06 December 2009

Patrick Rothfuss New Illustrated Story Announced from Subterranean Press




Patrick Rothfuss and Sub Press have been hinting at this novella for quite sometime. It is available for pre-order with a July 2010 release scheduled.  It looks to be a far departure from the Kingkiller Chronicles.  The title is The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle, the Thing Beneath the Bed. Here is the description:

This is not a book for children.

It looks like a children's book. It has pictures. It has a saccharine-sweet title. The main characters are a little girl and her teddy bear. But all of that is just protective coloration. The truth is, this is a book for adults with a dark sense of humor and an appreciation of old-school faerie tales.

There are three separate endings to the book. Depending on where you stop, you are left with an entirely different story. One ending is sweet, another is horrible. The last one is the true ending, the one with teeth in it.

The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle is a dark twist on the classic children's picture-book. I think of it as Calvin and Hobbes meets Coraline, with some Edward Gorey mixed in.

Simply said: This is not a book for children.
Having the multiple endings reminds me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I loved so much as a child.  Limited to 400 signed leather bound copies and 2,000 unsigned hardcover copies this will go quickly so get your pre-orders in.

Rothfuss also has his annual Heifer International fundraiser going on.  It is a very worthy cause, but the kicker is for every $10 you donate you get a chance at some amazing prizes.  Sub Press is the sponsor this year and has already donated a ton of books up for grabs in addition to a bunch of author signed books with more to be revealed.  Last year Pat raised a staggering $53,000 for the cause.  Let's help him surpass that number.


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Patrick Rothfuss Short Story in Years Best
Twisted Choose Your Own Adventure Covers
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 7, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    Hi.

    I should add that this is NOT a novella, it's a not-kid's picture book in the spirit of Edward Gorey, with a little wicked text per page, and a whole ton of illustrations.

    Best,

    Bill
    SubPress

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  2. The Mad HatterDecember 7, 2009 at 10:41 AM

    Thanks for clearing that up. So is the book full color than?

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  3. AnonymousDecember 7, 2009 at 1:20 PM

    Sounds very different, which could be good or bad. I guess this will be a litmus test of sorts as to whether Rothfuss is really as good as we all hope he is. But when is Wise Man's coming?!?

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  4. The Mad HatterDecember 7, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    @Anon - That may not be entirely fair since this is intended as more of specialty book. All of the Kingkiller fans certainly won't like it, but there will be more than enough who do. I've already placed my order. I just eager for more of his prose. That said Wise Man still doesn't have a firm pub date. But I'd guess we'll see it in 2010 at some point.

    On that same note I'm no longer going to post GRRM updates on A Dance With Dragons until it is done. On the bright side Scott Lynch said we'll most likely see the next Gentlemen's Bastard book in 2010.

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  5. JaredDecember 8, 2009 at 2:02 PM

    I've placed my order as well.

    But I echo the previous commenter. I'm actually a little skeptical about Kingkiller pt 2 happening before 2012.

    That's a pretty well-deliberated guess, I'm sad to say, not just pettiness!

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