Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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We've just announced four more Planet Stories books for next year:
THE SHIP OF ISHTAR
By A. Merritt
Introduction by Tim Powers
MAY 2009
Explorer John Kenton returns from a lifetime of wanderings and the wreckage of World War I to discover a mysterious block of Babylonian basalt containing a crystal model of an ancient ship—the Ship of Ishtar!
The sultry magic of the fabled ship draws Kenton into its dreamworld, where a strange crew plucked from the ages sails in a lushly imagined mystical seascape. At the fore of the ship is Sharane, beautiful, proud, luxurious priestess instilled with the power of Ishtar, goddess of Love, Wrath, and Vengeance. On the prow broods inhuman Klaneth, infused with the essence of Negal, god of the Underworld. Kenton finds himself in a cosmic struggle of wills between them sixty centuries in the making! Will he claim Sharane and take command the Ship of Ishtar, or will its mysterious power take command of him?
Science fiction legend Abraham Merrit was a giant of the early 20th century, inspiring the lush language and mystical subjects of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, C.L. Moore, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. In his day he was among the most famous authors in America, with his books selling millions of copies, but today he is mostly forgotten. Planet Stories presents the triumphant return of a true master of fantasy, A. Merritt!
Introduction by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, The Stress of Her Regard).
STEPPE
By Piers Anthony
Introduction by Chris Roberson
JUNE 2009
Alp, a 9th century Turkish war-chieftain, is whisked away from his tribe and his era at the moment of his death, and finds himself in 2332. This future is ruled by humans called the Galactics who preside over a live-action game called Steppe, where the participants can actually die. Against his will, Alp is forced to fight once more.
Author Piers Anthony routinely makes the New York Times best-seller list, and is one of the most popular living legends of science fiction. His long-running Xanth series (A Spell for Chameleon, Air Apparent, Two to the Fifth, etc.) has created a legion of fans eager to explore Anthony’s additional creations.
Introducer Chris Roberson (Paragaea: A Planetary Romance, Iron Jaw and Hummingbird) provides an introduction to the book and its formative effect on his own successful writing career.
WHO FEARS THE DEVIL?
By Manly Wade Wellman
Foreword by Mike Resnick
Introduction by Karl Edward Wagner
JULY 2009
There’s a traveling man that the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings, John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him.
Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age. The Planet Stories edition of Who Fears the Devil? collects—for the first time—all of John’s adventures published throughout Wellman’s life, including two stories about John before he got his silver-stringed guitar that have never previously appeared in a Silver John collection. Lost, out-of-print, or buried in expensive hardcover editions, the seminal, unforgettable tales of Who Fears the Devil? stand ready for a new generation to continue the folk tradition of Silver John!
Introduction by Mike Resnick (Stalking the Unicorn, Starship: Mutiny).
SOS THE ROPE
by Piers Anthony
Introduction by TBD
AUGUST 2009
After the Apocalypse, primitive humans wander the Earth. When one tribe meets another, individuals fight inside a Battle Circle. The loser must become a member of the victorious tribe. Each warrior is named by his weapon. When Sol the Sword is bested by Sol of All Weapons, he loses his tribe, his name, and his weapon. Re-named Sos the Rope, he joins with Sol of All Weapons to try to create something greater than a world of Battle Circles.
An early classic from Piers Anthony, creature of the legendary Xanth series, Sos the Rope was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award.
I hope you folks enjoy reading these books as much as we'll enjoy publishing them! Thanks again for your continued support of the Planet Stories line!
(More incredible books coming soon!)
~grumbles, mumbles, grumbles, curses~ Damn! I have only so much time to read, you know!
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Keen to see the Merrit and Wellman. Sorry but can't say the same about the Piers Anthony. Though I guess could give him a second chance. I remember reading some of his stuff way back in grade school and not much caring for it. Still, surprised his stuff is being put out by Planet Stories. I'd imagine his writing is still well circulated.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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SOS THE ROPE
by Piers Anthony
Introduction by TBD
AUGUST 2008After the Apocalypse, primitive humans wander the Earth. When one tribe meets another, individuals fight inside a Battle Circle. The loser must become a member of the victorious tribe. Each warrior is named by his weapon. When Sol the Sword is bested by Sol of All Weapons, he loses his tribe, his name, and his weapon. Re-named Sos the Rope, he joins with Sol of All Weapons to try to create something greater than a world of Battle Circles.
An early classic from Piers Anthony, creature of the legendary Xanth series, Sos the Rope was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award.
I remember reading this back in the day. It was a lot of fun, and definately more serious than the Xanth series. I seem to remember this was a trillogy - is this the first book in the series, or a collection of all three?
I'm already way, waayyyy behind in my reading, and if Paizo is going to start retroactively publishing books to last summer, then I am totally screwed.
;)
2 Piers Anthony novels? 2??? Don't you have enough of my money yet? Oh well, looks like a good lineup. I can hardly wait. though I think it's supposed to be 2009 in the thread title...
~laughter~ At least that is all that they have of his for the moment. I used to read almost all of his books when I was younger. I still have a lot of them in my library.
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2 Piers Anthony novels? 2??? Don't you have enough of my money yet? Oh well, looks like a good lineup. I can hardly wait. though I think it's supposed to be 2009 in the thread title...~laughter~ At least that is all that they have of his for the moment. I used to read almost all of his books when I was younger. I still have a lot of them in my library.
Ya, I love a lot of his books, but I would guess the only one's I actually have are his newer ones then. Like his Bio of a space Tyrant series, Incarnations of Immortality and that series with the dwarf that crosses over from sci-fi to fantasy. I havn't had occasion to read his Xanth books yet though...but these look promising.
The Merritt book sure has caught me attention. I'd never heard of Wellman before--he sounds interesting.
We've just announced four more Planet Stories books for next year:
Doh, just read The Ship Of Ishtar. :)
Not familiar with the Steppe book, sounds interesting. If Chris Roberson likes it, that is probably good enough for me, though.
The Merritt book sure has caught me attention. I'd never heard of Wellman before--he sounds interesting.
Yeah, fair chance this one is popular. I have Mountain Magic from Baen - which in ebook version, has the Silver John stories, rather than some Kuttner ones they weren't allowed to do electronically that appear in the print version. So sort of got them by accident.
This volume looks to be great value, indeed. Likely be popular, I think, given other Wellman new stuff is of the US only expensive collectible variety. Definitely worth it. You will find some of these stories in various fantasy retrospective anthologies, etc.
Here's one online, though http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/wellman2/wellman2 1.html called Can These Bones Live?
Keen to see the Merrit and Wellman. Sorry but can't say the same about the Piers Anthony. Though I guess could give him a second chance. I remember reading some of his stuff way back in grade school and not much caring for it. Still, surprised his stuff is being put out by Planet Stories. I'd imagine his writing is still well circulated.
absolutely agree to the letter!...anyone who hasn't read merritt is in for a pleasant surprise with this one!(definitely one of MY faves of all time!)...although going by what i see on this site,who knows?!...it seems a lot of people don't like/get c l moore,mike moorcock and even robert howard so i give up!...piers anthony?...'sos the rope'?...in planet stories?...are you serious?...and yes it was part of a trilogy,'var the stick' was one of them...i thought it was just really ordinary i'm afraid...wellman was good,silver john was his big thing apparently,but not my cup of tea...but hey 1 out of 3 is pretty good for me!...i eagerly await future announcements(hopefully about ray cummings and wallace west!!!...but i won't hold my breath)
We've just announced four more Planet Stories books for next year:
Being next year, you might want to change the date in the title. ;-)
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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absolutely agree to the letter!...anyone who hasn't read merritt is in for a pleasant surprise with this one!(definitely one of MY faves of all time!)...although going by what i see on this site,who knows?!...it seems a lot of people don't like/get c l moore,mike moorcock and even robert howard so i give up!...piers anthony?...'sos the rope'?...in planet stories?...are you serious?...and yes it was part of a trilogy,'var the stick' was one of them...i thought it was just really ordinary i'm afraid...wellman was good,silver john was his big thing apparently,but not my cup of tea...but hey 1 out of 3 is pretty good for me!...i eagerly await future announcements(hopefully about ray cummings and wallace west!!!...but i won't hold my breath)Keen to see the Merrit and Wellman. Sorry but can't say the same about the Piers Anthony. Though I guess could give him a second chance. I remember reading some of his stuff way back in grade school and not much caring for it. Still, surprised his stuff is being put out by Planet Stories. I'd imagine his writing is still well circulated.
I was skeptical about Sos the Rope but was won over when I read it. It's fun.
Silver John is only one of Manly Wade Wellman's "Big Things." His output was vast, and much of it was of superior quality.
I absolutely adore A. Merritt.
I would love to publish Cummings. Assuming all hoops can be jumped though, I'd call it a certainty. I was really intrigued by his Tama books and I've amassed quite a collection.
absolutely agree to the letter!...anyone who hasn't read merritt is in for a pleasant surprise with this one!(definitely one of MY faves of all time!)...although going by what i see on this site,who knows?!...it seems a lot of people don't like/get c l moore,mike moorcock and even robert howard so i give up!...piers anthony?...'sos the rope'?...in planet stories?...are you serious?...and yes it was part of a trilogy,'var the stick' was one of them...i thought it was just really ordinary i'm afraid...wellman was good,silver john was his big thing apparently,but not my cup of tea...but hey 1 out of 3 is pretty good for me!...i eagerly await future announcements(hopefully about ray cummings and wallace west!!!...but i won't hold my breath)Keen to see the Merrit and Wellman. Sorry but can't say the same about the Piers Anthony. Though I guess could give him a second chance. I remember reading some of his stuff way back in grade school and not much caring for it. Still, surprised his stuff is being put out by Planet Stories. I'd imagine his writing is still well circulated.
I was skeptical about Sos the Rope but was won over when I read it. It's fun.
Silver John is only one of Manly Wade Wellman's "Big Things." His output was vast, and much of it was of superior quality.
I absolutely adore A. Merritt.
I would love to publish Cummings. Assuming all hoops can be jumped though, I'd call it a certainty. I was really intrigued by his Tama books and I've amassed quite a collection.
YES!!..cool...erik my MAN!...ray cummings!!!...and as i said i give up...your readers will probably LOVE piers...and good on them too!...i've read a few wellman things that were great(can't remember titles)...i absolutely adore a merritt too...well done man, getting 'the ship', now that's what I call a classic...let's see what the folks think of that little beauty...if they don't like that,you better give up too!...have you read 'the metal monster',another killer!!!...there's one called 'the fox woman' that i've never seen,what about that?...i think it's a short story though...also i think i mentioned earlier 'the snake mother' and 'conquest of the moon pool'(both sequels)...cheers well done
Are those 'mock-up' covers? Or final ones? Really like the Steppe one.
I absolutely adore A. Merritt.
Still like the Face In the Abyss (and there's a sequel someone said?) the most - others a bit flowery for me, but have a couple to go still.
Still like the Face In the Abyss (and there's a sequel someone said?) the most - others a bit flowery for me, but have a couple to go still.I absolutely adore A. Merritt.
yes 'the face in the abyss' is another classic!...the sequel is 'the snake mother' which i don't have...maybe 'the metal monster' was my favourite...the only ones that didn't work for me were 'seven footprints to satan' and 'burn witch burn' which are not fantasy at all...unless you call voodoo dolls fantasy...they were ok i s'pose,kind of mystery/detective stuff...i think there was even a movie 'based on' 'seven footprints' but i might have dreamt that or something?...anyway the man was a legend!
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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The covers are mock-ups, of course. We don't get the actual cover painting until about a month or so before it goes to press.
I'd love to solicit with actual covers, but that's expensive and difficult to pull off.
You can help by buying more Planet Stories books! :)
We've just announced four more Planet Stories books for next year:
THE SHIP OF ISHTAR
By A. Merritt
Introduction by Tim Powers
MAY 2009Explorer John Kenton returns from a lifetime of wanderings and the wreckage of World War I to discover a mysterious block of Babylonian basalt containing a crystal model of an ancient ship—the Ship of Ishtar!
The sultry magic of the fabled ship draws Kenton into its dreamworld, where a strange crew plucked from the ages sails in a lushly imagined mystical seascape. At the fore of the ship is Sharane, beautiful, proud, luxurious priestess instilled with the power of Ishtar, goddess of Love, Wrath, and Vengeance. On the prow broods inhuman Klaneth, infused with the essence of Negal, god of the Underworld. Kenton finds himself in a cosmic struggle of wills between them sixty centuries in the making! Will he claim Sharane and take command the Ship of Ishtar, or will its mysterious power take command of him?
Science fiction legend Abraham Merrit was a giant of the early 20th century, inspiring the lush language and mystical subjects of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, C.L. Moore, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. In his day he was among the most famous authors in America, with his books selling millions of copies, but today he is mostly forgotten. Planet Stories presents the triumphant return of a true master of fantasy, A. Merritt!
Introduction by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, The Stress of Her Regard).
The Ship of Ishtar AND Who Fears the Devil, all in one year???
I HAVE TO GET THESE BOOKS! Ship of Ishtar could be turned into one of the greatest RPG scenario ideas ever, and John the Balladeer makes a great archetype for a rustic bard.
Please, please tell me you'll be publishing more Manly Wade Wellman and A. Merritt in the future!
WOO-HOO!
The Merritt book sure has caught me attention. I'd never heard of Wellman before--he sounds interesting.
If you want to see someone using American folklore, specifically from the Southern mountains, you will never ever find anyone better than Wellman. I recommend him without any reservations.
I have all of Merritt's books except for CREEP, SHADOW. I love everything I've read so far.
I've read CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP. It's a sequel to his other horror novel, BURN, WITCH, BURN! with many the same characters. And yes, it's amazing.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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The Ship of Ishtar AND Who Fears the Devil, all in one year???I HAVE TO GET THESE BOOKS! Ship of Ishtar could be turned into one of the greatest RPG scenario ideas ever, and John the Balladeer makes a great archetype for a rustic bard.
Please, please tell me you'll be publishing more Manly Wade Wellman and A. Merritt in the future!
WOO-HOO!
Well bless your heart!
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.
Also, I love Merritt. We will certainly publish more of his brilliant material.
The Ship of Ishtar AND Who Fears the Devil, all in one year???I HAVE TO GET THESE BOOKS! Ship of Ishtar could be turned into one of the greatest RPG scenario ideas ever, and John the Balladeer makes a great archetype for a rustic bard.
Please, please tell me you'll be publishing more Manly Wade Wellman and A. Merritt in the future!
WOO-HOO!
Well bless your heart!
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.
Also, I love Merritt. We will certainly publish more of his brilliant material.
Say, the two pre-guitar stories: would those happen to be Frogfather and Sin's Doorway?
And can you give any hints on the other Wellman collections? John Thunstone? Bible Jaeger, Lee Stryker, Judge Pursuivant, what? Don't leave me hanging here. ;)
And I hope you publish all the Merritt books. Fortunately he only ever wrote a handful of them, so it should be easy. True, I already have most of them, but it'll be nice to have copies that don't threaten to fall apart when you open them.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Alas, I already own Battlecircle (collects Sos the Rope and the next two books), and have read Steppe. Steppe is suprisingly good for Piers, I'll look forward to reading it again. Sos the Rope is the best of the Battlecirle series by a long shot, though. The last of the trilogy is bordering on terrible.
Still, good to have old books in prints.
The covers are mock-ups, of course. We don't get the actual cover painting until about a month or so before it goes to press.
I'd love to solicit with actual covers, but that's expensive and difficult to pull off.
You can help by buying more Planet Stories books! :)
Dunno, like some of these more 'comic style' variety, too. :)
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Say, the two pre-guitar stories: would those happen to be Frogfather and Sin's Doorway?And can you give any hints on the other Wellman collections? John Thunstone? Bible Jaeger, Lee Stryker, Judge Pursuivant, what? Don't leave me hanging here. ;)
And I hope you publish all the Merritt books. Fortunately he only ever wrote a handful of them, so it should be easy. True, I already have most of them, but it'll be nice to have copies that don't threaten to fall apart when you open them.
1. Yes. Those are the two stories, as suggested to Karl Edward Wagner by Manly himself.
2. It is none of those. I'm telling you, most of the stories I'm talking about have not been reprinted since they appeared in the pulps in the 1930s and 40s.
3. There will be more Merritt. I'd say Dwellers in the Mirage or Face in the Abyss would be logical next choices, as they are closer to fantasy than stuff like Seven Footprints to Satan. The Moon Pool has been reprinted frequently, so that one is not at the top of my list.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Alas, I already own Battlecircle (collects Sos the Rope and the next two books), and have read Steppe. Steppe is suprisingly good for Piers, I'll look forward to reading it again. Sos the Rope is the best of the Battlecirle series by a long shot, though. The last of the trilogy is bordering on terrible.
Still, good to have old books in prints.
So far we've only signed the first Battle Circle book.
Alas, I already own Battlecircle (collects Sos the Rope and the next two books), and have read Steppe. Steppe is suprisingly good for Piers, I'll look forward to reading it again. Sos the Rope is the best of the Battlecirle series by a long shot, though. The last of the trilogy is bordering on terrible.
Still, good to have old books in prints.
yep, i actually managed to finish 'sos' (just) but gave up on the second one,'var'was it?...the paperbacks from the 70's had really EXCELLENT artwork!
Here's one online, though http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/wellman2/wellman2 1.html called Can These Bones Live?
Thanks, Blue Tyson...joydit.
He kind of reminds me of Orson Scott Card. Fantasy Americana isn't my bag, but when the writing's good, it pulls one beyond one's preferences.
Here's one online, though http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/wellman2/wellman2 1.html called Can These Bones Live?Thanks, Blue Tyson...joydit.
He kind of reminds me of Orson Scott Card. Fantasy Americana isn't my bag, but when the writing's good, it pulls one beyond one's preferences.
American rural stuff holds no interest for me, either, maybe less so, but I definitely like these.
Here's another - O Ugly Bird!
http://orelitrev.startlogic.com/v2n2/OLR-rickert.htm#bird
and even another :-
Sin's Doorway
http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/04/sins-doorway-manly-wade-wellman.html
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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yep, i actually managed to finish 'sos' (just) but gave up on the second one,'var'was it?...the paperbacks from the 70's had really EXCELLENT artwork!
Var the Stick, Neq the Sword. I did enjoy Sos the Rope (my earlier post was probably murky on that point). Enough so that any time I read the omnibus, I keep reading the other two, and usually wish I'd stopped :) I'd recommend Sos to any hybrid fantasy-scifi fan.
Here's another - O Ugly Bird!
http://orelitrev.startlogic.com/v2n2/OLR-rickert.htm#bird
and even another :-
Sin's Doorway
http://freesf.blogspot.com/2007/04/sins-doorway-manly-wade-wellman.html
Thanks. And now I realize your the guy with all the helpful blogs that I use to gather info on stories, so even more thanks!
Any chance of seeing the "Hok" or "Kardios" tales reprinted?
Yup!
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. ;)
Yes. Expect some announcements regarding Planet Stories next week.
Was there ever an announcement made? I checked the store blog, but the last Planet Stories post was March 3rd. I also noticed that future releases seem to be on a bimonthly schedule, but the Planet Stories product description still says monthly. Did I miss something or maybe not read the right pages?
Cool! Looking forward to it.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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By this week I actually mean next week. I've been cooped up at home away from all distractions proofing the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, which takes precedence at the moment.
Only two chapters left!
(Sadly, one of them is spells, so my weekend is pretty much laid out for me.)
By this week I actually mean next week. I've been cooped up at home away from all distractions proofing the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, which takes precedence at the moment.
Only two chapters left!
(Sadly, one of them is spells, so my weekend is pretty much laid out for me.)
Really? Could you spell out for us what you will be doing this weekend? ~gives a weak grin~