1 Comment | Add
Rate & Share:
Related Links:
Info:
Weekly Book Buzz: New Zombie fiction from Permuted Press
We Review Lost: Messages from the Island By
Tim Janson
July 12, 2009
Lost: Messages from the island
© Titan Books
Apparently the Gods of new releases have taken the week off. Absolutely nothing of note this week in Fantasy and Sci-Fi releases and we haven’t yet had to sink down to the depths of mentioning vanity releases. We do have a couple of horror releases out this week including new zombie fiction by the masters of the sub-genre, Permuted Press. Permuted is one of my most favorite small press horror publishers. They manage to constantly produce original and highly enjoyable zombie fiction with each new release.
Are you geeked about the final season of “Lost”? If you are then you can whet your whistle with Lost: Messages from the Island a new book from Titan Books. We have a review this hot new title down below. In all four reviews this week in a wide range of subjects so read on!
In the News…
…Speaking of Permuted Press, they have just signed a co-publishing venture with Pocket Books to produce seven zombie fiction books. The first release DAY TO DAY ARMAGEDDON by J.L. Bourne, slated for October 2009. Jacob Kier, Publisher, Permuted Press, said “I couldn't be more excited about teaming up with Pocket Books to bring some of Permuted's most exciting and thought-provoking tales of the end of the world to a larger audience.”This is a great deal for Permuted Press and gives them the opportunity to reach a far wider audience.
Out this week…
Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical (Candlewick Press)
Molly is a bearded girl who joins the circus, only to fi nd that her former tormentor faces a far hairier plight. Tia claims that her lamented mom is a three-thousand-year-old mummy, but is it really an act? Cody sets out to foil a pop psychic, but the shocking result is not what he planned for. And Tiffany’s grandma sees something wild in her future, but is the girl prepared for the powerful shape it will take? Whether the sideshow touts a two-headed rat or a turn-of-the-century American jargo, whether the subject discovers an odd kind of miracle or learns that the real freaks are outside the tent, these stories and graphic tales are by turns humorous and insightful, edgy and eerie, but always compulsively entertaining.
Season of Rot: Five Zombie Novellas Eric S Brown (Permuted Press)
Features five diverse tales of the living dead from zombie fiction master Eric S. Brown! SEASON OF ROT: Safe from the walking dead that rule the streets, a band of survivors holes up in a hospital. When their supplies run low, they must either migrate or trust a stranger who promises them salvation-except the stranger isn't who he seems to be, and neither are the dead. THE QUEEN: To escape a plague that has turned most of mankind into ravenous cannibals, a crew of survivors takes refuge at sea. But supplies only last so long, and the crew must face their enemies on land in order to keep themselves alive and afloat. THE WAVE: When a wave of mysterious energy from outer space washes over the earth, electronic devices fail worldwide and communications break down. Worse still, the energy alters human brain waves and turns billions of people into bloodthirsty animals. Only a small pocket of humanity is immune, but their only chance of survival may also be their grave. DEAD WEST: The Civil War is over. The Confederacy is gone. But in the West, a new threat is rising. Accompanied by a regiment of inexperienced soldiers, a journalist ventures into the frontlines of a war against the walking dead, and the truth he finds there is far more frightening than any living corpse. RATS: Rats are everywhere and can get into anything. And now they are swarming mankind. Those bit rise again as undead pawns in the rodents' onslaught, and no place is safe-no place except one. The problem is getting there before the rats' next attack.
Phantom Paul Tremblay (Prime Books)
No ax murderers hunting sexy teens . . . no brutal torture for torture's sake . . . because PHANTOM goes beyond the scare: Paul Tremblay and Sean Wallace have collected fourteen stories by today's most thoughtful writers of horror, each asking the questions beyond "what is frightening"? This is just the beginning, however, with stories from Steve Rasnic Tem, Lavie Tidhar, F. Brett Cox, Stephen Graham Jones, Steve Berman, Nick Mamatas, Michael Cisco, among other fresh voices in horror. From paranoid gold prospectors to lonely curators, Satan-worshipping Long Island teens, metaphysics-obsessed television reporters, and to Peter and Olivia and their devastating final choices detailed in the last pages of this anthology, the fourteen stories of Phantom present their horrors differently, but they all ask: How does anyone live through this?
The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Dave Filoni (Chronicle Books)
"Star Wars: The Clone War", the blockbuster 3D animated movie and TV series, covers events between the live-action movies "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" and features characters and events previously unseen anywhere else in the "Star Wars" saga, alongside Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Mace Windu. This full-colour book is bursting with final images and development artwork for characters, creatures, planets and vehicles, covering every aspect of the creation of the hit movie and TV series, accompanied by comment from the creative team. With a Foreword by George Lucas and packed with previously unseen artwork, this book is a must for fans of "Star Wars", cutting-edge animation and beautiful artwork.
Reviews
Downshadow Erik Scott DeBie (Wizards of the Coast)
Downshadow is the third book in the “Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep” series set within the Forgotten Realms. Each book in the series is entirely stand alone so you need not have read the previous books in the series although some familiarity with the Forgotten Realms world would be useful.
Kalen Dren is a Paladin and member of the Waterdeep Guard. But that’s just his day job. By night he is Shadowbane, a secretive avenger out to destroy evil in the city. His identity is a mystery to all save his adoptive sister, Cellica. So basically what we have here is Batman in a fantasy setting. While the comparison may sound ridiculous and trite, it actually works, producing an action-driven fantasy tale. The primary conflict comes in the way of a half-elf named Fayne and her dwarf monk partner Rath who has lost his spiritual way and turned to evil and greed. Shadowbane will find himself having to make some difficult personal decisions to defeat these two foes.
Downshadow is incredibly fast-paced, sometimes to the point of sacrificing character development. Still, there’s enough action that when it slows down, it’s only for a breather and doesn’t ask you to invest to much into the characters, just enjoy the ride. Grade B
Lost: Messages from the Island (Titan Books)
Lost will be moving into its final season this year and to commemorate the event, Titan Books has released Lost: Messages from the Island. The book compiles the best articles, interviews, and behind-the-scenes looks from “Lost: The Official Magazine”. The book looks back at many of the characters, storylines, and events that made this a hit TV show.
The book reacquaints readers with characters who have come and gone like Shannon Ana Lucia and Eko. The book is filled with wonderful interviews including: Naveen Andrews (Sayid) and Maggie Grace (Shannon) discuss their characters short-lived blossoming romance; Saniel Dae Kim (Jin) and Yunjin Kim (Sun) talk about their character’s troubled relationship; Terry O’ Quinn talks about his enigmatic character, John Locke; and Jorge Garcia reveals what it’s like to play the lovable Hurley.
Other articles tackled the love triangle between Jack, Sawyer, and Kate; go deep into the hatch known as the Swan for a collection of in-depth photos with never-before-seen images; and get the other perspective with a detailed article on the “Others”. There’s so much info here that it’s impossible to relate in a short review but this is a book that hardcore fans of the show must have. The only drawback is that it centers primarily on the shows first few seasons as opposed to the recent seasons. Grade B+
The New Space Opera 2 Various Writers (Eos Trade Paperback)
The second volume in this anthology series features 19 all-new stories by the likes of Tad Williams, Mike Resnick, Cory Doctorow, Garth Nix, Jay Lake, Peter Watts, and Robert Charles Wilson to name just a few. Despite the label that would seem to imply strictly adventurous Star Wars/”Doc” Smith styled tales, TNSO2 runs the range from raucous humor to hard Sci-Fi and everything in between.
Among the tales that stand out are "Utriusque Cosmi" by Robert Charles Wilson. Here a woman is whisked away at the moment of Earth’s total destruction by an alien race where she learns that the universe is nothing like we’ve ever imagined. A truly exquisite tale of the far…far future. The best story in the book!
“To Go Boldly” by Cory Doctorow is a somewhat outlandish parody of Star Trek that I think non-Trekkies will enjoy more than the ardent fans.
“Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz” by Mike Resnick. Yet another parody story, this time of Walter M. Miller’s famous sci-fi tale. The story of an adventuring hero who thinks with the “wrong” head when it comes to women who goes on a quest for said Canticle…for Saul Leibowitz.
“The Tale of the Wicked” by John Scalzi is the harrowing tale of a starship captain pursuing an enemy vessel only to find the supercomputer on his own ship has stopped taking orders. Think of this as Star Trek meets 2001: A Space Odyssey meets I, Robot.
Bill Willingham’s “Fearless Space Pirates of the Outer Rings”, is another winner. As with most anthologies The New Space Opera 2 is a mixed bag but the good stories outnumber the weaker one’s by a wide margin and the best one’s are really well done. I would not be surprised if a few received award nominations…perhaps not Hugos or Nebulas, but certainly some degree of recognition would not be surprising. Grade B
The Savage Art of Bob Larkin (SQP Inc.)
Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, if you saw Bob Larkin’s name on the cover to a magazine or comic, you simply had to have it. No matter what the inside contents may be, even if it was a magazine you didn’t follow, the Larkin cover alone was usually enough to make you snap it up.
In this new collection from SQP, the legendary cover artist get his just due with full-color sampling of some his best and most memorable illustrations. Larkin was doing photo-realistic quality work long before we ever heard of the term and before the advent of Photoshop and Corel Draw. And as evidenced within these pages, Larkin was adept at any genre…Sci-fi, horror, fantasy, super-hero, you name it and he could do it. Larkin’s work was always notable for it’s crystalline clarity. His work virtually shimmers on the page…or canvass, again all without the tools of a Photoshop to create lighting effects. It’s an incredible gift to be sure…
Few artists could ever capture the power and majesty of the legendary pulp hero Doc Savage the way Larkin did in his numerous covers for the paperback series.
Some of Larkin’s best covers of the 1970s were for the old Hulk Magazine such as this one for the fourth issue:
And Larkin also produced some of the finest covers for Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan, ranking him right up there with Boris Vallejo. Here’s his gem from Savage Sword #89.
Showing he’s lost none of his craft, the cover for this edition was produced in 2007 and is another Larkini classic. This is a guy that’s never truly received the credit for being one of the best all-time cover artists, but this book proves it to be so! Grade A.
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
Just read the first 8 pages of Rob C. Wilson's "Utriusque Cosmi" short in your reco'd "The New Space Opera 2" anthology over at Amazon preview good call. Want Moar.
My only complaint was Carlotta's selection of reading material, took me out of the story, streetpunk femmes don't read People magazine. No bloody way.