Of voices like cellos and the infenal garden.

Sorry for the silence, guys, but I lost most of this last week to Stephen King's It.

This week, I'd like to bring your attention to a further two pieces on the Locus Recommended Reading List (Shorter Works):

"Voice Like a Cello" by Catherine Cheek (Fantasy 5/4/09)

This story was odd and lovely, following the experience of a girl who cannot escape the voices of the dead. The text fully immerses you in her experience, an immersion that I found heady and compelling. The store moves inexorably toward insanity or solace, and I can't help feeling, at the end, that this tale is truncated. There should be more. Perhaps a novel.

"Three Fancies from the Infernal Garden" by C.S.E. Cooney (Subterranean Winter '09)

Oh, wow! I cannot sing my delight at this piece loudly enough or eloquently enough! Cooney is a marvel, a whimsical poet dressing in a writer's frock-coat and whisking all us unsuspecting readers off on a mortar-and-pestle ride through Koschei's infernal garden full of sassy scarecrows, enchanted princesses (who don't want to be saved, thank you very much), and furious firebirds. If I could paint, and I had a grand ballroom, I would from this story conceive grand murals in brilliant colors and cover the walls. And then hold a masque.

So, er, if you like fairy tales and whimsical delights of storydom shot through with darkness, you should read this. Now.



Also, remember, everyone: this weekend is your last chance to vote in the first annual Rose & Bay Awards!

This entry was originally posted over at Livejournal on February 26th, 2010. You can comment here or there.

"And the tiger opened its mouth and grinned like a hungry god; which is how tigers grin."

Apparently this story has been available on Neil Gaiman's website for some time, but I just became aware of it when he twittered a link just a few moments ago.

Which story? Why, "Cinnamon" - a luscious and exhilarating piece of his that has never been collected. I first encountered it on the Neil Gaiman Audio Collection; it snuck up on me, a shiver-inducing surprise after I listened to "The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish" and "The Wolves in the Walls."

A fond memory: laying in the darkness of a humid Tokyo evening, drowsing on my futon while Neil Gaiman read "Cinnamon" to me from my laptop's speakers. A jungle painted in my mind, a tiger's fur roughsoft under my palms, and a strong Indian girl flashing a confident and adventurous smile at me.

It's rather short, beautifully illustrated, and available for free right here. Do read it!

Also, if you've a mind to listen his gorgeous reading of it, it's available rather cheaply at Audible.

This entry was originally posted at Livejournal on February 28th, 2010. You can comment here or there.

Anticipated Book Releases, Early 2010

The lovely calico_reaction  periodically makes "Book Bag" posts, where she shares which books she's recently acquired, why she bought them, and perhaps where they fit in her to-be-read pile. I'm the type of curious bibliophile who finds this type of data interesting; it's like a vicarious shopping experience each time, with the potential added bonus of bringing a new title to my attention that I might have missed on the recently-released lists.

I've decided to take a page from her book, if you'll forgive the associative near-pun, and post about my book purchases. However, instead of being a list of the books I've recently acquired, this is a list of the books I have pre-ordered or am looking forward to acquiring at the earliest opportunity after they're released.

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire. This title officially drops tomorrow, but it's been spotted in the wild at many Barnes and Noble bookstores across the nation already; luckily, my local B&N was one of those so I've had the reach on all of you poor deprived souls for almost a week now! ;) This is the second installment in the Toby Daye series and I'm really digging it so far - snarky coffee-addicted changeling gumshoes and dryads whose home-trees are digital (slight spoiler, highlight to view) for the win! 

Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Taro O'Shea. This title will be released sometime around March 17th and includes essays by Seanan McGuire, Catherynne M. Valente, Elizabeth Bear, Carole Barrowman and many other excellent ladies. There are also interviews with two of the Doctor's companions! By which I mean the actors who played them, of course. (Ace and Charley, for the interested.) I've got this baby pre-ordered thanks to my oldest little brother's birthday gift.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris. I know, I know, I know this title has been out for nearly a year. However, I have a super-limited hardback budget and, by the time I finished reading all the Southern Vampire Mystery novels currently in paperback, most of the wait for the ninth book to be released as a paperback was done. I couldn't justify the hardback expense and, besides, it's let me have a Sookie back-catalogue a little longer. I started this series as a way to cope with running out of True Blood; I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of new Southern Vampire Mystery material as well. These are my tasty, tasty cotton candy novels. The MMPB drops April 6th.

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris. So, about that limited hardback budget... Amazon has completely defeated me by having a pre-order price of $12.00 on this installment. So, for $12.00 I can have my new Sookie now (where now = May 4th) or I can wait a year and save about $3.00 by purchasing the mass market paperback. I have to say that I think instant gratification is worth $3.00, even if it does mean running out of Southern Vampire Mystery novels more quickly. At least True Blood will be back on the air soon after I finish it! 

 

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. This is another of those books that I've been (im)patiently awaiting in paperback. There are only a few things you need to know about this YA novel: there's a sarcastic orphan, she's named Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, she grew up in a  magic theatre, and she's staging Hamlet set in Egypt. Hey, it was enough to intrigue me. April 13th, I await you! 

Clementine by Cherie Priest. Grumble grumble, good-natured snark. This is one novel I'm looking forward to that I'm not sure how I'll actually afford: it's a Subterranean publication, which means it's a limited run costing $25.00 for the cheap edition. I'm sure it's worth it or it wouldn't be on this list, but eep. This is the continuation of one tale from Priest's immensely popular Boneshaker, set in a steampunk America in the grip of a dragged-out Civil War. With airships. And airpirates. And no-nonsense kick-ass women. Did I mention the airships?  (I like airships.) Unspecified May release date.

Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess. "Instructions" is effectively one of my favorite poems ever. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers. Charles Vess is one of my favorite artists. So. No surprise here... I believe this one will be released April 27th, and you can see some previews of the illustrations here. ♥

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan. Yet another book that I've been (im)patiently awaiting in paperback! I've been reading Brennan's livejournal (at sarahtales) for forever as she is an incredibly entertaining lady. Her debut YA novel about boys on the run and demon-slaying is definitely of interest (as anyone who knows of my keen interest in Supernatural -- pre-season 5, anyway -- can attest). Another April 27th release!

Feed by Mira Grant. Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire's Evil Twin, and this is her debut novel about the new journalism (hint: it's blogging) and the zombie apocalypse. Zombies scare me, actually, but I'm willing to brave my fears for good fiction. Given the caliber of Seanan McGuire's other writing, I have no doubt this will be an excellent read. i09 had the scoop back in the day, but we'll all be in on the Rising come April 27th. Also, it has one of the most compelling slogans ever: "Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. Rise up while you can."


I'm also really, really looking forward to Jay Lake's Green coming out in paperback, but I can't find a release date for it. Can anyone reading this enlighten me? 

Also, what releases are you looking forward to?

This entry was originally posted at Livejournal on March 1st, 2010. You can comment here or there.