Introducing Planet Stories: Classic Science Fantasy Novels
New Paizo Novel Line to Feature Moorcock, Howard, Gygax
March 30, 2007 (BELLEVUE, Wash.) – Paizo Publishing®, LLC announced the creation of a new line of classic science fantasy novel reprints called Planet Stories. With large printing houses distancing themselves from backlisted novels, Planet Stories brings back some of the long forgotten classic inspirations for much of today's science fiction and fantasy genres. Planet Stories will be available at your local book or hobby store and will retail for around $12.99 each.
This August, Planet Stories launches with two venerable titles from classic veterans of the science fiction and fantasy genres:
Almuric, by Robert E. Howard, is a savage planet of crumbling stone ruins and debased, near-human inhabitants. Into this world comes Esau Cairn, Earthman, swordsman, murderer. Only he can overthrow the terrible devils that enslave Almuric, but to do so he must first defeat the inner demons that forced him to abandon Earth. Filled with vile beasts and thrilling adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Almuric is one of Howard’s few novels, and an excellent yarn from one of America’s most distinct literary voices. Robert E. Howard is most known for creating the fictional character, Conan the Cimmerian (a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian), who has been featured in comic books, short stories, novels, and feature films for over 70 years. Howard's work is often credited as the source of the sword-and-sorcery genre and influenced everyone from J.R.R. Tolkien to George R.R. Martin.
The Anubis Murders, by Gary Gygax, weaves a fantastic tale of warring wizards that spans the world from the pyramids of ancient Egypt to the mist-shrouded towns of medieval England. Someone is murdering the world’s most powerful sorcerers, and the trail of blood leads straight to Anubis, the solemn god known by most as the Master of Jackals. Can Magister Setne Inhetep, personal philosopher-wizard to the Pharaoh, reach the distant kingdom of Avillonia and put an end to the Anubis Murders, or will he be claimed as the latest victim? Gary Gygax co-created the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS roleplaying game over 30 years ago and has watched it grow to become one of the largest entertainment sources in the hobby gaming industry. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS has been played by tens of millions worldwide and the name Gygax is instantly recognizable to any fans of the game, past or present.
Planet Stories will release one classic science fantasy novel each month beginning this September. Additional planned releases include:
City of the Beast/Warriors of Mars, by Michael Moorcock, features the return of Moorcock's Eternal Champion, Kane of Old Mars, a brilliant American physicist whose strange experiments in matter transmission catapult him across space and time to the Red Planet. Kane’s is a Mars of the distant past, a place of romantic civilizations, fabulous many-spired cities, and the gorgeous princess Shizala. To win her hand and bring peace to Mars, Kane must defeat the terrible Blue Giants of the Argzoon, whose ravaging hordes threaten the whole planet! Adventure in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition from the creator of Elric of Melniboné. The first stand-alone American printing since 1979, City of the Beast/Warrior of Mars will be available this September.
Black God's Kiss, by C.L. Moore, was first published in the pages of Weird Tales in 1934. C.L. Moore’s Jirel of Joiry is the first significant female sword-and-sorcery protagonist and one of the most exciting and evocative characters the genre has ever known. Published alongside seminal works by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, the five classic fantasy tales included in this volume easily stand the test of time and often overshadow the storytelling power and emotional impact of stories by Moore’s more famous contemporaries. A seminal work from one of fantasy’s most important authors, Black God’s Kiss is an essential addition to any fantasy library and will be available this October.
To learn more, visit Planet Stories online at paizo.com/planetstories.
ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, and board games. Paizo's GameMastery line offers game masters fun and useful tools to improve their fantasy roleplaying experience. Titanic Games, Paizo's board game division, unites the greatest game designers to create compelling, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky and Stonehenge, the world's first Anthology Board Game™. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the five years since it's founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.
ABOUT PLANET STORIES
Planet Stories™ presents classic fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels and short story collections to a generation of new readers and lifelong fans. Unforgettable tales from acknowledged masters like Michael Moorcock, Leigh Brackett, C.L. Moore, and Henry Kuttner stand side by side with lesser known but no less worthy yarns from tomorrow’s superstars. Introductions from popular modern authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Ben Bova, and Michael Moorcock provide amusing and informative entry points to each book. With new releases every month, Planet Stories promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled.
Moorcock, Howard, Gygax?
I am so buying these. Amazing!
This IS exciting! I am especially psyched for the C.L. Moore collection, as I have been recently trying to find her works after reading one of the Jirel stories.
You guys kick ass!
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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We are very excited to be publishing C.L. Moore. She's an absolutely brilliant writer (in many ways superior to her contemporaries Lovecraft and Howard), and she deserves a larger audience of modern readers. The lyricism of her writing is unparalleled in the genre.
--Erik
I absolutely love Almuric! I don't read overmuch as it's really seldom that a book catches and holds my interest long enough to get through it. Almuric is one of the great exceptions to that. I loved it all the way through. It is over the top in ways that totally delighted me. This is the kind of story that makes you want to play Iron Lords of Jupiter! Really great stuff.
I do have to say I'm still a little disappointed by the cover art. This book is definitely one that has yet to really get art to match the feel of the story. Still it's legions ahead of the cruddy 1970's art from the one I own.
Introducing Planet Stories: Classic Science Fantasy Novels
New Paizo Novel Line to Feature Moorcock, Howard, Gygax
March 30, 2007 (BELLEVUE, Wash.) – Paizo Publishing®, LLC announced the creation of a new line of classic science fantasy novel reprints called Planet Stories...
Any chance of getting all of Edgar Rice Burroughs stuff through Planet Stories? Some of his books are hard to find.
I'm really excited to see Almuric. I've never read that one, and it's always great to find a new story by Robert E. Howard!
Thanks,
John
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Much of the ERB stuff is commonly available. Barnes & Noble, for example, has published at least one omnibus of the John Carter books, and Penguin (of all people) has one too (with an absolutely hideous cover, alas). The Carson of Venus books are available in handsome editions from the University of Nebraska Press, and many of the Tarzan books are also available.
I do have a hankering to publish an ERB book called "I Am a Barbarian," but I suppose I should probably read it first.
Did you have an specific titles in mind?
--Erik
This product line sounds very exciting. I could definitely see buying a book a month. Will the first two be available for sale at the Paizo booth during Gen-Con?
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CEO
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This product line sounds very exciting. I could definitely see buying a book a month. Will the first two be available for sale at the Paizo booth during Gen-Con?
The first two will for sure be for sale, and we may even have the third book by con time. Gary Gygax will be spending some time in our booth signing the Anubis Murders, so you can get an autographed copy at our booth!
-Lisa
Will the first two be available for sale at the Paizo booth during Gen-Con?The first two will for sure be for sale, and we may even have the third book by con time. Gary Gygax will be spending some time in our booth signing the Anubis Murders, so you can get an autographed copy at our booth!
-Lisa
AWESOME! Thank you.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Out of curiosity, in a chicken and egg way, which came first Erik, the interest in pulp novels as expressed in your blog or the plan to publish such pulp novels?
I've always been interested in classic fantasy and planetary romance (witness "Iron Lords of Jupiter," but I didn't start picking up actual pulp magazines until I started thinking about doing the Planet Stories line (they can get rather expensive).
I now have about 20 of them between home and the office...
--Erik
Might I also say that I love that you've revived the name of an old pulp magazine for your new novel line. Man, they had the BEST covers!
Maybe you should tackle Amazing Stories next! :)
Or maybe not ...
Much of the ERB stuff is commonly available. Barnes & Noble, for example, has published at least one omnibus of the John Carter books, and Penguin (of all people) has one too (with an absolutely hideous cover, alas). The Carson of Venus books are available in handsome editions from the University of Nebraska Press, and many of the Tarzan books are also available.
I do have a hankering to publish an ERB book called "I Am a Barbarian," but I suppose I should probably read it first.
Did you have an specific titles in mind?
--Erik
Nope, no specific titles.
I was actually surprised to hear that the Martian books were available so readily. I've looked for his stuff in the past and was never able to find a copy; so I assumed they were no longer available. I've never read ERB before, but I'm a huge fan of Lovecraft and I really enjoy much of Robert E. Howard's stuff.
Thanks for mentioning that Barnes and Noble had an omnibus of the John Carter books. I was able to swing by and pick up their only copy on my way home from work. Can't wait to get started on it.
--John
I'd love to see John Jakes' "Master of the Dark Gate." The second volume, "Witch of the Dark Gate" was chock full of cool ideas that never quite made sense; having the first (or better yet, both in one volume) would be a boon to people looking for something a bit different in their science fantasy.
Well I recently read Jirel of Joiry and it was wondrous. Dark, lyrical and seductive in the shadowy pull of its descriptions, it truly adds the gothic to fantasy. Good choice.
Any chance we'll see William Morris, Dunsany or Ernest Bramah (Kai Lung) in something better than Wildside Fantasy's craptastic editions?
Also, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to reprint the Gord novels? Though they may not exactly be great literature they're quite a good backdrop to a fan-favorite campaign setting...
Any chance of Clark Ashton Smith getting some love in here?
Probably not, since he's already getting a lot of love over at Nightshade Books. They're printing a complete collection of all his stories.
Probably not, since he's already getting a lot of love over at Nightshade Books. They're printing a complete collection of all his stories.
The Double Shadow has always been one of my favorite stories.
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One of my all-time favorite sci-fi classics is Ben Bova's The Dueling Machine. In the future, personal disputes are settled by violent combat in the Dueling Machine, a virtual reality simulator that guarantees both parties emerge unscathed. When one duelist's opponents begin dying for real, it's up to the machine's creator and a young Star Watchman to find the fatal flaw and prevent another galactic war!
( or something - it's been a while since i read this one )
( but i remember it being really good! )
Any of Jack Vance's out-of-print stuff (that I don't aleady have) would be a "must get" for me. Like the Durdane/Brave Free Men novels under a single cover? Or the old "Augmented Agent" stories? Maybe some of the old mysteries he wrote as "John Holbrook Vance"?
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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If we can do Vance, my first choices would probably be "Big Planet" and "Showboat World." I started this assuming all of his stuff was spoken for, but I plan to delve deeper into the mystery soon.
As a subscriber of the Vance Integral Edition, I have a hardbound collection of everything he ever published, including some very rare Ellery Queen mysteries. So finding the fiction isn't difficult for me.
Tracking down the rights, on the other hand...
--Erik
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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One of my all-time favorite sci-fi classics is Ben Bova's The Dueling Machine. In the future, personal disputes are settled by violent combat in the Dueling Machine, a virtual reality simulator that guarantees both parties emerge unscathed. When one duelist's opponents begin dying for real, it's up to the machine's creator and a young Star Watchman to find the fatal flaw and prevent another galactic war!
( or something - it's been a while since i read this one )
( but i remember it being really good! )
It's on the pile for consideration. Ben has kindly written an introduction for us for an upcoming yet-to-be-announced book, so you never know.
--Erik
As a subscriber of the Vance Integral Edition, I have a hardbound collection of everything he ever published, including some very rare Ellery Queen mysteries. So finding the fiction isn't difficult for me.
Is the Integral Edition actually being released? I got all excited for a while, and then the talk seems to have petered out; I never heard of any of it actually being published. If it has actually reached the presses, I'll look to subscribe right away (while of course keeping an eye on Paizo's offerings as well).
Thanks!
--Erik
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Not only has the VIE been printed (I received Wave 2 some time last year), but I believe it is currently out of print. Yes, in fact, I just checked, and you appear to have missed the boat on this one.
You can still pick up a few individual titles from the set (I think there were 63 volumes in all, but I may be mistaken). Here's a link:
http://www.integralarchive.org/books_for_sale.htm
--Erik
These are trade paperbacks, not mass-market paperbacks, right?
Correct.
Wow,
The titles on your list sound great. I'm a big fan of all of those authors.
For a few other suggestions, how about
1) Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Bracket. (A brilliant Planetary Romance)
2) Planet of Peril , Prince of Peril by Otis Adelbert Kline (ditto)
3) The Andor books by Andrew J Offutt (ditto)
And The Dueling Machine too.
Given your suggestions, I think you're going to be very happy with our 2008 releases for Planet Stories. Stay tuned. :-)
Looking at the latest Blog post for Black God's Kiss - is Red Sonja just a rip-off of Jirel of Joiry?
A rip off, not really. But heroines like Sonja and Xena owe a lot to Jirel. She was the first. It's kind-of like trying to talk about high fantasy without Tolkien entering the discussion.
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Looking at the latest Blog post for Black God's Kiss - is Red Sonja just a rip-off of Jirel of Joiry?A rip off, not really. But heroines like Sonja and Xena owe a lot to Jirel. She was the first. It's kind-of like trying to talk about high fantasy without Tolkien entering the discussion.
Yeah...just didn't know if there was ever an official "nod" that Red Sonja was taken in large part from Jirel. They look and sound strikingly similar.
I belive REH created Red Sonya (as opposed to Sonja - not entirely sure). From what I understand her setting is late medieval, but sounds very similar to Jirel. I'm not sure if Howard's story came before Jirel, or the other way around.
The Red Sonja of the comics seems to be a much later invention (1970's? again, not sure), and set more in the Hyborian age, like Conan. I'd better just wikipedia this to get a better idea before I spout off any more uncertainties.
OK. REH's Red Sonya first appeared in "The Shadow of the Vulture" (The Magic Carpet, January 1934). Red Sonja is based on this character in the Conan comics from Marvel, first appearing in February, 1973.
Jirel of Joiry first appeared in "Black God's Kiss," October 1934.
I guess REH's character appeared first, but I would be unsurprised if the comic adaptation of Red Sonja takes elements from the Jirel stories.
Thanks wikipedia! Here's hoping this stuff is accurate!
How 'bout abraham merritt.Im pretty sure most of his work is public domain.I know the moon patrol is ...i havent looked too hard but i havent been able to find a copy of this.
Edit:Never mind, just saw this addressed in the request thread.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Red Sonya, alas, was a "historical" character and not a fantasy character. When Roy Thomas changed her to Red Sonja for Marvel she definitely became a fantasy character, but I don't believe Howard's original character descended into hell or fought wizards and such.
Jirel is the real deal.
--Erik
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Red Sonya, alas, was a "historical" character and not a fantasy character. When Roy Thomas changed her to Red Sonja for Marvel she definitely became a fantasy character, but I don't believe Howard's original character descended into hell or fought wizards and such.
Jirel is the real deal.
--Erik
Can't wait to read about her!
OK. REH's Red Sonya first appeared in "The Shadow of the Vulture" (The Magic Carpet, January 1934). Red Sonja is based on this character in the Conan comics from Marvel, first appearing in February, 1973.
Jirel of Joiry first appeared in "Black God's Kiss," October 1934.
I guess REH's character appeared first, but I would be unsurprised if the comic adaptation of Red Sonja takes elements from the Jirel stories.
Thanks wikipedia! Here's hoping this stuff is accurate!
For more on the genesis of Red Sonya, check out Echoes of Valor III edited by Karl Edward Wagner (Tor 1991). It contains the only Red Sonya story Howard wrote - "The Shadow of the Vulture" - as well as a brief introduction by Karl about the Red Sonya/Red Sonja issue. If you can stomach paying money for it, something I don't recommend, you can pick up a copy of Red Sonja #1: The Ring of Ikribu by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney (Ace 1981). It has an introduction by Roy Thomas telling how and why he created the character Red Sonya. I warn you that he says some of the stupidest things I've ever read and if you're as big a Howard fan as I am, you too might fly into an uncontrollable rage. To read about Jirel of Joiry's creation, pick up a copy of Sword Woman by Robert E. Howard (Zebra 1977, Berkely 1979). It's an anthology of stories about Howard's character Dark Agnes de Chastillon who was a sword woman in Dark Ages France who was very similar to Jirel of Joiry. The two are expertly compared and contrasted in a fantastic introduction by Leigh Brackett. Unfortunately, there's no introduction in Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore (Ace 1982). I'm really looking forward to reading the introduction to Black God's Kiss to see what Suzy McKee Charnas has to say about the whole thing.
The Red Sonya story is a good one, people that like this stuff should enjoy it
Here's an online version :-