Staff Picks for September

Annie's Picks

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

They say there are only two things you can count on...But that was before DEATH started pondering the existential. Of course, the last thing anyone needs is a squeamish Grim Reaper and soon his Discworld bosses have sent him off with best wishes and a well-earned gold watch. Now DEATH is having the time of his life, finding greener pastures where he can put his scythe to a whole new use.

$6.99

License Invoked by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye

Someone or something unseen has been attacking Fionna Kenmare, lead singer for the Irish acid-folk rock band Green Fire. Now she's on tour in the United States, about to play the biggest concert of her career -- and she's in fear for her life, because that something has followed her across the ocean.

$6.99

Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint

A faceless gang of bikers on a Wild Hunt through the streets of present-day Ottawa hurtles young Jacky Rowan across the threshold into the perilous land of Faerie. There, to her dismay, she is hailed as the Jack of Kinrowan, a once-and-future trickster hero whose lot it is to save the Elven Courts from unimaginable evil.

$14.95

Protector of the Small: Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

Keldary of Mindelan has finally acheived her lifelong dream of being a knight. But it isn't turning out as she imagined it at all. With the land of Tortall at war with the Scanrans, she has been assigned the enormous responsibility of overseeing a refugee camp. To add to her burden, Kel has had a vision in the Chamber -- a vision of the man behind the horrific battle machines that her fellow knights and friends are now fighting without her. She is torn between a duty she has sworn and a quest that she feels could turn the tide of the war.

$16.95 - new release, 25% off

Requiem For the Sun by Elizabeth Haydon

It has been three years since their devastating battle, and peace has settled across their land. But to the south, an empire lies ready to crumble. When the Dowager Empress dies, along with her successor, the dark clouds of war loom on the horizon. And an old nemesis of Rhapsody's -- presumed dead for centuries -- resurfaces, forcing her to choose between facing his depravity or sacrificing her own life...and that of her unborn child.

$27.95 - new release, 25% off

Andrew's Picks

Adios Muchachos by Daniel Chavarria

"Fun, fast and intelligent, this devilishly charming import gives pulp fiction a good name. Hailed as one of the best Latin writers, Uruguayan-born Chavarria is well known throughout Europe as well as in Latin America. He has won literary prizes around the world, including the 1992 Dashiell Hammett Award; this able translation by Carlos Lopez is the first to bring Chavarria to an English-speaking audience.

The story, a madcap caper full of twisted sex, devious schemes and high-rolling hijinks, also showcases Chavarria's considerable scholarly research into prostitution. When Alicia, a crafty, bicycle-riding Havana hooker in present-day Cuba, meets Victor, a convicted bank robber masquerading as an upstanding businessman, they quickly realize each other's mutually nefarious motives and wind up in a business pact that leads to larceny, kidnapping and death.

Despite the dark subject matter, the winking delivery provides comic surges as reliably as an amusement park ride. Readers are kept off balance by surprise twists and rolling punches but riveted by the sheer force of curiosity and entertainment. Linguistic and cultural tidbits illuminate the intelligence at work behind the bawdy and raw story, while the narrative reveals the exploitative nature of economic forces at work in Cuba.

Lines blur between victim and victimizer as Chavarria reveals a symbiosis in which wealthy foreigners exploit the country's resources (from sunken galleons to beautiful women) and the Cubans in turn exploit foreigners' resources. But Chavarria never loses sight of his goal: to deliver an energetic hustle that will leave readers clamoring for more."

$13.95

Wetware by Craig Nova

"In a future where biotechnology has made it possible to create "wetware" organs, animals, toys that talk, and even crude humans Galapagos Technologies wants to go to the next level: creating smart humans capable of violence and deception. Engineer and sad-sack Briggs takes this plan even further; tired of the ugliness and brutality of his world, he surreptitiously programs beauty, talent, and the potential to love into his newest creations, Kay and Jack. But others around Briggs have different agendas for the two new beings, not least of whom is Kay herself. A dark look at the near future, this novel by the author of The Universal Donor hints at a grim civilization in decline, where fads rule with deadly results and technology has failed in its promise. While it explores a theme common in speculative fiction and even Nova's other works, this is a particularly chilling read, as each character fights hopelessly against the impending doom."

$22.00

Naked Came the Manatee by Carl Hiassen (editor)

"In South Florida, everyone wants to get a head. But not just any head. A very famous human head--severed and snugged away in a cryonic container. A head that could spark a revolution and change the course of history.

Everybody wants a piece of the noggin: rotund gangster Big Joey G., a 102-year-old environmentalist, hard-boiled Miami reporter Britt Montero, lawyer Jake Lassiter, and a would-be dictator in exile--with ex-president Jimmy Carter and a lovable manatee named Booger thrown in for good measure.

With bodies piling up it's anybody's guess what will happen from one chapter to the next, as an all-star line-up of Florida's finest writers take turns at taking this outrageously original novel to the limit--and beyond."

$11.95

Dark Ladies by Fritz Leiber

I have to admit that I'm putting this book on my picks having only read "Conjure Wife." That said, it's worth the price of admission by itself. This is an intense tale of housewife witchcraft-as soon as Norman Saylor finds out his wife is putting spells on him, he makes her stop. He's convinced it's all superstition and none of it matters. But the second her benevolent hexes are no longer there to protect him, all manner of things start going awry, at first in minor ways, but soon becoming quite sinister. And before Norman can even grasp what's happening, he's suddenly in the middle of a power struggle that threatens his marriage, his career, and maybe even his life. An amazing book that has become an enduring classic over the last half century. If it takes making it part of a two-volume omnibus to keep it in print, that's fine with me.

$17.95

Buck Fever by Ben Rehder

Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer season, as close to a statewide holiday as you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock aren't the only good ol' boys out at night spotlighting deer from their pickups, trying to get a jump on the hundreds of hunters who will be out come Saturday. Game warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints, which are coming in faster than he can write out of season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in: a man dressed up in a deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy.

Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked out whitetail isn't exactly a stranger, either. It's the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life. Newcomer Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.

$23.95 prior to 25% new hardcover discount

Lelia's Staff Picks

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

"This title, which launched the legendary Discworld series, introduces the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind. Part of a reissue of the first three Discworld books, this novel includes an overview of the fantasy land, with a map, visitor's guide, Pratchett crossword puzzle, and more."

$6.99

The Remnant: On The Brink Of Armageddon by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

" #10 in the Left Behind series---The Great Tribulation unfolds as the forces of evil and the armies of God prepare for the ultimate battle that will decide the fate of mankind. Millions of Christians are protected by God as the anger of the Antichrist burns against them."

$24.99 prior to 25% new hardcover discount

Open Season by C. J. Box

" 'When a high-powered bullet hits living flesh, it makes a distinctive -pow-WHOP-sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance'. And so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who, with the shot of a rifle, is thrust into a race to save not only an endangered species, but also the life and family he loves. C. J. Box knows the wilderness and he knows how to create a wonderfully authentic, vividly alive sense of place. Most of all, he knows how to create a memorable new hero: a man who is full of failings, but strong and honorable. This is mystery writing at its best-and the beginning of a brilliant new career."

$6.50

The Book Of Night With Moon by Diane Duane

"Rhiow seems a perfectly ordinary New York City cat. Or so her humans think--but she is much more than she appears. With her partners Saash and Urruah, she collaborates with human wizards to protect the earth from dark forces and maintain the network of magical gateways that connect to different realities. But amid this amazing secret animal world lies a danger that threatens not only the cats of the world, but humans as well."

$6.50

The Mouse in the Mountain by Norbert Davis

See Lelia's review.

$14.00