![](\"http:\/\/ec5.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41o8g768EOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived at the Geek Compound. <\/p>\n
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Robopocalypse<\/span><\/a> Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies\u2026Now they\u2019re coming for you.<\/p>\n \nIn the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans \u2013 a single mother disconcerted by her daughter\u2019s menacing \u201csmart\u201d toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a \u2018pacification unit\u2019 go haywire \u2013 but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.<\/p>\n When the Robot War ignites \u2014 at a moment known later as Zero Hour \u2014 humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us\u2026and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.<\/p>\n \n Steelhands<\/span><\/a> Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n With Havemercy<\/span><\/a>, Shadow Magic<\/span><\/a>, and Dragon Soul<\/span><\/a>, the acclaimed writing team of Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett has fused magic and technology into something that can only be termed \u201cmagicpunk.\u201d Their distinctive style, featuring a chorus of quirky first-person narrators and brilliantly sophisticated world-building, has won these young writers the plaudits of fans and critics.<\/p>\n In the Volstov capital of Thremedon, Owen Adamo, the hard-as-nails ex\u2013Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps, learns that Volstov\u2019s ruler, the Esar, has been secretly pursuing the possibility of resurrecting magically powered sentient robot dragons\u2014even at the risk of igniting another war. That Adamo will not allow. Though he is not without friends\u2014Royston, a powerful magician, and Balfour, a former corpsman\u2014there is only so much Adamo and his allies can do. Adamo has been put out to pasture, given a professorship at the University. Royston, already exiled once, dares not risk the Esar\u2019s wrath a second time. And Balfour, who lost both hands in the climactic battle of the war, is now a diplomat who spends most of his time trying to master his new hands\u2014metal replacements that operate on the same magical principles as the dragons and have earned him an assortment of nicknames of which \u201cSteelhands\u201d is the least offensive.<\/p>\n But sometimes help comes where you least expect it. In this case, from two first-year university students freshly arrived in Thremedon from the country: Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fianc\u00e9, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be\u2019s clothes than her bed. When a mysterious illness strikes the first-year students, Laurence takes her suspicions to Adamo\u2014and unwittingly sets in motion events that will change Volstov forever.<\/p>\n \n The Goblin Corps<\/span><\/a> Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n This is an epic action-fantasy full of adventure, excitement, and drama \u2013 and all from the bad guys\u2019 points of view! Morthul, the dreaded Charnel King, has failed. Centuries of plotting from the heart of the Iron Keep \u2013 all for naught. Foiled at the last by the bumbling efforts of a laughable band of so-called heroes, brainless and over-muscled cretins without sense enough to recognize a hopeless cause when they take it on. But the so-called forces of Light have paid for their meddling with the life of Princess Amalia, the only child of the royal family of Shauntille. Now, as winter deepens, disturbing news has reached the court of Morthul. King Dororam, enraged by the murder of his only child \u2013 and accompanied by that same group of delusional upstart \u2018heroes\u2019 is assembling all the Allied Kingdoms, fielding an army unlike any seen before. Still, after uncounted centuries of survival, the Dark Lord isn\u2019t about to go down without a fight, particularly in battle against a mere mortal! No, the Charnel King still has a few tricks up his fetid sleeves, but the only thing that can defeat him now may just be the inhuman soldiers on whom he\u2019s pinned his last hopes\u2026Welcome to the Goblin Corps, may the best man lose!<\/p>\n \n Hellbent<\/span> (Cheshire Red Reports, Book 2<\/span>)<\/a> Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n BAD TO THE BONE<\/p>\n Vampire thief Raylene Pendle doesn\u2019t need more complications in her life. Her Seattle home is already overrun by a band of misfits, including Ian Stott, a blind vampire, and Adrian deJesus, an ex-Navy SEAL\/drag queen. But Raylene still can\u2019t resist an old pal\u2019s request: seek out and steal a bizarre set of artifacts. Also on the hunt is a brilliant but certifiably crazy sorceress determined to stomp anyone who gets in her way. But Raylene\u2019s biggest problem is that the death of Ian\u2019s vaunted patriarch appears to have made him the next target of some blood-sucking sociopaths. Now Raylene must snatch up the potent relics, solve a murder, and keep Ian safe\u2014all while fending off a psychotic sorceress. But at least she won\u2019t be alone. A girl could do a lot worse for a partner than an ass-kicking drag queen\u2014right?<\/p>\n Books received 5\/7\/11<\/a> was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived at the Geek Compound. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson Promo copy: They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies\u2026Now they\u2019re coming for you. In … Continue reading
\nby Daniel H. Wilson<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51n5IVoxvSL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
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\nby Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51dOqPdSX6L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
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\nby Ari Marmell
\nCover by Lucas Graciano<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51NAbYaEBdL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
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\nby Cherie Priest<\/span><\/p>\n