Publishers Weekly articles from September 2005

Publishers Weekly archives from September 2005

Publishers take the direct route: Random, S&S the latest to go D2C.(online shopping)(Simon & Schuster)(direct-to-consumer)(Random House)
September 26, 2005... While Simon & Schuster quietly went live with its online direct-to-consumer sales effort earlier this month, offering books and audios for sale to consumers from its simonsays.com Web site, Random House has even more quietly been testing its...

Oprah picks Frey memoir.(James Frey)(book selection)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... With the promise to "open doors to all books," Oprah chose James Frey's 2004 addiction memoir A Million Little Pieces as the next selection for her book club. The pick marks a departure from her recent focus on classics.

New S&S kids execs.(Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing group)(appointments)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Mara Anastas, currently director of sales for HarperCollins Children's Books, joins Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing group October l0 as v-p of sales and subsidiary rights. Mary McAveney, currently Harper Children's director of...

Corporate backer for Giller.(Scotiabank Giller Prize receives financial support)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Canada's most prestigious book award, the Giller Prize, has received financial support from Scotiabank, the country's second largest financial institution. In a deal between arts philanthropist Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller, and...

Read my tattoo.(foreword)(selling books)
September 26, 2005... What makes a book sell? That is perhaps the publishing question of the age. Within the houses, debates range over the value of reviews, the importance of off-the-book page attention, the effectiveness of radio appearances vs. TV. ...

Mailer gets NBF medal.(Norman Mailer)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Norman Mailer will receive the National Book Foundation's 2005 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the NBF's annual award ceremony November 16. Mailer won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for...

Wellness from Warner Books.(new imprint to be launched)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Warner Books will launch a new imprint next April, Warner Wellness, that will focus on books dealing with issues ranging from health to relationships to sex. Diana Baroni will head up the imprint as editorial director. Anywhere from two to...

Cookin' with Today.(Today's Kitchen Cookbook)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Today's Kitchen Cookbook was the star at a book signing September 14 hosted by Today's Katie Couric. With Couric are the show's Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Roker.

Banned books by the numbers.(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... 547: Number of book challenges received by the ALA in 2004 458: Number of book challenges received by the ALA in 2003 515: Number of book challenges received by the ALA in 2002 448: Number of book challenges received by the ALA in...

Martha book from RH.(Random House Inc. )(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Random House has published a picture book created during the new Martha Stewart: The Apprentice TV show. lack in the Beanstalk went on sale on September 22 with 100,000 copies in print.

Potter boosts scholastic.(Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince increases Scholastic Children's Books sales)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Driven by $185 million from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as well as other Potter titles, revenue in Scholastic's children's book publishing and distribution group soared 125%, to $275.3 million, in the first quarter ended August 31....

BAM faces delisting.(Books-A-Million)(stock exchange listing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Books-A-Million reported last week that because of its inability to file its second quarter 10-Q on time, it faces possible delisting from the Nasdaq. BAM has requested a hearing before the Nasdaq qualifications panel to state its case to...

From stage to page.(contracts)(Baror International)(E.J. McCarthy Agency)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... That sound you heard echoing around New York on Friday, September 9, wasn't your imagination. It was the collective groan coming from publishing houses as The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, a 1,300-page manuscript by a relatively unknown...

How to be Hornby.(book adaptations)(Nick Hornby)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Agents, take note: if you pitch a book to editors as "Hornby-esque," film scouts will come sniffing. Daniel Lazar of Writers House quickly discovered this when, almost immediately after submitting Tish Cohen's Townhouse to publishers, the...

Elvis has left the building.(contracts)(Elvis Cole)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Robert Crais, the author of the best-selling mystery series featuring private detective Elvis Cole, scored one of 2001's splashier film deals with MGM's seven-figure deal for Hostage (Doubleday, 2001), the author's second stand-alone novel...

Comic-con NY gets Quesada, staff.(New York Comic-con)(Joe Quesada)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Organizers of the New York Comic-con, a new comics convention set to launch in 2006 at New York City's Javits Center, announced commitments for half of the 90,000 square feet of exhibition space. Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief,...

Counterpoint tabs Scheibe.(Amy Scheibe)(appointment)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Amy Scheibe, formerly a senior editor at the Free Press, has been named executive editor of the Perseus Book Group's Counterpoint imprint, which has been without a dedicated editor since the departure of Dawn Sefarian in 2004.

Copeland moves to Hyperion.(Brenda Copeland)(appointment)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Brenda Copeland, formerly a senior editor at S&S's Atria Books, has been named executive editor at Hyperion. She will report to Will Schwalbe, editor-in-chief.

Peterson, Inc.(Scott Peterson books)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... The most influential person in publishing for 2005 may just turn out to be a certain ex-fertilizer salesman from Modesto, Calif. Days after being sentenced to death last December, Scott Peterson found himself riding the top of the New York...

Weiner sticks around.(contracts)(Jennifer Weiner)(Philadelphia Inquirer)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... With three bestsellers all published by the same house; the film based on her book In Her Shoes opening October 7; and her latest novel, Goodnight, Nobody (Sept.), getting raves, Jennifer Weiner must be saying to herself, "If it ain't broke,...

A trio of nonfiction titles not likely to be found on the same night table.(The Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... A trio of nonfiction titles not likely to be found on the same night table: Appetite: The Guns N' Roses Saga by Stephen Davis, an unauthorized bio of the '90s icons-turned-A&R sinkhole to Hyperion's Peternelle van Arsdale; acquired from...

America's Promise: Keeping Faith with Our Values in an Anti-American World by Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs, a look at how America's perceived failure to live up to its seven core values has fostered a global climate of anti-Americanism.(The Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... America's Promise: Keeping Faith with Our Values in an Anti-American World by Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs, a look at how America's perceived failure to live up to its seven core values has...

And one for the Fox News crowd.(The Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... And one for the Fox News crowd: Lone Star: The Long Goodbye of Dan Rather, an unauthorized bio written by Alan Weisman, a former CBS News employee; Wiley's Tom Miller paid six figures in what Martin Literary Management's Sharlene Martin calls...

St. Martin's paid "big six figures" to two works from Hollywood big wigs.(The Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... St. Martin's paid "big six figures" to two works from Hollywood big wigs. Tracy Fisher at William Morris repped the brothers Wayans--Keenan, Shaun and Marion--on a new humor books series, The 101 Ways to Know You're....

Controversial screenwriter Joe Eszterhas will share some of his insights in The Devil's Guide to Hollywood.(The Briefing)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Controversial screenwriter Joe Eszterhas will share some of his insights in The Devil's Guide to Hollywood. Ed Victor did the deal.

Calendar: Oct. 2-Oct. 8.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
September 26, 2005... 10/3 Stephen King releases a $5.99 mass market original, The Colorado Kid, for Dorchester's Hard Case Crime imprint. The first printing is nearly one million copies. 10/4 Lauren Weisberger follows up her boss-from-hell roman a...

Authors, Google square off.(legal case)
September 26, 2005... The Author's Guild copyright infringement lawsuit filed last week against Google and its Google Library project surprised few in the publishing industry. Given what publishers consider to be Google's intransigence regarding fair use and...

Less choice on high street?(acquisition creates worry)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... British publishers have reacted angrily to the proposed takeover of the Ottakar's book chain by HMV, parent company of Waterstones book sellers. After taking the views from its members, the U.K.'s Publisher's Association sent a stern...

Smart books for the rest of us.(New from Norton)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... W.W. Norton is planning to launch a new book series that will examine important contemporary social and critical ideas and be written by a lineup of prominent academics and intellectuals. Conceived by Norton executive editor Robert Weil...

Wachtel, Karten promoted.(Claire Wachtel)(Terry Karten)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Claire Wachtel has been promoted to senior v-p and executive editor for William Morrow. Terry Karten has been promoted to senior v-p and executive editor at HC.

Promotions at Chronicle.(Chronicle Publishing Co.)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Amy Kaneko, formerly marketing director, has been promoted to executive director of marketing. Sarah Williams, Chronicle's director of international sales and subsidiary rights, will expand her duties to include specialty sales.

Ferrara joins CBLDF Board.(Joe Farrara)(Comic Book Legal Defense Fund)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Joe Farrara, owner of the Atlantis Fantasy-world comics shop in Santa Cruz, Calif., has been elected to the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Chen music.(new publishing house )(Oliver Chen)(Immedium)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... After years in the book industry doing marketing for Simon & Schuster, Viz Media and Alibris, Oliver Chen has launched his own company, Immedium, a publishing house specializing in illustrated kids' books and selected adult titles on...

Chick-lit authors don walking chaos.(Fictionista Tour)(marketing strategies)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... It could be the start of a tired joke: an Avon author, a Red Dress Ink I author and a Downtown Press author walk into a bar. But as marketing strategies go, it's not so bad. This week, 12 authors from six chick-lit imprints will embark on...

Tin House goes solo.(Tin House Books becomes independent)(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... After three years working with Bloomsbury USA on a joint publishing venture known as Tin House Books/Bloomsbury, Tin House Books is now an independent company with offices in Portland, Ore., and New York City, and distribution to the trade...

What are you readings?(Foreword)(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 26, 2005... Carol Blair, 85 Retired, St. Paul, Minn. What are you reading! Murder on Embassy Row by Margaret Truman Where did you get it? I have no idea; I think I got it from a friend who told me to read it and then give it back--and...

Obituary: Hirschhorn.(People)(Joel Hirschhorn)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
September 26, 2005... Joel Hirschhorn, Academy Award-winning songwriter, author, theater critic and PW reviewer, died at his home in Agoura Hills, Calif., on September 1 & He was 67. A veteran movie songwriter, he won Oscars for the theme songs for The Poseidon...

Hardcover bestsellers/fiction.
September 26, 2005... Thud? Thump? Thunk? Whatever! Pratchett's latest bestseller lands higher than all other newcomers after less than a week in the stores. He's finishing an 11-city tour aimed to sell the announced 80,500 copies in print. Crowds at the first...

Hardcover bestsellers/nonfiction.
September 26, 2005... In Freakonomics, the authors talk about the growth of Internet dating, where annually more than 40 million people trade "intimate truths about themselves with complete strangers." They offer some fun but not so surprising facts: "Men who say...

Paperback bestsellers/mass market.
September 26, 2005... Bestselling author Nora Roberts has teamed up to donate funds to Habitat for Humanity for long-term Hurricane Katrina relief. The drive commenced on her fan site, adwoff.com, and raised about $25,000. Roberts agreed to at least match the...

Paperback bestsellers/trade.
September 26, 2005... "Poor, sad toads. They always seem to take a backseat to the frogs. Frogs get kissed and turned into princes, and toads just get to cause warts. Well, here is some good news for toads. Toads do not cause warts.... But some people go way...

Children's series and tie-ins bestsellers.
September 26, 2005... Before Delacorte Press published The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, editor-in-chief Beverly Horowitz says, "we must have looked at 20 different cover directions. We had pants with wings, pants hanging on the laundry line, girls' faces,...

Photo + book = art: some photographers see the pages of a book as preferable to gallery walls.(Illustrated Gift Books)(Column)
September 26, 2005... The rise of what was once termed "the Illustrated Press" in the late Victorian era resulted from huge literacy advances and, perhaps more significantly, the invention of the halftone process in 1880. This process transformed printing from...

Illustrated gift books: photography, fine art, nature, collectibles and fashion are among the diverse topics lavishly served up by publishers of high-end illustrated titles, and just in time for the gift-giving season..(Buyers Guide)
September 26, 2005... ABBEVILLE PRESS Italian Frescoes: The Time of Giotto, 1280-1400 (Sept., $135) by Joachim Poeschke, photos by Antonio Quattrone and Gigo Roli, documents 22 fresco cycles by such artists as Cimabue, Pietro Cavillini and Simone Martini,...

The destiny of Ron Powers: making the case for Mark Twain.(Author Profile)(Interview)
September 26, 2005... Ron Powers, coauthor of the bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, felt the influence of Mark Twain early on. "When I was a little boy in Hannibal," says Powers, "{Twain} was a mythic figure to me. His books and a bust of him were all over my...

The best escort in town: a touring author's driver, guide and confidant can make a long day endurable.(Getting Around)
September 26, 2005... Stepping into the greeting area at San Francisco International Airport, Thomas Lynch spots a petite, smiling woman holding a copy of his book. It's been years, but he recognizes the face from previous encounters it's Naomi Epel, his guide,...

Publishing in Central Europe: after a few false starts, the Central European publishing industry is more vibrant than ever.(European Spotlight)
September 26, 2005... Spend any time visiting the old towns of Central Europe and you're guaranteed to pass a street, a building or a museum named after a poet or a writer. Not surprising, of course, given a region with a publishing tradition stretching back to...

We have got the privilege to introduce these great writers to readers in Czech Republic.(European Spotlight)
September 26, 2005... Charles Bukowski, Jack Canfield, Robert T, Kiyosaki, James Redfield, Tiger Woods, Louise L. Hay, Don Miguel Ruiz, Thomas Cleary, Donald J, Trump, Spencer Johnson, M.D., Sean Covey, Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D., Anthony Robbins, Napoleon Hill,...

Nightlife.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Nightlife THOMAS PERRY. Random, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 1-4000-6004-4 Serial killer Charlene Buckner--aka Tanya Starling, Rachel Sturbridge, Nancy Mills, and several other monikers--changes her identity each time she commits a murder. By the...

Aftermath.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Aftermath BRIAN SHAWVER. Doubleday/Talese, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-385-51481-6 Shawver (The Cuban Prospect) takes a careful and polished but ponderous look at the aftereffects of a preventable tragedy. On a January night in blue-collar East...

A Little White Death.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... A Little White Death JOHN LAWTON. Atlantic Monthly, $23 (448p) ISBN 0-87113-932-4 London in the swinging '60s provides the setting for this latest in Lawton's series featuring Scotland Yard lawman Frederick Troy. Troy finds himself a...

The Best People in the World.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... * The Best People in theatrical World JUSTIN TUSSING. HarperCollins, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 0-06-081533-7 What might have been the stuff of boyish fantasies--an affair with a teacher, running away from home, living off the land--goes...

Miss Misery.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Miss Misery ANDY GREENWALD. Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $21 (384p) ISBN 14169-0240-6 The Spin writer and author of the "emo" history Nothing Feels Good aims for lighthearted social commentary amid a quasi-bildungsroman/...

Side Effects: A New Orleans Love Story.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Side Effects: A New Orleans Love Story Starring Luciana Jambon PATTY FRIEDMANN. Shoemaker & Hoard, $24 (304p) ISBN 1-59376096-5 Friedman's charming story (after Secondhand Smoke) of the unlikely affection among three diverse coworkers at...

Year of Fire.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Year of Fire DAVID H. LYNN. Harcourt, $14 paper (272p) ISBN 0-15-603077-2 Neither villainous nor devout, the characters that people Lynn's collection of 19 stories negotiate ethics and morality in a world that offers no absolutes. An...

The Messenger of Magnolia Street.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Messenger of Magnolia Street RIVER JORDAN. Harper San Francisco, $22.95 (248p) ISBN 0-06-084176-1 Jordan's Southern gothic debut transports readers to Shibboleth, Ala., a sleepy anytown of "cornbread and ladybugs"--and miracles of...

All This Belongs to Me.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... All This Belongs to Me AD HUDLER. Ballantine, $13.95 paper (272p) ISBN 0-345-48107-0 In this comedy predicated on off-camera tragedy, Geena Pangborn's upper crust in-laws blame Geena for her son's death--and uptight husband Barry isn't...

Road to Paradise.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Road to Paradise MAX ALLAN COLLINS. Morrow, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 0-06-054028-1 Shamus Award-winner Collins concludes his Road series (after Road to Purgatory) with a gripping, blood-soaked journey down memory lane. It's 1973, and...

The High-Impact Infidelity Diet.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The High-Impact Infidelity Diet Lou HARRY AND ERIC PFEFFINGER. Three Rivers, $12.95 paper (320p) ISBN 1-4000-9845-9 With awkward tag-team writing by Voodoo Kit series author Harry and playwright Pfeffinger, this weightless book has girth...

Koula.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Koula MENIS KOUMANDAREAS, TRANS. FROM THE GREEK BY KAY CICELLIS. Dalkey Archive, $11.95 paper (88p) ISBN 1-56478-406-1 Dimitri, a handsome 21-year-old attracted to older women, sometimes sleeps with them for pocket money. But in this...

In Lucia's Eyes.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... In Lucia's Eyes ARTHUR JAPIN, TRANS. FROM THE DUTCH BY DAVID COLMER. Knopf, $24 (256p) ISBN 1-4000-4464-2 Set in the mid-18th century, Dutch author Japin's elegant second novel (after The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi) richly imagines the...

It's Superman!(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... It's Superman! TOM DE HAVEN. Chronicle, $24.95 (427p) ISBN 1-8118-4435-8 A focus on Clark Kent's high school years only makes comparison to the popular WB show Smallville all the more inevitable--and intentional. De Haven, whose Derby...

The Prosperous Thief.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Prosperous Thief ANDREA GOLDSMITH. Allen & Unwin (IPG, dist.), $14.95 paper (300p) ISBN 1-7411-4469-8 Goldsmith's gripping Holocaust epic begins with two German children: Heinrik Heck, born poor in 1910, and Alice Lewin, who is six...

The Sluts.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... * The Sluts DENNIS COOPER. Carroll & Graf, $14.95 paper (298p) ISBN 0-7867-1674-6 A return to form--in the sense of incorporating frank depictions of sexualized violence--Cooper's latest follows on the heels of God Jr. (Reviews, May 16),...

The Book of Imaginary Beings.(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Book of Imaginary Beings JORGE LUIS BORGES WITH MARGARITA GUERRERO, TRANS. FROM THE SPANISH BY ANDREW HURLEY, ILLUS. BY PETER SIS. Penguin, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 0670-89180-0 The master, writing with sometime collaborator Guerrero,...

A Grave Mistake.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... A Grave Mistake STELIA CAMERON. Mira, $16.95 (416p) ISBN 0-7783-2234-3 A trail of murder wends its way from New Orleans to nearby Toussaint, La., in bestseller Cameron's steamy novel of romantic suspense. Beautiful Jilly Gable finds...

Outriders.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Outriders KATHYRN MACKEL. WestBow, $13.99 paper (256p) ISBN 1-5955-4039-3 In the first installment of a new series, Mackel, a screenwriter for Disney and Fox, turns her pen from horror (The Departed) to faith fiction fantasy with...

The Hadassah Covenant: A Queen's Legacy.(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Hadassah Covenant: A Queen's Legacy TOMMY TENNEY AND MARK ANDREW OLSEN. Bethany House, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 0-7642-2736-X What was "the rest of the story" of the biblical Queen Esther? Could her impact still reverberate through...

Sand of the Arena: A Gladiators of the Empire Novel.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Sand of the Arena: A Gladiators of the Empire Novel JAMES DUFFY. McBooks, $23.95 (416p) ISBN 1-59013-111-8 For this first entry in a new series, debut novelist Duffy recreates in gory detail the world of Roman gladiators, complete with...

The Devil's Game: An Unlikely Mystery.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Devil's Game: An Unlikely Mystery DAVID HOLLAND. St. Martin's Minotaur/Dunne, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 0-312-34077-X In Holland's impressive third Victorian novel of crime and corruption (after 2003's The Devil's Acre), the tormented...

High Heels and Homicide.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... High Heels and Homicide KASEY MICHAELS. Kensington, $14 paper (288p) ISBN 0-7582-0880-4 The drop-dead gorgeous hero of Magie Kelly's popular mystery series, ex Blakely (aka the Viscount Saint Just), came to life in Michaels's Maggie...

Seaside: A Lily Pascale Mystery.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Seaside: A Lily Pascale Mystery SCARLETT THOMAS. Justin, Charles/Kate's Mystery, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 1-932112-09-X British author Thomas's com pelling third Lily Pascale mystery (after 2004's In Your Face) finds the young literature...

Involuntary Witness.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Involuntary Witness GIANRICO CAROFIGLIO, TRANS. FROM THE ITALIAN BY PATRICK CREAGH. Bitter Lemon, $13.95 paper (274p) ISBN 1-904738-07-9 A bestseller and winner of multiple awards in Italy, Carofiglio's debut should please fans of...

Done Gone Wrong.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Done Gone Wrong CATHY PICKENS. St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0-312-34309-4 In Pickens's richly atmospheric second novel to feature South Carolina attorney Avery Andrews (after 2004's Malice Domestic-winner Southern Fried),...

Dead by Popular Demand: A Harlem Noir Featuring Devil Barnett.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Dead by Popular Demand: A Harlem Noir Featuring Devil Barnett TEDDY HAYES. Justin, Charles/Kate's Mystery, $21.95 (240p)ISBN 1-932112-23-5 Introduced in Hayes's Blood Red Blues (2004), Devil Barnett leaves his headquarters at the Be-Bop...

Dig: A Morgue Mama Mystery.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Dig: A Morgue Mama Mystery C.R. CORWIN. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (260p) ISBN 1-59056-203-9 When an old college friend is murdered, shot in the head at a landfill, 68-year-old librarian Maddy Sprowls is willing to work overtime to help the...

Delete All Suspects.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Delete All Suspects DONNA ANDREWS. Berkeley Prime Crime, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-425-20569-X In the quirky, engrossing fourth "techno-cozy" from Agatha Award-winner Andrews (after 2004's Access Denied), Alexandria, Va., PI Tim Pincoski and...

The Great Detective at the Crucible of Life: Or the Adventure of the Rose of Fire.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Great Detective at the Crucible of Life: Or, the Adventure of the Rose of Fire THOS. KENT MILLER. Wildside (www.wildsidepress.com), $35 (196p) ISBN 0-8095-0049-7; $15.95 paper ISBN 0-8095-0050-7 After a lengthy introduction that...

The Brightonomicon.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Brightonomicon ROBERT RANKIN. Gollancz (Trafalgar Square, dist.), $20 (352p) ISBN 0-575-07009-9 A secret zodiac patterned on forgotten Brighton byways is the springboard for the comic misadventures of an occult adept and his...

Counting Heads.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... * Counting Heads DAVID MARUSEK. Tor, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 0-765-31267-0 This extraordinary debut novel puts Marusek in the first rank of SF writers. Life on Earth in 2134 ought to be perfect: nanotechnology can manufacture anything humans...

End of the Beginning.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... End of the Beginning HARRY TURTLEDOVE. NAL, $25.95 (448p) ISBN 0-451-21668-7 The human price of war, regardless of nationality, is the relentless focus of this chilling sequel to Turtledove's alternative history Days of Infamy (2004), in...

Master of Dragons.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... Master of Dragons MARGARET WEIS. Tor, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 0-765-30470-8 With a bright flash of dragon magic, bestseller Weis winds up her enchanting Dragonvarld trilogy, which began with Mistress of Dragons (2003) and continued with The...

The Gate of Gods: Book Three of the Fall of Ile-Rien.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... The Gate of Gods: Book Three of the Fall of Ile-Rien MARTHA WELLS. Eos, $24.95 (416p) ISBN 0-380-97790-7 At the start of the final volume in Wells's imaginative and complex Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy (after 2004's The Ships of Air), her...

Memories of Ice: Book Three of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 26, 2005... * Memories of Ice: Book Three of the Malazan Book of the Fallen STEVEN ERIKSON. Tor, $27.95 (782p) ISBN 0-765-31432-0; $14.95 paper ISBN 0-765-31003-1 Battle dominates the gripping third installment of Canadian Erikson's projected...