Iraq + 100 The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq Paperback | Kindle
Edited Hassan Blasim Tor Books
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Anytime the opportunity arises to experience something new and unique, I advise you to embrace it. But I must warn you, not all of these will be easily categorized. As a matter of fact, sometimes the experience will not just be enlightening, but also challenging. Iraq + 100: The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq is more than an anthology of new voices in science fiction. It is a testament to mankind’s willpower and tenacity even in the face of certain destruction. But, and this is a huge but, it is far more than even that. This book defies contemporary concepts of what sci-fi is by adding additional layers of history, laced with emotional turmoil.
The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase The Librarians Book 2 Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
Written by Greg Cox Tor Books
Release Date: April 25th, 2017
Mother Goose is real. Although that should not surprise Eve Baird and her team of ragtag genius librarians, they are still able to muster some disbelief at some of the cases that the Clippings Book hands them. Three inexplicable events happen in separate areas of the world: a woman gets trapped inside a pumpkin, 3 giant rodents with no eyes attack a woman, and a man gets caught up in a fierce wind which catches him up into the sky, until he lands on a trampoline. What do these three people have in common? They appropriately lived through some real life nursery rhymes, appropriate since they are direct descendants of the real Mother Goose.
Such is the hook that ensnares us in The Librarians and The Mother Goose Chase By Greg Cox.
The never-ending quest for eternal youth and beauty is the bread and butter of the beauty industry, and it looks like NewYew is the company that has hit the winning jackpot. Their secret weapon (literally) is scientist Lyle Fontanelle, who has developed a lotion that can cause a body to create more collagen, good for burn victims, and Lyle hopes, eventually… cancer patients. But the corporate bigwigs want to push through with the testing and manufacturing against Lyle’s better judgment. An accidental lapse in safety protocols cause the lotion to be tainted. During the test run, most of the subjects start turning into Lyle, and one man starts turning into his assistant (a woman). That doesn’t end pretty. The tainted lotion overwrites one’s DNA, and the quick knowledge spread of the lotion’s capabilities start spiraling the drain, leading all to want an Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells.
The Librarians and The Lost Lamp The Librarians Book 1 Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
Written by Greg Cox Tor Books
Release Date: October 11, 2016
Aladdin’s lamp and its djinn occupant are real and sought after by The Forty. That’s right… as in Ali Baba. That is the quest our modern day Librarians are sent on, before they really know who or what they are looking for. Their Librarian recruiter, Flynn Carsen, thought he solved this case in 2006, when he ran solo (okay – with a cute little museum lady). The Forty stole the oldest copy of Scheherazade’s Arabian Nights, which held the clue to the location of the lamp. The djinn is no flashy, funny, always-ready-with-a-musical-number type of genie. This one was and is angry and oppressed, and slavering for the day when he will finally be free. Every wish puts a strain on the magical cell, and one day, one good wish will crack it open, freeing the djinn forever. You can expect mayhem and apocalypse to follow.
More below on The Librarians and The Lost Lamp by Greg Cox.
Deadlands: Thunder Moon Rising Paperback | Kindle
Written by Jeffrey J. Mariotte
Illustrated by Steve Ellis
Cover by Aaron J. Riley Tor Books
Release Date: September 20, 2016
A western/horror-themed role-playing game is turning out books and I’m being offered the chance to review one? Uh, YES! That was pretty much my thought process when it happened. I’m about as country as a skyscraper, but I have always had a soft spot for western novels. Mash that up with my love of RPGs and horror and it’s a match (mashup?) made in heaven (hell?). Eh, whatever. Let’s talk about Deadlands: Thunder Moon Rising, shall we? That’s why we are all here, right? Well then, let’s go!
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press