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Starred Review: I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

Mar 132015
 

priest-iamprincessxBooklist: May and Libby came up with Princess X, a katana-wielding cartoon girl with a crown and red Chucks, on the day they met in fifth grade, and for the next several years of their friendship, they wrote enough stories about her to fill a closet. But then Libby and her mother die in a car accident, and May tries to move on with her life, but she can’t shake the feeling that not everything adds up about Libby’s death. Three years later, May notices a faded vinyl sticker that is unmistakably Princess X. Then she discovers a webcomic about her, which includes characters that look alarmingly like Libby and May, and clues that only May can decipher. With the help of her tech-savvy neighbor, Trick, May looks all over (and under) Seattle to uncover the truth about her best friend. Interspersed with Ciesemier’s webcomic-style illustrations, Priest’s YA debut is an engrossing cyberthriller packed with a puzzling mystery, crackerjack detective work, and an eerie, atmospheric sense of place. The unembellished style is a perfect match for the noir-lite tone, and May and Trick, whose banter crackles with energy, rival any team of gumshoes out there. Teens who roll their eyes at adults out of touch with Internet culture will eat this up.

 March 13, 2015  Tagged with: ,

Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop

Mar 032015
 

Cover for Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop. A white woman with black hair streaked with red looks at the reader, wearing a jean jacket and with bright yellow light shining behind her.The Others freed the  cassandra sangue  to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…

 March 3, 2015  Tagged with: ,

February Subsidiary Rights Deals

Feb 282015
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to Cherie Priest’s THE FAMILY PLOT, a new standalone novel, and JACARANDA, a novella in the Clockwork Century series, to Steve Feldberg at Audible.com, by Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.

On behalf of Prime Books, audio rights to Richard Parks’ Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son, to Steve Feldberg at Audible, by Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.

 February 28, 2015  Tagged with: , , ,

Review: War Cry by Jim Butcher

Feb 172015
 

Cover for Jim Butcher's War Cry. Wizard Harry Dresden stands with his glowing staff lifted over his head, surrounded by grey cloaked wizards holding swords.Kirkus: To say I loved this book would be such an understatement. It’s a great, intensely fun, quick read that satisfied my Dresden Files itch in a year during which I’m not sure we’ll get a new novel in the series.

To read Kirkus’ full review of War Cry, click here.

 February 17, 2015  Tagged with: ,

2014 Locus Recommended Reading List

Feb 062015
 

Congratulations to the DMLA authors who were named on Locus’ 2014 Recommended Reading List!

Novels – Science Fiction:

  • Lagoon, Nnedi Okorafor (Hodder; Saga 2015)

Novels – Fantasy:

  • Steles of the Sky, Elizabeth Bear (Tor)
  • City of Stairs, Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway; Jo Fletcher)

Young Adult Books:

  • Lockstep, Karl Schroeder (Tor)

Collections:

  • Last Plane to Heaven, Jay Lake (Tor)

Novelettes:

  • “Kheldyu”, Karl Schroeder (Reach for Infinity)
  • “Wine”, Yoon Ha Lee (Clarkesworld 1/14)
  • “The Hand Is Quicker”, Elizabeth Bear (The Book of Silverberg)

Short Stories:

  • “The Contemporary Foxwife”, Yoon Ha Lee (Clarkesworld 7/14)
  • “Combustion Hour”, Yoon Ha Lee (Tor.com 6/18/14)
  • “West to East”, Jay Lake (Subterranean Summer ’14)
  • “Left Foot, Right”, Nalo Hopkinson (Monstrous Affections)
  • “Covenant”, Elizabeth Bear (Hieroglyph)
  • “This Chance Planet”, Elizabeth Bear (Tor.com 10/22/14)
 February 6, 2015  Tagged with: , , ,

Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

Feb 052015
 

bear-karenmemoryLocus: Karen Memory is a delight, a tour-de-force of historical reimagining and character creation, and a ripping yarn full of surprises, and despite Karen’s opening line, I can’t imagine anyone not liking what she has to tell us.

Read the full review of Karen Memory at Locus here.

 February 5, 2015  Tagged with: ,

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

Feb 042015
 

cover for Karen Memory by Elizabeth BearSet in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello. Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, beggin sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions.  And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.

Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper yarn of the old west with a light touch in Karen’s own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science.

 February 4, 2015  Tagged with: ,

Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

Feb 042015
 

bear-karenmemoryNPR: Bear is paying homage to the dime novels of the era, forerunners of pulp fiction packed with larger-than-life heroes, scheming villains, and gritty action. But she’s subtly subverting this tradition, just as much as she’s giving steampunk a gentle, loving twist. An African-American marshal and a transgender prostitute are just two members of the book’s diverse cast, and it’s clear that Bear is making a point about the way history, like literary subgenres, can steamroll over anyone who falls outside the norm. She makes that point engagingly and effortlessly. Karen Memory breezes by at a leisurely pace, a bracing yet charming adventure yarn that never feels forced, despite the brassy confidence of its delivery.

View NPR’s full review of Karen Memory here.

 February 4, 2015  Tagged with: ,

Keys of Heaven by Adina Senft

Feb 032015
 

Cover for Keys of Heaven by Adina Senft. A white Amish woman in the foreground holds a basket of vegetables, a picturesque farm behind her.Sarah Yoder is learning to help the people in her Amish community as a Dokterfraa, creating teas and tinctures using the herbs she grows. But her latest patient seems to have a problem that can’t be resolved with anything in Sarah’s garden-a woman who, in Sarah’s mind, would flourish anywhere but in the place she lives. Meanwhile, Sarah’s relatives have decided to do a little matchmaking between her and a visiting Amish man. He would make a wonderful husband, and she knows she should be willing for God to show her His choice of partner…and not allow her friendship with her neighbor, Henry Byler, to grow into anything more.

Henry has seen some success as a potter since a major store commissioned a line of his work for their catalog. The trouble is that they want to market him as Amish. Though he was raised in the faith and now lives in Amish country, he has never joined church-and doesn’t plan to, either. Which means that, despite the attraction between them, he must keep his distance from Sarah. But what happens when Sarah and Henry are called upon to help a runaway whose family is too worldly to see how lost their son has become? The plant Sarah calls Keys of Heaven may be able to grow in impossible places, but it’s not so easy for people to find their own place. Which means it’s quite a temptation for her to take matters into her own hands…

 February 3, 2015  Tagged with: ,

Jacaranda by Cherie Priest

Jan 312015
 

Cover for Jacaranda by Cherie Priest. A Catholic priest stands in the foreground on a surreal rug, two staircases arching behind him, along with the shadow of a tree and a wolf.The Ranger

On the island of Galveston, off the coast of southeast Texas, lies a hotel called the Jacaranda. In its single year of operation, two dozen people have died there. The locals say it’s cursed. The Rangers say that’s nonsense, but they know a man who might be willing to investigate. Horatio Korman crosses the water from the mainland, and hopes for the best.

The Nun

But the bodies pile up, and a hurricane is brewing up fast. One of the Jacaranda’s guests sees time running out, so she seeks an authority of a different sort: a priest from El Huizache who is good at solving problems and keeping secrets. Eileen Callahan has a problem to solve, and a secret to keep. She crosses her fingers, and sends a message that could save them all.

The Padre

Juan Miguel Quintero Rios broke a promise to the Virgin, and so he was punished…but his intentions were pure, so he was also blessed. Now he walks the southwest with second sight and a tattoo across his back: Deo, non Fortuna—By God, not chance. The former gunslinger crosses himself, and makes for the Jacaranda Hotel.

 January 31, 2015  Tagged with: ,
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