starred review - Macmillan Library

Watch the KILLER Book Trailer for Kill You Twice!

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Ali Fisher

You must watch this amazing book trailer for Chelsea Cain's latest psychological thriller, KILL YOU TWICE!

I promise the message will hit you... hard.

KILL YOU TWICE Review Round-Up:

"Cain hits the narrative throttle with all cylinders firing. Like the best thriller writers, though, she knows how to ease off the throttle, too, making room for subtle and satisfying character interplay but at the same building tension as we wait for the narrative to burst into overdrive once again. Masterful on every level." -Booklist (starred review)

"That blood oozes off practically every page is never in doubt. But neither is Cain’s skill in creating riveting character drama between two damaged souls." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Cain’s abiding determination to outdo the suspense, plot twists and gore of each previous outing is both perverse and awe-inspiring." -Kirkus Reviews

And Robin Beerbower (Salem Public Library, OR) added KILL YOU TWICE to her list of books for the Fourth Annual Librarian Shout n' Share at BEA!

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FOUR STARS for A Killing in the Hills!

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Ali Fisher

We already mentioned that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller's debut novel, A KILLING IN THE HILLS, is getting killer reviews. Now we get to say that it has officially received (read: rightfully earned) FOUR pre-pub starred reviews!

Take a look:

"Keller does a superb job of showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there in poverty. [...] The ensemble cast is unforgettable. So is this novel." -Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)

julia keller "A page-turner with substance and depth, this is as suspenseful and entertaining as it is accomplished." -Booklist (starred review)

"[A] superbly detailed and suspense-drenched mystery. Share with Linda Fairstein, Meg Gardiner, and Lisa Gardner fans." -Library Journal (starred review, Debut of the Month)

"[A] mystery that has plenty of twists and turns and a shocking conclusion." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A KILLING IN THE HILLS will be available in August from Minotaur Books. [...]

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Business Book Friday!

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Ali Fisher

Booklist pulled together a hot list of 10 essential business books for 2012 including GROUPON'S BIGGEST DEAL EVER by Frank Sennett!

"Told with an appealingly jaunty prose style (imagine Ben Mezrich but with even more enthusiasm), the story portrays Mason as a plucky entrepreneur, a laid-back and politically incorrect school prankster who, on the other hand, is a sharp-as-a-tack computer programmer. [...] Groupon gets a lot of publicity these days, and that’s sure to drive readers to this entertaining and lively book. Is there a movie here, too, following in the wake of The Social Network? Well, there are no Winklevoss twins in the story, but don’t bet against it." -Booklist (starred review)

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Pick of the Week: Stormdancer!

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Ali Fisher

"As the iron war club scythed toward her head, Yukiko couldn't help wishing she'd listened to her father."

So starts STORMDANCER, Jay Kristoff's action-packed steampunk dystopian fantasy debut that takes place in a feudal Japan-like world.

When 16-year-old Yukiko and her father are sent to capture the last of the griffins for a murderous Shogun, disaster befalls their mission and Yukiko finds herself stranded in the wilderness with a crippled griffin. Now it's up to Yokiko to heal the griffin and save her homelands from the evil Shogun.

"The innovative setting, fast-moving plot, vivid descriptions, and thrilling action scenes make this a refreshing addition to the steampunk canon." -Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)

"Debut author Kristoff's steampunk adventure whisks readers to a Japanese dystopia where some mythological beings still exist, a few people have fantastical gifts, and all people live under tyranny." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Barbara Hoffert from Library Journal selected STORMDANCER for her "Barbara's Picks" column and said, "Japanese steampunk? You bet. [...] This first in The Lotus War series has five-star early reviews, and nearly 1000 folks have lined up on Goodreads to crack the covers. Get it."

Sound good?

We have 10 galleys left to giveaway to interested librarians! The first ten librarians to leave a comment below will each receive a copy! This giveaway is open to current librarians in the U.S. only. Go!

STORMDANCER will be available in September from St. Martin's Press. [...]

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Starred Review for A Foreign Country

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Ali Fisher

Betrayal and conspiracy reign in A FOREIGN COUNTRY, Charles Cummings' latest stand-alone spy thriller after THE TRINITY SIX.

Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared just weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. Desperate to find her and keep her disappearance a secret, Britain’s top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell.

"Cumming is particularly skilled at sketching his characters, most notably Kell (a classically reluctant spy) and Weldon, who’s haunted by personal demons central to the elaborate puzzle of a story. The elegant prose will appeal to those who don’t usually read spy fiction." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A FOREIGN COUNTRY is nominated for The 2012 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award!

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Starred Reviews for The Survivor

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Ali Fisher

In Gregg Hurwitz' own words, his latest thriller, THE SURVIVOR, is the story of "a man forced to step up, willing to do anything to protect those he loves, even as his body begins to betray him." More specifically...

One morning Nate Overbay—a divorced former solider suffering from PTSD and slowly dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease—goes to an eleventh-floor bank and climbs out a window onto the ledge, ready to end it. But when a crew of robbers bursts into the bank viciously shooting employees and customers, Nate confronts the robbers, taking them out one-by-one.

Nate is then kidnapped by Pavlo, a savage Russian mobster who planned the failed heist. Pavlo gives Nate an ultimatum—break back into the bank and get what he needs or watch Pavlo slowly kill the ex-wife and teenaged daughter Nate lost when he came back from Iraq.

"Hurwitz’s writing is crisp and economical, and he steers clear of hackneyed phrases and one-dimensional characters. [...] A fine thriller that succeeds on every level."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Surely Hurwitz can’t keep this up forever. Lately, each new book he publishes is his best so far, and this one’s no exception. [...] Nate is the kind of character who, if not handled just right, might quickly become unbelievable, but there’s no danger of that with Hurwitz at the controls. It’s hard to imagine that he can top this one, but, based on past performance, don’t bet against it." —Booklist (starred review)

Publisher's Weekly ran an interview with Gregg in June. Read their Q&A here.

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Starred Reviews for Existence

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Ali Fisher

Did Prometheus get your patrons back in the mood for some seriously pulse-pounding alien stories? I figured as much! And if they're looking for an epic alien adventure that's new to the shelves, pass them EXISTENCE by Hugo and Nebula Award-winner David Brin.

Gerald Livingston is your typical orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space and it's his job to clean it up. When Gerald finds an alien communication device orbiting Earth with the message, "JOIN US," he and the rest of mankind are thrown into a maelstrom of fear, hope, violence, joy, and insatiable curiosity.

"Brin’s thoughtful, multilayered story explores a first contact scenario where every twist reveals greater peril. His longtime fans will especially appreciate that this story could be read as a prequel to 1983’s STARTIDE RISING, while those not familiar with his work will find it an impressive introduction to one of SF’s major talents." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Featuring memorable characters and masterly storytelling, Brin’s latest novel provides food for thought and entertainment. Fans of Vernor Vinge and Arthur C. Clarke, as well as Brin’s own sizable fan base, will enjoy this multidimensional story." -Library Journal (starred review)

"Brin's EXISTENCE is bursting with ideas, including near-future tech, first contact with aliens, and the exploration of what it means to be human. It's the sort of novel that runs the risk of being overstuffed — but EXISTENCE pulls it off." -io9

Also GeekWire.com did an interview with David Brin about the state of Science Fiction, new media forms, nonfiction, and EXISTENCE here!

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Starred Reviews for A Killing in the Hills

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Ali Fisher

A KILLING IN THE HILLS is Julia Keller's debut novel, but she's far from new to writing. As a journalist with the Chicago Tribune, Killer won the Pulitzer Prize. Now that she's turned her skilled pen to fiction the starred reviews are stacking up!

In Acker's Gap, West Virginia three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner. No one knows if it was random or if it was connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap. One of the witnesses to the brutal incident is Carla Elkins, 17-year-old daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla is in shock over the events, but soon recovers enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job. After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? That is, unless Carla sacrifices her life to solve the crime.

"Chicago Tribune Pulitzer-winning journalist Keller has fashioned a debut mystery with an impeccably paced plot, supple prose, and indelibly drawn characters [...]. A page-turner with substance and depth, this is as suspenseful and entertaining as it is accomplished." -Booklist (starred review)

"Keller does a superb job showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there in poverty. Some characters turn out to be better than they appear, some much worse, but the ensemble cast is unforgettable. So is this novel." -Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week!)

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Starred Reviews for Visit Sunny Chernobyl

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Ali Fisher

You probably wouldn't think of a travelogue on the most terrifyingly polluted places in the world as a good summer read, but I'm here to argue that VISIT SUNNY CHERNOBYL by Andrew Blackwell might just be the perfect thing for a beautiful sunny day. Oh, and my buddies Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist are here to back me up.

For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth—Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon—but Andrew Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth. Irreverent and reflective, the book is a love letter to our biosphere’s most tainted, most degraded ecosystems, and a measured consideration of what they mean for us.

Part travelogue, part expose, part environmental memoir, and part faux guidebook, Blackwell careens through a rogue’s gallery of environmental disaster areas in search of the worst the world has to offer—and approaches a deeper understanding of what’s really happening to our planet in the process.

"Journalist and filmmaker Blackwell doesn’t just present a list of environmental woes but undertakes provocative meditations on how to care about the planet while recognizing that plenty of people need to make a living, sometimes to the environment’s detriment." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"In each chapter, Blackwell finds he loves the polluted places for all the ways they aren’t ruined. With great verve, and without sounding preachy, he exposes the essence and interconnectedness of these environmental problems." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

It also received a starred review from Booklist!

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Ali Gets (The) Weird

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Ali Fisher

Talia's at the Boston Book Buzz and most of the Academic Marketing Department is out today, so I'm creeping around the 21st floor like a moody sphinx in a defunct labyrinth and/or a manticore demon looking for someone to chat with between circles seven and eight (violence and fraud, respectively) of the Inferno/breakroom.

Won't someone come talk to me about something? ...Anything?! I can make you coffee! I’m better at making up riddles than Bilbo! I have things to say about the weather! Time-sensitive things!!

Do I sound familiar? If you’re smiling and shaking your head right now thinking, "Been there, girl," well then have I got the compendium for you: THE WEIRD edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer!

This anthology of peculiar short stories is here to keep you (and, more urgently, me) occupied over those dreary co-worker-less lunches and solitary afternoon coffee breaks. In the strange company of Franz Kafka, Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, Daphne Du Maurier, Algernon Blackwood, George R.R. Martin, and so many more, you may not feel more human, but you will feel less isolated... or will you?!

Seriously, someone come say hi. I'm losing it up here.

Not convinced by my manticorian ramblings? Publishers Weekly gave THE WEIRD a starred review and said,

"Ambitious in the extreme, the Vandermeers’ latest genre-blurring endeavor, which compiles 110 weird stories from the past century, is one of the most far-reaching and inclusive speculative anthologies to ever see print."

They also called it "a deeply affectionate and respectful history of speculative fiction’s blurry edges, and its stunning diversity, excellent quality, and extremely reasonable price point [...] will entice a wide variety of readers—including those who think they don’t like 'weird.'"

And how did the editors pick these delightful tales of strange and dark deeds?

We read over 6 million words in order to select the stories for The Weird. #torchat

— Ann VanderMeer (@AnnVanderMeer) May 16, 2012

Whoa! And what was the—how should I put this?—main thread of interior weird?

@WmHenryMorris Yes, Kafka is the main thread of interior weird in our antho. Stories where you r already embedded. #TORCHAT

— Jeff VanderMeer (@jeffvandermeer) May 16, 2012

I have goose bumps already!

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