Book Releases: January 2010

1. The Keepers of Sulbreth (The Futhark Chronicles) by Susan Gourley - January 1, 2010
2. Heart of Darkness by Gena Showalter, Maggie Shayne, and Susan Krinard - January 1, 2010
3. Monster Republic: The Divinity Project by Ben Horton - January 1, 2010
4. Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7) by Carrie Vaughn - Jan 4, 2010
5. Sympathy for the Devil by Justin Gustainis - January 4, 2010
6. The Domino Pattern by Timothy Zahn - January 5, 2010
7. Doppelgangster (Esther Diamond Novel) by Laura Resnick - January 5, 2010
8. Catalyst: A Tale of the Barque Cats by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough - January 5, 2010
9. Bone Magic (Sisters of the Moon) by Yasmine Galenorn - January 5, 2010
10. Realms of the Dead: A Forgotten Realms Anthology by Susan Morris, R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, and Richard Baker - January 5, 2010
11. Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce) by L. E. Modesitt Jr. - January 5, 2010
12. Firespell: A Novel of the Dark Elite by Chloe Neill - January 5, 2010
13. A Tapestry of Spells (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 4) by Lynn Kurland - January 5, 2010
14. Inked by Karen Chance, Marjorie M. Liu, Yasmine Galenorn, and Eileen Wilks - January 5, 2010
15. Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov - January 5, 2010
16. Bad Blood (Blood Coven) by Mari Mancusi - January 5, 2010
17. Hastur Lord: A Novel of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - January 5, 2010
18. Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2) by Faith Hunter - January 5, 2010
    
19. DarkShip Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt January 5, 2010
20. Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast - January 5, 2010
21. The Many Deaths of the Black Company by Glen Cook – January 5, 2010
22. The Spirit Lens: A Novel of the Collegia Magica by Carol Berg – January 5, 2010
23. The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside) by Simon Green - January 5, 2010
24. Starbound by Joe Haldeman - January 5, 2010
25. Brooklyn Knight by C. J. Henderson - Jan 5, 2010
26. Through Stone and Sea: A Novel of the Noble Dead by Barb Hendee and J.C. Hendee January 5, 2010
27. Blood Alchemy (Bad Tuesdays) by Benjamin J. Myers - January 7, 2010
28. Wild Hunt by Margaret Ronald - January 12, 2010
29. The Kiesha'ra of the Den of Shadows by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes – January, 12 2010
30. Sleepless: A Novel by Charlie Huston - January 12, 2010
31. Undead Much by Stacey Jay - January 21, 2010
32. Spider's Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book by Jennifer Estep – January 26, 2010
33. Unperfect Souls (Connor Grey, Book 4) by Mark Del Franco - January 26, 2010
34. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass – January 26, 2010
35. Prince of Storms (Entire and the Rose) by Kay Kenyon - January 26, 2010
36. Blood in the Water (Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution) by Juliet E. McKenna - January 26, 2010
37. Hardcore (Combat-K) by Andy Remic - January 26, 2010
38. Superhumans: Meteorite Strike by A.G. Taylor - January 29, 2010

Imager's Challenge by L. E. Modesitt

Synopsis: Imager’s Challenge takes up immediately after the conclusion of Imager. Still recovering from injuries received in foiling the plots of the Ferran envoy, Rhenn is preparing to take up his new duties as imager liaison to the Civic Patrol of L’Excelsis. No sooner has he assumed his new position than he discovers two things. First, the Commander of the Civic Patrol doesn’t want a liaison from the infamous Collegium, and soon has Rhenn patrolling the streets of the worst district in the city. Second, Rhenn receives formal notice that one of the High Holders, the father of a man Rhenn partly blinded in self-defense, has declared his intention to destroy Rhenn and his family.


Rhenn’s only allies are the family of the girl he loves, successful merchants with underworld connections. In the end, Rhenn must literally stand off against gang lords, naval marines, Tiempran terrorist priests, the most powerful High Holder in all of Solidar, and his own Collegium—and find a way to prevail without making further enemies and endangering those he loves.

Warning: Spoilers

Imager’s Challenge is the second book in this series. It doesn’t move as quickly as many other fantasy novels, but I don’t mind. I have read almost all of Modesitt’s Recluce stories so much of the progression wasn’t a surprise. But for all that, I liked it very much.

I expected Rhenn to kill his enemies. Mind, I didn’t expect him to kill the High Holder by destroying the building he was standing on. I thought he wouldn’t be quite that drastic because that kind of thing could get other Holders and/or their children killed and that would have put in the middle of aa feud (maybe even multiple feuds!) yet again. It didn’t; the imagers somehow managed to work that to their advantage – after telling Rhenn repeatedly he must do nothing that led directly back to the imagers! But I wasn’t surprised when he did and I knew High Holder’s daughter would inherit the holding. I knew that was going to happen since they danced.

What I like best about this series is the magic system. It is unusual. Being able to imagine things into being, well, it just sounds so good. It works, too, because there are limits on what can be imagined and how. Nothing comes from nothing, after all, and everything has a cost, even if it is just in energy.

What I disliked about Imager’s Challenge is that Rhenn spends a lot of time complaining. Complaining that the imagers won’t help him and aren’t interested in what he knows if he has no proof, proof he has no way of getting. I get it and and I get that its not fair. But it got old half way through the book.

Book: B-

Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton

Book Description: You may know me best as Meredith Nic Essus, princess of faerie. Or perhaps as Merry Gentry, Los Angeles private eye. In the fey and mortal realms alike, my life is the stuff of royal intrigue and celebrity drama. Among my own, I have confronted horrendous enemies, endured my noble kin’s treachery and malevolence, and honored my duty to conceive a royal heir—all for the right to claim the throne. But I turned my back on court and crown, choosing exile in the human world—and in the arms of my beloved Frost and Darkness.


While I may have rejected the monarchy, I cannot abandon my people. Someone is killing the fey, which has left the LAPD baffled and my guardsmen and me deeply disturbed. My kind are not easily captured or killed. At least not by mortals. I must get to the bottom of these horrendous murders, even if that means going up against Gilda, the Fairy Godmother, my rival for fey loyalties in Los Angeles.

But even stranger things are happening. Mortals I once healed with magic are suddenly performing miracles, a shocking phenomenon wreaking havoc on human/faerie relations. Though I am innocent, dark suspicions of banned magical activities swirl around me.


I thought I’d left the blood and politics behind in my own turbulent realm. I had dreamed of an idyllic life in sunny L.A. with my beloved ones beside me. But it becomes time to wake up and realize that evil knows no borders, and that nobody lives forever—even if they’re magical.

Warning: Spoilers

Divine Misdemeanors opens with a murder scene, but this book isn’t about the murders. Not really. I am not sure what it is about. There is plenty of stuff about her relationships, lots of sex, a few power plays and a few hints that not all is well in her aunt’s court.

That is not to say I didn’t like this book, I did, I liked the relationship aspect and there were a few things I wasn’t expecting. One of those things was that Barinthus is possibly gay or bi and in love Merry’s father. He didn’t deny it. I was stunned because I wasn’t expecting that. It explains why he won’t go to bed with her. The other reason would be he doesn’t want to sleep with his friend’s daughter. Both are good reasons. This particular facet of Barinthus wasn’t important to the story; what was important was his disapproval of her rejecting the faeiry crown to save Frost.

I am not really sure what part of Divine Misdemeanors I liked best. There are lots of really great scenes. I think it may be the sex scene with Rhys by the sea. But he is my favorite of the men and one who isn’t on stage enough. He gets a sithen of his very own in that. We didn’t see it and I wanted to.

This book has one glaring weakness and that’s the mystery. It is not much of one, and despite being a private detective, Merry doesn’t do any investigating. She goes to murder scenes, gives her opinion, gets trapped by reporters and that’s it. Okay, so with reporters following her around like rabid dogs she couldn’t do much anyway. But the murderer falls into her lap. She doesn’t have to do anything to find out who he is. Then there was the finale – capturing the killer. That part was good, but I am still stuck on how she didn’t have to do anything to find out who he was. It started with a murder scene and ended with the killer, but there was very little of the mystery in between. There were all her guards and her relationships with them, but after the first chapter I was expecting a bit more in the way of mystery. This would have been perfect with it. Longer, too, but I wouldn’t have minded that.

Grade: B-

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Synopsis: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Vampire Academy was an excellent read. The main characters are in high school and there are a lot of the usual problems everyone has in high school: mean teachers, crushes, the popular crowd. This is a YA novel, and while I am not overly familiar with the genre, this was darker than I was expecting. More sexual, too. Rose nearly has sex (due to magic!) to her older mentor and has feelings for him besides. He is 7 years too old for her. Though if she were a year older, it would be legal and the age difference a mere 6 years.

The world is fascinating – vampires who specialize in a single element, dhampir who are the bastard children of vampires, their mistresses and their bodyguards. Dhampirs need at least one vampire parent, usually the father, and in order to preserve their race, they guard the vampires. It seems to me this cycle is not especially healthy, but it works and there is certainly plenty of room for drama.

My favorite scene in this series comes at the end. Their friend, the daughter of the one who was causing all the damage, betrays them and becomes a strigoi, the sort of vampire out of horror movies to please her father. Dhampirs are sworn to kill them. She took Rose by surprise, but she was a friend of sorts and Rose hesitated when it came to killing her.

By the end of the book Rose realized that if Lissa becomes a strigoi, she would be safe from her own magic. It makes me wonder.

Grade: B

Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

Synopsis: When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena's body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.


When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

Kindred in Death was good, just like all the other In Death books. It was a fast, easy read. She gets the case while she is not working and not on call. But she takes the case anyway, because it was a cop’s daughter that got killed and because all cops’ families run a certain amount of risk. More than families of people with less risky jobs.

Colombia’s President, Peach, was great. She’s like Eve in a lot of ways. She was more cooperative than I was expecting and I expected her and Eve to butt heads. They really didn’t.

One thing puzzled me and that’s the use of the word unsub. It was capitalized: UNSUB. The In Death books have never used it before. It means Unknown Subject. I haven’t read any other mysteries that use it, but I don’t read many mysteries so I can’t say if it’s becoming more common. The first time I heard this word was in Criminal Minds and reading it here was just odd.

Other than that, it was good. Eve had a few shaky moments when she first the girl and knew she had been raped. It brought back memories, but she put them aside and later realized the rape didn’t shake her as much it might have before. It was good. She’s getting over the childhood abuse and that’s good for her. But it means less emotional drama. Her relationship with Roark was smooth too, no drama there and I must to admit to hoping for some. It won’t last; they are bound to butt heads over something.

My favorite scene in this whole part was when she was examining Deena’s body and I am not entirely sure why. It was vivid and when I think of this book, that’s the first scene to come to mind.

Grade: B-