Behold the Walrus!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Photography by Chris Carey

We've known since the beginning that The Walrus & the Warwolf was going to be a big book. Its immense, cyclopean girth is the main reason it languished out of print for years, before Erik boldly stepped up and announced that Planet Stories would accept the challenge. But having just seen the first-bound proofing copies from the printer, it's finally hitting home just what a monster we've created.

This sucker is big. Here you can see it stacked up against all the Planet Stories books we've published so far in the extra-tall trade paperback format. Prepare for the rest of your paperbacks to quail in fear before the mighty Walrus! What's even better, not only does this book offer the best pound-per-dollar value of any Planet Stories yet (and provide a handy implement for squashing spiders or helping you reach the top shelf)—it's also really good! Why pack multiple novels in your carry-on when, at a whopping 464 pages, this book should be enough to keep you going through an entire vacation? (Maybe even an entire summer vacation, depending on your reading speed.) And as China Miéville points out in his excellent introduction, Hugh Cook doesn't believe in giving you any down time, either. This isn't just 464 pages of fantasy—it's 464 pages of pirates, monsters, wizards, battles, pirates, sex, pirates, misunderstood robots from an ancient high-tech past, and really excellent monsters! Also pirates!

As protagonist Drake Douay himself might ask—what's not to love?

James L. Sutter
Editor