"The Genesis Code" by Christopher Forrest.
© Tor Books
The Genesis Code
By: Pat FerraraDate: Monday, August 20, 2007
Apparently riding the success of fast-paced, clue-glue plots of novels like The Da Vinci Code and films like National Treasure, Christopher Forrest steps up this week to tackle the greatest code of them all.
Outnumbering paperback releases three to one, this week’s edition of the Buzz boasts a cornucopia of solid new genre debuts in hardcover. Now while hard binding doesn’t necessarily mean a good book, any publisher willing to drop the additional press fees for a two-stage release is more than likely going to do their homework (selecting, editing, and polishing) to ensure you get the best bang for your buck… and to better hedge their chance of turning a profit.
Tor Books dominates this week’s schedule with several series installments and some completely original work as well.
Daniel Abraham unveils his second novel in The Long Price Quartet series with A Betrayal in Winter on hardcover. The sequel to Abraham’s debut novel, A Shadow in Summer (which fantasy guru George R.R. Martin has described as “a thoroughly engrossing debut novel from a major new fantasist”), Betrayal continues the saga of Otah and further explores his past in a realm where treachery runs amok and family names are paid for, and endured, with blood.
Karl Schroeder and Brandon Sanderson both unveil hardback seconds with Queen of Candesce of the Virga series and The Well of Ascension of the Mistborn series, respectively. While those sagas continue Jennifer Fallon concludes her Wolfblade Trilogy with Warlord, the final novel of Marla Wolfblade’s struggles to keep her ruling family safe in the lands of Hythria.
Although sounding suspiciously like a Dan Brown rip-off (Tor even publicizes Christopher Forrest as a Brown meets Crichton writer), The Genesis Code definitely sounds like a fun read. Released today on hardback, Genesis follows the discovery of a secret message imprinted in our DNA eons ago. And yes, the race to discover the code’s meaning is spurred by a prominent man’s death and hampered by a secret order hell-bent on keeping the truth secret. Despite its similarities, only you the reader can decide if its originality passes muster.
New in Hardcover:
A Betrayal in Winter, Daniel Abraham (Tor Books)
Daniel Abraham delighted fantasy readers with his brilliant, original, and engaging first novel, A Shadow in Summer. Now he has produced an even more powerful sequel, a tragedy as darkly personal and violent as Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As a boy, Otah Machi was exiled from his family, Machi’s ruling house. Decades later, he has witnessed and been part of world-changing events. Yet he has never returned to Machi. Now his father—the Khai, or ruler, of Machi—is dying and his eldest brother Biitrah has been assassinated, Otah realizes that he must return to Machi, for reasons not even he understands. Tradition dictates that the sons of a dying Khai fall upon each other until only one remains to succeed his father. But something even worse is occurring in Machi. The Galts, an expansive empire, has allied with someone in Machi to bring down the ruling house. Otah is accused, the long-missing brother with an all-too-obvious motive for murder.
With the subtlety and wonderful storytelling skill of his first novel, Abraham has created a masterful drama filled with a unique magic, a suspenseful thriller of sexual betrayal, and Machiavellian politics.
With the subtlety and wonderful storytelling skill of his first novel, Abraham has created a masterful drama filled with a unique magic, a suspenseful thriller of sexual betrayal, and Machiavellian politics.
Uncensored Temptation Of Lilith and Adam, A.R. Crymes (Menekat Press)
Mark Twain and Mae West make a trip to heaven to take on the unprecedented case of Adam and Lilith vs. God.
Queen of Candesce, Karl Schroeder (Tor Books)
Venera Fanning was last seen falling into nothingness at the end of Sun of Suns. Now, in Queen of Candesce, Venera finds herself plunging through the air among the artificial worlds of Virga, far from home and her husband, who may or may not be alive. Landing in the ancient nation of Spyre, Venera encounters new enemies and new friends (or at least convenient allies). She must quickly learn who she can trust, and who she can manipulate in order to survive. Survival isn’t her only goal; with the powerful Key of Candesce in her hands, she can control the fate of the entire world of Virga, yet something even more pressing is driving her—the all consuming need for revenge. Book two in the Virga series.
The Space Boy: Ltd Edition, Orson Scott Card (Subterranean Press)
Is it space that children dream of, or merely visiting other worlds? Todd had always set his heart on being an astronaut, but when he meets an alien and travels to another world, he doesn't use a spaceship, he just hangs out in his own back yard. In Space Boy, Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game, takes readers into a strange and wonderful future, where people from another world regularly visit Earth - usually without being noticed. And when humans travel to their world, they find themselves dangerously weak and powerless. Until Todd finds a way to set both worlds to rights. By turns funny and painful, Space Boy is Card at his best, exploring human nature for the entertainment of readers young and old. Illustrated by Lance Card.
Sky Horizon, David Brin (Subterranean Press)
Some of the Math Club nerds have got a real live alien! They're hiding it in a basement rec room. High School junior Mark Bamford didn't believe the silly rumor. For one thing, California homes don't have basements. Besides. A stranded alien? Such a cliche. A movie rip-off. Couldn't the math geeks think up a better hoax? Only... was it a hoax? What about all those black vans from the super-secret Cirrocco Corp cruising all over town, as if searching for something? Time to do some investigating of his own. Only, who could he turn to for help? The skateboarding "X" crowd? The varsity climbing team? When it came right down to it, should he turn to the least likely ally of them all? Sky Horizon explores a possibility that has always fascinated, since the days of Homer—that of strangers from beyond—and gives it new shape under the deft hand of one of science fiction's modern masters. Illustrated by Scott Hampton.
The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)
The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler – the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years – has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves. As Kelsier’s protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her. Stopping assassins may keep Vin’s Mistborn skills sharp, but it’s the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn’t run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier’s crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won’t get easier with three armies – one of them composed of ferocious giants – now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler’s hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal. As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows. The second installment of the Mistborn series.
Warlord, Jennifer Fallon (Tor Books)
Marla Wolfblade is reeling from the loss of her closest confidant, Elizaar the Fool, who taught her the Rules of Gaining and Wielding Power, and helped shape her into a force in Hythria. But Marla's plans for revenge are disrupted when she discovers she has a dangerous adversary.... On the border, Fardohnya has massed its troops for an invasion, and Marla's eldest son, Damin Wolfblade, heir to the throne of Hythria, finds his ability to fight back is thwarted by tradition, politics, and the foolishness of the High Prince... Back in Krakandar, Mahkas Damaran awaits news of the battle and has sealed the city against Damin's return. With the city on the brink of starvation, it seems only theft on an unprecedented scale can free Krakandar from Mahkas's madness and tyranny... and destroy Hythria's web of secrets and lies. The concluding volume in the Wolfblade Trilogy.
The Book of Joby, Mark J. Ferrari (Tor Books)
Lucifer and the Creator have entered, yet again, into a wager they’ve made many times before, but this time, the existence of creation itself is balanced on the outcome. Born in California during the twilight years of a weary millennium, nine year old Joby Peterson dreams of blazing like a bonfire against the gathering darkness of his times, like a knight of the Round Table. Instead, he is subjected to a life of crippling self-doubt and relentless mediocrity inflicted by an enemy he did nothing to earn and cannot begin to comprehend. Though imperiled themselves, the angels are forbidden to intervene. Left to struggle with their own loyalties and the question of obedience, they watch Lucifer work virtually unhindered to turn Joby’s heart of gold into ash and stone while God sits by, seemingly unconcerned. And so when he is grown to manhood, Joby’s once luminous love of life seems altogether lost, and Lucifer’s victory assured. What hope remains lies hidden in the beauty, warmth, and innocence of a forgotten seaside village whose odd inhabitants seem to defy the modern world’s most inflexible assumptions, and in the hearts of Joby’s long lost youthful love and her emotionally wounded son. But the ravenous forces of destruction that follow Joby into this concealed paradise plan to use these same things to bring him and his world to ruin. As the final struggle unfolds, one question occupies every mind in heaven and in hell. Which will prove stronger, love or rage?
The Genesis Code, Christopher Forrest (Tor Books)
Michael Crichton meets Dan Brown in this novel of the real secret code hidden in human DNA. Nobel Prizewinning geneticist Joshua Ambergris has made an astounding discovery that will shake the foundations of science: He has discovered a coded text hidden in human DNA. Before Ambergris can change the course of history by announcing his incredible discovery, he is brutally murdered in his office at Triad Genomics, an international biotech company. Ambergris has left behind a labyrinthine series of clues that ultimately reveals the truth:There is a message from a much earlier, more sophisticated human civilization encoded in the human genome! Who planted this code eons ago? And why? And can it be decoded before it’s too late? Ambergris’s protégé, Christian Madison, and his assistant, Grace Nguyen, must follow the serpentine trail to uncover a global conspiracy of silence, secrecy, and murder that spans the breadth of human history. A shadowy group known only as the Order guards the ancient secret enciphered in the mythologies and architecture of Earth’s oldest civilizations and encoded into the very fabric of human DNA. Ambergris’s clues lead Madison and Nguyen through the mysteries of the Maya and ancient Egypt, the forgotten knowledge of Sumeria, and the enigmas of modern science. Pursued at every turn by Ambergris’s killers, Madison and Nguyen race to uncover the secrets of the Genesis Code before the Order can carry out the final, sinister step of a genocidal plan. Driven by scientific fact and new interpretations of ancient writings, symbolism, and mythology culled from thousands of years of human history,The Genesis Code digs deeply into the questions of the real nature of the human DNA code.
New in Paperback:
Hollows of Candlewick, Scot R. Stone (Behler Publications)
At the heart of the kingdom of Yawrana lies the magnificent Candlewick Castle. King Noran's reign is challenged by Herikech Illeon, the great Lazul king of Maramis, who seeks revenge for the defeat of his armies at the hands of the Yawranans. Herikech makes his ominous presence known, and Noran, unsure when or where Herikech might strike next, must depend on those he trusts to defend the royal family. King Noran's sovereignty is further challenged when he confronts a trio of new threats: a menacing beast that kills at will as it draws closer to the castle; his devoted followers begin to inexplicably side with Herikech; and three mysterious new drift ships anchored off the shores of Emison Territory. King Noran has no choice but to rely on Baron Oreus to discover their mission and what their arrival portends to the kingdom. What will become of Yawrana if Herikech Illeon defeats the Yawranan armies? What plans do the three drift ships have for Yawrana? And most important, what will become of King Noran should the beast find its ultimate prey? Book three in the Snowtear Wars series.
Swords in the Mist, Fritz Leiber (Darkhorse Publishing)
Lean times in Lankhmar force brothers-in-arms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to part ways. Only after a joust of wits and swords do the friends join together again, stealing the ship the Black Treasurer and sailing round and through The Claws. Fighting sea kings, curses and seven-eyed wizards, the pair set out on their heroic wanderings through the wilds of Nehwon. The third installment in the Lankhmar series.
White Crusade, Ben Goodridge (Bad Dog Books)
Five hundred years after Man's downfall, the ascetic "Animal-People" have rebuilt the world in their image. The memory of Mankind is of a species whose greed and avarice led to its collapse. To Tay of the Wolf-Clan, they're a species whose time has passed. Tay's only ambition was to spend his life in service to his people. He was a healer, so his Tribe made him their leader. Then a dying stranger appeared in his village, carrying a small black cube and raving about an army of invaders sweeping across the country, devouring everything in its path. Edited by Alex Vance and illustrated by Kamui.
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