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Publication Order of Paranormal Scene Investigations Books
The Anthology at the End of the Universe (By: Stephen Baxter,John Shirley,Adam-Troy Castro,Lawrence Watt-Evans,Adam Roberts,Susan Sizemore,Mark W. Tiedemann,Jacqueline Carey,Vox Day,Cory Doctorow,A.M. Dellamonica,Glenn Yeffeth,Selina Rosen,Amy Berner,Maria Alexander,Marguerite Krause,Bruce Bethke,Don DeBrandt,Marie-Catherine Caillava,Mike Byrne)
Laura Anne Gilman is an editor, a teacher and a writer with more than twenty novels. She is originating from New Jersey (USA), born and raised in the late 1960’s in the suburban parts of the city. Living in that same place, she has only endured moderate trauma, but some good times as well, before going to Skidmore College. After graduation and receiving “Liberal Art” education, she was given an opportunity to choose between grad school and employment. As many young people tend to do, the lure of a paycheck drove her to New York City where she began working in publishing. Eventually she went up to the position of Executive Editor at New American Library/Penguin (USA). Meanwhile, she was spending sleepless nights and restless weekends trying to get her writing career going. As much as she loved her career and had spent fifteen years of dedicated work, in 2004 she decided to quit her ongoing editor position and became a freelancer, never looking back again. Laura Anne Gilman is a member of the BookView Café, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and Novelist, Inc.
Laura’s writing is based around urban fantasy and science fiction topics. She is the author of the “Cosa Nostradamus” books for Luna (“Retrievers” and “Paranormal Scene Investigations” series), a young-adult fiction trilogy for Harper Collins and the Vineart War books from Pocket, while continuing to write and sell short fiction. Cosa Nostradamus is a world where magic is alive and existing in a modern age, and it is a name given to the entire magical community presented in the book. The main characters appearing are Wren Valere, the Retriever, and her cohorts Sergei Didier and the demon P.B. Another character worth mentioning who appears in the following Retriever novels is Bonnie, a paranormal investigator. Bonnie appears in the “Retrievers” series and has much wider appearance in “Paranormal Scene Investigations”.
For this article I have chosen the first two books of the “Vineart War” trilogy, with a brief description.
“Flesh and Fire” is the first book, that won a Nebula reward, of “The Vineart War” trilogy published in October 2009. It represents a science fiction novel which doesn’t have a storyline typically prevalent in other books of such. The topic in this particular novel centers on wine, a magical wine. The book has been hailed as “something wholly new” and “extraordinary” in starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. “Flesh and Fire” is as intoxicating as the finest wines, and as powerful as magic itself.
Storyline
Once upon a time, in the “Vin Lands” existed prince-mages, men of great influence and unlimited power in the way of spell wines. They used their positions to further their own interest and fight against each other, for the sake of increasing their power and wealth. A demigod (Sin Washer), not satisfied by that fact, wanted to restore the balance of power in mortal men. For that cause he came down to earth to break the bonds between the prince-mages and their precious wines. Wisely he replaced the primary wines with secondary, which were less powerful, but still potent. As the years passed by, these wines were kept closely guarded by the Vinearts.
Their job was to use the magic within the wines, within themselves as well, to use the wines for good. The Master Vineart “Malech” has been tending grapes and crafting spell wines for years, honing his craft and improving the lives of those within the lands he lived in. But something evil, filthy and mysterious is brewing in the Vin Lands. The Master senses the interference and works silently to combat it. He seeks hope in a young slave in his vineyard named Jerzy. Jerzy seems to have the inherent qualities of a Vineart, but Master Malech will need more than an ordinary Vineart to combat the rising evil. The time is running short, and the craft is complex. Jerzy must learn the ways of the craft in no time to wash away the fear in the land…
“Weight of Stone” is the second book in the “Vineart War” trilogy, published in October 2010 – The same month as the previous part and the following part. Is it a coincidence? Isn’t it wine made in October? Anyways, it continues the story of the like-able slave Jerzy in his fight for restoring order…
Storyline
At the beginning, Jerzy (now a former slave) is sent by his master to investigate strange happening. In the unfortunate line of events, we encounter Jerzy as a fugitive from justice. The reasons are the accusations of him being an apostate (breaking the command of Sin Washer). Before he could be executed, he had been rescued by Ao (who lives for commerce and the art of the deal) and Mahault (stoic and wise), his good friends, doing so avoiding the penalty of death. Running from the “Washers”, Jerzy ends up being left into unfamiliar surroundings for him and his two companions. Wondering on the open sea, they are discovered by Kainam, former heir to Atakus, the great trading port of the Lands Vin. Kainam too has felt the evil that seems to be lurking and growing stronger by second, and chose to leave and discover its origin and roots, rather than hide and settle for it, as those on his island home have done.
The group gets even stronger with the fourth member. Jerzy finds sufficient new courage and eventually returns to the Berengia, and to Master Malech. Unlikely, not everything is moving in a good way, as we are being introduced to the source of “the Taint” in this second book. People who are cast-offs with a leader named Ximen and a Vine-Mage (one of the few survivors) has out a living in a far away land known as the Abandoned Land. While most of the inhabitants of the community are ignorant of their master’s plans, both lord Ximen and the Vine-Mage have intentions that could possibly threaten the very safety of the entire Lands Vin. Again, Jerzy and Master Malech are put to the test and are forced to stop the evil doings of others, this time with their new found companions who will assist them in making their ultimate goal.
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Not A Word is the latest chilling thriller written by Linwood Barcly. A man visits his parents house only to discover them dead. What appears to be a murder-suicide is apparently so much more. And just as the man is taking it all in, he receives a phone call that's going to change everything.
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Are you a Jack Reacher fan? If so, you absolutely have to read the Peter Ash series by author Nick Petrie.
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