The Reality Dysfunction – Peter F. Hamilton

From Publishers Weekly:  First published in 1996, this behemoth opening to the Night’s Dawn trilogy takes humankind across the galaxy on a quest for profit that becomes a desperate battle for survival. Space scavenger Joshua Calvert begins shipping wood from the primitive planet Lalonde to the pastoral patrician planet Kulu despite a revolt among the…

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Before They Are Hanged – Joe Abercrombie

From Publishers Weekly:  Starred Review. This grim and vivid sequel to 2007’s The Blade Itself transcends its middle volume status, keeping the reader engaged with complicated plotting and intriguing character development. As savage Northmen invade Angland, the northernmost province of the unwieldy Union, honorable, hard-working Union soldier Colonel West watches his notions of civilized warfare erode in…

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Evil for Evil – K.J. Parker

Product DescriptionCivitas Vadanis is in trouble. The Mezentines have declared war; and the Mezentines are very focused on their goals when it comes to killing. Duke Valens, of Civitas Vadanis, has a dilemma. He knows that his city cannot withstand the invading army; yet its walls are his only defence against the Mezentines. Perhaps the…

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The Folding Knife – K.J. Parker

Back Cover Blurb:  Basso the Magnificent. Basso the Great. Basso the Wise. The First Citizen of the Vesani Republic is an extraordinary man. He is ruthless, cunning, and above all, lucky. He brings wealth, power and prestige to his people. But with power comes unwanted attention, and Basso must defend his nation and himself from…

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The Scar – China Mieville

Publisher’s Weekly: In this stand-alone novel set in the same monster-haunted universe as last year’s much-praised Perdido Street Station, British author Mieville, one of the most talented new writers in the field, takes us on a gripping hunt to capture a magical sea-creature so large that it could snack on Moby Dick, and that’s just…

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Ilium – Dan Simmons

From Publishers Weekly: Many centuries in the future, Earth’s small, more or less human population lives an enjoyable, if drone-like existence. Elsewhere, on some alternate Earth, or perhaps it’s the distant past, the battle for Troy is in its ninth year. Oddly, its combatants, Hector, Achilles and the rest, seem to be following a script,…

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Feast of Souls – C.S. Friedman

About the book by Publisher’s Weekly: In this imaginative, deftly plotted fantasy from Friedman (The Wilding), the first of a new trilogy, a female witch’s magic comes at a terrible cost: her own finite life force, which drains away with each spell. Nearly immortal male Magisters, on the other hand, tap a more murderous fuel…

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The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch

This has to be one of the best books I’ve read all year. Think mofia and thieves with some magic and a whole lot of trickery and you’ve got the basic premise for this stunning debut work by Lynch. Lynch has a natural talent for telling a tale and an incredible way of depicting reality….

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Daughter of the Forest – Juliet Marillier

I read this book in one day. I haven’t done something like that in years. I started it at 11 and stayed up late to get through the last page. It truly is a stunning work that deserves the classification as “art” rather than “novel.”  Marillier is an amazing author. Every part of this book…

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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – N.K. Jemisin

What if the gods were real, and were slaves to the king? That is the premise for Jemisin’s ground breaking work and that is why I wanted to read this book in the first place. Such an idea is very new and unique in fantasy, a genre filled with perfect and unperfect; black and white;…

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