Hannah’s Book Round-up
Welcome to a brand new book column at Den Of Geek, as Hannah Wise brings you the latest geeky book news and releases...
Welcome to the first regular round-up of book news, created for you, the literary geek!
Book News
First up, let’s take a look at any breaking news in the world of geek fiction…
Gormenghast Rises Again
Any fans of the beautifully crafted Gormenghast series will be delighted to hear there’s a new book on the way. I say “on the way”. It’s already been written and has been for some time. It’s just been mixed up in a line of mishaps and secrecy, not unlike the content of the famous books themselves.
When the author of the Gormenghast series, Mervyn Peake, sadly died of Parkinson’s disease in 1968, he left behind notes, which were to become the fourth novel, Titus Awakes. These notes were kept and used by his wife, Maeve Gilmore to construct the book, but when completed, she hid it away in the attic of the family home. It’s for this reason the book, has only just come to light, having been recently discovered recently by Peake’s own granddaughter.
It will now be published in July 2011, to mark the centenary of Peake’s birth, along with new editions of all the previous books, which, in turn, will include illustrations by the author himself. That’s definitely a date to set in the diary.
Walking Dead comes to the smaller screen!
This news has been floating around the interwebs for a few months, but it’s still worth noting. We’ve seen many things go from page to screen, so it’s no surprise that the gruesome yet compelling, Walking Dead comic book series, has been snatched up by a U.S. Cable channel AMC, who have ordered a pilot.
So, let’s cross our fingers and hope this won’t be another in a long line of book/comic adaptations that go horribly wrong and even end up hurting the reputation of the original. We can only hope that the presence of original writer, Robert Kirkman, on set as an Executive Producer, will go a long way to make sure this won’t happen.
Nebula Award Nominees 2010
Well, the detail’s in the title. The Nebula Award Nominees for 2010 are out and listed on the official website. Go to NebulaAwards.com for more details.
Out Now
Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Prefer True Blood? Then you might like this…
If you’re getting into the recent TV hit, True Blood, then you might be interested to hear about another series by the same author. Grave Secret is the fourth book in a series detailing the life of Harper Connelly, an ordinary girl who can find dead people. She wasn’t always this way. Being hit by a bolt of lightning gave her this gift, as well as giving her headaches, episodes of weakness and a large red spiderweb pattern all over her body. Not that this stopped her enjoying life, as she’s currently dating her step brother. But she’s too busy watching cops die and wondering who’s trying to kill her to get too hung up on the logistics of that romance. Zombies? Marvel-lous!
Marvel Zombies Return by Fred Van Lente
Like zombies? Like Marvel comics? Then you’re probably already aware of the Marvel comic series. If not, I have some good news for you. Actually, I have good news for you either way. Marvel Zombies Return, is out now and promises to answer where in the world Spider-Man, Colonel America, Power Man, Giant-Man and Wolverine were transported to at the end of Marvel Zombies 2. Written by established Marvel Comics geek, Fred Van Lente, this promises to be a good read.
Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of The Species by Michael Keller, Illustrated by Nicolle Rager Fuller
Comic book Darwin reaches out to a new audience…
If Darwin was still alive, I like to think he’d appreciate his theories on evolution transcending the written word to the drawn picture. First published in 1859, Charles Darwin’s Origin Of The Species radically changed people’s perceptions on life itself and, to this day, is still one of the most prominent, important and historically significant books of our time. If you’d like to know more, but would like to be told through pretty pictures and colourful drawings, then this is the purchase for you.
Coming Soon
The Boys: The Self Preservation Society (Volume 6) by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson
The Boys are back…
Described as a “horrid, misogynist, juvenile, stupid and thoroughly jolly take on the men-in-tights myth” by The Independent,The Boys are back for their sixth book and are doing things their way. This turns out to annoy the established superhero teams enough to try and take the Boys down. Can Simon Pegg’s doppleganger and his team handle the challenge?
Release date: May 28th
Eve: The Burning Life by Hjalti Danielsson
Eve Online – in a book…
Set in the Eve Online universe, the story revolves around immortal pilots called capsuleers and one woman named Drem, who seeks revenge on the evil deeds they have done. However, two problems confront her. Firstly, the fact she aided and profited from some of the capsuleers’ evil deeds. Secondly, and perhaps insurmountably, the question, just how exactly do you kill an immortal?
Release date: Hardcover March 1st, Paperback September 9th
Old Classics
Finally, we finish the round-up by looking at old sci-fi classics that are just too good to forget. This week, it’s a tear jerking story of science and mice. Well, one mouse in particular.Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
First published in 1966, Flowers For Algernon won the Nebula Award for Best Novel the same year (although it shared this title with Babel-17) and has been an absolute classic ever since.
The story is told through the diary of Charlie Gordon, a good tempered, well meaning menial worker with an IQ of 68. When Charlie finds himself to be the successful result of an experiment in human intelligence enhancement he is understandably chuffed.
However, his newfound genius is so great that his intelligence soon soars above that of his own experimenters’ and, as a result, Charlie takes over his own case and begins studying what exactly caused his rapid IQ rise. He soon finds out, but at the same time spots a mistake in the original scientists’ working.
This discovery ensures that Charlie not only has to live with the knowledge that his genius is only temporary, but that he also has to watch Algernon’s, the original test subject for the experiment, rapid IQ decline first.
Scientists say, if you don’t get choked at this one, you officially have no soul.
We’re planning to run this column on a regular basis – please leave your thoughts in the comments if you want to see more features like this!
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