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ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER

DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER

Events and News from Borderlands Books

September, 2009

Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features

Gene O'Neill, A TASTE OF TENDERLOIN (Apex, Trade Paperback, $13.95) Saturday, September 12th at 3:00 pm

Nalo Hopkinson and Michael Kurland at SF in SF, (at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street), Saturday, September 12th at 7:00 pm

Mark Van Name, OVERTHROWING HEAVEN (Baen, Hardcover, $25.00), Sunday, September 20th at 3:00 pm

Kirsten Imani Kasai, ICE SONG (Del Rey, Trade Paperback, $15.00), Saturday, September 26th at 3:00 pm

Deborah Beale and Tad Williams, THE DRAGONS OF ORDINARY FARM (HarperCollins, Hardcover, $16.99)

Loren Rhoads, ed., MORBID CURIOSITY CURES THE BLUES: TRUE STORIES OF THE UNSAVORY, UNWISE, UNORTHODOX AND UNUSUAL FROM THE MAGAZINE "MORBID CURIOSITY" (Scribner, Trade Paperback, $14.99)

(for more information check the end of this section)

Coming up in the fall, don't miss Greg Bear, Terry Bisson, Katharine Kerr, Kim Stanley Robinson and many others, plus two very very special events around the World Fantasy Convention that will bring oodles of authors including David Coe, Kate Elliot, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Graham Joyce, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ellen Kushner, Diana Paxson, Ken Scholes, Delia Sherman, and Bill Willingham to the store.  Stay tuned!

Overheard at the Con

This is a feature that appears periodically, as we attend conventions and overhear things.  The tradition of keeping track of anonymous overheard bits and bobs started for us at the 2002 ConJose in San Jose, where trying (or trying not to) fill in the blanks on overheard conversations made us laugh so much that we made it a tradition.  In this issue we share the newest "overheards" from the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal.  This year was especially fruitful for quotes, not all of which could be printed!

1: "I just wondered if he had a function at all."
2: "Ah ha, look at me being tactful! And silent."

"Australians keep New Zelanders around to **** sheep for us!"

"I was the bouncer at a pinball arcade in Ann Arbor, Michigan called The Cross-Eyed Moose."

"People with tattoos on their eyes buy art."

"There are some things I don't mind you doing to my wife. Mutual tattooing is not one of them."

"Attending Comic-Con is like swimming through a sea of human meat."

"You must be a writer because you're dressed so well."

"And now they're swabbing the air conditioner with giant q-tips!"

"If she ends up licking his burger, I'm totally taking pictures."

"I rely upon the meekness of strangers to get me through life."

"Tor has just agreed to buy our new anthology, 'Tales of the Callused [Omitted]'!"

"How do you tip strippers in Montreal?"

"I've got two words for you: shut the **** up!"

"Bauderlaire & tentacles? I think we've got a pitch for the Jane Austen zombie guys."

"Sometimes I think the tool chest of literary criticism is overflowing with cow turds."

To a famous editor: "I really have no interest in putting your foot in my mouth."

"How would history have been changed if Winston Churchill had been Elmer Fudd?"

"When you use bread you don't have to wear a mask."

"People would like to look back on the future fondly."

News

* Thanks to customer and author Stan Heller, who brought the following to our attention.  Cory Doctorow posted Tuesday on Boing Boing that Spider and Jeanne Robinson need financial help: "Beloved Hugo-award-winning writer, dancer and choreographer Jeanne Robinson (wife of Spider Robinson) has cancer, and it has taken a turn for the worse. Spider Robinson describes their financial situation as dire ("running on fumes") and so he's asking for cash to help them get through this. There's lots of ways to give, from bidding in a charity auction to attending a benefit concert to buying Spider's books. I've just sent them what I could spare -- Jeanne and Spider have given me so much pleasure and wisdom over the years, it was an honor. I hope that some of you who've been touched by them will do the same."  Read the full text, including Jeanne's statement here, and please do help out if you can: <http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/08/spider-and-jeanne-ro.html>

* The 2009 Emperor Norton Awards were presented Sunday, August 30th at the Tachyon Publications 14th Anniversary Party at Borderlands Books.  The awards are presented to Bay Area authors and others, for "extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason," in memory of Joshua Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America and Protector of Mexico.  Two awards are presented, one to a single work of science fiction, fantasy or the supernatural, and the second to any creator, creation, or service relating to the genres.  The "works" award was presented to ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS by Doug Dorst, and the "creator" award was presented to Charlie Jane Anders for her various works including "Other" Magazine, Writers With Drinks, and i09.com.

* Speaking of ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS, appropriately-named bar The Page hosts a party for this year's One City One Book title (and Emperor Norton Award winner) ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS by Doug Dorst, complete with custom "Necropolis" cocktails and free Tarot card readings, Monday, October 12th at 6:00 pm, 298 Divisidero Street.  For more info, see <http://events.sfgate.com/san-francisco-ca/events/show/88399442-spirits-tarot-the-page-one-city-one-book-one-bar>

* Borderlands has magazines again! After a long periodical drought caused by switching magazine distributors, the flood has begun.  We once again have "Analog", "Asimov's", "Fantasy & Science Fiction", "Rue Morgue", and lots more -- and we've added a bunch of brand-new titles as well, including "The Futurist", "Geek", and "Wired".  Be sure to check out the new offerings the next time you're in the store.

* We're sorry to announce that Jim Baen's Universe will be closing after April, 2010.  Read the full text of Eric Flint's announcement here: <http://baens-universe.com/articles/Universe_Closing>

* Our friend Tony Richards is interviewed by The British Fantasy Society: <http://s256537080.websitehome.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6:questions-for-tony-richards&catid=44:nh-interviews&Itemid=29>.  Tony also has a new page, a "microsite", at HarperCollins.com: <http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/?authorid=33578>

* Time Out New York brings us these thoroughly charming photographs of pastoral Goths at the Gothic Charm School Tea Party Picnic, which was held to celebrate the publication of GOTHIC CHARM SCHOOL: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR GOTHS AND THOSE WHO LOVE THEM by Jillian Venters.  <http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/own-this-city/76595/gothic-charm-school-tea-party-picnic>

* HBO's upcoming mini-series adaptation of George R.R. Martin's GAME OF THRONES is slowly taking shape.  The Hollywood Reporter has been slowly announcing casting choices as they're made;  so far we've got Sean Bean as Eddard Stark, Lena Heady as Cersei Lannister, Peter Dinkladge at Tyrion, and lots more.  Feeling cautiously optimistic? <http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEzxwAzAlVQyDF> You can also follow the developments at Martin's Not-A-Blog: <http://grrm.livejournal.com/>

* A very wild benefit for 826 Valencia (aka "The Pirate Store," aka "Dave Eggers' Writing Project") will take place Wednesday, September 30th at the AMC Loews Metreon Theater. Tickets are pricey, but you get to see an advance screening of Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are," and there's a fancy VIP shindig at the Contemporary Jewish Museum afterwards, all for a great cause.  All the details can be found here: <http://www.826valencia.org/wildthings>

* Author Walter Hunt has informed us that his website has been totally revamped, and he's uploaded a bit of his new-novel-in-progress for your enjoyment.  Check it out here: <http://www.walterhunt.com>

* Iain M. Banks' new novel TRANSITION (in addition to being available as a hardcover book September 23rd) will be released as a free podcast (in 15 minute installments) via iTunes.  The first installment became available September 3rd, and new episodes will be released every Thursday and Saturday for a dozen weeks. <http://www.iain-banks.net/fiction/transition/>

Cafe News

I think my building is opposed to letting the cafe open.  I don't know why this is but it seems to be sadly and frustratingly true.

It started a fews weeks ago.  Jude was helping me move some stuff around the cafe and part-way through she stopped.  She looked up at the ceiling.  And said, "Uh-oh."  There is a certain tone that she uses when she says that.  It's a tone that translates into something like, "By the way, there's a gaping hole in reality and the dark, elder gods are coming through."

I hate it when she says, "Uh-oh."

I say, "What?" and she says . . . "That ceiling light is full of water."

It was.  In fact it looked like a little fish-tank.

Once I stopped screaming, cursing, and kicking things, I quickly climbed up a ladder and verified that yes, there was a water leak in the ceiling that had soaked through the brand-new sheetrock and filled the light with water.  I called my plumber, Arjan, and we met, cut a hole in the brand-new sheetrock, found the leak and fixed it.

An old piece of pipe had given out.

A few days later I was in the basement of the cafe and heard dripping.  I walked over to the wall and there was water running down the inside of the upstairs wall and dripping down into the basement.  Quite a bit of water.  A problem with the repair we just did, you might think, right?

Wrong.  This leak is on the other side of the building from the first one.  More screaming, cursing, kicking and so forth.  To make this even better, I was about to leave for the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal.  On the bright side, the leak wasn't causing any damage (the basement is unfinished and empty) so I could just let it wait 'til I got back.

One of the first things scheduled after my return from Montreal was the final piece of plumbing installation.  Arjan came by and I showed him the basement leak.  He agreed that it actually wasn't a big deal and so I planned to leave it for a bit.  We went upstairs and put in the final sink.  Just as we were finishing that, Jude comes over from next door and asks if anything we're doing would make water come out of the ceiling of the bookstore.

Screaming, cursing, kicking, etc.  But there was a bright side there as well -- not one book damaged.

That night Jude and I, with some very welcome help from our friend Nate, cut a huge hole in the ceiling of the store and also tore out a section of wall.  The day after, Arjan came by and fixed both leaks.

Two old pieces of pipe had given out.

Despite all the commentary by the rest of the building, the work at the cafe is drawing to a close.  I've a bit of painting to do, the machines need to be installed, bits of things need to be installed, attached, and otherwise set, and then I'll be calling for the final inspections.  I should have an opening date by the next newsletter.

- Alan Beatts

From The Office

This month's piece is going to be kind of short since I'm working like mad to get the final paint and other work done on the cafe.  But I thought that, given some announcements and events in the last month, it would be interesting to follow up on my article from last month about ebooks.

It seems that someone at Sony has decided to get serious about their ebooks and readers.  And, whoever it is, they're very, very smart.  First off, they have announced three new readers.  One is much like their original reader but with the addition of a touch screen (which adds note taking abilities to the device) and at the same price point, $299.  The other two readers both break new ground, albeit in very different ways.  The Pocket edition brings the screen size down to 5" from 6" and the price to $199.  That price is a major watershed for readers, though not the under-$100 price that people expect will be needed for large scale purchasing by people who aren't either avid readers or tech-heads.  The other reader is the Daily edition which brings wireless connectivity and an even larger screen (7") for the premium price of $399.  But, this reader can finally compete with Amazon's Kindle in the area of on-demand, wireless downloads of books.

But that's not all that Sony has been up to.  Last month they also announced that they were abandoning their proprietary ebook format and switching to EPUB, which is the book industry standard open format.  Also announced was a deal with Google to make all 500,000 of Google's archived public-domain works available for free download.

But Sony's last move was the icing on the cake -- they've made a deal with the American Bookseller's Association to make their readers available to independent bookstores for resale as well as making Sony's ebooks available at wholesale prices for resale on independent bookstore ecommerce sites.  That means Sony will be able to get bookstores to act as a sales force for their hardware, which is a move that Amazon can't even consider.

All in all, Sony is setting itself up as the new power in ebooks.

Also, a number of other businesses are jumping into the market for ebook readers -- Asus, the manufacturer of low cost netbooks like the Eee PC has announced that they are going to produce a dual screen reader and Astak, a British company, is about to ship their 5" screen reader, the EZReader Pocket PRO, which is notable for its low price ($199).

That's about all I have time for right now but before I go, I've got a question for you.  Is all the stuff about ebook and readers of interest?  If so, there is enough going on in that area right now that I could write a column about it every month.  But, I'm not sure if there is enough interest on the part of our customers for it to make sense.  What do you think?  (I should point out that something like that would be in addition to my usual column, not instead of it.)

I hope that the summer has been good to you all and I'll look forward to seeing you around the store.

Best,
Alan

Top Sellers At Borderlands

Hardcovers
1) Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
2) Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
3) Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
4) Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
5) Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
6) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
7) The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
8) Sword of the Lady by S.M. Stirling
9) Winds of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert
10) Grantville Gazette V edited by Eric Flint

Paperbacks
1) Anathem by Neal Stephenson
2) Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
3) The Devil You Know by Mike Cary tie with
    Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
4) Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
5) Lightbreaker by Mark Teppo
6) Skin Deep by Mark Del Franco
7) Cape Storm by Rachel Caine
8) Passage at Arms by Glen Cook
9) The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook
10) Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

Trade Paperbacks:
1) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
2) World War Z by Max Brooks
3) Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan
4) Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker
5) Desolation Road by Ian McDonald

Notes From a DVD Geek

September is upon us and I've got new DVDs to recommend.  Please ignore all the new Michael Jackson DVDs hitting the shelves and go directly to the SF/Fantasy/Horror section.

First up is the complete series of the manga-turned-anime "Ah! My Goddess". Our protagonist is a college student with a hot girlfriend who is really a goddess, and doesn't know how to behave amongst humans.  Hijinx ensue, and this new 6-disk collection of the series is the best way to enjoy all the hijinx.

For all you people out there who have been holding off on buying John Carpenter movies, I have to ask:  "What is wrong with you?"  But if you HAVE been holding out,  now is your chance to buy a quadruple feature of some of his best (and one of his worst) movies.  Universal is putting out "John Carpenter: Master of Fear".  It contains "The Thing","Prince of Darkness","Village of the Damned", and "They Live".  For my money, there is only one clunker in this set, and that's "Village of the Damned". . . but it's got Christopher Reeve and creepy little kids, so I won't complain too much.  This set comes on two disks, so my guess is it's not loaded with extras like some of the JC releases are, but "Prince of Darkness" and "They Live" were pretty bare-boned as single disks, so you probably aren't missing much, and if you don't already own these movies, you probably don't care about the extras anyway.  But if you don't own these movies, this is a great chance to pick up JC on the cheap -- $5 a movie.  And let's face it: everybody reading this should own at least a couple of JC movies. I think there's a rule about that somewhere.

Getting into more quadruple feature action is Turner Classic Movies.  This month they are giving us both a horror and a science fiction set.  The horror set contains "House Of Wax" (1953), "The Haunting" (1963), "Freaks" (1932), and "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" (1941).  The science fiction set contains "Forbidden Planet" (1956), "The Time Machine" (1960), "Soylent Green" (1973), and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968).  These are better-then-average selections for discount box sets, and with a per-movie price of $7, they are a great bargain.

For a classic of a completely different sort, don't miss the 1971 Angela Lansbury/Disney classic "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".  It might not be for everyone, but if you love this movie, this restored, remastered edition has a heaping of extras.  I repeat, don't miss it.

And leaving the realm of classic, and back to the realm of multi-movie sets: the first three Amityville Horror movies are collected together in the "Amityville Horror Collection".  Cheesy 70s/80s haunted house movies, all in one box.   It may not be great cinema, but if the profile of that house ever gave you nightmares, this might be the box set to have in your collection.

Speaking of cheesy movies that have been repackaged:  this month Universal Pictures is FINALLY (they originally announced it as a May title but pulled it) releasing a new edition of "Army of Darkness" (The Screwhead Edition).  Now, you might say that "Army of Darkness" has had a million different editions, and you'd be right.  But EVERY LAST ONE of the Anchor Bay releases of "Army of Darkness" used a really really really bad, grainy, high-compression version of the film.  It looked like crap.  It looked like it was shot on 16mm, and I can tell you. . . I saw this baby in the theater the week it came out, and it looked glorious.

For a long time, the MGM Japanese DVD was THE disk to get if you wanted the best picture quality.  Well, the North American rights reverted back to MGM, and they are releasing this on both DVD and Blue Ray, so the transfer is bound to be the best available.  Now,  the bad news is that it is ONLY the "theatrical cut" on the disk: the "slept until the future" ending is tacked onto the disk as an alternate ending/bonus material.  This is NOT the significantly longer running time "director's cut" that featured the original ending and a bunch of other dialogue and bits that were cut from the North American theatrical edition.  So don't throw away your Anchor Bay Director's Cut DVDs just yet.  But for my money, the theatrical cut was always the tightest/best version of the movie anyway, and I say that as someone who has owned the original dual disk Anchor Bay Theatrical and Director's Cut disks since they were first released. I've watched both versions. . . a lot.  Actually, I have to admit that I even had the laserdisc of "Army of Darkness" for a while too.  Yeah.  I'm a geek on so many levels it hurts.

I'm going to sort my "Evil Dead" disks, and move them into my zombie section, instead of my Bruce Campbell section, while I wait for this new "Army of Darkness" disk. I'll talk to you next month about a bunch of Halloween releases, and more stuff, I'm sure.

- Jeremy Lassen
jlassen@borderlands-books.com

Book Club Info

The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, September 13th, at 5 pm to discuss LIGHTBREAKER by Mark Teppo.  The book for October is FAERIE TALE by Raymond Feist.  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, September 20th, at 6 pm to discuss GUN WITH OCCASIONAL MUSIC by Jonathan Lethem.  The book for October is FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID by Philip K. Dick.  Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.

Upcoming Event Details

Gene O'Neill, A TASTE OF TENDERLOIN (Apex, Trade Paperback, $13.95) Saturday, September 12th at 3:00 pm - From Apex: "Eight stories of dark science fiction and fantasy weave a path through the underbelly of San Francisco's most notorious district in TASTE OF TENDERLOIN by Gene O'Neill. Best known for his strong sense of place and uniquely vibrant characters, O'Neill brings the gritty underside of the city to life with eight interwoven stories of broken lives, missed dreams, and all that can go wrong with both reality and fantasy among the down and out. The city itself opens wide to swallow all comers with the temptation of its secrets and sins, while O'Neill brings dignity and humanity to a set of characters often overlooked in both society and fiction."

Nalo Hopkinson and Michael Kurland at SF in SF, (at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street), Saturday, September 12th at 7:00 pm - We are very excited to help SF in SF welcome these authors!  Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson.  Authors will schmooze & sign books after in the lounge. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.  Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.  Bar proceeds benefit Variety Childrens Charity - learn more at <http://www.varietync.org/>.  We REALLY encourage you to take BART into the City, or use MUNI to get here - parking can be problematic in San Francisco, to say the least.  We are less than one block away from the Montgomery St. station.  Trust us - you don't want to be looking for parking and be late for the event!  Phone (night of event) 415-572-1015.  Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.

Mark Van Name, OVERTHROWING HEAVEN (Baen, Hardcover, $25.00), Sunday, September 20th at 3:00 pm - From Baen Books: "Jon Moore grew up in a prison laboratory. When he escaped with nothing but his body's nanotech enhancements and more anger than even a long lifetime could wash away, an entire planet died behind him.  Memories of the things he'd done still haunted him; because of them, he often ended up helping those in need.  His kindnesses frequently didn't work out well. This one really didn't work out well.  It hurled Jon and Lobo, the intelligent assault vehicle and Jon's only friend, down an accelerating, ever more dangerous spiral. . . . [In OVERTHROWING HEAVEN] Jon and Lobo take the reader on a headlong rush through armed enemies and untrustworthy allies and encounter what just might be the worst danger their partnership will face: the truth."  Don't miss this opportunity to meet Mark Van Name -- there may even be comedy!

Kirsten Imani Kasai, ICE SONG (Del Rey, Trade Paperback, $15.00), Saturday, September 26th at 3:00 pm - We are pleased to welcome this author to the store!  She shares the following: "Originally from Colorado, Kirsten Imani Kasai has lived in places as diverse as Newark, New Jersey, East Hampton, New York, Bradford and Penzance, England and a windowless cubby beneath the stairs in a San Francisco flat. . . Kirsten's fiction, reviews and poetry have appeared in various national magazines and anthologies."  You can read an excerpt from her novel ICE SONG here: <http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345508812>

Deborah Beale and Tad Williams, THE DRAGONS OF ORDINARY FARM (HarperCollins, Hardcover, $16.99), Saturday, October 3rd at 3:00 pm - Join us to meet this awesome author duo and discover why there's nothing in the least bit ordinary about Ordinary Farm, where Tyler and Lucinda find out that their great-uncle is raising not only dragons, but griffins, unicorns, and other unlikely creatures.

Loren Rhoads, ed., MORBID CURIOSITY CURES THE BLUES: TRUE STORIES OF THE UNSAVORY, UNWISE, UNORTHODOX AND UNUSUAL FROM THE MAGAZINE "MORBID CURIOSITY" (Scribner, Trade Paperback, $14.99) - Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Loren Rhoads, local author and editor extraordinaire and the brains, heart and muscle behind "Morbid Curiosity" Magazine for ten years.  MORBID CURIOSITY CURES THE BLUES is not so much a "best of" book as it is a broad sampling; how could you choose the best when it's all so good?  View the (incredibly cool) book trailer here: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2euCWtVxFA>, and don't miss this chance to meet Loren and past "MC" contributors!


Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge.  You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event).  For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs.  If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available books signed or inscribed for you.  We can then either hold it until you can come in to pick it up or we can ship it to you.  Just give us a call or drop us an email.  If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed.  Call or email for details.

Chapter Two - Book Listings

Small Press Features

BY BLOOD WE LIVE edited by John Joseph Adams (Night Shade Books, Trade Paperback, $15.95) - Remember the phenomenally successful LIVING DEAD anthology, also edited by John Joseph Adams?  It's like that, but with vampires instead of zombies.  Flip explanation aside, BY BLOOD WE LIVE gathers together more than 200,000 words of the best vampire fiction of the last three decades.  Includes stories from Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Stephen King, Sergei Lukyanenko, Garth Nix, Anne Rice, and many, many more.

THE SHADOW OF THE SCORPION by Neal Asher (Night Shade Books, Mass Market, $7.99) - We've been calling this book the "Ian Cormac origin story," since it interweaves Cormac's recollections with the novel's contemporary conflict in a prequel to the Polity novels.

THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, Hardcover, $24.95) - From Night Shade's website: "Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko. . . Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.  What happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution? In THE WINDUP GIRL, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of "The Calorie Man" ( Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and "Yellow Card Man" (Hugo Award nominee, 2007) in order to address these poignant questions." Publisher's Weekly described THE WINDUP GIRL as a "complex, literate and intensely felt tale, which recalls both William Gibson and Ian McDonald at their very best, [which] will garner Bacigalupi significant critical attention and is clearly one of the finest science fiction novels of the year." Wow! Recommended by Jude.

GROANING SHADOWS by Paul Finch (Grey Friar Press, Signed and Numbered Limited Edition (100 copies) Hardcover, $32.60) - From Grey Friar's website: "Travel with Paul Finch along four twisting trails, any one of which could lead to your worst nightmare.  The decayed seaside town, where the actions of a depraved sex attacker only hint at the evil that has wakened. The Cornish island, where a deserted fishing village stands in memorial to a menace from the mists of time.  The inner city slum, where a derelict church houses something unspeakable. The grotto in the wood, to which far more than gruesome memories are attached. . . ."

MINDFUL OF PHANTOMS by Gary Fry (Grey Friar Press, Signed and Numbered Limited Edition (200 copies) Hardcover, $28.60) - From Grey Friar Press: "They're everywhere, aren't they?  You've got to watch for them all the time.  Phantoms.  Many are closer than you think: in your home, along the street in which you live, at the office, on holiday, wherever you ply your pastime.  And some might even be behind your eyes . . . 18 tales of the supernatural from a master of the genre."

THE ROOKIE by Scott Sigler (Dark Overlord Media, Signed and Numbered Limited Editon (3000 copies) Hardcover, $34.95) - Scott Sigler's at it again, dominating media by sneaking in the back door.  This awesome self-published novel is so far only available from us and via Scott's website, and they're going fast.  Scott describes the book thus: "Set in a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future, THE ROOKIE is a story that combines the intense gridiron action of "Any Given Sunday" with the space opera style of "Star Wars" and the criminal underworld of "The Godfather."  Aliens and humans alike play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that literally want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed and rival players are assassinated.  Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he'll wind up just another stat in the column marked 'killed on the field.'" The novel even includes an Official Galactic Football League Program bound in!

OTHER SPACES, OTHER TIMES: A LIFE SPENT IN THE FUTURE by Robert Silverberg (NonStop Press, Hardcover, $29.95) - The first collection of Silverberg's autobiographical writings.

New and Notable

ARIEL by Steven R. Boyett (Ace, Mass Market, $7.99) - How nice to see this book back in print!  I admit to some bias towards this novel, as I did read it in the '80's, when I, like many others my age, was engaged in a full-blown love affair with all things "unicorn".  But please don't let the unicorn deter you. . .this is a VERY unusual post-apocalyptic unicorn book.  As if there could be any other kind.  Recommended by Jude.  Also check out the long-awaited sequel, ELEGY BEACH, which is due next month!

DUST OF DREAMS - MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN VOL. 9 by Steven Erikson (Bantam UK, Hardcover, $36.87)- What can we say about the new Steven Erikson book, except that we're very excited to have it!  The US edition won't be available until January 2010, and the UK copies we've got are going fast, so reserve yours right away.

THE QUIET WAR by Paul McAuley (PYR, Trade Paperback, $16.00) - From PYR's website: "From the teeming cities of earth to the scrupulously realized landscapes of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, THE QUIET WAR, an exotic, fast-paced space opera, turns on a single question: who decides what it means to be human?"

LAMENTATION by Ken Scholes (Tor, Mass Market, $7.99) - Scholes' critically-acclaimed first book in a projected 5-volume fantasy series is now in paperback.

ANATHEM by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow, Mass Market, $7.99) - The book that many people think should have won the Hugo (ahem), now in paperback.

SWORD OF THE LADY by S.M. Stirling (Roc, Hardcover, $25.95) - Rudi Mackenzie continues his dangerous trek to find the source of the Change, but nothing happens the way he expects it to.  Rudi's journey begins in THE SUNRISE LANDS, but if you want to start at the very beginning, read DIES THE FIRE.

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 - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts
Contributors - Jeremy Lassen

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

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