m. c. de marco

Care for the chance to win a free book? How about potentially winning fifteen free books, from a wide variety of fantasy authors (including several Pyr authors)?

Presenting the Crossing the Streams multi-author book contest.

Good luck. :-)

Well, I haven't posted in a long time. I was away thinking.  Also I played some games.  If you'd like to read more pop over to my actual blog Quantum Gravity.  Meanwhile PYR books keep us all sane and I'm here to wish all of the PYR readers a late but sincere Happy New Year.  Don't stop readin'!

Hey everyone,

I've just received the final cover art for Shadow's Master by Michael Komarck (via the very awesome Art Direction of Lou Anders). Check it out!

Adventures Fantastic have posted a list of "Four Publishers You Should Be Reading in 2012". Pyr made their number one spot. They say:
If you read books from only one publisher in 2012, this is the one you should read.  This is by far the most impressive and innovative line in all SFF publishing, although the others on this list are giving them increasing competition. If you've read many of their books, you understand why editor Lou Anders won the Hugo for Best Editor - Long Form last year.  I've not read a single book published by Pyr that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, something I can't say about any other publisher. They also make the following Recommendations:  The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, Twelve by Jasper Kent, Wolfsangel by M. D. Lachlan, Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk



Thanks!

I am not a sociologist.

Normally, this doesn’t really mean anything. I’m not a lot of things. I’m not a firefighter, or an accountant, or a Buddhist, or an anarchist, or a zucchini. Normally, these are all of about equal relevance.

In this case, however, the fact that I’m not a sociologist matters a little, since what I’m suggesting dips a toe into those waters. But I’m going to speculate anyway, and if I’m way off base, well, it wouldn’t be the first time.

(It would, in fact, be the seventh. I have been wrong exactly seven times in my life. Or eight, if you count this assertion.)

Anyway, all of this is just me dithering aimlessly, so enough of that. It’s time to dither with purpose.

Trends and tastes in entertainment tend to rise and fall in cycles. Something’s popular for a while, falls out of popularity, the pendulum swings back and it comes back for a while, and so forth. Some details my change. Maybe sword-and-sorcery fantasy is popular during one surge, whereas sweeping epics are dominant in the next (Not that such things can’t both coexist, of course; I’m just talking trends being more or less common.) The details may change, but the core aspect of a genre/style/whatever—and the purpose it serves for its particular audience—returns.

My hypothesis, after giving it some thought, is this: The surge in popularity of steampunk over the last decade or so is an upswing in the same cycle that gave us the popularity of epic fantasy from the 70s to the 90s. Not similar. Not related. They are the same cycle and fill the same needs for the speculative fiction audience; only the cosmetic details have changed.

Yes, you now think I’m crazy. Steampunk and high fantasy are pretty far apart on the spec-fic continuum, and when most people do look for connections, they suggest a much closer link between steampunk and sci-fi than between it and fantasy (due, in part, to the reliance on technology).

And you’d be right, I am crazy. But not because of this.

Continue reading here.

James Enge's Morlock the Maker stories and novels take place on the continent of Laent, a land on a world much different from our own. For one thing, the world is flat, and for another, the sun sets in the east. For the novel This Crooked Way,illustrator Chuck Lukacs, who apart from being a brilliant illustrator is also the creator of Fantasy Genesis: A Creativity Game for Fantasy Artists, provided us with a map of a portion of that world. I've always loved the "Tolkien meets Led Zeppelin" feel of Chuck's map. For more about Morlock and his world, you can always readthebooks.

LEC Book Reviews has just released their choice for the "Best SFF Publisher or Imprint 2011" and we are gratified to see that they have selected Pyr. They write:
"...throughout the year, in almost every review of their titles I’ve written you’ll have noticed some mention of how great Pyr is. Under the deft editorial management of Lou Anders, this imprint of Prometheus Books continued to grow on the genre scene, and even expanding a new YA-oriented line of books. But more importantly, Pyr continued to do what we love it for; publishing consistently quality genre novels, adorned with gorgeous artwork from their Art team.

Pyr doesn’t necessarily publish the most thought-provoking novels or those with great literary ambitions - they publish the devilishly creative, offbeat, and fun ones. Their books are often pulpy, hilarious, colorful, and brimful with fantastical goodness. Pyr knows how to pick them, and we’re glad they do."Thanks! We appreciate this very much! 

It's December 21st. You forgot about that nephew, or (really?) still don't have anything for mom. AND YOU WILL SEE THEM IN 3 or 4 DAYS. Here are several suggestions, in both fiction and nonfiction, for easy stop-and-grab-on-the-way gifts for every reader on your list:

Holiday Gift Guide #1

and

Holiday Gift Guide #2

We hope they help! Happy holidays.

Staffer's Musings have just released their Best SFF Press for eBooks (2011). They write:
"What I can judge, is who's making the effort to put out the best eBooks. And that's Pyr.

It shouldn't be new to anyone who reads this blog that I'm a dedicated eReader. The vast majority of books I purchase are eBooks and the vast majority of ARCs I read are electronic. Gone are the days of error ridden eBooks from major publishers (largely), but there's still a huge gap between the quality of hard copies and their eBook counterparts. Lou Anders, and Pyr, are changing that one eBook at a time.

Sure, their eBooks are almost never available on release day. And yes, they're not as affordable as those from Angry Robot or Night Shade (who both do a great job with their eBooks also). But for me Pyr has become the go to source for beautiful, professional eBooks"

George Mann, author of Ghosts of Manhattanand Ghosts of War, was recently a Guest of Honor at TeslaCon II in Madison, WI. While there, a very cool fan named Robert McAlister presented him with "the most awesome thing." It was a 12" action figure of The Ghost, hand converted, and mounted on a specially decorated plinth.

Here are pictures!

Cynthia Sheppard at IlluXcon. Above and to the right of her, a sneak peak at a wonderful cover she did for us.

Illustration (c) John Picacio“Smashing adventure fiction that spans the multiverse without ever losing its cool or its sense of style. Ian McDonald is one of the greats of science fiction, and his young adult debut is everything you could hope for: romantic, action packed, wildly imaginative, and full of heart.”
 —Cory Doctorow
 
"Planesrunner is chock-full of awesome. Ian McDonald's steampunk London blazes on a vast scale with eye-popping towers, gritty streets, and larger-than-life characters who aren't afraid to fight for each other. The kind of airship-dueling, guns-blazing fantasy that makes me wish I could pop through to the next reality over, join the Airish, and take to the skies"
—Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael J. Printz Award–winning author of Ship Breaker
 
?"Athletic, brilliant, and always ahead of the game, Everett is too perfect, but it doesn't detract from the book's fun. McDonald writes with scientific and literary sophistication, as well as a wicked sense of humor. Add nonstop action, eccentric characters, and expert universe building, and this first volume of the Everness series is a winner."
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review
 
"What joy to find science fiction based on real scientific concepts... In his debut for teens, established science-fiction writer McDonald builds a world just different enough to charm readers into believing... Shining imagination, pulsing suspense and sparkling writing make this one stand out."
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review!

"[Planesrunner's] world is as sharply imagined and inventive as we've come to expect from [Ian] McDonald. And it also may be the first steam-free steampunk novel… first-rate adventure writing… by the cliffhanger ending we're ready to follow [Everett] into whatever new universes McDonald can concoct, and the next one already looks interesting. Planesrunner is not only excellent YA SF in terms of its likeable characters and well-executed setpieces, but is simply good SF in a way which almost reinvents, and possibly makes addictive, the old parallel universe trope. It's fun."
—Locus, November 2011

"Planesrunner is a first class teen science fiction novel, which I believe will appeal to the fans of such boy-oriented books as Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan… There is hardly anything about Planesrunner to complain about. Quite the opposite, a lot to complement this novel on: First of all, the science. The whole idea of parallel universes is endlessly exciting and Ian McDonald did a fantastic job coming up with alternate versions of Earth's future… Second, the main character with ethnic background… Third, the teen romance has a great dynamic. Both participants are strong and resourceful young people. Planesrunner is a fantastic beginning to a new teen adventure series that will leave you yearning for more. Score: 4.50 / 5 "
—Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

?"Ian McDonald's Planesrunner is the first in what I hope is a very long series of young adult science fiction novels.... I can't wait for the next book in this series. Planesrunner, scheduled for release in December 2011, is an appealing alternative to the dystopian YA titles lining bookstore shelves these days."
—Portland Book Review

?"This is science fiction adventure at its best, and at its core is Everett, the heroic little geekling that we all wanted to be as kids... With "Ten Known Worlds" as part of this book's lore…I want an interdimensional passport ASAP… The adventure simply never stops… Snappy dialogue…and fascinating details round out this marvelous series debut."
—The Examiner

Convinced? Now go check out the Infundibulum Facebook page.

Just received a few copies of the Spanish version of Shadow's Son. With a nice quote from Charlaine Harris on the cover! Me gusto!