STARDUST by Neil Gaiman.
© HarperCollins
STARDUST…Is this movie still coming out?
By: Pat FerraraDate: Tuesday, June 12, 2007
As the old saying goes when it rains it pours and this week’s schedule, being positively drenched with new releases from top genre publishers Tor Books and Wizards of the Coast, is no exception. But perhaps the most interesting release on this edition of The Buzz (completely biased of course) is a film tie-in version of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust.
Hello fellow Maniac readers and welcome to the June 12th Weekly Book Buzz. As summer begins to heat up the season’s movie blockbusters have begun to flood the silver screen. I must say, however, that I’m very surprised at the overall lack of advertisement for Paramount’s STARDUST. This week Vertigo Books has released Neil Gaiman’s original text in a hardbound, Charles Vess-illustrated edition and to tell you the truth I had completely forgotten about the movie until stumbling upon this film tie-in novel. Whether or not the studio thinks it more prudent to hold out on advertising until bigger cinematic giants exercise their legs, there’s no doubt that the Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert DeNiro project will make a splash when it finally does reach theatres on August 10th. With the rich source material of a Neil Gaiman text and the visionary director of LAYER CAKE’s Matthew Vaughn, I for one am definitely interested in this story.
Forgotten Realmscreator Ed Greenwood lends his narrative talent to create the first installment of a brand new series set in the wildly popular role playing universe. Swords of Eveningstar kicks off The Knights of Myth Drannor on paperback today while Elaine Bergstrom, also of Wizards of the Coast, pens a new Ravenloft Covenant novel titled Tapestry of Dark Souls.
Following 2005’s Blades of the Tiger and 2006’s Trail of the Black Wyrm, Chris Pierson dishes up the concluding novel of the Dragonlance: Taladas Trilogy with the paperback release of Shadow of the Flame.
Peter David, most noted for his extensive work in comics and Star Trek novels, unveils the first of a new trilogy through Tor Books. Released today on hardback, Darkness of Light jumpstarts the Hidden Earth series with a violent look at the 12 warring races of The Damned World. Despite its somewhat laughable title (what is it about fantasy novels and their generic, contradictory phrase-titles?) this new series may be worth looking into, especially if you’re a fan of David’s writing.
In the mood for some good old fashion SF collections? Give James and Kathryn Morrow’s The SFWA European Hall of Fame a try from Tor Books. Released today on hardback, the Hall of Fame captures 16 of the best contemporary science fiction stories written by some of the top genre writers from across the pond.
Other books to check out: Ragamuffin, Mainspring, & The Naked Sun
New in Hardcover:
An Unexpected Apprentice, Jody Lynn Nye (Tor Books)
Halfling Tildi Summerbee has led a typical, unexciting life, tending the house for her brothers while they manage the family farm. Her days are boring, but happy... until a Thraik attack decimates her family. In an effort to provide for Tildi, the town's leaders prepare an arranged marriage and take control of her farm's assets. After all, a female halfling is incapable of handling such matters on her own. Tildi sees things differently. In order to escape her arranged marriage and overcome the prejudices against the "weaker" sex, she decides to pass herself off as a man. Assuming the guise of her brother Teldo, Tildi disappears into the night. She plans to accept Teldo's position as an apprentice to a great wizard. But she soon finds that the rest of the world isn't very welcoming to halflings. And that she is surrounded by fantastic dangers. Dangers that are more than a match for a wizard's apprentice.
Stardust, Neil Gaiman (Vertigo Books)
In the sleepy English countryside at the dawn of the Victorian Era, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to beautiful Victoria Forester. But Victoria is cold and distant—as distant, in fact, as the star she and Tristran see fall from the sky on a crisp October evening. For the coveted prize of Victoria's hand, Tristran vows to retrieve the fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends the lovelorn swain into a world that is strange beyond imagining, a world populated by evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, and goblin press gangs—a world redeemed only by true love. This oversized hardcover edition of Stardust allows the breathtaking art of Charles Vess to be seen in its finest presentation, and ties in to the film version of STARDUST, coming in August 2007.
Darkness of the Light, Peter David (Tor Books)
Peter David, a creative force in television, and a best-selling author of comics and novels, has created a fantasy world sure to delight his legions of readers. The Damned World is home to twelve races, each of which has fought the others for survival for generations. What none of them knows is that they are all creatures of Earth, a world of legend. On Earth eleven of the twelve races were creatures of human myth or folklore. All live in awe of the all-powerful Overseer, whose authority none dare challenge. A new spirit has arisen among those sick of war and tired of living in fear. Some believe that it is possible for the races to become allies instead of adversaries. With this new spirit has come a time of possibility, of change. Jepp, a human woman and Karsen, a Bottom Feeder, have broken with tradition and cast their lots together. They seek the Orb of Light, with which they believe they can gain the power and release the Damned World from its chains of violence and ignorance. But they’re not alone, for everyone who knows about the Orb would kill to get it. If someone gets the Orb, things will change. These are, as the proverb warns, interesting times. The first volume of the Hidden Earth Trilogy.
Kushiel’s Justice, Jacqueline Carey (Grand Central Publishing)
Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phèdre and Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions. Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in beauty, art, and desire. After a year abroad to study at university, Imriel returns from his adventures a little older and somewhat wiser. But perhaps not wise enough. What was once a mere spark of interest between himself and his cousin Sidonie now ignites into a white-hot blaze. But from commoner to peer, the whole realm would recoil from any alliance between Sidonie, heir to the throne, and Imriel, who bears the stigma of his mother's misdeeds and betrayals. Praying that their passion will peak and fade, Imriel and Sidonie embark on an intense, secret affair. Blessed Elua founded Terre d'Ange and bestowed one simple precept to guide his people, love as thou wilt. When duty calls, Imriel honors his role as a member of the royal family by leaving to marry a lovely, if merely sweet, Alban princess. By choosing duty over love, Imriel and Sidonie may have unwittingly trespassed against Elua's law. But when dark powers in Alba, who fear an invasion by Terre d'Ange, seek to use the lovers' passion to bind Imriel, the gods themselves take notice. Before the end, Kushiel's justice will be felt in heaven and on earth. Book five in the Kushiel’s Legacy series.
The Execution Channel, Ken Macleod (Tor Books)
It's after 9/11. After the bombing. After the Iraq war. After 7/7. After the Iran war. After the nukes. After the flu. After the Straits. After Rosyth. In a world just down the road from our own, on-line bloggers vie with old-line political operatives and new-style police to determine just where reality lies. James Travis is a British patriot and a French spy. On the day the Big One hits, Travis and his daughter must strive to make sense of the nuclear bombing of Scotland and the political repercussions of a series of terrorist attacks. With the information war in full swing, the only truth they have is what they're able to see with their own eyes. They know that everything else is—or may be—a lie.
The SFWA European Hall of Fame, Ed. by James & Kathryn Morrow (Tor Books)
This is the best book of its kind in at least two decades. It is a literate, intelligent book of powerful SF stories from across Europe. These tales are representative of the best writers and stories of the last twenty years, written in most of the major contemporary European languages. The SFWA European Hall of Fame includes some of the biggest SF names in Europe, including Joanna Sinisalo, Andreas Eschbach, Elena Arseneva, and Jean-Claude Dunyach. The appeal of this anthology rests first upon the venerable SFWA Hall of Fame imprimatur, and secondly on the sterling reputation of co-editor/writer James Morrow. Morrow and his wife Kathryn spent years arranging for translations of the best in European SF, and working with translators to achieve sharp, polished, and entertaining English versions of the stories. James Morrow has written a thought-provoking introductory essay, as well as informative story notes throughout the collection. This anthology joins the canonical SFWA Hall of Fame books that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies over four decades, and belongs in every library of SF, personal or public.
Ragamuffin, Tobias S. Buckell (Tor Books)
The Benevolent Satrapy rule an empire of forty-eight worlds, linked by thousands of wormholes strung throughout the galaxy. Human beings, while technically “free,” mostly skulk around the fringes of the Satrapy, struggling to get by. The secretive alien Satraps tightly restrict the technological development of the species under their control. Entire worlds have been placed under interdiction, cut off from the rest of the universe. Descended from the islanders of lost Earth, the Ragamuffins are pirates and smugglers, plying the lonely spaceways around a dead wormhole. For years, the Satraps have tolerated the Raga, but no longer. Now they have embarked on a campaign of extermination, determined to wipe out the unruly humans once and for all. But one runaway woman may complicate their plans. Combat enabled, Nashara is more machine than flesh, and she carries inside her a doomsday weapon that could reduce the entire galaxy to chaos. A hunted fugitive, she just wants to get home before she’s forced to destroy civilization—and herself.
Classic Dan Dare: The Man from Nowhere, Frank Hampson (Titan Books)
It’s chocks away and tally-ho once again as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, returns! First published in classic British comic Eagle, these are the original adventures of one of the best known and loved of British comic characters, presented in a new series of gorgeous library editions. A mysterious spaceship appears near Earth, and its occupant has a desperate plea for help! Colonel Dare and his crew prepare to journey to a strange new world—faster than the speed of light! Featuring a brand new introduction, plus an exclusive look at Frank Hampson’s sketchbook, this thrilling new volume will blow you away! Illustrated by Don Harley.
Mainspring, Jay Lake (Tor Books)
Jay Lake’s first trade novel is an astounding work of creation. Lake has envisioned a clockwork solar system, where the planets move in a vast system of gears around the lamp of the Sun. It is a universe where the hand of the Creator is visible to anyone who simply looks up into the sky, and sees the track of the heavens, the wheels of the Moon, and the great Equatorial gears of the Earth itself. Mainspring is the story of a young clockmaker's apprentice, who is visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He is told that he must take the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring of the Earth. It is running down, and disaster to the planet will ensue if it's not rewound. From innocence and ignorance to power and self-knowledge, the young man will make the long and perilous journey to the South Polar Axis, to fulfill the commandment of his God.
New in Paperback:
Living with Star Trek, Lincoln Geraghty (I.B. Tauris & Co.)
This book is a welcome and original contribution to the world of Star Trek. The book not only sets Star Trek in dialogue with ideas and stories of utopia, community, self-improvement, that are central to American culture and history, but goes further to examine the complex ways in which these are taken up and used by 'ordinary' fans, who engage with Star Trek in complex and significant ways. Lincoln Geraghty explores, for example, Star Trek's multiple histories and how Star Trek and the American Jeremiad, one of the nation's foundational texts, refer back to the past to prophesy a better future. He reveals how fans define the series as a blueprint for the solution of such social problems in America as racism and war and shows how they have used the series to cope with personal trauma and such characters as Data and Seven of Nine in moments of personal transformation. This is all in all a revelatory and original book on Star Trek as both TV and cinema.
Widdershins, Charles de Lint (Tor Books)
Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell. Since they were introduced in the first Newford story, "Timeskip," back in 1989, their friends and readers alike have been waiting for them to realize what everybody else already knows: that they belong together. But they've been more clueless about how they feel for each other than the characters in When Harry Met Sally. Now in Widdershins, a stand-alone novel of fairy courts set in shopping malls and the Bohemian street scene of Newford's Crowsea area, Jilly and Geordie’s story is finally being told. Before it’s over, we’ll find ourselves plunged into the rancorous and sometimes violent conflict between the magical North American “animal people” and the more newly-arrived fairy folk. We’ll watch as Jilly is held captive in a sinister world based on her own worst memories—and Geordie, attempting to help, is sent someplace even worse. And we’ll be captivated by the power of love and determination to redeem ancient hatreds and heal old magics gone sour. To walk “widdershins” is to walk counterclockwise or backwards around something. It’s a classic pathway into the fairy realm. It’s also the way people often back slowly into the relationships that matter, the real ones that make for a life. In Widdershins Charles de Lint has delivered one of his most accessible and moving works of his career.
Tapestry of Dark Souls, Elaine Bergstrom (Wizards of the Coast)
A haunting tale of love, and the power of evil to corrupt and betray. A young man, raised in a monastery, his parents victims of a tapestry of ancient evil, goes in search of love and life beyond the walls. But werewolves and worse stalk the land, and when he returns to release his father from the tapestry's confines, he brings the Silverlord back to a world that has not seen him for centuries. A Ravenloft Covenant novel.
Sky Raider, James Axler (Gold Eagle Books)
Raw courage and knowledge of the arcane secrets of preDark technology have enabled Ryan Cawdor and his warrior companions to live and roam a land tortured—but not destroyed—by apocalyptic madness. In a world where the price of living is paid in flesh and blood, nothing is ever free, not even death. In Deathlands, power brings more power to those able to command it by means fair or foul. Yet few among the most tyrannical barons can rival the ruthlessness of Sandra Tregart, whose despotic visions are being realized by resurrected technology: air power. With her restored biplane, she delivers death from the skies to all who defy her supremacy—a virulent ambition that challenges Ryan Cawdor and his band in unfathomable new ways. An installment set in the Deathlands series.
Swords of Eveningstar, Ed Greenwood (Wizards of the Coast)
The paperback release of an exciting new book by the creator of the Forgotten Realms! After they saved his life, the king grants Florin and his friends what they've always dreamed of: an adventure! But the "adventure" proves a little more difficult then the newly named Swords of Eveningstar had thought it would be. Scions of evil from across the Realms manipulate the Swords like pawn, and it's all the Swords can do just to stay alive! The first novel of The Knights of Myth Drannor series.
The Silent Blade, R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast)
When the vile Crystal Shard once again reveals itself, Drizzt must race against his most formidable enemies in hopes of destroying it before it finds the one being that can help it enslave the world: a dark elf named Jarlaxle. Winner of the Origins Award for best game-related novel of 1998, The Silent Blade marked the return of Drizzt to the wind-swept tundra of the Forgotten Realms world. This deluxe reissue features a new Todd Lockwood cover and an introduction from The New York Times best-selling author Philip Athans, who has served as Salvatore's editor for almost a decade, starting with the original release of this book. The eleventh novel in the Legend of Drizzt series.
Shadow of the Flame, Chris Pierson (Wizards of the Coast)
Explore the far-off continent of Taladas in the exciting conclusion to The Taladas Chronicles! As war and devastation spread across the continent of Taladas, a small band of heroes has just suffered a devastating loss in a fight to determine the world's fate. Barreth Forlo, their leader, has been possessed by the spirit of Maladar the Faceless, a sorcerer-king who seeks to return to power, by whatever means necessary. Now Shedara and Hult, Forlo's companions, must push on without him, bound for the safety of the distant Rainward Isles. Pitted against their friend, they must find a way to stop Maladar from raising his ancient empire from the ashes of history—and the answer may well lie in Forlo's own son, who carries a secret even he doesn't understand.
Scream of Stone, Philip Athans (Wizards of the Coast)
The finale of the acclaimed Watercourse Trilogy from The New York Times best-selling author Philip Athans! When the true mission of the Thayan Enclave is revealed, the richest man in Innarlith decides he wants to be the most powerful too, a once promising young man is transformed into a twisted undead assassin, and a quiet genius finally makes his stand, the explosive fury of decades of boiling rage explodes from the heart of a city at war with itself.
Legacy of the Wolves, Marshiela Rockwell (Wizards of the Coast)
Explore the dark under-belly of Eberron with it's version of the private detective - The Inquisitives! A series of grisly murders has shaken the small city of Aruldusk. Both the Church and the Crown send in agents to investigate. But when the body count continues to rise, these rival factions will have to learn to work together to track down the killers—even if it means hunting through the highest reaches of power. A stand-alone novel of the Eberron: The Inquisitives series.
New in Audiobook:
The Naked Sun, Isaac Asimov (Tantor Media Unabridged)
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots—unthinkable under the laws of Robotics—or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!
