Just a couple of notable titles sneaking their way to new release shelves in hopes of catching those post-Christmas giftcard dollars…

• One is SAVAGE MESSIAH: THE DESTINIES OF BLOOD AND STONE, Robert Newcomb’s start of a new trilogy set in the world of his previous trilogy. Make sense? It’s a fantasy with lots of magic, which is not something I look for in a novel, but I do so love that cool cover.

• Meanwhile, Matthew Reilly’s latest thriller, SEVEN DEADLY WONDERS, has a crappy cover but a decidely more high-concept premise that sounds readymade for a summer movie: Various countries race across the globe to find pieces of the Great Pyramid capstone hidden in the seven wonders of the world, broken up and scattered there thousands of years ago by Alexander the Great. Reviews haven’t been too kind, but Reilly – the author of SCARECROW and AREA 7 – certainly has his fans.