Release Date: 06/03/15
Publisher: Titan
SYNOPSIS:
From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs's Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury's "The Long Rain" to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis's Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth's next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century's space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life. But don't despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction's best writers - edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois - turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Join our cast of award-winning contributors - including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more - as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.
REVIEW:
As a reader who spends a lot of time with their head in a book, I do like it when I have a collection of short stories just to dive into when I have either a quick break or to utilise on travel time. Edited by two well established authors, the host of authors demonstrates an ability to bring the best of the genre to the fore as so many big names have contributed.
Its full of adventure, has different tales for every Sci-Fi taste and when added to a one off price for readers to try names they may not have had chance to yet, also gives you chance to add more names to your TBR pile (of which mine is already huge.)
All round a cracking set of fun and one that was a pure joy to devour and whilst every story may not be for all readers, theres enough options here to allow you to find something special.
Release Date: 13/11/14
Publisher: Gollancz
SYNOPSIS:
More exciting adventures from the longest running shared-world superhero series created and edited by George R.R. Martin, bestselling author of GAME OF THRONES Decades after an alien virus changed the course of history, the surviving population of Manhattan still struggles to understand the new world left in its wake. Natural humans share the rough city with those given extraordinary - and sometimes terrifying - traits. While most manage to coexist in an uneasy peace, not everyone is willing to adapt. Down in the seedy underbelly of Jokertown, residents are going missing. The authorities are unwilling to investigate, except for a fresh lieutenant looking to prove himself and a collection of unlikely jokers forced to take matters into their own hands - or tentacles. The deeper into the kidnapping case these misfits and miscreants get, the higher the stakes are raised. Edited by No.1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author George R.R. Martin and acclaimed author Melinda M. Snodgrass, LOWBALL is the latest mosaic novel in the acclaimed Wild Cards universe, featuring original fiction by Carrie Vaughn, Ian Tregillis, David Anthony Durham, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Mary Anne Mohanraj, David D. Levine, Michael Cassutt and Walter Jon Williams. Perfect for old fans and new readers alike, LOWBALL delves deeper into the world of aces, jokers, and the hard-boiled men and women of the Fort Freak police precinct in a pulpy, page-turning novel of superheroics and mystery.
REVIEW:
If you want something light full of typical fantastical UF Superhero tropes, then this long running series edited by GRRM will more than hit the spot for readers out there. If you’re a fan you’ll find old friends, if you’re new, well a set of tales to take you on a journey that will more than hit your requirements as a whole host of top talent create a whole new set of short stories.
Back this up with some cracking offerings, some top notch prose and of course links to earlier titles all round give this series an edge that a fair number of others out there haven’t quite hit yet. Magic.
Release Date: 29/08/14
Publisher: Titan
SYNOPSIS:
If you are a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of the Ice and Fire saga. Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart and yet leave you all the richer for it.
REVIEW:
Compendiums, the wonder of the new age for readers everywhere and when a fantasy gets George RR Martins name on it, you know that top notch quality is going to be revealed within. As you’d expect from this outing you have great characters, a whole host of short stories and when added to the sheer amount of talented authors within give the reader a book that is not only value for money, but a title that you really can’t afford to miss.
