ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER

DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER

Events and News from Borderlands Books

November, 2007

Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features

Karen Joy Fowler and Molly Gloss are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street, Saturday, November 17th at 7:00 pm

Grania Davis, SPECULATIVE JAPAN, (Kurodahan, Trade Paperback, $20.00), Sunday, November 18th at 3:00 pm

(for more information check the end of this section)

News

*Holiday Hours: Borderlands will be open late for the holidays starting on Friday, November 23rd and continuing to December 24th.  We'll be open from noon to ten pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  From Monday, December 17th to Sunday, December 23rd we'll be open from noon to ten pm everyday.  And, while your getting your shopping done, remember that we're open by appointment anytime, day or night, as well.  Just give us a call or drop us an email and we'll take care of you.

*Thanks to everyone who made our 10th Anniversary Sale so much fun.  It was a pleasure to see so many old friends and familiar faces. We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did!

* World Fantasy Award Winners: Many congratulations to the winners of the World Fantasy Awards, which were presented Sunday, November 4th in Saratoga Springs, NY.  The winner for best novel was SOLDIER OF SIDON by Gene Wolfe.  For a complete list of nominees and winners, see: <http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/>

*The American Independent Business Alliance is sponsoring America Unchained! on Saturday, November 17th, 2007.  "We’re urging citizens in communities nationwide to shun chains the Saturday before Thanksgiving -- to do business only locally-owned -- and generate over three times the economic activity that day for their home towns as they would by spending money at chains.  It means potentially millions of added dollars injected into the local economy on just one day! . . . Sometimes seemingly small acts have an impact bigger than you ever imagined. Take family spending. You may think you’re just fulfilling your family’s wants or needs when you shop or dine out. Think again.  The choice of where you spend your money makes a big difference to your community. Spending your money with locally-owned independent businesses puts it to work directly helping your community’s economy—just one way your community benefits from its home town businesses. They use goods and services of other locally-owned independent businesses--re-circulating your money about 3.5 times longer locally than if you spend it at a chain.  This creates greater community health and prosperity.
Now imagine the impact on your community if everyone shopped locally-owned. You can stop imagining and help make it a reality.
On November 17, communities around the country will be urged to “unchain” for just that one day—to maximize the impact of their dollars and inject potentially millions more into the local economy through doing their shopping, dining out and other business only with locally-owned independent businesses." More information about America Unchained! here: <http://www.amiba.net/Unchained.html>

*Genre booksellers on the air!  Click here to hear interviews with Del Howison, from Dark Delicacies Bookstore in Los Angeles:
<http://trashotron.com/agony/audio/2007/2007-news/092107-del_howison.mp3>

Jack Rems, from Dark Carnival in Berkeley:
<http://trashotron.com/agony/audio/2007/2007-news/092707-jack_rems.mp3>

And Dave Nee from Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley:
<http://trashotron.com/agony/audio/2007/2007-news/101107-dave_nee_ocoh.mp3>

*From the amusingly named Philip K. Dick blog "Total Dickhead," we find out that production has wrapped on a cinematic adaptation of Dick's RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH (with Alanis Morissette!): <http://totaldickhead.blogspot.com/2007/10/production-wraps-on-radio-free-albemuth.html>

*Congrats to local author Simon Wood, who recently won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story.  More news about Simon can be found here: <http://www.simonwood.net/index.htm>

*Great author, free book - Solaris Books (an imprint of Black Library) plans to serialize Chris Roberson's next novel! "BL Publishing is very excited to announce an exciting new project with Chris Roberson, author of SET THE SEAS ON FIRE and [the forthcoming] THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS.  THREE UNBROKEN is the next epic novel in the Celestial Empire sequence and details the explosive war between the Chinese and Aztec empires as they battle for control of the red planet, Fire Star.  Based on the sixty-four elements of the I-Ching, THREE UNBROKEN follows the lives of three soldiers from their induction into the armed forces to their eventual fight for survival on the frontline. The events of the novel are contemporaneous with those of THE DRAGON'S NINE SONS, the first novel in the sequence, set to be published by Solaris in February 2008.  In a bold move, Solaris Books plans to serialise the entirety of THREE UNBROKEN on their website for free, at a rate of two chapters per week. The project will start in late November 2007, with details to be confirmed on the Solaris website nearer the time.  The novel will then be published in book form in 2009.  Watch the Solaris website at <http://www.solarisbooks.com> for more information."

From The Office

The big ten year anniversary has passed.  Our sale last weekend was very well attended and people seemed quite happy with the deals they found.  But the best part was being able to see so many of my customers from over the years.  It really was like old-home week.  Too many things to count made me really happy but here are some of the high points -

*  Having my niece and nephew help with the set-up, and then stick around to hand out baskets to customers who were having trouble carrying all the books they picked out.

*  Great food catered by my friend Sam, the owner of the Guerrero  Market.  Plus a lovely cake from the Noe Valley Bakery that didn't last anywhere as long as either I expected or the rest of the staff hoped.

*  Visiting with a customer who first came to my shop ten years ago when she was 13 and who had moved away for years only to discover Borderlands again only a week previously.

*  At one point having four children wandering around the shop who were all under ten years old and had first visited when they were literally babes in arms.

*  Having our first customer of the day show up at nine-thirty, go get coffee and then hang out while we set up.

It really was a great day and the best possible way to celebrate.  Thanks to everyone who came and here's to the next ten years.

Best,
Alan

Origin of the Bookstore, Part the Twelfth

Top Sellers At Borderlands

Hardcovers
1) Halting State by Charles Stross
2) 2012 by Whitley Strieber
3) Bloodline by F. Paul Wilson
4) Making Money by Terry Pratchett
5) Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
6) Fatal Revenant by Stephen Donaldson
7) Spook Country by William Gibson
tie with A Lick of Frost by Laurell Hamilton
8) Ice, Iron and Gold by S.M. Stirling
9) The Merchant's War by Charles Stross
10) The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy tie with Postsingular by Rudy Rucker

Mass Market Paperbacks
1) Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt
2) Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
3) The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy
4) Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
5) Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
6) Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
7) Harbingers by F. Paul Wilson
8) Spirit Gate by Kate Elliot
9) Spellbinder by Melanie Rawn
10) Sky People by S.M. Stirling

Trade Paperbacks
1) End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
2) Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey
3) Rewired: The Post Cyberpunk Anthology edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
4) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
5) Grey by Jon Armstrong

Notes From a DVD Geek

Hey everyone . . . I’m going to focus on “Special Edition” re-releases galore this month.  That’s right . . . re-releases of your favorite films and TV shows.  Is it really worth paying for twice?  Or should you hang onto your previous edition, and not bother with the upgrades?  These are tough questions that every cinemaphile faces, and I’m here to help.    

First up is "The Return of the Living Dead".  I know I promised to not talk about horror films, but this is "The Return of the Living Dead" --  you know, the Greatest. Zombie. Movie. Ever!  Now it's available as a two-disk special edition: everyone’s favorite punk rock zombie movie gets a slightly better treatment then it had previously.  There is a new commentary track featuring cast members that is excellent, although occasionally silly, and there is a really good feature-ette covering the making of this film.  There’s also a generic and not terribly exciting mini-documentary on 80’s horror, which is mostly forgettable.  The picture quality is the same as the previous version, and there is no new cut, or version of the film.  It’s the same one from the first DVD, and it features some of the same minor problems regarding dialogue replacement and some song synching issues that were different in the VHS/laser disk edition.  Not perfect, but slightly better.  If you don’t own the earlier DVD version, well, you’re a bad person, but you can make up for it by buying the special edition DVD right now.   If you do own it, you're probably a total fan of this movie, and it's worth getting, even if it doesn’t include some of the “holy grail” work print material, or some of the “fixes” that zombie fan purists demand.  “Send more DVDs!”

Next up, "A Clockwork Orange" is finally getting a non-barebones release.  This two-disk special edition features two "making of" documentaries, a documentary on the career of Malcolm McDowell, and commentary track featuring Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman that will ensure you will know way too much about Kubrick and Burgess and "A Clockwork Orange".  It also features a re-mastered print, presented in anamorphic aspect ratio, which is a notable improvement over the previous non-anomorphic disks.  This one is a no-brainer, and should be picked up immediately.

Another Kubrick film that is getting re-released is "2001: A Space Odyssey".  This two-disk special edition has a ton of supplemental materials, (including several documentaries and commentary by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood which is heavy on the technical information). This disk has a slightly wider framing then the last “digitally restored” single disk edition, but the picture difference isn’t nearly as dramatic as the previous restored disk which was already anamorphic -- it isn’t quite as noticeable as it was on "A Clockwork Orange".   If you don’t have it already, this is the one to get.  If you’ve already got it, and don’t care about the extras, you can safely stick with your “remastered” edition of "2001," from 2001.

Next up on the Kubrick-palooza is "The Shining".  This is one of the big annoying disks of DVD yore. The digitally remastered disk was okay, and Kubrick approved . . . However, it  featured the entire film negative with a 1:33 (TV) aspect ratio.  Film snobs were horrified, as this did not match the film's original projected aspect ratio, but the ornery Kubrick snarled “my full negative is just as well framed as any damned matted print that you kids saw in the theater.  And if you're sitting in your living room, watching a TV, you're not getting the original theatrical experience anyway, so you can all sod off!” or something to that effect.  Since the last release was full-framed, it was not anamorphic.  The new two-disk edition is slightly cropped to a 1:78 aspect ratio, and is anamorphic.  To see a great example of the difference in framing….. check out the full frame from the negative here:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/shining/57.35-new.jpg
and the new, matted aspect ratio in the special edition here:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews33/a%20teh%20shining%20two%20disc/the%20shining%20PDVD_006.jpg

[Big shout out to dvdbeaver.com <http://www.dvdbeaver.com/> for their continuously exhaustive comparisons of various releases, btw].

The overall bit rate and picture quality of the new release is significantly better then the previous “remastered” disks.  Finally, a note on the 3 different “lengths” of this movie.  After initial reviews of the 144 minute US theatrical cut were unkind, Kubrick re-edited a shorter 119 minute “international” version of the film.  Kubrick was said to have preferred this version.  The original UK Pal disk was 114 minutes . . . after the 4% NTSC to PAL speed up, this matches the international 119 minute cut exactly.  So if you want to see this version, you have to track down an older British import.  In its initial limited theatrical run, there was a 146 minute version that featured a snippet between the final “Jack in the snow,” and “Jack on the wall” shots.  This showed Danny and Wendy in a hospital bed in Colorado, clearly having survived the mess at the Overlook.  This scene is nowhere to be found on any supplemental materials, or alternate versions of the film, and is probably lost.  Despite this rather large omission, the extras on the new special edition are extensive, and contain all the extras from earlier editions, pus more, and include an excellent commentary track.  One can argue all day about the framing of this print, but I’ll take this one over the open matte version any day of the week.  But if you do want the open matte edition, I’d suggest getting it now, (yes, we do have copies of this version at Borderlands,) before it disappears.  

In some alternate universe, there is a 5 disk version of this film that features an un-sped-up NTSC, 119 minute version of the international  cut, the full frame cut, and the new 1:78 matted version and the option to insert the 2 minute hospital sequence at the end. This is the same alternate universe that features Samuel Jackson as the voice of the giant purple-helmeted planet-eater Galactus, who is more then a cloud of dust in the second Fantastic Four movie.  But that’s a different story.  <http://jlassen.livejournal.com/469861.html>

It’s not science fiction, but I thought I’d fill you in on another bit of Kubrick DVD trivia.  The new two-disk special edition of "Eyes Wide Shut" is indeed (despite some package mislabeling on some editions) the international, unrated version of the film.  There is only one version of the film on this special edition DVD, and it IS the unrated international cut.  It does NOT contain the R-rated cut  You may recall that there was a big dust-up here in the States a a few years back, over the fact that, in order to get an R rating, some robed figures were digitally added between the camera and naked folks, during the big orgy scene, because . . . you know,  if Americans saw Tom Cruises’ dangly bits, they might all become Scientologists or something.  Thank goodness Jack Valenti and the prudes at the MPAA saved us from that fate.   At the time, Kubrick was still ornery as hell, and said “I agreed to turn in an R-rated movie, and I did . . . it's my movie . . . there’s nothing wrong with the R-rated cut, so there’s no reason to having something different on DVD.”  Or at least those are the words that Warner Brothers put in his mouth, or order to justify the R-rated cut.  The same full-frame 1:33 aspect ratio issues plagued the previous releases as well.  For comparison shots, be sure to check out dvdbeaver.com at http://www.dvdbeaver.com/FILM/DVDCompare8/eyes-wide-shut.htm

A couple of other “re-releases” of a different sort should be considered as well.  A year or so ago, the good folks at Warner Brothers released “The Ultimate Slayer Box Set” that had all seven seasons of Buffy, in one box.  Now you can get all six seasons of Angel in one box.  This is definitely a good deal if you don’t have the season sets already.  And while some of you may not be big Angel fans, as opposed to Buffy fans, I gotta say the Angel-as-a-Muppet episode makes the entire series worthwhile.

The other big “all in one” box set to consider is "The X-Files," which has all the TV seasons, plus the movie, in one big-ass box.  "The X-Files" was one of the first TV shows to prove there was a market for season box sets . . . but the individual season sets were always very pricey, especially compared to what other season box sets go for these days.  The bonus documentaries, and mythology summations that the network would run during the run-up to the season premiers are included as extras in this set, as well as a bunch of documentaries and stuff . . . And even if you only care for the first four or five seasons, this complete set is still a bargain.

And to finish off this month's focus on re-releases, I of course have to point out that the original cult TV series is finally available in a definitive format.  "Twin Peaks:  The Definitive Gold Box Edition" has ten disks, four documentaries, and all the episodes, including both the American and the European versions of the original pilot episode.  The pilot is the big thing that was missing from previous DVD sets.  This set also features both the original broadcast stereo audio mix, or a new 5:1 surround-sound mix.  Full details of this set can be found here:  [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twin-Peaks/7769].  The only thing missing is, of course, the Twin Peaks movie, "Fire Walk With Me".  Oh well.  Nothing is perfect.  

I’ll talk at you next month, with a bunch of Christmas gift ideas.

- Jeremy Lassen
jlassen@borderlands-books.com

Book Club Info

The Gay Men's Book Club will meet on Sunday, November 11th, at 5 pm to discuss THE PRESTIEGE by Christopher Priest.  The book for December is PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Mieville. 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, November 18th, at 6 pm to discuss FARTHING by Jo Walton.  The book for December is A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE by Peter S. Beagle.  Please contact Jude at jfeldman@borderlands-books.com for more information.

Upcoming Event Details

Karen Joy Fowler and Molly Gloss are guests of SF in SF at the Variety Preview Room, 582 Market Street, Saturday, November 17th at 7:00 pm - SF in SF is an ongoing monthly reading and discussion series sponsered by Tacyhon Publications and moderated by author Terry Bisson.  There is a cash bar and books will be available for sale from Borderlands.  This month, meet Karen Joy Fowler, author of the best-selling novel THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, and Molly Gloss, a multiple-award-winning author from Portland, OR.   For more information on SF in SF, see <http://www.sfinsf.org/>

Grania Davis, SPECULATIVE JAPAN, (Kurodahan, Trade Paperback, $20.00), Sunday, November 18th at 3:00 pm - From Kurodahan's website: "Japanese fiction has assumed a position of significance in many genres of world literature as it continues to chart its own creative course.  Whereas science fiction in the English-speaking world developed gradually over a period of evolutionary change in style and content, SF in Japan took off from a very different starting line.  Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese SF writers worked to combine their own thousand-year-old literary tradition with a flood of Western SF and other fiction.  Contemporary Japanese SF thus began in a jumble of ideas and periods, and ultimately propelled Japanese authors into a quantum leap of development, rather than a steady process of evolution.  The result has been phenomenal.  As new authors developed in this exotic environment, they invented new ways to view SF, and used the genre to form new images of themselves and their culture.  The time is long overdue to present the work of Japanese science fiction and fantasy writers to the world in English.  We hope this shared world of speculative fiction produces a creative feedback relationship, which can only encourage new and more stimulating visions of tomorrow.  The first book in a planned series, SPECULATIVE JAPAN presents a selection of outstanding works of Japanese science fiction and fantasy in English translation . . . and a glimpse into new worlds of the imagination."  Join us for a fascinating discussion with editor Grania Davis in our last regular event of the year!

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

The Search for Joseph Tully by William H. Hallahan (Millipede Press, Signed, Limited Edition (300 copies) Hardcover, $60.00) - From Millipede Press: "This superb and atmospheric novel of revenge, alienation, genealogy, history, and the occult, set in an isolated apartment complex targeted for destruction in a gloomy section of Brooklyn, is one of the finest horror novels ever written, drenched with symbolism and fear right up to its shocking finale."  Copies are signed by William H. Hallahan and T.M. Wright, who wrote the introduction.

Dead Sea by Brian Keene (Delirium Books, Signed & Numbered Limited Edition (500 copies) Hardcover, $50.00) - Mr. Keene (author of THE RISING and CITY OF THE DEAD among many others) returns to zombies!  From the author's website: "The streets of the city are no longer safe.  They are filled with zombies.  Some of the living have struggled to survive, but with each passing day their odds grow worse.  Others have fled, searching for a place to escape the slaughter around them.  For Lamar Reed and a handful of others, that safe haven is an old Coast Guard ship out at sea.  But their haven will soon become a deathtrap, because isolation can also mean no escape!"

God of the Razor by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean Press, Hardcover, $40.00) - Subterranean press says: "The Nightrunners is considered by many to be one of the best horror/suspense novels to date.  It has had a passionate following for years.  On its twentieth anniversary, Subterranean Press will release this novel as part of its Signature Series, in a volume that also contains stories that were inspired by, or drawn from, the novel while Lansdale waited for it to sell.  The novel and stories have influenced numerous writers over the years, and are now gathered for the first time (with a new, never-before-published tale) in this unique tribute volume celebrating one of the most influential and award-winning writers of the last two decades.  The God of the Razor will be designed as a companion volume to the Lansdale tribute anthology, Lords of the Razor, featuring a full color cover by Tim Truman, and twenty full page black-and-white illustrations for the short stories and novel by Glenn Chadborne."

Dreads and Drolls by Arthur Machen (Tartarus Press, Limited Edition (300 copies) Hardcover, $71.50) - Tartarus Press says: "This volume contains sixty studies, mostly from real life, each of which, by its capacity for inspiring terror or causing amused wonder, qualifies as the 'Dread' or 'Droll' of Arthur Machen's general heading.  'To be able so to tell the bare truth that it seems a magnificent lie' is the qualification which has attracted Machen to the most outstanding of his narrations.  When Dreads and Drolls was first published in 1926 it contained twenty-nine articles reprinted from London's The Graphic.  We have great pleasure in more than doubling that number by including all of his contributions from that magazine.  To 'The Euston Square Mystery', 'The Adventure of the Long-Lost Brother' and others we have been able to add 'A Castle in Celtic Myths', 'A Pretty Parricide', 'One Night When I Was Frightened' and many more."

Murder Can Be Fun #20: Waiting in Line to Die edited by John Marr (John Marr, Chapbook, $2.00) - "Murder Can Be Fun" is a San Francisco based ‘zine that features offbeat and bizzare stories of murder and mayhem.  Cheap thrills for two bills!  “Waiting in Line to Die” originally appeared in MCBF #13:  Death At Disneyland.

Stitch by Mark Morris (Humdrumming, Hardcover, $33.99) - In addition to the original dark and frightening novel of a neo-religious cult on a college campus, Humdrumming boasts, "[t]his special edition also includes the following bonus material, making this the definitive edition of Mark’s second novel!:  A brand new introduction by the author, an interview conducted at the time of the book’s original release, and a bonus short story, “Warts and All” written the same year."

The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club by Kim Newman (MonkeyBrain Books, Trade Paperback, $15.95) - From MonkeyBrain Books: "From the 1860s to the present day, the Diogenes Club has been the least-known of Great Britain's intelligence and law enforcement services.  Founded by Sherlock Holmes's cleverer brother Mycroft, the Club protects the realm—and this entire plane of existence—from occult menaces, threats born in other dimensions, magical perfidy and the Deep Dark Deadly Ones.  In this collection, covering uncanny events from the late 19th Century to the 1970s, the files are opened, and select exploits of the Club's greatest Assets are made available to the public, revealing the truth about fairies and fish-folk, national heroes and national horrors, diabolical masterminds and the Weather.  Kim Newman continues the series began in The Man From the Diogenes Club, revealing more of the secrets of the British Empire's most secret service."

Frayed by Tom Piccirilli (Creeping Hemlock, Signed & Numbered Limited Edition (450 copies) Hardcover, $35.00) - From the author's website: "Are you the one who helped him kill the angel?"  Twenty years of repressed anger and memories.  A bitter knot of hatred that binds and divides two friends.  The dark secret that fuels and devastates them both.  "He killed it. I only helped him to bury it."  Eddie's doing his best to get by, but every day the good fight just gets harder.  And now there's a new burden to shoulder.  Gray - his best friend and nemesis in literature, romance, and life - has landed in a bizarre mental hospital, known for its radical treatments, because Gray couldn't bear the weight of an unspeakable trauma.  The last time they met, Gray almost killed Eddie, but it seems that all is finally forgiven. Tonight, there's a wild hootenanny up at Gray's house.  The nuthouse.  And Eddie's invited."

Ice, Iron and Gold by S.M. Stirling (Night Shade Books, Signed, Limited Edition (150 copies) Hardcover, $49.00, and Trade Hardcover, $26.95) - Night Shade says: "New York Times best-selling Author S. M. Stirling’s first collection gathers his most interesting and evocative short stories, drawn from the length of his professional career. More than 100,000 words of fiction, including an original story, make this book a must for fans of Stirling's work.  Whether Stirling is exploring alternate histories, chronicling military sf exploits, or off-kilter contemporary settings, his insightful characterizations and compelling plots are distinct and memorable. "  It's a very nice collection that covers the high points of his work.  Recommended by Alan and Jeremy.

The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis (Subterranean Press, Hardcover, $40.00) - Subterranean Press says: "We've collected stories from throughout Willis's career, from early ones like 'Cash Crop' and 'Daisy, in the Sun,' right up to her newest stories, including the wonderful 'The Winds of Marble Arch.'  There's literally something for everyone here.  If you're a diehard Willis fan, you'll be delighted with hard-to-find treasures like the until-now uncollected, 'The Soul Selects Her Own Society . . . '  If you've never read Connie Willis, this is your chance to discover 'A Letter from the Clearys' and, well, 'Chance.'  To say nothing of 'At the Rialto,' the funniest story ever written about quantum physicists.  And Willis's chilling, 'All My Darling Daughters.' "  Also, I've just noticed that Publishers Weekly has named The Winds of Marble Arch one of the year's most outstanding titles.  Recommended by Jude.

Cold Harbour by Francis Brett Young (Ash-Tree, Limited Edition (400 copies) Hardcover, $47.50) - From Ash-Tree's website: "A balmy Meditteranean evening is not the time when conversation may be expected to turn to the grim landscape of the Black Country of the Midlands of England.  But the arrival of Ronald and Evelyn Wake brings with it a chilling story set in that unlikely location.  The Wakes had been returning from a holiday in Wales, when a puncture forced them to seek accommodation for the night. They found it at the remote Fox Inn, a near neighbour to the house of Cold Harbour and the estate of Mr Humphrey Furnival, a man whose mocking laugh belies his guile and cleverness. Using paranormal powers, Furnival attracts Evelyn Wake's interest, and the couple are invited to visit Cold Harbour, to view the manuscripts of a minor poet in whom Evelyn is interested.  Furnival engages Ronald Wake in lengthy conversation and argument, while Evelyn has to suffer the fate of being cornered by Mrs Furnival, the downtrodden, seemingly dominated wife, who has sought refuge in her religion to help her cope with the hauntings at Cold Harbour. Furnival refuses to acknowledge the existence of the hauntings, but puts forward his own elaborate theory as to why the house might possess an 'atmosphere'.  Does the evil of Cold Harbour originate in Furnival himself, or has Cold Harbour infected him with its malign presence? And can the Wakes find some way of saving Mrs Furnival before she, too, is ensnared by the house?  Francis Brett Young (1884–1954) is one of Britain's underrated and neglected regional novelists, and, in his introduction to this volume, John Howard discusses his life and the themes that dominate his novels. Ash-Tree Press is pleased to make this long overdue new edition of Cold Harbour available to a new generaton of readers of the ghostly."

New and Notable

The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks (Little, Brown UK, Trade Paperback, $25.94) - I'm 80 pages into this non-genre novel about the Wopuld family, wealthy developers of the uber-famous board game (and now computer game) EMPIRE!, who have invited the Prodigal Son (Alban) back for a business meeting to determine the future of the company/birthday celebration for the family's matriarch.   So far it shows all of Banks' characteristic humor and excellent character development -- great so far. - Jude

Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker (Harper Collins, Hardcover, $24.95) - From the book jacket: "Mister B. Gone marks the long-awaited return of Clive Barker, the great master of the macabre, to the classic horror story. This bone-chilling novel, in which a medieval devil speaks directly to his reader—his tone murderous one moment, seductive the next—is a never-before-published memoir allegedly penned in the year 1438.  The demon has embedded himself in the very words of this tale of terror, turning the book itself into a dangerous object, laced with menace only too ready to break free and exert its power."  I liked COLD HEART CANYON (ghosts, old Hollywood, crazy S/M -- how can you go wrong?) but felt it would have benefitted from a bit more editing, so I am pleased to see Barker back with a slimmer (256 page) volume. - Jude

A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card (Tor, Other Hardcover, $12.95) A novella about compassion and tolerance set in the Ender-verse.  We have just a few signed copies of this cute, gift-y, undersized hardcover remaining.  (No, Card didn't come here -- they arrived signed on a tipped-in page from the publisher!)

Spectrum 14: The Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art edited by Arnie and Cathy Fenner (Underwood, Oversized Hardcover, $39.95 and Oversized Trade Paperback, $29.95) - Overwhelming and stunning, as usual.

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (William Morrow, Hardcover, $24.95) - I am thrilled to see this collection finally generally available.   (It was originally released in three different limited edition formats by PS Publishing, but went quickly out of print.) It's a little uneven, but the high points are oh, so high!  The title story "20th Century Ghosts," is so good that it made me cry; it may be the best ghost story I've ever read.  "The Black Phone" will make your skin crawl, and "Pop Art" is just plain bizarre and surreal.  Really an outstanding collection.  Recommended by Jude.

Counting Heads by David Marusek (Tor, Trade Paperback, $14.95) - From Publishers Weekly: "This extraordinary debut novel puts Marusek in the first rank of SF writers.  Life on Earth in 2134 ought to be perfect: nanotechnology can manufacture anything humans need; medical science can control the human body's shape or age; and AIs, robots and contented clones do most of the work.  If only there were a way to get rid of the surplus people. When Eleanor Starke, one of the major power brokers, is assassinated, her daughter's cryogenically frozen head becomes the object of a quest by representatives of several factions, including Eleanor's aged and outcast husband, a dense zealot for interstellar colonization, a decades-old little boy and husband and wife clones who are straining at the limitations of their natures.  Marusek's writing is ferociously smart, simultaneously horrific and funny, as he forces readers to stretch their imaginations and sympathies.  Much of the fun in the story is in the telling rather than its destination—which is just as well, since it doesn't so much come to a conclusion as crash headlong into the last page.  But the trip has been exciting and wonderful."  How can you resist a review like that? This is currently second on my to-be-read pile, just under NOVA SWING by M. John Harrison. - Jude

A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear (Tor, Hardcover, $24.95) - From Publishers Weekly: "Rising fantasy stars Monette (Mélusine) and Bear (Whiskey & Water) subvert the telepathic animal companion subgenre so thoroughly that it may never be the same. The inhabitants of a cold and perilous world grounded in Norse/Germanic mythology depend upon the brutally violent wolfcarls, men who bond telepathically with huge fighting trellwolves, to protect them from monstrous trolls and wyverns from further north. When the northern threat suddenly intensifies, Isolfr, a young wolfcarl, and his wolf-sister, Viradechtis, a Queen wolf destined to rule her own pack, are thrust into key roles in their civilization's desperate fight to survive. The meticulously crafted setting and powerful, often moving rendition of characters and relationships—human and nonhuman alike—result in a brutal and beautiful novel about the meaning of honor.  Never blushing as they consider the ultimate sociological, sexual and moral underpinnings of a what-if often treated as coy wish-fulfillment fantasy, the authors have boldly created a fascinating world that begs further exploration."

The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy (Viking, Hardcover, $16.99) Pat Murphy fans, rejoice, and those of you who are not yet fans, rejoice anyway, for ye soon will be!  So, first you need to read the chapbook A Flock of Lawn Flamingos, published by Tachyon.  Then you'll know about Joan Egypt, the chapbook's whimsical and wry heroine.  Then you can read about her as a 12-year-old in WILD GIRLS.  Although it is not genre, I think almost everyone will appreciate this coming-of-age story.  Set in the early 1970's, Joan's life changes dramatically after she moves from Connecticut to California.  She's sure she'll hate it, and hate it she does until she meets Fox, a "wild girl," who lives with her science-fiction writer father in a house in the woods and believes that her mother turned into a fox one day long ago.  The Wild Girls is partially about the power of story -- how it helps us invent ourselves -- but it is also about the kind of healthy rebellion that creates original thinkers and makes San Franciscans want to cheer.  Recommended by Jude and Cary.

Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson (Bantam, Mass Market, $7.99) - From Publishers Weekly: "Inside-the-Beltway policy wonks and government scientists strive to save the world from environmental collapse in the well-written third installment (after 2005's Fifty Degrees Below) of this hyperrealistic, near-future SF series. The Gulf Stream—slowed by global warming—has been restarted and nuclear-powered naval ships stand by to generate electricity for frigid coastal cities.  Phil Chase, an ecologically minded Democrat from California in the Al Gore mold, has won the presidency, due in part to the efforts of NSA scientist Frank Vanderwal and his spook girlfriend, Caroline Barr, who helped foil a right-wing attempt to fix the election.  But only time will tell if the world has both the scientific know-how and the political will to reverse the ongoing rush toward an ecological precipice.  Combining surprisingly interesting discussions of environmental science with Robinson's trademark tramps through nature and an exciting espionage subplot, this novel should appeal to both the author's regular SF audience and anyone concerned with the ecological health of our planet."

The Electric Church by Jeff Somers (Orbit, Trade Paperback, $12.99) - "Take a partially destroyed New York City, an oppressive police force, a scary cyborg-run church, and more bullets than the war on terror, and you have an idea of what's in store in Jeff Somers's debut novel, The Electric Church.  The story centers around Avery Cates, a "Gunner" who through misfortune and survival instinct, is hired to assasinate the head of a powerful church that threatens to take over, you guessed it, The World!!  Although the story idea isn't terribly original, this is a fun first novel.  Cates is a hired gun that tries to stick to a code of honor in a world of desperation, greed and misery.  I like the fact that this is evident throughout the story, yet the reader isn't beaten over the head with it.  Sommers's detailed, burned-out world is almost a character itself, lending motivation to many of the other characters actions.  Lots of action, and a cast of characters that really work well together to give the right ammount of drama, humor, desperation and surprise in a novel."  Recommended by Ben.

DVD New Arrivals

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, Ben Thompson, James Reffell, Ian Carruthers, Rina Wiseman, Hilary Karls

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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