News
A Review: Faith
“My last “what should I read next” poll had a clear winner with Throne of the Crescent Moon, which has already been receiving high marks (I liked it as well, but that comes later). Being a bit of a contrarian I wanted to also pay some service to the low-runner in the poll: Faith by John Love. Why was it the low-runner? I suspect it has to do with the book being Sci-Fi while most of the others were Fantasy of one stripe or another. Fantasy still trumps Sci-Fi in terms of fandom, in the US at least, but it really shouldn’t especially with something as special and different as John Love’s debut Faith.
Faith isn’t about the Science, but there are some intriguing ideas here in that regard. It is a smart, thoughtful exploration of humanity and how far obsessions can take us. So the back story. A few centuries ago a mysterious ship nicknamed “Faith” attacked the space faring Sakhran Empire (vaguely lizard-like humanoids) causing their society to pull back technologically. No one knows what Faith is exactly. Is it even like a normal ship with a crew or some kind of space-born creature? That mystery alone pulled me in and gave off a very strong Star Trek vibe. Faith is what you might get if Joe Abercrombie turned his dark skills to Science Fiction after reading a few Robert J. Sawyer novels and seeing a few too many Q episodes of Star Trek. This isn’t a hard Sci-Fi read by any stretch, but that should help pull in the more fringe readers who fear something too technical and just want a totally enthralling story.
Presently, humanity has expanded into space and created the Commonwealth along with a few other races including the Sakhrans. Faith has returned. She is hostile and no one knows how to defeat her, but there is a chance. A slim chance that the Commonwealth’s latest Outsider class vessel captained by Aaron Foord. Outsider ships are crewed by brilliant yet deeply flawed people that hope to match and possibly defeat the almost mythological Faith. Each Outsider ship is christened with a name to remind those aboard of what they are. Charles Manson is the name of the vessel charged with stopping Faith at all costs. That name alone should give a good idea of who the people are that man the Manson. This isn’t a crew of do-gooders, but they are damn good at what they do.
Faith is a challenging read that attacks preconceptions of what is right. Love also reminds us what a lonely and cramped place space can be especially given the submarine-like atmosphere of the Manson and the isolation that most of its crew crave. Faith herself becomes the most endearing character as I winced at each battle scar she earned.” Read the full awesome review of John Love’s debut novel at The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf.
Locus 2011 Recommended Reading List
12 NSB books make the Locus 2011 Recommended Reading List! We’re immensely proud that 4 of our New Voices were included in the First Novels section, Of Blood and Honey, God’s War, Seed and Soft Apocalypse all made the cut. Once you’ve read these you should check out the second novels from these awesome authors–Kameron Hurley followed the Kitschie Award nominated God’s War with book 2 in the Belle Dam Apocrypha, Infidel. On February 7th Will McIntosh returns with the fantastic Hitchers, and in March Stina Leicht releases And Blue Skies from Pain, the wonderful follow up to Of Blood and Honey.
A Review: Alien Contact
“An anthology is a bit like a buffet. You’ll find dishes you’re familiar with, those you usually avoid and lurking in between, the dodgy, odd looking stuff you’re not willing to try, but do anyway and either discover a new favourite or spend the rest of the night nursing a rebellious tummy.
With its impressive list of authors, ‘Alien Contact’ looked very appetising. Odd stuff would lurk in the corners, no doubt, but the appeal of such well-known names as Stephen Baxter, Orson Scott Card, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Moon, Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick and Harry Turtledove was enough to nudge aside any doubt regarding complete literary satisfaction.
I’ve listed ten authors as printed on the cover. ‘Alien Contact’ contains twenty-six stories. In short, editor Marty Halpern has gathered an awesome collection of stories and as soon as I’ve finished writing my review, I’ll actually place an order for a print copy of this one to put on my shelf. I have no doubt I’ll be re-reading it.” Read more at SF Crowsnest.
A Review: Never Knew Another
Black Gate gives an awesome and thorough review of Never Knew Another, “J.M. McDermott’s third book, Never Knew Another, is a secondary-world fantasy tale told in a sparse yet elegant style, about hunters seeking dangerous magical prey — and also about two people drawing closer to each other without knowing it, despite having to hide their true natures from the world around them. Perspectives nest one inside another; the book’s always clear, but leaves much meaningfully unsaid, and effortlessly holds the voices of its characters in a delicate balance, allowing them to contrast with each other without any given one being overwhelmed. It’s a remarkable accomplishment, and a strong, unconventional beginning to a promising trilogy.” Read more.
Recent Releases
Faith by John Love
Moby Dick meets Duel in John Love’s debut novel of Space Opera and Military Science Fiction! Faith is the name humanity has given to the unknown, seemingly invincible alien ship that has begun to harass the newly emergent Commonwealth. 300 years earlier, the same ship destroyed the Sakhran Empire, allowing the Commonwealth to expand its sphere of influence. But now Faith has returned! The ship is as devastating as before, and its attacks leave some Commonwealth solar systems in chaos. Eventually it reaches Sakhra, now an important Commonwealth possession, and it seems like history is about to repeat itself. But this time, something is waiting: an Outsider, one of the Commonwealth’s ultimate warships. Slender silver ships, full of functionality and crewed by people of unusual abilities, often sociopaths or psychopaths, Outsiders were conceived in back alleys, built and launched in secret, and commissioned without ceremony. One system away from earth, the Outsider ship Charles Manson makes a stand. Commander Foord waits with his crew of miscreants and sociopath, hoping to accomplish what no other human has been able to do — to destroy Faith!
Trade paperback
320 pages $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-59780-3-908
The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells
Moon, once a solitary wanderer, has become consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. Together, they travel with their people on a pair of flying ships in hopes of finding a new home for their colony. Moon finally feels like he’s found a tribe where he belongs.
But when the travelers reach the ancestral home of Indigo Cloud, shrouded within the trunk of a mountain-sized tree, they discover a blight infecting its core. Nearby they find the remains of the invaders who may be responsible, as well as evidence of a devastating theft. This discovery sends Moon and the hunters of Indigo Cloud on a quest for the heartstone of the tree–a quest that will lead them far away, across the Serpent Sea. . . .
In this followup to The Cloud Roads, Martha Wells returns with a world-spanning odyssey, a mystery that only provokes more questions–and the adventure of a lifetime.
Praise for The Cloud Roads:
“Wells…spins an exciting adventure around an alien hero who anyone can identify with.”–Publishers Weekly
“A starring light of the fantasy genre recaptures her mojo by going in a new direction.”–SF Signal
A Path to Coldness of Heart by Glen Cook
At long last, the conclusion to Glen Cook’s Dread Empire saga has arrived! King Bragi Ragnarson is a prisoner, shamed, nameless, and held captive by Lord Shih-kaa and the Empress Mist at the heart of the Dread Empire.
Far away in Kavelin, Bragia’s queen and what remains of his army seek to find and free their king, hampered by the loss or desertion of their best and brightest warriors. Kavelina’s spymaster, Michael Trebilcock, is missing in action, as is loyal soldier Aral Dantice. Meanwhile, Dane, Duke of Greyfells, seeks to seize the rule of Kavelin and place the kingdom in his pocket, beginning a new line of succession through Bragia’s queen, Dane’s cousin Inger. And in the highest peaks of the Dragona’s Teeth, in the ancient castle Fangdred, the sorcerer called Varthlokkur uses his arts to spy on the world at large, observing the puppet strings that control kings and empires alike, waiting… For the time of the wrath of kings is almost at hand, and vengeance lies along a path to coldness of heart.
Hardcover 978-1-59780-329-8
320 Pages $24.99
Dancing With Bears by Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick — The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy award-wining author of Stations Of The Tide — delivers a stunning “Post Utopian” novel of swashbuckling adventure, dangerous women, and genocidal AIs.
Dancing with Bears follows the adventures of notorious con-men Darger and Surplus: They’ve lied and cheated their way onto the caravan that is delivering a priceless gift from the Caliph of Baghdad to the Duke of Muscovy. The only thing harder than the journey to Muscovy is their arrival in Muscovy. An audience with the Duke seems impossible to obtain, and Darger and Surplus quickly become entangled in a morass of deceit and revolution.
The only thing more dangerous than the convoluted political web surrounding Darger and Surplus is the gift itself, the Pearls of Byzantium, and Zoesophia, the governess sworn to protect their virtue.
This steam punk-esque adventure explores the great game of espionage and empire building, from the point of view of the worlds most accomplished con-men, Darger and Surplus.
The Emperor’s Knife by Mazarkis Williams
There is a cancer at the heart of the mighty Cerani Empire: a plague that attacks young and old, rich and poor alike. Geometric patterns spread across the skin, until you die in agony, or become a Carrier, doing the bidding of an evil intelligence, the Pattern Master. Anyone showing the tell-tale marks is put to death; that is Emperor Beyon’s law…but now the pattern is running over the Emperor’s own arms.
His body servants have been executed, he ignores his wives, but he is doomed, for soon the pattern will reach his face. While Beyon’s agents scour the land for a cure, Sarmin, the Emperor’s only surviving brother, awaits his bride, Mesema, a windreader from the northern plains. Unused to the Imperial Court’s stifling protocols and deadly intrigues, Mesema has no one to turn to but an ageing imperial assassin, the Emperor’s Knife.
As long-planned conspiracies boil over into open violence, the invincible Pattern Master appears from the deep desert. Now only three people stand in his way: a lost prince, a world-weary killer, and a young girl from the steppes who saw a path in a pattern once, among the waving grasses – a path that just might save them all.
Hardcover
978-1-59780-384-7
300 Pages $24.99
Selected Stories of Fritz Leiber by Fritz Leiber
Now in Trade Paperback!
“I learned how to play the game of literature–a game of power and precision and elegance–from reading Fritz Leiber, but it was a lesson I learned in fits, chasing his stories across scattershot anthologies. What a blessing and a pleasure that we can all now be schooled, easily and everlastingly, by this marvelous collection.”
– Michael Chabon
“He was one of the giants of genre literature and it is hard to imagine the world of tales we read today being the same without him…. Fritz Leiber’s better short stories do the thing a fine whisky does… they leave aftertastes in memory, an emotional residue and resonance that remains long after the final page has been turned.”
– Neil Gaiman
“For anyone who loves great literature, Fritz Leiber walked on water.”
– Harlan Ellison
Known in his lifetime primarily to readers of science fiction and fantasy, Fritz Leiber is now recognized as one of the finest writers of popular fiction of the twentieth century. An intimate of H. P. Lovecraft, Leiber crafted the twentieth century’s first great stories of urban horror, created the sword and sorcery tale almost single-handedly, and wrote strong, resonant science fiction. Nothing less than a visionary American author, Leiber is considered by critics and fans alike to be one of our most original and versatile storytellers.
The seventeen tales selected for this volume showcase Leiber’s virtuoso range and unforgettable characters: from the fabled, decadent streets of god-haunted Lankhmar to the eerie underworld of a Martian gambling hall; from a sunless, frozen Earth to the shattered, bombed, and violent wreckage of a post-atomic New York, and beyond. Edited by master
anthologist Jonathan Strahan and Locus magazine founder Charles N. Brown, Fritz Leiber: Selected Stories presents a wide sampling of his best short fiction so that a new generation of twenty-first century readers can continue to discover and enjoy his groundbreaking and memorable fiction.
Contents:
Introduction by Neil Gaiman
Smoke Ghost
The Girl with the Hungry Eyes
Coming Attraction
A Pail of Air
A Deskful of Girls
Space Time for Springers
Ill Met in Lankhmar
Four Ghosts in Hamlet
Gonna Roll the Bones
The Inner Circles (aka The Winter Flies)
America the Beautiful
Bazaar of the Bizarre
Midnight by the Morphy Watch
Belsen Express
Catch That Zeppelin!
Horrible Imaginings
The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars
Bio:
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (1910-1992) was an American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. The son of a pair of Shakespearian actors, Leiber was also an actor, expert chess player, and champion fencer. Born in Chicago in 1910, Leiber spent his youth touring with his parents’ theater company. He graduated with honors in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1932. Leiber married Jonquil Stephens in 1936. In 1938, their son Justin was born. After Jonquil’s death in 1969, Fritz Leiber moved to San Francisco, where he died on September 5, 1992.
Leiber’s formative sword-and-sorcery story, “Two Sought Adventure,” was published in Unknown magazine in 1939. Subsequent stories and novels would appear in such magazines as Astounding, Dangerous Visions, Fantastic, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Galaxy, Other Worlds, Star Science Fiction Stories, and Weird Tales. A number of Leiber’s works have been adapted for film or television.
In addition to multiple Hugo, Nebula, Derleth, Lovecraft, and World Fantasy Awards, Fritz Leiber received the Grand Master of Fantasy (Gandalf) Award in 1975, World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1976, the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and the Grand Master Nebula Award in 1981.
Email updates
RSS Feeds
You can keep up-to-date on all Night Shade Books updates by subscribing to our RSS feeds:
Copyright © 2012 Night Shade Books.
