Publishers Weekly articles from September 2011

Publishers Weekly archives from September 2011

Sticks & stones.(Pick of the week)('The Flame Alphabet' by Ben Marcus)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * The Flame Alphabet Ben Marcus. Knopf, $25.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-307-37937-5 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Language kills in Marcus's audacious new work of fiction, a richly allusive look at a world transformed by a new form of illness....

More readers, sales for e-books: two new surveys chart rise of digital publishing.(News)
September 26, 2011... There are almost as many e-book surveys as there are digital conferences. Two new surveys released last week provided more information, one on the impact digital readers have had on consumers' reading and book-buying habits, while a second...

Kindle library lending goes live.(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Amazon and library e-book vendor OverDrive announced that the latter's plan to allow library lending via the Kindle and Kindle app is now live. The service, which will be available at some 11,000 libraries across the U.S., enables libraries to...

Judge halts borders IP sale.(intellectual property)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Whether changes in privacy law that took place in May 2008 mean Borders can actually sell 45 million customer names and information about their purchases, is the sticking point for the sale of Borders's IP assets. The winning bidder of the...

Espresso book machine adds harper backlist.(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... On Demand Books, the maker of the Espresso Book Machine, has reached an agreement with HarperCollins under which HC will make available more than 5,000 trade paperback titles through the machine. Harper will begin making its trade paperbacks,...

Scholastic starts strong.(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Scholastic got fiscal 2012 off to a strong start, reporting a 9.6% increase in total revenue, to $318 million, while its net loss in the period ended August 31 was cutto $27.1 million from $35.2 million. As the publisher's business moves in a...

Amazon adds two editors.(Kelli Martin and Ed Park)(Amazon Publishing)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Kelli Martin has joined Amazon Publishing in Seattle as senior acquisitions editor at Montlake Romance. Most recently, she was a senior editor at Harlequin. Amazon Publishing has also hired Ed Park as editor, acquiring general fiction. Park, who...

Portland author finds literary love: on the international prize circuit.(Patrick deWitt)
September 26, 2011... Anyone who's spent time in the rights center at an international book fair might not recognize the romanticism of what's happening. Yes, people are importing and exporting literature, but, by the looks of it, you would think they're selling...

HarperOne takes a healthy turn.(New Approaches)
September 26, 2011... As HarperOne (the imprint formerly known as Harper San Francisco) approaches its 35th anniversary in 2012, the publisher that seeks to inspire transformation is in the middle of a transformation itself. "The first catalogue of Harper & Row...

Roche, Nothomb, Vargas on top.(Selling Abroad)(international bestsellers)
September 26, 2011... New titles from popular authors landed in the top spots in Germany, Italy, and France in August. Charlotte Roche created a media fury in Germany (and garnered some American headlines as well) with her first book, Wetlands. The celebrity author's...

Hyperion Nabs Int'l bestseller.(Deals)(The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Elisabeth Dyssegaard at Hyperion bought world English rights to Jonas Jonasson's novel, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, in a deal brokered by Anna SolerPont of the Pontas Agency. The book, about a centenarian who...

Bloomsbury gets 'diabolical'.(Deals)(world rights to Yelena Black novel sold to Bloomsbury/Walker Books)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... In a major three-book acquisition, Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury/Walker Books for Young Readers bought world English and German rights, at auction, to a new trilogy by recent Columbia M.F.A. grad Yelena Black; book one is called Diabolical....

HC gets 'dreamy' with Cargill.(Deals)(Harper Collins imprint, Morrow/Harper Voyager, buys rights to C. Robert Cargill's work)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Ain't It Cool News film critic C. Robert Cargill sold the first book in a new series, tentatively called Dreamstuff, to Diana Gill at Morrow/Harper Voyager. Peter McGuigan at Foundry Literary + Media handled the deal, selling North American...

Cremer goes steampunk for Philomel.(Deals)(Philomel Books buys rights to Andrea Cremer's works)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Jill Santopolo at Penguin's Philomel imprint closed a North American rights deal for two new books by Andrea Cremer, author of the imprint's bestselling Nightshade series. Santopolo acquired the titles--one is the first book in a new steampunk...

NAL Re-Ups Caine.(Deals)(New American Library bought rights to Rachel Caine's novels)(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... In a high six-figure acquisition, Anne Sowards at New American Library bought three new books in Rachel Caine's bestselling YA series, Morganville Vampires. Lucienne Diver at the Knight Agency closed the deal. The series, which has over one...

Robert Pigeon at Da Capo bought world rights to Pulitzer finalist Gregg Jones's Last Stand at Khe Sanh from agent Jim Donovan.(Brief article)
September 26, 2011... Robert Pigeon at Da Capo bought world rights to Pulitzer finalist Gregg Jones's Last Stand at Khe Sanh from agent Jim Donovan. The book, which will be one of Da Capo's lead titles for fall 2013, follows two Marine regiments that fought an...

Letter from the President.(News)
September 26, 2011... During recent visits to the Beijing and Moscow Book Fairs I found myself in extended conversations about the exciting new opportunity that our PubMatch effort represents for the global exchange of rights. Last week, PW Daily reported the...

Hardcover bestsellers/fiction.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To coincide with the publication of Robb's latest (copies in print: 265,000), the NY2D Virtual Online Scavenger Hunt was hosted on Sept. 14 at the J.D. Robb Official Facebook Fan Page. Six romance blogs posted cities...

Hardcover bestsellers/nonfiction.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hyperion launched this unique project with a Sept. 4 Parade magazine profile of Caroline Kennedy, and on Sept. 14 the book and tapes were discussed on a two-hour Prime Time with Diane Sawyer, Jacqueline Kennedy in Her...

Paperback bestsellers/mass market.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Berry's leading man in his bestselling suspense series is Harold Earl "Cotton" Malone, a former U.S. Justice Department Agent turned rare-book dealer. Berry recently "interviewed" Malone for Amazon in a "De-Briefing...

Paperback bestsellers/trade.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MOVIE UPDATE. New York Observer critic Rex Reed never fails to surprise. When reviewers love a film, he'll often voice a contrary opinion; if notices are poor, he'll wax enthusiastic. Such is the case with Toast, the...

Children's series and tie-ins bestsellers.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 39 Clues, which launched in 2008, rises on our list again with the debut of a six-book story arc, called Cahills vs. Vespers. Gordon Korman (seen below at the Decatur Book Festival), wrote the first book, The Medusa...

Audio bestsellers/fiction.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "[Detective Isaac] Bell must protect Josephine Frost, an aviatrix competing in the Whiteway Atlantic-to-Pacific Cross-Country Air Race, from her deranged ex-husband, Harry Frost, who's trying to kill her for various...

Audio bestsellers/nonfiction.
September 26, 2011... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Special Agent Jimmy Scott burst through the door. 'Mr. Vice President, we've got to leave now.' Before I could reply he moved behind my desk, put one hand on my belt and another on my shoulder, and propelled me out of...

Getting together: more and more mall developers court independent booksellers to draw traffic to their properties.(RETAIL NATION)
September 26, 2011... With the growth in online sales, together with a fragile economy and high unemployment cutting into their customer base, commercial real estate developers are appealing to consumers by creating multipurpose community destinations that provide a...

A Frankfurt of the "mind": the Frankfurt Book Fair expands its reach.(Frankfurt Book Fair 2011)
September 26, 2011... It's that time of year again. On OCTOBER 12, the 2011 FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR kicks off, the publishing industry's annual pilgrimage to GERMANY, where rights are traded, connections are made, and more than 150,000 TRADE VISITORS, representing some...

Frankfurt 2011 briefcase: what the American agents are selling.(Frankfurt Book Fair 2011)
September 26, 2011... ART SPIEGELMAN gets meta on Maus; RICHARD FORD heads to the Great White North; PETE TOWNSHEND Talks "Tommy" (and life); and JONATHAN EVISON explores caregiving. These are just some of the authors the American agents will be pushing in the rights...

Age-old secrets: publishers may disagree on the category's name, but remain bullish on its strength.(Focus on New Age)
September 26, 2011... When Simon and Schuster's Atria division published The Secret in 2006, it would have been impossible to predict the phenomenon Rhonda Byrne's book would become. Even visualizing a blockbuster, the expectations would probably have been a bit more...

Archer Mayor: writes Vermont through a cop's eyes.(Author Profile)(Biography)
September 26, 2011... "It's approximately 12:2 5. And I swear to the accuracy of all I'm about to say," Archer Mayor says into my tape recorder, but this is no interrogation. All the crimes we'll be discussing were committed on paper. Tag Man (Minotaur, Oct.),...

The Last Nude.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Last Nude Ellis Avery. Riverhead, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 978-1-59448-813-9 In Avery's second novel (after The Teahouse Fire), poor young Rafaela meets Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka in 1920s Paris. Rafaela is no stranger to the currency...

An Available Man.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... An Available Man Hilma Wolitzer. Ballantine, $25 (288p) ISBN 978-0-345-52754-7 Wolitzer (Summer Reading) looks at life after death; the life, that is, of a youngish widower after the death of his much loved wife. Families are Wolitzer's...

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty Joshilyn Jackson. Grand Central, $24.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-446-58235-3 The Slocumb women suffer from an unfortunate curse: every 15 years something bad happens. Ginny gave birth to Liza when she was 15. And Liza...

Julia's Child.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Julia's Child Sarah Pinneo. Plume, $15 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-0-452-29731-9 In this charming tale of pleasing the demanding mommies in New York City and beyond determined to give their little darlings nothing but the best that money...

At the Mercy of the Queen.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... At the Mercy of the Queen Anne Clinard Barnhill. St. Martin's/Griffin, $14.99 trade paper (448p) ISBN 978-0-312-66213-4 Margaret Shelton, cousin of the newly minted queen of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, is sent to court to serve Anne and add...

Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events Kevin Moffett. Harper, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-206921-4 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moffett's prize-winning (the Nelson Algren, the Pushcart, the 2010 National Magazine Award for this...

Running the Rift.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Running the Rift Naomi Benaron. Algonquin, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 978-1-61620-042-8 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Set in the years leading up to the Rwanda genocide, Benaron's Bellweather Prize--winning debut novel follows Jean Patrick Nkuba,...

We Are Taking Only What We Need.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... We Are Taking Only What We Need Stephanie Powell Watts. BkMk (SPD, dist.), $16.95 trade paper (222p) ISBN 978-1-886157-79-8 In a strong debut, Watts chronicles in 11 stories the lives of black North Carolinians who come from or lived near...

This Road Will Take Us Closer to the Moon.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * This Road Will Take Us Closer to the Moon Linda McCullough Moore. Hawthorn (PGW, dist.), $15 trade paper (182p) ISBN 978-1-937146-03-0 The linked stories of Moore's debut collection (after The Distance Between) add up to a singularly...

The Angel Esmeralda.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Angel Esmeralda Don DeLillo. Scribner, $24 (224p) ISBN 978-1-4516-5584-1 The nine short stories of DeLillo's first-ever collection span 30 years. Grouped around three historical moments and ranging in subject and setting from an...

The Time in Between.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * The Time in Between Maria Duenas. Atria, $26 (624p) ISBN 978-14516-1688-0 Duenas's wonderful debut (a runaway bestseller in her native Spain) opens during the mid-i930s as Spain is on the brink of civil war and young Sira Quiroga is...

The Visionary.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Visionary Pamela S. Thibodeaux. Five Star, $25.95 (276p) ISBN 978-1-4328-2549-2 A brother and sister share a business--and a dark secret--in this novel about violence and redemption. Relatively new to Louisiana, Taylor and Trevor...

Red-Robed Priestess.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Red-Robed Priestess Elizabeth Cunningham. Monkfish, $25.95 (314p) ISBN 978-0-9823246-9-1 With Red-Robed Priestess, Cunningham, a storyteller as crafty as J.K. Rowling, ends the Maeve Chronicles befittingly and beautifully, with a fourth...

Paper Angels.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Paper Angels Billy Coffey. FaithWords, $18.99 (256p)ISBN 978-0-446-56823-4 In his sophomore novel, Coffey (Snow Day) returns to smalltown Mattingly, Va., with a journey of self-discovery and hope. An angel named Old Man serves as a...

The Father's Tale.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Father's Tale Michael D. O'Brien. Ignatius, $29.95 (1,076p) ISBN 978-0-89870-815-8 O'Brien (A Cry of Stone) takes his readers on an improbable ride, which is his intent. Canadian Alex Graham, a devout Catholic who is still grieving the...

Dirk Danger Loves Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Dirk Danger Loves Life Chris Rothe. Atomic Fez (www.atomicfez.com), $19.99 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-9866424-2-5 An uncomfortable mixture of cheesy humor and maudlin seriousness makes Canadian author Rothe's odd little bildungsroman an...

Vigilante.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Vigilante Stephen J. Cannell. St. Martin's, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-64611-0 In the blistering 11th and final Shane Scully novel from bestseller Cannell (after 2010's The Prostitutes' Ball), the tough LAPD homicide detective and his...

Assassin of Secrets.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Assassin of Secrets Q.R. Markham. Little, Brown/Mulholland, $14.99 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-316-17646-0 Markham, the pseudonym of poet Quentin Rowan, makes his full-length fiction debut with a quirky, entertaining spy thriller set in...

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel Alan Bradley. Delacorte, $23 (320p) ISBN 978-0-385-34401-2 Christmas comes early for precocious Flavia de Luce with the arrival of a glamorous London film crew at Buckshaw, her family's...

A Dark and Lonely Place.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... A Dark and Lonely Place Edna Buchanan. Simon & Schuster, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-1-4391-5917-0 Half of this uneven novel from Edgar-finalist Buchanan (Nobody Lives Forever) offers a fictionalized history of the infamous, if little-known...

The Drop.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * The Drop Michael Connelly. Little, Brown, $27.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-316-06941-0 In Edgar-winner Connelly's compulsively readable and deeply satisfying 17th Harry Bosch novel (after 2010's The Reversal), Harry, still a member of the LAPD's...

The Lazarus Vault.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Lazarus Vault Tom Harper. Arrow (IPG, dist.), $12.95 trade paper (480p) ISBN 978-0-09954-783-9 Fans of Harper's First Crusade trilogy (The Mosaic of Shadows, etc.) will find the subtlety and creativity of those books missing from this...

Well-Offed in Vermont: A Pret' Near Perfect Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Well-Offed in Vermont: A Pret' Near Perfect Mystery Amy Patricia Meade. Midnight Ink (www.midnightinkbooks.com), $14.95 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-7387-2590-1 At the start of this charming first in a new cozy series from Meade (Black...

Cold Cruel Winter: A Richard Nottingham Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Cold Cruel Winter: A Richard Nottingham Mystery Chris Nickson. Severn/Creme de la Crime, $28.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-78029-005-8 Set in 1732, Nickson's superb follow-up to 2010's The Broken Token finds Richard Nottingham, constable of the...

The Devil's Ribbon.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Devil's Ribbon D.E. Meredith. Minotaur, $25.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-55769-0 A cholera outbreak plagues 1858 London in Meredith's lively if often gruesome second historical featuring forensic professor Alphonse Hatton and his...

Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories John Mortimer. Viking, $30 (528p) ISBN 978-0-670-02306-6 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At the start of "Rumpole and the Younger Generation," the first story in this posthumous "best of"...

PW Talks with C.C. Benison: A 21st-Century Father Brown?
September 26, 2011... C.C. Benison, a Canadian journalist and associate editor of Canada's History magazine, begins a new cozy series featuring Father Tom Christmas with Twelve Drummers Drumming (Reviews, Sept. 5). Where did the idea for your first series, Her...

Partners in Crime: A Rafe Buenrostro Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Partners in Crime: A Rafe Buenrostro Mystery Rolando Hinojosa. Arte Publico, $16.95 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-55885-741-4 Originally published in 1985, this intriguing first volume in Hinojosa's acclaimed Klail City Death Trip series...

The Templar Magician.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * The Templar Magician P.C. Doherty. Minotaur, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-67502-8 The real-life murder of Count Raymond of Tripoli in 1152 kicks off Doherty's excellent second Templar historical (after 2010's The Templar). Templar Grand...

National Security.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... National Security Marc Cameron. Pinnacle, $7.99 mass market (416p) ISBN 978-0-7860-2494-0 Cameron's testosterone-fueled debut thriller features characters straight out of central casting, most notably Capt. Jericho Quinn, an agent of the...

The Alpine Winter: An Emma Lord Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Alpine Winter: An Emma Lord Mystery Mary Daheim. Ballantine, $25 (320p) ISBN 978-0-345-50259-9 Daheim's 23rd Emma Lord cozy (after 2011 's The Alpine Vengeance) will gratify longtime fans emotionally invested in the characters, but...

The Doomsday Vault.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Doomsday Vault Steven Harper. Roc, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-0-451-46429-3 Harper's alternate Victorian England is afflicted by a "clockwork plague" that renders most victims mindless zombies and transforms a rare few into...

Broken.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Broken Susan Jane Bigelow. Candlemark & Gleam, $19.95 trade paper (300p) ISSN 978-1936460-04-5 In a future where the United States is a burned-out backwater and a single fascist government rules humanity and its colonies, Broken, a...

Saints Astray.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Saints Astray Jacqueline Carey. Grand Central, $14.99 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-446-57142-5 Carey follows 2009's Santa Olivia with another lively tale of postpandemic America. Loup Garron is a wild young woman with a mean right hook...

The Folded World: A Dirge for Prester John, Vol. 2.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Folded World: A Dirge for Prester John, Vol. 2 Catherynne M. Valente. Night Shade (www.nightshadebooks.com), $14.99 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-59780-203-1 The complex sequel to 2010's The Habitation of the Blessed details the...

Magic on the Line.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Magic on the Line Devon Monk. Roc, $7.99 mass market (368p) ISBN 978-0-451-46428-6 Monk's electric seventh Allie Beckstrom urban fantasy (after Apr. 2011's Magic on the Hunt) is the best one yet. With Portland's magical community already...

Seed.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Seed Rob Ziegler. Night Shade (www.nightshadebooks.com), $24.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-59780-323-6 The near-future United States of Ziegler's impressive debut is dominated by Satori, a bioengineering megacorporation only nominally...

Madame Bluestocking's Pennyhorrid.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Madame Bluestocking's Pennyhorrid Monica Marier. Hunt (Baker &Taylor, dist.), $22.95 trade paper (172p) ISBN 978-09834861-3-8 Marier (Runs in Good Condition) shifts from urban fantasy to steampunk with this middling road-buddy novel....

Stone Spring.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Stone Spring Stephen Baxter. Roe, $25.95 (512p) ISBN 978-0-451-46418-7 Baxter launches the Northland trilogy with this solid alternate history that stands nicely alone. In Northland, the stretch of land that is now the North Sea,...

Dreaming of the Wolf.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Dreaming of the Wolf Terry Spear. Sourcebooks Casablanca, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-4022-4555-8 Spear continues her werewolf series (Heart of the Wolf, etc.) with this run-of-the-mill paranormal romance. Werewolf Jake Silver is...

To Wed a Wild Lord.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * To Wed a Wild Lord Sabrina Jeffries. Pocket Star, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-4516-4240-7 The lively fourth Hellions of Halstead Hall Regency romance (after How to Woo a Reluctant Lady) will delight readers with mystery, passion,...

If I Should Die.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... If I Should Die Allison Brennan. Ballantine, $7.99 mass market (448p) ISBN 978-0-345-52041-8 In bestseller Brennan's roiling third suspense novel featuring FBI recruit Lucy Kincaid (after Kiss Me, Kill Me), the romantic Adirondacks...

To Pleasure a Duke.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... To Pleasure a Duke Sara Bennett. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-133918-9 Bennett (A Seduction in Scarlet) launches the Husband Hunters Club series with this sweet early Victorian romance. The dowager duchess of Somerton, a...

The Black Hawk.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Black Hawk Joanna Bourne. Berkley Sensation, $7.99 mass market (336p) ISBN 978-0-425-24453-1 Bourne mixes heart-pounding mystery and romance in her spellbinding fourth Spymaster historical romantic thriller (after 2010's The Forbidden...

The Virtuoso.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Virtuoso Grace Burrowes. Sourcebooks Casablanca, $6.99 mass market (416p) ISBN 978-1-40224570-1 Burrowes continues her top-notch Regency-era filmily saga (The Heir; The Soldier) by healing a duke's youngest son with love. Ellen...

Baby It's Cold Outside.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Baby It's Cold Outside Addison Fox. Signet Eclipse, $7.99 mass market (352p) ISBN 978-0-451-23521-3 An unusual locale, sometimes quirky residents, and an accomplished story arc define Fox's moderately entertaining first Alaskan Nights...

Night Hawk.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Night Hawk Beverly Jenkins. Avon, $7.99 mass market (326p) ISBN 978-0-06-203264-5 Jenkins, famous for historical romances featuring black characters (Captured; Belle), stumbles with this tale set in the turbulent American South of 1889....

Mush: Sled Dogs with Issues.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Mush: Sled Dogs with Issues Glenn Eichler and Joe Infurnari. Roarding Brook/First Second, $17.99 trade paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-59643-457-8 Defying any and all expectations of this kind of work, writer Eichler (The Colbert Report) and...

The Cabbie, Vol. 1.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Cabbie, Vol. 1 Marti. Fantagraphics, $19.99 (80p) ISBN 9781-60699-450-4 Wearing its stylistic debt to Chester Gould's classic Dick Tracy strips on its sleeve, this Spanish-produced series (which was originally printed in the '80s)...

Echoes.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Echoes Joshua Hate Fialkov and Rashsan Ekedal. Image/Top Cow, $19.99 trade paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-60706-215-8 Rather than going for gross-out revulsion, this collected miniseries effectively evokes horror as its protagonist's...

The Kite Runner.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini, Tommaso Valsecchi, Fabio Celoni, and Mirka Andolfo. Riverhead, $19 trade paper (132p) ISBN 978-1- 59448-547-3 Seven years after the novel's publication and four years after the release of a motion picture, a...

Underwire.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Underwire Jennifer Hayden. Top Shelf, $9.95 trade paper (80p) ISBN 978-1-60309-076-6 Dysfunction needn't always be the attendant of memoir, as Hayden shows in this slim collection of vignettes about middle-aged womanhood, some originally...

Thinking the Twentieth Century.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... * Thinking the Twentieth Century Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder. Penguin Press, $35 (406p) ISBN 978-1-59420-323-7 In this scintillating series of conversations undertaken as he was dying of Lou Gehrig's Disease, British-American historian...

Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention Jamal Joseph. Algonquin, $23.95. (272p) ISBN 978-1-56512-950-4 This spirited, well-honed account of cutting his teeth as a member of the Black Panthers brings Joseph back to his youth, a...

The Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 26, 2011... The Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson. Oxford Univ., $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-19-983263-7 Harvard political scientist Skocpol and grad student Williamson conduct a journalistic study of...