Midwinter has gone, but that cold season has been replaced by a cold war in the world of Faerie, and this new kind of war requires a new kind of warrior.
Seelie forces drove back Empress Mab at the Battle of Sylvan, but hostilities could resume at any moment. Mab has developed a devastating new weapon capable of destroying an entire city, and the Seelie have no defense against it. If war comes, they will almost certainly be defeated.
In response, the Seelie reconstitutes a secret division of the Foreign Ministry, unofficially dubbed the "Office of Shadow," imbuing it with powers and discretion once considered unthinkable. They are a group of covert operatives given the tasks that can't be done in the light of day: secretly stealing the plans for Mab's new weapon, creating unrest in the Unseelie Empire, and doing whatever is necessary to prevent an unwinnable war.
The new leader of the "Shadows" is Silverdun. He's the nobleman who fought alongside Mauritane at Sylvan and who helped complete a critical mission for the Seelie Queen Titania. His operatives include a beautiful but naïve sorceress who possesses awesome powers that she must restrain in order to survive and a soldier turned scholar whose research into new ways of magic could save the world, or end it.
They'll do whatever is required to prevent a total war: make a dangerous foray into a hostile land to retrieve the plans for Mab's weapon; blackmail a king into revolting against the Unseelie Empire; journey into the space between space to uncover a closely guarded secret with the power to destroy worlds.
Ok, let me start off by saying this is a very unfair review. I have been so busy with books/etc recently that I haven't had time to kick back and read for my own enjoyment.
That being said I had an ARC of The Devil in Green that had been staring at me a bit to intently and I decided I deserved to have some "me time".
1st off, I really like the cover, it has a cool devils head highlighted in (you guessed it) green, the back cover blurb gave me very high hopes since it sounded very much like a book I would want to read.
I cracked it open and started reading. Right off the get go I had a weird "been there done that" feeling, something about it brought to mind Reign of Fire, maybe because the story starts of in modern England and after all hell has broken lose. It is an interesting look at the world after magic and some really unpleasant critters come back with
Now here is the hard part, the book has many areas that Im interested to see what happens in. So far the 2 main characters do not interest me in the least. To much ... I really wish I could explain it, they just bore me. The writing style seems to be a bit geared to the YA market though I cant be sure since it isnt listed for Adult or YA as of yet. The world is something that sounds very interesting since it is our world, but changed, drastically. I am looking forward to exploring it more and discovering if the hope I had upon reading the back-cover along with the glimpse of some major supernatural badness is realized.
As of now though, I have to put it down since I need a book that GRABS me and I can get lost in.
What a thrilling Friday night!
Added more new books, added more used in both the paperback and hardcover sections and I also added some new signed copies!
The books that fill the dreams of Peter Williams on the www.sffworld.com forums:
Thanks Peter! - Josh
In the part of the world in which this is written, summer (not winter – sorry GRRM) is coming. It is a time of pleasant evenings and long days. Certainly, no better time to go on a massive reading binge. This summer promises to be an excellent one for a favorite (sub?)genre: Fantasy Fiction. Titles already possessed, or currently being stalked, are:
Angry Robot Books:
· Soul Stealers, by Andy Remic – April 29
· The Crown of the Blood, by Gav Thorpe – May 27
· The Road to Bedlam, by Mike Shevdon – July 8
Daw
· Starfinder, by John Marco – April 6
· A Magic of Dawn, by S.L. Farrell – April 6
Del Rey
· Oath of Fealty, by Elizabeth Moon – already out, March
· The Conqueror’s Shadow, by Ari Marmell – already out, February
· Jade Man’s Skin, by Daniel Fox – already out, February
· The Desert Spear, by Peter V. Brett – April
Eos
· Dragon Haven, by Robin Hobb – May 11
Gollancz
· The Complete Lyonesse, by Jack Vance (omnibus edition) – already out, January
· Elves: Once Walked with Gods, by James Barclay – already out, March
· The King of Crags, Stephen Deas – April 15
· Black Lung Captain, by Chris Wooding – July 29
· The Ragged Man, by Tom Lloyd – August 19
· The Thief-taker’s Apprentice, by Stephen Deas – August 19
Orbit
· The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks – August 25
Pyr
· Shadow’s Son, by Jon Sprunk – June 22
Solaris
· King Rolen’s Kin: The King’s Bastard, by Rowena Cory Daniells – June 29
· King Rolen’s Kin: The Uncrowned King, by Rowena Cory Daniells – July 27
· Hawkwood and the Kings (Monarchies of God, part 1 – omnibus edition), by Paul Kearney – July 27
· Century of the Soldier (Monarchies of God, part 2 – omnibus edition), by Paul Kearney – August 31
Tor
· Watcher of the Dead, by J.V. Jones – April 13
· The Tyranny of the Night: Book 1 of the Instrumentalities of the Night, by Glen Cook – April 13
· The Scarab Path, by Adrian Tchaikovsky – August 16
· The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson – August 17
· Lord of the Silent Kingdom: Book 2 of the Instrumentalities of the Night, by Glen Cook – August 17
…and those are just the fantasy books, already known to pique my interest, coming on the horizon. Since fingers can only take so much typing, and considering no one likes 5 page blog posts, Science Fiction releases went unmentioned. With the unbelievable line up set to launch this summer, you had best strap in. The 12 months following this summer (i.e. GRR Martin, Rothfuss, Erikson, Williams, Bakker, et. al.) will red-line, seize and rupture the neurological fixed assets responsible for the generation and production of excitement within your mortal shell. The pièce de résistance is that we all have an ally here that will facilitate our literary debauchery – Josh & his family's bookstore.
Getch’your read on, foo’.
As you can tell we are getting some inventory listed at last! We have a ton more to add and you if dont find what you are looking for dont hesitate to ask!
All books, both used and new start of with shipping for only .99 cents!
 If you are an animal lover you really should pick up a copy of this book, or for that matter any book by James Herriot.
He was a vet in England who wrote several books about his experiences. These stories are heart-warming and at times saddening. They deal with all aspects of life and really are stories that anybody who has a pulse should take time to read.
He rates a very rare 9.5/10
All non-cover art found on the W & D Book site has been used with the artists permission. Please click on the images and you will be taken to the artists site. If you would like to see your art on our site please drop us a note.  Ian Llanas  Susan McKivergan
 Steven Brust has been one of my favorite authors for several years now. I have followed the adventures of Vlad and picked up a few other books by Brust.
I stumbled upon a very nice 1st edition hardcover of “The Lord of Castle Black” the other day at one of the nicest used bookstores I’ve had the pleasure to peruse and just had to snag it. Of course I have the paperback version for awhile now, but I do have a hardcover fetish.
Castle Black is part of Bursts’ “The Khaavren Romances” and is of course a good read (is there anything by Brust that isn’t?). For fans of Vlad the writing style in the Romances can be a bit of a shock. At my 1st go I actually had to dig out a copy of Dragon to confirm that the author was in fact the same!
Brust meets Dumas and decides to toss the Three Musketeers on their heads. Great fun and good action makes this a book you really should give a go.
7/10
 The four-inch long nail is thought to be one of thousands used in crucifixions across the Roman empire.
Archaeologists believe it dates from either the first or second century AD.
The nail was found last summer in a decorated box in a fort on the tiny isle of Ilheu de Pontinha, just off the coast of Madeira.
Pontinha was thought to have been held by the Knights Templar, the religious order that was part of the Christian forces which occupied Jerusalem during the Crusades in the 12th century.
The knights were part of the plot of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code.
Bryn Walters, an archaeologist, said the iron nail's remarkable condition suggested it had been handed with extreme care, as if it was a relic.
"It dates from the first to second centuries," he told the Daily Mirror.
While one would expect the surface to be "pitted and rough" he said on this nail the surface was smooth.
That suggested that many people had handled it over the centuries, with the acid on their hands giving it a "peculiar finish".
Christopher Macklin of the Knights Templar of Britannia said the discovery was "momentous".
He said the original Knights Templar may have thought it was one of the nails used in Christ's crucifixion.
The nail was found together with three skeletons and three swords.
One of the swords had the Knight Templar's cross inscribed on it.
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