The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

Out this week from Titan Books (£7.99): The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff. This is the first volume of a new urban fantasy series from the author of The Blood Books.

“The Gale family can change the world with the charms they cast, and they like to keep this in the family. Alysha Gale is tired of having all her aunts try to run her life, both personally and magically. So when the letter from her Gran arrives willing her a ‘junk’ shop in Calgary, Alysha jumps at the chance. It isn't until she gets there that she realizes her customers are fey. And no one told her there's trouble brewing in Calgary – trouble so big that even calling in the family may not save the day...”

Innocence by Dean Koontz

Innocence by Dean Koontz is out now from Harper Collins (£18.99):

“Addison Goodheart is not like other people … Addison Goodheart lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from a society which will destroy him if he is ever seen.

Books are his refuge and his escape: he embraces the riches they have to offer. By night he leaves his hidden chambers and, through a network of storm drains and service tunnels, makes his way into the central library. And that is where he meets Gwyneth, who, like Addison, also hides her true appearance and struggles to trust anyone.

But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance – and nothing less than destiny – has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.”

Midkemia: The Chronicles of Pug by Raymond Feist

The world of Raymond Feist is beautifully depicted in Midkemia: The Chronicles of Pug (available from Harper Voyager £20) an illustrated deluxe compendium, complete with maps, character drawings, and first-person narrative text.

“‘In the first year of the reign of King Lyam conDoin, I, Pug of Crydee, magician to the royal court and cousin to the King by adoption, do take quill in hand and set forth this writ, that all may benefit from the knowledge I have gained…’ – Pug of Stardock

So begins the narrative account of Feist’s best-selling character, Pug of Stardock, for Midkemia Atlas. Part travel log/journal and part atlas, this visual compendium brings the world of Midkemia to illustrative life.

Starting at the Far Coast, the Pug, the hero of The Chaoswar Trilody, recounts his childhood, before he embarks on a journey that takes him to the Grey Towers, Sorcerer’s Isle, and Krondor. Pug also encounters several favourite characters and people along the way – including Jimmy and Locky, the Sauur, and Erik and Roo in Ravernburg.”

The Echo by James Smythe

The Echo by James Smythe, the sequel to The Explorer, is out next week from Harper Voyager (£16.99):

The disappearance of the spaceship Ishiguro twenty-three years ago devastated the global space program and set back exploration for a generation. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of twin brothers Mira and Tomas Hyvonen, the program has been resurrected. Spearheading a new age of human discovery, the brothers also hope to solve the mystery behind the Ishiguro's disastrous mission.

Mira and Tomas are determined to make their trip successful. They have arranged everything down to the smallest detail. Nothing has been overlooked. They don't know that in space, the devil isn't always in the details ... and nothing goes according to plan.

Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea by Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts and artist Mahendra Singh have revisited Jules Verne's classic SF novel with Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea (now available from Gollancz £16.99).

“It is 1958 and France's first nuclear submarine, Plongeur, leaves port for the first of its sea trials. On board, gathered together for the first time, one of the navy's most experienced captains and a tiny skeleton crew of sailors, engineers and scientists.

The Plongeur makes her first dive and goes down, and down and down... Out of control, the submarine plummets to a depth where the pressure will crush her hull, killing everyone on board, and beyond. The pressure builds, the hull protests, the crew prepare for death, the boat reaches the bottom of the sea and finds ... nothing.

Her final dive continues, the pressure begins to relent, but the depth gauge is useless. They have gone miles down. Hundreds of miles, thousands...

And so it goes on. And on board the crew succumb to madness, betrayal, religious mania and murder. Has the Plongeur left the limits of our world and gone elsewhere?”

Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea contains 33 full page pen and ink illustrations by Mahendra Singh.

Fantasycon 2014: Charlaine Harris announced as GoH

FantasyCon 2014 has announced that Charlaine Harris will be joining as a Guest of Honour at FantasyCon in York from the 5th-7th September, 2014. She joins existing Guests of Honour, Kate Elliott, Larry Rostant and Toby Whithouse.

Charlaine is a New York Times bestselling author, who has been writing for over thirty years. She is perhaps best known as the creator of the Sookie Stackhouse series of urban fantasy novels, which have been translated into over thirty languages, and which were adapted by HBO as the TV series, True Blood. Her new novel - Midnight Crossroad - is published by Gollancz in May 2014.

The Shape Stealer by Lee Carroll

The Shape Stealer by Lee Carroll (Bantam £8.99 – out this week) is the final volume in the urban fantasy trilogy that began with Black Swan Rising:

“Garet James is the watchtower – the last in a long line of powerful women sworn to protect our world from evil. She once defeated the malign sorcerer Dr Dee, but her pursuit of the man she loves – the centuries-old vampire Will Hughes – has unleashed another ages-old entity into our time – a being that threatens everything and everyone.

His name is Marduk and he is the descendant of a demonic Babylonian deity. Now abroad in Paris, he has sought out the villainous John Dee and they have hatched a plan together that will create chaos and ensure ruin. And it will fall to Garet to confront this new threat. Around her she gathers a band of modern-day knights – a brotherhood dedicated to preserving the sanctity of the time-line. But there are others out there who would see Garet fail and who will stop at nothing to bring an end to everything she – and we – hold dear...”

Winter by William Horwood

Winter, a Hyddenworld novel, by William Horwood is out now (Macmillan £18.99). This is the last instalment of Horwood’s fantasy quartet. 

"Storms rage as the worst winter in living memory ravages the human and Hydden worlds. The prophesied End of Days is here and the universe is dying, yet only a few are even aware of the forces at work.

Jack and Katherine must help their friend Bedwyn Stort halt this chaos by locating the last gem of Winter, something only he can do. Then it must be returned to the Earth’s unwilling guardian, their daughter Judith. She will need it to try and reignite the fires of the universe.

Yet Stort is riddled with uncertainty. He yearns for Judith, as she does for him, but a love between mortal and immortal cannot be. To find the gem, he must solve this conundrum and vanquish death itself. But can he really lead mortalkind to salvation?”

The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley

The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley is the first book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne sequence (Tor £16.99) – published on 2 January 2014.

“The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy. His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.

Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to the empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?”

The Descent by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu’s supernatural trilogy — that began with The Taker — comes to a conclusion with The Descent (Arrow £7.99). Out in a day or so:

“Lanore McIlvrae encounters Adair, her powerful nemesis. Dismayed by Adair’s otherworldly powers and afraid of his passionate temper, Lanore has run from him across time, even imprisoning him behind a wall for two centuries to save Jonathan, her eternal love. But instead of punishing her for her betrayal, Adair declared his love for Lanore once more and set her free.

Now, Lanore has tracked Adair to his mystical island home to ask for one last favour. The Queen of the Underworld is keeping Jonathan as her consort, and Lanore wants Adair to send her to the hereafter so that she may beg for his release. Will she honour her promise to return to Adair? Or is her true intention to be reunited with Jonathan at any cost?”