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Feast Your Eyes on Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

Feast Your Eyes on Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

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I know I’m not the only one out there who’s purchased a new edition of a favorite book just because I loved the new cover.

And I’ll definitely be getting in line to pick up the new mass market paperback editions of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, and Stardust, all gorgeously rendered by famous paperback 50s artist Robert McGinnis, who’s now in his 90s but still doing brilliant work. Neil takes about how the new covers came about on his blog:

About a year ago, Jennifer Brehl and I were talking. Jennifer is my editor at William Morrow… I went off about how paperback covers used to be beautiful, and were painted, and told you so much. And how much I missed the covers of the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, the ones I’d collected and bought back in the dawn of time. And somehow the conversation wound up with me asking if Harper Collins would publish a set of mass market paperbacks of my books with gloriously retro covers and Jennifer saying that yes, they would….

I sent a note to Jennifer asking if there was even the slightest possibility that Mr McGinnis would be interested in painting the covers for the paperback set we wanted to do. He said yes. I say that so blithely. But he has retired, pretty much, and he doesn’t have email, and it was only because the Morrow art director had worked with him, and he was intrigued by the commission… and ROBERT MCGINNIS SAID YES.

Neil has been talking about each cover in more detail on Tumblr. Check it out here.

The new mass market paperback edition of American Gods was published August 16, Stardust arrives on September 27, Anansi Boys on October 25, and Neverwhere on November 29. All four covers are painted by Robert E McGinnis, with lettering by Todd Klein. Click the images above for bigger versions.

New Treasures: The Tinker King by Tiffany Trent, Book II of The Unnaturalists

New Treasures: The Tinker King by Tiffany Trent, Book II of The Unnaturalists

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I discover a lot of great writers by attending readings, and that’s exactly how I found Tiffany Trent. I was at Wiscon — which has one of the most rewarding reading tracks of any convention in the country — back in 2012 , where one reader in particular really impressed me. Her writing was fresh and original, with a marvelously inventive world and a compelling and instantly likable main character. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

My favorite tale… was Tiffany Trent’s The Unnaturalists. Set in an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in museums, The Unnaturalists follows plucky young Vespa Nyx, who is happily cataloging unnatural creatures in her father’s museum until she becomes involved in Syrus Reed’s attempts to free his Tinker family, who have been captured to be refinery slaves. Funny, fast-paced, and packed with lively characters, Tiffany Trent’s novel captured my attention immediately.

The Unnaturalists was published in hardcover in 2012, and the sequel, The Tinker King, arrived in 2014. Saga Press published the paperback edition of The Unnaturalists (above) in June of this year, and the paperback edition of The Tinker King followed on July 26. Both are available for $7.99 in print, and $6.99 in digital format. The covers are by Aaron Goodman (click for bigger versions).

The Print Version of the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu is Now Available

The Print Version of the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu is Now Available

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The Kickstarter for the long-awaited Seventh Edition of Call of Cthulhu, one of the greatest role playing games of all time, was one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in gaming history, pulling in over $560,000 on a $40,000 goal. The PDF versions were released back in 2014, but the promised print edition took a lot longer to arrive. But it is now here — officially announced on the website on August 26, and already offered for sale at various online outlets.

The 7th Edition, based on the original rules by Sandy Peterson and Lynn Willis, was significantly revised by Paul Fricker and Mike Mason. It weighs in at 448 pages in hardcover, with an eye-catching cover by Sam Lamont and some color interiors. A significant amount of supporting material is already available, including the Call of Cthulhu Keepers Screen, a hardcover Investigator Handbook, the S.Petersen’s Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors, and the first 7th Edition adventure collection, Nameless Horrors.

If you’re new to Call of Cthulhu, or just curious, great! CoC is one of the most innovative and creative role playing games ever made, and — almost uniquely in the industry — its supplements and adventures make great reading, even if you never have the chance to sit down at a table with fellow players. It was the first semi-contemporary RPG, and also the first to feature ordinary folks as protagonists. But don’t just take my word for it… here’s a dead-on quote from Ed Grabianowski’s io9 article, “Call Of Cthulhu Was The First Role-Playing Game To Drive People Insane.”

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Peadar and The Call: Behind the Scenes

Peadar and The Call: Behind the Scenes

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the-call-peadar-oguilin-smallA few weeks ago I read, nay, inhaled Peadar O’Guilin’s The Call. Peadar and I are friends and fans of each other’s work, but I went into this one not having a clue about what it was. I knew the manuscript was YA, and had elements of horror.

What I discovered was a novel absolutely deserving of the hype it has received — a dystopian YA story about a fractured society, with heroic teenaged protagonists who are realistic AND don’t whine. There are moments of chilling otherworldly horror owing to the frequent presence of the fae folk, the force behind the terrible situation facing these Irish children. And there’s excellent pacing and characterization, and growth…

But this isn’t a review, it’s an interview. After devouring the novel I naturally had questions about how it was composed, and since I knew Peadar I asked him if I could take those questions and his answers public. I did my best to avoid spoilers, although there might be mild ones ahead.

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A Sorceress Hiding From the Most Powerful Sorcerer in the World: Annie Bellet’s Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress

A Sorceress Hiding From the Most Powerful Sorcerer in the World: Annie Bellet’s Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress

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Annie Bellet’s Twenty-Sided Sorceress books are a USA Today bestselling series… pretty impressive for a small press outing from a relatively unknown writer. Last year Bellet was (like Black Gate) nominated for a Hugo Award on the Rabid Puppy slate, for her short story “Goodnight Stars” from The End is Now anthology. And (also like Black Gate) she declined the nomination… that principled stand won her an Alfie Award at George R.R. Martin’s Hugo Losers party, a coveted award in its own right.

Now Saga Press is gathering the first four novels in the popular series into one handsome omnibus edition, Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Volume One. The books follow the adventures of Jade Crow, a sorceress hiding from the most powerful sorcerer in the world: her ex-boyfriend, who wants to consume her heart. They are:

Justice Calling (152 pages, July 23, 2014)
Murder of Crows (162 pages, August 23, 2014)
Pack of Lies (226 pages, October 14, 2014)
Hunting Season (204 pages, Dec 2, 2014)

Here’s a look at the original covers, all from Domed Muse Press.

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John DeNardo on the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction You Won’t Want to Miss in September

John DeNardo on the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction You Won’t Want to Miss in September

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There aren’t many folks who pay more attention to publishing schedules than me, but John DeNardo is clearly one of them. (He also works harder than I do, which is doubly annoying.) Over at Kirkus Reviews, he’s assembled a list of the sixteen most intriguing SF, fantasy, and historical books arriving this month, including Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s new anthology Women of Futures Past, Summerlong by Peter S. Beagle, Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black, Everfair by Nisi Shawl, and Age of Heroes by James Lovegrove. Here’s his summary for Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark (a pseudonym for David Wellington).

In the far future, a distant planet on the edge of the galaxy is attacked by alien machines, so its representatives enlist the aid of a ragtag team of would-be heroes to come to their defense.

And on Necrotech by K.C. Alexander

In an apathetic society devoid of ethics or regulation, a street thug named Riko has her memories wiped, her reputation destroyed, and a girlfriend who’s turned into a tech-fueled zombie. Her only salvation may be a group of mercenaries who unfortunately think she screwed them over… Mixing together high-tech imagination and conspiracy, this one is sure to satisfy the cyberpunk craving you didn’t know you had.

See John’s complete article here.

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Troublesome Magic and High-Stakes Adventure: Marc Turner’s Chronicles of the Exile Trilogy

Troublesome Magic and High-Stakes Adventure: Marc Turner’s Chronicles of the Exile Trilogy

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In his article for Black Gate last December, Marc Turner described the opening novel in The Chronicles of the Exile series this way:

My epic fantasy debut, When the Heavens Fall, came out in May this year, and it can best be summed up as The Lord of the Rings meets World War Z. It’s not a zombie apocalypse novel, but that’s going to come as scant consolation to the characters who find themselves having to wade through an army of undead.

The second book in the series, Dragon Hunters, was published in February. Here’s what RT Book Reviews said about the first two volumes:

Wildly imaginative settings, wonderfully empathetic characters, troublesome magic and high-stakes adventures… [Turner] balances an enormous setting and legendary monsters with flashes of insight and humor that keep the story consistently captivating, all while crafting a battle of wits and determination that builds to a riveting climax.

The third book in the trilogy, Red Tide, arrived in hardcover from Tor Books yesterday.

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Check Out Postscripts, the Varied Genre Anthology Series from PS Publishing

Check Out Postscripts, the Varied Genre Anthology Series from PS Publishing

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Postscripts is something of an unusual beast.

It started off as a quarterly British magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime. The first issue, edited by Peter Crowther and published by PS Publishing,  appeared in June 2004 to considerable acclaim. It won the International Horror Guild award for best periodical in 2006 and 2008, and the British Fantasy Award for Best Magazine in 2009. I snatched up the early issues as they appeared… they were a little expensive on this side of the pond, but I never regretted it.

Postscripts has undergone some changes over the years. Early issues were essentially trade paperbacks (at least in the newsstand edition; there was also a signed, numbered, limited edition hardcover for the hardcore collectors.) Starting with issue 18 the magazine transitioned to a quarterly anthology; more recently (starting with issue 20/21) it has settled into a biannual schedule, producing two fat double-sized issues every year. The trade paperbacks are also a thing of the past, the “newsstand” edition, such as it is, is a beautiful thick hardcover with a wraparound cover. The capable Nick Gevers became co-editor with issue 18, and sole editor starting with issue 32/33. Under Nick’s stewardship the magazine has published brand new stories by Brian Aldiss, Scott Edelman, Paul Di Filippo, Darrell Schweitzer, Paul Tremblay, Simon Strantzas, Robert Reed, Michael Swanwick, Paul Park, John Langan, Richard Calder, and many others.

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New Treasures: The Dev Harmer Mission Series by James Lovegrove

New Treasures: The Dev Harmer Mission Series by James Lovegrove

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I’m very intrigued by James Longrove’s Dev Harmer Mission series, and I may add it to my Fall Reading Program. (I’m also intrigued by his 8-volume Pantheon series, but let’s remain realistic, shall we?) Dev Harmer is a reluctant agent of mega-corporation Interstellar Security Solutions, dispatched to various hotspots around the galaxy. He wakes up in a brand new cloned body every time. His original body, back on Earth, reportedly no longer exists, so Hammer has to earn enough to afford a new one… and that means doing the dirty jobs no one else wants.

Each of these jobs takes him to a very different locale — starting with Alighieri, a planet perpetually in flames, and the setting for the opening novel in the series, World of Fire.

Dev Harmer, reluctant agent of Interstellar Security Solutions, wakes up in a newly cloned host body on the planet Alighieri, ready for action. It’s an infernal world, so close to its sun that it surface is regularly baked to 1,000°C, hot enough to turn rock to lava. But deep underground there are networks of tunnels connecting colonies of miners who dig for the precious helium-3 regolith deposits in Alighieri’s crust.

Polis+, the AI race who are humankind’s great galactic rivals, want to claim the fiery planet’s mineral wealth for their own. All that stands between them and this goal is Dev. But as well as Polis+’s agents, there are giant moleworms to contend with, and a spate of mysterious earthquakes, and the perils of the surface where a man can be burned to cinders if he gets caught unprotected on the day side…

Giant worms, hostile AIs, hell planet… that’s all the essentials for a rousing space adventure, right there.

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io9 on All the New Scifi and Fantasy Books You Absolutely Must Read This Fall

io9 on All the New Scifi and Fantasy Books You Absolutely Must Read This Fall

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Fall officially begins on Thursday (here in the Northern Hemisphere, at least). Which means I can officially give up on the wreckage of my Summer Reading Plan, and start all over again with a brand new, crazy ambitious and supernaturally awesome Fall Reading Plan. Yeah!

I love the planning stages of my quarterly reading plans, ’cause they’re filled with crazy optimism. Shall we throw the 10-volume Malazan Book of the Fallen in there? Why the hell not! It’s only September!

It’s at this stage of the quarter that I find articles like Cheryl Eddy’s “All the New Scifi and Fantasy Books You Absolutely Must Read This Fall,” published at io9 at the end of August, so very helpful. Eddy lists over two dozen major books launching this fall, including A Night Without Stars by Peter F. Hamilton, Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and new books by Connie Willis, Cixin Liu, Christopher Pries, Ken Liu, Margaret Atwood, Mel Brooks, Mark Frost, Bruce Sterling, and many others. Here’s her take on A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky.

An ageless magician fond of drinking beer and sleeping late visits New York City to visit old friends, only to find the city has changed in unexpected ways — and a supernatural war is brewing on its fringes.

See the complete article here.