Jay's Picks

The Shipkiller (Hardcover)

ISBN-13: 9781605983714
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Pegasus Books, 6/2012
American doctor Peter Hardin and his wife are sailing leisurely off the coast of England when their small sailboat is rammed and driven under the sea by Leviathan, the largest oil tanker in the world. Having barely survived, and grieving the death of his wife, Hardin seeks restitution from the British court. But lacking any witnesses to the collision besides himself, his case is dismissed. Filled with rage, he sets sail again in a new boat, determined to take revenge on the killer of his wife. First published in 1978, this un-put-downable novel of passion and vengeance, a modern twist on Ahab’s relentless hunt for Moby Dick, has been released again in hardcover.

ISBN-13: 9780385344326
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Delacorte Press, 9/2011
This is the novel that we fans of Lee Child’s novels have long awaited: the explanation, the story, the reason why Jack Reacher left the Army. What made the investigator turn his back on his promising career and hit the road? What changed the tough-as-nails military cop into the vagabond sleuth and drifting army-of-one that he is? It began in 1997, in a sleepy Mississippi town, when a young woman’s murder implicates a soldier at a nearby base, who happens to have very high connections in Washington…

ISBN-13: 9780061779732
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks, 3/2011
The third in his "Vampire Love Stories," this novel is told primarily from the viewpoint of Abby Normal, human servant to dysfunctional vampire couple Tommy and Jody. A huge shaved vampire cat is on the loose, stalking the night streets, and the clueless public is in danger. The usual suspects are all present, including the Emperor of San Francisco, his canine sidekicks, the Safeway turkey-bowlers, and the tag-team detectives from SF's finest. Fair warning: read Christopher Moore in public, and everyone around you will be wondering what you're laughing so hard at.

ISBN-13: 9780756404734
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: DAW Hardcover, 3/2011
The highly-anticipated sequel to "The Name of the Wind," this novel proves again that Rothfuss certainly has what it takes to craft a remarkable novel. With engaging characters and a swiftly-flowing storyline, this second of three in the Kingkiller Chronicles follows Kvothe's journey as he grows into the preeminent wizard-warrior of his time.



Jay's Past Picks

The Gathering Storm (Hardcover)

ISBN-13: 9780765302304
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Tor Books, 10/2009
When Robert Jordan passed away in 2007, he left behind a mountain of compiled notes and an unfinished series. Long-time readers will be pleased to know that Sanderson, chosen by Jordan's wife to finish his work, has truly picked up the ball and ran with it. While most of the major characters are moved forward in their various subplots, the book centers around Egwene al'Vere and Rand al'Thor. Egwene, held prisoner in the White Tower, is trying to tie together the factions and end the Aes Sedai civil war, all the while knowing a Seanchan attack is imminent. Rand faces his own struggles in his effort to unite the nations before the Last Battle and negotiate a truce with the Seanchan. As the world teeters on the brink, and the Dragon Reborn grows increasingly frustrated, the darkness threatening the world seems to gain a foothold in his own heart. A superb installment of a beautiful story, this collaborative novel is the beginning of the end, with events accelerating toward Tarmon Gaidon at a breakneck pace.

ISBN-13: 9780143116042
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Penguin Books, 8/2009

The White Mountains (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN-13: 9780689856723
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon Pulse, 1/1967
I first read these books when I was 10, and immediately loved them. They were so absorbing, I even got in trouble a few times at school because I couldn't put them down. In the future, humanity has been enslaved by enormous mechanical Tripods; only during childhood are people free. In a coming-of-age ceremony at 14, everyone is "Capped", fitted with a life-long mind-control device. For Will Parker, giving up his volition is intolerable, and he escapes in search of somewhere free. The writing is superb, the pace swift, the setting detailed, the characters believable, and the action and suspense nearly non-stop. Very highly recommended for pre-teens and teens.

March Upcountry (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN-13: 9780743435383
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Baen Books, 4/2002
Take an alien planet populated by large, violent, six-limbed barbarian hordes; coat thoroughly with broiling jungles bristling with hungry, vicious predators; toss in a clotheshorse prince treacherously shipwrecked; and add a team of elite commandos tasked with protecting the royal brat at all costs. Stir in a pinch of romance, a dash of political intrigue, a hefty cup of martial action, and this quick-paced first in the Empire of Man series is absolutely guaranteed to please military SF lovers.

On Basilisk Station (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN-13: 9780743435710
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Baen Books, 8/2002
From brilliantly choreographed starship battles to masterfully complex plot lines, from intriguing characters to clever dialogue, David Weber's novels have fully satisfied SF fans for decades. On Basilisk Station is the first in an amazing series featuring Honor Harrington as the protagonist, an officer serving her Navy as best she can. If you're looking for a far-future epic with a strong female protagonist, or if you just desire a great read, you can't go wrong diving deeply into this series.

Deep Storm (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781400095476
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Anchor, 2/2008
The book starts out simply enough: an odd sickness is sweeping through the crew of an oil derrick, & an expert naval doctor is called in to treat the workers. From that humble beginning, like the slow, clicking ascent before the first, sharp drop of a rollercoaster ride, the story rockets along unexpected twists & turns, culminating in a surprising finale as superbly imagined as it is unforeseen. Highly recommended for readers who like their action fast & smart.

ISBN-13: 9781594743344
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Quirk Books, 4/2009
In a gloriously expanded version of Jane Austen's literary classic, Seth Grahame-Smith mixes in hordes of the shambling undead. Blending seamlessly with the familiar and formal sparring of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, is plenty of mayhem and violence, as the flesh-eating zombies wreak havoc on the countryside. The prim and proper Victorian characters are given a much-needed makeover into masters of combat, dispatching the "Legions of Satan" to their eternal rest.

ISBN-13: 9780061236181
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 4/2008
If this isn't the funniest novel I've EVER read, it's at the least a serious contender. I quite literally had to keep putting it down to catch my breath. This is the sort of book where, while you're reading it, everyone around is wondering what you're laughing so hard at. If it doesn't feel like Larry Doyle is targeting your funnybone with a jackhammer, you might want to have a doctor check your pulse.

Fool (Paperback)

ISBN-13: 9780060590321
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks, 3/2010
The two words that best describe this book: INSANELY HILARIOUS. The funniest novelist alive takes a madcap romp through the works of Shakespeare and nothing is sacred. Highly recommended!

ISBN-13: 9780451463173
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Roc Hardcover, 4/2010
This latest novel in the Dresden Files is brimming with the series' trademark action, humor, magic, and mayhem. While it could be described as a darker, adult version of Harry Potter, that doesn't do justice to the sheer inventiveness and skill Jim Butcher brings to his trade. As a whole, the Dresden Files far surpass the Potter books in characterization, plot, dialogue, evocative prose, system of magic, and nearly every other imaginable way. It's difficult to overstate just how exceptional the Dresden Files are among Urban Fantasy sub-sect of the SF&F genre.

ISBN-13: 9780385341165
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Delta, 5/2009
There is, perhaps, no other force in Nature as frightening and compelling as lightning. Everything about it, from its incredible swiftness to the overwhelming noise it produces, to the way it seems to pick individuals out of a crowd, have made it a subject of fear and fascination throughout mankind's past. With this book, Friedman chronicles the myths and history, the personal survival stories and the latest science, bundling it all up in a compulsively readable narrative. Just don't curl up with it under a tree in a storm.