Anticipated & Looking Forward to 2010

[jamieem]

I think this was in relation to a debut military SF novel called Veteran by Gavin Smith. Gollancz are quite excited about this one, it's meant to be a real cracker. I had a chat with Gavin at the Gollancz party a couple of months back, really nice bloke and very enthusiastic. Perhaps surprisingly for an SF writer, he's very into his fantasy too.

I hope it's better written than this blurb, which is a tad cringe-worthy...

"Three hundred years in our future, in a world of alien infiltrators, religious hackers, a vast convoying nation of Nomads, city sized orbital elevators, and a cyborg pirate king who believes himself to be a mythological demon Jakob is having a bad day: "Nothing gets in the way of a hangover like being reactivated by your old C.O and told to track down an alien killing machine. The same kind of killing machine that wiped out my entire squad. And now it's in my hometown. My name is Jakob Douglas, ex-special forces. I fought Them. Just like we've all been doing for 60 bloody years. But I thought my part in that was done with. My boss has other ideas. If I didn't find the infiltrator then he'd let the Grey Lady loose on me. And believe me; even They've got nothing on her. So I took the job. It went to **** even faster than normal. And now I'm on the run with this teenage hacker who's had enough of prostitution. The only people I can rely on want to turn the internet into God. And now it turns out that They aren't quite what we'd all thought. I've been to the bottom of the sea and the top of the sky and beyond trying to get to the truth. And I still can't get far enough away from the Grey Lady. All things considered I'd rather be back at home deep in a whiskey bottle." Veteran is a fast paced, intricately plotted violent SF Thriller set in a dark future against the backdrop of a seemingly never ending war against an unknowable and implacable alien enemy.
"

[Werthead]

Anyone heard of a book called The Passage by Justin Cronin? It's due in June 2010 and the ARC - all 800 pages of it - just dropped through my letterbox. It appears to be a spec fic work but, interestingly, it's being published by Orion directly rather than their Gollancz imprint (always a sign people are taking it seriously) and is preceded with three pages of people at the company going gaga about how amazing it is, something I haven't seen since The Name of the Wind.

Looks quite interesting, might make it my next read if I can get through The Cardinal's Blades fairly quickly.

[suciul]

Anyone heard of a book called The Passage by Justin Cronin? It's due in June 2010 and the ARC - all 800 pages of it - just dropped through my letterbox. It appears to be a spec fic work but, interestingly, it's being published by Orion directly rather than their Gollancz imprint (always a sign people are taking it seriously) and is preceded with three pages of people at the company going gaga about how amazing it is, something I haven't seen since The Name of the Wind.

Looks quite interesting, might make it my next read if I can get through The Cardinal's Blades fairly quickly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/movies/11vamp.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17529912/T...Justin-Cronin-

Lots of money invested in the book and the trilogy and the possible movie

[Bastard]

Considering that it's a vamp novel, one might have to be a bit skeptical about the reason why the book be getting that amount of money invested... considering the vampire craze recently.

But I like Vampires, so I'm all for it.

[Cranky Hamster]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17529912/T...Justin-Cronin-

That's got "Hollywood" written all over it, yes indeedy.

Which is not altogether a compliment since it seems very Michael Bay-ish, but maybe Wert will be able to provide more perspective when he's read the thing.

[Hobbit]

Well, according to the back of the ARC it's being optioned by Ridley Scott. (Aren't they all?)

Read the first 50 pages this evening and liking what I'm reading very much. What with that and the new Stephen King, there's my weight training sorted.


Later: Excerpt HERE, though this is not the beginning of the book.

Mark

[Hobbit]

The cover to Jasper Kent's Twelve sequel, Thirteen Years Later, is one I'm looking forward to.

Here's the cover! LINK.

Mark

[mjolnir]

Re The Passage: Hmm, more vampires? The key is in the execution, and the book sounds interesting, so I'll be looking forward to the reviews.

I'm not sure whether it's been posted on here or not, but there's a winter 2010 Tor calendar online, [I found it linked on Westeros.] Some few items of note:

The calendar contains the first blurb that I have seen for Gene Wolfe's The Sorcerer's House. Evidently it is contemporary fantasy in the dude-gets-magical-domicile mode. Another Wolfe novel for me to not understand, hurrah. Still, everyone says he's a genius so I'm sure that I'll try it in hopes of "getting it" at last.

Tor is republishing Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon books starting early next year in new tpb editions. Slipped into the promotional material for these new copies is the claim that they will be followed, at some future time, by a new series from Moorcock. If true this could be rather a big deal.

I suppose that's all that really struck me. Oh, and Spellwright looks quite cool. And Jay Lake's new clockwork book, Pinion, comes out in March.

Re the Gavin Smith book: The blurb, ... I'm torn. I have a weakness for this sort of action-flicky story -- as my love for Altered Carbon shows -- when done well and not too pumped full of boy's-own-world crap. I find the blurb evocative, but, shall we say, stylistically scattered. I shall await reviews and hopefully an excerpt.

Another fantasy author whose work is an acquired taste but who I think should be better known, Catherynne M Valente, has been quite busy. She has a ya novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making [say it three times backwards], coming out from Feiwel and Friends some time. This is very cool as the book has been a mightily successful online project. She's also apparently got a set of books coming from Nightshade based on the myth of Prester John, possibly starting next year. And a retelling of a Russian fairytale from Tor, though I don't think that's coming next year. Oh fabulous day.

Are we clear on whether or not Richard Morgan's The Dark Commands is going to make July? With a bit of luck I could be in the UK for the occasion.

Oh, ... and I am the mythical weapon of a Norse god, and... I have a confession to make: I think I might be just slightly obsessed with The Republic of Thieves. Or, rather, the potential thereof.
________
FREE THEMES

[mjolnir]

My own updated list, [sorry for double post]:

Things I must have:
Prince of Storms, by Kay Kenyon
Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay
Changes, by Jim Butcher, [they're addictive, addictive I say!]
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland... by Catherynne M Valente
The Sea Thy Mistress, by Elizabeth Bear
The Dervish House, by Ian McDonald, [now confirmed, huzzah!]
Geosynchron, by David Louis Edelman

Should they perchance appear:
A Dance with Dragons, by GRRM, [is including this on all fan lists actually enshrined in law?]
The Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch, [doesn't look like, but still I hope]
The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss, [again not looking too likely, though I think the new amazon date might be a bit ... extreme]
The White Luck Warrior, by R Scott Bakker
The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson, [not technically dated yet but very likely]
Towers of Midnight, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson [likewise]
The Dark Commands, by Richard Morgan
Above the Snowline, by Steph Swainston
first book of Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham, new Culture book by Banks [actually I think this was confirmed], etc

Things I'll Probably Read:
At the Gates of Darkness, by Raymond Feist, [I know I'll read it. Because I am a sucker.]
Antiphon, by Ken Scholes
Chill, by Elizabeth Bear
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N K Jemisin
Mr. Shivers, by Robert Jackson Bennett
Ghosts of Manhattan, by George Mann
Shadow's Sun, by John Sprunk
Deshima, by David Mitchell
The Desert Spear, by Peter V Brett
Warriors, edited by GRRM and Dozois
Swords and Dark Magic, edited by Anders and Strahan

Oh, and forgot to mention: For any Lois Bujold fans who don't know, the new Miles book would indeed appear to be coming next year. It is currently entitled CryoBurn. And Connie Willis's Blackout is set during the Blitz, sounds like. Interested to try that one; I've never read Willis's stuff before.

[Werthead]

Oh, and forgot to mention: For any Lois Bujold fans who don't know, the new Miles book would indeed appear to be coming next year. It is currently entitled CryoBurn. And Connie Willis's Blackout is set during the Blitz, sounds like. Interested to try that one; I've never read Willis's stuff before.

I understand that the new Willis book is set in the same universe and is based on the same ideas as Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, although whether it needs any foreknowledge of the other books is unknown. Probably not, given that TSNotD didn't require any foreknowledge of the DB either.

[Werthead]

Confirmed, ICE has handed in the MS of Stonewielder, meaning we'll definitely get one Malazan book next year.

Given Erikson only started writing The Crippled God in August or September, it's going to be tight to get it done and out in 2010. Although given it's the home straight to the end of the series (sort of) he may very well tear through it in no time. Interesting to see if he makes it.

[suciul]

I kind of finalized my list and will do a huge post with about 80 titles on FBC aside from my recent top 10 anticipated titles of 2010 post. As fantasy goes:

top 5 with reasons in the FBC post:

The Folding Knife KJ Parker
Naamah's Curse J. Carey
The King of the Crags - S Deas
The Black Prism - B. Weeks
The City of Ruin MC Newton (read, ultra-superb)

possible top 5:

- the new Tim Akers Pyr book if it makes November
- A History of the Half-Made World F. Gilman - just found out about and have no clue what's about but the duology started in Thunderer was so impressive that this one is in my top, top anticipated

next:

Thirteen Years Later - Jasper Kent
Dark Commands - RK Morgan
White Luck Warrior - Scott Bakker
Desert Spear - Peter Brett
M. Sullivan The Emerald Storm
M. Sullivan Wintertide
Tchaikovsky Salute Dark
Tchaikovsky Book of Whispers
Kraken China Mieville
Imager 3 LE Modesitt
sequel to "G. Beckett" Magicians and Mrs Quent - seems to be on track for 2010

next

Conquering Swords (sword & sorcery themed anthology) edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan
Okorafor, Nnedi • Who Fears Death
M. Deas - Thief...
The Warriors anthology- Martin/Dozois-March
Leviathan sequel - Westerfeld
Prospero in Hell - Jagi Lamplighter
Anderson, Kevin J. • The Map of All Things
Above the Snowline, by Steph Swainston
New M. Snyder novel (s)
Mayor London Kate Griffin
The Office of Shadow Matthew Sturges
Secrets of the Fire Sea S. Hunt
Stealing Fire by Jo Graham
Sedia, Ekaterina • The House of Discarded Dreams
A Magic of Dawn SL Farrell
The Spirit Lens: A Novel of the Collegia Magica Carol Berg
The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe


Debuts:

Tome of the Undeground Sykes
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin (read, superb)
Spellwright by Blake Charlton (read, did not like it)
Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
Shadow's Sun, by John Sprunk
Passion Play by Beth Bernobich
Servants of the Underworld - A. DeBodard
The Bookman - L. Tidhar (read, superb)
The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell
The Poison Throne (and sequels) by Celine Kiernan
Bitter Seeds - Iain Tregilis

not necessary genre but related

Dan Simmons Black Hills
Deshima- Mitchell

[Bastard]

Nice list...

Of the above, I already have pre-ordered Left Hand of God, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Salute the Dark, Black Prism, Dark Commands, White Luck Warrior, and Thirteen Years Later.

I'm also planning on pre-ordering City of Ruin (which isn't available at the moment) and Desert Spear.

Some notables that are absent from your list are the Dresden Files sequel Changes by Butcher, the Retribution Falls sequel Black Lung Captain by Wooding, and the Paksennarion sequel Oath of Fealty by Moon.

Also, if not mistaken, the new Brandon Sanderson series should start next year at some point too... The Stormlight Archive series with The Way of Kings.

[Seegee]

Given that so many novels these days don't seem to make their anticipated publication date I don't look forward to reading anything until I see it on the shelves.

[suciul]

Nice list...

Of the above, I already have pre-ordered Left Hand of God, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Salute the Dark, Black Prism, Dark Commands, White Luck Warrior, and Thirteen Years Later.

I'm also planning on pre-ordering City of Ruin (which isn't available at the moment) and Desert Spear.

Some notables that are absent from your list are the Dresden Files sequel Changes by Butcher, the Retribution Falls sequel Black Lung Captain by Wooding, and the Paksennarion sequel Oath of Fealty by Moon.

Also, if not mistaken, the new Brandon Sanderson series should start next year at some point too... The Stormlight Archive series with The Way of Kings.

Actually I listed the C. Wooding novel in the sf list Could go either way as sf vs f goes; I should get an arc of Left Hand soon from my co-editor at FBC Robert who read it and was so-so to good on it, but it sounds quite interesting

Sadly the other authors above are not for me; the sf of Ms. Moon always ranged from barely readable to un-readable for me and I have no idea why, while her fantasy never clicked in any shape or form - I actually got an arc of Oath of Fealty but I mailed it to Robert since he was interested and may review it...