More Best of 2009

Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews have published their Awards for 2009. The UK edition of Jasper Kent's Twelve, which we'll be releasing in 2010, comes in #4 in their Top Ten Reads. Meanwhile, Stephan Martiniere's illustration for Ian McDonald's Desolation Roadis one of the winners of Best Cover Artwork.

While over at Book Chick City, they list their Top Ten Most Anticipated Reads 2010, and George Mann's Ghosts of Manhattanshows up at # 7.

Rock on.

Diving Into the Wreck: "Like watching a science fiction movie"

The positive reviews for Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Diving into the Wreck are just pouring in. It's impressive enough that there are so many overwhelming positive ones, but, *cough cough, ahem* we're used to that 'round here. What's really impressing me is the pattern I'm starting to notice, which is the comparisons to both "classic space opera" and to television SF. Look through this by-no-means-complete list of quotes and see how many folks are either comparing her to the great authors of the past or to the best of SF TV. Obviously, it's striking a chord with readers. But you know Hollywood--they want that which has been seen to work before, films like other successful films. Well, after reading the list below, maybe they ought to be looking at Diving as a potential series or a film...

"Diving into the Wreck is a rip-roaring good read... I sense a sequel turned SyFy series in the future for Boss and her crew…are you listening out there in SyFy land, producers bored with the same old fare?" Astroguyz

“I have not enjoyed a science fiction book this much in many years.  This book reads like great Asimov, Heinlein, Herbert, Pohl, or any of the great masters of science fiction....  A 10 out of 10. This book will be around for a long time.”Catches at the Beach

"...exactly what the SF genre needs to get more readers...and to keep the readers the genre already has. Buy and read this novel.... If it doesn't get nominated for the Hugo, we will be disappointed in WorldCon attendees everywhere." Elitist Book Reviews

" Like the protagonist, the novel is no-nonsense, eventful, occasionally mysterious narrative that contains all the best dialogue of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, the adventure of an Indiana Jones movie, and the philosophical and scientific chops of Isaac Asimov himself...highly recommended reading for anyone who enjoys space adventure stories, superb characterization, and tight plotting. Rusch is one of the premier writers in the genre today, and her facility with writing is something all others should aspire to." Grasping for the Wind


"This is space adventure done right and I can’t wait for more." King of the Nerds

" ...very reminiscent of Pohl's Gateway or possible placed in something close to the Babylon 5 universe... 

Perfect paced and immensely readable Diving Into the Wreck will satisfy even the most jaded of Sci-Fi reader." Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Reviews

"... reading Diving into the Wreck was like watching a science fiction movie, so I can also recommend it to reluctant readers. I certainly found that reading it was more worth my time than watching most of this season's movies has been." Oooh...Books!

'Compellingly human and technically absorbing, the suspense builds to fevered intensity, culminating in an explosive yet plausible conclusion.” - RT Book Reviews 4.5 stars and a Top Pick.

" Full of adventure, danger, intrigue, and futuristic tech, this is what scifi readers, like me, crave. Science fiction fans should definitely check out this latest release by Rusch." SciFiChick

Hollywood producers looking for highly optionable properties, that are clearly reminiscent of past successes (ie, this sort of thing has worked before and you can understand it, but new enough to be fresh), I'll make it easy on you. Just click one of these links below:

Bookgasm: 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2009

Ryun Patterson of Bookgasm has posted his 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2009, and, as in past years, we're very pleased with the number of Pyr books in (and in this case around) the list. Paul McAuley's The Quiet Warcomes in at Number 5. Note also the honorable mention for Ian McDonald's Cyberabad Days, that all three "anticipated" 2010 titles are from Pyr (Geosynchron, Desolation Road,& Ghosts of Manhattan), and the "hypothetical 'Books of the Decade'" that would include Brasyland River of Gods. Nice!

Podcast: Lou Anders @ The Dragon Page Cover to Cover

I'm a guest on the Dragon Page Cover to Cover podcast today, episode #389A, talking with Mike & Mike about my two forthcoming anthologies, With Great Power and Swords & Dark Magic. We also talk about a lot of forthcoming Pyr titles, including the much-anticipated Shadows of the Apt series from Adrian Tchaikovsky (which begins with Empire in Black and Gold) as well as the bittersweetness of concluding two series with Kay Kenyon's Prince of Storms and Mike Resnick's Starship: Flagship.  I'm a long time listener, but this is my first time on this particular podcast. 'Twas fun.

Non-Stop Action and the Return of S&S

The Silver Skullby Mark Chadbourn has made Stevereads 2009 Honor Roll:

"An old-fashioned sword-and-sorcery novel, complete with two staples of that long-lost and much-lamented sub-genre: non-stop action and a hero whose very perfection ought to make him annoying, but doesn't. You'll be mighty entertained."

Meanwhile, author and reviewer Paul Witcover has included it in his Best of the Year list as well. 

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: 2009 Year-End Awards

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has posted their 2009 Year-End Awards. Ian McDonald's Cyberabad Dayscomes in at #8 in their TOP 10 SPECULATIVE FICTION TITLES OF 2009, while the UK edition of Jasper Kent's Twelve comes in at #6 and gets "BEST DEBUT" (we're publishing in 2010. Please wait for it.) Kay Kenyon's City Without End, just misses the Top Ten at #13. Meanwhile, I'm honored to have gotten the MVP AWARD. Pat writes:

The heart and soul behind the Pyr imprint, this man is pretty damn close to being a genius. Though he's the head of a smaller publishing house and hence cannot compete financially with the genre powerhouses, Lou Anders always managed to put out a wide array of quality speculative fiction titles every year. He's like the general manager of a small-market team who always finds a way to get the players he needs for the team to make the playoffs. And with what he and the Pyr crew has in store for 2009 as they celebrate the imprint's 5th anniversary, this could be Pyr's biggest year yet! Long live!=)

Probably not a genius. But smart enough not to argue with this.

James Enge: The Tension between Invention & Realism

Michael A. Ventrella has conducted a wonderful interview with James Enge, talking about his background, his influences, his thoughts on fantasy literature and classic myth, and, of course, his novels Blood of Ambrose and This Crooked Way. Here's a taste:

VENTRELLA: Creating a fantasy world is never easy, because it must be rooted in believability. What have you done to make your world both fantastic and believable? Have you found it difficult?

ENGE: I try to maintain a certain tension between free invention and concrete realism. My favorite bits in my own writing are physical descriptions which are probably invisible to everyone else. In my first story, the hero has occasion to peer through “a dark shoe-shaped patch of nothingness”. It makes perfect sense in the world of the story, but it’s not something that you’re likely to see on the street on your way to work.

Meanwhile, C.S.E. Cooney has posted a great review of This Crooked Way. 

In this book, the monsters are satisfyingly juicy and crunchable. The villains are terrifying - hardly less so when they're desperate and likable than when they're cackling and self-assured. The heroes are... wonderful. They bleed on everything. And Morlock's main nemesis (why spoil it?) is utterly charming and wholly horrible and occasionally sympathetic. Egad, I liked this book.

What's even better is she starts out saying the "episodic novel" might not be the form for her, and ends up loving the book. Nice.

That Guy! (Watch me get my Greek heroes confused)

From my conversation with John Blyler at OryCon. (The series I am talking about is Kay Kenyon's The Entire and the Rose.)

The Ballad of Wilson Cole

Sci Fi Songs musician John Anealio has just posted his "The Ballad of Wilson Cole," inspired by the complete Starship series by Mike Resnick. You can here the song on his website from the link above (one verse per book), and the sheet music and lyrics are printed in the appendices of the latest and final, Starship: Flagship.Warning: The final verse is a little bit of a spoiler!

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Blood of the Mantis

Blood of the Mantisby Adrian Tchaikovsky

Cover Illustration © Jon Sullivan

Jacket Design by Jacqueline Cooke

Driven by the ghosts of the Darakyon, Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, but he has only days before the magical box is lost to him forever. Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering over winter for their great offensive, gathering their soldiers and perfecting their new weapons. Stenwold and his followers have only a short time to gather what allies they can before the Wasp armies march again, conquering everything in their path. If they cannot throw back the Wasps this spring then the imperial black-and-gold flag will fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end. In Jerez begins a fierce struggle over the Shadow Box, as lake creatures, secret police and renegade magicians compete to take possession. If it falls into the hands of the Wasp Emperor, however, then no amount of fighting will suffice to save the world from his relentless ambition.

Coming May 2010

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Empire in Black and Gold

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Cover Illustration © Jon Sullivan

Jacket Design by Jacqueline Cooke

The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbours.

  But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art . . . And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable.

  Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over.  It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path.  

But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.

More Recommendations for Holiday Reading...

The love just keeps flowing it. And it is the season for giving...

Diving into the Wreck

“The pacing is perfect, the choices and decisions made by the major characters feel authentic and leaves readers looking for more.”  -Monsters and Critics

Sasha (A Trial of Blood and Steel)

“Sasha is an excellent opening to A Trial of Blood & Steel. The interweaving of war, politics, religion, geography, family and a non-human race are skillfully done. Anyone who likes his or her fantasy to be as intellectually complex as it is entertaining would do well to pick up this book.”-SF Signal

“Sasha reads like a pleasant melding of The Lord of the Rings, medieval-style warfare and intrigue mingled with the political and religious wranglings of Dune. In fact, Sasha makes a nice parallel to Dune’s Paul Atreides. With a galloping plot and plenty of swordplay, honor, dishonor, treacheries, and victories, Sasha is a worthy addition to the heroic fantasy genre.” -Sacramento Book Review

“Sasha’s torturous path to maturity, complete with painful missteps, is sensitively conveyed, and while I definitely cheered for her, I also found myself arguing with her—and in a way, that’s a higher compliment to pay an author… The second book, Petrodor, will likely be on the shelves by the time you are reading this. Go pick it up—I know I will.” Realms of Fantasy

The Quiet War

“This is an impressive novel. More science fiction needs to be like this.” -Adventures in Reading

“Meanwhile, McAuley gives us three other point-of-view characters and does a professional job of melding all of them into a satisfying climax. He's also left the door open for a possible sequel, and given how much I enjoyed The Quiet War, I hope he follows through. The book won't change your world, but it's more than just a by-the-numbers space opera, and fans of this neglected genre now have something to add to their collections.” -San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times

The Silver Skull (Swords of Albion)

“The scary nature of the Otherworld adds a nice edge to this well paced spy thriller that promises more jolly adventures in the Swords of Albion series as it pits humanity against the Faerie. This is a place where the things that go bump in the night are best left alone and the important issues of the day echo today’s headlines making for an interesting alternative reality read.”-Monsters and Critics

Starship: Flagship

“Read Starship: Flagship as a fitting end to the series and to mark the end and to mark the end of the human Republic in the Birthright universe time-line. Mike Resnick and Orson Scott Card breathe new life back into military sci-fi, and pay close attention to the seeds of a sequel put fourth at the very end… what will be the ultimate fate of the galaxy and man?” -AstroGuyz.com

The Martian General's Daughter

“… a well-researched and engaging novel, with a vibrant milieu, and definitely worth a look.” -Strange Horizons

Avatar

In 1912, a pencil-sharpener salesman named Edgar Rice Burroughs published in a short novel ‘Under the Moons of Mars’ in All-Story Magazine. Republished in longer form in 1917, as A Princess of Mars, it was the first in the Barsoom series, kickstarted the planetary romance genre, and imprinted science fiction with a set of primitive but deeply felt tropes. James Cameroon’s Avatar is nothing less than a return to the primal urges of full-blown planetary romance in the style of Burroughs, Ralph Milne Farley, Homer Eon Flint and Otis Adelbert Kline: a glorious romp through the wonders and perils of an alien world, and a love story featuring a nearly naked alien princess. If you were a fifteen year old kid living in the 1970s and grokking sf, Tarzan of the Apes, and prog rock, a glimpse of Avatar in big-screen 3D and SurroundSound would blow your everloving mind.

Let’s get the story out of the way first. It’s 2154, a mining colony on Pandora, the Earth-like moon of a gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri-A, source of a vital mineral, unobtanium (a nice, geeky joke: we could have done with a few more). Jake Sully is a paraplegic ex-Marine who volunteers to take the place of his dead twin brother as a driver of an avatar, a hybrid creature fettled up from human DNA and the DNA of the Na’vi, the blue-skinned ten-foot tall natives of Pandora. Sully is part of the science team, led by Sigourney Weaver’s Grace Augustine, that’s using the avatars to study and negotiate with the Na’vi; after his avatar is separated from the others, Sully encounters a Na’vi female, Neytiri, and is accepted into her clan, a major scientific coup. But Sully’s loyalty is torn between the scientists and the Na’vi, and former Marine Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of the colony’s security, who plans to evict the Na’vi clan from their home, which inconveniently sits on a motherlode of unobtanium. Quaritch promises Sully that if he can deal with the Na’vi, he’ll get treatment to restore use of his legs; but Sully has fallen for the Na’vi way of life, and with Neytiri . . .

Well, you get the idea. Like the pulp planetary romances, Avatar’s story is achingly simple and laid on with broad strokes. In the first half Sully gets to learn survival skills; in the second, he gets to use them; threaded through his pilgrim’s progress is a plunkingly obvious allegory about greed and uncontrolled capitalism destroying nature’s harmony, and a love story across the divide between two species. The bond between Sully and Na’vi is undeniably affecting, in parts, but it’s also in parts silly and sentimental, the characterisation and dialogue (especially Colonel Quaritch’s - GI Joe had better lines) is basic, the plot twists are utterly predictable, and the film lacks the heart and human qualities of smaller scale sf films like Moon or District 9. But what you take home from Avatar isn’t so much the story as the setting. And the setting, and its rendering, is amazing. Stunning.

There’s a nice scene near the beginning of this very long film where Sully first drives the body of his avatar, and realises that he can walk again, and breaks free from the technicians and the base and joyfully canters through a garden of native plants: that sense of freedom and awe is evoked over and again as the camera floats and zooms through Pandora’s forest. The 3D is crystal-clear and Cameron seamlessly blends live action characters, CG motion-capture characters and CG scenery, using a computer-camera system that allows him to zoom in and twist around anybody and anything. And Pandora itself is the best and most fully-detailed rendering of an alien world ever seen, a forest reimagined as a coral reef, with drifting medusa-like seeds, barracuda-like wolves, shark-like tigers, hammerheaded buffalo. . . In short, an entire, self-consistent biome packed with eye kicks and explored in beautiful and thrilling set pieces: Na’vi leading Sully through the luminescent galaxy of the night-time forest; the ascent of a chain of floating rocks to a floating mountain peak (straight from one of Roger Dean’s album covers); an aerial battle amongst those same floating mountains between helicopters and lumbering transports and a flock of warriors mounted on manta-ray dragons. . . And so on, and so on.

Sure, Cameron has spent enough money to reforest half of the Amazon Basin on a film with a by-the-numbers story that mixes tropes from ancient pulp fiction and the greatest hits from his previous work. But it also conjures, over and again, that heady, full-blown, good old-fashioned sense of wonder: it is, shamelessly, gleefully, a science fiction epic. What it isn’t, is a groundbreaking film, in the way that 2001: A Space Odyssey or Star Wars were. But it is a major envelope-pushing advance in terms of what is now possible. Because what’s possible now, thanks to the techniques Cameron has developed, is that anything we can think of can be thrown up on the cinema screen. Think about that: anything at all.

Two Great Reviews for Enge and Shepherd

"Readers who are game for a different approach, and a main character who's neither a misplaced savior-prince or a sassy huntress of things that go moan in the night, will likely find much to enjoy in the niche Enge has fashioned between traditional sword-and-sorcery and the 'New Weird.' Whereas old-school S&S heroes battled in maelstroms of 'blood and thunder' (or 'thud and blunder,' in the less-stellar tales), the cerebral, taciturn Morlock — a blend of Solomon Kane, Gandalf, Mr. Spock, and something wholly his own — survives by both "blood and ponder(ing).) Like Blood of Ambrose,This Crooked Wayis an intelligent and unique example of modern sword-and-sorcery fiction. It won't appeal to everyone, but fans of sword-and-sorcery or non-stereotypical fantasy should definitely give it a look." Fantasy Literature

"Sashareads like a pleasant melding of Lord of the Rings, medieval-style warfare and intrigue mingled with the political and religious wranglings of Dune. In fact, Sasha makes a nice female parallel to Dune’s Paul Atreides. With a galloping plot and plenty of swordplay, honor, dishonor, treacheries, and victories, Sasha is a worth addition to the heroic fantasy genre." - Michelle Kerns for the San Francisco & Sacramento Book Review 

No, spelled "Y, E, S"

Thanks much to Lou for inviting me to participate in this blog. My name's Ari Marmell, and while I've been writing for a decade, I'm still learning how to navigate the ins and outs of publishing. Up until a couple of years ago, most of my writing was freelance work in role-playing games while I tried to build up my fiction chops. I've done some shared-world fiction, tied to the Vampire: the Masquerade, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: the Gathering games, but my first wholly original novel, The Conqueror's Shadow, is just coming out this coming February from Spectra.

Any way, all of this is by way of saying, I'm still learning how to interact with editors and publishers. So when I hear "Gee, I really can't buy this book from you, but I like your work and I'd like to do something else with you," I tend to see the "Can't buy this book" and not really the rest of it.

(We writers are a neurotic bunch at the best of times.)

Thankfully, Lou decided to prove me wrong.

See, the novel that he's publishing--The Goblin Corps--wasn't the first book of mine that he saw. My agent first sent him another fantasy novel that simply wound up being too short for Lou to be comfortable publishing. That's fair enough, but I'll admit that, even though he raved about it and specifically said he wanted to work with me on something else, I didn't have a lot of hope when we sent him TGC. Yet, here I am, a new member of the Pyr stable. (Neigh. Winnie. Snort.) And very happy to be here.

Funny thing is, that's actually how I got my start with my freelancing, too. I submitted a book idea for the Vampire: the Masquerade roleplaying game to White Wolf Publishing. Not a proposal, the entire book, which I'd written in my spare time. The line developer at the time, Justin Achilli, couldn't use the book itself, but he liked it enough to hire me on for something else.

All of which means that I should probably start being more optimistic, and start believing people when they say "I can't use this, but..." I should--but then we're back to the whole "writers are neurotic" bit.

But if any of you reading this are up-and-comers, looking at selling your first work, consider this a gentle bit of support: Sometimes "No, but..." means "but" more than it means "no."

Thanks for the reminder, Lou.

Giving Thanks

Since we're in the middle of the holiday trifecta (TG, Xmas, and NYE), I want to take a moment to give thanks for all that I have received this year.

I'm thankful for my family, my wife, Jenny, and our son, Logan. I never thought life could be so rewarding, but every day is better than the last.

I'm thankful for our extended family; our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So many have volunteered their time and energy to help us as new parents. It's marvelous to witness how Logan has brought our entire family closer together.

I'm thankful for Lou Anders and Pyr Books for giving me an opportunity to share my writing with the world. One of my main New Years wishes is to make them very glad they chose me. I'm also grateful to all the other publishers who have taken on the book, and to all those who jump on the Shadow-Train in the coming year.

I'm thankful to my agent, Eddie Schneider, and his (professional) partner, Joshua Bilmes, at JABberwocky for taking in a poor wretch like me. Likewise, I aim to prove myself a wise investment of their time and talents.

I'm thankful for our friends, for their love and support. They make our lives richer.

I hope all of you have a safe and merry holiday season, and a wonderful new year.

Burton & Swinburne: An Introduction

Greetings all, and thanks to Lou for allowing me to contribute to the Pyr-o-mania blog.

Have a look at this guy:


His name is Sir Richard Francis Burton and he's the hero of my alternate history steampunk series, THE BURTON & SWINBURNE ADVENTURES. I want to take this opportunity to give you a little taster ... without giving too much away, of course!

First off, some of you may know me from my BLAKIANA website. Back in 2000 I discovered Sexton Blake, the second most written about character in the English language (the first is Nick Carter). Blake is a sort of cross between Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones, and his stories (approx. 5000 of them!) are simply terrific ... and until this year, none remained in print. So I decided to blow the dust off the old fellow and celebrate his adventures with a huge website. This attracted the attention of such luminaries as Mike Moorcock (whose first published novel was a Blake) and George Mann (who edited the recent Blake anthology) and through these good souls I was fortunate enough to attract the attention of publishers and thus get Burton & Swinburne off the ground.

The first book in the projected series is currently entitled THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK, and the style is very Blakeian -- the emphasis is on mystery and adventure and, well, BRITISHNESS, I guess!

This is alternate history, folks, so a great many of the characters that appear in the story were real Victorians (howcome famous Victorians had such cool names?). I freely admit, I have walked over their graves, then backed a car over them, then sprayed graffiti on their headstones, then dug 'em up and danced on their bones, then painted a clown's face on their mouldering corpses. In other words: MASSIVE DISRESPECT! I've made Darwin a criminal mastermind, Florence Nightingale a ghoul, Lord Palmerston a freak and Isambard Kingdom Brunel a ... well, you'll have to wait and see.

How do I justify this treatment of Britain's national heroes? With a simple phrase:

"When one man changes Time, Time changes everyone."

It's the ripple effect. One event turns out differently, and from it new opportunities and challenges are born, and in meeting them, people travel different paths to those we've recorded as history.

So what can you look forward to? I can promise you a complex hero who very definitely ain't as pure as the driven snow, a wildly eccentric sidekick who gets an erotic thrill out of pain, a pub crawl in London's worst stinkhole, missing chimney sweeps, The Beetle, werewolves that spontaniously combust, a panther-like swordstick-wielding albino who is NOT Elric, and, of course, Spring Heeled Jack.

The latter, who is surely one of the weirdest and most mysterious figures in British folklore (Google him!) is fully explained in my tale, and I've managed to stick pretty damned close to historical records as far as his exploits are concerned. But man, I wish I knew the truth!

Okay, so let's say my total disrespect for British history's great and good is PUNKY; where does the STEAMY come into it? I have to admit, at this point in the story (I'm about 80% done), Burton's relationship with Nurse Raghavendra of the Sisters of Noble Benevolence has become far more steamy than I'd planned ... but we want TECH, don't we? Sorry to disappoint, but there aren't any airships of the dirigible variety. I do, though, have rotorcars, communication pipes, velocipedes and steam-horses. There's a good deal of copper, brass, studded metal bands, dials, levers, flywheels, gyroscopes, cogs, funnels and crankshafts. I'd love to show it to you right now but a London Peculiar has settled over the city and I can barely see the end of my hand.

So, tally ho, what! THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK is scheduled for publication in the UK in April and in the US in the Fall (-ish).

End of ad. Anyone for jellied eels?

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Geosynchron

Geosynchron© David Louis Edelman

Cover Illustration © Stephan Martiniere

Design by Jacqueline Cooke

The Defense and Wellness Council is enmeshed in full-scale civil war between Len Borda and the mysterious Magan Kai Lee. Quell has escaped from prison and is stirring up rebellion in the Islands with the aid of a brash young leader named Josiah. Jara and the apprentices of the Surina/Natch MultiReal Fiefcorp still find themselves fighting off legal attacks from their competitors and from Margaret Surina's unscrupulous heirs -- even though MultiReal has completely vanished.

The quest for the truth will lead to the edges of civilization, from the tumultuous society of the Pacific Islands to the lawless orbital colony of 49th Heaven; and through the deeps of time, from the hidden agenda of the Surina family to the real truth behind the Autonomous Revolt that devastated humanity hundreds of years ago.

Meanwhile, Natch has awakened in a windowless prison with nothing but a haze of memory to clue him in as to how he got there. He's still receiving strange hallucinatory messages from Margaret Surina and the nature of reality is buckling all around him. When the smoke clears, Natch must make the ultimate decision - whether to save a world that has scorned and discarded him, or to save the only person he has ever loved: himself.

Coming February 2010