Last May, I read The Winds of Khalakovo, and reviewed it here at the Functional Nerds. The Winds of Khalakovo is a secondary fantasy novel borrowing from cultures not usually invoked in fantasy–Tsarist Russia and ancient Persia. Throw in a pair of very different magic systems, very non standard cultural issues of duty and honor, […]
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Ace; Original edition (March 27, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1937007375 Official Description: When homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis sees a photo of Seth Benjamin on a police bulletin, she knows that Heaven’s plan to halt Armageddon has gone terribly wrong. As the only mortal who knows of Seth’s true nature, […]
A good friend of mine here in Vermont, Blackwell Hird, has just launched his first kickstarter campaign to build and release a dedicated tablet game of interstellar war. He’s a recent graduate from the Vancouver Film School for Game design and after graduating, he’s been let down by the current offerings when it comes to […]
The Snow Queen’s Shadow, by Jim C. Hines, turns the fairy tale protagonists of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White into kick-ass heroines. Each princess draws her strength from a classic element of her original tale. Talia – Sleeping Beauty – is a deadly warrior who uses her fairy blessed reflexes and strength to combat […]
Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books (January 10, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1597803294 Official Description: 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 […]
ShadowBytes is a new webcomic from Patrick Hester and Clifton Hill. New episodes appear every Tuesday and Thursdays on the Webcomic website.
Paperback: 480 pages Publisher: Prime Books (November 22, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1607013045 Official Description: Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each […]
DOCTOR WHO, the classic British scifi television series, recently celebrated 48 years since its first episode. I recently re-read Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who By The Women Who Love It and it got me thinking about what makes Doctor Who so special, and what makes MY Doctor Who experience into something […]
Airships! Secretive assassin-monks! Fanatic cults! The world at stake! Don’t let the airship on the dustjacket fool you, this isn’t your expected steampunk novel. Ash is pursuing an official vendetta. He is a member of the Roshun, a secretive order providing protection services through the use of living ‘seals’ that die with their owner. They […]
Paperback: 376 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books; First Edition edition (January 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1597803901 Official Description: 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 […]
Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books (January 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1597803324 Official Description: 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. […]
ShadowBytes is a new webcomic from Patrick Hester and Clifton Hill. New episodes appear every Tuesday and Thursdays on the Webcomic website.
Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Roc Hardcover; 1 edition (January 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464354 Official Description: Magiere and Leesil must rescue Wynn Hygeort from her captivity in the Guild of Sagecraft. But Wynn doesn’t want to give up access to the ancient scrolls that may help them locate the last of the magical Orbs […]
The Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith series by John Jackson Miller will be releasing its eighth and final free eBook, Secrets, in all eFormats on March 5, 2012. The entire collected series will be published in paperback July 31st. As with all the previous stories, it will also include an […]
Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Roc Hardcover (February 7, 2012) ISBN-10: 0451464370 Available: February 7, 2012 Official Description: Having survived Jehal’s betrayal, former Queen Zafir is determined to take back control of the kingdom. To that end, she seizes Jehal’s wife and son as hostages. Desperate to save his queen and his heir, Jehal makes a […]
The Providence Rider by Robert McCammon Available: May 2012 ISBN: 978-1-59606-466-9 Length: 416 pages Publisher: Subterranean Press From the Subterranean Press website: The Providence Rider is the fourth standalone installment in the extraordinary series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, professional problem solver. The narrative begins in the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted […]
Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages Publisher: Roc Trade; 1 edition (January 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464346 Official Description: Dante the necromancer is the most reviled man in Sabria, indicted by for crimes against the living and the dead. He salves bitterness with a magical puzzle – a desperate soldier’s dream of an imprisoned sorceress […]
If you have a desktop computer, chances are you take care to keep liquids from spilling on it, or try to avoid using it to prop up heavy furniture. While those are important things to remember, many of us forget to protect our towers where it counts the most – on the inside. This post […]
The scene is Budapest, Hungary in the late 1930’s. Hitler’s saber rattling over in Germany is becoming more and more bellicose, and there is the scent of war in the air. The quasi-fascistic pre war Hungary is not the most pleasant of places, especially for a Jew like Magda. The fact that she is not […]
A Stark and Wormy Knight by Tad Williams Available: June, 2012 Publisher: Subterranean Press ISBN: 978-1-59606-461-4 From the Subterranean Press website: Tad Williams is an acknowledged master of the multi-volume epic. Through such popular series as Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and Otherland, he has acquired a huge and devoted body of readers who eagerly await […]
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Roc; Original edition (December 6, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0451464311 Official Description: Matt Lowell is in hell-and there’s no place he’d rather be. At a training camp on the backwater planet of Earth, he and his fellow cadets are learning to ride Mechas: biomechanicals sporting both incredible grace and […]
I bought Myke Cole’s debut novel the day it came out, on the strength of the reading I saw him do at last summer’s Readercon. Shadow Ops: Control Point is the first in a series, and it’s a quick read. I started it on the train ride from Trenton to Philadelphia, read a bit before class, […]



