The Book Smugglers’ Top 10 Most Highly Anticipated SFF Reads for Fall/Winter 2012

Only a few weeks ago we shared our Half-Year Mark List of Favorite Books (so far) of 2012. Now summer is almost gone and as September (aka the Month of DOOM during which ALL THE BOOKS are published) approaches, we are getting super excited about what the second half of 2012 has in store.

Without further ado, here are our Top 10 Most Highly Anticipated SFF Reads for Fall/Winter 2012!

Read the last Book Smugglers on their list of pre-'Hunger Games' inspired novels.

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

When we say that we’ve been dying for The ...

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10 Post-Olympics, Pre-'Hunger Games' SFF Novels (List Inspired by Ted Kosmatka’s 'The Games')

Every so often I get stuck in a reading rut. A slump. You know the kind I’m talking about—you pick up title after title, yet none manage to hold your interest. Last week, I was in this horrible biblio-limbo, unsure of what to read to break me out of my speculative fiction malaise, but then I alighted on The Games, buried in the deep recesses of my e-reader’s vast, virtual TBR shelf.

Given the pending release of The Hunger Games on DVD and the timeliness of the recently concluded XXX Summer Olympic Games, I decided that it ...

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Gods, Monsters and a little 'Gunmetal Magic'

“Listen well, because I won’t be repeating myself, you racist prick. If you make any trouble for me or my people, I’ll hunt you down like the pig you are and carve a second mouth across your gut. They’ll find you hanging by your own intestines.” […]

I opened my fingers. He crashed on the ground, his face white as a sheet. He scrambled backward, rolled to his feet, and took off.

The three shapeshifters stared at me, openmouthed.

“That’s how you intimidate people. No witnesses and not a mark on him. Get your asses to the ...

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‘Daughter of the Flames’ Fizzles, not Sizzles

After Ana read and enjoyed Zoe Marriott’s most recent offering Shadows on the Moon (a great retelling of Cinderella), we decided to try a few of her backlist titles. We picked Daughter of the Flames because the book was recently rereleased in the UK featuring a strikingly attractive cover (shown here).

Zira is the youngest daughter of Rua’s Royal Family and the line’s only survivor. On the terrible night that Rua was seized by the tyrannical Sedorne king, Zira’s entire family was killed in a fire that raged across the kingdom. Saved by a loyal nursemaid ...

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Book Smugglers: Best Sci Fi and Fantasy Books of 2012 (so far…)

It’s already July (whoa, when did that happen?), and as such, it is time for an annual Smuggler Tradition—we count down our favorite 10 books of 2012 (so far).

We’ve taken a good hard look back at everything we’ve read this year, and out of 120 or so books reviewed (most of them speculative fiction and YA), we’ve picked our top 10 favorite adult SFF books published between January and June 2012.

Disclaimer: It should go without saying that we could not possibly have read ALL of the SFF books published in 2012. This list ...

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The Book Smugglers Take on ‘Dragon Sword and Wind Child’

This year has been an interesting one for speculative fiction, especially in terms of highlighting fantasy and science fiction written by women. In March, Lady Business published the (rather depressing) results of their study on coverage of Women on SFF blogs.

In the months that followed the survey, a number of blogs and authors made a public stand to embrace and celebrate diversity and women in speculative fiction. In April, fantasy author Martha Wells compiled a list of non-European fantasy novels penned by female authors.

Read the last Book Smugglers on the new 'Worldsoul' series.

This list inspired us to ...

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'Redshirts': A Space Comedy, or a Slightly Recursive and Meta Ode to the Expendable (With Three Largely Unnecessary Codas)

“When you create a science fiction show, you create a new fictional timeline, which starts just before the production date of that television show. That show’s ‘past’ doesn’t include the television show itself.”

“Because that would be recursive and meta,” Duvall said.

As a science fiction fan, I take solace in the fact that John Scalzi is an author that continues to write new books on a regular basis. He’s one of the writers on the good side of the force and puts out a new, often delightful, novel each year. In Redshirts, Scalzi is back, this ...

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Top 10 Most Coveted Speculative Fiction Titles at BEA

This upcoming week, thousands of professionals—including authors, publishers, librarians and, yes, bloggers—will be flocking to New York City to attend the event of the year: BookExpo America 2012, aka BEA.

Read the last Book Smugglers on the top 10 books by female authors, as inspired by 'The Killing Moon.'

This year, the convention looks to be the biggest and busiest one yet, spanning three full days and boasting a lineup of spectacular publishers (both analog and digital), authors and speakers.

Although adult SFF books (including science fiction, fantasy, horror and all things in between) are not BEA’s ...

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Top 10 Fantasy Novels by Female Authors (list inspired by 'The Killing Moon')

On May 1, Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated author N.K. Jemisin released The Killing Moon, the first book in her highly anticipated new fantasy series, the Dreamblood duology.

Read the last Book Smugglers at Kirkus on 'Railsea.'

True to form, Jemisin's new novel, set in an ancient Egypt-inspired world and featuring a diverse cast of characters including an apprentice dream gatherer, a cunning diplomat and the equivalent of a ninja priest, is absolutely stunning. The Killing Moon is easily one of the best new releases we've had the pleasure of reading so far in 2012 ...

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