On Obtaining Ligotti

If you're interested in Ligotti, but rather scared by the prices, the only way to obtain him – besides the few cheaper editions out there – is to get in on release day. As such, I just want to point out two upcoming rereleases of his work for anyone out there who's been intrigued by my reviews.

First, there's Subterranean Press's reissue of the man's Grimscribe, his second fiction collection. The limited edition sold out (alas, before I could make up my mind to spring for it), but the regular can still be bought on the publisher's site for 40 and on amazon for 26, providing copies remain. Judging by what the Subterranean Songs of a Dead Dreamer did, this is going to be 70-100 bucks within a year, so I'd buy now if you're interested. The cover was painted by Thomas Ligotti Online member Aeron Alfrey, who's got a fantastic amount of horrifying work up on his blog.

Second, there's an item of more interest to pure collectors. Ligotti's rarest work, The Agonizing Resurrection of Viktor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Stories, is being reissued by Centipede Press here. If you live in the US, you might be better served ordering from Subterranean, however, as they'll have it while their borrowed stock lasts for ten dollars cheaper. A warning on that front, though: Jerad's notorious for adding all sorts of goodies to big orders like this, and I've no idea if that'll hold true for those who order elsewhere. The book, though slim, will be filled with illustrations from Harry O. Morris and promises to be beautiful enough to sell your soul for, as you may well have to do to afford it, especially if you happen to go for the Insane and Wonderful Man's Obscenely Expensive and Beautiful edition, which is several times what I paid for my computer.

If you're after the other books, my best advice is the obvious: set up alerts on ebay/abebooks, and swing through amazon every few days. For the vast majority of my Ligotti books (and my collection's essentially complete), I got them for far below standard price by just being aware of them. My copy of The Nightmare Factory, for instance, I got for twenty-five dollars, compared to the cheapest listed amazon price of 125 dollars.

And no, in case you're wondering, Thomas Ligotti doesn't pay me to rave about him twice a week. I acquired my malignantly useless man love all on my own.

A Dance with Dragons

A Dance with Dragons is coming out on July 12th, and it will be A Storm of Swords sized. Martin talks here.

I'd try and add something, but...what's there to say? It's a Dance. With freakin' Dragons. Preorder a copy, instruct it to be delivered by private jet, bribe the postal workers with thousand dollar bills to bring it a single hour early, whatever you have to do.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in January and 2011

The Hammer is K.J. Parker’s newest standalone, and it seems to be filled with all of what’s best in Parker’s prior works (rigorous and detailed worlds with accurate technology, great characters in interesting dynamics, etc). Fantasy Book Critic’s review, the only one that I’ve seen, is quite positive.

I loved The First Law trilogy; the books were snappy, cynical, and vivid. The ending was superb. Best Served Cold wasn’t quite on the same level (it was basically First Law v2), but I’m still quite excited about The Heroes, in part because it seems like a great opportunity for Abercrombie to write what he’s best at in new ways, particularly the focus on a single battle in a short time span. Early reports have been strong. 

FOR 2011

I thought it might prove interesting to post my most anticipated books of the new year and, at the end of the year, see how they fared compared to other releases.

Daniel Abraham - Dragon's Path

R. Scott Bakker - White Luck Warrior

Steven Erikson - The Crippled God
Felix Gilman - ???

Adam LG Nevill - The Ritual
K.J. Parker - The Hammer

Alastair Reynolds - Blue Remembered Earth

Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn: The Alloy of Law

An Addendum to Up and Coming (and Essential?) in December

It’s a bit late to be updating December’s recommended books, but, well, I screwed up, so here we go:

My apologies to Ms. Valente for this one. I haven’t yet gotten to read much of her writing, but what I have read has been very interesting, and her new story collection from Subterranean Press and PS Publishing looks right up my alley. So why didn’t it get a feature? Well, I double check my release dates on amazon, and amazon doesn’t have it listed . If you want a sample of Valente’s short fiction, there are quite a few stories available through her website.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in December

I’ve been meaning to read the Alcatraz books for a while now. This is quite clearly not the place to start, being out of sight of the series opening, but what Sanderson’s said of the series on Writing Excuses sounds amusing, and, no matter how uninteresting a two or three hundred page book turns out to be, there’s always the consolation prize that it’s damn short. (Kidding – in part). Though what I’ve written on here of Sanderson’s work (Way of Kings and Defending Elysium) has been critical, I really did love Mistborn, and I’m looking forward to both someday cracking open the Alcatraz books and to getting my hands on the new projects from the man on the horizon.

Parker’s a fascinating author for me. The broad arcs of her novels could be mistaken for traditional (wars, power struggles, etc), but Parker’s strict realism, cynicism, and wry wit always set her writing apart. And then there’s the fact that she seems beautifully loathe to repeat herself. How does an author known for their stringent realism bring that trait to a novella about alchemy? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out.

AND

My apologies to Ms. Valente for this one. I haven’t yet gotten to read much of her writing, but what I have read has been very interesting, and her new story collection from Subterranean Press and PS Publishing looks right up my alley. So why didn’t it get a feature? Well, I double check my release dates on amazon, and amazon doesn’t have it listed . If you want a sample of Valente’s short fiction, there are quite a few stories available through her website.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in November

Everyone has, of course, heard of The Wheel of Time and its penultimate volume, Towers of Midnight. Whether you’re a long term fan or you first heard about the series with the recent embargo shitstorm (in which case you’ve probably never heard of Lord of the Rings either, but nevermind) you’re probably well aware of the back story: the deaths, the splits, the outlines, the Brandon Sandersons, etc. All very exciting stuff, a massive hype storm that every once in a while turns malevolent, all with a book at the center. And early opinions of the book are generally quite positive, as Aidan nicely sums up with his review round up.


Half of me wants to grab this book right now and tear through it. I can still vividly remember the time when King was my favorite author. I’ve still probably read more books by King than anyone else, though he no longer occupies that favorite spot. And the reason why is why the other half of me is begging that overexcited bit to calm the hell down and look the other way. As followers of this blog now, my reactions to later King have not been positive. In fact, I went so far as to, in the comments of my The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon review, say that I wasn’t buying any new King. Will I be able to stick with that in the face of a new collection? Not sure…

Anyway, for those of you who aren't quite as conflicted, Full Dark no Stars is a collection of four novellas, ala Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, and comes out on the ninth.


R. Scott Bakker’s second thriller’s due in a little bit if you live in the US, some time ago if you’re elsewhere. Neuropath was a mixture of brilliant and disappointing, but Bakker’s other books and blog posts (generally) fall within the first category, so I have high hopes yet. Early word on Disciple is generally good, with perhaps the most in-depth review that I’ve come across being here, though the same blogger’s list of quotes from the opening pages of the novel is probably more promotional in nature and less likely to color your expectations for those still undecided (leaving the juicy review for when you’re trying to sort out your own interpretations).


I’m a Malazan fan. A rather large (and moderately obsessive) one, actually. Ever since I finished Dust of Dreams, I’ve been going through a bit of withdrawal, and that was only a few months back. And yet, I’ve had my problems with Esslemont. I’m looking forward to Stonewielder, yeah, but, an unfortunate little part of me is more hoping that Esslemont doesn’t ruin any of Erikson’s nicely established characters than that Esslemont does a good job, having already given up on the latter. Unfair? Hell yes. That’s why I’m trying to hit that part with a shovel. In the meantime, you can check out Pat’s glowing review.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in October

The new semi-Western Weird work from the author of Thunderer and City of Gears seems ready to push everything Gilman’s done into hyper drive. If nothing else, the prose will undoubtedly be excellent.


I’ve only read two of Banks’s books, the excellent-but-flawed Use of Weapons and the okay-but-flawed Matter This is another book in the Culture setting that Banks is most famous for, and the blurb is enough to get me interested, though I have heard (and experienced) very mixed things about Banks’s later work. There's a preview of this on Banks's site.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in September

Don’t you hate it when you go to check something in your Up and Coming (and Essential?) post, that you know you posted on the first, but it’s not there, and you look everywhere for it, but it’s just...not there? And then you go to your files, but see that you deleted it because you thought you’d already posted it? No? Well, I just did. I’d like to redo the whole thing, but, honestly, there seems to be little point. The month is practically over, so I’m just going to highlight one book that I haven’t seen mentioned much yet, but definitely should be:



I Am Not A Serial Killer was a very enjoyable read, and satisfactorily creepy even if it had some problems, so I’m looking forward to the sequel’s US release quite a bit. Of course, it helps that Dan Wells is one of the three core members of my beloved Writing Excuses.

Up and Coming (and Essential) in August

Here’s what I know about Mary Robinette Kowal: The Four Principles of Puppetry, Writing Process Q&A at Worldcon, Character & World Building Q&A at Worldcon. While I suppose that having original and insightful things to say about writing and actually being good at writing don’t have to go hand in hand all the time, I still think it’s a good bet that they go together more often than not. If you're interested, you should definitely check out Kowal's The Big Idea post on Whatever.


It’s Brandon Sanderson, beginning a new epic fantasy series. Of course I’m interested. Moving beyond just the name, however, there’s the fact that Way of Kings looks like a very interesting book, and not just because it has new and inventive magic systems springing out of every pore. Brandon Sanderson’s Suvudu interview sheds quite a bit of light on the book, and, for those of you not averse to free samples, you can get a nicely sized chunk of the book’s opening on Tor's website to further whet your appetite.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in June

Wait…didn’t this one already come out? Well, yes, it did, for those of you not stupid enough to preorder the paperbook months ago. I don’t know why I occasionally pretend I have self control, but I sometimes get the urge to play make believe, and as a result I have to wait for months and months to get to read something that looks excellent to me. So, while you were all waiting for City of Ruin, I was checking my mailbox for a slightly smaller, softer package. If you, like me, still haven’t gotten to this, there are countless excellent reviews to stir up some longing.

This is, as far as I can tell, an epic SF vampire epic, reminiscent of the Stand. Well, god damn, I need to read that. Spurring that growing need on is Wert’s glowing review. Cronin also talks briefly about the books genesis here.

I loved Gaiman's Neverwhere and have been itching to explore more of his work ever since. Stories, of course, has more than just Gaiman, and the rest of the cast is just as exciting. The same Joe Hill whose 20th Century Ghosts I just fell in love with? And - could that be? - Gene Wolfe? An interesting and promising lineup for sure, an alluring fact only aided by the Speculative Scotsman's review.


This is like those threads on music forums, where you construct your Dream Band. Or, to use a more relevant analogy, it’s like those threads on Westeros where you construct your own ideal small council/war council/kingsguard/privy-construction team, and this book is like Tywin, Littlefinger, and Kellhus occupying all the positions in perfect harmony and sending out an army of dragons to go roast dissenters. How can you possibly complain about a table of contents this strong? Well, I guess you could if the stories are shit. On that count, there’ve been some mixed reports, so far. Pat’s comments so far in this Westros thread have been fairly negative, while Aidan’s put up a few quite positive reviews of individual pieces (Lynch and Abercrombie, to be precise). I guess time, and personal taste, will tell.

An Addendum to Up and Coming (and Essential?) in May: Above the Snowline

These lists always turn out to bite me in the ass a bit. By the time the month's over, without fail, I will have discovered at least one thing that is just as necessary as anything on the list. As April rolled around, I saw Shine on a shelf and realized it came out far earlier than I realized. A few days ago I finally got around to looking up some of Ligotti's work, and what do you know, his Songs of a Dead Dreamer was (theoretically) rereleased in March.

This time's a bit different, though. I knew about this book at the time, but I didn't throw it up for the same reason that I didn't put Hobb's new releases up, despite my enjoyment of Hobb: I feel really uncomfortable having a latter book in a series that I haven't read. What happens if I read the series and it turns out to be shit? Now, I haven't read the whole series, here, but I've read the first book, and, from what I can see, this release is (wholly?) absent in the parts of the 'net that I frequent. The author is Steph Swainston, and the book is Above the Snowline:


I can't say much about it, having not read the preceding two volumes, but I will have quite a bit to say about her debut, The Year of Our War, in the coming days, and, if this is anything approaching that novel's quality, this is something to watch out for.

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in May

I quite liked The City and the City, but it only felt tangentially like a Mieville novel. The weirdness and interesting themes were there, but everything felt quite muted. Even if it’s not set in Bas Lag, Kraken looks like it’s going to be a lot closer to Mieville’s more colorful works. There’s a decently sized sample floating around I haven’t read the whole thing (I generally prefer to devour something in a few sittings, rather than taunt myself with excerpts), but I couldn’t resist the opening, and I love the writing there. Several reviews of this are out so far, all glowing, including Wert's and The Speculative Scotsman's.


Apartment 16 looks like a dark, claustrophobic horror novel, but what’s got me most excited are the great reviews. James came first, and he convinced me that this was something I had to look into. When the Speculative Scotsman joined him, I knew I needed to read this sooner rather than later. If you’re into horror, this seems like a pretty safe bet from where I’m sitting.


Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet was an excellent read and just the kind of thing that makes me desperate to read more of an author’s work. The prose was both beautiful and precise throughout, the characterization superb. Leviathan Wept is a collection of his short stories (some of which are award winning) that looks perfect for filing that urge. You can get one of the stories, the The Cambist and Lord Iron, here for free.

UPDATE

And, finally:

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in April

I'm not presenting an objective list. What would the point of that be, when someone else is doing just that, but a dozen times better than I could? This is, instead, just a personal list of books that I'm interested in and the reasons that I am. Perhaps our tastes will line up and you'll find something, or perhaps not. Let's find out, shall we?


I’m generally hesitant about doing something like promoting book two of a series I haven’t read, but I think I may have to make an exception here. I’ve heard quite a few good things about The Painted(/Warded)Man, though not all positive, but Aidan’s review convinced me to give his books a shot. The excellent cover art for The Desert Spear might’ve just given me the push I needed to do just that…though Aidan seems a bit less thrilled with this second volume, here.


If there is a poster child for internet promotion, it’s Sam Sykes, as far as I’m concerned. I wasn’t wowed by the concept, and Wert’s lukewarm review countered the Abercrombie comparisons and left me mildly interested but unlikely to purchase. Then I read Syke’s interview on A Dribble of Ink. Sykes has the kind of online personality that it’s hard to not get taken in with at least a little bit; he’s so over the top you just can’t help but laugh with him. And then I read Syke’s thoughts on reviewing in general over at the Speculative Scotsman, and I was sold. Can you really tell me that that combination of comedy and insight isn’t something you want to investigate further?


I was first introduced to Kay through Ysabel, and I was more than a little mixed. The prose was excellent and the atmosphere and glimpses of past cultures superb, but the modern world’s intrusions became more infuriating each time they occurred. Thankfully, I’ve been told again and again that Ysabel’s a bit of an outlier in Kay’s catalogue, and Under Heaven looks like the perfect book to give him another chance. If you have any doubts in your mind about this one, I’ll refer you to SF Review’s glowing review. Or, if you need still more convincing, what about Pat’s equally awed take?

Up and Coming (and Essential?) in March

To be fair, this is out already, but I didn’t think to start this feature until now, and the book was released in March, so I’m doing it anyway. Spellwright is a high magic debut that seems like a much lighter, easier read than a lot of the other books coming out this month. That being said, it seems to set itself apart with its focus on disabilities (written by an author with firsthand experience). For a better idea of the work as a whole, I’ll refer you over to Aidan’s review.


The description sounds interesting, but what’s really got me excited about this (besides the Reynolds tag) is Wert’s review. Reynolds doing New Weird? Hell yes. Ever since the conclusion of the Revelation trilogy (and barring the Prefect), Reynolds writing and world building seem to have gotten steadily less oppressive, and this seems like the culmination of that shift. I’ve also always thought that Reynolds was often great with character, so it’s going to be good to read a book in which he capitalizes on that. As for when it comes out, try tomorrow (the 15th). Yes, that’s right. If you haven’t ordered this yet, and if you like Science Fiction, I don’t know what the hell you’re waiting for.


Billed as a cross genre anthology and focusing on fightin’ men, Warriors features more than enough huge names to get almost any genre fan salivating. Stories from Hobb, Beagle, Williams, and a lot more. Oh, and some Martin fellow has his third Dunk and Egg story in there. Though I don’t think that there’re any reviews out there yet, you can get a pretty good idea of what’s inside over at Westeros and Wert’s done a piece on the Martin story. The whole thing’s coming out on Tuesday (the 16th). UPDATE: Wert's posted a full, and glowing, review of the collection here.


Anyone who listens to Writing Excuses should have a pretty good idea of who Dan Wells is. I Am Not A Serial Killer’s been out for a while in Britain, but it’s first coming out in America on the 30th. Don’t let yourself be put off by the YA tag, this book is precisely written and has some great atmosphere. And that’s not mentioning the superb characterization of serial killer-obsessed lead John Wayne Cleaver. I’m not crazy about the direction the book starts to go in at around the halfway point, but I think that’s mostly a case of me and Wells wanting different things out of the story. If you want to head over to the Horror side of Speculative Fiction, this is something you should definitely check out.

UPDATE

I should point out something about the above list (and the feature in general): It's quite personalized. So, basically, I'm not claiming to represent every book coming out this month. The ignored ones almost all fall into the following category: Books that, for some reason or other, I have no interest in. I could, of course, throw up some cover art and paraphrase the amazon blurb, but what's the point? If you know of the book, and if I have nothing new to contribute to it, I'm sure I'm just saving both of us time.

Those that do not are ones that I have some ulterior motive for ignoring. And, by ulterior, I mean marginally paranoid. I wouldn't feel safe posting about Hobb's Dragon Haven, for instance...what if it contained some insidious spoiler about what awaits me in Ship of Destiny?