Showing posts with label Lilith Saintcrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lilith Saintcrow. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

New Releases 8/19/14

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Hardcovers

The League of Seven by Alan Gratz

The League of Seven is the first book in an action-packed, steampunk series by the acclaimed author of Samurai Shortstop, Alan Gratz.

In an alternate 1875 America electricity is forbidden, Native Americans and Yankees are united, and eldritch evil lurks in the shadows. Young Archie Dent knows there really are monsters in the world. His parents are members of the Septemberist Society, whose job it is to protect humanity from hideous giants called the Mangleborn. Trapped in underground prisons for a thousand years, the giant monsters have been all but forgotten—but now they are rising again as the steam-driven America of 1875 rediscovers electricity, the lifeblood of the Mangleborn. When his parents and the rest of the Septemberists are brainwashed by one of the evil creatures, Archie must assemble a team of seven young heroes to save the world.

Paperbacks

The Clockwork Sky, Volume Two by Madeleine Rosca

The conclusion to this exciting all-ages steampunk manga Clockwork Sky!

Madeleine Rosca’s sharp-edged style perfectly matches her sharp-tongued lead character’s personality. Sally Peppers is the highly-curious, ambitious niece of steambot magnate Erasmus Croach, who has supplied Britain's factories with an apparently endless supply of near-perfect robot employees, displacing flesh-and-blood humans. Unemployed people have begun to demonstrate in the streets of London and more than one near-riot has been put down by Croach's latest and greatest invention, the steambot police-boy, Sky.

Sky is troubled by dreams where he, like Pinocchio, has become a “real boy.” Then he meets Sally, who has run away from home, and begins to learn of the poverty and hardships faced by these workers. Together, Sally and Sky venture into the tunnels beneath London in search of a missing child.

Sally has always been a bit of a tinkerer and quickly figures out the terrifying truth about her uncle's magnificent steambot factory. But it might be too late—Erasmus Croach has new steambots ready to deploy—and they are bigger and stronger than the heroic Sky. Can Sally’s wits and Sky’s pure heart save the day?

Coloring With Your Octopus: A Coloring Book For Domesticated Cephalopods by Brian Kesinger

A cinematically proportioned coloring book based on Brian Kesinger's popular picture book "Walking Your Octopus" which showcases the day-to-day adventures of independent girl-about-town Victoria Psismall and her pet land octopus Otto. Forty-eight ready-to-color illustrations humorously chronicle the duo's home life, travels and social adventures. The Victorian era characters and period-influenced design elements provide a visual spectacle that is as fun to look at as it is to color.

The Ripper Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

The enthralling conclusion to the Bannon and Clare trilogy from New York Times bestselling author, Lilith Saintcrow.

Sorcery. Treason. Madness. And, of course, murder most foul...

A shattering accident places Archibald Clare, mentath in the service of Britannia, in the care of Emma Bannon, sorceress Prime. Clare needs a measure of calm to repair his faculties of Logic and Reason. Without them, he is not his best. At all.

Unfortunately, calm and rest will not be found. There is a killer hiding in the sorcerous steam-hells of Londinium, murdering poor women of a certain reputation. A handful of frails murdered on cold autumn nights would make no difference...but the killings echo in the highest circles, and threaten to bring the Empire down in smoking ruins.

Once more Emma Bannon is pressed into service; once more Archibald Clare is determined to aid her. The secrets between these two old friends may give an ambitious sorcerer the means to bring down the Crown. And there is still no way to reliably find a hansom when one needs it most.

The game is afoot...

Sherlock Holmes: The Spirit Box by George Mann

Summer, 1915. As Zeppelins rain death upon the rooftops of London, eminent members of society begin to behave erratically: a Member of Parliament throws himself naked into the Thames after giving a pro-German speech to the House; a senior military advisor suggests surrender before feeding himself to a tiger at London Zoo; a famed suffragette suddenly renounces the women's liberation movement and throws herself under a train.

In desperation, an aged Mycroft Holmes sends to Sussex for the help of his brother, Sherlock.

Steampunk Fables by Rod Espinosa

Collects Steampunk Snow White, Steampunk Cinderella and Steampunk Red Riding Hood. Presenting a an instant classic from Rod Espinosa, creator of The Courageous Princess and Neotopia and Antarctic Press's own master of the new-age fairy tale. This collection of timeless tales has been galvanized and refueled to charge full steam ahead with a new angle on these familiar favorites!

To fans, authors and publishers...

Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Weekly Update #104

Editor's Note

Well guys the countdown has begun for the publication of my new short story "The Enchanted Bean" that can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale. This anthology is brought to you by the good folks at Echelon Press. You can current get electronic formats from Smashwords and Createspace, with Amazon and other retailers happening later this week.

All this week and into the month of June I will be sharing with you guest posts, interviews and reviews of the anthology. Starting this Wednesday, I will be interviewing the three other authors whose stories you can also find in Clockwork Tale. I hope you guys enjoy learning more about these wonderful authors.

And now the news...

Update: The Red Plague Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

Released last week was the second book in the Bannon and Clare series, The Red Plague Affair by Lilith Saintcrow. Here is the description from Amazon:
The service of Britannia is not for the faint of heart--or conscience... 
Emma Bannon, Sorceress Prime in service to Queen Victrix, has a mission: to find the doctor who has created a powerful new weapon. Her friend, the mentath Archibald Clare, is only too happy to help. It will distract him from pursuing his nemesis, and besides, Clare is not as young as he used to be. A spot of Miss Bannon's excellent hospitality and her diverting company may be just what he needs. 
Unfortunately, their quarry is a fanatic, and his poisonous discovery is just as dangerous to Britannia as to Her enemies. Now a single man has set Londinium ablaze, and Clare finds himself in the middle of distressing excitement, racing against time and theory to find a cure. Miss Bannon, of course, has troubles of her own, for the Queen's Consort Alberich is ill, and Her Majesty unhappy with Bannon's loyal service. And there is still no reliable way to find a hansom when one needs it most... 
The game is afoot. And the Red Plague rises. 
The fantastic follow-up to The Iron Wyrm Affair, set in an alternate Victorian world where magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head.
Reviews so far have been generally good. Falcata Times said the book was "well thought out, the characters are a sheer delight to be around and when backed with delightful dialogue, some fiendish twists alongside bringing some added light with characters of the time period all round makes this a book that is a sheer delight." Marleen at More Than a Reading Journal said "[t]his is more than just another intriguing mystery set in an alternate Victorian England; this is a well thought out tale in a fully realised world with characters that are as intriguing as they are relatable."

David Marshall at Thinking about books was slighty more critical saying "[t]his is an interesting book with an intriguing premise, but the author has made the strategic decision to focus on the narrative rather than the exploration of the ideas."

Have you read The Red Plague Affair? What did you think?

LoneStarcon Announcements

Couple of announcement from the good folks at LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon"), and home to the Sidewise Awards. First, they are pleased to announce the release of the 2013 Hugo Voter Packet, an electronic package of nominated works made available to voters by Hugo Award nominees and their publishers.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature, media, artists, and fans. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia, PA (Philcon II), and they have continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables annually for 60 years.

The 2012 Hugo Voter Packet is available to Supporting, Attending, Military, and Young Adult members of LoneStarCon 3, so as to inform them about the works under consideration before they vote. The packet will remain available for download by members until voting closes on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

Finally, LoneStarCon 3 has published Progress Report 4 (PR4). The progress report is available now for immediate download from the LoneStarCon 3 website, while the printed version will be posted to members in approximately one week's time. Members who are uncertain whether they have requested electronic or paper progress reports may check their status with the membership team by emailing registration at LoneStarCon3 dot org.

Progress Report 4 contains a number of important items for LoneStarCon 3 members. This includes the Hugo Award Final Ballot and the Site Selection Ballots for both the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) and the 2015 Worldcon. The Hugo Award Final Ballot process is open to all Adult, Military, Young Adult and Supporting members of LoneStarCon 3 who join by the voting deadline of Wednesday, July 31, 2013.

Progress Report 4 also includes articles and news from across the convention. This starts with new features on the Guests of Honor, Special Guests, and Toastmaster who will be at the heart of the convention. The Events, Exhibits, and Program Divisions have released new insights into their plans to make LoneStarCon 3 a truly memorable celebration of science fiction, while Member Services has confirmed the details of accessibility and childcare arrangements. Last, but by no means least, is a reminder that Worldcons are run entirely by volunteers. Working behind the scenes is a unique and rewarding experience, and LoneStarCon 3 invites willing fans to contribute a little of their time and energy to help make the convention a success.

Calender

May 31: Steampunkinetics Exhibition Reception at Northeast Arc at Lowell, MA.

June 1: Last showing of the steampunk version of Don Giovanni in Hagerstown, Maryland.

June 15: JayCon XIII, celebrating author Jay Lake's birthday, in Portland, Oregon, and the deadline for funding the The Ministry Initiative - Steampunk Role-Playing & Fiction on Kickstarter.

July 27: Jay Wake, the premortem wake for Jay Lake, a somewhat morbid, deeply irreverent, but joyous celebration of the life of Jay Lake, in Portland, Oregon.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Coming Soon! “In the Company of Thieves” by Kage Baker at SF Singal.
Counterfactual Architecture (From the Archives) by Gavriel Rosenfeld at The Counterfactual History Review.
Excerpt Thursday: Inceptio by Alison Morton at Unusual Historicals.
Harry Turtledove at Mike's Reading Blog.
I Think I Speak for the Entire Class When I Say "Holy Crap!" by Charles P. Pierce at Esquire.
Martian Sands e-book now available! by Lavie Tidhar.
Three Short Stories With Stranded Time Travellers by Jo Walton at Tor.com.

Book Reviews

Apacheria by Jake Page at Other Times.
Empire State by Adam Christopher at B&N Review.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings by SM Stirling at Third Point of Singularity.
Machina Mortis: Steampunk’d Tales of Terror edited by Ryan Miller at Andy Erupts.
W.A.R.P. Book One: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer at BC Books.

Comics

Husband and Wife Comic Book Creators Talk ‘Shadowbinders’; a Steampunk Young Adult Graphic Novel Series at PR Web.

Films

Concept art from the J.J. Abrams Superman movie that never was by Meredith Woerner at io9.
FORGOTTEN FILM: Iron Sky (2012) at Missions Unknown!
UK film student seeks steampunk props by Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing.

Games

If American McGee Doesn't Get Alice He'll Put Zombies In Oz by Adam Gauntlett at The Escapist.

Interviews

John Claude Bemis at Daily Tar Heel.
James P. Blaylock at Dread Central.
Ian Tregillis at #sffwrtcht.

Music

Tesla Coils to Unsettling Steampunk: The Music of Comicpalooza by Jef With One F at Houston Press.

Podcasts

Episode 24 Yak Hair for Better Movement at SF Squeecast (with Mary Robinette Kowal).
Ratchet RetroCast Episode 9 – Getting Lost in our own T.A.R.D.I.S. at Earth Station One.
Writing Excuses 8.20: The Short Story, with Mary Robinette Kowal.

Television

Elementary Demonstrates the Right Way to Update a Classic Hero by Genevieve Valentine at io9 (plus I have a review for episodes 23 and 24.
Revolution 1.18: Whodunnit? at Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" is coming out on June 1st in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

New Releases 5/21/13

New Paperbacks

Steampunk Magazine #9 edited by Margaret Killjoy

Description from Amazon.

This issue of SteamPunk Magazine features lots of ways to get up to no good! Theres also history, fiction, interviews, and everything you could possibly want! No steampunk library is complete without it. Issue #9 features Cherie Priest, Cory Doctorow, and more.

New E-books

The Red Plague Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

Description from Amazon.

The service of Britannia is not for the faint of heart--or conscience...

Emma Bannon, Sorceress Prime in service to Queen Victrix, has a mission: to find the doctor who has created a powerful new weapon. Her friend, the mentath Archibald Clare, is only too happy to help. It will distract him from pursuing his nemesis, and besides, Clare is not as young as he used to be. A spot of Miss Bannon's excellent hospitality and her diverting company may be just what he needs.

Unfortunately, their quarry is a fanatic, and his poisonous discovery is just as dangerous to Britannia as to Her enemies. Now a single man has set Londinium ablaze, and Clare finds himself in the middle of distressing excitement, racing against time and theory to find a cure. Miss Bannon, of course, has troubles of her own, for the Queen's Consort Alberich is ill, and Her Majesty unhappy with Bannon's loyal service. And there is still no reliable way to find a hansom when one needs it most...

The game is afoot. And the Red Plague rises.

The fantastic follow-up to The Iron Wyrm Affair, set in an alternate Victorian world where magic has turned the Industrial Revolution on its head.

To fans, authors and publishers...

Is you story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" is coming out on June 1st in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

New Releases 2/5/13

Hardcover

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Description from Amazon.

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail's legions of fans have come to adore.

The Queen Is Dead by Kate Locke

Description from Amazon.

When her brother Val gets in over his head in an investigation of Half-Blood disappearances and goes missing himself, it's up to Xandra, newly crowned Goblin Queen, to get him back and bring the atrocities to light. Xandra must frequent the seediest parts of London, while also coping with what she is, the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Add this to a being a suspect in a murder investigation, a werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy, and Xandra barely knows which way is up. One thing she does know is that she's already lost one sibling, she's not about to lose another.

Xandra Varden is the newly crowned Goblin Queen of England. But her complicated life is by no means over.

There are the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who for some reason wants her head. Not to mention her werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy. Now she's the suspect in a murder investigation --- and Xandra barely knows which way is up.

What she does know is that nothing lasts forever---and immortality isn't all its cracked up to be.

Paperback

The Damnation Affair by Lilith Saintcrow

Description from Amazon.

The West is a wild place, where the poison wind blows and the dead walk. But there is gold, and whiskey, and enough room for a man to forget what he once was--until he no longer can.

Jack Gabriel's been the sheriff in Damnation almost since the town grew out of the dust and the mud. He keeps the peace--sort of--and rides the circuit every dawn and dusk with the chartermage, making sure the wilderness doesn't seep into their fragile attempt at civilization. Away from the cities clinging to the New World's eastern rim, he doesn't remember what he was. At least, not much.

But Damnation is growing, and along comes a schoolmarm. Catherine Barrowe is a right proper Boston miss, and it's a mystery why she would choose this town where everything scandalous and dangerous is probably too much for a quality lady like her. Sometimes the sheriff wonders why she came out West--because everyone who does is running from something. He doesn't realize Cat may be prickly, delicate, and proper, but she is also determined. She's in Damnation to find her wayward older brother Robbie, whose letters were full of dark hints about gold, trouble...and something about a claim.

In a West where charm and charter live alongside clockwork and cold steel, where hot lead kills your enemy but it takes a blessing to make his corpse stay down, Cat will keep digging until she finds her brother. If Jack knew what she was after, he could solve the mystery--because he was the one who killed Robbie.

The thing is, Cat's brother just won't stay dead, and the undead are rising with him...

The Royal Sorceress by Chris Nuttall

Description from Amazon.

It's 1830, in an alternate Britain where the 'scientific' principles of magic were discovered sixty years previously, allowing the British to win the American War of Independence. Although Britain is now supreme among the Great Powers, the gulf between rich and poor in the Empire has widened and unrest is growing every day. Master Thomas, the King's Royal Sorcerer, is ageing and must find a successor to lead the Royal Sorcerers Corps. Most magicians can possess only one of the panoply of known magical powers, but Thomas needs to find a new Master of all the powers. There is only one candidate, one person who has displayed such a talent from an early age, but has been neither trained nor officially acknowledged. A perfect candidate to be Master Thomas' apprentice in all ways but one: the Royal College of Sorcerers has never admitted a girl before. But even before Lady Gwendolyn Crichton can begin her training, London is plunged into chaos by a campaign of terrorist attacks co-ordinated by Jack, a powerful and rebellious magician. The Royal Sorceress will certainly appeal to all fans of steampunk, alternate history, and fantasy. As well as the fun of the 'what-ifs' delivered by the rewriting of our past, it delights with an Empire empowered by magic - all the better for being one we can recognise. The scheming and intrigue of Jack and his rebels, the roof-top chases and the thrilling battles of magic are played out against the dark and unforgiving backdrop of life in the sordid slums and dangerous factories of London. Many of the rebels are drawn from a seedy and grimy underworld, while their Establishment targets prey on the weak and defenceless. The price for destroying the social imbalance and sexual inequality that underpin society may be more than anyone can imagine.

E-books

Stalemate - The Biographies by Colin Gee

Description from Amazon.

This is not a stand-alone book, but a support volume to the book itself. It should not be purchased by itself.

The third in the 'Red Gambit' series, Stalemate deals with the events of the Third World War, up to 25th October 1945. Relating the experiences from both sides of the divide, and from all levels. 'Stalemate' deals with the man in the trench, through the pilot in his fighter, through to the Generals who direct the war from their command centres. 'Stalemate' brings the first stages of WW3 to a climax on the Alsatian plain, a sleepy town in Holland, and an insignificant town in Germany, whose name is now synonymous with death on a grand scale.

[The ‘Red Gambit Series’ novels are works of fiction, and deal with fictional events. Most of the characters therein are a figment of the author’s imagination. Without exception, those characters that are historical figures of fact or based upon historical figures of fact are used fictitiously, and their actions, demeanour, conversations, and characters are similarly all figments of the author’s imagination.]

To fans, authors and publishers...

Do you want to see your work given a shout out on our New Releases segment? Contact Mitro at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon PressJake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.