Kindle Genre Watch (11 Oct 09)

Genre fiction - as opposed to nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books - lends itself to enjoyable Kindle reading because when you pick up a book of fiction you don't necessarily expect it to be illustrated. Authors of mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, romance novels and westerns paint word pictures and their readers use their own imagination to picture the scene of the crime or the stare of a vampire or the track of an alien space craft hurtling towards earth.

Now you can spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Storeso you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases include:

FANTASY

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong. Bantam. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Being the world’s only female werewolf has its advantages, such as having her pick of the Otherworld’s most desirable males. And Elena Michaels couldn’t have picked a more dangerously sexy and undyingly loyal mate than Clayton Danvers. Now their bond will be put to the ultimate test as they follow a bloody trail of gruesome slayings deep into Alaska’s frozen wilderness." - Amazon.

A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris. Ace. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
By the author of the Southern Vampire Novels, a collection of all the Sookie Stackhouse stories ever written, including Fairy Dust, One Word Answer, Dracula Night, Lucky and Giftwrap. Sookie fans may also be interested in the "boxed" set of the entire Sookie Stackhouse 8 book series, now available in a Kindle edition. HBO viewers know Sookie as the plucky Louisiana cocktail waitress brought to life by Anna Paquin in the HBO series True Blood.

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. Ace. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either. Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power). But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic..." - www.ilona-andrews.com.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $14.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many things - wisdom, magic, and their love of teatime - but athletics is most assuredly not on the list. And so when Lord Ventinari, the city's benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university revive an erstwhile tradition and once again put forth a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff, the wizards of UU find themselves in a quandary. To begin with, they have to figure out just what it is that makes this sport - soccer with a bit of rugby thrown in-so popular with Ankh-Morporkians of all ages and social strata. Then they have to learn how to play it. Oh, and on top of that, they must win a football match without using magic." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: If you are heavy into Discworld, you're going to covet this latest title in the series. If you're new to Pratchett's comedic fantasy world, you might start with the reasonably-priced The Colour of Magic. For extensive background info on the series, see the Discworld entry in Wikipedia.

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill. NAL. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they're enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite. But should people learn about the Raves - mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle - the citizens will start sharpening their stakes. So now it's up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavory aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media. But someone doesn't want peace between them - someone with an ancient grudge..." - Amazon.

Soulless by Gail Carriger. Orbit. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Soulless is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she is being rudely attacked by a vampire to whom she has not been properly introduced! Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently... - www.gailcarriger.com.

Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel by Harry Connolly. Del Rey. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Ray Lilly is living on borrowed time. He’s the driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of the Twenty Palace Society, a group of sorcerers devoted to hunting down and executing rogue magicians. But because Ray betrayed her once, Annalise is looking for an excuse to kill him - or let someone else do the job. Unfortunately for both of them, Annalise’s next mission goes wrong, leaving her critically injured. With the little magic he controls, Ray must complete her assignment alone. Not only does he have to stop a sorcerer who’s sacrificing dozens of innocent lives in exchange for supernatural power, he must find - and destroy - the source of that inhuman magic." - Amazon.

Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. St. Martiin's. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. But not even the League is immune to corruption... Command Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League - and has been hunted by them ever since. Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father's political alliance has made her a target. As her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who treaten them the most: each other." - Amazon.

Dawnbreaker by Jocelynn Drake. Book three in the Dark Days series. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Those of her race fear Mira for the lethal fire she bends to her will - a power unique among nightwalkers, both a gift and a curse. The naturi despise Mira for what she is - as they prepare the final sacrifice that will destroy the barriers between the worlds. And once the naturi are unchained, blood, chaos, and horror will reign supreme on Earth. Mira can trust only Danaus, the more-than-mortal vampire slayer, though he is sworn to destroy her kind. And now, as the day approaches when titanic forces will duel under cover of darkness, destiny draws them toward an apocalyptic confrontation at Machu Picchu." - Amazon.

MYSTERIES/THRILLERS

Rough Country by John Sandford. Putnam. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Virgil's always been known for having a somewhat active, er, social life, but he's probably not going to be getting too many opportunities for that during his new case. While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of northern Minnesota, he gets a call from Lucas Davenport to investigate a murder at a nearby resort, where a woman has been shot while kayaking. The resort is for women only, a place to relax, get fit, recover from plastic surgery, commune with nature, and while it didn't start out to be a place mostly for those with Sapphic inclinations, that's pretty much what it is today. Which makes things all the more complicated for Virgil, because as he begins investigating, he finds a web of connections between the people at the resort, the victim, and some local women, notably a talented country singer. The more he digs, the more he discovers the arrows of suspicion that point in many directions, encompassing a multitude of motivations: jealousy, blackmail, greed, anger, fear. Then he finds that this is not the first murder..." - Amazon.

The Professional by Robert B. Parker. Putnam. Kindle edition $12.60. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"A knock on Spenser's office door can only mean one thing: a new case. This time the visitor is a local lawyer with an interesting story. Elizabeth Shaw specializes in wills and trusts at the Boston law firm of Shaw & Cartwright, and over the years she's developed a friendship with wives of very wealthy men. However, these rich wives have a mutual secret: they've all had an affair with a man named Gary Eisenhower - and now he's blackmailing them for money. Shaw hires Spenser to make Eisenhower cease and desist, so to speak, but when women start turning up dead, Spenser's assignment goes from blackmail to murder..." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: School Days, an earlier Spencer mystery.

Evidence: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine. Kindle edition $13.10. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of L.A.’s toniest neighborhoods, a watchman stumbles on the bodies of a young couple - murdered in flagrante and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he’s cracked some of the city’s worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo’s killer instincts - and psychologist Alex Delaware’s keen insights - can hope to solve. While the female victim’s identity remains a question mark, her companion is ID’d as eco-friendly architect Desmond Backer, who disdains the sort of grandiose superstructure he’s found dead in. And the late Mr. Backer, it’s revealed was also notorious for his power to seduce women. The rare exception is his ex-boss, Helga Gemein, who’s as indifferent to Desmond’s death as she apparently was to his advances. Though Milo and Alex place her on their short list of suspects, the deeper they dig for clues the longer the list grows..." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: Self-Defense, also featuring Kellerman's psychotherapist and amateur sleuth Alex Delaware.


ROMANCE

Feel the Heat by Cindy Gerard. Book four in the Black Ops, Inc. series that began with Show No Mercy. Pocket. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Bold, blonde Defense Intelligence officer B. J. Chase isn't exactly thrilled when she's summoned from personal leave to investigate an alarming national security breach - until the suspicious death of a government official blows her covert mission sky-high. Gorgeous Black Ops bad boy Raphael Mendoza always feared his family's dark history would haunt him. But he never expected it might hold the key to dismantling a rogue weapons system. Now with cool B. J. Chase posing as his hot babe fiancée, he returns to his uncle in Colombia to convince him he can be trusted with the family's dirtiest business secrets." -books.simonandschuster.com.

Make Her Pay by Roxanne St Claire. Book eight in the Bullet Catcher series. Pocket. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Bullet Catcher and former Navy SEAL Constantine Xenakis has infiltrated a dive ship to discover who's plundering priceless gems from a legendary sunken Spanish galleon. When he catches Lizzie Dare red-handed in the locked treasure room, her story of a stolen ancestral legacy convinces him to work with the sexy thief instead of turning her in - and not just because he wants to find the real culprit..." - Amazon.

Caleb by Sarah McCarty. Berkley. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Allie always desired mysterious, sexy rancher Caleb Johnson, but he never seemed to notice her. Until the night she's attacked by a vicious animal, and rescued by a shapeshifting vampire that she almost seems to recognize: the baritone growl, the mesmerizing eyes, the inexplicable animal attraction. That's because her savior is Caleb, and now he has no choice but to bring Allie into the shadows with him - to protect her from a rival werewolf pack, and to finally reveal his true feelings for the woman he's been afraid to love." - Amazon.

Sweet Seduction by Maya Banks. Berkley. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Salon owner Julie Stanford wanted Nathan Tucker ever since she gave him his first massage. Getting paid to feel every inch of his body, stripped, oiled, and spread out in front of her? Stuff dreams are made of. But the sexy guy was oblivious to the signals she was sending - until she finished off his final rub-down with something extra. In fact, the best extra he ever had. Unfortunately, he came around too late. Now Julie's moving on... It's all fun and games - until someone falls in love." - publisher.

Covet by J. R. Ward. Signet. Kindle edition $4.97. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about - his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough-talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart-and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul." - Amazon.

SCIENCE FICTION

Now Wait for Last Year by Philip K. Dick. Vintage. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Dr. Eric Sweetscent has problems. His planet is enmeshed in an unwinnable war. His wife is lethally addicted to a drug that whips its users helplessly back and forth across time - and is hell-bent on making Eric suffer along with her. And Sweetscent's newest patient is not only the most important man on the embattled planet Earth but quite possibly the sickest..." - Amazon.

Doubleblind by Ann Aquirre. Ace. Book three in The Jax series which began with Grimspace. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Sirantha Jax isn’t known for diplomatic finesse. As a 'Jumper' who navigates ships through grimspace, she’s used to kicking ass first and taking names later - much later. Not exactly the obvious choice to sell the Conglomerate to the Ithtorians, a people whose opinions of humans are as hard as their exoskeletons. And Ithiss-Tor council meetings aren’t the only place where Ambassador Jax needs to maneuver carefully. Her lover, March, is frozen in permanent 'kill' mode, and his hair-trigger threatens to sabotage the talks - not to mention their relationship. But Jax won’t give up on the man or the mission. With the Outskirts beleaguered by raiders, pirates, and the flesh-eating Morgut, an alliance with Ithiss-Tor may be humanity’s only hope. Which has Jax wondering why a notorious troublemaker like her was given the job…" - www.annaguirre.com.

The Essential H. G. Wells Collection by H. G. Wells. Kindle edition $0.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
An omnibus collection of 38 books and story collections including The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau and other works of science fiction as well as other works by the prolific Wells.

Star Trek: Voyager: Unworthy by Kirsten Beyer. Star Trek. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Freed with a thought, the greatest menace to humanity, the Borg, are gone, absorbed into the Caeliar gestalt. But are they? Can this deadly menace that has hovered over humanity for decades truly be gone? Might some shadow of the Caeliar remain? The Federation decides that they have to know, and Starfleet is ordered to find out..." - Amazon.

Vigilante by Laura E. Reeve. Book two in the Major Ariane Kedros series which began with Peacekeeper. Roc. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Amidst an uneasy peace between the Autonomists and the Terrans, Major Ariane Kedros and her partner,Matthew Journey, have discovered alien ruins on a remote planet - ruins that bear evidence to an ancient and highly advanced technology. But their discovery has drawn the interest of high stakes players from every corner of the universe - including that of the rogue leader of a fringe Terran sect. Ari must find a way to stop him, before they all become ancient history..." - www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.

At Empire's Edge by William Dietz. Ace. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In a far-distant future, the Uman Empire has spread to the stars and beyond, conquering and colonizing worlds, ruling with a benevolent - but iron - fist. The Pax Umana reigns, and all is well. But on one planet, the remnants of a violent, shape-shifting race called the Sagathis are confined, kept captive by xeno-cops, who have been bio-engineered to be able to see through their guises. Still, sometimes one manages to escape. Zak Cato is a xeno-cop. He's returning a fugitive Sagathi when things go horribly wrong. Cato - the only survivor after the rest of his men are slaughtered - must now figure out who betrayed them and bring the alien in, whatever the cost. - Amazon.


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WESTERNS

Utah Outlaws by Jon Sharpe. (The Trailsman, 336). Signet. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Fargo takes a job to protect a stagecoach - only to end up face-down in the dirt. When he comes to, a man is dead, the money is stolen, and an entire town blames him. Fargo knows that someone set him up for a fall. Now, he has to find out who's making him a scapegoat before they heap any more shame on his name." - Amazon.

Bounty Hunter by Ralph Compton. Signet. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Bounty Hunter John Tone was good at his job. Some would say ruthless. But when a nefarious criminal from the Barbary Coast makes him an offer he can't refuse, Tone himself becomes the hunted one. As the bounty hunter steels himself for a showdown, he may be loading the six chambers of his Colt for the last time." - Amazon.

The Last Gunfighter: Sudden Fury by William W. Johnstone with J. A. Johnstone. Pinnacle. Kindle edition $3.83. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"It kills like an animal. Growling Clawing. Ripping. The loggers call it 'The Terror of the Redwoods.' A local timber baron has put a bounty on the hide of this man-beast, and the woods are teeming with so many trigger-happy dolts and half-cocked drunkards that someone's bound to get hurt - and bad. Frank Morgan doesn't believe in such creatures and decides to get to the bottom of this tall tale. But when he meets the timber baron's beautiful daughter, all bets are off. Something is out there. Someone's set a trap. And Morgan just stuck his Bigfoot right into it." - Amazon.

Longarm and the Lone Star Trackdown by Tabor Evans. (Longarm Giant, 28). Jove. Kindle edition $5.59. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Amidst a rushing flood, an armed French dandy has kidnapped Longarm's lady-friend, an heiress, for ransom. Now Longarm will have to keep his head above water if he wants to save their lives." - Amazon.