Text Box: News for Christmas Some of the best “crossover” fantasy books are appearing in film this Christmas. Eragon is getting huge publicity but no sign of the third of the trilogy, yet. Also one of my favourite recent titles, Across the Nightingale Floor, set in a fictionalised Japan, with all its honour codes, violence, and atmosphere. A new Tolkien story is on the horizon, The Children of Hurin, is being completed by Christopher Tolkien, one to look out for. Bad news on the Robert Jordan front. He has a very bad illness, but hopes for at least some remission. He only has one more book to write for his epic Wheel of Time, and is very positive about finishing it soon. The most complained book in US libraries is Harry Potter. It is a bad influence for encouraging witchcraft and bad behaviour! Oh dear. Third is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 4th is Maya Angelou with I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, so JK is in good company. A Very Happy Christmas to All Our Readers Peter and Sarah NEW TITLES NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy Editor David Pringle 20.00 Foreword by Terry Pratchett; Contents * Fantastic Story-types and Themes; * Fantasy Movies; * Fantasy Television; * Who's Who of Fantasy; * A - Z of Fantasy Characters; * Fantasy Games; * Fantastic Worlds; * Fantasy Magazine; * Glossary NEW FOR 2006: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Constantine, King Kong, Narnia Chronicles, (movies); Medium, Supernatural (TV); Kate Elliott (books); Oblivion, Pokemon, World of Warcraft (games); Sam and Dean Winchester, Alison Dubois (A - Z of characters); The World of Warcraft (worlds). Feast for Crows George R.R. Martin 7.99 Song of Ice 4 This work continues the most ambitious and imaginative epic fantasy since "The Lord of the Rings". Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. But fear and deceit are in the air: their enemies are poised to strike. The Martells of Dorne seek vengeance for their dead, and the heir of King Balon of the Iron Isles, Euron Crow's Eye, is as black a pirate as ever raised a sail. Across the war-torn landscape of the Seven Kingdoms, Brienne the Beauty (thus named in mockery of her great size and strength) seeks for Sansa Stark, having vowed to protect Sansa from the wrath of Queen Cersei, Tommen's power-hungry mother. Meanwhile apprentice Maester, Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms south to the Citadel from the cruel frozen north where the sinister Others threaten the Wall! "A Feast for Crows" brings to life dark magic, complex political intrigue and horrific bloodshed. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel and the coldest hearts. Wolf of the Plains Conn Iggulden 14.99 Our Price 11.99 The start of a new historical series set with the Mongol Hordes and Genghis Khan. "I am the land and the bones of the hills. I am the winter." Temujin, the second son of the khan of the Wolves tribe, was only eleven when his father died in an ambush. His family were thrown out of the tribe and he was left alone, without food or shelter, to starve to death on the harsh Mongolian plains. It was a rough introduction to his life, to a sudden adult world, but Temujin survived, learning to combat natural and human threats. A man, a small family, without a tribe was always at risk but he gathered other outsiders to him, creating a new tribal identity. It was during some of his worst times that the image of uniting the warring tribes and bringing the silver people together came to him. He will become the khan of the sea of grass, Genghis. Last of the Wilds Trudi Canavan 7.99 Age of Five 2 Sequel to the Priestess of the White Although the architect of the White's victory, Auraya's first taste of war has left her sleep filled with nightmares. She walks in fields of blood while the dead rise in accusation. You killed us. You. It seems Auraya will know no peace while these nightmares haunt her, but the only one she trusts to help has vanished. The Dreamweaver, Leiard, still struggling to come to terms with the ever more powerful memories of the long-dead Mirar, flees into the mountains with Emerahl, perhaps the last of the Wilds. Although not a Dreamweaver herself, Emerahl is powerfully gifted, and helps Leiard to make sense of his strange jumble of memories. What they discover will change his life forever. And far to the south, the Pentadrians lick their wounds and set about finding a new leader. Peace, it seems, must wait a while yet ... Mordants Need Stephen Donaldson 12.99 Our Price 10.99 A lonely young woman feels isolated from the world: she uses mirrors to reassure herself that she is still alive - and then they change her life when, one night, a young man appears through the mirror and persuades her to come with him to his own land, where mirrors are magical gateways to other places. This strange new land is in conflict, for war has been foretold, but the king appears completely uninterested in the fate of the world. It is left to the Imagers, masters of mirrors, try to decide the fate of the realm. Broken Kings Robert Holdstock 14.99 Our Price 12.99 Merlin Codex 3 The hill below the fortress of Taurovinda, stronghold of Urtha, High King of the Cornovidi, is coming alive: the Otherworldly realm of the Shadows of Heroes are claiming the land as their own. But this time their actions are driven by a force that is darker and older than even the oldest among the ghosts. Who or what is raising the Dead? Merlin, a temporary resident in the fortress, must answer that question if this time of kings and lovers is to be saved. Jason's wonderful ship, Argo, has returned, drawn back by her own guilty past, and a dreadful secret that she will reveal only to Merlin. Argo holds the key to the mystery. And Niiv, the bewitching, beautiful Northlands enchantress, is working her way even closer into Merlin's charms. This is a journey that will take Merlin back in history, and to a fabled island of legend. Love is in the air. But at a price. In this third volume of the Merlin Codex, Robert Holdstock weaves myth and history into a fabulous tale of honour, vengeance and magic. At its centre, moving along his never-ending path, is Merlin himself, an enchanter in the prime of his life, feckless, curious, powerful, yet a stranger to his own past - and a man about find a true and honourable use for his talents. Mistral’s Kiss Laurell K. Hamilton 10.99 Our Price 9.99 The Fifth Meredith Gentry title. Laurell K. Hamilton’s seriously scary faerie sensual series. The time has come for Meredith Gentry to put aside her detective work and fulfill her ultimate obligation to the world of Faerie - where her efforts to conceive an heir to the throne of the Unseelie Court are crucial to restoring magic, and life itself, to the fey kingdom. And though her quest may be bursting with pleasures, the shadows of intrigue continue to suffuse the royal court, and sabotage may lurk at any turn. While the Unseelie Mound reawakens in the dead gardens, powerful curses are at work. Merry's uncle, the King of Light and Illusion, schemes to accuse her immortal guardsmen of heinous crimes. And Merry's own command of magic has turned wildly, and dangerously, unpredictable. As plots and counterplots are hatched and strategies and subterfuges played out, the destiny of an entire world turns upon the fortunes of Merry Gentry: object of obsession, target of treachery, pawn of uncertain fate. Also available in the USA Hardback edition at £11.99. Poisoned Crown Amanda Hemingway 11.99 Our Price 9.99 Sangreal Trilogy This is the concluding part of the captivating Sangreal trilogy from the author of "Prospero's Children". Bartlemy Goodman is approximately 1500 years old. An albino of Greek parentage, he was born in Byzantium amidst the decline of the Roman Empire and now resides in the village of Thornyhill, England with his dog, Hoover. Bartlemy is one of the Gifted. But, long experience has taught him the perils of the power of the witch-kind and so throughout the ages has channelled his considerable talents into cooking, his culinary prowess becoming the stuff of legend: he worked for the Borgias, was among the first to discover chocolate and even taught the likes of Escoffier. On a warm evening in 1991, a young homeless woman holding a baby turns up on Bartlemy's doorstep and he senses destiny at work. The woman's name is Annie Ward and her son, Nathan, is an exceptional child as Annie cannot account for his conception. Her husband Daniel died in a car accident so Nathan cannot be his. Soon Bartlemy comes to believe that the boy was created beyond the Gate of Death by a superior being for a special purpose, one that may threaten all of witch-kind and that it is his job to protect him. Whilst Nathan grows and Bartlemy continues to watch over the small family, strange occurrences begin to plague the village. The Thorn family, who gave their name to the village have lived close by since pre-Christian times, were once the guardians of a strange cup of greenish stone and set with jewels. When it was lost; sold to a Jewish collector in Austria by the black sheep of the family who absconded with it in the 1920's, the family's fortune soon followed suit. Rumoured to have been stolen by the Nazis during the war it has now turned up at Sotheby's and the last of the Thorns is determined to get it back by proving the original sale false. Bartlemy joins his friend, Rowena Thorn, in her campaign. But, the matter becomes complicated and sinister when Nathan discovers the body of the Austrian owner in the wood nearby and begins to exp rience disturbing visions involving the cup itself. Weatherwitch C. Dart-Thornton 17.99 Our Price 14.99 Crowthistle Chronicles 1 On the misty, pine-clad slopes of the western highlands five princes go hunting - but the mountains are perilous and they clash with unexpected foes. To the north, a burrower digs its way through a labyrinth of underground caverns; there is no knowing what it is, or how it came there, or where it is going. The great golden sword Fallowblade is displayed above the mantelshelf on the house of Lord Avalloc Stormbringer. A weapon almost legendary by reputation, it was used in days of yore to destroy the goblin hordes. Asr thiel Stormbringer, powerful weathermage, is learning swordplay so that one day she might wield the magnificent blade, doing justice to this family heirloon ...while in the south, a tyrant rages and deceives, and hatches inimical plots ...Five princes, an enigmatic burrower, a weathermaster and a fabulous sword - these elements come together to weave the surprising story of "Weatherwitch". Well of Tears C. Dart-Thornton 7.99 Crowthistle Chronicles 2 After fleeing from their native Slievmordhu, Jewel and Eoin encounter many dangerous situations. When Jewel learns that the legendary Dome of Strang is no longer guarded, she decides to continue her journey to Orielthir to unravel the mystery of the hidden stronghold and with it, the truth about her father's legacy Ilario: The Lions Eye Mary Gentle 14.99 Our Price 11.99 'We are so often a disappointment to the parents who abandon us...' Ilario is born hermaphrodite, a true genetic chimera. Found abandoned on the steps of a chapel of the Green Christ, in one of the minor Iberian kingdoms, on a freezing snowy night, Ilario is fostered by Federico, an impoverished Iberian noble, who plans to gift Ilario to the king, hoping to gain favour at court. At the age of 15, Ilario joins King Roderigo as the King's Freak, but while learning the ways of the court, Illario has another lesson to study: abondonment and betrayal. For Rosamunda, Ilario's birth mother, has arrived - and the secret of Ilario's shameful birth must be kept hidden, lest the resulting scandal ruin Rosamunda's husband, Videric, the king's most powerful advisor. When Ilario is freed by the king, he/she is summoned by Rosamunda. And when her attempt to murder her child fails, Rosamunda whispers 'Run...' And Ilario does...across the Mediterranean, to Carthage. Endymion Dan Simmons 7.99 Hyperion Cantos Two hundred and seventy-four years after the fall of the WorldWeb in Fall of Hyperion, Raoul Endymion is sent on a quest. Retrieving Aenea from the Sphinx before the Church troops reach her is only the beginning. With help from a blue-skinned android named A. Bettik, Raoul and Aenea travel the river Tethys, pursued by Father Captain Frederico DeSoya, an influential warrior-priest and his troops. The shrike continues to make enigmatic appearances, and while many questions were raised in Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, still more are raised here. Raoul's quest will continue. Rise of Endymion Dan Simmons 7.99 Hyperion Trilogy 3 The completion of the Hyperion Cantos. You Don’t Have to Be Evil To Work Here Tom Holt 6.99 Colin Hollinghead is a young man going nowhere fast. Working for his dad might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but starting at the bottom in the widget-making industry has somehow lost its appeal. And now the business is in trouble. At least his father has a plan to turn things round - a new work force that will improve profit margins and secure the company's future for eternity. The deal looks great on paper, but they do say that the devil is in the detail - and the old rogue certainly seems to be involved in some capacity. Colin needs help. Perhaps his new friend from J.W. Wells & Co. (Practical and Effective Magicians, Sorcerers and Supernatural Consultants) can help. Sparkling with wit and oozing charm, Tom Holt's new comic caper will delight his readers and prove once and for all that going to work can actually be hell. When True Night Falls Celia Friedman 7.99 Coldfire Trilogy 2 Warrior priest Damien Vryce and immortal sorcerer Gerald Tarrant reunite in an uneasy alliance to combat an evil that threatens the delicate stability of life on Erna, where the mysterious force known as the fae conjures monsters from the stuff of dreams. In The Earth Abides The Flame Russell Kirkpatrick 7.99 Fire of Heaven Trilogy 2 Battered and bruised, suffering grievous loss, the Company enters the great city of Instruere. They have to warn the Council of Faltha of the Destroyer's threat, and have no idea of the depth of treachery that awaits them. Bhudwo's tentacles go far deeper in to Faltha than any of the Company realises ...they find Instruere to be a city divided against itself, and the Watchers are nowhere to be found. Then the arrival of a disturbing stranger ignites the political and religious tensions in the city and events escalate beyond control. Only one thing could unite a land wracked with such mistrust. But can it be found? Or is the Jugom Ark merely a legend? Hinterland James Clemens 11.99 Our Price 9.99 Godslayer 2 Failed Shadowknight Tylar witnessed the death of a god, whose blood healed his deformities but branded him a Godslayer and a hunted criminal. In this second volume of the trilogy, Tylar's struggle for the truth is vindicated when he is officially reinstated as a Shadowknight. Yet this is a trap, revealed as Naethyn forces flow from the Ice Eyrie to wage a deadly siege, trapping Tylar and his friends. But even Tylar's skill and magic cannot save the Citadel of Tashijan, ancient Shadowknight headquarters, for something foul lies at the heart of their Order. The Cabal has infiltrated the inner council and Tylar and his allies must flee for now there can be no refuge from evil. Nova Swing M. John Harrison 9.99 Sequel to Light It is some time after Ed Chianese's trip into the Kefahuchi Tract. A major industry of the Halo is now tourism. The Tract has begun to expand and change, but, more problematically, parts of it have also begun to fall to earth, piecemeal, on the Beach planets. We are in a city called Raintown, perhaps on New Venusport or Motel Splendido: next to the city is the event site, the zone, from out of which pour new, inexplicable artefacts, organisms and escapes of living algorithm - the wrong physics loose in the universe. They can cause plague and change. An entire department of the local police, Site Crime, exists to stop them being imported into the city by adventurers, entradistas, and the men known as 'travel agents', profiteers who can manage - or think they can manage -the bad physics, skewed geographies and psychic onslaughts of the event site. But now a new class of semi-biological artefact is finding its way out of the site, and this may be more than anyone can handle. Keeping It Real Justina Robson 6.99 The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric that kept the universe's different dimensions apart was torn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elven, elemental and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are exotic, erotic, dangerous and really bored with the constant Lord of the Rings references. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left well to themselves. Special agent Lila Black used to be pretty but now she's not so sure. Her body is now more than half restless carbon and metal alloy machinery. A machine shes barely in control of. It goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. As for her heart ... well ever since being drawn into a Game by the elven rockstar she's been assigned to protect, she's not even sure she can trust that anymore either. Gradisil Adam Roberts 6.99 "Gradisil" is a multi-generational story of murder, betrayal and revenge. It is told through the eyes of three characters and against a background where mankind's rush into space has faded away leaving individual pioneers to force their way independently into space after the collapse of the big government space agencies. They ride up into space on the lines of electromagnetic force that flower into space from earth like the mighty Yggradisil - the earth tree of Norse myth. Leaving their weight behind they still carry a cargo of enmities and hatreds. Settling Accounts—The Grapple Harry Turtledove 6.99 Alternative history series by the master of the genre. The United States have found their fighting form at last. Pushed back from Pittsburgh, by 1944 the Confederate States of America are struggling to hold their ground against an American army that seems to grow stronger by the day. While the United States press on towards the Mississippi valley, Jake Featherston's strategists in Richmond look for some way - any way - to slow down their inexorable advance. Deep in the heartland the extermination camps continue, but when all hope seems lost for their victims, the United States army turns at last towards the Texas plains. The fate of both sides, though, may lie elsewhere. A new menace appears in the Atlantic, intent on attacking the United States and scientists on both sides of the rapidly-moving border have nearly perfected an awesome new weapon that will guarantee victory for whoever uses it first. The greatest war of the twentieth century - fought this time in the heart of America - moves towards its blood-soaked climax. Shriek—An Afterword Jeff Vandermeyer 6.99 Narrated with flamboyant intensity by one-time society figure Janice Shriek, and presenting a vivid gallery of strange characters and even stranger events, this is an account of the adventures of her brother Duncan, a historian obsessed with a doomed love affair and a dark secret that may kill or transform him. It involves, too, a war between rival publishing houses which threatens to change Ambergris forever, and rivalry with a marginalised race known as the "grey caps" who, armed with advanced fungal technologies, wait underground for their chance to recover the city that was once theirs. This story of the family Shriek is an exotic and colourful novel of love, life and death which brings to fruition the author's genius for capturing the truly weird. Spirit Gate Kate Elliott 12.99 Our Price 10.99 The First in a new series. For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, patrolling on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians' power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even they can stop. A group of fanatics has risen to devour villages, towns, and cities in their drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them; they seem inhumanly cruel and powerful. Mai and Anji ride with a company of dedicated warriors and a single reeve, who may hold a key to stopping the deadly advance of the devouring horde. They must try to turn back the dark tide, or the world will be lost. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess may prove more important than them all ...if they are not too late. BESTSELLERS Wintersmith Terry Pratchett Thud Terry Pratchett Mistral’s Kiss Laurell K. Hamilton Phantom Terry Goodkind Promise of the Witch king R.A. Salvatore Feast for the Crows Gearge R.R. Martin Tempest Star Wars Troy Denning You Don’t Have to be Evil to Work Here but it Helps Tom Holt Galactic North Alastair Reynolds Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn Text Box: Newsletter Date Text Box: Volume 1, Issue 1 Text Box: Business Name Text Box: Fantasy and Science Fiction Newsletter