It had been a while since I last visited Uncle Hugo's, the wonderful independent SFF bookstore in Minneapolis, and it was time to check out what I've been missing.
First, I found a used copy of Jeff VanderMeer's Shriek: An Afterword. I'm backing my way into VanderMeer's work after just loving his newest novel Finch (review)
Then, strolling around into the used mmpb section, I hit a solid load of Steven Brust novels. Phoenix, Athyra, Orca, Dragon, and Dzur. My library is a touch sketchy in the Brust department, and this now gives me the next set of Vlad Taltos novels, in publication order (minus Issola, which should be between Dragon and Dzur).
Then...then...folks, I'm excited about this next one. I've been looking for a copy of Glen Cook's Red Iron Nights for over a year now. It's out of print and will run me $20+ for a used copy elsewhere online. Found it! $3. Hell yeah! This lets me back into the Garret PI series. I don't like skipping books in a series and this was the next one for me.
The only thing that could have made the trip better would be if I was able to score a copy of Death Draws Five. It's the only Wild Cards novel I don't own and is over $100 at various online locations.
Bonus news: Shades of Milk and Honey (review), Mary Robinette Kowal's debut novel, has been spotted out in the wild. You know you want to read this! And finally, I received a review copy of The Greyfriar from Pyr. It's written by Clay and Susan Griffith. I don't know who they are either.
Here is how you know a publishing house is quality and owns a great reputation. When you see that the a book is the first volume of the Vampire Empire and you don't immediately scoff. This should cause me to scoff. I am not immediately sold by notions of alternate histories or vampire empires. But because Lou Anders have built such a strong reputation for picking outstanding novels, I am instead intrigued.
4 comments:
You lucky . I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy of Red Iron Nights for a while now. Used or new, doesn't matter at this point. :( That along with Deadly Quicksilver Lies is the only one that I've failed to get from the entire series. I'm still hoping they will be reprinted as some others in the series were (most recently being Angry Lead Skies which filled another hole in my collection). That one book is the kind of haul I dream about chancing on in a 2nd hand shop. Alas... :(
It was a lucky find. I'm less feeling the "need to buy" on that series, but purchasing IRN and DQL may be the best way to read them right now.
I am completely jealous of your Steven Brust haul! I don't know why his stuff never gets reprinted, and now it's near impossible to find.
I'll be interested in hear what you think of Shriek, I love parts of it, but felt that it dragged in places. Finch will make much more sense after you read in. And please give City of Saints and Madmen another chance, but this time, read it backwards. I'm serious. read the huge appendix first, then read the stories up front. I wish that entire thing had been put together in reverse, because the first story or two are a total let don.
Hi Joe,
I agree about the Grayfriar books. There's a bit of a vampire overload but these look very interesting.
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