Reviewing the Mail: Week of 9/24

You probably know that I do this every week -- make a post listing the books that came in the week before, with links to more details (and/or a sneaky attempt to make you buy them and give me a cut -- take your choice). There are some books that I'd like to pull out and give their own week, for whatever reason, but the world rarely cooperates with those desires.

Until this week!

I only got one book this time, but that's perfect: I'd want to stand this one up separately, anyway. Peter S. Beagle is not just one of our finest fantasy writers, but a new novel from him is a rare treat -- he's only written about ten (depending on how you could Lila the Werewolf and Strange Roads) in a forty-plus year career.

But he has a new novel this year: Summerlong, available right now in trade paperback from Tachyon. And, very appropriately, it's the only book I have to talk about this week.

Summerlong is the story of a mysterious young woman named Lioness, who comes to a small Puget Sound community in winter and seems to bring the summer with her. She is quickly befriended by a quirky couple, Abe and Joanna, and moves into their garage. And then Lioness's past comes to Puget Sound as well, to change everything.

I'm looking forward to reading this one myself, and I hope you'll seek it out, too. It's been too long since the last Beagle novel.