FREE FICTION | A Shweta Narayan steampunk tale + ToC to Steampunk Reloaded

Shimmer has made an excerpt of Shweta Narayan's The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar available free as an MP3.  This is notable for two reasons.  Firstly, this story has been selected to be part of the anthology Steampunk Reloaded edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer.  Secondly, I felt this was the best story in the The Clockwork Jungle Book (reviewed here) so I'd like more people to have a chance at.  Shimmer also has Vincent Pendergast reading his Otto's Elephant, which was also quite good. Both are very fine short stories even if you're not into Steampunk.

Jeff VanderMeer has also made public the contents of Steampunk Reloaded and the tentative cover, which will be released this November.  The VanderMeer's have outdone themselves with this one as it contains original stories, great reprints, and art. It looks even more enticing than their first take on the subject.

Original stories:

Ekaterina Sedia, “Two Short Excerpts from the Russian Book of the Improbable”
Jeffrey Ford, “Dr. Lash Remembers”
Matthew Cheney, “Confessions and Complaints of a True Man”
Ramsey Shehadeh, “The Unbecoming of Virgil Smythe”
Vilhelm Bergsoe, “Flying Fish (Prometheus)”, translated by Dwight R. Decker

As well as contributions by Fabio Fernandes, Brian Stableford, Jess Nevins, and the Steampunk heretic known only as “The Mecha-Ostrich.”

Original Non-fiction:

Gail Carriger, author of Soulless (fashion and fiction)
Jake Von Slatt of the Steampunk Workshop (maker movement)
Mike Perschon, the Steampunk Scholar (the future)

Reprints:
Daniel Abraham, “Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance”
Stephen Baxter, “The Unblinking Eye”
Winona Cookie, “The Unlikely Career of Portia Dreadnought,” “Artemesia’s Absinthe,” and “Obadiah Theremin, MD”
G.D. Falksen, “The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday”
William Gibson, “The Gernsback Continuum”
Samantha Henderson, “Wild Copper”
Caitlín R. Kiernan “The Steam Dancer (1896)”
Andrew Knighton, “The Cast-Iron Kid”
Marc Laidlaw, “Great Breakthroughs in Darkness”
Margo Lanagan, “Machine Maid”
Lisa Mantchev & James Grant, “As Recorded on Brass Cylinders: Adagio for Two Dancers”
Shweta Narayan, “The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar”
David Erik Nelson, “The Bold Explorer in the Place Beyond”
Cherie Priest “Tanglefoot”
Chris Roberson, “O One”
Margaret Ronald, “A Serpent in the Gears”
Catherynne M. Valente, “The Anachronist’s Cookbook”


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Winner of The Somnambulist and The Domino Men

The lucky winner of both Jonathan Barnes books is Josephine O. from San Francisco. Thanks to everyone who entered.

REVIEW | Spellwright by Blake Charlton (Tor)

Blake Charlton has done the extraordinary with Spellright. He has managed to use all the tired tropes of classic Epic Fantasy (magical books, dragons, a school for wizards, and a boy who didn't fulfill his destiny) and make them all feel fresh and engaging. Plus he does it with a main character, Nicodemus Weal, who you can't help but to root for.

The dragons, although they happen off screen, are quite inventive as are the various animated helpers that swarm the keeps and grounds of Starhaven, which is the school in question. Nicodemus is an apprentice spellwright also known as authors who suffers from a form of magical dyslexia known as Cacography, which is based off the authors own battles with it. Of course the story also involves prophecies about a special Wizard who could be a a great hope to the land or harbinger of the demons of the past who wish to control the world.

There are a few bumps in the road, but most are forgivable in the name of fun escapist Fantasy. The pacing was a little stop and go, especially in the first third. The magic systems while also the strongest and most original part of the book are initially a bit confusing, but about 100 pages in a much clearer explanation is given. This could have come a tad sooner, but it probably would have slowed down the pacing of the story if it had. Also, at one point the main villain comes off a a little too much like a bad Bond nemesis by over explaining himself and the plot, which was on the excessive side. More than one soliloquy happens like this. This problem may stem from the author trying not to drag things out. Lastly, the fight at the end of the story was worth waiting for, but the very last section felt a little tacked on and Eragon-like. Still Charlton at least condensed a fairly long time frame in a short number of pages instead of stretching a training story into a whole other book as Paolini did.

There are many different wizard factions each with their own view points and magics. The histories shared from each group were quite fascinating, although there is plenty left to reveal in future installments. Charlton has also sneaked in one of my favorite and criminally underused mythical constructs, which I'd love to mention but he went through pains to make it a big reveal. The style is heavily influenced by the likes traditional Epic Fantasy from Feist, Le Guin, and Tad Williams so don't go expecting some gritty, harsh Fantasy. Blake is being evocative of something more playful yet every bit as Epic as all the aforementioned names. A whole lot of foreshadowing goes on, which was expected given it is planned trilogy.

Even though Spellwright is Charlton's debut it certainly doesn't show many freshman jitters, but he has left himself room to grow.  If you're a fan of classic style Epic Fantasy this will be a must for you.  I give Spellwright 8 out of 10 Hats. Spellwright is definitely in the running for debut of the year so far and it would be surprising if it wasn't still near the top by the end. Bring on Spellbound. Now he's gotten me all in the mood to read some classic Robin Hobb.


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What's the Weirdest Book You've Ever Read?

MISHMASH | Scott Lynch, Tad Williams, Jim Butcher, & updatery

I finally finished my review of Blake Charlton's Spellwright, which will go up tomorrow. Also, Blake and I have something special in store for you lucky readers so stayed tuned. This past weekend I zoomed through Joe Hill's Horns, which just may be the best book I've read this year. Horns is a Horror story with a devilish heart, which is hard to come by. Hill has certainly grown as a writer with impeccable plotting and endearing characters. I devoured it in 3 sittings and nearly didn't go to a friend's party just to get further. Yeah, it is that good. Any loss of sleep that ensues is worth every second.

I've also got a review brewing for Lavie Tidhar's very strange yet entirely enjoyable The Bookman, which didn't come as too big a surprise given his work thus far. Lastly but certainly not leastly, I'm a third of the way through Sam Sykes's debut Tome of the Undergates.   Not nearly as bloody as I thought it would be, at least to start. So far I like the characters despite them acting like a group of unruly fifth graders. The style reminds me a bit of Abercrombie with a dash of Lynch thrown in for good measure, but still wholly different. If it is gritty Fantasy you've been dying for than Tome will certainly be the answer for you as Sykes has made the name Adventurers out to be a very bad thing.

As announced from Wert Scott Lynch has officially submitted the long awaited The Republic of Thieves to his publishers. Publication is slated for Spring 2011 on both sides of the pond. I'm a little surprised Lynch hasn't made mention of this on his blog. Hopefully his bout with swine flu didn't knock him down too hard as it did with my wife.

The lovely Mrs. Tad Williams has announced that the fourth Shadowmarch book titled Shadowheart will be published in November simultaneously with the paperback edition of Shadowrise. Mrs. Williams has been a veritable font of info regarding Tad and his work through her twitters. It has been interesting to read about an author through the eyes of someone so close.

Next up we have the covers to the Evil Hat production of the Dresden Files RPG, which are quite colorful and action oriented when compared with the series books..

Also, Jim Butcher often pops on to his forums to answer questions and one in particular got him talking about the history of the White Council and why they don't just run the world.  It is well worth checking out if you are a Dresden fan. His post is at the bottom of the page so scroll down.  Butcher has also confirmed that the Dresden short story collection Side Jobs will be out October 26th in the US.  And below is the tentative table of contents sans the new work, which is still in progress.

• *  "Restoration of Faith"
• *  "Vignette"
• *  "Something Borrowed" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
• *  "It's My Birthday Too" -- from Many Bloody Returns
• *  "Heorot" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
• *  "Day Off" -- from Blood Lite
• *  Backup -- novelette from Thomas' POV, originally published by Subterranean Press
• *  The Warrior -- novelette from Mean Streets
• *  "Last Call" -- from Strange Brew
• *  "Love Hurts" -- from Songs of Love and Death

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New Procurements

A giant pile of things showed up this week between a trip to The Strand and a bunch of review copies, which includes some interesting audio productions for the first time.  Behold the mighty stack!

The Skinner by Neal Asher - This is the first book in his Spatterjay series, which I picked up used.  Asher is very well regarded in the UK, but he seems to have gotten short shifted a little so far in the states.  To remedy this I decided to finally take the plunge after Gav and Mark kept mentioning him and the new covers Asher has been getting in the UK.

On the planet Spatterjay arrive three travelers: Janer, acting as the eyes of the hornet Hive mind, on a mission not yet revealed to him; Erlin, searching for Ambel -- the ancient sea captain who can teach her how to live; and Sable Keech, on a vendetta he cannot abandon, though he himself has been dead for 700 years. This remote world is mostly ocean, and it is a rare visitor who ventures beyond the safety of the island Dome. Outside it, only the native Hoopers dare risk the voracious appetites of the planet's wildlife. But somewhere out there is Spatterjay Hoop -- and Keech will not rest until he brings this legendary renegade to justice for hideous crimes committed centuries ago during the Prador Wars.

While Keech is discovering that Hoop is now a monster -- his body and head living apart from each other -- Janer is bewildered by a place where the native inhabitants just will not die and angry when he finally learns the Hive mind's intentions for him. Meanwhile, Erlin thinks she has plenty of time to find the answers she seeks, but could not be more wrong. For one of the most brutal of the alien Prador is about to pay the planet a surreptitious visit, intent on exterminating all remaining witnesses to his wartime atrocities. As the visitors' paths converge, major hell is about to erupt in a chaotic waterscape where minor hell is already a remorseless fact of everyday life . . . and death.

Songs of the Dying Earth edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardiner Dozois - This hasn't had a big release in the states yet so when the chance of getting this large collection of shorts as an audio collection presented itself I had to partake. Stories from Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Liz Williams, GRRM, and Kage Baker are all included plus a whole lot more.

Half a century ago, Jack Vance created the world of the Dying Earth, and fantasy has never been the same. Now, for the first time ever, Jack has agreed to open this bizarre and darkly beautiful world to other fantasists, to play in as their very own. To say that other fantasy writers are excited by this prospect is a gross understatement; one has told us that he'd crawl through broken glass for the chance to write for the anthology, another that he'd gladly give up his right arm for the privilege that's the kind of regard in which Jack Vance and The Dying Earth are held by generations of his peers.

The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes edited by John Joseph Adams - Another audio collection, which I've already started listening to.  The narration is wonderful and the stories so far are better than expected and I haven't even gotten to the Moorcock or Sawyer yet. Tim Lebbon's The Horror of the Many Faces has been the best up till now, which is a great dark Lovecraft style Holmes piece.

Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov - The last of the big audio package is one that has been making some waves. Pehov's novel was translated from Russian by the same person behind the Night Watch series, which bodes well for this classic style Epic Fantasy trilogy.

After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring.

An army is gathering; thousands of giants, ogres, and other creatures are joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united, for the first time in history, under one, black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.

Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can find some way to stop them.

Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold on his quest for a magic Horn that will restore peace to the Kingdom of Siala. Harold will be accompanied on his quest by an Elfin princess, Miralissa, her elfin escort, and ten Wild Hearts, the most experienced and dangerous fighters in their world…and by the king’s court jester (who may be more than he seems…or less).

Reminiscent of Moorcock's Elric series, Shadow Prowler is the first work to be published in English by the bestselling Russian fantasy author Alexey Pehov.

Pleasure Model by Christopher Rowley - This is part of a joint venture between Tor and Heavy Metal magazine, which looks quite interesting just flipping through.

In Pleasure Model, the first book in the Netherworld trilogy, down-and out police detective Rook gets a big break when he’s assigned to a bizarre and vicious murder case. The clues are colder than the corpse and the case looks like it’ll remain unsolved—until an eyewitness is discovered. But the witness is a Pleasure Model, an illegal gene-grown human. Plesur’s only purpose is to provide satisfaction to her owner—in any way. When the murderer targets Plesur in order to eliminate the one witness, Rook takes her into hiding to protect her. Thus begins a descent into the dark world of exotic pleasure mods and their illicit buyers and manufacturers. Rook frantically looks for clues, struggling to stay one stop ahead of those looking to kill them both. But is Rook falling under Plesur’s spell….?

Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley - This is one I've been salivating over for quite some time and will be read in very short order since I loved The Quiet War so very, very much.

The Quiet War is over. The city states of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn have fallen to the Three Powers Alliance of Greater Brazil, the European Union and the Pacific Community. A century of enlightenment, rational utopianism and exploration of new ways of being human has fallen dark. Outers are herded into prison camps and forced to collaborate in the systematic plundering of their great archives of scientific and technical knowledge, while Earth's forces loot their cities, settlements and ships, and plan a final solution to the 'Outer problem'. But Earth's victory is fragile, and riven by vicious internal politics. While seeking out and trying to anatomise the strange gardens abandoned in place by Avernus, the Outers' greatest genius, the gene wizard Sri Hong-Owen is embroiled in the plots and counterplots of the family that employs her. The diplomat Loc Ifrahim soon discovers that profiting from victory isn't as easy as he thought. And in Greater Brazil, the Outers' democratic traditions have infected a population eager to escape the tyranny of the great families who rule them. After a conflict fought to contain the expansionist, posthuman ambitions of the Outers, the future is as uncertain as ever. Only one thing is clear. No one can escape the consequences of war - especially the victors..

The Dream of Perpertual Motion by Dexter Palmer - This steampunk debut caught my eye with its cover a few months ago and than I went and forgot all about it until the review copy showed up.  Well, it certainly caught my eye again.  Seriously go take a look at this well done cover.

Imprisoned for life aboard a zeppelin that floats high above a fantastic metropolis, the greeting-card writer Harold Winslow pens his memoirs. His only companions are the disembodied voice of Miranda Taligent, the only woman he has ever loved, and the cryogenically frozen body of her father Prospero, the genius and industrial magnate who drove her insane.

The tale of Harold’s life is also one of an alternate reality, a lucid waking dream in which the well-heeled have mechanical men for servants, where the realms of fairy tales can be built from scratch, where replicas of deserted islands exist within skyscrapers.. As Harold’s childhood infatuation with Miranda changes over twenty years to love and then to obsession, the visionary inventions of her father also change Harold’s entire world, transforming it from a place of music and miracles to one of machines and noise. And as Harold heads toward a last desperate confrontation with Prospero to save Miranda’s life, he finds himself an unwitting participant in the creation of the greatest invention of them all: the perpetual motion machine.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin - So far this seems to be the debut of the year gaining huge accolades throughout the blogosphere. I grabbed a copy while at The Strand where I was quite betwixt and between many selections as always.  Since nearly everyone has reviewed it already I'll probably hold off for a little while.

The Lord of the Sands and Time by Issui Ogawa - Another one from my Strand trip.  This is part of Viz Media's attempt to publish translations of popular Japanese Sci-Fi and Fantasy.  I've heard mixed things, but the description sounds interesting enough since I'm a sucker for time travel books.

Sixty-two years after human life on Earth was annihilated by rampaging alien invaders, the enigmatic Messenger O is sent back in time with a mission to unite humanity of past eras—during the Second World War and ancient Japan, and even back to the dawn of the species itself—to defeat the invasion before it begins. However, in a future shredded by war and genocide, love waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself?

Prince of Storms by Kay Kenyon - The final book in The Entire and the Rose Space Opera/Fantasy series, which I still have to catch up with.  Another really great  Pyr cover.

MINI REVIEW | Ars Memoriae by Beth Bernobich (PS Publishing)

Ars Memoriae is Beth Bernobich's first book, which is set in her Éireann world with past short stories appearing in Asimov's and Postscripts that I have unfortunately not yet read, but missing those didn't lessen my enjoyment of this richly accented alternative history. Ars Memoriae also sports a gorgeous cover by the always brilliant Vincent Chong.

For the last 800 years or so the seat of European power has not been placed in England, but with Ireland here called Éireann. The Queen of Éireann suspects different factions may be starting trouble in Montenegro that could throw off the balance of power in the region. She decides to send one of her must trusted agents, Adrian Dee, to task as he falls into political intrigue on the home front and abroad.

Adrian is a likable--albeit stuffy--character whose disability makes him immediately intriguing.  Adrian is plagued by fantom memories of a person he almost could have been in another reality. These flashes had taken him out of service to the Crown, but when he is called back he does his duty to in order to regain some of the respect he lost. There are some personal journal entries mixed in the narrative that give a good inkling of the mental turmoil he goes through that left me curious for an episode centered around the start of these memories.

Ars Memoriae is a subtle Science Fiction story, which falls into place with an unexpectedly sweet and romantic ending. Adrian's spy tactics are well thought-out, but the story meanders a little too much during his initial investigations causing a very slow start. Once another pivotal character is introduced the speed bumps even out to a strong and climatic ending. There is a steampunk/dieselpunk aspect, but it is little exploited in this novelette for me to get a grasp on, but there is quite a cool device that turns up at one point.

Fans of Kage Baker and other time twisters should definitely take note of Ars Memoriae and its associated stories. I give Ars Memoriae 7 out of 10 Hats. Beth Bernobich is one of the Yeti's authors to watch for 2010 and she has certainly earned that place. Bernobich's first full length novel Passion Play is set for a an October release from Tor.

UPDATE: Bernobich and I just traded e-mails and she has officially sold her Éireann stories to Tor to be published in novel form.  The 3 published stories along with a new one will be combined into one novel tentatively titled The Time Roads.  The stories will be changed somewhat to better fit into a normal narrative instead of separate adventures.  This is part of a two book deal that includes a fourth book in The Erythandra Series, which starts with the aforementioned Passion Play and again shows what potential Tor sees in Bernobich.  Over the next 3 years she is slated to publish at least 4 books with the possibility of Éireann coming out in that time frame as well.


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Cover Unveiled for Is Anybody Out There? Ed. By Nick Givers & Marty Halpern

I've mentioned the all-original SF anthology Is Anybody Out There? a couple of times now.  DAW just released the cover, but it is a little on the low resolution side of things.  Overall, it is a bit of a safe cover, but the title treatment is nice. The sun image is interesting and certainly helps the spine treatment stand out well.

Here is the back cover copy:

Why is it that, in such a vast cosmos, with hundreds of billions of stars in this galaxy alone, and no doubt billions of Earth-like planted orbiting them, we have found no evidence of intelligent alien life? No evidence that aliens have ever visited Earth (other than discredited UFO mythology), no detectable signals in all our SETI searches with radio telescopes…?

The stories in this anthology offer intriguing explanations for this enigma looking seriously or comically at solutions. Is intelligent life a fluke, arising only once or twice in the universes long history? Does intelligence arise frequently, but with gulfs of time and distance keeping technological civilizations irretrievably apart? Do such civilizations inevitably implode or self-destruct within a few hundred years? Is our definition of intelligence fatally subjective? Are aliens among us right now, unseen? Are there aliens everywhere? These are just some of the many possibilities explored in Is Anybody Out There

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Table of Contents for Is There Anybody Out There? Edited by Givers & Halpern

Cover Unveiled for Shine: An Anthology of Optimistic Science-Fiction

REVIEW | Heartland by Mark Teppo (Night Shade)

Heartland by Mark Teppo is the second in The Codex of Souls series, which picks up soon after the action of where Lightbreaker (reviewed here) drops you. In fact the excerpt for Heartland at the end of Lightbreaker doesn't appear in Heartland itself so definitely check it out as it lays out the impetus behind this volume. The reasons are still explained well in Heartland, but it helped introduce a fairly pivotal--if short lived--character.

Markham is back to his old haunts this time around as he travels to Paris to face La Société Lumineuse, the very group that thinks him 5 years dead. His strings have been pulled and he must fulfill the clouded wishes of its now deceased leader as Markham just have happened to add his soul to the recently rebooted Chorus, which leads to all kinds of odd and cryptic internal dialogue. Teppo smartly avoided having the obligatory fight on the Eiffel Tower, but he does visit other well known sites of Paris in a very action oriented story as Markham jumps from one fight to the next barely catching his breath in between.

Teppo doesn't suffer the sophomore slump at all with Heartland. In fact, the same level of cleverness and knowledge of the occult still clings to Teppo's prose as this man is a knowledge bucket of the arcane and manages to make it fresh and undaunting. Markham is given some added depth filling in his back story and the relationships he left behind. Even with all the reveals I can't help but think there is still a lot more of Markham left in the dark. Lightbreaker Markham was continually fighting to keep the Chorus in control, but now he is learning how powerful it can be when its working towards his own ends. Yet I still don't have a clear picture of how powerful Markham is despite all the opponents and obstacles he faces. This could stem from Teppo not wanting to empty his quiver too quickly, but it certainly left me more than curious about Markham. I guess it is a case of whetting my appetite for more.

We finally meet Marielle, Markham's perplexing lover from his days in Paris. If I had any complaints it would be the readiness that Marielle accepts what happened to her father, which came a bit too easy for me even given the explanation later on and there are almost too many turnabouts. Teppo really hammers home the old adage of trust no one.  Also, the pacing does feel a bit jumpy in a couple spots, but this was mostly due to Markham getting incapacitated a few too many times.

The Codex of Souls is without a doubt one of the most original Urban Fantasy series going right now. It has stepped away from the pack and embraced a different type of magic and a very different sensibility worth checking out. I give Heartland 8 out of 10 hats. While the series is projected to be 10 books when done the first two books comprise an arc that feels complete, but lays the ground work for a beautifully realized dark-world full of surprises and twists. The third in the series Angel Tongue can't get here soon enough for me.

Teppo has the prequel story Wolves, In Darkness up on the Codex of Souls site, which introduces many of the characters who show up in Heartland and also tells a much alluded to story from Markham's time with La Société Lumineuse. The story will also give you a good idea if you'd like Teppo's style.


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Contest for Two Jonathan Barnes Books

Once the toast of good society in Victoria's England, the extraordinary conjurer Edward Moon no longer commands the respect that he did in earlier times. Still, each night he returns to the stage of his theater to amaze his devoted, albeit dwindling, audience, aided by his partner, the Somnambulist—a silent, hairless, hulking giant who, when stabbed, does not bleed. But these are strange, strange times in England, with the oddest of sorts prowling London's dank underbelly. And the very bizarre death of a disreputable actor has compelled a baffled police constabulary to turn once again to Edward Moon for help—inevitably setting in motion events that will shatter his increasingly tenuous grasp on reality.

I have a hardcover copy of both The Somnambulist and The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes to give away to one lucky person. The Somnambulist  is more of a Historical Thriller while The Domino Men has a Lovecraftian flare to it yet both are placed in the same world and have some recurring characters.  To enter send an email to madhatterreview (AT) gmail (dot) com with your full name and snail mail address and "BARNES" in the subject line. The deadline is midnight February 26th. I'll announce the winner on the following day. This contest is open to the people of the United States and Canada only. If you send multiple entries you will be disqualified from the contest.

NEWS | Jim Butcher's Dresden Files Short Story Collection-Title/Release

According to Amazon the title to the Dresden Files short collection will be Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files. The title is in keeping with the format for the rest of the series except for the forthcoming Changes. Side Jobs is slated for a October 26th release date in the United States.
So far Jim Butcher has only hinted at what the new stories will be.  Recently in twitter he said he was most likely doing 3 short stories from the points of view of Murphy, Thomas, and Molly which could be really interesting, especially given what Thomas is going through presently.

UPDATE: Butcher has commented on his forums about the Murphy story:

Aftermath--Murphy (That one will be exclusive to SIDE JOBS, is set forty five minutes after the end of CHANGES, and is turning into a novella on me, rather than a short story.)

I wonder if this means he won't do the other two stories now as he mentioned in the past he would do 3 shorts or one novella/novellette for Side Jobs?  In the same link Butcher discusses other stories he may tell, but he also makes it clear that he has not decided what book or series he'll do other than more planned Dresden files novels. It looks like alterntive points of view might come into play down the line from some other Dresdenverse characters.  Here are the rest of the contents of Side Jobs:

* "Restoration of Faith"
* "Vignette"
* "Something Borrowed" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
* "It's My Birthday Too" -- from Many Bloody Returns
* "Heorot" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
* "Day Off" -- from Blood Lite
* Backup -- novelette from Thomas' POV, originally published by Subterranean Press
* The Warrior -- novelette from Mean Streets
* "Last Call" -- from Strange Brew

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LOOKING FORWARD | Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Steampunk Coming in 2010