The Stamp (of Approval)

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Some Books in the Mail

A nice haul came in this last week or so, mostly thanks to Book Chick City and Fantasy Literature (thanks a bunch). (Blurbs are from Goodreads)

Legend by David Gemmell This is the 25th Anniversary edition. I have already read it, but this is sure perty. :)

Druss is a warrior of legend who chooses to spend his last days in a mountaintop lair, alone. But when the fortress of Dros Delnoch is attacked by the Nadir hordes, the old and rusty hero returns to save the land. . .

Gridlinked by Neal Asher I realized I hadn't read anything by Neal Asher, so why not start from the beginning.

Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where "runcibles" (matter transmitters controlled by AIs) allow interstellar travel in an eye blink throughout the settled worlds of the Polity. Unfortunately Cormac is nearly burnt out, "gridlinked" to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net.Now he must do without just as he's sent to investigate the unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. With the runcible out, Cormac must get there by ship, but he has incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Arian Pelter, who now follows him across the galaxy with a terrifying psychotic killer android in tow. And deep beneath Samarkand's surface there are buried mysteries, fiercely guarded.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman I have always considered myself a Neil Gaiman fan. I loved all the film adaptations, especially Stardust, and Good Omens is one of my favorites. Wait a sec. I haven't actually read anything that he's done on his own. What the heck is my problem? Here's the beginning of a solution.

When Richard Mayhew stops one day to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk, his life is forever altered, for he finds himself propelled into an alternate reality that exists in a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals and abandoned subway stations. He has fallen through the cracks of reality and has landed somewhere different, somewhere that is Neverwhere.

Metatropolis by a whole slew of authors (John Scalzi, Jay Lake, and Tobias Buckell to name a few) This is only available on audio with not only some great authors (a bunch whose books I own yet have never read) but also a great production cast.

Sci-fi creators, Battlestar Galactica cast members, and star narrators have teamed up to craft a world of zero-footprint cities and virtual nations. It is a world where armed camps of eco-survivalists battle purveyors of technology. Where once-thriving suburbs have crumbled into treacherous Wilds. Welcome to the dawn of uncivilization.

Full Circle (Book 3 in the Castings Trilogy) by Pamela Freeman This one and the next are obviously winnings as I do not own the first two in either of these series'. The more I read about them, the more I can't wait to start each (series that is).

Saker's ghost army is slaughtering those of the new blood, fueled by an ancient wrong. But while he'd thought revenge would be simple, he's now plagued by voices foreshadowing a calamity beyond his comprehension.

Ash and Bramble raise the warrior spirit of Acton, mighty in life and powerful in death. Only he can stop Saker's rampage. But is Acton, Lord of War, murderer or savior?

And why would he help strangers protect a world he's never known?

Fall of Thanes (Book 3 in the Godless World) by Brian Ruckley

"The world has fallen from its former state. The war between the clans of the Black Road and the True Bloods has spread. For Orisian, thane of the ruined Lannis Blood, there is no time to grieve the loss of his family, brutally slain by the invading armies. The Black Road must be stopped. However, as more blood is spilled on the battlefields, each side in the conflict becomes more riven by internal dissent and disunity." "Amid the mounting chaos, Aeglyss the na'kyrim uses his newfound powers to twist everything and everyone around him to serve his own mad desires." Meanwhile, the long-dormant Anain are stirring and when the most potent race the world has ever known returns, the bloodletting may never stop.

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky Do I really need to say anything about this book? Can't wait to read it.

Seventeen years ago Stenwold witnessed the Wasp Empire storming the city of Myna in a brutal war of conquest. Since then he has preached vainly against this threat in his home city of Collegium, but now the Empire is on the march, with its spies and its armies everywhere, and the Lowlands lie directly in its path. All the while, Stenwold has been training youthful agents to fight the Wasp advance, and the latest recruits include his niece, Che, and his mysterious ward, Tynisa. When his home is violently attacked, he is forced to send them ahead of him and, hotly pursued, they fly by airship to Helleron, the first city in line for the latest Wasp invasion. Stenwold and Che are Beetle-kinden, one of many human races that take their powers and inspiration each from a totem insect, but he also has allies of many breeds: Mantis, Spider, Ant, with their own particular skills. Foremost is the deadly Mantis-kinden warrior, Tisamon, but other very unlikely allies also join the cause.

As things go from bad to worse amid escalating dangers, Stenwold learns that the Wasps intend to use the newly completed railroad between Helleron and Collegium to launch a lightning strike into the heart of the Lowlands. Then he gathers all of his agents to force a final showdown in the engine yard…