Is science fiction a literature of ideas, or of characters? Works that focus on the former often neglect the latter, and vice versa. It's very difficult to examine complex abstractions and simultaneously articulate the mechanisms of fiction: most writers who attempt this balancing act end up throttling back on the ideas, or fail sideways into technical writing. So Chiang's novella—the second piece he's ever published that's long enough to stand on its own, following the 2007 Hugo- and Nebula-winning The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate—is a welcome surprise: a triumphant combination of the rigorous extrapolation of artificial intelligence and artificial life, two of the high concepts of contemporary SF, with an exploration of its consequences for the ordinary people whose lives it derails. Ana Alvarado is a former zookeeper turned software tester. When Blue Gamma offers her a job as animal trainer for their digients—digital entities, spawned by genetic algorithms to provide pets for players in the future virtual reality of Data Earth—she discovers an unexpected affinity for her charges. So does Derek Brooks, an animator who designs digient body parts. The market for digients develops and expands, cools and declines after the pattern of the software industry. Meanwhile Ana, Derek, and their friends become increasingly attached to their cute and talkative charges, who are neither pets nor children but something wholly new. But as Blue Gamma goes bust and Data Earth itself fades into obsolescence, Ana and the remaining digient keepers face a series of increasingly unpleasant dilemmas, their worries sharpened by their charges' growing awareness of the world beyond their pocket universe, and the steady unwinding of their own lives and relationships into middle-aged regrets for lost opportunities. Keeping to the constraints of a novella while working on a scale of years is a harsh challenge. Chiang's prose is sparse and austere throughout, relying on hints and nudges to provide context. At times, the narrative teeters on the edge of arid didacticism; there are enough ideas to fill a lesser author's trilogy, but much of the background is present only by implication, forcing the reader to work to fill in the blanks. (Indeed, this story may be impenetrable to readers who aren't at least passingly familiar with computers, the Internet, and virtual worlds such as Second Life.) Fortunately, sheer conceptual density keeps the story solidly real. The life cycle of the software objects in question is viewed through the prism of the human protagonists' own life cycle, and this skeleton is the armature on which hangs that very rare thing: a science fictional novel of ideas that delivers a real human impact. Reviewed by Charles Stross. Charles Stross's novel The Fuller Memorandum is due out from Ace in July.

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 07/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Linda Hammerick has a special yet burdensome gift--she experiences words as tastes. Linda's boyfriends' names, for example, remind her of orange sherbet and parsnips; her own name is mint-flavored. Depending on the speaker, listening, for Linda, can be delicious or distasteful. In the first part of the book, Linda interacts with her family: she dances with her eccentric uncle Baby Harper, whose sing-song voice limits her "tasting his words"; she faced off with her acerbic grandmother, Iris; deals with her adored father, Thomas, and her unsympathetic mother, Deanne, whose infatuation with a neighborhood boy leaves Linda vulnerable to his predatory advances. Woven into Linda's story is the history of her home state, North Carolina—slaveholding days, the first airplane flight, and local Indian lore. But when a sudden tragedy brings Linda back home from New York City, she finds answers to a life that has been made up of half-finished sentences, as the secret of her origins and the clandestine histories of those around her are revealed one by one. Truong's (Book of Salt) mesmerizing prose beautifully captures Linda's taste-saturated world, and her portrait of a broken family's secretive pockets and genuine moments of connection is affecting. (Aug)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Stuart (Fire and Ice) launches a trilogy with this dark, intense, and sometimes unsettling historical romance. In 1760s Paris, penniless British noblewoman Elinor Harriman is struggling to support her family when her ill mother runs away to an orgy held by Viscount Rohan, a mysterious libertine known as the King of Hell. This sets in motion a chain of events that draws Elinor and Rohan into a fierce contest of wills and desires. Stuart's writing is crisp and quick, and her characters are finely and memorably drawn, but Rohan's often violent and predatory treatment of Elinor goes well beyond what most readers will find acceptable in an ostensible hero, especially given Elinor's traumatic childhood. Notions of the reformatory power of love fall flat against these grim scenes, which uncomfortably detract from an otherwise enjoyable and powerful story. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Veteran Chicago Record reporter Alex Chapa is looking forward to a much needed vacation and time with his 10-year-old daughter, Nikki, whom he barely sees now that his ex has moved to Boston. Then his boss calls him back to cover for Jim Chakowski, killed in a mysterious explosion. As Alex digs into Chakowski's notes linking a string of murders to prominent city council members, he and Nikki come under fire. Short, choppy chapters move the action along at a measured clip, and detailed descriptions infuse the text with atmosphere and suspense, especially during flashbacks to Alex's childhood in Cuba and the murderer's dark and traumatic upbringing. The killer's identity is no surprise, but the final showdown keeps the adrenaline pumping right through the ending, which Perez (Killing Red) leaves wide open for possible sequels. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Hoyt (To Desire a Devil) brings steamy sensuality to the slums of early 18th-century London in this engaging series launch. Demure widow Temperance Dews desperately needs funding for her orphanage. Lazarus Huntington, the famously debauched Lord Caire, needs to find out who murdered one of his mistresses. Lazarus offers Temperance an interesting bargain: if she will be his guide in the grimy neighborhood of St. Giles, he will pay the rent she owes and introduce her to more respectable nobility who might serve as patrons. Dire circumstances force the pair into intimate situations as they discover each other's deepest secrets, and Temperance reveals the passion hidden beneath her puritanical dress. Readers will enjoy the unusual pairing of an aristocratic man and a poor but educated widow, enhanced by earthy, richly detailed characterizations and deft historical touches. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Well-known for tales of dukes and duchesses, James (A Duke of Her Own) upgrades to the handsome prince in this delectable Regency reimagining of the Cinderella story. Miss Katherine Daltry, on the shelf at 23, manages the household of her ungrateful stepmother and silly stepsister, who inherited all of her father's estate. Kate is thrust from the cinders to the spotlight when her stepsister needs a stand-in for a betrothal ball at Pomeroy Castle. Gabriel, youngest princeling of the duchy of Warl-Marburg-Baalsfeld, needs a rich wife to support his archeology habit; Kate is, of course, manifestly unsuitable. Eccentric turns from Professor Biggitstiff, a pickle-eating dog, and an irrepressible godmother spin a candy floss comic romp around a core of heartache. James's deft touch allows the characters to shine through genuinely witty dialogue and an uncluttered plot. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 07/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

VanderMeer's seventh collection (after Secret Lives) is a fine introduction to one of our very best contemporary practitioners of the fantastic. In the dark "The Third Bear," an isolated medieval town is beset by a monster that uses the bodies of its victims to create a grisly work of art. "Finding Sonoria" concerns a down-on-his-luck PI hired to find a country that issued a postage stamp but apparently does not exist. The intensely surreal "The Situation" takes place in a company torn by bizarre office politics and dedicated to body modification and the construction of beetles and flying manta rays. "The Goat Variations" is a sophisticated alternate history in which a newly elected U.S. president is briefed on a startling scientific breakthrough with origins not of this world. Fans of slipstream and the interstitial will relish VanderMeer's superb prose, overwhelmingly odd situations, and fascinating, eccentric characters. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 07/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Seventeen-year-old engineering genius Kiram Kir-Zaki is the first full-blooded Haldiim to attend the Cadeleonian Academy Sagrada, and he knows they only admitted him in hopes of winning the Crown Challenge scientific competition. The uptight Cadeleonians stick him with the only roommate he can't corrupt with his heathen ways: Javier Tornesal, cursed by the evil powers of the white hell. The two are instantly attracted, but they must resist and hide their romance as Javier protects Kiram and helps him train for the competition. Then Kiram's uncle Rafie and his husband, the mystic Alizadeh, reveal secrets that could tear the boys—and the country—apart. An intricate world, well-integrated social issues, believable sexual encounters, and an interesting mystery make this dense, languorous tale appealing for any fan of romantic fantasy. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Born into a crumbling society plagued by zombies, all 15-year-old Temple knows is to kill or be killed. When she is assaulted at a safe house, she murders her human attacker, Abraham Todd, and runs from his vengeful brother, Moses. Temple soon acquires a traveling partner, a slow mute by the name of Maury, and begrudgingly takes responsibility for his care, remembering a young boy she swore to protect but couldn't save. Fleeing Moses, the "meatskins," and her own battered conscience, Temple still finds moments of simple joy in the brutal world. Bell (a pseudonym for Joshua Gaylord, author of Hummingbirds) has created an exquisitely bleak tale and an unforgettable heroine whose eye for beauty and aching need for redemption somehow bring wonder into a world full of violence and decay. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink

Stoker winner Straub pays a deliciously macabre visit to the universe of his expansive Blue Rose trilogy (Koko, Mystery, The Throat). In attics ("Blue Rose"), movie theaters ("The Juniper Tree"), sickrooms ("Bunny Is Good Bread"), and the jungles of Vietnam ("The Ghost Village"), a touch of the supernatural heightens the horror of purely human cruelty that turns innocents into victims and warps victims into monsters. Though newcomers will find the collection easily accessible, Blue Rose fans will especially enjoy the further exploration of familiar characters and their horribly formative childhood years. Readers of dark fiction will not want to miss this chilling addition to Straub's extensive bibliography. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/21/2010 | Release date: 08/01/2010 | Details & Permalink