Looking forward: Cara's anticipated releases in 2011

Now that Christmas Day is behind us, it is time to look to the future and see what delights 2011 has to offer in the way of book releases. The following books are some of what I plan to read and review over the course of 2011.

Harbinger of the Storm by Aliette de Bodard
First up, from Angry Robot Books is the second in her Obsidian and Blood series. As regular readers will know, I loved the first book in the series, Servant of the Underworld.  Set in the pre-Columbian Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Harbinger of the Storm follows on from the events told in Servant of the Underworld:

"The year is Two House and the Mexica Empire teeters on the brink of destruction, lying vulnerable to the flesh-eating star-demons – and to the return of their creator, a malevolent goddess only held in check by the Protector God’s power.

The council is convening to choose a new emperor, but when a councilman is found dead, only Acatl, High Priest of the Dead, can solve the mystery.

When he hears rumours of a sinister cabal of sorcerors he must face up to demons, not all of them his own."

I hope to receive a pre-release review copy within the next few days and will review Harbinger of the Storm here on Speculative Book Review as soon as I have finished reading it.

Harbinger of the Storm by Aliette de Bodard
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot (25 Jan 2011)
ISBN-10: 0857660764
ISBN-13: 978-0857660763

The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini (Vampire Assassin Trilogy 1) by Jon Courtney Grimwood
With this book,  Jon Courtney Grimwood hopes to reclaim the Vampire mythos from the Twilight brigade, so don't expect any vegetarian, sparkly vampires here. From what I have read about this book to date, I think he might just succeed in his aim. Certainly I am looking forward to reading The Fallen Blade as not only has it got vampires and assassins, but it is set in an alternative Venice in 1407.

"In the depths of night, customs officers board a galley in a harbour and overpower its guards. In the hold they find oil and silver, and a naked boy chained to the bulkhead. Stunningly beautiful but half-starved, the boy has no name. The officers break the boy's chains to rescue him, but he escapes.

Venice is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They command the seas, tax the colonies, and, like those in power before them, fear assassins better than their own.

In a side chapel, Marco's fifteen-year old cousin prays for deliverance from her forced marriage. It is her bad fortune to be there when Mamluk pirates break in to steal a chalice, but it is the Mamluks' good luck - they kidnap her.

In the gardens beside the chapel, Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, prepares to kill his latest victim. Having cut the man's throat, he turns back, having heard a noise, and finds a boy crouched over the dying man, drinking blood from the wound. The speed with which the boy dodges a dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. And the assassin knows he has to find the boy.

Not to kill him, but because he's finally found what he thought he would never find. Someone fit to be his apprentice."

The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini by Jon Courtney Grimwood
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Orbit (3 Feb 2011)
ISBN-10: 1841498459
ISBN-13: 978-1841498454

Grail by Elizabeth Bear
The final in the Jacob's Ladder trilogy, Grail is due to be released in late February 2011. I am about to start reading Chill, and reviewed the first in the series, Dust, giving it a rating of 8/10.

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dust, finding it to be a very original take on a ‘quest to save the world’ theme. Set in a decaying, broken generation ship, the world of Dust is one of airlocks, varying gravities, and artificial environments. The ship, the Jacob’s Ladder, is populated by two warring factions or Houses; Rule and Engine." [taken from my review of Dust]

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Spectra Books (22 Feb 2011)
ISBN-10: 0553591096
ISBN-13: 978-0553591095

City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates
Another release from Angry Robot books, one of the most innovative new publishing houses in the UK, City of Hope and Despair is the second in Ian Whates' Urban Fantasy series, set in the vertical city of Thaiburley. I reviewed the first, City of Dreams and Nightmare on another blog I write for, Temple Library Reviews.

*EXCLUSIVE*
I have it on very good authority that Angry Robot Books have commissioned a third book in the series, City of Light and Shadow, which is scheduled for publication early in 2012.

City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot (3 Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 0061994294
ISBN-13: 978-0061994296

The Book of Transformations by Mark Charan Newton
This is the third book in the Legends of the Red Sun series and is due for release in June 2011. I am very eager to read this book as the previous two books in the series have been firm favourites of mine in 2010. I reviewed Nights of Villjamur on amazon.co.uk (I read it before I started reviewing here) and City of Ruin here on Speculative Book Review. Both books received top ratings from me, so I have high expectations for the forthcoming release.

"A new and corrupt Emperor seeks to rebuild the ancient structures of Villjamur to give the people of the city hope in the face of great upheaval and an oppressing ice age. But when a stranger called Shalev arrives, empowering a militant underground movement, crime and terror becomes rampant. The Inquisition is always one step behind, and military resources are spread thinly across the Empire. So Emperor Urtica calls upon cultists to help construct a group to eliminate those involved with the uprising, and calm the populace.

But there’s more to The Villjamur Knights than just phenomenal skills and abilities - each have a secret that, if exposed, could destroy everything they represent. Investigator Fulcrom of the Villjamur Inquisition is given the unenviable task of managing the Knights’, but his own skills are tested when a mysterious priest, who has travelled from beyond the fringes of the Empire, seeks his help. The priest’s existence threatens the church, and his quest promises to unweave the fabric of the world.

And in a distant corner of the Empire, the enigmatic cultist Dartun Súr steps back into this world, having witnessed horrors beyond his imagination. Broken, altered, he and the remnants of his cultist order are heading back to Villjamur. And all eyes turn to the Sanctuary City, for Villjamur’s ancient legends are about to be shattered..."

The Book of Transformations by Mark Charan Newton
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Tor (3 Jun 2011)
ISBN-10: 0230750060
ISBN-13: 978-0230750067

Other new releases I am anticipating:

Twilight's Dawn: A Black Jewels Book by Anne Bishop
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Roc (Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 0451463781
ISBN-13: 978-0451463784

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series) by J.R.Ward
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Piatkus Books (29 Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 0749955600
ISBN-13: 978-0749955601

The Land of Painted Caves - Earth's Children Book 6 by Jean M. Auel
Hardcover: 672 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (29 Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 0340824255
ISBN-13: 978-0340824252

Iron Crowned: Dark Swan 3 by Richelle Mead
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Bantam (31 Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 0553826107
ISBN-13: 978-0553826104