May 202014
 

gardner-temporaryhauntingsLenny Hodge has a gift. Everyone around him says it’s an amazing gift. If only Lenny could figure out what it is.

Lenny works for Terrifitemps!, a “temp agency” that specializes in employing gifted people—people capable of confronting The Forces of Evil and saving the world on a regular basis. Lenny barely survived his first mission. Now he has to join his team of supernatural sleuths for something even more dangerous: his first actual temp job. It’s a job filled with peril: ghosts, vampires, werecreatures, aliens, and even a tribe of Bigfoot (Bigfeet?). And is anyone prepared for the overwhelming might of the Pooka Patrol? Lenny sure isn’t…

May 192014
 

Cover for Skin Game by Jim Butcher. Our hero stands in the middle, in his classic black trenchcoat and black cowboy hat, all action stance as he shoots a gun to the left, his wizard's staff in his right hand. The background is a bank vault, burning money floating around, the whole scene awash in a fiery light.Library Journal: VERDICT This is urban fantasy par excellence, with magical action, moral dilemmas, and a wonderful cast. Series fans will love this, and there is enough backstory for newcomers.

Butcher (Cold Days) brings back wizard Harry Dresden for his 15th adventure fighting a rogue’s gallery of supernatural villains, but this time in a caper story. Continue reading »

May 162014
 

Cover for Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal. a white woman with brown curly hair in an up-do stands in the foreground in a Edwardian floral summer dress. behind her is a dark-haired and -goateed man in a white Edwardian suit, his outheld hand performing a glamour of fiery orange lights in the shape of a dragon. A medieval European church can be seen in the background.Romantic Times: [4.5 of 5 stars] When it comes to writing historical fantasy that is at once absorbing, exciting and incredibly moving, Kowal is in a class by herself. Just as Kowal’s previous book, Without a Summer, blended elements of fantasy with a very real depiction of class struggle, Valour and Vanity balances the adventure of a heist with a poignant portrayal of sudden poverty. Kowal’s skill for writing characters who have fantastic abilities and yet remain deeply human, as susceptible to their own insecurities as anyone you or I know, is just part of what makes her one of the best talents in fantasy.

Continue reading »

May 142014
 

lee-millerSharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Constellation 3, a new volume collecting short stories set in their popular Liaden Universe, to Toni Weisskopf at Baen Books by Jennifer Jackson.

May 082014
 

Photo of author Seth DickinsonDebut novelist Seth Dickinson’s THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT, an epic fantasy geopolitical tragedy pitched as Game of Thrones meets Germs, Guns and Steel, and two additional novels to Marco Palmieri at Tor Books in a pre-empt by Jennifer Jackson.

Apr 292014
 

Cover for Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal. a white woman with brown curly hair in an up-do stands in the foreground in a Edwardian floral summer dress. behind her is a dark-haired and -goateed man in a white Edwardian suit, his outheld hand performing a glamour of fiery orange lights in the shape of a dragon. A medieval European church can be seen in the background.After Melody’s wedding, the Ellsworths and Vincents accompany the young couple on their tour of the continent. Jane and Vincent plan to separate from the party and travel to Murano to study with glassblowers there, but their ship is set upon by Barbary corsairs while en route. It is their good fortune that they are not enslaved, but they lose everything to the pirates and arrive in Murano destitute.

Jane and Vincent are helped by a kind local they meet en route, but Vincent is determined to become self-reliant and get their money back, and hatches a plan to do so. But when so many things are not what they seem, even the best laid plans conceal a few pitfalls. The ensuing adventure is a combination of the best parts of magical fantasy and heist novels, set against a glorious Regency backdrop.

Apr 252014
 

photo of author Anne BishopNew York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s 4th and 5th fantasy novels in the Others series, following VISION IN SILVER (Penguin/Roc, March 2015), continuing the epic story of humans trying to survive in a world that belongs to the Others, in a two-book deal to Anne Sowards at Penguin/Roc by Jennifer Jackson.

Apr 232014
 

Congratulations to the DMLA authors who were named finalists for the 2014 Hugo Awards!

  • Best Novelette: “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” Mary Robinette Kowal
  • Best Fancast: Tea and Jeopardy, Emma Newman
  • Best Related Work: Writing Excuses Season 8, Mary Robinette Kowal (with non-DMLA authors Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Jordan Sanderson)

 

Apr 152014
 

Cover for Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear. Two people on brown horses and a small white pony ride through a beautiful maelstrom of purple, white, and gold.Romantic Times: [4 of 5 stars] The conclusion of the Eternal Sky series, Steles of the Sky has a lot to offer. The most incredible aspects of these stories are the well-created characters, who inhabit a rich, imaginative world. Bear shows admirable skill in balancing the fantastical aspects with the believability of her characters, adding a healthy does of gritty realism of human beings locked in battle, be it emotional, physical or the clash of kings.

Edene, Temur and Samarkar are planning their war against al-Sepehr — and he will not make winning it easy. Edene, bound to the djinn and the Ghulam by the green ring on her finger, must find a way to be their supernatural leader without losing her own humanity; Samarkar must make peace with the love she feels toward Temur and also her own incredibly strong powers of sorcery, and Temur must balance his choices against what is best for him to regain his rightful seat as Khagan of his grandfather’s lands.

Apr 142014
 

Congratulations to our DMLA authors who won an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for 2013!

  • Career Achievement Award in Science Fiction/Fantasy: Anne Bishop
  • Best Shapeshifter Romance: Kinked by Thea Harrison
  • Best Urban Fantasy Novel: Written in Red by Anne Bishop
  • Best Fantasy Novel: Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal