Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

Raven Calls by C.E. Murphy

Murphy’s seventh Walker Papers urban fantasy (after Spirit Dances) shakes things up nicely. Shaman Joanne Walker has resigned from the police force after being bitten by a werewolf. Feeling called to Ireland, Jo trades in romantic interest Mike Morrison and Seattle’s cityscape for her old pal Gary Muldoon and encounters with the Morrígan and wild banshees, slowly learning about her new werewolf abilities as she goes. Some fans might be frustrated that Jo and Mike are separated so soon after finally getting their romantic opportunity, but it’s a crafty decision on Murphy’s part, forcing Jo to focus on immediate threats and the continuing revelations about her heritage. A few twists lead to a cliffhanger ending to set up book eight. Fans of the series will enjoy this chapter, while new readers should be able to put together enough of the backstory to jump on board. –Publishers Weekly

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

When the niece of a woman once dear to him is murdered by a demon, Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, the last of the true ghul (ghoul) hunters, leaves his precious retirement to track down the killers. Enlisting the help of old adventuring friends—the mage Dawoud and his alchemist wife Litaz, as well as his assistant, the passionately fanatic young dervish Raseed bas Raseed—Adoulla scours the great city of Dhamsawaat for clues to the identity of the infamous Orshado, the ghul of ghuls, who threatens to destroy the world. Also joining the hunt is Zamia, a young tribeswoman gifted with the ability to take the form of a lioness, who seeks revenge for the massacre of her entire tribe.

VERDICT Set in a quasi­ Middle Eastern city and populated with the supernatural creatures of Arab folklore, this long-awaited debut by a finalist for the Nebula and Campbell awards brings The Arabian Nights to sensuous life. The maturity and wisdom of Ahmed’s older protagonists are a delightful contrast to the brave impulsiveness of their younger companions. This trilogy launch will delight fantasy lovers who enjoy flawed but honorable protagonists and a touch of the exotic. –Library Journal, Starred Review

Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm

A war is brewing between angels and demons in this twisty, fast-paced, and thoroughly enjoyable urban fantasy debut. Sam Thornton is a Collector: he takes souls from the damned and sends them into eternal misery. It should be straightforward to collect the soul of 17-year-old mass murderer Kate MacNeil, but something isn’t right; her soul is too pure. Collection of an innocent soul can throw off the balance of good and evil and spark a chain of events that leads to the end of the world, biblical style. Sam’s convinced that Kate’s been set up, but determining who is behind it is deadly business. With both Heaven and Hell chasing him down, Sam’s in a race against time to save Kate and stop Armageddon. Sam is a likable antihero, pleasantly human despite being unquestionably damned, and the politics of Heaven and Hell provide plenty of material for sequels. –Publishers Weekly

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

In Dhamsawaat, chief city of the Cres­cent Moon Kingdoms, Doctor Adoulla Makhslood has devoted his life to hunting and destroying ghuls, constructs brewed from bones, sand and bugs and animated by the vile blood-magic of evil sorcerers. Now fat, old and weary, Adoulla endeavors to ignore the power strug­gle developing between the cruel, despotic, aloof Khalif and the elusive, magic-powered Robin Hood-style thief who calls himself the Falcon Prince. But when the family of his old flame-turned-brothel keeper Miri is slaughtered by ghuls, Adoulla sets aside his teacup, summons his young assistant, Raseed, a deadly but naive warrior dervish steeped in the religion of his sect, and by the will of God steels himself for another battle. Tracking the ghuls into the desert, Adoulla and Raseed come upon a young girl, Zamia, whose entire family have also been slaughtered by the ghuls. Zamia, a shapeshifter who can take the form of a huge golden lioness with silver claws, proves more than adept at killing ghuls, but her femininity and forwardness deeply trouble the pious and traditional Raseed. Equally disturbing to Adoulla is the sheer sor­cerous power necessary to create such terrible ghuls, and indica­tions that the Falcon Prince is somehow involved. Adoulla, while no fan of the vicious Khalif, refuses to endorse a disastrous civil war. As you might expect, the Arabian Nights theme dominates, and in language, style and approach, Ahmed carries it off with only minor slips into American vernacular. Equally impressive are characters who struggle not only against their opponents but against their own misgivings and desires, and accept that victory may be achieved only at great personal cost. An arresting, sumptuous and thoroughly satisfying debut. –Kirkus, Starred Review

Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

Beginning of a new historical-fantasy trilogy, set in the same Mongol Khanate-style universe as the short novel Bone and Jewel Creatures (2010). Along the Celadon Highway, the empire of the Great Khagan is embroiled in civil war. A grandson, Temur, supported his defeated elder brother in terrible battles against his usurping uncle Qori Buqa. In the country of the Eternal Sky, a moon sails in the heavens for each of Mongke Khagan’s sons and grandsons. Once there were over a hundred, now less than a third remain, Temur’s Iron Moon among them. Though badly wounded, Temur survives, attaches himself to one of the wandering clans of the steppes and takes Edene as his woman. Meanwhile Qori Buqa allies himself with al-Sepehr, an ambitious renegade blood-sorcerer cultist of the Uthman Caliphate. Al-Sepehr raises an army of ghosts to kill Temur, but fails; instead the sorcerer snatches Edene and brings her to his stronghold of Al-Din. Meanwhile, Samarkar, a wizard of Tsarepheth in the Rasan Empire, where another, less bloody, power struggle is going on, learns of sorcerous doings in the city Qeshqer and travels to investigate. Here she meets Temur, who’s searching for Edene. They will be joined by Hrahima, a huge human-tiger Cho-tse, who has traveled from Ctesifon with more bad news. The Khagan Empire is Temur’s to claim-if he can survive the plots of Qori Buqa.

This lean, sinewy, visceral narrative, set forth in extraordinarily vivid prose full of telling detail, conveys a remarkable sense of time and place, where the characters belong to the landscape and whose personalities derive naturally from it. Though the book is not self-contained, Bear provides this opener with enough of a resolution to satisfy while whetting the appetite for more. Gripping, perfectly balanced and highly recommended. –Kirkus, Starred Review