"Waiting On" Wednesday - January 18 - Echoes of Betrayal

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine to spotlight not-yet-released books that we can't wait to read. I don't tend to participate every week, but there's one I've been waiting for since the previous book came out, and we're down to about a month to go now.

Echoes of Betrayal (Paladin's Legacy book 3)
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
978-0345508768

The amazon.com product description:

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming.  The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.

Echoes of Betrayal is the sequel to Oath of Fealty and Kings of the North, all set in the world of The Deed of Paksenarrion. Honestly, these are books I've loved, generally several times each now. Whenever the new one comes out and I've read it, I find myself already counting down the days until the next book comes out.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - October 19

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at her blog Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming books that we're eagerly awaiting. I'm not a regular participant, but I find it's a great way to share my enthusiasm (and sometimes impatience) for a book that I'm unable to read yet.

My pick this week is:

Blue Dragon
By Kylie Chan
HarperCollins
Release Date: October 25th 2011
978-0061994135

The amazon.com product description:

Martial arts, magic, demons and science
The forces of Hell are poised to strike . . .
When Emma’s relatives come to visit her, they are totally freaked out by what they learn . . . Emma’s beloved, John Chen, is a 3,000-year-old Chinese god. Not only that, John is becoming weaker by the day. Demons pursue him relentlessly, hoping to use Emma and his child, Simone, as bargaining tools against him.
Emma battles to defend Simone as John’s energy is drained by the effort of both living in the mortal world and protecting them. While Emma is nagged by doubts about her own nature, she must find the courage to go on . . . 

Blue Dragon is the sequel to White Tiger and Red Phoenix, both of which I found to be great reads, and which left me wanting more of Kylie Chan's work - not to mention wanting to find out what happens to Emma, John and Simone. Frankly, based on the previous two books, Blue Dragon is a book that I'm hoping will come into the store early. Red Phoenix did, so here's hoping.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - May 18

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for the week is:

The Shadow Grail #2: Conspiracies
By Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Tor Books
Release Date: July 5, 2011
978-0765328236

The amazon.com product description:

The second book in the Shadow Grail series by the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Spirit and her friends Burke, Loch, Muirin, and Addie have managed to defeat the evil force that has been killing students at Oakhurst Academy for the past forty years—or so they think. When a series of magical attacks disrupts the school, Doctor Ambrosius calls upon alumnus Mark Rider to secure the campus—and start training the students for war. The only student without magic, Spirit doesn’t trust Mark or his methods. She knows that Oakhurst isn’t safe. And if Spirit and her friends want to live long enough to graduate, they have to find out what is really going on—before it’s too late.

 I read the first book in The Shadow Grail series, Legacies last year and really enjoyed it - of course, I can't really think of any Mercedes Lackey books I haven't liked over the years. The concept is an intriguing one, being the typical reverse of the usual.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - April 20

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted each week over at Breaking the Spine and it's a great way to find upcoming books to read (when they come out) as the meme is all about books we're waiting to see be published. Some weeks there's too many books to choose between for this meme, and others, well my memory's not perfect and I can forget which of my favourite authors have books that are due to be published soon sometimes.

This week, I had to choose between about four books by Mercedes Lackey and the latest book by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The latter won out due to the description, and the fact that the cover is following the standard Dark Hunter style for the latest books (this choice because Amazon.com has still disabled the image-only linking code).

Retribution
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St Martin's Press
Publishing Date: August 2, 2011
978-0312546595

The amazon.com product description:

Harm no human…

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief—Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.

Even though I have yet to read No Mercy, the last book in the Dark Hunter series, this looks like a book that I'm going to have to read. I'm definitely looking forward to Retribution.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - April 6

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a meme to spotlight upcoming books that have yet to be published, hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It's fun, if sometimes a challenge to remember which books you're hoping to get your hands on the day they come out.

This is one I'm definitely waiting for, though it's probably in something of a different direction from most choices:

Green Suns And Faerie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien
by Verlyn Flieger
Release Date: July 7th 2011 (according to the Indigo.ca website)

The amazon.com product description:

A major contribution to the growing body of Tolkien scholarship
With the release of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and forthcoming film version of The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien's popularity has never been higher. In Green Suns and Faërie, author Verlyn Flieger, one of world's foremost Tolkien scholars, presents a selection of her best articles--some never before published--on a range of Tolkien topics.
The essays are divided into three distinct sections. The first explores Tolkien's ideas of sub-creation--the making of a Secondary World and its relation to the real world, the second looks at Tolkien's reconfiguration of the medieval story tradition, and the third places his work firmly within the context of the twentieth century and "modernist" literature. With discussions ranging from Tolkien's concepts of the hero to the much-misunderstood nature of Bilbo's last riddle in The Hobbit, Flieger reveals Tolkien as a man of both medieval learning and modern sensibility--one who is deeply engaged with the past and future, the regrets and hopes, the triumphs and tragedies, and above all the profound difficulties and dilemmas of his troubled century.
Taken in their entirety, these essays track a major scholar's deepening understanding of the work of the master of fantasy. Green Suns and Faërie is sure to become a cornerstone of Tolkien scholarship. 

 I've really enjoyed reading her other books on Tolkien and Middle-Earth, namely A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road To Faerie and Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World. Given that, I'm sure that this is going to be another book I'll enjoy. A lot of those topics look to be really interesting, and Verlyn Flieger is noted for her scholarship in the field of Tolkien studies.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - March 30

"Waiting On" Wednesday is the place to spotlight the books where you're waiting for their release date. The meme is hosted each week over at Breaking The Spine.

Last week this meme would have been too easy to pick a book for: I was waiting for both Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel and the new J.R. Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, Lover Unleashed. I'm still waiting for them now, but they have been published. The one I'm really waiting to get my hands on is Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon, which came out two weeks ago. Still not in the stores around here though.

I know this is a book that I'm curious about:
Dreams of Joy
Lisa See
Release Date: May 31, 2011

The amazon.com product description:

In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in her most powerful novel yet, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy.

Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, and anger at her mother and aunt for keeping them from her, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the communist regime.

Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.

Acclaimed for her richly drawn characters and vivid storytelling, Lisa See once again renders a family challenged by tragedy and time, yet ultimately united by the resilience of love. 

 Although, I haven't read Shanghai Girls yet, so I don't know how that would affect reading Dreams of Joy.

Waiting On Wednesday - No Mercy

Breaking The Spine hosts this neat meme each Wednesday: Waiting On Wednesday. It's where we can spotlight a book that hasn't come out yet that we're waiting eagerly for. This is my choice for the week:

No Mercy
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 3, 2010

The amazon.com product description:

Live fast, fight hard and if you have to die then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there’s a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she’s ever faced before.

Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he’s seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power- one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date.

The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn’t unravel the universe as we know it.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Collegium Chronicles: Intrigues

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted each week over at Breaking The Spine. It's a great way to find out about upcoming books.

This week I'm waiting for a book that I know I'm going to like. Intrigues is the sequel to Foundation, Book one of the Collegium Chronicles, and part of the world of Valdemar.

Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles Book Two
Mercedes Lackey
Daw Books
Release Date: October 5, 2010

Publisher's Blurb:

Magpie is a thirteen-year-old orphan chosen by one of the magical Companion horses of Valdemar and taken to the capital city, Haven, to be trained as a Herald. Like all Heralds, Magpie learns that he has a hidden Gift-the Gift of telepathy.
But life at the court is not without obstacles. When Mags is "recognized" by foreign secret operatives whose purpose is unknown, Mags himself comes under suspicion. Who are Magpie's parents-who is he, really? Can Mags solve the riddle of his parentage and his connection with the mysterious spies-and prove his loyalty-before the king and court banish him as a traitor?

Waiting On Wednesday - Bullet

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Breaking The Spine where the upcoming books we're waiting to read are spotlighted each week.

This week I'm waiting for the newest Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter book by Laurell K. Hamilton:

Bullet
Laurell K. Hamilton
Release Date: June 1, 2010

The amazon.com product description:

The all-new novel in the #1 bestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.

The triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude, necromancer Anita Blake, and werewolf Richard Zeeman has made Jean-Claude one of the most powerful vampires in the U.S. He's consolidating power in himself and those loyal to him, doing in America what Belle Morte did in Europe when she was at her height of power. She almost owned Europe, and there was those who are determined that Jean-Claude won't do the same in America. Jean-Claude's motives may be kinder, but as any lawyer will tell you: motives matter, but you're just as dead.

Assassins are coming to St. Louis to kill them all. Anita knows they're coming, but even being forewarned doesn't mean you can win.

Waiting On Wednesday - Mission Of Honor

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted each week at Breaking The Spine to spotlight those books we're all waiting to be published. This week my choice is:

Mission Of Honor
David Weber
Baen Books
Release Date: June 22, 2010
978-1439133613

The Amazon.com product description:

The Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven have been enemies for Honor Harrington's entire life, and she has paid a price for the victories she's achieved in that conflict. And now the unstoppable juggernaut of the mighty Solarian League is on a collision course with Manticore. The millions who have already died may have been only a foretaste of the billions of casualties just over the horizon, and Honor sees it coming. She's prepared to do anything, risk anything, to stop it, and she has a plan that may finally bring an end to the Havenite Wars and give even the Solarian League pause. But there are things not even Honor knows about. There are forces in play, hidden enemies in motion, all converging on the Star Kingdom of Manticore to crush the very life out of it, and Honor's worst nightmares fall short of the oncoming reality. But Manticore's enemies may not have thought of everything after all. Because if everything Honor Harrington loves is going down to destruction, it won't be going alone.

The series is getting a bit big, but I'm still enjoying it nonetheless.

Waiting On Wednesday - Lover Mine

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking The Spine which allows us to spotlight the books we're waiting eagerly to read. I'll admit that I'm not the most regular poster to this event, but I'm back this week.

My pick for this week is the upcoming book by J.R. Ward:

Lover Mine
J.R. Ward

Due out: April 27.
978-0451229854

The amazon.com description isn't much unfortunately. Still, it's tantalizing:

The hot new novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood by the #1 New York Times bestselling author

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown. Taken in by The Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was-or his true identity.

Xhex has long steeled herself against the attraction to John Matthew. Until fate intervenes and she discovers that love, like destiny, is inevitable.

 This is the one we've been waiting for for a while. John's story. Personally, I can't wait to see how it's going to turn out, although, given that this is a romance novel, I already know that somehow there's going to be a happy ending.

Waiting On Wednesday - Silver Borne

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted each week at the Breaking The Spine blog. It's really neat seeing what everyone's waiting to read.

My pick this week is Patricia Brigg's next novel in the Mercy Thompson series: Silver Borne. Thankfully, I don't have too much longer to wait. It's supposed to be out on March 30th.

The amazon.com product description:

All-new action in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series

When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

Waiting On Wednesday - Stealing Fire

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted each week at Breaking The Spine, so we can all discuss that subject near and dear to our hearts: that book we've been waiting for that has yet to come out.
This week's pick:

Stealing Fire
Jo Graham
Orbit Books
Release Date: May 25, 2010
978-0316076395

Amazon.com product description:

Alexander the Great's soldier, Lydias of Miletus, has survived the final campaigns of the king's life. He now has to deal with the chaos surrounding his death. Lydias throws his lot in with Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals who has grabbed Egypt as his personal territory. Aided by the eunuch Bagoas, the Persian archer Artashir, and the Athenian courtesan Thais, Ptolemy and Lydias must take on all the contenders in a desperate adventure whose prize is the fate of a white city by the sea, and Alexander's legacy.

Waiting On Wednesday - Oath Of Fealty.

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Breaking The Spine every Wednesday.

I'm waiting for Elizabeth Moon's newest book, Oath of Fealty:

Oath Of Fealty
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
Publishing Date: March 16, 2010
978-0345508744

The Amazon.com description:

Elizabeth Moon’s bestselling science fiction novels featuring Kylara Vatta have earned her rave reviews and comparison to such giants as Robert Heinlein and Lois McMaster Bujold. But as Moon’s devoted fans know, she started her career as a fantasy writer. The superb trilogy known as The Deed of Paksenarrion is widely judged to be one of the great post-Tolkien fantasies, a masterpiece of sustained world-building and realistic military action. Now Moon returns to this thrilling realm for the first time in nearly twenty years. The result: another classic in the making.

Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title—and enemies—in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies—and those he has not yet discovered.

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival—and that of Tsaia—depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.

Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their worlds. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister—and far more ancient—than they can imagine. And even Paks may find her gods-given magic and peerless fighting skills stretched to the limit—and beyond.

Just over two weeks to go. Given how much I love The Deed of Paksenarrion, I'm just hoping the store gets this one in early. The sooner the better!