Most of us have seen what has come to be known, by many, as Book Porn. Defined roughly as the guilty pleasure pictures that bloggers post of their latest book treasures, book porn is a lot of fun.

Taking a cue from the gaming industry I’m going to twist this a bit and give you some Book Pron! Today’s post features a baker’s dozen, plus one, of upcoming releases that I simply have to have. In many cases I have already pre-ordered these books.

My hope is to share my excitement about some upcoming titles and maybe, just maybe, grab myself a few more points on Debi’s list.

For each book I provide a link, the planned release date, an italicized blurb about the book borrowed from the link site, and occasionally my own commentary.

This first book is:

Otherworldlies ~Jennifer Anne Kogler

June 17

Fern communicates with her dog, blisters from just moments in the sun, and has correctly predicted the daily weather for more than two years. Even so, she’s always seemed to be a normal twelve-year-old girl . . . until one day when Fern closes her eyes in class and opens them seconds later on a sandy beach miles away from school. When Fern disappears again, this time to a place far more dangerous, she begins to realize exactly how different she is.

I just stumbled across this book, and the author’s site, the other day but the cover image drew me in and the story sounds interesting. I must admit that I feel a bit strange about the cover image in regards to it representing a story about a 12 year old girl. Maybe I’m getting old, but that admittedly cute girl does not look 12 to me. That oddity aside, I plan on checking this out.

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Kull: Exile of Atlantis ~Robert E. Howard

June 2008

As some cover blurbs so rightly state, “Before Conan–there was Kull!” The warrior Kull was yet another popular creation of pulp writer Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), generally credited as the originator of the subgenre heroic fantasy. Yet Kull should not be dismissed as second-rate Conan. Set in ancient, lost Atlantis, the Kull stories take place mostly after the barbarian has already come to power as King Kull of Valusia. What makes these scant dozen stories most memorable is Howard’s heightened style of mystical decadence, similar here to his Weird Tales contemporary, Clark Ashton Smith.

The Limited Edition of this book looks to be gorgeous and I cannot wait to get my copy. This book is currently available in trade format if you are looking to find a more affordable version.
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The Shadow Pavillion ~Liz Williams

June 2008

John Constantine meets Chow Yun-Fat…The Snake Agent returns in The Shadow Pavilion, the fourth Detective Inspector Chen novel from Liz Williams. When Chen’s partner, the demon Seneschal Zhu Irzh, disappears, along with Chen’s wife Inari’s guardian badger, Chen must enlist all of his allies and assets in order to locate them.

Meanwhile, Zhu Irzh and the badger find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar jungle hell, stalked by a rogue demon lord and his harem of tigress demons, an assassin from between worlds targets Mhara, the new Lord of Heaven, and a beautiful Bollywood starlet holds a deadly secret…

From the strange streets of Singapore Three to the rough and tumble world of Bollywood, where money flows fast and emotions flare even faster; from the realms of the Celestial to the haunts of the Infernal and all the spaces in between, The Shadow Pavilion delivers the thrills, excitement, and near-future occult action fans have come to expect.

I’m behind on my Detective Inspector Chen reading, I still have book three on my tbr pile! That doesn’t stop me from looking forward to this fourth episode in the adventures of Chen and his demon police partner Zhu Irzh. You can see my reviews for the first two books in this series here, and here, respectively.
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When Twilight Burns ~Colleen Gleason

August 5th

Ruining Victoria’s homecoming, a vampire stalks the streets of London – during the daylight. Not only is Victoria unable to detect the vampire with her heightened senses, but she’s being framed as the prime suspect behind the killings.

My wife has already given the thumbs up on our ARC for this novel and it is soon to be devoured and reviewed by me. August will find another photo contest, interview with the author, and other goodies to celebrate the release of this fourth book in Colleen Gleason’s captivating Gardella Chronicles series.
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Zoe’s Tale ~John Scalzi

August 19th

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?

I ask because it’s what I have to do. I’m Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don’t know my tale: How I did what I did — how I did what I had to do — not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I’m going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.

It’s a story you know. But you don’t know it all.

It gives me chills just reading that. I fell for John Scalzi 2 years ago thanks to a blogger’s review. I fell hard! Though I had not in any way lost my love of science fiction John Scalzi’s book Old Man’s War stoked the flame and sent me on a nostalgia trip that took me right back to my first childhood experiences of science fiction. I have loved all 3 books (and the novella) in this series and cannot wait to see elements of this story from the viewpoint of Zoe. Can’t wait!!!
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Quantum of Solace ~Ian Fleming

August 26th

May 28th, 2008 marked the centennial of writer Ian Fleming, famous for both his whimsically named flying automobile and his trend-setting super-spy, 007–James Bond. To coincide with the centennial and the film of the same name to be released later this year, Penguin USA is releasing this collection of the James Bond short stories in a format commiserate with their previously published 007 trade collection.

I have reviewed 6 Bond books in the last year and each time am thrilled with the story presented by Fleming. I am no less excited to add this book to my collection even though I have no intention of reading it until after I have completed the other Ian Fleming Bond novels.
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Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy ~various authors

Summer 2008

Fantasy comes in all shades, from gentle tales of elves and fairies, to the blackest of horrors. Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy tends toward the darker edges, where the fantastic mixes with the horrific. With all original tales by a number of SubPress favorites, and writers new to our stable, we’ve aimed to illuminate these shadowed corners, to bring into the light the creatures that venture forth from the sea, those that alter our reality to suit their sinister needs, and others who head into territory so bleak it’s best left undescribed.

With the fabulous McKean cover and the line up of authors, how could I resist? I’m looking forward to this one quite a bit. The question will be, can I hold out until the R.I.P. III Challenge to read it or will I dive right in?
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Janes in Love ~Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Sept. 16th

The art attacks continue in this sequel to the acclaimed graphic novel THE PLAIN JANES. The coolest clique of misfits ever plays Cupid and becomes entangled in affairs of the heart. P.L.A.I.N. – People Loving Art In Neighborhoods – goes global when the art gang procures a spot in the Metro City Museum of Modern Art Contest. And the Janes will discover that in art and love, the normal rules don’t always apply.

I reviewed the first book in this graphic novel series, The Plain Janes, here as part of a post filled with mini-reviews. It was a wonderfully told and wonderfully illustrated graphic novel and when I found out a sequel was on its way I got very excited. I cannot recommend The Plain Janes enough.
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An Evil Guest ~Gene Wolfe

Sept. 16th

“It’s a pulp thriller—and that’s a compliment, because Wolfe knows from pulp thrillers and because here he’s creating a strange sort of genre meltdown, a 21st century pulp adventure thriller with SF and horror elements that nobody else could possibly have written.”
–Neil Gaiman on An Evil Guest

Wolfe is amazing, and with that Neil Gaiman quote I can only say: enough said!
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Ex-Kop ~Warren Hammond

Sept. 30th

In this hardboiled science fiction thriller, Juno, having been booted off the police force, is barely getting by as a low-level bagman and photographer for the scandal rags. But it gets worse: his wife is in critical condition at the hospital and Juno doesn’t have the money to pay her bills. Desperate for cash, Juno agrees to help his ex-partner, Maggie Orzo, solve a difficult case. A young girl sits on death row, accused of brutally murdering her own parents. She’s confessed to the murders, but Maggie isn’t buying it, so she sends Juno out to get some answers.

Working with Maggie, Juno comes into contact with her new partner, Ian. As dirty as they come, Ian is eager to rise in the police force no matter what the cost. Somehow Ian, a vicious serial killer, and the girl on death row are all connected. It is up to Juno and Maggie to find out how before more people die.

I really enjoyed Hammond’s debut novel, Kop (review here) and have been anxiously awaiting this sequel. Sporting another great Chris McGrath cover does nothing but increase my enthusiasm for this next book.
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Stonefather ~Orson Scott Card

October 2008

When Runnel leaves his mountain valley to head for the great city of the water mages, he has no idea of his own magical talents. But he soon finds that without meaning to, he complicates and then endangers the lives of everyone he comes to know and care about. For when it comes to magic, there are rules and laws, and the untrained mage-to-be must be careful not to tap into deep forces and ancient enmities. Other people might end up paying the price for his mistakes.

What can I say? It is Orson Scott Card, with cover and interior illustrations by the fantastic artist Tom Kidd. It is coming my way!
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Agent to the Stars

October 28th

In this slick, lightweight SF yarn from Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Thomas Stein, a hot young Hollywood agent, has just negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal for his friend, starlet Michelle Beck, when his boss, Carl Lupo, foists a space alien called Joshua on him. Joshua and his people, the Yherajk, are intelligent, gelatinous, shape-shifting blobs that communicate telepathically and by sharing odors. They’ve been monitoring Earth’s TV broadcasts and realize that before they can make first contact, they’ll have to deal with their image problem. Tom takes on the job of making the friendly, odiferous creatures palatable to humanity, while keeping Michelle and the rest of his other acting clients happy.

This is early Scalzi, pre-Old Man’s War, but it has been polished up by the author (with up-to-date pop culture references, etc.) and is being re-released in this raging retro-sci fi look. Have to have this one!
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Adventures of Langdon St. Ives ~James P. Blaylock

November 2008

“A good deal of controversy arose late in the last century over what has been referred to by the more livid newspapers as ‘The Horror in St. James Park’ or ‘The Ape-box Affair’….”

So begins the first chronicle in the long and often obscure life of Langdon St. Ives, Victorian scientist and adventurer, respected member of the Explorers Club and of societies far more obscure, consultant to scientific luminaries, and secret, unheralded savior of humankind. From the depths of the Borneo jungles to the starlit reaches of outer space, and ultimately through the dark corridors of past and future time, the adventures of Langdon St. Ives invariably lead him back to the streets and alleys of the busiest, darkest, most secretive city in the world — London in the age of steam and gaslamps, with the Thames fog settling in over the vast city of perpetual evening. St. Ives, in pursuit of the infamous Dr. Ignacio Narbondo, discovers the living horror of revivified corpses, the deep sea mystery of a machine with the power to drag ships to their doom, and the appalling threat of a skeleton-piloted airship descending toward the city of London itself, carrying within its gondola a living homunculus with the power to drive men mad….

I have previously reviewed the work of Blaylock here and here and I must say that Langdon St. Ives and the gang are among my favorite steampunk-era creations. I have an ARC of this that I will be reviewing this summer and look forward to my very own Subterranean Press edition arriving sometime during my birthday month!
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(Click image to view full cover)

Graveyard Book

later 2008

“The boundaries are always there—between the graveyard and the world beyond, between life and death, and the crossing of them.”
— Neil Gaiman

Hear this tragic tale: a sleeping family, a talented murderer, and an adventurous toddler — orphaned, but not assassinated. Small and alone, by accident and luck he escapes the scene of the crime and climbs a grassy hill to safety. At the top of the hill the boy finds a fence, and on the other side, a dark, quiet place.

And what is to become of him?

Who isn’t getting this book? 😉 Gaiman fans are waiting impatiently for his next book and as much as I loved Odd and the Frost Giants and the sneak peek we all had into The Graveyard Book via the short story A Witch’s Headstone, they are both too brief to satisfy my hunger for new Neil Gaiman. This one cannot come soon enough. The standard version should be arriving in stores on September 30th, according to Amazon
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That is all (and probably more than enough!) for today folks. Temptation…that’s what I’m here for!