The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration (often unsolicited). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.
This post is part two of the series started last week covering some of the books that I bought or received in the mail while this blog was on hiatus due to moving. The only books from the last week were one I have already talked about and one that I bought myself so only the one I purchased is included. The first three books are ones I bought at various bookstores, either on the way to Vermont or after moving here! Next week I’ll return to posting weekly about books bought or received the way I normally do.
The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh
This is a mass market paperback omnibus containing Kesrith, Shon’jir, and Kutath. I still haven’t read any books by award-winning author C. J. Cherryh, and I’ve been thinking about reading one to review during Sci-Fi Month this November. The first book in this trilogy, Kesrith, seems like it might be a good book to start with since it was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
They were the mri – tall, secretive, bound by honor and the rigid dictates of their society. For aeons this golden-skinned, golden-eyed race had provided the universe mercenary soldiers of almost unimaginable ability. But now the mri have faced an enemy unlike any other – an enemy whose only way of war is widespread destruction. These “humans” are mass fighters, creatures of the herd, and the mri have been slaughtered like animals.
Now, in the aftermath of war, the mri face extinction. It will be up to three individuals to save whatever remains of this devastated race: a warrior – one of the last survivors of his kind; a priestess of this honorable people; and a lone human – a man sworn to aid the enemy of his own kind. Can they retrace the galaxy-wide path of this nomadic race back through millennia to reclaim the ancient world which first gave them life?
House Immortal (House Immortal #1) by Devon Monk
I’ve heard good things about Devon Monk’s books, and I thought this sounded interesting. House Immortal was just released last month in mass market paperback, ebook, and hardcover. An excerpt can be read on the author’s website.
The second book in the trilogy, Infinity Bell, is scheduled for release in March 2015.
One hundred years ago, eleven powerful ruling Houses consolidated all of the world’s resources and authority into their own grasping hands. Only one power wasn’t placed under the command of a single House: the control over the immortal galvanized….
Matilda Case isn’t like most folk. In fact, she’s unique in the world, the crowning achievement of her father’s experiments, a girl pieced together from bits. Or so she believes, until Abraham Seventh shows up at her door, stitched with life thread just like her and insisting that enemies are coming to kill them all.
Tilly is one of thirteen incredible creations known as the galvanized, stitched together beings immortal and unfathomably strong. For a century, each House has fought for control over the galvanized. Now the Houses are also tangled in a deadly struggle for dominion over death—and Tilly and her kind hold the key to unlocking eternity
The secrets that Tilly must fight to protect are hidden within the very seams of her being. And to get the secrets, her enemies are willing to tear her apart piece by piece.…
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!
Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin
I haven’t read anything written by George R. R. Martin that wasn’t related to A Song of Ice and Fire or Wild Cards, but I do want to read some of his other books at some point and have heard this vampire novel is very good. An excerpt from Fevre Dream is available on the publisher’s website, and it is available in both trade and mass market paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
A THRILLING REINVENTION OF THE VAMPIRE NOVEL BY THE MASTER OF MODERN FANTASY, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
Abner Marsh, a struggling riverboat captain, suspects that something’s amiss when he is approached by a wealthy aristocrat with a lucrative offer. The hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet; nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York’s reasons for traversing the powerful Mississippi are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious York’s actions may prove. Not until the maiden voyage of Fevre Dream does Marsh realize that he has joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare—and humankind’s most impossible dream.
The Free by Brian Ruckley
This fantasy novel from the author of The Godless World trilogy beginning with Winterbirth will be released on October 14 (paperback, ebook). An excerpt from The Free is available on the publisher’s website.
THEY ARE THE MOST FEARED MERCENARY COMPANY THE KINGDOM HAS EVER KNOWN.
Led by Yulan, their charismatic captain, the Free have spent years selling their martial and magical skills to the highest bidder – winning countless victories that shook the foundations of the world. Now they finally plan to lay down their swords.
Yet when Yulan is offered a final contract, he cannot refuse – for the mission offers him the chance to erase the memories of the Free’s darkest hour, which have haunted him for years.
As The Free embark on their last mission, a potent mix of loyalty and vengeance is building to a storm. Freedom, it seems, carries a deadly price.
War Dogs by Greg Bear
This science fiction novel, the first book in a trilogy, will be released on October 14 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). Greg Bear is a New York Times bestselling author and the recipient of two Hugo Awards and five Nebula Awards.
AN EPIC INTERSTELLAR TALE OF WAR FROM A MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION.
One more tour on the red.
Maybe my last.
They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.
Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn’t pass up. We called them Gurus.
It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.
It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.
They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin — and they needed our help.
And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.
These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.
On Mars.
