Upcoming: “Six-Gun Snow White” by Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)

Coming at the end of January 2013, Catherynne M. Valente’s latest novella is a reinvention of one of the best known fairy tales, transposed onto the Old West:

A plain-spoken, appealing narrator relates the history of her parents – a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. With her mother’s death in childbirth, so begins a heroine’s tale equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have.

Filled with fascinating glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West, readers will be enchanted by this story at once familiar and entirely new.

I’m quite looking forward to this, and hope to make it part of my Weird Wild West series of reviews and interviews, which I’ll be highlighting throughout the year.

Also on CR: Interview with Catherynne Valente

“Clementine” by Cherie Priest (Tor/Subterranean)

A Steampunk Novella, Clockwork Century #2

Maria Isabella Boyd’s success as a Confederate spy has made her too famous for further espionage work, and now her employment options are slim. Exiled, widowed, and on the brink of poverty…she reluctantly goes to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago.

Adding insult to injury, her first big assignment is commissioned by the Union Army. In short, a federally sponsored transport dirigible is being violently pursued across the Rockies and Uncle Sam isn’t pleased. The Clementine is carrying a top secret load of military essentials — essentials which must be delivered to Louisville, Kentucky, without delay.

Intelligence suggests that the unrelenting pursuer is a runaway slave who’s been wanted by authorities on both sides of the Mason-Dixon for fifteen years. In that time, Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey has felonied his way back and forth across the continent, leaving a trail of broken banks, stolen war machines, and illegally distributed weaponry from sea to shining sea.

And now it’s Maria’s job to go get him.

He’s dangerous quarry and she’s a dangerous woman, but when forces conspire against them both, they take a chance and form an alliance. She joins his crew, and he uses her connections. She follows his orders. He takes her advice.

And somebody, somewhere, is going to rue the day he crossed either one of them.

This is the second installment in Priest’s highly popular Clockwork Century steampunk series. Originally a limited edition novella published by Subterranean Press, Clementine has since been made available as an eBook first in the US and now in the UK. I have to admit that I while I enjoyed much of Boneshaker, the first in the series, I was never wholly won over by it. I nevertheless decided to give the rest of the series a try – especially since Tor UK picked up the rights to publish it in Blighty. Clementine does a good job of expanding Priest’s version of a steampunk Civil War-era United States. While still flawed, it is nevertheless an enjoyable book, one that kindled my interest in reading the rest of the series.

Artwork: SEVEN WONDERS by Adam Christopher & BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie

I spotted both of these new covers for the first time today, and thought I’d share them here because they’re fantastic.

First up, we have the artwork for Seven Wonders, the second novel by Adam Christopher, to be published by Angry Robot books in August/September 2012:

I thought this one was great, and I love the aesthetic (which sort-of matches Empire State’s style). I hadn’t been aware that more information had been released for this novel, but I am very intrigued by the premise:

Tony Prosdocimi lives in the bustling Metropolis of San Ventura – a city gripped in fear, a city under siege by the hooded supervillain, The Cowl.

When Tony develops super-powers and acts to take down The Cowl, however, he finds that the local superhero team Seven Wonders aren’t as grateful as he assumed they’d be…

File Under: Science Fiction [ Heroes In Action | A Double Cross | Kapow! | Tables Turned ]

I still haven’t had a chance to read Empire State (I’ve not yet found myself in the mood for it), but I will get to it at some point. Mount ToBeRead is rather vertiginous at the moment…

And also, the absolutely stunning artwork for the limited edition of Joe Abercombie’s Best Served Cold, by Raymond Swanland:

I love this one – it’s atmospheric, moody, stylish, evocative… How is it that Abercrombie can get so many amazing covers? His novels truly have been blessed by the Cover Fairy… This special edition of Best Served Cold will be published in the oh-so-vague “Fall 2012” by Subterranean Press. And Abercrombie’s novel continue to go unread by me… No, I do not know why. No, I do not even have a good excuse. Yes, I will be reading The Blade Itself in the next couple of months. I hope. Probably.

What do you think of these two covers?

Paperback Release: “Sea of Ghosts” by Alan Campbell (Tor)

The superb beginning to Campbell’s second series

Thrown out of the Graveyard corps by a corrupt and weak emperor, Granger has to turn to running his own prison. It’s not a lucrative business but if he keeps his head down, doesn't succumb to pity or morals then he may just survive.

But when two unexpected prisoners enter his life then his world is turned upside down. Ianthe is young, blind and deaf – she can only see or hear through other people’s senses. This makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – a sisterhood of telepaths who consider the young girl a threat to their power. She’s also Granger's daughter...

Just a quick news post, which is also an opportunity to mention this fantastic novel again. I reviewed Sea of Ghosts last March, and I thought it was superb – an opinion I stand by today. At the time, and in my enthusiasm, I said it was “easily one of the best [novels] I’ve read in years” and “almost indescribably good”. That’s certainly more enthusiastic language than I normally use in my reviews, so I hope that gives you some indication as to just how much I enjoyed the novel.

So, with the paperback now available (in the UK and for UK Kindle, at least…), if you will indulge me for a moment, here are some more snippets from the review:

“The Sea of Ghosts is a novel of honour, revenge, loyalty and perseverance, set in a world ravaged by unfathomable science and magic.”

The plot is tight and quickly paced… the world-building is expertly interwoven into the plot… a world so full of weird, wonderful, and sometimes horrifying invention, it’s captivating.”

“Campbell’s prose is sublime, possessing that indescribable quality that sucks you in, envelopes your imagination and pulls you happily along for the ride; insistently readable and compelling. The novel kept me up until 4am on three occasions, as ‘one more chapter’ turned into three or four.”

“Campbell’s knack for atmospherics is almost peerless, and his innate storytelling ability is awe-inspiring.”

I said it then, and I’ll say it again today: Sea of Ghosts is absolutely superb and I think Campbell is an author every fantasy fan must read, and I’d highly recommend his work to everyone. I really can’t wait for the next novel in the series. I also can’t understand why on Earth I haven’t finished his Deepgate Codex series. I’ve read the prequel short story, Lye Street, but not the rest of the series: Scar Night, Iron Angel, and God of Clocks (the latter two novels were reviewed by Emma).

Learn more about Campbell’s novels at his website and his blog. Alan’s latest available work is Damnation for Beginners, a special edition novella published by Subterranean Press. Like Lye Street before it, this story is set in the world of Campbell’s Deepgate Codex, further expanding on that series and world. Here’s the synopsis:

“The story begins in the beleaguered city of Cog. The protagonist, Jack Aviso, is himself a cog, a functionary in the soulless, profit-obsessed enterprise known as the Henry Sill Banking Corporation. When a routinely corrupt business transaction shatters both his marriage and his well-ordered life, Jack finds himself — quite literally — in Hell, where he embarks on a perilous, unprecedented journey of revenge.”

Civilian Reader Abroad…

… I reviewed The Executioness by Tobias S. Buckell over on The Speculative Scotsman blog, yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to post a link until now, so sorry about that!

An enjoyable short story, it is an interesting introduction to a world with a very intriguing magic system. Here’s the synopsis:

Magic has a price.

In Khaim, that price is your head if you’re found using it. For the use of magic comes with a side effect: it creates bramble. The bramble is a creeping, choking menace that has covered majestic ancient cities, and felled civilizations. In order to prevent the spread of the bramble, many lose their heads to the cloaked executioners of Khaim.

Tana is one of these executioners, taking the job over from her ailing father in secret, desperate to keep her family from starvation. But now her family has been captured by raiders, and taken to a foreign city.

So Khaim’s only female executioner begins a quest to bring her family back together. A bloody quest that will change lives, cities, and even an entire land, forever. A quest that will create the legend of The Executioness.

The Executioness was the first fiction I’ve read by Buckell, despite hearing a great deal of praise for his writing. I’m certainly glad I read the short story, and I’ve since started looking for something else of his to read. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments thread.

The story is one of two set in this new world, and I’ll be reading the second – The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi – in the near future. I’d hoped to have it read for tomorrow, but I’ve been travelling, which has slowed my reading speed right down.

So, head on over to Speculative Scotsman for the review. And read everything else while you’re there – Niall’s is one of the best blogs out there, and I’ve been reading his reviews and articles ever since he started the blog.

Highly recommended.