Just Arrived, 2/1/10
Posted on February 1, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 33 Comments
Even in the midst of a publishing industry fracas, new and upcoming books make their way to the Scalzi Compound. Here’s today’s stack:
* Dragon Keeper, by Robin Hobb (Eos): First book in “The Rain Wilds Chronicles,” Hobb’s latest series, featuring dragons and those who tend to them (I was going to say “and those who love them,” but, uh, that might be open to mistinterpretation). This book got a starred review from Booklist and is out now.
* Dragon Haven, by Robin Hobb (Eos): The second book in “The Rain Wilds Chronicles.” This one’s an ARC. Yes, fantasy lovers, I have two, two, two new Robin Hobb books! Please don’t kill me. Dragon Haven is due in May.
* Cat’s Claw, by Amber Benson (Ace): The former Buffy star returns with a second urban fantasy novel featuring her character Calliope Reaper-Jones. Out 2/23.
* Dead Matter, by Anton Strout (Ace): A NYC paranormal investigator has is hands full when his partner starts disturbing the dead for his own reasons. Out 2/23.
* A Local Habitation, by Seanan McGuire (DAW): McGuire’s first novel with half-human, half-fae October Daye earned a Booklist starred review; in this follow-up Day is thrown into a situation filled with intrigue and murder. Out March 2.
* Song of Scarabaeus, by Sara Creasy (Eos): A story of a renegade terraformer and her reluctant bodyguard. Out April 27.
* Brains: A Zombie Memior, by Robin Becker (Eos): No, it’s not “UUUnnnnGGGGhhHHH!” for a couple hundred pages. This zombie retains some higher brain function, and wants to bring peace between humans and zombies. Out in June.
* Blonde Bombshell, by Tom Holt (Orbit): Labeled as “a heartwarming tale of Armageddeon.” And don’t we all need one of those? Also out in June.
* The Weekend Novelist Rewrites the Novel, by Robert J. Ray (Watson Guptill): Not fiction, this is a writing book on the subject of revising and reworking your completed (but not yet submitted) novel. Out 2/16.
How much do I have to grovel to get the early copies of Cat’s Cradle and Dead Matter??
Just asking :)
Local Habitation too :)
OK, I’ll spare you on the Hobbs thing … but if you get an early copy of Elizabeth Moon’s Oath of Fealty all bets are off. I will strike at you from below like a viper, or from on high like a penny dropped from the highest building around!
I actually would be interested in that last one, given where I am at the moment.
Given the subject of his blog lately, Dave White could probably write the foreword.
Sarcastro:
“but if you get an early copy of Elizabeth Moon’s Oath of Fealty all bets are off.”
Oh, that? Got it in December.
Scalzi:
“Oh, that? Got it in December.”
Color me green. Very, very green.
Robin Hobb has a Dragon Haven? That is so confusing; Robin McKinley’s Dragonhaven is only a couple of years old.
New Robin Hobb is exciting, though; I’m glad to know the wait for the second book won’t be too long.
As for the Elizabeth Moon, I also am quite jealous. Please don’t tell us if you get the new Connie Willis book!
SonomaLass:
All right, I won’t tell you that I have it.
Yeah, I got Oath of Fealty ages ago. I’ll be reviewing it by mid-month, and when I’m done will in all likelihood do a Twitter giveaway of the ARC, as I just did with Connie Willis’s Blackout. (Very much worth the wait.)
I love that word “fracas”. It sounds like a noise made by somebody involved in a fracas, but it ALSO sounds like a nice, refreshing, fruity green soda that makes you feel all crisp and cool.
Thus, the word both describes conflict, and also give an idea of how to unwind afterward said fracas.
“Brains: A Zombie Memior” [Memoir]
The idea sounds, if you’ll excuse the joke, quite toothsome. Any chance of a Big Idea for this one?
[grin]Where did she get the idea that zombies have brains (other than those they’ve consumed)?
And you gotta admire a book coming out of “Toad Suck, Arkansas”!
Bring it on!
Thank you.
Mmmm, Tom Holt. Consistently good, rarely great, always entertaining.
Seanan McGuire is well, uniquely Seanan. Quite a fine musician as well.
You should make her do a “Bid Idea” piece.
You gotta admit, John, this perk in your career is pretty friggen sweet. :) Kudos.
Ooh. Let me know if that last one is worth spending some coin on. Because that’s exactly what I’m doing now – reworking a completed but not yet submitted novel.
I’ll be all over that Anton Strout book like bacon on a cat.
Oooh, I’m jealous of the Hobbs, I’ve been drooling over copies of Dragonkeeper in the shops for months but kept putting it off because it’s too expensive, I can’t add another series to the hardback auto-buy list (though she’d be the one i’d promote next if I had the money) and I know i’ll probably not read it (or try not to) untill I have all 3 – so I have time to wait for the paperbacks.
Tom Holt has been writing for 25 years now and going strong, I discovered I like him recently despite some of the older books having aged a tad.
I saw an Amber Benson book in the shop the other day and wondered if it was *that* Amber Benson, and hey so it is! Cool.
John, my friend,
Remember that your New Year’s goal this year is to write novels, and that’s pretty much it.
Face it. You don’t have time to read these books. So just remove the temptation, and send the books to some of your fans. You know I’m right.
p.s. I am currently in negotiations with your Muse, who wants to charge $15 per inspiration instead of the present fee of $9.99. Keep me on your good side, OK?
man, now I want to make a cat made out of bacon! And, no, the real cats in my house will get NONE OF IT!
Brains would make an excellent big idea. What a great big idea!
JUST finished Dragon Keeper, thankyouverymuch….but have to wait like AVERAGE FOLK for Dragon Haven. Poooooor pitiful huddled masses YEARNING to read books. (sob)
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I’d almost forgotton that the new Connie Willis was coming out. (Races to http://www.bn.com, places order, makes quick note of other books for later reference.)
RE: Brains: A Zombie Memoir — this sounds like the beginning of a Zombiefied June. There’s another piece along these lines that’s VERY good coming out just then: Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion.
Dude’s blog…also a lot of fun: http://burningbuilding.blogspot.com/
Screw zombies. Song of Scarabaeus is the one I want to see a Big Idea piece on (after having read the sample chapters).
OHOH! Dead Matter! Color me TOTALLY jealous.
Geez, I’ve only gotten to ONE of the books you’ve mentioned here this year, and you toss more at us, with your “Neener, neener, I’ve got lots of cool books and you don’t!” semi-evilness.
So Amber Benson acts, sings, and writes?! Talented overachiever – fine, I’ll add her books to the growing list as well! Thanks a lot.
“Brains: A Zombie Memior” sounds like something I definitely want to read. Why the long delay though? If they’ve got it all ready to ship promotional copies why wait 4 months to put it in stores? I don’t know much about the publishing industry but that doesn’t make sense to me.
Yay, Robin Hobb! I’m behind on my Robin Hobb reading though…
Did you see that Instapundit had a geocache project for some stuff?
While I never disapprove of donations to libraries, you could geocache those books somewhere, say to the northeast of you… Just saying…
[contemplates a mad dash to Bradford]
How’s the Amber Benson book? Amazon reviews of her are always so mixed.
Yay Robin Hobb! Yay Tom Holt!
Not we just need to convince Mr. Holt to come overseas for the 2011 Reno WorldCon, so he can meet my mother. (He’s dedicated a book to her, so he ought to meet her.)
I’m behind in my Robin Hobb as well but color me green too because I know she has a very dark heart and am confident that her dragons are not little ponies (cough, Novik, cough).
I’ve just been rereading Liveship Traders and I am sooooooooo jealous.
So how many people hate me for getting Guy Gavriel Kay’s Under Heaven in the mail today? :-)