Liz Gorinsky at Tor Books has acquired Mary Robinette Kowal’s THE CALCULATING STARS and THE FATED SKY, an historical science fiction duology in which the devastation of a meteorite hit accelerates the 1950’s space program and building on the universe of her Hugo Award-winning novelette “The Lady Astronaut of Mars” for publication in 2018 via Jennifer Jackson.
Publishers Weekly: The morally gray heroes of this urban fantasy anthology refute the idea that all magic users are either good or evil. Butcher opens with his own “Cold Case,” the heart-wrenching story of a young woman trying to reconcile her new and terrible power with the duty she must perform. Seanan McGuire’s “Sleepover” follows nicely, revealing a world where magical people are reviled and unwelcome. Tanya Huff’s “If Wishes Were,” the grim story of a vampire holding desperately to her humanity through the man she loves, rounds out a powerful opening, but from here the anthology begins to lose momentum. Several stories are amusing but not exceptional. Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Sales. Force.” revives the flagging collection, but the final story, “Impossible Monsters” by Rob Thurman, falls flat, adding an incidental magical element to the tired trope of a serial killer who goes after evildoers. Not every story will appeal to every reader, but the best of them truly shine.
In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil..
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.
Tor.com: Jim Butcher is one of the biggest names in urban fantasy (maybe the biggest, considering his novels tend to debut at the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list), and Kerrie Hughes is one of the most accomplished anthologists in SFF. The two combine their estimable skills for Shadowed Souls, an anthology of urban fantasy stories whose theme focuses on the line dividing black from white, good from evil, and what lies in the shadows. The anthology is a good mix of stories, mixing contemporary settings, superheroes, and low-tech pre-industrial settings…. Every anthology will feature stories that work better for a one particular reader, than other stories would.. In this case, I found the Butcher, McGuire, and de Bie stories the most effective and enjoyable.
RT Book Reviews: Most times heroes/heroines are in the good-rather-than-evil camp, but what if behavior that is considered “good vs. evil” is in the eye of the beholder? Eleven of today’s most talented authors take on this theme and serve up a variety of intriguing, if sometimes dark, short stories. Most of the stories feature characters from the various author’s ongoing series, so readers will enjoy another glimpse into the worlds they have created. A must-read anthology for UF fans!
Locus: This anthology of 11 original stories explores the “idea that good and evil are just two aspects of a complicated and very human story.” The authors all bring their own notions of what that means, with rather varied results, though overall the stories are on the dark side. Among the standout stories is Butcher’s own “Cold Case”, which finds Harry Dresden’s former apprentice Molly Carpenter, now a Queen of Faerie as the Winter Lady, on a mission for Mab to Alaska where her heroic efforts to help the local fae end up having an unexpected result that really mixes good and evil. […T]his is a solid selection for those who like their urban fantasy a little on the dark side.
Rights to a tabletop card game based on the New York Times best-selling Cinder Spires series by Jim Butcher to Fred Hicks at Evil Hat Productions LLC by Jennifer Jackson.
Congratulations to the DMLA clients nominated for a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award!
Best Fantasy: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
Best Science Fiction: Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
Best Young Adult SF&F: We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
