When I prepared this photo of items received recently, Smokey was no-where to be seen. As soon as I was uploading this photo, Smokey was climbing all over my computer desk, trying to drink my water and generally being a nuisance. I’m sure this was punishment.
Sigh.
Anyhoo, Dark Matter received some (more) epic loots recently. As well as the pictured books, Roadshow sent ‘Scream of the Shalka’, a Doctor Who episode with an important place in history, and IMAX gave Dark Matter media passes to review movies like White House Down.
Allies & Assassins by Justin Somper
This begins a new series. Atom says:
“A stunning new crossover fantasy from the bestselling author of Vampirates. ‘They killed his brother. Now they’re coming for him. . .’ As the second prince of Archenfield, Jared never asked to be more than the spare. But behind the walls of the castle is a dark and dangerous court where murder and intrigue are never far below the surface. Now his older brother is dead. The kingdom is his. And the target is on his back. Can he find the assassin before the assassin finds him?”
Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson
From one of the greats in science fiction, Shaman goes back in time. Orbit says:
“An extraordinary portrayal of life in the paleolithic era, 30,000 years into our past, by the author described recently by the Sunday Times as ‘one of science fiction’s greats’. An award-winning and bestselling SF writer, Kim Stanley Robinson is widely acknowledged as one of the most exciting and visionary writers in the field. His latest novel, 2312, imagined how we would be living 300 years from now. Now, with his new novel, he turns from our future to our past – to the paleolithic era, and an extraordinary moment in humanity’s development. An emotionally powerful and richly detailed portrayal of life 30,000 years ago, it is a novel that will appeal both to his existing fans and a whole new mainstream readership.”
Omens by Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong’s characters and plots are enticing; she’s a dynamic lady who knows how to write. Sphere says:
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new trilogy with OMENS, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home.
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.
But Olivia s world is shattered when she learns that she s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fianc , Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.
Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents past.
Aided by her mother s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home, and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.
23 Years on Fire by Joel Shepherd
Joel Shepherd is an Australian author I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet but he comes highly recommended. Pyr says:
Cassandra Kresnov-a highly advanced hunter-killer android-returns to face down a rogue government’s plot to eliminate free will.
Commander Cassandra Kresnov has her hands full. She must lead an assault against the Federation world of Pyeongwha, where a terrible sociological phenomenon has unleashed hell against the civilian population. Then she faces the threat from a portion of League space known as New Torah, in which a ruthless regime of surviving corporations are building new synthetic soldiers but taking the technology in alarming directions.
On the Torahn world of Pantala, Sandy encounters betrayal, crisis, and conspiracy on a scale previously unimaginable. Most challenging of all, she also meets three young street kids who stir emotions in her she didn’t think she was capable of. Can the Federation’s most lethal killer afford unexpected sentiment? What will be the cost if she is forced to choose between them and her mission, not only to her cause, but to her soul?
The Wishbird by Gabrielle Wang
Gabrielle Wang is another award-winning author who comes highly recommended. I look forward to delving into this beautifully-presented book. Penguin says:
The girl’s hands came up to the bars and she gripped them tightly. She was speaking to Boy with her eyes, pleading for help.
Then a strange and beautiful sound came from her throat, rising and falling like the wind. Boy had never heard anything like it.
And yet it was familiar.
Oriole’s beloved Wishbird is dying and she must leave the Forest to save him. But in the City of Soulless there is danger everywhere.
Can Oriole and Boy save Soulless and the Wishbird, or will the city’s darkness prove too great even for magic?
By the award-winning author of A Ghost in My Suitcase.
Combustion by Steve Worland
I met Steve at Sydney Supanova and was disappointed I hadn’t already read Combustion – no research makes for poor interviews. Maybe I’ll interview him another time. Penguin says:
Los Angeles. Traffic clogs the streets. Smog chokes the city.
And Zac Bunsen is going to burn it all down.
On a ruthless quest to save the planet, Bunsen releases the Swarm, an airborne nanotech virus that targets combustion engines and detonates their fuel supply. It is spectacularly, appallingly successful.
Terror and chaos reign as the City of Angels explodes. Every vehicle is now a deadly bomb and every freeway a war zone littered with bodies and twisted wrecks.
NASA astronaut Judd Bell and his best mate, Aussie chopper pilot Corey Purchase, must navigate the burning city in a desperate mission to stop Bunsen before he can execute the last phase of his horrific plan and send mankind back to the Stone Age.
‘Fun, exciting, fast paced and action packed.’ Book’d Out
Praise for Steve Worland’s Velocity
‘A brilliant rollercoaster ride of a novel. I couldn’t put it down.’ Hugh Jackman
‘A cinematic blockbuster.’ Men’s Fitness
‘Perfectly executed and fabulous fun.’ Bookseller+Publisher
Scream of the Shalka
Doctor Who’s 40th anniversary celebration story, ‘Scream of the Shalka’, will be released on DVD on 18 September. I’ve already watched this one so my review is already scheduled. Can I just say:
RICHARD E GRANT AS THE DOCTOR.
DEREK JACOBI AS THE MASTER.
I want MORE of this.
White House Down
Dark Matter recieved media passes to see blockbusters like White House Down on the big screen.
What can I say?
It’s a hard life.
