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Most anticipated books of 2011 – part 2

This is the second part in a three part post which will look at the most anticipated books for 2011. Vague Release Date Books, Random Other Books of 2011 and My Most Anticipated Books of 2011. Enjoy. – Josh

Random other books of 2011

Eona by Alison Goodman
eona The second book of the Eon duology

Release Date: April 2011

I have heard a lot of good things about Alison Goodman, a fellow Australian, though I haven’t had the chance to read her. Maybe with the release of Eona I will get stuck in, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Where there is power, there is betrayal…

Once she was Eon, a girl disguised as a boy, risking her life for the chance to become a Dragoneye apprentice. Now she is is Eona, the Mirror Dragoneye, her country’s saviour—but she has an even more dangerous secret.

She cannot control her power.

Each time she tries to bond with her Mirror Dragon, she becomes a conduit for the ten spirit dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered by Lord Ido. Their anguish floods through her, twisting her ability into a killing force, destroying the land and its people.

And another force of destruction is on her trail.

Along with Ryko and Lady Dela, Eona is on the run from High Lord Sethon’s army. The renegades must find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona’s power if he is to wrest back his throne from Sethon. But if Eona is to help Kygo, she must drive a dark bargain with an old enemy that could obliterate them all.

The Rogue by Trudi Canavan
Book 2 of the Traitor Spy Trilogy

Release date: 5th May 2011

I do enjoy it when a new Canavan book makes it my way, so I can’t wait for The Rogue to get to me so that I can continue what has turned out to be a surprisingly great series.

Living among the Sachakan rebels, Lorkin does his best to learn about them and their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their knowledge for the Healing they so desperately want, and while he assumes they fear revealing their existence to the world, there are hints they have bigger plans.

Sonea searches for the rogue, knowing that Cery cannot avoid assassination forever, but the rouge’s influence over the city’s underworld is far greater than she feared. His only weakness is the loss of his mother, now locked away in the Lookout.

In Sachaka, Dannyl has lost the respect of the Sachakan elite for letting Lorkin join the Traitors. The Ashaki’s attention has shifted, instead, to the new Elyne Ambassador, a man Dannyl knows all too well.

And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within.

A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond E Feist
Release Date: March 2011

I’m a bit behind on my Feist reading, trying to make my way through both the The Empire Trilogy and the Krondor’s Sons duology. However once I do get past them, and into the more mainstream of his books, I hope that one day I’ll manage to get to this one and really enjoy it.

The first book of the last ever Midkemian trilogy by worldwide bestselling fantasy author, Raymond E. Feist … a historic moment for fans. The riftwars – including the original Riftwar, the Serpentwar, the Darkwar, and the Demonwar – were epic battles between Good and Evil whose ramifications have echoed through generations. This new entry to the epic, A Kingdom Besieged, ushers in the most fearsome threat the kingdom has yet facecd – the Chaoswar – a major cataclysm involving a magic apocalypse that will force Pug, now the most powerful magician in all of Midkemia, to question everything he’s ever held true and dear… including the loyalty and desires of his beloved son Magnus.Will prophecy become truth? Is the original Black Magician fated to watch everyone he loves die before him? Does anyone survive the Chaoswar – the last ever chapter of Midkemian history?

The Undivided by Jennifer Fallon
Release Date: April 2011

I love Jennifer Fallon, but I’ve never been in a state where I could move past the first of her Tide Lords series. I will, one day, but in the meantime, maybe I’ll be able to get stuck into The Undivided, the first of a new trilogy of books called the Rift Runners.

An exciting new, contemporary fantasy … spanning different realities and alternate worlds, The Undivided takes us into the heart of family, loyalty and the choice between good and evil.

The Undivided are divided. The psychic twins, Ronan and Darragh, have been separated by the traitor Druid, Amergin, who has thrown Ronan through a rift into another reality. Now time is running out for Darragh. If Ronan isn’t found soon, they will both die.

Meanwhile, Ren Kavanagh has no notion of where he comes from and is plagued by mysterious injuries. Then he meets the enticing and mysterious Trasa, and before he can figure out how it happened, he is in serious trouble …

Ren’s life is about to become more bizarre and dangerous than he could ever have imagined.

The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind
Release Date: August 2011

An author I haven’t read much of, but have heard lots about, Goodkind is surely set to garner some attention with this new book.

A fabulous new fantasy epic from a master of the genre …

An accident leads to the discovery of a mysterious machine that has rested hidden deep underground for countless millennia. The machine awakens to begin issuing a series of increasingly alarming, if minor, omens. The omens turn out to be astonishingly accurate, and ever more ominous.

As Zedd tries to figure out how to destroy the sinister device, the machine issues a cataclysmic omen involving Richard and Kahlan, foretelling an impending event beyond anyone’s ability to stop. As catastrophe approaches, the machine then reveals that it is within its power to withdraw the omen … In exchange for an impossible demand.

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Release Date: February 2011

Abercrombie is another author that I’ve gotten stuck on, not being able to move past the first book in his The First Law trilogy, but another author that I will one day give my whole and undivided attention to.

They say Black Dow’s killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they’ve brought a lot of sharpened metal with them.

Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced master swordsman, has sworn to reclaim his stolen honour on the battlefield. Obsessed with redemption and addicted to violence, he’s far past caring how much blood gets spilled in the attempt. Even if it’s his own.

Prince Calder isn’t interested in honour, and still less in getting himself killed. All he wants is power, and he’ll tell any lie, use any trick, and betray any friend to get it. Just as long as he doesn’t have to fight for it himself.

Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him?

Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts, or even the strongest arms that prevail.

The River of Shadows by Robert von Stein Redick
Image: The River of Shadows book cover Release Date: April 19, 2011

I read the first book in Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy series, and loved it. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the second, and now the third, books just as much.

The latest novel in Robert V.S Redick’s stunning and original fantasy epic is a taut race against time that takes the Chathrand across the seas in a desperate bid to stop the sorcer Arunis unleashing the Swarm of Night… From the mysterious River of Shadows to the Infernal Forest, to the Island Wilderness Pazel and his companions face a phatasmogoric journey through altered realities, a nightmare journey which offers glimpses of what might have been while taking them into the terror of what is to come. Will Arunis use the cursed Nilstone to end the world? This is a rich fantasy of nightmares and unexpected beauty and is proof positive that Redick is one of the most exciting new talents in fantasy.