First look at the awesome cover of Kelley Armstrong’s best of collection LED ASTRAY
Though not due out until this fall, we just had to share Elizabeth Story’s dynamic cover to Led Astray: The Best of Kelley Armstrong.
WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY FINE draws you along headfirst
On her blog Handful_Ofdust, author Gemma Files really enjoyed Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine.
The first one I’ve completed thus far is something I actually already wanted to read anyhow, Darren [sic] Gregory’s novella We Are All Completely Fine, which centres around a support and therapy group for survivors of supernatural events. Said supernatural events all turn out to be related, of course; they’re based around incursions from a hell-like other dimension, one which has in its time infected this reality with its presence through a Silent Hill-like video game, a serial killer who opens his victims up and shrimshaws their bones, a djinni-worshipping cult, a family of cannibals trapping people to feed their mutating “spider-mother,” an Innsmouthian village full of weird creatures, etc. The attention to detail in terms of PTSD is really great, but so is the not-so-slow-burn plot, always building in the background and drawing you along headfirst.
Read the the rest of Files’ thoughts at Handful_Ofdust.
For information on We Are All Completely Fine, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story.
Get WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD by the endlessly astonishing and impressive fantasist Patricia A. McKillip for only $1.99!
Patricia A. McKillip’s exquisitely written collection of short stories Wonders of the Invisible World is a Kindle Daily Deal for Wednesday, January 21.
For today only, the ebook is available for just $1.99!
“Endlessly astonishing and impressive fantasist McKillip (The Bards of Bone Plain) travels the shadowy twilight realm between worlds and returns with the raw stuff of dreams.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Pass through fairy tales into the magic of invisible worlds in these opulent stories by a beloved fantasy icon and author of the classic Riddlemaster trilogy. Patricia McKillip has inspired generations of dedicated readers with enchanting tales that are as romantic as they are unexpected. Her lush, mesmerizing narratives are as deliciously bittersweet as the finest chocolate and as intoxicating as the finest wine.
The bewitching wonders offered here include princesses dancing with dead suitors, a knight in love with an official of exotic lineage, and fortune’s fool stealing into the present instead of the future. You’ll discover a ravishing undine and her mortal bridegroom who is more infatuated with politics than pleasure, a time-traveling angel forbidden to intervene in Cotton Mather’s religious ravings, a wizard seduced in his youth by the Faerie Queen returning with a treasure that is rightfully hers, and an overachieving teenage mage tricked into discovering her true name very close to home.
“Mesmerizing…. Any collection of McKillip’s short stories will be a valuable asset to any library and a joy to her many fans.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“Anybody who loves fantasy—not just for what most fantasy does, but for what the genre is really capable of—should definitely pick this book up. It’s like a perfect encapsulation of fantasy writing at its most brave and beautiful.”
—io9.com
“A casket full of wonders. I think each one is my favorite, until I read the next. McKillip has the true Mythopoeic imagination. Here lies the border between our world and that of Faerie.”
—P. C. Hodgell, author of the Kencyrath series
“This brilliant new collection puts on display the audacity, the warmth, the intelligence, and depth of [McKillip’s] huge and magnificent talent.”
—Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story and A Dark Matter
“The lively and enchanting stories in Wonders of the Invisible World certainly deserve all the accolades I can summon.”
—Paul Goat Allen, Barnes and Noble.com
“I loved all the stories in this collection, and if I still have to tell you to try this out, well, you haven’t been reading my review…. Patricia Mckillip is a master at what she does. Strongly recommended.”
—Locus
“Wonders of the Invisible World is a wonderful collection of stories full of wit and insight wrapped in beautiful, effortless prose. McKillip’s ability to convey so much in so few words is impressive, as is her ability with storytelling, characterization, and thematic elements.”
—Fantasy Cafe
“This is one to dip into, savour, and place on that special shelf for books to be cherished.”
—Starburst
“…she’s still one of the best fantasy writers out there.”
—Green Man Review
“Exquisitely written with destinations beyond your imaginings!”
—My Shelf Confessions
For more info on Wonders of the Invisible World, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty
Happy birthday to the Hugo and Nebula award winner Nancy Kress
All of us at Tachyon wish the extraordinary, Nancy Kress a very happy birthday. The multiple award winner is the author of Yesterday’s Kin, After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Dogs, Dancing on Air, and many others.
Yesterday’s Kin cover by Thomas Canty.
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Elizabeth Story.
Dancing on Air cover by Michael Dashow.
Short Story Saturday focuses on THE ESSENTIAL W. P. KINSELLA
At the Book Chase, Sam Sattler discusses The Essential W. P. Kinsella as part of his “Short Story Saturday” feature.
I will be forever grateful to W.P. Kinsella even if he never publishes another single word because he is responsible for one of my favorite books of all-time, Shoeless Joe. That novel, of course, subsequently morphed into what is one of my favorite movies of all-time: Field of Dreams. And now I find out that the novel itself was preceded by a short story titled “Shoeless Joe Comes to Iowa.” I only recently learned about the short story because it is included in a brand new collection of twenty-seven Kinsella short stories (The Essential W.P. Kinsella) that I’ve been reading.
<snip>
Although not all of his stories are about baseball, it is baseball stories for which Kinsella is best known in this country, and I’ve selected one of my favorites of those for “Short Story Saturday.”
“The Night Manny Mota Tied the Record” takes place in Dodger Stadium on August 7, 1979 during a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros. During that game, one fan, without once leaving his seat, is going to have an experience that will change him forever. An old man takes the seat next to our fan and begins talking about the funeral of Yankee catcher Thurman Munson who had died just five days earlier when the great catcher crashed the small airplane in which he was flying home for a short break from the pressures of Yankee baseball.
Read the rest of Sattler’s comments on the story at Book Chase.
For more info about The Essential W. P. Kinsella, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Thomas Canty.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see YESTERDAY’S KIN on several awards shortlists
For Asimov’s Science Fiction, Peter Heck praises Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin.
As has become characteristic of her work, Kress combines intriguing scientific speculation with strong human drama to create a finely crafted story that should appeal to a wide range of readers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this one on several awards shortlists.
Read the rest of Heck’s review at Asimov’s Science Fiction.
For more info on Yesterday’s Kin, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty.
THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT delivers tales with memorable worlds, populated with strong, amazing women
The January 1, 2015 issue of the Library Journal (subscription required) offers a review of The Very Best of Kate Elliott.
Elliott (Cold Steel; Labyrinth of Stars [sic]) has built a career out of creating memorable worlds and populating them with strong, amazing women (and the men who love them). While the longer form gives her a bigger canvas, Elliott proves here she can make those same fantastic worlds and characters in short form.
<snip>
Elliott excels at describing her brilliant worlds, employing a meticulous eye for the significant detail that illuminates a whole landscape. This could be an enjoyable addition for large sf and fantasy collections.
Read the rest of the review in the print edition of the Library Journal or through subscription on their site.
For more on The Very Best of Kate Elliott, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Julie Dillon.
Design by Elizabeth Story.
The unpredictable COLD IN JULY is a top distraction of 2014
Not only has the acclaimed film version been included on numerous best of 2014 lists, but the re-issue of Joe R. Lansdale’s classic Texas noir Cold in July garnered many mentions as well.
Top Distraction
Content-wise, I didn’t write very many reviews this year. That is definitely something I need to fix in 2015. That being said, my stand-out, Top Distraction of 2015 [sic] is easy to pick this year:
Cold in July by Joe R. Lansdale
This book has everything I love by one of my favorite authors.
One of my favorite writers saw one of his novels re-released to coincide with the premier of its film adaptation. If you like revenge tales, you need to read this novel. One fateful home invasion forever alters the lives of two fathers. Seriously, read it.
For its unpredictable nature and its perfect blend of genres. An inimitable novel from an inimitable author.
Without comment, both Just a Guy That Likes To Read and author/publisher Mike Monson, in an interview at Bad Citizen Corporation, included Cold in July in their list of best reads of 2014.
For more about Cold in July, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story.
LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS is one of the top ten books of 2014
The Creature Feature included two Ellen Datlow-edited books among their top ten books of 2014: Nightmare Carnival and Lovecraft’s Monsters.
Fans of the HBO True Detective series (and those who are not) will love this new themed anthology from acclaimed genre editor, Ellen Datlow. There are several selections written by authors whom Nic Pizzolatto cited as influential to the series, so let’s look at them first: Laird Barron’s “Bulldozer”, features a rough, resilient Pinkerton Man and a traveling circus strong-man enmeshed in cosmic mystery; Karl Edward Wagner’s “I’ve Come to Talk With You Again” tells of an American author of Lovecraftian tales on holiday in London who invokes the Yellow King himself; Thomas Ligotti crafts a narrative nightmare about a man who unwittingly locates a hidden world, and John Langan contributes a brand new and spectacular dark tale, “Children of the Fang” about an old woman who returns to her grandfather’s home to reveal secrets she and her brother stumbled upon as children. The rest of the stories contained in this anthology stake new territory in the Lovecraft mythos as well, several of them set in Lovecraft’s fictional town of Innsmouth by Neil Gaiman, Kim Newman, Brian Hodge and Catlin R. Kiernan. Elizabeth Bear’s darkly humorous “Inelastic Collisions” finds a pair of exiled (and very hungry) creatures marooned in attractive female human bodies shooting pool in a bar while hunting prey; Steve Rasnic Tem goes full dark with his tale of a hybrid human/monster traveling with his human wife and hybrid children; Howard Waldrop and Steven Utley collaborate on a lively weird tale set in the Old West; Gemma Files contributes two disturbing poems, and much more. There are eighteen varied and marvelous pieces included in this anthology and, strangely enough, the one story I felt most closely aligned with the True Detective series is written by the inimitable Joe R. Lansdale, a hard-boiled noir detective story titled “The Bleeding Shadow” set in mid-1950s Texas, in which an unlicensed and unorthodox private detective who is on the trail of his ex-lover’s missing brother finds a darker world than he ever imagined possible. As Editor Ellen Datlow states in her Introduction, she sought stories that bring something new to the mythos of Lovecraft’s Old Ones and their minions rather than pastiches that cover well-trodden tropes. Mission accomplished! Each story is a dark wonder and the volume itself is absolutely gorgeous, sumptuously illustrated throughout with steampunky-baroque original art by World Fantasy Award-winning artist John Coulthart. LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS is a must-have for every fan of dark speculative fiction, so click on the cover graphic and grab it!
Check out the rest of the Creature Feature selections at the Tomb.
For more information on Lovecraft’s Monsters, visit the Tachyon site.
Cover by John Coulthart.
Get Tachyon titles to review from NetGalley
Five Tachyon titles are always available for perusal by booksellers, reviewers, and librarians at NetGalley. Current selections include The Essential W. P. Kinsella, The Very Best of Kate Elliott, The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen edited by Ellen Datlow, Yesterday’s Kin by Nancy Kress, and We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory.
To learn how to access these books for review, visit NetGalley.
The complete list of Tachyon titles available through NetGalley can be viewed on our catalog page.