The last of the May DAW Books book discussions is up at the blog (dawbooks)! Stop on by and check out Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes' first book in the Dragon Brigade series, Shadow Raiders and leave a comment if you've already read it!

Myke Cole is another author represented by my agent Joshua Bilmes. I met him first a couple of cons ago, just before his debut novel Shadow Ops: Control Point hit the shelves. I invited him to guest post and he agreed! So, first, an author bio and the cover of Shadow Ops: Control Point, followed by him talking a little about mixing SF with Fantasy and the genres and subgenres out there. So welcome Myke Cole and feel free to ask questions in the comments!

Author Bio: As a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Coun­tert­er­rorism to Cyber War­fare to Fed­eral Law Enforce­ment. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep­water Horizon oil spill. All that con­flict can wear a guy out. Thank good­ness for fan­tasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dun­geons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.

Book Description: Army Officer. Fugi­tive. Sorcerer.

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with mag­ical tal­ents. Untrained and pan­icked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set every­thing they touch ablaze.

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieu­tenant attached to the military’s Supernat­ural Oper­a­tions Corps, his mis­sion is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly man­i­fests a rare and pro­hib­ited mag­ical power, trans­forming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of sit­u­a­tion: hunt him down-–and take him out. Driven into an under­ground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he’s ever known, and that his life isn’t the only thing he’s fighting for.

So, Balticon was a blast, of course. I went mostly for a release party for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity with contributor Jean Marie Ward, and that happened Saturday night. Except for the craziness of setting up in the 5 minutes allotted, then doing the release in just 1 hour, and then cleaning up (which the people before us did NOT do) and getting packed up and out, the party was a huge success and great fun. The best surprise of all was that people actually showed up to buy the book, rather than just popping in for the free food and then leaving. We were swamped signing books for 45 minutes. I haven't done the official count, but we sold at least 15 books there, plus copies of our other books as well.

In any case, the other reason this con was special was because both of my brothers were there. Jason and Jacob (yes, we're all J's) came up or down from where they live and we shared a room and everything. It's the first time we've ever done anything with just us 3 (without parents, without other relatives, without significant others or kids, etc). Jason was there to network, since he writes science fiction. We thought Jacob had come in order to disappear into the game room for the weekend, but he actually never went to the game room (as far as I know) and hung out with either me or Jason, or went off to panels on his own. The brotherly bonding was good.

And of course, there was the JABberwocky agency bonding going on as well. I spent a good portion of the time (when not going to panels and such) hanging with Myke Cole (a guest blog will appear shortly), Jon Sprunk (a guest post from him as well), John Hemry/Jack Campbell (I haven't asked him yet for a guest blog), Peter V. Brett (same), and, of course, my agent Joshua Bilmes. We're all part of JABberwocky and had a spectacular dinner at Barrett's one night.

So, a great con. I don't feel like I ever stopped moving while I was there and it all happened rather fast, but it was great seeing old friends (although some only for a moment). The "Fantasy Title Chain" panel was a blast; I'll report back on some of the titles we ended up with later. I never got to participate in the "Liar's Panel" which was a disappointment. I had some pretty good lies made up for that. But overall, a great con.

Silence is Michelle Sagara's first book in the new Queen of the Dead urban fantasy series. As most of you know, I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, but I love Michelle's other fantasy books, so I decided to give this one a try.

I'll be attending Balticon this coming Memorial Day weekend and I have what I think is my schedule. This comes from scanning through the schedule posted online, so I may have missed something. But this is what I saw. If anyone catches something I missed, let me know. I'll be there Friday-Sunday (not there on Monday), so catch me if you can. There will be a release party for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity on Saturday night starting at 7pm for an hour featuring me and Jean Marie Ward, one of the contributors to the anthology. Swing by and say hi! We'll have copies of the book (and our other books) there for sale as well. The book launch will be in Parlor 1041.

Friday:

7pm: Fantasy Title Chain: Panelists and members of the audience come up with plot synopses for book titles provided by the audience! Should be uproarious fun.

Saturday:

10am: Editors Roundtable: Editors talk about working with authors and publishers and creating those books and anthologies you see there on the shelf.

3pm: A Literary World Without Borders: Panelists talk about how the publishing world is changing with the death of brick and mortar bookstores and the shift toward electonic books.

4:30pm: Sequels and Prequels: Writers talk about the different aspects of writing sequels and prequels.

6pm: When Does that Alien or Mage Become a God or Demon?: Panelists talk about the fine line between when characters with magical powers or significant differences become that world's gods and demons.

7pm: PARTY!!!!!: Book launch for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity with editor (me) and contributor Jean Marie Ward.

Sunday:

Noon: Liars' Panel: Panelists respond to 10 questions, lying for 3 of the 10. Audience members must wager on whether the panelists are lying or not. This is fundraiser panel, so audience members should bring lots of $1 bills in order to bet on when the author is lying or not. All cash goes into a booty for the charity. I'm actually an alternate panelist on this one, so may not be participating if everyone else shows up.

Irene Radford is giving away a free copy of her newest book Chicory Up over at the DAW Books blog (dawbooks)! Just swing on by and leave a comment if you have a US mailing address and you're entered! If you can answer her question posed in the comments, you can also win a free copy of the first book, Thistle Down. Check it out, and good luck!

The next book discussion is up on the DAW Books blog (dawbooks)! We're talking about Irene Radford's Chicory Up, the second book in her Pixie Chronicles series. Swing on by to check it out!

Ooo, cool, another Dark Tower novel. I can't say I loved ALL of the Dark Tower series (the first couple of books were a little rough . . . but then the first book was really a bunch of short stories pieced together), but King certainly got it together for pretty much the rest of it, whether you liked or hated the ending of volume seven. So hearing there was another story set in that universe was great. And this novel (really two novelettes nested together) will certainly help feed that craving that Dark Tower fans now have for MORE.

The basic idea is that Roland and crew get trapped by a storm called a starkblast and the storm reminds Roland of a story his mother told him when he was young, as well as one of his first "jobs" as gunslinger. To pass the time, he tells his ka-tet both stories, starting with his own story, which segues into his younger self telling the OTHER story to a young boy. Both stories involve storms, young boys learning to be men, and skin-men, tying them neatly together.

The most significant story--meaning the one with the most meat--is the story Roland's mother told him when he was young, called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It's about Tim, his mother, and his stepfather, and while it has the feel of a fairy tale in some parts, as you read it that facade falls away and you end up living Tim's story with him. It has all the hallmarks of a Dark Tower story--a slightly skewed "old style" setting mixed in with hints of a technological world that has somehow gone awry and faded into the past. I really loved this story, and it's certainly the heart of the book.

The story that bookends this one--with young Roland on one of his first missions--is also excellent, although as I said, it doesn't have as much meat to it as the other. Not because it wasn't developed enough, but because it's just a simpler story. Young Roland is sent to resolve the rumors of a skin-man threatening a small town. This section of the book has the most Western feel to it, dry like desert, hot, with ranches, a mine, and the makings of a ghost town as the setting. And yet there are still hints of that lost technological world.

The final bookend--of Roland and crew weathering a storm--doesn't have its own internal story and is there simply to place what's here into the larger Dark Tower series. As stated in the intro to the novel, this could be considered Dark Tower 4.5 in the series/timeline.

So, definitely a great Stephen King novel, full of everything fans expect of King AND of the Dark Tower series. It was great to return to this world and these characters, and I hope that King does future stories in this world as they pop up. No one ever really wants to leave a series behind, and it was nice to sit back and revisit old friends.

We're talking about Celia Jerome's newest Willow Tate novel Life Guards in the Hamptons over at the DAW Books blog (dawbooks)! Swing on by and check it out!

I've just posted the book discussion for Michelle Sagara's new book Silence, the first book in The Queen of the Dead series, over at the DAW Books blog (dawbooks). Anyone here read it yet? It certainly looks significantly different from Michelle's other books. If you haven't heard of it, swing on by and check it out!

I loved the first book The Hunger Games, although I wanted it to go a little further and thus NOT be a young adult book when it came to the actual Games. I absolutely LOVED the second book, Catching Fire. I had no issues with that book whatsoever. So I naturally moved on to this third book without hesitation. I have to say I was disappointed.

The premise, in case you're one of the few out there who isn't in the know, is that Katniss won the Hunger Games in the first book by essentially snubbing her nose at the rules and the Capitol, forcing their hand. This act became a sign of the rebellion already stirring in this nation of Panem, and Katniss herself became am unwilling and unwitting symbol of that rebellion. In the second book, President Snow attempted to get Katniss to quell the rebellion, and when that didn't work, attempted to kill her by sending her back to the Games. But the rebels rescued her from the Games and now the rebellion is in full swing. In Mockingjay, Katniss has to deal with the her new status as the Mockingjay, symbol of the rebellion, and that Peeta was NOT rescued along with her and is in the hands of Snow. How far must she go to help the rebellion in its aims in order to save Peeta? And what will the consequences be to herself, her family, and Gale?

I think my main disappointment with this third book is that, except for one moment at the very end of the book, Katniss herself is simply a witness to events that others initiate. The rebellion is, in essence, out of her hands and she is a piece being moved here and there in order to further the cause. Katniss herself makes almost no real decisions herself, and those that she does make gets her into further trouble with not only Snow, but Coin, the leader of the rebellion in District 13. I don't think Katniss should have been an integral part of the rebellion, in the respect that she should have been fighting on the front lines or anything. That's unrealistic. She IS a symbol, and is used as such. But she should have been stronger and voiced her opinion more, especially after what's happened to her up to this point. I wanted her to ACT, to do something more significant than what she does. And for a long while, it seemed that she would, once the rebels reached the Capitol itself. However, that plotline ended up simply rambling into nothing, a huge disappointment.

That said, her one significant act was tremendous and a game-changer. Even though it was obvious it was coming (at least to me), it still had a huge impact and made the book at least a satisfactory conclusion to Katniss' story.

I think that's the main problem with the third book--it attempted to focus on events that were outside of Katniss' story, when it should have remained exclusively about Katniss, her family, Peeta, and Gale, with the greater rebellion happening off stage from this more personal story. Where the book isn't quite as good is when it's dealing with the rebellion and world as a whole, when the focus is OFF Katniss. If it had stayed more focused, and Katniss had been stronger and dealt with the personal storyline more directly, it would have been a better book.

Not that is was a bad book by any means. I have some critical things to say, yes, but it was still a good book, and definitely a series worthy of the attention that it's gotten up to this point. It would have been nearly impossible to live up to the greatness of Catching Fire (IMO) regardless. *grin*

I've been busy with ending the current semester, finals, packing my office because they're tearing down our building, and all that other life stuff, but I finally got to the last book discussion for April releases at the DAW Book blog (dawbooks). It's for Edward Willett's Helix War, which is actually an omnibus edition of his two previous books Marseguro and Terra Inseguro. Swing on by the blog and take a look at this SF series!

The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy is better than the first, in my opinion. I have to admit that when I finished the first book and really, really wanted to read the sequel, I asked myself what Suzanne Collins could possibly do in the sequel. I literally thought, "The obvious thing to do is put Katniss back into the Games, but that would be just a rehash of the first book." Then I heard from someone who'd read the books that that's exactly what happens in book two. I was . . . disappointed, and so didn't get around to reading Catching Fire right away.

I should have had more faith. Yes, Katniss does end up back in the Games, but Suzanne Collins does it in such a way that it totally makes sense--in fact, it sort of HAS to happen this way--and it ISN'T just a rehash of Katniss' first Games. Not even close.

So, the premise is that Katniss and Peeta have won the Hunger Games and have returned home. But their little ploy with the berries has earned them the hatred of President Snow, because it has sparked rebellion in some of the Districts. Snow charges Katniss with the impossible task of convincing the rebels that she wasn't attempting to defy the Capitol with her ploy, merely save the "love of her life" Peeta.

Her attempts fail. In fact, she sparks even further rebellion. Katniss decides she must take her friends and family, including Peeta and Gale, and flee into the wilderness near her home. But before she can carry out her plan, everything in District 12--and everywhere else as well--escalates. Katniss is caught playing politics with President Snow, and the Games themselves become one of the tools used by both sides.

I like politics in my books, which is probably why I feel this book is so much stronger than the first book. (Although I raved about the first book as well.) I had some minor quibbles with the first book, but don't have anything to say bad about this book. It was spectacular. I got caught up in Katniss and her dilemma to the point where I set aside working on my own writing in order to finish the book. All of the emotional pain and actions of the characters here make total sense, and there is no point at which I thought anything was manipulated or "fake" in any way. This is exactly what would happen in such a situation, and Katniss' lack of control of the events because of her situation is perfect.

I would certainly recommend this series to everyone. I moved on to the third book, Mockingjay, immediately. No hesitation this time. I need to see how this story ends.

Here's Mike Douton's review of Well of Sorrows in full now that I have permission to post it. You can find his blog here.

A couple of other reviews have popped up. A spectular one for Well of Sorrows and another for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity.

The first, for Well of Sorrows, is from Mike Douton, who really, really liked the book. In fact, he added it to his "Shelf of Honor" because it contains TWO "book throwing moments" in it (Mike's definition of a book throwing moment is a good thing, not a bad thing--as in, something happened in the book that "was so intense, you have to throw the book across the room"). You can check out his thoughts on the book here, although I've asked if I can copy the review here, so it may make an appearance in the near future.

I've just posted the book discussion for Fiona Patton's The Shining City, the third book in her Warriors of Estavia series over at the DAW Books blog (dawbooks). Stop on by and check it out! Leave a comment on this book or her previous books!

A couple of new reviews have popped up for The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. Check them out!

The first is from Night Owl Reviews, who give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

The second is from janicu here on LiveJournal.

What I find interesting about the reviews for this anthology (as with the After Hours: Tales from the Ur-bar</a> anthology) is the fact that each reviewer seems to enjoy different stories. I take this as a compliment, since it means everyone should be able to find a couple of stories they really liked in the anthology when finished. Which was your favorite?

Swing on by the DAW Books blog and check out the new books for May! Including new Michelle Sagara, Celia Jerome, and Irene Radford!

I received an ARC of this book, which is why I can post about it before it's even been released. This book will hit the shelves on August 7th, 2012. You should preorder your copy today.

The Grass King's Concubine is Kari Sperring's second book and while it is NOT a sequel to her first, Living With Ghosts, it is set in the same world. However, this book is nothing like her first. It has some dark themes, but the overall atmosphere of The Grass King's Concubine is much lighter and the characters, in general, aren't as dark either.

Shadow Ops: Control Point is the first novel in a new series by new author Myke Cole. I can honestly say that I look forward to seeing where this series--and Myke Cole's career--goes after this. I'll certainly be buying the next book.