The first review for Cherie Priest’s backwoods horror novel is in, and we couldn’t be more pleased. This, from Green Man Review: “In other hands, this could easily have devolved into a rote backwoods gore-fest. After all, all of the ingredients are there: a seemingly unkillable monster, angry hillbillies with guns who don’t much like each other, and a party of misfits trapped in a monster’s lair as they get picked off, one by one. Then again, that sort of SciFi Original Picture premise generally doesn’t account for characters like a gentle spiritualist, guided by ghosts through the beast’s domain while trying to make peace amongst his warring relations. It wouldn’t be able to handle the constantly shifting viewpoints and narratives, or the graceful characterization Priest imbues her rough-hewn backwoodsmen with. And, to be honest, it just wouldn’t have writing this damn good.”

We’ve finished all the work on Those Who Went Remain There Still. It’s just waiting for its December publishing date to arrive.

Congratulations to Ray Bradbury, whose upcoming collection, Summer Morning, Summer Night, just received a starred review in Publishers Weekly… “As intoxicating as Bradbury’s legendary Dandelion Wine, the 27 new and old stories in this potent collection resonate with timeless power. All set in Green Town, Ill., the vintage highlights include “Miss Bidwell,” a sweet romance about a spinster and the delayed homecoming of her first love; the brilliant “The Screaming Woman,” featuring the wide-eyed first person narration of a frantic 10-year-old who discovers a woman’s premature burial; and “At Midnight, in the Month of June,” in which a killer plays a demented game of hide and seek.”

Summer Morning, Summer Night is already at the printer, and should ship in early October.

Here’s a first glance at Bob Eggleton’s gonzo cover for The Last Science Fiction Writer by Allen Steele. The eagle-eyed among you will note that we also used this art for issue #4 of Subterranean magazine, which featured the title story to Allen’s collection. After months of trying to come up with something striking and appropriate for the book, we realized we already had the perfect cover on hand.

Deep in the bowels of SubPress storage, Tim uncovered a case of Richard Morgan’s modern cybernoir classic, Altered Carbon. Upon further inspection, he also realized that a few copies of Lettered Edition were also available for reservation.

We’re going to be producing a limited edition of Richard’s new controversial fantasy, The Steel Remains, which we’ll announce in the next week or so. We can match numbers on Altered Carbon and Steel if you’re interested.

Here’s a first look at Jon Foster’s cover for Barry Hughart’s The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. Is it any wonder he’s quickly become one of our favorite cover artists? As soon as Jon does some final tweaking of the image, we’ll have the dust jacket designed and rush Master Li into production.

As many of you may know by now, Bod, the hero of Neil Gaiman’s new novel, The Graveyard Book, is protected by the souls who inhabit his graveyard. We (and Neil) have offered to allow those who buy the limited edition to join Bod’s protectors by having their names listed in the back of our edition. We’re about to head to press with the book, so this offer must end soon. If you’d like to be one of Bod’s protectors, and have your name appear in Neil’s book, you must order no later than Wednesday, September 17. After that, the registry will close, and Bod’s list of protectors will be complete.

Also, Dave McKean has finished setting pen to the signature pages, and completed the original sketches for the lettered edition as well. The Graveyard Book will be sent to the printer as soon as Neil can fit the signature sheets into his schedule.

We’ve just received notice from our supplier that a batch of traycases are en route to them via air mail. As soon as they arrive there, the cases will be repacked and sent to our offices, and you can bet we’ll be shipping these long overdue title immediately.

The titles in this first batch include:

– Hunter’s Run (Martin, Dozois, Abraham)
– Venus on the Half-Shell and Others (Philip Jose Farmer)
– Fevre Dream (George R. R. Martin)
– Crooked Little Vein (Warren Ellis)
– The Kragen (Jack Vance)

Beyond that, we’re assured the next batch is being worked on, and should be en route to our supplier in 3-4 weeks:

– Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key (Kage Baker)
– Moby Dick: a Screenplay (Ray Bradbury)
– Ubik: the Screenplay (Philip K. Dick)
– Interworld (Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves)
– Project Moonbase and Others (Robert A. Heinlein)
– Haggopian and Other Stories (Brian Lumley)
– On Stranger Tides (Tim Powers)
– Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy (William Schafer, ed.)
– The Jack Vance Reader (Jack Vance)
– Worlds of Weber (David Weber)

Many thanks to everyone as we’re finally getting this backlog under control.

Our shippers are still dealing with the overload, now with even more lettered and limited editions arriving to take their place in the queue. Here’s where things stand. Right now, copies of the limited edition of The Jack Vance Reader are being packed up and sent to individuals and small retailers. As soon as that task is completed, the lettered edition of His Majesty’s Dragon (Naomi Novik) ships. Once that is done, we’ll be shipping the lettered edition of Golden Apples of the Sun (Ray Bradbury).

Add in a number of distributor orders to catch those up, and by the weekend, certainly by early next week, we’ll be shipping out the preorders for Tim Powers’ Fisher King trilogy (Last Call, Expiration Date, Earthquake Weather).

We’re also expecting a large shipment of long overdue traycases for various lettered editions that could arrive at any time, and will be shipping those as soon a they’re in our offices, and letting everyone know which titles are included. Got that? Good, there will be a test later.

SubPress’ other imprint, Far Territories, is just sending its second batch of titles to the printer. If all goes according to plan, you’ll be able to find these in the chains and larger independents, unlike our limited edition line. First up will be Cherie Priest’s werewolf novel, Dreadful Skin, set aboard a burning steamboat, as well as the hostile environs of the wild west. It’s got attitude and style to burn.

Second up is Brian Lumley’s classic gathering of vampire tales. You won’t find any mannered, caped and tophatted creatures in Lumley’s thirteen blood thirsty tales, we assure you. Both titles are currently at the printer, due to ship in late October or early November.

While I’m thinking of it, we’ve just added the Spring 2009 Far Territories titles to our site:

Alabaster is Caitlin R. Kiernan’s dark fantasy narrative about Dancy Flammarion, albino monster hunter, while Greg Egan’s gathering of bleeding edge science fiction, Dark Integers and Other Stories, sold out its hardcover print run immediately upon publication. We’re glad to be giving these books further life as trade paperbacks next year.

In Tim Powers’ magesterial first volume to his Fisher King Trilogy, twenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards–but now the cards, and the supernatural powers behind them, have found him again.

Crane’s father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become King of the West, and to keep that power he is now determined to kill his son–and Scott Crane must cross the Mojave Desert to his father’s Perilous Chapel in Las Vegas, and take up the cards again for one last poker duel in a deadly game to save his soul.

Lettered Set:

$750

Limited:

$75