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ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News from Borderlands Books
June, 2007
Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features
Borderlands,
Variety Children's Charity, and the Gay Geeks' Group present "Galaxy Quest"
and "The Hunger" at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street,
Thursday, June 14th at 7:00 pm
Jacqueline Carey, KUSHIEL'S JUSTICE (Warner, Hardcover, $26.99), Saturday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm
Greg Benford and Paul Park are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview
Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Monday, June 25th at 7:00 pm
Morbid Curiosity Magazine Battles Breast Cancer: A Fundraiser, Wednesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm
Lois McMaster Bujold Drop-By Signing, Friday, June 29th
Cecelia Tan, "How I Edited 30 Anthologies of Erotic Science Fiction and Kept
My Sanity (I think...)", Thursday July 5th at 7:00 pm
Borderlands and Variety Children's Charity present "The Bride With White
Hair" and "Green Snake" at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at
2nd Street, Thursday, July 12th at 7:00 pm
Kage Baker, SONS OF HEAVEN (Tor, Hardcover, $25.95), Saturday, July 14th at 3:00 pm
Emma Bull, TERRITORY (Tor, Hardcover, $24.95 ) and Will Shetterly, GOSPEL
OF THE KNIFE (Tor, Hardcover, $25.95), Monday, July 16th at 7:00 pm
Lisa Goldstein and Tad Williams are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview
Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00 pm
Mike Carey, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (Warner, Hardcover, $24.99), Thursday, July 19th at 7:00 pm
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (Scholastic, Hardcover $29.99 and Special
Edition Slipcased Hardcover $60.00), Release Party, Friday, July 20th 10:00
pm - Saturday, July 21st at 1:00 am (Books will be on sale at midnight.)
Austin Grossman, SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE (Pantheon, Hardcover, $22.95), Saturday, July 21st at 3:00 pm
Laura Anne Gilman, BURNING BRIDGES (Luna, Trade Paperback, $14.95), Thursday, August 2nd at 7:00 pm
(for more information check the end of this section)
And, watch this space for even more exciting events! Coming up in a
few months are readings with Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, the infamous
LitQuake LitCrawl, and F. Paul Wilson, too!
News
*
The First Annual B Movie Celebration will be held in Franklin, Indiana
August 17th to 19th. The Celebration will feature screenings of over
50 classic B movies, as well as personal appearances from such B greats as
special effects guru Tom Savini, B director Jim Wynorski, and Ed Wood almuni
Conrad Brooks. The highlight of the celebration will be the presentation
of a Lifetime Achievment Award to the Mayor of Tromaville himself, Lloyd
Kaufman. The festival will also feature many other special events and
over 20 educational seminars dealing the art of the B film. For further
information see <http://www.bmoviecelebration.com>.
*The nominees for The Quill awards have been announced. The nominees
in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/ Horror category are: FARTHING by Jo Walton,
THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss, GETTING TO KNOW YOU by David Marusek,
BRASYL by Ian McDonald, and THE EXECUTION CHANNEL by Ken MacLeod. Ellen
Klages' THE GREEN GLASS SEA was also nomiated in the Children's category.
For a complete listing of the nominees, see <http://www.nbc5.com/thequills/13414972/detail.html>
* Borderlands has some more cool stuff to give away! We have two small
posters, and one large poster for DAY WATCH, and one ANANSI BOYS poster signed
by Neil Gaiman! This giveaway is for local customers only, I'm afraid,
as you need to be able to pick up the poster(s) from us. First email
requests to arrive will claim the posters, and you'll have one week to pick
up your poster. Email to office@borderlands-books.com.
*Buy a copy of one or all of The Tiptree Memorial Award Anthologies for your
hometown library! The Motherboard of the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial
Award urges you to purchase and a send a copy of one or all of the Tiptree
Memorial Award Anthologies to your hometown library, in the interests of
spreading the word about outstanding fiction that expands or explores our
understanding of gender, and making that outstanding fiction easily available
to the next generation.
*For those of you who have been following the San Francisco Retail Diversity
Study, here is an interesting Op/Ed piece by Michael Shuman, a respected
economist and the author of THE SMALL MART REVOLUTION: <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/05/16/EDGKOP3E851.DTL>
From The Office
Alan
says he has "nothing interesting to say at all" this month and so, rather
than waste your time reading him blather, "From The Office" will return next
month. Happy summer to everyone, and bundle up! - Ed.
Origin of the Bookstore, Part the Eighth
For the next
five 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.
Inventory
Being obsessive-compulsive and reasonably technically apt has its upsides
and its downsides. Both sides were demonstrated during the first inventory
at Borderlands.
When I decided to open the shop, one important part of my business plan was
to sell books online. Today, that's a pretty simple matter but at that
time it was not. In November of 1997, I had no idea how I was going
to sell books online but I did know one thing -- if I was going to, I'd need
an accurate database of all the books in the store.
So, in what was going to become my typical dammit-I'll-just-learn-it-myself
business model, I decided to brush up on a program called FileMaker (which
I had used years previously for databases in, it makes me blush to admit,
. . . role-playing games) and set up an inventory myself. It was easy
to do, after all, what do you need to keep track of with books? Title,
author's name, cover price, selling price, cost, and that should do it.
Right? Oh yeah, I figured that I'd better add the date it was published
and if it's a first printing, since I guessed that there were some people
who cared about that. And, there was this ten digit number on a lot
of these books, so I added that too. But beyond that, what else should
I need?
(Ten years later: No, that's not quite enough. At this point
there are over 50 separate pieces of data we keep about used books.
And more than that for new books.)
Once the database was set up, it was just a matter of getting all the books in the store entered into the database.
All. The books. In. The store.
Right now we have 14,000 titles in stock. Back then we didn't have
anything like as many. Only something like 4000. And it took
about three minutes to enter each one. I sat down at the table in what
was to be my office (I didn't have a desk yet) and did the math. 4000
times three minutes is 12,000. That divided by 60 is 200. 200
hours. And the store was supposed to be open in about four days.
Grab phone and start calling friends. Especially my computer consultant friend -
"Hi Bill, it's Alan."
"Hey."
"Um, how many used Macs do you have right now for sale?"
"I dunno, maybe a dozen or so."
"Can I rent all of them?"
"What the hell are you trying to do!?"
We chatted and finally Bill, bless his heart, agreed to bring them down to
the shop, set up a network, and install copies of Filemaker on all of them.
Then I started calling lots of other friends. Especially anyone who
could type quickly. I had accountants, legal secretaries, computer
programmers, and assorted other folks come down to the store (which by now
had computers set up on almost every flat surface) and start entering books.
I supplied all the pizza and soda that anyone could consume and we started
entering books.
I had to go buy fans to put in the smaller rooms (there were five separate
rooms in the old shop) because the heat from the computers and the people
made it like a sauna.
I had to explain not once but three times that, though I didn't care what
people did outside of the shop, no-one was going to bring (as one accountant
put it), "Chemicals often considered recreational but that are considerable
performance enhances for this kind of work" into my shop.
I briefly but completely lost my mind when I discovered that there were two
whole shelves of books that, after being entered into the inventory, had
been put back on the shelves in completely random order.
I bought all the black tea that was to be had in the neighborhood and a fair portion of all the coffee.
I again lost my mind when the files I was merging together got out of order and completely messed up four hours of work.
I got on a first name basis with the dispatcher at Mr. Pizza Man.
And it went on and on and on.
Then, about 48 hours later and completely without sleep, it was done.
And wonder of wonders, I still had some friends left and no one had killed me.
- Alan Beatts
Top Sellers At Borderlands
Hardcovers 1. Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction edited by Jeff Prucher
tie
Last Colony by John Scalzi
2. Ironside by Holly Black
3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
4. Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson
5. Brasyl by Ian McDonald
6. Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker
7. World War Z by Max Brooks
tie
Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner
8. Wizards edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
9. Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
10. Rude Mechanicals by Kage Baker
Mass Market Paperbacks 1. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
2. The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy
3. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
4. Tithe by Holly Black
5. Bonehunters by Steven Erikson
6. Light by M. John Harrison
7. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
8. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
9. Helix by Eric Brown
tie
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
tie
Red Lightning by John Varley
10. Beguilment by Lois McMaster Bujold
tie
Undead and Unpopular by Mary Janice Davidson
Trade Paperbacks 1. Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson
2. Overclocked by Cory Doctorow
3. James Tiptree Memorial Award Anthology vol. 3 edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin and Jeffrey D. Smith
tie
Snake Agent by Liz Williams
4. Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages
5. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Notes From a DVD Geek
Having just returned from
the Feminist Science Fiction Convention in Madison Wisconsin, where they
presented the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, I figured it was appropriate to lead
off this column with a Tiptree-related item: The Masters of Horror
Season Two episode from Joe Dante is called "The Screwfly Solution," and
is based on her short story of the same name. For those of you who
haven’t read it, it is included in the Tachyon collection HER SMOKE ROSE
UP FOREVER, or you can check it out at SciFi.com’s “classics” archive:
<http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/sheldon/sheldon1.html>. There’s also a very useful bio and bibliography there.
Having just read the story, now you are ready to see the cinematic adaptation
of this film, which is out on DVD this month. It’s directed by Joe
Dante, and stars Jason Priestly and Elliot Gould. This one is pretty
good.
Two years ago, in the first Masters of Horror Season, Joe Dante stirred conservative
feathers with his zombie political allegory, "Homecoming," which was
also very good. And just recently, a classic from his filmography was
re-released: 1980's film of teen/monster mayhem, "Gremlins". This one
is in fact as good as you remember it being.
Prior to "Gremlins," Dante made his chops by helming the 80’s werewolf masterpiece,
"The Howling," which has had a special edition re-release, and is well worth
watching, (again, if need-be).
After "Gremlins," he also went on to do a lot of TV material – episodes
for the "New Twilight Zone," "Amazing Stories," and "Eerie, Indiana" are
among the high points – also the forgettable sequel to "Gremlins,"
and a bunch of forgettable big-budget Hollywood monstrosities ("The Burbs,"
"Small Soldiers," "Loony Toons Back in Action"). It’s interesting to
see him return to his horrific roots in the Masters of Horror series, and
see him do some very personal and political pieces within the structure of
this Showtime anthology TV series. Given the interesting nature of
this work, I kind of hope he takes his horror back to the big screen before
too long.
Another director who has been given free reign to do some stimulating stuff
in the Masters of Horror series is Larry Cohen. Larry should not be
confused one of the “Cohen brothers” who brought you films such as "O Brother
Where Art Thou," and "Fargo". No. Larry (no relation) is the
director who brought you such memorable exploitation films such as "It’s
Alive," "Q the Winged Serpent," and "God Told Me To". His episode of
Masters of Horror is called "Pick Me Up," and it's an interesting little
twist on the “deadly hitchhiker” cliché.
Finally, I’m going to stick with this month's horror theme, and wrap up the
column by pointing out one of the most intriguing horror films to come out
in a long time: "Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon". This
one hits DVD this month. Its premise is that you don’t just become
a serial killer, you have to train and plan, and work to become one of the
greats, like Jason, or Freddy, or Leather Face. You have to work hard
on creating your own mythos, and . . . . Well, it never hurts to have
a grad student around to make a documentary about you and your legend
in the making . . . . The first half of this film is a very funny black
comedy, with great performances and a star-studded cast; as the film progresses,
it turns grimly serious. I highly recommend this one and suggest taking
a look over at the trailer here:
<http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=628541321>
Until next month . . . keep watching those movies . . . and let me know what I’m missing.
-Jeremy Lassen
-Jeremy Lassen
jlassen@borderlands-books.com
Book Club Info
The
Gay Men's Book Club will meet on Sunday, June 10th, at 5 pm to discuss NATURAL
HISTORY by Justina Robson. The book for July 8th is THE PLAYER OF GAMES
by Iain M. Banks. Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez,
at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, June 17th,
at 6 pm to discuss THE PICKUP ARTIST by Terry Bisson. The author will be
present to take part in the discussion Please contact Jude at jfeldman@borderlands-books.com
for more information.
Upcoming Event Details
Borderlands, Variety Children's Charity, and the Gay Geeks'
Group present "Galaxy Quest" (1999, David Howard, 102 minutes) and "The Hunger"
(1983, Tony Scott, 100 minutes) at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Thursday, June 14th at 7:00 pm
Jacqueline Carey, KUSHIEL'S JUSTICE (Warner, Hardcover, $26.99), Saturday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm -
We're delighted to welcome Jacqueline Carey back to the store as she presents
the newest installment in her wildly popular Kushiel series! No spoilers
in this description from the book: "Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents
are history's most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phèdre
and Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions. Stolen, tortured,
and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in
line for the throne in a land that revels in beauty, art, and desire.
After a year abroad to study at university, Imriel returns from his adventures
a little older and somewhat wiser. But perhaps not wise enough.
What was once a mere spark of interest between himself and his cousin Sidonie
now ignites into a white-hot blaze. But from commoner to peer, the whole
realm would recoil from any alliance between Sidonie, heir to the throne,
and Imriel, who bears the stigma of his mother's misdeeds and betrayals.
Praying that their passion will peak and fade, Imriel and Sidonie embark
on an intense, secret affair.
Blessed Elua founded Terre d'Ange and bestowed one simple precept to guide
his people, love as thou wilt. When duty calls, Imriel honors his role as
a member of the royal family by leaving to marry a lovely, if merely sweet,
Alban princess. By choosing duty over love, Imriel and Sidonie may
have unwittingly trespassed against Elua's law. But when dark powers in Alba,
who fear an invasion by Terre d'Ange, seek to use the lovers' passion to
bind Imriel, the gods themselves take notice.
Before the end, Kushiel's justice will be felt in heaven and on earth."
Morbid Curiosity Magazine Battles Breast Cancer: A Fundraiser, Wednesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -
Join us as former contributors to Morbid Curiosity magazine read new and
previously published nonfiction to raise money for the fight against breast
cancer. Morbid Curiosity editor Loren Rhoads is doing the Avon Walk
for Breast Cancer -- 39.3 miles in a weekend -- for a second year to raise
funding for research, screening, and treatment of victims of the disease
right here in the Bay Area. Participants in the reading include Gravity
Goldberg, editor of Instant City. The event is free but donations will
be gratefully accepted, and there will be cool Morbid Curiosity swag up for
auction. If you can't attend but you'd still like to support the cause,
click here <http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?px=2250768&pg=personal&fr_id=1286>
Greg Benford and Paul Park are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Monday, June 25th at 7:00 pm
Lois McMaster Bujold Drop-By Signing, Friday, June 29th -
Lois McMaster Bujold has been kind enough to agree to drop in to sign our
store stock and books for our customers! If you have books that you'd
like her to sign or personally inscribe, you can drop them off with us or
send them to the store. If you would like to drop your books off, please
have them at Borderlands no later than seven in the evening on Thursday,
June 28th. If there are a large number of books, please put them in
a box of some sort. If you would like to mail your books to us, please
call us at 415 824-8203 or contact office@borderlands-books.com for specific
information on getting your books signed -- we'll be happy to help.
Finally, though we'll do our best, we can't promise to get the books signed
-- planes get delayed, authors get sick, and sometimes there just isn't enough
time to get everything signed.
Cecelia Tan, "How I Edited 30 Anthologies of Erotic Science
Fiction and Kept My Sanity (I think...)", Thursday July 5th at 7:00 pm -
A fun-filled one hour lecture on the trials and travails of being the world's
only publisher specializing in erotic science fiction and fantasy.
Being a pioneer in a new literary genre can be fun, if frightening to the
sensibilities from time to time. Find out what the Top Five Worst Story
Ideas are, and how they compare to the Even Worse Titles list. Full
of information and tips for aspiring writers, readers and fans of either
genre, and post-modern literary ciritics in the making, Cecilia's presentation
will leave you laughing, if not enlightened. This event is a benefit
for The Center For Sex and Culture, and donations are gratefully accepted
but not at all required.
Borderlands and Variety Children's Charity present a Hong Kong
double feature "The Bride With White Hair" (1993, Ronnie Yu, 89 minutes)
and "Green Snake" (1993, Hark Tsui, 99 minutes) at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Thursday, July 12th at 7:00 pm
Kage Baker, SONS OF HEAVEN (Tor, Hardcover, $25.95), Saturday, July 14th at 3:00 pm -
"This is the Kage Baker novel everyone has been waiting for: the conclusion
to the story of Mendoza and The Company. In THE SONS OF HEAVEN, the
forces gathering to seize power finally move on the Company. The immortal
Lewis wakes to find himself blinded, crippled, and left with no weapons but
his voice, his memory, and the friendship of one extraordinary little girl.
Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax, resurrected Victorian superman, plans for world
domination. The immortal Mendoza makes a desperate bargain to delay
him. Enforcer Budu, assisted by Joseph, enlists an unexpected ally
in his plans to free his old warriors and bring judgment on his former masters.
Executive Facilitator Suleyman uses his intelligence operation to uncover
the secret of Alpha-Omega, vital to the mortals’ survival. The mortal
masters of the Company, terrified of a coup, invest in a plan they believe
will terminate their immortal servants. And they awaken a powerful
AI whom they call Dr Zeus. This web of a story is filled with great
climaxes, wonderful surprises, and gripping characters many readers have
grown to love or hate. It's a triumph of SF!" You won't want
to miss seeing Ms. Baker and being there as it all concludes!
Emma Bull, TERRITORY (Tor, Hardcover, $24.95 ) and Will Shetterly,
GOSPEL OF THE KNIFE (Tor, Hardcover, $25.95), Monday, July 16th at 7:00 pm
- We are delighted to welcome Emma Bull and Will Shetterly to Borderlands
for the first time! From Publisher's Weekly: "World Fantasy–finalist
Bull (War for the Oaks) takes huge chances and achieves something distinctively
wonderful with this subtle reworking of a western legend. The taming
of Tombstone, Ariz., by Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their pal Doc Holliday
is a cherished American myth of stoic heroism. Bull approaches the
story from a different angle, considering matters that may or may not have
escaped Wyatt's chilly attention. When tough-minded widow Mildred Benjamin
and drifter Jesse Fox realize that dark magic is manipulating people for
a sorcerer's selfish ends, they must decide what they can and should do about
it, in the process discovering who they truly are. Mixing fantasy with
Old West lore is risky, but Bull takes time to make the place and the people
real before undeniably supernatural forces appear. The magic is less
flashy than in many fantasy novels, but it's vivid and deeply felt.
Readers will think about the story long after it ends, savoring the writing
and imagining what the characters might do next." And THE GOSPEL OF
THE KNIFE - "Christopher Nix is 14 years old, and it’s 1969. His life is
a turbulent echo of the times as he discovers sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll
in the heart of Florida. But into this struggle between the young long-haired
hippie and the rednecks who’d just as soon kill him comes a strange offer
that will completely change his life. The Nix family is contacted by
a mysterious benefactor who wants to send Chris to an exclusive private school,
no expense spared. Mr. Jay Dumont claims that Chris’s grandfather saved his
life during WWI, and though Grandpa Uvdall is dead, the debt remains to be
paid. But as Chris will discover, there is a great deal more to it
than that. He will have to accept and understand the Powers that have surrounded
his family all his life, and learn to use his own magical gifts, if he is
to survive Dumont’s plan. As he did with Dogland, Will Shetterly has
used a deceptively simple tale to explore some very deep issues. The Gospel
of the Knife explores questions of faith and responsibility, and the always
complex relationship between man and God and the world. "
Lisa Goldstein and Tad Williams are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street at 2nd Street, Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00 pm
Mike Carey, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (Warner, Hardcover, $24.99), Thursday, July 19th at 7:00 pm -
From the author's web-site, "Felix Castor used to cast out demons for a living,
and London was his stamping ground. But in a time when the supernatural
realm is in upheaval and spilling over in the mundane world of the living,
his skills are in renewed demand. With old debts to pay, Castor is
left with no choice but to accept one final, well-paying assignment; a seemingly
simple exorcism. Trouble is, the more he discovers about the ghost
in the archive, the more things refuse to add up--and the more deeply he's
dragged into a world he wants no part of. What should have been a perfectly
straightforward job is rapidly turning into a "who can kill Castor first"
competition with demons, were-beings, and ghosts all keen to claim the big
prize. But that's O.K. Castor knows how to deal with the dead.
It's the living who piss him off." "Mike Carey was born in Liverpool
in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write
comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he
gave up the day job. Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel
Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters,
including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original
screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted
Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics." Don't miss this rare
opportunity to meet Mike Carey!
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (Scholastic, Hardcover
$29.99 and Special Edition Slipcased Hardcover $60.00), Release Party, Friday,
July 20th 10:00 pm - Saturday, July 21st at 1:00 am (Books will
be on sale at midnight.) Join us for milk and cookies as we wait out
the last frustrating hours before the final Harry Potter book goes on sale!
All attendees (while supplies last) will receive a complete set of the seven
Scholastic promotional Harry Potter bookmarks, too!
Austin Grossman, SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE (Pantheon, Hardcover, $22.95), Saturday, July 21st at 3:00 pm -
From Publishers Weekly: "The realm of comic book heroes and villains gets
a dose of realism in this whimsical debut from game design consultant Grossman.
The story shifts between the perspectives of Doctor Impossible, a brilliant
scientist turned world's greatest menace, and Fatale, a lonely cyborg and
the newest addition to the venerable group of heroes known as the Champions.
Though he's been out of commission for a while, Doctor Impossible hatches
a scheme to knock the planet out of orbit ('As the Earth grows colder, my
power becomes apparent, and the nations submit,' he reasons). Meanwhile,
Champions leader Corefire goes missing, and Fatale has to learn the ropes
of superherodom as the conventional climactic showdown (at Doctor Impossible's
secret lair) draws near. However fantastical, the characters (including
a 'genetic metahuman' and 'an elite fairy guard') are thoughtfully portrayed,
with Fatale—stuck in a perpetual existential crisis—bemused over the Champions'
purpose, and Doctor Impossible wondering 'whether the smartest man in the
world has done the smartest thing he could with his life.' Grossman
dabbles in a host of themes—power, greed, fame, the pitfalls of ego—in this
engrossing page-turner, broadening the appeal of an already inviting scenario."
You can also read Alan's review of the book in the "From the Office" section
of last month's newsletter here: <http://www.borderlands-books.com/about_newsletter_05-07.html>. We're looking forward to this event, and we know you'll enjoy it too!
Laura Anne Gilman, BURNING BRIDGES (Luna, Trade Paperback, $14.95), Thursday, August 2nd at 7:00 pm -
From Publishers Weekly: ". . .set in a near-future Manhattan, Wren Valere,
a professional thief with magical 'Talent,' and her demon sidekick, P.B.,
discover the brutalized corpse of an angel. The gutted angel, or winged
nonhuman 'fatae,' turns out to be just one casualty in a heated conflict
between Nulls (humans without Talent) and the powerful human Talents, along
with the fatae. Not only are bigoted human vigilantes going after supernaturals,
but it appears the Silence, a covert organization that used to employee Wren's
partner and lover, Sergei Didier, has become corrupted from within.
Several Silence Talent operatives have gone missing, and Sergei is drawn
back into the group's politics as a new truce falls apart. . ." Join us to
welcome Laura Anne back to the store and check out her brand-new novel!
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
any of the author's available 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
ParaSpheres:
Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction: Fabulist and
New Wave Fabulist Stories by Rusty Morrison, ed. and Ken Keegan, ed. (Omnidawn,
$19.95, Trade Paperback) - Stories by Shelley Jackson, Rudy Rucker, Jeff
VanderMeer and others.
Vacation by Jeremy C. Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $13.95, Trade Paperback)
New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear (Subterranean, $25.00, Hardcover, and
Limited Editon (200 copies) Hardcover, $40.00) Limited edition includes the
chapbook Almot True.
25 Cent Rocket Ship to the Stars by G.O. Clark (Dark Regions, $6.95, Chapbook)
Old Man Crow by Charles de Lint (Subterranean, $18.00, Chapbook) -
One of 1000 limited edition copies. Art by Charles de Lint.
Temple: Incarnations by Steven Savile (Apex, $9.95, Trade Paperback,
and Signed and Numbered Limited Edition (100 copies) Hardcover, $21.95)
Clickers II: The Next Wave by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene (Delirium Books,
$50.00, Hardcover) - One of 500 signed and numbered limited edition copies.
Woman in Black, The by M.Y. Halidom (Ash-Tree Press, $47.50, Hardcover)
- One of 400 limited edition copies. First published in 1906.
New and Notable
Science Fiction and Fantasy:
Witchlight by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Tor, $6.99, Mass Market)
When the Tripods Came by John Christopher (Simon and Schuster, $5.99, Mass Market)
City of Gold and Lead - Tripods vol. 2 by John Christopher (Simon and Schuster, $5.99, Mass Market)
Band of Gypsys by Gwyneth Jones (Gollancz, $17.72, Mass Market) - 4th
book in the BOLD AS LOVE series, following BOLD AS LOVE, CASTLES MADE OF
SAND, and MIDNIGHT LAMP.
No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey (Cosmos, $5.99, Mass Market)
Immortals: The Darkening by Robin T. Popp (Love Spell, $6.99, Mass Market) - Part of the Immortals series.
Dragonsong - Harper Hall Trilogy vol. 1 by Anne McCaffrey (Alladin, $2.99, Trade Paperback)
DMZ Vol. 1: On the Ground by Brian Wood (Vertigo/DC Comics, $9.99, Trade Paperback)
DMZ Vol. 2: Body of a Journalist by Brian Wood (Vertigo/DC Comics, $12.99, Trade Paperback)
Mistress of Winter by Giles Carwyn and Todd Fahnestock (Eos, $25.95, Hardcover)
Yiddish Policemen’s Union, The by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, $150.00,
Hardcover) - Signed and numbered limited edition in a wooden slipcase. Limitation
unknown
Outbound by Jack McDevitt (ISFIC, $30.00, Hardcover)
After Dark by Haruki Murakami (Knopf, $22.95, Hardcover)
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami (Knopf, $24.95, Hardcover)
Sea of Shadows - Twelve Kingdoms vol. 1 by Fuyumi Ono (TokyoPop, $16.99, Hardcover)
Golden Compass, The - His Dark Materials vol. 1: Deluxe Edition by Philip Pullman (Knopf, $22.95, Hardcover)
New York Review of Science Fiction Number 225 Vol. 19, No.9 by Kevin J. Maroney,
ed. and David G. Hartwell, ed. (Dragon Press, $4.00, Oversized Softcover)
Horror:
Touch of Evil - The Thrall vol. 1 by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp (Tor Romance, $6.99, Mass Market)
Dead Girls’ Dance - The Morganville Vampires vol. 2 by Rachel Caine (Signet, $5.99, Mass Market)
Offspring by Jack Ketchum (Leisure, $7.99, Mass Market)
Wicked Things by Thomas Tessier (Leisure, $6.99, Mass Market)
Witch Hill by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Tor, $12.95, Trade Paperback)
Ghost in the Noonday Sun, The by Sid Fleischman and Peter Sis, illus. (HarperCollins, $5.99, Trade Paperback)
!3th Floor, The - A Ghost Story by Sid Fleischman and Peter Sis, illus. (HarperCollins, $5.99, Trade Paperback)
Summer Chills: Strangers in Stranger Lands by Stephen Jones, ed. (Carroll
& Graf, $14.95, Trade Paperback) - With stories by Dennis Etchison, Glen
Hirshberg, Clive Barker, and others.
Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale (Golden Gryphon, $14.95, Trade Paperback)
Discouraging at Best by John Edward Lawson (Raw Dog Screaming Press, $14.95, Trade Paperback)
Nameless Witch, A by A. Lee Martinez (Tor, $12.95, Trade Paperback)
Wild Thing - Hunter Kiss vol. 1 by Maggie Shayne and Marjorie M. Liu (Berkley,
$14.00, Trade Paperback) - Alyssa Day and Meljean Brook are additional authors.
Bec - Demonata Vol. 4 by Darren Shan (Little,Brown, $16.99, Hardcover)
Best Defense - The Walking Dead vol. 5 by Robert Kirkman (Image Comics, $12.99, Oversized Softcover)
Days Gone Bye - The Walking Dead vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman (Image Comics, $9.99, Oversized Softcover)
Miles Behind Us - The Walking Dead vol. 2 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (Image Comics, $12.99, Oversized Softcover)
Lovecraft by Hans Rodionoff and Enrique Breccia (Vertigo/DC Comics, $17.95,
Oversized Softcover) - Keith Griffen is the third author. Introduction
by John Carpenter.
New and Notable DVDs
Creepshow III directed by Ana Clavell and James Dudelson (HBO Video, $19.98, DVD)
Gremlins directed by Joe Dante (Warner, $14.97, DVD)
House By The Cemetery, The directed by Lucio Fulci (Blue Underground, $14.95, DVD) - Italian Horror
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie directed by Jorge Grau (Blue Underground, $14.95, DVD)
Highwaymen directed by Robert Harmon (New Line Cinema, $9.97, DVD)
H. P. Lovecraft Collection Vol. 4: Pickman’s Model directed by Ricardo Harrington (Lurker Films, $20.00, DVD)
Arang directed by Ahn Sang Hoon (Tartan Asia Extreme, $22.95, DVD) - Korean Horror
Chamber of Horrors directed by Norman Lee (Roan Group, $9.98, DVD) - AKA The House With Seven Locks
Naked You Die directed by Antonio Margheriti (Dark Sky Films, $14.98, DVD)
Night of the Werewolf directed by Paul Naschy (Deimos Entertainment, $19.98, DVD)
Masters of Horror: Right to Die directed by Rob Schmidt (Anchor Bay, $14.98, DVD)
Ghost, The directed by Ki Tae-kyung (Tartan Asia Extreme, $22.95, DVD) - Korean Horror
Kazuo Umezz’s Horror Theater directed by Kazuo Umezz (Tokyo Shock,
$19.95, DVD) - Three volumes of a Japanese TV Anthology horror show, featuring
short films based on the works of Kazuo Umezz.
Vampyros Lesbos directed by Jess Franco (Image Entertainment, $19.99, 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.)
ENDLESS THINGS: A PART OF AEGYPT by John Crowley (Small Beer Press, Hardcover, $24.00)
THE MERCHANT AND THE ALCHEMIST'S GATE by Ted Chaing (Subterranean Press, Hardcover, $20.00)
WHISKEY AND WATER by Elizabeth Bear (Penguin, Trade Paperback, $14.00)
THE DREAMING VOID by Peter F. Hamilton (Gollancz, Hardcover, approximately $34.00)
BUTCHER BIRD by Richard Kadrey (Night Shade, Trade Paperback, $14.95)
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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