Previous Entries: Dec 03/Jan
Selected new and forthcoming
books seen by DarkEcho (including some galleys and advance reading copies). A few selections are
not necessarily new, but have been requested by DarkEcho or otherwise lately noted. All selections
are at the discretion of DarkEcho, although effort will be made to list all
review copies received. Comments are immediate, initial, and not to be taken as final opinion.
Date included with publisher info is official release date(s). Date in parentheses at paragraph end is approximate date seen or received.
Listed more or less in order received, most recently received at top.
His Ownself says these stories are like "little pokes of the elbow" and not meant to be heavyweight, but are meant to be fun.
Eighteen stories, one is only a couple of sentences, several are less than a page. Each is illustrated by Glenn
Chadbourne. There's a one-page intro, 18 illustrations, maybe six pages are blank -- you are looking at
nigh on to 60 cents a page. Not that His Ownself isn't worth top-dollar, but I am glad I get these
things for free. (Don't be too envious of us reviewers. You do not get a hardcover or dustjacket, you don't
even get all the purty pitchers.) (16 Jan 2004)
First go back and read "Triads," the novella Brite & Faust wrote for Revelations, the 1997
anthology edited by Doug Winter. This is the long-planned expansion of that novella. Chances are,
I'll like it. Will you? Reading Revelations may tell you -- not only in this case, but in
an overall-taste way. Now, Revelations, although not perfect, is one of my
favorite anthologies. But according to people posting on Amazon, it seems to be, uh, under-appreciated by
a lot of folks. My guess is that these folks are looking for standard, pretty-close-to-formula, horror. If
that's what rings your chimes, then we are going to find ourselves disagreeing quite a bit. (16 Jan 2004)
I read this because (1) Telos does some interesting stuff; (2) I'd never heard of the author, so maybe it is a debut and I'm always on the outlook
for new writers; (3) because I was fascinated with its news release that claims: "When the bimonthly installments of
Aspects of a Psychopath first appeared on the Internet early in 2001, they created a storm of interest around the world with
Aspects of a Psychopath regularly present in the top ten search results." Top ten search results of what?
For what? Hmmm. Read. No review. (15 Jan 2004)
This is from a UK small press that is new to me. Fiften stories, only two previously published (and those barely so), in the
grand tradition of the English ghost story. Has
surprisingly good blurbs from the likes of T.E.D. Klein and Ramsey Campbell. (13 Jan 2004)
I'm not sure why this is subtitled as three novels. This omnibus consists of two novels, Conan the Liberator
and Conan and the Spider God.
Conan the Swordsman is a collection of short stories. These are supposedly the
stories that relaunched Conan in the 1970s and 80s now back in print. (12 Jan 04)
Nearly all of Orson Scott Card's short fiction written between 1977 and 1990, plus
ten essays (including the one in which he explains his horror stories are not horror stories). This is a reprint of the huge 1990 HC collection, first time in TP, although there was
a four volume mass market version. No additional new material. Considering it's been almost 14 years
since the original release, at least a short note updating the reader would have been welcomed. (12 Jan 2004)
Number nine in the reliable space operatic Berserker series. Humankind is still fighting those
damned robots. Good (guys) vs. Evil (robots) and big battles. Sci-fi swash and buckle. Great stuff. (09 Jan 2004)
First entry for the ugliest cover of 2004! Essays like these keep PhDs off the streets, so that's reason
enough for them to exist. Is the world ready for an analysis of Chyna's role in our culture? Xena as sacrificial
heroine? A "history of female action figures"? Hey, somebody quotes "science fiction novelist Caitlin Kiernan" on Farscape! (09 Jan 2004)
Copyright © 2004 by Paula Guran All Rights Reserved. CONTACT |
The King and Other Stories (Advance Uncorrected Proof)
Aspects of a Psychopath
Dating Secrets of the Dead
The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini
Sagas of Conan: Three Conan Novels in One Volume
Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card
Berserker Prime
Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture (Advance Uncorrected Proof)