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- ️Subterranean Press
- ️Fri Aug 10 2012
Fiction Spotlight on Robert Jackson Bennett—- To Be Read Upon Your Waking
August 10th
In the new issue of Subterranean, we're delighted to present Robert Jackson Bennett's first novella, "To Be Read Upon Your Waking". To date, Robert is the author of Mr. Shivers, The Company Man, and, most recently, The Troupe. I recently read The Company Man, which is a very noir, slighly futuristic tale that treads pretty solidly in Philip K. Dick country.
About "To Be Read Upon Your Waking", Robert writes:
The sporadic letters of a wayward English aristocrat named only 'James' tell a strange story: he purchases what he believes to be the site of a small, ancient Christian church in Post-War France. Yet as he excavates the site through the brutal winter, he begins to experience strange phenomena: not only does he see mysterious lights in the woods, but he begins to age at a rapidly increasing rate. Soon James realizes he may not be wrong: it is the site of a church… just probably not a Christian one.
While I have you, I should also point out some wonderful thoughts The Speculative Scotsman had on K. J. Parker's "Let Maps to Others":
...Parker's new novella is a stunner, still. It's that rare story that leaves you feeling smarter for having read it, and it's currently available online for the princely sum of nothing.
Congratulations to World Fantasy Award Nominees
August 9th
We're delighted to report that a number of SubPress' works are up for this year's World Fantasy Awards, including.
- Best Novella: "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong" (K. J. Parker);
- Best Short Story: "Younger Women" (Karen Joy Fowler);
- Best Collection: Two Worlds and In Between (Caitlin R. Kiernan);
- Best Collection: The Bible Repairman and Other Stories (Tim Powers).
The hardcover of the Kiernan collection is long sold out, alas, but it remains available as an affordable ebook.
James P. Blaylock—Locus Praises Zeuglodon
August 8th
Locus has weighed in with a fuller review of James P. Blaylock's Zeuglodon, a short novel for avid readers of all ages, one that futher explores the territory of his classic novel, The Digging Leviathan:
In Zeuglodon, James P. Blaylock provides a treat for readers both young and old, setting elements of classic SF, fantasy, and YA (the acknowledgements mention such titles as Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Huckleberry Finn, plus the seafaring novels of Howard Pease) in the world of his early work The Digging Leviathan…
Mira Grant—A Starred Review for When Will You Rise
August 8th
Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy has drawn almost uniform acclaim, including several award nominations. Her When Will You Rise is an offshoot of that trilogy, containing two stories that take place early on, before the trilogy proper.
We're more than happy to share Publishers Weekly's starred review with you:
Here the wonderful novella ‘Countdown’ rewinds to the origin of the plague and details the collision of the nascent cure for the common cold with a prototype cancer remedy, creating the perfect biological stew that birthed the walking dead. Also included is the unrelated short story ‘Apocalypse Scenario No. 683: The Box,’ the tale of how an innocent game played by old friends turns serious when medical research is turned against humankind. In both stories, Grant excels in humanizing her characters and surrounding them with believable science and circumstances. The surefooted storytelling is mesmerizing as all-too-plausible dilemmas snowball into desperation and catastrophe.
Publishers Weekly on Neal Barrett, Jr.
August 8th
Now that Neal Barrett's 500+ page career retrospective, Other Seasons, is nestled safely at the printer, the reviews are starting to appear. You may rememer a few weeks ago that Locus gave it a rave.
The praise comes this time comes from Publishers Weekly:
This retrospective collection from Barrett, who was recently named author emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, includes 28 short stories with original publication dates that span almost half a century, both following the development of a master wordsmith and chronicling the evolution of speculative fiction as it blurs into the mainstream… Readers who enjoy insightful and visionary fiction will cherish Barrett’s oblique writing style, as will anyone who has an interest in the history of the genre.
Steven Erikson—Announcing Memories of Ice
August 7th
I haven't checked to be certain, but at 936 pages, Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice may just be the second longest SubPress book. It's fully designed and currently being proofread. J. K. Drummond is once again helming the illustrations.
Collectors note: The limited edition of Memories of Ice will not be available via large online booksellers or our wholesale accounts. Only those customers who own a limited or lettered edition of Deadhouse Gates are eligible to order the like edition of Memories of Ice.
Subterranean Press is proud to announce the third volume of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. One of our favorite newer artists, J. K. Drummond, has taken over the illustrating of this epic series.
The numbered edition will:
- Be printed on 80# Finch paper, guaranteeing a lifetime of enjoyment
- Be illustrated with a number of full color interior illustrations
The lettered edition will include everything in the numbered, plus the following features:
- A completely different dust jacket
- A gatefold pull-out illustration
- A custom traycase to protect your book
Limited: 500 numbered copies, hardcover, signed by author: $150
Lettered: 52 copies, deluxe bound, signed by author, housed in a custom traycase: $325
Announcing Dead Aim by Joe R. Lansdale
August 7th
Joe R. Lansdale has turned in Dead Aim, his newest 20,000 word novella to feature everyone's favorite dysfunctional duo, Hap and Leonard. The book is fully-designed and proofread. Glen Orbik should turn in the final cover in the next couple of weeks.
Dead Aim marks the always welcome return of Joe R. Lansdale’s most enduring fictional creations: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. The result is a spare, beautifully crafted novella in which Lansdale’s unique voice and inimitable narrative gifts are on full—and generous—display.
The story begins simply enough when the two agree to provide protection for a woman harassed by her violent, soon-to-be-ex husband. But, as readers of this series will already know, events in the lives of Hap and Leonard rarely stay simple for long. When a protracted stakeout ends in a lethal shooting and a pair of moldering corpses turn up in an otherwise deserted trailer, the nature of this “routine” assignment changes dramatically. The ensuing investigation unearths a complex web of lies, duplicity, and hidden agendas that leads from an upscale Texas law firm to the world of organized crime, culminating in the kind of explosive, anything-can-happen confrontation that only Joe Lansdale could create. Violent, profane, and often raucously funny, Dead Aim is a tautly written, hugely entertaining thriller and a triumph of the storyteller’s art.
Trade: Fully cloth bound hardcover edition: $25
Limited: 400 signed numbered copies, bound in leather, with a different cover design than the trade hardcover: $45
Review Roundup—Lucius Shepard, James P. Blaylock, Jonathan Carroll
August 3rd
It's the early part of the month, when varous sites post new reviews, which we're only too happy to share with you.
On The Dragon Griaule (Lucius Shepard):
“For many readers, several of these stories will be already familiar, three of them were Hugo nominees and widely anthologized. For new readers, rest assured that The Dragon Griaule contains stories that will alternately entrance, amuse, perplex, shock, enlighten, confound, and compel you to keep reading. It's a journey of altered lives in an altered landscape, where the fantastic and the real mingle in the lives of people who are never quite sure where their desires end and the dragon's desires begin. That's left for the reader to ponder, and in that way, the dragon Griaule remains as alive as ever.” (SF Site)
On Zeuglodon (James P. Blaylock):
“Blaylock manages to rekindle that sense of wonder readers felt when they read the first book that made them feel that anything and everything is possible. And most importantly that children were totally capable of handling the hardships and danger of an adventure… All in all a delightful and entertaining tale of adventure.” (SFRevu)
On The Woman Who Married a Cloud (Jonathan Carroll):
"In terms of themes and style, Carroll’s short stories are similar to his novels. The main difference is obviously a function of the difference in length: while it usually takes his novels a while to build up, the short stories go from common to cosmic surprisingly quickly. Expect a great many short stories that introduce a thoughtful, interesting protagonist whose life at some point suddenly intersects with (to use this word again) the transcendent: he or she discovers something about the true nature of the human soul, or love, or reality, or God." (Tor.com)
Two PS Publishing Titles En Route to the SubPress Offices
August 2nd
We've seen the first samples of two PS Publishing titles, with the rest of the trade edition copies being en route to the SubPress warehouse, and due at any time. The limited editions will follow soon thereafter.
We just checked The Wurms of Blearmouth (Steven Erikson) and Black Wings II (edited by S. T. Joshi) and are down to the single digits when calculating incoming inventory.
Bentley Little’s Indignities of the Flesh
August 2nd
In case you missed it, Bentley Little's newest collection, Indignities of the Flesh, is in stock and shipping, which means that reviews continue to pop up. Such as, for example, this one from San Francisco Book Review:
Indignities of the Flesh, by Bentley Little, is another elegantly produced book from Subterranean Press… The best stories deal with the power of fear and obsession to produce unexpected or irrational responses. Just what would a jealous rodeo clown do? What would a stalker do if confronted by his victim? What is the significance of this particular recurrent nightmare? The answers to these and other questions will take you on a journey, sometimes frightening, and sometimes, darkly humorous. Whatever your taste in horror, you will find something to like in this collection.