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Weekly Book Buzz: The Latest Fantasy Releases from Wizards of the Coast

Mania Reviews Two New Vampire Thrillers

By Tim Janson July 06, 2009

The Purifying Fire
© Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast has several new releases out this week for its various Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering franchises including R.A. Salvatore’s The Pirate King: Transitions, Book II in mass-market paperback. We’ve also got the latest military sci-fi novel from David Weber, “By Heresies Distressed” and I’m looking forward to reading F.G. Cottam’s haunted house tale, “The House of Lost Souls” which sounds like a sure-fire winner.

In non-fiction releases, Del Rey gets fans ready for the upcoming G.I. Joe film with “G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide” a comprehensive look at everything you need to know about the Joe Team and Cobra.

In the news…

…Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan's vampire novel “The Strain” continues to do well, ending its third week on the N.Y. Times Bestseller List. This is one of the best vampire novels in years and The Book Buzz will have a full review next week.

…The horror/classic amalgam “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” continues to amaze after 12 weeks on the N.Y. Times Bestseller list. Can there be any doubt that writers everywhere are searching for classics of literature to set to a horror theme!

…Orbit books has announced that they will be publishing the first of a new Sci-Fi/zombie horror trilogy called “The Feed” written by newcomer Mira Grant. The book tells the story of a small group of journalists living in an America infested with zombies. Twenty years after The Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are invited to cover a rising political star in the race for the White House and find themselves on the trail of the biggest story of their lives. The Feed will be out in Summer 2010.

Zadayi Red Caleb Fox (Tor Hardcover)

A young Shaman of the Galayi people has had a powerful and frightening vision: it is of the Eagle Feather Cape, the gift of the Thunderbird, which is worn by the Seer of the People to see the future and gain the guidance of the gods. The cape is torn and bloody, and it will no longer bring visions to the Seer of the People. But the Shaman's vision also tells her of the cure: a child will be born to the People, a hero who will restore the cape and return the goodwill of the gods to the People.

Dahzi may be that hero, if he can survive the hatred of his grandfather. He was born after his mother’s death, as she fled from her father’s anger. But Dahzi carries the hope of all of his People, along with the power to become a great Chief. He will be tested--by his family, by his people, and by the Gods. Zadayi Red is a magnificent retelling of a Cherokee legend. It brings to life an ancient people and a time of magic in a warm and intimate storyteller’s voice.

Strange Brew P. N. Elrod (St. Martin’s)

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

The Purifying Fire: A Planeswalker Novel Laura Resnick (Wizards of the Coast)

Award-winning author Laura Resnick brings readers into the adventures of Chandra Nalaar, a young and impulsive mage on a collision course with destiny. The novel that begins the story of Chandra Nalaar, the impulsive young fire mage whose exploration of the multiverse and the extent of her own volatile power draws the attention of an ancient faith that sees her as a herald of the apocalypse. Will she control her own destiny, or suffer the will of others?

The Pirate King: Transitions, Book II R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast)

Captain Deudermont has sailed to the pirate city of Luskan on a mission--a mission to once and for all defeat the true power behind the corrupt city: a wicked lich and his cabal of evil wizards from the Host Tower of the Arcane. But the Host Tower has some tricks up its sleeve, as do the pirate captains who would like to see both sides fail.

The Crystal Mountain: Empyrean Odyssey, Book III (The Empryean Odyssey) Thomas M. Reid (Wizards of the Coast)

What could bring heaven to the depths of hell? Aliisza betrayed her lover, her mentor, and her son in order to try to stop the dark plot to kill the goddess Mystra. She failed. Now the goddess is dead, magic is malfunctioning, and Aliisza and her companions are trapped. Her only hope of escape lies is in convincing the angels and demons she just betrayed to trust her and work together--before they kill each other.

The Affinity Bridge George Mann (Tor Hardcover)

Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by unfamiliar inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, while ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen, and journalists.

But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side.

Queen Victoria is kept alive by a primitive life-support system, while her agents, Sir Maurice Newbury and his delectable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes, do battle with enemies of the crown, physical and supernatural. This time Newbury and Hobbes are called to investigate the wreckage of a crashed airship and its missing automaton pilot, while attempting to solve a string of strangulations attributed to a mysterious glowing policeman, and dealing with a zombie plague that is ravaging the slums of the capital. Get ready to follow dazzling young writer George Mann to a London unlike any you’ve ever seen and into an adventure you will never forget.

New In Science Fiction

Winter Duty: A Novel of the Vampire Earth E.E. Knight (Roc Hardcover)

Major David Valentine and his fugitive battalion are the remnants of an expeditionary force shattered in its long retreat from disaster in the Appalachians. Between a raging blizzard, bands of headhunters, and the need to recover wounded soldiers lost during the retreat, Valentine is in for the toughest winter of his life.

And Valentine is losing allies fast. Some of the clans in the region have declared themselves in favor of the Kurians, throwing Kentucky into civil war. But the Kurian overlords have determined that the region isn’t worth the effort of another conquest. Their order: extermination.

Rift in the Sky: Stratification #3 Julie E. Czerneda (DAW Hardcover)

Despite all good intentions, the lure of the Talent to move through space using the M’hir dimension is too much for the Om’ray of Cersi to resist. As the awareness of this talent spreads, all those Om’ray who are capable converge on the settlement at Sona. To prevent the disruption of the Agreement and the destruction that it would unleash, the M’hiray, as they now call themselves, agree to leave Cersi forever and try to establish their own haven within the Trade Pact worlds—only to learn that not everybody wants peace.

Countdown Greg Cox (Ace TradePaperback)

Cosmic legend has it that when the primordial gods of antiquity perished in some bygone cataclysm, the universe gave birth to a new breed of gods who reigned from two eternally warring worlds, the heavenly New Genesis and the hellish Apokolips. Now, a vast conspiracy of evil is determined to eradicate the New Gods, stealing their souls to wield universal power that can destroy all of reality.

At the end of an age in which time, space, and reality may bow before such sinister forces, the fate of the Earth lies in the hands of five unlikely super heroes who have one destiny to fulfill: to save the world at all costs, regardless of the consequences.

By Heresies Distressed David Weber (Tor Hardcover)

Now the battle for the soul of the planet Safehold has begun.

The Kingdom of Charis and the Kingdom of Chisholm have joined together, pledged to stand against the tyranny of a corrupt Church. The youthful Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm has wed King Cayleb of Charis, forging a single dynasty, a single empire, dedicated to the defense of human freedom. Crowned Empress of that empire, Sharleyan has found in Cayleb’s arms the love she never dared hope for in a “marriage of state.” In Cayleb’s cause, his defiance of the ruthless Group of Four who govern mother Church, she has found the task to which she can commit her mind and her courage. It is a cause for which she was born.

Yet there are things Sharleyan still does not know. Secrets Cayleb has not been permitted to share, even with her. Secrets like the true story of humanity on Safehold. Like the intricate web of lies, deception, and fabricated “religion” which have chained humanity for almost a thousand years. Like the existence of the genocidal alien Gbaba, waiting to complete mankind’s destruction should humans ever attract their attention once more. Like the existence of a young woman, Nimue Alban, nine hundred years dead, whose heart, mind, and memories live on within the android body of the warrior-monk she knows as Merlin.

And so Empress Sharleyan faces the the great challenge of her life unaware of all that task truly entails...or of how the secrets the man who loves her cannot share may threaten all they have achieved between them...and her own life.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Vol. 2: 1930-1932 Ron Goulart (Hermes Press)

Continuing the adventures of Buck Rogers and Wilma Deering in the 25th century, this volume picks up the continuity where Volume One left off, with the next adventure of the world's original and best science-fiction strip. Includes a special 16-page color section with an introductory essay by noted science-fiction writer and pop culture historian Ron Goulart

New In Horror

Bloody Awful Georgia Evans (Kensington)

As the district nurse for a country village outside London, Gloria has the respect of the town and the satisfaction of helping those who need it most. She'd lose both if anyone discovered that she turns into a furry red fox and runs through the Surrey hills by moonlight. But what she sees on those wild nights suggests Brytewood is under attack - from a saboteur with superhuman powers and the force of the Nazi Lufewaffe behind him. What can one werefox do against a predator with devastating weapons at his command - and the strength of the undead besides? What can a woman with a secret reveal without losing all she has? With the help of a couple of Devonshire Pixies, a Welsh dragon, and two men too stubborn to admit they're outnumbered, Gloria might just find out the answers...

Primitive J. F. Gonzalez (Delirium Books)

It began as just another day for David Spires and his wife Tracy: coffee, breakfast, and getting the kids ready for school. Then the bottom dropped out of civilization. The world ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with a dizzying downward spiral. Instead of the rat race of commuters scurrying to beat the clock, humans are now packs of animals reduced to snarling primitives. David, Tracy and their daughter Emily, along with fellow survivors, leave Los Angeles for the safety of the country where fewer people means fewer primitives. But as they venture farther away from the city, they realize an unnatural force is at work. Civilization didn't just fall apart...it was overtaken by an ancient evil that was present before the first cave paintings. Human history has no formal record of it, but the dark presence that's fueled nightmares since time began has crept out of the shadows...and its influence is growing.

The House of Lost Souls F.G. Cottam (Thomas Dunne Hardcover)

Just weeks after four students cross the threshold of the derelict Fischer House, one of them has committed suicide and the other three are descending into madness. Nick Mason’s sister is one of them. To save her, Nick must join ranks with Paul Seaton—the only person to have visited the house and survive. But Paul is a troubled man, haunted by otherworldly visions that even now threaten his sanity.

Desperate, Nick forces Paul to go back into the past, to the secret journal of beautiful photographer Pandora Gibson-Hoare and a debauched gathering in the 1920s, and to the dark legacy of Klaus Fischer—master of the unspeakable crime and demonic proceedings that have haunted the mansion for decades. Because now, the Fischer House is beckoning, and some old friends have gathered to welcome Paul back. . .

Abandon Blake Crouch (MinotaurHardcover)

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman and child in a remote gold mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins; and not a single bone was ever found. One hundred thirteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them into the abandoned mining town so that they can learn what happened. With them is a psychic, and a paranormal photographer—as the town is rumored to be haunted. A party that tried to explore the town years ago was never heard from again. What this crew is about to discover is that twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down, they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.

Vampire Dance (Dark Horse Comics Graphic Novel)

Jacob is a two-hundred-and-fifty-year-old vampire whose world is turned upside down when he's forced to intervene to save Naomi - the mortal he loves - from an attack by some neo-Nazis. Agnes is a young vampire who meets Anna, a recent convert she'll have to guide along in her new immortal existence. What none of them knows is that their destiny has been laid out in advance by the White Vampire, a master manipulator who craves control over the ancestral power living within Anna.

New in Non-Fiction

G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide Pablo Hidalgo (Del Rey)

Be advised: This file contains classified, eyes-only intelligence regarding G.I. JOE, a highly trained, covert, special operations unit composed of men and women from around the globe. The information contained herein is the result of an extensive background investigation conducted by a special operative. The research compiled in this dossier charts the G.I. JOE team’s tremendous pursuit to bring down the nefarious world organization, COBRA, led by the ruthless Cobra Commander. These documents detail all the pertinent data regarding said subjects, including

• the origin of G.I. Joe a.k.a. U.S. armed forces serviceman, Joseph Colton

• the formation of Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta–the elite squad ultimately known as unit G.I. JOE

• comprehensive G.I. JOE vehicles and weapons inventory

• complete profiles of team G. I. JOE personnel, including Hawk, Duke, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Flint, Gung-Ho, and Heavy Duty, as well as threat dossiers of enemy combatants from Cobra Commander and Destro to the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender

• mission report roundup on some of the most dangerous and daring missions, including the Weather Dominator, the Pyramid of Darkness, the COBRA civil war, the first mission–Operation: Lady Doomsday–and others

• previews from IDW’s comic book G.I. JOE: A New Beginning along with a cover gallery of the hot new G.I. JOE comic books

Reviews

Blood Blade (Skinners, Book 1) by Marcus Pelegrimas (Eos)

Blood Blade is the first in a new series of urban horrors and yet another foray into vampire slayers. Yay…A game designer named Cole Warnecki goes on a hunting trip to Canada with a group of friends. The group is attacked by a wild beast leaving Cole unconscious and the rest of the group dead except for one member who gives Cole some cryptic instructions before he, too, dies. He travels to Chicago to meet Paige and learn about the Skinners. The Skinners are monster hunters, protecting humans from vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. Paige tells Cole that there is a powerful vampire named Misonyk in the city who wants to wipe out the Skinners. Paige wants Cole to join the group to try and stop Misonyk and his henchmen from trying to take over Chicago.

Blood Blade isn’t a bad novel but it’s not good either. Pelegrimas keeps the pace fairly quick throughout and there is a good deal of action but it’s all so mundane. The bookshelves are full of monster slayer books and they continue to breed like infected rodents. There’s nothing new that Pelegrimas has to offer this horror sub-genre that you haven’t seen before even if he tries to call vampires something different (The Nymars). And jeez…how awful a name is Misonyk anyway? Despite the action the characters are too bland too care about. Grade C-

23 Hours A Vengeful Vampire Tale David Wellington (Three Rivers Press)

Contrasting the mundane Blood Blade is an enthralling vampire hunter tale and the fourth book in Wellington’s series about lesbian vampire hunter Laura Caxton. If you haven’t read the first three books, never fear, Wellington makes this an easy jump-on point with a fairly self-contained story and by also providing a synopsis of what has taken place previously. Good thing, too, as our heroine starts out the book in prison for killing a vampire informant.

The world’s oldest vampire, the hag Justinia Malvern has her nemesis in the perfect trap. She conspires with the prison warden to get prisoners to feed on to restore her strength while promising to turn the warden into a vampire. Malvern tightens the screws on Laura by kidnapping her lover, Clara, and giving her 23 hours to rescue her. Laura now has to fight through a prison full of inmates and vamps to try an save Clara.

What works so well about the book is the prison setting. Laura goes through the humiliation that new prisoners have to endure at the hands of the other inmates. She’s also handicapped as she is without her usual resources for battling the undead. This turns the tables on the hunter as she becomes the hunted with very few allies to help her. While “23 Hours” isn’t quite as good as the previous book “Vampire Zero”, it’s definitely superior to many of its ilk in the vampire hunting genre. Grade B