Way back in November last year (and wow that seems such a long time ago now...) I wrote a post about all the new Fantasy Masterworks that Gollancz were publishing. Seriously, I did, it's over here.
Several months down the line and I haven't finished any of them yet; new baby in the house, three new jobs and two new guinea pigs, something had to give somewhere... I'll get round to them at some point :o)
A little mooching around on Amazon, yesterday, revealed that a whole load more Masterworks are on their way and I'm pretty excited about one in particular. Have a look at this list (which kind of picks up where the last list left off)...
'Mythago Wood' - Robert Holdstock (November 2014)
'Little, Big' - John Crowley (February 2015)
'The Forgotten Beasts of Eld' - Patricia McKillip (March 2015)
'The Book of the New Sun Volume 1: Shadow & Claw' - Gene Wolfe (April 2015)
'Expiration Date' - Tim Powers (May 2015)
'Lavondyss' - Robert Holdstock (June 2015)
'Grendel' - John Gardener (July 2015)
'Thomas the Rhymer' - Ellen Kushner (July 2015)
'The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox' - Barry Hughart (July 2015)
'The Book of the New Sun Volume 2: Sword & Citadel' - Gene Wolfe (August 2015)
'The Riddle Masters Game' - Patricia McKillip (August 2015)
'The Anvil of Ice' - Michael Scott Rohan (September 2015)
'Something Wicked This Way Comes' - Ray Bradbury (October 2015)
'Elleander Morning' - Jerry Yulsman (October 2015)
'Earthquake Weather' - Tim Powers (November 2015)
'Ash: A Secret History' - Mary Gentle (January 2016)
And here are some of the thoughts that went through my mind when I saw this list...
1) 'The Anvil of Ice' is going to be a Fantasy Masterwork! Yes! I always thought it was great and it turns out that Gollancz agreed with me :o)
2) But what about the sequels...?
3) Still, yay! Childhood favourite becomes a Masterwork, time for a little dance.
4) Alright, calm down Graeme. Have a look at what else is on the list.
5) Is Tim Powers really that good? It feels like he can't write a book without it becoming a Fantasy Masterwork.
6) And does 'The Book of the New Sun' really need a new cover seeing as the old Fantasy Masterwork edition has been handily kept in print all these years? Either pick a new title or one of the old titles that hasn't fared so well, it's not hard people!
7) There are some intriguing looking new titles though and ones that I've never heard of. A nice mixture of old and new books overall.
8) Going on titles alone, I'd pick 'Thomas the Rhymer' and 'Elleander Morning' as ones to read.
9) And have I mentioned how pleased I am to see 'The Anvil of Ice' on the list...? I have? Oh...
10) And why wasn't 'Mythago Wood' a Fantasy Masterwork long before now? It really should have been.
Any titles here catch your eye?
The Barry Hughart book is magnificent and funny. I look forward to reading it again. It is a shame that it has been pushed back to 2016 now, according to Amazon.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, MYTHAGO WOOD was intended for the original incarnation of the FM series (along with a Lovecraft collection), but that never happened.
I have read the entire series in the order they have appeared; I expect to catch up next month.
One more thing re your point #2: It would appear that ANVIL OF ICE is actually an omnibus volume, judging from Amazon's description. I suppose they'll adjust the page count eventually.
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