On My Bookshelf

Forthcoming in 2009

By Liz Burgess
February 23, 2009

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. — Erasmus

On My Bookshelf focuses on the books Tarts love, love to hate, hate to hate, or lust after with all our being but we can't afford them. In the months ahead, we'll cover a variety of genres and topics, from women's studies to fairy tales to mystery to pulp classics to history to biography to the worst books we've ever read to ... well ... you name it. If you have any suggestions for future columns, please email Rebecca Buchanan.

Tart Liz says: On My Bookshelf is normally a discussion of what Tarts currently have on their bookshelves: what they love to read and re-read and lend out. Since it's so early in the year, I decided to share what's not on my bookshelf just yet — but will be.

The Shadow Pavilion, by Liz Williams, may be in my hot little hands by the time this article is published. (The publisher lists its release date as January, but Amazon doesn't have it listed yet.) This will be the fourth book in the Detective Inspector Chen series, which takes place in a far future where science and magic live side by side. Chen works for the Singapore Three police, investigating supernatural crimes. Previous investigations have led him into the depths of Hell and the gardens of Heaven. In The Shadow Pavilion, Chen's demonic partner disappears, the king of Heaven is targeted by an assassin, and Chen must solve the case. This is a fantastic series (in both senses of the word); Williams' rich descriptions, quick plotting, and relatable characters create a unique world I'll keep returning to as long as she's writing about it.

February's first novel is up-and-comer Paul Melko's The Walls of the Universe. This was spawned from a novella of the same name (available online here). John Rayburn's life is upended when a John from an alternate universe comes calling, with a device that allows its user to travel between universes. Rayburn is tricked into using the device, not knowing it won't allow him to return home. Melko is always good for a fun read, and I don't expect to be disappointed here.

February's second novel is Catherynne Valente's Palimpset. I admit that I only read the first half of The Orphans Tales: In the Night Garden, but I loved it. (I ended up getting busy and setting it aside for a month, and it's intricate enough I have to start from the beginning again, and I haven't had a chance to pick it back up.) Valente puts regular English words together in a way that makes them simply beautiful.

For March, I have my eye on Elizabeth Bear's Seven for a Secret. This small press offering from Bear is the sequel to New Amsterdam, set in the early 19th century in a world where the American Revolution never happened, and vampires and magic exist. Vampire Sebastien is all-too-human, and his companion Abby Irene is old and dying. I'm expecting Bear will make me cry in this one; Abby Irene was a great protagonist in New Amsterdam. I'm also sad that Seven for a Secret is only 128 pages long!

I'm going to stop counting the months here, because publishing schedules are weird, and I don't trust them.

Charles Stross, The Revolution Business is the next entry in the Merchant Princes series. This, like Melko's Walls of the Universe, involves travel between alternate universes, but with a lot of intrigue and war. The Clan is stuck in a civil war across two universes, and protagonist Miriam is in as much trouble as always. From what I've heard about the book following this, things will be going pear-shaped for our hero.

Holly Lisle's The Silver Door is the second in the Moon and Stars young adult series. I don't normally read YA — they usually aren't tragic enough for me — but I bought The Ruby Key to support an author I liked. I'm interested in seeing where she goes with this. In the first book, she did something unexpected with a prophecy that I appreciated, so I'm hoping for another surprise in this one.

Next up, we have the three-book Traitor to the Crown series being released one a month by C. C. Finlay (formerly published as Charles Coleman Finlay): The Patriot Witch in April, followed by A Spell for the Revolution, and then The Demon Redcoat. If you couldn't figure it out from the titles, there are witches fighting in the American Revolution. As an historian and Constitutional scholar, Charlie knows his stuff. He's also a super nice guy. So nice that he's giving away a free copy of the first novel on his web site!

To keep up the traitor theme, next on my list is Kate Elliott's Traitor's Gate, the third in the Crossroads series. These are big, fat books with a zillion point-of-view characters, and all the intrigue and tragedy I could want. I can't imagine how huge Elliott's brain is to keep track of all the plot threads, but I love to follow the intricate twists and turns in her books.

Speaking of huge brains, Elizabeth Bear's By the Mountain Bound should be out in the fall. Yes, it's another sequel (sorry!). Bear's work is heavy with the themes of sacrifice and choice and servitude, in a far-future post-apocalyptic world with Norse myths alive again, deeply flawed characters, and beautiful but dense prose.

I'm sure there are a zillion other books coming out in 2009 that I'll buy and read, but these are the ones I want to read right now.