Return of the Originals!

More info here!

Discuss on the Moonstone forum...

... or on the Moonstone Pulps group on Facebook!

More to come soon!

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Ce sont arrivés aujourd'hui

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Green Hornet story finalized!

I'm pleased to note that my story for Moonstone Books' forthcoming anthology The Green Hornet Chronicles, "Fang and Sting," is finalized and will be appearing in Volume 1.

Word from Moonstone is the book is due out in July. In the meantime, feast your eyes, if you haven't already, on the beauty of a cover by Glen Orbik.

You can also check out some samples of the magnificent spot illustrations by Ruben Procopio here.

We're this close to finalizing the other contents, and I'll post those when we're ready.

Bzzzzz!

Piazo Planet Stories arrivals!!

The Ship of Ishtar

by A. Merritt, with an introduction by Tim Powers

War among the gods!

Amateur archaeologist John Kenton didn’t know what he expected when he broke open the stone block from Babylon, but it wasn’t to be hurled through time and space into an ageless conflict. On a golden ship in a strange dimension of endless sea, the goddess of love and vengeance lies locked in an eternal stalemate with the god of the underworld—and the coming of an outsider might just tip the balance once and for all. With the beautiful priestesses of Ishtar and the pale warriors of the Black God both seeking to bend him to their own ends, will Kenton become a slave of alien powers, or take up his sword and prove himself the true master of the Ship of Ishtar?

A major inspiration for H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, A. Merritt remains one of the most celebrated fantasists of all time. This complete edition, introduced by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates), presents The Ship of Ishtar as it was meant to be read, with original illustrations by pulp legend Virgil Finlay—a classic not to be missed.

"The most remarkable presentation of the utterly alien and non-human that I have ever seen... [a] unique type of strangeness which no one else has been able to parallel."
—H.P. Lovecraft

Introduction by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, The Stress of Her Regard).

192-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-177-0

Who Fears the Devil?—The Complete Silver John

by Manly Wade Wellman, with an introduction by Mike Resnick

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).

208-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-188-6

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Winter 1980–1981
THE BLACK LOTUS
DEATH FROM THE SKY
DOOMSDAY ISLAND
Miami private investigator Mike Shayne goes up against Leiko Smith, also known as the Black Lotus. Over the course of the three stories, it becomes clear that the Black Lotus is really the granddaughter of Fu Manchu.

James Reasoner wrote the three Black Lotus stories, which appeared in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine (January 1981, July 1981, and February 1982), under the pseudonym Brett Halliday. The information on the Black Lotus is derived from Tom Johnson’s article “The Black Lotus,” in Echoes #32, August 1987. I believe that the Black Lotus was really a great-granddaughter, not granddaughter, of Fu Manchu, as described in my “Who’s Going to Take Over the World When I’m Gone?” (Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe), which also posits that Leiko Smith is the granddaughter of Sir Denis Nayland Smith. I also believe that the Mike Shayne seen here was really Mike Shayne, Jr. Brad Mengel has established Mike Shayne’s genealogy in “The Land Family” on The Wold Newton Chronicles website.

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Moonstone Pulp: The Green Ghost!

It's not easy being Green...

No, not Moonstone Books' The Green Hornet Chronicles, which I am happily co-editing with Joe Gentile...

...But the Green Ghost! (Originally just called The Ghost in his initial pulp appearances...) That's right, kids, the Green Ghost is coming to comics and Moonstone's got him.

Before the war, when the GREEN GHOST-master magician and criminologist George Chance-ventured into the night, with his horrific skull-like appearance and his seemingly supernatural abilities, evildoers quaked at the prospect of tangling with him.

But the war in Europe changed him...he witnessed the depths of evil, and now combats it with an intensity that makes his pre-war exploits look like a lark. To this point, though, Geaorge Chance has battled only human depravity and is a skeptic at heart. Can he hold his own against the real supernatural menaces?

When I first heard Moonstone was launching a line of pulp comics and prose stories, I pitched the Green Ghost to Moonstone's Joe Gentile (with a tip o' the hat to pal Martin Powell, who sent me a Green Ghost novel a couple years back), and he was all over it. I gathered up the info about Chance's original pulp appearances, and put together a series bible for the relaunch.

Since then, writer Eric Fein and illustrator David Neihaus have come on board, contributing their ideas and designs for the series, and have crafted the first short comic story. I'll be handling the prose short story duties, co-writing the first tale with Eric, with David handling the spot illos.

For more info, head over to Moonstone Forums' Return of the Originals section for discussing Moonstone Pulp! Also check out Facebook and search on "Moonstone Pulps"--join up for art previews and other cool stuff! And watch this space for more details as they become available.

The spirit of pulp fiction is alive and well!

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The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions

Farmerphile evolves!

The long-running (and always on time!) Philip José Farmer 'zine has morphed into an annual series of anthologies, featuring fiction authorized by Phil's estate, set in Phil's worlds, as well as smattering of essays and interviews.

My own contribution to The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions is the Scarlet Pimpernel story "Is He in Hell?"--now expanded with more Wold-Newtony goodness!

Longtime fans of Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Family are by now well aware of the meteor which struck near the small hamlet of Wold Newton on December 13, 1795. Two large coaches with fourteen passengers and four coachmen were within a few yards of the strike, exposing all present to ionized meteorite radiation, and causing a beneficial mutation of genes in those present. Their descendants included an extraordinary number of great crime fighters, scientists, explorers, and even criminal masterminds. As Farmer has said, “…Most of the passengers came of stock which had been producing extraordinary men and women for many generations. Some of their descendants were more than extraordinary; they bordered on, and in some cases attained, the status of superman.”

What followers of the Wold Newton mythos have long wondered is, what were those passengers and coachmen doing at Wold Newton, so far off the beaten path, on a cold December day in the waning years of the 18th century? Was it a twist of fate, or was such a gathering inevitable?

“Is He in Hell?” takes on that question and sets up what promises to be an ongoing series of tales about these extraordinary men and women, and the origin of the Wold Newton Family.

As a bonus feature, a short note follows the story, detailing the Scarlet Pimpernel family tree and reconciling information from Baroness Orczy's Pimpernel books with Phil's fictional biography Tarzan Alive.

The Worlds of Philip José Farmer will be a series of books published annually for the foreseeable future. This year's book will contain (subject to change):

• A Foreword by Paul Malmont.
• Farmer inspired fiction by David Bischoff, Chris Roberson, Rhys Hughes, Win Scott Eckert, Christopher Paul Carey, Edward Morris, Dennis E. Power, & Paul Spiteri.
• An interview of Philip José Farmer from 1997 by Danny Adams.
• Essays about Farmer by Randall Garrett, James Gunn, Laura Wilkes Carey, & Jack Mertes.
• And of course never-before-published material by Philip José Farmer himself! That's right, the "Magic Filing Cabinet" continues to conjure up material by Phil for our reading pleasure.

And for you book collectors out there, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer will be a numbered limited edition trade paperback. The release date is June 26th, during Farmercon V. We will only be printing 50 to 100 copies more than are pre-ordered, so to be sure you get a copy of this book, send an email to mike @ pjfarmer.com and reserve your copy today. You don't have to pay for the book when you pre-order and if you request, the book will be signed by those contributors who happen to be at FarmerCon V, which is also acting as a launch party for the book.

Copies are limited and already going fast, so contact mike @ pjfarmer.com and reserve your copy now!

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Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World - May release

I'm pleased to announce that Black Coat Press has set the release date for Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World; the book will come out with a May publication date--although it may actually reach some early birds a few days before the first of May.

Crossovers 1 covers the Dawn of Time to 1939, and features an introduction by Kim Newman and an addendum covering television crossovers.

Crossovers 2, scheduled for July release, covers 1940 to The Future, and will have an introduction by Jess Nevins and two addenda: one on alternate universe stories, and one covering Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series.

I'll post again as soon as Crossovers 1 is available for order on both the Black Coat Press site and Amazon.

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Philip José Farmer's RIVERWORLD airs tomorrow on SyFy

SyFy's adaptation of Philip José Farmer's Riverworld series airs tomorrow, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. EST/PST.

No matter what you think of the 4-hour television movie, you owe it to yourself to read the books. The first two, To Your Scattered Bodies Go and The Fabulous Riverboat have just been reissued by Tor in an omnibus edition as Riverworld. Tor will also be reissuing the remaining books: The Dark Design and The Magic Labyrinth are already listed. Read 'em all!

While you're waiting for the show tomorrow night, jump over to the Official Philip José Farmer Home Page and read Ten Things You Need to Know about Philip José Farmer.

I'll be watching tomorrow night, and of course hoping for the best. But either way, we'll always have the books.

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Crossovers 2 cover reveal!

Once again, artist extraordinaire Mark Maddox has knocked it out of the park with his cover for Crossovers 2: A Secret Chronology of the World. I'm really pleased to have Mark on this project, and appreciate him taking it on. Click on the pic for the large version...

And as long as we're talking Crossovers.... I mentioned in a post a few nights ago the release date for Crossovers 1 was July. I now think that will be pulled in to June, or perhaps even May, depending on how fast I can get my corrections on the final proof back to Jean-Marc Lofficier at Black Coat Press.

In the meantime the book's specs have been updated: US$ 30.95/GBP 22.99
6x9 tpb, 460 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-935558-10-1

Yes, pricey, but this is essentially an encyclopedia, and if you're a crossover nut, it'll be worth it, I promise. :-)

So stay tuned to this space for more info on the release date!

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Crossovers 1

I turned over the final manuscript for Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World, to Black Coat Press publisher Jean-Marc Lofficier last night.

Current release date is listed as July 10.

Crossovers 2 is for all intents and purposes done, but I'm hanging on to it pending any last minute tweaks.

Now, to sleep.

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