Science Fiction & Fantasy
June 2009
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Mars life, by Ben Bova. (2008)
This is the conclusion of the trilogy that includes Mars (1992) and Return to Mars (1999). Jamie Waterman, who discovered cliff dwellings during his first trip to Mars, is struggling to acquire funding for continued research on the long-dead Martians, but his efforts are severely compromised by the increasing influence of religious fundamentalists. Their rise coincides with a global environmental crisis, giving the U.S. government another rationale for shifting resources away from Waterman's work. Even the discovery of a Martian fossil can't ensure the project's viability, so Waterman and his wife return to the red planet in a last-ditch effort to keep the exploration going. (Amazon)
Heritage of the Xandim, by Maggie Furey. (2009)
Set in the distant past of the Magefolk, when even the land was a different shape, and the sea between the northlands and the south did not exist. This was the time when the Artefacts of Power were created, and lives were torn apart by the Mage Wars. In those days, the Magefolk were comprised of four disparate races: the human Wizards, masters of earth magic; the winged Skyfolk, who controlled the magic of air; the Leviathan, who ruled the powers of the watery realms; and the great Dragonfolk, whose province was the magic of fire. But while the four races of the Magefolk strove and vied to master the powers of magic both good and evil, a new race was emerging, who would come to play a vital part in these phenomenal events. (Amazon)
Corambis, by Sarah Monette. (2009)
Once exiled from Mélusine for the crime of heresy, the once powerful Cabaline wizard Felix Harrowgate and his half-brother Mildmay, former cat-burglar and assassin, journey to Corambis to face judgment from a ruling body of wizards. Corambis, however, is a land plagued by civil strife. Kay Brightmore, the Margrave of Rothmarlin, is part of an insurrection to restore the monarchy in the southern half of the country. In desperation, Kay and his rebels seek out the engine of Summerdown, an ancient magical device rumoured to have terrible powers. Once the engine is awakened, only a powerful wizard can stop its awesome potential for destruction. (Amazon)
Lamentation, by Ken Scholes. (2009)
An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands. Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city; he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant. Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at war, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered. (Amazon)
Coyote horizon : a novel of interstellar discovery, by Allen M. Steele. (2009)
The planet of Coyote has become the last, best hope of humankind, but it has also become the principal point of contact with the hjadd, the alien race encountered by a European star ship many years earlier. Although the hjadd have built an embassy near the original colony, they remain a mystery. As the colonists make preparations to explore the rest of the new world, ex-convict Hawk Thompson discovers more about the hjadd than anyone has learned before, and his knowledge will change human history. (Amazon)
The warded man, Peter V. Brett. (2009)
As darkness falls each night, the corelings rise-demons who well up from the ground like hellish steam, taking on fearsome form and substance. They are Sand demons, Wood demons, Wind demons, Flame demons, and gigantic rock demons, the deadliest of all. They possess supernatural strength and powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards-symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and mystery, and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. (Amazon)
The last paladin, by Kathleen Bryan. (2009)
Averil, now queen of Lys, returns to claim her throne and heal the land. Though the king who sought to free the chaos-bringing Serpent is dead, the soulless armies he raised still roam. Averil must seek the sorcerer who commands them and assert her authority as even her most loyal defenders seek to keep her far from the action. (Amazon)
The alchemist's pursuit, Dave Duncan. (2009)
Hampered by arthritis, Nostradamus is in no mood for granting favours or running about looking for trouble. But when his apprentice Alfeo's mistress asks him to investigate the murder of her beloved courtesan mentor, and promises a fortune in payment, decides to help. It appears that someone is murdering the courtesans of Venice. All were well-known, admired for their skills, and somehow connected by a sinister event involving one of the great families of the city. While Nostradamus attempts to use the dark arts to solve riddles which confound explanation, Alfeo finds he is being led by a possibly demonic force through a maze of deceit and death. (Amazon)
Black blood, John Meaney. (2009)
Newly zombified police lieutenant Donal Riordan is determined to find the man responsible for his death. But to find his own murderer, Donal must penetrate a secret organization known as the Black Circle, whose fiendish mission appears to be taking over the city Donal calls home (and this could be merely the first step in a far more demonic plot). (Amazon)
The revolution business, Charles Stross. (2009)
Things are going badly for the Clan, who are locked in a vicious civil war for control over the kingdom of Niejwein, their army is bottled up inside a fortress under siege in two parallel universes at once. Duke Angbard, the Clan's leader, has been laid low by a stroke: plotters are already conspiring in readiness for his death. Miriam, rescued from a tight spot in New Britain, finds the hopes of the young, progressive faction focused on her. But do they want her as a leader or a figurehead? She soon finds herself thrown into a desperate struggle for power. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Clan, researchers working for the US government have achieved a technological breakthrough. The War on Terror is about to go Trans dimensional. (Amazon)
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