Cover Unveiled for Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardiner Dozois

Above is the cover for what to me is the most anticipated super-anthology of the year, Dangerous Women. I've already mentioned all the contributors, but seeing many of them listed there does give me goosebumps. Especially knowing how many of these will connect to the novel worlds of many of the writers. While I do like the general look, it looks a bit just too that--general, but then again so was Warrirors which this is a companion volume to. Maybe Tor was concerned with ending up with a chain mail bikini girl so they went safe. Still I would have thought this would have been a good opportunity to show a strong, dangerous woman on a Fantasy cover with out the awkward poses or unrealistic accouterments. Dangerous Women will be out in early December. Get your Christmas lists ready.

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MINI REVIEW | Cold Days by Jim Butcher

Where to start with the latest Dresden Files? The 14th in fact. This is one of the longest series I've ever stuck with. The total word output from other series I read might be longer, but this is definitely the longest number of volumes. 14 books is quite an amazing accomplishment and the fact that most are better than good is astounding.

I had quite a few quibbles with the last volume, Ghost Story (reviewed here), so I started Cold Days with lowered expectations that it more than surpassed them bringing Harry back to form and thrown into the thick of all things paranormal. So my greatest fears that the series was ruined for me are unfounded at this point.

Dresden awakens inside Faerie's Winter Court with new powers and new debts that must be paid. Summer Knight was the volume that made me love the series since it broadened the Dresdenverse so much and Cold Days explores the politics and inhabitants of Faerie deeper than ever before. We see Mab in all her crazy glory along with nearly every other important figure including many unexpected personages of a magical persuasion. And when Harry is given a seemingly impossible task from Mab, of course, he gets drawn into even greater problems and old grudges back in the real world.

Harry has always been thought of a strong power in the past, but this supercharged version would have stomped on the young Dresden. There is still a heavy reliance on past associates including some that might have been better left out, but outside of that the action and detective work was incredible. Harry's magical island, Demonreach is vividly explored with many of its secrets finally unveiled. Cold Days more than most any other volume has payoff and reveals galore for long-term series fans. Many of the dots that have been tossed Harry's way over the length of the series are connected to great effect and seemingly disparate cases finally make sense.

So if you're still hanging in there for the series, which I expect most are, Cold Days brings the series back to a nice high with plenty of laughs and things are on track for plenty more action.

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NEWS | Jim Butcher's Cold Days Coming in November and What is Coming Next

Jim Butcher's 14th novel of the Dresden Files, Cold Days, has been officially given a publication date of November 27th. Below is the spoiler heavy description, so beware unless you're up-to-date on the series.

After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill.

Guess which Mab wants first?

Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…

His soul.

Butcher is currently at work on his Steampunk series, which is being called The Cinder Spires. The first book is tentatively titled The Aeronaut's Windlass. He is hoping to have it done by the end of the year so a publication next year seems very likely. After that it is on to book 15 in the Dresden Files.

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Update on Cold Days by Jim Butcher

One of the most searched terms that lands people here are Dresden Files queries and the Cold Days search is getting ever more popular. My Dresden Files Has Jumped the Shark post has gotten so crazy I shut down the comments as I was just tired of being the place where people went to argue about it. I stand by that post and still feel very much the same way. I've discussed the story with a lot of other people in person and I'm not the only one who feels the same. Don't get me wrong some of my friends loved it too. But I digress...

Anyway, this was supposed to be an update on Cold Days. Well, there is no firm update. Butcher started writing the book in earnest around the beginning of the year after finishing a trio of Bigfoot/Dresden short stories. So it is coming, but being a 2012 release is pretty out the door. I tweeted back and forth with Jim's US editor briefly and she said it has not been decided/announced yet. There is a 2013 listing for Cold Days on Amazon UK with a January 2013 release, but I wouldn't set that in stone until Jim says so. January is probably the hope, but we'll see.

Jim has said that he is also working on a pitch for a Steampunk novel, which seems likely to be his next project after Cold Days. Those hoping he would do a run of a couple Dresden books in a row will have to be disappointed. Butcher mentioned many times he needs to take a breather from that world every other book. Before the Alera books did this. I was mostly hoping for his Sci-Fi cop series United System Marshalls to be the next, but I certainly wouldn't turn a Steampunk read down.

And for all those fans that can't wait for the next Dresden files I point you towards Kevin Hearne's Hounded, Benedict Jacka's Fated, and Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue. Those series should definitely tide you over.

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The Dresden Files Has Jumped the Shark

Beware I will be talking about Ghost Story pretty in-depth so spoilers are bound to appear unless you've read it and the previous volumes in the series.

The Dresden Files has been one of my favorite long running series ever. I'd even consider myself a proselytizer of the books. I've blogged lots of Butcher news since I started here. Turn Coat was my first review ever posted on Mad Hatter's, but not the first written. I've turned many friends on to the series, probably buying the first volume Storm Front at least 5 times and lending my copy out at least as much. Heck, I even own the RPG, which is gorgeous by the way, along with most of the anthologies that have had Dresden shorts. Suffice to say I've bought and sold quite a few Jim Butcher books. I even enjoyed the TV show for what it was.

Changes was the culmination of a lot of story-lines over the course of the series (12 books long) so far and remains one of the most satisfying high points. Perhaps THE high point. Butcher risked a lot with Changes and I and most fans are happy with where he had brought us so far. Yet 13 is a very cursed number for the Dresden Files. With Ghost Story nearly all the good-will that had been developed over the series has been washed away. And no it isn't because Butcher killed his main character, which was a very brave stroke. Not many authors are willing to sacrifice to such a degree forcing themselves to rebuild and Butcher should be lauded for that alone. Yet it still comes down to what you do from there. Ghost Story fails for a lot of reasons. The biggest being Ghost Story amounts to what is a pointless time waste that will have nearly no bearing on the series.

Ghost Story returns to the detective style format we've known for most of the books. Harry is trying to solve his own murder yet spends less than two dozen pages actually doing so. Dresden, or the Ghost of Christmas Past as I think of him in this volume, saunters around peeking in at all of his friends most of whom have no idea he is there. And the ones that can communicate somehow don't seem very interested in hearing from him. So much has changed in the world yet post Changes events are mostly glossed over and amounts to: "The world has gone to hell since you killed the Red Court with all powers are trying to grab territory. You left the world in a shit storm, Harry." "Oh, my bad."

Ghost Story is essential a recapping of past events and does nothing more than reintroduce major and minor characters. Some that have even been dead for more than half a dozen books. If you cut out all the recapping the book would most likely be half of the size, possibly even smaller. Sure there are some decent reveals with Harry's early time with Justin Dumorne, but it is just one episode that could have been an earlier short story and doesn't seem to warrant a novel length work. The whole point of the Ghost Story could have been summed up and executed as a few chapters to a much larger story that actually moved things along.

With some long-running series authors try to include recapping to some extent for new readers that pick up later books as a starting point, but Ghost Story is about as far from a starting point as you can get, so much of the recapping is not only unneeded, but insulting to long-time readers. This also caused a very stop, go, stutter, and go feeling throughout as once things get moving some sort of flashback or remembrance is brought up, which kills momentum.

Ghost Story is about the consequences the world must now face because of Harry's actions in Changes. This is an introspective Harry, which was probably necessary for him to develop further as a character if he's to go on, but it goes on ad nauseum about how he made tough choices and he couldn't see beyond that day. All of which leads to a very self-centered Dresden. But, hey he is dead so we should just accept that...

There are some more specific problems as well having to do with continuity. One section in particular that made no sense addresses Thomas and Justine's relationship problems, which amounts to her being poison to him since they love one another. The "cure" ends up not making sense given what we've learned about how the White Court acts and if this was a solution why wasn't it brought up many books ago? "Oh, if I just have sex with someone else the stink of love will be washed away and than you can have me." Really? In the long life spans of these vampires no one has ever figured that out? Won't the same thing happen again once you make love again? And don't get me started on the Bob subplot, which was needlessly complicated.

Not enough time was spent with any of the characters we've come to know except for Molly and a little Butters action. I did however like Mort's development and can see him becoming more of a player and greatly enjoy the big Molly scene at the end. That was just plain cool. Given Murphy's importance during the course of the series and especially the last book she gets severely cut short and turned into a caricature of "a tough lady who has been through hell." But most of all the Winter angle was very predictable as was the very end, which I saw coming within pages of starting.

All may not be completely lost. There is potential for an author saving throw.  Butcher might even have earned an automatic +2 for past success. Given the state of Harry in Ghost Story, Butcher could certainly turn things around and even act like this episode didn't happen. This will be a dividing book for many fans of the series. Some are still bound to love it just because Harry is in it and also lovers of clip shows. Others will be totally turned off the series.

I guess the big question is will I still read the next Dresden Files Cold Days next year? Well, yes. But it certainly won't be a "must-buy the day of release" or even something I feel the need to read as soon as a buy it, which has been the case for at least the last 5 or 6 books in the series. For me, at least, the spell of the Dresden Files is broken. My days of being addicted to the Dresden Files like pancakes on a Sunday morning are done...for now...


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VIDEO | Dresden Files Storm Front Animation

The Dresden Files: Storm Front (Animation) from kennyG.

This is a fun view of Mac's bar and showcases James Marster's work on the Dresden Files audio books quite well. As this post goes live I'll hopefully be immersed in Ghost Story.

So, would you watch a full Dresden Files cartoon? I know I would.

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NEWS | Jim Butcher's Ghost Story Delayed

Jim Butcher has announced that Ghost Story the 13th novel in the highly popular Dresden Files series would be moved from its April, 2011 release date to July 26th.  Jim said something along the lines of:

“It came down to, readers could either get a half-assed story in April, or a full-assed one in July!”

Seems like Harry's current state of affairs is causing Butcher some writing problems. I'd like my Dresden fix sooner but I'd rather wait for a damn good book.

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Mad Hatter's Reading Log Vol 1.

My recent read posts are now going to be called Mad Hatter's Reading Log mostly so I can keep better track of them.  November was my month to read whatever the hell I wanted without any thought to reviewing anything around release. And what a month of lovelies I've had. It has been quite freeing after all the hullabaloo of Steampunk Month, which don't get me wrong I had a lot of fun with as well.  But this month I pulled out lots of books by some of my favorite authors of the last 5 years, which turned into a British invasion of sorts.

City of Ruin  by Mark Charan Newton - This was a doozy of a book.  Charan impressed me quite a bit with Nights of Villjamur, but he explodes this world from the ground up in some very unexpected ways.  Many of the events of Nights of Villjamur don't move forward much, but the new actions, characters, and massive world-building make-up for any disappointment at leaving Villjamur for the rough and tumble Villiren. Highly recommended. Can't wait for the next book The Book of Transformations.

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie - Review to be held until closer to publication. But I'll say I enjoyed it quite a bit.and if Best Served Cold left you a bit cold than The Heroes will probably warm you up.

The Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding - This is the sequel to one of my favorites last year Retribution Falls. I'd put it on par with the first book, but there is a formula to the books that will now seem familiar. Regardless if you like a rip-roaring adventure with a colorful cast you'll not be let down in the least. Some deeper mysteries of the crew are to be had as they all try to release the baggage they've been carrying. Highly recommend.

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher - I had read more than half of these stories in various anthologies.  If you are a hardcore Dresden Files fan this is a must.  If you aren't too huge a fan you\re only missing little bits and pieces for the most part, but the inclusion of Backup and Aftermath will probably push you over the edge to get your Dresden fix.  The stories are uneven, but as they progress they do get better.

Peep Show by Joshua Braff - This was a moving story of a boy caught between two worlds. And I don't mean Fantasy worlds.  It is the 1970s and a teenager has to decide if he wants to live the life of his mother a recently devout Orthodox Jew or his burlesque theater owning father. You'd think it would be an easy choice, but leaving behind family never is.  Recommended. This is Braff''s second book after The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. And if you're curious Joshua is the brother to the actor Zach Braff.

Thicker Than Water by Mike Carey - The fourth volume in the Felix Castor series.  After getting a taste of Dresden I was in need of a healthy portion of Urban Fantasy. This volume builds off well to the big storyline that has been brewing and left me wanting more as Carey always does. The Castor series is a criminally under read series in the states.  This is possibly because the 4th and 5th volumes weren't available here, but a deal was struck a few months ago and the latest UK editions can now be found on Amazon US and many of the larger book chains. Highly recommend.

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde - The fifth book in the much loved Thursday Next series. First Among Sequels lives up to the series and it appears Fforde is an author who can do no wrong as he twists words like no other. There was some repetitiveness here and there with explanations, but it didn't dampen the fun at all. I highly recommend the entire series, but start with The Eyre Affair. You'll be hooked from than on as Fforde packs his stories with so many different storylines and a whole lot of satire.

Superman: Earth One by J. Michael Straczynski - Superman is THE iconic character of Comicdom.  He has been retooled dozens and dozens of times, erased, and killed as well.  Sufficed to say nearly everything that could be done to his has been. Now Straczynski tries to start from scratch while still paying homage to what has gone before by slightly altering the origin story.  I won't go into how, but Superman: Earth One is one of the top comics I've read this year. Superman: Earth One ranks up there with All Star Superman and is a worthy addition to the DC Multiverse. I can only hope the quality stays as high for the next volume and other Earth One stories that are sure to come.


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New York Comic Con: A Photo Essay (w/ Harry Dresden, Space Marines, and Yes the Elusive Yeti!)

The fifth annual New York Comic Con was this past weekend. I only attended on Friday despite it going on all day Saturday and Sunday for which my feet are eternally grateful, especially since Saturday was sold out to a capacity crowd of 80,000 people. I arrived during the relatively sedate Professional Hours, which gave me 3 hours of wandering time before the general public could enter. I had no luck getting a copy of The Heroes or Side Jobs, but I did see a real copy of the latter. I managed to meet Joe Abercrombie at his signing.  He was quite a nice fellow and I was surprised to learn he knew of Mad Hatter's Bookshelf. We took a picture together in which he was caught caressing my hat.  I hope it was as good from him as it was for me. Soon after entering I spotted this harry fellow.

Much later in the day I spotted the Yeti's North American cousin Bigfoot who was quite nice and not at all animal like.

But, man. I don't understand how someone could walk around all day in these outfits despite it being a relatively cool day. Next up are a couple photos taken right before the Fantasy author panel.

Priscellie from Jim-Butcher.com

The lovely Priscilla was dressed as Queen Mab from The Dresden Files. The next day she dressed as Molly, but I haven't found a picture. But look over her shoulder and you'll get an impossibility.

Yes, that is Harry Dresden with a cell phone of all things. Wizards can't use cell phones! How sparks weren't popping off him and that phone I'll never know, but he looked spot on with a hand that clearly is still healing and a rune inscribed staff.

Warhammer was promoting its online version with my favorite outfits of the show. This Space Marine was life size and clocking it at probably six and a half feet tall and his eyes friggin' glowed and a massively cool sword.

This is an Ork from Warhammer as well who was nearly as impressive as the Space Marine.

The next few pictures are from The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya who does the most amazing things with Legos.  This was basically a mini exposition of his best work.

Han in Carbonite

This was as large as a  4 person breakfast table.

This is Sawaya's most famous piece "Yellow."

Next up are a couple photos I snapped at the Fantasy Author Panel, which should have been called: Giants of Fantasy what with the star studded panel. We had Joe Abercombie's (First Law) first American appearance as an author as well as Jim Butcher (Dresden Files), Naomi Novik (Temeraire), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn), Peter V. Brett (The Painted Man), and newcomer Deborah Harkness (A Discovery of Witches). The panel was housed in a room far too small to the point that fans were turned away.  I barely got in and I was there 45 minutes early. A lot of love was thrown around for George R.R. Martin and Tolkien and much of the discussion skewed to writing habits and influences.

Below is video for the event, but for those preferring to read the discussion visit this run down by Tor.com, but keep in mind the videos are much more complete.

NYCC Panel Video: Fantasy Authors from Suvudu on Vimeo.


NYCC Panel Video: Fantasy Authors Part II from Suvudu on Vimeo.

Video games are very important to the show as well and I was able to play Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3), Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii), Redemption (X-Box), and Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii). Kirby's Epic Yarn will be a must for me when it is released and M v C 3 brought me back to the arcade version. I got in a couple games of Magic: The Gathering both against players and their online version, which was a bit clunky. I also managed to meet many of my favorite current comic creators including Bryan J.L. Glass writer for The Mice Templar, Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener creators of Atomic Robo, and David Petersen creator of Mouse Guard.  Signed copies of all their graphic novels were had by me.  I also went to a Marvel panel where I learned one of the Fantastic Four will be dying in their recently launched storyline.  It was weird seeing the FF logo with a 3 in it.  The issue with one of the character's dying will be sold in the famous death bag most famous from when Superman died. 

Plenty more went on while I was there, but you can only get a small taste. I'll definitely try to go back next year.

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Cover Unveiled for Ghost Story (Dresden Files 13) by Jim Butcher

WARNING: For those fans who haven't read Changes yet don't look too closely at this cover.

After the amazing and life changing events of Changes we have to wait a little while until the next volume Ghost Story is released in March 29, 2011.  Again the art by Chris McGrath Dresden illustration regular is veering away from the alleyways of Chicago as was done with Changes for something a bit different. At first glance I thought it was a bit too close to White Night, but the position and detailing make it work.

To tide us over for our Dresden fix we'll have the short story Dresden Files collection Side Jobs to look forward to this October 26th, which has a post Changes short called "Aftermath" from Murphy's point of view. Also for those hardcore fans and RPGers out there we have the Dresden Files RPG debuting any day now.  I just got my preview PDFs and they look quite amazing. I can't wait until the final printed book shows up.


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Recent Read Run-Down & Updatery

Over the last year I've been able to keep to a fairly consistent schedule of at least 4 posts a week if not more. Well, that has suffered a little the last month or so as I've had a lot going on at work. But that still hasn't kept me from keeping up to my review a week pledge, which is still going strong. Plus I've had a lot of things in the cooker that are finally coming to fruition.  Tomorrow look for a lively interview with one Sam Sykes author of Tome of the Undergates. I'm quite proud of the interview in which both Sam and I let loose.  It is definitely one of my sillier interviews.  I've just sent the last batch of questions to Ian Tregillis whose debut Bitter Seeds just recently released and his answers so far have been great as I had some very pointed questions.  Look for that interview next week.  My long awaited interview with George Mann should be up sometime in May as well. Plus I've cornered Lou Anders to an interrogation interview of sorts as he has got loads going on.  I've also been reading a few books as well including a couple great debuts. Lately, I've been going for shorter reads so I've managed to get through quite a few, but as you can see from the list below my tastes have been all over the place.

The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee - This one was a bit of a stretch for me to begin, but around the 80 page mark things started to click as it was something of a culture shock at first.  Definitely not your typical Fantasy novel. The story is set in the icy north with Inuit type cultures that are clashing with the long established settlers from the east. These settlers now live to the south and have some long standing issues of their own with other groups after them.

Some characters have a spiritwalking/animal abilities that re-imagines the werewolf mythos into new and interesting areas. There is only a slight Steampunk bent to the novel, but I didn't learn until finishing that Karin has plans to do more with these characters so it looks like it'll be explored further. There is still much to be revealed about this world, especially the war that is brewing and how the spiritwalkers will play into it. Recommended, especially for those tired of a European/Anglo setting/feel.

Changes by Jim Butcher - The latest in the Dresden Files answers more questions than any of the previous volumes with lost of culminating events. In many ways this acts a a giant season finale.  Some of my cast favorites are inexplicably missing, but this series still hasn't disappointed me yet. Highly recommended, but only if you are caught up on the series.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - A very drool classic time twister that was slow and a little too detailed at times. It definitely took awhile to get going for me.  The first part of the story is very disjointed, but Willis had that planned from the start. Rarely will an author try to intentional confuse the reader as much as she did, but expertly so. Recommended.

Kid vs. Squid by Greg van Eekhout - A debut middle grade reader from van Eekhout whose adult debut Norse Code I enjoyed.  The story more than equals the fun of the title.  Atlantis mythology crossed with a seaside boardwalk equal loads of laughs and some great crustacean fighting action. I already know a couple kids who I'll be buying copies for.  Recommended for those look for a light read between Epics.

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis - This is Ian's stellar debut effort which shows incredible skill at setting and character development. Full review to come.  Highly recommended.

Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk - Another debut, which is one of the best Swords & Sorcery books I've read in this year. Great bloody action with hints of good things to come from what is a planned trilogy.  Full review to come. Highly recommended.  Look for an interview with Spunk in the near future. I actually finished it a couple months back, but Pyr wanted to wait until closer to publication before its release. This is also the first interview I've ever conducted where I hadn't read a book by the author first.

Warriors edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois - It took me a little while to get through this mammoth collection, but it was worth it.  I couldn't help, but read the GRRM dunk story The Mystery Knight first, which if your a fan of the series will make it worth the cover price alone. I actually went back to re-read the first two Dunk & Egg stories before starting the third since it has been years.  All together they make a great tapestry into the earlier years of Westeros.  The Mystery Knight wasn't as entertaining as the first story, but we can finally get an inkling of what he as planned for these characters.  We know how they end up.  We just don't know precisely how they got there. The next standout to me was Joe Haldeman's Forever Bound, which is a prequel to his Forever Peace world. Great use of VR tech.  Dirae by Peter S. Beagle is quite a strange story, but it gets better the deeper you go as the style takes a few pages of getting use to as a warrior women keeps getting switched on and off to complete missions.  There were a few stories I didn't care for, but those turned out to be from authors I haven't enjoyed in the past so it was a bit expected.   A great collection all around.


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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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MISHMASH | Dresden Files RPG, and ToC for Running With the Pack

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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MISHMASH | Dresden Files RPG
NEWS | Jim Butcher's Future Projects
REVIEW | Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
LOOKING FORWARD | Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Steampunk Coming in 2010

LOOKING FORWARD | Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Steampunk to Watch for in 2010

Culling this list was quite difficult compared to the anthology edition and the Fantasy list. For the purposes of this list I've put any Zombie related titles under Urban Fantasy. Be forewarned spoilers do exist in these descriptions if it is a long running series. Everything is listed in publication order by category.

Urban Fantasy is definitely top-loaded for the first few months of 2010 with many major releases for long-established series with a new Dresden Files and Nightside. We've got some big guns with Mieville checking in with Kraken, which is a standalone. Amelia Beamer's debut The Loving Dead sounds like a great twist on zombies. One theme I noticed was very few Sci-Fi books piqued my interest that weren't from either small houses such a Powell's Silversands and Jason Stoddard's Winning Mars or those that only have a UK publication scheduled as with Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. In the Steampunk area we've got Lavie Tidhar's debut novel The Bookman, which is also the start of a trilogy. George Mann is treating us to two helpings of his Steampunk world with Ghosts of Manhattan and The Osiris Ritual while we should see the next two volumes of Gail Carriger's series this year as well. All in all this should be a jam-packed year and this only comprises releases up to September for the most part.

URBAN FANTASY

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside 10) by Simon R. Green
Release Date: January 5 |  Publisher: Ace

Things were going so well for P.I. John Taylor, that it was only a matter of time before everything hit the fan. Walker, the powerful, ever-present, never to-be-trusted agent who runs the Nightside on behalf of The Authorities, is dying. And he wants John to be his successor-a job that comes with more baggage, and more enemies, than anyone can possibly imagine.

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Heartland (Codex of Souls 2) by Mark Teppo

Release Date: January  | Publisher: Night Shade Books

Seek the Light! Embrace the Heartland! Markham returns to Paris where he lost his love - and nearly his life! The ancient order of manipulative magicians that once cast him out is now in turmoil... a turmoil made all the greater by the swaths of destruction that Markham tried to avert in the Pacific Northwest. Teamed with an unlikely partner, Markham seeks to overturn the corrupt remains of an order no longer able to police its own practitioners. Yet, he can't escape the feeling that he's still just a pawn in a larger game. The second novel of the Codex of Souls further explores the strange occult world first introduced in Lightbreaker. Mark Teppo's vision of a magical underworld is a non-stop adventure that continues to bring new light to the occult origins of our history.

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Where Angels Fear to Tread (Remy Chandler 3) by Thomas E.Sniegoski
Release Date: March 2  |  Publisher: Roc

Six year-old Zoe York has been taken and her mother has come to Remy for help. She shows him crude, childlike drawings that she claims are Zoe's visions of the future, everything leading up to her abduction, and some beyond. Like the picture of a man with wings who would come and save her-a man who is an angel.

Zoe's preternatural gifts have made her a target for those who wish to exploit her power to their own destructive ends. The search will take Remy to dark places he would rather avoid. But to save an innocent, Remy will ally himself with a variety of lesser evils-and his soul may pay the price...

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Changes (Dresden Files 12) by Jim Butcher
Release Date: April 6  |  Publisher: Roc

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...

He's fighting to save his child.

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Kraken by China Mieville
Release Date: June 29 |  Publisher: Del Rey

Kraken is a standalone with a very Lovecraftian twist. Deep in the research wing of the Natural History Museum is a prize specimen, something that comes along much less often than once in a lifetime: a perfect, and perfectly preserved, giant squid. But what does it mean when the creature suddenly and impossibly disappears?

For curator Billy Harrow it's the start of a headlong pitch into a London of warring cults, surreal magic, apostates and assassins. It might just be that the creature he's been preserving is more than a biological rarity: there are those who are sure it's a god.

A god that someone is hoping will end the world.

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The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekaterina Sedia

Release date: July 2010  |  Publisher: Prime Books

Sedia is always mixing things up from book to book and this description is no different.

Vimbai moves into a dilapidated house in the dunes, trying to escape her embarrassing immigrant mother, and discovers that one of her new roommates has a pocket universe instead of hair, there is a psychic energy baby living in the telephone wires, and her dead Zimbabwean grandmother is now doing dishes in the kitchen. When the house gets lost at sea and creatures of African urban legends all but take it over, Vimbai has to turn to horseshoe crabs in the ocean, to ask for their help in getting home to New Jersey.

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Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn - Series Debut
Release Date: July  |  Publisher Tor

When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hope’s Fort, Colorado, is not the only legacy she stands to inherit. Hidden behind the old basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again.

The magic of the storeroom prevents access to any who are not intended to use the items. But just because it has never been done does not mean it cannot be done. And there are certainly those who will give anything to find a way in. Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces, protecting the past and the future even as the present unravels around them. Old heroes and notorious villains alike will rise to fight on her side or to undermine her most desperate gambits. At stake is the fate of the world, and the prevention of nothing less than the apocalypse.

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The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer - Debut
Release Date: July 15  |  Publisher: Night Shade Books

Girls! Zombies! Zeppelins!

Locus Editor Beamer's debut has been pitched as if Shaun of the Dead and Garden State had a love child living in San Francisco, you'd have this sexy novel, set at the outbreak of a zombie plague.

Kate and Michael are roommates living in the Oakland hills, working at the same Trader Joes supermarket. A night of drunken revelry changes their lives forever, but not in the way that anyone would expect. A slow-spreading plague of zombie-ism breaks out at their house party, spreading amongst their circle of friends, and simultaneously through the Bay Area. This zombie plague - an STD of sorts - is spread through sex and kissing, turning its victims into mindless, horny, voracious killers. Thrust into extremes by this slow- motion tragedy, Kate and Michael are forced to confront the choices they've made in their lives, and their fears of commitment, while trying to stay alive and reunite in the one place in the Bay Area that's likely to be safe and secure from the zombie hoards: Alcatraz.

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Pariah by Bob Fingerman
Release Date: August 3 | Publisher: Tor

A frightening, darkly comedic look at people surviving a zombie onslaught, from award-winning comics sensation and novelist Bob Fingerman.

The world is in chaos. A zombie plague has devoured every nation on the planet. New York City is no exception. Imagine eight million zombies. Shoulder to shoulder. Walking the streets, looking for their next meal. The residents of one apartment building have bonded to keep themselves safe from the onslaught, but their inevitable demise lurks right outside their window, a constant reminder of the doom that awaits them. Forced to remain in the safety of the building, the tenants find themselves at each others’ throats. When they spy a lone teenage girl who walks among the hordes, unattacked by the undead, their world opens up.

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Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll - Series Debut
Release Date: August  |  Publisher: Tor

When New York City jewelry designer Garet James stumbles into a strange antiques shop in her  neighborhood, her life is turned upside down. John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, asks her to open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to Garet by her deceased mother. Garet can’t believe this eerie coincidence until she opens the box and otherworldly things start happening.…The precious silver box is stolen from Garet’s home. When she investigates, Garet learns that she has been pulled into a prophecy that is hundreds of years old. Opening the box has unleashed an evil force onto the streets of Manhattan. Gradually, Garet pieces together her true identity—one that her deceased mother desperately tried to protect her from. Generations of women in Garet’s family, including her beloved mother, suffered and died at the hands of this prevailing evil. Does Garet possess the power to reclaim the box and defeat this devastating force?

On her journey, she will meet fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can’t stop thinking about. Can Garet trust anyone to guide her? The fairies reveal a desire to overpower mere humans, and the seductive vampire has the power to steal the life from her body. Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she’s got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.

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STEAMPUNK

The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar - Debut / Series Debut
Release Date: January UK/June US|  Publishers: Angry Robot

Tidhar has been making a name for himself in short form for many years now and with his first novel being the start of a steampunk series it is a must.  With his first novel length work being a Steampunk book I just have to try it.  A masked terrorist has brought London to its knees - there are bombs inside books, and nobody knows which ones. On the day of the launch of the first expedition to Mars, by giant cannon, he outdoes himself with an audacious attack. For young poet Orphan, trapped in the screaming audience, it seems his destiny is entwined with that of the shadowy terrorist, but how? Like a steam-powered take on V for Vendetta, rich with satire and slashed through with automatons, giant lizards, pirates, airships and wild adventure, The Bookman is the first of a series.

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Changeless (The Parasol Protectorate 2) by Gail Carriger
Release Date: March 30  | Publisher: Orbit

Soulless was one of the most fun I've had all year.  So Changeless will be a must for me to check out.  Plus I think this will have less of the romance angle that was a bit strong for me in the first book.

Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Maccon, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her into the backwaters of ugly waistcoats, Scotland, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only A soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

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The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee
Release Date:  March 30  |  Publisher: Orbit

A steampunkish tale with a Inuit protagonist is what caught me here.  At the edge of the known world, an ancient nomadic tribe faces a new enemy-an Empire fueled by technology and war.

A young spiritwalker of the Aniw and a captain in the Ciracusan army find themselves unexpectedly thrown together. The Aniw girl, taken prisoner from her people, must teach the reluctant soldier a forbidden talent - one that may turn the tide of the war and will surely forever brand him an outcast.

From the rippling curtains of light in an Arctic sky, to the gaslit cobbled streets of the city, war is coming to the frozen north. Two people have a choice that will decide the fates of nations - and may cast them into a darkness that threatens to bring destruction to both their peoples.

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Pinion by Jay Lake
Release Date: March 30 | Publisher: Tor

The final book in Lake's clockpunk series following the events of Mainspring and Escapement.

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Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann
Release Date: April 27 | Publisher: Pyr

Ghosts of Manhattan is a spin off of sorts to Mann's Newbury & Hobbes series only placed in the US and pushed forward in time, which should make for a very interesting setting. Lou Anders has also mention it should harken to something close to The Shadow.

1926. New York. The Roaring Twenties. Jazz. Flappers. Prohibition. Coal-powered cars. A cold war with a British Empire that still covers half of the globe. Yet things have developed differently to established history. America is in the midst of a cold war with a British Empire that has only just buried Queen Victoria, her life artificially preserved to the age of 107. Coal-powered cars roar along roads thick with pedestrians, biplanes take off from standing with primitive rocket boosters, and monsters lurk behind closed doors and around every corner. This is a time in need of heroes. It is a time for The Ghost. A series of targeted murders are occurring all over the city, the victims found with ancient Roman coins placed on their eyelids after death. The trail appears to lead to a group of Italian American gangsters and their boss, who the mobsters have dubbed "The Roman." However, as The Ghost soon discovers, there is more to The Roman than at first appears, and more bizarre happenings that he soon links to the man, including moss-golems posing as mobsters and a plot to bring an ancient pagan god into the physical world in a cavern beneath the city. As The Ghost draws nearer to The Roman and the center of his dangerous web, he must battle with foes both physical and supernatural and call on help from the most unexpected of quarters if he is to stop The Roman and halt the imminent destruction of the city.

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The Osiris Ritual (Newbury & Hobbes 2) by George Mann
Release Date: August 3  |  Publisher: Tor

Sir Maurice Newbury, Gentleman Investigator for the Crown, imagines life can be a little quieter from now on after his dual success in solving The Affinity Bridge affair. But he hasn't banked on his villainous predecessor, Knox, hell bent on achieving immortality, not to mention a secret agent who isn't quite as he seems...So continues an adventure quite unlike any other, a thrilling steampunk mystery and the second in the series of "Newbury & Hobbes" investigations.

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Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

Release Date: September(est)  |  Publisher: Tor

Follow-up to the wondrous Boneshaker, Cherie has thus far described the alterna-world Civil War era Steampunk adventure Dreadnought as more gruesome than the first.  The Clockwork Century books are meant to be standalone so it wouldn't be inappropriate to read them out of order.

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Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Release Date: October | Publisher: Simon Pulse

Follow-up to Leviathan.

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SCIENCE FICTION

Absorption by John Meaney - Series Debut
Release Date: February | Publisher: Gollancz

The universe is dark. And it is alive.

People across the universe are glimpsing shards of darkness moving at the edge of their vision; hearing echoes of a dark, disturbing musical chord; and dreaming of becoming crystal, and joining the Ragnarok Council. Absorption is the first of a new space opera trilogy packed with space warfare and mindblowing rationale for Norse mythology. This is SF to rival Peter F. Hamilton.

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Winning Mars by Jason Stoddard - Debut
Release Date: March 1 | Publisher: Prime Books

Jere Gutierrez is bucking the trend at the dying art of "linear" entertainment - what we know today as TV shows. His combination of astounding stories, captured in the moment, are captivating millions. Of course, every one of his stories are fabricated and engineered and orchestrated, even though they're sold as "real." Unfortunately for Jere, his backers have begun to see through his tricks. Desperate for another story, one large enough to capture the attention of the world, he teams up with a retired TV executive to create an ad-supported mission to Mars, complete with corporate sponsors and extreme sports events. What Jere doesn't know is just how captivating his Winning Mars will be.

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Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky
Release Date: February | Gollancz

No announced US publication as of yet, but the interesting description and setting has piqued my interest greatly.  Also a video game is planned based around the book which is slated to be released on Xbox and for the PC in 2010.

The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind. But the last remains of civilisation have already become a distant memory, the stuff of myth and legend. More than 20 years have passed since the last plane took off from the earth. Rusted railways lead into emptiness. The ether is void and the airwaves echo to a soulless howling where previously the frequencies were full of news from Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. Man's time is over. A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth. They live in the Moscow Metro - the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. It is humanity's last refuge. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters - or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, with no room for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings have given way to instinct - the most important of which is survival. Survival at any price. VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line. It was one of the Metro's best stations and still remains secure. But now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. He holds the future of his native station in his hands, the whole Metro - and maybe the whole of humanity.

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Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley
Release Date: March 23  |  Publisher: Pyr

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.

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Silversands by Gareth L Powell - Debut Novella
Release Date: April | Publisher: Pendragon Press

In an age where interstellar travel is dangerous and unpredictable, and no-one knows exactly where they’ll end up, Avril Bradley is a Communications officer onboard a ship sent to re-contact as many of these lost souls as possible.

But a mysterious explosion strands her in a world of political intrigue, espionage and subterfuge; a world of retired cops, digital ghosts and corporate assassins who fight for possession of computer data that had lain undisturbed for almost a century. . .

This is the debut novel from the critically-acclaimed author of the short story collection The Last Reef, Gareth L Powell, with stunning cover artwork by Vincent Chong.

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Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds
Release Date: June 1 | Publisher: Ace
Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different - and rigidly enforced - level of technology. Horsetown is pre-industrial; in Neon Heights they have television and electric trains ...Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels - and with the dying body comes bad news. If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality - and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability.

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ODD ONES

Sleepless by Charlie Huston
Release Date: January 12 | Publisher Ballantiine

A gripping and imaginative work of speculative fiction about an epidemic of sleeplessness from the bestselling author who Stephen King calls "one of the most remarkable prose stylists to emerge from the noir tradition in this century," for fans of William Gibson and Chuck Palahniuk.

The world is in the grip of an epidemic of sleeplessness. In L.A., a cop named Parker Haas is working undercover to stop black market trade of a drug called Dreamer, the only thing that helps the sleepless. But his interest in the drug is more than professional. His wife is sleepless, and they don't know yet if their infant daughter is also sick. Then Park discovers that the black market he's trying to stop is the creation of the very company that makes the drug. But how can a lowly cop go after the son of one of the world's richest and most powerful men?

Trapped by these things--a dying wife, an infant daughter, a truth that could unravel his career--Park risks all for one chance to do his part in repairing a broken world.

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The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
Release Date: March 4 | Publisher: Putnam

Sebastian Prendergast lives in a geodesic dome with his eccentric grandmother, who homeschooled him in the teachings of futurist philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller. But when his grandmother has a stroke, Sebastian is forced to leave the dome and make his own way in town.

Jared Whitcomb is a chain-smoking sixteen-year-old heart-transplant recipient who befriends Sebastian, and begins to teach him about all the things he has been missing, including grape soda, girls, and Sid Vicious. They form a punk band called The Rash, and it's clear that the upcoming Methodist Church talent show has never seen the likes of them. Wholly original, The House of Tomorrow is the story of a young man's self-discovery, a dying woman's last wish, and a band of misfits trying desperately to be heard.


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LOOKING FORWARD | Fantasy Books to Watch for in 2010
LOOKING FORWARD | Collection & Anthologies Coming in 2010
RECOMMENDATIONS | Best Books of 2009 (That I've read)