We mentioned back in May that Amazon.com was going to be going into the science fiction publishing business, and now the mega-retailer's plans are finally taking shape. The imprint will be called 47North, and it'll start publishing new and out-of-print science fiction titles (in print as well as Kindle) in October.


Would you buy a science fiction novel published by Amazon.com? Amazon.com has been redefining the way you buy books for ages now — and next up, they may be… Read more

Here's the list of the first batch of titles, via Tor.com:

October 2011: Face of Evil by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin. The first novel in The Dead Man series. Protagonist Matthew Cahill gains new sight into the netherworld after a terrible accident, making each day a living nightmare.

2012: Against the Light by Dave Duncan. The story of a young, magical missionary's arrest for heresy and treason in the land of Albi.

January 2012: Resurrection by Arwen Elys Dayton. This out-of-print science fictio novel about warring alien races and the two star-crossed pilots who hold the key to salvation will return to print in January.

March 2012: A new series from Stephen Leather starting in March and following former cop and struggling private investigator Jack Nightingale, who is forced to confront the possibility that demons exist after inheriting a supernatural mansion.

April 2012: The Mongoliad: Book One. Hugo and Nebula Award-winning authors Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear have teamed up with an ensemble of respected authors and newcomers to create the Foreworld series. The series will begin with The Mongoliad trilogy, an epic tale about the birth of Western martial arts.

May 2012: Further: Beyond the Threshold by Chris Roberson. The writer behind DC's iZombie and Cinderella pens a novel about a space explorer who is kept in stasis for too long and awakens to a universe that is terrifying and unfamiliar.


It's not a bad bunch of books, and it's great to see a new Chris Roberson novel, especially with such an intriguing premise. For a more negative take on this announcement, check out Publishers Weekly's Genreville blog. [Tor.com]