Bring Me My Brass Reading-Goggles!

io9.com has a nice overview of Steampunk, along with some recent offerings, including Gail Carriger’s forthcoming SOULLESS (Sept:US)

Gail Carriger has employed some very original thinking to the alternate-history-with-monsters game. She also lampoons the vicious world of Victorian society where an arch remark or fumbled introduction could reduce one to a state akin to walking death. Soulless is a character-driven romp with great worldbuilding and delicious rapier wit that recalls Austen and P.G. Wodehouse. Mystery and bloodshed abound, tea will be served,and there will be treacle tart!

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

That said, we couldn’t disagree more with the reviewer’s mild criticism of the cover: “her bumbershoot has arbitrary gears and a length of rubber hose attached to it for no discernible purpose.”

The purpose of the gears and hose are deliberately indiscernible – right up until the point when they deliver a steam-powered can of whoopass on Alexia’s foes.

But overall, it’s a lively, informative piece – and be sure to check out the comments for more recommendations.

THE PRODIGAL MAGE by Karen Miller

Karen Miller’s THE INNOCENT MAGE, which we published in 2007, has been one of the most successful fantasy debuts of recent years, and continues to feature prominently in the fantasy bestseller charts. THE INNOCENT MAGE was followed by a sequel, THE AWAKENED MAGE, and then the Godspeaker Trilogy (EMPRESS, THE RIVEN KINGDOM, and HAMMER OF GOD), as well as the first two books in the Rogue Agent series (THE ACCIDENTAL SORCERER and WITCHES, INC.) written under the pen name K.E. Mills. As well as Star Wars novel, WILD SPACE. She’s also written five books by Patrick Rothfuss and completed the Song of Ice and Fire. Okay, maybe not.

But we are definitely delighted, thrilled, and pleased as punch to be releasing this week Karen’s new book, THE PRODIGAL MAGE, in the US and UK. It marks a return to the world of THE INNOCENT MAGE – with some familiar characters and some new – and the start of a new 2-book story arc that will conclude with THE RELUCTANT MAGE. We’ve given Karen permission to take an afternoon off to celebrate her hardcover debut, on the strict understanding that she makes up the time later in the week.

The Most Awesomely Bad SFF Cover in the Universe!

The votes are in and we have a winner! We’re pleased to present to you the title for your worst cover ever.

(drumroll please)

Across a Trembling Sea the Cyborg Fairies Dance

It was an incredibly tight race, with Rise of the Fallen, Book Seven, The Pre-Antepenultimate Battle in second place, but in the end the Cyborg Faries put down the Fallen.

So there you have it. Our fearless art director is warming up her Photoshop as we speak, but before she can start we need two more key cover elements: the author name and the reading line.

Author names are straightforward enough (if you’re having problems, heed Dr. Ronald Chevalier’s advice).

The reading line is a more delicate matter — for that we need the top-line description of the book that will inform everything. The best reading line will give the reader a hint about what to expect in the book – even if that hint is wholly inaccurate.

Suggestions below.

Karen Miller on Sanity

For the next two weeks Karen Miller will be guest-posting at the Babel Clash blog. She starts her visit with an answer to the age-old question: are writers sane?

Writers – like actors — have a kink in the brain. It’s a kink that means we are at the same time deeply and intimately involved in the process of being human while standing outside that process watching it happen. It means that we can never truly be at one with our own lives because we can’t ever totally lose ourselves in the unconscious moment. A part of us is always conscious, always watching, analysing, pulling the moment apart so we can put it back together again as fiction.

You can join the conversation here.

Terry Brooks Times Two!

Last month was the paperback publication of the concluding volume of Terry Brooks’ fantastic Genesis of Shannara series. You can read the first chapter of the concluding volume, The Gypsy Morph, here.

But the post title says Terry Brooks x 2 and that’s what we have for you! We thought the ending of one series would be the perfect time to give you all a sneak peek of the next. A Princess of Landover is coming out this September and (as you might’ve guessed from the title!) it’s a return to the world of Landover. If you’ve never read a Landover book before, A Princess of Landover is the perfect place to start. It’s got all the great storytelling and excitement you’d expect from Terry Brooks and, of course, we have an extract for you here.

Deals and Deliveries: THE EDINBURGH DEAD by Brian Ruckley

What do you do after “putting the epic back into epic fantasy” (in the words of scifi.com)? If you’re Brian Ruckley, author of the Godless World Trilogy (WINTERBIRTH, BLOODHEIR, FALL OF THANES), you write THE EDINBURGH DEAD. I can’t improve on Brian’s own description “a dark, heroic fantasy set in 19th-century Edinburgh. With swords and gaslamps.” Brian is writing the book now, and we hope to publish it in 2011.

Anybody who reads Brian’s post, please note that we did actually sign this contract on purpose. It wasn’t an administrative error (like the first one).

In Their Own Words: Terry Brooks on The Gypsy Morph

Terry says:

The Gypsy Morph is the third book in the new Genesis of Shannara series and pretty much wraps up the time period covered by the first trilogy.  Lots is happening.  The old world, which is ours some eighty years in the future, is ending.  The survivors of multiple catastrophes are facing a firestorm which threatens to wipe out everyone who’s left.  A small band of Men, Elves, and other species is making its way to a safehold somewhere in the Pacific NW.  Leading them is a boy called Hawk, who was the Gypsy Morph of the Word & Void series.  His little band of street kids, called Ghosts, are linked with two Knights of the Word who have allied themselves with the survivors seeking the safehold refuge.  But dangers lie in wait along the way, and an army of once-men led by demons are in pursuit. (more…)

You Got Served!

Joe Abercrombie’s latest is just out, and we have two new endorsements from true geek royalty. Felicia Day, star of The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog tweeted about the book:

OMG indeed!
OMG indeed!

And over at Time Magazine’s Nerd World Lev Grossman (author of the forthcoming The Magicians ) writes:

Abercrombie writes dark, adult fantasy, by which I mean there’s a lot of stabbing in it, and after people stab each other they sometimes have sex with each other. His tone is morbid and funny and hard-boiled, not wholly dissimilar to that of Iain Banks. … Volumetrically speaking, it’s hard to think of another fantasy novel in which this much blood gets spilled.

[link]

So just in case George R.R. Martin’s endorsement wasn’t enough, you really have no excuse now to miss Joe’s first stand-alone hardcover. [US]