Locus, June 2013
Page 32
4) Deadlocked, Charlaine Harris (Ace)
5) Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (Tor)
6) A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
7) A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
8) The Host, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
9) The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (Del Rey)
10) The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss (DAW)
TRADE PAPERBACKS
1) Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (Simon & Schuster)
2) A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
3) The Host, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
4) Wool Omnibus, Hugh Howey (Self-published)
5) A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin (Bantam)
MEDIA-RELATED
1) Star Wars: Book of Sith, Daniel Wallace (Chronicle)
2) Doctor Who: Shroud of Sorrow, Tommy Donbavand (BBC Books)
3) Doctor Who: The Dalek Generation, Nicholas Briggs (BBC Books)
4) Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Michael Reaves & Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff (Del Rey)
5) Doctor Who: Plague of the Cybermen, Justin Richards (BBC Books)
GAMING-RELATED
1) Forgotten Realms: Last Threshold, R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast)
2) Warhammer 40K: Betrayer, Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library US)
3) Forgotten Realms: Charon’s Claw, R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast)
4) Halo: Silentium, Greg Bear (Tor)
5) Forgotten Realms: Neverwinter, R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast)
audible.com (audio)
SCIENCE FICTION
1) 14, Peter Clines (Audible Frontiers)
2) The Host, Stephenie Meyer (Hachette Audio)
3) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (Random House Audio)
4) Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
5) The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads: The Human Division, Episode 12, John Scalzi (Audible Frontiers)
6) Earth Below, Sky Above: The Human Division, Episode 13, John Scalzi (Audible Frontiers)
7) 11-22-63, Stephen King, Simon & Schuster Audio)
8) Dimension of Miracles, Robert Sheckley (Neil Gaiman Presents)
9) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (Random House Audio)
10) Ready Player One, Ernest Cline (Random House Audio)
11) Dune, Frank Herbert (Macmillan Audio)
12) The Stand, Stephen King (Random House Audio)
13) Redshirts, John Scalzi (Audible Frontiers)
14) The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Audible Frontiers)
15) Zombie Fallout, Mark Tufo (Tantor Audio)
16) Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
17) Into the Black: Odyssey One, Evan Currie (Brilliance)
18) Time for the Stars, Robert A. Heinlein (Blackstone)
19) The Martian, Andy Weir (Podium Publishing)
20) Agent to the Stars, John Scalzi (Audible Frontiers)
FANTASY
1) A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
2) A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
3) A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
4) A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
5) A Dance with Dragons, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
6) The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
7) The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss (Brilliance)
8) The Gate Thief, Orson Scott Card (Blackstone)
9) Blood Trade, Faith Hunter (Audible Frontiers)
10) The Wise Man’s Fear, Patrick Rothfuss (Brilliance)
11) The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
12) Lover at Last, J.R. Ward (Penguin Audio)
13) The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
14) The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
15) Homeland, R.A. Salvatore (Audible Frontiers)
16) Twice Tempted, Jeaniene Frost (Harper Audio)
17) Monster Hunter International, Larry Correia (Audible Frontiers)
18) The Lost Gate, Orson Scott Card (Blackstone)
19) A Memory of Light, Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Macmillan Audio)
20) Frost Burned, Patricia Briggs (Penguin Audio)
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NEW AND NOTABLE
C.J. Cherryh, Protector (DAW 4/13) The latest novel set in the Foreigner series continues to explore the delicate relations between human settlers and alien natives on a distant planet, with human mediator/diplomat Bren Cameron trying to maintain a new balance in the wake of civil war and political upheavals. “I’m happy to observe that after 14 volumes produced over a stretch of nearly 20 years… [this] series continues to provide pleasures and even surprises.” [Russell Letson]
Paul Cornell, London Falling (Tor 4/13) Cornell turns his hand to urban fantasy with a deft blend of police procedural and supernatural thriller, as a team of four London police officers comes into contact with an artifact that gives them the Sight, revealing the hidden monsters that stalk the city. “A band of likeable heroes we’ll look forward to meeting again…. I suspect we’ll be glad to see what they’re up to.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Neil Gaiman & Maria Dahvana Headley, eds., Unnatural Creatures (Harper 4/13) This reprint anthology of stories about fantastical fauna features recent and classic stories by authors including Peter S. Beagle, Nalo Hopkinson, Diana Wynne Jones, Larry Niven, Nnedi Okorafor, Gahan Wilson, E. Lily Yu, and more, with illustrations by Briony Morrow-Cribbs. Sales of the book go to benefit literacy organization 826 DC.
Joe Haldeman, The Best of Joe Haldeman (Subterranean 5/13) This substantial retrospective collects 19 of the SFWA Grand Master’s best stories from the past four decades, selected by editors Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe, including Hugo Award winners “The Hemingway Hoax” and “None So Blind” and World Fantasy Award winner “Graves”, along with story notes and an introduction by the author.
Joe Hill, N0S4A2 (Morrow 4/13) Hill delivers a big, sprawling supernatural thriller stuffed with thrills, scares, and memorable monsters, notably the chilling Charlie Manx, a seemingly immortal stealer of children and owner of a Rolls Royce Wraith that bears the vanity license plate of the title. He’s opposed by the damaged but indomitable Victoria McQueen, who has a talent for finding lost things – even children. Vic is “one of the strongest and best-drawn female characters in recent horror fiction,” and the book is “an impressive testament to [Hill’s] growth and maturity as a fantasist.” [Stefan Dziemianowicz]
Robin Hobb, Blood of Dragons (Harper Voyager 4/13) The fourth volume in the Rain Wilds Chronicles sees the ragtag group of young dragons and their misfit human keepers exploring the long-sought city of Kelsingra and facing new challenges as they try to restore the city’s lost glory. Meanwhile, their enemies gather with a plan to drive dragons to extinction.
Guy Gavriel Kay, River of Stars (Roc 4/13) Kay revisits the land of Kitai, the imagined version of China he introduced in Under Heaven, for a tale set hundreds of years later about an outlaw man and the brilliant daughter of a scholar, set against a backdrop of looming war and upheaval. “The master of the historical fantasy has found a canvas large enough for his ambitions…. [Kay’s] finest work so far, a vision of tremendous scope, achieved through precise, intimate observation of a brilliant culture in the throes of disintegration and rebirth.” [Cecelia Holland]
Bruce McAllister, The Village Sang to the Sea (Aeon 4/13) This elegant “memoir of magic” is a story suite/mosaic novel collecting the author’s stories about an American teenager in the 1960s who moves to a small Italian village with his father, only to discover a world of strange and subtle magic.
Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer 4/13) The “Complete Memoirs of the Mystic, Jevick of Tyom” presented in this compelling debut novel chronicle the travels of a merchant’s son
who journeys to the faraway and fabled land of Olondria, only to find himself haunted by a ghost from his own country and drawn into political machinations in a strange land. “In terms of its elegant language, its sharp insights into believable characters, and its almost revelatory focus on the value and meaning of language and story, it’s the most impressive and intelligent first novel I expect to see this year, or perhaps for a while longer.” [Gary K. Wolfe]
Lucius Shepard, Five Autobiographies and a Fiction (Subterranean 4/13) In these haunting tales, one of our masters of dark, ambitious fantasy blurs the lines between reality and fiction with quasi-autobiographical stories that describe “various potential outcomes for the narrative of my life,” as Shepard explains in the introduction. Includes Shirley Jackson Award winner “Vacancy”.
Helene Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni (Harper 4/13) This ambitious literary fantasy debut concerns two “immigrants” to 19th-century New York City: an ancient jinni recently freed from imprisonment in a bottle, and a golem making her way in the world after her Polish creator dies in a sea voyage. “A complex mixture of characters, voices and cultures… Wecker pulls it off in grand style.” [Faren Miller]
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TERRY BISSON: THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
June 19, 2053. Prize for spies. On the 100th anniversary of their execution for espionage, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are awarded the Chomsky Peace Prize for their role in making it impossible for the US to use nuclear weapons in Korea and Vietnam.
June 24, 2055. Dora steps out. After a nail-biter touchdown, with a jaunty wave to the folks back home, UNASA’s newest Mars rover strolls off to explore the red planet. The solar-powered bipedal humanoid robot is designed to stimulate public interest in extraplanetary research.
June 22, 2111. Tartan-in-Thames. London under Health Watch as dead salmon choke the Thames as far as Westminster. The colorful GMO ‘‘Black Watch’’ plaid suicide fish, which die instead of spawn, were released to protest England’s repo of Scotland after the 2109 bankruptcy.
June 8, 2125. Sister Nonamous dies. The hacker nun who posted 1,857 proprietary pharmaceutical formulas on the internet in 2078 was serving a life sentence for Industrial Espionage; she is survived, according to Father Joe Celia, her confessor, ‘‘by the million souls she saved.’’
–Terry Bisson
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OBITUARIES
Special effects pioneer RAY HARRYHAUSEN, 92, died May 7, 2013. Harryhausen pioneered the ‘‘Dynamation’’ stop-motion model animation process, which revolutionized fantasy and SF filmmaking. His classic works include 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and the iconic skeleton warrior battle in Jason and the Argonauts (1963), which influenced hosts of SF/fantasy filmmakers. After three busy decades in Hollywood, his last major effects work was on 1981’s Clash of the Titans. Harryhausen was influential to generations of SF writers and artists, and was close with many in the field, notably Ray Bradbury and Forrest J Ackerman.
Ray Harryhausen (2000s)
Raymond Frederick Harryhausen was born June 29, 1920 in Los Angeles. After seeing King Kong in 1933 he began to experiment with creating animated shorts, and was eventually mentored by King Kong animator Willis O’Brien. He joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society in 1939, where he became close with Ackerman and Bradbury. Harryhausen made films for the military in WWII (with director Frank Capra), and after the war began working in Hollywood. His first major job was as an assistant animator for O’Brien on Mighty Joe Young, winner of the 1949 Academy Award for special effects. He created effects for about 20 finished films (and worked on several that never made it to screen) during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, producing a body of work that inspired future filmmakers including James Cameron, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and Terry Gilliam.
Harryhausen was one of the guests of honor at the 1987 Worldcon, received a First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 1996, was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and received a Karl Edward Wagner life achievement award from the British Fantasy Society in 2008.
RAY HARRYHAUSEN: THE MAN WHO MADE THE DINOSAURS WALK by Bob Eggleton
From as far back as I remember, I equated the name Ray Harryhausen with amazing extinct and mythical creatures that came to life before my eyes. Whether it was the fictional Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953, based on his friend Ray Bradbury’s short story ‘‘The Fog Horn’’) airing on TV back in my childhood, or the mythical monsters of the Island of Colossa in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) that I saw on the big screen in a re-release, his creations never failed to fire my imagination and often I would draw them after watching the movies. Harryhausen’s most successful film, interestingly enough was One Million Years B.C. (1966). He was hired by Hammer Films to create the dinosaurs, but this outing did not involve his long-time business partner Charles Schneer. It was a film that, despite scientific inaccuracies, is still, to this day, immensely entertaining and visually stunning – at least for us ‘70s kids. He also managed to bring to fruition the cowboys vs. dinosaurs adventure The Valley of Gwangi (1969) – an idea that was originally started in the ‘40s by his mentor Willis O’Brien of King Kong fame. What made a Harryhausen film work were the effects he painstakingly created (often by himself or with a ‘‘crew’’ of one or two assistants) that would be a great visual ‘‘pay off’’ for the viewer. His creations were special because of the personality he infused them with. Because they were physical models, they still look better than much of the computer generated work of today (and most of the CG people will attest to this!). An unfortunate turnabout in modern CGI creatures is that they seem so normal now, that they actually become commonplace and lose the element of ‘‘the fantastic.’’
One of the greatest rewards of my career – a true feeling of coming full circle – was when I got to meet the man himself in 1994. In fact, I had breakfast with him at an event. We had a great discussion of the 1933 King Kong and when he got up to speak at the event, he mentioned talking with me and how, ‘‘We both agreed our careers might not have happened had it not been for King Kong.’’ That was a ‘‘gosh wow’’ moment.
My connection to Ray Harryhausen continues into artistic influences such as Victorian painters John Martin and Joseph Gandy. Harryhausen would say in his book The Art of Ray Harryhausen: ‘‘They taught me to think big.’’ I can only agree. Ray was also quoted in the hand-out brochure for the 2011 John Martin exhibit at The Tate, in London, and taken on a private tour of the show. The show was amazing. It was a great moment when the Fine Art establishment recognized the connection to pop culture and Harryhausen’s film work.
Ray Harryhausen was a maker of wondrous things that we all loved. His films, career and his life will be an inspiration for me, for all time. You are among the Titans themselves, Ray.
–Bob Eggleton
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Writer ANDREW J. OFFUTT, 78, died April 30, 2013, reportedly of cirrhosis. Offutt wrote and edited more than 75 books, including fantasy, SF, and erotica (the latter sometimes with speculative elements). He was twice president of SFWA, serving from 1976-78.
Andrew Jefferson Offutt V was born August 16, 1934 in Louisville KY. He attended the University of Louisville, graduating with a BA in English in 1955, and later attained a MA in history and a doctorate in psychology. He often wrote under the byline ‘‘andrew j. offutt,’’ and work also appeared as by Andy Offutt, A.J. Offutt, and assorted pseudonyms. Offutt’s first story was ‘‘And Gone Tomorrow’’ (1954), winner of an If magazine contest, but his professional career began in earnest with ‘‘Blacksword’’ in Galaxy (1959).
Andrew J. Offutt (1970s)
He published erotic novels beginning in the late ’60s, but the first SF novel under his own name was Evil is Live Spelled Backwards (1970), and other notable standalone novels include The Castle Keeps (1972), The Galactic Rejects (1973), Messenger of Zhuvastou (1973), Genetic Bomb (1975, with D. B
ruce Berry), and My Lord Barbarian. He co-wrote the War of the Wizards trilogy with Richard K. Lyons: The Demon in the Mirror (1978), Eyes of Sarsis (1980), and Web of the Spider (1981). The War of the Gods on Earth series includes The Iron Lands (1979), Shadows Out of Hell (1980), and The Lady of the Snowmist (1983). Offutt wrote several novels in the ’70s and ’80s about Robert E. Howard’s characters Conan and Cormac Mac Art, and contributed significantly to the Thieves’ World shared universe with Shadowspawn (1987), Deathknight (1990), and The Shadow of Sorcery (1993). He also edited five volumes of the Swords Against Darkness anthology series in the late ’70s. As John Cleve he wrote or co-wrote 19 of the erotic SF Spaceways series (1982-85) and seven in the historical Crusader series (1974-86), plus assorted standalones.
Offutt married Jodie McCabe in 1957, and they had two daughters and two sons, including author Christopher Offutt. He is also survived by five grandchildren.
ANDY OFFUTT by Joe Haldeman
So sorry to hear of andy’s passing; my heart goes out to Jodie and Chris and the rest of his family. andy and I hung around together in the ’70s and ’80s; I took over as SFWA treasurer while he was president.
He was always a hale-fellow-well-met; he had a serious side but always kept it well hidden. Back in the good-old-bad-old days, andy and I would often take over the SFWA suite’s bar on the graveyard shift, like 3 a.m. till dawn. He was a raconteur and BS artist nonpareil, and always had a good story under his hat.
He served SFWA well as president in a difficult time.
–Joe Haldeman
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British author DEBORAH J. MILLER, 50, who also wrote as MILLER LAU, died May 6, 2013 of cancer. As Lau, her debut novel was Talisker (2001), first in the Last Clansman series that continued with Dark Thane (2002) and Lore Bringer (2004). Under her own name she published Swarmthief’s Dance (2005) and sequel Swarmthief’s Treason (2008). Miller was one of the principle founders of the David Gemmell Awards, and was awards administrator until stepping down recently due to illness.
Miller was born June 11, 1962 in Edinburgh, and lived in Lincolnshire for some time before returning to Scotland, where she lived in North Berwick, East Lothian. She worked as a technical editor until she was made redundant in 1999, shortly after signing her first book contract, and then became a full-time writer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, going into remission several times over the years. She is survived by her husband and their daughter.