Nintendo Download, May 31, 2018: Pokémon Cubed!

​This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:

• Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch
  
  • Pokémon Quest – Set off for adventure in the Pokémon Quest game. Venture out with your Pokémon buddies on expeditions across Tumblecube Island in search of loot in this free-to-start action-adventure for the Nintendo Switch system. Modify your Pokémon buddies with discovered Power Stones to make your ultimate expedition team. With a cube-shaped art style, Pokémon Quest is unlike any Pokémon game you’ve seen before. The simple gameplay makes it easy to hop into expeditions and start exploring Tumblecube Island with the help of your Pokémon buddies. Afterwards, head back to your base camp where you can use the loot you found during your adventure to befriend more Pokémon. Attract various Kanto Region Pokémon to your base camp by cooking up dishes made with collected ingredients! You can even decorate your base camp with fun items that provide helpful bonuses that make your expeditions more beneficial
  • Just Shapes & Beats – Just Shapes & Beats is a chaotic co-op musical bullet-hell based on three simple things: avoid Shapes, move to the rad Beats, and die, repeatedly. It’s a new spin on SHMUPs, adding a layer of co-op that's at the core of the game: 'cause everything is better with friends. Hits like a ton of bricks straight into your eardrums and your eyeballs; BAM! (Additional accessories may be required for multiplayer mode. Sold separately.)
  • West of Loathing – West of Loathing is a single-player slapstick comedy adventure role-playing game set in the Wild West of the Kingdom of Loathing universe. Traverse snake-infested gulches, punch skeletons wearing cowboy hats, grapple with demon cows and investigate a wide variety of disgusting spittoons. Explore a vast open world and encounter a colorful cast of characters, some of whom are good, many of whom are bad, and a few of whom are ugly.

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Works by DAC Authors

Here are some of the upcoming works by formerly featured DAC Authors. The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.

James Bennett (2016)

Burning Ashes
Ben Garston 3
Orbit, December 11th 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

In the vein of Kevin Hearne, Burning Ashes is the third book in the Ben Garston series, a contemporary fantasy tale of dragons and ancient magic hidden within our own world.

The Lore is over. For Ben Garston, the fight is just beginning.

The uneasy truce between the human and the mythical world has shattered. Betrayed by his oldest friend, with a tragic death on his hands, there isn’t enough whiskey in England to wash away the taste of Ben’s guilt. But for a one-time guardian dragon, there’s no time to sit and sulk in the ruins.

Because the Long Sleep has come undone. Slowly but surely, Remnants are stirring under the earth, unleashing chaos and terror on an unsuspecting modern world. Worse still, the Fay are returning, travelling across the gulfs of the nether to bring a final reckoning to Remnants and humans alike.< A war is coming. A war to end all wars. And only Ben Garston stands in the way…

The Ben Garston novels
Chasing Embers
Raising Fire
Burning Ashes

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Book 1

Book 2

James Islington (2016)

The Light of All That Falls
The Licanius Trilogy 3
Orbit, February 19, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 704 pages

“Love The Wheel of Time? This is about to become your new favorite series.” – B&N SF & Fantasy Blog

The Light of All that Falls concludes the epic adventure that began in The Shadow of What Was Lost, the acclaimed fantasy blockbuster from James Islington.

The Boundary is whole once again, but it may be too late.

Banes now stalk Andarra, while in Ilin Illan, the political machinations of a generation come to a head as Wirr’s newfound ability forces his family’s old enemies into action.

Imprisoned and alone in a strange land, Davian is pitted against the remaining Venerate as they work tirelessly to undo Asha’s sacrifice – even as he struggles with what he has learned about the friend he chose to set free.

Finally, Caeden is confronted with the reality of the plan he laid centuries ago – heartbroken at how it began, and devastated by how it must end.

“Islington has built a world with all the right genre elements: complex magic, terrifying threats out of legend, political intrigue, and a large cast of characters whose motivations are seldom clear. Fans of doorstop epic fantasy will not be disappointed.” – Publishers Weekly

“Ingeniously plotted… Islington’s natural storytelling ability provides incessant plot twists and maintains a relentless pace… A promising page-turner from a poised newcomer.” –Kirkus

The Licanius Trilogy
The Shadow of What Was Lost
An Echo of Things to Come
The Light of All That Falls

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : Kobo

Book 1

Book 2

Rhonda Mason (2015)

Exile's Throne
The Empress Game Trilogy 3
Titan Book, August 14, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

One seat on the intergalactic Sakien Empire’s supreme ruling body, the Council of Seven, remains unfilled, that of the Empress Apparent. The seat isn’t won by votes or marriage. It’s won in a tournament of ritualized combat in the ancient tradition. Now that tournament, the Empress Game, has been called and the women of the empire will stop at nothing to secure political domination for their homeworlds. Kayla Reunimon, a supreme fighter, is called to battle it out in the arena.

The battle for political power isn’t contained by the tournament’s ring, however. The empire’s elite gather to forge, strengthen or betray alliances in a dance that will determine the fate of the empire for a generation. With the empire wracked by a rising nanovirus plague and stretched thin by an ill-advised planet-wide occupation of Ordoch in enemy territory, everything rests on the woman who rises to the top.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

iBooks : Kobo

Book 1

Book 2

Rob Liefeld Variant for Bloodstrike Brutalists #23

ROB LIEFELD VARIANT INTRODUCES NEW CHARACTER—THE POUCH—TO HIGHLY ANTICIPATED BLOODSTRIKE BRUTALISTS

PORTLAND, OR, 05/30/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal a very special Rob Liefeld variant cover to the #23 issue of Liefeld’s highly anticipated BLOODSTRIKE BRUTALISTS arc featuring story and artwork by Michel Fiffe (COPRA). This variant cover introduces an all-new character—The Pouch!

"Since the moment I introduced The Pouch on my social media, the fans have exploded with support and enthusiasm!" said Liefeld. "The truest definition of 'because you demanded it!' The Pouch comes to life on the cover and in an interior story included in Bloodstrike Brutalists 2!”

In BRUTALIST Part Two, bureaucratic overlords with morbid agendas need love, too. What lengths will they go to? A string of gruesome murders, a deadly disease, and a dark conspiracy; for Bloodstrike, that’s a Tuesday.

BLOODSTRIKE #23 will hit stores on Wednesday, June 27th. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, June 4th.

• BLOODSTRIKE #23 CVR A FIFFE - Diamond Code APR180494
• BLOODSTRIKE #23 CVR B LIEFELD - Diamond Code APR188129
• BLOODSTRIKE #23 CVR C FRAGA - Diamond Code APR188130

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

New Pokémon™ Experiences Announced for Nintendo Switch

Last night [May 29, 2018], Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, GAME FREAK and Niantic announced several fun new Pokémon experiences coming to the Nintendo Switch system in 2018, including one that is available right now!

The entire video presentation can be viewed here, but below is a summary of key announcements:

• Pokémon^™: Let’s Go, Pikachu!and Pokémon^™: Let’s Go, Eevee!: Taking place in the diverse and vibrant Kanto region, this new pair of games is packed with adventure for Pokémon Trainers of all ages. In the Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! games, you will partner up with either Pikachu or Eevee and embark on an exciting adventure where you’ll catch and battle Pokémon, meet other Trainers and discover the region of Kanto. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch on Nov. 16, 2018. Watch the trailer.
• >Poké Ball^™ Plus: This controller was specially designed by Nintendo to enhance the gameplay experience for aspiring Pokémon Trainers by replicating the look and feel of an actual Poké Ball^™. Poké Ball Plus allows players to control their journey in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, combining motion controls, a pressable Control Stick and Top Button to create a truly immersive Pokémon adventure. In addition to motion controls, Poké Ball Plus also lights up with a variety of colors, vibrates and plays sounds. Players can even send one Pokémon at a time from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! to Poké Ball Plus and bring it along for a stroll in the real world. Poké Ball Plus is also compatible with the Pokémon^™ GO app*, providing the same functionality as Pokémon^™ GO Plus. Poké Ball Plus will launch alongside Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! on Nov. 16, 2018.
• Connect to Pokémon GO*: By wirelessly connecting Pokémon GO to Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, players can transfer Kanto region Pokémon into the Nintendo Switch games.
• Catch and Battle with a Friend: Play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! cooperatively anytime, anywhere on one system. Each player can use a single Joy-Con controller or Poké Ball Plus (sold separately) to catch and battle together.
• Pokémon^™ Quest: Set off on an adventure in the Pokémon Quest game. Venture out with your Pokémon buddies on expeditions across Tumblecube Island in search of loot in this free-to-start action-adventure game for the Nintendo Switch system. Modify your Pokémon buddies with discovered Power Stones to make your expedition team. With a cube-shaped art style, Pokémon Quest is unlike any Pokémon game you’ve seen before. The simple gameplay makes it easy to hop into expeditions and start exploring Tumblecube Island with the help of your Pokémon buddies. Afterward, head back to your base camp where you can use the loot you found during your adventure to befriend more Pokémon. Attract various Kanto Region Pokémon to your base camp by cooking up dishes made with collected ingredients. You can even decorate your base camp with fun items that provide helpful bonuses that make your expeditions more beneficial.

In addition to all of this exciting content, it was announced that GAME FREAK is simultaneously developing another core RPG entry in the Pokémon series, slated to be released for Nintendo Switch in late 2019.

For more information about all these experiences and more, visit https://www.pokemon.com/us/.

*Requires installation of the Pokémon GO application on a compatible smartphone. Visit https://pokeballplus.nintendo.com/ for details.

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The New Lieutenants of Metal Launching in July

THE NEW LIEUTENANTS OF METAL
WILL DELIVER READERS INTO GREATER COMIC BOOK GLORY

PORTLAND, OR, 05/30/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal preview pages from Joe Casey and Ulises Farinas’ forthcoming THE NEW LIEUTENANTS OF METAL, which is set to launch this July.

Meet the New Lieutenants of Metal, a precision strike force ready to face any threat, and the most kick-ass, head-banging heroes ever assembled! Their names are legend: The Mighty Krieg, Vandenborg Riot, Manowarrior, Steppenwulf. Beset on all sides by a roster of vicious foes, the New Lieutenants of Metal are guaranteed to deliver you unto greater comic book glory.

THE NEW LIEUTENANTS OF METAL #1 (Diamond Code MAY180033) hits stores on Wednesday, July 4th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers is Monday, June 11th.

New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition - Exclusive to GameStop

Legendary New Nintendo 2DS XL System Coming Exclusively to GameStop Stores on July 2

Every legendary hero needs a shield, just like every legendary gamer needs a video game system that looks like a shield! like a shield! Launching exclusively in GameStop stores on July 2 at a suggested retail price of $159.99, the special edition New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition system resembles Link’s iconic Hylian Shield from The Legend of Zelda series, and comes pre-loaded with the critically acclaimed adventure The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to the beloved Super NES game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In this follow-up, Link must once again save the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil force by transforming into a living painting and crossing into a dark parallel world. Conquer puzzles, traps and hidden rooms of deadly dungeons to save both worlds from certain doom!

New Nintendo 2DS XL plays the entire library of Nintendo 3DS games in 2D. With two large screens and built-in amiibo support, it’s the ideal portable system for any type of gamer – especially ones looking to dive into The Legend of Zelda series for the first time.
For more information about the New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition, visit https://www.nintendo.com/2ds/buynow/#new-nintendo-2ds-xl-hylian-shield-edition.

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The Red Hook - Preview and Summer Tour

THE RED HOOK PREVIEW PAGES REVEALED AND SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED

PORTLAND, OR, 05/29/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal preview pages from Dean Haspiel’s forthcoming THE RED HOOK, VOL. 1: NEW BROOKLYN, which is set to launch this June. Haspiel will kick-off the release of THE RED HOOK with a Summer 2018 Tour of events beginning with a Book Expo America appearance.

Winner of the Ringo Award for Best Webcomic 2017, this book collects the first volume of THE RED HOOK, a super-thief who is bequeathed the Omni-fist of Altruism and transformed into a hero against his will a year after a sentient Brooklyn's heart is broken and physically secedes from America

THE RED HOOK, VOL. 1: NEW BROOKLYN (ISBN: 978-1-5343-0920-3, Diamond Code APR180549) hits stores on Wednesday, June 6th. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

Farmhand Coming in July - Preview

SOMETHING DARK HAS TAKEN ROOT IN FARMHAND...

PORTLAND, OR, 05/29/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal preview pages from Eisner Award winning co-creator of CHEW Rob Guillory’s forthcoming FARMHAND. The series is set to launch this July.

FARMHAND follows farmer Jedidiah Jenkins whose cash crop isn’t corn or soy… it’s a little more unusual. Jed grows fast-healing, plug-and-play human organs. Lose a finger? Need a new liver? He’s got you covered. Unfortunately, strange produce isn’t the only thing Jed’s got buried. Deep in the soil of the Jenkins Family Farm, something dark has taken root, and it’s beginning to bloom.

FARMHAND is a dark comedy about science gone sinister and agriculture gone apocalyptic. Nature is a Mother.

FARMHAND #1 (Diamond Code MAY180011) hits stores on Wednesday, July 11th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers is Monday, June 18th.

The New World Launching in July

MAD MAX MEETS ROMEO + JULIET IN TRADD MOORE AND ALES KOT’S EDGY THE NEW WORLD

PORTLAND, OR, 05/29/2018 — Aleš Kot (ZERO, DAYS OF HATE), Tradd Moore (LUTHER STRODE), and Heather Moore come together for THE NEW WORLD—a ballistic, science-fiction, action, romance miniseries set to launch this July.

THE NEW WORLD #1 begins with a massive-sized, 72-page debut issue, and features a backup comic introducing the talents of Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Sunando C.

Set in The United States of America—after the Second Civil War—THE NEW WORLD follows two lovers. One: a straight-edge vegan hacker anarchist boy with a penchant for messing with the State. The other: a chaotic, hedonistic cop with a reality TV show and a license to kill. This really shouldn't happen—and yet, somehow, it does. Soon, the entire state of New California is after them—so they have to run.

THE NEW WORLD #1 hits stores on Wednesday, July 25th. The final order cutoff for retailers is Monday, July 2nd.

• THE NEW WORLD #1 Cover A Moore & Muller (Diamond Code MAY180036)
• THE NEW WORLD #1 Cover B Moore & Muller (Diamond Code MAY180037)
• THE NEW WORLD #1 Cover C Bertram (Diamond Code MAY180038)
• THE NEW WORLD #1 Cover D Muller (Diamond Code MAY180039)

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

Days of Hate: Act One Available in July

DAYS OF HATE: ACT ONE WILL BE COLLECTED INTO TRADE PAPERBACK AND AVAILABLE THIS JULY

PORTLAND, OR, 05/29/2018 — Bestselling writer Aleš Kot (ZERO, THE NEW WORLD), artist Danijel Žeželj (STARVE), and Eisner-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire (REDLANDS, PRETTY DEADLY) introduce readers to a near-future dystopian America in DAYS OF HATE: ACT ONE this July.

The United States of America, 2022: the loss that ripped two lovers apart drove one into the arms of the police state and the other toward a guerrilla war against white supremacy. This is the story of what happens when they meet again. A story of much more than just revenge.

A terrifyingly realistic dystopian tragedy—in the vein of The Americans and The Handmaid's Tale—The Onion's AV Club describes DAYS OF HATE as a "speculative fiction that doesn't pull punches" and IGN calls it "a beautiful and haunting look at a very troubled world."

DAYS OF HATE: ACT ONE (Diamond Code MAY180060, ISBN: 978-1-5343-0697-4) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, July 18th and bookstores on Tuesday, July 24th. The final order cutoff for retailers is Monday, June 4th.

It can be pre-ordered on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

The trade paperback collects chapters #1-6 of the twelve-part series.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Works by DAC Authors

Here are some of the upcoming works by formerly featured DAC Authors. The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.

Sebastien de Castell (2014)

Spellslinger
Spellslinger 1
Orbit, July 17, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 432 pages

A would-be mage with no magic of his own has to defeat powerful enemies with only cunning and deception in the first book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There’s just one problem: his magic is fading.

Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything – even his own life – in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path.

One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope.

The first novel in a compelling six-book series, bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Shadowblack
Spellsplinger 2
Orbit, August 21, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

A failed mage turned outlaw must use guile and a handful of spells to challenge a dangerous rival in the second book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

With a death sentence hanging over his head, Kellen is forced to abandon his clan and his home. Living as an outlaw, he relies on his wits and allies, the mysterious wanderer Ferius and thieving squirrel cat Reiches, to survive the unforgiving borderlands.

Then he meets Seneira, a young woman cursed with a deadly plague by a ruthless mage. Similarly afflicted Kellen is compelled to help, and it’s not long before he’s entangled in a conspiracy of magic, blackmail and murder. Loyalties are tested as Kellen races to find the mage responsible before he can claim any more victims

The second novel in a compelling six-book series, bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Charmcaster
Spellslinger 3
Orbit, September 18, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 448 pages

A failed mage learns that just because he’s not the chosen one it doesn’t mean he can’t be a hero in the third book of a new adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Soulbinder
Spellslinger 4
Orbit, October 23, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

A failed mage learns that just because he’s not the chosen one it doesn’t mean he can’t be a hero in the fourth book of a new adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Sean Grigsby (2018)

Daughters of Forgotten Light
Angry Robot Books, September 4, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

A floating prison is home to Earth’s unwanted people, where they are forgotten… but not yet dead, in this wild science fiction adventure.

Deep space penal colony Oubliette, population: scum. Lena “Horror” Horowitz leads the Daughters of Forgotten Light, one of three vicious gangs fighting for survival on Oubliette. Their fragile truce is shaken when a new shipment arrives from Earth carrying a fresh batch of prisoners and supplies to squabble over. But the delivery includes two new surprises: a drone, and a baby. Earth Senator Linda Dolfuse wants evidence of the bloodthirsty gangs to justify the government finally eradicating the wasters dumped on Oubliette. There’s only one problem: the baby in the drone’s video may be hers.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Banged Up |Out of Mind |Girls Gone Bad | Moppet in Space ]

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

iBooks : Kobo

Tristan Palmgren (2018)

Terminus
Angry Robot Books, November 6, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook

Operatives from an advanced alien culture struggle to survive in medieval Italy, in the SF sequel to the astonishing Quietus.

The transdimensional empire, the Unity, has dissolved. Its rulers and agents have been exiled, stranded across a thousand planes of existence. Empires don’t die gladly. The living planarship Ways and Means has ended the Black Death ravaging medieval Europe, but it has bigger plans for Earth. Someone is trying to kill former Unity agent Osia. Spy-turned-anthropologist Meloku becomes a target, too, when she catches the planarship hiding the extent of its meddling. While they fight to survive, Fiametta – Italian soldier, mercenary, and heretical preacher – raises an army and a religious revolt, aiming to split her world in half.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Last Throes | The Saviour | Let It Burn | Crisis of Faith ]

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

The View From Monday - May 28, 2018

Happy Last Monday in May. Today's list only includes the remaining May releases. Look for the June release list and debuts list on June 1st.

There is one debut this week:

The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Vicious (Villains 1) by V.E. Schwab is reissued in Hardcover.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

May 29, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Canto Bight (h2mm)	Saladin Ahmed Rae Carson Mira Grant John Jackson Miller	SF - Star Wars
Cold as Thunder	Jerry Apps	Dys
Twelve Days (h2tp)	Steven Barnes	SupTh/SF
Venus (ri)	Ben Bova	SF/SO - The Grand Tour 4
Dead Indian Wars	Clark Casey	H - Damnation 2
The Plague (e)	Kevin Chong	LF
Jam	Yahtzee Croshaw	SF/HU/AP/PA/H
Mogworld	Yahtzee Croshaw	F/HU/P/DF
Eve of Darkness (ri)	S. J. Day Sylvia Day	Marked 1
Shadow Keeper	Christine Feehan	PNR - A Shadow Riders Novel 3
Strange Music (h2mm)	Alan Dean Foster	SF/AC - Adventures of Pip & Flinx 15
Beyond the Sea (h2mm)	David L. Golemon	SF - Event Group Thrillers 12
The Slave Prince	Jeyna Grace	F
Fade to Black	Heather Graham	SupTh/GH/PNR -  Krewe of Hunters 24
Torched: A Dragon Romance	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Kings 13
Into the Drowning Deep (h2tp)	Mira Grant	SF
Learning How To Drown	Cat Hellisen	SF/F - Collection
Star Trek Prometheus - The Root of All Rage	Christian Humberg Bernd Perplies	SF/MTI
The War of Vengeance	Nick Kyme Chris Wraight C L Werner	F - Warhammer Chronicles 6
The Elementals (ri)	Morgan Llywelyn	F
The Honey Farm (D)	Harriet Alida Lye	PsyTh/LF/Sus
The Last Hunt	Robbie MacNiven	SF - White Scars
The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals	Aaron Mahnke	SocSci/ Folklore/Mythology - The World of Lore
Nightflyers & Other Stories	George R. R. Martin	SF/H - Collection
Nightflyers: The Illustrated Edition	George R. R. Martin	SF/AC/H
Blood Enemies (tp2mm)	Susan R. Matthews	SF - Under Jurisdiction 7
Assassin's Price (h2mm)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - The Imager Portfolio 11
Red Claw (ri)	Philip Palmer	SF/SO
The Only Child (h2tp)	Andrew Pyper	LF
The Dame (ri)	R. A. Salvatore	F - Saga of the First King 3
Vicious (ri)	V. E. Schwab	SH/P - Villains 1
In Evil Times (tp2mm)	Melinda Snodgrass	SF - Imperials 2
Black Wolves of Boston (h2mm)	Wen Spencer	CF
City of Monsters	Jason Starr	MTI/Cr/CF - Gotham 2
A Different Flesh (ri)	Harry Turtledove	AH/SF
Agent of Byzantium (ri)	Harry Turtledove	AH
Blood Fury (h2mm)	J.R. Ward	PNR - Black Dagger Legacy 3
The Carrion Throne (h2tp)	Chris Wraight	SF - Vaults of Terra 1

May 30, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Shaun Hutson Omnibus: No. 2: "Heathen" and "Lucy's Child"	Shaun Hutson	H
Dreadnought (e)	Cassandra Khaw	F - Born to the Blade, Season 1, Episode 7
Lingua Cosmica: Science Fiction from around the World	Dale Knickerbocker (Ed)	SF - Anthology

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CulH - Cultural Heritage
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
Fict - Fiction
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PopCul - Popular Culture
Psy - Psychological
Psy Th - Psychological Thriller
SF - Science Fiction
SciFan - Science Fantasy
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary and Metaphysical

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

SPFBO 2017 Review: The War of Undoing by Alex Perry

The War of Undoing
Author:  Alex Perry
Series:  Kyland Falls 1
Publisher:  Self-Published, April 2015
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 618 pages
List Price:  US$19.99 (print); US$2.99 (eBook)  

‘My name is Tay Raining, and this is my brother Ellstone. I wonder if you’ve heard of us … I have a birthmark shaped like a question mark on my hand, I think it might mean something but I’m not sure what. My brother is probably important too, though I can’t imagine how. I’m rambling now, sorry. The point is … the point is, we are the Rainings, and we’re here to save you.’

War is brewing in Kyland, as the shadowy, spell-weaving vumas rebel against the human government, but both sides have secret weapons at their disposal. The humans’ secret weapon: a plan that could be the undoing of the world. The vumas’ secret weapon: three young humans abandoned in the smog-shrouded town of Tarot – Tay, Ellstone and Miller Raining. The Rainings could be the key to winning the war, but first they’ll need to work out whose side they are really on…

The War of Undoing takes readers on an exciting journey into a world on the brink of tearing itself apart. It is the first book in the Kyland Falls fantasy series, and is Alex Perry's debut novel.

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Qwill's Thoughts

The War of Undoing by Alex Perry is a difficult book for me to review... in some ways. I enjoyed the premise of the novel and the flow of the story for the most part, but disliked most of the main characters either part of the time or most of the time. I don't know if this novel is Young Adult but it certainly read that way to me since the majority of the main characters were teens.

This world is divided into humans and vumas. Humans have no inherent magic and vumas do. The humans have oppressed the vumas - limiting their use of magic and where they can live. The leader of the vumas is fed up. This is a story of a changing world, of haves and have-nots, of oppression by the haves and brewing revolution by the have-nots, of fear of the magical by those without magic. It's also the story of 3 siblings - Tay, Ellstone and Miller Raining who were abandoned by their parents and how that affected each of them.

The book is divided into chapters by POV characters - Tay, Ellstone, Miller, and Kisli Thomas. The voices were not that different. There were a few times that if I did not know who the POV character was (from the chapter headings) I would have been confused. The characters are just enough different that this is not usually a problem. I also feel that at least 2 of the characters were stereotypical just to show the opposite sides of the conflict. Tay and Ellstone looked at the vumas as either their saviors or their mortal enemies. I believe that the story would have benefited tremendously from more nuanced characters.

I enjoyed the worldbuilding quite a bit. The author gives enough background to the growing conflict that it was understandable. There were some terrific non-POV characters as well. I'd love to read more about the exploits of Gramor Eretol, a vuma. The pacing is generally good and the battles and skirmishes were very well done.

I give The War of Undoing a 5.

Crowded Launching from Image Comics in August

CROWDED—A PULSE-POUNDING NEW THRILLER FOR FANS OF BLACK MIRROR

PORTLAND, OR, 05/25/2018 — Eisner-nominated writer Christopher Sebela (Heartthrob, We(l)come Back, Harley Quinn), Ro Stein & Ted Brandt (Captain Marvel, Raven: The Pirate Princess), Triona Farrell (Runaways, Mech Cadet Yu), and Cardinal Rae (BINGO LOVE, ROSE) team up for the forthcoming thriller, CROWDED, set to launch from Image Comics this August.

Ten minutes in the future, the world runs on an economy of job shares and apps, including Reapr: a crowdfunding platform to fund assassinations. Charlie Ellison leads a quiet, normal life until she’s suddenly targeted by a million-dollar Reapr campaign. Hunted by all of Los Angeles, Charlie hires Vita, the lowest-rated bodyguard on the Dfend app. As the campaign picks up speed, they’ll have to figure out who wants Charlie dead before the campaign’s 30 days—or their lives—are over.

Cold Spots Coming in August

COLD SPOTS—A CHILLING NEW HORROR SERIES SET TO BE THE HOTTEST READ OF THE SUMMER

PORTLAND, OR, 05/25/2018 — Psychological terror, the undead, and a supernaturally bitter cold come together in this spine-tingling new series, COLD SPOTS, from Cullen Bunn (REGRESSION, Harrow County) and Mark Torres (Zombies vs. Robots: Undercity) launching from Image Comics this August.

Ten years ago, Dan Kerr turned his back on his wife and unborn daughter. Now, both mother and child have gone missing, and Dan must face cosmic terrors to find them again. He soon finds that ghosts stir when his estranged daughter is near. And as the dead grow restless, the cold deepens in… COLD SPOTS.

“The idea of a sudden drop in temperature accompanying the manifestation of spirits has always fascinated me,” said Bunn. “With Cold Spots, I couple that idea with a tale of very personal loss and dread. As the dead surround Dan and his missing child, the cold takes on a deadly, terrifying ‘life’ of its own.”

COLD SPOTS #1 (Diamond Code JUN180044) hits stores on Wednesday, August 22nd. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, July 30th.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
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