More Stardust Stuff To Fill Requests!

After the post last night, a couple of people wanted to see what some of the interior art of Stardust looked like. I'm hoping that Mr. Vess and Mr. Gaiman wouldn't mind me showing it here as hopefully it will lead to more buyers ;) I found most of these by doing a quick Google search rather than taking photos of the book (I don't have a scanner). So here they are:

This one is one of the new pictures included in the back of the book and is one of my favorites. It is Yvaine (the star) singing with her sisters:Next up is another of my favorites because it's Tori Amos! Gaiman and Vess wanted to put Tori into the story, so she became a red tree...and here she is:This one is the print that I was talking about that I bought off of eBay that I want to get framed. It was also the cover of issue 3 of the initial release of the Stardust graphic novels:And here are just a couple more examples of images from the book. All together there are over 100 paintings and sketches. Really beautiful and diverse work. I hope that anyone who has the chance to pick it up cherishes it and enjoys it.

'Tis Mine At Last!

Out of boredom tonight, I decided to go to Barnes and Noble...big surprise there, right? I meandered my way over to the sci-fi/fantasy section (another big surprise there) and what do my eyes fall upon but the new hardcover Stardust! I am in love and I have a new favorite book! I'm going to have to disagree with Carl and Jeff here, but I have my reasons. I do agree that the pages are a bit thin and the quality could've been a bit better. I think the main reason I disagree though is because I've never owned an illustrated version of Stardust! With my B&N discount card, I got $8 off too, so I only paid $32...not much more than the soft cover version. However, I can understand how if you already own the $30 soft cover version you would be disappointed with this one. With that being said, here's why I wasn't disappointed being an illustrated Stardust virgin:

This book is gorgeous. I can't stop looking at it. The cover is beautiful as you can see and the picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. It's presented very well. The end pages are amazing. The detail that Charles Vess puts into his work never ceases to amaze me. I could stare at his work for hours. I can see now that this novel was indeed meant to be read as an illustrated novel and I will always recommend it to be read as one in the future. So beautiful.

I loved the extras in the back of the book. I agree that there could've been a bit more, but I loved what was there. The first is the original proposal that Gaiman and Vess wrote up and it's really neat! Gaiman wrote an updated note at the end commenting on how different the novel ended up being from what he originally perceived it to be and apparently Croup and Vandemar of Neverwhere fame were originally slated to be in Stardust! Interesting fact.

Next up are Vess' original sketches in progress for the four covers of the original comic book form releases of the novel. These were neat, but nothing overly exciting. I recently acquired a print of the cover for the third book from the San Diego Comic Con through eBay and I love it! Plan on getting that one framed.

And the next couple of sections, I absolutely love. There are six newly revealed scenes from Stardust and some more preliminary sketches that Vess did. My favorite new painting that Vess included is one of Yvaine singing with her sisters surrounded by faerie folk. Absolutely beautiful. There are also a couple of sketches for an unwritten Stardust sequel! As Vess says, there is no mention of when and if this will happen, but the idea is out there, and a couple of sketches have been done. And then there are 4 busts and the sculpture of Yvaine that's been shown on his website that should be released around the time of the movie.

I'm so happy with this purchase and I'm sure that I'll be staring at this book for days. Megan will surely be sick of me pointing out every little detail to her while I'm in Texas as I tend to do with things like this ;) Though she's a Gaiman fan too, so she should appreciate it!

I also picked up three other books while I was there! On Carl's recommendation and wonderful review, I had to get Annette Curtis Klause's Freaks: Alive, on the Inside. As he said, the cover is amazing. Looking forward to this one. Sounds like my kind of book. Because of Winn-Dixie should feed my Kate DiCamillo addiction for now as they still didn't have any copies of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. And finally, I picked up Bram Stoker's Dracula for the R.I.P. Challenge. B&N had all of there Classics on sale for 30% off, plus members get the extra 10% off. B&N does a great job with their hardcover editions of classics and I've always thought that they were a steal at $7.95...with the discount, it came out to only $5! Can't beat that.

Anyone else get any good books lately?

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo and Gaiman/Vess News

I've gotta stop reading these tear jerkers! The Tiger Rising was another great book by Kate DiCamillo. I picked this one up after reading The Tale of Despereaux and falling in love with that one. I've become a huge fan of her after reading these two books and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

The Tiger Rising centers around a young boy by the name of Rob who keeps his emotions wrapped up inside. His mother has died recently and he and his father have moved from Kentucky to Florida so that his father could escape the heartbreak of losing her. They now live in the Kentucky Star Motel. His father has instilled in Rob that he should not show tears over his mother's death and that he should be strong, so Rob packs all of his emotions away "into a suitcase." He does this in all aspects of his life. He's picked on at school and instead of getting upset, he ignores it. Instead of voicing his dislike of anything, he pretends to not be bothered by it.

There's a new girl in town by the name of Sistine and she has the opposite problem of Henry. She has too much anger and displays it outwardly to everyone and comes off as quite arrogant. In a twist of events, Rob and Sistine become friends.

Rob has made a discovery that there is a tiger being kept in a cage in the woods behind the motel that he and his father are living in and shares this secret with Sistine. Thoughts and emotions are shared between the friends and a wise maid by the name of Willie May who works for the motel.

The Tiger Rising, like Despereaux, faces issues head on. Kate DiCamillo is not afraid to work with strong emotions and when she does address them, she does so beautifully. This book is written wonderfully and can be enjoyed by anyone. It's a story of being trapped in a cage...having all of those emotions locked up inside begging to be let out. I can see it being especially meaningful to a child who has gone through loss of any kind at a young age.

One of my favorite passages in the book:

"I know something that's in a cage," said Rob, pushing the words past the tightness in his throat.

Willie May nodded her head, but she wasn't listening. She was looking past Rob, past the white sheet, past the laundry room, past the Kentucky Star.

"Who don't?" she said finally. "Who don't know something in a cage?"

In other quick news, Charles Vess has announced a collaboration he has been working on for Harper Collins. It is a 32 page children's picture book - A poem by Neil Gaiman called Blueberry Girl. Yay! Doesn't look like we should expect it too soon though, but it does look cool!

Hanging Out With The Dream King

If you need me, Me and Neil’ll be
Hanging out with the Dream King…
-Tori Amos, Tear In Your Hand

I’ve often felt that I should have the above quote made into a sign that I can hang on my door while I’m reading. My love affair with Neil Gaiman’s writing started about 10 years ago. I was a pseudo-depressed goth kid who dressed in all black and liked to burn patchouli incense in my room. On the recommendation of friend, I picked up a copy of Good Omens and fell in love with it instantly. I was familiar with Neil’s Sandman comics and the wonderful artistry that went along with it, but I was unaware that he had published a novel!

Good Omens had a theme of angels and devils at work after the birth of the Antichrist and the coming of the apocalypse; all done in the most humorous of fashions. What I loved about this book is that it was all set in the world around me. It was in my own backyard. Not literally, but it was in someone’s backyard. It’s a theme that travels through all of Neil’s works. It’s part of what makes his work special to me. Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Good Omens, and Coraline, all take place in our own towns and cities – places we travel every day.

Neil invites us to look for the fantastic in the world around us. Sure, we may not find a London Below quite like the one that Richard Mayhew finds….We may not go on quite the adventure that Shadow does in American Gods, but the fantastic awaits us in everyday life if we invite it to find us. I would love, for example, to travel the streets of London and visit London underground with a copy of Neverwhere. Or take a long road trip around America with a copy of American Gods. Gaiman has set up the experience…all we need is to suspend disbelief and a little imagination.

It is that invitation to the fantastic that I most admire about Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has a gift that I have not yet found in any other author. There’s a sense of magic in each project that he produces. That magic might be found in a house on a rock in America, or it may be found in a more mythical land such as Faerie, or even in the walls of a girl's bedroom where wolves have been hiding. That magic is always there in Neil's books. And it's portrayed so elegantly and in such a captivating way.

I keep a book of quotes; a book that I write down favorite passages in. When I’m reading Neil Gaiman books, I rarely transcribe passages into it. The reason being, I would literally copy the whole book! I felt this way most with American Gods. There was one passage in particular that gave me chills like no other ever has and I’d like to share it with you. It ends Chapter 5 of American Gods…the chapter where Shadow is in the House on the Rock:

“Shadow heard himself laugh, over the sound of music. He was happy. It was as if the last thirty-six hours had never happened, as if the last three years had not happened, as if his life had evaporated into the daydream of a small child, riding the carousel in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, on his first trip back to the States, a marathon journey by ship and by car, his mother standing there, watching him proudly, and himself sucking his melting Popsicle, holding on tightly, hoping the music would never stop, the carousel would never slow, the ride would never end. He was going around and around and around again…

Then the lights went out, and Shadow saw the gods.”

There’s magic in that passage and the scenes that follow it. There’s magic in many quotes of his.

Neil has collaborated with so many wonderful creative forces and through those collaborations has created amazing works of art. These include collaborations and inspirations with Dave McKean, Charles Vess, Terry Pratchett, Lisa Snellings-Clark, Tori Amos, Terri Windling, and a rumored collaboration now with Guillermo Del Toro to produce Death: The High Cost of Living into a motion picture!

Neil’s latest collaboration, and the original reason for this post, is with Michael Reaves, a writer for Star Trek: TNG and the author of the upcoming Star Wars: Death Star. The result of the collaboration is the new novel, Interworld. Interworld revisits Neil’s idea of duality in existence. It is the story of Joey Harker, a young boy who is particularly skilled at getting lost. He soon finds himself more lost than he’s ever been as he soon exists in more than one dimension…more than one world…and there are more than one versions of himself. Joey is a Walker, a person who is able to walk in and out of different planes of existence, and he's one of the best around, totally unbeknown to himself. He soon finds himself in worlds that are fascinating, new, and dangerous. There are forces out there though that could use a skilled Walker...it is the job of Interworld to keep these forces at bay and to keep the altiverse balanced. This is for sure the most Sci-fi of Gaiman's books and feels a little different than his books normally do. The story is told from a first person point of view which was also different…but I enjoyed it. Overall, I liked this book! It’s not my favorite Gaiman, it took awhile to get into, and I think the collaboration was a little strange; but once I finally got into it (about 100 pages in), it really grabbed me and kept hold! I think this may have been more of a Michael Reaves’ book due to the amount of sci-fi, though I’m not certain on that, so don't quote me. It's no American Gods or Neverwhere, but it's a fun read and it kept my interest. The cover art is wonderful and is done by James Jean. Oh...and I'd love to have a pet Hue!

Gaiman has proved himself to be quite a force in literature, comics, and now in cinema! I’m so happy for both him and Charles Vess for the upcoming release of the Stardust film and am extremely excited about the new illustrated hardback being released. Also on the way are Neil’s adaptation of Beowulf and in 2008 we will see Coraline brought to the screen. Interworld has also been optioned by Dreamworks animation to be made into a film. Neil has also done the English adaptation of Princess Mononoke and of course there was the beautiful collaboration between him and Dave McKean, Mirrormask in 2005.

Where the road will lead him in the future…who knows? But we can be sure the journey will be filled with beautiful words and realized dreams.

Bodies Are Good Again And Other Things...

I'm feeling so much better today and the problems of the past week seem to have remedied themselves. Thanks for all of the well wishes. Funny how things work themselves out in times of panic. I was down playing my problem a little bit yesterday and it was worrying me more than I shared, but alas, I am well, and all is good in my temple.

Enough mushy stuff...Fun stuff! I got the best present of the year so far in the mail today! Little Pink arrived in the mail and she blew me away. Lisa Snellings-Clark continues to amaze me with her creations. I was imagining something just a little bigger than a little red and slightly more detailed, but nothing like this. It is absolutely amazing. It's my favorite piece of hers that I own next to my Harlequin named Lucient. Here is her picture. As soon as I find a better place to display her, I'll take a better picture. For now, she's cluttered amongst some Buddhas:
I've had the privilege of knowing Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings since January of this year and since then I've been introduced to some amazing artists and authors. Carl's a great blogger and shares his passion of the fantastic with other fans out there and has always done a great job of doing so. Well lately, his posts have become even more impressive! Now we're getting interviews with the authors and artists! First it was a wonderful interview with Colleen Gleason and today's Friday Favorites post brings an interview with an amazing artist by the name of Jason Walker. Jason's art put me at a loss for words. His paintings are so lifelike, so much emotion put into the faces of his subjects. His painting remind me of the sculptor Ron Mueck who is known for his lifelike sculptures. Truly inspiring. He's done work recently on a stop-motion short film called Madame Tutli Putli which looks incredible! His job included transposing human eyes over the eyes of a puppet for the film. Wow! Can't wait to see this. You must read Carl's post. It's great.

Charles Vess has posted on the opening of the Stardust Rising exhibition at the William King Regional Arts Center and I'm acting like a big baby and crying about it screaming "I wanna go." It looks amazing. Included is 35 of his original paintings. Some of the new paintings. Neil's original manuscript, a reproduction of Charles' workspace, the original sculpture of Yvaine that will be produced by DC Comics later in the year, and so much more. It looks incredible and I would give anything to be able to go. If I had a little bit of extra money, I would jump on a plane so quick and be there immediately. Pop over to his blog and read up on it. Great post with wonderful pictures!.

Amy Reads has posted a very fun post this week for all of you fanboys and fangirls out there. It's 50 Things I Love About Superhero Comics. Amy's blog is great :) She's always writing about her love of comics, tv, and pop-culture and puts a wonderfully intelligent twist on it. Always a joy to read.

If you STILL haven't bought Colleen Gleason's new book after all of the advertising I've done for it this week, well here's even more reason to do so. Through her blog, she's posted a link to a Border's coupon to get $1 off the book that's only $6.99 to begin with! So go get it already! It's great!

And FINALLY, I read that Sean Connery announced that he will not return to play Indy's dad for Indiana Jones 4. He's just enjoying retirement too much. I read this at isnnews.net. This is an awesome site that I visit daily. It started as a Babylon 5 fansite and has now expanded to a Sci-fi/fantasy new site. It has updated news every day along with dvd release news, tv schedules for the day, comic news, magazine news, etc., etc. I suggest adding it to your bookmarks.

Ok, that's all...I promise.

New Pile-O-Books

Like Quixotic, I got a new pile of books in the mail today, so I wanted to do a quick post to show them off. I'm especially excited about Charles Vess' Book of Ballads which is beautiful and Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's collection, The Faery Reel which has some illustrations by Vess. They're all wonderful and my bookshelf welcomes them warmly.

I've been sweating all day over detailing my car and I'm officially done with it. It seems I've been "officially" doing things lately, but I only do things if I make them "official." I have to tell myself that they MUST get done, or I will not do them. I'll say "later". But no more later. At least not for now. So now that I'm done detailing the car and entering the new books into LibraryThing (yes Jessica, I used the scanner), I'm going to put together the 3rd and final bookshelf and then I will OFFICIALLY be done putting together the bookshelves. My, those bookshelves put me in a bad mood. They're such a pain to put together and I tend to snap at people if they're around me while I'm doing so. Stay away from me for the next couple of hours....

Breaking Out The CueCat

So I just got to use the CueCat scanner to enter books into LibraryThing because yes, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought more books. Even though I have way too much on my plate right now, I couldn't wait for the new Fablehaven book that came out this past Tuesday. So I bought that first and will jump into that tonight. By doing so, I'm breaking a rule I set for myself which was to read one book at a time. Oh well, I'll try to go back to that rule after this one.

I also picked up The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I'm really looking forward to this one, but I'm thinking I'm going to wait until the R.I.P. challenge in October to read it as it will fit in nicely with Dracula. It's the story of a woman who discovers that her father spent his life trying to track down Vlad the Impaler and I believe that she does so herself. At least that's what I gather from the bookflap. Sounds great! And it was a bargain book at only $6.98!

Next up is Dragons: The Greatest Stories, which is...you guessed it, an anthology of short stories about dragons edited by Martin H. Greenberg. I bought this one because there's a short story in it by Orson Scott Card called The Bully and The Beast which he is writing a novel based on. This is the only place I've seen the short story in print. There's also stories by Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, Roger Zelazny, Alan Dean Foster, and Ursula K. LeGuin among others. Great cover too! It's a bargain book too!

Also in the bargain book pile: A really cool version of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman that I had to tell myself not to buy because I already had a copy. This one has a spider web on the cover and has a blue bookmark sewn in. It's $5.98. I highly recommend picking this one up if you don't have a copy. Also saw plenty of copies of Susanna Clarke's wonderful novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell left for $6.98. Everyone should own a copy of this book...and you can't beat that price.

I picked up the newest issue of Realms of Fantasy as well. There's a new short story by Charles de Lint in it called Companions to the Moon and it's illustrated by Charles Vess. Charles Vess is doing a series of illustrations for Realms of Fantasy and will illustrate short stories for the next six issues! How cool!

And finally, I wanted to mention that on Orson Scott Card's website, he is selling signed copies of his book, Magic Street, for $8.95. Magic Street is one of my favorite books by Card. It's an urban fantasy set in suburbia and is about a boy who finds a portal in between two houses that leads him to the world of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Much more involved than that, but that's the basics.

Ok, tired and dirty from work, so I'm going to take a bath and then start on Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star.

Feeling Good on a Friday and Web Wanderings

So in yesterday's post, I vented about sexual abuse because of a patient at the hospital right now. Well, this morning, I'm looking through the paper and see that the guy who did this to my patient was arrested on 3 counts of child sexual abuse! I was so happy to see that this man will be behind bars, but still wish I could take all of that pain away from my patient. For some things, there is no true justice, but at least this is something.

So that was a good thing and so was going to the gym. I finally made it back. But come to think of it, it really wasn't that long since I've been....just 2 days. I like to be hard on myself about things though.

On to web wanderings!

Quixotical has posted a wonderful review of Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. This book has been waiting patiently on my shelf to be read. It's being neglected by challenges, though in hindsight it would have fit perfectly into the fantasy challenge. Quixotical has been posting these wonderful little pictures of poppets with books for the fantasy challenge and I hope that the pictures continue throughout.

Up next is my favorite Friday Favorites of Carl V.'s yet. It's focus is Charles Vess, that wonderful, magical artist. Vess has done work on Gaiman's Sandman and Stardust, Clarke's The Ladies of Grace Aldieu, many comics and graphic novels, and the list just goes on and on. I like Carl's comparison, he's very much today's Arthur Rackham. Like Rackham, Vess is able to perfectly capture magic at it's purest in every painting or drawing he does. Thanks to Carl, I discovered that Vess has a comprehensive artbook coming out in August that I'm totally psyched about!

The Friends of English Magic blog has a wonderful interview with Jane Goldman all about the Stardust movie. It silenced many of my fears but confirmed one of them. Some fears are silenced because she said that everything we as fans loved about the book, the whole feeling of the book, is still there. What made me upset is that she said Yvaine had to be introduced really early in the movie unlike the book. I'm scared that this confirms that no time is spent setting up who Tristran is and where he comes from. Please be in there! She also mentions a "making of Stardust" book that will be released around the time of the movie as well as a visual companion book. Boy am I going to be poor come August!

Finally, their are two new editions to the blogroll. The first is Bookfoolery and Babble. This blog is fantastic! The author takes amazing photographs which are all over her blog and she has great taste in books and offers wonderful reviews. I enjoy her blog very much and hope that others can as well. The second addition is Colleen Gleason's blog. Colleen is an author who wrote The Rest Falls Away, a book that has had so many rave reviews and one that I must get around to reading. In fact, she's giving away 15 copies in a raffle of sorts through her blog. She touches on all sorts of subjects on her blog and her posts are always fun to read.

Being a Bum

Today was quite a mentally exhausting day. Working at a psychiatric hospital, you eventually learn not to take the problems home with you. And overall, I've done a pretty good job of leaving work at work. However, there are certain days that are just hard not to take home with you. One of the most upsetting things about working with children is seeing the amount of sexual abuse that goes on. I was shocked at how often this happens when I started over there, and even more shocked to find how hard it is to prosecute offenders. When they do get prosecuted, they're only in jail for a year or two, then they're back on the streets. Sexual trauma has such a huge effect on children. In my opinion, people who do this to kids should be locked up with the key thrown away. While they are satisfying their addictions, they are ruining the lives of these kids, or at least making their lives alot more challenging than they need to be.

So after all of that, I had decided that I was going to go to the gym again to work off some steam. But I made the mistake of laying down in bed first and now I'm in my pajamas going nowhere.

On a totally different note, Subterranean Press released the cover for their version of Neil Gaiman's M is for Magic, which I have already ordered and I was so disappointed. The cover is just horrible in my opinion. Yesterday's blog post had the most anticipated cover, and this has to be the most disappointing cover. Oh well, at least it's signed and numbered by one of my favorite authors.

One other thing I wanted to mention was that Endicott Studio had a post today about a new book on Charles Vess being released. It's Modern Masters Volume 11 and it's subject is Charles Vess and it looks amazing. It focuses mostly on his graphic novel and comic book work. Looking forward to this one!

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

It really doesn't get much better than this. Stardust is everything that a fantasy lover, a romantic, a historian, an astronomer, a lover of books could possibly want. Gaiman has never disapointed me and has always over exceeded my expectations. Stardust is no exception to this.

Stardust is the beautiful story of Tristran Thorn and a fallen star. The story takes place in the village of Wall, but mostly in Faerie, located right outside of Wall. Every nine years, the inhabitants and creatures of the land of Faerie host a market right outside of Wall. People come from all over the world to visit the market where all sorts of magical things are traded for promises and contracts. Young Tristran Thorn is a product of this market as the reader will discover in the early chapters. Tristran falls in love with Victoria Forester, and on one night vows that if she will marry him, he will retrieve a fallen star that has fallen into Faerie. Stardust is the story of finding that star.

Tristran is not the only person looking for the fallen star. There are three princes who's right to the throne depends on finding the star and there is a witch who seeks the star so that she may gain the beauty of youth. It is Tristran who finds the star first and we find that the star is a beautiful woman named Yvaine. I'll leave the rest of the thrilling, warm, romantic, awe inspiring story to the reader.

Stardust is one of the most magical books I have read in a long time. Gaiman has an amazing ability as an author to pick the perfect word each and every time. I felt a warmth inside the whole time I read this book. It's absolutely beautiful and everything that fantasy should be. He has a gift like no other when it comes to his power with words and ideas. This is very much a classic fairytale, but at the same time, he makes it just not another fairytale. There are witches, princesses, spells, talking things that don't normally talk, castles, revenge, romance, yet it is such a beautifully unique book.

There is another version of this book that was illustrated by the amazing Charles Vess that was published in 1999, and I would love to get my hands on that. Gaiman and Vess are releasing yet another version of Stardust on May 2nd with all new illustrations that will be published by Vertigo.

In addition, we can all look forward to Stardust the movie to debut in August I believe. I can't wait to see this movie on the screen, but at the same time, I have my apprehensions. I'm having a hard time picturing Michelle Pfeifer as the witch and with Robert DeNiro as anything at all. But I have no doubt at the same time that I shall enjoy it.

Add this book to your collection if you don't already have it. It's a beautiful story that you'll want to start all over again as soon as you turn the last page.

Lots of Fun Web Wanderings

While playing catch up on my blog surfing I found all kinds of fun stuff online. Book news, fun blogs, and a new addition to the blog roll.

Lots of new news on Neil Gaiman. Found this one the day before I left, but didn't get to post on it. Neil Gaiman appears to be working on a new book as is evidenced by this post. He started with a short story that is being worked into what looks like a novel that was inspired by his son riding his bike in a graveyard. Seems to be titled "The Graveyard Book". Or he may be talking about two different books there. Not really sure.

If you stop over at amazon, you find all kinds of great Neil Gaiman news by doing a search for his name. The first is a new edition of Stardust illustrated by Charles Vess that is due out May 2, 2007 and is published by Vertigo. This made me very happy as I never got a copy of the original with illustrations by Vess. Can't wait for this one. I love Charles Vess' work and his blog over at Greenman Press has been added to the blog roll.

Gaiman also has two other books forthcoming. The first is a collection of short stories called "M is for Magic". I believe that I heard about this awhile ago and it is supposed to be geared toward a younger reader. It's due out July 1, 2007. The second book is Interworld which is a collaboration with Michael Reaves. Also geared towards younger audiences with a release date of July 1, 2007. The cover for that one is great!

The next thing I stumbled across brightened my day tremendously. There is a wonderful blog out there called the Friends of English Magic. It's subject matter is everything Susanna Clarke, lots of Neil Gaiman stuff, Charles Vess stuff, and just all kinds of wonderful things that interest me. The title of the site is of course taken from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The Friends of English Magic was the name of the scholarly magician society in that book who were not practical magicians, but just studied magic. I discovered this site because I was getting lots of referrals to this blog from it. After some investigating, I found that the author of the site had some very kind things to say about my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu on this post. Always good to get a nod from a site as wonderful as that one. They've also been added to the blog roll.

I also stumbled across a wonderful post by Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings that made me smile in a nostalgic way. A post all about Star Trek! Carl is a wonderful reviewer and I always look forward to the things he has to say about books, art, movies, and culture in general. This post was about the History Channel's Star Trek anniversary special and a great homage to the beautiful thing that is called Star Trek.

Finally, I came home to find that I had won 4 incredible books off of ebay that I really didn't think I was going to win. The first book is Dustcovers, a book that Carl told me about. It is a collection of all of Dave McKean's covers for Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic. Can't wait for this one. The second is Subterranean Press' edition of The Road to Lisdoonvarna by Charles De Lint. It is a signed, first edition, numbered (#424/2000) book and I got it for $9.99! How awesome is that. Next is The Alchemy of Mirrormask. Mirrormask is the wonderful cinematic child of Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman, and I have mentioned it before here. This book collects some of Dave's original sketches for the movie as well as paintings and shows the process from original ideas to completion. And last, but certainly not least is the Trade Paperback version of Black Orchid. This is a graphic novel that was the first collaboration of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Can't wait to read it.

This is all the news I have for now, but it seems to be enough to satisfy the palate for now.

Update: One more exciting piece of news. Just saw that Tori Amos will release her new album, American Doll Posse on May 1, 2007 to be followed by a world tour. yay!

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories is another masterpiece by Susanna Clarke. It is a collection of eight short stories set mostly in England in the early 19th century. The stories are absolutely magical. Characters include Mary Queen of Scots, the Duke of Wellington, Jonathan Strange, and John Uskglass (the raven king) among others. Each story has that wonderful, magical charm that she put into every page of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Fairies appear in many of her stories. I love her fairies because they are not your traditional fairies. One of my favorite stories in this collection is "Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge was Built at Thoresby". In this story, her fairy, Tom Brightwind, is six feet tall, has somewhat of a malicious side and has no wings at all. Another favorite is "On Lickerish Hill", which is Susanna Clarke's version of Rumplestiltskin.

What makes this book even more magical is Charles Vess' illustrations. The whole package of the book makes you feel like you hold a treasure in your hand. The cover is designed beautifully, the stories are magical, the pages of the book are antiqued, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. I feel special for owning a copy of the book. Charles Vess' illustrations are very Victorian looking and go wonderfully with the stories. I felt as if I were reading an old book of fairy tales from the 19th century complete with illustrations of the time and all. It's very easy to forget that this book was published in 2006.

Clarke truly is a master of her genre. She spins tales that become classics as soon as they're written and her use of the english language is simply beautiful. I can't wait to see what we can expect from her in the coming years. She has announced that she has somewhat of a sequel to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in mind, though it will probably take place after Strange and Norrell are long gone. I'm sure that whatever her brilliant mind produces next, it will be just as much of a pleasure to read as her first two books have been.