Ghosts and the rest of the supernatural populate this week’s New Releases alongside alien gamers and revolutionaries in far-flung future worlds. This week there’s a bevy of new releases across the wide swath of science fiction, as well as a sequel to a Steampunk favorite, which is good for the reader who might be searching for something different. I’ve certainly found some stories I want to read. Take a look.

Aristeia: Revolutionary Right by Wayne Basta
Being released in Paperback. Grey Gecko Press. 368 pages, First Edition
Release Date: December 19, 2011

The Alliance has always stood for freedom, until it wins the worlds of the Confederacy and security overrides those rules. In the wake of this change, disillusioned former naval pilot Maarkean has become a smuggler. He refuses to believe the whole system is corrupt… until his sister is jailed as a traitor. Now, Maarkean must decide where his loyalty lies, and will either spark a rebellion or crush the spirit of democracy once and for all.

Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright
Being released in Hardcover and Kindle format. Tor Books. 368 pages, First Edition
Release Date: December 20, 2011

Mathematical genius and duelist-for-hire Menelaus Illation Montrose is given the chance to be part of an interstellar expedition examining an alien artifact known as the Monument. He injects himself with a dangerous biochemical drug designed to boost his intellect and help with this task, but it drives him mad. Two hundred years later, his sanity restored, Montrose wakes up from cryo-suspension to find Earth transformed and the Monument still carrying a secret he needs to unravel. One that will change humanity’s place in the galaxy.

The Doctor and the Kid: A Weird West Tale (Weird West Tales) by Mike Resnick
Being released in Paperback and Kindle format. Pyr. 323 pages, First Edition
Release Date: December 20, 2011

In this sequel to “The Buntline Special,” Doc Holliday has decided to turn bounty hunter to make ends meet. The best-paying target happens to be Billy the Kid.  It’s clear from the odds the Kid has faced and beaten, that he is protected by some powerful magic. Doc enlists the aid of both magic (Geronimo) and science (Thomas Edison), and goes out after his quarry. But as he soon finds out, nothing is as easy as it looks.

Theatre of Curious Acts by Cate Gardner
Being released in Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle format. Hadley Rille Books.
182 pages, First Edition
Release Date: December 21, 2011

Returned home from the Great War, his parents and brother in their graves, Daniel walks a ghost world. When players in a theatre show lure Daniel and his friends, fellow soldiers, into a surreal otherworld they find themselves trapped on an apocalyptic path. A pirate ship waits to ferry some of them to the end of the world, helmed by Death. Already broken by war, these men are now the world’s only hope in the greatest battle of all.

Beta Test by Eric Griffith
Being released in Hardcover. Hadley Rille Books. 278 pages, First Edition
Release Date: December 21, 2011

In this lighthearted end of the world tale, Sam Terra investigates the secret behind the simultaneous disappearance of Molly, the woman he secretly loves, and 10 percent of the world’s population. When Molly reappears in the body of a man during a night of monster-laden devastation, Sam finally learns the truth. Not just about her, but about the planet Earth and the entire cosmos surrounding it. What we consider mundane reality, others consider a game . . . and not a very good one. The whole thing is about to be shut down.

Death and Resurrection by R.A. MacAvoy
Being released in Paperback and Kindle format. Prime Books. 336 pages, First EditionRelease Date: December 20, 2011

Chinese-American artist Ewen Young can travel between the worlds of life and death. This unasked-for skill irrevocably changes his life – as does meeting Nez Perce veterinarian Dr. Susan Sundown and her remarkable dog, Resurrection. After defeating a threat to his own family, Ewen and Susan confront great evils – both supernatural and human – as life and death begin to flow dangerously close together.

Wild Cards II: Aces High by George R.R. Martin
Being released in Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle format. Tor Books.
400 pages. First Edition
Release Date: December 20, 2011

After the alien virus struck humanity in the wake of World War II, a handful of the survivors found they possessed superhuman powers. The Wild Cards shared-world volumes tell their story. Here in book two, Wild Cards II: Aces High, we trace these heroes and villains through the tumultuous 1980s, in stories from SF and fantasy giants such as George R. R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Pat Cadigan, Lewis Shiner, Walter Jon Williams, and others.