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JANUARY 2010
Dearest Readers,
Every now and again the head honchos will throw me a curveball: something I would never have expected in a million years. Though you might expect such things to be aggravating or a little scary, they are usually fun and at least a little creative. Such was the case when I was assigned my first book: 'Dante's Inferno'.
Now, I know you must be thinking, "Mike, I know you are a super-intelligent and refined guy° and all, but isn't it a little early in your career to be editing a book, let alone a classic of Western civilization?!" Well, at least that is what first crossed my mind, but there was no way I would turn this down. I first read Inferno while I was a sophomore in college. I enjoyed Dante's take on the subject matter so much that I ended up writing my final paper on the topic, comparing Inferno to the Bible, Paradise Lost and, I kid you not, Mike Mignola's Hellboy. It was definitely a little too ambitious and I was left with a paper that tried to sum up the totality of Western literature in 13 pages. I always wanted to revisit Dante but hadn't had the opportunity. Until now, that is.
This time, however, the assignment was a bit different. The folks over at Electronic Arts have successfully translated the immortal words of a 14th-century author and politician into a new format in order to bring the work to a new audience. EA is not without its detractors, however; folks who think that Classics are immutable, immovable, and untouchable. So our goal was to show readers (many of whom will be reading Dante for the first time) how the game actually pays proper tribute to one of the great works of literature by creatively using the themes, characters, and emotions of the original in a new way.
In my most humble and unbiased* opinion, I think we get that point across, but don't take my word for it. Pick up our companion edition of 'Dante's Inferno' later this month and see for yourself.
Happy Reading!
Mike Braff—Del Rey Books
mbraff@randomhouse.com
P.S.—Inspired by our book, the guys from Penny Arcade take a stab at classic literature.
° I really hope this is what you are thinking.
* Yeah, right. I'm about as humble as Muhammad Ali.
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The Catalyst for Writing Catalyst
By Elizabeth Ann Scarborough |
It is a not-so-well-kept secret that Anne McCaffrey and I adore cats. We both came up with ideas for books about cats in space at the same time. Anne had previously introduced her Barque Cats in her Tower and Hive books, but they played as minor a role as a cat can play. That is: for cat lovers they stole the show, but there was not all that much told about them or their origins. So Anne's idea for the book was that it would be the backstory for the Barque Cats. I wanted to do a cats-in-space adventure book too, but we couldn't do a Tower and Hive story about them since they don't come into that milieu until they are a well-established and much-admired (what else? they're cats!) species.
My idea was inspired by the memory of a Cordwainer Smith short story called "The Game of Rat and Dragon," a classic in the annals of science fiction and cat literature. I liked the idea that cats transcended being pets while still being closely tied by bonds of an affectionate psychic connection to certain humans. Catalyst tells of the beginning of the bond, starting with Chester–a descendant of the first Barque Cat, Tuxedo Thomas–and Jubal, a farm boy who loves cats and has a talented grifter for a dad.
Catalyst is both the kind of classic animal story about the love of a boy and his cat and an adventure about how these cats decide to "take matters into their own paws," as Paul Gallico's Thomasina was fond of saying, and arrange the universe to suit themselves.
And where else would we go for inspiration but the cats we've been fortunate enough to know and love? Chessie, Chester's mother and the ship's cat aboard the Molly-Daise, is named for a beloved cat of Anne's, a mighty hunter and a good mother of beautiful kittens. Anne has had several tuxedo cats (not Maine Coon, as Barque Cats are), including my old buddy Bronski and Maggie.
Maggie and Anne at breakfast
I had a wonderful tuxedo tom named Saddle Shoes when I lived in Alaska. The first year I visited Annie in Ireland she had Bronski and Bear. By the second year, Bear had moved next door and Bronski was starting to decline, so Anne had bought some purebred Maine Coon cats, who proceeded to have kittens. Lots of kittens. Her gardener got one of the kittens he called "Legless" (Irish slang for drunk) because he said, "That cat never walks anywhere. Someone is always carrying it."
I wanted one too, but importing one of Anne's was out of the question. Kittibits, a half-wild ginger tabby with all of the Maine Coon traits, grabbed my finger at the shelter, gave it a lick and came home with me. We lived happily ever after for 15 years. Now Pancho represents the race of Coony cats at my house. So it's not too strange that Barque Cats start out, in appearance at least, as Maine Coons.
Chester's personality is much more like sleek, smart, loving and loyal Cisco's, and Git's personality is very much like Kittibits', who was always looking after the welfare of the other cats.
The wily Pshaw-Ra character is similar to that of Treat, the funny/annoying shelter cat I adopted as an adult. Treat dominated me if not the universe. Unlike the more sophisticated cat in the book, Treat's plot probably would have involved a lot of peeing on things.
The Late Great Treat
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DEL REY NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Red Wolf Conspiracy Giveaway
Mark your calendars! February 16, 2010 is the date you can again board the gargantuan ship Chathrand when Robert V.S. Redick's The Ruling Sea comes to bookstores everywhere. But if you haven't yet met the Chathrand's motley crew whose saga began in last year's The Red Wolf Conspiracy, don't worry! We are giving away copies of the paperback edition of The Red Wolf Conspiracy to 10 lucky readers. For your chance to win, send your e-mail to delrey@randomhouse.com with RED WOLF in the subject line, including your full name and address in the body of the e-mail. (NOTE: your personal information will not be used for any purpose other than this content.) Ten (10) lucky winners will be selected at random and will receive a copy of the book. All submissions must be received by Wednesday, January 27th.
Get Your Iron Man Fix With Iron Man: Virus
The countdown clock to Iron Man 2 is ticking! For Iron Man fans, we know that the big day just can't come soon enough (after all, we're counting the seconds until May 7, too!). But you can get your fix of armor-plated adventure with our new Iron Man prose novel, Iron Man: Virus, on January 26! This all-new, all-original story, by acclaimed sci-ni novelist Alex Irvine delivers the full Iron Man experience–from a spectacular action-packed plot to Tony Stark's signature martini-dry quips. But the real reason we're so excited about this story? It features the triumphant resurgence our favorite classic supervillain, Arnim Zola!
Behind the Scenes At EA With 'Dante's Inferno'
Electronic Arts will be making every history/literature buff's dream come true on February 9, 2010 with the release of their exciting new game, 'Dante's Inferno'! Now you can go behind the scenes and discover just how this 14th-century classic was transformed to one of the most amazing games around. Executive Producer Jonathan Knight provides insight into the game-making process in an exclusive introduction, followed by 16 pages of stunning, full-color art depicting the visual development of the game from classic imagery, through concept art, all the way to vivid screenshots of intense action.
Click here for more!
Giveaway Contest: Original Sin by Allison Brennan
Available January 26 anywhere books are sold, Original Sin is the new paranormal thriller by New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan. The chilling adventure introduces Moira O'Donnell, a young woman whose seven-year search for her sorceress mother Fiona has led her to a small California town that's about to become hell on earth when Fiona unleashes upon the mortal world the living incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Click here to learn how you can win a copy of the special prequel to Original Sin!
Click here for an excerpt.
Visit Allison Brennan's website to learn more.
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King of RPGs is an original new manga written by Jason Thompson and illustrated by Victor Hao. For your delight, their editor, Kaitlin Heller, interviewed them by live-chat about their thoughts on the book and the genre.
KH: So, firstly, what is your working process together like?
JT: I work visually, so I start everything by drawing thumbnails. After I'm satisfied with the thumbnails I write the script, and then I send the whole thing to Victor. I also do sketches of most of the major characters. Victor sends me sketches back and we talk over most of the character designs and other major points of the story. We mostly work online but we meet up for ramen every few weeks.
VH: I follow the script and thumbnails and I sketch out the whole page... after that I move onto finalizing the page, which includes inking, toning, text, balloons, and FX sounds. For almost half of volume 1 I started sketching out on paper and then I would scan those into the computer to finalize. Now I sketch and finalize everything on the computer.
KH: What equipment do you use? A tablet of some kind?
VH: Yes, I draw everything with an Intuos Wacom tablet. At first I wasn't comfortable enough to sketch it out with the tablet, so I stuck with sketching on paper. But now, whenever I draw on paper, I miss drawing on the tablet... I miss the undo (ctrl+z) command!
KH: Jason, do you go back and forth with Victor about the character designs?
JT: Yes, we talk over all the major characters. Our art styles are different, and I like seeing how Victor gives everything his personal look. Most recently, we were talking about the design of Gamaliel the Skull Elf in volume 2.
KH: Victor, do you have other sources of inspiration for the character designs, apart from Jason's notes?
VH: I use many references–I have a lot of art books at home which I use. Also, the internet has been invaluable for my researches... especially some of the monsters Jason brings up in the comic.
KH: Yeah, I was wondering whether or not you guys play WoW.
VH: I used to play WoW! But my friend ditched me and got to the highest level without me!!! (>.<)
JT: The MMO I've spent the most hours in is still Ultima Online back in the day, when you could play a fisherman or a cook, and get shanked by PKers continually. -_- But I've played a bunch of WoW for "research."
VH: It's also because I got stuck playing the PvP part of WoW that I stopped leveling up normally... I couldn't get back into normal questing after playing pvp.
KH: My PvP [Player vs. Player] was all dwarf-on-elf hatred in D&D.
VH: I've yet to experience pvp via D&D style–maybe Jason would oblige me...
JT: It's a little less satisfying in D&D, since you have to look your PvPer/PvPee in the face and share Coke with them. -_- This tends to dampen the enthusiasm for killin' your partners.
KH: You read a lot of manga, too. What are your favorites?
VH: I grew up mostly with Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk, but now I've gotten into Berserk, Naruto, and One Piece. Oh... and Guru Guru Pon-chan.
JT: I love all kinds of manga. For King of RPGs, my biggest influences are shonen manga like One Piece, Shaman King, and Dragon Ball of course. I also love Iron Wok Jan, which inspired some character designs.
KH: Yes, a lot of the book is obviously a love letter to manga, in addition to all the gaming references. One girl I gave some early pages to got SO EXCITED that there was a Vampire Princess Miyu... which I totally missed!
VH: OH! haha, you found that! Vampire Hunter D is in there too!
JT: Yes, you did an awesome job with the vampire scene!!
KH: Jason, could you explain a little more about how manga influenced King of RPGs?
JT: I've been a fan of shonen (boys') manga since before I was the editor of Shonen Jump magazine for VIZ. I love those long, epic action-adventure stories like Dragon Ball and One Piece, where people are continually fighting, training to be stronger, making friends, getting in arguments with their friends, making up, converting defeated bad guys into friends, etc.
JT: One example of a series like that is Hikaru no Go, the manga about the board game Go. King of RPGs started out partially with the thought, "Well, if someone can do an exciting manga about a board game with black and white stones, why not a manga about tabletop role-playing games?"
JT: As I started writing it, the story got crazier and crazier, and soon it was less of a board game manga and more like an actual fighting/adventure manga.
JT: Each character has their own motivations, but some of them (well, at least one of them) are definitely trying to become the World's Greatest Gamers. Which of course doesn't necessarily make any objective sense, but since when did sense matter in manga? -_-
KH: Yes, and I like that the characters all provide different perspectives on what gaming should be.
KH: Okay, let me leave you each with this question: Who's your favorite character to work on? Either to write or to draw?
JT: Theo is my dream of what I'd like to be like as a Dungeon Master, but my favorite characters are Shesh, Rona and Theo. I always know exactly what they would do in any given situation.
VH: Theo is probably my favorite character to work with... he's Cute +10... plus I love drawing his hat. It's also a lot of fun to draw Shesh's evil expressions too.
KH: Oh, his evil grin is the best.
KH: Thank you, guys!
King of RPGs is available January 19, 2010 from your favorite bookstores and online retailers. Or you can try contacting your local fire mage/shaman. But he probably won't give you his copy.
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WHAT'S NEW IN STORES: January 2010
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CATALYST
by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Hardcover
Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientist–ship's cat? All are essential to the well-staffed space vessel. Since the early days of interstellar travel, when Tuxedo Thomas, a Maine coon cat, showed what a cat could do for a ship and its crew, the so-called Barque Cats have become highly prized crew members. But even among Barque Cats, Chessie is something special. Her pedigree, skills, and intelligence, as well as the close rapport she has with her human, Janina, make her the most valuable crew member aboard the Molly Daise. And the litter of kittens in her belly only adds to her value.
Then the unthinkable happens. Chessie is kidnapped–er, catnapped–from Dr. Jared Vlast's vet clinic at Hood Station by a grizzled spacer named Carl Poindexter. But Chessie's newborn kittens turn out to be even more extraordinary than their mother. For while Chessie's connection to Janina is close and intuitive, the bond that the kitten Chester forms with Carl's son, Jubal, is downright telepathic. And when Chester is sent into space to learn his trade, neither he nor Jubal will rest until they're reunited.
READ AN EXCERPT HERE
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STARFIST: DOUBLE JEOPARDY
by David Sherman and Dan Cragg
Hardcover
The thrilling pace of the Starfist space epic quickens as the explosive series rockets to dazzling new heights, packed with the hell-for-leather action only two battle-hardened and decorated combat vets like David Sherman and Dan Cragg can provide.
The Confederation has finally disclosed the existence of Skinks, fierce aliens bent on wiping out humankind, and announced its plan to find and destroy their home world. While the rest of the universe grapples with the news, the Skink-savvy Marines of the Confederation's Thirty-fourth Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) have their own take on the situation. Though they're no longer in danger of being exiled to a ghastly netherworld for spilling the beans about the deadly aliens, the men still can't transfer out of the unit where they've been confined since they first laid eyes on the Skinks. The reason is obvious: Who else but the legendary Thirty-fourth FIST has the skills and experience to spearhead the invasion of the Skinks' home world?
READ AN EXCERPT HERE
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STARFIST: WINGS OF HELL
by David Sherman & Dan Cragg
Mass Market
Planet Haulover has been invaded by Skinks. Until now, the aliens' existence has been hushed up. But Force Recon's shocking report leaves the Confederation no choice but to mount a military campaign against these alien predators bent on human destruction. Meanwhile, back home, the Confederation's president is being denounced as a warmonger out to exterminate "harmless" aliens. If she loses the upcoming elections, the Confederation will have a lot more Skinks to worry about than the ones on Haulover.
Newly promoted Lieutenant Charlie Bass and his third platoon have more pressing concerns, such as staying alive. But what would be a suicide mission for most—whether it's raiding a hidden Skinks base or destroying the enemy's most lethal weapons during a desperate firefight—is just another job for the Thirty-fourth FIST.
READ AN EXCERPT
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SPELLBENT
by Lucy A. Snyder
Mass Market
In the heart of Ohio, Jessie Shimmer is caught up in hot, magic-drenched passion with her roguish lover, Cooper Marron, who is teaching her how to tap her supernatural powers. When they try to break a drought by calling down a rainstorm, a hellish portal opens and Cooper is ripped from this world, leaving Jessie fighting for her life against a vicious demon that's been unleashed.
In the aftermath, Jessie, who knows so little about her own true nature, is branded an outlaw. She must survive by her wits and with the help of her familiar, a ferret named Palimpsest. Stalked by malevolent enemies, Jessie is determined to find out what happened to Cooper. But when she moves heaven and earth to find her man, she'll be shocked by what she discovers—and by what she must ultimately do to save them all.
PRAISE FOR SPELLBENT
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THE STEEL REMAINS
by Richard K. Morgan
Trade paperback
A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs Ringil Eskiath—Gil, for short—a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose cynicism is surpassed only by the speed of his sword. Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but when his mother enlists his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one young woman. Grim sorceries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of the Aldrain, a race of widely feared, cruel yet beautiful demons. Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.
READ AN EXCERPT
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'DANTE'S INFERNO'
by Dante Alighieri
Trade paperback
All hell is breaking loose. Electronic Arts' thrilling video game 'Dante's Inferno' has exploded on the scene and this book provides unique insight into its creation. Go back to the source with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's celebrated translation of Dante's epic poem. Presented here in its entirety, the poem provides the original foundation and inspiration for the game. Then learn the game's creators turned the Dante's notorious Nine Circles of Hell into the hottest game around.
In sixteen pages of stunning art, you'll discover how the monsters and characters—from King Minos and Cerberus to Lucifer himself—evolved from their classic images to the darkest creatures in damnation, and witness how the environments fashioned by the game's creators bring the tortured netherworld of absolute evil to hideous life. In addition, Executive Producer Jonathan Knight shares intriguing details about the process of adapting Dante's masterpiece into this epic videogame in a fascinating introduction written exclusively for this book.
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THE TALISMAN: THE ROAD OF TRIALS #3
by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Comic Book
Get thee to a comic shop, Stephen King/Peter Straub fans, horror and dark fantasy devotees, and comics lovers! On January 27, 2010, issue #3 of The Talisman, an adaptation of the classic Stephen King/Peter Straub novel—and Del Rey's first-ever honest-to-goodness comic book series returns to comics stores everywhere! Find your friendly neighborhood comic book store using the Comics Shop Locator
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