Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

New Procurements

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Things are in full swing as I wind-down operations at Mad Hatter Central in preparation of moving into Mad Hatter Manor. Yes, that means I'm moving. This also means things around here will be slow. Again. But I do have some things in the works such as an interview or two. Anyhoo, here are the books most recently made part of my collection.

The first two were purchases made with my Christmas gift cards. Ben Loory's Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day is a collection of short stories that has been getting a lot of good marks and I finally decided to go for it. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley is a debut for a new Urban Fantasy series and with a first line that starts: "The body you are wearing used to be mine." I'll be checking it out soon. And yes that big yellow book next is Nick Harkaway's Angelmaker. You may all weep into your hats in disappointment that it isn't in your stack, but it does come out in March so don't cry to deeply. Another March release is Jon Sprunk's last shadow book Shadow's Masters, which means it is time I get to the 2nd book Shadow's Lure. Heir of Novron finishes off the fun so-far Riyria series by Michael J. Sullivan. The books sure look nice lined up on the shelf.

A lot of Night Shade titles came in recently including J.M. McDermott's When We Were Executioners. The more I say the title the more I like it. Say it with me: When We Were Executioners. Hitchers is Will McIntosh's second standalone novel, which I've already started and quite like as the spirits of the dead hitch a ride with the living. Last and First Men by Olaf Stapleton is a another after Christmas buy since it has been on my longlist of books classic Sci-Fi books needed in my collection. Royal Street is Suzanne Johnson's debut, which is the start to a New Orleans influenced Urban Fantasy series. New Orleans is one of my favorite places. In fact I have a long weekend planned there in February so I'll think I'll bring it with. Under the Moons of Mars is John Joseph Adams' new all-original anthology of fiction influenced by Edgar Burrough's John Carter/Barsoom. Quite a line up in this one with Garth Nix, Genevieve Valentine, Austin Grossman, Peter S. Beagle, and Joe R. Lansdale just to name a few. Next is Book Prize Winner A.S. Byat's Ragnarok, which uses the basis of the Norse myths of Ragnarok in story form. Very intrigued by this one. Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot.is another that has caught me by surprise. Check out this part of the description:

It is the Afterlife. The end of the world is a distant, distorted memory called “the Age of F***ed Up Shit.” A sentient glacier has wiped out most of North America. Medical care is supplied by open-source nanotechnology, and human nervous systems can be hacked.

Crazy right? Good thing I like crazy. Next are a couple more debuts from Night Shade who just keep killing it. Enormity by W.G. Marshall tackles modernizing the B-movie theme of someone waking up one day and becoming a colossus. Tooth and Nail by Jennifer Safrey at first sounds a bit cutesy for my taste. A female boxer who turns out to be a tooth fairy, but I just may give it a chance.

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REVIEW | Brave New Worlds edited by John Joseph Adams
REVIEW | Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
REVIEW | Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

Mad Hatter's Reading Log Vol. 12 (December)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

December saw me trying to cram in all the books I've been meaning to read this year. It turned out to be a very good month with hardly any disappointments. And I also managed to read 125 books during the course of the year. This includes so novellas and graphic novels, but not every little thing I read. Still I'm quite happy with that number, but very unsure if I'll even come close to it in 2012. 2012 is setting up to be a very busy year for me personally since I'm trying to sell my house and move along with a lot of travel. Travel does generally mean catching up on reading though, but we'll see. Anyway here is what I read in December.

114. Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon - This is a story that plays with connections, expectations, and can severely screw with your head. It is undoubtedly beautifully told, but the ending left me wanting. But maybe that is just what Chaon wanted? Recommended.
115. Never Knew Another by J.M. McDermott - Perspective is key in McDermott's opener to the medieval set Dogsland Trilogy. We view the story from someone with the ability to absorb someone's memories for them to see and experience most of what that person did. The absorber is a Demon Hunter out to destroy those with demon blood. It is very introspective and looks at what it means to be an outsider from many different POVs. McDermott is pushing the boundaries of Fantasy and they are a vision to behold. Never Knew Another is currently free if you've an e-reader and if you are the type looking for something new and unusual in your Fantasy McDermott delivers. Recommended and I'll certainly be reading the sequel When We Were Executioners at some point (out this February).

116. Eyes to See by Joseph Nassise - Even though Nassise has written a lot of books this was my first of his and it is the start to a new Urban Fantasy series starring a man who blinded himself so he could see the magical spectrum in order to find his missing daughter. All in all a good premise and solid delivery. Nothing too exceptional for the genre, but I'll be interested to see where the series goes from here.

~~117~~. Kultus by Richard Ford - Another I just couldn't get into that will probably be picked up at a later date.
117. Giant Thief by David Tallerman - A debut that is all about pushing the story forward as a low-life thief takes-off with a giant. This isn't one of those thief with a heart of gold stories. If Easie, the thief, had a heart of gold he would have dug it out and sold it years ago. Recommended for classic Fantasy fans. Be sure to check out my interview with Tallerman.
118. Alien Contact edited by Marty Halpern - Ranging from first contact and last contact to vacationers visiting an alien's home world and being, typically, obnoxious guests Alien Contact compiles one of the most diverse collections of modern stories concerning the "other." Highly recommended. I would have liked to seen some more classic examples, but there have been many anthologies now decades old that have already done so.
119. The Bride Wore Black by Simon R. Green - After finishing Alien Contact I had a case of reader indecision, which was quickly cured when the final Nightside book showed up at my door. Despite the repetitiveness being at an all time high for the series, this was a nice farewell to the denizens of the Nightside and John Taylor. But when are we going to get a Razor Eddie novel?

120. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges - A classic collection of Borges best known work, including my personal favorite "The Library of Babel." which has become an iconic work. Nearly every story is a gem showcasing Borges scalpel-assured skills of style, wit, and philosophy. This is a collection I've re-read many times over the years and will do so for many more. Simply a classic that belongs on everyone's shelves.
121. Abhorsen by Garth Nix - Nix's Abhorsen trilogy is something I've been slowly savoring and considering I read the first Sabriel, last Christmas I thought it appropriate to read the last this Christmas. The world is so well developed, but Nix has an unbelievable knack for developing reader ties with characters you never want to let them go. Highly recommended.
122. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and touching novels I've read this year. Obreht has a bright, bright future ahead of her. We travel with a young female doctor in the Balkans coping with the loss of her grandfather. The story switches between the grandfather's past and his granddaughter's search for closure. I'm not sure Magical Realism would be appropriate for the story as those aspects are hardly the point, but the story of the deathless man and tiger's wife definitely give you reason to push forward if the emotional story wasn't enough for you. Highly recommended.

123. The Magician King by Lev Grossman - The sequel to one of my favorite books of 2009 is now one of my favorite books of 2011. This time around the Grossman successfully attempts to subvert the quest story (especially Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and does so with verve, aplomb, and a lot of geekdom jokes showcasing just how much the author loves genre. Highly recommended, very much a worthy sequel.
124.* Hounded by Kevin Hearne - Looking over my reading log I couldn't find this on the list despite knowing I read it so I add it here for completion sake. I certainly liked it well enough to do a interview with the starring character Atticus earlier this year.
125. Empire State by Adam Christopher - A very interesting yet somewhat uneven debut. I liked the Noir aspects melding with other genres (Superheros, Sci-Fi, Pocket Universes), and divergent characters created but felt the beginning set things off to a rocky start. Fuller review likely to come.

Given that my year end awards The Hatties have already been announced it is probably not hard to tell which my favorites of December were, but in case it isn't clear The Magician King, The Tiger's Wife, and Never Knew Another. And if you haven't read Borges yet please go sit in the corner until you've done so. It has been quite a year for reading filled with many long awaited books and so many quality debuts I couldn't even get to them all. And 2012 is off to a good start, but more on that later.

You Might Also Like:
INTERVIEW | Lev Grossman author of The Magicians
INTERVIEW | David Tallerman author of Giant Thief
REVIEW | Is There Anybody Out There? Edited by Nick Givers and Marty Halpern
The 2011 Hattie Awards!!! Or the Best Books of 2011 (That I've Read)

Cover Unveiled for The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:58:00 +0000

It was announced in the summer of 2010 that Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter would be teaming up to write at least two novels in a series with the first being titled The Long Earth, which uses the trope of parallel earths. Divergent Earths is a trope I never seem to tire of given we generally get to see so many visions of a slightly altered Earth and how they came to be that way. And you just know Pratchett will bring the humor. One of Pratchett's longtime weaknesses has always been his the Science part of Science Fiction, as is very evident in his first novel Strata so bringing Baxter in to better handle that should certainly make this a smoother ride. From the info that has been released so far the idea for the story is very much Pratchett's and has been in gestation for decades now. The above is the UK cover, which is pretty but doesn't seem like a Pratchett novel. Both a UK and a US blurb have been released and they are quite different so both are included below. The Long Earth will be released June19th in the US and the 21st in the UK.

US description:

Larry Lynsey is a recluse. Aggressively protective of his singular solitude, he has searched long, far, and wide to find the perfect isolation. Deep in one of the farthest regions in Long Earth—a series of parallel worlds that become increasingly un-Earthlike with distance—in the region known as the High Meggas, the curmudgeon has found his Eden. He isn’t just the only living person on the planet; he is, in fact, the only person on the closest ten planets. It would take a ridiculously long time to reach him even if anyone tried.

Life for Larry is exactly how he likes it.

Unfortunately, Larry only thinks he’s alone . . .

Hapless travellers Anna Shea and Seven Valiente must have taken a wrong turn at a wrong star somewhere in the back of beyond deep space and have now gotten themselves stranded in the High Meggas. Larry’s High Meggas.

For the likes of the hermetic Larry, three is way too big a crowd, accidental tourists or not. Which means, he’s got to do something about them.

Which means, this being a Terry Pratchett story, hijinks, mishaps, and hilarity will ensue.

Infused with Pratchett’s subtle satire and vibrant, believable world-building and with award-winning author Stephen Baxter’s bold speculative insight, The Long Earth is dazzling feat of skill and imagination sure to enthrall fans old and new.

UK description:

The possibilities are endless (just be careful what you wish for...)

1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No man's Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson has returned to the burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad, others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way, the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself. Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was one...

...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping, you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's our our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers' an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might not have happened and things may well have turned out rather differently.

But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and now the great migration has begun...

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TIDBIT | GRRM Interviews Bernard Cornwall

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:16:00 +0000

Over at Omnivoracious George R.R. Martin interviews Bernard Cornwall and it is quite a nice interview filled with the wisdom from two authors who have been writing for quite a long time. Here a bit:

GRRM: It has long been my contention that the historical novel and the epic fantasy are sisters under the skin, that the two genres have much in common. My series owes a lot to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and the other great fantasists who came before me, but I've also read and enjoyed the work of historical novelists. Who were your own influences? Was historical fiction always your great passion? Did you ever read fantasy?

BC: You're right - fantasy and historical novels are twins - and I've never been fond of the label 'fantasy' which is too broad a brush and has a fey quality. It seems to me you write historical novels in an invented world which is grounded in historical reality (if the books are set in the future then 'fantasy' magically becomes sci-fi). So I've been influenced by all three: fantasy, sci-fi and historical novels, though the largest influence has to be C.S. Forester's Hornblower books.

Go check the rest out here.

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INTERVIEW | David Tallerman author of Giant Thief

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:23:00 +0000

I've always had a penchant towards thieves in Fantasy. From Robin Hood and my old days playing DnD all the way up to Lynch's Locke Lamora and Hulicks' Drothe, thieves have always come across as great characters because they often fight with themselves about what to do and just happen to get in scrap after scrap. So I was immediately drawn to David Tallerman's very fun debut Giant Thief from Angry Robot in late January. Tallerman has been busily writing short stories for a few years having his work published in Lightspeed, Bull Spec, and many other places, but it was the first line in Giant Thief that really drew me in and wouldn't let me put the book down.

****

MH: Thanks for joining us today David. To begin can you tell us a little about yourself and your road to becoming an author? You've published quite a bit of short fiction over the last 4 years, but Giant Thief is your debut novel. Did Giant Thief have its origins in any short story in particular?

DT: I'd been talking about wanting to be a writer since I was in my teens, but six or seven years ago it sank in that it had to be a lot more more than talk. I'd spent maybe five years writing a book I knew would never sell (and which no one will ever read!) and I finally realised writing was too important to me to treat that way. I wanted to write stories I liked and cared about, I wanted to work towards a point where doing that was more or less my life, and I finally felt like I was willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen.

I had an actual full-on Stalinist five year plan at the start there, but I don't remember what it actually was, and it changed a lot as things went on. At first I wrote vast numbers of short stories, which was a lot of fun. I tried to keep pushing myself, to be getting a little bit better all the time, or at least learning how to do something I'd never tried before.

There came a point, maybe three years into that, where I began to realise I'd have to have another go at a novel. Giant Thief didn't originate with any one story, but it did come out of not wanting to make the mistakes I'd made with my first attempt at novel writing. I was writing one or two short stories a month, and I didn't want to lose that pace. So it had to be something fast-paced, fun, not too convoluted. Something I could throw myself into and just keep moving with.

MH: Why giants?

DT: You know, I have no idea.

The image it all started with was a guy escaping on a giant ... I don't remember the particular train of thought that took me there, but it came from somewhere and I liked it, on a whole lot of levels. It met the criteria. What's more fast-paced, fun and linear than a chase? Then close on the first idea came the realisation of what kind of a character would think stealing a giant as an escape vehicle was a good idea - and there was the core of Giant Thief.

MH: Giant Thief is told in the first person from the titular thief Easie Damasco. Was there ever a time when the story was told third person?

DT: No, never. I guess that goes back to what I was saying above. I figured, not entirely correctly, that it was harder to tie yourself in knots with a first person narrative. Then again, once Damasco started to take shape it was obvious it had to be his voice doing the telling - because there was no way he'd ever shut up.

MH: Easie definitely has a tongue on him. Darker characters or what is becoming known as gritty, grey, and ambiguous characters have been on the rise in Fantasy the last decade and Easie seems to fit in that somewhere. When you were growing up what characters in Fantasy were you interested in? More of the reluctant born hero types like Aragon? Or someone who wants to do good, but isn't above doing a bit of evil to get their way? Or just an out and out bastard?

DT: With a couple of exceptions, those being Pratchett and Gaiman, I wasn't a big fantasy reader in my youth. It's really only in the last five years that I've been seriously reading fantasy. I guess both Gaiman and Pratchett did leave their fingerprints on Giant Thief, though. They're both terrific writers of protagonists you can't help rooting for despite, or because of, their overwhelming defects as human beings. My instinct with Damasco wasn't so much that he'd be gritty or ambiguous, but that he'd stay true to a few basic traits that were bound to come with the lifestyle he'd been leading. He's a thief. That means he steals stuff and doesn't beat himself up over it. He's used to getting by on his own, and he's got far too big a mouth. I'm okay with any kind of hero, good, bad or indifferent, so long as they have that kind of consistency.

MH: If you met Easie in a bar and he struck up a conversation are you more likely to buy him a drink or slap him for trying to steal your wallet?

DT: I'd buy Easie a drink, I owe him that much. But then I'd get the hell out of there. Even if he didn't make a grab for my wallet, there'd be sure to be trouble close behind him.

MH: Will we get to learn more about Giant culture in Crown Thief? Speaking of which where does the story go from Giant Thief?

DT: Not so much their culture, but we'll certainly see much more of the giants in Crown Thief, and get more of a sense of what makes them tick.

I don't want to say too much plot-wise about Crown Thief, for obvious reasons Suffice to say that it picks up directly where Giant Thief ends, with our heroes (that is, all the main characters who aren't Damasco) quickly realising that everything isn't just going to return to normal, that there are some major pieces left in the wake of the first book's events still to be picked up - in fact, that by trying to do the right thing they may have opened the floodgates to an even bigger threat. In amongst all that, we have Damasco heading off to meet the King, with the Castoval's greatest assassin at his heels ... and you just know that's not going to end well.

MH: Now on to the important stuff. What is your favorite type of hat?

DT: A plain straw hat is fine by me. They never seem to last though. I've had my current one for a couple of years now, which has to be a record.

MH: Besides the release of Giant Thief what are you most looking forward to in 2012?

DT: Why, the release of Crown Thief of course!

No? Okay. Well, I'm hoping to finish the decorating and refurbishment of the house I bought a couple of months ago. That's pretty exciting.

MH: Since you're still early in your career I'm going to throw some good old standard questions at you that every novelist has to answer at some point. First, who is the one author living or dead you'd like to have dinner with?

DT: I'm going to say Terry Pratchett. Asides from the fact that I'm sure he'd be good company, I can't think of any writer, save perhaps King, who's struck such a balance between popular success, critical approval and tending to his own writerly needs. Long after the point where the Discworld should have got tired, long after the point where he ever needed to work again, you can tell Pratchett's still loving what he's doing.

MH: Next what are 3 of your favorite novels ever?

DT: Without giving it too much thought, I'm going to say...

Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household
The War of the Worlds - H G Wells
Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll

MH: Very nice picks. Lastly, if you could live in a Fantasy world, which would it be?

DT: Tough question. Most fantasy worlds are fairly unsafe places to live in, aren't they? I'm going to opt for Vance's Lyonesse; it might not be significantly less dangerous than anywhere else, but at least I'd never be bored.

MH: Thanks for playing along. Besides January's release of Giant Thief is there anything you'd like to mention to close us out?

DT: Well, it would be lovely if a few more people read my blog at http://davidtallerman.blogspot.com. And if anyone happens to be at the UK SFX weekender in February, come say hi at the official Giant Thief book launch.

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REVIEW | Retribution Falls by Christopher Wooding
INTERVIEW | Douglas Hulick author of Among Thieves

NEWS | Chine Miéville Finally Coming to Comics

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Only a couple years ago China Miéville was slated to do a run on Swamp Thing, but with DC's Vertigo imprint folding many of the older characters back into the DC Universe for the New 52 launch including Swamp Thing stopped those plans. I also heard rumors of him doing a Scrap Iron Man story, but nothing ever came of it although China recently released a bit of info on this aborted project. So Miéville getting a shot at a long-run in comics has been long in coming. DC finally announced an official series with him called Dial H based off the the old Dial H for Hero comic series from the 60s.

Miéville has been a fan of Dial H for Hero since he was little and without tattoos. He'll work with artist Brian Bolland on the series cover who has worked previously on Judge Dredd, Batman, Doom Patrol, and a whole bunch of other series with Mateus Santoluoco doing the interiors. Santolucco is new to me, but just looking at his portfolio gives you a feel for what is to come. From China's interview with USA Today:

"I cannot believe that I get to just make up superheroes. It's what you did as a kid," Miéville says. "The whole point of Dial is that the roster of capes is changing every single month, often two or three times." He also promises a darker series with horror, sci-fi and lots of psychological ramifications for its dialing protagonist. "In the original run, he's turning into a giant spring coil to foil bank robbers, and I'm like, OK, what if you are a 25-year-old guy and you turn into a superpowered spring coil? That's going to mess with your head."

I certainly think Miéville can pull off an adult version of Ben 10. It will definitely be interesting to see him work in another medium. Miéville's first issue of Dial H should be out in May. So between that and his steampunk Moby Dick YA novel Railsea coming out this year we'll have plenty of Miéville to go around.

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NEWS | Info on the Ray Bradbury Tribute Anthology

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:30:00 +0000

I mentioned news of a Ray Bradbury tribute anthology a couple months ago called Live Forever!, which has since been re-tilted to Shadow Show. The title is a reference to Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, which is the circus from Something Wicked Comes This Way. The cover seen above looks to be the final and judging by the style I'd bet money on it being done by Tom Gauld who also recently did the covers for the Gaiman and Sarrantonio anthology Stories as well as Matthew Hughes' The Damn Busters. Here is the blurb:

Ray Bradbury is a storyteller without peer, a poet of the possible, and, indisputably, one of America’s most beloved authors. In a much-celebrated literary career that has spanned seven decades, he has produced an astonishing body of work. In Shadow Show, editors Sam Weller and Mort Castle have collected short stories from 27 of the most celebrated authors today to honor Ray Bradbury and his contribution to the literary canon.

The revealed list of contributors includes: Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Dave Eggers, Harlan Ellison, Alice Hoffman, Dean Koontz, Audrey Niffenegger, David Morrell, Lee Martin, Ramsey Campbell, Robert McCammon, Dan Chaon, Joe Meno, Kelly Link, Jay Bonansinga, Sam Weller, Thomas F. Monteleone, John McNally, Mort Castle, John Maclay, Gary Braunbeck, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Charles Yu, Julia Keller, Bayo Ojikutu, and Jacquelyn Mitchard. The big names that weren't on the previous list I had include Charles Yu and Kelly Link. So you could definitely say I want Shadow Show come its July 17th release date.

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Winners of Alien Contact

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Winners of Alien Contact, which took runner-up as Best Anthology of the Year in the Hattie Awards, are:

Ed from California City, CA - Signed Physical Book
Yagiz from Ireland - eBook

Thanks to Marty Halpern for making this contest happen.

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NEWS | Ray Bradbury Tribute Anthology
COVER EVOLUTION | The Martian Chronicles (1950-2009)
REVIEW | Brave New Worlds edited by John Joseph Adams

The 2011 Hattie Awards!!! Or the Best of 2011 (That I've Read)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:42:00 +0000

2011 is officially over and what a year it was for genre fiction in general. We were hit with many long awaited reads as well as one of the most impressive debut lists in quite a few years. Making decisions on this list certainly hasn't been easy and if you asked me to redo this list in 2 weeks it would probably look slightly different in order at least, if not titles. During the course of the year I managed to read 125 books or so and here is what I consider to be the cream of the crop.

Fantasy Novel of the Year

Winner - The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

Runner-up (tie) - The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and The Magician King by Lev Grossman

Honorable Mentions - The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells, The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi, A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, and The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

With many Giants of Fantasy releasing novels most would think they'd win easily, but over and over again I found myself recommending The Night Circus to nearly everybody I know. It has stayed with me like few novels have. Morganstern created a world most anyone would love to get lost in. While The Wise Man's Fear hasn't been as universally acclaimed as The Name of the Wind it did fulfill all my expectations and Rothfuss continues to redefine modern Fantasy. The Magician King did nothing but play with my expectations taking the idea of the quest into heretofore unexplored territories while still reminding us of why quests adventures are so memorable. And that ending! The fact that it is better than The Magicians amazed me. The Cloud Roads and The Alchemist both stood out for their originality and left me wanting more from these worlds. A Dance with Dragons made the list entirely because of the Jon Snow chapters while Abercrombie's latest effort showed me Military Fantasy done to near perfection.

Science Fiction Novel of the Year
Winner - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Runner-up - Seed by Rob Ziegler
Honorable Mentions - Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh, Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson, and Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson

While this year wasn't as strong as 2009/2010 for Science Fiction (Bacigalupi/Yu/Rajaniemi)there was plenty of good. Ready Player One just pushed all the right buttons with me and if you've ever been a regular gamer and were raised in the late 70s or or 80s you can't help but fall in love with the story and mentions of the things you loved growing up. Seed was told with such a strong voice and imagines such a realistic world I was left reeling about the possible future. Ziegler is definitely an author to watch. You could certainly say I had a strong inclination towards Apocalyptic reads this year given the nature of all of the above, excepting Vortex, containing some sort of decline of civilization.

Steampunk Novel of the Year

Winner - Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine
Runner-up (tie) - Ganymede by Cherie Priest and All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen

This year I dialed back the number of Steampunk reads, but those I did partake of ratcheted things up. Mechanique is a flat-out beautiful and disconcerting novel. Ganymede is now my second favorite Cherie Priest novel since she honored New Orleans so well and Rosen's debut brought laughter and a sense of joy to Steampunk.

Urban Fantasy Novel of the Year

Winner - Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Runner-up - Aloha from Hell by Richard Kadrey

Honorable Mentions - No Hero by Jonathan Wood, Briarpatch by Tim Pratt, The Rift Walker by Clay & Susan Griffith

This was a difficult category since you can define UF pretty broadly, but I stuck to books traditionally marketed as UF with the exception of The Rift Walker, which could have just as easily gone under Steampunk or just Fantasy. Hearne's Iron Druid series managed to balance humor, action, and gods in such an entertaining fashion that I was hooked from the onset. Aloha from Hell brought Sandman Slim up a notch with Kadrey caustic style while Briarpatch explored loss and what truly living can mean. No Hero did things just right by not taking itself too seriously in what turned out to be a mad cap throw down with beings from the beyond.

Debut Novel of the Year

Winner - Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick

Runner-Up - God's War by Kameron Hurley and Seed by Rob Ziegler

Honorable Mentions - The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht and Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh

This was certainly the hardest category to narrow down since debuts were not only plentiful, but so many of them were damn good. Among Thieves was an early candidate in the year that never really slipped from that spot. Hulick's ability to weave such an intricate tale while also never having a dull moment locked it into place. God's War's Nyx is a star in the making and may go down as one of the most memorable characters in Genre. She is beguiling. She is tough. And she gets the job done. While Seed is getting a lot of comparisons to The Wind-Up Girl Ziegler goes for a much more minimalist style, but no less believable. He is a writer helping to illustrate what our destructive ways could wrought. The Tiger's Wife is one of the most beautifully written books I read this year. Some lines simply took my breathe away. Will McIntosh's Soft Apocalypse brought the idea of a slow degradation of our world to mind in a very believable way and as great as I think his first novel is I think he'll have even strong books in the future.

Funniest Genre Novel of the Year

Winner - The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell

Runner-up - Hounded by Kevin Hearne

The Goblin Corps is the book all pen and paper RPGers have been salivating for. It is playful, at times disgusting, and just plain old fun as it shows us the other side of evil. And somehow Marmell makes you root for the bad guys. Hounded can come off almost too silly at times, but Atticus is just one of those characters you can't help but like as he continues to make quip after quip even while running down a legendary Deity.

Anthology of the Year

Winner - Brave New Worlds edited by John Joseph Adams

Runner-up - Alien Contact edited by Marty Halpern

1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 are 3 of my all-time favorite novels. So it is not too surprising that Adams' latest reprint collection impressed me as it is also his single best reprint collection yet. From the first to the last story we are shown visions of not so friendly futures. Inherently many are politically driven with "Big Brother" watching or manipulating, but so many are also moral stories about how we treat and trust one another when faced with seemingly impossible decisions. Brave New Worlds isn't just the best reprint anthology of the year, but probably of the last 10 years. Alien Contact does a very satisfying job of covering as many different styles of contact between alien races, but not all would be classified as "First Contact' stories. Alien Contact is a time capsule that illustrates many possibilities of "the other" and our possible reactions to them.

Publisher of the Year

Night Shade Books

This was an easy choice as Night Shade Books has upped their game so much over the last few years. 2009 was a huge year for them due to the success of The Wind-up Girl and they aren't a group to rest on their laurels. 2011 saw the start to their New Voices program with the goal to push new authors in speculative fiction that expand the boundaries of genre. This pack includes Kameron Hurley (God’s War), J. M. McDermott (Never Knew Another), Bradley P. Beaulieu (The Winds of Khalakovo), Rob Ziegler (Seed), and a whole bunch of other misfits I'm proud to have on my shelves. I can't remember the last time one company has dedicated themselves so much to new writers and managed to keep such a level of quality while doing so. 2012 will see the continuation of this program so I can't wait to see what NSB has in store for us.

Best Overall Book of the Year

I usually have a clear cut idea of which book I'll choose, but this year I just can't. I racked my brain on how to decide between these three books, but they all touched me in some way and will all end up on my shelf of favorite reads (now two shelves). So depending on your tastes any of these four books will please you in many ways:

The Night Circus
Among Thieves
Ready Player One

Books Most Destined to be Re-Read

Nowadays I re-read so few books, traditionally less than 5 a year, but 2011 was an exception since I re-read all of aSoIaF, The Name of the Wind, The Last Unicorn, and a couple others. So it isn't a light comment when I say something will be re-read. An easy one to mention is The Wise Man's Fear since I enjoyed my re-read of The Name of the Wind before I read WMF and I can see doing it again. Ready Player One is another that I can see getting just as much enjoyment out of a second go around. I have had my sick-day movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off picked out for years and now I think I have my new sick-day novel.

On Letdowns

If you had told me a year ago that a Dresden Files novel would make this part of the list I would have slapped you and told you to get off my digital lawn, but Ghost Story just disappointed me on so many levels. I was a bit scared at first about posting my thoughts and getting the backlash, but while some disagree with my assessment many agreed with me about the weaknesses even if they ended up liking the book much more than I did. I also had some deep problems with Embassytown. I loved some of the ideas Mieville came up with especially playing with language, but I felt too disconnected from the characters to the point where I didn't even feel enough to dislike them. And the middle of the book was a bit of a mess. I still think Mieville is brilliant. It just didn't work for me. The Unremembered was a debut that came with a lot of promise, but didn't manage to separate itself enough from Epic Fantasy that came before it.

Best Read Book Published Before 2011

2011 saw me try to get to more of the books that have been sitting on my shelves that I've been "meaning" to read. The stands outs include:

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge - A story so big your mind with have to expand to encompasses it all.
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett - Remember how much you liked Martin or Abercrombie the fist time? Yeah, it is almost like that. I have the second novel already, but I didn't want to read it until I knew when the next one was coming out, which is now tentatively February 2013.
The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont - Possibly the most pulp-tastic novel of the last twenty years that combines the real pulp writers of 1930s as characters more interesting than their creations. Mixing the genres of adventure, detective, and romance this was just a joy to read.
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon - A novel that keeps you guessing right until the end.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Say what you will about a book that has been taken to by the masses, but Collins certainly invests you in the characters emotionally.

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Best Books of 2010 (That I've read)
The Mad Hatter's Gift Guide
Top 5 Reads for first half of 2010 (Plus Top 5 Most Anticipated)
Best Books of 2009 (That I've read)

Poll Results and Another Awesome First Line

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:46:00 +0000

The results are in for my recent poll to select which early 2012 debut I'll be reading and reviewing are in.

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (51%)
Seven Princes by John R. Fultz (34%)
Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper (15%)
The Games by Ted Kosmatka (11%)
Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole (11%)
Faith by John Love (1%)

As everyone can see Throne of the Crescent Moon had a very decisive win with more than half of all people voting for it. Seeing Throne win wasn't a big surprise, but seeing it win so strongly definitively shows where expectations lay. It was very apparent that Sci-Fi scored low this go-around. I'll still most likely pay all of the above some sort of lip service in the coming months and just to play with people's expectations I've decided to read and review the book with the lowest votes, Faith by John Love. Speaking of Faith I started it yesterday and was greeted by another great first line:

His pregnancy convulsions dragged him out of unconsciousness.

So you could definitely say I had to find out what this line lead to. Two chapters in and I'm completely hooked to this Space Opera about a mysterious ship that attacked a civilization 300 years ago and is back for a repeat performance 2012 is looks to have a good start reading-wise thus far..

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Cover Unveiled for Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
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New Procurements with bonus holiday haul

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:25:00 +0000

Ah, December you wild and crazy month. I feel like I've barely had time to breathe with the running around and all the Christmas prep. But that hasn't stopped books from showing up at my door. First up are the purchased and gifts I've gotten recently.

That little gold book sitting atop is none other than Neil Gaiman's A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff, which is a very small but well put together collection of some of Neil's more obscure fiction, poems, reviews, and some speeches. Borderlands is still selling the unsigned edition if you're interested. Next is the signed limited edition of Brent Weeks' Perfect Shadow, which I read in e-form earlier this year. Then we have a Christmas present with 1493 by Charles C. Mann, his follow-up to 1491 which still stands as one of my favorite history books for the last 10 years. The huge book at the bottom was another Christmas gift and if you somehow can't make out the title is an M.C. Escher Pop-Up Book. So yeah, it is pretty dang cool. I also got a bunch of gift certificates that will most likely be spent on books quite soon.

On the review copy front I've been quite lucky. First up is Adam Christopher's debut Empire State, which will be read in short order. Did someone say Noir and bubble universe? Next is Theodora Goss' latest novella, The Thorn and the Blossom, which is actually a pair of novellas telling the same story for two points of view. And get this: it is an accordion binding with no spine. If you don't know what I mean go visit Goss' site for some pics. It also comes in a nice slipcase and I predict big things for the book come its January release. I was very happy to win a signed copy of Martha Wells' The Serpent Sea and that's another that will be read in short order. The Mirage is Matt Ruff's latest novel that definitely seems PKD inspired. Ruff's Fool on the Hill is still one of my all-time favorite novels. Winning Mars is technically Jason Stoddard's debut despite the book originally being a short story and then a longer version released for free via his site. Massive changes were undertaken for the Prime Books release that mergers Mars and reality TV in the future. From Prime is also Lightspeed: Year One edited by John Joseph Adams comprised of all the fiction the magazine published during its first year. Wide Open is Deborah Coates's ghostly debut though she has developed a good reputation in the short story market. That one just peeking out is Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaFire his next action Sci-Fi. Brian Evenson's April release Immobility caught me immediately with its short blurb:

You open your eyes for what you know is not the first time and you remember nothing. You find out that a catastrophic event known as the Kollaps has destroyed life as we know it.

Suddenly someone claiming to be your friend tells you you're needed. Something crucial has been stolen — but under no circumstances can you know what or why. You've got to get it back or something bad is going to happen. And you've got to get it back fast, so they can freeze you again before your own time runs out.
Paralyzed from the waist down, you're being carried around on the backs of two men who don't seem anything like you at all. Who inject you regularly and tell you its for your own good... to stop the disease, or

The yellow number near the bottom is Stephen Blackmoore's debut City of the Lost, the first in an Urban Fantasy series and given its brief page count and some nice accolades I may dip in soon since it officially comes out next week. Lastly, is Rod Rees' much touted debut The Demi-Monde: Winter, the first in a series about a virtual world inspired by Steampunk and Cyberpunk.

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Best of 2011 - The Long List Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:37:00 +0000

In no particular order at all here are the books I'm considering for my year end review of books published in 2011. Note I read quite a few books published prior to 2011 not included here.

Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick
Ganymede by Cherie Priest
All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
Seed by Rob Ziegler
The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams
God's War by Kameron Hurley
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu
Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells
Ico: Castle in the Mist by Miyuki Miyabe
The Rift Walker by Clay & Susan Griffith
Aloha from Hell by Richard Kadrey
The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell
Machine Man by Max Barry
Spellbound by Blake Charlton
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Brave New Worlds edited by John Joseph Adams
Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson
Hounded by Kevin Hearne
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

I've also just started on The Magician King by Lev Grossman, which may end up in the final list as well given how much I liked Grossman's previous effort. Some brief observations:

* None are considered Horror, but a couple have elements. Seems I didn't gravitate to much in the way of Horror in general this year, which might mean a reading goal for 2012.
* Just one is an anthology despite reading a few this year.
* 5 are Steampunky.
* 8ish are Sci-Fi.
* About half are debuts. This may be due to my predilection towards new authors.

So what did I leave off the list? Any other observations?

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Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:30:00 +0000

The Christmas card I wish I were capable of making. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!! I wish you many books in your stockings this year!

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Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Happy Mad Hatter Day!!!!
NEWS | Terry Gilliam to Exec. Produce 1884 (A Steampunk Puppet Movie)

NEWS | Third Magician book from Lev Grossman

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

In most interviews around the release of The Magician King, Grossman said he didn't know what he was going to write next and that he would be taking a little time off from writing. But it appears inspiration has struck and we'll be treated to at least one more Magician's book featuring some past characters. Here is what from Grossman said in his Brakebills Alumni Newsletter:

I also started writing the third Magicians novel. I’m not sure what to tell you about it.

Mostly I’m just outlining it now, and taking a lot of notes. Inspiration is coming from a lot of different places, some new, some old. The Magician’s Nephew is a big part of it, as is The Last Battle. (It’s not a coincidence that those books tell the story, respectively, of the beginning of Narnia and the end of Narnia.) I’m rereading The Tempest and The Phantom Tollbooth and P.G. Wodehouse and the great Bond novel Casino Royale. I’m also rereading The Lord of the Rings, which oddly enough I’ve never really thought of as an influence before.

The new book’s working title – which I’ve never told anybody before -- is The Magician’s Land.

It’s not like anything I’ve ever written before. But it’s not completely new either. There are a lot of old friends to visit, and a lot of loose ends to tie up. We may never come back here again.

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Reviewing News and New Poll on Early 2012 Releases

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0000

As 2012 approaches I've come to conclusion that I am just not going to catch up on writing full reviews. This year was just too hectic personally and professionally for me. The piles of books I've read that I've intended to do full reviews on just keeps growing and growing and the longer it has been since I've read the book the more difficult it is to review properly. So I'm basically calling those piles a wash except for a couple choice books I have extensive review notes on and also some I remember well at this point.

Sometimes you just have to hit refresh and this is one of those times. During the first week of January I intend to write reviews for those books or take them off the piles as well. I hope my reading log, reviews, and other tidbits still encourages you to read these books. Some are sure to be mentioned in my year in review post coming in early January.

In the hopes of getting to some of the books my loyal readers want to hear more about I've added a poll to the upper left of the site of debuts coming out from January through March. I didn't list a couple titles I already know I'm starting soon such as Adam Christopher's Empire State, but I did try to vary things a bit. The choices are:

Seven Princes by John R. Fultz

It is an Age of Legends.

Under the watchful eye of the Giants, the kingdoms of Men rose to power. Now, the Giant-King has slain the last of the Serpents and ushered in an era of untold peace and prosperity. Where a fire-blackened desert once stood, golden cities flourish in verdant fields.

It is an Age of Heroes.

But the realms of Man face a new threat-- an ancient sorcerer slaughters the rightful King of Yaskatha before the unbelieving eyes of his son, young Prince D'zan. With the Giant-King lost to a mysterious doom, it seems that no one has the power to stop the coming storm.

It is an Age of War.

The fugitive Prince seeks allies across the realms of Men and Giants to liberate his father's stolen kingdom. Six foreign Princes are tied to his fate. Only one thing is certain: War is coming.

SEVEN PRINCES.

Some will seek glory. Some will seek vengeance. All will be legends.

The Games by Ted Kosmatka

Set in an amoral future where genetically engineered monstrosities fight each other to the death in an Olympic event, The Games envisions a harrowing world that may arrive sooner than you think.

Silas Williams is the brilliant geneticist in charge of preparing the U.S. entry into the Olympic Gladiator competition, an internationally sanctioned bloodsport with only one rule: no human DNA is permitted in the design of the entrants. Silas lives and breathes genetics; his designs have led the United States to the gold in every previous event. But the other countries are catching up. Now, desperate for an edge in the upcoming Games, Silas’s boss engages an experimental supercomputer to design the genetic code for a gladiator that cannot be beaten.

The result is a highly specialized killing machine, its genome never before seen on earth. Not even Silas, with all his genius and experience, can understand the horror he had a hand in making. And no one, he fears, can anticipate the consequences of entrusting the act of creation to a computer’s cold logic.

Now Silas races to understand what the computer has wrought, aided by a beautiful xenobiologist, Vidonia João. Yet as the fast-growing gladiator demonstrates preternatural strength, speed, and—most disquietingly—intelligence, Silas and Vidonia find their scientific curiosity giving way to a most unexpected emotion: sheer terror.

Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer.

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze.

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military's Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down--and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he's ever known, and that his life isn't the only thing he's fighting for.

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, is at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings:

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, "The last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat," just wants a quiet cup of tea. Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame's family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter's path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla's young assistant, a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety, is eager to deliver God's justice. But even as Raseed's sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the Lion-Shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man's title. She lives only to avenge her father's death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father's killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince's brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time--and struggle against their own misgivings--to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.

Faith by John Love

Moby Dick meets Duel in John Love''s debut novel of Space Opera and Military Science Fiction! Faith is the name humanity has given to the unknown, seemingly invincible alien ship that has begun to harass the newly emergent Commonwealth. 300 years earlier, the same ship destroyed the Sakhran Empire, allowing the Commonwealth to expand its sphere of influence. But now Faith has returned! The ship is as devastating as before, and its attacks leave some Commonwealth solar systems in chaos. Eventually it reaches Sakhra, now an important Commonwealth possession, and it seems like history is about to repeat itself. But this time, something is waiting: an Outsider, one of the Commonwealth''s ultimate warships. Slender silver ships, full of functionality and crewed by people of unusual abilities, often sociopaths or psychopaths, Outsiders were conceived in back alleys, built and launched in secret, and commissioned without ceremony. One system away from earth, the Outsider ship Charles Manson makes a stand. Commander Foord waits with his crew of miscreants and sociopath, hoping to accomplish what no other human has been able to do - to destroy Faith!

Songs of the Earth by Elsbeth Cooper

The Book of Eador, Abjurations 12:14, is very clear: Suffer ye not the life of a witch. For a thousand years, the Church Knights have obeyed that commandment, sending to the stake anyone who can hear the songs of the earth. There are no exceptions, not even for one of their own.

Novice Knight Gair can hear music no one else can, beautiful, terrible music: music with power. In the Holy City, that can mean only one thing: death by fire—until an unlikely intervention gives him a chance to flee the city and escape the flames.

With the Church Knights and their witchfinder hot on his heels, Gair hasn’t time to learn how to use the power growing inside him, but if he doesn’t master it, that power will tear him apart. His only hope is the secretive Guardians of the Veil, though centuries of persecution have almost destroyed their Order, and the few Guardians left have troubles of their own.

For the Veil between worlds is weakening, and behind it, the Hidden Kingdom, ever-hungry for dominion over the daylight realm, is stirring. Though he is far from ready, Gair will find himself fighting for his own life, for everyone within the Order of the Veil, and for the woman he has come to love.

Also, if there is something else in the first quarter you want to to take a look at be sure to comment away. I still have my eye on a lot of other books as well.

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Mad Hatter's Reading Log Vol. 11 (November)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

November helped me break through to my 100th read this year. That is of course not counting the other plenitude of things I read such as short stories and even more graphic novels then I usually mention (I try to focus on graphic novels I think most highly of). A big help was my annual Thanksgiving break where 7 of these were finished. As we approach the end of the year I've been thinking about what other books to read for my year end list and I've definitely got a few thoughts. Anyway here are my brief thoughts on books read in November.

100. Theft of Swords: Avempartha by Michael J. Sullivan - The 2nd half of the first omnibus in The Riyria Revelations series. I enjoyed one of the two major stories lines quite a bit, but the Princesses story didn't pull me in she comes off as more of a secondary character with little will of her own despite her strong showing in the first novel The Crown Conspiracy. Even with those problems I enjoyed everything else. See full review here.
101. Briarpatch by Tim Pratt - Pratt gets very dark on us and I half wonder if he was going through a depression during the writing. The story was beautifully told and explores what is typically known as the "Otherworld," but this isn't just some dimension with frolicking fairies filled with golden apples. No, Pratt's Otherworld is a mysterious, dark, and ever changing place filled with lost beings and some scary-ass monsters. Emotionally fueled, Briarpatch explores what it means to live and love. There were definitely some pacing issues, but the twisted characters were all so intriguing I couldn't turn away. This is Urban Fantasy as you've not seen it before. Recommended.
102. The Emperor's Knife by Marzakis Williams - This is a Fantasy debut that deserves a wide audience. If you couldn't already tell by my interview with Williams I quite enjoyed the story of Sarmin who after witnessing the murder of nearly his entire family is locked away in a tower for nearly two decades. The setting is mostly a mix of Middle Eastern and Asian in a land besieged by a plague that turns people into zombie-like carriers bent on overthrowing the Empire. Politics and magic play well along with some nice action. Highly recommended.

103. Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez - This volume I felt was the most rushed, but this is still without a doubt one of the best comic series in many years.
104. Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez - This volume brings us closer to answers as the main villian's past is explored more in-depth and the Locke kids finally start connecting the dots. I'm this -> <- close to going to issues on this series, which I never do.
105. Seed by Rob Ziegler - One of the strongest Sci-Fi debuts this year. Highly recommended. Review to come.
106. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern - An incredibly beautiful novel. Definitely one of my favorites of the year and it is shockingly a debut. Two magicians battle on circus grounds to test one another's skills. But it is so much more and better then I can describe. It is the kind of novel that is so well done it will even get your cousin who never reads to fall in love with it. Highly recommend.

107. Boneyards by Kristin Kathryn Rusch - The third Diving Universe book brings Boss and her crew closer to finding answers about the Dignity vessels and their crews. Like the last excellent book in the series City of Ruin we're left on a cliffhanger, which disappointed me after so much, but it appears Rusch has no plans to stop. I truly hope Rusch gets to write more novels in this series as it is a golden age series that could have been written just as easily 40 years ago as today. She evokes the sense of exploration with each volume so well. Recommended.
108. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - It has been more than 15 years since I last read Beagle's most beloved book. Age has definitely made it a deeper read for me. There are so many things I never noticed in the past, especially just how weird a story this is. What begins simply enough as a mission for a unicorn looking for other like her turns into something so much more. An unforgettable read just as much today as it was when it first came out in 1968. Highly recommended.
109. All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen - In the fun read category of the month All Men of Genius wins hands down. This may be my Steampunk read of the year. Mixing in Steampunk ascetics, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and devilishly Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest this is as pleasing a novel as you're like to find. There are secret societies, mad inventors, and a crazy crossed love story that will keep you guessing at every one's reactions, which more then kept me rapt. Highly recommended.

110. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells - An outstanding book. Very few authors can pull-off having no human characters so well. Most definitely one of the best second world Fantasies I've read in the last few years. Highly recommended.
111. The Library of Forgotten Books by Rjurik Davidson - A nice collection of short stories most of which surround a city full of weird happenings and creatures. The titular story was obviously my favorite. Davidson definitely like to play with the way reality is perceived. Recommend for fans of New Weird.
~~112.~~ Harkwood and the Kings by Paul Kearney - I gave up after 4 chapters not because I thought it was bad, but because I wasn't in the mood for something so big right now and also the font size is super tiny, which didn't help anything out. I do plan on going back to it someday, but might look for a different edition. My eyes are getting old.
112. Ico: Castle in the Mist by Miyuki Miyabe - Remember that awesome Playstation game from about a decade ago? No? Well even if you don't read this novel about a young boy born with horns who is destined to be sacrificed to a mysterious castle. Along the way he saves a girl and tries to save the world. Miyabe is one of the best-selling Sci-Fi authors from Japan, but this is her first franchise related novel. It does differ from the game in some large ways so even if you're familiar with the game you'll get a lot out it. Recommended.
113. The Shakespeare Thefts by Eric Rasmussan - This is a must for Shakespeare fans who have always dreamed of owning an original folio no matter how far out of grasp they are. Another big audience would be big collectors or those who like to real about true crimes. I fall somewhere in the middle being a bibliophile as well as having a fascination with most things Shakespeare. Nearly every chapter focuses on one particular copy of the first folio, its history, and current likely whereabouts. The family histories and shady behavior of descendants were particularly interesting. In a way I wish there was more of a payoff overall such as a big discovery or confirmation of a new or recovered folio, but much is left up to supposition as many people in the world simply won't let their copy be reviewed by Mr. Rasmussen and his team. In any event The Shakespeare Thefts does a good job of giving the first folios an air of mystery.

November reading treated me to a lot of first timers and brought me back to a classic. Out of this month The Cloud Roads and The Night Circus are destined to be remembered years from now. Seed, The Emperor's Knife, and All Men of Genius were very strong debuts for their respective subgenres, each bringing something new to the table. But it is The Last Unicorn all of you should be reading, especially at this time of year.

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Cover Unveiled for The Bones of the Old Ones by Howard Andrew Jones

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Coming this July 3rd will be Howard Andrew Jones' next Dabir and Asim adventure The Bones of the Old Ones following the exploits of The Desert of Souls. Jones' debut was one of the most enjoyable Swords & Sorcery novels in quite a few years. The cover is in the same style as the paperback release coming next month. I'm still a fan of the original cover art style (seen below), but this is better then the pb design (also seen below) for The Desert of Souls. Although the new art is very reminiscent of Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. In any case I'll definitely be reading The Bones of the Old Ones. Here is the blurb:

Combining the masterful fantasy of Robert E . Howard with the high-speed action of Bernard Cornwell, Howard Andrew Jones breathes new life into the glittering tradition of sword-and-sorcery with the latest tale of Dabir and Assim’s adventures. Our heroes are living comfortably in Mosul under the patronage of the city’s governor. Despite the region’s rare frostbitten winter, things are going well until a desperate young woman named Najya is brought to them, claiming that she has escaped from a sorcerous cabal and that her memory has been altered in a dangerous magic ritual. Dabir fears much more is at stake, especially when someone claiming to be Najya’s father arrives and attacks them. Dabir and Asim stave off the wizard and flee with Najya to the governor’s palace, where they find the first of the hidden tools sought by the cabal: the Bones of the Old Ones. Dabir and Asim quickly realize that more than one group is after the girl and the Bones, and they must race against time to stop their enemies’ dark quest from plunging the world into a neverending winter.

Original HC Art

Paperback Art

Also, of note is that an ebook only short story collection focusing on the early adventures of Dabir and Asim by Jones called The Waters of Eternity is now available.

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Cover Unveiled for Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

INTERVIEW | Mazarkis Williams author of The Emperor's Knife

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Earlier this year I started hearing a few whispers about a new book called The Emperor's Knife. Quickly using my google-fu I hardly found any information on the author. Mazarkis Williams it seemed was a ghost. Some months later I found Mr. Williams on twitter and lucked into a review copy of The Emperor's Knife, which I've devoured. It is bloody good time and I recommend it to you all, especially if you're tired of Western set Fantasy. After reading it I couldn't pass up a chance to put Mazarkis to question.

***

MH: Thanks for taking the time out. To start things off can you tell me a bit about yourself? Info online is quite scant. So scant that I'm not entirely sure you're a real person. You are using an image of the invisible man as your twitter icon after all.

MAZARKIS: Yes. That avatar was created by someone at Jo Fletcher Books who never met me and didn't know anything about me, but needed a picture. Still, I am not completely invisible. As far as I know the information that is out there is accurate. And I can say a few more things about myself: I am a night owl. I read very fast but write very slow. I listen to Radiohead too much. I’m an old-fashioned table top/face-to-face gamer and I think I’m addicted to zero-calorie Vitamin Water.

MH: What's your barroom description of The Emperor's Knife to people just hearing about the book for the first time?

MAZARKIS: Barroom? I think I would babble (because, clearly, I would be drunk) about how there are these damaged people who have to pull it together and fight off this creepy menace, and how they find hope in the process, or redemption, depending on which character it is. Or if I started on that tack and their eyes began to wander, I’d say something about Arabian Nights and assassins and sorcerers, which is less accurate but sounds more exciting.

MH: The Emperor's Knife is part of Jo Fletcher's inaugural launch in the UK and part of Night Shade Books New Voices program. How has the attention been? How are you adapting to becoming an author?

MAZARKIS: Well I’ve been writing a long time, always struggling for every word, and that hasn’t changed. I hoped it might get easier, that being a published author would give me a confidence and a glibness I don’t really possess.

The attention to the book is just fine with me. I want to share the book with as many people as possible because I like the themes and the characters. I think they have something to offer and I hope readers agree.

As far as my personal space—there is this layer between me and my agent, and then my agent and the publishers, so I have a lot of privacy. Not that anybody would be knocking at my door trying to meet me.

MH: What came first in The Emperor's Knife? A character? Setting?

MAZARKIS: The character of Sarmin. I had just been reading about an Ottoman prince who’d been imprisoned in his room a long time, and it got me thinking about what it must be like to be stuck in this cushy place, counting out your days. Many people would perceive him to be very privileged, and he was by most measures, but it was a sad life, and it drove him crazy. So I was wondering what it was like to be that person.

That’s usually how it starts with me. The characters who interest me as a writer are the ones on the side lines. The people who delivered the orders instead of giving them, or the women who waited as opposed to the men who left. And for me the characters always come first. Who they are, what obstacles they face, what happens to change their situations. Without the characters, there is no story.

After the character of Sarmin came the setting. He’s pacing in a room, so the room has to be in a palace, and the palace has to be in an empire, so I went from there.

MH: Sarmin is quite a conflicted character. He's been trapped in a room for more than a decade with nothing to accompany him, but 5 books, which just begs the question what are your 5 books to be locked away with for 2 decades?

MAZARKIS: Anybody who knows me well is familiar with my inability to choose favorites. Also, I’m going to cheat and include two series in my list.

First, I am always a champion for The Great Gatsby—somehow I keep talking about that book, either online or with my family—so I will include it. I actually haven’t read it in a long time, but it had an impact on me in terms of structure and symbolism. Assuming I get to write in my locked-up room, then Gatsby would help me do that better.

I would have to take a history book with me, one that’s long and has a large scope so there’s always something new to read. Probably a big fat university textbook.

Then a poetry book, let’s say The Poems of Dylan Thomas.

Now I arrive at SF/F. Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun (actually a quadrilogy) would keep me occupied for a long time. There’s so many layers and so much symbolism that I would be happy to read it many times.

Finally I would have to bring along my well-worn copies of Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy, since it contains some of my favorite characters in fiction. It would be like bringing some friends along with me.

Of course this is my list for today. I may change my mind tomorrow.

MH: How did your degree in History influence The Emperor's Knife? There are certainly Eastern and Middle Eastern elements throughout.

MAZARKIS: It seems you’ve just answered your own question, but I can elaborate a little bit.

I read as much European history as was required to get my degree, which was not much. That doesn’t mean I haven’t read about Europe on my own time; as a gaming geek, I’m almost required to do so. It was just never a focus of my studies.

This question is proving harder to answer than I expected.

I split my schooling years between England and Michigan, but mainly I was a victim and beneficiary of the Michigan public schools. One benefit is that Michigan had and continues to have a large Arab population, and that was reflected in our diverse student body. Also my history teacher was Egyptian, and that had a big influence on me.

I focused on Islamic history at university. I also tried to take Arabic, but ended up with a C and no memory of how to speak it. So to answer your question: when they say ‘write what you know,’ I chose the middle east. Though I don’t know it so well, I know it better than I know some other things.

But I want to emphasize that Cerana is not supposed to be any of the great Islamic empires. I took only elements, as you wrote, and then built something else around them. You can see similarities to the Ottomans, and also the Romans, but mostly you can tell it’s just made up. The most important difference is that the Cerani are polytheistic. You can’t take Islam out of the Ottoman empire, for example. It was central to their existence. It’s impossible to do, so I didn’t.

MH: Settu is a game mention in The Emperor's Knife, which reminded me of chess quite a bit. Is this a game you've actually developed?? Are you a gamer?

MAZARKIS: Yes, I'm a gamer, mostly face-to-face (F2F) tabletop roleplaying. (Shout-out to my gaming group, The Dysfunctional Party!)

However we do own all manner of games, including Settlers of Cataan, Pandemic, Talisman, and my favorite, Illuminati. We've had some historic games over the years and there are some long-standing rivalries.

Settu is something like a mix of chess and dominoes. I haven't really developed the game so that I can play it in real life, but I have a good idea how.

MH: I'm a big Pandemic fan as well. Now on to the important stuff. What is your favorite type of hat?

MAZARKIS: On a woman or on a man? I think my daughter looks cute in a cloche. On a man I like the look of a fedora. My step-father-in-law maintained the tradition of wearing a fedora whenever he went outside, and I thought he looked very classy. Also, trilbies are cool.

My son looks cute in an ordinary woolen hat.

What I'm not crazy about: baseball caps.

MH: What can we expect from the sequel Knife-Sworn? Are you still in the midst of writing it?

MAZARKIS: Yes, still writing it. Knife-Sworn deals with the fallout from The Emperor's Knife. While the main story line wrapped up, some threads were left open. I don't want to give too much away, but very little comes out of the blue in the second book.

What people can expect is more great characters and more strife. Also a little bit of romance, hopefully.

MH: Thanks for all your time. Is there anything you'd like to add to close us out?

MAZARKIS: Sure. I have a blog at Sarmin's Corner which I update when I can, but there is also a blog set up by Courtney Shafer (The Whitefire Crossing) and currently being transferred to Night Shade Books, called The Night Bazaar. It will feature posts from many of Night Shade's debut authors. There will be some interesting articles up there--actually there are interesting articles right now.

Jo Fletcher Books is currently doing a lot of great giveaways. You can follow them on twitter @jofletcherbooks or check out Jo's blog.

Night Shade Books is also having a big December. They are doing a holiday countdown that includes lots of free excerpts from their books. Check them out on twitter at @nightshadebooks.

Thanks for your time!

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Cover Unveiled for new James Enge

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

I just had a chance to look over Pyr's Spring/Summer 2012 releases and quite a few caught my eye. I'm of course looking forward to Jon Sprunk's last book in the Shadow series, Shadow's Master to finish strongly, which will also get me to get to the second book, finally. But it is James Enge's A Guile of Dragons that has captivated my attention. Enge's character Morlock Ambrosius have already become fairly popular as a series of standalone books that are mostly strung together short stories, but with A Guile of Dragons we go back to Morlock's time as a young man when he was just learning about the kind of power he has. A Guile of Dragons is also the first in the A Tournament of Shadows series with a big overarching story. No official blurb as of yet, but here is what Enge said months ago when the deal was first announced:

This will actually be a trilogy, not three standalone books. Each book will have its own story (because I believe in plot resolution) but each book will depend on its predecessor(s) more than the three books of Morlock in exile did. It’s not a prequel trilogy, though. It’s an origin story.

In an interview Enge also added:

It’s very old school fantasy in some ways — dwarves, dragons, Merlin and Nimue. (No elves, though. Everyone has to draw the line somewhere.) And it also gives us a look at Morlock’s homeland, which is a sort of anarchy where community needs are addressed by voluntary associations. It’s a sort of utopia, really — with monsters. Most utopias don’t have monsters, of course, but that’s why they lack a certain plausibility.

I'm guess the art is by Steven Stone or possibly Gene Mollica. It definitely has a Malazan feel and I love all the detail in the outfit. Mark me down for reading this come August next year.

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Contest for Alien Contact edited by Marty Halpern

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Yesterday Marty Halpern treated us to his thoughts on story order in an anthology. Today he's given you lucky visitors two chances to win Alien Contact. The first chance is for US residents only, one print copy of Alien Contact, signed and dated by the editor, and inscribed if the winner wishes.

The second part of the contest is for NON-US residents one of which will receive an ebook edition of the anthology: the winner gets to choose either MOBI or EPUB format. (Note: there is a difference between the print and the ebook editions: the Stephen King story is not included in the ebook due to rights issues.) Here is the blurb for Alien Contact:

Are we alone? From War of the Worlds to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, ET to Close Encounters, creators of science fiction have always eagerly speculated on just how the story of alien contact would play out. Editor Marty Halpern has gathered together some of the best stories of the last 30 years, by today's most exciting genre writers, weaving a tapestry that covers a broad range of scenarios: from the insidious, to the violent, to the transcendent.

Alien Contact include stories by Paul McAuley, Neil Gaiman, Karen Joy Fowler, Mike Resnick, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Nancy Kress, and Charles Stross.

To enter the first part of the contest send an email to madhatterreview (AT) gmail (dot) com with your full name, physical address as the print book will ship via UPS, and "CONTACT" in the subject line. To enter the second part of the contest for the ebook edition still send an email to madhatterreview (AT) gmail (dot) com with your full name in the body and "CONTACT 2" in the subject line. The deadline is midnight December 31st. I'll announce the winners on the following day or as soon as I remember. One entry per part per person is allowable, but if more then one each will get you disqualified from the contest. The winners will be selected via random number generator per usual.

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FREE FICTION | The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:01:00 +0000

Currently The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells is available free from Amazon in Kindle format. I only recently read The Cloud Roads, but it swept me away into a second world fantasy like no other. If you're looking for something new in Fantasy look no further. Here is the blurb:

Moon has spent his life hiding what he is - a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn't tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power... that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony's survival... and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save himself... and his newfound kin.

The Cloud Roads is the first in the Books of the Raksura series with the second The Serpent Sea coming out in mid-January. While the first book stands well all on its own I can't wait to see what the future has in store for Moon. Beware reading the blurb for The Sea Serpent unless you want a spoiler. And Wells is already hard at work on the third volume.

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GUEST POST | Marty Halpern Gives Order to the Alien Other

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Marty Halpern Gives Order to the Alien Other

Alien Contact was published on November 1, just a handful of weeks ago, but its history dates back to August 2008 when I first proposed this anthology to the publisher, Night Shade Books. You can read more about the anthology, including its genesis, on my blog, More Red Ink; just look for the "Alien Contact" tab in the header.

***

Once I had selected the 26 stories to be included in Alien Contact, my next task was to determine the story order. If you are a writer of short stories, and you've put together a collection of your fiction—or, if you are an anthologist—then you know how involved this task can be.

Some readers will pick up an anthology, skim through the table of contents or the book itself, select a story (often at random), and begin reading. With regards to story order, I can't be concerned with this type of reader; for them, story order is a non-issue. But the readers who begin at the beginning—the introduction—and then read the stories in the order they are presented, these are the readers I must be concerned with. For them, the story order—the overall experience of reading the book in its entirety—is what makes, or breaks, the anthology.

As soon as I selected Paul McAuley's story, "The Thought War," I knew immediately that it would be the story that opens the anthology. The first word—in fact, the only word on the first line of the story—is: Listen:

And the first two paragraphs of "The Thought War" read:
Listen:
Don't try to speak. Don't try to move. Listen to me. Listen to my story.

It was a no-brainer that, with this beginning, "The Thought War" would be the perfect fit as the first story in the anthology.

And then there was the last story. Once I had selected Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact," I also knew that this story would close the anthology. Not only because of its title, but also because "Last Contact" deals with the total destruction of the galaxy. Once the reader has experienced that, how could any other story follow?

And I just realized (honest, I had never thought of this before) that both Paul McAuley and Stephen Baxter are British. There was no intent on my part to place stories by British authors at the beginning and end of the anthology—it just happened. But it's also not the only coincidence that occurred regarding the contents list.

So that left 24 remaining stories for which I needed to determine the order. When working out a story order, I consider a number of attributes; in order of importance (at least to me):
1. word count
2. tone (e.g. dark vs. light, etc.)
3. male or female protagonist
4. plot (e.g. serious vs. humorous/sardonic; linear vs. nonlinear; science vs. non-science; etc.)
5. content of opening paragraph and closing paragraph

I list all the stories, and then I apply these 5 criteria to each of them. As a group, these criteria affect the flow of the anthology. Place a lot of dark, depressing, overly long stories together and quite possibly I'll lose a lot of my readers. Each story needs to encourage the reader to want to move on to the next story, and the next, and so on, until the reader reaches the end of the book.

I spent quite a number of hours working on the story order. A couple times I came up with what I thought was the perfect order—and then I realized one story just didn't fit right in its slot. So then I would swap a couple stories, which often led to another swap,and another, and before too long I was back at square one, having to start over again.

Once I felt comfortable with the "final" order, I let the contents list sit for a couple days and then went back to it, just to be sure. An anthology (or a short fiction collection) must first contain great stories; but the book's overall content is a pure balancing act. And, done properly, can yield a truly rewarding experience for the reader.

As to another coincidence: When I contacted many of the authors regarding their own alien contact stories, I also asked for suggestions for such stories by other authors. I received many suggestions; one in particular came from author Nancy Kress (whose story "Laws of Survival" is included in Alien Contact). Nancy suggested a story in the recent (at the time of her response) August 2008 issue of Asimov's SF: Jack Skillingstead's "What You Are About to See." She described it as a "very weird alien" story. I was already familiar with some of Jack's fiction, but not this particular story. And Nancy's comment—"very weird alien"—intrigued me. So I contacted his agent for a copy of the story. I went on to acquire this story for the anthology and, in finalizing the story order, I placed Nancy Kress's "Laws of Survival" at the number 19 slot, followed by Jack's "What You Are About to See." Then in March of this year I sent an email to all the contributing authors requesting a mini bio for use in the anthology. In their respective bios, Nancy and Jack each mentioned that they were married to the other, which I hadn't been aware of at the time. I obviously missed the announcement earlier in February. Consequently I felt somewhat self-conscious that I had placed their stories back to back; but that's how the story order criteria played out.

Was I successful with the story order in Alien Contact? I guess that's up to the individual readers to decide.

****

Marty Halpern is a two-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award–Professional for his work with Golden Gryphon Press. Marty now freelances as an acquiring editor, anthology editor, developmental editor, and proof reader and copy editor, working directly with authors to prepare their manuscripts for publication, and working with independent publishers such as Night Shade Books and Tachyon Publications, as well as Ace Books and others. He currently resides in San Jose, California, and occasionally emerges from his inner sanctum to attend conventions. To learn more about Marty visit his blog "More Red Ink" or check out his SF Editors wiki entry.

Look for a contest involving Alien Contact tomorrow!

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Awesome first line from a 2012 debut

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000

"The sun was going down by the time they decided to hang me."
—David Tallerman, Giant Thief

This line did exactly what a first line should do: pull the reader in. I'm 80 pages into Tallerman's debut from Angry Robot, which has given me a perpetual grin so far. More about it as we get closer to the January publication date.

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New Procurements (Miami Book Haul)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

This post kept getting longer and longer since I'm still behind with things. But lots of pretties have been sent to me and I've also been to a new indie store and had a nice stroll around the Miami Book fair a couple weeks past. The influx of 2012 releases has started as well and things are ramping up for January through March to be busy, busy.

Alien Contact is Marty Halpern's latest anthology after the very enjoyable Is Anybody Out There (reviewed here). As the title suggests this reprint anthology focuses on stories about contact with beings not of this earth with stories from the likes of Neil Gaiman, Ursula K LeGuin, Michael Swanwick, Jeffrey Ford, and Paul McAuley. This one has certainly caught my attention and will be read quite soon. Next is Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Drowning Girl which will be out in March. I've enjoyed many of her shorts, but have never dipped into her novel length work despite hearing nothing but raves for her last effort The Red Tree. The beige number below is Your Face Tomorrow: Fever and Spear by Javier Marías the first in a Spy trilogy that Larry from Of Blog challenged me to read and review. He picked this particular series since I'm a lover of Spanish translated fiction. I haven't read a straight Spy novel in I can't tell you how long so I'm very much looking forward to trying this out. Next I have the very pretty final copy of Ian McDonald's YA debut Planesrunner, which I've already read and enjoyed. More on it soon. Lastly, are the first two finished omnibuses for Michael Sullivan's The Riyria Revelations series that look very nice and epic together.

Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell is the start to a new series that is near-future Sci-Fi dealing with global warming as opposed to Buckell's previous far-future series Xenowealth. Arctic Rising is due out at the end of February. The yellow number is the debut Seven Princes by John R. Fultz, which could be a strong Epic Fantasy debut come January. Next are a few books I received from Haikasoru who publishes translations of Japanese Sci-Fi and Fantasy that I've been eyeing for a longtime. First is the novelization of the Playstation game of the same name Ico: Castle in the Mist by Miyuki Miyabe, who is one of Japan's best-selling genre authors. I already read Ico as it showed up right as I was leaving for my Thanksgiving break. It is really well done and improves on the story from the game greatly. Next is Miyabe's The Book of Heroes that deals with a magical book. I'm a sucker for those sorts of stories and after reading Ico I'm eager to try something that is entirely from Miyabe's mind. Next is 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse that is considered a classic of Japanese Sci-Fi first being published more than 40 years ago and still in print after all that time and just now being published in English for the first time. Haikasoru also printed it with a glow in the dark starry cover, which I must say is super cool and worth having it on the shelf for that alone.

I picked up The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht, McSweeney's 24, and Nick Hornby's Housekeeping vs. the Dirt at the Miami Book Fair, which was a first for me. The Hornby is his second collection of book review columns from McSweeney's magazine and having enjoyed his first collection The Polysyllabic Spree I had to nab this. I eyed a lot of other books at the fair, but given my already heavy bag I didn't go further despite finding a vendor with loads of old Sci-Fi and another with lots of limited editions. If the prices were slightly better on the limited front I probably would have gone for some of them.

And in the "this just in pile" is the debut The Games by Ted Kosmatka, which I mentioned earlier and is on track for a March publication. I'll definitely be getting to it in time for the release date. Territory by Emma Bull is a new edition of one of her most beloved novels. Bull is on my shame on me reading list as I've yet to read her work despite having War for the Oaks in my to-read pile for a number of years now. The next two books were purchased from the RJ Julia bookshop in Madison, Connecticut, which is a gorgeous store well worth visiting. Their genre section is very small, but the general fiction area certainly makes up for it. I first nabbed Eleven by Mark Watson since it was compared heavily to One Day, which my wife and I love. And I finally bought the YA dystopian hit The Maze Runner by James Dashner after much picking up and putting down over the last 2 years of seeing it in stores. Some Christmas goodies were also purchased, but mums the word on those.

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NEWS | Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Optioned for Film

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000

1492 pictures has smartly picked up the film rights for How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu, which was one of my favorite Sci-Fi novels last year. Here is a bit from Hollywood Reporter:

Columbus and 1492 principals Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe will produce and Brendan Bellomo is set to direct.

Bellomo is a New York University film school graduate who wrote, produced and directed a cast and crew of 200 students and professionals for the live action sci-fi short Bohemibot, which won a bronze medal in the narrative category at the 2009 Student Academy Awards. He is represented by WME and Prolific Management.

1492’s production credits include The Help, Night at the Museum, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and the first three Harry Potter films, among others. In addition to producing those films, Columbus' credits include directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Home Alone, and writing The Goonies and Gremlins.

It will definitely be interesting to see what choices the director and screen writer make for the film. Will they keep the humor? Pump up the action? Even more sexualize the AI in the story? Time will only tell, but the team behind the film has certainly got the chops to pull off the story well.

Yu's second book of short stories Sorry Please Thank You will be released in July and he is hard at work on his next novel Trilogy: A Novel, but that has no official release date yet.

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