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Month: June 2016

New Treasures: A Most Improper Boxed Set by Stephanie Burgis

New Treasures: A Most Improper Boxed Set by Stephanie Burgis

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A Most Improper Boxed Set-smallNot long after I got my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, I joined a small start-up in Champaign, IL. I kept trying to explain to my friends and family what we did, without much luck. But after Microsoft licensed our first product and renamed it Internet Explorer 1.0, everyone understood what we did.

It was thrilling to be a manager in a fast-growing internet start-up in the early days of the dot-com boom, let me tell you. But one of the things I came to realize early on was that being an early tech pioneer was no help at all when it came to predicting where the next big thing was coming from. When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, for example, I confidently predicted it would never approach the success of Borders, since there was no way to browse for books, like you could in a real bookstore. Today, Borders is bankrupt, Amazon.com is one of the most successful companies in human history, and I spend hours every week browsing and shopping for books online, discovering more new titles than I ever could in a brick-and-mortar store.

That’s how I stumbled across A Most Improper Boxed Set, a delightful trilogy of Regency fantasy novels by Stephanie Burgis (Masks and Shadows), and decided to take a chance on it. Would I have made the same impulse purchase in a bookstore? Who can say? I’m just glad I did it.

For lovers of Harry Potter and Jane Austen, this boxed set of the Kat, Incorrigible Regency-era fantasy trilogy is a delightful blend of adventure, humor, mischief, romance, and quite a bit of improper magic.

Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she’s inherited her mother’s magical talents, and despite Stepmama’s stern objections, she’s determined to learn how to use them.

But nineteenth-century England is not the easiest place to practice scandalous magic. Kat’s reckless heroism will be tested to the utmost as she learns to control her new powers — all while battling dangerous highwaymen, dodging devious scoundrels, attempting to win her sisters their true loves, avoiding malicious gossip and disgraceful accusations, managing her sister Angeline’s heedless witchcraft and her brother Charles’s carelessness… and saving her family’s lives, the magical Order of the Guardians, and ultimately, England itself. And all this while trying to maintain the dignity of a proper lady!

This paperback boxed set — which includes Kat, Incorrigible; Renegade Magic; and Stolen Magic — contains enough mischief and magic to make Stepmama faint… and to satisfy the most voracious of readers.

A Most Improper Boxed Set was published by Atheneum Books on October 7, 2014. It contains three novels in trade paperback, with a combined page count of 1072 pages, and is priced at $21.99. The marvelously whimsical cover art is by Annette Marnat. See Emily Mah’s interview with Stephanie Burgis here.

Total Pulp Victory: A Report on Windy City Pulp & Paper 2016, Part I

Total Pulp Victory: A Report on Windy City Pulp & Paper 2016, Part I

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Pulp vendors at Windy City Pulp 2016-small

Pulp and book vendors at Windy City Pulp 2016

My favorite Chicagoland convention, by a pretty wide margin, is Windy City Pulp and Paper. It’s organized by Doug Ellis and a team of volunteers, and this year it took place from April 22-24 in Lombard, Illinois, its home for the last decade or so.

It’s a little strange that Windy City has bubbled to the top of my list. I entertain myself in numerous ways at conventions, but I especially enjoy a robust reading program, lively programming and panels, and late-night conversations at parties. Windy City has none of that. Sure, they have their Sunday New Pulp reading series, and the Friday night auction, and those are fun. But at heart, Windy City is mostly just a giant Dealer’s Room.

But what a Dealer’s Room! Dozens and dozens of dealers from all over the country packed into the ballroom of the Westin Hotel, selling pulps, vintage paperbacks, DVDs, artwork, comics, rare books, new books, small press publications, posters, and so much more. It’s the kind of Dealer’s Room you can get lost in for days, and for a lifetime pulp and book collector like me, it’s paradise.

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The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Stephen Mangan’s Dirk Gently

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Stephen Mangan’s Dirk Gently

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Gently_TVbothLast week, I was writing my post for today. It was about the Houdini and Doyle miniseries, in which Stephen Mangan plays Arthur Conan Doyle, who was, of course, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. But, the principle of Zen Writing Navigation took me elsewhere.

There is a school of thought that says you should use a map when you are lost. Dirk Gently’s strategy is to find someone who looks like they know where they are going and follow them. He rarely ends up where he was intending to go, but often ends up somewhere that he needed to be. Back in 2010, Mangan played Gently in a pilot episode that was followed by three more episodes in 2012.

I followed Magnan and ended up writing this post, not one on Houdini and Doyle. And through this, once again proving the fundamental interconnectedness of everything.

Just as Sherlock Holmes was the world’s first (and greatest) private consulting detective, Gently was the world’s first, greatest and only holistic detective, created by the late Douglas Adams. I wrote about Gently here at Black Gate and if you haven’t read Adams’ two novels about him, you’re missing out on some terrific humor.

You might be familiar with the phrase, “Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.” If you’re not, as soon as you finish reading this post, you need to read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Not watch the movie (which is better than people give it credit for), but read the book. Fortunately, this miniseries is closer to Gently than that phrase implies.

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Future Treasures: Duskfall by Christopher Husberg

Future Treasures: Duskfall by Christopher Husberg

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Duskfall Christopher Husberg-smallI tend to like my fantasy dark and gritty. Arthurian fantasy, romantic fantasy, light-hearted comedy… I enjoy those as well, but in smaller doses. And when I’m shopping for a new series, my eye tends to gravitate towards those that promise high stakes, rich settings, complex characters, and diabolical villains.

Christopher Husberg’s debut fantasy novel Duskfall looks like it could fit the bill nicely. It’s the opening volume in The Chaos Queen Quintet (which I assume means there will be four more?) The next volume, Dark Immolation, will be released in June 2017. Duskfall is due in trade paperback from Titan this week.

There Are Daemons That Even Daemons Fear….

Pulled from the frozen waters of the Gulf of Nahl, stuck with arrows and near to death, Knot has no memory of who he was. But his dreams are dark, and he can kill a man with terrifying ease.

Winter, a tiellan woman whose people have long been oppressed by humans, is married to and abandoned by Knot on the same day, when robed assassins attack their wedding. Her nascent magical abilities will lead her to a deadly addiction — and phenomenal power.

And Cinzia, priestess and true believer, has returned to her home city to find that her own sister is leading a heretical rebellion. A rebellion that only the inquisition can crush… Their fates will intertwine, in a land where magic and demons are believed dead, but dark forces still vie for power.

Duskfall will be published by Titan Books on June 21, 2016. It is 560 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital edition.

See all our coverage of the best upcoming fantasy here.

Zombie Plagues, Demon Hunters, and the Cyborg Tour de France: Catching Up With Tor.com

Zombie Plagues, Demon Hunters, and the Cyborg Tour de France: Catching Up With Tor.com

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The-Emperors-Railroad-small The Jewel and her Lapidary-small A Whisper of Southern Lights-small
Runtime Divya-small Infomocracy Malka Older-small Return of Souls-small

I think Tor.com‘s new line of premium novellas is a terrific idea. I really enjoy keeping on top of the latest in fantasy and SF (or, at least, the illusion that I’m keeping on top of the latest in fantasy and SF), but I just don’t have enough time to read all the novels I need to do that.

But the Tor.com novellas have allowed me to sample many of the top writers in the field, as well as new and emerging talents, in a marvelously satisfying way. I’m talking about folks like Michael R. Underwood, K. J. Parker, Mary Robinette Kowal, Tim Lebbon, Seanan McGuire, Kai Ashante Wilson, Paul Cornell, Alter S. Reiss, Nnedi Okorafor, Angela Slatter, Daniel Polansky, and many others. The novellas are quick, inexpensive reads… and so far, the quality has been top-notch. It doesn’t hurt that they also look terrific, and are highly collectible, either.

This is where some of the most exciting work in the industry is being done, and the critical buzz reflects that. The fledgling line has already been showered with accolades, award nominations, and even a Nebula Award… and it’s not even a year old!

Tor.com shows no signs of slowing down, releasing 2-3 new titles per month through the spring and summer. The six books above were published over the last nine weeks, and they’re some of the most interesting of the lot. They include their first full-length novel, Malka Older ‘s Infomocracy, sequels to previous popular Tor.com novellas (Tim Lebbon’s A Whisper of Southern Lights and Andy Remic’s Return of Souls), two debuts (S. B. Divya’s Runtime, and Infomocracy), a standalone novella from a 2016 Nebula nominee (Fran Wilde’s The Jewel and Her Lapidary), and the start of an exciting new science fantasy series from a popular Warhammer 40K author (Guy Haley’s The Emperor’s Railroad.)

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Vintage Treasures: Nine Hundred Grandmothers by R.A. Lafferty

Vintage Treasures: Nine Hundred Grandmothers by R.A. Lafferty

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Nine Hundred Grandmothers-small Nine Hundred Grandmothers-back-small Nine Hundred Grandmothers Ace 1982-small

R.A. Lafferty is one of the finest short story writers our genre has seen, and “Nine Hundred Grandmothers,” a compact masterpiece originally published in the February 1966 issue of IF magazine, is one of the best short stories ever written. The tale of an asteroid miner who can’t stop himself from asking the deep questions, and what happens when he comes across a strange and ancient race of aliens who remember how life began, it’s funny, thought provoking, and totally, totally unique. A description you could apply to much of Lafferty’s output, now that I think about it.

Nine Hundred Grandmothers, Lafferty’s first collection, was published as an original paperback in Terry Carr’s legendary Ace Science Fiction Special line in 1970, and it contained much of his finest work, including “Slow Tuesday Night,” “Snuffles,” and “Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne.” The front cover (above left) was by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon; the back cover is above center. It was reprinted in paperback by Ace in January 1982 with a new cover by Charles Mikolaycak (above right). While the Ace Special edition was first, the 1982 paperback is actually the more rare of the two, and highly sought by collectors.

Here’s the blurb from the inside front cover of the 1970 edition, with brief but tantalizing descriptions of some of the stories within.

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DC’s Continuing Rebirth

DC’s Continuing Rebirth

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Green Lanterns - Rebirth (2016) 001-002Rebirth still sounds a bit weird to say, like I’m saying DC was born in Kenya or something. In reality, I’m continuing from my last post which started my look at DC Rebirth, what I’m referring to as a corrective reboot.

To recap: DC seems to be explaining the discrepancies of the last 5 years (called the New 52) by saying that there’s a plot afoot and everyone in the DCU got their memory reprogrammed. This is comic books, so I’m ok with suspending belief over that one, because I’m intrigued as to who would be powerful enough to fiddle with the memory of everyone in the DCU and why they would do it.

So in the last two weeks, DC has unfolded more of Rebirth through a series of one-shot issues designed to propel readers back into the regular monthlies, some of which have already started under their “rebirth” banners. Here are the seven one-shots:

Batman Rebirth: Bruce gets a new helper. I don’t know yet if he’s a sidekick or not. That will roll out in the coming weeks. The fact that this new hero is a black guy certainly helps with diversity of voices DC will have to tell stories.

I liked the thematic concern too. This issue was about what superheroes do and why they keep going on when villains keep returning, changed, grown, more powerful. These are central questions to the central conceit of the superhero. I liked the hopeful answer.

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Uncanny Magazine Issue 10 Now on Sale

Uncanny Magazine Issue 10 Now on Sale

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Uncanny Magazine May June 2016-smallOver at Tangent Online, reviewer Herbert M. Shaw weighs in on the May/June Uncanny, which features a lot of tales of the undead this issue.

“The Sound of Salt and Sea” by Kat Howard
When the ghost of a brash face from his past returns, it is up to an island’s mortal protector to right a recent wrong. Secluded to a tropical are where the dead rise at low tide, the protagonist describes his struggle as the sole protector with a wide array of metaphors and similes. Howard takes on the undead by fighting fire with fire in a story about friendships, family ties, and skeleton horseback riding.

“You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay” by Alyssa Wong
A second-person novella places the reader as the main character to become immersed in the mindset of a person capable of controlling the dead. Some call it witchcraft, some call it a family trait. Through deep understandings of the other character’s perceptions, Wong manages to create a sense of how dangerous and significant your power can be as you lead an expedition to an abandoned mine to rid it of its infestation.

“The Drowning Line” by Haralambi Markov
This issue’s trend of stories involving the undead and death by water culminates in a sort of ‘Freddy meets Jason’ myth held by one person. After a demon killed the father, it is up to the son to prevent it from coming for his newly teenage daughter on the cusp of womanhood. His journey is plagued by a past he cannot let go of for fear that being forgotten will not mean it is gone. As the only male writer in this month’s issue, Markov concludes these stories by unknowingly borrowing aspects of the previous four, those being family values, brash actions, facing the dead, and the ever-present environment of water.

Read Shaw’s complete review here. The magazine also includes fiction by Seanan McGuire, Kameron Hurley, and JY Yang, and non-fiction by Foz Meadows, Sarah Monette, Stephanie Zvan, and Tanya DePass, plus poetry, interview, and an editorial. All of the content became available for purchase as an eBook (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) on May 1, 2016.

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John DeNardo on The Must-Read Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror in June

John DeNardo on The Must-Read Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror in June

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Infomocracy Malka Older-small League of Dragons-small Ninefox Gambit-small

Kirkus Reviews has become a lively place for SF and fantasy discussion, thanks primarily to the efforts of Andrew Liptak and John DeNardo, who have been producing weekly articles that look at the best in the genre, old and new. John has taken to doing a monthly survey of the most intriguing new titles in SF, fantasy and horror, and I find it invaluable. This month he highlights new books by Stephen King, Malka Older, Naomi Novik, Brenda Cooper, Anthony O’Neill, Charles Stross, and many others — including the first novel by acclaimed short story writer Yoon Ha Lee.

Here’s a sample of some of John’s top choices for the month.

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New Treasures: The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015, edited by David Afsharirad

New Treasures: The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015, edited by David Afsharirad

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The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF 2015-smallLast June Baen Books launched an intriguing new Best of the Year series, The Year’s Best Military SF and Space Opera, edited by David Afsharirad. It was a commercial and critical success, and I was pleased to see a second volume arrive this month. This year’s edition has a slightly tweaked title, The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015, but it’s still packed with the best military SF, space opera, and adventure SF stories from last year, culled from the top magazines and online venues. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

Preface by David Afsharirad
Introduction by David Drake
“The Siege of Denver” by Brendan DuBois (Baen.com, December 2015)
“Save what You Can” by David Drake (Onward, Drake!)
“For the Love of Sylvia City” by Andrea M. Pawley (Clarkesworld, May 2015)
“The Wizard of the Trees” by Joe R. Lansdale (Old Venus)
“Helping Hand”by Claudine Griggs (Lightspeed, June 2015, Queers Destroy Science Fiction! Special Issue)
“Morrigan in Shadow” by Seth Dickinson (Clarkesworld, December 2015)
“Remembery Day” by Sarah Pinsker (Apex Magazine, issue 72)
“Gyre” by Brad R. Torgersen (Galaxy’s Edge, March 2015)
“Twilight on Olympus” by Eric Leif Davin (Galaxy’s Edge, March 2015)
“The Trouble with Telepaths” by Hank Davis (Onward, Drake!)
“This is the Way the Universe Ends: With a Bang” by Brian Dolton (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2015)
“The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss” by David Brin (Old Venus)

The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015 was published by Baen on June 7, 2016. It is 288 pages, priced at $16 in trade paperback and $8.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Kurt Miller. Find all the details — and sample excerpts — at Baen.com.

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