A Quick Top 6 of 2012 So Far

A nod of the hat to Jared of Pornokitsch for reminding me that yes, we're halfway through the year. My answer to the question is always the same. It depends on what flavor you're after. These are my top six of the moment in no particular order:

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway - A gonzo pulp cold war thriller fest with crazy contraptions.
The Croning by Laird Barron - As perfect of a Horror story that I've ever read.
Faith by John Love - Imagine the crew of the Enterprise only they're all a bit off their rocker while battling a mysterious ship.
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed - Sword and Sorcery done right. Great characters and action.
Prepare to Die by Paul Tobin - A superhero novel that reminded me of a cross between Nick Hornby and Alan Moore.
The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis - The perfect middle volume in a genre bending trilogy. He used what was setup in the first so well. The wait was worth it. Nazi Supermen versus Dark Elder Gods indeed.

And yes, I'm just now realizing 3 of the top 6 are Night Shade titles as well as 4 being debuts, but I do tend to be a debut heavy reader. Wells's The Serpent Sea was another top book in addition to Kiernan's The Drowning Girl. Also, I'm almost halfway through with Black Bottle by Anthony Huso, the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2010, The Last Page. As of this moment I'm not sure if it would have made this list as there are plenty of pieces left to fall into place.

In the camp of best books I've read this year published prior to 2012 I'm still blowing the horn for Watts's Blindsight and Andre Norton's Forerunner. In the short story camp Loory's Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day as well as Ligotti's Noctuary are the bee's knees.

Some of my most anticipated books left for the year include The Broken Isles by Mark Charan Newton (another series closer), The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (already have a copy), A Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (on pre-order), The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi, The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest, and The Siren Depths by Martha Wells. Still plenty of time for some surprises as well.

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Covers Unveiled for Two New Superheros Novels

Superhero novels have always been something I look forward to when they aren't focused on traditional heroes from comics. A few of my favorites include Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman showing the flip side of things centering on the Supervillian and Ex-Heroes by Peter Climes, which combines a zombie apocalypse and Superheroes. There is also Carrie Vaughn's After the Golden Age delving into what it is like to grow-up without powers among Superheros and Ian Tregillis's Bitter Seeds combining alt history, dark magic, and Nazi Supermen. This year there are a couple books that fit into this vein that have caught my eye.

First up is Paul Tobin's debut Prepare to Die!. Tobin has worked in the comics for the past few years most notably on Spiderman, but his first novel looks to take a darker and more introspective tone on the subject of  super ones. The cover definitely screams superpower. Here's the description of Prepare to Die!:

Nine years ago, Steve Clarke was just a teenage boy in love with the girl of his dreams. Then a freak chemical spill transformed him into Reaver, the man whose super-powerful fists can literally take a year off a bad guy’s life.

Days ago, he found himself at the mercy of his arch-nemesis Octagon and a whole crew of fiendish super-villains, who gave him two weeks to settle his affairs–and prepare to die.

Now, after years of extraordinary adventures and crushing tragedies, the world’s greatest hero is returning to where it all began in search of the boy he once was . . . and the girl he never forgot.

Exciting, scandalous, and ultimately moving, Prepare to Die! is a unique new look at the last days of a legend.

Prepare to Die! will be released in June from Night Shade Books.

Christopher L. Bennett is best known as the author of many Star Trek and and Marvel Superhero novels so it is no huge surprise that his first non-established property work melds Space and Superheroes with Only Superhuman. Given all the books on post-humans and genetic manipulation in the future I'm actually surprised this hasn't been done before. The slated perspective works really well and I like the art, but I'm not sure it gets across that the character is a superhero. I guess it is a case of spandex = superheroes. Here's the blurb:

In the future, genetically engineered superhumans, inspired by classic Earth comic book heroes, fight to keep the peace in the wild and wooly space habitats of the Asteroid Belt

2107 AD: A generation ago, Earth and the cislunar colonies banned genetic and cybernetic modifications. But out in the Asteroid Belt, anything goes. Dozens of flourishing space habitats are spawning exotic new societies and strange new varieties of humans. It’s a volatile situation that threatens the peace and stability of the entire solar system.

Emerald Blair is a Troubleshooter. Inspired by the classic superhero comics of the twentieth century, she’s joined with other mods to try to police the unruly Asteroid Belt. But her loyalties are tested when she finds herself torn between rival factions of superhumans with very different agendas. Emerald wants to put her special abilities to good use, but what do you do when you can’t tell the heroes from the villains?

Only Superhuman is a rollicking hard-sf adventure set in a complex and fascinating future.

I've always been a fan of the galactic series such as Green Lantern Corp, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Infinity Gauntlet, and especially anything Thanos related so I definitely want to see Bennett's take about Superheroes in space.   Only Superhuman will be out mid-October from Tor.

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