Books received 12/28/13

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Leaving the Sea

by Ben Marcus
Cover by Peter Mendelsund

Promo copy:

From one of the most innovative and vital writers of his generation, an extraordinary collection of stories that showcases his gifts—and his range—as never before.

In the hilarious, lacerating “I Can Say Many Nice Things,” a washed-up writer toying with infidelity leads a creative writing workshop on board a cruise ship. In the dystopian “Rollingwood,” a divorced father struggles to take care of his ill infant, as his ex-wife and colleagues try to render him irrelevant. In “Watching Mysteries with My Mother,” a son meditates on his mother’s mortality, hoping to stave off her death for as long as he sits by her side. And in the title story, told in a single breathtaking sentence, we watch as the narrator’s marriage and his sanity unravel, drawing him to the brink of suicide.

As the collection progresses, we move from more traditional narratives into the experimental work that has made Ben Marcus a groundbreaking master of the short form. In these otherworldly landscapes, characters resort to extreme survival strategies to navigate the terrors of adulthood, one opting to live in a lightless cave and another methodically setting out to recover total childhood innocence; an automaton discovers love and has to reinvent language to accommodate it; filial loyalty is seen as a dangerous weakness that must be drilled away; and the distance from a cubicle to the office coffee cart is refigured as an existential wasteland, requiring heroic effort.

In these piercing, brilliantly observed investigations into human vulnerability and failure, it is often the most absurd and alien predicaments that capture the deepest truths. Surreal and tender, terrifying and life-affirming, Leaving the Sea is the work of an utterly unique writer at the height of his powers.

Gorgeous book! Continue reading

Books received 12/28/13 Pyr edition

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Lost Covenant
A Widdershins Adventure

by Ari  Maxwell
Cover by Jason Chan

 Promo copy:

This third YA novel starring the young thief Widdershins combines the angst and vulnerability of any teenage girl with the high action of the best fantasy adventures.

It’s been six months since Widdershins and her own “personal god” Olgun fled the city of Davillon. During their travels, Widdershins unwittingly discovers that a noble house is preparing to move against the last surviving bastion of the Delacroix family. Determined to help the distant relatives of her deceased adopted father, Alexandre Delacroix, she travels to a small town at the edge of the nation. There, she works at unraveling a plot involving this rival house and a local criminal organization, all while under intense suspicion from the very people she’s trying to rescue. Along the way she’ll have to deal with a traitor inside the Delacroix family, a mad alchemist, and an infatuated young nobleman who won’t take no for an answer. Continue reading

Stuff received 12/2/13 – The Simian edition

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Actually the following all arrived on Saturday, November 30. The first via USPS from my pal Jacob Weisman, the publisher of my anthology The Apes of Wrath. Somehow, he just knew I’d find it cool!

robotic gorilla cover

Robotic Gorilla

by Paul Beck

Promo copy:

Moving from biology to technology, readers explore the worlds of gorillas and robots. For decades, scientists have looked to gorillas and other creatures for inspiration. The book teaches about gorilla behavior and anatomy, the design and development of robots, and what happens when scientists combine gorillas and robots. This complete kit to build a walking gorilla is sure to inspire young animal and robot enthusiasts. The robotic gorilla comes with a plastic case, an internal motor, moving arms and legs, illuminated eyes, and a snapping jaw. Also included are a 32-page book, 24 fact cards, and a 15″ x 20″ poster.

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Lost Review: Green Hornet

Beginning in December 2005 with my history of apes in film essay “Gorilla of Your Dreams” (the substantially update and revised version appears in The Apes of Wrath), I regularly contributed to Moving Pictures Magazine. First in the print incarnation and then for primarily the website. I contributed reviews and essays for the last three years of the publications existence. Following the June 2011 demise of both the print and website editions, all of the digital work for MPM disappeared into the ether. In the coming months (years?), I plan on reposting many of my reviews and articles.

I often reviewed the more geeky offerings and thus I muddled my way through the forgettable Green Hornet.

green_hornet_ver3_xlg Continue reading

Books received 11/3/13

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Eragon: Collector’s Edition
The Inheritance Cycle Book One

by Christopher Paolini
Art by Paolini, Donato Giancola, Ciruelo Cabral, John Jude Palencar, Michael Hague, and Raoul Vitale
Cover by Palencar

 Promo copy:

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of Eragon, a special edition of the runaway bestseller with a blue faux leather cover, six pieces of exclusive artwork from award-winning artists and the author and a new essay from Christopher about how art has inspired his work.

Ten years ago, fans first met Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider. A decade and four books later, readers are as enthusiastic as ever. This 10th-anniversary edition celebrates the journey that Eragon, Christopher Paolini, and his millions of fans have all made together.

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Lost Review: Splice

Beginning in December 2005 with my history of apes in film essay “Gorilla of Your Dreams” (the substantially update and revised version appears in The Apes of Wrath), I regularly contributed to Moving Pictures Magazine. First in the print incarnation and then for primarily the website. I contributed reviews and essays for the last three years of the publications existence. Following the June 2011 demise of both the print and website editions, all of the digital work for MPM disappeared into the ether. In the coming months (years?), I plan on reposting many of my reviews and articles.

Splice received some excellent reviews from people I respect. As you will see, I held a different opinion.

splice

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