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Pyr Releases The Blood of Ambrose
Author J.G. Ballard Passes Away By
Tim Janson
April 19, 2009
Blood of Ambrose by James Enge(2009).
© Pyr
Very light this week in terms of new releases. I am looking forward to James Enge’s “the Blood of Ambrose” which sounds like a winner. Let’s start the week off with some award news. The nominees for the Shirley Jackson awards have been announced and they will be presented July 12, 2009 at “Readercon” in Burlington, Massachusetts. Here are the nominees:
Best Novel
Alive in Necropolis, Doug Dorst (Riverhead Hardcover)
The Man on the Ceiling, Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (Wizards of the Coast Discoveries)
Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory (Del Rey)
The Resurrectionist, Jack O’Connell (Algonquin Books)
The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow)
Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Knopf)
Best Novella
Disquiet, Julia Leigh (Penguin/Hamish Hamilton)
Dormitory, Yoko Ogawa (The Diving Pool)
Living With the Dead, Darrell Schweitzer (PS Publishing)
The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti, Stephen Graham Jones (Chiasmus)
"N.", Stephen King (Just After Sunset)
Best Novelette
"Hunger Moon", Deborah Noyes (The Ghosts of Kerfol)
"The Lagerstatte", Laird Barron (The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy)
"Penguins of the Apocalypse", William Browning Spencer (Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy)
"Pride and Prometheus", John Kessel (F&SF, January 2008)
The Situation, Jeff Vandermeer (PS Publishing)
Best Short Story
"68° 07’ 15"N, 31° 36’ 44"W", Conrad Williams (Fast Ships, Black Sails)
"The Dinner Party", Joshua Ferris (The New Yorker, August 11, 2008)
"Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment: One Daughter’s Personal Account", M. Rickert (F&SF, Oct/Nov 2008)
"The Inner City", Karen Heuler (Cemetery Dance #58)
"Intertropical Convergence Zone", Nadia Bulkin (ChiZine, Issue 37)
"The Pile", Michael Bishop (Subterranean Online, Winter 2008)
Best Collection
A Better Angel, Chris Adrian (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
Dangerous Laughter, Steven Millhauser (Knopf)
The Diving Pool, Yoko Ogawa (Picador)
The Girl on the Fridge, Etgar Keret (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
Just After Sunset, Stephen King (Scribner)
Wild Nights!, Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco)
Best Anthology
Bound for Evil, edited by Tom English (Dead Letter)
Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo, edited by Danel Olson (Ash-Tree)
Fast Ships, Black Sails, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer (Night Shade)
The New Uncanny, edited by Sarah Eyre & Ra Page (Comma)
Shades of Darkness, edited by Barbara & Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree)
In other news…
…Raymond Feist’s latest Fantasy novel “Rides a Dread Legion” debuted at #16 on the N.Y. Times Bestsellers list. A strong opening for one of my favorites and a review of this book will be in my column next week!
…Author J.G. Ballard passed away April 19 after a long bout with prostate cancer. Ballard authored The Empire of the Sun and he was a prominent member of the New Wave in science fiction. Ballard was 78.
New in Fantasy
The Clockwork King of Orl: Twighlight of Kerberos Series Mike Wild (Abaddon Books)
There's a whole world out there and it isn't ours! The words of her mentor inspire Kali Hooper to explore the lost places of Twilight, unearth the secrets of the past and discover the fate of the vanished Old Races. So far, so good. But when an unexpected encounter in the deadly Spiral of Kos brings Kali head to head with Twighlight's all-consuming Final Faith, she finds herself in a race for the keys to the Old Races' most terrifying secret yet, the mysterious construct known as the Clockwork King of Orl.
The Light of Heaven: Twilight of Kerberos Series David McIntee (Abaddon books)
The Order of the Swords of Dawn have been the bane of heretics for as long as there has been a Final Faith. When an assassin strikes at the heart of the Faith, Gabriella DeZantez must eliminate the danger to the church. But what is the connection between shadowy assassins, fleeing refugees, and an ancient legend of an island made of diamond?
Blood of Ambrose James Enge (Pyr)
A powerful obsessive dynastic fantasy with clever shades of Arthurian mythos. I particularly like the drawing of Morlock and his dwarven artificer apprentice. Compelling reading.--Dave Freer, co-author of the Heirs of Alexandria series. James Enge writes with great intelligence and wit. His stories take twisty paths to unexpected places you absolutely want to go. This isn't the same old thing; this is delightful fantasy written for smart readers." --Greg Keyes, New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series.
Kings and Assassins Lane Robins (Del Rey)
Controlled by an aristocracy whose depraved whims bow to neither law nor god, the kingdom of Antyre is under siege from the only man who can save it. He is Janus Ixion, the new Earl of Last, a man whose matchless fighting abilities and leadership strike terror in Antyre’s powerful noble houses.
For Janus is the illegitimate son who has returned from the brutal slums to reclaim his birthright, and will go to any lengths to become king and reverse his country’s decline. But with a conquering foreign prince sowing chaos throughout the kingdom, Janus must battle the terrifying power of Antyre’s forgotten god, one who has gifted Janus’s vengeful wife with mysterious and dangerous skills. As Antyre nears irrevocable collapse, Janus’s manipulations and all-consuming ambition will force him and his country to choose between the rule of resurgent gods, or a victor’s throne of ashes.
World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King Christie Golden (Pocket)
His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice -- his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.
But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.
When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.
New In Science Fiction
Brasyl Ian McDonald (Pyr)
Edson is a self-made talent impresario one step up from the slums in a near future São Paulo of astonishing riches and poverty. A chance encounter draws Edson into the dangerous world of illegal quantum computing, but where can you run in a total surveillance society where every move, face, and centavo is constantly tracked?
Marcelina is an ambitious Rio TV producer looking for that big reality TV hit to make her name. When her hot idea leads her on the track of a disgraced World Cup soccer goalkeeper, she becomes enmeshed in an ancient conspiracy that threatens not just her life, but her very soul.
Father Luis is a Jesuit missionary sent into the maelstrom of 18th-century Brazil to locate and punish a rogue priest who has strayed beyond the articles of his faith and set up a vast empire in the hinterland. In the company of a French geographer and spy, what he finds in the backwaters of the Amazon tries both his faith and the nature of reality itself to the breaking point.
Three characters, three stories, three Brazils, all linked together across time, space, and reality in a hugely ambitious story that will challenge the way you think about everything.
Star Wars Omnibus: Emissaries And Assassins (Dark Horse Comics TPB)
Discover more stories set during the time of Episode I: The Phantom Menace in this mega collection bridging the gap between Episodes I and II! Star Wars: Episode I Adventures is a group of four tales featuring Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon all set during the events of Episode I! Then, in Emissaries to Malastare, Outlander, and Jango Fett: Open Seasons, we get a closer look at members of the Jedi Council, Jedi-slaying bounty hunter Aurra Sing, and the life of bounty hunter Jango Fett - the man without whom there would be no Clone Wars!
Stargate Atlantis: Nightfall: SGA-10 James Swallow (Fandemonium Books)
In the distant Pegasus galaxy, the scientists and soldiers of the Atlantis expedition push back the frontiers of knowledge and exploration; in the city of the Ancients, new challenges and old secrets are waiting to be unlocked. Far from home, ranged against lethal enemies the Atlantis team must fight to preserve a distant outpost of humanity against impossible odds; but when the Nightfall comes, it will be like nothing they have ever encountered before...
New in Horror
Dark Tower: Treachery (Marvel Comics Graphic Novel)
The ka-tet of Roland, Alain, and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it's taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, Roland's father has led a posse in search of those who threatened his son's life in Hambry - John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters. And in this encounter, Stephen Deschain's life may be forfeit. This title collects Dark Tower: Treachery numbered 1-6.
The Words of Their Roaring: Tomes of the Dead Series Matthew Smith (Abaddon Books)
London is now a city overrun by the zombie hordes. Most of the human survivors live from day to day, scraping together an existence among the ruins, avoiding the shambling, flesh-hungry undead that still stalk the streets. But for others this gruesome situation is an opportunity, a chance to establish a power base within the capital, now that authority has collapsed. For gang lord Harry Flowers, the plague is his chance to finally rule the city unopposed. Operating out of his well-protected mansion on London's outskirts, Flowers sees a chance to use the zombies and the havoc they wreak for his own ends. The way he sees it, the ghouls aren't going to be around forever, and when he re-establishes a functioning society, it's going to be on his own terms. All he needs is a way to control the dead. But Flowers is not the only one with designs on the city...
Vampire Kisses Ellen Schreiber (Harper Teen)
There's a new vampire in town. His name is Valentine Maxwell. Goth-girl Raven knows this latest intruder can only mean trouble—he's the younger sibling of two vampires she fought to drive out of Dullsville. But when her brother, Billy, befriends this dangerous tween night prowler, the stakes are suddenly higher. Though torn by the excitement of every teen girl's fantasy—attending the prom with her boyfriend—Raven must do everything she can to protect Billy.
Valentine's appearance may pose even further threats. Could he somehow know Raven's innermost feelings about becoming immortal for her true love, Alexander? The far-from-ordinary romance of these two teen outsiders takes another surprise-filled spin in the fourth book of Ellen Schreiber's applauded Vampire Kisses series.
Capsule Reviews
God of Clocks Alan Campbell (Bantam Spectra)
God of Clocks is the third and final volume in The Deepgate Codex and I must advise that unless you read the first two volumes, Scar Night and Iron Angel, you may find it really tough to maneuver through the final book. Assassin Rachel Hael has joined forces with the blood-magician Mina Greene and her demon-dog, to try to save the world from the plots of Menoa, the King of Hell, who is ready to do the impossible and take over Heaven. Rachel will also seek the aid of the God of Clocks who can control time.
The Deepgate Cycle isn’t your typical fantasy trilogy, but rather it is set in a more modernistic time, almost a steampunk style of world where magic and machines co-exist. The inventiveness of Campbell’s first two novels gives way to a more frantic pace as the story is drawn to its conclusion and the various plots are wrapped up. There are some epic battles in this final volume including John Anchor’s battle with the Demigod Carnival.
The Deepgate Cycle is one of the more unique fantasy series I’ve read in some time, filled with larger-than-life beings. Campbell generally keeps things at a brisk pace, although it’s sometimes at the cost of under developing some of the characters. Grade B
A Murder of Scarecrows Gary Reed (Desperado Publishing Graphic Novel)
Gary reed is one of my favorite comic book writers. Admittedly I am somewhat biased as I’ve known the good Mr. Reed for some twenty-five years but Reed as always been very unconventional. He doesn’t go after the quick and easy story but rather he tells stories his way. They might not be best-sellers, but they are of a quality that outdoes most other writers.
With Murder of Scarecrows we get a pre-Revolutionary War tale of adventure along the lines of Robin Hood or Zorro. In the seaport town of Season, the mysterious masked Scarecrow and his Freedom Riders terrorize the British soldiers who prey upon the citizens of the small town. When the King sends in the hard-nosed Colonel Dreymore to bring the Scarecrow to justice, he tries to turn the townsfolk against their defender by offering a large reward. The Scarecrow knows his true identity is about to be compromised but that will not stop him in his efforts to battle the British.
Murder of Scarecrows is fun, pure American pulp adventure with true heroes and villains. There are no shades of grey here. Reed could not have asked for a better artist to complement his story than Wayne Reid who’s masterful black & white art harkens back to the days of Warren magazines like Creepy and Eerie. Good black and white art is sorely missed in this day of Photoshop enhanced comics. Grade A-
Sword Song: Sisterhood of Steel (SQP Inc) Soft Cover
Sword Song is the latest fantasy art endeavor from the good people over at SQP. The softcover, over-sized book presents 64 pages of full-color artwork of some of the most beautiful and deadly warrior maidens you ever laid eyes on! The list of artists is like a who’s who of fantasy and pin-up art and includes: Scott Blair, Daniel Horne, Greg Lopez, Jose Marin, The team of Fastner & Larson, Brian Miroglio, Romero, and the great Arantza, who provides the book’s cover and several interior illustrations. The pieces range from the seductive to the playful, to the wild and untamed. I’ve provided a few examples just to whet your whistle. Every book from SQP is always top of the line! Grade A
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Brasyl looks really good. I love it when a novel is split into more than one perspective. Kathleen Ann Goonan's Crescent City Rhapsody was like that. Even though I haven't read the other books in the series, her depiction of our society completely falling apart and remaking itself as experienced by different characters in different locations was amazing and satisfying.
I'll have to pick up Murder of Scarecrows as well. Is this based on a real incident? There used to be a TV series or movie called The Scarecrow that was based in the pre-Revolutionary era. Just wondering.