Book Embargo

I am quoting from The Guardian’s site this article about Eoin Colfer, Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Oh I am Giddy..

Douglas Adams’s increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy is to be extended to six titles, after Adams’s widow Jane Belson sanctioned a project which will see children’s author Eoin Colfer taking up the story.

And Another Thing… by Colfer, whose involvement with the project was personally requested by Belson, will be published next October by Penguin. No information has yet emerged about the plot of the novel but Hitchhiker fans will be hoping for a resurrection of much-loved characters Arthur Dent, Trillian and Ford Prefect, who were all apparently blown to smithereens at the end of the fifth novel, Mostly Harmless.

Adams himself had plans for a sixth Hitchhiker book, saying in an interview: “People have said, quite rightly, that Mostly Harmless is a very bleak book. And it was a bleak book. I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note, so five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number.”

But his death in 2001, aged 49, meant the book was never written, and “legions of Hitchhiker fans were left with their hearts beating a little too quickly for all eternity,” said Colfer, author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl series for children.

The proposal from the literary agency which manages Adams’s estate was “quite out of the blue”, said Penguin marketing and publicity director Joanna Prior. “It was something I guess [Jane Belson] had been mulling over for some time, and we jumped the minute we got the call – we could immediately see what a fantastic project this would be.”

Colfer, who has been a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays, said being given the opportunity to continue the series was “like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice”. “For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world,” he added. “It is a gift from the gods. So, thank you Thor and Odin.”

The book will “make no claims for Eoin being Douglas”, according to Prior. “It’s not Eoin Colfer writing as Douglas Adams, as was the case with Sebastian Faulks,” she said, pointing to Penguin’s successful publication of Faulks’s new James Bond novel Devil May Care earlier this year. “It’s absolutely about him being himself – Eoin the author, but with the cast of Hitchhiker.”

Colfer himself is currently grappling with nerves over the quality of his addition to Adams’ oeuvre. “I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written,” he said. “For the first time in decades I feel the uncertainty that I last felt in my teenage years. There are people out there that really want to like this book.”

Penguin hopes that Belson’s choice of Colfer will bring a new generation of readers to Adams’s work. “It’s always a challenge when we haven’t got Douglas any more – how can we introduce his writing to the next generation?” asked Prior. “There’s a huge fan base out there, but this is a really exciting way of creating a new legacy.”

Belson said the project had her full support. “I am delighted that Eoin Colfer has agreed to continue the Hitchhiker series. I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new,” she added.

Approximately 16m copies of Hitchhiker books have been sold worldwide, according to Penguin. The “trilogy in five parts”, which started with radio series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in 1978 and was completed with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, The Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish; and Mostly Harmless, has been translated into 35 languages.

Tags: adams, artemis fowl, colfer, douglas adams, eoin colfer, fantasy, fiction, hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, mostly harmless, penguin books, penguin putnam, penput

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE

Yes it is out only in hardcover, but yeah, it is THAT good. Read the first two, Darkfever and Bloodfever and then dive into Faefever… yummy yummy yummy

Tags: bloodfever, darkfever, elves, faefever, fairies, fantasy, ireland, karen marie moning, moning, prince, romance, unseelie

Ah, the joys of a great fantasy series.

Isn’t that a pretty shelf?
I have read the first three in the series. Starting with Wayfarer Redemption as an ADVANCE before the hardcover came out, and then waiting every year for the next two. I stalled between three and four and have yet to read the last three in the series. But I have them!

From Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Dairy Queen,

The Wayfarer Redemption

Sara Douglass, et al. Grownup fantasy that kept me up until 4 AM on more than one occasion. Best to acquire the trilogy all at once, just to be safe. She continues after book #3, but you don’t need to.

So, that doesn’t say too many positive things on the last set, but either way, read the first one, AT LEAST. They are a great time and all are now available in paperback (at your local independent bookshop of course!).

Tags: catherine gilbert murdock, crusader, enchanter, fantasy, hardcover, paperback, pilgrim, sara douglass, science fiction, sinner, starman, tor, wayfarer redemption

Just wanted all to know that the Fantasy Book Critic has reviewed Green Rider #3.

The gist is that while he did not love it as much as the first two, it was still a good read and he wants more Green Rider tales.

And that leaves me with MORE excitement for November 6th when High King’s Tomb goes on sale EVERYWHERE, but especially in your independent bookshop!

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Tags: Book, book release, fantasy, fantasy book critic, first rider's call, green rider, green rider series, high king's tomb, karigan, november, science fiction

I love Joss Whedon. Yes it is true, he is up there with Colin Firth, just yummy in a creation way instead of a licking way… *cough* Anyways, his Buffy and Angel were GREAT shows, but his BEST was Firefly. Oh Firefly how I love you…. The movie Serenity was ALSO fabulous (though I prefer the show… 13 hours versus 2.5, math DOES apply in your adult life!).
Here is my guinea pig Horatio with my Jayne Hat, Firefly discs and Serenity DVD.

Joss makes me love the Tangents, Anyways, I found an article about the ~POSSIBILITY~ of Serenity 2!!!
Here is the link, at Moviehole. And here is the article, for the link-phobic.

Serenity 2 A New Hope?
Date : October 4, 2007 Writer : Clint Morris
I love “Firefly” – so much so every time I’d see it I’d squeeze its cheeks, bring it in closer and share saliva with it. It’s a show that had the danglers to say “screw you! We’re not going anywhere!” despite the fact the network yanked it after 12 episodes. And then, just when it looked like it was done, it remerged as a full-length mother-hoppin’ movie – and by golly if it didn’t bring a lump to George Lucas’s throat.

When Alan Tudyk told me on the phone this morning that a sequel to “Serenity” – that’s the name of the “Firefly” movie for those who’ve been up at Guantanamo Bay for the past couple of years – could be happening I just about dropped the phone (I didn’t though, because the last time I did that it landed in the loo. Fried itself. And as a consequence, I lost all my numbers.) Tudyk says the newly-released “Serenity : Special Edition“ DVD has been selling so hot, that there’s talk in doing another movie.

“They had to put [the new DVD] out because they’ve been selling out of the other one and so Universal’s like ‘So, let’s do another one’. And now… there’s now a chance there’s going to be another movie”.

Tudyk agrees that even if it was a direct-to-DVD movie, it’d still be worthwhile. Especially since the whole DVD sequel is a big trend.

“It really is”, says Tudyk. “Everybody in the Firefly crew – and that includes the ones who died in the movie – are excited about the prospect of doing another”.

Nathan Fillion, says Tudyk, is especially keen. “We were out a couple of weeks ago together at a party and there was a bunch of people there, and he was like ‘Oh, look we’re Browncoats”.

Great to hear Fillion’s still as crazy as ever about wearing the Tightpants again.

Tudyk says he heard from creator Joss Whedon a few weeks back – but mainly about Tudyk’s role in the new Western “3:10 to Yuma”. “He sent me an email when it first came out because at first he thought I was a different character – by the trailer”, he laughs. “He was like ‘My god! You’re playing such a bad-ass!’ That was Ben Foster, who is such a bad-ass in that movie, and is just brilliant, just brilliant, and we both have a similar look – we both have polish genes – and anyway, Joss writes back ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise you were the sympathetic funny character – how would cast you as that?’. Joss, that would be you!”.

The actor, who appears in the new Frank Oz film “Death at a Funeral”, is absolutely blown-away by the life “Firefly” has had. He’s even headed downunder next week to appear at a science fiction convention. It amazes him even more that he got to do a feature film version of his 12-episode series. “That’s wild; you don’t see that happen until years later when it becomes a campy spoof of the thing. But even then, shows like Dukes of Hazzard and Starsky and Hutch were huge hits [from the beginning, and they didn’t do movies straight away] this was something that was a hit only with a group of people and it just grew.”

Likely to happen before a “Serenity” sequel though is an “I, Robot” sequel. Tudyk visited the set of Will Smith’s latest movie “I am Legend” to talk about the movie recently, and says he’d be super excited to play Sonny the robot again.

Yep, but what about Wash? Now that there’s the shizzle.

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Tags: alan tudyk, amazon warrior, Book, dvd, fantasy, firefly, firefly class transport ship, future, inara, jayne, joss whedon, kaylee, mal, movie, river, sci-fi tv, science fiction, serenity, Shepard book, simon, television, tv show, wash, zoe

Well well well Ladies and Gents. Good news to be had. First, about the Kristen Britain book series, Green Rider. Book #3, High King’s Tomb, looks like it REALLY is coming out in November, since July is past.. and no book.

So, November 6th, which is not that far away, brings us Green Rider #3. YAY! Just a note that Kristen will be GOING places! It looks like she is doing a scad of signings in Maine in November. Here are the two of most interest to me!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Signing
Sherman’s Books & Stationary
56 Main Street
Bar Harbor, ME
(If you would like to order an autographed book, contact the Bar Harbor Sherman’s at the link above.)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

7:00 p.m. Signing and whatever
Borders
Bangor, ME

I wouldn’t be able to go to the Saturday one, but the Thursday I could!! OO OO OO!!!

So anyways, start re-reading, or reading the Green Rider series, you won’t regret it!

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Tags: author appearance, Book, britain, DAW, fantasy, first rider's call, green rider, green rider series, high king's tomb, kristen britain

So the wonder of the Study Books continues! Maria V. Snyder has created a MySpace page for Yelena, over here. Go check it out. There are fun pictures and videos at the site.

Don’t forget that FIRESTUDY is coming out in March of 2008,

FIRE STUDY: SURROUNDED BY FIRE WITH NO WAY TO ESCAPE THE BURN.

Once it is on the shelves, it will be in my hot little hands!!!

Also worthwhile, head over to Nesfa’s review of Magic Study, its a good one, and it is always good to support New England sci-fi groups!

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Tags: books, fantasy, fire study, magic study, maria v. snyder, nesfa, poison study, sci-fi, science fiction, snyder, yelena, yelena zaltana

Here is another new cool series by a mystery author. Not an author that writes mysteries, an author no one has met… No seriously, look at his RH page here. There is nothing.

John Twelve Hawks has written two novels. The Traveler was the first and that is now available in paperback. Dark River is the second in the Fourth Realm series.

A couple of cool interviews, here at SFF World, and here is the J12H blip from the Telegraph article,

John Twelve Hawks
Age Unknown
Real name Secret
Previous occupation Who knows?
Address Off the grid
Star character Warrior-babe Maya
Commercial status One novel The Traveller (2006): UK sales, 150,000-plus. Sequel The Dark River due out in July.

John Twelve Hawks is either the world’s most mysterious author or one of its most brilliant conmen. His agent and publisher insist they have no idea of his true identity, describing how he communicates via untraceable satellite phones, using a digital synthesiser to distort his voice.

He does not own a television and drives a 15-year-old car. They report conversations in which Twelve Hawks intones, ‘I saw your office the other day,’ without revealing how or when.

He has also told his editors that he has visited every location he writes about, including London, Prague, the Arizona desert… and Hell. Hawks’s determination to live ‘off the grid’ - without credit cards, conventional ID, personal bank-accounts or a fixed address - is a radical response to the creeping menace of the surveillance society.

His debut novel, The Traveller, read like an obsessive, paranoid mix of Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Matrix and Blair/Bush legislation, in which populations are constantly monitored, supervised and coerced into appropriate behaviour by the ‘vast machine’ of computers, micro-chips and CCTV.

Traveler was a really interesting read, and while some of the reviews I have read feel that Dark River falls into the “middle child” syndrome of the trilogy and is weaker than the first, I am still excited to read it.

I know it isn’t necessary to show the full size cover of The Traveler, but it is just so PRETTY.

Anyways, this is a great set of novels, and they really bring to mind the issues that we in the United States are having with privacy, and with the whole 1984 “Big Brother is Watching You” concept.

A good read all around, go check it out! They should both be available in your local independent bookstore!

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Tags: 1984, big brother, books, cool covers, debut novel, fantasy, fiction, international, j12h, john twelve hawks, novel, pretty covers, privacy, science fiction, series, stay off the grid, the grid, traveler, traveller, trilogy

Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge is amazing… really, no other way to describe it. Where Amazing means : surprising greatly or inspiring awe or admiration or wonder. Seriously.
First, the coolness of the covers.

A summary from Kelley’s website,

Jackal Segura is a Hope: born special and raised to a life of responsibility and privilege as a powerful symbol of a fledgling world government; destined for greatness. In a few months she will take up her role in the global administration, sponsored by the massive corporate entity that houses, feeds, employs and protects her and everyone she loves. And she’s just discovered that everything she believes, everything she is, is a lie.

Then in a few short moments of horror and catastrophe, Jackal is a Hope no longer. She has become a pariah and a murderer, a person with no community, no future, disconnected from the world. She enters an experimental program designed to inflict the experience of years of solitary confinement in a few short months—virtual confinement in a sealed cell within her own mind, grief-stricken and alone, until the day her demons come out to play.

Then she’s back in a world she no longer knows, branded and despised, struggling to make her way in a strange country. Now she has a chance to rediscover her life, her love and her soul—in a strange place of shattered hopes and new beginnings, called Solitaire.

Genevieve Williams reviews Solitaire at Strange Horizons.com,

What is the nature of identity? Is it inherent to each person, making each of us so unique and distinctive that, even if the outside world were entirely stripped away, the individual would exist unchanged? Or are we created by our environment: our circumstances, challenges, and relationships with others?
Solitaire cover

It’s an age-old question, one addressed in science and philosophy as well as in fiction. With her first novel, Solitaire, Kelley Eskridge tosses her hat into this particular ring with elegance and grace. A previous Nebula and James Tiptree finalist with her short fiction, Eskridge already had a good bit of buzz going; with Solitaire, the buzz may swell to a roar.

And from Kelley’s website, on what writing is,

Writing is connection. If a work of mine can resonate with a reader, then for that moment we are connected across time and space and experience. It means that I’ve sat in my room and traveled some piece of that internal landscape, and brought it back and said to the reader Do you see? And years later, in another place, she has read it and thought, Yes, I see. How amazing is that?

So go check it out. It is an older title so you might have to special order it, but it is WORTH the wait!

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Tags: eskridge, fantasy, fiction, hardcover, Hope, jackal, jackal segura, kelley eskridge, paperback, segura, solitaire

Lloyd Alexander died today. I adored the Vesper Holly series. I thought they were the best things written for quite a long while. It is just such a loss.

From Wikipedia,

Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 - May 17, 2007) is the author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy books for children and adolescents, as well as several adult novels. Probably his most famous contribution to the field of children’s fantasy is The Chronicles of Prydain, inspired by Welsh mythology and the Mabinogion. The first two books in this series formed the basis of the Disney animated film The Black Cauldron. The concluding book of the series, The High King was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969.

From SF Scope,

Author Lloyd Alexander died 17 May 2007. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 30 January 1924, he was a children’s fantasy author for half a century (though he did also write several adult novels). He won the 1970 Newbery Award, and was a National Book Award Finalist, for The High King.
Before becoming the writer he’d always wanted to be, Alexander served in the US Army during World War II, working in intelligence. In 1946, he married Janine Denni, who predeceased him by two weeks.

He is a man who left a legacy in his own life (being married for 62 years) and in the writing world and will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace Mr. Alexander.

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Tags: alexander, children's author, death, died, fantasy, hardcover, jedera adventure, juvenile fiction, lloyd alexander, paperback, vesper holly