Oct 112015

URBAN FANTASY (and choice associated fictions) publishing Jul-Dec 15!

We love our Urban Fantasy here at Carabas and one of the sub-genre’s we particularly focus on, having appeal both to genre fans and mainstream readers. So here’s a round-up of the great UF books and graphic novels publishing from July to December 2015!

NB. This is pretty comprehensive round-up of the UK scene though necessarily arbitrary in some inclusions and omissions. As mentioned elsewhere we tend to assume that anyone looking for their next paranormal romance and / or vampire-werewolf led read will know exactly where to find it. This isn’t an attempt to define the sub-genre and while I’m more than happy to hear about obvious omissions we all have to draw a line somewhere.

*	Pub	Author	ISBN	Bind	RRP	Publisher	Series	Vol
	THE ANNIHILATION SCORE
	Jul	Charles Stross	9780356505312	HB	£16.99	Orbit	The Laundry Files	6
	NOBODY DOES IT BETTER . . .
	Dr Mo O’Brien is an intelligence agent at the top secret government agency known as ‘the Laundry’. When occult powers threaten the realm, they’ll be there to clean up the mess and deal with the witnesses.
	But the Laundry is recovering from a devastating attack and when average citizens all over the country start to develop supernatural powers, the police are called in to help. Mo is appointed as official police liaison, but in between dealing with police bureaucracy, superpowered members of the public and disgruntled politicians, Mo discovers to her horror that she can no longer rely on her marriage, nor on the weapon that has been at her side for eight years of undercover work, the possessed violin known as ‘Lecter’.
	If this wasn’t bad enough, a mysterious figure known as Dr Freudstein is committing heists and sending increasingly threatening messages to the police. Who is Freudstein and what is he planning?
	See also our Author Profile of Charles Stross on Carabas here!

	FOXGLOVE SUMMER
	Jul	Ben Aaronovitch	9780575132528	PB	£8.99	Gollancz	PC Peter Grant	5
	In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London – to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can’t take the London out of the copper.
	Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what’s more all the shops are closed by 4pm …
	You can read our preview of Foxglove Summer on Carabas here and check out our Author Profile of the fab Ben Aaronovitch here!

	THE WICKED + THE DIVINE VOLUME 2: FANDEMONIUM
	Jul	Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie	9781632153272	PB	£10.99	Image Comics	The Wicked + The Divine	2
	The second volume of the award-winning urban fantasy series where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. Following the tragic and unjust death of Lucifer, it takes a revelation from Inanna to draw Laura back into the worlds of Gods and Superstardom to try and discover the truth behind a conspiracy to subvert divinity.
	Includes issues #6-11 of the series, plus supplementary material.

	KILLING PRETTY
	Jul	Richard Kadrey	9780008121006	PB	£8.99	Harper Voyager
	James Stark has met his share of demons and angels, on earth and beyond. Now, he’s come face to face with the one entity few care to meet: Death.
	Someone has tried to kill Death – ripping the heart right out of him – or rather the body he’s inhabiting. Death needs Sandman Slim’s help: he believes anyone who can beat Lucifer and the old gods at their own game is the only one who can solve his murder.
	Stark follows a sordid trail deep into LA’s subterranean world, from vampire-infested nightclubs to talent agencies specializing in mad ghosts, from Weimar Republic mystical societies to sleazy supernatural underground fight and sex clubs. Along the way he meets a mysterious girl –distinguished by a pair of graveyard eyes – as badass as Slim: she happens to be the only person who ever outwitted Death. But escaping her demise has had dire consequences for the rest of the world . . . and a few others.
	For years, Slim has been fighting cosmic forces bent on destroying Heaven, Hell, and Earth. This time, the battle is right here on the gritty streets of the City of Angels, where a very clever, very ballsy killer lies in wait.

	VEILED
	Aug	Benedict Jacka	9780356504377	PB	£8.99	Orbit
	REBEL NO MORE
	Alex Verus is a mage who can see the future, but even he didn’t see this day coming. He’s agreed to join the Keepers, the magical police force, to protect his friends from his old master, the Dark Mage Richard Drakh.
	Going legit was always going to be difficult for an outcast like Alex, and there are some Keepers who aren’t keen to see an ex-Dark mage succeed. Especially when Dark mages are making a play for a seat on the council, for the first time in history.
	Alex finally has the law on his side — but trapped between Light and Dark politics, investigating a seedy underworld with ties to the highest of powers, will a badge be enough to save him?
	Check out our Author Profile of Benedict Jacka here!

	JOHN CONSTANTINE HELLBLAZER VOLUME 11: LAST MAN STANDING TP
	Aug	Paul Jenkins, Sean Phillips, Charles Adlard, Warren Pleece	9781401255299	PB	£18.99	Vertigo	Hellblazer	11
	In this new Hellblazer collection, John Constantine, while scouting for blackmail victims at an orgy, finds himself accidentally summoning up sinister beings known as the Mendw, with terrible consequences for an anorexic girl and her abusive father.
	Plus, cattle mutilations in Yorkshire hold no interest for Constantine, until a nosy tabloid reporter chases him out of London. Once in the country, John discovers that one of the villagers is transforming into a werewolf, but this strange case of lycanthropy is only a portent of worse things to come…
	Collects Hellblazer #108-120.

	HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D: 1952
	Aug	Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Alex Maleev, Dave Stewart	9781616556600	PB	£14.99	DARK HORSE
	A bizarre series of murders and rumours of something worse lead Professor Bruttenholm to send a young Hellboy to a Brazilian village on his first mission. Hellboy and a small group of agents uncover something terrible in the shadows of a sixteenth-century Portuguese fortress. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with acclaimed artist Alex Maleev.

	HALLOW POINT
	Aug	Ari Marmell	9781781168257	PB	£7.99	Titan Books	A Mick Oberon Job	2
	Mick Oberon may look like just another 1930s private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he’s got pointy ears and he s packing a wand. The Spear of Lugh is in Chicago. And everyone, everyone wants it, for it is said that he who carries the spear into battle cannot be defeated. Those chasing it include an agent of the infamous Wild Hunt; a mobster who knows far more about these things than he should; and of course both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts- the very last people PI Mick Oberon would want getting hold of the spear…

	B.P.R.D HELL ON EARTH VOL. 11
	Oct	Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, James Harren, Dave Stewart	9781616557621	PB	£14.99	DARK HORSE	BPRD Hell on Earth	11
	Things seem to be going well for the B.P.R.D. With their alliance with the military, they now have all the munitions they need and, compared to what they faced in New York, an easy mission to clear a small town. But the town has strange connections to Howards’ past as a prehistoric warrior, and more than its share of monsters. This volume collects B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #125-#129.

	JIM BUTCHER’S DRESDEN FILES DOWN TOWN
	Oct	Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Carlos Gomez	9781606907009	HB	£18.99	Dynamite Comics	Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files
	Chicago wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden and his new apprentice, Molly Carpenter, intend to end the havoc caused by a mad sorcerer – one whose ambitions would have the Windy City streets carved out as his own private kingdom. But when the magical upstart enters into an alliance with the notorious mob boss “Gentleman Johnnie” Marcone, will the fast-and-loose Dresden and his young charge survive unscathed?
	This graphic novel collects the critically acclaimed, six-issue series in one volume, and features a bonus section with Jim Butcher’s original story outline, sketchbook artwork from Carlos Gomez, cover gallery with roughs from Stjepan Sejic, and more!

	THE HANGING TREE
	Nov	Ben Aaronovitch	9780575132559	HB	£14.99	Gollancz	PC Peter Grant	6
	Another gripping and hilarious adventure through the secret streets of London. A tour of what remains and an insight into what once was with a liberal sprinkling of folklore, myth and violent crime. Each of Ben Aaronovitch’s previous Peter Grant novels have been Sunday Times Top Ten HB bestsellers and The Hanging Tree looks set to repeat the feat.
	The Hanging Tree was the Tyburn gallows which stood where Marble Arch stands today. Oxford Street was the last trip of the condemned. Somethings don’t change. The place has a bloody and haunted legacy and now blood has returned to the empty Mayfair mansions of the world’s super-rich. And blood mixed with magic is a job for Peter Grant.
	Peter Grant is back as are Nightingale et al at the Folly and the various river gods, ghosts and spirits who attach themselves to England’s last wizard and the Met’s reluctant investigator of all things supernatural.

	WOLF VOL. 1
	Nov	Ales Kot, Matt Taylor	9781632155023	PB	£7.50	Image Comics
	Bestselling new star writer ALES KOT teams up with white-hot artist MATT TAYLOR and the Deadly Class colorist extraordinaire LEE LOUGHRIDGE for an all-new SERIES! The crime noir thrills and characters reminiscent of True Detective meet with mythical stakes worthy of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in this original fantasy/horror/crime saga for mature readers.
	Antoine Wolfe, a hard-boiled paranormal detective with a death wish, has to cope with sudden responsibility for an orphaned teenage girl who might be the key to the impending apocalypse-California style. The road to hell and back begins in our first volume, priced at just £7.50!