Coming up in July from Orbit

A great selection of books arrived this week, this time from Orbit Books (a publisher I feel I’ve been neglecting somewhat of late – through no conscious intent, I should stress). One of these is on my list of highly-anticipated novels of 2011, as it is the final book in a series I very quickly became hooked on.

First up, Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks, which Shevaun has already read and reviewed, and had some very good things to say about it, stating that the novel has “engaging plot twists and a host of interesting new characters and peoples to explore”, and Brooks is on “exceptional form” once again.

Next up, we have Heartless by Gail Carriger, the fourth book in the author’s Parasol Protectorate. Here’s the cover and synopsis:

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble in the air is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband’s past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines – and Alexia barely has time to remember she just happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia be able to figure out who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it’s too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf’s clothing? And do they really have to take up residence in Lord Akeldama’s second best closet?

Within seconds of finding out that this had arrived, Alyssa laid claim to it. (She’s currently working through the series, but has already reviewed the first novel, Soulless.) Emma has also been reading the series, and both of them have said it’s fun, quirky and highly recommended.

The paperback edition of Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong, the first novel in her new Savannah Levine series, will be released mid-July. It’s a series I’d really like to try (I’ve read Armstrong’s Exit Strategy, which is more of a straight-thriller, and liked it very much), so I shall do my best to squeeze it into the review line-up – if Shevaun doesn’t pinch it from me first (she’s a big fan of Kelley Armstrong).

Columbus is a small, fading town, untouched by the twenty-first century. But when three young women are found dead – victims of what appear to be ritual murders – things start to get very dark, and very dangerous...

Private investigator Savannah Levine can handle ‘dark and dangerous’. As the daughter of a black witch, she has a lot of power running through her veins, and she’s not afraid to use it. But her arrival in Columbus has not gone unnoticed. Savannah may think she’s tracking down a murderer, but could she be the killer’s next target?

Of course she could always ask her old friend (and half-demon) Adam Vasic for back up. But Savannah has her own – very personal – reasons for keeping Adam well away from Columbus. And in any case, she can rely on her own powers. Can’t she...?

And last, but by no means least, The Key to Creation by Kevin J. Anderson, the final part of his Terra Incognita fantasy series. Here’s the synopsis:

After long voyages, encountering hurricanes and sea monsters, Criston Vora from Tierra and Saan of Uraba race to the legendary promised land of Terravitae. Saan’s quest is to find the Key to Creation, a weapon that may defeat Uraba’s enemies, and Criston wants vengeance against the monstrous Leviathan that ruined his life long ago.

Back home, two opposing continents and religions clash for the remnants of a sacred city, unleashing their hatred in a war that could end both civilisations. Queen Anjine and Soldan-Shah Omra are driven by mutual loathing, heaping atrocity upon atrocity in an escalating conflict that only their gods can end.

And amidst the carnage, the secretive Saedrans follow their own agenda, manipulating both sides with the ultimate goal of completing the Map of All Things, which will bring about the return of the world’s Creator.

I read and loved the first two volumes in the series – The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things – and am very eager to get stuck in to this final novel. I’ll do my best to review this before it’s available in stores.

[CR interview with Kevin J Anderson]

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July will also see the release of a few other exciting titles from Orbit Books, so it looks like Orbit will be brightening up many people’s summers:

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In case anyone was wondering, that CD on the top of the pile is In Flames’s Sounds of a Playground Fading – the latest from one of my favourite bands.