Tuesday Tomorrow
Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 448Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Three men are found dead in the locked second-floor office of a Honolulu building, with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.
In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier.
But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, they must harness the inherent forces of nature itself.
An instant classic, Micro pits nature against technology in vintage Crichton fashion. Completed by visionary science writer Richard Preston, this boundary-pushing thriller melds scientific fact with pulse-pounding fiction to create yet another masterpiece of sophisticated, cutting-edge entertainment."
When Michael Crichton died unexpectedly it left a major hole in the publishing world. I know some people are against him, some people say he's too populist, but he, more than any other author, is what turned me into a biblophile. Here is what was going to be his next bestseller and will now be his last. A partial manuscript finished off, in what we can hope is a way Michael Crichton would approve.
The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin
Published by: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Complaints: that's the name given to the Internal Affairs department who seek out dirty and compromised cops, the ones who've made deals with the devil. And sometimes The Complaints must travel.
A major inquiry into a neighboring police force sees Malcolm Fox and his colleagues cast adrift, unsure of territory, protocol, or who they can trust. An entire station-house looks to have been compromised, but as Fox digs deeper he finds the trail leads him back in time to the suicide of a prominent politician and activist. There are secrets buried in the past, and reputations on the line.
In his newest pulse-pounding thriller, Ian Rankin holds up a mirror to an age of fear and paranoia, and shows us something of our own lives reflected there."
This one's for my mom, the Ian Rankin addict. Maybe I shouldn't have put this on her and just surprsied her for Christmas...
The Doll: The Lost Short Stories by Daphne Du Maurier
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The lost stories of Daphne du Maurier, collected in one volume for the first time.
Before she wrote Rebecca, the novel that would cement her reputation as a twentieth-century literary giant, a young Daphne du Maurier penned short fiction in which she explored the images, themes, and concerns that informed her later work. Originally published in periodicals during the early 1930s, many of these stories never found their way into print again . . . until now.
Tales of human frailty and obsession, and of romance gone tragically awry, the thirteen stories in The Doll showcase an exciting budding talent before she went on to write one of the most beloved novels of all time. In these pages, a waterlogged notebook washes ashore revealing a dark story of jealousy and obsession, a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, and an older man falls perilously in love with a much younger woman—with each tale demonstrating du Maurier’s extraordinary storytelling gifts and her deep understanding of human nature."
For those of you who where actually able to wait a few extra months for these stories to be available stateside, you're in for a treat. While the story The Doll does disappoint, if you've read any summaries, the rest of the stories are so stellar, one wonders why they have been out of print so long!
Agtha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In an all-new edition, an engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery,” complete with a bonus CD featuring the voice of the grande dame herself
Agatha Christie was a woman of mystery, in every sense of the word. Her novels made her the world’s best-selling author, but her private life was hidden from view. For many years she dodged reporters and gave no interviews, and for a brief time she famously disappeared. She started writing her autobiography in April 1950 and finished it fifteen years later, when she was seventy-five years old and decided “it seems the right moment to stop.”
In this book, which was originally published in 1977 in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Company, Agatha Christie sheds light on her past. She tells of her childhood in Victorian England, her volunteer work during World War II, her rise to success, her working habits, the inspiration for her most famous characters—Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple—and the places and people that influenced her. After being out of print for several years, this book is being brought back in a new hardcover edition with a CD featuring excerpts dictated by Agatha Christie herself."
Yeah for new updated swanky edition of a book every Christie fan should have. They literally should not be without this book!
Adele Blanc-Sec by Jaques Tardi
Published by: Fantagraphics
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The saturnine heroine returns for further adventures in early 20th century Paris.
After establishing the world of the prickly heroine with the first two episodes of this classic series (combined in Fantagraphics’ The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Volume 1), Jacques Tardi plunges us back into Belle-Époque Paris for another double dosage of heroic derring-do, evil and crazy malefac- tors, mad actresses (yes, Clara Benhardt makes a return appearance) and monsters!
In “The Mad Scientist,” the science that brought us revived dinosaurs now results in a pithecanthrope stalking the streets of the City of Light, climaxing in an amazing car chase involving a foe from the previous volume. Will the perpetually inept Inspector Caponi just make things worse? Probably. Then in the second episode, “A Dusting of Mummies,” the mummy glimpsed in Adèle’s apartment in previous episodes comes alive! The volume concludes with the sudden startling (and delightful) incursion of some characters familiar to Tardi fans, and a shocking climax that leaves the future of both Adèle and this series in doubt as World War I erupts. (It’s the only story in the entire series not to feature an “in our next episode” teaser.)
The Extraordinary Adventure of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2, is the lucky seventh book in Fantagraphics’ acclaimed series of Tardi reprints, showcasing the rich variety of graphic novels from one of France’s greatest living cartoonists."
Seeing as this book came out in France in the 70s, it's about time they got here right? But I really didn't find it all that great. Too many characters that are drawn too similarily and a meh plot. Plus, knowing I can't finish the series for years and years (again, stupid translators, I should take up French again) makes this kind of a pass for me.
Lady Gaga: Dress Her Up!
Published by: Carlton
Publication Date: November 22nd, 2011
Format: Paperback, 34 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Ooh, la, la, Gaga! She's sold millions of albums, turned heads with her crazy outfits, and continues to scandalize the world. Now the Lady Gaga: Dress Her Up! paper-doll book gives you your own Gaga to adorn in a range of wild, surreal outfits, from her black lace bodysuit to her controversial Meat dress. Choose from 20 costumes, plus added accessories and hairstyles such as the Telephone hat and Bow hair. And there are illustrations of her spectacular stage sets, so you can place Gaga in “Orbit” and carry her in the “Egg!”"
I really can't be the only one out there who finds this totally hilarious!
The Doll Short Stories by Daphne Du Maurier
