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Upcoming Events
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Wesley Chu, TIME SALVAGER (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) and Helene Wecker THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI (Harper, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Saturday, July 18th at 3:00 pm
Robert Brockway, THE UNNOTICEABLES (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99) and Loren Rhoads, THE DANGEROUS TYPE (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Sunday, July 19th at 3:00 pm
Hugh Howey, WOOL (Simon & Schuster, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Monday, July 27th at 7:00 pm
Richard Kadrey, KILLING PRETTY (Harper Voyager, Hardcover, $25.99) Saturday, August 1st at 3:00 pm
Katie Gilmartin, BLACKMAIL, MY LOVE (Cleis Press, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, August 2nd at 3:00 pm
Tiptree Award Celebration with Jo Walton, Ellen Klages, and other Tiptree luminaries! Sunday, August 9th at 3:00 pm
Bucky Sinister, BLACK HOLE (Soft Skull Press, Trade Paperback, $15.95) Saturday, August 15th at 3:00 pm
Taiyo Fujii, GENE MAPPER (Haikasoru, Trade Paperback, $14.99) and Michael J. Martinez, THE VENUSIAN GAMBIT (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Sunday, August 16th at 3:00 pm
John Scalzi, THE END OF ALL THINGS (Tor Books, Hardcover, $24.99) Monday, August 24th at 12:00 pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
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News
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* Overheard in the store:
"For me, 'all dolled up' means lipstick and the good black jeans."
"When 'Get Stoned' is an item on your To-Do List, you know you must be a grown up."
* We're very sorry to hear and report this, but what an incredible life! Sir Christopher Lee, best known for his horror & fantasy acting roles, has died at age 93: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11666316/christopher-lee-dies-live.html
* The 2015 World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Awards have been announced, and the winners are Ramsey Campbell and Sheri S. Tepper. To find out more about the authors' lives and careers, check out the write-ups at the World Fantasy website: http://www.wfc2015.org/wf-lifetimeawards01.html
* Russia is building a new spaceport (or Cosmodrome) and the images are pretty epic: http://gizmodo.com/check-out-russias-new-spaceport-being-built-1715445543. . . As are the hunger strikes now being carried out there because of all the broken promises: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11555574/Russian-space-centre-workers-launch-hunger-strike-after-Vladimir-Putin-promises-fail.html
* Well, it looks like there might ONE reason to see the new "Ant-Man" film, and he is called The Falcon! http://io9.com/in-a-new-international-ant-man-spot-redacted-shows-u-1715797466
* Speaking of Marvel news, Peggy will be hitting Hollywood for the second season of Agent Carter. We can hope that with this scenery change, we'll get more diversity in this otherwise great show. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/01/agent-carter-hollywood-season-2-comic-con-poster
* Congratulations to Claire North and Cory Doctorow, winners of the John W. Campbell and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards respectively: http://www.sfcenter.ku.edu/news.htm
* The Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA) has announced the Rhysling Award winners for this year: http://sfpoetry.com/ra/pages/15rhysling.html
* The New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto experienced some trouble, and although everything seems to be cleared up, we still don't know what happened. Mika McKinnon over at i09.com breaks it down: http://space.io9.com/the-pluto-probe-went-into-safe-mode-and-we-dont-know-w-1715824423
* The Locus Award winners for 2015 were announced, and the winners included Ann Leckie for Science Fiction Novel, Joe Abercrombie for Young Adult Book & Novelette, Amal El-Mohtar for Short Story, Tor for Publisher and more! Check out the full list of winners here: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/06/2015-locus-awards-winners/
* "Sharktopus Vs. Whalewolf" is an actual movie, with an actual trailer, and we find ourselves intrigued despite our common sense: http://io9.com/sharktopus-vs-whalewolf-is-a-thing-and-it-has-a-trail-1715751744
* We've still got a while to wait until the newest "Star Wars" film hits theaters in December, but a few months before the film we'll get to see how we got from Episode 6 to Episode 7 in the new "Star Wars" comic Shattered Empire this September. http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/977?articleID=165600
* Check out the first images of Bruce Campbell as he returns to play the iconic character Ash in the new Starz series "Ash vs. Evil Dead"! http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/26/ash-vs-evil-dead-exclusive-first-image-bruce-campbell-back-ash
* And speaking of triumphant returns: by now most people are aware that "X-Files" will be returning to our television screens. While some of us might have hoped to have some of the old convoluted conspiracies cleared up, they've taken what is probably the smarter tack and will just give us all new stories. http://www.cinemablend.com/television/X-Files-Going-Reboot-Favorite-Plots-All-72766.html
* And in more awards news, the 2015 Nebula winners were announced. Winners included Jeff VanderMeer for Novel, Nancy Kress for Novella, and Alaya Dawn Johnson for Novelette, along with the Norton and Ursula Vernon for Short Story. Check out the full list of winners here: http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/
* And speaking of the Nebulas, SFWA has released all new book medal designs to celebrate the Awards' 50th anniversary: https://www.sfwa.org/2015/06/sfwa-introduces-new-book-medal-designs/
* We've gotten our first look at the concept art for the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow show and it looks pretty awesome. Set in the same world as "The Arrow" and "The Flash", it looks like DC is building a shared world on television and doing pretty well! http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/03/legends-of-tomorrow-first-look-phil-klemmer-concept-art
* A new meme is sweeping the internet. Prepare yourself for Cage of THRONES! http://imgur.com/a/tum01
* Check out this lovely essay in the Herald where Usman T. Malik talks about Pakistan's history and future, speculative fiction and imagination, "Rockets, Robots and Reckless Imagination": http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153167/rockets-robots-and-reckless-imagination
* Jo Walton's RUSA acceptance speech for MY REAL CHILDREN raises interesting points about genre and women's fiction: http://papersky.livejournal.com/659500.html
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From The Office
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Assistant Editor's Note: Alan is working on a "From the Office" piece that turned out to be more complex then he expected (who'da thunk?). Rather than delay the newsletter, he'll have that piece ready for next month. So, watch this space in August.
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Best Sellers
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Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for June, 2015
Hardcovers
1. TRIGGER WARNING by Neil Gaiman
2. SEVENEVES by Neal Stephenson
3. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
4. THE WATER KNIFE by Paolo Bacigalupi
5. NEMESIS GAMES by James S.A. Corey
6. THE FOLD by Peter Clines
7. COLLECTED FICTION by Hannu Rajaniemi
8. UPROOTED by Naomi Novik
9. A CROWN FOR COLD SILVER by Alex Marshall
10. LONG BLACK CURL by Alex Bledsoe
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. ON THE STEEL BREEZE by Alastair Reynolds
2. THE WAKING ENGINE by David Edison
3. THE THOUSAND NAMES by Django Wexler
4. THE RHESUS CHART by Charles Stross
5. THE THREE by Sarah Lotz
6. WORDS OF RADIANCE by Brandon Sanderson
7. THE WINTER LONG by Seanan McGuire
8. FOXGLOVE SUMMER by Ben Aaronovitch
9. THE FIFTH ELEPHANT by Terry Pratchett
10. FLEX by Ferrett Steinmetz
Trade Paperbacks
1. THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman
2. THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir
3. ANCILLARY JUSTICE by Ann Leckie
4. THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey
5. CIBOLA BURN by James S.A. Corey
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Book Club Information
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The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, July 12th, at 5 pm to discuss HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu. The book for the next month will be ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer. Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, July 19th, at 6 pm to discuss FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov. The book for the following month will be HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
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Upcoming Event Details
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Wesley Chu, TIME SALVAGER (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) and Helene Wecker THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI (Harper, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Saturday, July 18th at 3:00 pm - Wesley Chu's new novel TIME SALVAGER imagines a poisoned future Earth in which time travelers mine the past for energy and resources. But the past -- and some special people who are technically centuries dead -- may just hold the key to saving the future instead of just prolonging it. Joining Wesley will be local author Helene Wecker, who wrote the amazing GOLEM AND THE JINNI, an almost-mythic tale of two supernatural creatures arriving (separately) in 1899 New York. The novel was nominated for both the Nebula and The World Fantasy Award. Don't miss this atypical pairing and fantastic author event!
Robert Brockway, THE UNNOTICEABLES (Tor, Hardcover, $24.99, and Loren Rhoads, THE DANGEROUS TYPE (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Sunday, July 19th at 3:00 pm - We are happy to welcome these authors to the store! Robert Brockway will be showing off his extraordinary new novel THE UNNOTICEABLES. Here's the breathless and entertaining catalog description: "There are angels, and they are not beneficent or loving. But they do watch over us. They watch our lives unfold, analyzing us for repeating patterns and redundancies. When they find them, the angels simplify those patterns, they remove the redundancies, and the problem that is you gets solved. Carey doesn't much like that idea. As a punk living in New York City, 1977, Carey is sick and tired of watching the strange kids with the unnoticeable faces abduct his friends. He doesn't care about the rumors of tarmonsters in the sewers, or unkillable psychopaths invading the punk scene -- all he wants is drink cheap beer and dispense asskickings. Kaitlyn isn't sure what she's doing with her life. She came to Hollywood in 2013 to be a stunt woman, but last night a former teen heartthrob tried to eat her, her best friend has just gone missing, and there's an angel outside her apartment. Whatever she plans on doing with her life, it should probably happen in the few remaining minutes she has left of it. There are angels. There are demons. They are the same thing. It's up to Carey and Kaitlyn to stop them. The survival of the human race is in their hands. We are, all of us, well and truly screwed."
Joining Robert will be kick-ass local author Loren Rhoads, presenting her novel THE DANGEROUS TYPE, first volume in the "In the Wake of the Templars" trilogy. Here's that book description: "Set in the wake of a galaxy-wide war and the destruction of a human empire, THE DANGEROUS TYPE follows the awakening of one of the galaxy's most dangerous assassins and her quest for vengeance. Entombed for twenty years, Raena has been found and released. Thallian has been on the lam for the last fifteen years. He's a wanted war criminal whose entire family has been hunted down and murdered for their role in the galaxy-wide genocide of the Templars. His name is the first on Raena's list, as he's the one that enslaved her, made her his assassin, and ultimate put her in a tomb. But Thallian is willing to risk everything--including his army of cloned sons--to capture her. Now it's a race to see who kills whom first. Alternatively, Gavin has spent the last twenty years trying to forget about Raena, whom he once saved and then lost to Thallian. Raena's adopted sister, Ariel, has been running from the truth -- the one about Raena, about herself and Gavin -- and doesn't know if she'll be able to face either of them. THE DANGEROUS TYPE is a mix of military science fiction and an adventurous space opera that grabs you from the first pages and doesn't let go. Along with a supporting cast of smugglers, black market doctors, and other ne'er-do-wells sprawled across a galaxy brimming with alien life, THE DANGEROUS TYPE is a fantastic beginning to Loren Rhoads's epic trilogy." We'll look forward to seeing you here for this dangerous duo's event!
Hugh Howey, WOOL (Simon & Schuster, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Monday, July 27th at 7:00 pm - We hope you'll help us welcome Hugh Howey to Borderlands! Hugh is a yacht captain and adventurer turned renowned writer - he's the author or editor of more than 12 volumes including the Silo trilogy and THE END IS NIGH series with John Joseph Adams. The author will be answering questions and signing books. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet Hugh Howey!
Richard Kadrey, KILLING PRETTY (Harper Voyager, Hardcover, $25.99) Saturday, August 1st at 3:00 pm - We're always delighted to welcome Richard Kadrey back to Borderlands! KILLING PRETTY is the seventh book is his addictive Sandman Slim series. Here's the alluring synopsis from the publisher: "Sandman Slim investigates Death's death in this hip, propulsive urban fantasy through a phantasmagoric LA rife with murder, mayhem, and magic. James Stark has met his share of demons and angels, on earth and beyond. Now, he's come face to face with the one entity few care to meet: Death. Someone has tried to kill Death -- ripping the heart right out of him -- or rather the body he's inhabiting. Death needs Sandman Slim's help: he believes anyone who can beat Lucifer and the old gods at their own game is the only one who can solve his murder. Stark follows a sordid trail deep into LA's subterranean world, from vampire-infested nightclubs to talent agencies specializing in mad ghosts, from Weimar Republic mystical societies to sleazy supernatural underground fight and sex clubs. Along the way he meets a mysterious girl -- distinguished by a pair of graveyard eyes -- as badass as Slim: she happens to be the only person who ever outwitted Death. But escaping her demise has had dire consequences for the rest of the world . . . and a few others. For years, Slim has been fighting cosmic forces bent on destroying Heaven, Hell, and Earth. This time, the battle is right here on the gritty streets of the City of Angels, where a very clever, very ballsy killer lies in wait."
Katie Gilmartin, BLACKMAIL, MY LOVE (Cleis Press, Trade Paperback, $16.95) Sunday, August 2nd at 3:00 pm - We're excited to host Katie Gilmartin, who will be showing off her new noir novel BLACKMAIL, MY LOVE, the winner of the Lambda Award 2015 for Best Gay Mystery! From the publisher: "Josie O'Conner travels to San Francisco in 1951 to locate her gay brother, a private eye investigating a blackmail ring targeting lesbians and gay men. Jimmy's friends claim that just before he disappeared he became a rat, informing the cops on the bar community. Josie adopts Jimmy's trousers and wingtips to clear his name, halt the blackmailers, and exact justice for too many queer corpses. Along the way she rubs shoulders with a sultry chanteuse running a dyke tavern called Pandora's Box, gets intimate with a red-headed madam operating a brothel from the Police Personnel Department, and conspires with the star of Finocchio's, a dive so disreputable it's off limits to servicemen -- so every man in uniform pays a visit. BLACKMAIL, MY LOVE is an illustrated murder mystery deeply steeped in San Francisco's queer history. . . . Set in such legendary locations as the Black Cat Cafe, the Fillmore, the Beat movement's North Beach, and the Tenderloin, BLACKMAIL, MY LOVE is a singular, stunning introduction to a new author and to gay noir."
Tiptree Award Celebration with Jo Walton, Ellen Klages, and other Tiptree luminaries! Sunday, August 9th at 3:00 pm - The Tiptree Award Comes to San Francisco! Come join in the merriment as Jo Walton is crowned with a tiara, serenaded with a song, and given chocolates and art -- all specially created to honor her Tiptree Award–winnng novel, MY REAL CHILDREN. There will be cake and other refreshments, a raffle, and general mischief may ensue.
Bucky Sinister, BLACK HOLE (Soft Skull Press, Trade Paperback, $15.95) Saturday, August 15th at 3:00 pm - We're very happy to welcome local author Bucky Sinister to Borderlands! He describes his new novel BLACK HOLE as "really loose with the traditional "Terminator" rules of time travel. . . . It is set in a parallel San Francisco. I think it would appeal to anyone who really likes THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH. Or the movie "Existenz"." Here's the book description from the publisher: "There are no old drug addicts. That's what everyone says, at least. So how did Chuck get to his forty-third birthday and find himself still neck-deep in this scene? He knows he's the creepy old guy with the drugs or the guy who's too old to be at the party doing everyone else's drugs, but if it ain't broke . . . . Well, he manages to make it to work at the dwarf whale distributor every day. He may hate that his dearly seedy San Francisco has become overrun with Starbucks, startups, and Lululemon moms, but he makes do every month for the rent-controlled apartment he shares with roommates he never sees. It's not perfect, but it's livable. In the end, though, every addict has that one special vice that can tip them from relatively functional to completely unhinged. For Chuck, it's a new drug that doesn't even have a name yet; it's just a smokable, everlasting gobstopper of mellow high. But when chunks of time begin to disappear and rearrange themselves, he wonders if this really is just another life-ruining drug or if it's something straight out of a Philip K. Dick universe . . . ."
Taiyo Fujii, GENE MAPPER (Haikasoru, Trade Paperback, $14.99) and Michael J. Martinez, THE VENUSIAN GAMBIT (Nightshade Books, Trade Paperback, $15.99) Sunday, August 16th at 3:00 pm - Join us in welcoming these two amazing authors to the store! Mr. Fujii's novel GENE MAPPER is described by the publisher thus: "In a future where reality has been augmented and biology itself has been hacked, the world’s food supply is genetically modified, superior, and vulnerable. When gene mapper Hayashida discovers that his custom rice plant has experienced a dysgenic collapse, he suspects sabotage. Hayashida travels across Asia to find himself in Ho Chi Minh City with hired-gun hacker Yagodo at his side -- and in mortal danger -- as he pushes ever nearer to the heart of the mystery." The author "was born in Amami Oshima Island -- that is, between Kyushu and Okinawa. He worked for stage design, desktop publishing, exhibition graphic design, and software development. In 2012, Fujii self-published GENE MAPPER serially in a digital format of his own design, and it became Amazon.co.jp’s number one Kindle bestseller of that year. The novel was revised and republished in both print and digital as GENE MAPPER -- FULL BUILD by Hayakawa Publishing in 2013 and was nominated for the Nihon SF Taisho Award and the Seiun Award. His second novel, ORBITAL CLOUD, won the 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award and took first prize in the "Best SF of 2014" in SF Magazine." You can read an excerpt from the novel here: http://www.haikasoru.com/gene-mapper/.
We're also happy to host Mike Martinez, who presents the last chapter of the dimension-spanning Daedalus series, which brings the 19th and 22nd centuries together for an explosive finale in the jungles of Venus! From the publisher: "In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn's moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus …. In 1809 -- a Napoleonic era far different from our own -- the French have occupied England with their Corps Eternélle, undead soldiers risen through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus. Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity's fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance --forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror."
John Scalzi, THE END OF ALL THINGS (Tor Books, Hardcover, $24.99) Monday, August 24th at 12:00 pm - Spend your Monday lunch break with JOHN SCALZI! We're always ecstatic to welcome John and revel in his wit, intelligence, charm, and good humor. In THE END OF ALL THINGS, John returns to the OLD MAN'S WAR universe in a direct sequel to THE HUMAN DIVISION. John will read a bit, answer as many of your questions as he can, and sign books. We think you should take a long lunch, skip school, or just "call in Scalzi", but don't miss this one!
This newsletter is distributed monthly free of charge and may be distributed without charge so long all the following information is included.
Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Na'amen Tilahun
Assistant Editor - Jude Feldman
All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia St.
San Francisco CA 94110
415 824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com
Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com
