The Books We Are Expecting in 2011

[Mjolnir]

Further some vaguely obsessive amazoning and googling it appears that the mighty Lou Anders, editor of Pyr, has been busy acquiring things again, and that he's once more branching out into some new areas. I admit with the utmost shame that I'd started ... not ignoring Pyr, but taking them for granted: with the exception of the occasional author like Ian McDonald they seemed to have settled down fairly happily into series-based gritty fantasy and steampunk romps, and while I like both those things some of the stuff they've been presenting the public with recently's not been really doing it for me.

They're starting a young adult subline, which ought to be very interesting. And one of their first ya books is Ian McDonald's new novel, called Planesrunner, the first of a ya series called Everness about which details are pretty much nonexistent. New McDonald in any genre is big fucking news, so this is high on my must-have list regardless of the fact we don't know what it's about. They're also publishing something in December called Lightbringer, by one K. D. McEntire, which based on what amazon's got it paired with I'd say is probably ya. Can't find anything about it really.

They've also got a book called Mirror Maze, by Michaele Jordan who I've never heard of, which interestingly appears to be Pyr's first horror. And the second Vampire Empire book, The Rift Walker, comes out in September if you dig those. Based on some of this stuff and that Johansen book, Blackdog, it looks like Pyr may be moving back into the bold and groovily different, which makes me happy.

[pat5150]

To Aidan Moher, Adam Whitehead, and Patrick St-Denis,

First let me thank you for being wonderful reviewers. Your blogs have lead me to reading countless books (most of which I have thoroughly enjoyed). I trust your reviews fully. Would it be at all possible to request that you review three of the more popular upcoming debut novels: Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick, The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu, and Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence? I am sure that there are countless speculative fiction readers out there that are wondering about the quality of these upcoming novels. In this day in age, every dollar spent is a dollar that could have been saved. We would all appreciate you letting us know if they are good or not. Thanks so very much!

Well, if I started accepting requests, I would never see the end of that tunnel!

But you might be in luck, for I'm considering bringing both the Lawrence and the Hulick with me for my upcoming Eastern European adventure next month! ;)

Patrick

[Mjolnir]

Hey, do we have a 2012 thread? Thought we did. Can't find it, though.

Been poking through the internet again, obsessing. This may or may not be news but Graham Joyce's next novel now has a title and what passes for a release date on amazon: The title is Some Kind of Fairy Tale and amazon UK would have it coming out in February 2012. Sounds absolutely brilliant. Blurbage:

Amazon product speel:

It is Christmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected phonecall from his parents, asking him to come round. It pulls him away from his wife and children and into a bewildering mystery. He arrives at his parents house and discovers that they have a visitor. His sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family have, unspoken, assumed that she was dead. Now she's back, tired, dirty, dishevelled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent travelling the world, an epic odyssey taken on a whim. But her stories don't quite hang together and once she has cleaned herself up and got some sleep it becomes apparent that the intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She really does look no different from the yound women who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter's parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his best friend Richie, Tara's one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Tara seems happy enough but there is something about her. A haunted, otherworldly quality. Some would say it's as if she's off with the fairies. And as the months go by Peter begins to suspect that the woods around their homes are not finished with Tara and his family. Some Kind of Fairy Tale is a very english story. A story of woods and clearings, a story of folk tales and family histories. It is as if Angela Carter and Robert Holdstock had written a Fairy Tale together.

A couple days ago Jussie posted some links to Little Brown's 2012 product pages in the Daniel Abraham thread -- confirming that The King's Blood, book 2 of The Dagger and the Coin, comes out in April whilst Caliban's War, book 2 of The Expanse, is meant to follow in May. I followed these around, and by singing to Little Brown's search function in the right tones divined the following:

-- N. K. Jemisin's next series, Dreamblood, now launches in the UK in May. The first book is currently entitled The Killing Moon, [which sweeps the floor with its original title, which I believe was one of those one-worders like Reaver or something.] Looking forward to this.

-- The fourth Mathew Swift novel by Kate Griffin comes out next February ... think it was February. As of a couple days ago amazon called it A Fury of Dust but the publisher's website lists it as The Minority Council.

-- Robert Jackson Bennett's third novel The Troupe is about a creepy circus. Joy unbounded! Bullington's Hook and Cod, about war in the Dutch lowlands I believe, also comes out next spring. Maybe this'll be what makes me finally read his stuff beyond a short story.

-- Amazon is listing the new Kim Stanley Robinson, 2312, for February, but the publisher's site is not listing it at all. Disquieting.

-- R. Scott Bakker's The Unholy Consult is listed on Little Brown's site for January, but that's just a relic of the date that was floating around for a long time back when the book was called Horns. Should drop back -- probably a good deal, I'd guess -- as we get closer to the end of the year.

Oh, and I read on Saladin Ahmed's site a couple weeks ago that his debut novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon, is coming out in March. I'm quite excited for this. Arabic-inspired swords and sorcery!

[Calibandar]

Saw the blurb for the Graham Joyce due in February as well, looking forward to that. No 2012 thread yet, I think it is because we have our bellies stuffed so full in 2011.

It's interesting that you mention the Robert Bennett novel, it is called "The Troupe" about a travelling group of Vaudeville players in historic America. Due in October in the UK, February 2012 in the US.

Wait, here is the synopsis:

George Carole ran away from home to join the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe - even for Vaudeville.

Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realise that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment.

George must uncover the mysteries of Silenus’s company before it is too late. He is already entangled in their web of secrets and, if he doesn’t learn where they are taking him, he may never find his way out.

Speaking of Bakker, after reading the interview I checked the next book's status and it has moved to July 2012. The book is still being written and will apparently be larger than WLW. I hope this one comes out asap.

Daryl Gregory fans may note that he has a short story collection called "Unpossible" coming out in November from Fairwood press.

In mainstream lit I am intrigued by "The Devil all the time" by Donald Ray Pollock, due on the same day ADWD hits shelves.

[Werthead]

I would be very surprised if The Unholy Consult was a 2012 release. I know Bakker said he was dropping the side-novesl to focus on the last three/four Second Apocalypse novels, but the release dates for the last couple of books show he's dropped back to being a once-every-two-years kind of author. Given the next one is longer still, I think we're realistically looking at an early 2013 release.

Though if he does get it out in mid-2012, I'm certainly not complaining :D

[Mjolnir]

From my much less knowledgeable standpoint I'm inclined to agree. I mean, maybe he'll burn right through it; this is to be hoped. But with this one being longer than the last one, and given how complex and precisely written they are and the increased writing time on the last couple, ... well, I hope it goes well for him, and I look forward to it when it's cooked.

Thanks for the blurb for The Troupe, I hadn't seen that, and for the release date clarification. Was wondering why amazon UK and US persisted in showing different dates. That sounds very, very interesting. I enjoyed Mr. Shivers on an atmospheric level, but the plot and characters didn't quite connect with me and so I haven't sought out more Bennett yet despite finding the premises for both this and The Company Man very intriguing. I must fix this.

And thanks for mentioning The Devil All the Time, which yes does sound compelling. I'm also eyeing Erin Morgenstern's debut novel The Night Circus, which seems to straddle fantasy and mainstream and is being pushed as one of those -best-thing-since-ever-will-do-laundry-4-u books. Another circus book -- what with this and The Troupe and Valentine's Mechanique there seems to be a small awesome confluence of weird circus lit.

Yeah, we really are being gorged this year aren't we? And I am grateful, oh yes. Suppose I'm just addicted to the future. Speaking of which, couple things:

Amazon is no reliable source, but this seems the sort of change they wouldn't make without publisher input: There seems to be some confusion as to when Ben Aaronovitch's next Peter Grant urban fantasy, Whispers Under Ground, is coming out where. Del Rey's edition is now listed for January, whilst Gollancz's holds steady for November.

Locus online has done a partial early update to their forthcoming books section, with incomplete lists for just a few publishers out to March 2012. Tor's perspective hijinx feature prominently:

-- For any Schroeder fans, his next Virga book seems to be coming at last, in January. Called Ashes of Candesce.

--Tobias Buckell's first novel in several years since he opted to change direction from his Xenowealth saga comes out in February, a near-future standalone called Arctic Rising. Quite interested in this, as I found the Xenowealth books great fun.

-- Dan Wells has written a standalone sf horror, about skitzophrenia according to his website, called The Hollow City. March 2012.

-- Elizabeth Bear's take on the traditional high-fantasy-with-maps trilogy begins in January with Range of Ghosts, set in a faux-Mongolian steppe environment apparently. This makes me quite happy.

-- Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey sequel, Glamor in Glass, comes out in February. Must get round to trying the first one -- I don't grok Austen in particular, but I do like historical fantasy.

-- According to Locus there will be a new Orson Scott Card book in January, and that book will be Shadows Alive, the final Enderverse novel. I have no idea what gives them this idea and think they may be high. I don't read OSC anymore, both because I disagree with his vehemently expressed opinions on social issues very strongly and because I find his fiction's taken a sharp dive in quality, and I know many share this view. But I have to admit the final Enderverse book would be a pretty big deal and I'd probably give it a try.

-- And there's a debut from Tor, Chrysanthe I think, by a Quebecois author by the name of Yves Meynard. I believe it's sci-fantasy, which I'm coming to like more and more.

-- According to Locus, Tor will publish The Fractal Prince simultaneously with Gollancz in March.

Even assuming all this is accurate -- even great places like Locus make mistakes now and again -- it still leaves several of Tor's authors' sought-after manuscripts very much missing in action. Hopefully these situations will clarify. In the meantime, I will be reading this year's awesome shit.

[Grack21]

OSC has at least two more Ender's Shadow books coming out, supposedly. God knows why I know that.

And Tor really does need to get of their ass on certain things.

[Mjolnir]

Really? Wiki told me Shadows in Flight turned into a short story and Shadows Alive became the concluding novel. I'm sure you're right, though; I was trying to get the information I came for and get out as fast as possible.

[Grack21]

Really? Wiki told me Shadows in Flight turned into a short story and Shadows Alive became the concluding novel. I'm sure you're right, though; I was trying to get the information I came for and get out as fast as possible.

I haven't checked it in a while. Who knows. He'll problay like explode and cure homosexuality so we can all rebel against the liberals and they're evil climate change scheme.

[gyrehead]

Even assuming all this is accurate -- even great places like Locus make mistakes now and again -- it still leaves several of Tor's authors' sought-after manuscripts very much missing in action. Hopefully these situations will clarify. In the meantime, I will be reading this year's awesome shit.

I have yet to delve into my June issue of Locus which has the full publisher data for the next nine months.

Just need to point out, once again, that Locus does not "make mistakes". Rather it prints the forthcoming titles lists that publishers give them. That information may be incomplete and it may no longer be factual even as early as the printing of whatever four forthcoming books issues hits stands and mailboxes. But that is on the publisher. Locus can only work with what is given them in the first place. They don't make stuff up. They don't guess. They print whatever list the publisher hands them.

Just like Amazon does not make listings up that no longer hold true.

[Werthead]

Just like Amazon does not make listings up that no longer hold true.

This is incorrect. I've had publishers tell me directly that Amazon has made up dates for books with no release date when they have not been able to give them any publishing date information. For example, no-one told Amazon that ADWD was coming out in 2013 or 2035, but both dates were up for the book for some considerable time.

[aegor_storm]

To Aidan Moher, Adam Whitehead, and Patrick St-Denis,

First let me thank you for being wonderful reviewers. Your blogs have lead me to reading countless books (most of which I have thoroughly enjoyed). I trust your reviews fully. Would it be at all possible to request that you review three of the more popular upcoming debut novels: Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick, The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu, and Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence? I am sure that there are countless speculative fiction readers out there that are wondering about the quality of these upcoming novels. In this day in age, every dollar spent is a dollar that could have been saved. We would all appreciate you letting us know if they are good or not. Thanks so very much!

Wert Did review Prince of Thorns Garlan

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2011/05/prince-of-thorns-by-mark-lawrence.html

[MattD]

-- And there's a debut from Tor, Chrysanthe I think, by a Quebecois author by the name of Yves Meynard. I believe it's sci-fantasy,

Not a debut: Tor published Meynard's The Book of Knights about a decade ago; it was an inspiration for Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight duo, the first of which is dedicated to Meynard.

I've had publishers tell me directly that Amazon has made up dates for books with no release date when they have not been able to give them any publishing date information. For example, no-one told Amazon that ADWD was coming out in 2013 or 2035, but both dates were up for the book for some considerable time.

It's possible of course that Amazon does "make up" some dates, but in my work with academic publishers and their metadata what I've seen multiple times is that Amazon will use data from book distributors when they receive it before getting data from publishers, or when data is not forthcoming--and that data from distributors is often incorrect.

[aidan]

To Aidan Moher, Adam Whitehead, and Patrick St-Denis,

First let me thank you for being wonderful reviewers. Your blogs have lead me to reading countless books (most of which I have thoroughly enjoyed). I trust your reviews fully. Would it be at all possible to request that you review three of the more popular upcoming debut novels: Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick, The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu, and Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence? I am sure that there are countless speculative fiction readers out there that are wondering about the quality of these upcoming novels. In this day in age, every dollar spent is a dollar that could have been saved. We would all appreciate you letting us know if they are good or not. Thanks so very much!

Sorry I missed this! In the past week, I've received both The Winds of Khalakovo and Prince of Thorns (and I've had Among Thieves) sitting on my bedsides table for a month or two. All three of the books are right near the top of my to-read pile, which I'll start tackling again after my re-read of ASOIAF.

:)

[Calibandar]

Wert, Mjolnir, I think expecting Unholy Consult in 2012 is fine because Scott has been working on the book back-to-back with White Luck Warrior. Obviously he completed that first and we do not know how far he is with TUC right now ( he didn't say), but I think 18 months since the WLW should certainly be doable. He handed in the manuscript to WLW in April 2010, so quite a while ago ( and yes I am sure there has been tinkering with the edits since, but still, time for TUC as well).

I could certainly see Scott finishing the book this year, but perhaps I am too hopeful.

Aidan, Winds of Khalakovo is one that has me intrigued for the last few months now, I am thinking of picking that up.

[Jussi]

Berkley Winter 2012 catalog (includes Ace and DAW):

http://booksellers.penguin.com/static/pdf/berkley-winter12.pdf

NAL Winter 2012 catalog (includes Roc):

http://booksellers.penguin.com/static/pdf/nal-winter12.pdf

[Datepalm]

Berkley Winter 2012 catalog (includes Ace and DAW):

http://booksellers.p...ey-winter12.pdf

The Last Camel Charge, "The first book to document the complete story of the military’s intriguing experiment with camels," seems intriguing.

Probably time to start a 2012 thread though...

[RedEyedGhost]

Anybody know when Requiem by Ken Scholes is expected to come out? I hope this isn't another case of Tor dicking around when the book has been done for 6 months.

[Werthead]

Anybody know when Requiem by Ken Scholes is expected to come out? I hope this isn't another case of Tor dicking around when the book has been done for 6 months.

No, Scholes has been ill for a while and the last two books have been delayed a bit. I think the plan is for them to come out in 2012 and 2013, but it depends on how his illness goes.

[RedEyedGhost]

No, Scholes has been ill for a while and the last two books have been delayed a bit. I think the plan is for them to come out in 2012 and 2013, but it depends on how his illness goes.

Man, that poor guy can't catch a break. Hopefully he can get healthy.