New Treasures – Page 128

New Treasures: The House by Christina Lauren

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

“Christina Lauren” is the pseudonym for the famously successful writing team of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, who co-write both YA and adult fiction, and so far have produced an amazing eleven New York Times bestsellers, including Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Dirty Rowdy Thing.

Their latest is the tale of a particularly nasty haunted house, one that seems determined to separate teens Delilah Blue and Gavin Timothy. Delilah was sent to boarding school seven years ago for beating up the bullies who attacked her friend Gavin. Now’s she back in Kansas and her reunion with Gavin has blossomed into romance. But their new relationship is threatened by a force uncomfortably close to home.

His shirt is black, jeans are black, and shaggy black hair falls into his eyes. And when Gavin looks up at Delilah, the dark eyes shadowed with bluish circles seem to flicker to life.

He lives in that house, the one at the edge of town. Spooky and maybe haunted. Something worse than haunted. And Gavin is trapped by its secrets.

Delilah and Gavin can’t resist each other. But staying together will exact a price beyond their imagining.

The House was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on October 6, 2015. It is 384 pages, priced at $17.99 in hardcover, and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Lizzy Bromley.

New Treasures: Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories by Charles Beaumont

Sunday, October 18, 2015 John ONeill Comments 8 comments

Charles Beaumont authored several highly regarded short story collections, including Yonder: Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1958), Night Ride and Other Journeys (1960), and The Magic Man and Other Science-Fantasy Stories (1965), and was also the screenwriter for a number of classic horror films, including 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Intruder and The Masque of the Red Death. But he’s best remembered today as the writer of some of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes, including “The Howling Man,” “Miniature,” and and “Number Twelve Looks Just Like You.” Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories is a new collection of his classic tales, with a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by William Shatner. Shatner’s piece recalls meeting Beaumont when he was cast as the lead in The Intruder, and their misadventures on the set together.

It is only natural that Charles Beaumont would make a name for himself crafting scripts for The Twilight Zone — for his was an imagination so limitless it must have emerged from some other dimension. Perchance to Dream contains a selection of Beaumont’s finest stories, including five that he later adapted for Twilight Zone episodes.

Beaumont dreamed up fantasies so vast and varied they burst through the walls of whatever box might contain them. Supernatural, horror, noir, science fiction, fantasy, pulp, and more: all were equally at home in his wondrous mind. These are stories where lions stalk the plains, classic cars rove the streets, and spacecraft hover just overhead. Here roam musicians, magicians, vampires, monsters, toreros, extraterrestrials, androids, and perhaps even the Devil himself. With dizzying feats of master storytelling and joyously eccentric humor, Beaumont transformed his nightmares and reveries into impeccably crafted stories that leave themselves indelibly stamped upon the walls of the mind. In Beaumont’s hands, nothing is impossible: it all seems plausible, even likely.

Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories was published by Penguin Classics on October 13, 2015. It is 336 pages, priced at $16 in trade paperback, and $9.99 for the digital edition.

New Treasures: Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter

Thursday, October 15, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Angela Slatter has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award, both times for her short story collections. Of Sorrow and Such is a Medieval fantasy featuring witches, shapeshifters, and the dark thread of the supernatural in a world of superstition and fear. (Click on the front and back covers above for bigger versions.)

Of Sorrow and Such is the sixth in Tor.com‘s stellar line-up of Fall novellas, which includes exciting new releases from K. J. Parker, Paul Cornell, Nnedi Okorafor, and many others. So far I’ve been tremendously impressed with them — they’re gorgeously packaged and marketed, feature some great names and more than a few exciting debuts, and they’ve been extremely well received. I expect to see several titles at the top of awards lists next year.

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New Treasures: Souldrifter by Garrett Calcaterra

Monday, October 12, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Garrett Calcaterra’s most recent posts for us were “Fantasy Clichés Done Right and “Can SF Save the World From Climate Change?” In addition to investigative reporting, he also dabbles in writing fantasy novels. Dreamwielder, the opening novel in his Dreamwielder Chronicles, is a terrific sword & sorcery adventure, and has been widely acclaimed. James P. Blaylock called it “fast-paced, colorful, and richly detailed… My kind of book,” and Tim Powers proclaimed it a “good solid fantasy adventure.” Souldrifter, the long-anticipated second volume in the series, finally went on sale last month.

In the shadow of Emperor Guderian’s fallen empire, young Queen Makarria finds her throne ― and her life ― in grave danger. The Old World Republic has come, demanding that Queen Makarria bring order to the struggling Five Kingdoms by forming a new empire, one she would rule as the Old World’s puppet. When Makarria refuses them, the Old World threatens war and unleashes a nefarious spy to sow discord in her court. Before she knows it, Makarria’s budding romance with Prince Caile has been exploited by the spy, and Makarria finds herself embroiled in a complex game of power and lies in which she can trust no one.

Betrayed and lost, Makarria is forced to shed all pride and discover the true nature of her power as a dreamwielder in order to recreate herself and face the sprawling threat that is the Old World Empire.

Souldrifter was published by Diversion Publishing on September 29, 2015. It is 298 pages, priced at $15.99 in trade paperback and $4.99 for the digital edition. Try a sample chapter right here at Black Gate.

New Treasures: The Silent End by Samuel Sattin

Saturday, October 10, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Samuel Sattin’s first novel, League of Somebodies, was labeled “One of the most important novels of 2013” by Pop Matters. His second novel, The Silent End, has been called “a young adult novel that’s right over the plate for pop culture fans” by Bleeding Cool. It’s not hard to see why. This is the kind of book that immediately snares your attention. Here’s the first sentence of the book description:

In a mist-covered town in the Pacific Northwest, three teenagers find themselves pitted against an unearthly menace that dwells beneath the foundations of their high school…

So far the reviews have been terrific. Here’s Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver and Big Machine:

Imagine if Halloween had been written by The Kids in The Hall instead of John Carpenter and you start to understand the wild, mesmerizing mash up that is The Silent End. Monsters and monstrous fathers, missing mothers and young love — somehow all of this and much more fits wonderfully into this book. It manages to be scary and sweet and very, very fine. Sam Sattin is a talent and this novel is a joy.

The Silent End was published by Ragnarok Publications on August 9, 2015. It 506 pages, priced at $20.95 in hardcover and $4.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by M.S. Corley. Read the first chapter at Comic Vine.

New Treasures: Pathfinder Tales: Beyond the Pool of Stars by Howard Andrew Jones

Friday, October 9, 2015 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Here at the Chicago rooftop headquarters of Black Gate, one of the most anticipated books of the fall is Howard Andrew Jones’ third Pathfinder Tales novel, Beyond the Pool of Stars. It was finally released this week.

Beyond the Pool of Stars is a fantastical adventure of deep-water danger and unlikely alliances set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. It follows Plague of Shadows and Stalking the Beast, but is a completely standalone adventure.

Mirian Raas comes from a long line of salvagers, adventurers who use magic to dive for sunken ships off the coast of tropical Sargava. When her father dies, Mirian has to take over his last job: a dangerous expedition into deep jungle pools, helping a tribe of lizardfolk reclaim the lost treasures of their people. Yet this isn’t any ordinary job, as the same colonial government that looks down on Mirian for her half-native heritage has an interest in the treasure, and the survival of the entire nation may depend on the outcome…

It also contains a free 12-page excerpt from Pathfinder Tales: Bloodhound by F. Wesley Schneider, on sale in December.

Pathfinder Tales: Beyond the Pool of Stars was published by Tor Books on October 6, 2015. It is 347 pages, priced at $14.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Tyler Jacobson (see the complete wraparound art here). Read more at Howard’s website.

Celebrating the Arrival of Matthew David Surridge’s Reading Strange Matters: Collected Reviews, Vol I

Thursday, October 8, 2015 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

Matthew David Surridge became a blogger here in June 2010, after his acclaimed story “The Word of Azrael” appeared in Black Gate 14. His very first post was “The Art of Storytelling and The Temple of Elemental Evil,” a look at how unpredictable stories spontaneously arise out of D&D sessions, using his own experience with Gary Gygax’s classic adventure as an example.

Since then he’s published 259 articles with us, and become one of our most respected and cherished writers. He was nominated for a Hugo Award this year (and his post declining the nomination, “A Detailed Explanation,” became the most-read article in Black Gate‘s history.)

Matthew’s blog posts are very different from what we normally do here. We cover a lot of ground at the site — keeping you up-to-date on the newest fantasy releases, reminding you of overlooked vintage paperbacks, informing you when magazines go on sale, and the like. By their nature, most of those articles are short and to-the-point. In contrast, Matthew’s pieces dive deep into carefully-selected subjects, exploring some of the best (and most overlooked) novels and writers in the field, and engaging them with depth and passion.

“I think I do good work,” one of his fellow bloggers confided in me years ago, “but Matthew raises blogging to a fine art.”

So I was delighted to see the release this week of the first collection of Matthew’s Black Gate columns, Reading Strange Matters: Collected Reviews, Vol I, from Grace & Victory Publications. It collects 23 of his best book reviews, plus one brand new piece, on Nalo Hopkinson’s Skin Folk.

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Future Treasures: King of Shards by Matthew Kressel

Thursday, October 8, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Matthew Kressel has had an impressive career over the past decade. He started publishing fiction in his own magazine, Sybil’s Garage, and quickly branched out to Electric Velocipede, Interzone, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. He received his first Nebula Nomination for “The Sounds of Old Earth” in 2013, and his second for “The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye” earlier this year. He has also been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, for editing Sybil’s Garage.

King of Shards is his debut novel. It will be published by Arche Press, a quality small press who this year have also produced Marguerite Reed’s Archangel, and The End of the End of Everything by Dale Bailey. It is the first novel in The Worldmender Trilogy, and N.K. Jemisin called it “A surreal and exotic adventure in a unique mythological setting. Scary, exhilarating fun!” It follows Daniel Fisher, abducted on his wedding day by the demon king, Ashmedai, who been supplanted by the demon Mashit. Daniel and Ashmedai must work together to stop Mashit, before she destroys all of existence.

King of Shards will be published by Arche Press on October 13, 2015. It is 320 pages, priced at $17 in trade paperback. The striking cover is by Leon Tukker (click the image above for a bigger version). Read more at Matthew’s website.

New Treasures: Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

It’s always a delight to see a debut fantasy writer make a profound splash on the industry. Ilana C. Myer’s first fantasy novel, Last Song Before Night, hit shelves on September 29, and it’s already collected a hat-full of rave reviews. BG blogger Alex Bledsoe said:

I was totally drawn in to Last Song Before Night… the story is as grand as a Wagner opera.

David Mack said:

It’s one of the most impressive debut novels I’ve ever read; I am in awe.

And in a feature review, NPR said:

Myers’ depiction of Tamryllin and the land it inhabits is shadowy and lush, a tapestry of gossamer wonders as well as theocratic oppression and brutality. But the core of Last Song‘s strength is its characters. Bound by enmities, rivalries, lust, sacrifices, and ancient tragedies, the novel’s sizeable cast forms a dizzying chemistry… Last Song Before Night is about music, but it’s also a work of music itself: Lyrical, dynamic, and winningly melodic.

See our previous article about the book here.

Last Song Before Night was published by Tor Books on September 29, 2015. It is 416 pages, priced at $26.99 in hardcover, and $12.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Stephan Martiniere. Read more at Myer’s website here.

Stephenie Meyer Pens Gender-Swapped Version of Twilight

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

The Twilight Tenth Anniversary edition was released today, ten years after the original novel went on sale, and buyers were very surprised to find that copies came packaged with an entirely new novel by Stephenie Meyer: Life and Death, a gender-flipped version of Twilight. As reported by Entertainment Weekly:

In honor of the 10th anniversary of her best-selling vampire romance, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has written a 442-page reimagining of the novel that made her a publishing sensation. This time around, she’s switched the genders of her protagonists. Yes, it’s true. In the new tale titled Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, Bella Swan is now a boy named Beau (short for Beaufort) and the brooding Edward Cullen is now Edythe…

Meyer explains in her foreword to the anniversary edition of the novel that she decided to go with the gender bending to underscore her position that Bella isn’t a “damsel in distress” as certain critics have charged. Rather, the author insists, the character is a “human in distress,” or as Meyer calls her, “a normal human being surrounded on all sides by people who are basically superheroes and supervillains.” Meyer also takes issue with the criticism that Bella was “too consumed with her love interest, as if that’s somehow just a girl thing.” The author mentions, too, that Beau is “more OCD” than Bella was and that he’s “totally missing the chip Bella carries around on her shoulder all the time.”

Meyer says writing the piece was “fun, but also really fast and easy.” According to the foreword, the rewrite allowed her to correct some errors that always bothered her and to re-edit the piece for grammar and word choice issues. She also altered some elements of the mythology for consistency.

The Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on October 6, 2015. It is 752 pages, priced at $21.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition.

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