A war is raging between the vampire forces of the Red Court and the White Council-a war the wizards are losing. So desperate are the Council that they’ve dragooned the experienced and the outcast to reinforce their thinning ranks of Wardens. One of these draftees is one Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only wizard for hire and a guy who’s long been looked upon with suspicion by the supernatural authorities. Now, he’s one of them, and his first big mission as a Warden is a doozy: take a small team of greenhorns to a frigid town in the middle of nowhere to rescue a handful of mortals who’ve been targeted by the Red Court. The question is, why exactly are these particular mortals so crucial to the outcome of the war? The answer will come only if Harry can keep them, and his team, alive for one very long night.
Publishers Weekly: In this impressive dark fantasy debut, witches are anything but cardboard embodiments of good and evil. They are modern, yet plagued by a 200-year-old curse; they are sometimes untrained and unaware, but still have incredible power flowing in their veins. Lauren Reardon thought she was a perfectly normal person, until her father’s death revealed her family connection to the witches from the tiny town of Gideon, Ill., who are tasked with keeping demons from entering this world. After John Reardon’s death, uncanny and frightening events start Lauren on a trip to find her roots, along with the power to combat an evil spirit that has terrorized Gideon since 1836. Crisp and shiveringly disturbing prose, a solid plot, and well-developed characters all make for a deeply satisfying read.
Sian Kattë is a successful, middle-aged businesswoman in the tropical island nation of Alizar. Her life seems comfortable and well-arranged…until a violent encounter one evening leaves her with an unwanted magical power.
Arian des Chances is the wife of Alizar’s ruler. She, too, has it all: wealth, power, an advantageous marriage…and a dying son.
When national crisis thrusts these two women together, they discover that personal problems can have much wider implications, and that the lives of both individuals and nations must sometimes be broken to be healed.
Mary Robinette Kowal’s wonderful Glamourist series gets even better in this fourth volume: Jane and Vincent, the married “glamuralists” (muralists who use magic) at the center of the series, are on their way to Murano, Italy, when they’re caught in an elaborate fraud scheme. Without friends or resources, Jane and Vincent live under suspicion for months, until a chance encounter with their swindlers allows them to concoct a plan of their own.Valour and Vanity is a fun heist, driven by smart plotting, compelling magical and historical details, and a keen eye toward human strength and frailty.
Italian rights to Brent Weeks’s THE BLACK PRISM, to Gargoyle Books, by Stefania Fietta at Agenzia Letteraria Internazionale, in association with Cameron McClure and Katie Shea Boutillier.
Swedish rights to Robert Sheckley’s short story THE IMPACTED MAN, for a one-time use in an anthology, to Heidi Forlag, by Cameron McClure and Katie Shea Boutillier.
Complex Chinese rights to Brent Weeks’ THE BROKEN EYE and THE BLOOD MIRROR, Books 3 & 4 of the Lightbringer series, to Gaea, in a two-book deal, by Gray Tan at The Grayhawk Agency in association with Cameron McClure and Katie Shea Boutillier.
Croatian rights to Ekaterina Sedia’s THE SECRET HISTORY OF MOSCOW, to LUMEN Publishing, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi in association with Jennifer Jackson.
Hebrew rights to Jim Butcher’s STORM FRONT and FOOL MOON, the first two books in the Dresden Files, to Yaniv Publishing House, by Dalia Ever Hadani at The Book Publishers Association of Israel in association with Jennifer Jackson.
Congratulations to DMLA authors who made Tor.com’s fan-based Favorite Books of 2014 list!
- Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear
- City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
Kirkus: The story swiftly knots itself into steampunk-ishly surreal complications, with dauntless (and, by this point, love-stricken) Karen in the thick of the action. Supplies all the Bear necessities: strong female characters, existential threats, intriguing developments and a touch of the light fantastic. Steampunk: Something of a new venture for Bear, whose previous output (Steles of the Sky, 2014, etc.) has ranged from heroic fantasy to science fiction, often with an embedded murder mystery. By the late 19th century, airships ply the trade and passenger routes, optimistic miners head in droves for the Alaskan gold fields, and steam-powered robots invented by licensed Mad Scientists do much of the heavy (and sometimes delicate) work. Continue reading »
RT Book Reviews: Most writers would kill (or, okay, maybe just maim) for a debut novel as electrifying as Alex Gordon’s Gideon. Anchored by well-crafted prose that features a creepy-as-hell villain, Gideon feels like Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” brilliantly reconceived in a Neil Gaiman-esque universe. Gordon hooks readers from page one, as Gideon’s first few chapters are chilling and thoroughly engaging, making for a book that is impossible to put down. The only thing keeping this from being a Top Pick! is that Lauren, while a believable kickass heroine, doesn’t get to fully team up with her spine-of-steel ancestor, Eliza Blaylock Mullin. But Alex Gordon — who has a truly enviable ability to establish mood – is a writer to watch.
Publishers Weekly: Bear’s rollicking, suspenseful, and sentimental steampunk novel introduces Karen Memery (“like ‘memory’ only spelt with an e”), a teenage “seamstress”that is, a prostituteat Madame Damnable’s Hôtel Mon Cherie in Rapid City. This Pacific Northwest city of an alternate 1878 is home to airships, surgical machines, and other mechanical wonders that can also be put to horrific use. As Karen meets and begins to fall for Priya, another sex worker who escaped from evil pimp Peter Bantle, they learn that Bantle has more dark plans than brothel competition. U.S. Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves and his Comanche partner, Tomoatooah, also tie Bantle to the gruesome murders of some of Rapid City’s most vulnerable women. Bear (The Eternal Sky) gives Karen a colorful voice, sharp eyes, and the spunk and skills necessary to scuffle with bad types as well as to win over people whose help she needs. Her story is a timeless one: a woman doing what is needed to get by while dreaming and fighting for great things to come.
Congratulations to our DMLA authors who were chosen for Kirkus’ Best Fiction of 2014!
- Elizabeth Bear, STELES OF THE SKY: “Considering the trilogy as a whole, the overused term masterpiece justifiably applies.”
- Mary Robinette Kowal, VALOUR AND VANITY: “Combining history, magic and adventure, the book balances emotional depth with buoyant storytelling.”
Jim Butcher’s original graphic novel War Cry debuts at #4 on the New York Times Best Sellers Hard Cover Graphic Novel list!
Congratulations to Mary Robinette Kowal on Valour and Vanity being named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2014!