Agony Column Home
Agony Column Review Archive

This Just In....News from The Agony Column

08-26-03: Greeting from Jay Lake and Frank Wu, P. D. James Enters the Murder Room, Attack of the Tweezerhead Rebellion

Greeting from Jay Lake and Frank Wu

Jay Lake informs me that yes, the book is in this sideways format.

Here's the cover of Jay Lake's upcoming collaboration with illustrator Frank Wu, 'Greetings from Lake Wu'. Lake has apparently entered some sort of career-elevator, as novels, collections and appearances in anthologies are becoming so ubiquitous we'll all soon be sending in our greetings from Lake Wu. Here's what Jay has to say:

"The book will be available for preorder in the next week or so at the Wheatland Press Web site http://www.wheatlandpress.com/, and generally available in early October from SF bookstores, major online booksellers or directly from Wheatland Press. Also watch for news of a limited edition with some very special stuff in it -- should be fun for all."

You can also order the fascinating anthology 'Polyphony' from Wheatland as well. I don't know how much money you have, but I'm think that we should let them eat books -- the kind of fine books you will hear all about on this site!

P. D. James Enters the Murder Room

The UK hardcover is just about available --probably on a boat heading to your local mystery bookstore.

It's not an annual celebration, but this year we can look forward to the latest P. D. James novel, 'The Murder Room' from UK publishers Faber and Faber. Yes, I'll admit that I'm sure Terry will be reading this posthaste, and giving you her take on James' venerable Adam Dalgliesh story. A modern murderer is re-creating the crimes documented in a small museum. Dalgliesh must solve them while attempting to maintain a beeper-ruled relationship with Emma Lavenham. For discerning readers, James is a must-buy. But Terry will unearth the truth as well!

Attack of the Tweezerhead Rebellion

Hey hey we're the Tweezerhead Rebellion -- and people say we tweezer around.

In the depths of time, I was once a member of the ill-fated Tweezerhead Rebellion, a sort of collective of utter misfits who recorded sounds and music that were utterly out of place and time. Richard Stephens provided an illustration for these halcyon days, and now I present it to you. He's got a lot more in this vein. Just as Abraham Ebdus in Jonathan Lethem's 'The Fortress of Solitude',Richard favors a sort of 1970's SF novel cover style. If you're interested in obtaining prints -- or seeing other art, you can contact Patty Grua via email: ultimatel@hotmail.com.

08-25-03: Outside the Lines with Chris Simms, Inside the Mortuary with Mary Roach, In Toronto With Torcon 3, Neal Asher website update.

Outside the Lines with Chris Simms

Will Chris Simms do for driving what Robert Bloch did for showers?

When M for Mystery sent out a list of recent and often signed British titles, both Terry and I could easily have broken the bank with our wishes. First off the dashboard is this novel about a killer on the road masquerading as a breakdown rescuer. Bad Things Happen. Very soon Terry D'Auray will be looking at this new novel by Chris Simms, which I must say now that it's in my hands does look quite intriguing; the kind of novel you pick up on a lark and plow through before you know exactly what happened outside of the novel itself.

Inside the Mortuary with Mary Roach

Mary Roach told me that when the folks at Norton saw this cover their hair stood on end, and we got the real cover for the book as a result. We also talked about Norton's record as a stand-alone family, non-Bertlesmann publisher.

On Friday, August 22, 2003, I talked with Mary Roach in a live radio interview for KUSP's Fine Print. We had an absolute blast. She was funny as hell, very smart and very personable; the whole radio station was breaking out to meet her and get their books signed. You'll definitely want to check out our interview, which I have online in both MP3 and RealAudio formats. She wouldn't say much about her next book, but what she did say sounds very intriguing. If you haven't bought 'Stiff', you need to get out and do so immediately. You have no idea how much fun awaits you after you die!

In Toronto With Torcon 3

Oh yeah, I almost forgot amidst all the hubbub, what with Mary Roach and David Corbett interviews in one week. I'll be at Torcon 3 this year, with my lovely wife, enjoying the panels and Niagra Falls. You can feel free to look me up if you're there, and I'll be providing the kind of inconsistent and off-base reporting you've come to expect! At least this time, I won't be driving 50 miles each way each day; we're in the Fairmont, I think. Of course,while I'm at the World Science Fiction convention, I'll be reading lots of horror for Cemetery Dance, and finishing up Charles De Lint's latest fantasy/horror/magic realism novel, 'Spirits in the Wires'. And I suspect that Terry, having shut down Hotel California, will have a lot to say as well on the mystery side. So expect more content in more directions than you can shake a stick at! We'll see if we can't scare up a few interviews while we're there, and maybe a nice picture of Niagra Falls, though I must admit that heights give me the heebies!

Neal Asher website update

Neal Asher just sent an email to let me know that he's done a massive update on his website. Here's the scoop from Neal himself:

"I've just done a major revamp of my website (first one below) and felt I should let everyone know. I've separated things out and added some extra pages so you now have pages for: anthologies, magazines & articles."

Check it out, it's well worth your time to take a gander at one of the best new/old SF writers out there.