Releases: The Eye of Minds and The House of Hades!

Hey, guys! I hope your weekend was eventful and stellar!

I'm not going to lie - I had mixed emotions going into this week. You might remember that I had planned to celebrate the release of Woven on the 8th of this month, but ... we all know that plan went by the starboard side ... for the time being. However, there are two power- house novels releasing this week. Seriously, like I'd stand a chance competing with these two juggernauts (which I preordered months ago)! Here's some exciting new sci-fi/fantasy books this week!

(Click the covers to enter an exciting portal of awesomeness!)

First is the start of a new sci-fi series by the great James Dashner!

Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.

The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.
But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

(From Goodreads)

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Up next is book 4 of The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan!

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

(From Goodreads) 

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Updates: I've been making some good progress on The Undead Road. As you can see on the progress bar, 15K to go! My awesome critique group did point out a major hole that my planned outline hadn't counted on, so I had to go back and do a whole chapter rewrite and make the following chapters fit the new direction, but it's good to catch this at chapter 18 instead of chapter 3, amiright?

This is going to be a long-overdue review kind of week, so be sure to check out what I have in store later on this week. See you then!

I'm David, and Number 5 is alive!