Fantasy February 2008 "O Ireland isn't it grand you look-- Like a bride in her rich adornin'? And with all the pent-up love of my heart I bid you the top o' the mornin'!" ~ from The Exile's Return by John Locke New and Recently Released! God's Demon - by Wayne Barlowe Publisher: Tor Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/16/2007 ISBN: 9780765309853 ISBN-10: 0765309858 Epic Fantasy. Hell is, well, hell. After years of fire and brimstone, one of the Demon Majors, Lord Sargatanas, is tired of it all. Sickened by what he has become and yearning for his former proximity to God, Sargatanas wants to go home, to Heaven. But is that even possible and, if so, how can he manage it? Sargatanas hatches a daring plan to rebel and escape Beelzebub and his minions (no one knows where Lucifer, the devil himself, is...or even if he's alive). Based on Dante's Inferno, acclaimed artist Wayne Barlowe draws his pictures in words this time and does a spectacular job of it (Booklist calls Barlowe's "envisioning...nothing short of awe-inspiring"). First Chapter The Sword-Edged Blonde - by Alex Bledsoe Publisher: Night Shade Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/1/2007 ISBN: 9781597801126 ISBN-10: 1597801127 Mystery Fantasy. If you enjoy reading novels that combine aspects of hard-boiled crime novels and whodunits with the trappings of a sword-and-sorcery fantasy world, Alex Bledsoe's debut novel should be right up your alley. Eddie LaCrosse is a PI with a past he is trying to forget and an office located over a bar--but his weapon of choice is a sword and his cases involve magic and deities. In The Sword-Edged Blonde, the 1st book in a planned series (the 2nd should be released near the end of 2008), Eddie finds himself working two different cases involving royalty--a princess is missing and a young heir has been murdered. The Sorcerers' Plague: Book One of Blood of the Southlands - by David B. Coe Publisher: Tor Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/10/2007 ISBN: 9780765316387 ISBN-10: 0765316382 Epic Fantasy. This 1st in a new series tells the story of Grinsa, one of the heroes of author David Coe's Winds of the Forelands series. Grinsa is a Weaver (one of the Qirsi who can perform various forms of magic), and he and his family travel across the sea to the Southlands in search of a more peaceful land. Alas, they find that every place has its troubles. In their new land, tensions between the magical folk and the non-magical ones come to a head, and a plague is unleashed that targets the Qirsi. If you like the novels of Terry Goodkind, you should enjoy Coe's work as well. First Chapter Dragon Harper - by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/26/2007 ISBN: 9780345480309 ISBN-10: 0345480309 Science Fantasy. Any reader who enjoys dragons combined with an outer space setting has probably heard of and read Anne McCaffrey's popular Pern books (if you haven't, start with the 1st, Dragonflight). In the latest installment--and the third collaboration between McCaffrey and her son, Todd--a plague-like illness threatens Pern even as the date that the deadly Thread will drop draws near. Keeping the dragonriders healthy so they can deal with the Thread makes Kindan, a harper-in-training, and his friends the only ones with the ability keep the disease from destroying the world. This is "definitely a welcome addition to the Pern canon" (Booklist). First Chapter Borne in Blood: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain - by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Publisher: Tor Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/10/2007 ISBN: 9780765317131 ISBN-10: 0765317133 Historical Fantasy. In 1817 Switzerland, Count Saint-Germain, a vampire, is living peacefully with his widowed lover Hero, whose husband died battling Napoleon. But a visit with an Austrian aristocrat whose research deals with the properties of blood causes a major upheaval--the nobleman's beautiful ward becomes obsessed with the immortal vampire. Add to that Hero's desire to regain her children from the custody of their grandfather, and there's trouble in vampire paradise. This is the 20th volume in the author's fascinating saga. Historical fiction fans will enjoy the richly drawn settings and accurate details that imbue Yarbro's work, and horror fans will appreciate the vampires. First Chapter Focus on: Fantastic Ireland The Greener Shore: A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia - by Morgan Llywelyn Publisher: Ballantine Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/30/2006 ISBN: 9780345477668 ISBN-10: 0345477669 Celtic Fantasy. Ainvar the druid and his three wives have escaped "Caesar the Reprehensible" following his legion's destruction of their sacred grove in Gaul. Now they are cultivating Celtic society anew in Hibernia, combining their druidic practices with those of the Irish Celts. Strong female characters, in particular the wise and alluring Briga, abound in this tale, which Publishers Weekly describes as a "beautifully told adventure story." Fans of Morgan Llywelyn's Druids should check out this exciting sequel (though The Greener Shore can be read on its own), and historical fiction fans also should try Llywelyn's books. First Chapter Child of the Prophecy - by Juliet Marillier Publisher: Tor Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 3/1/2002 ISBN: 9780312848811 ISBN-10: 0312848811 Historical Fantasy. Fainne is torn. Her paternal grandmother, the sorceress Oonagh, wants to destroy Fainne's mother's people--using Fainne as her weapon--which would effectively rid Ireland of all magic. But as Fainne starts spending time with the Sevenwaters people, she has growing feelings for the maternal family she has never known. Unfortunately, Oonagh is so desperate for her plan to succeed that she will torture her own son, Fainne's beloved father, if Fainne doesn't do as she says. Though this is the 3rd in the Sevenwaters trilogy, after Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows, it can be read and enjoyed alone. First Chapter Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle: The First of the Tristan and Isolde Novels - by Rosalind Miles Publisher: Three Rivers Press Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 6/1/2003 ISBN: 9781400047864 ISBN-10: 1400047862 Historical Fantasy. Cornish warrior and member of King Arthur's round table Tristan, who's the nephew of the King of Cornwall, falls in love with Princess Isolde, who's the heiress to the Irish throne, when she nurses him back from a near-fatal wound. What the two young people don't know, however, is that Isolde's mother has promised the princess' hand to Tristan's uncle Mark in a politically arranged marriage. Author Rosalind Miles' tale of star-crossed Celtic lovers Tristan and Isolde should please readers who enjoy Arthurian legends (such as the author's Guenevere series). If you enjoy this book, check out the next two in the trilogy: The Maid of the White Hands and The Lady of the Sea. First Chapter Darkfever - by Karen Marie Moning Publisher: Delacorte Press Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/31/2006 ISBN: 9780385339155 ISBN-10: 0385339151 Urban Fantasy. Twenty-two-year-old MacKayla "Mac" Lane is a nice Southern girl who's content to relax by her parents' pool and bartend a few nights a week. But all of that changes when she gets The Phone Call. Her two-years-older sister Alina has been killed while living in Ireland. The police have no leads. Unwilling to let someone get away with murder, Mac sets off for the Emerald Isle, where she discovers that her sister's death was far more than a random act of violence, that fairies are real, that some of them want to start a war against humankind, and that she has some very special powers. The 2nd book in this new series, Bloodfever, was published in October. First Chapter Song of Ireland - by Juilene Osborne-McKnight Publisher: Forge Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/2/2006 ISBN: 9780765312433 ISBN-10: 0765312433 Historical Fantasy. Celtic bard Amergin tells the story of his people's journey to Inisfail (Ireland), the island of magic that Amergin's Gaelic father has always dreamed of finding. But they aren't the only ones who want to live there. As they build their settlement, the Celts must deal with the other inhabitants of the enchanted island--the Danu, a magical little people who are powerfully connected to the land the Celts wish to claim as their own. Booklist calls Song of Ireland "an irresistible blend of history and mythology." Readers who love Irish history and memorable characters will not want to put this book down. First Chapter