Is 'The Bastards and the Knives: The Gentleman Bastard' By Scott Lynch Really To Be Published In 2017?

While I was deeply engrossed, busy doing what I was supposed to do one dreary night, I heard my mail notification that grabbed me out of my concentration. It was a slightly confusing email from Amazon that Bastards and the Knives by Scott Lynch had now become available. Really?!? I thought is was a no-go.

When I checked the link it indeed has an official release set for next year and a tentative price of $11.87 with 336 pages of pure ecstasy. Of course, I preferred the hardcover edition from Gollancz (UK) and I was saddened to see that the listing is just for paperback. Despite this I was hopeful since The Thorn of Emberlain, which is confirmed to be published this September, has a paperback listing in Amazon as well, whilst it has a hardcover edition in Amazon UK (I have already pre-ordered from UK).

After all of this I did a double take and nurtured a little skepticism, because Amazon has long been known to post erroneous information once in a while. Is this confirmed... is this for real? I hope anyone could shed a light into it and disperse the doubt that's been clouding my mind.

Check out the cover of Bastards and the Knives by Scott Lynch. * This is slightly modified by yours truly.

I am slightly torn by the news that I have to create a customized dust jacket for it, with the front cover slightly modified... following the typeset of The Thorn of Emberlain, where Scott Lynch's name is now more prominent.

Synopsis

These two novellas tell the story of how Locke, Jean and the other gentleman bastards acquired the Austershalin brandy that played such a key role in the con at the centre of The Lies of Locke Lamora and how they managed to avoid being killed by the elite assassins known as the Choir of Knives. These two novellas will fill in the backstory of the Bastards and allow fans to revisit the pleasures of the banter and antics of Caldo, Galdo and Bug as well discover how Locke and Jean forged their gang. They will also serve as an excellent introduction to Locke and his world for new readers. And because these are novellas by Scott Lynch they will also provide 100,000 words full of devious con-work, high adventure, razor sharp dialogue and rich atmopshere.

Bastards and the Knives by Scott Lynch is reportedly to be published on. March 1, 2017

'Lockwood & Co: The Creeping Shadow' By Jonathan Stroud Gets Official Cover, Synopsis And Release Date

Jonathan Stroud was an instant favorite when the Bartimaeus novels landed into my shaking hands. The story-telling are gripping and exciting, and fresh and something new. That is the reason why I never hesitated to read his new series for young adults called Lockwood & Company.

The series is already on its fourth franchise and the story is never wavering. The only thing that scratches my OCD are the covers. The first book has a good cover and the following two books are even more amazing. But the first one has a different layout and typeset... a reason why I have to print my own dust jacket. And now, despite the very good story-telling... the cover for the fourth book is disappointing me once again since it is changing layout and design. Ugghhh!

I have to edit my own once again and print a custom dust jacket. Only one thing is clear though, the subtitle is much larger than the series logo and the author, which means readers recognizes the title more than the author?

Check out the cover of Lockwood & Company: The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud.

Synopsis

After leaving Lockwood & Co. at the end of The Hollow Boy, Lucy is a freelance operative, hiring herself out to agencies that value her ever-improving skills. One day she is pleasantly surprised by a visit from Lockwood, who tells her he needs a good Listener for a tough assignment. Penelope Fittes, the leader of the giant Fittes Agency wants them--and only them--to locate and remove the Source for the legendary Brixton Cannibal. They succeed in their very dangerous task, but tensions remain high between Lucy and the other agents. Even the skull in the jar talks to her like a jilted lover. What will it take to reunite the team? Black marketeers, an informant ghost, a Spirit Cape that transports the wearer, and mysteries involving Steve Rotwell and Penelope Fittes just may do the trick. But, in a shocking cliffhanger ending, the team learns that someone has been manipulating them all along....

Lockwood & Co.: The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud will be released on September 13, 2016.

Tom Hanks Returns As Robert Langdon In New 'Inferno' Teaser Trailers, Based On Novel By Dan Brown

Here is the third serving of the Robert Landon movie franchise, based on the hit novels by Dan Brown. Skipping The Lost Symbol, Inferno will put our favorite professor-turned-investigating-consultant into yet another sticky situation. Man playing God is the theme of this thriller, which I am so excited about.

Ron Howard returns to direct this third franchise in the Robert Landon series. It stars Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, and Sidse Babett Knudsen. It is based on the screenplay by David Koepp. David Householter, Dan Brown, William M. Connor, Anna Culp, and Ben Waisbren are the executive producers, along with producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

Check out the trailer for Inferno.

And here is the much longer international trailer.

Synopsis

Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest bestseller in Dan Brown’s (Da Vinci Code) billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, Inferno, which finds the famous symbologist (again played by Tom Hanks) on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.

Inferno will spread in theaters near you on October 28, 2016.

Cover Reveal: 'Skullsworn' By Brian Staveley, Story Set In The World Of Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne

Since the release of The Last Mortal Bond, which I am currently immersing my self into, I was always wondering what's next from this guy! I am not ready to close the curtain for Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series. How come he has no other series or no new book coming out? Until of course news came out that another book from Brian Staveley is coming our way next year.

The new book, titled Skullsworn, is a standalone, but will definitely pit us still in the world of The Emperor’s Blades, or in Annur and its neighboring countries. And as you may guess it has to do with the priests of Ananshael, the God of Death.

Check out the cover of Skullsworn by Brian Staveley.

Synopsis

Brian Staveley’s new standalone returns to the critically acclaimed Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne universe, following a priestess attempting to join the ranks of the God of Death.

Pyrre Lakatur doesn’t like the word skullsworn. It fails to capture the faith and grace, the peace and beauty of her devotion to the God of Death. She is not, to her mind, an assassin, not a murderer--she is a priestess. At least, she will be a priestess if she manages to pass her final trial.

The problem isn’t the killing. Pyrre has been killing and training to kill, studying with some of the most deadly men and women in the world, since she was eight. The problem, strangely, is love. To pass her Trial, Pyrre has ten days to kill the ten people enumerated in an ancient song, including "the one you love / who will not come again."

Pyrre is not sure she’s ever been in love. If she were a member of a different religious order, a less devoted, disciplined order, she might cheat. The Priests of Ananshael, however, don’t look kindly on cheaters. If Pyrre fails to find someone to love, or fails to kill that someone, they will give her to the god.

Pyrre’s not afraid to die, but she hates to quit, hates to fail, and so, with a month before her trial begins, she returns to the city of her birth, the place where she long ago offered an abusive father to the god and abandoned a battered brother—in the hope of finding love...and ending it on the edge of her sword.

"A complex and richly detailed world filled with elite soldier-assassins, mystic warrior monks, serpentine politics, and ancient secrets." —Library Journal, starred review, on The Emperor's Blades

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Skullsworn by Brian Staveley will hit book stores on April 25, 2017.

'The Dark Prophecy' Is Rick Riordan's Second The Trials Of Apollo Book

The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle has just hit the shelves and I haven't even read it personally and we already have juicy news about the sequel... No, we don't have the official cover art yet, but we do have a release date and synopsis to satisfy your craving. Of course that is just about right since we don't really wanna overshadow the party celebration of the unveiling of the cover of Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor.

For now let us content ourselves with this placeholder cover, showcasing a green backdrop and the usual typeset... while reading the first book in the series which is available in the book stores near you.

Synopsis

Zeus has punished his son Apollo–god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more–by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous–and frankly, humiliating–trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he’s gaining in new friendships–with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride.

The Trials of Apollo #2: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan will be available on May 2, 2017.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 11 By Jeff Kinney Gets Official Title, Synopsis And Release Date

Greg Heffley's adventures are far from over. Come in for some more fun stories and wimpy (and varied) cartoon characters we learned to love since the beginning of the series. Just prepare your self for the release of the eleventh installment, which is officially titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down.

The said book also got an official cover with a orange-redding hue. The subtitle are a cut-out letters made of cheese, which suggests the Cheese Touch is back in town! We won't have to wait for another year to enjoy it as it is coming this November!

Check out the cover of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney.

Synopsis

The latest book in the phenomenally successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by bestselling author Jeff Kinney will go on sale November 1, 2016. One of the most anticipated books of the year, tens of millions of fans all over the world eagerly await this newest installment—the eleventh book in the series. There are now more than 165 million copies of the books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in print globally. Book eleven follows the enormous international acclaim of Old School, which debuted at the top of bestseller lists around the world and has remained at the top of the bestseller lists ever since it went on sale last November. Diary of a Wimpy Kid continues to dominate sales charts in 2016.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney will hit bookstores on November 1, 2016.