Waiting on Wednesday

This is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming books.



This week we're featuring picks chosen by SQT and Jim.



Jim's Pick:



Armored ed. by John Joseph Adams Publisher: Baen Publication Date: 3/27/2012 Pages: 496



PART HUMAN. PART MACHINE. ALL SOLDIER.



Decades ago, Starship Troopers captivated readers with its vision of a future war in which power armored soldiers battled giant insects on hostile alien planets. Today, with the success of Iron Man, Halo, and Mechwarrior—and with real robotic exoskeletons just around the corner—the idea of super-powered combat armor and giant mecha has never been more exciting and relevant.



Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams brings you the first-ever original anthology of power armor fiction. Join leading SF authors Jack Campbell, Brandon Sanderson, Tanya Huff, Daniel H. Wilson, Alastair Reynolds, Carrie Vaughn, and others as they explore the limits of what a soldier of the future might become—with the aid of the right equipment.



Imagine power armored warriors battling at the bottom of the sea, or on nightmarish alien worlds, or in the darkest depths of space. Imagine armor that’s as smart as you are, armor that might keep on fighting even after you’re no longer willing … or able.



The possibilities are endless, but some facts remain constant: The soldier of the future will be fast. The soldier of the future will be deadly. The soldier of the future will be ARMORED.



Table of Contents



•Foreword— Orson Scott Card •Introduction— John Joseph Adams •The Johnson Maneuver — Ian Douglas •Hel’s Half-Acre — Jack Campbell •Jungle Walkers — David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell •The Last Run of the Coppelia — Genevieve Valentine •Death Reported of Last Surviving Veteran of Great War — Dan Abnett •The Cat’s Pajamas — Jack McDevitt •Find Heaven and Hell in the Smallest Things — Simon R. Green •Power Armor: A Love Story — David Barr Kirtley •The Last Days of the Kelly Gang — David D. Levine •Field Test — Michael A. Stackpole •Trauma Pod — Alastair Reynolds •Contained Vacuum — David Sherman •You Do What You Do — Tanya Huff •Nomad — Karin Lowachee •Human Error — John Jackson Miller •Transfer of Ownership — Christie Yant •Heuristic Algorithm and Reasoning Response Engine — Ethan Skarstedt & Brandon Sanderson •Don Quixote — Carrie Vaughn •The Poacher — Wendy N. Wagner & Jak Wagner •The Green — Lauren Beukes •Sticks and Stones — Robert Buettner •Helmet — Daniel H. Wilson •The N-Body Solution — Sean Williams 



Many of my favorite authors writing military sci-fi using the giant robot theme... I am -SO- there.



SQT's pick:

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin

304 pages

Publication Date: April 24, 2012





You will kill. The only question is when.



In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.



Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.



Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.



I've seen this one featured on WoW before, and it does look interesting. I'm slightly apprehensive because it's being published by Harlequin and I'm not a huge romance reader. That said, the description indicates that the vampires of this world are actually monsters. Here's hoping they stay that way...