Interesting Tor catalogue; thanks.
The Weird is landmark, and I must have it of course [didn't know Tor was the publisher], but beyond that things look a little shaky, yeah. I love Scalzi's novels very much, for several reasons, but I find the only thing of his I really reread is still Old Man's War, so Redshirts may be a library book for me. I've never tried David Brin's stuff -- massive oversight I know -- so I'm very, very curious about Existence, but hard sf, and more specifically the kinds of hard sf that PNH and the rest of Tor tend toward publishing, are very hit-or-miss for me, ranging from M.J. Locke's [for me] quite successful Up Against It from earlier this year to hot-button issue sf thrillers which look very exciting at a glance but come a massive damp squib on closer inspection. [Apologies if I'm using the phrase incorrectly; it came the closest to what I meant. I notice there are several of these in this summer catalogue, perhaps even more than usual -- beach reading perhaps?and while their dampness has of course yet to be determined and we must be fair, the potential for high squibitude is certainly there.] Of the new Orson Scott Card co-authored Ender prequel, and the new Goodkind, I shall not speak. J.A. Pitts' Forged in Fire, the third Sarah Beauhall book, is definitely on my watch closely list, but I'm not sure it's quite something I'd buy; based on Black Blade Blues I love what the series is doing, I'm just not sure it's doing it quite well enough for me to buy a hardcover. That sounded jerky.
Being more positive, it's really great to see a good number of the long-delayed Tor sequels getting scheduled at last. I haven't read the books that come before Warren Hammund's Kop Killer [which I know his fans have been awaiting for quite some time], Beth Bernobich's Queen's Hunt, and Anthony Huzo's Black Bottle, but now these sequels are definitely on the way maybe I should make time for a couple. Confirmation that Ian Tregillis' The Coldest War, the second Milkweed Triptych novel, is finally coming, though expected, is cause for much rejoycing, and probably the highlight of the catalogue for me. That I will buy with money.
What's still not there: Keck. Cook. Scholes [this is not done. Scholes has faced and overcome incredible challenges, sounds like.] Sarah Monette's The Goblin Emperor, which based on her blog is also not done. Sounds like it's proving a tough book to finish and there's nothing anyone can do about that. Michael Moorcock's The Whispering Swarm is also absent, so I dunno if it's somehow still supposed to make its April date, or has been delayed further [seems more likely], or what.
And A Memory of Light, of course. I'm personally just peachy with them taking as long as they need to edit this one, even though the draft ms may be handed in imminently. Last novel of The Wheel of Time, must be something special, etc, and Towers of Midnight felt very very rough around the edges to me, if I'm being honest. Plus, getting sentimental, autumn's been new WoT season each time for most of the new releases I've been actively following the series for, and I should like to have the experience of walking down a cold, windy street and thinking of the book coming soon one more time.
Other points of interest ganked from Westeros [where I can no longer post because their forum reskin makes my aged computer explode]:
There will be new Lois McMaster Bujold in the Vorverse next year, quite definitely, it's sounding like. Bujold's posted a chapter number breakdown and word count, so it seems to be done or close. Focuses on Ivan Vorpatril, Miles Vorkosigan's pseudo-supposedly hapless cousin, and the working title is Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. Sounds excellent fun to me. Always nice to see Miles, of course, but maybe a slight change in focus character is what the series needs in order to have something punchy to say and do again.
That new epic fantasy debut that Tor UK is so over the moon about? John Gwynne's So Deep A Malice? Is apparently not coming out in March. Mark Lawrence -- a stalwart of this board, I believe, whose Prince of Thorns I still need to try -- has apparently spoken to the author, and a final release date has not been decided. Perhaps I'm getting dragged onto the hype train again, but I'm looking forward to this one.
Saladin Ahmed's put the first chapter of his debut Throne of the Crescent Moon online. It looks promising, which does not surprise me at all.
It sounds like Margo Lanagan's ya selkie novel will be Sea Hearts in the land down-under, and The Brides of Rollrock Island abroad. Release schedule is still not entirely clear to me, but it seems that NA, at least, has to wait some months after the book comes out in the Antipodes, and possibly the UK does as well, though I'm less sure about that. This is one of my personal most eagerly anticipated books of 2012 and I am counting the days.
