41 Comments on “New Books and ARCs, 4/29/15”

1. The Martinez and Sigler books both intrigue me. I’m a fan of their work.

2. I gotta say, The Rise of the Automated Aristocrats sounds like a preview of the 2016 presidential elections.

3. Looks like a change of pace for Joanne M. Harris.

4. Anyone else find the layout on THE PEN IS MIGHTIER a bit startling? No? Just me, then.

5. The title Day Four intrigues me.

6. Oooh the new Mark Hodder! Love this series! It doesn’t exactly catch my “fany” though :)

7. I am happy to see Scott Sigler thriving as a published writer. I was a great fan of EarthCore as a podcast during the very original run.

8. Just on title, “Within These Walls” sounds good

9. I was hoping The World Ends with Rye was about whiskey. :(

10. Day Four – really been looking forward to that one.

11. Marion writes:

    Anyone else find the layout on THE PEN IS MIGHTIER a bit startling? No? Just me, then.

    Yep. Perhaps its the lighting on the foil, but it looks to me like the roughened font and the uneven kerning makes that title a bit ambiguous.

    It’s not quite as ambiguous as the Beggars in Spam edition of Nacy Kress’ Beggars in Spain.

    http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1287604010l/337150.jpg

12. Marion – I am wondering if the kerning of the title on The Pen Is Mightier is purposely bad. If not, there’s a cover designer out there that perhaps is not up to the job.

13. Some blogger/reviewer named Paul Weimer has a back cover quote for THE VENUSIAN GAMBIT. Make of that what you will :)

14. Marion – “The Fen Is hngh?” Lessee, “The Pen is Mightler, uh, Mightier.”
    The Sarah Lotz and the “Attack of the Mutant Aflatoxin” ones look interesting.
    Jay Lonner: Automated Aristocrats yeah, -sigh.-

15. Yeah, I think THE PENIS MIGHTIER is one of those titles that calls out for mixed-case lettering (or at least full caps/small caps) on the spine lettering.

    For once I’ve actually read one of these books, and can say that THE GOSPEL OF LOKI is a real treat.

16. I like to think the kerning on THE PEN IS MIGHTIER is deliberate purely to get a rise out of people. It’s hard to know where the author’s been shafted or whether it’s their choice, although someone with the balls to call their book THE PEN IS MIGHTIER is inviting people to look down at it and snigger.

17. Scrolled down to read discussion about Penis. Was not disappointed.

    Seriously though, I really hope that was intentional.

18. Count me as another who had that giant PENIS jump out at him:)

19. SIGLERRRRRRRRR! :-)

    @Matt W: Ditto. Double-triple-take.

20. P.S. Uh, and not in a weird way or anything…. ;-)

21. I only read Infected by Scott Sigler but I can tell I would enjoy most if not all of his work. Pretty sure the book is part of a trilogy; I need to get to it eventually.

22. “The Penis Mightier” will go on the shelf with Greg Bear’s “The Forge of Goo”.

23. Gospel of Loki is great fun.

24. I am the author of “The Pen is Mightier” — the snigger-inducing reference to the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy skit is intentional. The book is fantasy-satire, and partially inspired by Scalzi. As “Redshirts” is to “Star Trek”, “The Pen is Mightier” is to GRRM’s ASOIAF.

25. I’ve received an ARC of ALIVE myself, read it, and I can tell you all it is a fantastic book. (Though I’m saddened that the publisher decided to change the cover. Go check out the difference between the ARC cover and the new cover. The ARC cover I’d willingly pick up off the shelf; the new one, I would not have even given a second glance.)

26. Also — the copy I sent to John had a preliminary cover design; the cover has been finalized for Kindle (and other ebook formats) and is for sale. The paperback with the finalized cover will be available soon.

27. The Door in the Moon and The Venusian Gambit.

    The Pen Is Mightier would benefit from a slightly different font; one that doesn’t lend itself to quite so much innuendo. Unless, of course, that was the intent.

28. I like the title of Within These Walls and both the Pyr offerings look tempting. Looks like being a writer gets you lots of books to read…BONUS!

29. The Gospel of Loki!

30. I may be biased but I’m torn between the Scott Sigler and the Mark Hodder.

31. And with all the penis jokes, there’s also Hex Ed….

32. Chang Terhune – Now if only the book had actually been called ‘Torn’….

33. Since when did all books have all their titles printed top-to-bottom on the spine? Or is it just SF books? Checking bookshelves I generally have to keep twisting my head one way and the other to read the titles, and it’s really annoying.

    There should be a law.

    Will

34. I hated “The Gospel of Loki”, I would have thrown it through the room if the book design hadn’t been so very pretty. Instead I took it to a book exchange cupboard in town.

    The Edda has been told so often that it’s all in the telling, not in the plot. and a whiny narrator who mocks all the men for being stupid and all the woman for being vain and/or ugly and having lose morals is not even a parody, it’s just nails-on-chalkboard.

    I had to wiki the author, and then double-check other sources to convince myself that she’s not a 19yo girl working through “all the jocks hate me because I’m so clever” high school issues.

35. Inge – you’re probably unlikely to re read the book, but if you ever do, it might alter your perception of it to consider that Loki himself is both dishonest and an “all the jocks hate me because I’m so clever” type.

36. I am the author of “The Pen is Mightier” — the snigger-inducing reference to the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy skit is intentional. The book is fantasy-satire, and partially inspired by Scalzi. As “Redshirts” is to “Star Trek”, “The Pen is Mightier” is to GRRM’s ASOIAF.

    So if GRRM reads it, he will have nightmares to the end of his days?

37. That, or perhaps more optimistically, a chuckle and a smile.

38. Yes, but GRRM has a lot more to answer for than most in that sort of scenario.

39. Why not give it a read and find out? :)

40. Very intrigued by “The Venusian Gambit” and “The Pen is Mightier” (also the title of a fictional book mentioned in the work of fiction “Miss Buncle’s Book” by D. E. Stevenson). Apparently I have little company :)

41. I hope you try “The Pen is Mightier”, Katherine, and I hope you enjoy it!