Nightstand/Table: I just cleared off my bedside table a week ago, but before that it held copies of:

• The three Mistborn novels by Brandon Sanderson
• Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
• Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson

Eclectic enough?

Reading at the Moment: Just finishing up Sping by Robert Charles Wilson, 50 or so pages left. Will then pick up The Last Colony by John Scalzi.

Can’t Put Down: Braid – a beautifully artistic XBLA game. That and Civilization Revolution. I guess I’m in a gaming mood, lately.

Gathering Dust: My summer. Working full time fucking sucks.

Secret Indulgence: Literary? Nothing, really. I’m pretty upfront with what I like. Otherwise? Miley Cyrus. I feel so imasculated by her music, but so fuckin’ groovy at the same time. *shrugs*

Looking Forward To: The re-release of Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn Trilogy by Orbit Books. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. You know, the usual suspects. Oh, and a bunch of stuff I can’t remember right now.

Scoundrels! Grave-robbers! Spinsters! Heiresses! Hot on the heels of its decision to double the size of its list in the US, Orbit welcomes four new stars of fantasy fiction.
Orbit is pleased to announce the upcoming releases of four new books from four new stars of fantasy fiction: BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie (June 2009); THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART by Jesse Bullington (Sept. 2009); SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Nov. 2009); and THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS by N.K. Jemisin (Sept. 2009).

When Joe Abercrombie burst onto the fantasy scene with his widely-praised First Law Trilogy SFF World called his books “compelling, character-driven, adult fantasy, for readers who want to be entertained as well as challenged.” BEST SERVED COLD will be his hardcover debut in the US. A stand-alone novel of mercenaries, gruesome deaths, and twisted plans, BEST SERVED COLD returns readers to the world introduced in the First Law Trilogy, but with an all-new cast of scoundrels.

Jesse Bullington came to the attention of the SFF world when author and critic Jeff VanderMeer posted on his blog about a novel handed to him by a young man in his local video store. That novel was THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART, and VanderMeer wrote: “The odds of being handed a novel by a new, relatively young writer and being blown away by what you read are…very low. But that’s exactly what happened.” At Orbit we were blown away too. This tale of philosophical grave-robbers on the run is bloody, grim and thoroughly engaging.

Gail Carriger’s SOULLESS introduces Alexia Tarabotti, a spinster who foils an attack by a vampire (with a parasol, no less) only to be dragged into the supernatural politics of Victorian London (where parasols will become increasingly handy). A novel with equal parts wit and action, SOULLESS is a comedy of manners with vampires – a thrilling and hilarious debut.

THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, by N.K. Jemisin, is a brilliantly original debut fantasy. A young woman vies to become the heir to the throne of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and must bargain with the gods themselves to save her life – and her people.

To help promote authors and their work, I’ve decided to post sample chapters from time to time. As you can guess, this is the new feature I was talking about in my last update. At this juncture, it’s impossible to tell whether or not this will become a regular feature on the Hotlist or not, as there are copyright issues to consider. We’ll have to wait and see. . .

Thanks to the good people at Pyr, here’s a little teaser for the US readers who are about to read the final chapter in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy, Last Argument of Kings