Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

Canticle (The Psalms of Isaak)

The sequel to Scholes’s stellar debut 2008’s Lamentation ingeniously fuses epic fantasy and postapocalyptic science fiction.

Magicked assassins kill numerous leaders from across the Named Lands and send the region into economic and political turmoil. Amid the chaos, Jin Li Tam gives birth to General Rudolfo’s son, sickly Jakob. As Rudolfo sets out in search of a cure, young Marsh Queen Winters ascends the throne of her people only to realize her past has been an elaborate lie; former Androfrancine Pope Petronus risks his life to bring some semblance of peace to the realm; and Nebios ben Hebda uncovers bombshell revelations regarding the Order’s “metal men” and the history of the Old World. Abounding in prophecy, myth and mystery, this grand-scale saga is a towering storytelling tour de force.
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

The Drowning City (The Necromancer Chronicles) by Amanda Downum. Orbit, $7.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-316-06904-5

Downum effectively combines action, magic, police procedure and political intrigue in this complex and striking debut. Isyllt Iskaldur, a Selafaïan forensic necromancer, travels to the monsoon-soaked canal city of Symir, capital of Sivahra. Her plot to undermine the occupying Assari Empire before it can invade Selafai is complicated by her attraction to handsome Imperial fire-mage Asheris. Isyllt’s bodyguard Xinai, a Sivahran native, despises the empire for its brutal destruction of her clan; young apprentice mage Zhirin Laii struggles between love for a guerrilla leader and loyalty to her mother, a respected politician. Refreshingly, Downum treats necromancy as an unclean but necessary defense against evil and nicely handles the complex nuances of a quasi-Westerner fomenting revolution in a quasi-Asian country occupied by quasi-Arabs. A strong (if not happy) conclusion still leaves plenty of room for sequels. — Publishers Weekly

Stealing Thunder (Harlequin Intrigue Series)

STEALING THUNDER (4.5) by Patricia Rosemoor: Running from the family “curse” and his family’s dictatorial methods, horse wrangler and psychic Tiernan McKenna left Ireland to find his way among his South Dakota cousins. He comes to the rescue of history teacher Ella Thunder when her past returns to haunt her. Fifteen years ago, teenage Ella watched as a mob swarmed her home, hauling her father away to be burned at the stake as a witch. She then turned her back on her own gifts, only to return as a consultant for a movie being filmed from her own textbook. It will take both of their gifts to find out who’s causing the trouble on the movie set, murdering an innocent man and drumming up suspicion against Ella among her people. Rosemoor has a first-class mystery, two spunky and dedicated characters and an innately mysterious setting. — Romantic Times

Congratulations to Jim Butcher with Turn Coat taking the #1 spot on Locus’ hardcover bestseller list! Small Favor is on the paperback list at #7.


Jay Lake’s Green is named a New And Notable book this month. The eponymous heroine of this colorful fantasy is a slave, courtesan, and assassin struggling to navigate a land of magic and political intrigue. “A complex, beautifully described world — something like a combination of steampunk and the gods of India, with an added dash of Lovecraftian horror.” [Faren Miller]

Hard Stop (Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery)

We leave California for the shores of New York’s Long Island and Chris Knopf’s Hard Stop (Permanent Press $28). The Hamptons are the haunt of retired design engineer Sam Acquillo, whose younger days in the boxing ring have left him with a head injury that could go lethal if re-injured. Brittle skull or not, Acquillo is still a physical guy who loathes walking away from a fight, especially if the other guy throws the first punch. This time out (after The Last Refuge, Two Time, and Head Wounds), Acquillo is looking for his ex-boss’s disappeared girlfriend, Iku Kinjo. At fist he simply suspects young Iku simply grew tired of her much-older lover, but when a dead body turns up, Acquillo realizes he’s walked into another case of murder. The plot, which pits defenders of intellectual property rights against predatory financiers, is brisk, but the mainstay of this book is Acquillo himself. As he says, “I used to wake up in the morning feeling a rich blend of panic and hollow despair. Now I’m merely undecided.” This noir-ish series, energized by Acquillo’s sassy one-liners, is one of the finest around. — Mystery Scene, Spring 2009