Tag: sci-fi

Happy Belated #BookBday (1/28/14 Edition)

Happy Belated #BookBday (1/28/14 Edition)

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Anne Spieth
D'oh! We forgot to wish our new books a happy #BookBday on Tuesday! We'll keep the party going with belated best wishes for...

THE LAST ENCHANTMENTS by Charles Finch
Finch's coming-of-age tale about a Yale graduate is getting lots of attention, from People Magazine to USA Today. "In prose that glides effortlessly from scene to scene, Finch captures the fleeting time in people’s lives when their every decision, from career to lover, seems freighted with eternal consequence. Highly recommended for all collections." – Library Journal, starred review

THE QUEEN'S DWARF by Ella March Chase
In this richly imagined novel set in the Stuart court, our unique hero Jeffrey Hudson–who happens to be a dwarf–is tasked with spying on the beautiful but vulnerable queen. "Rich in detail and brimming with intriguing characters, Chase’s novel will please fans of historical fiction..." – Kirkus Reviews

A DARKLING SEA by James Cambias
This debut science fiction novel about alien races has three remarkable starred reviews, such as this one from Kirkus: “An exceptionally thoughtful, searching and intriguing debut.” 

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We Love Books About Books

We Love Books About Books

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Anne Spieth
Who can resist books about books and libraries? We can't! Here's just a few of the latest titles we're into (Caution: some books may include kittens):

WHY I READ: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser
Founder of the Threepenny Review, Lesser's "delectably sophisticated inquiry into why reading is a constant source of pleasure and provocation" (Booklist) is as much a memoir as it is about the craft of literature. Written in "erudite, beautiful passages," WHY I READ "will speak to booklovers of all types." – Publishers Weekly, starred review. If you're attending ALA Midwinter, make sure to meet Wendy Lesser in booth #622!

WHAT MAKE THIS BOOK SO GREAT by Jo Walton
This collection of Tor.com blog posts from Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Walton about her favorites works of sci-fi and fantasy is "...akin to a genre version of Nancy Pearl's BOOK LUST." (Library Journal, starred review) "For readers unschooled in the history of SF/F, this book is a treasure trove; for those who recognize every title, Walton evokes the joy of returning to a well-worn favorite." – Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE SHELF: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose
No, this isn't reading while rappelling down a mountain like we hoped, but it is still an extreme library sport: to read through an entire shelf of library books. In Rose's case, her randomly chosen shelf of fiction from LEQ to LES contained a classic she has not read, a remarkable variety of authors, and a range of literary styles from mystery to humor. Perhaps it'll inspire similar challenges in your library!

Now that we're thinking about cats, here are 21 cats who are secretly excellent readers!

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Stars for Tor Books!

Stars for Tor Books!

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Anne Spieth
It's only fitting that Tor Books has so many starred reviews, since many are set in outer space! 

More seriously though, whether set on distant planets or in fantasy lands, here are our favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy titles that have already received terrific early praise:

THE EMPEROR’S BLADES by Brian Staveley
“In this epic fantasy debut, Staveley has created a complex and richly detailed world filled with elite soldier-assassins, mystic warrior monks, serpentine politics, and ancient secrets. Readers of Sara Douglass's Wayfarer novels and George R.R. Martin's 'Song of Ice and Fire' series should enjoy this opener.” – Library Journal, starred review and Debut of the Month selection

YEAR’S BEST SF 18 edited by David G. Hartwell 
“One of the best collections of the year, without a weak tale in its list, this is highly recommended for fans of the short story and of SF in general.” – Library Journal, starred review
“Almost uniformly excellent—but then when was an anthology from Hartwell ever less?” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

FIDDLEHEAD by Cherie Priest 
“This is a compelling finale to a fantastic series. The good guys are complex and sympathetic; the villains are suitably clever and malign. The action rattles along at breakneck speed, and the reader can't resist coming along for the wild ride, which includes a climactic battle featuring a wheelchair-bound Abe Lincoln and a temporarily sober Ulysses S. Grant. Highly recommended for all readers of fantasy and steampunk.” – Library Journal, starred review

A DARKLING SEA by James Cambias (THREE starred reviews!)
“An exceptionally thoughtful, searching and intriguing debut.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Like [Robert] Silverberg, who developed fully realized alien societies in such novels as Downward to the Earth…Cambias makes the Sholen and Ilmataran people and cultures as real as the more familiar human component. Beautifully written, with a story that captures the imagination the way SF should.” – Booklist, starred review
“Cambias writes with a light touch and occasional flashes of humor, and the science supporting his novel is sound and unobtrusive. This is an impressive debut by a gifted writer.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

Get whitelisted on Edelweiss for Macmillan e-galleys and download your copy of these great titles. [...]

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Teen Title Tuesday!

Teen Title Tuesday!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Just in time for today's Early Word YA Galley Chat (join us today at 5:00pm EST, hashtag #ewyagc), here are our favorite YA titles out this month:

HORIZON by Alyson Noël
In the final book in the "atmospheric and enjoyable" (Publishers Weekly) Soul Seekers series, Daire and Dace face one final fight that will seal their fate forever.
Also available in the series: FATED (Book 1), ECHO (Book 2) and MYSTIC (Book 3)

THE TRAP by Andrew Fukuda
In the explosive finale to The Hunt trilogy, Gene and Sissy must protect each other and their only hope: the cure that will turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them into humans again.
Also available in the series: THE HUNT (Book 1) and THE PREY (Book 2)

THE SEVERED TOWER by J. Barton Mitchell
In the second book in the Conquered Earth series, Holt, Mira, and Max have fled Midnight City, accompanying Zoey on her quest to reach the Severed Tower. Their journey is made more dangerous as the group is being pursued by Assembly army, a group of pirates, and Mira's old flame.
Also available in the series: MIDNIGHT CITY

THE IN-BETWEEN by Barbara Stewart
When Elanor’s near-death experience opens a door to a world inhabited by bold, beautiful Madeline, she finds her life quickly spiraling out of control. "This may be Stewart’s first novel, but she exhibits a practiced skill, keeping events ambiguous enough to have readers guessing throughout... A most intriguing book and debut." – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THE NEXT BIG THING by Sadie Hayes
In the second installment in the Social Code series, twin college students Amelia and Adam are riding high on the successful launch of their new company–until they start to disagree about how to sustain the momentum to keep making it in the competitive world of Silicon Valley.
Also available in the series: THE SOCIAL CODE

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Three stars for DANGEROUS WOMEN!

Three stars for DANGEROUS WOMEN!

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Anne Spieth

We'd like to think that we're a couple of dangerous women, but we're softies at heart, kinda like these guys (awww...). The thing we're the most hazardous to is your "To Read" pile. 

spooning kittensWith that warning in mind, we've got a doozy for you: DANGEROUS WOMEN, an awesome collection of 22 original short stories co-edited by A Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, featuring contributions from bestselling authors, including Jim Butcher, Diana Gabaldon, Lev Grossman, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Brandon Sanderson, and Martin himself. Whether it's science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, or suspense, women are the stars, from feisty heroines down to villainess vixens.

Speaking of stars, DANGEROUS WOMEN already has THREE starred pre-publication reviews!

"Venerable editors Martin and Dozois (Warriors) have invited writers from many different genres of fiction to showcase the supposedly weaker sex’s capacity for magic, violence, and mayhem. These 22 brand-new short stories prove that women are men’s equals—at least—in lethal potential. This meaty collection delivers something for nearly every reader’s taste as it explores the heights that brave women can reach and the depths that depraved ones can plumb." – Publishers Weekly, starred review

"VERDICT: The wide selection of authors guarantees something to please almost every reader's tastes." – Library Journal, starred review

"When genre collections include this many big-name authors, they’re typically a grouping of series outtakes and Easter eggs. Readers...will surely be satisfied by these [series-related stories] and other entries. Everyone will find something to like here." – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 Get whitelisted and download your review copy on Edelweiss.
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Stars and Rave Reviews… Oh My!

Stars and Rave Reviews… Oh My!

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Friends, today we're sharing stars and rave reviews for THE LAND ACROSS by Gene Wolfe and DUPLEX by Katherine Davis. 

The full-page New York Times Book Review (9/22 issue) had this to say about DUPLEX, the coming-of-age love story where time, place, and mind all bend in extraordinary ways:  

"[I fell] in love with Davis's writing, what it did to me, that combination of horror and excitement that spilled out of the book, into my past, into the now, into everything around me. Few books have given me this sort of real-time thrill.... [DUPLEX] wormholes through the real and unreal in a way that is always compelling even if it doesn't make immediate sense to the top of the mind, the human experience always recognizable even in a world that feels like a much-needed nightmare version of 'Brigadoon.' When you are lost in the uncanny woods of this astonishing, double-hinged book, just keep reading, and remember to look up. Kathryn Davis knows right where you are." (Lynda Barry, author of CRUDDY)

DUPLEX is available now from Graywolf Press.

And... Hitting your shelves in November is Gene Wolfe's latest standalone novel, THE LAND ACROSS.

Wolfe is generally known as one of the greatest living writers of science fiction and fantasy. He's won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, and just this year he received the SFWA Grand Master award. 

With all that acclaim, we're very excited for THE LAND ACROSS, a new fantasy that seamlessly blends mystery, travelogue, authoritarianism and the supernatural. Set in the present in an imagined Eastern European country, an American travel guide writer is trapped the moment he crosses the border. At first it seems like pure bureaucracy--only later it's evident that there are supernatural agencies at work. But why? Is our hero a spy or is he an innocent citizen caught in a Kafkaesque trap?

THE LAND ACROSS has already received two starred pre-publication reviews: 

"Wolfe, in masterful mood, builds his characters, explores the puzzles, links the elements together and contrives to render the backdrop both intriguingly attractive and creepily sinister. Sheer enjoyment." --Library Journal, starred review

"Wolfe evokes Kafka, Bradbury, and The Twilight Zone in combining the implausible, creepy, and culturally alien to create a world where every action is motivated by its own internal logic, driving the story forward through the unexplored and incomprehensible." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

**And let’s not forget that Ali Fisher had her eye on this gem for a while now... Check out her review on Uncharted Pages.  
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A Smart, Inventive Sci-Fi Debut: The Quantum Thief

A Smart, Inventive Sci-Fi Debut: The Quantum Thief

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Ali Fisher

It's difficult to describe a book like Hannu Rajaniemi's stellar sci-fi debut, THE QUANTUM THIEF. This book is structurally defiant, believably bizarre, and driven by the hot desires of desperate theives and clever detectives. It's very smart and it's a helluva trip.

You may have already seen it on lists like Kirkus Review's 10 Can't-Miss SFF Books for 2011 and io9's Books We Can't Wait for this Spring. 

"Finnish author Rajaniemi’s outstanding debut demonstrates a level of complexity and storytelling skill rarely found from even the most experienced authors. Rajaniemi belongs in a class with Gene Wolfe and Samuel Delany and deserves a wide readership." —Library Journal (starred review)

"A sort of paranoid-conspiracy, hard sci-fi whodunit: the Scotland resident, Finnish author's jaw-dropping debut. All this barely hints at the complex inventions and extrapolations, richly textured backdrop and well-developed characters seamlessly woven into a narrative stuffed with scientific, literary and cultural references. [...] Spectacularly and convincingly inventive, assured and wholly spellbinding: one of the most impressive debuts in years." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

[UPDATE]: Publishers Weekly has also given THE QUANTUM THIEF a starred review. They say, "Rajaniemi melds a caper novel, New Wave aesthetics, and theoretical physics into a stellar debut. [...] The plot itself is straightforward, allowing the mix of multiple narrative styles and viewpoints, elegant world building, and gonzo futurism to astonish without overwhelming."

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Oops, I did it again.

Oops, I did it again.

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Ben Rubinstein

So I've been in a bit of a reading frenzy lately. I mean, I'm always reading a lot, but it's been more than usual.

One of the latest books I've read wasn't a Tor book. It wasn't even a Macmillan book. Nope, it was an Orbit book. Oops. But yeah, still fantasy. The book? The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

"In an increasingly deep Zelaznyesque series of political maneuverings,
Yeine, nearly powerless but fiercely determined, finds potential allies
among her relatives and the gods who are forced to live in Sky as
servants after losing an ancient war." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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