Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
Rogues
Edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
Promo copy:
A thrilling collection of twenty-one original stories by an all-star list of contributors—including a new A Game of Thrones story by George R. R. Martin!
If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.
Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart—and yet leave you all the richer for it.
Featuring all-new stories by
Joe Abercrombie • Daniel Abraham • David W. Ball • Paul Cornell • Bradley Denton • Phyllis Eisenstein • Gillian Flynn • Neil Gaiman • Matthew Hughes • Joe R. Lansdale • Scott Lynch • Garth Nix • Cherie Priest • Patrick Rothfuss • Steven Saylor • Michael Swanwick • Lisa Tuttle • Carrie Vaughn • Walter Jon Williams • Connie Willis
And an Introduction by George R. R. Martin!
The one thing they don’t mention is that the new Lansdale is a Hap & Leonard short story! That tale features the usual unusual shenanigans plus a song and dance number by the boys. Yes, you read that right…
Frostborn
Thrones and Bones
by Lou Anders
Promo copy:
Fantasy fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series will embrace this first novel in an adventure-filled, Viking-inspired series by a debut author.
Meet Karn. He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones.
Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant.
When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.
Readers will embark on a sweeping epic fantasy as they join Karn and Thianna on a voyage of discovery.
Antics and hair-raising escapades abound in this fantasy adventure as the two forge a friendship and journey to unknown territory. Their plan: to save their families from harm.
Debut novelist Lou Anders has created a rich world of over twenty-five countries inhabited by Karn, Thianna, and an array of fantastical creatures, as well as the Thrones and Bones board game.
Watch for my interview with Lou Anders in August.
Lovecraft’s Monsters
Edited by Ellen Datlow
Cover and interiors by John Coulthart
Promo copy:
Prepare to meet the wicked progeny of the master of modern horror. In Lovecraft’s Monsters, H. P. Lovecraft’s most famous creations—Cthulhu, Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yog-Sothoth, and more, appear in all their terrifying glory. Each story is a gripping new take on a classic Lovecraftian creature, and each is accompanied by a spectacular original illustration that captures the monsters’ unique visage.
Contributors include such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Karl Edward Wagner, Elizabeth Bear, and Nick Mamatas. The monsters are lovingly rendered in spectacular original art by World Fantasy Award–winning artist John Coulthart (The Steampunk Bible).
Legions of Lovecraft fans continue to visit his bizarre landscapes and encounter his unrelenting monsters. Now join them in their journey…if you dare.
This is a magnificent looking book, complete with Coulthart illustrations for each story.
The Nomad of the Time: A Scientific Romance
The Michael Moorcock Collection
by Michael Moorcock
Introduction by John Clute
Cover and interior illustrations by James Cawthorn
Promo copy:
The Michael Moorcock Collection presents, for the first time, definitive editions of Moorcock’s most influential work, fully revised and updated by the author.
Captain Oswald Bastable, an Edwardian soldier, is catapulted into the far-flung future. 1973, to be precise – but a 1973 that is very different to the one we know. The First World War never happened, and the world seems to be at peace. It is a peace that the honorable Bastable cannot allow to continue. But can one man defeat an Empire – and what will be the consequences if he does?
The time-travelling adventures of Bastable, an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, are widely considered to be among the first steampunk novels, and display Moorcock’s remarkable ingenuity and skill at plotting to great effect.
Contains THE WARLORD OF THE AIR, THE LAND LEVIATHAN and THE STEEL TSAR.
Moorcock claims this will be the final revision. We’ll see. Also contains Cawthorn’s illustrations from the original edition.