Libraries are showing demand for Dan Simmons’ historical novel with a supernatural twist, Black Hills, which is also picking up positive early reviews. Holds are averaging 4:1 on this tale of about a Sioux man who communes with the spirit of George Armstrong Custer for 50 years after his death in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Booklist praises Hugo award-winner Simmons as “equally adept at horror, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery.”

Publishers Weekly also lauds ”his ability to create complex characters and pair them with suspenseful situations, [which] stands almost unmatched among his contemporaries.”

Entertainment Weekly gives the book a B+, finding that “some passages of Black Hills sink into tourist-pamphlet minutiae, [but] Simmons (Drood) keeps the tale buoyant with his evocative prose and storytelling muscle.”

Black Hills Dan Simmons Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 512 pages Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books – (2010-02-24) ISBN / EAN: 031600698X / 9780316006989

Audio: Hachette Audio; UNABR; 9781600247866; $39.98
BBC Audio; UNABR; 9781607883463; $129.99
Large Print: Little, Brown; pbk; 9780316073998; $25.99
Audio and ebook available from OverDrive

Other Fiction Titles Going on Sale Next Week

Danielle Steel’s Big Girl (Delacorte), about an unconventional beauty, has holds of up to 7:1 in libraries we checked.

Kim Harrison’s Black Magic Sanction (Eos) is the eighth title in her urban fantasy series, Robin Morgan/ Hollows. Holds are in the 4:1 range at many libraries we checked.

J.D. Robb’s Fantasy in Death (Penguin), the 30th book in the bestelling Death series featuring NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas, has predictably high holds.

Robert Parker’s Split Image (Putnam) is the latest title in the Spenser series, following the author’s death last month.  Holds are high in the libraries we checked. [According to The Age (Australia), there are several more Spenser novels coming.]

Thriller fans are driving strong library demand for two titles coming next week, from Tom Dorsey and Kay Hooper – and early reviews favor Dorsey.

Gator A-Go-Go by Tim Dorsey is the most-requested title to be released next week, with strong holds of 6:1 or more in libraries we checked. It features homicidal yet discerning anti-hero Serge Storms and his drug-addicted sidekick as they seek rough justice amid the revelry of spring break. Booklist says: “All of Dorsey’s books offer belly laughs, but this one seems a cut above.”

Gator A-Go-Go Tim Dorsey Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: William Morrow – (2010-02-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061432717 / 9780061432712

Large Print available from HarperLuxe on 02/01/2010

• $24.99; ISBN: 9780061945670

Blood Ties by Kay Hooper has holds of at least 1:1, and as high as 7:1 at one library. Publishers Weekly was not very impressed:

Too many interchangeable doll-like victims and a by-the-numbers plot mar bestseller Hooper’s conclusion to her paranormal thriller trilogy that began with Blood Dreams and Blood Sins.

Blood Ties: A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novel Kay Hooper Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Bantam – (2010-01-26) ISBN / EAN: 0553804863 / 9780553804867

Audio available from Brilliance

• CD (9 discs): $87.97; ISBN 9781423333142
• MP3: $39.97; ISBN: 9781423333166

Large Print from Random House

• $26; ISBN 9780739377567

More Major Fiction Releases Next Week:

The Dragon Keeper: Volume One of the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb (Eos/Harper), the first in a two-volume fantasy “mini-series” by veteran fantasist Hobb that Booklist calls as “good as it is massive.”

The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd (Morrow) is the first in a new thriller series by debut author Boyd. Publisher Morrow is backing its high hopes for the book with a 150,000 first printing.

Three Days Before the Shooting . . . by Ralph Ellison; only half the ibraries we checked have ordered this novel that Ellison left unfinished after his death, his second after Invisible Man.

Lev Grossman’s novel, The Magicians, about a college student whom USA Today compared to “Holden Caulfield attending Harry Potter’s Hogwarts,” debuts at #77 on USA Today list, and rises to #231 on Amazon. Libraries are showing heavy holds on very light ordering of 3 to 42 copies, even though pre-pub reviews were strong in Booklist, BookPage, Kirkus and Library Journal.

Pervasive review coverage is probably a sign of Grossman’s clout as Time magazine’s book critic, but newspaper reviews have been mixed. USA Today deemed the premise of The Magicians original, but added

It’s like a video game featuring scenarios from classic fantasy writers. And sometimes Grossman can be slyly funny, as when he describes what conversation with a real talking bear would probably be like: dull monologues on honey. But it becomes a chore to slog through this homage to fantasy filtered through an ironic 21st-century sensibility, complete with sex and profanity. Nifty premise aside, Quentin and company never fully grab our attention.

However, the Chicago Tribune wanted ”to shake Grossman’s hand and congratulate him for his courage. His book wanders into Harry Potter territory without a backward glance, and that’s gutsy stuff,” and said Grossman’s second novel “blooms with grace and wit and imaginative brio. Grossman has a sense of humor as well as a sense of wonder.”

The Magicians: A Novel Lev Grossman Retail Price: $26.95 Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Viking Adult – (2009-08-11) ISBN / EAN: 0670020559 / 9780670020553

Also available from Penguin Audiobooks

• CD: $39.95; ISBN 9780143144397

On this week’s New York Times bestseller list, Sherrilyn Kenyon lands in the #1 spot with Bad Moon Rising, her eighth title to achieve that position, according to her website. However, libraries are not so high on her – those we checked have only 12 -48 copies, with holds ranging from 34 to 123.

Bad Moon Rising: A Dark-Hunter Novel (Dark-Hunter Novels) Sherrilyn Kenyon Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2009-08-04) ISBN / EAN: 0312369492 / 9780312369491

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo rises to #2, helped by intense review coverage and some critical controversy, as we mentioned in an earlier post. Libraries we checked have received their orders (from 29 to 206 copies), and show substantial holds (from 200 to 250).

That Old Cape Magic Richard Russo Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-08-04) ISBN / EAN: 0375414967 / 9780375414961

Available from Random House Audio

• CD $40; ISBN 9780739318928

Random House Large Print

• $26; ISBN 9780739328613

Kathleen Stockett’s debut novel, The Help, rises to #3. We’ve written about the book several times, but libraries we checked still have heavy holds (from 107 to 595) on anywhere from 64 to 129 copies. Given the demand, and the book’s upward trajectory (last week it was at #4) perhaps it’s time to order even more (libraries have been steadily adding copies, but demand continues to outstrip supply). It’s a long wait for the paperback; scheduled for release February 2, 2010.

The Help Kathryn Stockett Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books – (2009-02-10) ISBN / EAN: 0399155341 / 9780399155345

Also on audio:

• Audio CD: $39.95, Unabridged
• Publisher: Penguin Audio;  (February 10, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0143144189
• ISBN-13: 978-0143144182

Large Type:

• Hardcover: $32.95; 721 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (May 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1410415538
• ISBN-13: 978-1410415530

Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice lands at #5, helped by last week’s major reviews, with holds and copies lower than for Russo’s That Old Cape Magic in the libraries we checked (orders ranged from 9- 29 copies, with holds from 17 to 145).

Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon Retail Price: $27.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The – (2009-08-04) ISBN / EAN: 1594202249 / 9781594202247

Also available from Penguin Audiobooks

• CD: $39.95; ISBN 9780143144762

And finally, Winds of Dune appears at #15. Libraries we checked are in good shape, with few reserves on modest orders.

The Winds of Dune Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Tor Books – (2009-08-04) ISBN / EAN: 0765322722 / 9780765322722

Also on Macmillan Audio

• CD: $59.99; ISBN  9781427207630

The inevitable has happened: there will be a graphic novel version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, to be published by Del Rey in 2010, according to Publishers Weekly.

Veteran comics writer Tony Lee, who has worked on X-Men, Spider-Man and other series, will team with artist Cliff Richards, of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics series.

Quirk books, publisher of the surprise hit mashup Jane Austen and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, has announced a followup: Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters by Ben H. Winters, slated for release on September 15. In the meantime, there’s a hilarious book trailer so good it gave me chills!

Here, the Dashwood sisters leave their childhood home after the arrival of their scheming stepmother, only to land on an island of man-eating sea creatures — alllowing Winters to take inspiration from ”everything from Jules Verne novels to Lost to Jaws to Spongebob Squarepants.“ 

However, the publisher has set a more conservative printing (200,000 copies vs. the 600,000 in print for Jane Austen and Zombies), since the house is not certain if the twist on Jane Austen will hold as much appeal as zombies do, according to Publishers Weekly. Then again, if the ingenious trailer truly reflects the book, there’s probably little need to worry.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters Jane Austen Retail Price: $12.95 Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Quirk Books – (2009-09-15) ISBN / EAN: 1594744424 / 9781594744426

The winners of the Shirley Jackson Award, given for “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” were announced at Readercon in Burlington, MA, on Sunday.

Below are the winners in the book categories. The complete list of nominees and winners is available at the Shirley Jackson web site.

Novel

The Shadow Year: A Novel Jeffrey Ford Retail Price: $14.99 Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Harper Perennial – (2009-03-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061231533 / 9780061231537

Novella

Disquiet (Penguin Original) Julia Leigh Price: $13.00 Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) – (2008-11-25) ISBN-10: 014311350X ISBN-13: 9780143113508

Collection

The Diving Pool: Three Novellas Yoko Ogawa Price: $13.00 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Picador – (2008-01-22) ISBN-10: 0312426836 ISBN-13: 9780312426835

Anthology

The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease Retail Price: $13.95 Paperback: 226 pages Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd. – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 1905583184 / 9781905583188

The Locus winners were announced last week. Neal Stephenson’s Anathem won for best science fiction novel, Ursula Le Guin’s Lavinia for best fantasy, and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book for best young adult.

The full list of winners is available on the Locus site.

The Sci Fi magazine, Locus has just announced the finalists for their awards that will be given out in late June.

We were pleased to see Jo Graham as one of the finalists for first novel for Black Ships; some of you may remember her from the Orbit lunch at ALA Annual ‘07, many months before the book was published.

Below are the finalists for the full-length novel categories; a list of the finalists in all categories is available on the Locus web site.

Science Fiction Novel – Finalists

Matter Iain M. Banks Price: $14.99 Paperback: 624 pages Publisher: Orbit – (2009-02-10) ISBN-10: 0316005371 ISBN-13: 9780316005371

City at the End of Time Greg Bear Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Del Rey – (2008-08-05) ISBN-10: 0345448391 ISBN-13: 9780345448392

Marsbound Joe Haldeman Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Ace Hardcover – (2008-08-05) ISBN-10: 0441015956 ISBN-13: 9780441015955

Anathem Neal Stephenson Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 960 pages Publisher: William Morrow – (2008-09-01) ISBN-10: 0061474096 ISBN-13: 9780061474095

Saturn’s Children Charles Stross Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Ace Hardcover – (2008-07-01) ISBN-13:  9780441015948

Fantasy Novel — Finalists

The Shadow Year Jeffrey Ford Price: $14.99 Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Harper Perennial – (2009-03-01) ISBN-10: 0061231533 ISBN-13: 9780061231537

Lavinia Ursula K. Le Guin Price: $14.95 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Harvest Books – (2009-04-28) ISBN-10: 0156033682 ISBN-13: 9780156033688

The Bell at Sealey Head Patricia A. McKillip Price: $23.95 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Ace Hardcover – (2008-09-02) ISBN-10: 0441016308 ISBN-13: 9780441016303

The Dragons of Babel Michael Swanwick Price: $7.99 Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Tor Fantasy – (2009-04-28) ISBN-10: 0765359138 ISBN-13: 9780765359131

An Evil Guest Gene Wolfe Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Tor Books – (2008-09-16) ISBN-10: 0765321335 ISBN-13: 9780765321336

First Novel — Finalists

Thunderer Felix Gilman Price: $6.99 Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages Publisher: Spectra – (2008-09-30) ISBN-10: 055359110X ISBN-13: 9780553591101

Black Ships Jo Graham Price: $14.99 Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: Orbit – (2008-03-10) ISBN-10: 0316068004 ISBN-13: 9780316068000

Pandemonium Daryl Gregory Price: $13.00 Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Del Rey – (2008-08-26) ISBN-10: 0345501160 ISBN-13: 9780345501165

The Gone-Away World Nick Harkaway Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 512 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2008-09-02) ISBN-10: 0307268861 ISBN-13: 9780307268860

Singularity’s Ring Paul Melko Price: $7.99 Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Tor Science Fiction – (2009-04-28) ISBN-10: 076535702X ISBN-13: 9780765357021

Young Adult Novel — Finalists

Little Brother Cory Doctorow Price: $17.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Tor Teen – (2008-04-29) ISBN-10: 0765319853 ISBN-13: 9780765319852

The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2008-10-01) ISBN-10: 0060530928 ISBN-13: 9780060530921

Tender Morsels Margo Lanagan Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers – (2008-10-14) ISBN-10: 0375848118 ISBN-13: 9780375848117

Nation Terry Pratchett Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: HarperCollins – (2008-10-01) ISBN-10: 0061433012 ISBN-13: 9780061433016

Zoe’s Tale John Scalzi Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Tor Books – (2008-08-19) ISBN-10: 0765316986 ISBN-13: 9780765316981

We’ve all seen the phenomenon that is Twilight. It makes you think that the idea of turning it into a movie was a slam dunk. Not so, according to a story in the NYT today (For Studio, Vampire Movie Is a Cinderella Story). Paramount Pictures had the rights, but let them go,

because someone at the studio decided in 2006 that the series was a dud. (A game of finger-pointing is now under way at Paramount over who deserves the blame.)

 

There won’t be finger-pointing over House of Night; Variety reports that the bestselling (currently at #4 on the NYT Childrens Series list) paperback teen vampire series has been optioned.

The fourth book, Untamed, was recently released by St. Martins. In all, nine books are planned.

Untamed

P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

• Paperback: $8.95; 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 23, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0312379838
• ISBN-13: 978-0312379834

USA Today’s “Book Buzz” column discusses The Last Theorem, Arthur C. Clarke’s last sci-fi novel, to be pubbed on Tuesday. Clarke began the novel in 2003, but then “woke up one morning and didn’t know how to write anymore.” He asked his friend, Frederick Pohl to finish it for him.

A few of the libraries I checked do not have it on order (it seems it was only reviewed by Publishers Weekly, which called it a “a can’t-put-down adventure that focuses on [the authors'] mutual strengths”).

The Last Theorem, Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl

• Hardcover: $27.00
• Publisher: Del Rey (August 5, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0345470214
• ISBN-13: 978-0345470218
• Add Book To Cart

Stephenie Meyer’s new book hardly needs reviews — it’s been on the Amazon bestseller list for over two months and it is now at #7, one day after publication. Nonetheless, the pop culture mavens at Entertainment Weekly and USA Today reviewed it this week (don’t expect to hear Michiko Kakutani’s view of the book any time soon).

USA Today’s Carol Memmott calls it “a startling and addictive Invasion of the Body Snatchers alien fest for the 21st century.” Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B,” saying it’s a bit too slow.

No problem; Meyer’s fans WANT her books to go on and on. As Neal Wyatt says in her LJ column, “RA Crossroads,”

Have you ever read something and been simply consumed by it? Not doing what needs to be done, just skipping everything else to read until the book ends? That just happened to me with Stephenie Meyer’s The Host

It’s baffling though, that none of the libraries I check have bought it for YA. Don’t be fooled by the fact that this one, unlike Meyer’s Twilight series has been pubbed as an adult title. You don’t have to wait for approval from the YA gatekeepers — there’s no reason not to buy The Host for both collections. As USA Today puts it:

It’s hard to figure out what makes The Host any more “mature” in content than Meyer’s Twilight series. There’s no adult language, no graphic sex scenes or acts of violence.

Has USA Today ever heard of marketing? She’s already conquered one market, now she wants to reach a broader one.

The Host

by Stephenie Meyer

• Hardcover: $25.99
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0316068047
• ISBN-13: 978-031606804

• Audio CD: Unabridged edition, $49.98
• Publisher: Hachette Audio, (May 6, 2008)
• Reader: Kate Reading
• ISBN-10: 1600241662
• ISBN-13: 978-1600241666

• Paperback: $25.99
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0316034118
• ISBN-13: 978-03160341

Talk about crossover. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is on the short list for best novel for the Nebula Award. It’s also among the nominees for best novel for the Edgars.

Below is the full list of  nominees in the best novel category. For the nominees in all categories, go to the SOFA site. The awards will be announced on April 26th at the Nebula Awards Ceremony in Austin, Texas. The Edgars will be announced at a banquet on May 1, in New York City.

Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell (Tor, June 2007)

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, May 2007)

The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman (Ace, August 2007)

The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson (Warner Books, February 2007)

Odyssey by Jack McDevitt (Ace, November 06)

If you’re not already aware of the enormous popularity of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, just ask a teenage girl. If you don’t have one handy, take a look at the books’ rankings on the current USA Today bestseller list:

#22 Twilight (book one), Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Oct, 2005

#25 New Moon (book two) Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Aug, 2006

#29 Eclipse (book three), Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Aug, 2007

Teenage girls aren’t the only fans. This is one of those books that crosses age groups (but not genders; the fan base is overwhelmingly female).

The final volume in the series, Breaking Dawn will release in late summer of ‘08 (some fan sites give an August 10 release date, but the publisher says there is no definite laydown date yet). Breaking Dawn will be embargoed, so there will be no pre-publication reviews.

In May, Meyer releases her first adult title (with VERY strong crossover appeal, so you may want to buy it for both the adult and YA collections). It’s set in the future, when souls from other planets are taking over human bodies. In most cases, the original human soul disappears. But for one called “The Wanderer,” her host’s soul, Melanie, does not go quietly. The rivalry gets particularly dicey when they both fall for the same guy. The publisher’s blurb includes this quotable line, “featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies.” This one is not embargoed, so you can expect pre-publication reviews (it is mentioned in the 1/15 LJ “Prepub Alert” column).

• Hardcover: $25.99
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0316068047
• ISBN-13: 978-0316068048

Twilight, the movie is now in pre-production and, according to the Internet Movie Database, will be released in December, ‘08.