Games

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski (new UK edition, Gollancz, March): Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (new UK edition, Gollancz, March): Lord of Slaughter by M.D. Lachlan (UK, Gollancz, 21 June): The Hammer and the Blade by Paul S. Kemp (UK/US, Angry Robot, 26 June): Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (UK, Gollancz, 19 July): A Song of Ice and Fire 2013 Calendar (UK/UK, Bantam, 31 July): The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi (UK, Gollancz, 20 September):

Some upcoming cover art: Gollancz in the UK are reissuing their George R.R. Martin books in new covers. Neither The Armageddon Rag nor Tuf Voyaging have been available in UK editions for well over twenty years. Incidentally, the Eye of Sauron is on the cover of The Armageddon Rag as it's about a rock band called the Nazgul. Meanwhile, the UK paperback editions of A Dance with Dragons launch in late March. Incidentally, this leaves the UK paperback sequence of A Song of Ice and Fire now listed as: A Game of Thrones: Book One of A Song of Ice and Fire A Clash of Kings: Book Two of A Song of Ice and Fire A Storm of Swords - Steel and Snow: Book Three Part One of A Song of Ice and Fire A Storm of Swords - Blood and Gold: Book Three Part Two of A Song of Ice and Fire A Feast for Crows: Book Four of A Song of Ice and Fire A Dance with Dragons - Dreams and Dust: Book Five Part One of A Song of Ice and Fire A Dance with Dragons - After the Feast: Book Five Part Two of A Song of Ice and F...

Azriim and his slaadi allies have succeeded in tapping the magical mantle of Skullport, delivering tremendous power into the hands of their lord and master, the Sojourner. They now find themselves joined by Riven, who has betrayed Erevis Cale to choose the winners' side. As the Sojourner prepares to execute the final stage of his plan, Cale and his remaining allies must gather all their remaining resources to thwart him. Midnight's Mask concludes the Erevis Cale Trilogy in fine form, tying up the trilogy's storylines and plot points in a satisfying and even surprising fashion. In the first two books the Sojourner's ultimate objective is not revealed, but in this finale Kemp executes one of the better surprise endings in the epic fantasy genre when it comes to his main villain's motivations. Before we get to that ending, the story takes in a number of clashes between Cale and Azriim and their respective bands of heroes and villains, not to mention a brief but highl...

Erevis Cale and his allies have survived a confrontation with the slaadi servants of the enigmatic Sojourner, but now find themselves lost on the Plane of Shadow with no way home. Meanwhile, Azriim and his fellows seek to execute the next part of the Sojourner's plans and head for Skullport, one of the darkest and most dangerous cities in the Realms. The second volume of the Erevis Cale trilogy picks up immediately after the first book and once again pits Cale and his band of willing and not-so-willing 'heroes' against Azriim and his fellow slaadi. The first novel, Twilight Falling , was entertaining but also suffered from clunky writing and some bad pacing. Dawn of Night is a notable improvement, with a more notable focus on the battle of wills between Cale and his sometimes-ally Riven to prove themselves the better man. The prose is more polished (though still prone to odd lapses) and there's also a satisfying amount of weirdness invoked when Cale and his friends fi...