Read This!

          
      There. Isn't that better, dear reader? Now Auntie Gertrude won't take away your copy...

Stryke couldn't see the ground for the corpses. He was deafened by screams and clashing steel. Despite the cold, sweat stung his eyes. His muscles burned and his body ached. Blood, mud, and splashed brains flecked his jerkin. And now two more of the loathsome, soft pink creatures were moving on him with murder in their eyes.

That's the opening of the intimidating new edition of Stan Nicholl's Orcs, released this month from Orbit Books. It collects three novels previously published in England. The books provide an alternate rationale for those perennial bad guys, the orcs, and have sold over a million copies overseas. Orbit's cover for the book matches the tough-guy prose inside. So much so that I got sick of looking at the ugly mug on the outside, effective as it might be, and decided to "prettify" my copy of Orcs. Just look at what a few randomly applied stars, flowers, smiley-faces, and the like can do to make a cover more humane! In fact, maybe Orbit should even run a "Beautify Your Orcs" contest. I bet readers would get a kick out of that.

All silliness aside, this is a significant release, with a striking cover, from one of the hottest publishers in genre fiction at the moment. Check it out if you want some gritty realism with your fantasy.

In this week's roundup, I'm filling in for Paul as we go back to the UK for more controversy and demonstrate our uber-Ameri-sentimentality about Lady Liberty and something all kids love--play!

No naughtiness at Random House
On Thursday, the Guardian reported that Random House was removing the word "twat" from Jacqueline Wilson's boarding school book for 10+ year-olds, My Sister Jodie. Because of three complaints, the publisher and author have decided on a less offensive replacement:

"The word 'twat' was used in context. It was meant to be a nasty word on purpose, because this is a nasty character," said a spokesperson for Random House. "However, Jacqueline doesn't want to offend her readers or her readers' parents, so when the book comes to be reprinted the word will be replaced with twit."

Amazon.uk has a charming video of Wilson talking about the book. Could this lady possibly be offensive? Please!

This comes on the heels of Sian Pattenden's report earlier this month that Random House was adding a "morality clause" to their author's contracts. (reported by Cory Doctorow in BoingBoing last week)

Even Americans aren't this gooey
I still haven't seen Meghan McCain's picture book, My Dad, John McCain, but these words from Derek Draper in the Guardian don't necessarily inspire me to pick it up:

It's easy for us Brits to assume that such sentimental spin will backfire but, having lived in the US for three years, I can assure you that Americans are made of gooier stuff. There, a commitment to "family values" isn't seen as a devalued political soundbite but the sine qua non of a politician's suitability for office.

Where did Draper live in America? I don't think it was Seattle. (found via Read Roger's "Fighting Words..." post)

O.K., well, we are gooey about our national landmarks
A Patchwork of Books posted a review last Monday of Lady Liberty, by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Matt Tavares--one of my favorite picture books of the year.

One thing I loved about this book, besides seeing the whole history of how the statue was conceived and built, was learning about how it was paid for. Basically, when sculptor Auguste Bartholdi visited the U.S. "everyone was polite and seemed interested. But no one offered to raise money to build her." So they got donations from French citizens to help build the statue, then Joseph Pulitzer asked his readers to chip in with the donations for the base (including one girl who sent her two pet roosters).

And we're not alone in loving the book. It got starred reviews from Booklist and The Horn Book. Here are a few more reviews from earlier this year:

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
YA and Kids Book Central
I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids)

It's time to play!
Speaking of I.N.K., contributor Anna M. Lewis posted Friday about her favorite book of the summer, The Case for Make Believe by Susan Linn, a book that's also been a favorite at our house, especially as we've watched 16-mo-old Silas begin to make up games of his own.

Lewis adds a list of books that encourage or celebrate play, such as Smart Play, Smart Toys and Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. One of her commenters also recommends the The Big Book for Little Hands, which looks really cute and fun. We'll be checking it out, for sure. --Heidi

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Seeds of Change is a cool new anthology edited by John Joseph Adams and featuring work by Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, and many others. A compact, small-sized hardcover from Prime Books, it's a work of art just in the design alone. The stories, which deal with social and environmental issues, are thought-provoking and strong. Recently, I asked Adams to give me a list of things readers can do in connection with the anthology, which is itself a call for being proactive in helping with some of the most pressing problems facing us on a global level. Here's his response...

John Joseph Adams: In the introduction to my anthology, I said: "It is my hope that reading these stories inspires some to plant their own seeds of  change—that when we see something wrong, we'll do something about it, whether that means writing to your representative in congress or researching a cure for a disease or simply speaking out against inequality and prejudice. We're all in this together—and the first step toward change can begin with any one of us."

So, obviously one of the main ideas behind the book was that science fiction can be a mode of social change. With that in mind, I'd like to offer up five ways--not necessarily the top five ways--you can plant seeds of change of your very own.

(1) Donate. We live in a land of privilege, but some of us are more privileged than others. If you can afford to spare the money, consider donating to a charitable organization. Uncle Sam will thank you come tax time, but do it for the karma, not the tax write-offs. Not sure who to donate money to? Check out Network for Good, which acts as a charitable clearinghouse, allowing you to discover and donate to a number of different charities and track your contributions.

(2) Volunteer. If you can't afford to donate money, or just want to do more than that, try donating your time. Charitable organizations of all kinds are always in need of volunteers to help make their organizations work. Not sure how to get involved? Check out VolunteerMatch.org, which helps match up volunteers with charitable organizations that need their assistance. (Network for Good can also help you find volunteering opportunities.)

(3) Recycle. Mother Earth has given us a lot; recycling is one of the ways we can give back. To learn more about recycling, environmentalism, and the different ways you can lessen your own environmental footprint, visit Earth911.org.

(4) Vote. One of our greatest freedoms is to be allowed a voice and to know that it will be heard; vote today to ensure a better tomorrow. If you're not already registered to vote, visit RocktheVote.com.

(5) Listen. Because that's the most important step.

Center stage in rising star Tobias Buckell's new novel Sly Mongoose is the unpredictable planet Chilo. As the press release informs us, "Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas like many other young men, is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can. Timas’s life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storm—a secret that could lead to interplanetary war." And from there, things just get worse.

Still, in its day, Chilo must've had a few years when it was a vacation hot spot... No? Well, er, maybe it was at least "a nice place to raise a family," as they say.

Not convinced? Maybe this will help. Buckell, who was recently tagged to write the next Halo novel, has provided Omnivoracious with this compelling top five list from the Chilo Chamber of Commerce...

TOP 5 REASONS TO GROW UP ON THE PLANET CHILO

1) Forced anorexia means never having to clean your plate
2) Sulfuric acid rain is just nifty, as long as you wear your protective armor
3) Everything you say and do is seen by a technocracy, smile for the camera
4) Group mind zombies don't need to eat your brains
5) Caribbean cyborgs sometimes drop from the sky and hit your floating city

Every other Friday, Omnivoracious will turn the spotlight on one or more graphic novels, with future installments also including news and special features. You can let me know who or what you'd like to see featured by commenting on this post. (In October, Graphic Novel Friday will return to its normal weekly schedule.)

Ah, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard--how well I remember you. Your acrobatics displays were such a fine fusion of geometric precision and untamed artistic angst. Your path across the hushed air spelled out in graceful cursive any number of elegant phrases in French.

What a shame you die on page 13 and are replaced by your young nephew Etienne.

But that's the way it is with Eddie Campbell (and story co-conspirator Dan Best)--never happy to leave well enough alone. Thus, a great man dies not at the end of this wonderfully chaotic freak show of a graphic novel, but near the beginning. This provides the catalyst for Etienne's rather unusual and surreal adventures. Talking bears in waistcoats? Check. The Titanic? Check. Calabrian fighting midgets? Of course!

Campbell's light touch with the art--beautiful yet often disturbing watercolors--proves supple and fluid enough to convey scenes of whimsy and scenes of horror. This might just be my favorite Campbell yet--I can't recommend it highly enough.

Of course, he's not done even when it seems like he must be. The last page reads: "Nothing occurs on this page." And so it goes. Long live the amazing remarkable monsieur Campbell!

Hugo Award finalist (and now winner!) and John W. Campbell Award recipient John Scalzi brings readers something new and different this month with Zoe's Tale. The protagonist is a 17-year-old girl. The milieu is the same as for his Old Man's War novels. Rumor has it this new novel has made a few librarians cry. Has Scalzi gone soft? Not likely. Something tells me the man who had the guts to put bacon on his cat's head has probably just gone and taken it to the next level.

Which brings us to the question I asked Scalzi as an Amazon exclusive: Who is Zoe and why should we care about her tale?

Scalzi: Why, she's just your average sort of teenage girl, of course, who just happens to be standing directly on a pivot point for a potential interstellar war between humans and everyone else in the universe, and who is trying get herself, friends and family off the pivot point and well out of the way. And really, who among us hasn't been in that situation? As to why should you care--well, you know. You don't necessarily have to care who she is when you start the book. My job, as the writer, is to make you care -- to get you invested enough in who Zoe is and what she's going through that you keep reading because you need to know what's next for her. If you start the book not caring about Zoe, that's just fine. I want you to finish the book having cared deeply about her...I have to say that I'm really happy with Zoe, both the character and the book. The story is in the Old Man's War universe, but it's written as a stand-alone, so folks new to series pick it up and look around place through Zoe's eyes. I hope they will, and I think they'll like what they see.

And, as an added bonus, the interview I did with Scalzi about his last novel, for those who missed it the first time around...

Oh, I know you, Omnivoracious reader. You're already browsing the August books. You're even looking ahead to what's coming out in the fall. But there's a little time travel trick that would benefit both you and your children: take a trip back to June, when Random House released The Lost Art by Simon Morden. It's a delightfully complex children's book that explores a post-apocalyptic world.

What's it about? "One thousand years after the formidable war machines of the User cultures devoured entire civilizations and rewrote planetary geography, Earth is in the grip of a perpetual Dark Age. Scientific endeavor is strongly discouraged, while remnant technology is locked away—hidden by a Church determined to prevent a new Armageddon. This is the world to which Benzamir Michael Mahmood must return. A descendant of the tribes who fled the planet during those ages old wars, he comes in pursuit of enemies from the far reaches of space. The technology he brings is wondrous beyond the imaginings of those he will meet, but can its potency match that of the Church’s most closely guarded treasure? For centuries it has lain dormant, but it is about to be unearthed, and the powers that will be unleashed may be beyond anyone’s capacity to control. Even a man as extraordinary as Benzamir..."

This is an audacious concept for this audience, but it works. If you're looking for something different, you should check it out before you go a-seeking amongst those alluring August titles.

Set on the imaginary island of Altania, the enchanting The Magicians and Mrs. Quent evokes memories of other pseudo-Victorian-Edwardian fantasies, but the writing and execution are vastly superior to most of the others I’ve read. Ivy, the eldest of the three Harrowell daughters, takes a position a governess to the wards Mrs. Quent, a compellingly odd character. The house she inhabits, Heathcrest Hall is suitably stark and strange. The pleasure in watching Ivy navigate through multiple mysteries, including the madness of her father (for which she hopes to find a cure), provides much of the narrative drive here. Eldyn Garritt, scion of a bankrupt trading company, also figures into the mix. While I preferred the sections from Ivy’s point-of-view, readers should also find Eldyn an interesting character. As their two stories come together, along with the discovery of secret societies (who, exactly, are those shadowy men in the black hats?) and much else that will delight readers, the novel really comes into its own. The discussions of and uses of magic may be familiar from other books, but somehow Galen Beckett reconfigures what could be stereotypical into an exciting and clever romp.

Months after I posted about Joseph Nigg's How to Raise and Keep a Dragon, debate still rages in the comments thread about where to get a dragon, whether dragons exist or not, and related subjects. At least one parent appears to have perhaps tried to finesse their way through this minefield by providing their child with a dragon egg...that may never hatch. My own attempt to say that there are no such things as dragons was ignored or skillfully circumvented by the commenters--to which I respond, "More power to you." There are worse things to do than sustain a belief in dragons. For more perspective, check out this article from the Edmonton Journal about Nigg (writing under the pen name John Topsell) and his unusual tome.

Night Shade Books is teaming up this summer with award-winning authors Neal Asher and Greg Egan to provide SF fans with thrills, chills, and spills. Two books that are perfect for the beach, the mountains, theme parks, or anywhere else you decide to go on vacation. And, if you take a stay-cation because of rising gas prices...hey, they're perfect for stay-cations, too.

UK author Asher's novels have been translated into half-a-dozen languages, with tons of acclaim for his Polity series. Australian Greg Egan has won the Hugo Award, the John W. Campbell Award, and many others. His short fiction has appeared in several year's best anthologies. Both writers are known for a high level of SF invention, exciting ideas, and mind-expanding imaginations. Here's a little more intel on both books...

Neal Asher's Shadow of the Scorpion:
Raised to adulthood during the end of the war between the human Polity and a vicious alien race, the Prador, Ian Cormac is haunted by childhood memories of a sinister scorpion-shaped war drone and the burden of losses he doesn't remember. Cormac signs up with Earth Central Security and is sent out to help restore and maintain order on worlds devastated by the war. There he discovers that though the Prador remain as murderous as ever, they are not anywhere near as treacherous or dangerous as some of his fellow humans, some closer to him than he would like. Amidst the ruins left by wartime genocides, Cormac will discover in himself a cold capacity for violence and learn some horrible truths about his own past while trying to stay alive on his course of vengeance.

Greg Egan's Incandescence:
The long-awaited new novel from Hugo Award-winning writer Greg Egan! The Amalgam spans nearly the entire galaxy, and is composed of innumerable beings from a wild variety of races, some human, some near-human, and some entirely other. The one place that they cannot go is the bulge, the bright, hot center of the galaxy. There dwell the Aloof, who for millions of years have deflected any and all attempts to communicate with or visit them. So, when Rakesh is offered an opportunity to travel within their sphere, in search of a lost race, he cannot turn it down.