NEWS | The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss in Webcomic Form!

If you're anything like me you have been salivating for The Wise Man's Fear. It is without a doubt the most anticipated Fantasy sequel of the last decade. Because The Name of the Wind is such detailed read I underwent a re-read last month in anticipation of The Wise Man's Fear and now Rothfuss teamed with Nathan Taylor have put together a very funny comic version of The Name of the Wind to refresh readers memories. Check it all out here on Rothfuss's blog. Taylor is also Rothfuss's collaborator on The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle. If you're looking for me tomorrow I'll either be at Barnes & Noble picking up my copy of The Wise Man's Fear or nose deep in said book.

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ANNOUNCEMENT | Brent Weeks' novella Perfect Shadow on Preorder

A deal has been struck for Brent Weeks' novella Perfect Shadow, placed before the events of the Night Angel Trilogy, to be published in a signed limited edition hardcover from Subterranean Press. The story will also be part of Orbit Book's digital short program, but this will most likely be the only print edition limited to 1,000 copies. So if you're a big fan of Weeks jump on this before it sells out as it will surely do before it is even printed.

The Foul, Unnatural Murder of Gaelan Starfire & the Birth of Durzo Blint

“I got a bit of prophecy,” the old assassin said. “Not enough to be useful, you know. Just glimpses. My wife dead, things like that to keep me up late at night. I had this vision that I was going to be killed by forty men, all at once. But now that you’re here, I see they’re just you. Durzo Blint.”

Durzo Blint? Gaelan had never even heard the name.

***
Gaelan Starfire is a farmer now, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He’s also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he’s worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he’s become a hero, his very names passing into legend: Acaelus Thorne, Yric the Black, Hrothan Steelbender, Tal Drakkan, Rebus Nimble.

But when Gaelan must take a job hunting down the world’s finest assassins for the beautiful courtesan-and-crimelord Gwinvere Kirena, what he finds may destroy everything he’s ever believed in.

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CLASSIC REVIEW | Ringworld by Larry Niven

Ringworld is one of the best known Sci-Fi novels of the last fifty years. It is often cited along side Ender's Game as a must read member of the Sci-Fi canon long before its inclusion in the Masterworks series. This review was originally intended for the SFF Masterworks Blog, but it just didn't feel right to put it there as I didn't have as much to say as I thought I would.

So, this two hundred year old human, a sexy young blonde, and two aliens crash land in this bar I mean on this flat ring world object....

That is about the gist of Ringworld if a bit on the glib side. Ringworld is an adventurous style Sci-Fi read that has been lauded for generations now ever since it won the Nebula in 1970. Ringworld is hard Sci-Fi, but comes off feeling of a much lighter variety than most even amongst the discussion of genetic breeding, advanced propulsion, and the physics behind moving worlds. Humans have been proliferating dozens of worlds for generations in Known Space to the point that nearly the whole race is pampered all day round and few have any sense of adventure and desire to explore.

Cue human Louis Gridley Wu who at 200 is one of the few with the spirit to leave the comforts of his home and the non-stop party that is everyday life for most humans. After a mysterious two-headed alien from the cowardly and technologically advanced Puppeteer race asks him to journey on a covert mission he acquiesces along with his latest nubile sex partner Teela and a cat-like bi-pedal alien from a warlike race that has been decimated over generations. The group is than off to investigate a mysterious ring around a star and be cannon fodder for the Puppeteer who is basically scared of his own shadow.

In many ways the species names give far too much away to the point of not being veiled at all. Nearly all the characters have ulterior motives for going on the adventure and one in particular is holding back a lot of knowledge. Niven's greatest weakness is the lack of explaining the emotions that the characters are going through. They come off as either two willing or too stilted given some of the revelations that come up. Teela especially comes off as just a sex object and is given very little depth.

Overall, the ideas of evolution are the most interesting aspect explored and many of the other scientific concepts and races are appealing yet the actual story seems to be lacking that aspect that makes you care about it all. Ringworld is clearly an essential read if you're into Science Fiction, but it doesn't seem to hold up as well as other classics written in the same era such as The Left Hand of Darkness or Rendezvous with Rama which also won the Nebula around the same time.

Without Ringworld we probably wouldn't have the video game Halo it has also clearly influenced Banks' Culture novels. I give Ringworld 6.5 out of 10 hats.  I can see why some find Ringworld to be an such a wonderful read what with its massive universe building in such a small page count while telling a fairly original adventure story, but the characters were too one dimensional and the main story was not as grabbing as some of the underlying developments that are sure to be addressed in later volumes in this now long running series (eight books at last count in what is know as the Known Space universe). What Niven started with Ringworld does beg further exploration of the Universe as there are many unanswered questions about the Fleet of Worlds and other races that I'm more than a little curious about. The possibilities for this Universe are quite vast; hopefully they just don't end up as feeling as dated as this effort.

NOTE: After I started reading Ringworld the story seemed very familiar and first I wondered if I had read it before, but that wasn't exactly the case. My reading of Ringworld may have been hampered by Strata by Terry Pratchett which I read a few months prior during a rash of old Pratchett reading. Pratchett's Strata was intended as a comedic version of Ringworld so a lot of the setup, characters, and story were quite similar.

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ART | China Mieville's Embassytown reveal and more

Tor UK planned a big launch for China Mieville's latest novel Embassytown in addition to repackaging his complete backlist with a uniform look.  Tor tried to capture China's theme of blurring worlds and did a rather decent job.  Perdido Street Station and Kraken especially caught by eye although Un Lun Dun doesn't feel right especially since it is a Young Adult novel. Embassytown itself leaves me a bit confused at the moment, but hopefully it will make more sense once I've read it.  Which catches your fancy? 

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VIDEO | Cradle of the Scar by Peter Orullian author of The Unremembered

Peter Orullian is trying to take the Fantasy world by storm. So far he seems off to a good start.  His debut The Unremembered although still two months away from release has already become a juggernaut of pre-publicity buzz, especially with Orullian fanning the flames with all sorts of extra being released on the web.  He was name checked in my interview with Brandon Sanderson months ago. A series of short stories related to the world of The Unremembered in the series known as The Vaults of Heaven has already started to show up with the  "Sacrifice of the First Sheason" being the first out and the second "The Great Defense of Layosah". A gorgeous map of the world is now up as well.  And now Orullian has started a webisode series called "Cradle of the Scar" with a different artist set for each part. Part one was released late last month and here it is for those who haven't caught it yet.




And I'm lucky enough to unveil part 2:




Enjoy.

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REVIEW | The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekaterina Sedia

Ekaterina Sedia, over the course of only a few novels, has assembled a body of work that has continually left me in awe of her creative and daring power. Some authors use mythology to merely accentuate their worlds, while Sedia makes mythology grow and change to her whims in lyrical and poetic ways that make them feel like all her own creation.

If you think you've read it all in Fantasy than think again.  Sedia's latest The House of Discarded Dreams gathers odd mythology from around the world to create one of the most unique novels in Speculative Fiction today. Sedia shuns conventionality for a story that seemingly has no connective tissue to form something more than the sum of all its parts. It is the story of a young woman trying to find herself in a country that doesn't feel like her own. It is a modern melding of old and modern mythology and fears. It is a story of dreams and nightmares coming to life.

The story centers around Vimbai, a college student and daughter of African immigrants. Vimbai is drawn to a house in the sand dunes of New Jersey as an escape from her family as she searches for who she wants to be.  Sedia brings some of her own experiences as an immigrant coming to America and living in New Jersey to the fore, but lots of research shows though as well. Africa has a mythology very unlike the style most Fantasy readers are use to, which makes The House of Discard Dreams a very impactful and original read.

Vimbai moves in with two other people who are given sketchy backgrounds, at best, one of which, Felix, has some sort of black hole in place of his hair and the other, Maya, a bartender in Atlantic City, who is the epitome of distant for much of the novel. Soon after moving in the house begins to change and odd things start to appear along the lines of ghosts, Psychic Energy Babies, and talking crabs and fish all of which barely scratches the surface of the complete and utter strangeness of it all.

Even amid all the originality there are some downside issues. The characters come off as distant and unknowable for too much of the story. What drives the other roommates? Maya's dark closet eventually comes out after much cajoling, but Felix comes off more as window dressing and often gets lost in the background.  Sedia also missed an important scene near the beginning where Vimbai tells her parents that she is moving out as she goes from looking at the house to a couple weeks later living there.  And I wasn't completely satisfied with the explanation on the black hole hair-do or how easily everyone accepts the changes in the house.

As the novel closes a good sense of growth is felt for Vimbai as she discovered the confidence and strength she was always looking for. It is an emotional journey that will leave you perfectly satisfied.  All you fans of Charles De Lint take notice. You've got a new favorite author and their name is Ekaterina Sedia. I give The House of Discarded Dreams 8 out of 10 hats. I can't wait to see how Sedia surprises me next and with Heart of Iron coming later this year it won't be too long.

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Cover Unveiled for Before They Are Hanged (Ltd Ed)

Art by Alexander Preuss

Blarg! That's what I have to say about the cover to one of my favorite Fantasy novels of the last decade.

The above is for the Subterranean Press edition of Before They Are Hanged.  I first saw the art itself in mid-January when Sub Press released the piece not mentioning it would be for the cover. They often show a piece that ends up as one of the color plates so I tried not to think too much about it. Yet here is Before They Are Hanged, my favorite volume in the First Law Trilogy with a title treatment that doesn't even go along with their edition of The Blade Itself. That's a big fail in my book for collector series books.

Is it too much to ask for some consistency? I say this all not as just a blogger, but as a consumer. I've bought and paid for the Sub Press's version of The Blade Itself and pre-ordered Before They Are Hanged the first day it was possible to do so. I also order plenty of their other novellas and collections. I'm a very disappointed fan right now.

Come on Joe Abercrombie! Use that might ax you won for the Gemmell Awards to get this set right.

I also want to add that while I don't feel Alexander Preuss' art is right for this world (not nearly Dark or Fantasy enough) I do like his style and as Aidan has pointed out it would look quite lovely on my wall. I'm also, mostly, glad they stuck to the same artist for the same reasons I'm upset. Come on Sub Press! You can't even use the same damn font? These are pricey editions that collectors and hardcore fans want to look all snazzy on our shelves.


P.S. Sorry about all the art posts lately. I promise I have other stuff coming up including a review for Thursday.

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20th Anniversary Edison Cover Unveiled for The Difference Engine

20th Anniversary Edition

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling was the first well known Steampunk novel building on everything Jeter and Blaylock started, but with its own darker path. This year is the 20th anniversary of its publication and Spectra has given us the best cover yet. Doesn't that cover just take you aback? It is creepy and cool in all the right ways. The eye! Gah! The eye!

While The Difference Engine isn't my favorite cup of tea in the Steampunk area I do appreciate what it did for the genre and I'm glad it has gotten such a classy treatment. It almost makes me want to read it again. The new edition hits shelves late in July and features an introduction from Cory Doctorow.  Here are a few of the treatments The Difference Engine has received around the world, which shows how boring all the US editions thus far have been.

US HC

UK HC

UK paperback

French HC

Spanish

US Mass Market

UK Masterworks Edition

Which one catches your eye?

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New Procurements

And the stacks grow ever bigger. Lots of fine review copies and a few buys showed up this week.

The World House by Guy Adams - I've already talked about this one a bunch. Let's just say I really want to read it soon, which is why I bought it as soon as it was out.
The Age of Odin by James Lovegrove - Even though I haven't read Lovegrove's other Pantheon books I can't pass up anything to do with Norse mythology and this go around it is paired with Military Sci-Fi.
City of Hope & Despair by Ian Whates - The sequel to one of my favorite Cross Genre books last year, The City of Dreams & Nightmare. This is a review copy which sports another gorgeous cover by Greg Bridges.
The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones - This is Jones's debut, which is supposed to be an Arabian Nights meets Sword & Sorcery. Jones is the Editor of Black Gate Magazine, which is well worth checking out for you Swords & Sorcery fans.
The Unremembered by Peter Orullian - This is probably my most anticipated debut for the year thus far. I'm already 50 pages deep as I couldn't resist seeing that unbelievable cover by Kekai Kotak. Even in the ARC copy state the cover is can't miss.
The Sea Thy Mistress by Elizabeth Bear - This is the last book in Edda of Burdens trilogy sent to me for review. It is supposed to be another Norse infused Fantasy tale. I probably won't get to this for awhile, but does anyone know if jumping to the third book would work?

Blackout by Rob Thurman - The latest book in the Cal Leandros appeared to be out as the publisher sent this and the next title for review. I'm a little behind on the series having stopped at Deathwish since I felt the series wasn't moving quickly enough for me. The back cover blurb does make it seem like Cal has changed, which might get me back in.
Dead Waters by Anton Strout - The 4th book in a light Urban Fantasy series. I read the first Dead to Me last year and it was a fine read, but nothing spectacular. It is kind of  like a Ghostbusters/bureaucratic/police procedural mash-up with a bit more weirdos.
The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi  & The Executioness by Tobias Buckell - I've finally got my mitts on these shared world novellas after ordering them months ago. I'll be dipping in them between my next read. I'm told I should start with Buckell's first.
The Boy At the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout - Greg's latest middle reader following the very fun Kid vs. Squid last year. I'm hoping to get one of my friends kids to do a review, but I'm sure I'll have something to say about it as well.
Revolution World by Katy Stauber - The next 3 are review copies from Night Shade 2 of which are debuting authors. Night Shade is having a growth spurt at the moment and nearly all of their upcoming releases have caught my eye. This one is a biopunk tale in a near future with fire-breathing cows and a Texas trying to separate itself from America.
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells - Wells might be know to some of you as the Nebula nominated author of The Death of the Necromancer.  And this start to a new series has been getting rave reviews so far including a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and this one here.
The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu - This is one that really should have been in my Looking Forward list, but it wasn't until I saw the cover that I was sure. This has been pitched as A Song of Ice and Fire meets A Wizard of Earthsea. That is a lot to live up to and I aim to find out how it does. For map fans out there Bradly just posted the maps of this world.

Now it is back to The Unremembered I go.

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Covers Unveiled for Heaven's Shadow by David S. Goyer & Michael Cassutt

US Cover

Three years ago, an object one hundred miles across was spotted on a trajectory for Earth's sun. Now, its journey is almost over. As it approaches, two competing manned vehicles race through almost half a million kilometers of space to reach it first. But when they both arrive on the entity, they learn that it has been sent toward Earth for a reason. An intelligent race is desperately attempting to communicate with our primitive species. And the message is: "Help us."

Heaven's Shadow is the debut novel from David S. Goyer & Michael Cassutt.  It seems to be a mix of hard Sci-Fi and Thriller, but it hard to tell with the scant information that has been release thus far.  The just released US cover art is quite nice though and intrigues me much more than the UK version (below) as I wasn't too enthused by the color palette. The name David S. Goyer should be familiar to most of you as he is the screenwriter of the Blade Trilogy, the latest Batman Franchise, and notable Sci-Fi movies such as Dark City as well as the too short lived TV shows FlashForward and Treshold. While Michael Cassutt is no slouch either having written episodes of The Twilight Zone, seaQuest DSV, Stargate SG-1, Farscape, Andromeda, and Odyssey 5. He was also the main writer for one of my favorite TV shows as a child Eerie, Indiana.

Heaven's Shadow will be released July 5th and could be quite an entertaining summer read. It is also the start to

UK Cover

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