Sunday, May 30, 2010

The Leaning Pile of Books

As you probably know, I was gone for most of this past week to go to Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention. I just got home around 10:30 last night after spending hours on a couple of buses. It was a lot of fun (if also very exhausting) and I'll write a post later on the actual events, but for now I'm going to do my Sunday book posts.

This week I got far more books than normal even though I was careful so I could fit them all in my suitcase (it actually worked out quite perfectly; I had just enough room to stuff everything in there). Due to the number of books, I have decided to split this into two posts. The first will be all unsigned books I got this week - which will include one I bought, one my husband retrieved, a review copy, two books from the friend who was nice enough to let me stay with her this week, and all books from BEA (Book Expo America) that are unsigned. The next one will consist of the signed books from BEA (which is the majority of the books I got there).

Part 2 may not be up until tomorrow - it took me forever to get this post together. This may mostly be a week of Book Expo America related posts since there is still a lot to say!




Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

The fourth book in the Kate Daniels series just came out on May 25. Magic Strikes, the third book, was the book I read on the bus on the way to New York and finished on the way back. I discovered what I keep hearing about this series is very true - the first book is good, the next is better, but the third book is really great. From start to finish, it was difficult to stop reading. So many of the things I was wondering about from the first couple of books were answered, but there are still more mysteries introduced that I'm wondering about. I loved it and was kind of mad that I finished it with so much of my trip still left. And I didn't want to start another book unless it was Magic Bleeds. I could have downloaded it to read, but I didn't want to pay for it since I wanted the actual book to go with the rest that I already have. So I settled for reading the free excerpt on iBooks. When my 40% off Borders coupon was extended today, I took that as a sign (ok, an excuse) to go purchase it so I can start it now. I'm now officially addicted to this series.

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it rose.

Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle—especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.

When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years—and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father.

This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family…






Anti-Ice by Stephen Baxter

My husband already had this book, but we didn't have it in our apartment. He got it this past week so now I have it on the to read list. It's a book he's mentioned to me frequently as a good steampunk book, and recently Thea from The Book Smugglers reviewed it for Steampunk Week and really enjoyed it. I was surprised by how short it was since all of Baxter's other books I've seen are massive.

Discovering a new element, Anti-Ice, a mysterious substance that unleashes vast energies when warmed, a millionaire industrialist dreams of power from an item that promises world peace--or world destruction.






Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen

This is a review copy I received while I was gone (although it was also available at BEA, but I knew I already had it thanks to my husband). It's a romantic comedy set during the zombie apocalypse about a couple trying to save their marriage. It will be out in September 2010 and a sequel, Flip This Zombie, will be released in January 2011.

A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things - the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.






Mansfield Park and Mummies by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian

This one was given to me by roommate for the week, who kindly put up with me and gave me advice on finding my way around the city. Vera Nazarian is one of her favorite authors. I'm not usually interested in the monster mashup books even though I love Jane Austen, but I did read one review somewhere (wish I remembered where now) that mentioned this was much more clever than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. And I did really enjoy Lords of Rainbow by Vera Nazarian so I'll give it a try. Vera Nazarian also founded Norilana Books, which has some really gorgeous books. I bought the reprint of Tanith Lee's Night Master published through Norilana and it is beautiful.

MANSFIELD PARK AND MUMMIES: Monster Mayhem, Matrimony, Ancient Curses, True Love, and Other Dire Delights

Spinsterhood or Mummification!

Ancient Egypt infiltrates Regency England in this elegant, hilarious, witty, insane, and unexpectedly romantic monster parody of Jane Austen's classic novel.

Our gentle yet indomitable heroine Fanny Price must hold steadfast not only against the seductive charms of Henry Crawford but also an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh!

Meanwhile, the indubitably handsome and kind hero Edmund attempts Exorcisms... Miss Crawford vamps out... Aunt Norris channels her inner werewolf... The Mummy-mesmerized Lady Bertram collects Egyptian artifacts...

There can be no doubt that Mansfield Park has become a battleground for the forces of Ancient Evil and Regency True Love!







Alanya to Alanya by L. Timmel Duchamp

This was another book from my roommate for the week since it is one she keeps mentioning to me. I also read a great review of it at Adventures in Reading that made me want to read it more. It's the first book in the Marq'ssan Cycle.

Seattle, February 2076. The Marq ssan bring business as usual to a screeching halt all over the world, and Professor Kay Zeldin joins Robert Sedgewick, US Chief of Security Services, in his war against the invaders. Soon Kay is making rather than writing history. But as she goes head-to-head against the Marq ssan, the long-buried secrets of her past resurface, and her conflicts with Sedgewick and Security Services multiply. She faces terrifying choices. Her worldview, her very grip on reality, is turned inside out. Whose side is she really on? And how far will she go in serving that side?






The Devil in Green by Mark Chadbourn

I picked up this first book in the Dark Age series at the Pyr booth at BEA when wandering around with Ana and Thea of The Book Smugglers (who are just as fun and awesome in person as you'd expect from their blog). Pyr has published some decent books such as Joe Abercrombie's First Law series, as well as some I keep hearing are good and have been meaning to try out (The Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson, The Entire and the Rose series by Kay Kenyon and The Age of Misrule series also by Mark Chadbourn). So picking this one up was a no-brainer. It's set after the Age of Misrule, but hopefully I won't be too confused.

Humanity has emerged, blinking, from the Age of Misrule into a world substantially changed: cities lie devasted, communications are limited, anarchy rages across the land. Society has been thrown into a new Dark Age where superstition holds sway.

The Tuatha De Danaan roam the land once more, their terrible powers dwarfing anything mortals have to offer. And in their wake come all the creatures of myth and legend, no longer confined to the shadows.

Fighting to find their place in this new world, the last remnants of the Christian Church call for a group of heroes: a new Knights Templar to guard the priesthood as they set out on their quest for souls. But as everything begins to fall apart, the Knights begin to realize their only hope is to call on the pagan gods of Celtic myth for help....



Matched by Ally Condie

I picked up this one after seeing a panel on Dystopian fiction including this author. This young adult novel will be available on November 30, 2010. It sounds interesting, although it also sounds very similar to one of the other books I picked up (that will be in the signed post).

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.




Gool by Maurice Gee

This is the second book in the Salt trilogy, following Salt. It was given to me at the publisher's booth. It will be released in September 2010.

Beyond the Inland Sea, beyond the jungle and mountains, the world was in turmoil. He thought of it as a hissing cauldron, with a thousand unknown things, alive and tormented, throwing the steam and stench of hatred high into the air.

Will Xantee and Lo find the strength to destroy the gool and save Hari?
The gool cannot be seen, not properly, but Xantee, Lo and their friends sense its evil presence. It lurks in the jungle in rock clefts, an enemy from outside nature. And now a fragment of gool grips Hari by the throat, draining the life from him. They can hold it back with the force of their minds, but for how long?

Xantee, Lo and Duro set out on a perilous mission to find the Dog King Tarl, Hari's father, and the ruined city of Belong. Can he help them find the source of the gool? Will they find it in time? And do they have the strength to destroy the mother gool to rid the world of this life-sucking force?

3 comments:

Janicu said...

I wanted MATCHED but cold never find it.. boo. What was the book you think it sounded similar to?

orannia said...

I discovered what I keep hearing about this series is very true - the first book is good, the next is better, but the third book is really great.

YAH! So glad you're enjoying it. I can't wait to read Magic Bleeds!

And oh, you've a Maurice Gee book! Am interested in the Devil in Green...

Kristen said...

Janicu - That's too bad about not finding Matched. But you found Windup Girl so I'm envious of that! ;)

I thought Matched sounded rather similar to Delirium. They're both teen books in which the government has control over love. They both sound interesting, but I'm looking forward to Delirium more.

Orannia - Oh, yes, I am enjoying it very much! I liked the first two books, but the third one was just wonderful. It made me into a true series addict. With so many books to read, it's not that often I HAVE to get the next one and start it immediately.