This coming week promises to have something for everyone who loves science fiction and fantasy. The mashup of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast for the romantic, 1970s thriller for the horror fans, swords and sorcery for the D and D-er in you, and the pulpiest classic science fiction tales for me. Have a happy Pet Peeves Week, everybody!

 

Enter, Night by Michael Rowe (Oct 20, 2011)Paperback: 275 pages Publisher: ChiZine Publications

In 1972 Christina takes her daughter Morgan and her brother-in-law Jeremy to the remote mining town of Parr’s Landing. At the same time, Dr. Billy Lightning (really? Was the name Johnny Hurricane taken?) has returned to the same town to solve the mystery of his father’s brutal murder. Parr’s Landing is a dark place with secrets hiding in the caves surrounding the local lake. One secret is the 300 year old horror that calls out to the insane, begging to be released. Now that call has been answered.

Ashes of a Black Frost (The Iron Elves) by Chris Evans (Oct 18, 2011)Format: Kindle Edition Print Length: 448 pages Publisher: Pocket Books

Major Konowa Swift Dragon (really? Was the name Onomatopoeia Slow Poke taken?) has just won a big victory for the Calahrian Empire while looking for his lost regiment of elves. With him is the Imperial Prince who is looking for a mystical library. More important than both of those quests is the final confrontation with the dreaded Shadow Monarch. An army of hungry beasts are also looking for the Iron Elves and Konowa’s long lost love, Visyna Tekoy, fights the elves in a maze of underground tunnels.This is the third book in Chris Evans’ Iron Elves saga.

Beauty and the Werewolf (Five Hundred Kingdoms) by Mercedes Lackey (Oct 18, 2011)Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Luna

In this fairy tale, the daughter of a wealthy merchant vows to escape the traditional path chosen for her. Isabella Beauchamps (really? I’m going for this joke for a third time?) Puts on the requisite red cloak and takes off into the forbidden forest to get the advice of the local wisewoman…Granny. She is attacked by a wolf on the way home. But, of course, this is no ordinary wolf. It’s actually a nobleman suffering from a horrible curse. He imprisons Bella in his dark castle and she soon finds herself torn between returning to her family and this strange, funny man/werewolf.

The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette (Oct 18, 2011)Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Prime Books

Kyle Murchison Booth is an introverted and socially awkward museum archivist from an odd family. He constantly finds himself in a number of strange supernatural mysteries; a number of interconnected short stories similar to the first Bone Key Book. This one has a puzzle on the cover.

Cold Steel and Secrets: A Neverwinter Novella, Part I by Rosemary Jones (Oct 18, 2011)Kindle Edition File Size: 310 KB Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Sent by the spy master of Neverwinter to investigate a group of rebels, Rucas Sarfael finds a worthy adversary in the beautiful fencing master Elyne. Matching wits and blades with the rebel leader, Rucas strives to prove himself and rise in the rebel ranks in part 1 of this four-part novella set in the city of Neverwinter.

The Giant Among Us: The Twilight Giants, Book II by Troy Denning(Oct 18, 2011)Kindle Edition File Size: 634 KB Print Length: 314 pages Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

A lone scout armed with a golden arrow is the only person standing between a new peace-shattering queen and the tribes of giants demanding her destruction. Now the scout must go on a dangerous journey to seek help. He soon learns that the greatest danger to the queen isn’t the giants surrounding her citadel.

Half-Blood: A Covenant Novel by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Oct 18, 2011)Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

In this Young Adult novel, The Hematoi are descendants of the coming together of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals aren’t as fortunate. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pure-bloods. Young Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, if it were up to her. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she has a major crush on pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem–staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden.

Infidel by Kameron Hurley (Oct 18, 2011)Paperback: 300 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books

Nyx used to be a government-funded assassin with a talent for cutting off heads. Now she’s babysitting diplomats to make ends meet and longing for the days when killing was a lot more honorable.  When her former colleagues lead a coup against the government that threatens to plunge the country into civil war, Nyx is tasked with bringing them in. The hunt takes Nyx and her inglorious team of mercenaries to one of the richest, most peaceful, and most contaminated places on the planet; a rotten nation of sweet-tongued politicians, giant bugs, and renegade shape shifters, where Nyx will forge unlikely allies and rekindle old acquaintances. And the bodies she leaves scattered across the continent this time… may include her own.

The Infernals by John Connolly (Oct 18, 2011)Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 701 KB Print Length: 320 pages Publisher: Atria Books

Samuel Johnson once saved Earth from evil forces and now an angry demon is seeking revenge. It gets its chance to do so when Samuel and his faithful dog Boswell get sucked into a portal into the realm of the Infernals. Catching Samuel won’t be easy though, as his hapless friend, the demon known as Nurd, two clueless policemen, the driver of an ice cream truck, and Mr. Merryweather’s elves intervene.

Planet Stories: The Planet Killers by Robert Silverberg (Oct 18, 2011)Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Paizo Publishing

Three classic stories are reprinted in this book by Robert Silverberg. In The Planet Killers, When the Security Computers of Earth Central discover that the planet Lurion will attack Earth in 67 years, they decide to send Agent Roy Gardner to the frontier planet to do whatever he can to prevent the invasion.  In the Plot Against Earth, agent Lloyd Catton must work with suspicious aliens to bring down a hypnojewel ring that leads to a multi-planet conspiracy. In One of Our Asteroids is Missing, miner John Storm stumbles upon an asteroid loaded with valuable minerals.  Not only is his claim then stolen, but his entire existence has been erased.