Orbit & Atom Books New Titles

     All you need to know about books at www.booksmonthly.co.uk                                                     Issue 4 July 2008

 Reviews

 Feature Articles & Stories

 Publishers' July Titles

     »Accent Press

     »Allison and Busby

     »Bettany Press

     »Bloomsbury Publishing

     »Book Palace

     »Book-Promotion

     »Carlton/Prion Publishing

     »Classical Comics

     »Collins Publishing

     »Dorchester Publishing

     »Dorling Kindersley

     »Ebury Press Publishing

     »Egmont Publishing

     »Fidra Books

     »Girls Gone By Publishers

     »Harcourt Publishing

     »Harper Collins UK

     »Harper Non Fiction

     »Harper Collins US (EOS)

     »Hodder Publishers UK

     »Icon Books

     »Little, Brown

     »Macmillan Children's

     »Michael O'Mara/Buster Books

     »Orbit/Atom Publishing

     »Orion Publishing

     »Penguin Books

     »Profile Books

     »Puffin Books

     »Random House UK

     »Robert Hale

     »Scholastic

     »Simon & Schuster

     »Telos Publishing

     »Transworld Publishing

The menu is self-explanatory - try it and see for yourselves. The magazine is arranged into three main sections, REVIEWS, FEATURE ARTICLES and STORIES, and NEW & COMING SOON TITLES. The latter section is a little like a bookshop where you can browse what's new for this month, but it is arranged by Publisher, as this is the easiest way for me to do it. Let me knowwhat you think...

If you were lucky, and you're a dad, you might have received a copy of this fantastic book on Father's Day! Neil Oliver, the historian from the smash BBC series COAST, retells the stories that inspired us to be better men during the last century. He laments... more

Amanda Greenslade is a fantasy writer, like me (except she's young enough to be my granddaughter, and therefore has time on her side!). Her ASTOR CHRONICLES look fantastic, and I hope it won't be long before she finds a publisher. In the meantime, there's an interview with Amanda in this issue, together with information on TALON, the first book in the series.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG's latest book, THE SUMMONING, is so good I had to give it joint book of the month in the fantasy section; Kelley never lets you down, and this is a terrific read, chilling and entertaining at the same time - don't miss it!

And don't forget to let me know what you think of this issue of BOOKS MONTHLY ~ you can e-mail me at editor@booksmonthly.co.uk

Last weekend the fourth INDIANA JONES movie smashed box office records with takings estimated to be in excess of £148m - there are lots more great new Indy books reviewed in this issue, see the Feature Articles and Stories menu above

All of the titles listed or reviewed in Books Monthly are available from the store. Click on the Amazon logo to check availability as many are not yet published.

JO GRAHAM: BLACK SHIPS ~ The World is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling: to earthquakes, to flood and to raiders - on both land and sea. In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle, a mouthpiece of the gods. Daughter of a slave plundered from fallen Troy, she was chosen as a child to serve the Lady of the Dead, and it is her fate to counsel kings. When nine black ships appear as foretold in her dreams, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must make her choice. She must decide between her sacred calling and the most perilous adventure - joining her mother's people in their desperate flight from slavery. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest. And only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny. In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

CHARLES STROSS: SATURN'S CHILDREN ~ Freya Nakamachi-47 has some major existential issues. She's the perfect concubine, designed to please her human masters ? hardwired to become aroused at the sight mere of a human male. There's just one problem: she came off the production line a year after the human species went extinct. Whatever else she may be, Freya Nakamachi-47 is gloriously obsolete. But the rigid social hierarchy that has risen in the 200 years since the last human died, places beings such as Freya very near the bottom. So when she has a run-in on Venus with a murderous aristocrat, she needs passage off-world in a hurry ? and can't be too fussy about how she pays her way. If Venus was a frying pan, Mercury is the fire - and soon she's going to be running for her life. Because the job she's taken as a courier has drawn her to the attention of powerful and dangerous people, and they don't just want the package she's carrying. They want her soul ...

KELLEY ARMSTRONG: THE SUMMONING ~ Chloe Saunders sees dead people. Yes, like in the films. The problem is, in real life saying you see ghosts gets you a one-way ticket to the psych ward. And at 15, all Chloe wants to do is fit in at school and maybe get a boy to notice her. But when a particularly violent ghost haunts her, she gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. Her seemingly crazed behaviour earns her a trip to Lyle House, a centre for 'disturbed teens'. At first Chloe is determined to keep her head down. But then her room mate disappears after confessing she has a poltergeist, and some of the other patients also seem to be manifesting paranormal behaviour. Could that be a coincidence? Or is Lyle House not quite what it seems...? Chloe realises that if she doesn't uncover the truth, she could be destined for a lifetime in a psychiatric hospital. Or could her fate be even worse...? Can she trust her fellow students, and does she dare reveal her dark secret? Kelley Armstrong's fantastic new supernatural series - set in the same world as her bestselling 'Women of the Otherworld' series - is sure to delight fans and new readers.

PATRICIA BRIGGS: BLOOD BOUND ~ Like most people who own their own business, I work long hours that start early in the morning. So when someone calls me in the middle of the night, they'd better be dying ...Mechanic Mercy Thompson is woken at 3am by a vampire calling in a favour. He has to deliver a message to a fellow undead and needs a witness that won't be noticed - and Mercy's shapeshifting abilities make her the perfect candidate. But the assignment turns into a bloodbath and Mercy attracts the attention of not just a powerful vampire, but the even more powerful demon possessing him. She can count on the supernatural community for protection - and alpha werewolf Adam would like her to rely on him in other ways too - but when it comes to being proactive, she's on her own.

PATRICIA BRIGGS: IRON KISSED~ It wasn't hard to follow the scent of blood to the living room where the fae had been killed. It had been a violent death, perfect for creating ghosts. Mercy Thompson enjoys life as a mechanic, but life is never simple given her increasing closeness to the local werewolf pack, and her ability to change into coyote form at will. And when a member of the fae community calls in a favour, needing her skills for a covert murder investigation, she jumps into the hunt. But the dangers multiply and she clashes with shadowed creatures of great power. When her old boss Zee is charged with a brutal assassination, Mercy find herself fighting alone. There are those who love her, who would keep her safe, but she is wary and holds her freedom precious. Until, that is, she has nothing left to lose but her life ...

TERRY BROOKS: THE ELVES OF CINTRA ~ Fifty years from now, our world looks very different. Governments have fallen. Thousands live in fortified strongholds; others roam the landscape as either predator or prey. Standing against the forces that have tipped the balance from good to evil are a very few heroes, men and women imbued with powerful magic and sworn to a high destiny. Logan Tom is one of those heroes. He's on a desperate quest to deliver the street kids he rescued in Seattle to safety. So, too, is Angel Perez, who is leading a second group in the Oregon wilderness where she encounters the long-hidden Elves of Cintra. And Hawk - just learning his magic - has an encounter with the mystical King of the Silver River, who promises safety for both humans and elves - if only they can reach him...

JENNIFER FALLON: WOLFBLADE ~ Marla Wolfblade of Hythria is determined to restore her family's great name, but conspirators surround her: the Sorcerers' Collective, the Patriots - even members of her own family. She must make sure her son Damin lives to be old enough to restore the Wolfblade name to its former glory. Elezaar the Dwarf is a small man with big secrets - but that doesn't matter to Marla Wolfblade. Her brother is the High Prince of Hythria, and, in this fiercely patriarchal society, her fate will be decided on his whim. She needs someone politically astute to guide her through the maze of court politics - and Elezaar knows more than he is willing to admit. As Elezaar teaches Marla the Rules of Gaining and Wielding Power, Marla starts on the road to becoming a tactician and a wily diplomat - but will that be enough to keep her son alive?

 

Books Monthly (formerly Gateway Monthly) is published by Paul Edmund Norman on the first day of each month. You can contact me via e-mail at: editor@booksmonthly.co.uk. If you'd like to get a story published in Books Monthly just e-mail it to me and I'll consider it - no payment though, I'm afraid!