Brandon Sanderson: New Fantasy Titles Coming Soon!
For those of you who are fans of Brandon Sanderson, he’s got two more books in the pipeline (according to Tor)! (And, yes, I realize I’m not the only one throwing this information out there). Here’s the press release: Tor announces acquisitions of two new novels by #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson Sanderson to publish new Mistborn novel in late 2011 followed by The Rithmatist in 2012 New York, NY: Wednesday, December 1 2010 Tor Books is proud to announce the acquisition of two new novels by acclaimed fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, whose recent book Towers of Midnight, Book Thirteen in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time®, recently debuted at #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and ABA National Indiebound bestseller lists. Sanderson is also the author of New York Times bestselling novels The Way of Kings, The Gathering Storm, The Mistborn Trilogy, Warbreaker, Elantris, and the middle grade “Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians” series. He is currently working on A Memory of Light, the 14th and final volume in The Wheel of Time, and planning a sequel to The Way of Kings. Sanderson’s first new project will be an original, standalone short novel set in the universe of his Mistborn trilogy (Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages). Sanderson previously announced plans for a sequel trilogy set in the far future of that world, and the new novel, entitled Mistborn: The Alloy of Law, is set during a frontier era where “allomancy” meets gunplay. The Alloy of Law will be published in late 2011. Sanderson’s second project, titled The Rithmatist, was first drafted in 2007 and perfected this year. Set in an alternate-history America where magic users (called “Rithmatists”) battle wild chalk creatures, The Rithmatist introduces Joel, a student at the Rithmatist academy with great interest in but no ability to use the magic. But when students start vanishing, it’s up to him to expose the sinister figure behind the disappearances. The Rithmatist will be published in 2012 after the publication of A Memory of Light. This year and next will also see major publications in the Wheel of Time franchise, including the graphic novel adaptations of New Spring (January 2011) and The Eye of the World: Volume 1 (September 2011) before the landmark publication of A Memory of Light, the final volume in the series. The third annual JordanCon will take place April 15–17 2011 in Atlanta, GA. Pre-registration is currently ongoing at www.ageoflegends.net. Fore more information visit www.brandonsanderson.com. That’s pretty darn good news for Mr. Sanderson, and fans of his work! Hopefully they’ll sell as well as his previous books (they will, duh).
The Choir Boats: Free eBook Download and Promo Bits
Author Daniel Rabuzzi recently emailed me to let me know that his novel, The Choir Boats, is available as a free eBook (pdf) download at WOWIO (only until the end of the month). What is The Choir Boats? It’s a novel published by ChiZine Publications, a small press of considerable note, actually, which is described as follows (after the fold, hopefully): What would you give to make good on the sins of your past? For merchant Barnabas McDoon, the answer is: everything. When emissaries from a world called Yount offer Barnabas a chance to redeem himself, he accepts their price—to voyage to Yount with the key that only he can use to unlock the door to their prison. But bleak forces seek to stop him: Yount’s jailer, a once-human wizard who craves his own salvation, kidnaps Barnabas’s nephew. A fallen angel—a monstrous owl with eyes of fire—will unleash Hell if Yount is freed. And, meanwhile, Barnabas’s niece, Sally, and a mysterious pauper named Maggie seek with dream-songs to wake the sleeping goddess who may be the only hope for Yount and Earth alike. And some notes from the author: The Choir Boats was selected by January Magazine as a Top Ten YA Novel for 2009. Reviewers describe it as “Gulliver’s Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop of Pride and Prejudice,” and as “a muscular, Napoleonic-era fantasy that, like Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series, will appeal to both adult and young adult readers.” This special edition of the novel includes bonus illustrations by Deborah A. Mills. It’s also DRM-free, so it can be read on any platform compatible with PDFs, and shared with friends just like a regular book. I’ve officially put this book on my Amazon wishlist. It sounds like an awesome read, don’t you think? And, of course, no promo would be complete without a cover image:You can find out more about the author at his website.
Excerpt of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Released (New Series)
Brandon Sanderson, the author who took over Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, has a new series in the works called The Stormlight Archive, the first book of which, The Way of Kings, will hit your shelves on August 31st, 2010! The best part, however, is that you can read the first three chapters for free on Tor.com (along with a prelude and introduction by the author)! All you have to do is head on over to this link and sign in or sign up (it’s free to join Tor.com). More information about the series will become available here. More information after the fold:About the Book:The Way of Kings is the first book in a ten-book epic fantasy series. The publicist who brought this book to my attention had this to say: Here is a world with historical depths to rival Tolkien, a deep and compelling cast of characters to rival Jordan, and a complex and involving story with all the head-spinning twists and surprises the young fantasy master has become known for. Sanderson’s unique gifts for imaginative landscapes and distinctive systems of magic and technology have never been more apparent. THE WAY OF KINGS is an ambitious and immersive first novel in a series that could ultimately redefine the fantasy landscape. And the back cover apparently reads as follows (from Amazon): Widely acclaimed for his work completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga, Brandon Sanderson now begins a grand cycle of his own, one every bit as ambitious and immersive. Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making. Speak again the ancient oaths, Life before death.Strength before weakness.Journey before Destination. and return to men the Shards they once bore. The Knights Radiant must stand again. Sounds interesting. I hope there’s as much detail in the world as this seems to indicate.Author Bio: Brandon Sanderson is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hero of Ages and Warbreaker. He is currently completing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. He also teaches at Brigham Young University, where he earned a master’s degree in creative writing. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he lives in Utah with his wife and two children. And that’s all I’ve got right now. Sounds interesting. I’ve never read anything by Sanderson before, but this one has grabbed my interest for sure. What about you?
Promo Bits: Go Mutants! by Larry Doyle
Matt Staggs recently brought this book to my attention, and I thought you all would be interested in checking it out. The book also has an interesting website. Here’s the cover (after the fold):And here’s info about the book: GO MUTANTS:What if the movies that glowed from drive-in screens from the ’50s and ’60s weren’t fantasies but really happened? In Go, Mutants!, Larry Doyle has created a world populated with the monsters, aliens, and mutants of B-movie legend, with all the beach parties, dances, fist fights, and hotrod races of classic teen dramas. An unforgettable era of pop culture is brought to life in an uproarious mash-up filled with Romance! Danger! Intergalactic Conspiracy! Molting! Earth has survived alien invasions, attacks by hordes of atomic mutants and the ravages of dinosaurs brought back to life. Now we’re in the blissful future. The grass is always green, freshly mowed by famous robots. Carhops in jetpacks deliver burger and fries to your atomic coupe. And automatic sidewalks can take you anywhere: the Watch the Skies Drive-in, Crater Cove, and Manhattan High, where everybody roots for the Mutants. J!m, the son of the alien who nearly destroyed the planet, is a brooding blue-skinned rebel with an enormous forehead and exceptionally oily skin. Along with Johnny, a leather-jacketed radioactive ape, and Jelly, a gelatinous mass passing as a fat kid, J!m navigates a scary adolescence in which he really is as alienated as he feels, the world might actually be out to get him, and true love is complicated by misunderstanding and incompatible parts. As harmless school antics escalate into explosive events with tragic consequences, J!m makes a discovery that will alter the course of civilization, though it may help his dating life. You can find Go Mutants! for pre-order on Amazon and The Book Depository.
Talk Like a Pirate Day: Fast Ships, Black Sails!
Avast! Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day, a day o’ rejoicin’ an’ rum drinkin’ for all pirates everywhere. On such a day we be needin’ to set sail on the high seas to spread the word o’ somethin’ tha pulls us all together with it’s piratey goodness! Cap’in’s Ann and Jeff Vandermeer’s anthology Fast Ships, Black Sails, published by the fine sailors at Night Shade Books and smuggled to all th’ corners o’ the earth by Amazon. The tome, fer those wi’ the cunning t’read it, is packed like a barrel o’salt pork ready fer a month at sea wi’ tales o’ our fine people set in fantastical an’ science fictional places.Fast Ships, Black Sails is penned by a fine collection o’ landlubberly scribes like Kage Baker, an’ Elizabeth Bear. Fine tellers o’ tales they be, some o’ the best! Inside this tome ye can find:“Raising Anchor” – Ann & Jeff VanderMeer“Boojum” – Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” – Naomi Novik“Avast, Abaft!” – Howard Waldrop“I Begyn as I Mean to Go On” – Kage Baker“Castor on Troubled Waters” – Rhys Hughes“Elegy for Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores and Righteous Thieves” – Kelly Barnhill“Skillet and Saber” – Justin Howe“The Nymph’s Child” – Carrie Vaughn“68˚06’N, 31˚40’W” – Conrad Williams“Pirate Solutions” – Katherine Sparrow“We Sleep on a Thousand Waves” – Brendan Connell“Pirates of the Suara Sea” – David Freer & Eric Flint“Voyage of the Iguana” – Steve Aylett“Iron Face” – Michael Moorcock“A Cold Day in Hell” – Paul Batteiger“Captain Blackheart Wentworth” – Rachel Swirsky“The Whale Below” – Jayme Lynn Blaschke“Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe” – Garth Nix Fine tales, to be sure, from fine scribes, new an’ old. If yer in a piratey mood, pillage yeself some dubloons and buy it. Night Shade Books has some mighty fine tales fer sale, an’ they’re a small press, so buyin’ their tomes helps them keep their ship afloat! So, matey, find yeself a bookseller and hand over those dubloons, or ye might find yerself walkin’ the plank! Arr! (Thank to Capt’n Bourneville fer translatin’ me landlubber speak into th’ true tongue!)
Promo Bits: Arint Saratir by Taylor Beisler
ARINT SARATIR: WARRIOR’S LIGHT Teen Author’s Debut Novel Takes Flight on a Never-Before-Seen Adventure Travel into the creative mind of teenage author, Taylor Beisler, as she unravels a world filled with adventure, conflict, mystery and death— Arint Saratir: Warrior’s Light. Imagine a world beyond any other, where time continues to sift through the hands of a young man, named Airsing. This boy is destined for greatness, but all he wants is to fit in; he does indeed fit, but in something veiled from the present. His fate collides with a young man, called Xavier, who has to make a grave choice to survive, but which path does he take? Airsing has the same decision when faced with the opportunities to endure or surrender, but which road does he travel? Dare to come across a realm you have never envisioned, as you join them on this life-threatening journey, but be warned: this series doesn’t end as their path would lead you to believe. A dragon rider, a betrayer, and a small company of friendship combine to threaten this evil time where the dark lord, Arkt, is fighting to take over their world. What happens next? The end is never so clear…. About the Author: Taylor Beisler lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where she enjoys running and soccer. Miss Beisler coined a phrase that she lives by, “If you can’t find a good book to curl up with, then write one!” and that’s exactly what she did in this skillfully written debut, filled with ingenious adventures. You can find out more about Arint Saratir at the book’s webpage and at the author’s website. For media inquiries, appearances, or other publicity — please contact:Taylor Beisler – taylorbeisler[at]insightbb[dot]com