Gollancz SF Masterworks - Late 2012 and Early 2013 Titles

The latest Gollancz catalog also included an update on their extensive SF Masterworks line.

H.G. Wells - The War of the Worlds
Pat Cadigan - Synners
Nicola Griffith - Ammonite
Karen Joy Fowler - Sarah Canary
D.G. Compton - The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Colin Greenland - Take Back Plenty
H.G. Wells - The Invisible Man
Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker
Connie Willis - Connie Willis Collection (hopefully to be retitled)
Eric Frank Russell - Wasp
Walter M. Miller - A Canticle for Leibowitz

An interesting mix there. On one hand, everyone is aware of Frankenstein, The War of the Worlds and A Canticle of Leibowitz. But on the other, I haven't even heard of a few of these books, much less read them.

Has anyone read Riddley Walker, Wasp, Take Back Plenty, or the wonderfully titled The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe?

I'd be interested to hear some informed opinions.

Spoilerific Confirmation for Joe Abercrombie's RED COUNTRY

Caution: Spoilers Ahead...

According to the most recent Gollancz catalogue, Red Country is finally going to reveal the fate of Abercrombie's most beloved character, the Bloody Nine himself.

"His name is Logen Ninefingers. And he’s back for one more adventure... 

Joe Abercrombie is the most successful genre novelist of his generation, with a remarkable, cynical and powerful voice cutting through the clichés of the fantasy genre to create something compelling and exceptionally commercial. A Red Country is his most powerful novel yet."

Is it November yet?

Who am I kidding? I'll be importing this from the UK as soon as it is released in September.

Stupidest Thing I've Seen On Twitter Today

Someone is positing that District 9 is a better SFF film than Back to the Future.

That's not even debatable. I don't know if I would put District 9 ahead of Back to the Future 3.

In other news, Ian Tregillis's THE COLDEST WAR is everything BITTER SEEDS was and more. I can't think of a series that I'd more love to see on the big screen. Characters, action, plot - I love this book too much to finish it.

Covering Covers: The Rise of Ransom City - Felix Gilman

The only thing better than a clean, distinct cover is a series of clean, distinct covers. I can respect an art department that picks a direction and sticks with it. These two books will look mighty nice next to each other on the shelf.

The Rise of Ransom City continues Gilman's construction of a re-imagined world very different than our own. If typical steampunk stories are built from brass and copper, his half made world is made from platinum and gold.

In The Half-Made World, Felix Gilman took readers deep into a world on the cusp of forging an identity. The Line, a cult of Industry, and the Gun, a mission of Chaos, were engaged in a war for dominance, one that The Line was winning city by city, enslaving the populations it conquered. A doctor of psychology, Liv Alverhuysen, was caught in the middle, unknowingly guarding a secret that both sides would do anything to have.

Now Liv is lost on the edge of the world with Creedmor, an agent of the Gun, and the powerful Line will stop at nothing to find them.

But Harry Ransom, half con man, half mad inventor, is setting the edge of the world aglow. Town by town he is building up a bank roll and leaving hope in his wake because one of his inventions is actually working. But his genius is not going unnoticed, and when he crosses paths with the two most wanted outlaws in the “unmade world,” his stage becomes even larger and presents an opportunity more lucrative than any of his scams or inventions combined.

The Rise of Ransom City hits shelves November 27th, 2012.

Sanderson's Paradox - Free eBook Distribution

Over on Twitter, Brandon Sanderson was looking for potential ways to get package digital copies of his books for those who purchase hardcover editions of them. I've wished for this for years as it would allow me to leverage my Kindle Fire for travel and mobility while still supporting my rampant bibliophilia.

The basic requirements he lays out are as follows:

1) System should be publisher independent
2) Little to no additional cost to publisher
3) Books are available to be sampled in book stores (no shrink wrapping)

Option 1

The easiest solution is to have Amazon and B&N integrate it with their Kindle/Nook services where if you buy a physical copy of an eligible book through them, a redemption link is sent to your email or the e-book is automatically sent to the Kindle/Nook associated with that account. These companies both have the resources and the incentive to make this happen as it would correspond to huge growths in their tablet/e-reader sales. I actually wrote about this a long time ago back in 2009 though I don't think we're any closer to seeing this three years later.

Strengths

• No way to get the free e-book without buying the book first.
• No modifications to the book necessary.
• If a book is returned, access to the eBook could be revoked.

Weaknesses

• Doesn't prevent you from selling or sharing the physical copy of the book once you have your digital copy (no system really will)
• Would be driven by booksellers not publishers (lots of potential issues here with who has rights to what)
• Not open to indie booksellers.

But Sanderson throws another requirement in there - 4) that it needs to work as well for the big stores as it does for the little guys. If the mom and pop shops need to get involved it gets a little more complicated. Here are a few more potential solutions off the top of my head.

Option 2

Unique cards (similar to what is included in shrink wrapped DVDs with bonus copies) that are shipped with the books. It would be up to the book seller to distribute these cards upon the purchase of a book. Possibly enhance the security with a scratch off covering for the unique code and/or some type of bar code that the book seller would scan so it's included on the receipt (rings up as 0.00 with the purchase of the book.) This would you from returning the book without also returning the unscratched off card. You could then take this card to your eReader of choice and redeem it for free or a nominal fee.

Strengths

• No way to get the free e-book without the scratched-off code.
• No modifications to the book necessary.
• Open to all book sellers

Weaknesses

• Doesn't prohibit buying the book and sharing the code (no system really will)
• Requires modifications to the bar code databases.

Option 3

The next solution would require no additional cards or modifications to the existing book.

A book would be printed with a code inside it. The code would be the same and printed in every book, except possibly library editions. You would enter this code at some website which would then activate a program based on the printed text. This program would randomly ask you 3-10 random questions based on the text layout of the book - what is the third word on page 392? - that needed to be answered within a set amount of time. This would prevent people from getting the information from the books in stores or posting guides to acquiring the books online.Yes, this wouldn't prevent people from going out, buying the book and then returning once they had the free digital copy but the hassle of doing that (see rebate logic) would be better than storing some code you could easily write down in the book store. You could also couple this with a unique code that would prevent the redemption of multiple books.

Strengths

• Prevents people from easily subverting the authentication system.
• No modifications to the printing process necessary.
• Potential buyers can still sample the book
• Open to all book sellers

Weaknesses

• Process is more complicated than a simple redemption code and requires additional code.
• Risks reader seeing spoilers.
• Doesn't prohibit buying the book and sharing the code (no system really will)
• Either multiple eBook copies could be redeemed with the same book or people could return a book with an already redeemed code in it.

Option 4

Print "$1.00 eBook editions" that come shrink wrapped with a unique redemption code inside them. They would be priced a dollar more (or whatever price you set) than the regular, non-shrink wrapped edition and you wouldn't be able to return an opened eBook edition. If you were on the fence, the non-eBook editions would be available for you to read a few pages.

Strengths

• No way to get the free e-book without the scratched-off code.
• No modifications to the book necessary.
• Open to all book sellers

Weaknesses

• Requires a method of writing unique codes in the book and securing the codes
• Doesn't prohibit buying the book and sharing the code (no system really will)
• People could open the shrink wrap and take the code without buying the book.
• Could impact the sales of non-eBook editions if eBook editions were sold out.

So those are my ideas. Feel free to pick them apart or add your own.

Covering Covers: The Croning - Laird Barron

No caffeine and 15 straight 15 hour days at work make YetiStomper something something...

What's that? Go crazy? Don't mind if I do. And speaking of misplaced sanity, Laird Barron's debut finally has a cover, and a excellent one at that.

Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, weird cults and worse things loom in the shadows. The Children of Old Leech have been with us from time immemorial. And they love us. Donald Miller, geologist and academic, has walked along the edge of a chasm for most of his nearly eighty years, leading a charmed life between endearing absent-mindedness and sanity-shattering realization. Now, all things must converge. Donald will discover the dark secrets along the edges, unearthing savage truths about his wife Michelle, their adult twins, and all he knows and trusts. For Donald is about to stumble on the secret...of The Croning. From Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Imago Sequence and Occultation, comes The Croning, a debut novel of cosmic horror.

Sanity is overrated anyway. Bring on the Barron!

Fact: Internet Polls Suck.

Tor released a curious best of 2011 list today as voted by us, the apparently incompetent internet populace. It's a bad list and they know it, as evidenced by their attempts to ferret out the causes behind the self-described "interesting" results.

1. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (140 votes)
2. The All-Pro by Scott Sigler (105 votes)
3. The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (63 votes)
4. The Seventh Throne by Stephen Zimmer (63 votes)
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (55 votes)
6. The Final Arbiter by Mark Rivera (55 votes)
7. A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (53 votes)
8. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi (52 votes)
9. Dancing With Eternity by J.P. Lowrie (50 votes)
10. Among Others by Jo Walton (49 votes)

Um, yeah... Why are we allowed to vote for anything?

I agree with Tor.com that something is definitely amiss. I'm not pretending to be the be-all, end-all when it comes to genre literature but when I haven't heard of 3.5 (familiar with Scott Sigler but not The All-Pro) novels on a voter defined Top 10 list, it's a bit unusual. 

It appears certain authors may be gaming the system. Getting on to the list only takes 50 votes, and you would only need 141 to climb to first. Both of those numbers are definitely doable with a sufficiently motivated fanbase.

But that would be unfair of me to assume right?

There's no way that Stephen Zimmer's shameless plugging on his website had nothing to do with his 4th place slot, nor the fact that this monstrosity took home Best Cover of 2011.

It's like putting Dan Fogler on the cover of the SI Swimsuit Edition.

I mean really? Zimmer must have a garage full of kidnapped puppies somewhere.

Then there is Mark Rivera's constant updates on his book's facebook page. It is surprising that he got 55 of the 82 people who liked his page to go vote for him. I'm impressed - I've got 40 odd cousins and I thought that was a big family.

J.P. Lowrie got in on the act as well. And internet campaigns? Not without Scott Sigler.

BUT WAIT!, you say. You're being unfair, you're not using logic. Maybe it's possible that these books were just really good self published novels. Maybe a lot of people read them, liked them, and voted for them without being asked to by the authors.

Fine. Let's get freaky. -nomically at least.

Let's compare by matching this up with the number of amazon reviews each book got. While the # of Amazon reviews isn't a good indicator of quality, it is a fairly good number of the people that read your book, assuming a comparable % of readers are reviews. I would even assume that people that read self published fiction are MORE likely to review it based on what is likely a closer familiarity with the author. Face it, it's harder to stumble onto self published books than mainstream ones.

My theory is that the more people that read your book, the more people that can vote for it. (Assuming that there are no people who voted for a book without reading it, who would do that?) And since this is purely a numbers game, if 10% of 1000 that read a book like it, you would have more votes than a book that was liked by 50% of 100 readers. And that's being considerate - the numbers of readers for Name of the Wind versus The Final Arbiter are probably more in the neighborhood of 500,000 to 1000.

Lets take a look at the numbers.

Now, I reduced A Dance With Dragons's numbers because it skewed the chart too much at a whopping 31.1 reviews/vote but I think you might be able to guess which of these books might have had their own voting campaigns. Three books have a virtually non-existent ratio and the 4th (Dancing With Eternity) appears to be boosted by some fake Amazon reviews. A pseudonymous reviewer who writes a very short, very positive 5-star review for that specific book and nothing else on Amazon? Look out for herbivores -  you are a plant.

Blegh.

What is the point of having these lists if you can't trust them to be anything more than the most popular books of last year combined with the most mobilized fan community? Complain all you want about juried awards but I'm starting to think those are the way to go.

And Tor.com, is this really a list you want to put your name on? You're better than that.

---

Here is the raw data for those who care.

The Wise Man's Fear - 713 reviews / 140 votes - 5.09 reviews/vote
The All Pro - 16 reviews / 105 votes - 0.15 reviews/vote
The Allow of Law - 150/63 - 2.38 reviews/vote
The Seventh Throne - 3/63 - 0.05 reviews/vote
Ready Player One - 613/55 - 11.15 reviews/vote
The Final Arbiter- 2/55 - 0.04 reviews/vote
A Dance With Dragons - 1650/53 - 31.1 reviews/vote
Fuzzy Nation - 113/52 - 2.17 reviews/vote
Dancing With Eternity - 40/50 - 0.80 reviews/vote
Among Others - 48/49 - 0.98 reviews/vote

Covering Covers: Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire (Or This Is Why e-Readers Were Created)

I'm sorry but as good a writer as Seanan McGuire (and her psuedonymous counterpart Mira Grant) is/are, there is no way I'm reading a book with a cover this audacious in public. If it weren't for the genre cred the 2010 Campbell award winner earned with here Newsflesh and October Daye books, I wouldn't give this book a second glance.

However, if you can stand the Baenish cover long enough to pick it up and turn it over, Discount Armageddon (whatever that means) does sound a least a wee bit interesting...

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...

I'm going to have to leverage the relatively anonymity of the YetiKindle to read this one.

And let's just hope to Lord Sauron himself that Jim C. Hines doesn't see this one. I apologize in advance for that mental image.

Covering Covers (and Contents) - The Apex Book of World SF 2

I love surprises.

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that Lavie Tidhar was planning a follow up to his 2009 anthology The Apex Book of World SF.

Then I saw this.

An expedition to an alien planet; Lenin rising from the dead; a superhero so secret he does not exist; in The Apex Book of World SF 2, World Fantasy Award nominated editor Lavie Tidhar brings together a unique collection of stories from around the world. Quiet horror from Cuba and Australia; surrealist fantasy from Russia and epic fantasy from Poland; near-future tales from Mexico and Finland, or cyberpunk from South Africa: in this anthology one gets a glimpse of the complex and fascinating world of genre fiction – from all over our world.

Also included was the full Table of Contents:

• “Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life” - Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
• “Mr. Goop” - Ivor W. Hartmann
• “Trees of Bone” - Daliso Chaponda
• “The First Peruvian in Space” - Daniel Salvo (translated by Jose B. Adolph)
• “Eyes in the Vastness of Forever” - Gustavo Bondoni
• “The Tomb” - Chen Qiufan (translated by the author)
• “The Sound of Breaking Glass” - Joyce Chng
• “A Single Year” - Csilla Kleinheincz (translated by the author)
• “The Secret Origin of Spin-Man” - Andrew Drilon
• “Borrowed Time” - Anabel Enríquez Piñeiro (translated by Daniel W. Koon)
• “Branded” - Lauren Beukes
• “December 8th” - Raúl Flores (translated by Daniel W. Koon)
• “Hungry Man” - Will Elliott
• “Nira and I” - Shweta Narayan
• “Nothing Happened in 1999” - Fábio Fernandes
• “Shadow” - Tade Thompson
• “Shibuya no Love” - Hannu Rajaniemi
• “Maquech” - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• “The Glory of the World” - Sergey Gerasimov
• “The New Neighbours” - Tim Jones
• “From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7” - Nnedi Okorafor
• “The Slows” - Gail Hareven (translated by Yaacov Jeffrey Green)
• “Zombie Lenin” - Ekaterina Sedia
• “Electric Sonalika” - Samit Basu
• “The Malady” - Andrzej Sapkowski (translated by Wiesiek Powaga)
• “A Life Made Possible Behind The Barricades” - Jacques Barcia

I've only read a few of these authors - Lauren Beukes, Hannu Rajaniemi, Ekaternia Sedia, Nnedi Okorafora - but if those names are indicative of the level of talent contained in this collection, it will be a great one indeed. So much (too much) of the science fiction and fantasy I read is written from a disturbingly small number of perspectives and it's often easy to forget there is a world of voices out there, each with their own story to tell. Books like this are a welcome wake-up call.

The Apex Book of World SF 2 is scheduled for publication in April of 2012 but if you preorder now, you can pick up the first volume for just $5 (also the current Kindle Price).

Has anyone read any of the other authors on this list? Any favorites?

Who Needs Hoth?

On Saturday, I finished Tobias Buckell's thought provoking ARCTIC RISING. It's an eco-techno-thriller set in a near future world where Arctic trade routes have opened as the ice has receded, creating an entirely new theatre for global politicking. I'd really like to see more of this type of science fiction - stuff that speculates on the near future of world dynamics - be it 20, 50, or 100 years out. So much of SF is devoted to depicting worlds that no one alive today will likely ever see and it's refreshing to jump into a world clearly derived from our own. Good stuff and I expect to have a full review up sometime this week.

On Sunday, Lake Michigan decided to avenge its glacial ancestors by throwing a little land invasion of it's own. Giant waves, high winds, and freezing temperatures combined to create a landscape unlike any I'd even seen before. Luckily, Yetiwife and I had our cameras at the ready. [EDIT: You can see the full session here.]

How was your weekend? What are you reading?

2013 Promises Blood (and More Bearded Debut Authors)

I'm still pulling together my list of 2012 debuts worth looking out for but I thought I would jump in the TARDIS for a quick look ahead to 2013.

I never get publishing contracts for my birthday...

Sometime in the past few months, Orbit outbid a few other houses for the right to publish PROMISE OF BLOOD, a debut fantasy novel from Brian McClellan (pictured above) as well as the 2nd and 3rd volumes of his intended trilogy. Now that the contracts have all been signed it's possible to share a little bit more about the book.

Here's the back of the baseball card as far as I be able to confirm:

Titles: PROMISE OF BLOOD / Untitled / Untitled
Series Title: Untitled Fantasy Trilogy
Release Window: Spring/Summer 2013
Release Format: Unknown
Elevator Pitch: Magic and Muskets
Burj Khalifa Elevator Pitch: Field Marshal Tamas and his powder mages have
staged a coup against the king of Adro. Their one night of bloody revolution
sparks the first war between the Nine kingdoms in fourteen hundred years as
the old regimes of nobility and Privileged sorcerers strike hard against the
upstart powder mages. Ancient sorcerers emerge from the woodwork as forces
take sides in the conflict and rumors of gods once thought long dead walk
the city streets.
Intended Series Length: 3 Books
Contract length: 3 books

Here's The Publisher's Marketplace announcement, lifted from McClellan's blog.

Brian McClellan's PROMISE OF BLOOD, a debut trilogy set in a world inspired by the revolutionary turmoil of 18th-century Europe complete with guillotines, starving peasants, fanatical royalists and a hero whose survival depends on a small group of honorable mages, including his own estranged son, to Devi Pillai at Orbit , in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in Summer 2013, by Caitlin Blasdell at Liza Dawson Associates (World English).
Field Marshal Tamas has staged a coup against the king of Adro. His powder mages have slaughtered the king's Privileged cabal of sorcerers and the nobility has been rounded up to face the guillotine with their king. Tamas has brought revolution to his country in one bloody night to save his people and right the wrongs caused by the old regime. Yet his actions have far-reaching consequences of which no reasonable man could have conceived, and the king will prove the easiest obstacle to overcome in his quest to free Adro.

Captain Taniel Two-shot is a powder mage of considerable skill. Gunpowder makes him stronger and faster than other men. He can manipulate its properties to shoot out a man's eye at twice the length of a battlefield. It makes him perfect for killing the old Privileged sorcerers with their destructive magic. One of those Privileged has escaped Tamas' cull. The problem is, she's stronger than any sorcerer Taniel has ever seen, and the mercenaries sent to help him track her are of dubious reliability.

When Adamat is summoned to the palace in the middle of the night, the last thing the veteran investigator expects is to arrive during a regime change. His new employer is none other than the man responsible for overthrowing the current government and he has some unfinished business with the king's sorcerers. The dying Privileged cabal has left the Field Marshal with a riddle. It could be nothing, but Tamas does not like loose ends. Adamat knows from long experience that one doesn't ask questions unless one is willing to learn--and believe--the answers. To add to his problems, the Field Marshal isn't the only one interested in the answer to the dying sorcerers' riddle. As enemies emerge from the shadows and the investigation takes a disturbing turn, Adamat must decide where his loyalties lie.

Now I haven't had the opportunity to read any of PROMISE OF BLOOD yet but I did have the opportunity to speak with McClellan about his upcoming work at ConFusion. Based on that conversation and the fact it the rights went to auction, I wouldn't be surprised to see it as one of Orbit's flagship debut titles next year. I'll be sure to keep an eye out and post more when I have it but if you want to follow him directly feel free to bookmark his blog.

Go Read This. For Serious.

Dreaming Awake by N.K. Jemisin

Just a little reminder that all the nonsense I write here is a) fantastically shallow and b) not in any way well written. The post linked above is commentary on writing done right.

You might also want to check out some of Jemisin's fiction. She's a pure storyteller - plain and simple - in the vein of Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, or Octavia Butler.

Chronicle of GLORY!!!

Now I'm not usually one to boast but I received a special something in the mail today and I had to share...

Behold My Prize!!!

That's right, one of the first ARCs of The Coldest War - Volume Two of The Milkweed Triptych. And signed by Ian Tregillis no less...

All it took was a few obsessive compulsive days spent puzzling over the narrative challenge that was Chronicle of Sorrows, an ARG-esque enigma built into Tregillis's website. You can get the full scoop here. While all of the prizes have already been claimed (yetiwoot!) I would really recommend you give the game a try. It's fiendishly tricky AND it provides some pretty cool context to the first chapter of the excellent Bitter Seeds.

And if you haven't read Bitter Seeds yet, shame on you. Not only was it one of the best books of 2010, it's so good GRRM put off publishing A Dance With Dragons for another year just to avoid competing with it on Best of 2010 lists. The triptychular structure of the book is so awesome, Tor can't even calm down long enough to publish them on time. Stop what you are doing now, go read the book, them return here.

[::waits patiently::]

Welcome back. How good was that? Like me, you are now eagerly anticipating the follow up volume. Unlike me, you do not have a copy. But don't feel too bad. Although you probably won't be able to get a print copy of The Coldest War until it's release date in July, you can listen to the audiobook as soon as RIGHT NOW!!! over on audible.com. For reasons not entirely clear to me, the book has been edited for a long while, just not printed by Tor. As a result, the final edited copy was published via audiobook back in January. I can't do audiobooks, but if you can, have it at.

So to recap:

1) I've got a copy of The Coldest War. Bwa-hah-hah-ha.
2) Ian Tregillis has a really cool narrative game on his website. You should try it.
3) If you haven't read Bitter Seeds yet you should. It is awesome and available now..
4) The Coldest War will be available July 17th from Tor.
5) If you can't wait that long, The Coldest War is currently available via audiobook from audible.com.

I'll be in my bunk.

In Which I Threaten To Lose All Respect For The Hugo Award

Earlier today, I got the heads up via Twitter that GRRM himself referenced my blog in a LiveJournal entry about Hugo Award Nominees. (I think I might post that to Facebook and add it as a reference on LinkedIn just to round out the social media cycle.) He was writing about the controversy surrounding the Best Fanzine category. Last year the Hugo community voted to limit eligibility to traditional e-zines, ostracizing "new media" fan contributions like blogs and podcasts. The post has sparked some interesting discussion and I'd recommend you check it out. Particularly the point at which he says

"I think there are some great fannish blogs and e-zines and podcasts out there, I think they are the future, and I'm going to nominate a bunch of them. Some of my own favorites include PAT'S FANTASY HOTLIST, THE WERTZONE, MAKING LIGHT, THE BLOG OF THE FALLEN (okay, he doesn't like my stuff, but it's still a good read), STOMPING ON YETI, CHEESE MAGNETS, HATHOR LEGACY, and PUNKADIDDLE."

Blatant redaction aside, I am pretty excited to know that Mr. Martin is not only aware of this travesty I call a book blog, but that he felt it was worth nominating for a Hugo Award. Granted, it's not, but it's nice that he thought so. To put it in "gif" form, I would be Stephen Colbert to GRRM's no-nonsense Barney Frank.

It's pretty much the coolest thing that's happened to Stomping on Yeti since Neil Gaiman directly linked my blog from his. The traffic, my cthulu, the traffic...

I suspect it has something to do with my press release for A FLOOD OF FLAMES, the sixth and final book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Or maybe he just has a penchant for things which are released once every couple of years. (Sorry, couldn't resist). Either way, very cool.

That being said - please don't vote for me. I've been a really crappy blogger recently and I in no way deserve any attention for my work here. If I even found my way onto the ballot (I assure you I won't), I would lose 99% of my respect for the Hugo award.
If you're a regular reader, I hope to get back into the swing of things now that I've got a little bit more free time. I still owe you (and a lot of worthy authors) spotlight posts for November, December, and January. I've got them in various states of completion - I just need to get them posted.

Alternatively, if you've found this blog for the first time as a result of someone's GRRMblings, welcome! I hope you enjoy what you find here and if you want to find the good stuff, ignore the last month or so.

And for all, if you do like my writing and want me to keep doing this, I would encourage you to stop by often and contribute to the conversation through comments. And not just on Stomping on Yeti - this extends to the blogs of all my wonderful compatriots who send their words into the internet ether for the sheer satisfaction of doing so. The vast majority of us don't get paid for this (I sure as hell don't) and it really means a lot to know people are reading it and that they appreciate the effort - even if we don't get to have an official category at the Hugos.

Covering Covers: The Straits of Galahesh - Bradley P. Beaulieu

Cover Artist: Todd Lockwood
Cover Design: Claudia Noble

I suppose its okay. But it's no The Winds of Khalakovo.

If I saw both books on the shelf I would be drawn to Winds 10 times out of 10. It's unique, atmospheric, and clean. And the airship is awesome. The sequel is text heavy, blocky, and depicts a man about to lose his ability to have children after he slams his Galahesh into the title text box. Seriously though, he's both in front of and behind that thing. It's going to hurt.

But then again I'm not a marketing expert. If the new cover gets more people to buy into Brad Beaulieu's Cyrillic flavored fantasy series, great. A bad cover isn't going to stop me from reading it.

Here's the full layout.

Here's the back cover text blown up:

West of the Grand Duchy of Anuskaya lies the Empire of Yrstanla, the Motherland. The Empire has lived at peace with Anuskaya for generations, but with political turmoil brewing and the wasting disease still rampant, opportunists from the mainland have begun to set their sights on the Grand Duchy, seeking to expand their empire.

Five years have passed since Prince Nikandr, heir to the scepter of Khalakovo, was tasked with finding Nasim, the child prodigy behind a deadly summoning that led to a grand clash between the armies of man and elder elemental spirits. Today, that boy has grown into a young man driven to understand his past - and the darkness from which Nikandr awakened him. Nikandr's lover, Atiana, has become a Matra, casting her spirit forth to explore, influence, and protect the Grand Duchy. But when the Al-Aqim, long thought lost to the past, return to the islands and threaten to bring about indaraqiram - a change that means certain destruction for both the Landed and the Landless - bitter enemies must become allies and stand against their horrific plans.

Can the Grand Duchy be saved? The answer lies hidden within The Straits of Galahesh

From Bradley P. Beaulieu, author of the critically acclaimed debut novel The Winds of Khalakovo, comes Book Two of The Lays of Anuskaya, The Straits of Galahesh.

The 2nd book of Beaulieu's Lays of Anuskaya series will be out April 17th, 2012 from Night Shade Books.

Epically ConFused...

Much to the surprise of my Wednesday self, on Friday night I found myself braving the treacherous winter conditions en route to Detroit, MI to attend Epic ConFusion - my first ever con.
I really didn't know what to expect except that I would probably see a great line up of authors. Big names like Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, and John Scalzi as well as a few newer authors that I've chatted with including Saladin Ahmed, Kameron Hurley, Bradley Beaulieu, Myke Cole, Douglas Hulick. Throw in a few more-established favorites like Tobias Buckell, Jay Lake, Peter V. Brett, and  Brent Weeks and I couldn't not go. Plus this guy was going to be there.

As it turns out, the line-up and the winter storms combined to make for an incredible weekend. For every author that was there, there were ten fans that weren't, resulting in what had to be a 2:1 author to fan ratio. I couldn't stumble across the bar without falling into one of my favorite authors and every one of them was more than willing to sit down and have a drink or a bite to eat. I could go on and on but I don't think I could it justice. Here's a brief rundown of the things I learned this weekend:

• Joe Abercrombie apparently refers to playing Skyrim as "writing RED COUNTRY." He's about 80% done.

• As far as epic duels go, none would be as epically epic as a cute-off between Rothfuss's rugrat and the Buckell twins. If such an event were to occur, civilization as we know it would cease to exist.
• One Cthulu is terrifying. Two Cthulu is barely comprehensible. An overweight woman wearing two stuffed Cthulu's as a bra and little else? THE HORROR. THE HORROR.
• 100% of the women polled agreed that Joe Abercrombie was sexier than China Mieville. On a related note, while I listened to him give a Gaiman-caliber reading from THE HEROES, my wife watched him say something in a Britishy accent - she's not quite sure what.

• A prophecy was spoken - 2013 will bring the reign of the Mormish One, who promises blood and guns and magic. More on this when things are officially announced.
• Peter V. Brett believes its okay to comment on reviews. Except in the case of those posted on Staffer's Musings - Justin is huge and will kick your ass.

• If Douglas Hulick is the Peter Mayhew of the SFF world, Myke Cole is the Kenny Baker.
• John Scalzi is an ARC troll. He paraded his newly printed copy of REDSHIRTS around like a 2001 third grader with a Charizard foil card. I was sorely tempted to steal it from him when he let me hold it but my ethical side prevailed. (Okay, his wife might have tackled me when I was running from the room.) The prologue he read at his panel was incredible. When can I haz?
• Saladin Ahmed inexplicably has an inferiority complex. THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON might only be 300 pages of words but it contains 600 pages worth of awesome.

• The only thing cooler than having a book signed by an author is having a book signed by an author twice. Apparently, I grabbed the wrong copy of GOD'S WAR off the book shelf...luckily Kameron Hurley is awesome.
• Joe Abercrombie is an Arkansawyer, a shameless self-promoter, and a huge fan of Two Truths and a Lie. This is not always popular.

• There appears to be a correlation between authors who are very successful and authors who focus on story before world building.
• Patrick Rothfuss's beard is to quiet contemplative brillance what Samson's locks were to strength. Hopefully his legend will end with all involved structures fully intact.

All in all - I laughed, I cried, I saw things I can never unsee, and I met some people I look forward to seeing again. Epic ConFusion lived up to its name and then some.

WWLD: What Would Lucas Do?

Ensign: But sir, I don't know if the market can stand another sequel.

Captain: Acknowledged. Reverse thrusters. Full power.

Ensign: Sir, are you sure, that would mean...

Captain: Yes, ensign - it's time for

PREQUELS

The sad thing is that if the upcoming movie does well, this is only going to get worse.

Have we learned nothing from Dune or Pern?

Covering Covers (and Contents): The YBSF: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection - Gardner Dozois

Via Pat Cadigan's livejournal via Tobias Buckell's twitter, here is the line-up for Dozois's 29th annual SF collection:

• "The Choice" by Paul Mcauley
• "Silently And Very Fast" by Catherynne M. Valente
• "The Man Who Bridged The Mist" by Kij Johnson
• "The Ants Of Flanders" by Robert Reed
• "A Soldier Of The City" by David Moles
• "The Invasion Of Venus" by Stephen Baxter
• "Laika's Ghost" by Karl Schroeder
• "The Beancounter's Cat" by Damien Broderick
• "The Vicar Of Mars" by Gwyneth Jones
• "Dolly" by Elizabeth Bear
• "Martian Heart" by John Barnes
• "Ascension Day" by Alastair Reynolds
• "The Smell Of Orange Groves" by Lavie Tidhar
• "After The Apocalypse" by Maureen McHugh
• "A Long Way Home" by Jay Lake
• "What We Found" by Geoff Ryman
• "The Incredible Exploding Man" by Dave Hutchinson
• "The Copenhagen Interpretation" by Paul Cornell
• "The Way It Works Out And All" by Peter S. Beagle
• "The Dala Horse" by Michael Swanwick
• "Earth Hour" by Ken MacLeod
• "The Ice Owl" by Carolyn Ives Gilman
• "Digital Rites" by Jim Hawkins
• "Cody" by Pat Cadigan
• "Ghostweight" by Yoon Ha Lee
• "A Response From Est17" by Tom Purdom
• "Digging" by Ian McDonald
• "A Militant Peace" by David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell
• "For I Have Lain Me Down On The Stone Of Loneliness And I'll Not Be Back Again" by Michael Swanwick
• "The Iron Shirts" by Michael Flynn
• "The Boneless One" by Alec Nevala-Lee
• "Canterbury Hollow" by Chris Lawson
• "The Cold Step Beyond" by Ian R. MacLeod
• "The Vorkuta Event" by Ken MacLeod
• "Dying Young" by Peter M. Ball

Lots of familiar names on that list - and a few new (to me) ones. Got some more reading to do...

As for the cover, I'm afraid Dozois continues to lose ground to Strahan, whose competing 6th volume features this gorgeous piece of art:

 Or maybe it's just me. Either way, congrats to all the authors who were selected!

Suicide Watch

Some advice for all the noobs out there - mainlining the first 60 issues of The Walking Dead is not good for your soul.

Need a visual representation?

And that guy was a Ned Flanders-class optimist before he started reading.

I fear the only cure is to eat copious amounts of fresh, warm-out-of-the-oven Christmas cookies.

Wish me luck.

Books Received and Other Things

Still here. Still around. Trying to figure out some real world type stuff while not letting the day job implode. We can't all start our own publishing imprint... Although I wouldn't be opposed. In the mean time, here's what I've received recently...

That's right - yours truly has obtained a copy of The Drowned Cities and I didn't even have to defraud a teaching convention to do it. Although that's not to say I wouldn't if I had the chance.

In other news, I hope to have a review of Michael Sullivan's Theft of Swords up in the near future. I finished the book/books yesterday and I was impressed if not blown away. The first book feels a little "self-published" (if that's a thing) at first but Sullivan eventually finds a rhythm and puts together two solid fantasy outings. There are a few pacing problems which lead me to question the omnibus format but I was pleasantly reminded of my childhood experience of reading The Belgariad.

In any event, Rise of Empire has jumped up the reading list. But should I read that or Seed? Or Throne of the Crescent Moon? Or The Drowned Cities? Decisions, decisions...