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

Tom Strong Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse

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Comics legend Alan Moore introduces science hero Tom Strong in the first of three deluxe hardcover editions of the popular series illustrated by Chris Sprouse and many of comics’ greatest artists. Tom’s remarkable exploits over a nearly century-long career feature an amazing cast of characters including his wife Dhalua (the daughter of a mighty chieftain), their daughter Tesla, the enhanced ape King Solomon and Tom’s robotic valet, Pneuman.

In this volume, collecting issues #1-12, Tom finds himself battling in different times, worlds and realms, facing off against an eclectic group of enemies like the ruthless Paul Saveen, the mechanized Aztechs and the prehuman Pangaean—in places as diverse as New York, Venus, an alternate Earth and even the past!

Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn

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Twenty years have passed since Darth Bane, reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, demolished the ancient order devoted to the dark side and reinvented it as a circle of two: one Master to wield the power and pass on the wisdom, and one apprentice to learn, challenge, and ultimately usurp the Dark Lord in a duel to the death. But Bane’s acolyte, Zannah, has yet to engage her Master in mortal combat and prove herself a worthy successor. Determined that the Sith dream of galactic domination will not die with him, Bane vows to learn the secret of a forgotten Dark Lord that will assure the Sith’s immortality–and his own.

A perfect opportunity arises when a Jedi emissary is assassinated on the troubled mining planet Doan, giving Bane an excuse to dispatch his apprentice on a fact-finding mission–while he himself sets out in secret to capture the ancient holocron of Darth Andeddu and its precious knowledge. But Zannah is no fool. She knows that her ruthless Master has begun to doubt her, and she senses that he is hiding something crucial to her future. If she is going to claim the power she craves, she must take action now.

While Bane storms the remote stronghold of a fanatical Sith cult, Zannah prepares for her Master’s downfall by choosing an apprentice of her own: a rogue Jedi cunning and cold-blooded enough to embrace the Sith way and to stand beside her when she at last wrests from Bane the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith.

But Zannah is not the only one with the desire and power to destroy Darth Bane. Princess Serra of the Doan royal family is haunted by memories of the monstrous Sith soldier who murdered her father and tortured her when she was a child. Bent on retribution, she hires a merciless assassin to find her tormentor–and bring him back alive to taste her wrath.

Only a Sith who has taken down her own Master can become Dark Lord of the Sith. So when Bane suddenly vanishes, Zannah must find him–possibly even rescue him–before she can kill him. And so she pursues her quarry from the grim depths of a ravaged world on the brink of catastrophe to the barren reaches of a desert outpost, where the future of the dark side’s most powerful disciples will be decided, once and for all, by the final, fatal stroke of a lightsaber.

Madness of Flowers by Jay Lake

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The battle has been fought and won, and all have been transformed by the struggle. Imago of Lockwood has become Lord Mayor of the City Imperishable, though at a price beyond his wildest imagination. Bijaz the Dwarf has been imbued with a godlike power and a responsibility he scarcely understands. And Jason the Factor, resurrected from death at the hands of his sister, the Tokhari sandwalker Kalliope, has become the sula ma-jieni na-dia, the fabled Dead Man of Winter.

When a beautiful mountebank named Ashkoliiz arrives in the City Imperishable, accompanied by a group of mercenary Northmen and an exotic and terrible ice bear, the mood of the City turns strange. Amid much pomp and showmanship, Ashkoliiz offers to lead an expedition to uncover the lost tomb of the Imperator Terminus, stirring up the mob with promises of treasure and imperial power… but what will her quest unleash?

Far south in Port Defiance, the rabble-rousing dwarf Onsiphorous endeavors to lure the city’s expatriate dwarfs, slashed and sewn alike, back home, even as corsair raids and a river blockade threaten to not only impede his progress, but cut off trade, communication, and transportation to the City entirely.

Meanwhile, the deadly political struggles in the City Imperishable take a turn for the worse, and Imago must use every ounce of his cleverness and guile in order to maintain power against the vengeful machinations of the corrupt assemblage of Burgesses, not to mention preserve his own life. Political intrigue, adventure, and all-out war await the principles and inhabitants of the City Imperishable. Though it all, the City may endure, but none will remain untouched by the Madness of Flowers…

In the tradition of Perdido Street Station, City of Saints and Madmen, and The Etched City, Campbell Award-winning author Jay Lake returns to the decadent urban fantasy first glimpsed in Trial of Flowers. The trial may be over, but the madness is just beginning…

More in Part II.

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

Best Horror of the Year Volume One edited by Ellen Datlow

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An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend… who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor’s guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch’s candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them…

What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year.

Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.

Table of Contents:
Cargo — E. Michael Lewis
If Angels Fight — Richard Bowes
The Clay Party — Steve Duffy
Penguins of the Apocalypse — William Browning Spencer
Esmeralda — Glen Hirshberg
The Hodag — Trent Hergenrader
Very Low-Flying Aircraft — Nicholas Royle
When the Gentlemen Go — Margaret Ronald
The Lagerstatte — Laird Barron
Harry and the Monkey — Euan Harvey
Dress Circle — Miranda Siemienowicz
The Rising River — Daniel Kaysen
Sweeney Among the Straight Razors — JoSelle Vanderhooft
Loup-garou — R.B. Russell
Girl in Pieces — Graham Edwards
It Washed Up — Joe R. Lansdale
The Thirteenth Hell — Mike Allen
The Goosle — Margo Lanagan
Beach Head — Daniel LeMoal
The Man From the Peak — Adam Golaski
The Narrows — Simon Bestwick

Showcase Presents: Warlord Vol. 1 by Mike Grell

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Inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne, WARLORD is the story of Air Force Pilot Travis Morgan, who crash-lands in the primitive, hidden land of Skartaris. Morgan becomes a leader of Skartaris, fighting to protect his newly adopted home from invaders wielding magical powers and hand-held weapons. Morgan becomes a leader of Skartaris in this paperback collecting 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #8 and WARLORD #1-28.

About time DC collected these…

Search for Philip K. Dick, 1928-1982: Revised with New Material by Anne R. Dick

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Anne Dick s book is part memoir, and part a kind of detective novel, as she sifts through the details of her life with Philip K Dick, a prolific genius whose books and novels are being recognized as significant works of literature. Much of Dick’s work, currently being celebrated in college courses and prestigious anthologies like The Library of America, consists of a kind of surreal autobiography and Anne’s memoir helps us connect his fictional characters to his life. Philip K Dick was quite a character himself, both on and off the page, and Anne’s memoir bravely explores her tumultuous relationship with this mercurial man in an attempt to better understand him and his writing. A touching aspect of this memoir is that it represents Anne’s search as well.

Anne witnessed first-hand the most prolific period in Dick’s career, a five year period from 1958 – 1964 during which time Philip wrote many of his most celebrated novels including: The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Martian Time-Slip, Confessions of a Crap Artist, Dr. Bloodmoney, We Can Build You, Now Wait For Last Year, and The Simulacra.

Anne, a fifty-four-year resident of Point Reyes Station, still lives in the modern Campbell and Wong house she shared with Philip, a house that was featured in many of Dick’s books. Reading Anne’s memoir will open up many of Philip’s works, revealing the autobiographical material often buried deep in his texts. Biography lovers will enjoy the intensity of detail Anne brings to Dick’s complex and intense struggles. Anne spent several years conducting interviews with Dick’s friends, family, and colleagues, assembling perhaps the most thoroughly researched biography of Philip K Dick currently available.

Lots more on this book in the coming weeks.

More in Part I.

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

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection

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Prepare to boldly go where no man has gone before with the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, an action-packed box set featuring the six films in their original theatrical versions starring the U.S.S. Enterprise’s legendary crew. The films have been remastered with brilliant picture quality and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.

INCLUDES SIX THEATRICAL FILMS PLUS A 7TH BONUS DISC
· Star Trek: The Motion Picture
· Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
· Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
· Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
· Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
· Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
· The Captains’ Summit Bonus Disc

STAR TREK: THE CAPTAINS’ SUMMIT
For the first time in Star Trek history, five of the final frontier’s greatest names have been brought together for a 70-minute rare and unprecedented round table event. Filmed exclusively for Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and host Whoopi Goldberg share candid insights, humorous moments, and intimate details about life on the set, working with each other and how Star Trek has affected their lives.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection

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Captain Picard and his crew take on the Borg, the Romulans, and various others in these big-screen incarnations of the popular sci-fi series:GENERATIONS, FIRST CONTACT, INSURRECTION, and NEMESIS. The films have been remastered with brilliant picture quality and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.

A fifth disc contains STAR TREK: EVOLUTIONS. This exclusive 77-minute bonus disc features an all-new collection of footage and revealing insights form various filmmakers as they memorialize their favorite moments of Star Trek history. STAR TREK: EVOLUTIONS captures a first-ever detailed look at the evolution of the U.S.S. Enterprise (introduction by Leonard Nimoy), star charts illustrating the Enterprise voyages, the final emotional farewell of the Star Trek: The Experience exhibit at the Las Vegas Hilton, and sit-downs with Nicholas Meyer, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci to discuss the infamous villains of the Federation.

Although born Jewish, I have never been particularly devout. Though the idea of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement (which this year began at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 27 and ended at sundown on Monday, Sept. 28 ) always intrigued me. I like the concept of a day of atoning and forgiveness. In the spirit of the day, every Yom Kippur for the past 15 years or so, I have not worked (neither as a writer or a bookseller) but rather spent my day cleaning out my home office.

I’m a slob with piles of books and papers strewn all over my office. Twice a year or so (once on Yom Kippur and usually sometime in May or June), I take the day off and clean the room. I don’t write anything for the day and don’t even turn on the computer. I watch very little TV (always controlled and no channel surfing) and don’t make any work-related calls. I don’t even check any sports scores! My only real media for the day is listenng to music.

Over the past few years, my worsening health has limited my energy (I have both multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia), so the cleaning has become a more arduous task. I clean for an hour or so, then rest for an hour, then clean.. you get the idea. Leaves me pretty exhausted but I still managed to get most of the books off the floor and create a largish selection to bring to Half Price Books. Unlike previous years, I ran out of energy before completing my desk. I hope to deal with the mounds of papers within the week.

Perhaps the most significant side effect of this day of atonement is my renewed creative vitality. By the end of the 24 hours of not writing and very little media, ideas emerge rapid fire. An electric current of thoughts run through me and the need to work overtakes me. I heartily recommend the occasional low media, no writing days for all creative types out there. (BTW, it doesn’t work if you just don’t create but watch lots of TV and play on the net. That’s more commonly referred to as "being lazy.")

I’m not quite sure what I’m atoning for each year. I hope this twice-yearly struggle through the detritus of my office makes up for any indiscretions.

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

Prince of Storms (Entire and the Rose) by Kay Kenyon

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IN THIS SERIES KAY KENYON HAS CREATED HER MOST VIVID AND COMPELLING SOCIETY YET, THE UNIVERSE ENTIRE. REVIEWERS HAVE CALLED THIS A GRAND WORLD, AN ENORMOUS STAGE, AND A BRAVURA CONCEPT.

Finally in control of the Ascendancy, Titus Quinn has styled himself Regent of the Entire. But his command is fragile. He rules an empire with a technology beyond human understanding; spies lurk in the ancient Magisterium; the Tarig overlords are hamstrung but still malevolent. Worse, his daughter Sen Ni opposes him for control, believing the Earth and its Rose universe must die to sustain the failing Entire. She is aided by one of the mystical pilots of the River Nigh, the space-time transport system. This navitar, alone among all others, can alter future events. He retires into a crystal chamber in the Nigh to weave reality and pit his enemies against each other.

Taking advantage of these chaotic times, the great foe of the Long War, the Jinda ceb Horat, create a settlement in the Entire. Masters of supreme technology, they maintain a lofty distance from the Entire s struggle. They agree, however, that the Tarig must return to the fiery Heart of their origins. With the banishment immanent, some Tarig lords rebel, fleeing to hound the edges of Quinn’s reign.

Meanwhile, Quinn’s wife Anzi becomes a hostage and penitent among the Jinda ceb, undergoing alterations that expose their secrets, but may estrange her from her husband. As Quinn moves toward a confrontation with the dark navitar, he learns that the stakes of the conflict go far beyond the Rose versus the Entire–extending to a breathtaking dominance. The navitar commands forces that lie at the heart of the Entire’s geo-cosmology, and will use them to alter the calculus of power. As the navitar’s plan approaches consummation, Quinn, Sen Ni, and Anzi are swept up in forces that will leave them forever changed.

In this rousing finale to Kenyon’s celebrated quartet, Titus Quinn meets an inevitable destiny, forced at last to make the unthinkable choice for or against the dictates of his heart, for or against the beloved land.

Flagship (Starship, Book 5) by Mike Resnick

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The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man’s growing military and economic power. The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole’s ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one. Cole is convinced that the government has become an arrogant and unfeeling political entity and must be overthrown. The trick is to avoid armed conflict with the vast array of ships, numbering in the millions, in the Republic’s Navy. For a time Cole’s forces strike from cover and race off to safety, but he soon sees that is no way to conquer the mightiest political and military machine in the history of the galaxy. He realises that he must reach Deluros VIII, the headquarters world of the Republic (and of the race of Man), in order to have any effect on the government at all – but Deluros VIII is the best-protected world in the Republic. But a new threat looms on the horizon. Cole, the Valkyrie, David Copperfield, Sharon Blacksmith, Jacovic, and the rest of the crew of the Teddy R face their greatest challenge yet, and the outcome will determine the fate of the entire galaxy.

The Grave Thief (Book Three of the Twilight Reign) by Tom Lloyd

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FOR ISAK, THE TIME FOR HEARTLESS DECISIONS AND RUTHLESS ACTION HAS COME IF HE IS TO SAVE THE LAND FROM ITS OPPRESSORS. . .

Scree has been wiped from the face of the Land in a brutal demonstration of intent. While those responsible scatter to work on the next step in their plan, the stakes are raised — all the way to the heavens — as the Gods themselves enter the fray. Returning home to a nation divided by fanaticism, Lord Isak is haunted both by the consequences of his actions in Scree and by visions of his own impending death. As the full extent of Azaer’s schemes become clearer, he realises prophecy and zealotry must play their part in his battle-plans if there is to be any chance of surviving the coming years. As a white-eye, Isak has had to embrace the darker parts of his own soul, but now the savage religious fervour sweeping his nation must also be accepted and turned to purpose, in the name of survival. With the battle lines vague and allegiances uncertain, the time for heartless decisions and ruthless action has come. Two figures oppose Isak and his allies: the greatest warrior in history, who dreams of empire and Godhood, and a newborn baby whose dreams have no limit.

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

One Step Beyond: The Official First Season

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One Step Beyond was mainly filmed at M-G-M Studios, Hollywood, and partly at M-G-M British Studios, Borehamwood, Herts. It premiered nine months before The Twilight Zone, and was also known as Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond. All episodes are directed by John Newland himself, a dab hand whose trademark is subtle, balletic camera work.

This series fed the nation’s growing interest in paranormal suspense in a different way. Rather than creating fictional stories with supernatural twists and turns, this program sought out ‘real’ stories of the supernatural, including ghosts, disappearances, monsters, etc., and re-creating them for each episode. No solutions to these mysteries were ever found, and viewers could only scratch their heads and wonder, "what if it’s real?"

The 22 remastered episodes look and sound great. Wikipedia has a insightful overview of this interesting series.

Dawnbreaker (Dark Days, Book 3) by Jocelynn Drake

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The dawn brings new terror for the creatures of the night . . .

Those of her race fear Mira for the lethal fire she bends to her will—a power unique among nightwalkers, both a gift . . . and a curse.

The naturi despise Mira for what she is—as they prepare the final sacrifice that will destroy the barriers between the worlds. And once the naturi are unchained, blood, chaos, and horror will reign supreme on Earth.

Mira can trust only Danaus, the more-than-mortal vampire slayer, though he is sworn to destroy her kind. And now, as the day approaches when titanic forces will duel under cover of darkness, destiny draws them toward an apocalyptic confrontation at Machu Picchu. But all is not lost, for a wild card has been dealt to them: a rogue enemy princess who can change the balance of power and turn the dread tide.

My Dead Body by Charlie Huston

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NOBODY LIVES FOREVER. NOT EVEN A VAMPYRE.

Just ask Joe Pitt. After exposing the secret source of blood for half of Manhattan’s Vampyres, he’s definitely a dead man walking. He’s been a punching bag and a bullet magnet for every Vampyre Clan in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, not to mention a private eye, an enforcer, an exile, and a vigilante, but now he’s just a target with legs.

For a year he’s sloshed around the subway tunnels and sewers, tapping the veins of the lost, while above ground a Vampyre civil war threatens to drag the Clans into the sunlight once and for all. What’s it gonna take to dig him up? Just the search for a missing girl who’s carrying a baby that just might be the destiny of Vampyre-kind. Not that Joe cares all that much about destiny and such. What he cares about is that his ex-girl Evie wants him to take the gig. What’s the risk? Another turn playing pigeon in a shooting gallery. What’s the reward? Maybe one shot of his own. What’s he aiming for? Nothing much. Just all the evil at the heart of his world.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks Art by Ibraim Roberson

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Those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

From the Stone Age to the information age, the undead have threatened to engulf the human race. They’re coming. They’re hungry.

Don’t wait for them to come to you!

This is the graphic novel the fans demanded: major zombie attacks from the dawn of humanity. On the African savannas, against the legions of ancient Rome, on the high seas with Francis Drake . . . every civilization has faced them. Here are the grisly and heroic stories–complete with eye-popping artwork that pulsates with the hideous faces of the undead.

Organize before they rise!

Scripted by the world’s leading zombie authority, Max Brooks, Recorded Attacks reveals how other eras and cultures have dealt with–and survived–the ancient viral plague. By immersing ourselves in past horror we may yet prevail over the coming outbreak in our time.

On Friday, September 25 at 4:30, the Undergraduate Writing Center at the University of Texas hosts a discussion between me, Paul Benjamin, RevSf contributing editor Alan J. Porter, and Matthew Sturges about our work, writing process, and how we became comic book writers.

The free event, held at Joynes Reading Room, Carothers Dormitory, UT Campus (25th St. and Whitis) is open to the UT students/faculty/staff and members of the public. Refreshments will be provided (but sadly no pie).

This will be second such panel for me and Alan within the past six months. Early this summer, we both appeared on the Beyond the Strip: Inside the World of Comics & Graphic Novels panel at the 2009 Writers League of Texas Agents Conference. I expect the UT event to be fun as well.

In the most recent San Antonio Current, I reviewed Graham Joyce’s latest novel How to Make Friends With Demons.

I previously blogged about How to Make Friends With Demons back in July.

Read the entire review.

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

You Are There by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Claude Forest

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THE SATIRICAL MASTERPIECE THAT USHERED IN THE GRAPHIC NOVEL ERA TO EUROPEAN COMICS… FINALLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH

One of the earliest full-length, standalone graphic novels to be published in Europe, and certainly one of the best and most original, Ici Même was serialized in the adult French comics monthly (A suivre) in the early 1980s and then released in book form. A quarter of a century later, this dark, funny, consistently surprising masterpiece has finally been translated into English.

An unexpected yet smoothly confident collaboration between the darkly cynical Jacques Tardi and the playful fantasist Jean-Claude Forest (of Barbarella fame), You Are There is set on a small island off the coast of France, where unscrupulous landowners have succeeded in overtaking the land from the last heir of a previously wealthy family. That heir, whose domain, in a Beckettian twist, is now reduced to the walls that border these patches of land he used to own, prowls the walls all day, eking out a living by collecting tolls at each gate.

His seemingly hopeless struggle to recover his birthright becomes complicated as the government sees a way of using his plight for the sake of political expediency, and the romantic intervention of the daughter of one of the landowners (who has her own sordid history with the politician) engenders further difficulties, culminating in an apocalyptic, hallucinatory finale.

Set in Tardi’s preferred early 20th century milieu, You Are There is drawn in his crisp 1980s neo-“clear line” style, gorgeously detailed, elegantly stylized, with impossibly deep slabs of black: You Are There is a feast for both the eyes and the brain.

The Quiet War by Paul McAuley

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Twenty-third century Earth, ravaged by climate change, looks backwards to the holy ideal of a pre-industrial Eden. Political power has been grabbed by a few powerful families and their green saints. Millions of people are imprisoned in teeming cities; millions more labour on Pharaonic projects to rebuild ruined ecosystems. On the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the Outers, descendants of refugees from Earth’s repressive regimes, have constructed a wild variety of self-sufficient cities and settlements: scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts; the last outposts of every kind of democratic tradition. The fragile detente between the Outer cities and the dynasties of Earth is threatened by the ambitions of the rising generation of Outers, who want to break free of their cosy, inward-looking pocket paradises, colonise the rest of the Solar System, and drive human evolution in a hundred new directions. On Earth, many demand pre-emptive action against the Outers before it’s too late; others want to exploit the talents of their scientists and gene wizards.Amid campaigns for peace and reconciliation, political machinations, crude displays of military might, and espionage by cunningly wrought agents, the two branches of humanity edge towards war…

Cancer Vixen: A True Story by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

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“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.

Transition by Iain M. Banks

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There is a world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse. Such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

Among those operatives are Temudjin Oh, of mysterious Mongolian origins, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice under snow; Adrian Cubbish, a restlessly greedy City trader; and a nameless, faceless state-sponsored torturer known only as the Philosopher, who moves between time zones with sinister ease. Then there are those who question the Concern: the bandit queen Mrs. Mulverhill, roaming the worlds recruiting rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, under sedation and feigning madness in a forgotten hospital ward, in hiding from a dirty past.

There is a world that needs help; but whether it needs the Concern is a different matter.

My review of 9 is now available at Moving Pictures.

Check out the rest of my review.