Vicious by V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab is someone I'm totally jealous of and she is so much younger then me. This book has the kind of beginning that grabs you from the first few lines. Its creepy in all the right ways that I wish that the eARC I recieved was a full version of the novel but it is just a preview version. You get hints in the opening chapters as to what this novel is about and once you realize its about superheroes, super villains and the very slight and tenuous distinction between the two not only was I engaged with it I was more then happy to dive in and get the novel when it comes out. Some of the actual comic companies have it so wrong these days and this book gets it so right; the interesting thing about the genre is the exploration of character, the battles and physical struggle is cool but the people and their lives are what we comic fans stay for. Good on ya V.E. I'm so blood jealous. Here is a link to an excerpt and to her website ... Enjoy.... Here is the synopsis...
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Here is a second entry into the realm of superhero fiction and the beginning of another series from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. Having read the first chapter. The series has a very classic start for a character in a superhero story, the loss of family and a desire for Justice. Knowing Brandon Sanderson's leaning where it somes to world building and "magic systems" there will be a concrete reason as to the how's of the powers work and where they arose from in the first place. The book does not have its hooks in me the way Vicious does but it is certainly on my to read pile. Here is a link to Brandon's site and the following is the introduction to the novel....
There are no heroes.
Every single person who manifested powers—we call them Epics—turned out to be evil.
Here, in the city once known as Chicago, an extraordinarily powerful Epic declared himself Emperor. Steelheart has the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, no explosion can burn him. He is invincible.
It has been ten years. We live our lives as best we can. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans who spend their lives studying powerful Epics, finding their weaknesses, then assassinating them.
My name is David Charleston. I’m not one of the Reckoners, but I intend to join them. I have something they need. Something precious, something incredible. Not an object, but an experience. I know his secret.
I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.
Plague Forge by Jason M. Hough
The Dire Earth series is one that I need to hit with full reviews for each of the individual volumes since the third will be out in just a few days... call me freaking exited and I know it will eat my reading time for next week. This is a near future science fiction series that combines the feel of series like Farscape and Stargate with a setting built with the concepts of the enigmatic alien artifacts, possible invasion and zombie plague paranoia. Jason's characters from his roguish scavenger heroes to the one time villain come refugee captivate me and the real evils of the series totally need a comeuppance. I can not wait to see what plot elements get solved in this volume and what new mysteries arise. These books have stimulated the role playing gamer in me and I so want to play a character in this awesome game. Here is the synopsis...
The elevators connected Earth to the stars. The towers suppressed the deadly plague. As the final Builder event approaches, five keys will unlock their secret.
After discovering the first key in the wreckage of a crashed Builder ship, Skyler Luiken and his crew follow the migrating aura towers in search of the four remaining relics. But time is running out: the survivors learn that the next Builder event will be the last, and one of the objects has already fallen into dangerous hands...
As the alien Key Ship looms above Earth, and the surface below is ravaged by corrupt councils, fanatical cults and infected subhumans, the team race to retrieve the missing artefacts.
Will they finally reveal the Builders’ plan?
Book of Iron by Elizabeth Bear
A prequel to her previous novella Bone and Jewel Creatures published by Subterranean press apparently in the same setting as the series that began in Range of Ghosts Book of Iron is something I'm probably ordering next week. It's been a while since I read a book by Ms. Bear and I think it is well time I redress that failing. Here is a link to the subterranean press website and a look at the synopsis. This small press book is coming out at 20.00 for the trade paperback and that is so totally a deal for this publisher....
And the synopsis for your entertainment....
Bijou the Artificer is a Wizard of Messaline, the City of Jackals. She and her partner—and rival—Kaulas the Necromancer, along with the martial Prince Salih, comprise the Bey's elite band of trouble-solving
adventurers.
But Messaline is built on the ruins of a still more ancient City of Jackals. So when two foreign Wizards and a bard from the mysterious western isles cross the desert in pursuit of a sorcerer intent on plundering the deadly artifacts of lost Erem, Bijou and her companions must join their hunt.
The quest will take them through strange passages, beneath the killing light of alien suns, with the price of failure the destruction of every land.
A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway
This is a novel that grabbed my attention on netgalley and it is totally on my need to they out list. After opening my mind to potential romance novels a few months ago with Delilah S Dawson's Wicked as they Come. I don't know if this is your kind of thing but well here is the synopsis and see for yourself...
Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London Society. But there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse.
In a Victorian era ruled by a council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch and sorcery the demon enemy of the Empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out?
But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock Holmes’s niece, Evelina should be able to find the answers, but she has a lot to learn. And the first decision she has to make is whether to trust the handsome, clever rake who makes her breath come faster, or the dashing trick rider who would dare anything for her if she would only just ask.
Advance praise for Emma Jane Holloway’s Evelina Cooper novels
“Sherlock Holmes’s niece Evelina Cooper is a charming addition to the canon.”—Jacqueline Carey, on A Study in Silks
“Quite a ride through an alternate Victorian England, full of thrills and frills.”—Nicole Peeler, on A Study in Darkness
“Magic, machines, mystery, and mayhem: This book has just about everything.”—Kevin Hearne, on A Study in Ashes
Charming by Elliot James...
Today's last entry among all the great books out there including ones I'll post about later this week is one my partner loved and I have yet to get to and feel bad about not being able to share with her. This looks a lot like a novel that could be a Buffy the vampire slayer from the male side... Taking the Prince Charming thing into the modern day with magical threats all around and vampires lurking in the sidelines.... You can go here to check out the comments about the book from the author but I have not seem Natasha read anything genre related quite so fast in a long time....... I think this novel has to be a good time no matter its genre elements... Check this one out if urban fantasy is your thing and your tired of the Dresden thing....
Take care all GL....
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