Art: FAIREST #14 (Vertigo)

March 8, 2013 Civilian Reader Comics, Covers 2013, Adam Hughes, April, Art, Barry Kitson, Bill Willingham, Fairest, Princess Adler, Reynard the Fox, Vertigo

I just saw this on CBR, as part of an other-wise black-and-white preview for Fairest #14, and really wanted to share it. This excellent, atmospheric piece is Adam Hughes’s cover for the Bill Willingham-penned issue from the very good Fables spin-off series:

Fairest #14 is billed as a “special issue”, written by Willingham (who created Fairest and Fables) and features internal art by Barry Kitson. Here’s the synopsis:

Dating is hard for everyone in this standalone tale — but it’s especially tricky if you’re a gorgeous tree nymph from Fabletown. Princess Alder tells her tales of woe to Reynard the fox

Fairest #14 will be published April 3rd 2013.

Upcoming: “Shattered Pillars” by Elizabeth Bear (Tor)

March 2, 2013 Civilian Reader Uncategorized 2013, Elizabeth Bear, Eternal Sky, Fantasy, March, Shattered Pillars, Tor, Upcoming

The Shattered Pillars is the second book of Elizabeth Bear’s The Eternal Sky trilogy, and the sequel to Range of Ghosts. It’s a series I’ve been meaning to read, but I wasn’t in the US to pick up a copy of the first book when it first came out, and by the time I returned, I was swamped with other books for review. I will make more of an effort to get around to this series, though. Soon…

Set in a world drawn from our own great Asian Steppes, this saga of magic, politics and war sets Re-Temur, the exiled heir to the great Khagan and his friend Sarmarkar, a Wizard of Tsarepheth, against dark forces determined to conquer all the great Empires along the Celedon Road.

The Shattered Pillars will be published by Tor on March 19th 2013.

Upcoming: “Before the Fall” by Francis Knight (Orbit)

February 23, 2013 Civilian Reader Uncategorized 2013, Before the Fall, Fantasy, Francis Knight, Hachette, June, Little Brown, Orbit, Rojan Dizon, Upcoming

I loved the first novel in Knight’s Rojan Dizon series, Fade to Black. I thought it was a fun, well-written and fast-paced fantasy thriller, in a very well-realised world. I have, therefore, been keeping my eyes open for more information about its soon-to-be-released sequel, Before the Fall. I’ve posted the artwork before, but was waiting on a synopsis. Which I now have. So here it is:

With the destruction of their main power source, the towering vertical city of Mahala is in crisis.

Downsiders are verging on a riot, and the mage Rojan Dizon is just trying to keep his head down and some power back to the city — whilst staying hopeful that he won’t get executed for using his magic. Then things go from bad to worse when a Downsider and emerging mage is found murdered. It’s a crime that divides all sides, and the result is mayhem.

But Rojan’s worst nightmare is just around the corner. When he discovers the killer’s identity, he’s either going to be responsible for all-out anarchy, or for a war with Mahala’s neighboring countries that no one is prepared for.

And there’s nothing Rojan hates more than being responsible.

Before the Fall will be published by Orbit in both the UK and US on June 18, 2013 (in paperback and eBook editions).

Upcoming: “Inferno” by Dan Brown (Transworld & Doubleday)

February 23, 2013 Civilian Reader Uncategorized 2013, Dan Brown, Dangerous Gifts, Dante's Inferno, Doubleday, Inferno, Robert Langdon, Thriller, Transworld, Upcoming

So. The Da Vinci Code. A lot of people read that book. An awful lot of vocal people despised it. The Vatican said it was blasphemy (thereby guaranteeing excellent sales worldwide).* Lots more people complained about it, and also its prequel, Angels & Demons, and follow-up, The Lost Symbol, saying it was terrible or poorly written, and any number of criticisms. They’re not high-literature, nor are they the best historical-crypto-thrillers out there. They are quick and engaging reads. And, as always, any book that sells a bajillion copies (probably the real number) is good for the publishing industry as a whole. Be it Brown’s novels, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight or E.L. James’s 50 Shades of Grey (all sneered at by people from all walks of life, most by those who haven’t read them), they all go some way to supporting other novels that will appeal more to CR readers and general SFF fans who don’t, to their detriment, read CR…

I will probably read Inferno. There’s something comfortable and reassuring about a novel that you know will give you exactly what you’re expecting. Suspend your disbelief and pathological need for realism, and I’m sure this will be a fun read. Regardless of what you may think of the author, Transworld have commissioned a pretty nice cover (above, right). The American cover, from Doubleday, isn’t too bad (left) either, but is basically a good example of the sub-genre’s standard style.

Here is the (US) synopsis:

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces… Dante’s Inferno.

Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust… before the world is irrevocably altered.

Inferno will be published in both the UK (Transworld) and the US (Doubleday) in May 2013.

* When I write my novel, and if anyone is kind enough to publish it, I will do everything I can to get the Vatican to publicly black-list it. I can’t think of a better publicity strategy…