Weekly Book Buzz

HOGFATHER by Terry Pratchett
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Holiday Shopping Guide

By: Pat Ferrara
Date: Monday, December 17, 2007

With the holidays fast approaching the pressure’s on to get those gifts. If you’re like me chances are you’ve procrastinated your way yet again into another last-ditch holiday shopping debacle. But before you brave the hectic traffic and bustling malls take a look at these 23 gift ideas that can be snagged right from the comfort of your own home.

Whether its audio books, nifty collector’s editions, or new fare from your favorite authors and series, these current genre selections (placed in no particular order) are sure to please the sci-fi, fantasy, or horror fan on your list. All prices quoted from Amazon.com.

1. Selections from Dreamsongs Vol. 1, 2, 3, George R.R. Martin (RH Audio Abridged): ~ $25 per

2. Dreamsongs: Volumes 1 & II, George R.R. Martin (Spectra Hardover): ~ $18 per

3. Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin (Subterranean Press): $78.75

Signed and limited to only 448 copies.

4. Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Philip K. Dick (RH Audio Unabridged): $23.07

5. The Amazon Kindle: $399… but currently still out of stock

6. Star Wars: The Complete Trilogy, George Lucas (Highbridge Co.): $62.97

The original 1981 NPR recording.

7. The Star Wars Vault, Stephen Sansweet & Peter Vilmur (Harper Collins): $85

The price tag is hefty, but justified. Check out a more in-depth look by staffer Tim Janson.

8. Star Wars Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, Matthew Reinhart (Orchard Hardcover): $19.17

Perfect for kids… and Star Wars fans.

9. Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, Ryder Windham (Del Rey): $25.95

10. Different Engines: How Science Drives Fiction and Fiction Drives Science, Mark Brake & Neil Hook (Macmillan Hardcover): $16.47

11. The History of Science Fiction, Adam Roberts (Palgrave Paperback): $26.95

12. Heroes, Volume One, Illustrated by Tim Sale (Wildstorm Hardcover Comic): $20.57

Can’t wait for Heroes’ third season? Neither can I.

13. Tales of the Beedle Bard, J.K. Rowling (Herself): $3,940,000

Craaaazy… and possibly worth murdering for.

14. Halcyon Blithe Series, James M. Ward (Tor Paperbacks): $7.99 per

Got a Harry Potter fan jonesin’ for a new series? Try out Ward’s Halcyon Blithe novels, which combines elements of HP and C.S. Lewis’ Horatio Hornblower series.

15. Best Women’s Erotica 2007, Ed. by Violet Blue (Cleis Paperback): $8.17

C’mon, give em what they really want.

16. The History of the Hobbit, John D. Rateliff (Houghton Mifflin Hardcover): $59.85

17. The Children of Hurin Deluxe Edition, J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin Hardcover): $47.25

If a new work from Tolkien isn’t enough to get that Middle Earth fan riled up, this baby also packs some serious Alan Lee illustration awesomeness.

18. His Dark Materials Trilogy Boxed Set, Philip Pullman (Laurel Leaf Paperback): $13.50

19. Planet Narnia, Michael Ward (Oxford University Hardcover): $23.48

A perfect companion to tide the C.S. Lewis fans over until PRINCE CASPIAN’s May 16^th theatrical release.

20. The Golden Apples of the Sun, Ray Bradbury (Subterranean Hardcover): $36.50

Limited to only 300 copies with never before published material.

21. Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson (Subterranean Hardcover): $78.75

A signed limited edition of Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series opener, one of the most overlooked fantasy epics and already a contemporary classic.

22. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson (Orb Paperback): $10.17

Know someone who loved the film? The book’s even better.

23. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (Vintage Books): $8.97

New in Hardcover:

Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson (Subterranean Press)

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand... The first novel of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, illustrated in this limited edition by Michael Komarck.

G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers Omnibus, Josh Blaylock, et al (Devil’s Due Publishing)

OPTIMUS PRIME! SNAKE-EYES! BUMBLEBEE! SCARLETT! The two worlds of G.I. Joe and Transformers collide not just once, but four times in this incredible collection! Includes volumes 1-4, authored by Josh Blaylock, Tim Seeley, Dan Jolley, Mike Miller, Andrew Wildman, & E.J. Su.

Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin (Subterranean Press)

When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove. Marsh meant to turn down York’s offer. It was too full of secrets that spelled danger. But the promise of both gold and a grand new boat that could make history crushed his resolve—coupled with the terrible force of York’s mesmerizing gaze. Not until the maiden voyage of his new sidewheeler Fevre Dream would Marsh realize he had joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare...and mankind’s most impossible dream. Here is the spellbinding tale of a vampire’s quest to unite his race with humanity, of a garrulous riverman’s dream of immortality, and of the undying legends of the steamboat era and a majestic, ancient river. Fevre Dream is a bona fide vampire classic, the tale of Abner Marsh, steamboat captain, and the passenger he carries down the Mississippi. This special signed edition is limited to only 448 numbered hardcover copies signed by the author and artist. Illustrated Justin Sweet.

Amberlight, Sylvia Kelso (Juno Books)

Tellurith, the head of a great ruling House in Amberlight, inexplicably finds a battered outlander left for dead in the streets of the legendary city - and an oracle reveals that he must not die. The man, although stripped of his memory, may know of a threat to Amberlight's unique possession: the motherlodes of the qherrique, the pearl-rock that gives their world its most powerful tool. Tangled in intrigue, insurrection and brutal warfare, it will take a cataclysmic upheaval for Tellurith and the stranger to begin to grasp the more-than-human mystery that brought them together.

New in Paperback:

Hogfather, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz)

Humorous fantasy author Terry Pratchett returns to his beloved and bestselling Discworld, a flat land of untamed imagination where all manner of oddities and absurdities take place. In his own inimitable fashion, Pratchett turns his mighty talents to satirizing the Santa Claus myth in Hogfather, where he shows us the ridiculous extent to which some will go to destroy, or preserve, the season of giving. So hop on board for another delightful and hilarious jaunt through Discworld with Terry Pratchett. Edited by Jean Vadim and illustrated by Stephen Player.

Airs and Graces, Toby Bishop (Ace)

Since bonding with a winged foal by accident, Larkyn Hamley has risen from a wild country girl to become one of the finest students at the Academy of the Air. But Duke William, the new ruler of Oc, is obsessed with riding a winged horse himself, and his madness leads him to ignore his traditional duties to protect the Duchy. Now it's Larkyn who must take flight to save her country, her Academy, and her own life.

Beyond Window-Dressing? Canadian Children’s Fantasy of the Millenium, K.V. Johansen (Sybertooth Inc.)

In the late twentieth century, Canadian children's fantasy had a poor reputation internationally. Was this reputation deserved, and if so, has the quality of children's fantasy and the climate for its publication improved since that time? After a survey of twentieth-century Canadian children's fantasy, Beyond Window-Dressing examines these questions through an extensive cross-section of Canadian children's fantasy published between 2000 and 2004. From Palmer Cox and Catherine Anthony Clark to Judd Palmer and Alison Baird, and writers of international reputation such as Dave Duncan, O.R. Melling, Kenneth Oppel and Charles de Lint, Beyond Window-Dressing weighs Canadian fantasy against the best of the UK and US. It provides not only a window onto Canadian developments in the genre during the opening years of the twenty-first century, but insists that fantasy must be judged by standards as rigorous as those applied to any other genre of literature. K.V. Johansen held the 2001 Eileen Wallace Research Fellowship in Children's Literature from the Eileen Wallace Collection at the University of New Brunswick and was the recipient of the 2004 Frances E. Russell Award for research in children's literature from the Canadian section of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People. She has Master's Degrees in Medieval Studies (Toronto) and in English (McMaster), and is the author of a number of fantasy and science fiction novels for children and teens. Her 2005 book on the history of children's fantasy, Quests and Kingdoms: A Grown-Up's Guide to Children's Fantasy Literature, has received international critical acclaim and was short-listed for the 2006 Harvey Darton Award.

The Lost Fleet: Courageous, Jack Campbell (Ace)

The Lost Fleet continues its perilous journey home. Badly damaged and low on supplies, the Alliance Fleet is raiding Syndic mines for raw materials-and Captain "Black Jack" Geary hopes they can continue to remain one step ahead of their enemies. But the Syndics are the least of Geary's worries when he learns of the existence of aliens with the power to annihilate the human race. The third novel in the Lost Fleet series.

The Escapement, K.J. Parker (Orbit Books)

The engineer Ziani Vaatzes engineered a war to be reunited with his family. The deaths were regrettable, but he had no choice. Duke Valens dragged his people into the war to save the life of one woman - a woman whose husband he then killed. He regrets the evil he's done, but he, equally, had no choice. Secretary Psellus never wanted to rule the Republic, or fight a desperate siege for its survival. As a man of considerable intelligence, he knows that he has a role to play - and little choice but to accept it. The machine has been built. All that remains is to set it in motion. The third and final novel in the Engineer Trilogy.

The Fair Folk, Ed. by Marvin Kaye (Ace)

Winner of the World Fantasy Award… Patricia McKillip, Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder, Tanith Lee, Megan Lindholm, Kim Newman, and Craig Shaw Gardner contribute stories of the fey to this award-winning collection. Some are frightful. Some are funny. Some are fair. Some are foul. All are fantastic.

Alright Maniac readers that’ll do it for this week’s edition of the Buzz. Check back next Monday for all the latest info on current sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases. Questions or comments? Hit me up at Pferrara.mania@gmail.com.

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