Monday, October 12, 2009

Tuesday Tomorrow

Dracula, The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 432Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At last--the sequel to Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, written by his direct descendant and a Dracula historian

Bram Stoker's Dracula is the prototypical horror novel, an inspiration for the world's seemingly limitless fascination with vampires. Though many have tried to replicate Stoker's horror classic- in books, television shows, and movies-only the 1931 Bela Lugosi film bore the Stoker family's support. Until now.

Dracula The Un-Dead is a bone-chilling sequel based on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition. Dracula The Un-Dead begins in 1912, twenty-five years after Dracula "crumbled into dust." Van Helsing's protégé, Dr. Jack Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school for the London stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of "Dracula," directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.

The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is their another force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?

Dracula The Un-Dead is deeply researched, rich in character, thrills and scares, and lovingly crafted as both an extension and celebration of one of the most classic popular novels in literature. "

This week I present all new releases based upon previous material. Odd that, them all coming out at the same time...anyways...lets get to it. Dracula, The Un-Dead, is not the first time a descendant has tried to cash in on their families name. Though I find it extremely funny that they point out this is the first piece of "Dracula" lore since the Lugosi film to get the families approval...hmmm I wonder how that is, duh! I mean, it looks interesting and all, but I have to wonder if it will actually be any good. I mean there is no genetic proof that makes you able to emulate a dead relative's writing style you've never met is there? I get that he might in fact be a good writer, that gene does run in families, look at the Durrell's, but still, I'm hesitant.

Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Albia has grown up with no knowledge of her mother of her father, the powerful Macbeth. Instead she knows the dark lure of the Wychelm Wood and the moors, where she’s been raised by three strange sisters. It’s only when the ambitious Macbeth seeks out the sisters to foretell his fate that Albia’s life becomes tangled with the man who leaves nothing but bloodshed in his wake. She even falls in love with Fleance, Macbeth’s rival for the throne. Yet when Albia learns that she has the second sight, she must decide whether to ignore the terrible future she foresees—or to change it. Will she be able to save the man she loves from her murderous father? And can she forgive her parents their wrongs, or must she destroy them to save Scotland from tyranny?

In her highly anticipated follow-up to Ophelia, Lisa Klein delivers a powerful reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, featuring a young woman so seamlessly drawn it seems impossible she was not part of the Bard’s original play."

I love fun re-imaginings and re-purposing of things if done right. Fairy Tales and Shakespeare are great fodder for this because they are widely open to interpretation and can have a lot of updating. Lisa Klein successfully did this with Macbeth and her book Ophelia, so I'm excited to see how she handles Macbeth or if you want to be all theatrical..."that Scottish play."

Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The year is 1901--it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures. These shadow creatures are determined to find a secret cache of startstuff which fell to London many centuries ago. The starstuff is hidden in an underground vault which has only one key: the Sword of Mercy, a legendary weapon kept with the Crown Jewels. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it is up to her eleven-year-old daughter, Wendy, to keep the starstuff out of the Others' clutches. She has heard her mother's stories of a flying boy named Peter Pan, and he may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom..."

In their forth Peter Pan book together (not counting those little skiny chapter book things, which I don't) Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson are back with a new book in their successful and fun continuation of the Peter Pan mythos. Since 2004 they have been expanding on the boy who never grew up, with the blessing of Disney. Personally I just think it's fun that though it's a different spelling, it's still a "Barrie," therefore extra easy to find at the bookstore. Speaking of bookstores, I noticed mine actually had this out a few days early...naughty, naughty (but at the same time yeah!)

These two will be extensively touring (see having Disney as your backers is a good thing). I have a feeling that this is not to be missed. However if you can't make it to an event, who knows, sometimes Target gets signed editions of their books. Why you ask? I still have no clue on that one!

October 12th New York
Barnes and Noble Upper East Side 5:00PM

October 16th Coral Gables, Florida
Book & Books

October 25th New York
Symphony Space, Books of Wonder

October 27th Haverford, Pennsylvania
Chester County Books

October 28th Washington, DC
Politics and Prose

October 29th Naperville
Anderson's Bookshop

October 30th Seattle
University Bookstore with Eoin Colfer

October 30th Seattle
Barnes & Noble

November 1st San Jose
Hicklebees

November 4th Phoenix
Poisoned Pen

November 5th Minnesota

November 12th St. Louis
St. Louis County Library 7:00PM

0 comments:

Newer Post Older Post Home