Book Review - City Of The Beast by Michael Moorcock

Nathan Brazil over at sfsite.com has a review of a favorite book of mine:  City Of The Beast by Michael Moorcock.  Along with Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, Lin Carter’s Jandar Of Callisto, Moorcock brings his own magic to the genre that captured me when I was younger…

“I heard the beast thundering on behind me, giving out a strange mooing sound, and increased my pace as best I could. I found I could run very easily indeed and seemed to be lighter than normal”

City of the Beast is the first novel in a trilogy, featuring an incarnation of Moorcock’s Eternal Champion, called Michael Kane. Not to be confused with the celebrated British actor of a similar name. This Kane is an City of the Beast all-American hero, whose life and times deliberately imitate Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars. For readers who have not encountered Burroughs Martian series, the name of the game is pure escapism. Those who prefer a high degree of scientific accuracy in their fiction will be disappointed. But, if your main priority is what used to be called a “rip-roaring adventure” then City of the Beast may be just the one for the job.

Kane is a manifestation of Moorcock’s Eternal Champion, but it is not necessary to know anything about this many-faced character, or the author’s other works, in order to enjoy this story. The Mars that is presented is improbable, to say the least, but quite charming in the quaint way that SF stories were, before images from NASA space probes shattered all the illusions. Originally published in 1965 as Warriors of Mars under the nom-de-plume Edward Powys Bradbury, the story details Kane’s first sojourn on Mars, after an experiment in teleportation accidentally sends him to the red planet. True to its source of inspiration, the tale is narrated as fiction by Bradbury, who meets Kane in France, and records his fabulous adventures for posterity. We learn that Mars is called Vashu by its humanoid inhabitants, and shortly after his arrival, Kane falls in love with the beautiful Shizala, princess of the city of Varnal. Naturally attracted to the Earthman, Shizala cannot reciprocate, due to her betrothal to the shifty prince of Mishim Tep. Before this can deteriorate into the Mills & Boon of space, Varnal is attacked by the Argzoon, a race of hulk-like blue-skinned giants. It is at this point that Kane’s fencing skills and general macho credentials come in handy. Predictably, the lovely Shizala is kidnapped, forcing Kane to embark upon a swashbuckling quest across Mars to rescue her from their filthy clutches. What follows is a fast paced romp, encompassing the familiar formula of chase, battle and evasion. There are underground cities, evil beasties, and pretty much every ingredient you’d expect in a classic pulp novel.

Moorcock’s own style, when this book was written, was ideally suited to this work. What he was trying to do, was emulate the seminal magic of those who had inspired him, in a fashion that was affectionate, and something of tribute. At the time, Moorcock was a one man ideas factory, churning out stories at an incredible rate. City of the Beast was probably written in no more than two days. Moorcock recalls that the entire trilogy, took no more than a week. While this technique does not allow for scientific credibility, or in-depth characterisation, it is a whole lot of fun. There is a sugar rush of energy here, which carries along readers willing to forgive what the work lacks. If I have one criticism, it would be that this book cannot rise above the quality of a shadow. Kane is not Carter, Shizala is not Deja Thoris, and Vashu is not Barsoom. City of the Beast and its sequels are without a doubt entertaining, but the real thing is still preferable, and available.

Soft Cover - 157 pages

Source: sfsite.com Read more

Stan Lee Talks About His Marvel ‘Soapbox: The Collection’

The Hero Initiative, in conjunction with Stan Lee, has a new book coming out titled Stan’s Soapbox: The Collections, consisting of his old Marvel Soapbox columns that were published in the back of the comics between 1967-1980. Here’s a video of Stan Lee promoting the new book which will be available on November 19th.

Here’s more about the book.
Stan’s Soapbox: The Collection, our 144-page tome collecting ALL Stan Lee’s kickass “Soapboxes” from 1967-1980, will be in stores on November 19. It’s available in softcover at $14.99.

Or, if you’re more of a hardcover nature, please be advised: A special limited edition hardcover will be available at $35 as well. The hardcover is limited to ONLY 250 copies, so we suggest you preorder NOW at Atomic Comics. Or if ya like your books signed, a mere 100 of the 250 hardcovers will be available autographed by Stan the Man himself at $99 per. Eat ’em up like candy. Read more

Stephenie Meyer To Write fifth ‘Twilight’ Book Someday?

Stephenie Meyer, author of the hugely popular Twilight series of books, told reporters that she’s leaving the door open to writing a fifth volume, Midnight Sun, though she previously said she’d put it on hold indefinitely.

“People are going to forget about it,” Meyer said in a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 8. “It’s going to go away, and that’ll be the time when I sneak back in and give it a try again. But it’s going to have to be after everything is [over]. It’s not writing in a fishbowl, because I can’t work that way.”

Meyer earlier said she would put off finishing Midnight Sun–a retelling of the first Twilight book from the point of view of vampire Edward Cullen–after an early draft of the book’s first chapters was released on the Internet without her authorization. Meyer–whose books have sold more than 17 million copies–later posted the draft on her official Web site.

“Midnight Sun is not on my schedule right now,” Meyer said while promoting the upcoming film adaptation of her first book. “It’s part of my writing process that, for me to really write a story–and like I was saying before–I can’t think about what other people want and what other people are thinking and what the editing is going to be and what the expectations are when I’m writing. Because it’s paralyzing to do that. You really can’t put a word on the page. I have to be very alone with a story. It has to be just me and what’s happening, and I just can’t feel that way about it right now.”

The Twilight movie opens Nov. 21.

Source: Scifi Wire Read more

R.I.P. Michael Crichton: 1942-2008

Prolific novelist and “ER” creator Michael Crichton has passed away. He was 66.

Perhaps best known for being the author of Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, which were turned into a hugely successful movie franchise, his numerous books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide.

In what his family calls an unexpected death, it was revealed that he was waging a private battle against cancer.

“While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us — and entertained us all while doing so — his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes,” his family tells ET. “He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget.”

Source: etonline.com

Barnes & Noble Experiencing Declining Graphic Novel Sales

The nation’s largest book chains are feeling the pain of the financial crisis and passing it on to their suppliers, with a tough holiday season and 2009 ahead. Graphic novel buys for November and December have been cut 30% to 60% by the two largest book chains, according to one major graphic novel publisher.

Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble, said that the chain was “bracing for a terrible holiday season” in an internal memo to employees published by the Wall Street Journal. “Never in all the years I’ve been in business have I seen a worse outlook for the economy,” the memo said. “And never in all my years as a bookseller have I seen a retail climate as poor as the one we are in. Nothing even close.”

Barnes & Noble has been experiencing year over year same store sale declines for the first time ever for the chain.

Riggio emphasized in the memo that B&N was well-positioned, as a profitable company with no bank debt and access to credit if needed. But he painted a very pessimistic picture of the retail environment overall, predicting that “many once famous retailers will shut their doors” in a “Darwinian” environment in which “only the fittest will survive.”

Riggio didn’t name any other retailers, but Borders, which is smaller and under considerable debt pressure (see “Borders Unlikely to be Sold”), is certainly in a much worse position than B&N going into this difficult period.

While the cuts in graphic novel buys for the holidays are deeper than the anticipated sales decline, with reorders expected, their magnitude is staggering, and indicative of a very difficult holiday season for specialty retail chains.

Source: icv2.com

The Horror Stories Of Robert E. Howard - Shipping 11/05/08

I have an old paperback copy of Robert E. Howard’s Cthulhu Mythos stories and I’ve pretty much just about worn it out. It is my favorite horror collection (Stephen King does come a close second) and I will pull it out a couple of times a year and immerse myself in its shear gut-wrenching terror.

Shipping this Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 is Howard’s horror stories published by Del Rey. I can’t wait for this one. I’ve read some really creepy horror stories by the likes of Stephen King, Graham Masterton, Robert McCammon, and others, but Robert E. Howard gives you a non-stop, look over your shoulder, creepy, gut-wrenching ride that I’ve yet to see repeated.

Here are Howard’s greatest horror tales, all in their original, definitive versions. Some of Howard’s best-known characters–Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, and sailor Steve Costigan among them–roam the forbidding locales of the author’s fevered imagination, from the swamps and bayous of the Deep South to the fiend-haunted woods outside Paris to remote jungles in Africa.
The collection includes Howard’s masterpiece “Pigeons from Hell,” which Stephen King calls “one of the finest horror stories of [the twentieth] century,” a tale of two travelers who stumble upon the ruins of a Southern plantation–and into the maw of its fatal secret. In “Black Canaan” even the best warrior has little chance of taking down the evil voodoo man with unholy powers–and none at all against his wily mistress, the diabolical High Priestess of Damballah. In these and other lavishly illustrated classics, such as the revenge nightmare “Worms of the Earth” and “The Cairn on the Headland,” Howard spins tales of unrelenting terror, the legacy of one of the world’s great masters of the macabre.

560 Pages
Softcover Read more

Book Review: Marsbound by Joe Haldeman

Michael M. Jones has a very nice review over at sfsite.com of Marsbound by Joe Haldeman…

A review by Michael M Jones

At first, Carmen Dula is thrilled to have the opportunity to travel to Mars with her family, where they’ll be part of opening up mankind’s next great frontier. Once reality sets in — that space travel is long, dull, cramped and uncomfortable — she’s not quite as excited, even with the new friends she’s making along the way, and not even the attentions of the handsome pilot of the John Carter of Mars — their home for the next six months — can entirely cure the feeling that she’s giving up everything she knew for an experience bordering between boring and deadly. But since you can’t exactly turn around if you change your mind, Carmen sucks it up and sets herself to doing the best she can. And thus her journey takes her up the Space Elevator on Earth, to the spaceship in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, and then to Mars itself.

There, she finds that even millions of miles from home, people are still the same as always, and the colony administrator in particular takes a very visible dislike to Carmen. Events happen, and before she knows just what she’s doing, Carmen has gone for an unauthorized walk out on the Mars surface, where she discovers something impossibly new and different: humans are not alone on Mars. But these aliens come in peace, or so it seems… that is, until a deadly disease strikes the children of the colony.

Years later, once the wrinkles have been smoothed out between humans and Martians, and a special place has been established where the two species can learn from one another, a deeper, darker mystery is revealed, when intelligent signals are received from one of Neptune’s moons. It seems that the Martians weren’t native to Mars after all, and what’s more, there’s a very specific reason they were placed there, and left to wait for us. Now a plan millennia in the making is about to come to fruition. If Carmen and her allies can’t figure it out in time, it could spell doom for an entire race. Ours.

Marsbound is what I’d call an odd duck of a story, being as it is several very different segments pieced together to create a longer narrative. First you have the story of Carmen’s trip from Earth to Mars, which is very much concerned with the day-to-day minutiae of realistic space travel, and it’s here where Joe Haldeman takes his time to show off the nuts and bolts of a very plausible space program, from the immense Space Elevator stretching from its origination in the Galapagos Islands up into Earth’s orbit, to the ship that carries our heroine and her family to Mars. It’s claustrophobic, dingy, and all too real, unglamourizing space travel and humanizing the people who’ll ultimately be making the trip to help expand the colony. There’s no doubt but that Haldeman, who’s always been a realist and a hard science man, is doing his best to help prepare us for the reality of space travel, as opposed to the fantasized versions which most science fiction writers prefer to work with. In this fashion, he reminds me of Ben Bova, who also excels at integrating human concerns with realistic science fiction. At any rate, there’s a lack of real action in this segment, which focuses on the nitty-gritty details and the reactions of the protagonist to the various changes. It doesn’t let up when we get to Mars, either, as Haldeman projects what a starting colony out on the edge of a new world might be like, how it might function, and what duties will need fulfilling. It’s intriguing, especially since Haldeman has an engaging voice and manages to conveys all of this information without dropping too far into exposition mode.

The next segment picks up at the point when Carmen encounters the so-called Martians, and here’s where the story begins to truly take on its more fantastical elements. We delve into the mystery of a race that’s very much like ours in some regards, and absolutely different in others. This takes us all the way from the moment of First Contact, through the plague which threatens the human children, and ends when that particular issue has been resolved. Shorter than the first segment, it’s got a lot more action and imminent danger to it.

The third and last part of Marsbound picks up several years later, after a new space station, Little Mars, has been built and populated by teams of humans and Martians as they try to understand one another. It’s an odd jump, given that the first two thirds of the book took place over one continuous length of time, and the last third hits fast forward. For any other author, they might have been tempted to make multiple books out of this; Haldeman clearly knew how much time and effort he wanted to invest in this, and didn’t give in to the impulse to expand any further. As for this part of the story, it delves into the mysteries of the Martians’ origins and true purpose, reveals the existence of other intelligences even further out in the solar system, and sets up a clear and present danger to humanity which has to be solved post-haste. There’s an almost breakneck abruptness to the way this unfolds, and the story ends pretty soon after the resolution of the immediate problem, which is a shame in my opinion. Haldeman’s one of those authors capable of setting up fascinating scenarios with engaging characters, enough so that you enjoy spending time with them, so it’s something of a letdown when the story ends.

On the one hand, I found Marsbound to be a compelling, fast-paced read; once I started, I couldn’t put the book down. Its realistic take on space travel, and its grounding in believable science, all told from the viewpoint of a fairly sympathetic character, make for a great read. On the other hand, the pacing seemed off, and the ending almost violently sudden, and I was thus left feeling like something was missing. This may in part be due to its earlier publication as a three-part serial in Analog magazine, which would certainly explain the distinct endings and beginnings between each of the segments. It makes me wonder if it might have been possible to do a little more editing to smooth out the rough edges, and make it more of a fully streamlined book, rather than three portions joined together. However, Haldeman’s one of the great science fiction authors, in my opinion, so maybe I hold him up to standards I wouldn’t expect of a newer generation, so what would be an excellent book from anyone else is just very good coming from him. Despite my moments of disappointment, I found Marsbound to be quite enjoyable, and I’d even be willing to recommend it as a YA book for those teen readers in search of good SF. And definitely, despite any dissatisfaction I might have with the minor technical details, I can’t fault the storyline or the energy, and certainly not the science involved. You can bet that when Haldeman releases another book (I’ve read that he’s working on a sequel to Marsbound) I’ll be there to read it.

Source: sfsite.com Read more

Orson Scott Card Returns With New ‘Ender’ Novel

Orson Scott Card returns to his bestselling series with a new Ender novel

“Ender in Exile” is the first direct sequel to Orson’s best selling book “Ender’s Game.” After twenty-three long years, “Ender in Exile” answers fans questions about “after battle school…the lost years”

At first, Ender believed that they would bring him back to Earth as soon as things quieted down. But things were quiet now, had been quiet for a year, and it was plain to him now that they would not bring him back at all, that he was much more useful as a name and a story than he would ever be as an inconvenient flesh-and-blood person.

At the close of “Ender’s Game,” Andrew Wiggin — called Ender by everyone — knows that he cannot live on Earth. He has become far more than just a boy who won a game: He is the Savior of Earth, a hero, a military genius whose allegiance is sought by every nation of the newly shattered Earth Hegemony.

He is offered the choice of living under the Hegemon’s control, a pawn in his brother Peter’s political games. Or he can join the colony ships and go out to settle one of the new worlds won in the war.

The story of those years on the colony worlds has never been told… until now.

The voyage was long. By the end of it, Val had finished the first volume of her history of the bugger wars and transmitted it by ansible, under Demosthenes’ name, back to Earth, and Ender had won something better than the adulation of the passengers. They knew him now, and he had won their love and their respect.

Ender was twelve when he chose to leave his home world and begin the long relativistic journey out to the colonies. With him went his sister, Valentine, and the core of the artificial intelligence that would become Jane. He wrote The Hive Queen and The Hegemon, and his sister wrote The Speaker for the Dead.

He served as governor of his first colony world, but now Ender is on the move, looking for a planet where the hive queens might be reestablished.

What he finds in the Ganges colony is more than he bargained for — a resentful governor who caused a devastating war on Earth and a brilliant young colonist who is out to destroy him, starting with his reputation and ending, perhaps, with his life.

---

Orson Scott Card is the internationally bestselling author of Ender’s Game. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Reviews:

“The novels of Orson Scott Card’s Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games, and psychology.”
–USA TODAY

“You can’t step into the same river twice, but Card has gracefully dipped twice into the same inkwell-once for Ender’s Game, and again for his stand-alone ‘parallel novel.’… As always, everyone will be struck by the power of Card’s children, always more and less than human, perfect yet struggling, tragic yet hopeful, wondrous and strange.”
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ender’s Shadow

“Ender’s Game is a fast-paced action/ adventure, but it is also a book with deep and complex moral sensibilities. Card constructed the book so that layers fold with immaculate timing, transforming an almost juvenile adventure into a tragic tale of the destruction of the only other sentient species man had discovered in the universe.”
-The Houston Post

“There aren’t too many recent SF novels we can confidently call truly moral works, but Speaker for the Dead is one. Full of careful characterization, intriguing scientific, especially anthropological, speculation, and a fictional challenge to our capacity to define humanity inclusively rather than exclusively, it’s a completely gripping story.”
-Toronto Star

“As a storyteller, Card excels in portraying the quiet drama of wars fought not on battlefields but in the hearts and minds of his characters.”
-Library Journal on Xenocide

“Card’s prose is powerful here, as is his consideration of mystical and quasi-religious themes. Though billed as the final Ender novel, this story leaves enough mysteries unexplored to justify another entry, and Card fans should find that possibility, like this novel, very welcome indeed.”
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Children Of The Mind

Source: Slice Of Scifi

Review - Batman: The Stone King - A Multicast Audio Production

A review by Gil T. Wilson over at SfSite.com

Justice League of America - Batman: The Stone King
by Alan Grant
Multicast Production
Graphic Audio, 6 Hours

I’m a huge comic book fan and only recently took to reading novelizations of comics. I’ve found it to be a pretty good experience. Now, how do you put a comic book turned novel into an audiobook? Well let me tell you, get Graphic Audio to do the production. Reading a comic book, you get to look at all the cool graphics and, while reading the text, your eyes are treated to some visual storytelling. When a comic is then turned into a novel, you lose the visual stimulation, and the author has to completely tell the story with words. Alan Grant wrote Justice League of America - Batman: The Stone King novel and told a great story. Now that Graphic Audio has produced the book into a “Movie for Your Mind,” comic book lovers can hear the novel and fully experience the action. Not a single detail is missed.

The use of a multicast is pretty much needed and is extremely well done. The voices of all the superheroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, The Green Lantern and, of course, Batman) are very well cast and sound exactly like you would expect and want them to sound like. The sound effects and music create a great atmosphere for great listening. When Graphic Audio says they produce a “Movie for your Mind,” they aren’t kidding. In one scene in the book Wonder Woman is attacked by zombies arising from a nearby cemetery and the sounds of the bones crushing and zombies digging themselves out of the grave are so realistic that you would swear the special effects person actually made the undead rise from the grave and fight each other just so the sounds could be recorded. Unreal realism in the sounds.

The story behind Justice League of America - Batman: The Stone King is this; a dam near Gotham City is about to burst and Batman has determined the dam cannot be saved but the citizens of Gotham city must be protected. Batman calls for the help from Justice League members to create a “safe dam break.” After the turmoil when all the Justice League members are getting their breath and looking over the destruction created by the rushing waters, The Green Lantern notices a strange object. Uncovered by the erosion of the sudden rushing waters is a pyramid, not unlike those in Egypt. Soon an archaeology team takes over and the Justice League go their separate ways.

The pyramid is found to be aligned with all the other sacred sites around the globe (the Pyramids in Giza, Stonehenge, Easter Island, et. al.) and the home of The Stone King. The Stone King is awakened and come Halloween night will destroy the world and rule over the remnants of humanity. When the Justice League tries to battle the Stone King, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and The Green Lantern are trapped within stone and it is up to Batman to save them and the Earth.

The story is one of constant excitement and with the extra oomph of Graphic Audio’s sound effects, music and expert voice casting, the excitement is even higher. And as is true with all good comic books, there is some great comic relief moments so you can ease up the tension, such as when The Flash goes to save Batman after the Dark Knight is thrown by the Stone King, he puts himself into position to ease the impact of Batman. After Batman lands on him The Flash he’ll will never do that again. Now in the audiobook the acting is so realistic that you feel the impact and the wry humor intended by this statement.

Get ready for some great entertainment and some impressive comic to novel action in Justice League of America - Batman: The Stone King. I will warn you, if you listen to this audiobook in a public place or where people can see you make sure you explain why you are white-knuckled or cheering on an unseen hero. Graphic Audio really puts you into the middle of the action.

Source: SfSite.com

Max Brooks Is Back With ‘The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks’

Yup, Brooks is back and this time in graphic novel form showing some of the ways people down through the ages have dealt with zombie hordes. And oddly, this is already up for pre-order and it won’t be available until June 2nd, 2009! You can purchase it here.

Man has battled the undead for millenia. In The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks bestselling author and “Studs Terkel of zombie journalism,” Max Brooks provides the lessons that history has taught us about zombie outbreaks. This is not a list of all zombie attacks throughout history, but a chronicling of the most famous outbreaks, gruesomely illustrated in graphic novel form.

From our descendants on the African savannahs to the legions of ancient Rome to the voyages of Francis Drake to the ill-advised experiments of the Soviet army, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attack, takes the reader on a journey across many anni horribilis and hauntingly reminds us how close the living dead have come to destroying humanity.”

Teaser for Max Brooks Recorded Attacks from Quiet Earth on Vimeo.

Source: QuietEarth.us

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