TABLE OF CONTENTS



DECEMBER 2007

Dear Readers,

It's January. It's winter. And I am a master of the obvious. What else is new? The year is new. The moon might even be new. I'm not sure.

I am sure, however, that it was recently Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 90th birthday. It is an honor for Del Rey to publish his work, especially his latest collaboration with Stephen Baxter, Firstborn, the third book in A Time Odyssey, which revisits the mysterious alien race Sir Arthur introduced in 2001. The series began with Time's Eye and was followed by Sunstorm, both of which are now available in paperback. Our sidebar this month is a very interesting piece by Stephen Baxter on his work with Firstborn. Please do have a look.

Other books of interest this month are Fall of Kings, the late David Gemmell's final novel in his series about the battle of Troy. It is truly a crowning achievement in a truly remarkable career. We also have a book from Charlie Huston with Half the Blood of Brooklyn, and an original novel set in the world of television's top-rated series Heroes.

And it is Del Rey's pleasure to introduce Gregory Frost's fantasy novel Shadowbridge, the first in a duology that Jeffrey Ford calls "beautifully written and realized." The book has received very good advance praise from the trade magazines as well. Publishers Weekly calls it "a sparkling gem of mythic invention and wonder," and Locus speculates that "Frost could be on his way toward a masterpiece." If you're going to read one new author this year, read Frost. "Because if it's not love, then it's the bomb."


Enjoy yourself,

Fleetwood
frobbins@randomhouse.com


NEWS

DEL REY NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS


AUTHORS ON TOUR

TODD MCCAFFREY will be appearing at the locations below to sign copies of Dragon Harper, the new novel of Pern, co-written with Anne McCaffrey.

1/8 @ 7 PM
Booksmith in San Francisco, CA
164 Haight Street

1/9 @ 7 PM
University Bookstore in Seattle, WA
4326 University Way NE

1/12 @ 2 PM
Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

1/15 @ 7 PM
Barnes & Noble in Salt Lake City, UT
1104 East 2100 South

1/17 @ 7 PM
Barnes & Noble in Long Beach, CA
6326 East Pacific Coast Highway

If Todd McCaffrey won't be visiting your city on tour, you can still receive a signed or personalized copy of Dragon Harper! Todd will stop by The Signed Page in January and sign copies of Dragon Harper to your specifications. It is a great way for Todd to reach out to Pern fans, and helps give people everywhere the chance to own a signed or personalized copy of the new Pern book, at regular cover price.

Learn more about this signing and The Signed Page. Order today!

CRITICS' PICKS

The San Francisco Chronicle has included China Mieville's UN LUN DUN and Naomi Novik's new Temeraire novel, EMPIRE OF IVORY, in its list of the top 10 science fiction books of the year!

Meanwhile, Michael Chabon's GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD—the story of two unlikely companions seeking fame along the Silk Road circa 950 AD—has hit bestseller lists nationwide and garnered high critical praise:

"A delightful work of genre fiction." —New York Post

"[An] altogether enjoyable and thought-provoking new book." —Los Angeles Times

"Michael Chabon surprises again in this picaresque adventure." —The Washington Post

"Intricate and exuberant."—The New York Times Book Review

"An audacious road trip."—USA Today

"A blast to read." —The Columbus Dispatch

"Positively liberating. Chabon spins his story in elaborate prose, complete with ruffles and flourishes... you'll definitely want to catch up with Chabon's happy extravaganza."
—The Hartford Courant

"A lively little tale... Chabon is as comfortable in medieval times as he is in postwar Alaska, pre-war Prague or late-20th century Pittsburgh."
—The Seattle Times

And over at the Los Angeles Times, HARM by Brian W. Aldiss has been named one of the "Favorite SciFi Books of 2007."

 

BLADE RUNNER CONTEST

It's been 25 years since Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos starred in Blade Runner, the stunning adaptation of Philip K. Dick's classic novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Now Warner Home Video commemorates the anniversary by releasing Ridley Scott's brilliant new director's cut. Go to www.bladerunnerthemovie.com for information on the December 18 release of the DVD and hi-def versions of this classic film, including fabulous bonus features! And now available from Del Rey: the 25th anniversary edition of the Blade Runner tie-in novel, which contains 24 pages of new material, including a piece on how the novel came to the big screen, by Paul Sammon.

If you'd like to receive the new director's cut for yourself, let us know! Send your emails to delrey@randomhouse.com with BLADE RUNNER 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 contest). Five (5) lucky winners will be selected at random and will receive a copy of the 2-DVD set courtesy of Warner Home Video. All submissions must be received by January 3, 2007.


MANUSCRIPTS DELIVERED

It's been a good month for trilogies. Terry Brooks has delivered the much-anticipated third book in the GENESIS OF SHANNARA series, and the manuscript has arrived for the first book in Morgan Howell's new trilogy THE SHADOWED PATH.

And with almost superhuman speed, Peter David has delivered his manuscript for the official novelization of Iron Man, to be published at the time of the eponymous movie's release.




 

What's it like writing with Anne McCaffrey on Pern?


Difficult! Originally, when I was working on Dragonholder, Mum and I talked about doing a collaboration following on from All the Weyrs of Pern. We batted about some ideas. I was particularly interested in exploring the concept of "two riders, one dragon" —the idea that perhaps some tragedy had occurred wherein one dragon had given his life to save another's.

As I got late on Dragonholder, I learned from Mum that she'd decided to start without me. I got a phone call from her late one saying with her sobbing, saying, "I can't kill the dragon!"

She didn't, and everyone loves The Skies of Pern.

However, by that time I'd had the idea for Dragonsblood and was slowly working on it.

Before that, Mum had thought that perhaps we could collaborate on sequels to Nimisha's Ship. Nothing has come of that yet, although we have copious notes and some good thoughts.

However, not long after, Mum wrote to say that she was doing an anthology of Pern-related short fiction, and would I write one for her? She thought perhaps something to do with Piemur before he came to the Harper Hall. I thought about it for a bit and wrote her back with an outline which she loved.

Only then she discovered that the anthology was only to be of her original stories, she couldn't use stories by me or my sister, Gigi. Sigh. I was really quite depressed by that.

Then she wrote and asked if perhaps she could write the story based on my outline.


Read more. . .



Jedi vs. Sith: A Production Editor's View


Jedi master A'Sharad Hett wielding two lightsabers. (Edwards)


Hi, this is production editor Erich Schoeneweiss with some behind-the-scenes insight (in 200 words or less, as per instructions) into the creation of
Star Wars Jedi vs. Sith:
The Essential Guide to the Force, a book that took us over a year to create. You don't want to hear the boring day-to-day nitty gritty, but here are some quick fun facts you may not know.

* I can tell you that Tommy Lee Edwards is not a big fan of painting ships and the expanded universe (although he does both so incredibly well).

* Chris Trevas is such a Star Wars fan, he found out that Warren Fu (the ILM concept artist behind General Grievous) used himself as reference for Sifo Dyas. Chris contacted Warren and he supplied Chris with a few new reference photos of himself for the Sifo Dyas painting in this book.

* To our knowledge, suspected Sith sympathizer Ingo Wavlud had never been illustrated before. Del Rey editor Keith Clayton and I thought it would be fun to use author Ryder Windham as the reference for the character. Star Wars Celebration IV found the whole creative gang out in Los Angeles and Chris staged an impromptu photo shoot of Ryder at dinner one night.


Suspected Sith sympathizer Ingo Wavlud. (Trevas)


* That round disk in the painting of Wavlud is actually the waiter's serving tray! Don't believe me? Look at Ingo's painting and Ryder's author photo. Tell me they're not the same guy!

Ugh, I'm at 232 words now. Before the Del Rey orchestra plays me off I want to quickly thank Dave Stevenson in our art department (he's responsible for many of the incredible Del Rey cover and jacket designs you see), Penny Haynes for fixing the punctuation, grammar, and spelling on tricky words like Kashyyyk and Yuuzhon Vong, and Brad Foltz Design for making it all look so cool. In the end, it was a year of fun and really hard work by a good number of people. It's all worth it, though, if you, our Del Rey readers, enjoy it.


Dark Jedi Malak and Revan proclaim themselves the new Dark Lords of the Sith. (Trevas)



Darth Vader interrogates Princess Leia Organa. (Trevas)



Luke Skywalker duels Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya. (Edwards)




NEW RELEASES

DRAGON HARPER
by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (Fantasy)
Hardcover

Not all dangers in Pern descend from the skies. In their third collaboration, Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey spin a tale of a mysterious illness that may succeed in doing what centuries of Threadfall could not: kill every last human on Pern.

Read an excerpt


BEST OF ROBERT E. HOWARD V2
by Robert E. Howard (Fantasy)
Trade Paperback

From the imagination of legendary storyteller Robert E. Howard sprang an army of larger-than-life heroes-including the iconic Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn-as well as adventures that would define a genre for generations. This second volume of Howard's breathtaking short fiction runs the gamut from sword and sorcery, historical epic, and seafaring pirate adventure to two-fisted crime and intrigue, ghoulish horror, and rip-roaring western.

Read an excerpt

STAR WARS: JEDI VS. SITH: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE FORCE
by Ryder Windham (Science Fiction)
Trade paperback

This comprehensive one-of-a-kind overview chronicles the known history of the Force and its wielders down through the ages, from the founding tenets of Jedi and Sith teachings to the landmark events and legendary figures who have shaped the struggle between the light and dark sides.
STAR WARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: FURY
by Aaron Allston (Science Fiction)
Mass Market

Fighting alongside the Corellian rebels, Han and Leia are locked in a war against their son Jacen, who grows more powerful and more dangerous with each passing day. Nothing can stop Jacen's determination to bring peace with a glorious Galactic Alliance victory-whatever the price.

Read an excerpt

DRAGON'S FIRE
by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey (Fantasy)
Mass Market

When the last remaining firestone mine explodes in flames, a desperate race begins to find a new deposit of the deadly but essential mineral, for without it there can be no defense against Thread.

Read an excerpt
1824: THE ARKANSAS WAR
by Eric Flint (Alternate History)
Mass market

In the newest volume of this exhilarating series, Arkansas has become a country of its own, and its lifeblood is infected with the slave trade. The war of 1824 will be a bloody crisis of conscience, politics, economics, and military maneuvering that will draw in players from as far away as England—men for whom it is a time to change history itself.

Read an excerpt


AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
by H.P. Lovecraft (Horror)
Mass market

The Barren, windswept interior of the Antarctic plateau was lifeless—or so the expedition from Miskatonic University thought. Then they found the strange fossils of unheard-of creatures... and the carved stones tens of millions of years old... and, finally, the mind-blasting terror of the City of the Old Ones.

Read an excerpt



  Click here for new MANGA RELEASES





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