Hoof & Hide

Gene Wolfe is a Locus Awards Finalist for best Fantasy Novel (Pirate Freedom) and for best Novella (Memorare).  Also Shadows of the New Sun (which is about Wolfe not by him) is up for best Non-Fiction.

I found this on Flickr today. It’s the Japanese cover for The Book of the New Sun. I’d love to add it to my own collection some day.

I started working on a flickr.com gallery of various covers from books written by and about Gene Wolfe.  So far I have around 51 images including a selection from other countries and in multiple languages.  As of now it’s still in a sort of “beta” format but it does work and is fun to browse.  Please feel free to email any new book covers, links to book covers or any suggestions or comments you may have to hoofandhide@gmail.com.  Also, if you have a flickr account I’d be happy to add you as a contact to the Hoof&Hide gallery.  You can view the gallery by clicking on the book image on the side bar of this blog or by visiting http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoofandhide.

Looks like the cover to Gene Wolfe’s upcoming book, “An Evil Guest” has had it’s cover changed from this to this.  I suppose the question at hand is if the “original” cover was ever meant to be the cover at all.  Personally I like the style of the first cover a little better but the new cover is probably better for a good Lovecraftian story.  Speaking of Lovecraft covers Mike Mignola did an excellent one for a new printing of a collection of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft.  I’d like to Mignola do a cover for Gene Wolfe book some day.  

Here’s an interesting look at how Gene Wolfe’s work affects other aspects of the science fiction and fantasy genre.  There are at least 78 characters on the popular MMO World of Warcraft named Severian.  As a WoW player myself I always find this kind of thing interesting.  I named one of my own toons after a character from Latro in the Mist, Bittusilma.

Here is a cool little site I found during my daily blog readings.  It’s a Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention Finder.  You just drop in your zip code and it finds the conventions taking place (or going to take place or perhaps even already took place) closest to you.  Here’s the link.

Alexander Preuss added some new artwork inspired by The Books of the New Sun.  Leaving Nessus, ASCIA and Terminus Est.

Nick Gevers has a copy of “An Evil Guest” and said this about it;

 It’s third person, near-future, which squares with “Memorare”,and shapeshifters appear to be involved.    

The more I hear about this new book the more I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

According to it’s Amazon.com page, ”An Evil Guest” is due out this year on the 16th of September.  The cover looks fantastic and Wolfe gave a bit of info about the story to SCI FI Wire back in February of 2007.   

An Evil Guest, a novel-in-progress set in the same milieu as “Memorare,” also deals with freedom, Wolfe said. “Cassie Casey becomes a queen and discovers that she can no longer buy anything,” he said. “Each dress, each pair of shoes she wants, is given to her. William Reis can make gold and become invisible; one of his employees is a werewolf who will gladly kill (and eat) anyone Reis wants killed (and eaten). Gideon Chase is, well, Gideon Chase. A wizard, almost human, and so slick he can slide up a flagpole. Laws and societal restraints mean little to him. He loses a leg, but in a way he is freest of all.” 

It sounds fantastic and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Fantasy and Science Fiction has “Memorare” up and available for reading.  Not sure for how long but if you missed their April ‘07 “Gene Wolfe” issue than here is your chance to read the novella that was nominated for a Nebula Award.

There is now a sign up button on the front of the Sirius Fiction homepage to join the Lexicon Urthus Google Group so you can be notified of any updates concerning the second printing of the book.  Sign up here.