Monthly Archives: November 2007

The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari

The Book of Joby

AuthorMark J. Ferrari

Trade Paperback
Pages: 640 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: August 21st, 2007
ISBN-10: 0765317532
ISBN-13: 978-0765317537

Interview: HERE
Excerpts: HERE


In the past, I’ve been pretty vocal in naming Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind (REVIEW) as not only the Fantasy Debut of the year but also the Fantasy Book of the year. I was sure, even when I read it several months ago, that nothing would come along to supplant it from that lofty height.

I was wrong.
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The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick RothfussPat, from Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist, recently contacted Betsy Wollheim at DAW Books in regards to the release of Patrick Rothfuss’s second novel, The Wise Man’s Fear.

Most of you will remember that Rothfuss actually wrote his first trilogy as a novel before having it split up into three volumes after being picked up by Matt Bailer (SF/F Agent extraordinaire). This was a good thing, it meant that Rothfuss had at least a rough draft of the final two novels in the trilogy completed. One would think this would result in a quick release schedule of the three novels.

Not so much, I guess. Here’s Betsy’s reply to Pat:

Pat will not be delivering the complete first draft until March, and I’ve only read a few tantalizing sections. We’re hoping to publish in April ’09. We’re planning at least two rewrites.

It’s disappointing that we’ll have to wait so long. But, like Pat mentioned, it’s also nice to know that DAW isn’t screwing around with what is sure to be their most successful trilogy since Tad William’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. Rothfuss has a good thing going on and I want it to be the best damn trilogy it can be.

Meanwhile, I’ll just keep cracking away at all the other terrific novels out there…

Shawn Speakman, author of Song of the Fell HammerShawn Speakman is a good friend of mine. I recently wrote a testimonial about him (HERE) and since it proved so popular, I thought a terrific way to complement it would be to interview him. Speakman’s a hard working author-to-be who’s been around the publishing industry for a long time and has rubbed shoulders with some of the genre’s biggest names (Richard Morgan, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, Robin Hobb, Steven Erikson and Patrick Rothfuss, to name a few).

It may seem strange for me to interview an as-yet-unpublished author, but once you read what Speakman has to say, you’ll see he has a lot of knowledge about the industry, a strong philosophy when it comes to writing and an interesting story with regards to how he became web master, and friend, to Terry Brooks, one of the heavyweights of the Fantasy World.

Enjoy!
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The Solaris Book of New Fantasy edited by George MannKing Tales
by Jeff VanderMeer


Jeff VanderMeer’s offering to The Solaris Book of New Fantasy is about as opposite from the previous story (Hal Duncan’s The Prince of End Times) as can be. VanderMeer takes a refreshing approach to Fantasy, setting himself apart from the other stories included in the anthology. Though perhaps refreshing is the wrong word, because VanderMeer, essentially brings back the essence of Fantasy, serving us a trio of thoughtful, accessible and charming Fables.
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