“Libriomancer” by Jim C. Hines (Del Rey UK/DAW Books)

An action-packed, bibliocentric adventure

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of a secret society founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. As such, he is gifted with the magical ability to reach into books and draw forth objects.

But when Gutenberg vanishes without a trace, Isaac finds himself pitted against everything from vampires to a sinister, nameless foe who is bent on revealing magic to the world at large… and at any cost.

This novel is an urban fantasy with a difference, and one that should really appeal to a broad swathe of SFF bibliophiles. Indeed, it has a little something for everyone. It’s fast-paced, amusing, cleverly devised, and above all enjoyable.

Upcoming (in the UK): “Libriomancer” by Jim C. Hines (Del Rey)

Jim C. Hines’ Libriomancer was released a while ago in the US, but I never got around to buying it when I was working there. No idea why… Anyway, luckily for me (and every other person in the UK), Del Rey will be publishing it on these shores very soon!

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of a secret society founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. As such, he is gifted with the magical ability to reach into books and draw forth objects.

But when Gutenberg vanishes without a trace, Isaac finds himself pitted against everything from vampires to a sinister, nameless foe who is bent on revealing magic to the world at large... and at any cost.

Libriomancer will be published on June 20th 2013. For the sake of completion, here’s the US cover (published by DAW):

Most-Anticipated Novels – August 2012

Just a quick run-down of my ten most-anticipated novels of August 2012. Given the lack of stability, frequent travel and relocation of the past few weeks, I’ve not been able to keep on top of my reviewing as well as I would have liked. Therefore, these books may not be reviewed in a particularly timely fashion (some because I don’t have them, others because I don’t have them with me at the moment). Nevertheless! Each of these is near the top of my to-read list, and I fully intend to feature more of them in the near future. Of course, the best laid plans…

Featured: Madeline Ashby, vN; Charles Cumming, A Foreign Country; James Enge, A Guile of Dragons; Jim C. Hines, Libriomancer; Darius Hinks, Orion: The Vaults of Winter; Mark Lawrence, King of Thorns; Tim Lebbon, The Heretic Land; T.C. McCarthy, Chimera; James Rollins, Bloodline; James Swallow, Fear To Tread

The Week In Review

Trying something new this week: a collection of links to the most interesting posts I spotted from around the blogosphere – ranging from reviews, commentary, interviews, and more. I’ll probably keep the number of links down to about five, but sometimes there will be more, sometimes less.

They’ll be pretty basic posts – just text and the links, probably – but hopefully they’ll help generate more interest in the blogs I follow and like. So, in no particular order, here are a few links to things I found particularly interesting…

Stomping on Yeti: “Fact: Internet Polls Suck” [Comment]

The abominable blogger takes a look at possibly the dodgiest reader poll ever compiled by man.

Staffer’s Musings: “Pillars of Hercules” by David Constantine [Review]

No secret I’m a fan of Justin’s site, and especially when he reviews books that didn’t really work for him. Cheryl and ‘Fizzy’ are great creations, and this approach to negative reviews is one of the best out there. While you’re there, check out… well, pretty much everything else he’s posted. Great blog, deserves to be read by way more people than read this one.

A Dribble of Ink: “Prince of Thorns” by Mark Lawrence [Review]

Probably the best review I’ve read of the book (which I thought was fantastic), and more proof of why Aidan’s A Dribble of Ink is one of the best blogs out there (and not just taking into account book-related blogs).

Jim C. Hines: “Who Controls Your Amazon E-book Price?” [Article]

An author (whose work I really want to read) gives some thoughts on a recent pricing issue he’s experienced on Amazon, while also pulling back the curtain on Amazon’s policies regarding self-published authors’ work and how much control the company demands.

Tor.com: “Warhammer 40k: 25 Years of Orks in Space” by Robert Lamb

This article was originally published on HowStuffWorks.com, but Tor kindly shared it, and that’s how I stumbled across it. It’s a great, fun look at “five sciencey reasons to be thankful for the Warhammer 4oK universe”.

There are special 25th Anniversary events taking place in (I believe) all Games Workshop stores today, in case you’re a fan and want to join in the celebrations.

Michael Sullivan: “A Digital Feast” [Article]

This is actually from January, but I really liked the post, and wanted to link to it again. Michael takes a look at writer communities, past and present, and how the internet has changed things. Really liked this one.

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Also, because I think this week’s been pretty good as blog-content goes, I would like to draw your attention to the Robert Jackson Bennett Interview & Giveaway, my review of Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, and yesterday’s guest post by Jon Sprunk.

That’s all for this week. Anything else you’ve seen out there you think people should read?