Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Outstanding new releases in fantasy and science fiction include:

Fantasy

Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan. Orbit, 2011. Print Length: 817 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book two in the Riyria Revelations series, following Theft of Swords.

"Royce and Hadrian have been called upon to aid the struggling kingdom of Melengar as it alone stands in defiance against the newly formed empire. As war approaches a desperate gamble behind enemy lines is their only chance at forming an alliance with the Nationalists to the south. But Royce has plans of his own and uses this opportunity to discover if an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, Royce must unravel Hadrian's hidden past. What he discovers will lead them to the end of the known world on a journey rife with treachery and intrigue." - Publisher.

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Roc, 2011. Print Length: 444 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (127 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"These are Butcher’s short pieces about Harry Dresden. (Previous novels featuring that character, which the author’s many fans will recall with pleasure, include Proven Guilty, 2006, and White Night, 2007). Most of these stories are reprints ('Something Borrowed,' 'It’s My Birthday, Too,' 'Day Off,' and 'Last Call' are included), but the collection offers some previously unpublished material. Butcher has not only given the genesis of each story but also indicates where each fits chronologically among the novels. Anyone who likes the Harry Dresden long works probably thinks it’s high time this collection came out. Enjoy, but be warned that there is a sequel to Changes (2010) in the collection." - Frieda Murray for Booklist.

Honor Among Thieves by David Chandler. Harper Voyager, 2011. Print Length: 553 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition: $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the concluding volume in the Ancient Blades trilogy, following Den of Thieves (now only $0.99 in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore) and A Thief in the Night.

"Armed with one of seven Ancient Blades, Malden was chosen by Fate to act as savior...and failed dismally. And now there is no stopping the barbarian hordes from invading and pillaging the kingdom of Skrae. Suddenly friends and former supporters alike covet the young hero’s magic while seeking his destruction - from the treacherous King and leaders of the City of Ness to the rogue knight Croy, who owes Malden his life. It will take more than Malden’s makeshift army of harlots and cutpurses to preserve a realm. Luckily the sorceress Cythera fights at his side, along with the ingenious,irascible dwarf Slag. And the wily thief still has a desperate and daring plan or two up his larcenous sleeve..." - Publisher.

Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison. Harper Voyager, 2011. Print Length: 501 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (157 reviews). Kindle edition: $1.99 (special price for a limited time). Bonus material includes a sneak peek at Kim Harrison's new novel - Perfect Blood - slated for publication in February 2012. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book three in the author's The Hollows series, following Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad, and the Undead.

"Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay - literally." - Publisher.

Science Fiction

Star Wars: Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. LucasBooks, 2011. Print Length: 368 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition: $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Javul Charn is the most famous pop star in the galaxy - and the runaway bride of a violent lieutenant in Black Sun, the crime syndicate commanded by Prince Xizor. Or so Javul says. Soon after Dash Rendar, broke and desperate, agrees to be Javul’s bodyguard, he realizes that openness is not her strong suit - and that murder is stalking her tour. Between the discovery of dead bodies in a cargo hold and an attack by an unidentified warship, Dash and co-pilot Eaden Vrill desperately try to understand who is terrorizing Javul’s tour and why. When Han Solo suddenly joins Javul’s road show, the stakes are raised even higher. Now Dash, who has a history with Han and an even worse history with Prince Xizor, follows his instincts, his discoveries, and Javul herself - straight into a world that may be too dangerous to survive." - Publisher.

Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle. First published in 1998, Starswarm is newly available in a Kindle edition. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: Kindle edition: $5.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Living with his Uncle Mike at Starswarm Station on a planet called Paradise, Kip's best friend is Gwen who answers questions and seems to know everything. But Gwen is an implant in Kip's head, connected to an Artificial Intelligence at the planet's central computer, and Kip learns some secrets that put not only his and his Uncle Mike's lives in danger, but also threaten the existence of the aliens called centaurs and the starswarms, mysterious but highly intelligent organisms living in lakes and streams." - Author's blog.

Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Tor Books, 2012. Print Length: 497 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"It is eighty-three years after the last of the thinking machines were destroyed in the Battle of Corrin, after Faykan Butler took the name of Corrino and established himself as the first Emperor of a new Imperium. The war hero Vorian Atreides has turned his back on politics and Salusa Secundus. The descendants of Abulurd Harkonnen Griffen and Valya have sworn vengeance against Vor, blaming him for the downfall of their fortunes. Raquella Berto-Anirul has formed the Bene Gesserit School on the jungle planet Rossak as the first Reverend Mother. The descendants of Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva have built Venport Holdings, using mutated, spice-saturated Navigators who fly precursors of Heighliners. Gilbertus Albans, the ward of the hated Erasmus, is teaching humans to become Mentats...and hiding an unbelievable secret. The Butlerian movement, rabidly opposed to all forms of 'dangerous technology,' is led by Manford Torondo and his devoted Swordmaster, Anari Idaho. And it is this group, so many decades after the defeat of the thinking machines, which begins to sweep across the known universe in mobs, millions strong, destroying everything in its path..."

Methuselah's Children by Robert Heinlein. One of Heinlein's early novels, this science fiction classic was first published in 1958 and is newly available in a Kindle edition. Print Length: 192 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $6.35. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Lazarus Long, member of a select group bred for generations to live far beyond normal human lifespans, helps his kind escape persecution after word leaks out and angry crowds accuse them of withholding the 'secret' of longevity. Lazarus and his companions set out on an interstellar journey and face many trials and strange cultures, like a futuristic Odysseus and his crew, before returning to Earth. This classic novel, set in Robert A. Heinlein’s Future History universe, introduces the author’s most beloved and widely quoted character." - Publisher.

Return to Dakistee by Thomas DePrima. Vinnia Publishing, 2011. Print Length: 306 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (21 reviews). Kindle edition: $5.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled. This is book 8 in DePrima's A Galaxy Unknown Series that began with A Galaxy Unknown.

"The same archeological team who uncovered a secret underground bunker on Dakistee sixteen years earlier, when the planet was still named Mawcett, has discovered a new facility. They struggle for months to open the entrance, but the structure defies all their efforts. Admiral Jenetta Carver is besieged with mundane work. Although she would love to drop everything and head for Dakistee, she can't possibly get away. Fortunately, the battleship Hephaestus is in port, and the ship's third watch commander is available for a special assignment. Christa is far from thrilled with the prospect of giving up her seat on the bridge, even temporarily, but when an admiral says go, you go. It doesn't matter that the admiral is your sister. Christa expects to make a quick trip, with a speedy return to the Hephaestus, but as with Jenetta, assignments often tend to take unexpected side trips into unique and dangerous situations." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.



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