Reviewing the Mail: Week of 1/10

You probably already know this, but here's the scoop: these are books that came in the past week, sent by various publicists in hope of media coverage. (Yes, these days even a blog like this counts as "media." I'm as appalled as you are.) Many people in my situation post pictures of the books as they arrive, but I try to go a little further and explain what the books are and who might be interested in them. (I may be wrong or misguided, and I may often try to be humorous than entirely journalistic.) This happens every Monday morning.

I intermittently want to catch up on Walter Mosley's writing, but he's so prolific and imaginative -- and my to-read shelf so large already -- that reading everything is very daunting. And, yet, every single book that comes through looks quirky and interesting and particular: he's possibly the most mercurial and exciting bestselling writer working in America today. His new book is a SF novel, Inside a Silver Box, coming from Tor as a hardcover on January 27th. It's about an ancient sentient alien superweapon, the race that created it long ago, and two humans who stumble upon that weapon by accident.

I mentioned S.G. Redling's novel Ourselves a few months back when I saw it in bound-galley form, and now the book itself is imminent -- it's a trade paperback from Amazon's 47North imprint, also coming January 27. This one is a contemporary fantasy with not-vampires and their sexy mesmeric powers, and particularly with two of them, a young man and woman, who get caught up together in plots and schemes and battles against what I expect is the corrupt, evil, secret dark lord of the world.

And last for this week is a military SF novel, the first from W.C. Bauers: Unbreakable. It also declares itself to be the first in "The Chronicles of Promise Paen," so those of you who refuse to read anything not in a series -- which must be a substantial proportion, if the sales charts are any indication -- should leap at it. The series name gives us our viewpoint character: Ms. Paen is a tough space Marine posted back to her backwater home planet in a dangerous region between two squabbling empires, and the usual explosions and battles and shocking revelations ensue. This is a Tor hardcover, and will be available January 13 -- so you could possibly get it today, if supply chains run just a bit quicker than expected.