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ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER

DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER

Events and News from Borderlands Books

March, 2007

Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features

Simon Wood, ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN (Leisure), Saturday, March 10th at 5:00 pm (Please note the time of this event has changed from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.)

Kim Harrison, FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE (Eos), Saturday, March 24th at 1:00 pm

Tad Williams, SHADOWPLAY (DAW), Saturday, March 24th at 3:00 pm

Paramentals Reading, THE PARAMENTAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY (Red Snake Press), Sunday, March 25th at 3:00 pm

Richard Lupoff and the New Retro Radio Players present "Streamliner," from TERRORS (Elder Signs Press) Saturday, April 7th at 3:00 pm

Borderlands and Variety Children's Charity present "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "The Thing" at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Thursday, April 12th at 7:00 pm (Yes, it really is *Thursday*, April 12th!)

Robert Balmanno, SEPTEMBER SNOW (Regent), Saturday, April 14th from  12:00 - 2:00 pm

Scott Sigler, ANCESTOR (Dragon Moon Press), Saturday, April 21st at 1:00 pm

Ray Garton, NIGHT LIFE (Leisure), Saturday, April 21st at 3:00 pm

John Scalzi, THE LAST COLONY (Tor), Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 pm

Ellen Klages, PORTABLE CHILDHOODS (Tachyon), Saturday, April 28th at 3:00 pm

Holly Black, IRONSIDE (Margaret K. McElderry), and Cassandra Clare, CITY OF BONES (Margaret K. McElderry), Thursday, May 10th at 7:00 pm

Esther Friesner, TEMPTING FATE (Puffin), Thursday, May 24th at 7:00 pm

We're also planning events with Katharine Kerr, Carol Berg, and many others, so stay tuned!

(for more information check the end of this section)

News

* Borderlands Books, like 95.5% of everyone on Earth, now has a MySpace page.  You can visit us there at <http://www.myspace.com/borderlandsbooks>

* For all the (legions of) Steven Erickson fans out there, Kevin Peters (our fabulous Tor Books representative) has brought the following incredible Encyclopaedia Malazica website to our attention <https://starvalddemelain.pbwiki.com/>.  Thanks, Kevin!

* Thanks to Ethan Annis and Leslie Zane for the following event info:

Kim Stanley Robinson appears at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, March 21 at The Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road, in the Community Room.  No RSVP necessary.
An interview with Ray Bradbury live via satellite will take place at 4:00 pm on Friday, March 23rd at Sequoia High School, (1201 Brewster Ave, Redwood City, in Carrington Hall).  To RSVP for this interview, the address is <jthorne(at)montalvoarts.org>.
For more information about either of these events, visit
<http://www.montalvoarts.org/thebigread.html>.

*John Scalzi interviews author Jon Armstrong, and they discuss Jon's debut novel GREY, Japan, and our very own DVD column author extraordinaire/one-half of Night Shade Books, Jeremy Lassen.   http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/2007/03/07/wednesday-author-interview-jon-armstrong/7229

*And speaking of John Scalzi, (who will be here on April 26th, y'know,) Jonathan Strahan is running a contest on his blog, so you can win an advance reading copy of Scalzi's new book, THE LAST COLONY.  <http://www.jonathanstrahan.com.au/wp/2007/03/04/scalzi-last-colony-arc-competition/>

From The Office

I have a bunch of things to talk about this month.  Probably the coolest thing that I have to announce is our first publishing project.  This month we'll be premiering The Paramental Appreciation Society.  It's a chapbook collecting four stories by Seth Lindberg, Claud Reich, Loren Rhoads and Lilah Wild and illustrated by Mairi L. Beacon with an introduction by Pat Murphy.  Needless to say, the stories are wonderful and really capture the unique character of San Francisco.  Since it's our first venture I've kept the print run very small.  There are only 100 numbered copies and 26 lettered copies so you'd best reserve your copy fast.  The chapbook will go on sale on the 25th of this month when we host a reading with all four contributors.  For more info, check out the events section of this newsletter. 

The second thing is that I'd like to ask all you customers out there for a favor.  You've all been kind enough to support Borderlands over the years and I'd like to return the favor, at least in a small way.  My rule in business is to try to work with my friends, neighbors and customers whenever possible.  It has always seemed reasonable to try to "keep the money in the family," as my mom likes to put it.  The catch is that, though you all know where I work, I don't know what many of you do for a living nor where you work.  So, if you're willing, I'd like it if you could drop me a line and let me know what you do for a living and where you do it.  I don't mean to pry and if you'd rather not tell me, that's fine.  But, I think it would be really neat if, for example, I needed some work done on the Borderlands web site, I could look at our mailing list and find one of our customers to do the job.  Likewise, if you're a bartender, I love to stop by for a drink at your place (assuming I ever get time to go out for drinks again).  Anyway, you get the idea. If you like, any information you give will be covered by our existing you'd-better-show-me-a-court-order-and-I'll-still-call-my-lawyer privacy policy, however I'd like to be able to recommend your services or business to other Borderlands customers.  So, if you're willing, drop us a line at office(at)borderlands-books.com (or just reply to this email) and let me know what you do, where you do it, and if you want me to keep this information completely confidential.  And think, the next irritating customer who calls you might be . . . me!

Thirdly, continuing on the general topic of community -- Borderlands is on MySpace.  If you are too, I'd love to put you on our friend list (and if you're not on MySpace, why not join up -- other than the creepy dating ads, it's kinda neat).  One plus to joining us on MySpace is that you'll get spiffy little notices about our events and other cool stuff at Borderlands.  Who knows, maybe we'll even get Ripley to contribute to the blog.  Go to <http://www.myspace.com/borderlandsbooks> to see our page.  As an aside, we're a bit new to MySpace and if you have any suggestions about how we can make our page better, please feel free (and even encouraged) to let me know at abeatts(at)borderlands-books.com.

Lastly, I have a less nice piece of news.  For years we have been happy to get books signed for out of town customers when we're having events with authors.  People mail us their books and, assuming that the author has time, we get them signed and then send them back.  In the past, we've asked that the customer pay the return shipping charge but other than that there was no fee for this service.  I'm afraid that is going to change.  The problem is that packing up the books to send back is actually taking up quite a bit of time.  Recently we spent two hours packing up books for a customer so we could send them back.  If I did all the work myself it might be different but I have to pay Heather, our splendid mail-order manager, to do the work.  And that starts to get expensive.  This doesn't even consider the cost of packing material.  So, from now on we're going to have to charge a nominal $1 service fee for each book mailed to us for signatures.  I'm sorry to do this but the balance sheet and good business really give me no choice.  This won't have any effect on people who drop books off to get signed and pick them up later, only people who are mailing us their own books.

Whew, that was quite a bit of business.  Thanks for sticking in there through all the announcements.  Next month I hope to have a more interesting piece for this space.  I received several interesting comments about my January article about Barnes and Nobel's and Borders' sales over the holidays and I intend to address them and also (and I hate this part) eat some crow.  So, don't miss it next month.

Best,
Alan

Origin of the Bookstore, Part the Fifth

For the next eight months we'll be doing a special feature each month in honor of Borderlands' upcoming 10th Anniversary (November 3rd, 2007). We'll share some stories about what Borderlands is and how it got that way.

The Decor, or "Is this a library or do you sell books?"

People frequently comment on how nice Borderlands looks.  Sometimes they seem a little surprised that the shop looks so good and their surprise often seems to be strangely amplified when they consider our specialty.  It was probably best put by Terry Pratchett the first time he visited.  He walked in, looked around and declared, "This can't be a Science Fiction shop, it hasn't sh*t all over the floor!"

Though I don't agree with Mr. Pratchett's assessment of Science Fiction shops in general, I do think Borderlands looks good.  I'll even go so far as to say it looks better to me than most bookstores.  But however nice it looks, the paint scheme, wooden fixtures and floors, oriental carpets, and "old fashioned" touches (like the lock on the bathroom door -- which I think is doing very well for its age, despite the occasional customer who worries about getting trapped in there.  What's so complicated about "wiggle the key in, turn counter clockwise to unlock, now turn knob clockwise to open"?  I should be so lucky as to be doing that well when I'm 100 years old!)  Ummm, what was I saying?  Right . . . .

The overall look of the shop is a little "olde time" for a sci-fi bookstore.  It might fit the supernatural just fine and fit fantasy well but SF?  Kinda' dated.  And it looks like that by accident.

When I was first looking for a place to open my shop, I had a hard time.  I needed somewhere that was small (so I could cover the rent) and in the right kind of neighborhood.  Considering what rents were like back then, I could only afford around 1000 square feet.  Also, some areas of town were just a little too frisky for me (like the one storefront I looked at on Mission St. that had a (relatively fresh) bloodstain on the sidewalk right by the door).  I looked all over town, I talked to realtors, I watched the paper feverishly but nothing turned up.  This went on for months.

During these months I spent lots of time thinking about what the shop would look like.  I was working at a motorcycle shop at the time and had access to plenty of metalworking equipment.  That, combined with a short budget and a sort of post-cyberpunk aesthetic meant that my mental image was very monochrome and industrial.  A steel counter, clear coated over a brushed finish and perhaps a little rust captured under the finish.  Black, modern shelving.  Trashy, post-modern furniture.  Industrial gray carpet.  Sort of William Gibson meets Philip K. Dick by way of Monster Garage.

One day I was heading back to the place I was staying and happened to be passing a building that had just been sold -- the "For Sale" sign was still up with a big "sold" banner across it.  The new owner was doing some work on it and it had a vacant storefront that looked pretty good.  I stopped and talked to the guy.  He showed me the space and it was darn close to perfect.  We chatted a bit and that was when I started to realize that he was a little nuts.

"What kind of business are you going to open?", he asked.

"A bookstore."  By then I had already realized that saying "A science fiction, fantasy and horror bookstore" did not improve my chances of getting a lease.  When I'd said that in the past, people had looked at me as if I was about to grow another eye, start twitching, or some damn thing.

"I don't read.", he said.

" . . . ?"

"You're going to have shelves.  What kind?  What are they going to be made out of?"

"Ummm, wood?"

"Painted or stained?"

I was realizing that this guy was a little . . . odd.  He'd already talked at great length about how he was refinishing the floors in the whole building, which had been built in the 1880's.  He'd also talked about the other buildings that he owned, all of which were old.

The light dawned and the BS started.

"Oh, stained without a doubt.  I think that will go best with the wood floors, don't you?  In fact, I think that it would be really nice to have the whole look of the place be kind of . . . you know . . . traditional."

I held my breath.

He looked at me.

He looked at me more.

"OK," he says, "Three years with a three year option.  We'll base the rent on a couple of comps in the area."

He might as well have been speaking Greek, but I got the idea that I had a space and, less than a week later (and after burying him under about 40 pages of very imaginative business plan) I had a lease.

And then he started to give me tips about what "traditional" looked like.  I did all the work -- paint and floor sanding, mostly -- and he covered the materials.  I learned a hell of a lot and it was a lot of hell.  My landlord had very high standards for this kind of work and he treated me more like a very junior member of his construction crew that like a tenant.  On a daily basis he would yell at me about something.  I really wanted him to be happy because in the first place, I had learned a long time ago that a landlord that likes you is far easier to deal with than one who doesn't.  In the second place I really thought that this guys was crazy enough about old buildings that, lease or no lease, he'd throw me out on my ass if he didn't like what I was doing. 

But when all was said and done, the place looked great and I found that I really liked it.  The customers liked it too.  And that tone has stuck ever since.

- Alan Beatts

Top Sellers At Borderlands

Hardcovers:
1. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
2. Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker
3. Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
4. You Suck by Christopher Moore
5. The Terror by Dan Simmons
6. Gods and Pawns by Kage Baker
7. Voices From the Street by Philip K. Dick
8. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
9. End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith by Clark Ashton Smith, edited by Scott Conners and Ron Hilger
10. Lord of the Silent Isles by Glen Cook

Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
2. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
3. Woken Furies by Richard Morgan (UK edition)
4. The Voyage of the Sable Keech by Neal Asher (UK edition)
5. Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson
6. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
7. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
8. Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook
9. Old Soldiers by David Weber tied with A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
10. To Serve and Submit by Susan Wright

Trade Paperbacks
1. Hardwired by Walter John Williams
2. Grey by Jon Armstrong
3. The Armageddon Rag by George R.R. Martin
4. Final Impact (Axis of Time vol. 3) by John Birmingham
5. The James Tiptree Award Anthology vol. 3, edited by Karen Joy Folwer, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin and Jeffrey D. Smith

Notes From a DVD Geek

In celebration of the release of "The Night of the Comet," March is All Zombie Month.  I know next month would be a better fit, with the Easter Holiday, but I'm trying to avoid the ire of the Catholic-Anti-Defamation league.

"Night of the Comet" is a much-talked-about silly 80's comedy zombie film that has never been on DVD.  It is a total artifact of its era, but is definitely worth seeing if you've never had the pleasure of watching it.

Forgive me for repeating myself, but in an all- zombie newsletter there's bound to be some repetition.  "Return of the Living Dead" is the greatest comedic zombie film of all time, so you might consider watching "Return. . ." with "Night of the Comet".  Another repeat recommendation is "Cemetery Man," which was finally released in the States on DVD last year.  It is also known by its original title, "Dellamorte Dellamore," and is the best existential-zombie love story ever put to film.  Another phenomenally successful comedic zombie film is of course "Shaun of the Dead".  If you're living under a rock, and haven't heard of this one, go watch it. It's great.

Since the new film "28 Months Later" is just ratcheting up its PR campaign, you should take this opportunity to watch the original film "28 Days Later".  This one was a groundbreaker in many ways -- it premiered the modern concept of "fast movers" -- zombies that don't just shuffle but run like Olympic athletes when questing for human flesh.  It brought the concept of "bio-zombies" to the US for the first non-video-game inspired time, and it proved the commercial viability of the zombie sub-genre, ensuring years of turgid remakes of better zombie films from Universal.

Those better films include Romero's original "Dawn of the Dead" which, even in its bloated, overly long and poorly paced "director's cut," was better then the remake, which did such a poor job of introducing and differentiating the characters that I couldn't tell them apart when they started dying.  The opening shot of the remake was brilliant, and if they had stopped there, with a 10 minute movie, it would have been infinitely better. But getting back to the original, I highly recommend you check out the "European" or "Argento" cut of Romero's classic.  Argento was a co-producer to the movie, and he edited the movie and re-scored it for the European audiences.  It was SHORTER then both the US theatrical release and the director's cut, but contained MORE gore then either.  The score was by long-time Argento collaborators Goblin, and the pacing was infinitely better then either of the two US cuts.  In fact, the Argento cut is my favorite version of this film.  And it can be found on DVD, on a 4 disk "ultimate edition," which also includes a significant documentary called "The Dead Will Walk".

Moving on to another "core" zombie director, let's talk Mario Bava.  The Italian schlock-meister had 3 films that need to be seen by any self-respecting zombie fan.  The first, "City of the Living Dead," which I mentioned last month, is getting a reissue from Blue Underground.  Next up is "The Beyond".  Both "City. . .", and "The Beyond" are rather incoherent, stylish messes that feature some beautiful set pieces, and are quintessential examples of Eurozombie madness.  The other film worth tracking down is "Zombie 2".  It is called "Zombie 2" because Romero's zombie epic was initially released in Europe with the title "Zombie," and the distributor owned sequel rights, and Bava was tapped to churn out a "sequel" to "Dawn of the Dead".  "Zombie 2" is really interesting, not because of the classic eyeball trauma scene, nor by its audacious shark vs. zombie fight sequence, but because it went back to Pre-Romero Zombie imagery, and flirted with Caribbean Voodoo zombie imagery and settings.

For one of the best examples of Pre-Romero Voodoo zombies, be sure to watch the Lewton-procured "I Walked With a Zombie".  Directed by Jacques Tourneur, this is a tour-de-force of racial, political and class tensions, wrapped up in a voodoo zombie ribbon.   For a very effective modern  re-working of this voodoo zombie theme, be sure to check out the seemingly non-zombie, post Romero Voodoo film "The Serpent and the Rainbow".  Bill Pulman delivers a phenomenal performance, and Wes Craven directed (arguably) the best film of his somewhat spotty career.

Moving to Japan, I wanted to point out that "Stacey," "Biozombie," and "Versus" are all excellent, and different takes on the zombie genre.  The cultural imperatives in Japan result in films that are very different, but the living/hungry dead prove to be universal icons.  For a very "playful" Japanese zombie movie, be sure to check out "Tokyo Zombie," which can be described as "Shaun of the Dead" meets "Kung Fu Hustle".

Of course there are literally hundreds of other quality zombie movies out there.  Be sure to email me and tell me YOUR favorite zombie film.  I've got to get ready for the October Halloween Zombie Triple Feature at the Variety Screening Room!

-Jeremy Lassen
jlassen@borderlands-books.com

Book Club Info

The Gay Men's Book Club will meet on Sunday, March 11th, at 5 pm to discuss Chi by Alexander Besher.  Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555(at)earthlink.net, for more information.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, March 18th, at 6 pm to discuss ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman. The book for April 15th is PATTERN RECOGNITION by William Gibson.  Please contact Jude at jfeldman(at)borderlands-books.com for more information.

Upcoming Event Details

Simon Wood, ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN (Leisure, Mass Market, $7.99), Saturday, March 10th at 5:00 pm (Please note the time of this event has changed from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.) - "Josh Michaels is worth more dead than alive.  He just doesn't know it yet.  He has no idea why someone would try to kill him, but clearly that's exactly what happened.  When an SUV forced Josh's car off the road and into a river, it might have been an accident.  But when Josh looked up at the road, expecting to see the SUV's driver rushing to help him, all he saw was the driver watching him calmly…then giving him a "thumbs down" sign.  That was merely the first attempt on Josh's life, all of them designed to look like accidents, and all of them very nearly fatal.  With his time-and maybe his luck-running out and no one willing to believe him, Josh had better figure out who wants him dead and why…before it's too late. "  Those of you who've heard Simon read his riveting and disturbing short stories at Borderlands before know how talented he is, and how excellently he paces his writing.  ACCIDENTS is his first novel release from a major publisher, and you won't want to miss this chance to hear him read.  You can get a peek at the first chapter here: <http://www.simonwood.net/Accidents.htm>.

Kim Harrison, FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE (Eos, Hardcover, $21.95), Saturday, March 24th at 1:00 pm -  Kim Harrison's world of the Hollows exploded on to the urban fantasy scene in DEAD WITCH WALKING, and her books just keep getting darker and better.  Publisher's Weekly has the following to say, "In bestseller Harrison's fifth demon-kicking extravaganza to feature Rachel Morgan, the first in hardcover, the Cincinnati-based bounty hunter and spell caster still possesses "the focus," a 5,000-year-old demon-crafted Were artifact.  With the help of her pixie partner Jenks and Detective Glenn, Rachel must deal with demons, the elf Trent Kalamack and master vampire Piscary, who along with angry Weres, struggle for possession of the artifact.  Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose and Rachel's alpha werewolf pal, David Hue, becomes the prime suspect of the FIB (aka the human-run Federal Inderland Bureau).  Action-packed and full of Rachel's persistent erotic ruminations, this titillating tale includes a shocking finale that will leave fans panting for the next installment in the Hollows series."  Come meet Kim, hear her read and learn all about the notorious burning bunny pins!  You can read a teaser here: <http://www.kimharrison.net/For_A_Few_Demons_More.htm>

Tad Williams, SHADOWPLAY (DAW, Hardcover, $26.95), Saturday, March 24th at 3:00 pm - Borderlands is thrilled to welcome Tad Williams back to the store!  This master of enormously elaborate fantasy returns with the second volume in the SHADOWMARCH series.  Publisher's Weekly says, " While juggling a complex epic fantasy plot may be child's play for veteran word-wizard Williams (OTHERLAND), the bewildered star players of the fine second volume in his Shadowmarch trilogy must deal with a very adult world being transformed by war, magic, secrets and a weird, powerful scrying-mirror.  Back in Southmarch, Hendon Tolly has usurped the throne, while King Olin's held in captivity in Hierosol.  Olin's young twins, Princess Briony and Prince Barrick Eddon, struggle to survive in exile on separate but equally perilous paths.  Barrick's trapped behind the Shadowline with Capt. Ferras Vansen; Gyir the Storm Lantern, a formidable, faceless fairy; and Skurn, a quirky talking raven. Briony's helped by a forest demigoddess and winds up with a band of endangered traveling thespians . . . bestseller Williams once again delivers a sweeping spellbinder full of mystical wonder."

Paramentals Reading, THE PARAMENTAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY (Red Snake Press, Limited Edition Chapbook, 100 numbered copies, $8.95, and 26 Lettered copies, $18.95), Sunday, March 25th at 3:00 pm - This is the (previously super-secret) event we've been so excited about; the debut of the first work by Borderlands Books' publishing imprint, Red Snake Press!   Vampires stroll Golden Gate Park.  Dragons prowl Nob Hill.  Witches craft curses and love potions in the Tenderloin.  And what's really chasing BART?  The Paramental Appreciation Society (Seth Lindberg, Claudius Reich, Loren Rhoads, and Lilah Wild) read from their new limited-edition chapbook here at Borderlands.  Members of the Paramentals have been published in Gothic.Net, Cemetery Dance, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, and more.  The self-titled chapbook collects four previously unpublished dark urban fantasies set in San Francisco.  Join us for an ad hoc tour of San Francisco's odd and unnatural corners.

Richard Lupoff and the New Retro Radio Players present "Streamliner," from TERRORS (Elder Signs Press, Trade Paperback, $16.95), Saturday, April 7th at 3:00 pm -  We're pleased to host a live, in-store "radio" adaptation of Richard Lupoff's story "Streamliner"!  The story was published in Lupoff's recent collection, TERRORS, and was written to feel like an old-fashioned radio drama.  "Streamliner" is a story of creepy noir-ish mystery set on a train -- journey back in time over 50 years, and meet the mysterious Whistler and Traveler, and the lovely, feisty, and unlucky Satin Blaine.  This event promises to be great fun, and those of you who previously enjoyed the in-store performances of the New Hermetic Order of Arcana especially won't want to miss it!

Borderlands and Variety Children's Charity present "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Directed by Philip Kaufman, 1978, 115 mins.) and "The Thing"  (Directed by John Carpenter, 1982, 109 mins.) at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Thursday, April 12th at 7:00 pm (Yes, it really is *Thursday*, April 12th!) - A double feature that reminds you to trust no one! The screenings will take place at Variety's Preview Room, located in The Hobart Building, 582 Market Street @ Montgomery, San Francisco.  Doors open at 6:30 pm and the first movie starts at 7:00 pm.  There will be short intermissions between the films.  Seating is limited and seats are available on a first-come, first seated basis, so arrive early!  Refreshments will be available for purchase, and your purchase benefits Variety Children's Charity of Northern California, a non-profit organization that supports children in local communities who are dealing with poverty, neglect, violence, and physical disabilities.  For more information about upcoming movies, write movies(at)borderlands-books.com.  For more information on Variety Children's Charity, see their web site at <http://www.varietync.org/> or write sffilmvariety(at)yahoo.com.

Robert Balmanno, SEPTEMBER SNOW (Regent Press, Trade Paperback, $15.95), Saturday, April 14th from  12:00 - 2:00 pm -  "Global warming and climate change have been rife for decades.  Gaia, a new religion originally devoted to preserving the earth, has been perverted.  A draconian regime controls everything, even the weather.  September, a woman of intellect and physical prowess, leads a rebellion.  She seeks to save the planet from a corrupt system so the healing process of earth can begin.  A futuristic dystopian story where mankind and physical life of the living planet are on collision course." Stop by for an informal chat with author Robert Balmanno and hear about his frighteningly plausible new novel.

Scott Sigler, ANCESTOR (Dragon Moon Press, Trade Paperback, $19.95), Saturday, April 21st at 1:00 pm - Podcasting pioneer Scott Sigler writes taut, scary novels.  Join us to hear him read from his newest science fiction-horror-thriller ANCESTOR!  This new novel tells the story of scientists on a remote island in Lake Superior struggling "to solve the problem of xenotransplantation -- using animal tissue to replace failing human organs.  Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals.  By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs.  Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions.  His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago -- an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry."

Ray Garton, NIGHT LIFE (Leisure, Mass Market, $7.99), Saturday, April 21st at 3:00 pm - Don't miss this opportunity to meet Ray Garton when he stops by the store to promote this sequel to the cult classic LIVE GIRLS.  Vampires in the suburbs and Garton's trademark brand of violence. This event, you are cautioned, is not for the faint of heart! 

John Scalzi, THE LAST COLONY (Tor, Hardcover, $23.95), Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 pm - We're so pleased that the awesome John Scalzi will be reading here!  His newest novel, THE LAST COLONY, is a follow-up to OLD MAN'S WAR and THE GHOST BRIGADES: "Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry.  With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.  That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game--as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war."

Ellen Klages, PORTABLE CHILDHOODS (Tachyon, Trade Paperback, $14.95), Saturday, April 28th at 3:00 pm - We were blown away by Ellen Klages' debut novel THE GREEN GLASS SEA, and we're glad to have her back presenting her new short story collection PORTABLE CHILDHOODS.  "Mysticism, heroism, cruelty, and compassion thread through these multifaceted tales—which range from the origins of the Manhattan Project to a culinary object-lesson, from 1950s corruption to a slight glitch in Creation. . . these stories are timeless and delightful, chilling and beautiful."

Holly Black, IRONSIDE (Margaret K. McElderry, Hardcover, $16.95), and Cassandra Clare, CITY OF BONES (Margaret K. McElderry, Hardcover, $17.95), Thursday, May 10th at 7:00 pm - More details to come.

Esther Friesner, TEMPTING FATE (Puffin), Thursday, May 24th at 7:00 pm - More details to come. 

Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge.  You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event).  For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs.  If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of the author's books signed or inscribed for you.  We can then either hold it until you can come in to pick it up or we can ship it to you.  Just give us a call or drop us an email.  If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed.  Call or email for details.

Chapter Two - Book Listings

Small Press Features

Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu Mythos: Terzah’s Sons by Victoria Copus  (Immanion Press, $20.99, Trade Paperback)

So Far, So Near by Mat Coward  (Elastic Press, $12.00, Trade Paperback, limited to 50 signed copies, and $35.00 Hardcover, limited to 26 signed and lettered copies)

Man Who Melted, The by Jack Dann  (Pyr, $15.00, Trade Paperback)

Wings in the Night - Weird Works of Robert E. Howard vol. 4 by Robert E. Howard  (Wildside Press, $12.95, Trade Paperback)

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees  (Cold Spring Press, $11.00, Trade Paperback)

Postscripts vol. 9 Winter 2006 by Peter Crowther, ed.  (PS Publishing, $45.00, Hardcover, limited to 150 signed and numbered copies, and Trade Paperback, $10.00) Stories by Jack Dann, John Grant, Jeff Vanermeer and others.

Illyria by Elizabeth Hand  (PS Publishing, $45.00, Hardcover, limited to 200 signed copies, and $18.00 Trade Paperback, limited to 300 copies)

Sagan Diary, The by John Scalzi  (Subterranean, $45.00, Hardcover, limited to 400 signed and numbered copies, and Trade Hardcover, $20.00)

Where or When by Steven Utley  (PS Publishing, $45.00, Hardcover, limited to 500 signed and numbered copies, and $90.00 Slipcased Hardcover, limited to 200 signed and numbered copies). Introduction by Howard Waldrop.

Jack Vance Treasury, The by Jack Vance  (Subterranean, $38.00, Hardcover)

Jimbo/ The Education of Uncle Paul by Algernon Blackwood  (Stark House, $19.95, Trade Paperback)

Last Burn In Hell - Director’s Cut by John Edward Lawson  (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $15.95, Trade Paperback)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A Tribute by Kevin McCarthy, ed. and Ed Gorman, ed. (Stark House, $17.95, Trade Paperback) - Essays by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tom Piccirilli and others.

Stains by Paul Finch  (Gray Friar Press, $38.00, Signed and numbered limited edition Hardcover) - Note - The signature is on a stick-in bookplate on the full title page.

Love Lies Dying by Steve Gerlach  (Bloodletting Press, $45.00, Hardcover) - One of 300 signed and numbered limited edition copies. Introduction by Brian Keene.

Rising, The: Death In Four Colors by Brian Keene  (Delirium Books, $35.00, Hardcover) - One of 500 signed and numbered copies. Illustrated by Zac Atkinson.

Via Dolorosa by Ronald Damien Malfi  (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $29.95, Hardcover)

Recalled to Life - The Cycle of The Aegis vol 1 by Weston Ochse  (Delirium Books, $50.00, Hardcover) - One of 250 signed and numbered copies.

Virgin by F. Paul Wilson  (Borderlands Press, $50.00, Hardcover) - Limited to 350 signed and numbered copies.

H.R. Giger’s Necronomicon vol. 2 by H.R. Giger  (Morpheus, $69.50, Oversized Hardcover)

Consuming Passion, A - Classic Vampire Stories Revisited by Tom English, ed.  (Dead Letter Press, $25.00, Chapbook) - Cover by Andy Fish.  “A True Story of a Vampire” by Count Eric Stenbock, “The Vampire of Croglin Grange” by Augustus Hare, “Good Lady Ducayne” by Mary E. Braddon. “The Last of the Vampires” by Phil Robinson, and “A Consuming Passion” by Tom English.  One of 26 lettered copies.

Tales From The Woeful Platypus by Caitlin R. Kiernan  (Subterranean, Undersized Hardcover, limited to  274 signed and numbered copies, $45.00 and Undersized Trade Hardcover, $20.00) - .  Comes with a chapbook titled The Black Alphabet: A Primer.

Talebones Issue 34, Winter 2006 by Patrick Swenson, ed. and Honna Swenson, ed. (Fairwood Press, $7.00, Other Softcover)

And Your Point is ? - Scorn & Meaning in Jeff Lint’s Work by Steve Aylett, ed.  (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $10.95, Trade Paperback)

You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop To a Coffee Shop: Scalzi On Writing by John Scazli  (Subterranean, $35.00, Hardcover) - One of 500 signed and numbered copies. 

New and Notable

Science Fiction and Fantasy:

Myth-told Tales by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye (Ace, $7.99, Mass Market)

M.Y.T.H Inc. in Action by Robert Asprin  (Ace, $6.99, Mass Market)

Valiant by Holly Black  (Simon Pulse, $7.99, Mass Market)

Titan by Ben Bova  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Proven Guilty - Dresden Files vol. 8 by Jim Butcher  (Roc, $7.99, Mass Market)

Pretender - Foreigner vol. 8 by C.J. Cherryh  (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market)

Shapers of Darkness - Winds of The Forelands vol. 4 by David B. Coe  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Sweet Silver Blues - Garrett P.I. vol. 1 by Glen Cook  (Roc, $6.99, Mass Market)

Regeneration - Species Imperative vol. 3 by Julie E. Czerneda  (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market)

Under Cover of Darkness by Julie E. Czerneda, ed.  (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market)

Drifter’s Run - Drifter vol. 2 by William C. Dietz  (Ace, $6.99, Mass Market)

Crusader - Wayfarer Redemption vol. 6 by Sara Douglass  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Children of Chaos by Dave Duncan  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

House of Chains - Malazan Book of the Fallen vol. 4 by Steven Erikson  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Mankind Witch, A by Dave Freer  (Baen, $7.99, Mass Market)

If I Were an Evil Overlord by Martin H. Greenberg, ed. and Russell Davis, ed. (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market)

In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Knight’s Blood by Julianne Lee  (Ace, $7.99, Mass Market)

Crystal Soldier - Great Migration Duology vol. 1 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Ace, $7.99, Mass Market)

Dark Mirror, The - The Bride Chronicles vol. 1 by Juliet Marillier  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Singer in the Snow by Louise Marley  (Firebird, $7.99, Mass Market)

Liar’s Oath by Elizabeth Moon  (Baen, $6.99, Mass Market)

Silver Lake, The - Warriors of Estavia vol. 1 by Fiona Patton  (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market)

Golden Hills of Westria, The by Diana L. Paxton  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Well of Stars, The by Robert Reed  (Tor, $7.99, Mass Market)

Watch on the Rhine (Die Wacht am Rhein) by John Ringo and Tom Kratman (Baen, $7.99, Mass Market)

Thirteenth House, The - A Novel of the Twelve Houses by Sharon Shinn  (Ace, $7.99, Mass Market)

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair  (Bantam, $6.99, Mass Market)

King’s Blood by Judith Tarr  (Roc, $7.99, Mass Market)

Deadstock- A Punktown Novel by Jeffrey Thomas  (Solaris, $7.99, Mass Market)

Obsidian Key, The Legend of Asahiel vol. 2 by Eldon Thompson  (Eos, $7.99, Mass Market)

Alternate Generals vol. 3 by Harry Turtledove, ed.  (Baen, $7.99, Mass Market)

Warrior Angel by Margaret Weis and Lizz Weis (Avon, $6.99, Mass Market)

Darkland by Liz Williams  (Tor, $15.23, Mass Market)

To Serve and Submit by Susan Wright  (DAW, $6.99, Mass Market)

Fast Forward vol. 1 by Lou Anders, ed.  (Pyr, $15.00, Trade Paperback) - Original stories by Kage Baker, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Di Filippo, Ken MacLeod, Larry Niven & Brenda Cooper, Mike Resnick & Nancy Kress, Robert Charles Wilson, Gene Wolfe and others!

Grey by Jon Armstrong  (Night Shade Books, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

September Snow - Blessings of Gaia vol. 1 by Robert Balmanno  (Regent Press, $15.95, Trade Paperback)

Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint  (Orb, $15.95, Trade Paperback)

Best of The Best, The - vol. 2 by Gardner Dozois, ed.  (St. Martin's, $19.95, Trade Paperback)

Ink - The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan  (Del Rey, $15.95, Trade Paperback)

Breakfast With The Ones You Love by Eliot Fintushel  (Bantam Spectra, $12.00, Trade Paperback)

Fair Folk, The by Marvin Kaye, ed.  (Ace, $15.00, Trade Paperback) - Stories by Patricia A. McKillip, Tanith Lee, Kim Newman and others

Magic Lessons - Magic or Madness vol. 2 by Justine Larbalestier  (Firebird, $7.99, Trade Paperback)

Long Twilight and Other Stories, The by Keith Laumer  (Baen, $14.00, Trade Paperback)

Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye, The by Jonathan Lethem  (Harcourt Brace & Company, $14.00, Trade Paperback)

Plot to Save Socrates, The by Paul Levinson  (Tor, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

Odalisque - Percheron Saga vol. 1 by Fiona McIntosh  (Eos, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

King Rat by China Mieville  (Tor, $15.95, Trade Paperback)

Barnum Museum, The by Steven Millhauser  (Dalkey Archive Press, $12.95, Trade Paperback)

Heris Serrano by Elizabeth Moon  (Baen, $18.00, Trade Paperback) - Hunting Party, Winning Colors and Sporting Chance in one volume.

Legacy of Gird, The by Elizabeth Moon  (Baen, $18.00, Trade Paperback) - SURRENDER NONE and LIAR’S OATH in one volume.

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon  (Del Rey, $13.95, Trade Paperback)

Vengeance of Rome, The by Michael Moorcock  (Vintage, $17.21, Trade Paperback)

Red Hart Magic by Andre Norton  (Starscape, $5.99, Trade Paperback)

Time’s Child by Rebecca Ore  (Eos, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

Sound Mind by Tricia Sullivan  (Orbit, $19.17, Trade Paperback)

Every Inch a King by Harry Turtledove  (Del Rey, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

Lurulu by Jack Vance  (Tor, $13.95, Trade Paperback) - Sequel to Ports of Call.

Pound of Flesh, A by Susan Wright  (Roc, $14.00, Trade Paperback)

Fantasms by Len Bailey  (Starscape, $17.95, Hardcover)

Deliverer - Foreigner vol. 9 by C.J. Cherryh  (DAW, $25.95, Hardcover)

Weavers of War by David B. Coe  (Tor, $27.95, Hardcover)

Lost Colony, The - Artemis Fowl vol. 6 by Eoin Colfer  (Hyperion Books, $16.95, Hardcover)

Lord of the Silent Isles - Instrumentalities of the Night vol. 2 by Glen Cook  (Tor, $27.95, Hardcover)

Best of The Best, The vol. 2 by Gardner Dozois, ed.  (St. Martin's, $40.00, Hardcover)

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge  (HarperCollins, $16.99, Hardcover)

Echoes of An Alien Sky by James P. Hogan  (Baen, $24.00, Hardcover)

By Slanderous Tongues by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis (Baen, $25.00, Hardcover)

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville  (Del Rey, $17.95, Hardcover) - We have just a few signed copies left, since China was kind enough to drop by the store!

Elysium Commision, The by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.  (Tor, $24.95, Hardcover)

Command Decision - Vatta’s War vol. 4 by Elizabeth Moon  (Del Rey, $24.95, Hardcover) - Just a few signed copies left!

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty by Tim Sandlin  (Riverhead, $24.95, Hardcover)

Shadowplay - Shadowmarch vol. 2 by Tad Williams  (DAW, $26.95, Hardcover)

Horror:

Shadows in The Starlight by Elaine Cunningham  (Tor, $6.99, Mass Market)

Ghoul by Brian Keene  (Leisure, $7.99, Mass Market)

Dead Souls by Michael Laimo  (Leisure, $6.99, Mass Market)

Beast House, The by Richard Laymon  (Leisure, $7.99, Mass Market)

Age of Consent by Howard Mittelmark  (Signet, $7.99, Mass Market)

Scent of Shadows, The - The First Sign of the Zodiac (Zodiac vol. 1) by Vicki Pettersson  (Eos, $6.99, Mass Market)

Dante’s Girl by Natasha Rhodes  (Solaris, $7.99, Mass Market)

Freakshow, The by Bryan Smith  (Leisure, $6.99, Mass Market)

Blood and Rust by S.A. Swiniarski  (DAW, $7.99, Mass Market) - Omnibus edition of RAVEN and THE FLESH, THE BLOOD, AND THE FIRE.

Purgatory’s Gate by Raymond van Over  (Jove, $6.99, Mass Market)

Accidents Waiting to Happen by Simon Wood  (Leisure, $7.99, Mass Market)

X Rated Bloodsuckers by Mario Acevedo  (HarperCollins, $13.95, Trade Paperback) - The sequel to NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS.

Wicked, The by L. A. Banks  (St. Martin's, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce  (Dover, $8.95, Trade Paperback)

Bare Bone #9 by Kevin L. Donihe, ed.  (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $9.95, Trade Paperback)

Night Rising - Vampire Babylon vol. 1 by Chris Marie Green  (Ace, $14.00, Trade Paperback)

Lost Echoes by Joe R. Lansdale  (Vintage, $13.95, Trade Paperback)

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld  (Razor Bill, $8.99, Trade Paperback)

Currency of Souls by Kealan Patrick Burke  (Subterranean, $40.00, Hardcover)

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill  (William Morrow, $24.95, Hardcover)

Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris  (Prime Crime, $7.99, Mass Market) - Reissue of Harris’s fist novel.

Next, The by Dan Vining  (Berkley, $7.99, Mass Market)

Non-Fiction

Coroner’s Journal: Forensics and the Art of Stalking Death by Louis Cataldie, M.D.  (Berkley, $14.0, Trade Paperback)

She’s Such a Geek - Women Write About Science, Technology & Other Nerdy Stuff by Annalee Newitz, ed. and Charlie Anders, ed. (Seal Press, $14.95, Trade Paperback)

In Other Words by John Crowley  (Subterranean, $35.00, Hardcover)

New York Review of Science Fiction Number 222 Vol. 19, No.6 by Kevin J. Maroney, ed. and David G. Hartwell, ed. (Dragon Press, $4.00, Oversized Softcover)

New and Notable DVDs

Kibakichi directed by Tomo-o Haraguchi (Saiki Films, $24.95, DVD) - Mikael shares: "I watched a cool Japanese film called Kibakichi.  Half man, half werewolf, all samurai.  Really, what more could you want?  Cool, tragic, tacky -- it has it all!  It shows the Japanese folklore monsters were more decent than the cruel, lying humans.  Costumes ranged from the not bad down to 70's TV show level, and it had a strange bit where rather advanced tech showed up for feudal Japan. The Gatling gun I could deal with in a pinch, but the hand grenades were clearly post-WW2 or later models.  Some very good bits though the main attack scene was over-long and poorly edited, and almost everyone dies, of course."

Elfen Lied directed by Jin Ho Chung  (ADV Films, $49.98, DVD) - Anime. Complete Series on 3 disks

Seven Swords directed by Tsui Hark  (Genious Productions Inc., $24.95, DVD)

Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle directed by Sogo Ishii  (Tokyo Shock, $29.95, DVD)

Aragami: The Raging God of Battle directed by Ryuhei Kitamura  (Tokyo Shock, $29.95, DVD)

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi / Sonatine directed by Takeshi Kitano  (Mirimax, $19.99, DVD)

Yojimbo / Sanjuro directed by Akira Kurosawa  (Criterion, $69.95, DVD)

Trilogy of Terror: Special Edition directed by Dan Curtis  (Dark Sky Films, $19.98, DVD)

Edgar Allan Poe Collection: Vol. 1: Annabel Lee directed by George Higham  (Lurker Films, $20.00, DVD)

Call of Cthulhu, The directed by Andrew Leman  (HPLHS, $20.00, DVD)

H. P. Lovecraft Collection Vol. 1: Cool Air directed by Bryan Moore  (Lurker Films, $20.00, DVD)

H. P. Lovecraft Collection Vol. 2: Rough Magik directed by Stephen Parson  (Lurker Films, $20.00, DVD)

Love Ghost directed by Kazuyuki Shibuya  (Tokyo Shock, $19.95, DVD)

The Weird Tales Collection Vol. 1: The Yellow Sign directed by Aaron Vanek  (Lurker Films, $20.00, DVD)

Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms directed by Phil Weinstein  (Anchor Bay, $19.98, DVD)

Featured Upcoming Titles

(These titles have not arrived yet.  You may pre-order any of these books by calling or emailing us.  Prices may be subject to change.  Of course, we have many more titles arriving each week . . . call or email us if you're curious about a particular upcoming title not listed here.)

20TH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill (HarperCollins) - Originally published by PS Publishing in a small limited edition, the trade hardcover edition of the first story collection from the incredibly popular Joe Hill will be available October 16th, 2007!

9 TAIL FOX by John Courtenay Grimwood (Night Shade Books, Trade Paperback, $14.95) - Coming in May.  I have previously raved about this San Francisco noir police procedural with a very weird twist.  Fans of Richard Morgan take note -- you'll love this one.

This newsletter is distributed monthly free of charge and may be distributed without charge so long all the following information is included.

Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts
Contributor - Jeremy M. Lassen

All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of

Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA  94110
415-824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com

Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com

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