Looking forward to 2009

[suciul]

For fans of dark humor fantasy I strongly recommend Robert Olen Butler's upcoming Hell (September 1); the author is a Pulitzer prize winning novelist and short story writer - I just got a pdf arc of Hell from the author and it just rocks from the first page:

Some quotes from the first two pages:

"...it’s the Evening News from Hell. And now here’s your anchorman, looking a little fragile himself, Hatcher McCord.” The voice of Beelzebub, Satan’s own station manager, mellifluously fills...."

"Later, in our ongoing series of interviews, ‘Why Do You Think You’re Here?’, we speak to the Reverend Jerry Falwell and to George Clemens, inventor of the electric hand dryer for public restrooms.” "

Though he wrote mostly mainstream novels (Mr. Spaceman is a little bit sfnal), RO Butler came to my attention with his two collections Severance (240 word monologues of famous or less famous severed heads in the 90 seconds they survive after beheading - reviewed on FBC) and Intercourse (monologues of famous couples when they are in the title act - review to come on FBC this summer), which are just unbelievably great.

 

[Alex]

Is it only me or is 2009 a very weak year in regards to debutant fantasy authors? I can't say there is a single debut book this year that has been hyped or even somewhat praised that I've heard of yet. As for the big authors it seems most of them (except Abercroombie) have pushed their releases into 2010 and beyond.

Is 2009 a "bad" year for fantasy or is it just that I've missed something?

 

[suciul]

Is it only me or is 2009 a very weak year in regards to debutant fantasy authors? I can't say there is a single debut book this year that has been hyped or even somewhat praised that I've heard of yet. As for the big authors it seems most of them (except Abercroombie) have pushed their releases into 2010 and beyond.

Is 2009 a "bad" year for fantasy or is it just that I've missed something?

It depends on what you mean by fantasy - epic/adventure/sword and sorcery is these days almost a subsidiary of urban paranormal, so there is where the big debuts tend to go, everyone tends to write that or YA and for a few years at least that's where the hot action will be.

There have been lots of stuff this year and great debuts like Mark Newton (which is on the weirder reaches than the true and tried) and even Stephen Deas which was big fun, and I enjoyed quite a few fantasies and more are coming including Kushiel 7, Redick 2, but I think that the time of "big debuts" is past now at least for a while, until someone gets something ultra-popular going that induces numerous cloning; lots of midlist authors are doing now urban paranormal or YA (either under their brand or under pseud) since that's where you get published

 

[PeterWilliam]

Is 2009 a "bad" year for fantasy or is it just that I've missed something?

Speaking of, when do we start the "Looking forward to 2010" thread?

 

[Hobbit]

Is it only me or is 2009 a very weak year in regards to debutant fantasy authors? I can't say there is a single debut book this year that has been hyped or even somewhat praised that I've heard of yet.

Well that's an interesting one, Julian, as I was thinking what a good year it has been for SF and Fantasy so far....

Most of what I've read since January has been very impressive. I've been lucky enough (or perhaps just had the good taste!) not to find anything I really dislike so far, and a couple I've thought were really really good.

Having said that, debut novels are not prevalent in my list. I quite liked the Jasper Kent (Twelve) in January. Quite a few seem to have liked Peter Brett's Warded Man (though that was a release last year for us in the UK, admittedly.) Stephen Deas' Adamantine Palace I liked, though I think Stephen has published stories before (could be wrong, though.) Ken Scholes' seems to be liked by many, though I haven't read it myself.

But perhaps it is just one of those years where novelists with a bit more experience are publishing novels. We should get more debuts later in the year, though. (Pierre Pevel's sounds great, for example, though strictly speaking, it is not really a debut, only in English!)

Speaking of, when do we start the "Looking forward to 2010" thread?

Not just yet: schedules are not really forthcoming as yet, though as we get past June things should become clearer. Perhaps we should have a 'What I'm looking forward to getting at Xmas 2009' first?

Mark

 

[Werthead]

This year's debut authors that I've encountered so far:

Kristin Cashore: Graceling
Stephen Deas: The Adamantine Palace
Mark C. Newton: Nights of Villjamur
Carrie Ryan: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Guillermo Del Toro (yes, the Pan's Labyrinth dude): The Strain

Out of those, Nights of Villjamur is the best book I've read so far and looks set to the 'big debut' of the year (although he had another book out last year, but it was a small-press limited edition and can be hard to find).

Speaking of, when do we start the "Looking forward to 2010" thread?

Traditionally it is when ADWD is confirmed to have slipped to the following year. Then it's fair game

 

[Rob B]

Is it only me or is 2009 a very weak year in regards to debutant fantasy authors? I can't say there is a single debut book this year that has been hyped or even somewhat praised that I've heard of yet. As for the big authors it seems most of them (except Abercroombie) have pushed their releases into 2010 and beyond.

Is 2009 a "bad" year for fantasy or is it just that I've missed something?

I don't think so either.
The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett is a very good novel and a great debut.

Robert V.S. Redick's Red Wolf Conspiracy just came out here in the States and has received a lot of good attention

Midwinter by Matthew Sturges was interesting and entertaining.

...plus the books Adam and Mark have already listed...

 

[Hellions]

Two recent debuts are getting some pretty nice reviews, well at least on amazon:

Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout

The Patriot Witch by C.C. Finlay (the entire trilogy will be published by June)

Has anyone read them yet?

 

[Winter]

I was very annoyed (although in an overjoyed sort of way) to realize this morning that there are several books coming out (have come out, since the month has already started) over the period of little over a month that I will be picking up. This after a few months of seeing nothing of interest. A hit to the wallet at the very least.

Esslemont's Night of Knives
Mieville's The City and the City
Lake's Green
Zafon's The Angel's Game
Newton's Nights of Villjamur
Abercrombie's Best Served Cold
Van Eekhout's Norse Code

 

[kater]

I'm already jonesing for the new Erikson and also the final part of Peter Hamilton's Dreaming Void trilogy (probably sf so sue me).

 

[Julian]

Well that's an interesting one, Julian

Mark

Eh? Did I say something?

Actually, I agree with Hobbit. Ken Scholes's Lamentation and Simmons's Drood are the stand-outs for me at present but I've plenty yet to read this year.

Currently reading Donohue's Angels of Destruction - then, probably, Nights of Villjamur. Or Brian Ruckley's Fall of Thanes.

A good year, so far.

 

[Werthead]

I'm already jonesing for the new Erikson and also the final part of Peter Hamilton's Dreaming Void trilogy (probably sf so sue me).

Dust of Dreams is August, I believe. The Evolutionary Void is looking likely to be Easter 2010.

 

[Hobbit]

Eh? Did I say something?

Oh, bum!

Apologies to both Alex and Julian. The brain says one thing, the hands type another. Clearly, some days the Alzheimer's is worse than others.

Mark

 

[Rob B]

The Patriot Witch by C.C. Finlay (the entire trilogy will be published by June)

I have this one and may read through the series once I have all three. It looks very interesting and superficially, reminds me of Greg Keyes's underrated Age of Unreason series.

 

[kater]

The Evolutionary Void is looking likely to be Easter 2010.

Really? For some reason I thought late 2009, that's killed me Any word on the new Esslemont Wert?

 

[Werthead]

Really? For some reason I thought late 2009, that's killed me Any word on the new Esslemont Wert?

To be handed in by the end of this year for publication in summer/autumn 2010.

PFH is fast but not that fast. The last one only came out in October 2008 and the one before that was August 2007.

 

[Seak]

Dust of Dreams is August, I believe.

But not till January '10 for the US, dang.

 

[Winter]

But not till January '10 for the US, dang.

The Book Depository is a wonderful thing.

 

[kater]

PFH is fast but not that fast. The last one only came out in October 2008 and the one before that was August 2007.

Tell that to my brother, waiting is not an ability he possesses Thanks for the update.

 

[PeterWilliam]

I'm looking foward to Liviu's review on Interregnum. Liviu promised to read and review it asap over on the Fantasy Critic blog, so I've already got short-triggered on my wishlist.