Pipeline: November 2010

This regular feature of Salon Futura highlights a number of significant book releases (and occasionally items in other media as well) in the month the issue is published. The selections will be made by Salon Futura contributors and staff, and occasionally by our podcast guests and interviewees.

The Wolf Age, James Enge (Pyr) [Purchase] — James Enge was a World Fantasy Award nominee this year for Blood of Ambrose. His latest novel about Morlock Ambrosius brings us to Wuruyaaria, the city of werewolves, where an election is about to take place. — Lou Anders

Enge’s plot is admirably twisty, and he keeps things moving with impressive set pieces, werewolf battles, bizarre magical airships, miraculous feats, and liberal doses of skewed humor. One of his great virtues as a writer is weirdness — he’s not afraid to do the unexpected, and his imagination is formidable.– Tim Pratt (from his review in Locus)

Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal, Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon Publications) [Purchase] — Few do pulp as well as Joe R. Lansdale and we genre fans can only be glad that he’s turned his attention to steampunk as well as real punks and steaming mad freaks. If this is up to his usual standard I’m expecting barrel-loads of laughs, shocks and twists wrapped neatly around a smart and provocative core. — Sam Jordison

The Horns of Ruin, Tim Akers (Pyr) [Purchase] — I enjoyed Tim Akers debut novel, Heart of Veridon a dark adventure novel that starts with a zeppelin crash and proceeds from there. In Horns of Ruin he creates a new world with new heroes. I suspect that alternate cosmologies, dark conspiracies, and conflicted heroes will continue to entertain. — Karen Burnham

Gilded Latten Bones, Glen Cook (Roc) [Purchase] — Cook’s long-standing Garrett Files series is one of my guilty pleasures, so I’ll be snagging this next installment. It’s a hard-bitten ex-marine Private Investigator solving mysteries in a fantasy city — not as laugh-out-loud funny as Discworld, but with some similar sentiments. — Karen Burnham

The Broken Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin (Orbit) [Purchase] — Next up in her Hundred Thousand Kingdoms series. I thought the first book had some flaws, but the sheer imagination of it won me over. — Karen Burnham

I loved the first book in the series and I can’t wait to get hold of the new one. – Cheryl Morgan

Holiday, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon Press) [Purchase] — A truly gifted short story author, this collection contains much of her short fiction that relates to various holidays. I have read several of the stories when they were originally published, and they are memorable and haunting. — Karen Burnham

I’ve not read much of Rickert myself, but just about everyone whose opinions on books I admire raves about her. — Cheryl Morgan

Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen) [Purchase] – The new Miles Vorkosigan novel must be one of the most eagerly-awaited science fiction books of the year. The series has won several Hugos, but has been on extended hiatus while Bujold tried her hand at fantasy. — Cheryl Morgan

Spectrum 17: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy, & Arnie Fenner, eds., (Underwood Books) [Purchase] — If you are into SF&F art, Spectrum is the annual “must have” publication. — Cheryl Morgan

The Habitation of the Blessed, Catherynne M. Valente (Night Shade Books) [Purchase] — The latest novel from one of my favorite writers sees Valente take on the medieval legend of Prester John. Amazon managed to jump the gun on releasing the ebook so I have already started reading it. The prose is just sumptuous. — Cheryl Morgan

Steampunk Reloaded, Ann, & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Tachyon Publications) [Purchase] — The VanderMeers’ original steampunk anthology was hugely successful, and this one seems set to follow suit. — Cheryl Morgan