The Geomancer

10/29/11

Ay Caramba!




Just received a few copies of the Spanish version of Shadow's Son. With a nice quote from Charlaine Harris on the cover! Me gusto!

10/8/11

Shadow's Lure available on Kindle

Hey folks,

Shadow's Lure, book 2 of my Shadow Saga, is now available on Kindle. Yay!

10/6/11

A high water mark in contemporary fantasy

Adventures Fantastic has this to say about MD Lachlan's Fenrir, and the Pyr brand of fantasy:

"The characters have more depth than most fantasy characters, and Lachlan does a marvelous job juggling a number of major and minor characters, some of whom have multiple names, and making them individuals with their own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.  These aren't just static characters, either.  They grow and change, to the point that one or two switch allegiance.... As good as Wolfsangel was, and it was good, Fenrir is better.  If this series continues to improve, it will be a high water mark in contemporary fantasy.  It pretty much is already. Series like this one, the Danilov Quintet by Jasper Kent, the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, and the Shadow books by Jon Sprunk, just to name a few fantasy series (and that's not even getting into the science fiction), have made Pyr books my favorite publisher.  With quality like this, it's no wonder Pyr seems to have a permanent place on the shortlists of all the major awards."

10/3/11

For Your Viewing Pleasure: The Full Jacket of Planesrunner

Cover Illustration and Front Cover Design © John Picacio
Spine and Back Cover Design by Grace M. Conti-Zilsberger
  Coming in December 2011
There is not one you. There are many yous. There is not one world. There are many worlds. Ours is one among billions of parallel earths.
When Everett Singh’s scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves young Everett a mysterious app on his computer. Suddenly, this teenager has become the owner of the most valuable object in the multiverse—the Infundibulum—the map of all the parallel earths, and there are dark forces in the Ten Known Worlds who will stop at nothing to get it. They’ve got power, authority, the might of ten planets—some of them more technologically advanced than our Earth—at their fingertips. He’s got wits, intelligence, a knack for Indian cooking.
To keep the Infundibulum safe, Everett must trick his way through the Heisenberg Gate that his dad helped build and go on the run in a parallel Earth. But to rescue his dad from Charlotte Villiers and the sinister Order, this Planesrunner’s going to need friends. Friends like Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her adopted daughter, Sen, and the crew of the airship Everness
Can they rescue Everett’s father and get the Infundibulum to safety? The game is afoot!

Planesrunner is chock-full of awesome. Ian McDonald’s steampunk London blazes on a vast scale with eye-popping towers, gritty streets, and larger-than-life characters who aren’t afraid to fight for each other. The kind of airship-dueling, guns-blazing fantasy that makes me wish I could pop through to the next reality over, join the Airish, and take to the skies”
—Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael J. Printz Award–winning author of Ship Breaker

“Smashing adventure fiction that spans the multiverse without ever losing its cool or its sense of style. Ian McDonald is one of the greats of science fiction and his young adult debut is everything you could hope for: romantic, action-packed, wildly imaginative, and full of heart.”
—Cory Doctorow, author of For the Win

9/16/11

Give Yourself to the Rift

What people are saying about Clay and Susan Griffith's The Rift Walker (Vampire Empire, Book 2):

“I've said it before and I’ll say it again: The future of genre fiction is now – and it’s Clay and Susan Griffith’s Vampire Empire trilogy.”
-Explorations: The BN SciFi and Fantasy Blog, September 9, 2011

“The Vampire Empire series stands out because of its unabashed steampunk leanings and that is both great fun and a refreshing direction for the genre. It creates a world where science (albeit steampunk science) and magic clash head on and this is a major theme of this volume as Adele taps into her powers… I really enjoyed the first book, however I loved the second. The story built apace and left me eagerly anticipating the final part. 8 out of 10.”
-Taliesin Meets the Vampires, September 8, 2011

“The Vampire Empire series is becoming one of my favorite all time series. If you haven't read these books yet, I strongly recommend them. I know there are a lot of vampire books out there but this series sets itself apart from the rest. I can not say enough about this book. The first book blew me away and the second did it again. I absolutely love this series and I can't wait for the third book to come out.”
-2 Read or Not 2 Read blog, September 8, 2011

“I loved The Rift Walker. Clay and Susan Griffith can tell a good story that includes an exciting, fast paced battle, political intrigue, tender romance with believable technology and paranormal aspects. The only thing I didn’t like about this story is that I have to wait for the next book to come out!”
-Literary Escapism, August 28, 2011

“The sequel has hundred extra pages to tell it’s story over first book in the Vampire Empire series and they are packed with more locations, more political intrigue, more vampire mythology, more romance, and the same rich characters who captivated me in The Greyfriar…there is still plenty of action and intrigue that evokes the old pulp novels of the past, dashing and daring adventure though exotic locations, and sweeping romance between these star crossed lovers.”
-All Things Urban Fantasy, September 2, 2011

“The Griffiths…offer us what we came looking for: unrelenting action, adventure, romance and a fair bit of magic. There really is something for everyone here, and this, I think, really is the what makes the Griffiths’ writing so endearing…At the end of the day though, what I keep reading ‘Vampire Empire’, and what I imagine a lot of other readers keep reading these books for, is the all out epic entertainment they provide. In this respect, The Rift Walker really outdoes the first book, providing us with devilish conspiracies, all-out war on a reclusive vampire clan, airship chases, betrayals, heroics and complicated affairs of the heart, all told from a massive, epic scope…[The Griffth’s] continued mixing of tropes from steampunk, epic fantasy, urban fantasy and adventure is still refreshing and proof of how a bit of innovation - even in a purely gratuitous entertainment sense - can bolster a novel’s quality. If you haven’t yet gotten in on the Griffiths’ highly enjoyable, highly diverting ‘Vampire Empire’ trilogy I suggest you do so now. No matter what genre background you have, I can almost guarantee you’ll find something to your liking here.”
-LEC Book Reviews, September 2011



8/29/11

Dragon*Con Author Signing Schedule


Dragon*Con attendees! Pyr will be in the Marriott's Marquis Ballroom exhibit hall during Dragon*Con (Atlanta, GA) Friday 9/2 - Monday 9/5.

Visit booth 709/711, where you'll find lots of books available for sale at a great discount (cash or credit card only) and many Pyr authors on hand to sign your purchases too. Once again, we will have a limited quantity sampler book for con attendees, this time featuring not just new and forthcoming titles, but excerpts from some of our hottest books of the past few years.

To aid in your planning, here is a schedule of our in-booth author signings (subject to last minute change, of course.) If there's someone you want to see but you can't make the time that's here, stop by the booth just to check and inquire - many of these authors will make impromptu visits at other times, especially on Sunday and Monday.

Friday, September 2

2:00 – 3:00 pm ANDREW MAYER (The Falling Machine)

3:00 – 4:00 pm ARI MARMELL (The Goblin Corps)

3:30 – 4:30 pm CLAY and SUSAN GRIFFITH (The Rift Walker; The Greyfriar)

4:00 – 5:00 pm MIKE RESNICK (The Buntline Special; others)

4:00 – 5:00 pm SAM SYKES (Black Halo; Tome of the Undergates)

Saturday, September 3

11:00 – Noon JAMES ENGE (The Wolf Age; others)

Noon – 1 pm JON SPRUNK (Shadow’s Lure; Shadow’s Son)

1:00 – 2:00 pm ERIN HOFFMAN (Sword of Fire and Sea)

1:30 – 2:30 pm ANDREW MAYER (The Falling Machine)

2:00 – 3:00 pm JAMES ENGE (The Wolf Age; others)

3:00 – 4:00 pm ARI MARMELL (The Goblin Corps)

4:00 – 5:00 pm MIKE RESNICK (The Buntline Special; others)

5:00 – 6:00 pm CLAY and SUSAN GRIFFITH (The Rift Walker; The Greyfriar)

6:00 – 7:00 pm SAM SYKES (Black Halo; Tome of the Undergates)

Sunday, September 4

Noon – 1 pm JON SPRUNK (Shadow’s Lure; Shadow’s Son)

1:00 – 2:00 ERIN HOFFMAN (Sword of Fire and Sea)

Booth hours are Friday 1:00 – 7:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm; and Monday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. We hope to see you there!

8/25/11

Reminder for Dragon*Con

Dragon*Con is a week away! Many of our authors will be joining us at the Pyr Booth (709/711 in the Marriott Marquis Ballroom,) and of course, we'll have books.

Just a reminder to anyone wondering whether you'd like a book, we have sample chapters available on our website.
The books the chapters are from are listed on the right sidebar.

Happy reading! I hope to see you in Atlanta.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Blackdog

Blackdog by K.V. Johansen
Cover Illustration: © Raymond Swanland
Design by Grace Continue M. Zilsberger





Long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, there were seven devils...

And long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, the seven devils, who had deceived and possessed seven of the greatest wizards of the world, were defeated and bound with the help of the Old Great Gods...

And perhaps some of the devils are free in the world, and perhaps some are working to free themselves still…

In a land where gods walk on the hills and goddesses rise from river, lake, and spring, the caravan-guard Holla-Sayan, escaping the bloody conquest of a lakeside town, stops to help an abandoned child and a dying dog. The girl, though, is the incarnation of Attalissa, goddess of Lissavakail, and the dog a shape-changing guardian spirit whose origins have been forgotten. Possessed and nearly driven mad by the Blackdog, Holla-Sayan flees to the desert road, taking the powerless avatar with him.

Necromancy, treachery, massacres, rebellions, and gods dead or lost or mad follow hard on the their heels. But it is Attalissa herself who may be the Blackdog’s—and Holla-Sayan’s—doom.

Reviews:

"Johansen’s characters project believability, and her world is full of rich and vivid detail. High fantasy for lovers of mythology and of powerful beings in human form, this adult fantasy debut should appeal to fans of Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series.”

—Library Journal
“I’m hooked. The mix of magic, Tibetan-style religion, and Harold Lamb–style adventure is pretty addicting”

—James Enge
World Fantasy Award–nominated
Author of Blood of Ambrose
and The Wolf Age
“Interesting and absorbing; Blackdog takes as its heart, and its strength, a subject that most fantasy writers shy away from—the Gods themselves.”

—Tom Lloyd
Author of The Twilight Reign series



Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

8/24/11

Pyr Editorial Director Wins Hugo Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cheryl Krajna
1-800-853-7545
ckrajna@prometheusbooks.com

August 23, 2011

Pyr Editorial Director Wins Hugo Award
Lou Anders Recognized

Amherst, NY– Pyr, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, is proud to announce a 2011 Hugo Award win by Editorial Director Lou Anders.

Anders received the trophy for “Best Editor–Long Form” at a ceremony on August 20 at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R. R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.

The Hugos are international, fan-voted awards. All members of the World Science Fiction Society are eligible to vote.

This was the fifth consecutive nomination and the first win for Anders in the category.

“Words cannot express what an honor this award represents to me,” Anders said. “But what I can express is how privileged I feel to work every day with the host of brilliant authors who have made Pyr what it is.”

“Lou’s taste, vision, and stewardship have been instrumental in shaping the Pyr brand,” said Prometheus Books President Jonathan Kurtz. “We’re extremely pleased and grateful for the tremendous reception Pyr has received since its inception.”

Prometheus Books, an independent publisher of thoughtful nonfiction, launched the Pyr imprint in March 2005. Since then, it has become a brand known for books with quality both inside and out, from rich, engrossing narratives to award-winning cover art and design. Although technically an imprint, Pyr was called “one of a very few publishers I know of who have no bad books to their name” by a BiblioBuffet writer, and “one of the most exciting publishers in the business” by Black Gate magazine.

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