Spontaneous ∂erivation

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Charles de Lint is in my “’nuff said” category. A supernatural love story that crosses the realm of the living and the dead, and oh heck, it’s Charles de Lint.¹

A few more of his works have been making it into the Kindle store.

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31 stories from one of the masters of SF/F! Gene Wolfe is also in my “’nuff said” bin. Problem though: the table of contents is not marked as such, so it doesn’t show up in the Kindle menu; and also no chapter navigation. Sigh.

The stories include: “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”² , “The Toy Theater”, “The Fifth Head of Cerberus”³, “Beech Hill”, “The Recording”, “Hour of Trust”, “The Death of Dr. Island”, “La Befana”, “Forlesen”, “Westwind”, “The Hero as Werwolf”, “The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton”, “Straw”, “The Eyeflash Miracles”, “Seven American Nights”, “The Detective of Dreams”, “Kevin Malone”, “The God and His Man”, “On the Train”, “From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton”, “Death of the Island Doctor”⁴, “Redbeard”, “The Boy Who Hooked the Sun”, “Parkroads—a Review”, “Game in the Pope’s Head”, “And When They Appear”, “Bed and Breakfast”, “Petting Zoo”, “The Tree is My Hat”, “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?”, “A Cabin on the Coast”.

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A pathologist accidentally reanimates the corpose of Baron Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski, and is killed for her trouble. He’s not just a vampire, he’s also a racist vampire. In Memphis.

He has adventures.

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Publisher’s Weekly says: “Bova’s cautionary medical thriller, the uncut version of his 1996 novel Brothers, explores the political, social and religious ramifications of what could be humankind’s greatest medical breakthrough—organ regeneration.”

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The sequel to An Unexpected Apprentice (not yet available for Kindle), Tildi Summerbee begins to understand how powerful the Great Book she now possesses is, and also how badly some people want it.

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The final book in the YA high fantasy Stoneways Trilogy, which began with Reiffen’s Choice and Queen Ferris (both available in the Kindle store as well).

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Intergalactic space drama done by the master of intergalactic space drama, and the second book of the very loosely connected Galactic Empires series. The Stars, Like Dust is also available on the Kindle, while Pebble in the Sky is not.

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“Mortal peril is a total turn-on.”

I declare Buffyversification here.

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Forced into a demon-killing job by the bureaucracy of Heaven, Evangeline must survive in her new world. And her lovers are Cain and Abel, because obviously there is not enough drama in her life already.

The first book in the new urban fantasy Marked series.

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The sequel to Postsingular (not yet available for the Kindle), it’s Rudy Rucker so it’s goofy SF with a whirlwind of ideas, which is a nice change of pace from the usual Wasteland of the Future scenario. Even Publisher’s Weekly calls it “giddy”, but in a good way.

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The blurb on the back says: “What lies beneath the millions of orbiting nanotech satellites that shroud the world called Haze? Major Keir Roget’s mission is to make planetfall in secret, find out, and report back to his superiors in the Federation, the Chinese-dominated government that rules Earth and the colonized planets.”

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Cory Doctorow (!) wrote an Amazon review and, among other things, says, “The early jacket copy for Julian Comstock reads, in part, ‘If Jules Verne had read Karl Marx, then sat down to write The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, he still wouldn’t have matched the invention and exuberance of Robert Charles Wilson’s Julian Comstock.’ Damn right.”

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The third book in the Zoe Martinique series. Zoe can walk the dimensional planes, which is very useful, except that she’s lost it—and her mother’s soul is trapped on the Abysmal plane.

The first two books, Wraith and Spectre, are also available for the Kindle.

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The second and most recent book in the Hunter Kiss series featuring Maxine Kiss, whose living demonic tattoos give her the power to fight the demonic army that would take humankind.

The prequel novella to the series, Hunter Kiss, and the first book, Iron Hunt, are also available in the Kindle store.

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The third book in the Hidden Worlds trilogy, where machine A.I.s destroyed the Earth, leaving humanity as refugees scattered across multiple worlds.

The first book, Hidden Worlds, and the second, The Cold Minds, are also available in the Kindle store.

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The sequel to Gordath Wood, continuing the adventures of Lynn Romano and Kate Mossland after they were pulled from the real world into that of a medieval fantasy land in turmoil. Horses are so involved.

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A story of intrigue spread across the galactic level, in the world of “Thousandth Night” (a novella available in One Million, A.D., not yet available for the Kindle).

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From the writer of The Mists of Avalon comes a retelling of the fall of Troy through the eyes of unfortunate Kassandra, daughter of King Priam, and whose prophecies no one, unfortunately, believes.

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Another volume in the awesome Dresden Files series, all of which are available in the Kindle store.

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In an alternate Portland, OR, Allison Beckstrom is a Hound—someone who tracks illegal magic back to their casters. You can imagine how the casters feel about that.

This is the second book in the series; the first, Magic to the Bone, is also available in the Kindle store.

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Seattle investigator Harper Blaine becomes a walker of the grey between reality and the supernatural world, and sees an interesting change in her usual clientele.

This is the first book in the Greywalker series, finally available on the Kindle. The second (Poltergeist) isn’t, but the third (Underground) is, and the fourth (Vanished) is available for pre-order.

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From the writer whose debut novel was the excellent and unexpected Whitechapel Gods, comes another, entirely different story—this time Te, a paranormal investigator in training, is the only one who can stop her father’s murderer from releasing the monsters imprisoned across the town of St. Ives.

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Paleontology. The Great Old Ones. Their paths cross here.

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Part of the Noble Dead series, which has gradually been migrating to the Kindle.

The current status:

Series 1:

1. Dhampir, available July 7th
2. Thief of Lives, available July 7th
3. Sister of the Dead, not yet available
4. Traitor to the Blood, available now
5. Rebel Fay, available now
6. Child of a Dead God, available now

Series 2:

1. In Shadow and Shadow, available now
2. Through Stone and Sea, not yet available

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The first in a trilogy, revolving around the intrigue between two factions in a cursed city: the Darkborn, blind and who can’t survive in the light, and the Lightborn, who can’t survive without light.

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The third book involving paranormal secret agent Eddie Drood, in case you’re tired of the paranormal P.I’s. The other two books in the Secret Mysteries series, The Man with the Golden Torc and Daemons are Forever, are also available for the Kindle.

Green is also famous for his Nightside series, almost all of which are also in the Kindle store.

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The third book in the Crosspointe series, which can be summed up as: everyone is at war now, and it’s all your fault, Ryland.

The first two books, The Cipher and The Black Ship, are also available on the Kindle.

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The second book in the Landover series.

The first book in the series, Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold! is currently available for free in the Kindle store.

The third book, Wizard at Large, is also available for the Kindle.

If you’re a fan of the Many Things of Shannara multi-series, you can find just about all of them in the Kindle store.

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The tragic history of the very short-lived Starshield series is here, and of the two only ever released, this is the second one.

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The most recent book in the science fiction series centered around the Well World. Its previous successor, The Sea is Full of Stars, is also available on the Kindle. The older books, however, are not.

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The first book in the Web Warriors series, a reprint from the early aughts. Think Netrunner.

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One of the classic Heinlein juveniles, gradually trekking their way into the Kindle store.

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On her 16th birthday, Anita discovers that she’s the long lost daughter of King Oberon, that her boyfriend is the servant of an evil Faerie lord, and that the Queen has vanished. Shakespearean plays are involved.¹

The first book in a series, followed up by The Lost Queen and Seventh Daughter, all now on the Kindle.

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Another YA book, this time a new volume in the much revered Chrestomanci series/world, which predated Harry Potter by several years. (And I very much loved Witch Week when I was younger.)

Most of the rest of the Chrestomanci series is now also present on the Kindle:

Charmed Life
The Lives of Christopher Chant
Witch Week
The Magicians of Caprona
Mixed Magics (short stories)

Conrad’s Fate is not yet on the Kindle, but it’s one of the more recent books.

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One of our not-YA books for this column.

From the writers who brought you the far-reaching fantasy-science-fiction epic The Death Gate Cycle comes a new epic fantasy series.

The new series also has a Facebook page compiling various links and news postings all in one spot.

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The Galahad is on a mission to recolonize a distant world after Earth is devastated by deadly particles from a passing comet. Its crew: 16 years old and under, due to the population imbalance left after the deadly comet. And while under way, a saboteur appears to be attempting to overthrow the mission and/or kill everybody, thus ending the human race.

Reminds me of a Heinlein YA book. This is also one of the first “Tor Teen” books I’ve seen in the Kindle store, which is excellent.

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Bathory Academy, a New York school for elite vampire girls from established upper-class vampire families, brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “bad girls.”

“What vampires aren’t upper-class?” you may wonder. Well, there’s the New Blood, such as Cally Monture from the bad side of town, and she’s not going to receive such a happy reception from the bad girlz of Bathory.

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Kimi and Hana are fine young ladies of Japan. Not about to become warriors or samurai.

That all changes when their family is brutally torn apart and trampled by betrayal, and Kimi and Hana are determined to seek revenge, a la Hua Mulan.

The second book, Chasing the Secret, is also available for the Kindle.

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(Not YA.)

Magic runs in the streets of Boston, and Evie knows how to tap into that magic, find things, even find people. She’s let this power rest (being psychic or just as good as in fiction is almost never a prospect for sanity or happiness), until a lover from her past returns to stalk her.

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(Not YA.)

Instead of vampires, now it’s the sons and daughters of the Greek gods of dreams and nightmares, the Oneroi, warriors who battle demons to keep the sleeping lives of humans and immortals alike safe. The Dream-Hunters.

The previous books in this series are also available on the Kindle, including:

1. The Dream-Hunter
2. Upon the Midnight Clear
3. Dream Chaser

You probably know Kenyon from her long-running Dark-Hunter series, one of best-selling series in the paranormal romance genre, of which the Dream-Hunter world is a subset. All of Dark-Hunter is now in the Kindle store.

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Not YA.

Also the cover watches you sleep all alone in the night.

Remember the psychic-is-never-happy rule? Yes. Also, there’s romance. Much romance. Much government conspiracy. Also, much romance.

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There is nothing like a girl and her bat-winged black steed of night. Really; it sounds like an enjoyable and down-to-earth version of Dragonriders without the SF elements. Third in the Horsemistress saga, and the sequel to Airs and Graces.

The first book in the series, Airs Beneath the Moon, is not yet available on the Kindle.

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I know Greg Keyes from his tie-in novel trilogy, Babylon 5: The Psi Corps Trilogy. If, like me, you have fond memories of his storytelling, try his Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series, all of which are now on the Kindle:

1. The Briar King (there’s also another version from Ballantine for $3.99; I don’t know what the difference between the two are, but the other one lists the 105 reviews and a 4.5 star cumulative rating)
2. The Charnel Prince
3. The Blood Knight
4. The Born Queen

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As mentioned in the previous New on Kindle, the Frog and Toad series is mostly available now on the Kindle for the nostalgic among us.

Frog and Toad:

1. Frog and Toad are Friends (December 30th)
2. Frog and Toad Together (not yet available)
3. Frog and Toad All Year
4. Days with Frog and Toad (December 30th)

Small Pig is also available now.

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Not just a curious urban fantasy featuring a pair of witches (Ophelia, librarian and psychic, and her grandmother Abby) who solve small town cozy mysteries, but also a series where the first book, Witch Way to Murder, won the Agatha Award for best first novel.

The series, now available on the Kindle, save for one book:

1. Witch Way to Murder
2. Charmed to Death
3. The Trouble with Witches
4. Witch Hunt
5. The Witch is Dead (not yet on Kindle)
6. The Witch’s Grave

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Book 3 in the Night Huntress urban fantasy series, featuring a half-vampire hired by the government to hunt down other undead, which is probably not winning her friends from the vampire side. The rest of the series is also available on the Kindle:

1. Halfway to the Grave
2. One Foot in the Grave
3. At Grave’s End

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The beginning of another epic fantasy series by the writer of the Quickening and Percheron trilogies, featuring a prince who must reclaim the throne of his family after a merciless warlord destroys them.

Her other books available on the Kindle:

Quickening Trilogy

1. Myrren’s Gift
2. Blood and Memory
3. Bridge of Souls

Percheron Trilogy

1. Odalisque
2. Emissary
3. Goddess

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The movie adaptation of Beowulf left quite a few people going what., but at the same time it was quite an interesting retelling of the story. Here’s the initial draft and the final shooting script.

By the way, if you’re looking for a translation of the original Beowulf, there are many. Here’s a rundown of the differences between each. As always, the first footsteps of translation (and available for free on the internet) are stilted, but more recent translations read (and, in the important case of Beowulf, sound) more smoothly.

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Also mentioned in the previous New on Kindle, the Death Gate far-future SF/fantasy series is arriving on the Kindle; the first book, Dragon Wing, is now here.

The series as currently available on the Kindle:

• 1. Dragon Wing
• 2. Elven Star
• 3. Fire Sea
• 4. Serpent Mage (not yet on the Kindle)
• 5. The Hand of Chaos (not yet on the Kindle)
• 6. Into the Labyrinth
• 7. The Seventh Gate

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The third book in the Errand of Fury trilogy, the war between the Federation and the Klingons is reaching the boiling point. Ever wonder why the Klingons and the Federation decided not to kill each other?

Kevin Ryan is famous for showing other perspectives in Star Trek apart from the obvious stars, in this case including the Klingon side. The other books in this trilogy, Seeds of Rage and Demands of Honor, are also available on the Kindle.

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The first book in the Godless World series that debuted in 2007 with much success, its sequel Bloodheir is also on the Kindle.

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If you’ve played The Witcher you’re probably familiar with the lead character, but what you probably won’t be familiar with is the twisted way he works in the Grimm fairy tales into the story of Last Wish.

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The Death Gate Cycle is a post-nuclear war fantasy that takes place in the far future; think of it as Tolkien’s Middle Earth taken into another direction and on another plane. This series is seven books long, and started with Dragon Wing which is… not yet on the Kindle.

The full series:

• 1. Dragon Wing (not yet on the Kindle)
• 2. Elven Star
• 3. Fire Sea
• 4. Serpent Mage (not yet on the Kindle)
• 5. The Hand of Chaos (not yet on the Kindle)
• 6. Into the Labyrinth
• 7. The Seventh Gate

Presumably the others will show up at some point.

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I know Williams from her distinctive Inspector Chen series; truth is, her writing has always had the distinct touch of fantasy wrought with science fiction, coupled with wonderful writing. Think Ursula K. Le Guin.

The Poison Master predates Inspector Chen by a few years, wherein Alivet Dee (descendent of alchemist John Dee) tries to save her twin from slavery in the hands of the Lords of Night, visiting multiple planets during her quest.

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Illustrated by Mike Mignola, whom you may know from the gothic horror comic Hellboy. Christopher Golden has written Hellboy novels before (such as The Dragon Pool), but this isn’t one of them. Instead, it’s an original novel with more than a little bit of Hellboy flavor, with the mix of 20th century warfare (WWI in this case, WWII in that of Mignola’s world) and the supernatural—specifically, vampires.

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In this sequel to Maximum Ice, Bailey Shaw needs recover the genetic diversity of an entire world ecosystem after most of it was killed by a global disaster. The world? It happens to be Earth. The solution lies on another Earth-like planet, but with a rather un-human like species….

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A disillusioned priest, a foolish beauty, and an abused prophet (who happens to be a human dwarf) make their way across an elegantly drawn fantasy world, carrying The Eye of Night, which may end the world or save it.

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Part of a long (over 14 books and counting) series that occurs in the kingdom of Deverry, the Dragon Mage series is but a later subset. Currently only this and the latest in the series, The Shadow Isle, are available on the Kindle.

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The second part of the duology Eliana’s Song, which began with Fires of the Faithful (not yet available on the Kindle) and ends with Turning the Storm: sixteen-year-old musician Eliana becomes the unlikely leader of a revolt against the Circle, mysterious and powerful mages who control the land.

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In a post-apocalyptic world where the population has been reduced to small and remote communities, it’s not a good idea to have a mental mutation not understood to be anything other than a danger that must be kept under strict control. For one thing, they can communicate with animals, as if beasts were intelligent. Elspeth is such an unfortunate—and she is sent to Obernewtyn, a mountain ward and prison.

All of the Obernewtyn chronicles are available on the Kindle:

• 1. Obernewtyn
• 2. The Farseekers
• 3. Ashling
• 4. The Keeping Place
• 5. Wavesong
• 6. The Stone Key

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The second book in the Promises of Dr. Sigmundus trilogy. In the future, every person over the age of 14 is regularly dosed with a mind-altering substance that removes all violent tendencies and, as these things tend to do, hollows them out personality-wise as well. Dante and Bea find themselves immune to the effect—and you know that’s just going to get them into trouble.

The previous book, The Hollow People, is also available on the Kindle.

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A series of children’s books involving a feisty and rambunctious 80-year-old grampa who gets involved in phenomenon at once supernatural and also somehow over-the-top normal. Also in this series:

• Grampa’s Zombie BBQ
• Monster Fish Frenzy
• Super Soccer Freak Show
• Night of the Living Eggnog
• Curse of the Kitty Litter

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Vasco is a rat—just a regular rat. When his entire family dies, he discovers a conspiracy by the city humans to eliminate rats entirely, and decides to come up with a plan to save his people. Translated from the French series, Le peuple des rats.

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Part of the Keisha’ra series, five books that detail a saga involving the intrigue and conflict between races of animal shape-shifting peoples, such as the serpiente (snakes), the shm’Ahnmik (falcons), and others.

All of the books are now available on the Kindle:

1. Hawksong
2. Snakecharm
3. Falcondance
4. Wolfcry
5. Wyvernhail

By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel by F. Paul Wilson

Buy: 17.13

An urban mercenary who faces criminals, street gangs, ninjas, mystics, cultists, and supernatural beings. It’s just another day in the life of Repairman Jack, who runs amuck in his own series, which includes many books cheaper than $17.13, including

• Harbingers $7.99
• Infernal $7.19
• Gateways $7.19
• The Haunted Air $7.99
• Hosts $6.39

And finally, there’s also a young-adult spinoff with a teenage Repairman Jack, first of a three-part series: Jack: Secret Histories.

Also, repairmanjack.com is available for all your Repairman Jack needs. Or feeding thereof.

The story “The Long Way Home” is available as an Amazon short for less than $0.50.

Swallowing Darkness: A Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Buy: 9.99

Laurell K. Hamilton does faeries. Yes. This is either thrilling you or horrifying you.

Gears of War: Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss

Buy: 8.00

The first tie-in novel for the hit game Gears of War, exploring the history, friendship, and tribulations of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Oh, and lots of battle scenes. This is Gears of War.

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard by Robert E. Howard

Buy: 8.00

Classics from the master of horror that both Lovecraft and Stephen King respect. (“For stark, living fear… what other writer is even in the running?” Lovecraft supposedly said.) Includes stories like “Pigeons from Hell”, “Black Canaan”, “Worms of the Earth”, and more.

Night Secrets by Cherry Adair

Buy: 5.59

The sequel to the paranormal romance Night Fall, also available on the Kindle.

Quofum by Alan Dean Foster

Buy: 9.99

Part of the Humanx Commonwealth far-future political-intrigue-with-aliens series, world-building that spans an enormous number of books.

The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford

Buy: 9.59

A collection of short surreal stories themed around drowning (or being overwhelmed), starting with a city of the drowned and a father who wishes to return to the surface to fulfill a promise made to his son, and moving through 16 very different and evocative SF/Fantasy tales.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Buy: 3.95

The entire classic Narnia series is now available for the Kindle for extremely low prices (down to $1.95 for The Last Battle), including:

• The Magician’s Nephew
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Horse and His Boy
• Prince Caspian
• The Silver Chair
• The Last Battle

All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

Buy: 5.59

If only I weren’t completely burned out on vampires, because her How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire was a fun and brilliant sparkle in the drudgery that can be the paranormal romance pool. This looks to be more of the same.

For all you folks who are still looking for romantic comedies done up in Christmas and vampires, this is totally your book.

Fallen Angel by Margaret Weis And Lizz Weis

Buy: 5.59

An angel without faith. An innocent but feisty woman who persuades him to join a rock band she manages. A rock star in league with the devil and who wants to bring the world to an end. It’s paranormal romance with angels, and with a male lead.

Galactic Corps by Ian Douglas

Buy: 6.39

Military science fiction, second book in the Inheritance series (which starts out with Star Strike). As one reviewer puts it, “In which our heroes go to the center of the galaxy, see new and interesting enemies, and blow things up.”

Dead Reign by Tim Pratt

Buy: 5.59

Featured at John Scalzi’s Whatever Big Idea series, and a particularly entertaining one. You can also read a short story featuring the main character, Marla Mason, for free: “Pale Dog”. Also, she apparently twitters.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Buy: 9.99

The first book in a series. A girl marked from birth as a warrior, bestowed with the Grace—of a kind that lets her kill efficiently. A romance and a fantasy, featuring a strong main character who must reach beyond her isolation and come to terms with her power.

This book has garnered numerous positive reviews on the Amazon Vine program (high-ranking reviewers are invited to join this group that receives free advanced reading copies to review early). Quite a lot of them, actually.

Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks

Buy: 6.39

The second in the Night Angel fantasy trilogy (which started with The Way of Shadows). An orphan boy grows up as an assassin trained in the Way of Shadows, but rejects his upbringing and attempts to start his life afresh. You know what that means: trouble.