Singularity stories are in the vogue and artificial intelligences are staples in science fiction but Robert J. Sawyer has created a heartwarming trilogy about a young blind girl who through an experimental operation becomes able to see the World Wide Web. She discovers and befriends an entity there that she names Webmind. He and she learned the world in Wake and in Watch the world learned about them. Webmind survived an attempt to destroy him by the US government WATCH group at the end of Watch.

Now in Wonder the story continues. WATCH has not given up and the Chinese government whose action to close to Internet created Webmind is at it again. A great deal of the tension in the story comes from a rogue agent who tries to get a hacker to make a large-scale attack on Webmind before it is too late to stop its growth. The whole Hacker scene of the story is fun to read especially when the truth comes out.

One thing I like about it is the learning process both Webmind and Caitlyn goes through. She is growing up and learning her ropes at the same time her new friend does. Being a teenager with her first real boyfriend is hard enough and almost impossible with the media frenzy surrounding them.

Caitlin, Hobo and Webmind are the stars of the show and the characters you root for but the other characters also come across real. It is also refreshing to see ‘bad’ guys with reasonable motivations.

The earlier books had more technology and science in them here the main subject is ethics. I like the way Robert J. Sawyer brings up ethical questions. What is right to do when defending yourself? How do we treat other intelligent creatures? In this instance exemplified by Hobo the ape and Webmind.

This is a well executed ending to the trilogy. It has some good ideas, likeable characters and a heartwarming story. You have to take it for the YA it is. I recommend it to young and adults alike.

Book Information

Wonder (WWW book 3) by Robert J. Sawyer – Ace (2011) – Bought from Amazon US | UK

Webmind-the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web-has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated.

Caitlin Decter-the once-blind sixteen-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind-wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn’t act, everything-Webmind included-may come crashing down.

Please check Almanac of forthcoming SF Books for future releases.

Dreadnaught (Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier 1)

by Jack Campbell – ACE – Amazon US | UK

I like Jack Campbell for The Lost Fleet series and this is the first book in a series that continues the story about Black Jack Geary and the fight against the alien threat that orchestrated the war of the previous series. Now he goes for the truth. I should mention that he also is under contract for a second series set in the same universe called Phoenix Stars that have not been scheduled yet. It is set in a formerly Syndic star system as the people there struggles to cope with the ongoing collapse.

The Alliance woke Captain John “Black Jack” Geary from cryogenic sleep to take command of the fleet in the century-long conflict against the Syndicate Worlds. Now Fleet Admiral Geary’s victory has earned him the adoration of the people—and the enmity of politicians convinced that a living hero can be a very inconvenient thing.

Geary knows that members of the military high command and the government question his loyalty to the Alliance and fear his staging a coup—so he can’t help but wonder if the newly christened First Fleet is being deliberately sent to the far side of space on a suicide mission

Wonder (WWW book 3)

by Robert J. Sawyer – Ace, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

WWW is a cute little YA series about a girl that befriends an emerging AI on the Internet written by Robert J. Sawyer. The third and final novel Wonder is due now in April. You can read my reviews of the previous books Wake and Watch on Temple Library Reviews.

Webmind-the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web-has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated.

Caitlin Decter-the once-blind sixteen-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind-wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn’t act, everything-Webmind included-may come crashing down.

The View From The Imperium

by Jody Lynn Nye – Baen, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

Jody Lynn Nye isn’t exactly new to me. I have read her Doona collaboration with Anne McCaffrey and a few short stories. The View from the Imperium is on for April this year from Baen. This is promoted as a space opera version of the P. G. Woodhouse’s Jeeves books. I love them so I will definitely get this one. It looks like great fun.

I have only read a few pages so far in this one so far but it shows a great deal of humor and promise.

P. G. Wodehouse meets space opera, as Ensign Thomas Innes Loche Kinago, fresh from the Academy is given his first command. A crumb from the upper crust, he’s eager to uphold the traditions of his family, and in particular, his mother, a distinguished Admiral of the Imperium. Of course, he’s aware of the importance of always having simply smashing tailored uniforms on hand, and having his camera ready to record memorable moments for his scrapbook. In the meantime, a charismatic leader has arisen who seems able to control the minds of anyone he meets, and may be on his way to taking over the entire galaxy. Can Kinago’s aristocratic bearing and unbridled snobbery stand up to such a challenge? Fortunately, his constant companion, the unflappable Jeeves, er, Parsons, is on hand to look after the young, impulsive master, and somehow help his charge bumble his way through, perhaps even saving the galaxy in the process.

Sea of Ghosts (Gravedigger Chronicles 1)

by Alan Campbell – Tor UK, April 1 – Amazon US | UK

I like Military fantasy as much as science fiction. Sea of Ghosts is the first book in a series by the same name by Alan Campbell and it will be out in April. It is about the last survivor of a elite infiltrator unit that has gone into hiding after the Emperor turned on them. He can’t escape his past and old enemies are rising. It will also give me an opportunity to sample a new-to-me author. This one should land tomorrow.

Sea of Ghosts is the terrific new novel from Deepgate Codex author Alan Campbell. 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. I’ve just finished editing it and have had to go back and read it again just for the sheer pleasure of it! We’ve got a terrific jacket design from artist Larry Rostant and this will be a lead fantasy hardback for Tor in 2011.

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it . .

Camera Obscura (The Bookman 2)

by Lavie Tidhar – Angry Robot, April 14 (uk) 26 (us) – Amazon US | UK

I really liked The Bookman it certainly had its own brand of steampunk. Martians ruling the commonwealth. Now Lavie Tidhar delivers another book in the same universe this time across the channel in Paris.

CAN’T FIND A RATIONAL EXPLANATION TO A MYSTERY? CALL IN THE QUIET COUNCIL. The mysterious and glamorous Lady De Winter is one of their most valuable agents. A despicable murder inside a locked and bolted room on the Rue Morgue in Paris is just the start. This whirlwind adventure will take Milady to the highest and lowest parts of that great city – and cause her to question the very nature of reality itself.

Other Books of Interest This Month

Betrayer, Flandry’s Legacy and Shadow Chaser are also on order by me because I follow the series.

Dreadnaught (Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier 1)

by Jack Campbell – ACE – Amazon US | UK

I like Jack Campbell for The Lost Fleet series and this is the first book in a series that continues the story about Black Jack Geary and the fight against the alien threat that orchestrated the war of the previous series. Now he goes for the truth. I should mention that he also is under contract for a second series set in the same universe called Phoenix Stars that have not been scheduled yet. It is set in a formerly Syndic star system as the people there struggles to cope with the ongoing collapse.

The Alliance woke Captain John “Black Jack” Geary from cryogenic sleep to take command of the fleet in the century-long conflict against the Syndicate Worlds. Now Fleet Admiral Geary’s victory has earned him the adoration of the people—and the enmity of politicians convinced that a living hero can be a very inconvenient thing.

Geary knows that members of the military high command and the government question his loyalty to the Alliance and fear his staging a coup—so he can’t help but wonder if the newly christened First Fleet is being deliberately sent to the far side of space on a suicide mission

Wonder (WWW book 3)

by Robert J. Sawyer – Ace, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

WWW is a cute little YA series about a girl that befriends an emerging AI on the Internet written by Robert J. Sawyer. The third and final novel Wonder is due now in April. You can read my reviews of the previous books Wake and Watch on Temple Library Reviews.

Webmind-the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web-has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated.

Caitlin Decter-the once-blind sixteen-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind-wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn’t act, everything-Webmind included-may come crashing down.

The View From The Imperium

by Jody Lynn Nye – Baen, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

Jody Lynn Nye isn’t exactly new to me. I have read her Doona collaboration with Anne McCaffrey and a few short stories. The View from the Imperium is on for April this year from Baen. This is promoted as a space opera version of the P. G. Woodhouse’s Jeeves books. I love them so I will definitely get this one. It looks like great fun.

P. G. Wodehouse meets space opera, as Ensign Thomas Innes Loche Kinago, fresh from the Academy is given his first command. A crumb from the upper crust, he’s eager to uphold the traditions of his family, and in particular, his mother, a distinguished Admiral of the Imperium. Of course, he’s aware of the importance of always having simply smashing tailored uniforms on hand, and having his camera ready to record memorable moments for his scrapbook. In the meantime, a charismatic leader has arisen who seems able to control the minds of anyone he meets, and may be on his way to taking over the entire galaxy. Can Kinago’s aristocratic bearing and unbridled snobbery stand up to such a challenge? Fortunately, his constant companion, the unflappable Jeeves, er, Parsons, is on hand to look after the young, impulsive master, and somehow help his charge bumble his way through, perhaps even saving the galaxy in the process.

Sea of Ghosts (Gravediggers Chronicles 1)

by Alan Campbell – Tor UK, April 1 – Amazon US | UK

I like Military fantasy as much as science fiction. Sea of Ghosts is the first book in a series by the same name by Alan Campbell and it will be out in April. It is about the last survivor of a elite infiltrator unit that has gone into hiding after the Emperor turned on them. He can’t escape his past and old enemies are rising. It will also give me an opportunity to sample a new-to-me author.

Sea of Ghosts is the terrific new novel from Deepgate Codex author Alan Campbell. 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. I’ve just finished editing it and have had to go back and read it again just for the sheer pleasure of it! We’ve got a terrific jacket design from artist Larry Rostant and this will be a lead fantasy hardback for Tor in 2011.

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it . .

Camera Obscura (The Bookman 2)

by Lavie Tidhar – Angry Robot, April 14 (uk) 26 (us) – Amazon US | UK

I really liked The Bookman it certainly had its own brand of steampunk. Martians ruling the commonwealth. Now Lavie Tidhar delivers another book in the same universe this time across the channel in Paris.

CAN’T FIND A RATIONAL EXPLANATION TO A MYSTERY? CALL IN THE QUIET COUNCIL. The mysterious and glamorous Lady De Winter is one of their most valuable agents. A despicable murder inside a locked and bolted room on the Rue Morgue in Paris is just the start. This whirlwind adventure will take Milady to the highest and lowest parts of that great city – and cause her to question the very nature of reality itself.

Other Books of Interest This Month

I prefer female protagonists and this series of posts is homage to some of the most formidable female main characters in science fiction novels or series. This weeks formidable females contains some new favorites like Mearana, Briar, Caitlin and some old.

1. Mearana - The Harper (Michael Flynn)
2. Sparta – Venus Prime (Paul Preuss)
3. Briar Wilkes – Persistent Mother (Cherie Priest)
4. Caitlin Decter – Best Friend of the Web (Robert J. Sawyer)
5. Ilia Volyova – Triumvir Ultra (Alastair Reynolds)

Mearana - The Harper

Books: The January Dancer (2008), Up John River (2010)
Series: The January Dancer
Universe: Firestar
Author: Michael Flynn
Genre: Gaelic Space Opera
Publisher: Tor | Tantor Media

My reviews: The January Dancer | Up Jim River

In the beginning of the January Dancer a beautiful redheaded Harper walks into a bar in search for histories to sing. She approach the Scarred man that tells her the story of The January Dancer. In Up Jim River she and the scarred man goes looking for her disappeared mother. It reads like an epic gaelic saga with beautiful prose. I can recommend the audio version of The January Dancer it is just awesome, it blew my mind.

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Sparta – Venus Prime

Books: Breaking Strain (1987), Maelstrom (1988), Hide & Seek (1989), The Medusa Encounter (1990), The Diamond Moon (1990), The Shining Ones (1991)
Series: Arthur’s C. Clark’s Venus Prime
Author: Paul Preuss
Genre: YA | Science Fiction
Publisher: Avon | Pan | iBooks

I remember these books from my youth. Sparta is a beautiful and mysterious woman with advanced abilities due to her bioengineering. But she don’t remember the last three years and tries to recover her past and save her future. Beautiful description and adventures on the planets of the solar system based on short stories by Aurthur C. Clark.

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Briar Wilkes – Persistent Mother

Books: Boneshaker (2009)
Series: Clockwork Century
Author: Cherie Priest
Genre: Steampunk
Publisher: Tor

Briar Wilkes name used to be Briar Blue before her husband poisoned downtown Seattle with a gas that turned humans into Zombies with his infernal digging machine – The Boneshaker. Now her son is lost inside the walls erected to keep the gas out and she would do anything to save him. Much steampunk fun with airships and zombies.

A second book, Dreadnought in the same universe will be out in September 2010, but it has a different protagonist.

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Caitlin Decter – Best Friend of the Web

Title: Wake (2009), Watch (2010), Wonder (2011)
Series: WWW
Author: Robert J. Sawyer
Genre: Science Fiction | First Contact | Emerging AI
Publisher: ACE | Gollancz

My reviews: Wake, Watch

Caitlin Decter is a feisty young blind girl that is quite ordinary besides being a mathematical genius and after an experimental treatment to make her see again she starts to see the world wide web. Out there in the web she encounters an emerging intelligence and befriends it.

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Ilia Volyova – Triumvir Ultra

Books: Revelation Space (2000), Redemption Ark (2002)
Universe: Revalation Space
Author: Alastair Reynolds
Genre: Space Opera
Publisher: Gollancz | ACE | Tantor Media

Triumvir Ilia Volyova of Nostalgia for Infinity is an implant-free Ultra, and a major character in both Revelation Space and Redemption Ark. At the beginning of Revelation Space, Volyova is the keeper of the Cache Weapons. It is during her search for a means to control these weapons that she enlists Ana Khouri (who was planted in the role by the Mademoiselle), thus setting off a chain of events that continues throughout the novels. She maintains a long friendship with Captain Brannigan, a man melded with with his ship. When I am reading this I realize I have read these books a long time ago, it makes me want to go back and reread them.

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Read part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | index | afterword

Title:

Webmind is an emerging consciousness that has befriended Caitlin Decter and grown eager to learn about her world. But Webmind has also come to the attention of WATCH-the secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat to the United States-and they’re fully aware of Caitlin’s involvement in its awakening.

WATCH is convinced that Webmind represents a risk to national security and wants it purged from cyberspace. But Caitlin believes in Webmind’s capacity for compassion-and she will do anything and everything necessary to protect her friend.

Title: Wake
Series: WWW 1
Author: Robert J. Sawyer
Cover art: Steve Biver/Getty & John Lundh/Getty
Genre: Science Fiction | Coming-of-Age | First Contact
Publisher: ACE 2010 (1st serialized in Analog 2008)
Paperback: 352 pages
Order from: ACE | Amazon US | UK | B&N | sfbok

New this month is the publishing house link, where you can buy the book. If you want to check out the publishing houses yourself and maybe create your own list, please use my Links page it has direct links to upcoming releases by the publishers I like.

Books On Order

A Mighty Fortress
Safehold 3
by David Weber
Published by Tor Books

This is one of the books of 2010 that I am most eager to read, I am a big fan of David Weber and you have seen the snippet spam I have been doing here on the site.

Young Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm. Cayleb and Sharleyan have created the Charisian Empire, the greatest naval power in the history of Safehold, and they’ve turned Charis into a place of refuge for all who treasure freedom.

Their success may prove short-lived. The Church of God Awaiting, which controls most of Safehold, has decreed their destruction. Mother Church’s entire purpose is to prevent the very things to which Charis is committed. Since the first attempt to crush the heretics failed, the Church has no choice but to adopt some of the hated Charisian innovations for themselves. Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path.

But there are still matters about which the Church knows nothing, including Cayleb and Sharleyan’s adviser, friend, and guardian— the mystic warrior-monk named Merlin Athrawes. Merlin knows all about battles against impossible odds, because he is in fact the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died a thousand years before. As Nimue, Merlin saw the entire Terran Federation go down in fire and slaughter at the hands of a foe it could not defeat. He knows that Safehold is the last human planet in existence, and that the stasis the Church was created to enforce will be the human race’s death sentence if it is allowed to stand.

The juggernaut is rumbling down on Charis, but Merlin Athrawes and a handful of extraordinary human beings stand in its path. The Church is about to discover just how potent the power of human freedom truly is.

The Orphaned Worlds
Humanity’s Fire 2
by Michael Cobley
Published by Orbit UK

I really liked the first book in the series so I am looking forward to read this one.

Darien is no longer a lost outpost of humanity, but the prize in an intergalactic power struggle. Hegemony forces have a stranglehold over the planet and crack troops patrol its hotspots while Earth watches, passive, rendered impotent by galactic politics. But its Darien ambassador will soon become a player in a greater conflict. There is more at stake than a turf war on a newly discovered world.

An ancient Uvovo temple hides access to a hyperspace prison, housing the greatest threat sentient life has ever known. Millennia ago, malignant intelligences were caged there following an apocalyptic war. And their servants work on their release.

However, Darien’s guardians have not been idle, gathering resistance on the planet’s forest moon. Knowledge has been lost since great races battled in eons past, and now time is short. The galaxy will depend on the Uvovo reclaiming their past – and humanity must look to its future. For a new war is coming.

The Lotus Eaters
Carrera 3
by Tom Krateman
Baen Books

Tom likes to be controversial (my opinion) but if you can overlook that his Carrera Series is quite decent military science fiction.

Sometimes paranoia is just a heightened state of awareness. Carrera’s won his war, and inflicted a horrific revenge upon his enemies. But there are wars after wars. The Tauran Union is planning an attack. The criminals of neighboring states are already attacking, and threatening to embroil him in a war with the planet’s premier power. His only living son is under fire among the windswept mountains of Pashtia. An enemy fleet is hunting his submarines. His organization has been infiltrated by spies. One of the two governments of his adopted country, Balboa, is trying to destroy everything he’s built and reinstitute rule by a corrupt oligarchy. Worst of all, perhaps, he, himself, bearing a crushing burden of guilt, isn’t quite the man he once was. Fortunately, the man he once was, was lucky enough to marry the right woman…. The Lotus Eaters is the direct sequel to A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex.

Victorious
The Lost Fleet 6
by Jack Campbell (John G. Hemry)
Published by Ace

Last book in the Lost Fleet Series but don’t worry there are two more series ordered in the same universe according to the authors homepage.

I like this series it is honest to god uncomplicated military space opera.

As war continues to rage between the Alliance and Syndicate Worlds, Captain “Black Jack” Geary is promoted to admiral-even though the ruling council fears he may stage a military coup. His new rank gives him the authority to negotiate with the Syndics, who have suffered tremendous losses and may finally be willing to end the war. But an even greater alien threat lurks on the far side of the Syndic occupied space.

WWW: Watch
WWW Trilogy 2
by Robert J. Sawyer
Published by ACE

I am was so tempted by this book and it’s prequel WWW: Wake about a girl that was born blind and then given an experimental treatment that fails but let her see the web and the sentient born out of it, that I ordered both after the mid March list.

Webmind is an emerging consciousness that has befriended Caitlin Decter and grown eager to learn about her world. But Webmind has also come to the attention of WATCH-the secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat to the United States-and they’re fully aware of Caitlin’s involvement in its awakening.

WATCH is convinced that Webmind represents a risk to national security and wants it purged from cyberspace. But Caitlin believes in Webmind’s capacity for compassion-and she will do anything and everything necessary to protect her friend.

Other books of interest

Conflicts
Published by NewConPress

Looks spiffy, I consider getting this one too.

– A spaceship hurtles into the unknown carrying humanity’s last hope, but does it also carry the seeds of its own doom? – The galaxy’s ultimate facilitator finds himself pursued by relentless enemies, while, of greater importance, there’s a puzzle to be solved – A rescue mission to a hostile alien world turns out to be far more than it seems – The Celtic nation has reclaimed its homeland, forcing the English into impoverished enclaves, but hot-headed English youth isn’t about to take that lying down – A trivial disagreement between two off-duty super soldiers out for some R&R escalates and escalates, eventually endangering an entire world –

Thirteen tales of human striving, of ingenuity, brilliance, desperate action, violence, and resolution. Thirteen tales of Conflict, of Science Fiction at its absolute best.

Full contents:
1. Introduction – Ian Whates
2. Psi.Copath – Andy Remic
3. The Maker’s Mark – Michael Cobley
4. Sussed – Keith Brooke
5. The Cuisinart Effect – Neal Asher
6. Harmony in My Head – Rosanne Rabinowitz
7. Our Land – Chris Beckett
8. Fallout – Gareth L. Powell
9. Proper Little Soldier – Martin McGrath
10. War Without End – Una McCormack
11. Dissimulation Procedure – Eric Brown
12. In the Long Run – David L. Clements
13. Last Orders – Jim Mortimore
14. Songbirds – Martin Sketchley

Feed
Newsflash 1
by Mira Grant
Published by Orbit

I am tempted with this one to, but I think I’ll wait on a review.

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

Nebula Awards Showcase 2010
Edited by Bill Fawcett
Published by Roc

The year’s best science fiction and fantasy in one essential volume.

An annual commemoration, the Nebula Awards are presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to those members whose imaginations refine and re-define the infinite storytelling possibilities found within the genre. The Nebula Awards Showcase represents the best of the best in fantasy in one indispensible collection.

This year’s compilation includes stories by: Ursula K. LeGuin, Catherine Asaro , John Kessel, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Harry Harrison, this year’s Grandmaster.

Damage Time
by Colin Harvey
Published by Angry Robot

Another temptation, I like hard SF and this one looks right down my alley.

Rock-hard SF Thriller from the author of Winter Song: no-one here gets out alive. It’s 2050 and sea-levels have swamped today’s coastal regions. New York City is protected by tidal barriers and the USA is bankrupt. Detective Pervez (Pete) Shah serves with the NYPD’s Web Crimes Division as a Memory Association Specialist. When he’s accused of murdering a glamorous woman in a bar, he must find the killer, save himself … and the world.

Saltation
Liaden 10
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Published by Baen

Theo Waitley is a Nexus of Violence. Thrust mid-year into a school for pilots far from the safe haven of her birth home on scholarly Delgado, young Theo Waitley excels in hands-on flying while finding that she’s behind the curve in social intricacies as well as in math. Her mentors try to guide her studies and training into the channels best suited to her special abilities and inclinations, including suggesting that she should join in the off-world studenty association, a plan resulting in mixed success. After a series of confrontations, fights, and ultimately a riot after which she is thanked for not killing anyone, Theo is named a “nexus of violence” by the school’s administration. Facing suspension and carrying little more than a hastily procured guild card, a pistol taken from an attacker, and the contents of her pants pockets, Theo must quickly decide if she’s ready to return to Delgado in disgrace, or launch herself into the universe as a freelance pilot with credentials she’s already earned.

Up Jim River
by Michael Flynn
Published by Tor Books

Hugo Award finalist and Robert A. Heinlein Award-winning SF writer Michael Flynn returns to space opera with Up Jim River. There is a river on Dangchao Waypoint, a small world out beyond Die Bold. It is a longish river as such things go, with a multitude of bayous and rapids and waterfalls, and it runs through many a strange and hostile country. Going up it, you can lose everything.

Going up it, you can find anything. The Hound Bridget ban has vanished and her employer, the Kennel (the mysterious superspy agency of the League) has given up the search. But her daughter, the harper Mearana, has not. She enlists the scarred man, Donovan, to aid her in her search. With the reluctant assent and financial aid of the Kennel, they set forth. Bridget ban was following hints of an artifact that would “protect the League from the Confederacy for aye.” Mearana is eager to follow that trail, but Donovan is reluctant, because whatever is at the end of it made a Hound disappear. What it would do to a harper and a drunk is far too easy to imagine.

Donovan’s mind had been shattered by Those of Name, the rulers of the Confederacy, and no fewer than seven quarreling personalities now inhabit his skull. How can he hope to see her through safely? Together, they follow Bridget ban’s trail to the raw worlds of the frontier, edging ever closer to the uncivilized and barbarian planets of the Wild.

What’s on your list?

Those are the ones I picked so far, do you have anyone I might be interested in? or for anyone else reading this list? Please write a comment here with your pick or a link to your pick.

There are some great books coming out, the fourth Safehold novel by David Weber, The last book in Lost Fleet, the second book in Humanity’s Fire and the Nebula Award Showcase 2010 among others.

Books I have on Order

A Mighty Fortress
Safehold 3
by David Weber
Published by Tor Books

This is one of the books of 2010 that I am most eager to read, I am a big fan of David Weber and you have seen the snippet spam I have been doing here on the site.

Young Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm. Cayleb and Sharleyan have created the Charisian Empire, the greatest naval power in the history of Safehold, and they’ve turned Charis into a place of refuge for all who treasure freedom.

Their success may prove short-lived. The Church of God Awaiting, which controls most of Safehold, has decreed their destruction. Mother Church’s entire purpose is to prevent the very things to which Charis is committed. Since the first attempt to crush the heretics failed, the Church has no choice but to adopt some of the hated Charisian innovations for themselves. Soon a mighty fleet will sail against Cayleb, destroying everything in its path.

But there are still matters about which the Church knows nothing, including Cayleb and Sharleyan’s adviser, friend, and guardian— the mystic warrior-monk named Merlin Athrawes. Merlin knows all about battles against impossible odds, because he is in fact the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died a thousand years before. As Nimue, Merlin saw the entire Terran Federation go down in fire and slaughter at the hands of a foe it could not defeat. He knows that Safehold is the last human planet in existence, and that the stasis the Church was created to enforce will be the human race’s death sentence if it is allowed to stand.

The juggernaut is rumbling down on Charis, but Merlin Athrawes and a handful of extraordinary human beings stand in its path. The Church is about to discover just how potent the power of human freedom truly is.

The Orphaned Worlds
Humanity’s Fire 2
by Michael Cobley
Published by Orbit UK

I really liked the first book in the series so I am really looking forward to read this one.

Darien is no longer a lost outpost of humanity, but the prize in an intergalactic power struggle. Hegemony forces have a stranglehold over the planet and crack troops patrol its hotspots while Earth watches, passive, rendered impotent by galactic politics. But its Darien ambassador will soon become a player in a greater conflict. There is more at stake than a turf war on a newly discovered world.

An ancient Uvovo temple hides access to a hyperspace prison, housing the greatest threat sentient life has ever known. Millennia ago, malignant intelligences were caged there following an apocalyptic war. And their servants work on their release.

However, Darien’s guardians have not been idle, gathering resistance on the planet’s forest moon. Knowledge has been lost since great races battled in eons past, and now time is short. The galaxy will depend on the Uvovo reclaiming their past – and humanity must look to its future. For a new war is coming.

The Lotus Eaters
Carrera 3
by Tom Krateman
Baen Books

Tom likes to be controversial (my opinion) but if you can overlook that his Carrera Series is quite decent military science fiction.

Sometimes paranoia is just a heightened state of awareness. Carrera’s won his war, and inflicted a horrific revenge upon his enemies. But there are wars after wars. The Tauran Union is planning an attack. The criminals of neighboring states are already attacking, and threatening to embroil him in a war with the planet’s premier power. His only living son is under fire among the windswept mountains of Pashtia. An enemy fleet is hunting his submarines. His organization has been infiltrated by spies. One of the two governments of his adopted country, Balboa, is trying to destroy everything he’s built and reinstitute rule by a corrupt oligarchy. Worst of all, perhaps, he, himself, bearing a crushing burden of guilt, isn’t quite the man he once was. Fortunately, the man he once was, was lucky enough to marry the right woman…. The Lotus Eaters is the direct sequel to A Desert Called Peace and Carnifex.

Victorious
The Lost Fleet 6
by Jack Campbell (John G. Hemry)
Published by Ace

Last book in the Lost Fleet Series but don’t worry there are two more series ordered in the same universe according to the authors homepage.

I like this series it is honest to god uncomplicated military space opera.

As war continues to rage between the Alliance and Syndicate Worlds, Captain “Black Jack” Geary is promoted to admiral-even though the ruling council fears he may stage a military coup. His new rank gives him the authority to negotiate with the Syndics, who have suffered tremendous losses and may finally be willing to end the war. But an even greater alien threat lurks on the far side of the Syndic occupied space.

Other books of interest

Nebula Awards Showcase 2010
Edited by Bill Fawcett
Published by Roc

The year’s best science fiction and fantasy in one essential volume.

An annual commemoration, the Nebula Awards are presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to those members whose imaginations refine and re-define the infinite storytelling possibilities found within the genre. The Nebula Awards Showcase represents the best of the best in fantasy in one indispensible collection.

This year’s compilation includes stories by: Ursula K. LeGuin, Catherine Asaro , John Kessel, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Harry Harrison, this year’s Grandmaster.

Damage Time
by Colin Harvey
Published by Angry Robot

Edit: Publication of this book has been delayed to October 2010

Another temptation, I like hard SF and this one looks right down my alley.

Rock-hard SF Thriller from the author of Winter Song: no-one here gets out alive. It’s 2050 and sea-levels have swamped today’s coastal regions. New York City is protected by tidal barriers and the USA is bankrupt. Detective Pervez (Pete) Shah serves with the NYPD’s Web Crimes Division as a Memory Association Specialist. When he’s accused of murdering a glamorous woman in a bar, he must find the killer, save himself … and the world.

Saltation
Liaden 10
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Published by Baen

Theo Waitley is a Nexus of Violence. Thrust mid-year into a school for pilots far from the safe haven of her birth home on scholarly Delgado, young Theo Waitley excels in hands-on flying while finding that she’s behind the curve in social intricacies as well as in math. Her mentors try to guide her studies and training into the channels best suited to her special abilities and inclinations, including suggesting that she should join in the off-world studenty association, a plan resulting in mixed success. After a series of confrontations, fights, and ultimately a riot after which she is thanked for not killing anyone, Theo is named a “nexus of violence” by the school’s administration. Facing suspension and carrying little more than a hastily procured guild card, a pistol taken from an attacker, and the contents of her pants pockets, Theo must quickly decide if she’s ready to return to Delgado in disgrace, or launch herself into the universe as a freelance pilot with credentials she’s already earned.

WWW: Watch
WWW Trilogy 2
by Robert J. Sawyer
Published by ACE

I am very tempted by this book and it’s prequel WWW: Wake about a girl that was born blind and then given an experimental treatment that fails but let her see the web and the sentient born out of it.

Webmind is an emerging consciousness that has befriended Caitlin Decter and grown eager to learn about her world. But Webmind has also come to the attention of WATCH-the secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat to the United States-and they’re fully aware of Caitlin’s involvement in its awakening.

WATCH is convinced that Webmind represents a risk to national security and wants it purged from cyberspace. But Caitlin believes in Webmind’s capacity for compassion-and she will do anything and everything necessary to protect her friend.

Up Jim River
by Michael Flynn
Published by Tor Books

Hugo Award finalist and Robert A. Heinlein Award-winning SF writer Michael Flynn returns to space opera with Up Jim River. There is a river on Dangchao Waypoint, a small world out beyond Die Bold. It is a longish river as such things go, with a multitude of bayous and rapids and waterfalls, and it runs through many a strange and hostile country. Going up it, you can lose everything.

Going up it, you can find anything. The Hound Bridget ban has vanished and her employer, the Kennel (the mysterious superspy agency of the League) has given up the search. But her daughter, the harper Mearana, has not. She enlists the scarred man, Donovan, to aid her in her search. With the reluctant assent and financial aid of the Kennel, they set forth. Bridget ban was following hints of an artifact that would “protect the League from the Confederacy for aye.” Mearana is eager to follow that trail, but Donovan is reluctant, because whatever is at the end of it made a Hound disappear. What it would do to a harper and a drunk is far too easy to imagine.

Donovan’s mind had been shattered by Those of Name, the rulers of the Confederacy, and no fewer than seven quarreling personalities now inhabit his skull. How can he hope to see her through safely? Together, they follow Bridget ban’s trail to the raw worlds of the frontier, edging ever closer to the uncivilized and barbarian planets of the Wild.

What’s on your list?

Those are the ones I picked so far, do you have anyone I might be interested in? or for anyone else reading this list? Please write a comment here with your pick.