The Silk Map-Chris Willrich

The Silk Map Chris Willrich Pyr, May 6 2014, $15.95 ISBN 9781616148997 Odd couple adventurers, upper class poet Persimmon Gaunt and cursed thief Imago Bone, saved their son from evil by dispatching their offspring to a secret dimension; likewise Snow Pine the bandit did the same with her child (see The Scroll of Years). Now the even odder trio team up to bring home their respective children, but need a powerful ally who can tell them how to reach the Scroll. Thus the desperate threesome cut a deal with Great Sage; the monkey goddess incarcerated by essences on a distant mountain, who assigns them a quest in exchange for her help. Gaunt, Bone and Pine must obtain the rarest of species, the alien Iron Moths, who spin cocoons made of ironsilk. They expect the journey to be dangerous, but none of the parents are prepared for competing against lethal rivals who possess pieces of the Silk Map that provides directions over the thousands of miles populated with predatory creatures not known to exist anywhere else to the Iron Moths. If they or their competitors make it to the nesting locale, ready to greet them is a murderous cult who lives to protect the Iron Moths. The second Gaunt and Bone (and now Pine) Chinese fantasy is a fabulous franticly-paced quest adventure though fans should first read The Scroll Of Years to better understand why the bickering couple and their new partner banished their beloved children into another dimension. The Silk Map is an exciting action-packed thriller; as the protagonists never obtain a respite from deadly just as obsessed with possessing the moths’ opponents, harrowing nasty creatures greeting them with murderous intent on the road and finally the killing anointed defenders. Harriet Klausner

Dragon PrincessS. Andrew Swann-

Dragon Princess S. Andrew Swann DAW, May 6 2014, $7.99 ISBN 9780756409579 Mediocre thief Frank Blackthorne fled Grunwald after a failed theft that has cultists seeking his head and also leaving behind a master debt to the Thieves’ Guild after the money collector vanished with his fee and that of others. He reaches Lendowyn; a kingdom in which most people are passing through like he wants to; except Frank ran out of cash with an ocean between him and his destination. With a choice between volunteering for sea duty that ends in death or chains, walking the coastline that never ends, or getting drunk hopefully that never ends; he chose some local poison. While intoxicated, the Kingdom of Lendowyn Court Wizard Elhared the Unwise offers the drunken Frank an offer if sober he would refuse. Elhared hires Frank to rescue Princess Lucille from a minor dragon in return he will receive money and safety from the stalking cult. However, when the thief catches up with the not as advertised humongous knight-eating dragon and the royal prisoner, misused magic leads to undesirable body swapping. Frank resides inside of Princess Lucille; she land inside the dragon; and you don’t want to know what happened to the thief’s body. To return to normal (though Frank wants a bit more pampering), the fuming fiery Princess and the soused thief need each other in their pursuit but the path is cluttered with no allies and many cutthroat enemies including the Dark Lord Nâtalc. This is an amusing lighthearted quest fantasy that uses the concept of movies like Freaky Friday to tell a fun tale through the filter of a mediocre thief. Though the premise is not new, readers will enjoy this Visa Versa body swap tale due Frank’s frank reflections. Harriet Klausner

Treasure Planet-Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox

Treasure Planet Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox Baen, May 6 2014, $15.00 ISBN: 9781476736402 In Thoma'stown on Wanderland, since the lessocks killed her husband, human Widow Cartwright owns and runs Lord Templemount Inn with some help from her son Peter. One of the inn’s guests is elderly Skel, who enjoys the rum and telling bloody tales of yore. Skel hires Peter to keep him informed when strangers come to the bar. A telepath enters the Lord Templemount demanding Peter, setting up alone, tell him where Skel is. Peter’s friend Kzin young one, Marthar Riit, enters and orders the telepath to leave, which the intruder does. The telepath accosts Skel who takes care of business. Soon afterward, a blind Kzin arrives and gives Skel something. After the Kzin leaves, Skel dies without paying his room, board and bar bill. Inside his room, Peter finds an encrypted map to the banned world Garth; an orb allegedly filled with technological gizmos worth a fortune on the black market. Marthar’s dad Orion obtains a ship and crew, and with his daughter, Peter, Dr. Lemoine, Judge Jorg von Thoma and human scientists set off to this Treasure Planet with pirates led by infamous K'zarr the Kzin, hated by both sides in the recent war, in pursuit. Placing Treasure Island inside the Larry Niven Man Kzin universe some years after the hostilities on Wanderland are officiously over leads to a wonderful outer space adventure. Although readers will know what happens next; as Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox pay homage to the Robert Luis Stephenson's classic with close adherence to the original storyline though with a fresh locale, Treasure Planet is an entertaining unique Man-Kzin thriller. Harriet Klausner

Alien Collective-Gini Koch

Alien Collective Gini Koch Daw, May 6 2014, $7.99 ISBN: 9780756407582 During a peaceful protest against an anti-alien presidential candidate, the cops detain in a paddy wagon American-Centaurion Ambassador Kitty Katt-Martini, her mother-in-law, her child, several Alien Dazzlers, Culver, Representative Gagnon-Brewer and several humans mostly males. Instead of a holding cell, they end up receiving a warning that a deadly gas threat imperils those at the Centaurion Embassy. Kitty believes the attacks on the A-C immigrants has arisen again because the favorite to win the presidency Senator McMillan selected her husband appointed New Mexico Congressman Jeff Martini as his running mate. Besides having to behave like a potential Second Lady, Kitty fears the persistent media and the opponents’ researchers will dig up dirt on the A-C populace, her husband and her. She also worries that her enemy the unidentified Mastermind remains free seeking allies amongst the Yates brood that Kitty must locate first but lacks vital information since their data base was hacked and destroyed. Even worse, a super powerful being has arrived as a judge, jury and executioner to determine whether the populace proves worthy of life. Starting with a scene reminiscent of the Marx Brothers cabin scene in A Night At The Opera and throughout combining mirth with mayhem, the ninth Alien science fiction (see Alien In The House and Alien Research) is a zany thriller. Fast-paced, series fans will enjoy the escapades of Kitty and her mixed retinue as they close in on the Mastermind (mindful of Agents of Shield’s super villain The Clairvoyant), a judgmental deadlier threat, and even more perilous to the heroine exposure as wife of a VEEP candidate. Fans will enjoy this amusing over the top of the Washington Monument tale. Harriet Klausner

Expecting the Prince’s Baby-Rebecca Winters

Expecting the Prince’s Baby Rebecca Winters Harlequin Romance, May 6 2014, $5.99 ISBN: 9780373742882 Nestled on the Riviera, the Principalities of Arancia and Gemelli rejoice that Crown Prince Vincenzo Di Laurentis and his wife Her Royal High Princess Michelina Cavelli soon will become parents after she suffered three miscarriages. The regal couple accepts their marriage lacks caring intimacy as it was an arranged expediency between the kingdoms. He especially is grateful to the generosity of Rhode Island native and longtime friend Abby Loretto who agreed to carry their child. However, soon after Abby becomes pregnant, Michelina suddenly dies. The nations mourn their loss, but six weeks later, some normalcy returns to Arancia with the Lemon and Orange Festival. The daughter of the Chief of Security, Abby has been a close friend of the prince for years. She worries about the child growing up without a mother and for the prince being a single dad while also having royal duties. Vincenzo insures the surrogate mother is well taken care of and visits her a lot. As their friendship between them turns to love, both know the prince cannot marry a commoner. The first Princes of Europe duet (see the upcoming June release Becoming the Prince's Wife) is a fun royal contemporary although the unloving relationship between the prince and his late wife enables him to move on too easily. With thoughts on the abdication of King Edward VIII, readers will appreciate Vincenzo’s dilemma as he must choose between forbidden love and being the heir to the throne. Harriet Klausner

The Sea Without A Shore-David Drake

The Sea Without A Shore David Drake Baen, May 6 2014, $25.00 ISBN: 9781476736396 On the Bantry Estate on Cinnabar, Intelligence Service Chief Bernis Sand orders CIS Cyberspy Adele Mundy (accompanied by Tovar) to travel to dangerous Corcyra to keep the spymaster’s troublesome son Rikard Cleveland safe while he hunts for rumored ancient treasure. Mundy’s friend Republic Cinnabar Navy Captain Daniel Leary (backed by the Sissies) goes with her. Before they depart, Daniel's sister Deirdre Leary also asks a favor of Mundy pertaining to her brother. Various rivals want control of the mines on Corcyra. Hostilities have made the planet unsafe for anyone but especially the foolhardy risk takers like Cleveland with a war seemingly imminent for possession of the valuable mining deposits. Though Leary has no official mission as the Cleveland scenario belongs to his friend; nonetheless he and Mundy struggle to broker a peace. The tenth RCN Saga (see What Distant Deeps) is an entertaining outer space thriller starring two polar opposites in personalities. The freshness comes from the greater focus on fascinating Mundy as her soliloquies on death, life and relationships (with Leary, Tovar, Miranda and those the spy killed) are insightful. Although the efforts on Corcyra seems lightweight compared to the war and keeping the peace with the Alliance (see The Road of Danger), readers will appreciate the brisk role switching as Leary supports Mundy on a planet about to implode. Harriet Klausner

Sparrow Hill Road-Seanan McGuire

Sparrow Hill Road Seanan McGuire Daw, May 6 2014, $16.00 ISBN: 9780756409616 In 1952 Buckley Township, Michigan, Bobby Cross used as his fee for immortality his soul and the vehicular murder of teenager Rose Marshall when he ran her off of Sparrow Hill Road. Over the next six decades since Cross killed Rose, he has slayed many others. During those the same sixty plus years, there have been numerous sightings of a young woman hitchhiking and stopping at the Last Chance Diner for a malted; most Michiganians believe the hitcher is Rose, the Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road among her other nicknames. Rose feels strongly that her mission is to help the newly deceased quickly adapt to the afterlife. On a personal level, she also hunts Cross who has sent so many (starting with her) to their grave before their time should have been up as remittance for his evil young existence. Sparrow Hill Road is a great ghost tale told in four interconnecting “Books” with Rose holding the storyline focused even while the plot deftly leaps between several different years. Readers will enjoy Rose’s chronicles as she helps those like Larry the Trucker move on; while she also learns that true love never dies, and life and death (regardless of when) are a circle in her case on Sparrow Hill Road. Harriet Klausner