"Reappraise the past, re-evaluate where we've been, clarify where we are, and predict or anticipate where we are headed" - Toni Cade Bambara (1939 - 1995)
I love the anticipation of my new books. The ever growing TBR pile is a tower of pleasure :). Here's what I'm expecting to read during the next few weeks, in order:
Kay is one of my favorite authors. He's never disappointed and has never failed to impress. I'm so looking forward to reading his latest book.
Blurb
An epic historical adventure set in a pseudo 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape. An epic historical adventure set in a pseudo 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape. For two years Shen Tai has mourned his father, living like a hermit beyond the borders of the Kitan Empire, by a mountain lake where terrible battles have long been fought between the Kitai and the neighbouring Tagurans, including one for which his father - a great general - was honoured. But Tai's father never forgot the brutal slaughter involved. The bones of 100,000 soldiers still lie unburied by the lake and their wailing ghosts at night strike terror in the living, leaving the lake and meadow abandoned in its ring of mountains. To honour and redress his father's sorrow, Tai has journeyed west to the lake and has laboured, alone, to bury the dead of both empires. His supplies are replenished by his own people from the nearest fort, and also - since peace has been bought with the bartering of an imperial princess - by the Tagurans, for his solitary honouring of their dead. The Tagurans soldiers one day bring an unexpected letter. It is from the bartered Kitan Princess Cheng-wan, and it contains a poisoned chalice: she has gifted Tai with two hundred and fifty Sardian horses, to reward him for his courage. The Sardians are legendary steeds from the far west, famed, highly-prized, long-coveted by the Kitans.
I used to read more horror books but I still love a good horror story when I find one. Adam Nevill's Apartment 16 is one that sounds very promising so I'll be reading it very soon.
Blurb
Some doors are better left closed . . .
In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
A young American woman, Apryl, arrives at Barrington House. She's been left an apartment by her mysterious Great Aunt Lillian who died in strange circumstances. Rumours claim Lillian was mad. But her diary suggests she was implicated in a horrific and inexplicable event decades ago.
Determined to learn something of this eccentric woman, Apryl begins to unravel the hidden story of Barrington House. She discovers that a transforming, evil force still inhabits the building. And the doorway to Apartment 16 is a gateway to something altogether more terrifying . . .
I really liked the blurb of The Exodus Gate, the first book of the Rising Dawn Saga. Furthermore, it's the first time that I'm going to read a work of Stephen Zimmer's. I'm pretty excited about it.
Blurb
The Exodus Gate, by Stephen Zimmer, is a modern fantasy novel that is the first release in the Rising Dawn Saga. The story unfolds around Benedict Darwin, host of a popular late night radio show that deals with the paranormal. Benedict comes into possession of a virtual reality simulator that turns out to be something far greater and more powerful than he ever expected. Meanwhile, supernatural powers from the depths of the Abyss and their human allies are working tirelessly to bring about a One World Government. They are also laboring to bridge the boundaries between time and space to bring back the Nephilim, the monstrous offspring of Fallen Avatars and humans that were destroyed in a Great Flood that occurred long ages ago. An epic tale of courage, hope, and adventure, with fantastical realms and exotic creatures, The Exodus Gate is sure to appeal to a wide range of fantasy readers. The first edition also feature 15 full page illustrations by the artist Matthew Perry.
Back to epic fantasy with the first book of the Fires in Eden.
Blurb
On a night that begins no different from any other, strange mists engulf Janus Roland, Erika Laesig, Mershad Shahab, and several others going about their lives in a quiet midwestern town.
When the mist dissipates, they all find themselves looking up into the bright skies of a new, incredible world. Without explanation of why it has happened, or any notion of where they are, they embark upon a grand adventure within the fantastical world of Ave (pronounced ah-vay).
Some find themselves in the lands of the Saxan Kingdom, while others have emerged within the lands of the Onan, one of the tribes in the Five Realms confederation. Storms of war loom over both Saxany and the Five Realms, as invasion forces mass under the inspiration of The Unifier, a mysterious, captivating figure whose influence has swept across the surface of Aveever since His rise to power in the Gallean duchy of Avanor.
It is a war that will be fought in the skies, upon the seas, on land, and even in places non-physical in nature.
A majestic, epic fantasy that begins many adventures and journeys across a diverse and enthralling world, filled with races and creatures both familiar and new, Crown of Vengeance lights the flame of the Fires in Eden series, bringing to life a bold, far-ranging, and grand new venture within the realms of fantasy literature.
One of the most anticipated titles of 2010 for me.
Blurb
Deep in the research wing of the Natural History Museum is a prize specimen, something that comes along much less often than once in a lifetime: a perfect, and perfectly preserved, giant squid. But what does it mean when the creature suddenly and impossibly disappears?
For curator Billy Harrow it's the start of a headlong pitch into a London of warring cults, surreal magic, apostates and assassins. It might just be that the creature he's been preserving is more than a biological rarity: there are those who are sure it's a god.
A god that someone is hoping will end the world.
THE EXODUS GATE is my current read (170 pages so far). The setting is unusual. I will review it in March 2010.
ReplyDeleteI read, really liked and reviewed CROWN OF VENGEANCE.
The blurb of Kraken is mouth-watering. I look forward...
Yes, I read your review of Crown of Vengeance and I hope I'll like it too :).
ReplyDeleteI admit that The Exodus Gate sounds more unusual. I don't know much what to expect :).