For many of us, the Ace Double Novels of the ’50s and ’60s have long been a source both of pleasure and nostalgia. This new double volume from Subterranean Press stands squarely in that distinguished tradition, offering a pair of colorful, fast-paced novelettes from one of the most popular writers currently working in any genre: George R. R. Martin.

“Starlady” takes place on a planet called Thisrock and depicts a Darwinian society populated by thieves, whores, cutthroats, pimps, and assorted lost souls. It is a tale of love, loss, vengeance, and ambition written with great economy of means, and with a narrative intensity that never, ever lets up.

“Fast-Friend” takes a fresh new look at an enduring human dream: travel to the stars. With consummate narrative skill, and with a visionary’s sensibility, Martin tells an unforgettable story of longing and transcendence, a story suffused with images at once beautiful and terrifying, mysterious and profound.

Limited: 200 signed numbered hardcover copies: $45
Trade: fully cloth-bound hardcover: $20

Posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 am.