Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

Here's the list of forthcoming novels for August. As always, please let us know if you're planning to read any of these!

Adams, Cat: Blood Song (pap)
Anderson, Poul: Young Flandry (pap)
Barry, Max: Machine Man (tpo)
Bennett, K: Pay Me in Flesh (Zombie Lawyer Mallory Caine #1) (pbo)
Bradbury, Ray: Pleasure to Burn: Fahrenheit 451 Stories (tp)
Brooks, Terry: The Measure of the Magic: Legends of Shannara
Brunner, John: Stand on Zanzibar (tp)
Caine, Rachel: Working Stiff: A Revivalist Novel (Revivalist Novel #1) (pbo)
Carroll, Lee: Watchtower (tp)
Published by Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore Page 5 of 9
Chandler, David: Den of Thieves: The Ancient Blades Trilogy: Book One (pbo)
Charlton, Blake: Spellwright (pap)
Cline, Ernest: Ready Player One
Connolly, Harry: Circle of Enemies: A Twenty Palaces Novel (#3) (pbo)
Cook, Glen: Introducing Garrett, P.I. (First 3 In Series) (tp)
Cooper, Brenda: Mayan December (tp)
Douglass, Sara: The Devil's Diadem
Douglass, Sara: The Infinity Gate: Darkglass Mountain: Book Three (pap)
Drake / Lambshead: Into the Hinterlands
Duane, Diane: Omnitopia: East Wind (#2)
Duane, Diane: Omnitopia Dawn: Omnitopia #1 (pap)
Duvall, Karen: Knight's Curse (tpo)
Elliott, Anna: Sunrise of Avalon: A Novel of Trystan & Isolde (Original) (tp)
Elliott, Kate: Cold Magic (Spiritwalker Trilogy #1) (pap)
Fallon, Jennifer: Palace of Impossible Dreams (pap)
Foglio, Phil & Kaja: Agatha H and the Airship City (tp)
Gay, Kelly: Hour of Dust and Ashes (pbo)
Gibson, William: Zero History (tp)
Grossman, Lev: The Magician King
Haley, Guy: Reality 36 (Richards & Klein #1) (pbo)
Hamilton, Peter F.: The Mandel Files, Volume 1 (Omnibus) (tp)
Hearst, Dorothy: Secrets of the Wolves (Wolf Chronicles #2)
Hickman, Tracy: Fireborn: Embers of Atlantis (pap)
Hoffman, Paul: The Last Four Things (#2)
Jamieson, Trent: Roil (pbo)
Jemisin, N K: The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy #2) (pap)
Jones / Bennett: Steelhands
Kadrey, Richard: Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim #2) (pap)
Kerr, Katharine: Water to Burn (Nola O'Grady #2) (pbo)
Kollin, Dani & Eytan: The Unincorporated Woman
Lawrence, Mark: Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1)
Lee / Miller: The Crystal Variation (Original) ( Liaden #2 ) (Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon,
Balance of Trade) (tp)
Lewis, Paul: The Savage Knight (Original) (tp)
Malan, Violette: Path of the Sun: A Novel of Dhulyn and Parno (Dhulyn and Parno #4) (pap)
Martin / Dozois: Warriors 3 (pap)
Mcneill, Graham: Ghouls of the Miskatonic: Book One of the Dark Waters Trilogy (Dark Waters
Trilogy #1) (pap)
Meyer, Stephenie: The Host (pap)
Milazzo, Tone: Picking Up the Ghost (tp)
Miller, Karen: A Blight of Mages
Modesitt, L E, Jr: Empress of Eternity (pap)
Monette / Bear: Tempering of Men
Niven, Larry: Stars and Gods (tp)
Niven/ Barnes: Moon Maze Game
Polansky, Daniel: Low Town
Powell, Gareth L: The Recollection (pbo)
Preston / Child: Cold Vengeance (Pendergast)
Priest, Cherie: Hellbent (Vampire Superthief Raylene Pendle #2) (tpo)
Rawn, Melanie: The Diviner
Richardson, Kat: Downpour: A Greywalker Novel (Greywalker #6)
Richardson, Kat: Labyrinth: A Greywalker Novel (Greywalker #5) (pap)
Ruckley, Brian: The Edinburgh Dead (tp)
Sagara, Michelle: Cast in Silence (Chronicles of Elantra #5) (pap)
Schafer, Courtney: The Whitefire Crossing (tp)
Scholes, Ken: Antiphon (Psalms of Isaak #3) (pap)
Steele, Allen: Angel of Europa
Tepper, Sheri S.: The Waters Rising (tp)
Thurman, Rob: Basilisk (Sequel to Chimera) (pbo)
Vanner, Patrick A: Ragnarok (pap)
Vinge, Vernor: Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought #1) (tp)
Weeks, Brent: The Black Prism (Black Prism Trilogy #1) (pap)
Williamson, Michael Z.: Rogue
Eds. Beagle / Lansdale: The Urban Fantasy Anthology (tp)
Ed. Guran, Paula: The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 (tp)
Kasturi / Villegas: Imaginarium 2011: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (tp)
Donovan, Art: Art of Steampunk: Extraordinary Devices and Ingenious Contraptions from the
Leading Artists of the Steampunk Movement (tp)

Stefan

PS If any books are missing from the list, please feel free to add them in the comments!

There are a surprising number of books I hadn't heard of that look interesting, but I've been looking forward to Omnitopia: East Wind.

Missing from the list: I definitely want to pick up a copy of The Magician King by Lev Grossman (sequel to The Magicians.) It is out August 9.

From this list, I am also really interested in Low Town: A novel.

looks intriguing, (although I may just be falling prey to Awesome Cover Art syndrome, to which I am usually practically immune) and Nancy Kress (whose writing I admire) has good things to say about it, but I will reserve judgement as to whether to actually pick it up until more reviews roll in, largely because the premise is one that could be done very well or...decidedly not.

I've never read Brunner's classic (That's the new cover on the soon-to-be re-released version.) and would like to, but I think I actually prefer the 1999 Gollancz cover: I find that I frequently prefer Gollancz covers, though. So I probably won't pick up this facelifted version, although it's nice enough.

Oh goodness, I can't believe I missed The Magician King. I even have a review copy of it sitting right next to me on my desk! I've added it to the list. I'll probably be the next thing I read, after Low Town: A novel by Daniel Polansky, which I'm supposed to review too.

I'll most likely, at some point, get the Priest and Beagle.

I will read Magician King soon and Brooks at some point. No plans at the moment for the others.

Thanks Candiss and Stefan! Not come across the Polansky before at all, in all my trawling of GR and Locus. Different title over here but it does look good.

Bill wrote: "Thanks Candiss and Stefan! Not come across the Polansky before at all, in all my trawling of GR and Locus. Different title over here but it do..."

Bill - From what I've been able to gather, the format you link (with the title/subtitle "The Straight Razor Cure") is the UK release. It's not on Amazon.com in that form, but that is how it's listed at Amazon.co.uk. The format Stefan lists in the August releases is the US release format. One can only speculate on why the publisher/distributor decided on two different titles.

Edit to add: And wow! Doesn't the difference in cover really suggest a completely different sort of story? What a strange discrepancy.

Yep, Candiss is right - the book's been released under a different title in the US. I never really get why publishers do this, but I'm sure smarter people than me who get paid to determine these things have compelling reasons to do this. The same thing happened with Ben Aaronovitch's first novel, changed from "Rivers of London" to "Midnight Riot" - maybe because us Americans would be scared off by a book with exotic London in its title? Who knows. Either way, I have high hopes for Low Town.

Yes it is Candiss, 'different title over here' should have been the clue ;-)
Funnily enough, I may have ignored it had I not seen the US version you two linked because I am SO fed up with hoodies. I'll give in to this one but I will not buy another book with a hood on the cover, ever. Oddly 'Low Town' is on the title page but not on the cover. Another example of a publisher being sloppy?

Bill wrote: "Yes it is Candiss, 'different title over here' should have been the clue ;-)

My brain read that as "different title over here on this particular Goodreads page I'm pointing out", Bill. I didn't realize until later that by "over here" you were referring to "across the pond." ;)

I agree with you that it may be a sloppy publisher thing...or it may be a sloppy Goodreader thing, as whoever originally put it into the GR database might have flubbed it up, or else they may have added it to help browsers realize it is the same book as Low Town.

Edit: Wow, I'm having wonkiness with GR today: double posts, server busy errors, funky text glitches, shelves loading oddly. **raspberry**

He He. I meant on the UK edition of the book LT is not mentioned on the cover at all only on the title page. Odd for a series start...

Stefan... I thought it was even funnier that they changed 'Rivers of London' but they haven't changed 'Moon over Soho' have they?

Stefan wrote: "Yep, Candiss is right - the book's been released under a different title in the US. I never really get why publishers do this, but I'm sure smarter people than me who get paid to determine these th..."

Sometimes so called 'smart people' outsmart themselves. I think this is really very dumb. There are a lot of people now on the 'internet' and it transcends national boundaries. If a UK friend recommended such a book how would I, in the US, know what to look for?

Bill wrote: "Stefan... I thought it was even funnier that they changed 'Rivers of London' but they haven't changed 'Moon over Soho' have they? "

Correct - they didn't change that. Funny. Maybe they figured people would think it's referring to the New York neighborhood...

Definitely will be picking up The Broken Kingdoms - I loved the first book.

I highly recommend A Fire Upon the Deep to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Looking at
Cook, Glen: Introducing Garrett, P.I. (First 3 In Series) (tp)

Ooh Straight Razor Cure looks good, putting on my list. I'm confused, I bought The Broken Kingdom ages ago.

The lists also shows books when they come out in paperback. (pap) is paperback, (tp) is trade paperback.

That makes sense!

Stefan, you forgot to put up the new Terry Goodkind, Sword of Truth novel, the Omen Machine, coming out on the 16th.

Ken wrote: "Looking at
Cook, Glen: Introducing Garrett, P.I. (First 3 In Series) (tp)"

Ooh - I've been thinking of checking out the Garrett books, based on a rec. This seems like a good way to start.

Kevin, I get that list from a local bookstore - they're the ones who put it together, not me. I can only imagine they left off the Goodkind on purpose - after all, didn't he claim once that he doesn't write fantasy, so by that reasoning he doesn't belong on the list? :)

*snerk*

Stefan wrote: "Kevin, I get that list from a local bookstore - they're the ones who put it together, not me. I can only imagine they left off the Goodkind on purpose - after all, didn't he claim once that he does..."

You make a good point. I know that a lot of people hate him especially the last few books of Sword of Truth. Plus everyone thought Sword of Truth were done with. I think he needs to move on to write something different, be done with Sword of Truth entirely or at least give it a break.

Read The Broken Kingdomsin trade some time ago. Pretty good reading overall, though not as much as the first. Looking forward to the third.

Impatiently waiting to read The Hour of Dust & Ashesand Downpour I've been merrily following along with both these urban fantasy series and they're good enough that I'm eager to snatch up the next installment.

Might pick up Circle of Enemies since I've read the first two, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to deal with the uber violence in this series of books.

I have been waiting VERY impatiently for The Tempering of Men. . . other than that, nothing for me this month. :)

I'll be picking up The Broken Kingdoms, and also The Magician King. And probably the new Terry Brooks some day, mostly because I'm a glutton for punishment and keep holding out hope that he's more recent books will stop sucking.

I have a pile of Brooks to read, sounds like I won't be as happy as I could be.

I've read all of his books from the very beginning, he was my first fantasy author. He's definitely gone downhill over time.. They are still entertaining though, just not nearly as good as he used to be.

I've been looking forward to Ready Player One for a little while now. Couple more weeks to go.

I'm eagerly waiting for Prince of Thornsby Mark Lawrence but the waiting'll go on as I don't like Hardcover and absolutely refuse to buy e-book more expensive than printed ones.
I'm also interested in Cold Magic by Kate Elliot and The Mandel Files by Peter F. Hamilton.
Sigh : the TBR pile isn't going down this month.
I don't know aboutThe Tempering of Men as I wasn't wholly satisfied with the first one. But I must admit I vividly recall it, so, perhaps...

Wished I'd known that a fortnight ago Hélène and you could have had my proof of Prince but I've passed it on now. I agree with you on the e-book price, I've yet to buy one because of it = madness but I presume we're in a minority.

Dawn - he was my first too, unless you count The Magic Faraway tree books when I was very small.

I don't like reading a hardback and I too feel that e-book prices should be cheaper than an average paperback. Hopefully this will happen.

I'm still on The Witching Hour.

Hmm, lots to look for but I rarely buy books when they first come out. I enjoy Brooks when I want light fantasy, so that will be on my list, as well as Kate Elliott's book and maybe Melanie Rawn's book. The Trystan & Isolde books by Anna Elliott might get my attention as well--I've read several versions of that tale and another might be good. Also will get the Preston/Child book at some point.