Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I’m currently about halfway through Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry and I’m totally diggin’ it. The story reminds me of something that you’d get if you combined the best of Charlie Huston, Lee Child, Steve Niles and Duane Swierczynski. Yeah, it’s THAT good.
Maberry has a blog where you can learn more about him and Patient Zero [and it’s sequels — I can’t wait!], read interviews, reviews and more.
RopeofSilicon.com posted a first look at theShutter Islandteaser poster. I like the art for the hardback book (posted above) better than the teaser.
I’ve read (and loved) Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island novel and am excited to see how the big screen treatment with Martin Scorsese at the helm turns out. If it’s even half as good as the novel, we’ll have a winner.
The Pitch: Beat the Reaper is like The Sopranos meets ER as written by Charlie Huston and Duane Swierczynski
The Overview: Peter Brown, a mafia hitman, now in the witness protection program finds his cover as an emergency room physician blown when he is recognized by one of his own associates. With hitmen in the hospital, Brown will have to use his new skills as a doctor coupled with his hitman abilities if he is to survive.
The Good: Josh Baszell’s writing presents a unique spin on a mafia hitman. Nothing is as it seems. Footnotes. Yes, footnotes. This book moves. The characters.
The Bad: Being dumped in a shark tank. Stuck with a hypo full of **** and another full of infected fluids. Thrown out of a 6th story window.
The Ugly: What Brown has to do to survive.
The Summary: I loved Beat the Reaper. I can’t remember the last time I read a book by a first time author that I enjoyed so much. Bazell has created a winner and I can’t wait for his follow-up.
IDW Publishing recently announced that in October they will release two editions of Dave Stevens’ “The Rocketeer.” Both editions will feature all of Stevens’ Rocketeer material in a single volume [recolored by Laura Martin — the colorist that Stevens handpicked]. The project’s editor, Scott Dunbier said the deluxe edition will be:
“Oversized, about 8 x 12 inches, and loaded with unpublished Dave Stevens Rocketeer art. There will be tons of drawings, sketches, cover roughs—100 pages of them! How’s that for the ultimate Rocketeer collection?”
Pretty good, I’d say.
Robert B. Parker is a busy author. He writes the Spenser series, the Jesse Stone series, the Sunny Randall series, young adult novels, and has just finished up his western trilogy. It all averages out to about three new books a year. You’d think that at age 76 that would be a bit much. Not for Parker.
He even found time for this interview with the Wall Street Journal.
I’m a big fan of Victor Gischler’s Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. Yesterday at his blog Victor announced:
I’m happy to report that producer Brad Wyman — the dude responsible for some pretty cool films — has optioned my novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. Mr. Wyman is eager to make the film version as close to the novel as possible, and I’m thrilled as hell.
Me too, Victor, me too.
So many ZONErs are eagerly anticipating “The Watchmen” movie that I’d be shot if I didn’t mention that there will be an Art of the Film Watchmen book. CBR.com has a few exclusive photos. In addition to the Art of the Film Watchmen book, there will also be The Watchmen: The Official Companion and Watchmen Portraits… not to mention the original graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Oh, and that reminds me that Dave Gibbons has a book coming out called Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel.
Whew! After we read all those books perhaps the movie will be out.
Joe Bluhm’s drawings are dead-on. Folks say Joe Bluhm has “crazy skills.” “Mad talents” cry others. I’m starting to wonder if maybe both groups are right… and not just about his skills and talents. See, Joe has a new art book coming out called Sketch Infectus. And that’s where things start to head into crazyville.
Joe’s Sketch Infectus is an 80 page hardcover art book filled with nearly 400 of Joe’s drawings. He’s selling this sweet package for just $19.95. That comes to less than 20 cents a sketch. Insane, right? Well, it gets better my friends.
Joe also went out and gathered quotes, tips and advice from some of the top artists working today. People like Tom Richmond, Steven Silver, Phillip Burke and others. Did Joe raise the price? Nope.
Then to show you how out there Joe is with this offer, let’s quote the man himself:
Anyone who pre-orders by February 5th (happens to be a good friend’s birthday!) will get an original sketch. And by sketch, I don’t mean I’ll draw a little 5 second scribble… I mean I’ll actually be cutting out the sketches from these and other sketchbooks and giving them to you! You might get something IN the book and you might get something else! Your sketch might have a doodle on the back. Who knows!
Now that deal is insane and crazy. And if you don’t jump on it, you’d have to be too.
Jeff Somers jumped to the top of my MUST READ AUTHORS list with his first Avery Cates novel, The Electric Church. His second in the series, The Digital Plague was even better. So you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to his third Avery Cates novel, The Eternal Prison. Here’s what we have to look forward to:
Avery Cates is a wanted man. After surviving the worst bioengineered disaster in history, Cates finds himself incarcerated – in Chengara Penitentiary. As Chengara has a survival rate of exactly zero, the system’s most famous gunner must do some serious plotting. And a betrayal or so later, he achieves his goal. At a price.
All he has to do now is defeat some new personal demons, forge some unlikely alliances, and figure out why the people he’s killed lately just won’t stay dead.
Since The Eternal Prison won’t be out until this August, if you haven’t read the first two books now is the time to get on it. If you’ve already read them, you’ll have to be satisfied with hanging out at Jeff’s Blog or the official site for The Eternal Prison.
It just came over the wires that Donald Westlake has died at the age of 75 from an apparent heart attack. Mr. Westlake was one the most successful, popular and prolific authors of our time. Not only did he write over 100 novels under various names [ Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt, Edwin West as well as his own], but he also won three Edgar awards and an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay for “The Grifters.”
My favorite Westlake stories were his crime novels written under his pen-name of Richard Stark. I wasn’t alone in their enjoyment. Not only were they fan favorites, but they were also turned into movies several times with the likes of Lee Marvin, Robert Duvall and Mel Gibson playing the lead. If you like crime stories, then you probably love the Parker novels.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Westlake’s family, friends and fans.
The last time I mentioned Jeff Somers here at the ZONE, it was in praise of his second Avery Cates novel, The Digital Plague. I know it’s hard to believe, but I enjoyed The Digital Plague just a bit better than The Electric Church [which I loved].You could also hang out at Jeff’s blog where he regularly posts and interacts with fans. [I guess you could hang out there even if you didn’t read his books, but if Jeff found out he’d probably send his winged monkeys after you. So if you choose to do that, you do so at your own peril. You have been warned!]
Author James Reasoner really enjoyed the Batman: Vampire compilation. [Of course what’s not to love when it’s written by Doug Moench with art by Kelly Jones and John Beatty?] Here are a few quotes from the review:
This is classic Batman with a horror spin… Doug Moench was one of my favorite comics writers… His scripts on these three Batman stories are excellent, with plenty of action and angst… the artwork in this collection by Kelley Jones reminds me a little of Gulacy’s work, as well as Berni Wrightson’s… I’m glad I was able to catch up to these three stories all in one book, and if you’re a Batman and/or horror fan, I think you’ll enjoy them, too.
You can check out Reasoner’s full review here and the Batman: Vampire compilation here.
IMPAwrds.com scored a look at two posters for “Killshot” which stars Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke and is based on Elmore Leonard’s best selling novel. The posters are okay — but I’m expecting the movie to be a lot better.
If you took my advice and picked up a copy of Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse, then you’ll probably enjoy this interview with its author, Victor Gischler. If you haven’t read the book yet, then check out the interview and maybe you’ll want to.
A sequel to 30 Days of Night is gearing up with Ghost House Pictures. While this is good news, the really good news is that Steve Niles, who co-created the graphic novel [with artist Ben Templesmith] and co-wrote the first film is back on board. You can read more about the project here.
