plus: Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book Wins Hugo for Best Novel

Let’s quickly start with the announcement from this years Hugo Awards presentation…As I predicted a couple of months back, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book won for best novel.  It would have been a crime if he didn’t win for this superlative dark fantasy that trumps even his renowned Coraline.  This book is also going to be developed into a film.  If you have not read it yet, I cannot recommend any book more heartily this year!

This week’s releases include the first Landover novel from Terry Brooks in 14 years with A Princess of Landover.  Also on the subject of Terry Brooks, Del Rey has released an updated and expanded edition of The World of Shannara, with information on everything you could hope for about his long-running, popular epic fantasy series.

Two notable Star Wars books are out this week, Abyss, the latest Fate of the Jedi novel, and Star Wars: The Essential Atlas.

The World of Shannara by Terry Brooks ( Del Rey Hardcover) 

The beloved Shannara series by New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks has been acclaimed as a towering achievement, an unquestioned masterpiece in fantasy literature. Now all the wonders of Shannara have been gathered into one indispensable volume in which Brooks shares candid views on his creation. This completely updated edition includes new entries on the High Druid of Shannara and Genesis of Shannara series, as well as the thrilling connection between Shannara and the Word and the Void trilogy. Illustrated throughout with full-color paintings and black-and-white drawings by award-winning artists David Cherry and Rob Alexander, this comprehensive guide ventures behind the scenes to explore the history, the people, the places, the major events, and, of course, the magic of one of the world’s greatest fantasy epics.

Traitors' Gate

Saga of the Elf King

A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks ( Del Rey Hardcover) 

Ben Holiday, Chicago lawyer and mere mortal turned monarch of enchanted Landover, has grappled with scheming barons, fire-breathing beasts, diabolical conjurers, and extremely wicked witches. None of whom have prepared him for the most daunting of challengers–a teenage daughter. Sent by Ben and his beloved sylph bride, Willow , to an exclusive girls’ prep school, headstrong (and half-magical) Mistaya Holiday has found life in the natural world a less than perfect fit. And when her latest rebellious antics get her indefinitely suspended, she’s determined to resume her real education–learning sorcery from court wizard Questor Thews–whether her parents like it or not. 

But back home in Landover, Mistaya’s frustrated father is just as determined that the precocious princess learn some responsibility, and he declares her grounded until she successfully refurbishes the long-forsaken royal library. Mortified by the prospect of salvaging a king’s ransom in moldy books–and horrified by word that repulsive local nobleman Lord Laphroig seeks to marry her–Mistaya decides that the only way to run her own life is to run away from home. 

So begins an eventful odyssey peppered with a formidable dragon, recalcitrant gnomes, an inscrutable magic cat, a handsome librarian, a sinister sorcerer, and more than a few narrow escapes as fate draws Landover’s intrepid princess to the last place she expected to go, and into the thick of a mystery that will put her mettle to the test–and might bring the kingdom to its knees. 


Nine Gates by Jane Lindskold (Tor Hardcover) 

As evocative and moving as Charles de Lint’s Newford books, with the three-dimensional protagonists and enthralling action of Mercedes Lackey’s fantasies, Nine Gates makes our world today as excitingly strange and unfamiliar as any fantasy realm . . .and transports readers to a wondrous magical world drawn from Chinese lore and legend. 

Brenda Morris has barely had time to become accustomed to the idea that she has some of the powers of the Rat, a member of the Chinese Zodiac; that her elderly, former child-star “aunt,” Pearl, is the Dragon; and that the young African-American former soldier she trains beside is the Dog.  Brenda has learned that our world is not the only world and that her not-quite-Chinese ancestors came from a magical place, the Lands of Smoke and Sacrifice, created thousands of years ago by the destruction of China ’s books and scholars during the time of the first Emperor. 

Now, generations later, the Lands are once again at war, and the magics of the Thirteen Orphans are desperately needed.  A mission to capture those powers went disastrously wrong and now the Lands’ Dragon, Tiger, Snake, and Monkey are trapped on Earth unless the Orphans can build the Nine Gates.  To do that, they must first save the Four Guardians of the Land Between, who are under magical attack.  Complicating things is the fact that Brenda has fallen hard for the handsome man who is the Tiger, much to the distress of the sensual young woman who is the Snake. 

Elfland by Freda Warrington (Tor Hardcover) 

Elfland is an intimate, sensual novel of people—both human and Aetherial—caught between duty and desire. It’s a story of families, and of Rose Fox, a woman born to magic but tormented by her place in her adopted world. 

Led by Auberon Fox, a group of Aetherials—call them the Fair Folk, if you will—live among us, indistinguishable from humans. Every seven years, on the Night of the Summer Stars, Lawrence Wilder, the Gatekeeper, throws open all gates to the Other World. But this time, something has gone wrong. Wilder has sealed the gates, warning of a great danger lurking in the realm beyond them. The Aetherial community is outraged. What will become of them, deprived of the home realm from which their essential life force flows? 

Rose Fox and Sam Wilder are drawn to the lands beyond the gates, even as their families feud over Lawrence ’s refusal to do his duty. Struggling with their own too-human urges, they discover hidden truths that draw them together in a forbidden alliance. Only by breaching the dreaded gates and daring the danger beyond can they confront that which they fear most— their otherness—and claim their birthright. 

 

New In Science Fiction 

Star Wars: The Essential Atlas by Daniel Wallace (LucasBooks) 

Navigate the Star Wars universe as you never have before–with this fully illustrated, full-color guide that maps the entire galaxy.  

You know the planets–from Alderaan and Corellia to Tatooine and Zonama Sekot–and the star systems, from the Deep Core to the Outer Rim. But now, for the first time, you can pinpoint their locations and chart the travels of your favorite characters through the vast reaches of space. Star Wars: The Essential Atlas is a galaxy-spanning trove of vital statistics and information ranging from the astronomical and geographical (“Systems, Sectors, Oversectors, and Regions”) to the historical and political (“The Sith Empire” and “The Great Hyperspace War”). Encompassing the entire Star Wars canon, including all the films, and the Clone Wars television series, plus the novels, comic books, video games, and more, this volume is packed with dozens of detailed maps and charts, as well as pertinent data and accompanying facts on 

• the Empire: its length and breadth, political regions, populations, trade routes, major attractions, and trouble spots

• the Clone Wars: the trajectory of this decisive conflict across the universe, data on key battles and major Loyalist and Separatist worlds

• the adventures of Han Solo: the heroic rogue’s exploits throughout the galaxy–including his captaincy of the Millennium Falcon and his first, fateful meeting with Chewbacca–before his life-changing alliance with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

• the Sith Wars: the progression of the universal clash between the ancient Jedi Order, their dark side counterparts, and the Mandalorian warriors who fought against both orders

• and much, much more 
 

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Abyss by Troy Denning (LucasBooks) 

Following a trail of clues across the galaxy, Luke Skywalker continues his quest to find the reasons behind Jacen Solo’s dark downfall and to win redemption for the Jedi Order. Sojourning among the mysterious Aing-Tii monks has left Luke and his son Ben with no real answers, only the suspicion that the revelations they seek lie in the forbidden reaches of the distant Maw Cluster. There, hidden from the galaxy in a labyrinth of black holes, dwell the Mind Walkers: those whose power to transcend their bodies and be one with the Force is as seductive and intoxicating as it is potentially fatal. But it may be Luke’s only path to the truth. 

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, the war of wills between Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala and the Jedi Order is escalating. Outraged over the carbonite freezing of young Jedi Knights Valin and Jysella Horn after their inexplicable mental breakdowns, the Jedi are determined to defy Daala’s martial tactics, override Council Master Kenth Hamner’s wavering leadership, and deal on their own terms with the epidemic of madness preying on their ranks. As Han and Leia Solo, along with their daughter Jaina, join the fight to protect more stricken Knights from arrest, Jedi healers race to find a cure for the rapidly spreading affliction. But none of them realize the blaster barrel is already swinging in their direction–and Chief Daala is about to pull the trigger.  

Nor do Luke and Ben, deep in the Maw Cluster and pushing their Force abilities beyond known limits, realize how close they are–to the Sith strike squad bent on exterminating the Skywalkers, to a nexus of dark-side energy unprecedented in its power and its hunger, and to an explosive confrontation between opposing wielders of the Force from which only one Master–good or evil–can emerge alive. 


Terminator: Revolution  (Dynamite Entertainment Graphic Novel) 

The Terminator is back as Dynamite once again puts John Connor up against Skynet and the dark future as envisioned in the blockbuster films! Helmed again by writer Simon Furman, joined by artist Lui (Red Sonja) Antonio and cover artists Richard (Dark Tower) Isanove and Stjepan Sejic, Revolution tells a story set in the dark future of the Terminators and the present day where John Connor and his mother, Sarah, are on the run from the enemies sent against them from the future!  

New in Horror 

Bleak History by John Shirley (Pocket) 

As far as Gabriel Bleak is concerned, talking to the dead is just another way of making a living. It gives him the competitive edge to survive as a bounty hunter, or "skip tracer," in the psychic minefield known as New York City . Unfortunately, his gift also makes him a prime target. A top-secret division of Homeland Security has been monitoring the recent emergence of human supernaturals, with Gabriel Bleak being the strongest on record. If they control Gabriel, they'll gain access to the Hidden -- the entity-based energy field that connects all life on Earth. But Gabriel's got other ideas. With a growing underground movement called the Shadow Community -- and an uneasy alliance of spirits, elementals, and other beings -- Gabriel's about to face the greatest demonic uprising since the Dark Ages. But this time, history is not going to repeat itself. This time, the future is Bleak. Gabriel Bleak. 

Blood Will Have Its Season by Joseph S. Pulver (Hippocampus Press TPB) 

The dark, forbidding alleys of our ruined cityscapes; the hopeless lives of brutalized whores, amoral hit-men, and vengeful victims of violence-these are the landscapes and characters that fill the stories, poems, and prose-poems of Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. in his first collection. And yet, there is a strange and intoxicating beauty to Pulver's creations, for they transport the reader out of the mundane and into the unearthly by the effortless stroke of a dazzling metaphor. Many of Pulver's stories are innovative riffs on the enigmatic mythology of The King in Yellow, pregnant with the demonic witchery of the original. With this collection, Pulver has placed himself in the forefront of contemporary fantasy and horror literature. 

 

New in Non-Fiction 

Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Documentary Journey into Vampire Country and the Dracula Phenomenon by Elizabeth Miller (Pegasus) 

When Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897, the ghoulish tale shocked, captivated, offended and thrilled readers. How Stoker became the creator of the mysterious, seductive count from a castle (and coffin) in Transylvania was a story in and of itself. Over the past century, Dracula has never been out of print and has become its own cultural phenomena, starting with Bela Lugosi’s famed rendition in 1931, to Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola, Christopher Lee, Buffy, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and the hugely popular Twilight series. This generously illustrated documentary collection explores in full the scope of the Dracula phenomenon, from the folkloric origins of the vampire legend to its unending legacy as a vital influence on the literary and performing arts, not to mention the Romanian tourist industry. Nor does it overlook Bram Stoker himself, and includes his working notes and exceptional primary documents.

The View From the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood by Nicholas Meyer (Viking Hardcover) 

The View from the Bridge is Nicholas Meyer’s enormously entertaining account of his involvement with the Star Trek films: STII: The Wrath of Khan, STIV: The Voyage Home, and STVI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as his illustrious career in the movie business. The man best known for bringing together Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud in The Seven Per-Cent Solution had ironically never been interested in Star Trek until he was brought on board to save the film series. 

Meyer shares how he created the script for The Wrath of Khan, the most revered Star Trek film of all, in twelve days—only to have William Shatner proclaim he hated it. He reveals the death threats he received when word got out that Spock would be killed, and finally answers the long-pondered question of whether Khan’s chiseled chest is truly that of Ricardo Montalban. Meyer’s reminiscences on everyone from Gene Roddenberry to Laurence Olivier will appeal not only to the countless legions of Trekkies, but to anyone fascinated by the inner workings of Hollywood . 

Reviews

Al Williamson's Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic by Mark Schultz (Flesk Publications)

Al Williamson is a true legend among comic artists.  He was one of the stars of EC Comics in the 1950s and went on to become a popular artist and inker at Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse Comics.  But Williamson’s passion, the character who he’s had a lifelong, on again-off again relationship with is Flash Gordon.  This fantastic book from Flesk Publications covers Gordon’s dalliances with the character beginning with the 1966 comic series for King Features.  Williamson drew three issues of the title and you will find all three issues reprinted inside.

Since the book is a large format, it truly brings Williamson’s style to life.  Only the great Alex Raymond, creator of Flash Gordon, could capture the pure space opera essence as well as Williamson.  These issues have not been seen in decades and this is Williamson at his peak.  Over the next couple of decades, Williamson would keep returning to the character however he could, including illustrating one page stories commissioned by Union Carbide and doing the comics adaptation of the 1980 Flash Gordon Film, as well as the 1980s Marvel Flash Gordon series, all of which are reprinted inside. 

In addition the book provides a biography and overview of Williamson’s career.  For those who may only know Williamson from his later work as an inker, it’s a treat to see his earlier work.  His art is powerful and yet subtle.  Flesk has produced a true treasure for fans of Flash Gordon and Al Williamson.  Grade A