Cover Reveal: Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

"Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.

But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.

Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be."

Zen Scarlett will be available on 2 May 2013 in the UK, on 30 Apr 2013 in the US. The e-book version will be released on 30 Apr 2013 as well.

Early praise for Zenn Scarlett:

"Christian Schoon knows his xenobiology! ZENN SCARLETT has everything a sci-fi lover craves, from exotic alien life forms to quantum entanglement, all grounded by a stellar YA heroine. Zenn’s moxie and determination make this a debut to remember. Highly recommended!" – Phoebe North, author of Starglass

"Reading Zenn Scarlett is like venturing into a gargantuan alien animal in one of the in-soma pods Zenn uses to provide veterinary care: delightful, bizarre, and occasionally terrifying." – Mike Mullin, author of ASHFALL

"Many young people want to become veterinarians because they love animals. All future veterinarians will want to read Zenn Scarlett and her adventures with veterinary medicine on alien animals." – Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

"Mars, monsters, and mysteries: Zenn Scarlett is a thoughtful and thrilling science fiction adventure that’s perfect for readers who think they’ve seen it all! It’s refreshing to encounter an original young adult story that defies expectations, and the breathtaking conclusion will leave you desperate for more." – E C Myers, author of FAIR COIN and QUANTUM COIN

Cover Reveal: Saxon's Bane by Geoffrey Gudgion

"Fergus Sheppard’s world changes for ever the day his car crashes near the remote village of Allingley.

Traumatised by his near-death experience, he returns to thank the villagers who rescued him, and stays to work at the local stables as he recovers from his injuries. He will discover a gentler pace of life, fall in love – and be targeted for human sacrifice. Clare Harvey’s life will never be the same either. The young archaeologist’s dream find – the peat-preserved body of a Saxon warrior – is giving her nightmares. She can tell that the warrior had been ritually murdered, and that the partial skeleton lying nearby is that of a young woman. And their tragic story is unfolding in her head every time she goes to sleep.

Fergus discovers that his crash is uncannily linked to the excavation, and that the smiling and beautiful countryside harbours some very dark secrets. As the pagan festival of Beltane approaches, and Clare’s investigation reveals the full horror of a Dark Age war crime, Fergus and Clare seem destined to share the Saxon couple’s bloody fate!"

Saxon's Bane will be published by Solaris in September 2013.

Early praise for Saxon's Bane:

"An astonishingly accomplished debut novel that blurs the line between genres. Imagine Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth but in the dark shadow of Denis Wheatley, with elements of The Wicker Man…" - Ian Drury, Sheil Land Associates, Literary Agents

"It’s a rare occasion when a submission comes in that I have to read right the way through in one go. Saxon’s Bane was such a book." - Jonathan Oliver, Editor-in-Chief, Solaris

100 books, 100 offers, 25 hours

The Book Depository is running another great promotion day. This time, it looks like they increase the scope and the size of the offers.

Starting at 12:00 noon GMT (7:00 AM EST), they are going to push a new book offer every 15 minutes.

I usually buy one or two books during their book-offer days. Let's see what gems I'm going to bring home today.

Game Review: ORC: Vengeance

I usually don't blog about games. Mostly because I'm not a serious gamer (or I should say I ceased to be one some time ago). But I consider myself a casual gamer, especially since the beginning of the smartphone era. The games I play on my phone or on my tablet are generally puzzle or strategy type of games that I can play 5 mins here and 10 mins there.

However every now and then I discover a game and I totally get glued to it until I finish it (or it finishes me - that's another kinda-long story when, years ago, I succumbed after sleepless days of playing an awesome game). The game that I absolutely loved and that I wanted to tell you about is called Orc: The Vengeance.

Please visit Speculative Book Review to read the rest of this review...

Cover Art: The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

Please go to Speculative Book Review to read this post.

First Impression: Of Blood And Honey by Stina Leicht

Yesterday evening, when I heard about Night Shades Books' wonderful Thanksgiving Ebook Giveaway, I downloaded the books that were on offer: Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Fglio, The Emperors Knife by Mazarkis Williams and Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht.

I don't know you but when I receive new books I cannot simply put them down for later and go on with life. I have to look at them, turn their pages, read their first few chapters. I basically need to strike up an acquaintance with them. So I turned the first page of Of Blood and Honey.

It captured my attention immediately because the setting was Northern Ireland during the 70s, more specifically the protagonist seemed to be involved in the Irish-English conflict. I am not Irish but I have lived in Ireland for more than 13 years and I found the setting quite attractive.

The first few chapters that I read were short, dividing the story nicely. The author had a very pleasant-to-read, fluent style. And I found the plot (or I should say the beginning of it) interesting enough to make me want to continue to read.

When I put down Stina Leicht's Of Blood and Honey I was decided to get back to it very soon. It had just climbed at the top of my pile of books to be read.


Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Night Shade Books (@nightshadebooks)
Series: Book One of The Fey and The Fallen
ISBN-10: 1597802131
ISBN-13: 978-1597802130

"Fallen angels and The Fey clash against the backdrop of Irish/English conflicts of the 1970s in this stunning debut novel by Stina Leicht.

Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that Liam was the bastard of a Protestant. Liam’s mother never spoke of the man, so Liam had assumed him dead.

When the war between The Fey and The Fallen begins to heat up, Liam and the woman he loves are pulled into a conflict invisible to most humans— a conflict in which Liam’s father fights on the front lines. This centuries-old battle between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970s-era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into both conflicts.

Only the direct intervention of Liam’s father and a secret Catholic order dedicated to fighting The Fallen can save Liam from the mundane and supernatural forces around him, and from the darkness that lurks within."

2 New Additions To My TBR Pile

The first book that went in my TBR pile is Jonathan Green's Time's Arrow. I think you're all familiar with Abaddon's Steampunk world Pax Britannia however it might still be a good idea to give a brief introduction:

Pax Britannia is a steampunk alternative history set in a late twentieth century in which Queen Victoria - now nearing the end of her sixteenth decade on the throne, and wholly dependent on steam technology for survival - rules over the vastly wealthy, powerful and decadent Empire of Magna Britannia. Airships ply the skies overhead as gentlemen of leisure admire the dinosaurs in the London Zoo, while the Empire has extended to the Moon. Across the pond, the United Socialist States of America, loosely allied with the might of Magna Britannia, is home to dreamers, poets, madmen, and heroes, poised to usher in a new era. 

Jonathan Green's Time's Arrow is the final instalment of an interesting publishing experiment. With the first two books of the series, Green gave his readers a choice about what would happen next. Time's Arrow is the single volume that contains all three books.

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Abaddon Books (8 Nov 2012 - UK, 13 Nov 2012 - US, CA)
ISBN-10: 1781080631
ISBN-13: 978-1781080634

"Paris. City of lights. City of lovers. City of dreams. Yet if one man gets his way, its inhabitants will soon be forced to endure a nightmare such as they have never known.

Hero of the British Empire Ulysses Quicksilver is determined to stand in his way... even as he returns from the past to appear on the scene of a horrific murder!

Before he can hope to rescue the French capital from its fate, Ulysses must go on the run and track down the real killer. His intention: to clear his good name, and get back to England in one piece. And quickly, for the love of his life is about to take a most ill-advised trip to the Moon.

Can Quicksilver stop the terrorist known only as 'Le Papillon'?"

The second book that just made into my TBR pile is Juliet E. McKenna's conclusion to her The Hadrumal Crisis Trilogy: Defiant Peaks. 

Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Solaris (6 Dec 2012 - UK, 27 Nov 2012 - US, CA)
ISBN-10: 1781080577
ISBN-13: 978-1781080573

Archmage Planir and the wizards of Hadrumal have demonstrated their devestating powers and the corsair threat is no more. The mainland rulers' relief is overshadowed with fear of one day facing such a threat to their own dominion. Will Tormalin's Emporer make an alliance with Solura's wizards, who so openly covet Hadrumal's secrets? Will he seek out that other mysterious magic, Artifice, to counter Planir's magecraft? How will the aloof Aetheric adepts of the mountains answer such an appeal?

With many of the Wizard Council disputing Planir's chosen course, he must look beyond the island city for allies. To Suthyfer, the controversial haven for mageborn far away in the Eastern Ocean. To Caladrhia, where Corrain, Baron Halferan and Lady Zurenne believe they have finally won respite from all their trials. But absence of strife is hardly peace. The lull before winter's storms descend from the distant northern peaks will be a short one.