Some Books in the Mail

Happy Memorial Day everyone. I always think if my grandfather at this time of year. He was in the Navy serving on a supply ship in WWII. He used to tell all kinds of stories, but one of the most memorable for me was when they gave away all their supplies and were left only with beans to eat for the next month. Needless to say, I never ate a single bean when I went to visit my grandparents.

While I have some time on my day off, here's what I got this week:

Shadow's Son [US] [Preorder UK] by Jon Sprunk

I'm really excited about this one and was really surprised when it was suddenly delivered to my doorstep thanks to Pyr.

Goodreads Blurb:

In the holy city of Othir, treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, just the place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and few scruples.

Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers, and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last victim, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. But in this fight for his life, Caim only trusts his knives and his instincts, but they won't be enough when his quest for justice leads him from Othir's hazardous back alleys to its shining corridors of power. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son....

Return of the Crimson Guard [US] [UK] by Ian C. Esslemont

This one I purchased as soon as it was out in the states. Don't know why that was necessary since I have a couple I plan on reading beforehand, but it felt good all the same.

Goodreads Blurb:

The return of the mercenary company the Crimson Guard could not have come at a worse time for the Malazan Empire. Driven by constant warfare, weakened by betrayal and rivalries, many see the grip of Empress Laseen beginning to weaken as conquered kingdoms and principalities test their old independence.

Into this gathering civil war on Quon Tali, the Empire’s homeland comes the Guard. And with their return comes the memory of their hundred-year-old vow — undying opposition to the existence of the Empire. Yet rivalries and betrayals stalk the Guard as well; elements of its elite, the Avowed, scheme to open paths to even greater power, and ancient potent entities, Ascendants, also lend a hand exploiting all sides to further their own arcane ends. Meanwhile, a swordsman, Traveller, and his companion Ereko, move from one strange encounter to another in a mysterious dance meant ultimately to bring the swordsman to a final confrontation from which none has ever returned.

The Left Hand of God [US] [UK] by Paul Hoffman

After the very mixed reviews on this one, I thought I'd give it a go when I was contacted about reviewing it for the US release.

Goodreads Blurb:

The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith.

In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.

His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt.

But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price… not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

Supernatural: The Unholy Cause [US] [UK] by Joe Schreiber

I wouldn't normally have accepted this book, I mean, I don't watch the show and the only reason I ever end up watching The CW is because of my wife. So why'd I do it? Well, Joe Schreiber is the author of Star Wars Death Troopers, which I have yet to read but heard lots of good things about and there ya go. Yup, that's it.

Goodreads Blurb:

A Supernatural novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from the hit CW series!

Way back in April 1862, Confederate Captain Jubal Beauchamp leads a charge across a Georgia battleground… Fast forward to 2009 and a civil war re-enactment becomes all too real. When Sam and Dean head down south to investigate they find that history has got somewhat out of hand…