US/Canada Giveaway: SWORN IN STEEL by Doug Hulick (Ace)

One of the most-anticipated follow-up fantasy novels of the year, Ace Books has provided three copies of Doug Hulick’s SWORN IN STEEL! All you have to do to enter the competition is leave a comment or email me (at the address at the bottom of the page), and I’ll randomly select three winners on Friday evening. Competition is open to US and Canadian residents only, I’m afraid.

In case you haven’t heard of the series (shame on you!), here is the synopsis for Sworn in Steel…

It’s been three months since Drothe killed a legend, burned down a portion of the imperial capital, and unexpectedly elevated himself into the ranks of the criminal elite.

Now, as the newest Gray Prince in the underworld, he’s learning just how good he used to have it. With barely the beginnings of an organization to his name, Drothe is already being called out by other Gray Princes. And to make matters worse, when one dies, all signs point to Drothe as wielding the knife. As members of the Kin begin choosing sides – mostly against him – for what looks to be another impending war, Drothe is approached by a man who not only has the solution to Drothe’s most pressing problem, but an offer of redemption.

The only problem is the offer isn’t for him. Now Drothe finds himself on the way to the Despotate of Djan, the empire’s long-standing enemy, with an offer to make and a price on his head. And the grains of sand in the hour glass are running out, fast…

Both Among Thieves and Sworn in Steel are out now in the US, published by Ace Books (Penguin). The novels are published in the UK by Tor, and Sworn in Steel is out tomorrow! Among Thieves was published in 2011. You can find my review here, and an interview with the author here.

Douglas Hulick’s Next Novel (Tor/Roc)

Doug Hulick’s Among Thieves is one of the best new fantasies I’ve read this year, and so I was very happy to see the new artwork for the second in his Tales of the Kin series, Sworn in Steel (which was released through Twitter a while back by Julie Crisp from Tor UK). Now that the US artwork has been released as well, I thought I’d share them both on here.

Upcoming (Exciting) Books from Tor

This is just a quick post to let you know about some exciting 2011 releases from Tor. It looks like next year will be another cracking for fantasy, sci-fi and other speculative genres, with Tor among the leaders of the pack.

Alan Campbell

Campbell, the talented author of the Deepgate Codex series, has apparently submitted the manuscript for Sea of Ghosts, his next novel, and the first in the Gravedigger Chronicles. Here’s the description from the press release:

Set in a world of entropic sorcerers, poisoned seas, the Drowned, drug-addicted dragons, Deadships and a powerful sisterhood of telepaths, and featuring ex-soldier Colonel Thomas Granger, this is an incredible novel of imaginative fantasy with strong characters, non-stop action and tremendous descriptive world-building.

Apparently, editing has just finished. The jacket design from artist Larry Rostant has also been completed, and is amazing:

Sea of Ghosts will be one of Tor’s lead fantasy hardback releases in 2011. Emma reviewed The Deepgate Codex and loved it, and it remains one of the series (along with those of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Brian Ruckley, George R.R. Martin, and Joe Abercrombie) I am kicking myself for not yet reading.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Just a quick mention of Tchaikovsky’s continuing Shadows of the Apt series (book six, The Scarab Path, was release this month in the UK). The artwork for the seventh volume has now been released, and it’s another corker:

The Sea Watch is scheduled for publication in February 2011.

Doug Hulick

Tor has just acquired the publishing rights to debut author Hulick’s new fantasy series, The Kin Wars. Among Thieves is the first instalment, and here’s a quick description:

Among Thieves follows the morally ambiguous Drothe. He's a Nose, an informant who finds and takes care of trouble inside the criminal organization he's a part of.

When his boss sends him to Ten Ways to track down who's been leaning on his organization's people, Drothe discovers hints of a much bigger mystery. Someone is trying to stir up trouble between the lower-level criminal gangs. And there's a book rumored to contain forbidden Imperial magic that a lot of very dangerous people seem to be looking for - including two very powerful crime bosses known as the Gray Princes. When Drothe discovers the book, he finds himself holding a bit of swag that can bring down emperors, shatter the criminal underworld, and unlock forbidden magic…

If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, here’s what bestselling (and CR favourite) author Brent Weeks had to say about the novel:

“Among Thieves is an unalloyed pleasure: a fast-moving, funny, twisting tale in an evocative setting with great characters. The kind of story that reminds you why you love to read. This book may just give you that feeling you had the first time you read Rothfuss or Abercrombie: Oh hell yeah, there’s new talent in the game. Read this book. No really, read this book.”

Sadly, there’s no artwork to share with you just yet, but who cares – they could dress it in simple brown paper, and I’d still want to read it. Among Thieves is scheduled for an April 2011 UK release.

Alden Bell

The interwebs have been all atwitter about Alben Bell’s The Reapers Are the Angels, and it seems that the hype is justified, if the slew of glowing reviews are anything to go by.

First, here’s the artwork (UK and US) and also the synopsis:

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

If you’d like to read a little more about the author and his novel, then check out the interview of Bell, conducted by fellow Tor author Mark Charan Newton, which can be found here.

Tor has just also released a trailer for the book, and here it is: