The 'Back from Holiday Book Haul'!

I don't normally do posts like this, there are at least three people (that I know of) already doing it and a lot better than I would, but there was a nice little haul waiting for me last night (when I got back from Plymouth) and I thought I'd share :o) Check em' out. I've included blurbs where I thought people here might not recognise the book straight away, everyone knows about the first book though which is...

Result! :o) I've got a couple of books to finish first but I'll be starting on 'Throne' early next week I reckon. 'Know No Fear' didn't arrive though, still keeping an eye open for that one.

 

Lovely looking cover but I can't see myself getting round to reading this one anytime soon. It's the final book in a nine book series and I've only read the first three. There's an awful lot of catching up to do there (even my Malazan reading isn't that far behind!)

Another series that I need to catch up on but I'm only one book behind in this case. Expect a review sometime soon(ish) as I did enjoy the first book when I read it the year before last.

Magda Lazarus was a reluctant witch until the dire threat of Nazi Germany convinced her to assume the mantle of her family's ancient powers. But though this young, beautiful Jewish woman has fought off Hitler's SS werewolves and the demon who would rule through the Fuhrer, she has been unable to prevent the outbreak of World War II. As long as Magda can summon spirits, there is still a chance to save people from the dire threat of the Holocaust. Her family's guardian angel, Raziel, stands beside her in the battle against the human and supernatural forces of evil arrayed against her people and all of Europe.

To be honest, it's only the mention of SS Werewolves that has me considering picking this one up... I can see myself reading it but it's not a priority. I think this is a 'second book in the series', is there a first book and has anyone here read it?

It’s a big Spiral Arm, and the scarred man, Donavan buigh, has gone missing in it, upsetting the harper Mearana's plans for a reconciliation between her parents. Bridget ban, a Hound of the League, doubts that reconciliation is possible or desirable; but nonetheless has dispatched agents to investigate the disappearance.

The powerful Ravn Olafsdottr, a Shadow of the Names, slips into Clanthompson Hall to tell mother and daughter of the fate of Donovan buigh. In the Long Game between the Confederation of Central Worlds and the United League of the Periphery, Hound and Shadow are mortal enemies; yet a truce descends between them so that the Shadow may tell her tale. There is a struggle in the Lion’s Mouth, the bureau that oversees the Shadows—a clandestine civil war of sabotage and assassination between those who would overthrow Those of Name and the loyalists who support them. And Donovan, one-time Confederal agent, has been recalled to take a key part, willingly or no.

I want to read a lot more sci-fi this year but I'm leaning towards space opera rather than the harder stuff, 'In The Lion's Mouth' looks like it could do the trick on that score :o) Review hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

What is it about this particular batch of books that almost everything so far has been 'Part X in a Series of Y'? We're looking at Book 2 in the 'Forerunner Saga' here and I'll probably pick this one up at some point. Partly because I've never read anything by Greg Bear and partly because I love playing 'Halo' whenever I'm anywhere near an XBox... :o)

The tag-line on my advance copy reads 'Hunted by Heroes...' but the cover is exactly the same. Have some blurb,

In the Empire of the Saviours, the People are forced to live in fortified towns. Their walls are guarded by an army of Heroes, whose task is to keep marauding pagans out as much as it is to keep the People inside. Several times a year, living Saints visit the towns to exact the Saviours' tithe from all those coming of age - a tithe often paid in blood. When a young boy, Jillan, unleashes pagan magicks in an accident, his whole town turns against him. He goes on the run, but what hope can there be when the Saviours and the entire Empire decide he must be caught? Jillan is initially hunted by just the soldiers of the Saint of his region, but others soon begin to hear of his increasing power and seek to use him for their own ends. Some want Jillan to join the fight against the Empire, others wish to steal his power for themselves and others still want Jillan to lead them to the Geas, the source of all life and power in the world. There are very few Jillan can trust, except for a ragtag group of outcasts. His parents threatened, his life in tatters, his beliefs shaken to the core, Jillan must decide which side he is on, and whether to fight or run . . . 

Is it just me or have I read this before under a different title...? The note, at the front, assures me that I'm not just reading the same old story over again so I guess I'll just have to take their word for it. Again, not a priority read though...

That's the haul then :o) Any of those books take your fancy...? Should I read 'Apocalypse' despite being horribly behind on the series? ;o) Comments please!