Released next month: The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby

Due for Release in September 2012

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby

Marius don Hellespont and his apprentice, Gerd, are professional looters of battlefields. When they stumble upon the corpse of the King of Scorby and Gerd is killed, Marius is mistaken for the monarch by one of the dead soldiers and is transported down to the Kingdom of the Dead.

Just like the living citizens, the dead need a King — after all, the King is God’s representative, and someone needs to remind God where they are.

And so it comes to pass that Marius is banished to the surface with one message: if he wants to recover his life he must find the dead a King. Which he fully intends to do.

Just as soon as he stops running away.

UK/RoW
6 Sep 2012
B-format paperback
£7.99 UK
ISBN 9780857662866

US/CAN
28 Aug 2012
mass-market paperback
$7.99 US $8.99 CAN
ISBN 9780857662873

eBook
28 Aug 2012
£5.49
ePub ISBN 9780857662880

The ebook is available from The Robot Trading Company once The Corpse-Rat King is released. The print books I presume will be available in all the usual places; the publishers don’t say!

Published by Angry Robot, The Corpse-Rat King sounds to be an intriguing story with plenty of action, both natural and supernatural, on the way. This is on my “look-for” list!

Released next month: Shift by Kim Curran

Due for Release in September 2012

Shift by Kim Curran

Shift by Kim Curran

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he’s not so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

UK Print
Date: 6th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844033
Format: Medium Paperback
R.R.P.: £7.99

US/CAN Print
Date: 4th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844040
Format: Large Paperback
R.R.P.: $9.99

Ebook
Date: 4th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844057
Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / $6.99

UK Print & Ebook
Amazon.co.uk | Book Depository | Waterstones | WHSmith

US Print & Ebook
Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org

Published by Strange Chemistry, Shift sounds to be a facinating time travel novel; I enjoy the mental juggling involved in dealing with the paradoxes that can result from time travel.  I wasn’t lucky enough to win a copy on Goodreads, so I’m going to buy myself a copy (if I can’t persuade someone to buy it for me as a present!).  With the striking cover art, I think I’ll be looking for a physical copy, rather than an ebook.

Released next month: Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

Due for Release in September 2012

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

UK Print
Date: 6th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844064
Format: Medium Paperback
R.R.P.: £7.99

US/CAN Print
Date: 4th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844071
Format: Large Paperback
R.R.P.: $9.99

Ebook
Date: 4th September 2012
ISBN: 9781908844088
Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / $6.99

UK Print & Ebook
Amazon.co.uk | Book Depository | Waterstones | WHSmith

US Print & Ebook
Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org

Published by Strange Chemistry, Blackwood sounds to be just the kind of sci-fi/fantasy novel I enjoy, and have been reading for some time.  I wasn’t lucky enough to win a copy on Goodreads, so I’m going to buy myself a copy.  With the lovely cover art, I think I’ll be looking for a physical copy, rather than an ebook.

Cover Art Announced: Pantomime by Laura Lam

Cover Art announced for
Pantomime by Laura Lam

Publishers Strange Chemistry have unveiled the preliminary cover art work, by Tom Bagshaw, for Laura Lam’s latest book, Pantomime.

I think this is a very striking image, its simplicity giving it maximum impact.  As the publishers remark, the title and author’s name still need to be added; I hope that these are in sympathy with the image and don’t lessen its impact.

Here is the blurb for the book:

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

I think Pantomime sounds intriguing, mysterious and magical. I shall be hunting this one down when it’s published in February 2013!