Fantasy Book Critic

Fantasy Book Critic Spotlight on August Books30 Juli 2011 9:47This month we are featuring 36 books. There are probably twice as many new sff and related releases this month in traditional publishing not to speak of the countless indies from Amazon and Smashwords but we are limiting ourselves to books that will be reviewed here or are similar with such. For the full schedule of August 2011 titles known to us, you can consult the Upcoming Releases page. The release dates are US unless marked otherwise, though for books released in the UK and US in the same month but on different dates we use the earliest date without comment and they are first edition unless noted differently. The dates are on a best known basis so they are not guaranteed; same about the edition information. Since information sometimes is out of date even in the Amazon links we use for listings, books get delayed or sometimes even released earlier, we would truly appreciate if you would send us an email about any listing with incorrect information. Sometimes a cover image is not available at the time of the post and also sometimes covers change unexpectedly so while we generally use the Amazon one when available and cross check with Google Images, the ultimate bookstore cover may be different.************************************************************************ “Steelhands” by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett. Release Date: August 2, 2011. Published by Bantam Spectra. (FAN).“Prince of Thorns” by Mark Lawrence. Release Date: August 2, 2011. Published by Ace. (FAN).“The Whitefire Crossing” by Courtney Schafer. Release Date: August 2, 2011. Published by Night Shade Books. (FAN). “Cold Vengeance” by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Release Date: August 2, 2011. Published by Grand Central. (MISC). “Circle of Fire” by Michelle Zink. Release Date: August 3, 2011. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (YA).“A Blight of Mages” by Karen Miller. Release Date: August 4, 2011. Published by Orbit. (FAN). ************************************************************************ “The Last Four Things” by Paul Hoffman. Release Date: August 4, 2011. Published by Dutton. (MISC / US Debut).“The Crown of the Conqueror” by Gav Thorpe. UK Release Date: August 4, 2011. Published by Angry Robot. (FAN).“Reality 36” by Guy Haley. UK Release Date: August 4, 2011. Published by Angry Robot. (SF).“Awakening” by William Horwood. UK Release Date: August 5, 2011. Published by Tor UK. (FAN).“Final Days” by Gary Gibson. UK Release Date: August 5, 2011. Published by Tor UK. (SF).“The Magician King” by Lev Grossman. Release Date: August 9, 2011. Published by Viking. (FAN). ************************************************************************ “Isles of the Forsaken” by Carolyn Ives Gilman. Release Date: August 15, 2011. Published by ChiZine Publications. (FAN).“The Omen Machine” by Terry Goodkind. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Tor. (FAN).“The Moon Maze Game” by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Tor. (SF).“The Tempering of Men” by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Tor. (FAN).“The Unincorporated Woman” by Dani Kollin & Eytan Kollin. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Tor. (SF). “Low Town” by Daniel Polansky. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Doubleday. (FAN). ************************************************************************ “Ready One Player” by Ernest Cline. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Crown. (SF).“Autumn: Purification” by David Moody. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by St. Martin’s Griffin. (HF).“Legacy” by David L. Golemon. Release Date: August 16, 2011. Published by Thomas Dunne. (MISC).“The Edinburgh Dead” by Brian Ruckley. Release Date: August 17, 2011. Published by Orbit. (MISC).“By Light Alone” by Adam Roberts. UK Release Date: August 18, 2011. Published by Gollancz. (SF). “The Third Section” by Jasper Kent. UK Release Date: August 18, 2011. Published by Bantam UK. (MISC). ************************************************************************ “Bringer of Light” by Jaine Fenn. UK Release Date: August 18, 2011. Published by Gollancz. (SF).“A Long, Long Sleep” by Anna Sheehan. UK Release Date: August 18, 2011. Published by Gollancz. (YA).“Ravensoul” by James Barclay. Release Date: August 23, 2011. Published by Pyr. (FAN / US Debut).“Mayan December” by Brenda Cooper. Release Date: August 23, 2011. Published by Prime Books. (FAN).“The Measure of the Magic: Legends of Shannara” by Terry Brooks. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Del Rey. (FAN). “With Fate Conspire” by Marie Brennan. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Tor. (FAN). ************************************************************************ “The Recollection” by Gareth L. Powell. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Solaris. (SF).“Countdown: M Day” by Tom Kratman. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Baen. (SF).“Roil” by Trent Jamieson. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Angry Robot. (Steampunk).“Regicide” by Nicholas Royle. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Solaris. (HF).“Awakenings” by Edward Lazellari. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Tor. (FAN).“The Postmortal” by Drew Magary. Release Date: August 30, 2011. Published by Penguin. (MISC).