Stacking the Shelves: a mess of freaks, ringmasters, and faerie kings

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase all the books we got in the past week. Those can be bought, won, gifted, for review, borrowed, print or ebooks... no matter, just share what you got :)


I was pretty good this week. I ordered a few books but they haven't arrived yet (so they don't count), and other than that all I got were ebooks. And they were all either cheap or free. So I haven't abused my bank account or my limited apartment book space.

Found, by Brenda Lee Harper

Ringmaster, by Judi Jaye

Third Daughter, by Susan Kaye Quinn

A Perfect Mess, by Zoe Dawson

The Seven Year King, by Kiki Hamilton

Freaks of Greenfield High, by Maree Anderson

All of these were spontaneous buys, the only one I'd heard of was The Seven Year King because I've read the previous two books in this faerie series. Found attracted me because it mentions gargoyles, Ringmaster because of the circus/carnival theme, Third Daughter because it's described as Steampunk-goes-Bollywood, and how often do you see Steampunk set in India? Freaks of Greenfield High is a bout a cyborg girl and A Perfect Mess was bought in a bad boy mood.

Have you heard of or read any of these? And what's new on your shelves this week?

Stacking the Shelves: Finding Home with the Forever Unearthly Scent of Magic

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase all the books we got in the past week. Those can be bought, won, gifted, for review, borrowed, print or ebooks... no matter, just share what you got :)


This week, I got a lot more books than I thought I would, but they were all ebooks.
By the way, I'm sorry this post is up later than usual! Last night was one of those rare Fridays when I actually went out, danced all night in a bar to awesome rock and metal songs (there's nothing like Flogging Molly's Devil's Dance Floor at 3a.m.), and came home at 4:30 in the morning (sober). So I didn't write the post on Friday as I usually do.

Anyway, here are the books...


Won from Escape Publishing via Page Turners Blog


Words Once Spoken, by Carly Drake
Riding on Air, by Maggie Gilbert
The Children of the Mist, by Jenni Brigalow
Finding Home, by Lauren K. McKellar
A Missing Peace, by Beth Fred

I had completely forgotten that I even entered that giveaway, so it was a nice surprise! Not sure if all those are my thing, but Riding on Air sounds really interesting and different - I haven't read a horse-themed book in ages and I like that the protagonist isn't your typical able-bodied privileged girl.
I also really like the music theme in Finding Home.

For review from Edelweiss

The Forever Engine, by Frank Chadwick
I got this one not just because I like steampunk but also because I hope to be able to use it for my MA thesis (I'm writing on modern Steampunk and late 19th century sci-fi / utopian novels).

Bought cheaply / freebies (Amazon)


Touch of Power, by Maria V. Snyder
Scent of Magic, by Maria V. Snyder
Killing Sarai, by J. A. Redmerski
Open Minds, by Susan Kaye Quinn
Parallel, by Claudia Lefeve
Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand

I was so stoked that the promo of  Touch of Power and Scent of Magic also worked from my location! I got them for about 3$ each! That was the opportunity to finally check out Maria V. Snyder's writing after more than 3 years of listening to people talk about how awesome she is. Killing Sarai I got because I read the description of the next book and realized that this is an NA contemporary about assassins. Sold. Open Minds was free! I loved Susan Kaye Quinn's Debt Collector series, so I thought I'd check out her YA as well. Parallel had been on my radar for a while, and it was also free when I got it. And Unearthly is one of those super well-known books that I'd been debating with myself about at the bookstore for more than a year. So yeah, I got a couple pretty awesome deals here :)

Have you read any of these? Should I move some of them further up on my reading pile? And what did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors that deserve more recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.


This week's topic: top ten authors that deserve more recognition

The tricky thing about this topic for me is that sometimes I'm not actually sure just how well-known an author is... so maybe some of my picks are a bit off? Let me know in the comments, I guess ;)

Cat Winters
Her debut, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, is haunting and brilliant. It made me feel anything ranging from happiness to sadness to anger or despair. I'm looking very much forward to reading more from her! I think the book has gotten a bit of coverage in the blogosphere (and rightfully so) but still I think the majority has never heard of it.

Karen Mahoney
A British author whose books I love! She concluded the Iron Witch trilogy in April with The Stone Demon and I can't wait for the next book in her series about Moth, a teen vampire. She has a great sense of humor and I enjoy the aspect of popular culture/nerdiness and snark in her books ^^ She's also really nice to talk to on twitter!

L.A. Weatherly
Her Angel series is amazing! She crafts strong, likeable characters and I love how she balances action and romance! I met her in April in the context of a writing workshop and she was very approachable and gave great, concrete advice :)

Sarah Rees Brennan
Not sure she really belongs in this list? Anyhow, I think many people know of her as Cassandra Clare's friend, but I actually read the Demon's Lexicon books before I heard of Cassie and The Mortal Instruments and damn, they're amazing! The snark! The dangerous, unique magic!

Kate Griffin
When I read A Madness of Angels, I put sticky notes all over the book because there were so many amazing passages! It will make you look at the city in a whole new way. One of my top favorite Urban Fantasy series!

Susan Dennard
Another case of I'm not sure she's 'unknown' enough for this list? Anyhow, her series is awesome! It's a great mixture of historical, steampunk, and zombies. I can't wait for A Darkness Strange and Lovely!

Kelly Creagh
I can't fawn enough over her Nevermore series! If you love E.A. Poe and creepy YA, you should definitely give it a try! She also wrote one of my favorite book boyfriends into existence - Varen Nethers. Her writing is wonderful and I love how she incorporates Poe and his work so seamlessly into the story! It's way too long until the release of the final book :(

Bethany Griffin
Another Poe-person! I love her Masque of the Red Death duology. Her writing is lush but with an unflinching sharpness to it. She's not afraid to hurt her characters but she also shows that they can find moments of beauty in despair. Can't wait to see what her next book will be about!

Gina Damico
If you like reaper books, get this one asap!! Gina Damico is hilarious - I laughed so much while reading Croak on the train that I kinda wanted to stop because everyone was looking at me all weird but I just couldn't because it was so damn good! She mixes the horrible and creepy with the sarcastic and absurdly funny and her imagination is made of awesome.

Susan Kaye Quinn
I've only read episodes 1-6 in her Debt Collector serial but I tell you, it's amazing! If you want male POV New Adult that is not a contemporary but an awesome kind of sci-fi retro-noir story - give it a shot! Fantastic world-building, mysterious characters, and very engaging writing! After reading episode 1-3 I had to get the bundle for 4-6 immediately and I read it all on the same day.


Well... I can't really stick with 10 this time around, so here are four runner-ups that I think are amazing but also well-known -ish, I think? Not sure.
Holly Black, Kelly Keaton, Kiki Hamilton, and Rachel Vincent.


So, what do you guys think of my picks? Have you heard of these authors? And who do you think deserves more recognition? Link me up :)

Review: Delirium (Debt Collector Episode 1), by Susan Kaye Quinn

Release date: March 20, 2013
Format: Kindle serial, 48 pages (ca. 12,000 words)

Goodreads description:
What’s your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely.

Lirium plays the part of the grim reaper well, with his dark trenchcoat, jackboots, and the black marks on his soul that every debt collector carries. He’s just in it for his cut, the ten percent of the life energy he collects before he transfers it on to the high potentials, the people who will make the world a better place with their brains, their work, and their lives. That hit of life energy, a bottle of vodka, and a visit from one of Madam Anastazja’s sex workers keep him alive, stable, and mostly sane… until he collects again. But when his recovery ritual is disrupted by a sex worker who isn’t what she seems, he has to choose between doing an illegal hit for a girl whose story has more holes than his soul or facing the bottle alone—a dark pit he’s not sure he’ll be able to climb out of again.

Contains mature content and themes. For YA-appropriate thrills, see Susan’s Mindjack series.

Delirium is approximately 12,000 words or 48 pages, and is one of nine episodes in the first season of The Debt Collector serial. This dark and gritty future-noir is about a world where your life-worth is tabulated on the open market and going into debt risks a lot more than your credit rating. For more about the Debt Collector serial, see www.DebtCollectorSeries.com


The following review is based on a copy I got via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.


Review:
Thanks to having participated in the book blitz for the Debt Collector serial, I knew quite well what I signed up for when I requested this first episode on NetGalley. Delirium is every bit as gritty as I’d expected, and I devoured the whole episode in one go. I would have read more if I’d had it! I really enjoy these serialized chunks of stories though because the format means you can squeeze it in anywhere and read it all at once, fully immerse yourself.

Although I can’t say I’d want to live in the world of Debt Collector myself, I can already tell from the short glimpse I had that I do not at all mind spending my fictional time there! Susan Kaye Quinn really has come up with a unique world I can’t wait to experience in more detail. The story is set in the future, but not so far removed that the reader has no point of identification. The world building is brought in unobtrusively, just as much as is needed at the time. There is no info-dumpy dialogue or inner monologue, but you still gather enough to follow the story.

Delirium, or Lirium as he calls himself for short, is an intriguing and complicated character. Though not much is known of his background yet, I think he is torn between opposites. At only twenty years old, he works as a debt collector, a person trained to collect the life-force of those people whose burden on society outweighs their potential future use to it. Often, that means elderly, sick people who have no chance of getting better and only a few weeks left to live. After drawing their life force, the collector gets a high off it, but must pass it on to a person deemed more deserving of it, keeping only a 10% share. As you can guess, there are downsides to the job.

Another person I’d like to know more about is Elena, the girl who disrupts Lirium’s usual way of dealing with the aftermath of the debt transfer. She has her own share of secrets. She’s trouble in a pretty package. She makes him question things.

If you’re looking for something unique that combines sci-fi with the atmosphere of an old noir film and overall dark themes, narrated by a character with a wry sort of humor – here you go. The writing is instantly gripping and will keep swirling through your head even after you finish the story. Personally, I can’t wait to see where this serial is headed!


What do you think of the premise of the series? Have you checked it out? If not, click here to be taken to a guest post where Susan explains her genre. There are also two giveaways, one for the package of episode 1-3 (US only) and an international one for this first episode.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Debt Collector, by Susan Kaye Quinn

Hey guys :) Today I am part of the book blitz for Susan Kaye Quinn's New Adult future noir serial Debt Collector. Don't know what the heck future noir is? Never fear, just scroll down to Susan's guest post and let her explain it to you ;) There's also a tourwide giveaway of episode 1-3 at the very bottom. Unfortunately it's US only, BUT there's also a second, international giveaway for episode 1.

Synopsis:
EPISODES 1-3 (Delirium, Agony, Ecstasy) of the Debt Collector serial. Contains mature content and themes. For young-adult-appropriate thrills, see Susan's bestselling Mindjack series.

What's your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely.

Lirium plays the part of the grim reaper well, with his dark trenchcoat, jackboots, and the black marks on his soul that every debt collector carries. He's just in it for his cut, the ten percent of the life energy he collects before he transfers it on to the high potentials, the people who will make the world a better place with their brains, their work, and their lives. That hit of life energy, a bottle of vodka, and a visit from one of Madam Anastazja's sex workers keep him alive, stable, and mostly sane... until he collects again. But when his recovery ritual is disrupted by a sex worker who isn't what she seems, he has to choose between doing an illegal hit for a girl whose story has more holes than his soul or facing the bottle alone--a dark pit he's not sure he'll be able to climb out of again.

The first three episodes of the Debt Collector serial are collectively the length of a short novel, or 152 pages. These are the first three of nine episodes in the first season of The Debt Collector serial. This dark and gritty future-noir is about a world where your life-worth is tabulated on the open market and going into debt risks a lot more than your credit rating. Episode 4, Broken, releases 4/17/13. For more about the Debt Collector serial, see DebtCollectorSeries.com

Goodreads     Amazon     B & N

GUEST POST

Future-Noir or Why Retro Science Fiction is Awesome by Susan Kaye Quinn

Apparently, I write strange science fiction. This comes up whenever I try to classify my stories to readers, bloggers, the lady at the checkout stand, my mother, or Amazon (who insists that I need a "category" in which to place my books; I insist I need about five). Apparently I write novels that mash together all kinds of genres in an indiscriminate cross-pollenation that would have Isaac Asimov turning in his grave... if he hadn't done the same sort of thing himself as a young man (winking at you, Isaac!).

Seriously, if you want to see a good bar brawl among literary types, just ask them what's the genre of Hunger Games or Time Traveler's Wife or any Nicolas Sparks novel, and watch the rhetoric fly! I personally have a very laizzez-faire approach toward genre definitions, which is sure to infuriate genre-disciplinarians. (I don't mention my east-indian-influenced steampunk fantasy romance to genre-afficianados. I don't want them to rupture something.)

I figure the story comes first; people can decide what genre it is after it's written. So no one was more surprised than me when I ended up writing a future-noir.

 On a long car ride, just me and my Muse...

Muse: The Debt Collector.
Me: Er, what? Who are you?  
Muse: When people's debts exceed their future potential contributions to society, he cashes them out.
Me: Whoa. Tell me more.  
Muse: He extracts their life energy and transfers it to a "high potential" - someone who can use it to make greater contributions to the world.
Me: Holy... that's a great idea.
Muse: He's a good man with bad power. And it's future-noir.  
Me: Future-noir! Cool! Uh, what is that exactly?

Muse: Dark. Gritty. Futuristic but retro at the same time.  
Me: Oh... like Blade Runner... Holy cats, this is awesome.
Muse: You're welcome.

I ran (well, okay, drove) home and wrote the first episode. It was dark, gritty. Lots of low light, shady characters, set in a futuristic LA where the smog pooled at the impoverished feet of the city and the wealthy high-potentials lived above it all in the clean, clear air, taking their life-energy-hits courtesy of the titular Debt Collectors. The fashion was retro-sexy. The feel was future-dystopian. Did I mention it's gritty? And dark? I send it off to my critique partner...

My Crit Partner: Hey, your new Debt Collector story reminds me of Looper!
Me: Well, it is future noir. *acts like I know what I'm talking about*
My Crit Partner: Seriously. I totally see Lirium as a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt! And it totally reads like noir. You know, like Double Indemnity!  
Me: Double what? That's not one of those old black-n-white films, is it?  
My Crit Partner: All those noir films were black-n-white.

Me: Right! I knew that. (Sure.) Anyway, I think of Lirium more as James McAvoy in a trenchcoat.
My Crit Parnter: I can work with that.
*we both drool on the picture*
 Wait, what was I saying?

Right. Future-noir. Gritty retro feel - where the men wear trenchcoats and slick suits and the women wear bright red lipstick and carry a mini-revolver under their skirts - only it's a futuristic story with time-travel (Looper) or berzerker androids (Blade Runner) or life-energy transfers (Debt Collector) that change the landscape. It's raw. It's sexy. It's awesome.

It looks something like this.

Nice Blogger Lady: What genre is that?

Me: Future-noir.

NBL: What's future-noir?

Me: It's a science fictiony, mystery type of story. Sort of a mix between urban fantasy and noir, with a thriller twist. There could be romance in there too. Like Blade Runner. Or Looper!

NBL: I'll just call it science fiction.

Me: Works for me. :)

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling YA SF Mindjack series. Her new Debt Collector serial is her more grown-up SF that she likes to call future-noir. Her steampunk fantasy romance is temporarily on hold while she madly writes episodes to keep Lirium (the titular Debt Collector) happy. Plus she needs to leave time to play on Facebook. Susan has a lot of degrees in engineering, which come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopias, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. Mostly she sits around in her pajamas in awe that she gets make stuff up full-time. You can find her at www.susankayequinn.com

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