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. 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 week brought four books, two of which I’ve talked about in one of these features before. These two books are:
- Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone (Release Date: Oct 29 | hardcover, ebook, audiobook)
- Fiendish Schemes by K. W. Jeter (Currently Available | hardcover, ebook, audiobook)
Before continuing on to the other books, a quick update: It’s almost November, which means it’s Sci-Fi Month! It’s a month-long event celebrating science fiction organized and hosted by Rinn from Rinn Reads. I’ll be discussing plans for that on Friday. I only have a few things planned right now, but I might end up doing more science fiction book reviews if there’s time. It was tough to pick just a few books from my to-read stack, and I’d like to read more of them.
For other reviews, I’m currently working on one of Book of Iron by Elizabeth Bear (which was awesome!). I’m hoping to get that up next week.
On to the books!
Copperhead (Ironskin #2) by Tina Connolly
Copperhead, the second book in a trilogy, was released earlier this month (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). It’s a sequel to 2012 Nebula Award nominee Ironskin, which I’ve heard was a steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre. The next book, set about 18 years later, is scheduled for release in fall 2014.
An excerpt from Copperhead is available on Tor.com.
The sequel to Tina Connolly’s stunning historical fantasy debut.
Helen Huntingdon is beautiful—so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask. Six months ago her sister Jane uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty in her face—and now has to cover her face with iron so she won’t be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.
Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing—and is implicated in the murder.
Meanwhile, Alistair’s influential clique Copperhead—whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra—is out to restore humans to their “rightful” place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.
Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband—and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary—she’s pushed to discover how far she’ll bend society’s rules to do what’s right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may be her honor…and her heart.
Generation V (American Vampire #1) by M. L. Brennan
Generation V came out earlier this year (mass market paperback, ebook). The second book in the series, Iron Night, is scheduled for release in January 2014.
An excerpt from Generation V is available on the publisher’s website. I’ve heard that Generation V is quite good, so I’m excited to read it.
Reality Bites
Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human.
But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.
But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.…
