Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
Into the Media Web: Selected short non-fiction, 1956-2006
by Michael Moorcock
Edited by John Davey
Foreword by Alan Moore
Design by John Coulhart
Promo copy:
A Brobdingnagian compendium of fifty years of Michael Moorcock’s journalism. Includes articles, editorials, fore- and afterwords, introductions, prefaces, obituaries, reviews and more. Edited by Moorcock expert and bibliographer John Davey. Foreword by Alan Moore.
| Quote: |
| Look up the word ‘author’ in a dictionary and you’ll find a photograph of Michael Moorcock. A reluctant archetype he spans the fertile wilderness of English writing, real and living literature not to be found amidst the well-manicured parklands of the prizewinners and pundits; too tall for the shortlist. This is a web we can plunge into with complete abandon. Michael Moorcock isn’t going to steal our souls or eat us, but instead serve up a varied banquet of delights for us to pick at over a few weeks or wolf down in a single sitting. This book is a radiant and comprehensive study of one of the most important figures of our time, in all his marvellous complexity. |
–Alan Moore in his foreword.
One the finest looking books I’ve encountered, this gorgeous 715 page tome collects the most significant critical/analytical pieces of Moorcock’s illustrious and varied career. Lavishly illustrated throughout, John Coulthart’s exquisite design perfectly compliments the text. Be sure to check out the visual tour of the book at Coulthart’s blog.
Kings of the North (Legend of Paksenarrion)
by Elizabeth Moon
Promo copy:
Elizabeth Moon returns to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter—Paks for short—in this second volume of a new series filled with all the bold imaginative flights, meticulous world-building, realistic military action, and deft characterization that readers have come to expect from this award-winning author. In Kings of the North, Moon is working at the very height of her storytelling powers.
Peace and order have been restored to the kingdoms of Tsaia and Lyonya, thanks to the crowning of two kings: Mikeli of Tsaia and, in Lyonya, Kieri Phelan, a mercenary captain whose royal blood and half-elven heritage are resented by elves and humans alike.
On the surface, all is hope and promise. But underneath, trouble is brewing. Mikeli cannot sit safely on his throne as long as remnants of the evil Verrakaien magelords are at large. Kieri is being hounded to marry and provide the kingdom with an heir—but that is the least of his concerns. A strange rift has developed between him and his grandmother and co-ruler, the immortal elven queen known as the Lady. More problematic is the ex-pirate Alured, who schemes to seize Kieri’s throne for himself—and Mikeli’s, too, while he’s at it. Meanwhile, to the north, the aggressive kingdom of Pargun seems poised to invade.
Now, as war threatens to erupt from without and within, the two kings are dangerously divided. Old alliances and the bonds of friendship are about to be tested as never before. And a shocking discovery will change everything.
Dark Waters
by Alex Prentiss
Cover by Frank Petsch
Promo copy:
By day, Rachel Matre runs a hip diner in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. By night, she slips naked into the waters of a lake whose spirits speak to her, caress her, and take her to a place of indescribable pleasure.
But now the machinations of a greedy developer have summoned another force from the depths—a strange, beautiful man with a dark agenda. Soon there is a murder by the lake. During the hunt for the killer, Rachel is pulled into a torturous limbo where all she can feel is her raging erotic lust—and never a release. A crime, an ancient curse, and a confluence of thoroughly modern relationships have plunged Rachel into the ultimate mystery: one whose solution will emerge only out of pain, desire, and a passion for the most forbidden truth of all.
Galileo’s Dream
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Cover by Chris White
Promo copy:
At the heart of a provocative narrative that stretches from Renaissance Italy to the moons of Jupiter is the father of modern science: Galileo Galilei. To the inhabitants of the Jovian moons, Galileo is a revered figure whose actions will influence the subsequent history of the human race. From the summit of their distant future, a charismatic renegade named Ganymede travels to the past to bring Galileo forward in an attempt to alter history and ensure the ascendancy of science over religion. And if that means Galileo must be burned at the stake, so be it. From Galileo’s heresy trial to the politics of far-future Jupiter, Kim Stanley Robinson illuminates the parallels between a distant past and an even more remote future—in the process celebrating the human spirit and calling into question the convenient truths of our own moment in time.