THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT COLLECTION
© Houghton Mifflin
Hobbit History
By: Pat FerraraDate: Monday, October 22, 2007
As if there isn’t a book-load of backstory already on The Hobbit’s road to film translation, John D. Rateliff is bringing the history back to its roots with an intimate, three-volume look at one of the most famous bedtime stories of all time.
G’day Maniac readers and welcome to this week’s edition of the Buzz. Though this Tuesday’s schedule is a little on the lean side, we’ve still got some interesting genre fare and a surprisingly large smattering of hardcover releases.
Laurell K. Hamilton debuts her sixth Meredith Gentry novel with A Lick of Frost on hardback & audiobook while John Steinbeck’s only work of fantasy literature, a modern update of Morte d’Arthur’s Arthurian legend, also gets a hardcover re-release.
British fantasy author David Gemmell, who passed away last July from coronary artery disease, posthumously completes his historical fantasy Troy series this week with the hardback release of Fall of Kings. The third novel in the sequence, Kings follows 2005’s Lord of the Silverbow and 2006’s Shield of Thunder, finishing the arc of battle in the ancient world. Though the author only had roughly 70,000 words completed before his death, his wife Stella (who had been intimately involved with the entire series) took over the reigns and fleshed out David’s detailed notes for the book’s completion.
Ever since New Line tackled J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit seems to be on everyone’s tongue. I’m as interested in a live-action movie of The Hobbit as any other fan, but it is a wee bit sad when thinking of the title immediately spurs discussion of Peter Jackson and Robert Shaye rather than the work itself.
Houghton Mifflin this week unveils a nicely bound, three-volume set on all things hobbit-related from Tolkien guru John D. Rateliff. Complete with original illustrations, unpublished maps, annotations and author commentaries, The History of the Hobbit delves far back into the 1930s to divulge the secrets of the fantasy masterpiece’s conception. Perhaps most interesting in this set is the reproduction of The Hobbit’s original unpublished draft, when the story was still fresh from the fomenting “fireside reads” between J.R.R. and his sons. With two tomes of backstory and a new edition of the work itself (with an introduction by Christopher Tolkien), The History of the Hobbit is an essential for any Tolkien fan.
New in Hardcover:
Double Abduction, Chris Beakey (iBooks, Inc.)
Mary Bennett and her brother Michael share a close bond, which has grown tighter as they've raised her five-year-old son Justin. But when Justin is abducted, Michael is a prime suspect. Michael was with Mary's older son Benjamin when he was abducted and murdered five years before. He became a suspect in that case as did Scott Brown, Mary's then boyfriend and Justin's father. Michael and Scott are suspects again. But what are their motives? Is Michael trying to hurt Mary? Is Scott seeking revenge for being unable to see his son? What connection does the lead investigator Louis D'Amecourt play, and what secrets do he and Michael share? Policewoman Gloria Towson suspects that D'Amecourt is up to no good and that Michael knows more than he is telling.
The History of the Hobbit, John D. Rateliff (Houghton Mifflin)
A beautiful boxed set: the definitive examination of how Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece, including the complete unpublished draft and little-known illustrations and unpublished maps, along with a new edition of the classic work itself. First published in 1937, The Hobbit is a story that "grew in the telling," and many characters and events in the published book are completely different from what Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as part of their "fireside reads." For the first time, The History of the Hobbit reproduces the original version of one of literature's most famous stories, and includes many little-known illustrations and previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit created by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations and commentaries on the date of composition, how Tolkien's professional and early mythological writings influenced the story, the imaginary geography he created, and how he came to revise the book in the years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings. These two volumes are boxed together with a new edition of The Hobbit with a short introduction by Christopher Tolkien, a reset text incorporating the most up-to-date corrections, and all of Tolkien's own drawings and color illustrations, including the rare "Mirkwood" piece.
Doctor Who Short Trips: Dalek Empire, Ed. by Nicholas Briggs & Simon Guerrier (Big Finish Books)
Everybody knows Doctor Who's terrifying arch enemies, the metallic, murderous Daleks! Here they come again in a collection of scary yarns—luckily, the good Doctor in his many incarnations is on hand to guide us through the terrible events before, after, and during the Daleks' ruthless onslaught.
The Fade, Chris Wooding (Gollancz)
The astonishing new fantasy from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray. A subterranean world of vast caverns, underground seas, crystalline forests. A civilisation born of darkness, in darkness, protected by shadows. A city of merchants, whose eyes have turned upward to the surface, where the lethal light of day beats down on their world. A conspiracy so vast that it will swallow them all… A stunningly original fantasy from a multi-award winning author. With a beautiful baroque world, sharp characterization and Chris Wooding's trademark insight into the fantasy genre, the dawning of The Fade is an event more than worth waiting for.
The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, John Steinbeck (Viking Adult)
A modern retelling of the legendary Arthurian tales from one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Morte d’Arthur was one of the first books that John Steinbeck enjoyed reading as a child, and it became a favorite story to read to his own children. Here now is Steinbeck’s only work of fantasy literature—his modernization of Malory’s adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, who together took the oath of knightship, swearing never to use violence without good purpose, to be merciful, to protect women, and never to fight for an unjust cause or personal gain. Here are the iconic and legendary tales of King Arthur, Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Merlin, and Morgan le Fay. Christopher Paolini, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novels Eragon and Eldest, has written a new foreword offering a fresh and young perspective on this classic. This is a book sure to capture the attention and imagination of a wide audience, including the legions of Steinbeck fans, those who love the legendary adventures of King Arthur and his Knights, as well as the countless fans of science fiction and fantasy literature, and everyone who loves Paolini’s bestselling novels.
Fall of Kings, David & Stella Gemmell (Bantam Press)
War has been declared by the Warlords of Greece with High King Agamemnon in control and the Ancient World is divided into fiercely opposing factions. On the killing fields outside the Golden City forces loyal to the Mykene king gather. Among them is Odysseus, ally to King Agamemnon, alongside him the mighty warrior Achilles and his Myrmidons stand ready to begin the slaughter of the Trojans and her Allies. Both know that Agamemnon will stop at nothing to secure the gold that lies within the city walls. Ailing and bitter, the Trojan king Priam waits, secure in the knowledge that his favourite son Hektor is riding to his aid. And that, at sea, the dread Helikaon, will bring blood, death, and terrible vengeance for the death of his wife at the Mykene hands. As darkness falls on the Great Green, and warriors who were once kinsmen are filled with bloodlust, this much is certain. This is a battle whose tragic consequences will echo down the centuries. The third and final novel in David Gemmell’s Troy series.
A Lick of Frost, Laurell K. Hamilton (Ballantine Books)
I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch… and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved - my Darkness and my Killing Frost - are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vain-glorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime - and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.
New in Paperback:
Summer of ’92, Ishmael Murphy (Tate Publishing)
What if you encountered something that has never been seen before and whose existence had been denied and ridiculed? In Summer of ’92, eight friends ventured to Six Rivers Forest in Eureka, California, for the best time of their lives. Little did they know the ultimate force against mankind had each of them in the cosmic crosshairs. Summer of ’92 gives the account of eight teenagers who mysteriously vanished without a trace. Fears are confronted, friendships are tested, and faith is the basis of their survival as author Ishmael Murphy follows the teens through a thought-provoking experience with creatures from the very pits of hell.
The Children’s Hospital, Chris Adrian (Grove Press)
A hospital is preserved, afloat, after the Earth is flooded beneath seven miles of water. Inside, assailed by mysterious forces, doctors and patients are left to remember the world they've lost and to imagine the one to come. At the center, a medical student named Jemma Claflin finds herself gifted with strange powers and at the beginning of a frightening destiny. Simultaneously epic, intimate, and wildly imaginative, The Children's Hospital is a work of stunning scope, mesmerizing detail, and wrenching emotion.
Stargate SG-1: Relativity, James Swallow (Fandemonium Books)
Stargate Command's attempts to sign a treaty with the Pack, a race of gypsy space travellers, is jeopardised by a series of attacks from an unknown enemy. While searching for the perpetrators, Jack begins to suspect that the Pack are concealing a dangerous secret.
Cenotaxis, Sean Williams (Monkeybrain Books)
In the far future, in the aftermath of a mysterious galactic catastrophe, a false prophet comes face to face with his greatest adversary yet: a man who thinks he's god, and might very well be right. While the battle for Earth rages around them, they face off, one wanting to conquer the world and the other to redeem it, and the victory may well decide the future of the galaxy, and of humanity itself.
New in Audiobook:
A Lick of Frost, Laurell K. Hamilton (Brilliance Audio Unabridged)
I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch… and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved - my Darkness and my Killing Frost - are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vain-glorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime - and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying. Narrated by Laural Merlington.
The Last Legion, Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Macmillan Digital Audio)
The Roman world is in the throes of death, but a new myth, destined to span the centuries, is waiting to be born. The camp was quiet. Mist shrouded the plains and the Nova Invicta Legion, the legendary warriors charged with protecting the last emperor of Rome, settled in for another cold and bitter night. Then, through the fog, the barbarians appeared. In a space of a few hours, all was lost -- the Roman Empire lay in ruins. But not all the Romans are dead. From the dust of the battlefield, a band of seemingly immortal legionaries rise up. They are the Last Legion. Risking their lives, they attempt an audacious mission to free the young emperor and his enigmatic tutor from the hands of their captors. The Last Legion is a bewitching novel of bravery, love, myth, and magic. Valerio Massimo Manfredi has written an epic that will hold you spellbound until the very last page. Narrated by Martin Shaw.
