This recommended reading list, published in Locus Magazine’s February 2010 issue, is a consensus by Locus editors and reviewers — Liza Groen Trombi, Gary K. Wolfe, Jonathan Strahan, Faren Miller, Russell Letson, Paul Witcover, Graham Sleight, Carolyn Cushman, Adrienne Martini, Tim Pratt, Karen Haber, and Rich Horton — with inputs from outside reviewers, other professionals, other lists, etc.

Essays by many of these contributors, highlighting their particular favorite books and stories, are published in the February issue.

Novels – Science Fiction

The Empress of Mars, Kage Baker (Subterranean Press; Tor) Transition, Iain M. Banks (Little Brown UK; Orbit) Ark, Stephen Baxter (Gollancz) The Devil’s Alphabet, Daryl Gregory (Ballantine Del Rey) Buyout, Alexander C. Irvine (Ballantine Del Rey) Under the Dome, Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton; Scribner) Steal Across the Sky, Nancy Kress (Tor) Chronic City, Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday) Gardens of the Sun, Paul McAuley (Gollancz; Pyr 2010) The Walls of the Universe, Paul Melko (Tor) Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor) Yellow Blue Tibia, Adam Roberts (Gollancz) Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperVoyager; Ballantine Spectra 2010) The Sunless Countries, Karl Schroeder (Tor) This Is Not a Game, Walter Jon Williams (Orbit UK, Orbit US) Julian Comstock, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)

Novels – Fantasy

The Price of Spring, Daniel Abraham (Tor) Last Days, Brian Evenson (Underland Press) Dragon in Chains, Daniel Fox (Ballantine Del Rey) Gears of the City, Felix Gilman (Bantam Spectra) Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter’s Tales, Greer Gilman (Small Beer Press) Avilion, Robert Holdstock (Gollancz) The High City, Cecelia Holland (Forge) The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc) Green, Jay Lake (Tor) Madness of Flowers, Jay Lake (Night Shade Books) Audrey’s Door, Sarah Langan (Harper) The City & The City, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Ballantine Del Rey) Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK; Harper) Spell Games, T.A. Pratt (Bantam Spectra) Canticle, Ken Scholes (Tor) Drood, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown) The Revolution Business, Charles Stross (Tor) Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra) Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland Press) Lifelode, Jo Walton (NESFA Press) The Painting and the City, Robert Freeman Wexler (PS Publishing) In Great Waters, Kit Whitfield (Jonathan Cape; Del Rey)

Young Adult Books

The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker (Tachyon Publications) Going Bovine, Libba Bray (Delacorte) Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press) Sacred Scars, Kathleen Duey (Atheneum) Gullstruck Island, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK); as The Lost Conspiracy (HarperCollins) Liar, Justine Larbalestier (Bloomsbury) The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness (Walker UK; Candlewick Press) Heroes of the Valley, Jonathan Stroud (Hyperion; Doubleday UK) Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse)

First Novels

The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books) The Manual of Detection, Jedediah Berry (Penguin) Soulless, Gail Carriger (Orbit) The Adamantine Palace, Stephen Deas (Gollancz; Roc ’10) Total Oblivion, More or Less, Alan DeNiro (Ballantine Spectra) Blood of Ambrose, James Enge (Pyr) Ash, Malinda Lo (Little, Brown) Rosemary and Rue, Seanan McGuire (DAW) Lamentation, Ken Scholes (Tor) Harbinger, Jack Skillingstead (Fairwood Press) Spellbent, Lucy A. Snyder (Ballantine Del Rey) Living with Ghosts, Kari Sperring (DAW) Lightbreaker, Mark Teppo (Night Shade Books) Norse Code, Greg van Eekhout (Ballantine Spectra)

Collections

The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, Volume 1: Call Me Joe & Volume 2: The Queen of Air and Darkness, Poul Anderson (NESFA Press) We Never Talk About My Brother, Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon Publications) A Book of Endings, Deborah Biancotti (Twelfth Planet Press) Tides from the New Worlds, Tobias S. Buckell (Wyrm Publishing) Ancestors and Others: New and Selected Stories, Fred Chappell (St. Martin’s) Oceanic, Greg Egan (Gollancz) Fugue State, Brian Evenson (Coffee House) Grazing the Long Acre, Gwyneth Jones (PS Publishing) A is for Alien, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean Press) Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt, Jack McDevitt (Subterranean Press) Cyberabad Days, Ian McDonald (Pyr) The Best of Michael Moorcock, Michael Moorcock (Tachyon Publications) Northwest Passages, Barbara Roden (Prime Books) Viator Plus, Lucius Shepard (PS Publishing) Trips: The Collected Stories, Volume Four, Robert Silverberg (Subterranean Press) The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet, Vandana Singh (Zubaan/Penguin Books) Are You There and Other Stories, Jack Skillingstead (Golden Gryphon Press) Wireless, Charles Stross (Ace) Slow Sculpture: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon: Volume XII, Theodore Sturgeon (North Atlantic) Wild Thyme and Green Magic, Jack Vance (Subterranean Press) Everland and Other Stories, Paul Witcover (PS Publishing) The Best of Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe (Tor); as The Very Best of Gene Wolfe (PS) The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny: Volumes 1-6, Roger Zelazny (NESFA Press)

Anthologies – Original

Postscripts #20/21: Edison’s Frankenstein, Peter Crowther & Nick Gevers, ed. (PS Publishing) The Dragon Book, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Berkley) Lovecraft Unbound, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Dark Horse Books) Poe, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Solaris) Troll’s Eye View, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds. (Viking) The New Space Opera 2, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan, eds. (Eos) Other Earths, Nick Gevers & Jay Lake, eds. (DAW) The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Three, George Mann, ed. (Solaris) Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Subterranean Press) Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between: Impossible Realism, Bradford Morrow & Brian Evenson, eds. (Bard College) Firebirds Soaring, Sharyn November, ed. (Firebird) X6, Keith Stevenson, ed. (coeur de lion) Eclipse Three, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade Books)

Anthologies – Reprint

Federations, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Prime Books) The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Night Shade Books) The Secret History of Science Fiction, James Patrick Kelly & John Kessel, eds. (Tachyon Publications) American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps / From the 1940s to Now, Peter Straub (Library of America) The Very Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Gordon Van Gelder, ed. (Tachyon Publications)

Anthologies – Bests

The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Night Shade Books) The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-sixth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s) Year’s Best Fantasy 9, David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, eds. (Tor.com) Year’s Best SF 14, David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, eds. (Eos) Unplugged: The Web’s Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 2008 Download, Rich Horton, ed. (Wyrm Publishing) The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy: 2009 Edition, Rich Horton, ed. (Prime Books) The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Three, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade Books) Best American Fantasy 2, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Prime Books)

Non-Fiction / Art Books

Powers: Secret Histories, John Berlyne (PS Publishing) The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction, Mark Bould & Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts & Sherryl Vint, eds. (Routledge) Canary Fever: Reviews, John Clute (Beccon Publications) Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary, Jane Frank (McFarland) Imagination/Space: Essays and Talks on Fiction, Feminism, Technology and Politics, Gwyneth Jones (Aqueduct Press) Starcombing, David Langford (Cosmos Books) Cheek by Jowl: Essays, Ursula K. Le Guin (Aqueduct Press) The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction, Farah Mendlesohn (McFarland) On Joanna Russ, Farah Mendlesohn, ed. (Wesleyan University Press) Hope-in-the-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees, Michael Swanwick (Temporary Culture) This Is Me, Jack Vance!, Jack Vance (Subterranean Press)

Art Books

Knowing Darkness: Artists Inspired by Stephen King, George Beahm (Centipede Press) Reynold Brown: Reynold Brown: A Life in Pictures, Daniel Zimmer & David Hornung (Illustrated Press) Imaginaire II: Magic Realism 2010, Claus Brusen, ed. (Fantasmus-Art) The Future of Fantasy Art, Aly Fell & Duddlebug, eds. (CollinsDesign) Spectrum 16: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books) Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, Paul Guinan & Anina Bennett (Abrams) Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist, James Gurney (Andrews McMeel) Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History, Steve Holland (Collins Design) Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Rodney Matthews, illustrator (Templar Books) The Late Fauna of Early North America: The Art of Scott Musgrove, Scott Musgrove (Billy Shire and Last Gasp) Frank R. Paul: From the Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul, Stephen D. Korshak, ed. (Shasta-Phoenix) Norman Saunders, David Saunders (Illustrated Press) Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess, Charles Vess (Dark Horse Books) Exposé 7, Daniel Wade & Paul Hellard, eds. (Mark Snoswell & Daniel Wade/Ballistic) Michael Whelan: The Little Sisters of Eluria, Stephen King (Donald M. Grant) Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, Gahan Wilson (Fantagraphics Books)

Novellas

• The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker (Subterranean)
• Horn, Peter M. Ball (Twelfth Planet Press)
• “Sugar”, Leah Bobet (Shadow Unit 4/5/09)
• “Cuckoo”, Emma Bull, Elizabeth Bear, & Leah Bobet (Shadow Unit 8/2/09)
• “Paradiso Lost”, Albert E. Cowdrey (F&SF 6-7/09)
• “Hot Rock”, Greg Egan (Oceanic)
• “Where the Winds Are All Asleep”, Michael F. Flynn (Analog 10/09)
• “Wives”, Paul Haines (X⁶)
• The Push, Dave Hutchinson (NewCon Press)
• “Act One”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09)
• “Sea-Hearts”, Margo Lanagan (X⁶)
• “The Wide, Carnivorous Sky”, John Langan (By Blood We Live)
• “Crimes and Glory”, Paul McAuley (Subterranean Spring ’09)
• “Vishnu at the Cat Circus”, Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days)
• Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow (Tachyon)
• A Special Place, Peter Straub (Borderlands Press)
• “Palimpsest”, Charles Stross (Wireless)
• “The Far End of History”, John C. Wright (The New Space Opera 2)

Novelettes

• “Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance”, Daniel Abraham (Postscripts 19)
• “The Best Monkey”, Daniel Abraham (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three)
• “A Tiny Feast”, Chris Adrian (The New Yorker)
• “Things Undone”, John Barnes (Jim Baen’s Universe 12/09)
• “Formidable Caress”, Stephen Baxter (Analog 12/09)
• “By Moonlight”, Peter S. Beagle (We Never Talk About My Brother)
• “Vanishing”, Peter S. Beagle (Intergalactic Medicine Show 3/09)
• “The Qualia Engine”, Damien Broderick (Asimov’s 8/09)
• “This Wind Blowing, and this Tide”, Damien Broderick (Asimov’s 4-5/09)
• “Truth and Bone”, Pat Cadigan (Poe)
• “Lowland Sea”, Suzy McKee Charnas (Poe)
• “One of our Bastards is Missing”, Paul Cornell (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three)
• “Healing Benjamin”, Dennis Danvers (Realms of Fantasy 8/09)
• “Yes We Have No Bananas”, Paul Di Filippo (Eclipse Three)
• “The Lion’s Den”, Steve Duffy (Cern Zoo: Nemonymous Nine)
• “The Dragaman’s Bride”, Andy Duncan (The Dragon Book)
• “each thing i show you is a piece of my death”, Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer (Clockwork Phoenix 2)
• “The Death of Sugar Daddy”, Toiya Kristen Finley (Electric Velocipede Spring ’09)
• “Sails Above Greensea”, Adam Corbin Fusco (Realms of Fantasy 4/09)
• “Economancer”, Carolyn Ives Gilman (F&SF 6-7/09)
• “It Takes Two”, Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three)
• “Dragon’s Deep”, Cecelia Holland (The Dragon Book)
• “Dragon’s Teeth”, Alex Irvine (F&SF 12/09)
• “Seventh Fall”, Alex Irvine (Subterranean Summer ’09)
• “The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles”, Kij Johnson (Tor.com 7/14/09)
• “Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance”, John Kessel (The New Space Opera 2)
• “Galapagos”, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Eclipse Three)
• “Blood Dauber”, Ted Kosmatka & Michael Poore (Asimov’s 10-11/09)
• “First Flight”, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com 8/25/09)
• “A Wild and a Wicked Youth”, Ellen Kushner (F&SF 4-5/09)
• “Technicolor”, John Langan (Poe)
• “Clockatrice”, Tanith Lee (Fantasy 10/5/09)
• “The Pain of Glass”, Tanith Lee (Clockwork Phoenix 2)
• “The Bones of Giants”, Yoon Ha Lee (F&SF 8-9/09)
• “Secret Identity”, Kelly Link (Geektastic)
• “Diana Comet”, Sandra McDonald (Strange Horizons 3/2 – 3/9/09)
• “White Charles”, Sarah Monette (Clarkesworld 10/09)
• “Mongoose”, Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear (Lovecraft Unbound)
• “The Heart of the City”, Garth Nix (Subterranean Summer ’09)
• “The Long, Cold Goodbye”, Holly Phillips (Asimov’s 3/09)
• “Thieves of Silence”, Holly Phillips (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 7/16/09)
• “Controlled Experiment”, Tom Purdom (Asimov’s 6/09)
• “Siren Beat”, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Siren Beat/Roadkill)
• “Hair”, Adam Roberts (When It Changed)
• “SinBad the Sand Sailor”, R. Garcia y Robertson (Asimov’s 7/09)
• “Wife-Stealing Time”, R. Garcia y Robertson (Asimov’s 10-11/09)
• “Cracklegrackle”, Justina Robson (The New Space Opera 2)
• “Lion Walk”, Mary Rosenblum (Asimov’s 1/09)
• “You”, Geoff Ryman (When It Changed)
• “A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon”, Ken Scholes (Tor.com 2/17/09)
• “Sylgarmo’s Proclamation”, Lucius Shepard (Songs of the Dying Earth)
• “The True Vintage of Erzuine Thale”, Robert Silverberg (Songs of the Dying Earth)
• “Infinities”, Vandana Singh (The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet)
• “Black Swan”, Bruce Sterling (Interzone 3-4/09)
• “Monetized”, Jason Stoddard (Interzone 2/09)
• “Zeppelin City”, Michael Swanwick & Eileen Gunn (Tor.com 10/6/09)
• “Eros, Philia, Agape”, Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/3/09)
• “The City Quiet as Death”, Steven Utley & Michael Bishop (Tor.com 6/9/09)
• “Riders of the Three-Toed Horse”, Garrett W. Vance (Jim Baen’s Universe 2/09)
• “Conquistador de la Noche”, Carrie Vaughn (Subterranean Spring ’09)
• “The Island”, Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2)
• “Sails the Morne”, Chris Willrich (Asimov’s 6/09)
• “This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe”, Robert Charles Wilson (Other Earths)
• “Utriusque Cosmi”, Robert Charles Wilson (The New Space Opera 2)
• “Everland”, Paul Witcover (Everland and Other Stories)
• “Twilight of the Gods”, John C. Wright (Federations)

Short Stories

• “On the Destruction of Copenhagen by the War-Machines of the Merfolk”, Peter M. Ball (Strange Horizons 7/6/09)
• “Strappado”, Laird Barron (Poe)
• “Home Again”, Paul M. Berger (Interzone 3-4/09)
• “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, Holly Black (Troll’s Eye View)
• “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown”, Holly Black (The Eternal Kiss)
• “Under The Shouting Sky”, Karl Bunker (Cosmos 8-9/09)
• “Baby in the Basket”, Cecil Castellucci (Strange Horizons 5/18/09)
• “Voice Like a Cello”, Catherine Cheek (Fantasy 5/4/09)
• “Early Winter, Near Jenli Village”, J. Kathleen Cheney (Fantasy 5/4/09)
• “Three Fancies from the Infernal Garden”, C.S.E. Cooney (Subterranean Winter ’09)
• “Erosion”, Ian Creasey (Asimov’s 10-11/09)
• “Bad Matter”, Alexandra Duncan (F&SF 12/09)
• “Lady of the White-Spired City”, Sarah L. Edwards (Interzone 5-6/09)
• “The Pelican Bar”, Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse Three)
• “An Invocation of Incuriosity”, Neil Gaiman (Songs of the Dying Earth)
• “As Women Fight”, Sara Genge (Asimov’s 12/09)
• “Child-Empress of Mars”, Theodora Goss (Interfictions 2)
• “A Story, With Beans”, Steven Gould (Analog 5/09)
• “Butterfly Bomb”, Dominic Green (Interzone 5-6/09)
• “Salt’s Father”, Eric Gregory (Strange Horizons 8/03/09)
• “In the Lot and in the Air”, Lisa Hannett (Clarkesworld 7/09)
• “Spar”, Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 10/09)
• “Collision”, Gwyneth Jones (When It Changed)
• “Going Deep”, James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s 6/09)
• “The Logic of the World”, Robert Kelly (Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between)
• “The Motorman’s Coat”, John Kessel (F&SF 6-7/09)
• “Echoes of Aurora”, Ellen Klages (What Remains)
• “Singing on a Star”, Ellen Klages (Firebirds Soaring)
• “Dulce Domum”, Ellen Kushner (Eclipse Three)
• “On the Human Plan”, Jay Lake (Lone Star Stories 2/1/09)
• “Ferryman”, Margo Lanagan (Firebirds Soaring)
• “Living Curiosities”, Margo Lanagan (Sideshow)
• “The Cinderella Game”, Kelly Link (Troll’s Eye View)
• “Excellence”, Richard A. Lovett (Analog 1-2/09)
• “Useless Things”, Maureen F. McHugh (Eclipse Three)
• “Catalog”, Eugene Mirabelli (F&SF 2/09)
• “The Persistence of Memory, or This Space for Sale”, Paul Park (Postscripts 20/21)
• “Her Voice in a Bottle”, Tim Pratt (Subterranean Winter ’09)
• “Narrative of a Beast’s Life”, Cat Rambo (Realms of Fantasy 12/09)
• “Before My Last Breath”, Robert Reed (Asimov’s 10-11/09)
• “Tests”, Robert Reed (Postscripts 20/21)
• “Edison’s Frankenstein”, Chris Roberson (Postscripts 20/21)
• “Writ of Exception”, Madeleine E. Robins (Lace and Blade 2)
• “My She”, Mary Rosenblum (Federations)
• “Colliding Branes”, Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling (Asimov’s 2/09)
• “The Men Burned All the Boats”, Patricia Russo (Fantasy 2/9/09)
• “Blocked”, Geoff Ryman (F&SF 10-11/09)
• “Of Melei, of Ulthar”, Gord Sellar (Clarkesworld 10/09)
• “Wizard’s Apprentice”, Delia Sherman (Troll’s Eye View)
• What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night, Michael Marshall Smith (Nightjar Press)
• “Bob Choi’s Last Job”, Jonathan Stroud (The Dragon Book)
• “The Dying World”, Lavie Tidhar (Clarkesworld 4/09)
• “The Shangri-La Affair”, Lavie Tidhar (Strange Horizons 1/19/09)
• “Ragged Claws”, Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts 20/21)
• “A Delicate Architecture”, Catherynne M. Valente (Troll’s Eye View)
• “The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew”, Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld 8/09)
• “Bespoke”, Genevieve Valentine (Strange Horizons 7/27/09)
• “Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction”, Jo Walton (Tor.com 2/6/09)
• “Three Twilight Tales”, Jo Walton (Firebirds Soaring)
• “Donovan Sent Us”, Gene Wolfe (Other Earths)
• “The Horse Angel”, Marly Youmans (Postscripts 20/21)

Locus Mag

2009 Locus Recommended Reading List is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

I liked this review ^^ and it pretty much sums up the book really.  I really enjoyed it, and I thought it was a bit different from the usual run of the mill fantasy books.  Interesting her being a poison taster.  I liked it.  This was a PSC discussion this month, so all the rest of my comments can be found there.

Poison Study – Maria V Snyder – My audiobook of the month – November 2009 is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Buy Brisingr by clicking on the book cover

OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

Well Brisingr is out today. I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive because I opted for the free postage option, but that’s ok because to tell you the truth I’m less exciting about reading it immediately now that I know it’s not the final book. We are reading Eldest with the book group in preparation for this one – just to refresh memories etc because it’s been a while inbetween and it’s a big book – but even though I expect my copy will arrive in a few days, I expect it will sit on the TBR shelf for a bit.

Brisingr out today is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Free Ebooks from World Fantasy Award Finalists

Last week we announced the return of free ebooks from Tor.com. We’re kicking things off this week with backlist titles from two of the authors who are finalists for this year’s World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. To download these and upcoming freebies, all you have to do is register at Tor.com.

Will Shetterly and Emma Bull are the first married couple to each simultaneously have a novel among the finalists for the World Fantasy Award—Emma’s Territory and Will’s The Gospel of the Knife. In commemoration of this, we’re offering registered Tor.com users free e-book editions of a pair of classics from the Bull and Shetterly backlists—Emma’s War for the Oaks and Will’s Dogland. Check them out here!

Each title in our giveaway program will be available for A Limited Time Only, so don’t delay. The books will be offered in a variety of formats, with no DRM. After this month’s pair of books, we’ll be putting up a new title every month, so make sure you register—and tell your friends about the great books (and blogs, and art, and conversation) that are free at Tor.com every day.

Please note, this is different to whatever registration you think you may have had with Tor previously. A few months ago they were giving away free books every week but the only registration required was for their mailing list. This time in order to download the free books you will have to register on the above site creating a proper user name and password before you will be able to access the freebies.

Now just in case anyone finds it a little difficult to find the free books, here is the direct link to them but remember that the links won’t work until you register and log in! Log in and download free ebooks here

Tor Free Ebooks Reinstated is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Watch author, Michelle Paver, discuss her new book, Oath Breaker, the fifth adventure in Torak’s quest to vanquish the terrifying Soul-Eaters.

Synopsis
When he was outcast, Torak was the hunted one. The following spring, he becomes the hunter when he swears to avenge the killing of one of his closest friends. To fulfil his oath he must brave the hidden valleys of the Deep Forest, where the clans have reverted to the savagery of an earlier time. Here, Torak finally learns why he is the Sprit Walker and discovers the true cost of revenge.

The video contains some awesome clips of Ian McKellen, who read for the audio book, this is a fascinating insight into her new Chronicle in the series…

Enjoy!

Michelle Paver talks about Oath Breaker: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness *includes audio readings by Sir Ian McKellen is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Title: American Gods Book Discussion
Location: Book Group Discussion
Description: Hosted discussion of American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Start Date: 2008-09-15
End Date: 2008-10-13

Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming — a battle for the very soul of America . . . and they are in its direct path.

One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.

American Gods Book Discussion is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Title: Furies of Calderon Book Discussion
Location: Book Group Discussion
Description: Hosted discussion of the first book in the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
Start Date: 2008-09-08
End Date: 2008-10-04

Book Description
In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies–elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal–fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos–when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies– Tavi’s simple courage will turn the tides of war.

About the Author
A martial arts enthusiast whose resumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives with his wife, his son, and a ferocious guard dog.

Furies of Calderon Book Discussion is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Title: Eldest Book Group
Location: Book Group Discussion
Description: Hosted discussion about this book by Christopher Paolini.
Start Date: 2008-08-01
End Date: 2008-08-29

About the book:

The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon’s home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra’zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people.

Eldest Book Group is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

Get ‘em while you can – click here

Twenty Four free books!

Here’s the complete list showing the available formats for each one:

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
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PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Orphans of Chaos by John Wright
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
In the Midnight Hour by Patti O’Shea
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Flash by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Soul by Tobsha Learner
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Darkness of the Light by Peter David
PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi
Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosanew!
PDF || ePub

All books are in the fantasy and science fiction genres and COMPLETELY FREE!!! for a limited time only, so get downloading.

At the same time, they are also offering all 40 WALLPAPERS also for free, in a various of sizes to fit all computers.  (scroll down further on the same page as the book downloads)

Tor.com weekly free books offer comes to an end – download all for a very limited time! is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group

We are currently seeking suggestions for books to read with the group next year, and to that end, have started some suggestion threads.

You can find them in the Online Book Group 2008 board. You will have to be a current member and logged in, to be able to see the board.

We are looking for suggestions in the following categories:

Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror

Contemporary & Modern Fiction

Crime, Mystery & Thriller

Romance, Paranormal Romance, Chicklit Suggestions

Non-Fiction & Biography

Classic & Historical Fiction

Within these categories you can include Children’s and Young Adult books, books to movie books, prize-winning books etc.

We are already committed to continuing some books in series, so you do not need to suggest those books as they are already scheduled.

We will consider discussing books that were discussed with the Book Group in 2006 for those who may have missed some excellent books, but not 2007, as that is too recent to be done again.

Next year’s Book Group will have a bit of an overhaul, and will be much simpler to use thanks to a nifty new feature. In addition to the monthly and weekly discussions, Book Buddy, and My 52 Books, there will be a few new challenges for you Book Addicts to get your teeth into!

Keep checking the forum for more updates and information.

* suggestions have to be made in the forum threads for them to be considered, otherwise it would be chaos.

Calling all Book Addicts – Suggestions Needed!!! is a post from: Book Addicts Book Group