Tag Archive: piers anthony

New on Kindle: Major Catchup Part 2

Caught in the Web: Dreaming Up the World of Spider-Man 2 by Mark Vaz

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Marked optimized for Kindle DX, due to plenty of pictures and complicated layouts (like all good Making Of books do).

In fact, now that the DX is around, books like this have a lot more play in the field. As well as your typical textbook.

The Shadows of God by J. Gregory Keyes

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The Age of Unreason series is now completely present in the Kindle store. It took a few months, and apparently either some righteous and painful scanning or some digging through files to re-discover PDFs and reformat… but now they’re all here.

  1. Newton’s Cannon
  2. A Calculus of Angels
  3. Empire of Unreason
  4. The Shadows of God

Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia by Mike Resnick

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A collection of every single Kirinyaga story, sequenced into an overall narrative. An SF utopia classic, based on the cultures of Africa.

Parallelities by Alan Dean Foster

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The most relevant bit of the blurb, I think: “… everything changed in an instant when inventor Barrington Boles succeeded in making Max the human gate to numerous parallelities.”

The Poisoned Crown by Amanda Hemingway

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The last book in the Sangreal Trilogy, a science fiction fantasy about a boy who discovers a dreaming gateway into Eos, complete with grails and princesses and things. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the bad guys aren’t also in his waking world.

Its sister books, The Greenstone Grail and The Sword of Straw, are also available in the Kindle store.

Blue Adept by Piers Anthony

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The second book in the Apprentice Adept SF/fantasy series, which goes on for seven more books. None of the others are available yet for the Kindle.

Dark Angel: The Eyes Only Dossier by D.A. Stern

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The Dark Angel TV series (cyber/bio/etc-punk) died an early death, but lives on in books like The Eyes Only Dossier. Although it’s optimized for Kindle DX, the experience isn’t particularly downgraded for regular Kindles (although obviously pictures of the well-done police reports and evidence photos are much smaller).

You can also buy both seasons on DVD these days.

And the Dark Angel trilogy (expanding upon the TV series) are also available for the Kindle:

  1. Dark Angel: Before Dawn
  2. Dark Angel: Skin Game
  3. Dark Angel: After the Dark

Someone really loved this series.

The Hidden City by Michelle West

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The beginning of a sequel series to The Sun Sword.

The Sun Sword sextet itself is recommended on the Song of Ice and Fire message boards for lovers of George R.R. Martin’s indomitable series, but none of the Sun Sword books (much less its preceding duology) are yet available for the Kindle.

Ages of Wonder by Julie E. Czerneda

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An anthology of nineteen fantasy stories divided into different history ages (Age of Antiquity, Age of Sails, Colonial Age, Age of Pioneers, Pre-Modern Age, Age Ahead).

Stories by Rob St. Martin, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Caitlin Sweet, Urania Fung, Karina Sumner-Smith, Natalie Millman, Ika Vanderkoeck, Brad Carson, Jana Paniccia, Ceri Young, Liz Holliday, Sandra Tayler, Kristen Bonn, Linda A.B. Davis, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Jennifer Crow, Tony Pi, Queenie Tirone, K.J. Gould, and Costi Gurgu.

Prophets by S. Andrew Swann

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The first book in Swann’s new Hostile Takeover Trilogy, featuring a Terran Confederacy that implodes, human refugees founding a group of colonies, and mysterious emissions from space, which are almost never a good thing.

A Magic of Nightfall by S. L. Farrell

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The second book in the Nessantico Cycle, another epic fantasy empire world-building series. Another recommendation for George R.R. Martin fans, from the man himself (!).

The first book, A Magic of Twilight, is also available on the Kindle.

Other Earths by Nick Gevers

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An anthology of eleven alternate history stories, featuring the talents of Robert Charles Wilson, Jeff VanderMeer, Stephen Baxter, Theodora Goss, Liz Williams, Gene Wolfe, Greg van Eekhout, Alstair Reynolds, Paul Park, Lucius Shephard, and Benjamin Rosenbaum.

Terra Insegura by Edward Willett

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The sequel to Marseguro (also available in the Kindle store), where a far-future Dr. Moreau type flees with his created race of genetically modified humans—Selkies, adapted to water environments—to the water world of Marseguro.

He was followed, of course.

Inda by Sherwood Smith

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The first book in the series Inda’s Story, which is specifically not a YA work.

The three existing books are all available in the Kindle Store, for a change:

  1. Inda
  2. The Fox
  3. The King’s Shield

A fourth book, Treason’s Shore is forthcoming in August 2009.

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

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A new urban fantasy (not involving investigators of any shape or form as main characters) featuring a young museum research assistant who inherits a mysterious shop from his grandmother.

The customers who show up are indeed something else entirely.

Faery Moon by P.R. Frost

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Another urban fantasy setting with an unusual premis: the world of fantasy and reality collied for a fantasy author.

The previous books in this series include Moon in the Mirror and Hounding the Moon.

Swordplay by Denise Little

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Seventeen stories involving swordplay across the world.

From the pens of Kristine Kathyryn Rusch, Mike Moscoe, Allan Rouselle, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Phaedra M. Weldon, Peter Orullian, David H. Hendrickson, Gail Selinger, Terry Hayman, Dan C. Duval, Laura Resnik, Loren L. Coleman, John Alvin Pitts, Janna Silvertein, Annie Reed, J. Steven York, Jean Rabe.

New on Kindle: December 21st – 26th

There is a considerable trend of finishing series out in the Kindle here (often with the releases of older parts of the series).

One thing about electronic books—the backlist now has a very long secondary life, because ebooks do not go stale, do not take up physical warehouse space, and do not need to be re-printed. (And if you want to correct something, it’s not like you have to pulp entire runs to do so.)

With a Tangled Skein by Piers Anthony

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Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series is finally making it onto the Kindle, following just about every single Xanth book in existence.1 The rest of the series (in particular, On a Pale Horse) are not yet available, but we’ll be watching.

Waking Up Screaming by H.P. Lovecraft

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Yet Another H.P. Lovecraft Collection With a Title So Unsubtle He Would Be Rolling Over in His Grave Right Now and Yeah You Better Watch Out, Anthology Editor.

Although his dialogue was rather terrible, even as his sense of gripping terror was compelling, so I guess pot, kettle, green-spotted-luminous-tentacled-folds.

Stories include: “Cool Air”, “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, “The Terrible Old Man”, “Herbert West–Reanimator”, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”, “The Lurking Fear”, “The Hound”, “The Outsider”, “The Unnamable”, “From Beyond”, “Arthur Jermyn”, and others.

If you get this plus the first volume, Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macbre: The Best of H.P. Lovecraft, you’ll have a fairly full complement of his short story work. And yes, none of the stories are duplicated.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

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Douglas Adams’ classic Hitchhiker’s Guide series is also coming to completion on the Kindle, with most of the series following by December 31st.

  1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (available now)
  2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (available now)
  3. Life, the Universe, and Everything (available now)
  4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (December 31st)
  5. Mostly Harmless (no date yet)
  6. And Another Thing… (to be written by Eoin Colfer, who pens the Artemis Fowl series)

The Salmon of Doubt, consisting of Adams’ essays and an incomplete Dirk Gently novel, is also available.

A Pip & Flinx Adventure: Sliding Scales by Alan Dean Foster

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The adventures of Flinx, a man born with an abnormal mind condition2 and a telepathic minidragon named Pip, and they have adventures in the far future in the Humanx Commonwealth worlds.

Other books involving this odd partnership:

  1. For Love of Mother—Not
  2. The Tar-Aiym Krang and Orphan Star 2-for-1 bundle
  3. The End of the Matter
  4. Flinx in Flux
  5. Mid-Flinx
  6. Reunion
  7. Flinx’s Folly
  8. Sliding Scales
  9. Running from the Deity
  10. Bloodhype
  11. Trouble Magnet
  12. Patrimony

How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove

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The first book in an alternate history saga of the United States, How Few Remain is a novel that begins with: What if the South won the war?—and goes on from there through Second Civil War between the now truly divided United States.

Also the 1998 Nebula Award winner for Best Novel.

It is followed herewith by:

  1. American Front (The Great War, Book 1)
  2. Walk in Hell (The Great War, Book 2)
  3. Breakthroughs (The Great War, Book 3)
  4. Blood and Iron (American Empire, Book 1)
  5. The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire, Book 2)
  6. The Victorious Opposition (American Empire, Book 3)
  7. Return Engagement (Settling Accounts, Book 1)
  8. Drive to the East (Settling Accounts, Book 2)
  9. The Grapple (Settling Accounts, Book 3)
  10. In at the Death (Settling ACcounts, Book 4)

Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton

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The second book in the Merry Gentry series, featuring private detective Meredith Gentry, who also happens to be a faerie princess. Love, sex, magic, supernatural, etc.—the usual red-hot Laurell K. Hamilton mix.

The series is now complete on the Kindle:

  1. A Kiss of Shadows
  2. A Caress of Twilight
  3. Seduced by Moonlight
  4. A Stroke of Midnight
  5. Mistral’s Kiss
  6. A Lick of Frost
  7. Swallowing Darkness

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel

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Yes, they are indeed bringing Frog and Toad, as well as the rest of Arnold Lobel’s classic charming children’s books, onto the Kindle.

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)

Also available is the exceedingly charming Owl at Home. There’s also Mouse Soup, and Uncle Elephant.

… this is going to be like The Velveteen Rabbit all over again. Well, it’s not like I’ll ever find my tattered, third-hand Frog and Toad paperbacks, ever lost in the space of time and… well, probably time.

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

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Featured over on John Scalzi’s The Big Idea, she talks about the theme of faerie lore and its collision with modern Central Park. This Young Adult book is under consideration for my January review pick for Tor.com.

You know, I’m very appreciative of The Big Idea series; otherwise trying to find books with more than a cover blurb is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, especially for new authors whose fans have not yet carved out a niche in Wikipedia.

The Treachery of Kings by Neal Barrett, Jr.

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Strongly resembling a mix of John Swift and Alice in Wonderland, this is the second book in the adventures of Lizard Maker Finn, his companion Letitia (a half-human/half-mouse experiment left over from older times), and Julia (his intelligent mechanical lizard). Finn must deliver a gift to a the King of Heldessia, which doesn’t like Finn’s home country. This, of course, doesn’t bode well.

The first book in this series, which apparently has no more, is The Prophecy Machine.

Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks

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Banks’ Culture series is just now being released to the Kindle, starting with the third book, Use of Weapons. The only other book in the Culture series currently available on the Kindle is the seventh book in this 8-book series, Look to Windward. His most recent and acclaimed novel in this series, Matter, is not yet available on the Kindle either.

This should be remedied near in the future, considering that Orbit is the publisher.

The Ocean of Years by Roger Macbride Allen

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The second book the the Chronicles of Solace trilogy, about the far-future art of terraforming and all the things that can go horribly, horribly wrong. The first book, The Depths of Time, is not yet available on the Kindle, but the third book, The Shores of Tomorrow, is.

Ghost Town by Joan Lowery Nixon

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Seven young adult Western stories that all take place in seven different ghost towns. By the talented journalist and fiction writer behind The Other Side of Dark.

Muddle Earth Paul Stewart, illus. by Chris Riddell

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A young adult parody of Lord of the Rings, where Joe, an ordinary boy, is pulled into the world of Muddle Earth by the wizard Randalf, who works for the Horned Baron and his wife Ingrid. Amusing parallels listed on Wikipedia.

  1. If you want to start with Xanth, the first two extremely good books, A Spell for Chameleon and The Source of Magic, are available as a 2-for-1 bundle. After that, keep going until the title puns become very bad, or until The Colour of Her Panties, whichever comes first. []
  2. These seem to lead to telepathy in both SF and fantasy novels, especially when you combine the two: see also the Obernewtyn series for a more recent take with a larger variety of animals, although none of them are minidragons. []

New on Kindle: More October 14th – 16th and Previously Also

Some late additions.

I’m happy to note that the rest of the Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy is now available on the Kindle, with the third available on the 14th and the other coming into being I don’t know when, because it’s difficult for me to keep track of the ever-growing backlists across 26 publishers/imprints in the Kindle store. I’m mentioning both with the rest of the updates.

Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Francis Slattery

Buy: 9.99

A near-future American dystopia where slavery has been revived —and now the Slick Six are going to save the nation from itself.

Two to the Fifth by Piers Anthony

Buy: 9.99

The umpteenth Xanth book. I’m surprised that Humfrey is still alive, and that there’s now a cyborg Shakespearian playwright, but the puns are definitely still there.

The Well of Ascension: Book Two of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Buy: 9.99

The second book of the Mistborn trilogy, which many people who partied on the now expired Tor.com Free eBooks Bonanza look forwards to. And we also have…

The Hero of Ages: Book Three of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Buy: 9.99

The third book of the Mistborn trilogy, newly arrived, get your hands on it and relish one of the best new high fantasy series.

I Just Ran Across This and It Amused Me (In a Good Way)
Young Adult

My Bonny Light Horseman: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, in Love and War by Louis A. Meyer

Buy: 9.99

Part of the Bloody Jack historical fiction series of a woman named Jacky Faber, riverboat pirate and master of disguise.

Other books in this series include Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West.

Non-Fiction Pick of Awesome

Death from the Skies! by Ph.D., Philip Plait

Buy: 9.99

From Science Fiction’s favorite astronomer over at Bad Astronomy, on the same day as the hardcover release. The Bad Astronomy book is also available for Kindle (and it’s quite enjoyable).

Special Boing Boing Mention

Remix by Lawrence Lessig

Buy: 13.88

Making art and commerce meet in the stormy seas of copyright and corporate interests. Launch party on October 29th!