Publishers Weekly articles from October 2008

Publishers Weekly archives from October 2008

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People.(Pick of the week: A Look at the Real Alaskans)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People. William L. Iggiagruk Hensley. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $24 (288p) ISBN 978-0-374-15484-4 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although this fascinating memoir is set hundreds...

Signs of the times: Amazon still growing, but slower; store sales weak; credit crunches indie bookseller.(Foreword)
October 27, 2008... With the country in the grip of the worst economic crisis since the Depression, publishers and booksellers are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. In a conference call discussing third-quarter results, Amazon issued a broad...

No new Kindle.(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Amazon won't release a new version of the Kindle until 2009, at the earliest. Sales of the device and titles for it are ahead of expectations, Amazon said, and e-books now account for more than 10% of unit sales for books that are available...

Seo keaving S&S Kids.(Ginee Seo resigns from Simon & Schuster)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Ginee Seo, v-p and editorial director of Ginee Seo Books, an imprint of Atheneum Books for Young Readers at Simon & Schuster, has resigned. Her last day in the office will be October 30, but she will continue to work with S&S on a freelance...

Hachette merges Orbit, Yen.(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Hachette Book Group has combined its Orbit and Yen Press imprints into a single division to be known as Orbit. Tim Holman, who launched the sci-fi Orbit, will head the new division, while Kurt Hassler has been named publishing director of the...

First, break all the rules.(Foreword)(publishing)
October 27, 2008... How do you make a bestseller? That's one of the most important and oft-asked questions in BookLand. We don't know the answer, so, of course, we've established some rules: Rule #1: Never publish an author posthumously: publicity...

Sports Publishing files Chapter 11.(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Sports Publishing has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Central Illinois. The publisher estimated assets of between $100,001 and $500,000 and liabilities of $1 million to $10 million. Ingram Publisher...

DNAML, MPS ink deal.(Mobile's Global Reader; e-book distribution)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... DNAML, makers of the DNL e-book format and the DNL reader software, and MPS Mobile's Global Reader, a distributor of e-books to mobile phones worldwide, announced a partnership through which they will promote each other's e-book products. The...

Little book big boon for coffee house.(Indies)(Sam Savage's 'Firmin')
October 27, 2008... An unsolicited manuscript about a literary-minded, independent-bookstore-dwelling rat that devours books has turned into an international hit--and a hefty paycheck--for Coffee House Press. Firmin, by 65-year-old debut author Sam Savage, was...

The play's the thing at Samuel French Bookshop.(Hybrid Retailer)(Company overview)
October 27, 2008... A young couple sits on the floor in a corner at the Samuel French Bookshop in Hollywood, quietly reading scenes from a play to one other, oblivious to the commotion surrounding them. Gwen Feldman, West Coast operations manager and IT director...

Oxford still loves the 'OED'.(At 80)(Oxford University Press on the Oxford English Dictionary)
October 27, 2008... While many venerable reference works have faded into obscurity in the digital age, Oxford University Press remains determined to keep another reference bible, the Oxford English Dictionary, the world's largest and preeminent English-language...

Quarto on track.(Quarto Publishing)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Quarto said third-quarter results were in line with expectations. For the nine months, sales rose 17%, to 78.7 million [pounds sterling] ($128 million), and operating profit increased 15%, to 6.2 million [pounds sterling] ($10 million)....

Greetings from Northvale.(Vince Flynn)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Author Vince Flynn recently stopped by Books & Greetings in Northvale, N.J., for an event promoting new book, Extreme Measures (Atria). Flynn's stop at the bookstore marked the first on his national tour. Flynn...

Dorman gets debut.(Deals)(Pamela Dorman)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... In an overnight preempt, Pamela Dotman acquired a debut novel called Saving Ceecee Honeycutt for her imprint at Viking; the author is Kentucky native Beth Hoffman, and Catherine Drayton at InkWell sold world rights. Compared to The Setter...

Reusing signs with Potter.(Deals)(Andrea Reusing and Clarkson Potter)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Rica Allannic at Clarkson Potter preempted world rights to Andrea Reusing's first cookbook the day after agent David Kuhn concluded meetings with seven publishers. The book, not yet titled, will feature more than 100 recipes organized by...

Crime sprees.(Deals)(thriller novels)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... St. Martin's editor Lindsay Sagnette preempted North American rights to three novels in a new historical crime series set in Moscow during Stalin's Great Terror; the debut author is William Ryan and the deal was negotiated by George Lucas at...

Author picks Oprah.(Deals)(Center Street and Robyn Okrant's 'Living Oprah: My One Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises')(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Center Street executive editor Michelle Rapkin has signed blogger Robyn Okrant to recount her experience of Living Oprah: My One Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises; Susan Schulman sold North American rights. For...

On the brain.(Deals)(Collins Living and Dr. Gary Small's 'The Naked Woman Who Stood on Her Head and Other Cases of Curious Human Behavior')(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... UCLA Center on Aging director and author of the forthcoming iBRAIN Dr. Gary Small, with co-writer Gigi Vorgan, has made a deal for a new book, The Naked Wonaan Who Stood on Her Head and Other Cases of Curious Human Behavior; Sandra Dijkstra...

Calendar: Nov. 2-8.(Foreword)(Calendar)
October 27, 2008... 11/2 Eve Dallas's 27th adventure unfolds this week in J.D. Robb's Salvation in Death (Putnam). PW called this futuristic mystery, featuring death by Holy Communion, "unusually introspective." 11/3 Just as the new 007 movie...

Scribner keeps Toibin.(Deals)(Colin Toibin)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Scribner editor-in-chief Nan Graham has made a new three-book deal with Colin Toibin via Peter Straus at Rogers, Coleridge & White, who sold U.S. rights only. The first of two novels in the deal is to be called Brooklyn and centers on a young...

Where to invest.(Deals)(Where to Put Your Money)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... New York Times columnist and Where to Put Your Money author Peter Passell has just made a deal for Where to Put Your Money Now; Louise Burke at Pocket took North American rights in a deal with Susan Ginsburg at Writers House. This will be a...

92nd Street Y celebrates 70 years.(Lit Life)
October 27, 2008... To fans of poetry and literary prose, mentioning New York City's 92nd Street Y evokes not merely a gym and community center, but also one of the premier venues in the country for literary readings and events, run under the auspices of the Y's...

Thrillers rise in France, Sweden.(Selling Abroad)(Table)
October 27, 2008... The fall season brings plenty of changes to the fiction bestseller lists. Debuting at #1 in France is Miserere, the latest from one of that country's top crime writers, Jean-Christophe Grange. His second novel, The Blood-Red Rivers, was an...

Reorg at Crown publicity.(People)(Annsley Rosner, Campbell Wharton, Kim Small and Sarah Breivogel of The Crown Publishing Group)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... At Crown's publicity department, Annsley Rosner has moved into the role of publicity director for both Crown and Shaye Areheart Books. Rosner was handling publicity for Harmony Books and Three Rivers Press. Campbell Wharton has been named...

Koenig up at Macmillan.(People)(Dan Koenig of Macmillan Publishers Ltd.)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Dan Koenig has been promoted from marketing and supply-chain manager in distribution and sales to director of sales planning and operations at Macmillan.

Fagan, Keenan add titles at Penguin.(People)(John Fagan and Liz Keenan of Penguin Books)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... John Fagan, v-p, director of marketing for Penguin Books and executive director, academic marketing and sales, and marketing director, e-books, has taken on the additional role of marketing director of Plume and Hudson Street Books. Liz...

If Bourdain says it's good ...(Hot Topic)(Anthony Bourdain)(Table)
October 27, 2008... Anthony Bourdain is a busy guy. The author and TV star just launched a new special on the Travel Channel--At the Table with Anthony Bourdain--and makes regular appearances at major food events around the country (and the world). He has also...

Obituary: Dan Harvey.(People)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 27, 2008... Dan Harvey died last week at age 62. Harvey was most recently senior v-p and director of marketing for Trident Media Group. Before he joined Trident in 2007, Harvey was an executive at Putnam and, before that, worked in publicity at both...

Hardcover bestsellers/fiction.
October 27, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Michael Connelly's fans have been flocking to Facebook lately to view photo submissions in the "Look Who's Reading The Brass Verdict" contest. The first 1,200 people to submit a photo of themselves (or another...

Hardcover bestsellers/nonfiction.
October 27, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you are of a certain age, you probably related to The Brady Bunch (which aired 1969-1974); teen girls wanted to be Marcia Brady: Here's the Story recounts Maureen McCormick's nearly four-decade struggle to...

Paperback bestsellers/mass market.
October 27, 2008... The Lost Tomb is the third installment in David Gibbins's international bestselling Jack Howard adventure series. The first two books in the series, Atlantis and Crusader Gold, were national bestsellers and Dell reports that the latest has...

Paperback bestsellers/trade.
October 27, 2008... Sue Bee Honey, a leading manufacturer of honey, has produced a special cookbook and product, Black Madonna Honey--both inspired by The Secret Life of Bees movie. All net proceeds of the cookbook and honey go to benefit First Book, a nonprofit...

Children's series and tie-ins bestsellers.
October 27, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Percy Jackson series, all enormous hit with middle-school readers, is scheduled to end next May. On his blog, Riordan talked about what comes next: "My plan is for another five-book story arc, featuring a new...

Audio bestsellers/fiction.
October 27, 2008... The first ever serialized audiobook, The Chopin Manuscript (Brilliance Audio, unabridged, six CDs, $29.95), was originally available only as an audio download (released Sept.-Nov. 2007 in weekly installments). Jeffery Deaver created the...

Audio bestsellers/nonfiction.
October 27, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When it came to reading The War Within, four-time Tony Award-winner Boyd Gaines knew the routine of working on an embargoed title, since he'd read Woodward's three previous Bush books. "Sometimes I didn't get the...

Snicket redux.(Children's Books)('A Lump of Coal')
October 27, 2008... The Baudelaire orphans' sad story may be over but, like a post-apocalyptic cockroach, Lemony Snicket persists--to the great delight of booksellers, children, HarperCollins and Daniel Handler himself. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I miss...

Lauren Thomas: books come first for this children's bookseller.(50 UNDER 40)(Ladels Children's Book Boutique)(Biography)
October 27, 2008... You won't find Dora the Explorer at Ladels Children's Book Boutique, though you will find Fancy Nancy. That's because, owner Lauren Thomas says, Dora the Explorer books are spun off from the television cartoon series, created primarily by...

'Eat food ... mostly plants': diet advice trends to the simple and sensible.(Cover story)
October 27, 2008... It defies common logic: myriad approaches (five-minute cardio blasts! two-week yoga retreats! juice fasts! frequent, small meals! low-carb! high fiber!) and innumerable hours and dollars have yielded no budge in our decades-long battle with...

Fat is a laughing matter.(Author Profile)(Carol Lay)
October 27, 2008... Meeting author-artist Carol Lay in the flesh is wonderfully disconcerting. So closely does she resemble the cartoon version of herself in her whimsical cartoon memoir about dieting, The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude (Villard,...

A Fortunate Age.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... A Fortunate Age Joanna Smith Rakoff. Scribner, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-1-4165-9077-4 Rakoff's debut novel is a ponderous, meandering and nostalgic portrait of a postcollegiate group of Gen-Xers awkwardly navigating weddings, pregnancies,...

The Ballad of West Tenth Street.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * The Ballad of West Tenth Street Marjorie Kernan. Harper Perennial, $13.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-166917-0 Full of lower Manhattan's eccentricities, this captivating debut peeks in on the family of a late rock icon, Ree...

The Forgotten Legion.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Forgotten Legion Ben Kane. St. Martin's, $25.95 (528p) ISBN 978-0-312-53671-8 Two gladiators, a soothsayer and a prostitute seek freedom and revenge in Kane's sword and sandal epic that starts strong but runs adrift after too...

Bridge of Sand.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Bridge of Sand Janet Burroway. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25 (336p) ISBN 978-0-15-101543-6 Burroway is best known for her textbook, Writing Fiction, but in this novel she demonstrates that even skillful writers can stumble. On...

The Local News.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Local News Miriam Gershow. Random/Speigel & Grau, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-385-52761-3 Bright, precocious but socially awkward Lydia Pasternak reports on the aftermath of her older brother's disappearance in Gershow's...

The Leisure Seeker.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Leisure Seeker Michael Zadoorian. Morrow, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-167178-4 In this affecting road novel, an elderly married couple leave their Detroit home and take off in their camper for one last adventure together. Ella...

The Turtle Catcher.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Turtle Catcher Nicole Helget. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24 (256p) ISBN 978-0-618-75312-3 A rural Minnesota town struggling through change before, during and after WWI forms the background for this emotional tale of star-crossed...

Dream House.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Dream House Valerie Laken. Harper, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-06-084092-1 A classic money pit scenario offers insights into the fragility of home, family and neighborhood in Pushcart Prize--winner Laken's thoughtful debut. Kate and her...

The Best of Everything.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Best of Everything Kimberla Lawson Roby. Morrow, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-144306-0 Roby's disappointing sixth entry in her Rev. Curtis Black series (after 2008's Sin No More) focuses on Alicia Black Sullivan, his beautiful and...

Lark and Termite.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Lark and Termite Jayne Anne Phillips. Knopf, $24 (272p) ISBN 978-0-375-40195-4 From Phillips (Motherkind; Shelter) comes a long-awaited and wonderful coming-of-age tale of grief and survival. The story straddles a parallel six-day...

Running Hot.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Running Hot Jayne Ann Krentz. Putnam, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-15521-5 A heroine who can see dark energy flashes in a villain's aura and a hero who can squelch villainous thoughts before they're put into action go to paradise to...

The power of the Web: a computer game developer wreaks havoc after his death via the Interact in Daniel Suarez's debut, Daemon (Reviews, Oct. 6).(Q & A: PW Talks with Daniel Suarez)(Interview)
October 27, 2008... What was your book's genesis? I wrote Daemon several years ago, but couldn't find representation, so I self-published using print-on-demand. As a book about the power of the Web, Daemon was perfect for Internet marketing. My wife and I...

Beat the Reaper.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Beat the Reaper Josh Bazell. Little, Brown, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-316-03222-3 Making a hit man turned medical intern a sympathetic figure would be a tall order for most authors, but first-time novelist Bazell makes it look easy in...

A Beautiful Place to Die.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * A Beautiful Place to Die Malla Nunn. Atria, $25 (384p) ISBN 978-1-4165-8620-3 Set in South Africa in 1952, Australian filmmaker Nunn's stellar debut explores a divided society through the frame of a classic murder mystery. When...

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet Colleen McCullough. Simon & Schuster, $26 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4165-9648-6 McCullough's (The Thorn Birds) sequel to Pride and Prejudice vaults the characters of the original into a ridiculously...

Ransom My Heart.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Ransom My Heart Meg Cabot. Avon, $13.95 paper (432p) ISBN 978-0-06-170007-1 The gimmick to accompany the conclusion of the Princess Diaries is this delightful historical romance written by series heroine Princess Mia Thermopolis...

Cutting for Stone.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese. Knopf, $26.95 (560p) ISBN 978-0-375-41449-7 Lauded for his sensitive memoir (My Own Country) about his time as a doctor in eastern Tennessee at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the '80s,...

Berlin.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Berlin Michael Mirolla. Leapfrog (Consortium, dist.), $14.95 paper (232p) ISBN 978-0-9815148-1-9 When ex-stationary engineer Giulio Chiavetta disappears from a Montreal psychiatric clinic, his doctor, Wilhelm Ryle, looks into...

The Moon Opera.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Moon Opera Bi Feiyu, trans. from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $18 (128p) ISBN 978-0-15-1012944 A peerless singer in the Peking Opera is ruined by her jealousy of her...

Lucky Chica.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Lucky Chica Berta Platas. St. Martin's Griffin, $14.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-34174-9 Platas's second wish fulfillment fantasy chica-lit novel (after Cinderella Lopez) follows the craziness that ensues as Cuban-American Rosie...

The Illumination.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Illumination Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori. St. Martin's, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-37597-3 Gregory and Tintori follow their first thriller, The Book of Names (2007), with another average Da Vinci Code knockoff. In the near...

Secret Bride.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Secret Bride Sharol Louise. Five Star, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-59414-718-0 Damion Templeton, Viscount Woodhurst, is a man in need of a wife in Louise's (Secret Sister) charming if dry historical romance set in late 18th-century...

City of God.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... City of God Beverly Swerling. Simon & Schuster, $27 (544p) ISBN 978-1-4165-4921-5 The sparkling latest in Swerling's historical series (after City of Glory) about the Turner and Devrey families and the growth of New York City takes...

The Suicide Collectors.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * The Suicide Collectors David Oppegaard. St. Martin's, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-38110-3 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Eloquent prose and haunting characters lift Oppegaard's astonishing debut, an SF thriller with some eerie...

Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts Laura Benedict. Ballantine, $25 (352p) ISBN 978-0-345-49769-7 After summoning a lover through a ritual part witchcraft, part Santeria, at the start of Benedict's spellbinding second novel (after Isabella...

Into the Fire.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Into the Fire Bill Yenne. Berkley, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-22375-8 In this dark, gritty portrayal of Americans at war in Afghanistan, Yenne serves up buckets of blood, gore and tragedy in this not-for-the-squeamish novel...

Midnight Sins.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Midnight Sins Cynthia Eden. Kensington/Brava, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-2604-4 Eden's latest brims with passion, obsession and demons as Det. Todd Brooks fights to keep Atlanta safe from a serial killer, an increasingly...

Stormy Weather.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Stormy Weather Geri Buckley. Berkley, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-21949-2 In this charming tale of female empowerment and midlife crisis, Vonda Thayer wakes up on her 50th birthday to realize that her husband, Jerome, is a...

Before the Season Ends.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Before the Season Ends Linore Rose Burkard. Harvest House, $12.95 paper (300p) ISBN 978-0-7369-2551-8 Country girl Ariana Forsythe is sent to a wealthy aunt in London to head off an unsuitable match in this faith-based Regency...

Cross Country.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Cross Country James Patterson. Little, Brown, $27.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-316-01872-2 Bestseller Patterson's 14th Alex Cross thriller doesn't follow up on the plot threads left dangling in 2007's Double Cross concerning...

Your Heart Belongs to Me.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Your Heart Belongs to Me Dean Koontz. Bantam, $27 (352p) ISBN 978-0-553-80713-4 After the sophistication and ingenuity of such recent Hitchcockian thrillers as The Husband and The Good Guy, bestseller Koontz stumbles in this pallid...

Night Shadow.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Night Shadow Cherry Adair. Ballantine, $23 (304p) ISBN 978-0-345-49973-8 Adair's conclusion to her paranormal romance trilogy that began with Night Fall and Night Secrets smoothly blends sensuality and espionage. As two covert T-FLAC...

Dashing Through the Snow.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Dashing Through the Snow Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster, $23 (240p) ISBN 978-14391-2917-3 The festive fifth holiday mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2006's Santa Cruise)...

Death of a Witch.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Death of a Witch M.C. Beaton. Grand Central, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-446-19613-0 In bestseller Beaton's devilishly droll 24th mystery to feature police constable Hamish Macbeth (after 2008's Death of a Gentle Lady), the Scottish...

Bright Futures: A Lew Fonesca Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Bright Futures: A Lew Fonesca Mystery Stuart M. Kaminsky. Forge, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1828-2 At the start of the superb sixth Lew Fonesca hard-boiled whodunit (after 2006's Always Say Goodbye) from MWA Grand Master...

Honestly Dearest, You're Dead.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Honestly Dearest, You're Dead Jack Fredrickson. St. Martin's Minotaur/ Dunne, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-38092-2 Fredrickson delivers on the promise of A Safe Place for Dying (2006), a Shamus Award finalist, with this fine...

The Kiss Murder.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The Kiss Murder Mehmet Murat Somer, trans, from the Turkish by Kenneth James Dakan. Penguin, $14 paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-14-311472-7 Istanbul provides an intriguing backdrop for Somer's highly entertaining and occasionally...

Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof: A Dixie Hemingway Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof: A Dixie Hemingway Mystery Blaize Clement. St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-36955-2 Ex-deputy Dixie Hemingway still mourns the loss of her young daughter and cop husband in a freak...

A Dangerous Friendship.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... A Dangerous Friendship Jeffrey Ashford. Severn, $27.95 (185p) ISBN 978-0-7278-6687-5 This contemporary police procedural from British veteran Ashford (Illegal Guilt) offers lackluster plotting and characterization. Kent County Det....

Fathom.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Fathom Cherie Priest. Tor, $25.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1840-4 A decidedly dark departure from Priest's Eden Moore saga (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, etc.), this stand-alone novel is equal parts horror, contemporary fantasy and...

The United States of Atlantis.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... The United States of Atlantis Harry Turtledove. Roc, $25.95 (448p) ISBN 978-0-451-46236-7 Several years after the events of 2007's Opening Atlantis, Victor Radcliff, now middle-aged, is called upon to lead the Atlantis colonies'...

Cat Tales.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Cat Tales Edited by George H. Scithers. Wildside (www.wildsidepress.com), $12.95 paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-8095-7321-9 Former Weird Tales editor Scithers launches a planned series of cross-genre cat anthologies with a vow to avoid...

Princeps' Fury: Book Five of the Codex Alera.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Princeps' Fury: Book Five of the Codex Alera Jim Butcher. Ace, $25.95 (394p) ISBN 978-0-441-01638-9 The rousing fifth installment of Butcher's military fantasy cycle (after 2007's Captain's Fury) finds the land of Alera recovering...

Unclean Spirits.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... Unclean Spirits M.L.N. Hanover. Pocket, $15 paper (368p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7597-9 Denver is lousy with monsters and mayhem in this urban fantasy series launch by epic fantasist Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet series), his first...

Fast Ships, Black Sails.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 27, 2008... * Fast Ships, Black Sails Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. Night Shade (www.nightshadebooks.com), $14.95 paper (253p) ISBN 978-1-59780-094-5 Saintly pirates, loony pirates, pirate cooks and talking animal-buccaneers slash and swagger...