he can live out his days in comfort under medical care. He considers his options and hits upon the one most likely to produce income in a hurry: he'll use his skill as a shootist and turn bounty hunter.

The biggest reward is for the death of the young, twenty-year-old desperado known as Billy the Kid. With the enlisted aid of both magic (Geronimo) and science (Thomas Edison), Doc goes out after his quarry. He will hunt the Kid down, and either kill him and claim the reward or die in the process and at least end his own suffering.

But as he is soon to find out, nothing is as easy as it looks.

****

I was pleased to recieve an e-mail a few weeks ago from the kind folks at Angry Robot, that stated there were extra review copies of Peter Crowther's Darkness Falling. So, I didn't hesitate to grab a copy. Now I'm looking forward to grabbing enough alone time to devour it and let you all know how great it is! Here's the synopsis:

First the flash. A glare of light, just before dawn, followed by utter darkness. A vast blanketing darkness that covered the whole world.

The the dissapearances. Friends and strangers alike, swallowed by the darkness... and the returned, altered, changed.

For the people of Jesman's Bend, it feels like the end of the world. But this is only the very start.

File Under: Science Fiction [Zombie Apocalypse; Bodysnatchers; They Return]

 

****



Red Phoenix is the sequel to Kylie Chan's White Tiger, and the second book in the Dark Heaven's Trilogy. Halfway through the first book of this series, I have no doubt that Red Phoenix is a read I'm honestly looking forward to. Combining something that I haven't seen in recent past: Chinese Mythology and Urban Fantasy. Here's the Synopsis for Red Phoenix:

Immortals, martial arts, gods, and demons...

The intrigue deepens as the demon threat closes around mortals and gods alike.

When Emma Donahue took the position of nanny to John Chen's daughter Simone, she never expected to be caring for the child of a Chinese god, and she didn't expect that demons would want him dead. Nor has moving from nanny to partner in his heavenly realm made Emma's life any easier. Now a powerful race of demons has been created to hunt her and her family from Hong Kong to Europe. And she and Simone have become targets -- pawns to be used in a deadly celestial power play.

****

Last, but not least for this Book Bomb is the omnibus The Complete Drive-In by Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale. Several weeks ago, Mr. Lansdale ran a quick contest on his fan page over on Facebook, and lucky me, I was the first to respond with the correct answer. The person who could answer the question correctly won a free, signed book of their choosing by the Champion Mojo Storyteller himself. I chose The Complete Drive-In. Hopefully I'll be able to review it in the next couple of months. Here's the synopsis for those interested:

Friday night at the Orbit Drive-in: a circus of noise, sex, teenage hormones, B-movie blood, and popcorn. On a cool, crisp summer night, with the Texas stars shining down like rattlesnake eyes, movie-goers try to leave, their bodies dissolve into goo. Cowboys are reduced to tears. Lovers quarrel. Bikini clad women let their stomachs' sag, having lost the ambition to hold them in. The world outside the six monstrous screens fade to black while the movie-goers spiral into base humanity, resorting to fighting, murdering, crucifying, and cannibalizing to survive. Part dark comedy part horror show, Lansdale's cult Drive-In books are as shcoking and entertaining today as they were 20 years ago.

~Rodney

Updates and More: The Rift Walker. Into the Hinterlands. All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky. Debris. Blood Rights. The Hum and the Shiver.

Currently at the top of my list of reviews is The Rift Walker, book two of the Vampire Empire trilogy: the sequel to The Greyfriar, which I reviewed in full, here. For those who have read the review, or the first book and are interested in seeing what The Rift Walker is about, here's the back cover blurb for your reading pleasure:

Princess Adele struggles with a life of marriage and obligation as her Equatorian  Empire and their American Republic Allies stand on the brink of war with the vampire clans of the north. However, the alliances horrific strategy for total victory drives Adele to abandon her duty and embark on a desperate quest to keep her nation from staining its hands with genocide. Reunited with her great love, the mysterious adventurer known to the world as the Greyfriar, Adele is pursued by her own people as well as her vengeful husband, Senator Clark.

As Adele labors to bring order to her world, she learns more about the strange powers she exhibited in the north. Her teacher, Mamoru, leads a secret cabal of geomancers who believe Adele is the one who can touch the vast power of the Earth that surges through ley lines and wells up at the rifts where the lines meet. These energies are the key to defeating the enemy of mankind, and if Princess Adele could ever bring this power under her command, she could be death to vampires. But such a victory will also cost the life of Adele's beloved Greyfriar.

****

After the discovery of Baen Publishing's free online library came the discovery of science fiction author David Drake. Since that day I've kept him on my radar of authors to always follow. So I was extremely happy when I found out he would be writing a new series of books for Baen with John Lambshead. Into the Hinterlands is the product of that, and it hits shelves on September 6th. Here's the synopsis from the inside jacket:

When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a "wild" star sector where they're encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family's fortunes -- and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.

Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games -- against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in particular: niave young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.

From that alone, it sounds like this will be one hell of a series. For those into harder sci-fi, this just might be the book for you!

****

Another author who is always on my radar: Joe R. Lansdale. September 13th will see the release of his newest young adult novel All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky. A coming of age novel set in the ere of the Dust Bowl, this one sounds like a definite winner. Here's the description for the novel:

Jack Catcher's parents are dead -- his mom died of sickness and his dad of a broken heart -- and he has to get out of Oklahoma, where dust storms have killed everything green, hopeful, or alive. When former classmate Jane and her little brother Tony show up in his yard with plans to steal a dead neighbor's car and make a break for Texas, Jack doesn't need much convincing. But a run-in with one of the era's most notorious gangsters puts a crimp in Jane's plan, and soon the three kids are hitching the rails among hoboes, gangsters, and con men, racing to warn a carnival wrestler turned bank robber of the danger he faces and, in the process, find a new home for themselves. 

****

Debris is one of those novels that has three very important things going for it: 1.) It's got a kickass cover, 2.) It's got a kickass premise, and 3.) It's published by Angry Robot.

I know I've said it before, but Angry Robot has got everything going for it right now, including Jo Anderton's Debris. I'm seriously looking forward to reviewing it. With such an intriguing synopsis, I'm ready to hide away for as long as it takes to devour it whole.

And this is why: After being exposed to radioactive particles as part of a clean-up gang in the depths of space, Tanyana is told she has developed a hitherto-unseen ability to understand the apparently sentient stuff. Powerless, penniless and scarred, Tanyana must adjust to a new life collecting magical garbage -- 'debris' -- but starts to realize debris is more important than anyone could guess.

****

I never really ever liked reading about vampires, even before they blew up the horror industries. But, lately, I've been reading more and more stories with them. Not because they've become such a powerhouse in the Horror genre, but because, believe or not, there's still a handful of fresh tales to be told with the trope. And I'm hoping Blood Rights, book one in the House of Comarre series by Kristen Painter is one of those. Or, it could very well be a more serious and grounded Twilight novel for adults. I'm looking forward to finding out. Here's the synopsis from Orbit Publishing:

Born into a life of secrets and service Chrysabelle's body bears the telltale marks of Comarre -- a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world... and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he feeds. 

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds.

****

To round out this edition of Updates and More is Alex Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver. Most notably known for his Eddie Lacrosse fantasy/mystery series, The Hum and the Shiver is a stand-alone from Macmillion books.

Sounds like it might have a noir/mystery feel to it like some of his other stuff. Here's the synopsis from the publisher's website:

No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the Smokey Mountains of East Tennessee, yet when the first Europeans arrived, they were already there. Dark-haired, enigmatic, and suspicious of outsiders, the Tufa live quiet lives in the hills and valleys of Cloud County. While their origins may be lost to history, there are clues in their music -- hints of their true nature buried in songs they have passed down for generations.

Private Bronwyn Hyatt returns from Iraq wounded in body and in spirit, only to face the very things that drove her away in the first place: her family, her obligations to the Tufa, and her dangerous ex-boyfriend . But more trouble lurks in the mountains and hollows of her childhood home. Cryptic omens war of impending tragedy, and a restless "haint" lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn's darkest secrets. Worst of all, Bronwyn has lost touch with the music that was once a vital part of her identity.

With death stalking her family, Bronwyn will need to summon the strength to take her place among the true Tufa and once again fly on the night winds...

~Rodney

The Horns of Ruin Book Review

Title: The Horns of Ruin
Author: Tim Aker
Publisher: Pyr Publishing
Pages: 268
ISBN: 9781616142469

There's nothing that I enjoy more than a rarity from time to time: a good ol' fashioned stand alone novel, and with The Horns of Ruin, author Tim Aker delivers a one-off treat. And boy is it sweet!

Eva Forge is the last Paladin and scion of the dead god Morgan. The eldest of the three god-brother pantheon, Morgan was the god of the Warrior. Slain by his brother Amon the Betrayer, Alexander the middle brother of the pantheon of gods ascended into ruler of the city of Ash. Now as the remainder of the Cult of Morgan are being hunted down and killed, it's up to Eva to find the person behind it and uncover the truth before she herself is killed.

The Horns of Ruin was a quick read for me. Clocking in at around 270 pages, I found myself devouring it in two quick sit downs. Aker does a good job with voice and pacing the novel to read like a thriller/mystery/crime, set in another world, more specifically: a steampunk world. Writing from first person narrative not only helped in the telling of the story from Eva's perspective, but it also quickened the pace, leaving me breathless until after I turned the last page.

For the most part, I enjoyed the vivid worldbuilding that Aker brought to the page. The inclusion of zombies, and men with rockets fused to their backs, for example, were excellent extras that pulled the reader in by taking something familiar by concept, and making them alien by name. All the while reminding the reader that it's a different world; a world were steam and magic run everything.

I also enjoyed the magic system that Eva draws on in the story. The use of Morgan's story/ legend as a god to bring power to his scions was a nice touch. However, during some parts of the novel it felt as though the world was being built around the characters as Akers wrote; the whole of Eva's universe being explored by not just Eva, but also the reader as well, as the two pursue the assassins of the Cult of Morgan through the alleys, streets, ancient buildings and watery depths of Ash.

And as for Eva herself, I loved the character, and the fact that she basically stays the same hard headed, smart ass, who constantly continues to remind herself that she is the last scion and Paladin of a Dead God. And that -- as far as she's concerned -- the entire weight of the world is bearing down on her shoulders, and time is running out. She's a strong female lead, something that doesn't appear too often in science fiction and fantasy; a position that is usually reserved for the brawny, brainless male characters.

The Horns of Ruin is a strikingly imaginative novel, set in a steampunk world with dead gods, zombies, rocket pack men, and a mystery that will leave you guessing until the explosive end. I can honestly say that only then will you be able to catch your breath; it's that good. That's why I'm giving The Horns of Ruin a rating of 7.5 out of 10 Goggles.


If you're looking for a quick steampunk read that can be devoured in only a few sittings, then The Horns of Ruin won't disappoint.

~Rodney

The Empire In Black and Gold Book Review

Title: Empire in Black and Gold
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Publisher: Pyr
Pages: 414
ISBN: 9781616141929

Empire in Black and Gold is the first novel in the "Shadows of the Apt" series by Adrian Tchaikovsky;a new and ambitious fantasy series published by Pyr.

The city-states of the Lowlands have only known peace for the past several decades. These great city-states are bastions of civilization protected by treaties, they share trade with their fellow neighbors.

But while the people of the Lowlands go about their comfortable lives, a tide of black and gold soldiers are consuming, demolishing and enslaving countries from afar, quickly making their way towards the smug and comfortable inhabitants of the Lowlands. Highly trained and born with the killing Art, these are the soldiers of the Wasp Empire.

As the tide spreads, and more countries are consumed, the leader of a once small band of truth speakers emerges once again to raise the warnings. He is Stenwold Maker: Beetle-Kinden, statesmen, artificer, spymaster and teacher. With a cadre of his best students, and a few friends from years past, he and his small band of rag-tag heroes are the only thing standing in the way of the Wasp Empire and the remaining countries that have not fallen under black and gold shadows.

Empire in Black and Gold is a brilliant read. For those looking for a different take on fantasy, this is what you've been looking for. And if you don't believe me, then you only have to look at the marvelous and beautiful cover that Pyr has given to this tome of a book. They seem to always be on the mark when it comes to their covers, and this one doesn't disappoint.

Tchaikovsky does a marvelous job with world building, and drawing the readers attention in from page one. From the various races, to their different cultures and beliefs, this world reads like an already established shared universe in that there's so much going on. But unlike some of the shared universes, there's only one mind behind Empire in Black and Gold: Tchaikovsky. His characters are real; hero and villain begin to blur the more the book progresses.

What I find truly remarkable about this series is the fact that Tchaikovsky has added elements of Steampunk into such a marvelous world. Doing so, hasn't taken anything away from the world that he's created, but in fact, I think it's only made it stronger and more unique.

Fight scenes are abound in this novel as well. Brilliantly described and easy to imagine, Tchaikovsky has a remarkable mind when it comes to writing such scenes. He has kick-ass characters that help to elevate the fight scenes, promising the reader more in the following books as tensions between characters build, and the Wasp Army continues to demolition all that stands in their way.

Although it felt slow in several parts, for the most part the story flowed smoothly, and kept me wanting to read more. And since it's his first novel, I'd have to say that overall this is a damn fine debut. That's why I'm giving Empire in Black and Gold 9.0 out of 10 TARDIS's.

~Rodney

Diving Into the Wreck Book Review

Title: Diving Into The Wreck
Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Publisher: Pyr Publishing
Pages: 375
ISBN: 9781591027867

Boss is a diver, active historian and loner, who only works with others when the situation calls for it. Drifting through space on her own aboard Nobody's Business, she looks for rare, unmarked and unclaimed vessels that have been wrecked, to make a living on by searching for treasure, selling what's salvageable, and claiming what would make for a good dive with inexperienced tourist-divers who are willing to pay good money for such a rich experience.

Diving Into The Wreck is an intensely written story that was way more than what I thought it would be. In places its as dark as the space that surrounds Nobody's Business, but the darkness is gritty, familiar and all too realistic, while carrying surrealism through scenes that seem almost too fantastical.

The story itself is split into three conjoining stories, which act as individual parts, with the first two building up to the final part. Although it's a typical format for many stories, it works remarkably well for this story; their each easy to follow, and all three would would rather well as stand alone novellas if a person wanted to read just one.

Rusch has a knack for introducing characters. Whether you grow to love them or hate them while reading this book, it's guaranteed that they'll stay drifting through your brain for many, many days after putting the book down.

I really enjoyed reading Diving Into the Wreck. Okay, that's an understatement; I overly enjoyed reading it. The voice that it's written in is refreshing, and Boss is a character that I found myself instantly becoming attached too. She's more human than many characters that I've read in the past, and her story instantly sucked me in. And out of the many science fiction novels I've read in my lifetime, I think this is one of the only ones that actually had an authentic sci-fi feel to it, -- almost classical in many regards -- unlike many titles that seem to be churned out at breakneck speeds, the science within the pages of Diving Into The Wreck is simple to follow and feels anything but forced into the story; Rush pulls this classical feel off extremely well.

With all the trademarks of an all-around amazing storyteller, I'm going to keep an eager eye out for more of Kristine Kathryn Rusch's stuff. I'm hoping that there will be a sequel to this book, heck, an entire series revolving around Boss and her diving adventures would be alright with me.

With an original story line, interesting characters, simple science and a knack for story telling, Rusch's understanding for the science fiction genre shines throughout Diving Into the Wreck. That's why I'm giving it 8.5 Tardis's out of 10. To anyone who's looking for a remarkable sci-fi novel that's easy on the science, I'd highly recommend stopping by your nearest bookstore and picking up a copy of this book, or ordering a copy online from these fine booksellers: Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

~ Rodney