James Gunn - Tor/Forge Blog

New Releases: 6/20/17

June 20, 2017May 10, 2024torforge

Happy New Release Day! Here’s what went on sale today.

opens in a new windowPerilous Prophecy by Leanna Renee Hieber

opens in a new window Cairo in the 1860s is a bustling metropolis where people from all walks of life mix and mingle, mostly in complex harmony. When evil ghosts and unquiet spirits stalk the city’s streets, the Guard are summoned—six young men and women of different cultures, backgrounds, and faiths, gifted by their Goddess with great powers.

While others of the Guard embrace their duties, their leader, British-born Beatrice, is gripped by doubt. What right has she, a bookish, sheltered, eighteen-year-old, to lead others into battle? Why isn’t dark-eyed, compelling Ibrahim, who is stronger of will than Beatrice, the one in charge?

opens in a new windowPutin’s Gambit by Lou Dobbs and James O. Born

opens in a new window Adjusting to civilian life has not been easy for former Marine Derek Walsh. As he navigates a brutal job on Wall Street and a challenging romance, he wonders if he could be doing more with his life. When an inexplicable $200 million dollar money transfer is made on his computer, he is thrust into the world of international terror, and the global economy is knocked off its hinges.

opens in a new windowShattered Minds by Laura Lam

opens in a new window Carina used to be one of the best biohackers in Pacifica. But when she worked for Sudice and saw what the company’s experiments on brain recording were doing to their subjects, it disturbed her—especially because she found herself enjoying giving pain and contemplating murder. She quit and soon grew addicted to the drug Zeal, spending most of her waking moments in a horror-filled dream world where she could act out her depraved fantasies without actually hurting anyone.

opens in a new windowTransformation by James Gunn

opens in a new window Riley and Asha have traveled across the galaxy, found the Transcendental Machine, and been translated into something more than human. They’ve returned to Earth and won over the artificial intelligence which once tried to destroy the Transcendental Machine.

Now they must save the fringes of the Federation.

NEW FROM TOR.COM

opens in a new windowMapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

opens in a new window Blackfeet author Stephen Graham Jones brings readers a spine-tingling Native American horror novella.

Walking through his own house at night, a fifteen-year-old thinks he sees another person stepping through a doorway. Instead of the people who could be there, his mother or his brother, the figure reminds him of his long-gone father, who died mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows it he discovers his house is bigger and deeper than he knew.

NEW IN MANGA:

opens in a new windowHoly Corpse Rising Vol. 3 Story and art by Hosana Tanaka

opens in a new windowOtome Mania!! Vol. 1 Story and art by Yurino Tsukigase

New Releases

New Releases: 3/22/16

March 22, 2016May 10, 2024torforge

Here’s what went on sale today!

opens in a new windowTransgalactic by James Gunn

opens in a new window When Riley and Asha finally reached the planet Terminal and found the Transcendental Machine, a matter transmission device built by an ancient race, they chose to be “translated.” Now in possession of intellectual and physical powers that set them above human limitations, the machine has transported them to two, separate, unknown planets among a possibility of billions.

Riley and Asha know that together they can change the galaxy, so they attempt to do the impossible–find each other.

opens in a new windowWorld’s End by Will Elliot

opens in a new window When Eric Albright, a luckless London slacker, and his pal Stuart Casey went through a battered red door under a railway bridge, the last thing they expected to find was another world. There lay the strange, dark realm of Levaal, whose tyrant lord Vous has ascended to godhood. The great wall which has divided the land has been brought down, setting loose a horde of demonic Tormentors. In their sky prisons, the dragons are stirring, set to defy their slumbering creator and steal humanity’s world.

NOW IN PAPERBACK:

opens in a new windowTut: The Story of My Immortal Life by P.J. Hoover

opens in a new window Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life is a funny, fast-paced novel for young readers by P. J. Hoover which chronicles the mischievous adventures of King Tut, now an immortal eighth-grader living in Washington, D.C..

King Tut used to rule Egypt. Now he’s stuck in Middle School.

NEW IN MANGA:

opens in a new windowServamp Vol. 5 by Strike Tanaka

opens in a new window When a stray black cat named Kuro crosses Mahiru Shirota’s path, the high school freshman’s life will never be the same again. Kuro is, in fact, no ordinary feline, but a servamp: a servant vampire. While Mahiru’s personal philosophy is one of non-intervention, he soon becomes embroiled in an ancient, altogether surreal conflict between vampires and humans.

opens in a new windowSee upcoming releases.

Excerpts

Sneak Peek: Transgalactic by James Gunn

February 29, 2016May 10, 2024torforge

When Riley and Asha finally reached the planet Terminal and found the Transcendental Machine, a matter transmission device built by an ancient race, they chose to be “translated.” Now in possession of intellectual and physical powers that set them above human limitations, the machine has transported them to two, separate, unknown planets among a possibility of billions.

Riley and Asha know that together they can change the galaxy, so they attempt to do the impossible–find each other. We hope you enjoy this excerpt of opens in a new windowTransgalactic by opens in a new windowJames Gunn.

CHAPTER ONE

Riley woke up.

He was standing, alone and naked, in a dark, closed space.

“Asha?” he called, but he knew she wasn’t there.

What's New

Starred Review: Transcendental by James Gunn

August 13, 2013May 15, 2024torforge

“Impeccably plotted, with absorbing human and alien characters and back stories, Gunn’s narrative expertly cranks up the tension and paranoia as, piece by piece, answers emerge…Gunn’s best in years—quite possibly his best ever.”

James Gunn’s Transcendental got a starred review in Kirkus Reviews!*

Here’s the full review, from the August 1st issue:

First novel in quite a while (Gift from the Stars, 2005, etc.) from writer/anthologist Gunn.

A galactic civilization, weary of centuries of war—the latest caused by upstart humans intruding on space occupied by other alien races—tries to get on with business despite the stultifying bureaucracy that seems to run things. War veteran Riley, at loose ends following the conflict, accepts a job offer from powerful and mysterious employers—who implant in his head a know-it-all artificial intelligence which he cannot remove and which has the means to force him to obey instructions. He will join beings from many different worlds aboard a ship guided by an unknown prophet who can help them achieve transcendence. Riley’s orders, however, are to kill the prophet rather than permit aliens to transcend. Deadly violence flares among the travelers, however, before the ship even departs. The captain, Hamilton Jones, with whom Riley served during the war, admits he doesn’t know their destination and periodically receives new coordinates from somebody aboard. Among Riley’s fellow travelers are Tordor, a massive, heavy-planet alien; the weasellike Xi; an intelligent plant known as 4107; and Asha, a human female who needs no sleep and has other strange capabilities. As the ship heads for the Great Gulf between the galaxy’s spiral arms, the travelers—like Riley, most, if not all, have hidden agendas—relate tales of themselves and their races. But violence is a constant threat; the tales may be simple truth, calculated disinformation or anything in between. And why are Riley’s employers so intent on stopping the prophet? Impeccably plotted, with absorbing human and alien characters and back stories, Gunn’s narrative expertly cranks up the tension and paranoia as, piece by piece, answers emerge.

Gunn’s best in years—quite possibly his best ever.

Transcendental will be published on August 27.

Kirkus is a subscription-only website.