I have mixed feelings about Planet Stories doing ERB's Mars books. I loved the books (especially the early ones), but I don't want the series to publish a bunch of titles that are readily available in other editions, especially since this would mean that fewer hard-to-find titles would make it to print. If Planet Stories ever became successful enough to publish two books a month, then I would love to see these in Planet Stories editions.
I agree. Barnes & Noble is putting out an omnibus of the first 3 books (with Tom Yeates art) very soon. Brackett, Merritt, Wellman and others are FAR more in need of publication.
I really like Cook's series. It's definitely quirky, and a bit more "Dying Earth than Conan the Barbarian, but it's pretty interesting.
Only the first three (of 10) were ever released in full in the United States, so you can be forgiven for never having heard of it.
The first book was a minor hit in the early 80s from Questar, entitled "WIZARD WAR."
The books can be read in any order, and share only a common setting and some minor characters.
It's a really interesting series, and it would be cool to find a new audience for Hugh Cook here in the States.
Considering I own all the Dying Earth books (including Michael Shea's "Simbilis"), all of CAS' Zothique tales, all the Nifft the Lean novels and the Book of the New Sun tetralogy, Hugh Cook still sounds plenty interesting to me. :-) Looking forward to reading it. :-D
We're on top of the Brackett material. My main priority is to polish off the remaining Eric John Stark stuff (one more book of odds and ends, really), after which I would prefer to move on to stuff like The Nemesis from Terra. A lot of what you mention falls into that category. Much of it was recently reprinted in hardcover from Haffner, and out of respect I'd prefer not to tread to carelessly through his garden.
I am totally with you on the longer series, largely for the reason that agreeing to publish that material would fill up virtually all of our slots and leave no room for anything else. Plus, many of those really long series have loving homes with micro publishers who clearly are in it for the love, so that community (at least as far as Akers is concerned) is relatively well served.
At the current frequency of six books a year even a trilogy is claiming a significant chunk of an annual offering, and I suspect just about everyone (ourselves included) appreciates variety.
VERY glad to hear that about Brackett. I also agree with your policy regarding the other books. :-)
Just heard that Philip Jose Farmer passed away this month.
I wonder if some of his lesser known, but just as delightful, works might be available? Two-Hawks from Earth strikes me like a fit. Loved that book.
You'll be happy to hear Two Hawks will be reprinted in the near future, although not by Planet Stories. MonkeyBrain Books has picked it up. As a friend of Phil's and editor of his three latest collections, I was honored with being invited to write the afterword to the new edition, which I turned in last week, sadly before I had a chance to send it to the Farmers so it could be read to Phil.
Phil's works have come up in our discussions about possible titles to print a number of times, even before I came aboard here, and some others have also expressed some interest on the messageboards. We'll see what we can do. I do think it would be a nice fit with the line, and as the rabid Farmerphile that I am, I am certainly having fun nudging Erik about the prospects on a regular basis.
"Two-Hawks" IS a very good book. What about Paizo publishing THE SONG OF KWASIN?
Pusadian: I need to read more of this stuff, as my de Camp impressions are not exactly favorable.
Kothar: I have permission from Fox's family to reprint these, but doing so involves research that involves travel to another state and a lot of time in a library, and I haven't yet had the chance to make that happen.
I don't think anyone would accuse me of being a "deCampista", but I've always enjoyed LSdC's Pusad tales. Lots of action, magic and good world-building. I would definitely like to see a collection of all the short stories.
I would like to take this opportunity to conduct my quarterly reiteration of the fact that no-one has reprinted the complete Hounds of Tindalos since Jove's Arkham reprint back in 1978.
::hint-hint::
Brilliant idea!
I believe Hippocampus is publishing THE TINDALOS CYCLE, which collects that tale and many other ones connected to it.
I sincerely request a link from the Planet Stories product page to these messageboards!
I do understand that your product pages don't have links to these boards, but Planet Stories is incredibly bare of options. Wouldn't you think that "Discuss Planet Stories Here" would at least help newbies on your site?
I might also add, that having a community of readers at the fingertips of potential subscribers is an asset.
I second that emotion. This messageboard is not that easy to access. A few more options would be nice. There are a fair number of people I know who are very passionate about this type of fiction, but were unaware of this board.
Just received my copy (Amazon was 2 months late). Beautiful. The best edition EVER, IMO. Griffith's intro is good (though she somehow left out Robert E. Howard). Expect to see a review on The Cimmerian site within two weeks.
Once again, I thank Erik Mona and the crew at Paizo. :-)
I just finished reading the Ace 1960s edition of Brackett's The Nemesis from Terra, which is set on Mars and happens to include a different (evil) character with sun-burnt-black skin who was raised in Mercury's Twilight Belt. In many ways it seems a precursor to elements from Sinharat and People of the Talisman, and a short section of it seems to follow up on The Sword of Rhiannon, which we'll be publishing shortly.
It's a decent book, and we may publish it eventually.
But my point is I must have found two dozen typos in it, including one whole paragraph I read three or four times and still couldn't make any sense out of.
Cool book, though.
I first read "Nemesis" back in '88. Personally, I feel it would make a great lead-off/title story for a collection of Leigh's Martian tales. Are there any plans to do a collection of Brackett's Venus stories? Tales like "Enchantress" and "Lorelei" are true classics.
Checking back in. :) I want to say that the cover looks gorgeous and I'm VERY glad that the Finlay art will be included (though I actually believe that Stephen Fabian is the best Merritt artist, so far). This book is a milestone in Merritt/fantasy publishing.
In a post on the "Cimmerian" blog site a few weeks ago, I gave a shout-out to this new edition. Here's a link:
Hi Erik! I'm Deuce Richardson, once just a fan of the "Cimmerian" journal (RIP) and blog, now a TC blogger and still a fan. :) I name-dropped Merritt in my first-ever blog. Brian Murphy name-dropped YOU in his most recent TC blog on Gygax. Hope you enjoy the posts from all four of us TC bloggers in the future.
I whole-heartedly agree. I've been preachin' the gospel over on the REH Forum. However, with a blog to write weekly for "The Cimmerian" and all sorts of pesky "real life" stuff, I may not be spreading the word as much as I should. I'm thinking about working up a Brackett or Merritt post for the TC blog. We'll see. :)
Any chance of seeing the "Hok" or "Kardios" tales reprinted?
Yup!
secundus66 wrote:
Merritt, IMO, is THE forgotten sci-fi/fantasy master of the 20th century. He influenced everyone from HPL and Clark Ashton Smith to (possibly) TRANSFORMERS. I own nearly all of his works, but I solemnly swear to buy each and every Merritt book that Paizo publishes.
Awesome! We'll hold you to that. ;)
I'll forward my order confirmations from Amazon to y'all to prove it. ;) BTW, I'm VERY pleased to see that you got Tim Powers (He of the Impeccable Taste) to write the intro to "Ishtar". Paizo has done an excellent job of snagging cool people to do intros for their books. I assume this will continue. :)
]Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion returns as Kane of Old Mars, a brilliant American physicist whose strange experiments in matter transmission catapult him across space and time to the Red Planet.[/QUOTE wrote:
After reading the above copy (and having recently graduated with my Master's in physics), I'm definitely the most excited for this one. In addition, I've never read any of Moorcock's work, so this should be a treat.
The "Kane" novels (along with Corum and the early Elric tales) are my favorite works from Moorcock. That said, I'm not a huge fan of MM otherwise. I'm definitely glad that Erik and Paizo brought back these tales. :)
Anyone remember an old RPG called Space 1889? Victorian-era early steampunk setting with Mars at the center of most of the published materials. If this type of setting is to your taste there are plenty of RPG supplements as well as fan and third-party material available (web sites, eBay, etc.) that make great reading - or you can create your own stories.
Though I never played the game, I own the vast majority of the "1889" stuff. Just really great steam-punk. As for the original topic, my preference would be:
Burroughs
Brackett
Stirling
(CAS' Mars tales were awesome as well)
I can confirm that I have already signed one more Wellman collection, and I'm working on a third that will collect material that has _never_ been collected before.
Hey Eric! Sounds great! I've been a Wellman fan for 20+yrs. Any chance of seeing the "Hok" or "Kardios" tales reprinted? What about Cahena? Y'all at Paizo (along with others like Bison Books and Wildside) are performing a tremendous service for the pulp fans of the world (and literature in general, IMO). B)
Also, I love Merritt. We will certainly publish more of his brilliant material.
Merritt, IMO, is THE forgotten sci-fi/fantasy master of the 20th century. He influenced everyone from HPL and Clark Ashton Smith to (possibly) TRANSFORMERS. I own nearly all of his works, but I solemnly swear to buy each and every Merritt book that Paizo publishes.
Full Name
Walter Sheppard
Race
Human
Classes/Levels
Shopkeeper / 5
Gender
Male
Age
29
Alignment
CG
Deity
Cayden Cailean
Location
Pullman, WA
Languages
English
Occupation
Owner of Palouse Games
Homepage URL
palousegamespullman.com
Strength
12
Dexterity
15
Constitution
14
Intelligence
10
Wisdom
8
Charisma
13
About WalterGM
I'm the Pathfinder Society Regional Venture Coordinator for the Northwestern US. I can be reached at pullmanpathfinder@gmail.com if you have any questions for me!
I'm also part of weekly podcast: Table Variation! We talk about RPGs, Pathfinder, GMing, and all sorts of good stuff like that. You can find us on Soundcloud, iTunes, or Facebook!
Table Variation is not affiliated or endorsed by Paizo in any way, and contains explicit content.
Pullman Pathfinder Society is currently meeting twice a week at Palouse Games (the best LGS ever, btw) in downtown Pullman. Sign up for games is now on Warhorn, and games start at 6:30 -- Wednesday and Sunday.
Here's my favorite quote from Gary Gygax.
"No single character has all the skills and resources needed to guarantee success in all endeavors; favorable results can usually only be achieved through group effort. No single player character wins, in the sense that he or she defeats all other player characters; the goal of the forces of good can only be attained through cooperation, so that victory is a group achievement rather than an individual one."
Cat, Patchwork Aura faint necromancy; CL 5th
Slot --; Price 3,800 gp; Weight 12 lbs.
Description
With patches of orange, black, white, and tan fur, this feline doll is stitched together from the choicest parts of several different house cats. Constructed through a process that involves a combination of wire, thread, and alchemical substances, a patchwork cat resembles a taxidermist’s training device when finished.
While horrific, patchwork cats are popular within certain circles. A witch can form a bond between her current familiar and a patchwork cat in a ritual that takes 8 hours to complete. During the ritual, the witch imbues the inanimate cat with a record of her spells known. This ritual can be repeated, doing so erases all previous spells stored within the patchwork cat.
At any point in the future, should the witch’s familiar be killed, her patchwork cat animates and functions as a proxy until a new familiar is found. When animated, the patchwork cat is treated as a common cat with the zombie template. This proxy becomes the witch’s new familiar in all respects, even gaining an Intelligence score. The animated patchwork cat deteriorates rapidly and falls apart after one week.
Spells stored within a patchwork cat can be transferred to another familiar during the normal ritual used to acquire a new witch familiar. Her new familiar learns all the spells her patchwork cat did. The patchwork cat is destroyed in the process.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, blood transcription, marionette possession; six or more live cats; Cost 1,900 gp
RPG Superstar Season 7 Submission:
Sanguine Gem Aura strong necromancy; CL 17th
Slot none; Price 3,500 gp; Weight —
Description
Favored by hemotheurges, this blood-red gem is cold to the touch, with foreboding eddies of crimson that languish beneath its polished surface.
As a free action, the user can clutch the gem in one hand while casting a spell. By doing so, he may choose to increase his effective caster level for the spell he is casting by a number no greater than his maximum HD. If two or more caster levels are increased, the spell is Intensified; if four or more are increased, the spell is Intensified and Empowered; if six or more are increased, the spell is Intensified, Empowered, and Maximized.
The user's own life force is siphoned into the sanguine gem, fueling its potency. After the spell is cast, the user is hit with a backlash of negative energy equivalent to the amount by which he increased his caster level. For each caster level increased, the user gains one negative level, as if struck by the energy drain spell (DC equal to that of the spell cast with the sanguine gem).
Most of the time, after a sanguine gem is used it fills with black vapor, turns chalky, and crumbles—becoming useless. However, if a user gains an amount of negative levels equal to his maximum HD by using a sanguine gem, the gem immediately kills the user, refills with swirls of crimson, and can be used once more.
A creature that is immune to energy drain or negative levels, or is protected by a spell or effect that prevents energy drain or negative levels, cannot use a sanguine gem. Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Empowered Spell, Intensified Spell, Maximize Spell, energy drain; Cost 1,750 gp
Description
Typically passed down as an heirloom, this +2 breastplate is covered in Pharasman script and carries the signs of countless conflicts. When forged, this armor is bound to a spirit of battle. Once per day by shouting a war cry as a swift action, the wearer summons this spirit forth to possess and animate the armor. The ancestor’s breastplate remains animated for one minute before fading.
While animated in such a manner the armor lightens as an unseen force shares the load. This grants the wearer the effects of Armor Training, as the ability of a 3rd level fighter—reducing the armor check penalty by 1, increasing the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by her armor by 1, and allowing the wearer to move her normal speed while wearing medium armor.
In addition, the animated armor shifts instinctively, helping the wearer dodge blows that might otherwise hit. The wearer is treated as if her Dexterity bonus to AC were the maximum allowed by the armor, regardless of her actual Dexterity score.
Finally, the spirit helps guide the wearer’s hand in combat. Once per round while animated, the wearer gains a +1 competence bonus on a single attack roll.
Construction Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, guidance, speak with dead, creator must be an oracle with the Spirit of the Warrior revelation; Cost 7,350 gp
