If I were a reader of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files, I’d be chomping at the bit to get my hands on Ghost Story this month. If I’d read the Jim C Hines books I got for Christmas, I’d be super excited about his forthcoming The Snow Queen’s Shadow. If I were a reader of George R.R. Martin’s The Song of Ice and Fire series I’d be anxiously awaiting A Dance With Dragons. Alas, I’ve not (yet) gotten sucked into these series, so this month while the masses clamor for those releases, I’ll be keeping an eye out for these nuggets that have caught my eye.
Dead Iron: The Age of Steam
Devon Monk
steampunk, alternate history
July 5, 2011
Roc
ISBN: 9780451463968
352 pages
I’ve gotten sucked into steampunk and I’ve long heard good things about Devon Monk’s writing from friends, so I’d like to give this a try.
The blurb, from Goodreads:
In steam age America, men, monsters, machines, and magic battle for the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, bounty hunter Cedar Hunt rides, cursed by lycanthropy and carrying the guilt of his brother’s death. Then he’s offered hope that his brother may yet survive. All he has to do is find the Holder: a powerful device created by mad devisers-and now in the hands of an ancient Strange who was banished to walk this Earth.
In a land shaped by magic, steam, and iron, where the only things a man can count on are his guns, gears, and grit, Cedar will have to depend on all three if he’s going to save his brother and reclaim his soul once and for all…
My Life As a White Trash Zombie
Diana Rowland
urban fantasy, horror
July 5, 2011
Daw
ISBN: 9780756406752
320 pages
This is a case of the title attracting me before all other things. I’ve never read Rowland and I find the cover art “meh,” but the title cracks me up so I want to read anyway.
The blurb, from Goodreads:
Angel Crawford is a loser.
Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she’s a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who’s been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.
That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn’t have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there’s a job waiting for her at the parish morgue–and that it’s an offer she doesn’t dare refuse.
Before she knows it she’s dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey–just when she’s hungriest!
Angel’s going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn’t, she’s dead meat.
Literally.
On a Pale Star 
If you like Druids, m’dear, let me also recommend Kevin Hearne to you. Start with HOUNDED. He is my newest favorite author.
I’ve seen some of his write ups over at, I think, Tor.com, and found him interesting. He’s added to my list!
I’m with you on Diana Rowland’s new book. I pre-ordered based solely on the cover. I know that’s horrible but, I couldn’t help it. It’s Dan friggin’ Dos Santos!
I buy based on covers, too. I won’t judge you. 🙂