Inside Jacket

DEAD SPACE: MARTYR

New York, NY – July 20, 2010 – Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—and Visceral Games™, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the publication of Dead Space™: Martyr (A Tor Trade Paperback; $14.99), the first novel based on the award-winning Dead Space videogame franchise.  Dead Space™: Martyr is now available at retailers nationwide.

Penned by Edgar Award finalist and horror sensation B.K. Evenson (Last Days, The Open Curtain), Dead Space: Martyr is the story of the origin of “The Black Marker,” the foundation of the Church of Unitology, and a discovery that will change the world.  When geophysicist Michael Altman learns of a mysterious signal emitting from deep within the Chicxulub crater, he cannot resist the lure of an undiscovered artifact.  He soon learns that being in close proximity to the artifact causes strange occurrences – visions of the dead, vivid dreams, and violent murders.  Altman’s experience with the alien artifact leads to this crucial first chapter in the Dead Space saga.

“With everyone chomping at the bit for Dead Space 2, we hope to wet their appetites with a deeper look into the Dead Space lore,” says Tor editor, Eric Raab.  “Writer B.K. Evenson looks at the milieu that created the Church of Unitology by prying open the discovery of the Black Marker here on Earth and what it unleashes.  It’s a physical and psychological horror tale that both fans of the game and SF/Horror will really enjoy.”

“The Dead Space world is incredibly vast and rich — expanding its fiction into a novel lets us share parts of the story that just can’t fit into videogames,” said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space 2.  “We hope Dead Space: Martyr will be the first of many books to let fans dive deeply into Dead Space’s secrets and immersive lore.”

B. K. Evenson is the award-winning author of Last Days, voted best horror novel of 2009 by the American Library Association and The Open Curtain, a 2006 Edgar Award finalist and Time Out New York best book of the year.

Originally launched in 2008, Dead Space quickly became one of EA’s top rated wholly-owned intellectual properties.  With close to 100 industry awards and an average critic score of 89*, Dead Space became a hit with horror and videogame fans worldwide.  In 2009, EA launched Dead Space Extraction, a prequel to the original game and will continue to expand the fiction with its stunning sequel, Dead Space 2, due out January 25, 2011.

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* According to Gamerankings.com and Metacritic.com

About Tor Books
Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-two years in a row the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS^TM, EA^TM, EA Mobile^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO, Dead Space and Visceral Games are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.

Filed under: News

“As in 2009′s brilliant Midnight Never Come, anthropologist Brennan strikes a resonant balance between history and fantasy in this new tale of the faerie domain beneath 1750s London.”

Marie Brennan’s A STAR SHALL FALL receives a starred review in the July 19th issue of Publishers Weekly!

The full review is below, or you can check it out online.

A Star Shall Fall by Marie Brennan. Tor, $15.99 (496p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2536-5

As in 2009′s brilliant Midnight Never Come, anthropologist Brennan strikes a resonant balance between history and fantasy in this new tale of the faerie domain beneath 1750s London. Halley’s Comet, which houses the exiled Dragon Spirit of Fire who nearly consumed the city in the Great Fire of 1666, is on its way back to Earth. Human lord Galen is in love with faerie queen Lune, bedding the charming sprite Irrith, and engaged to bluestocking Delphia Northwood; as he attempts to untangle these entanglements, he must also enlist members of the new Royal Society, England’s illustrious scientists, and all the multifarious faery talent he can find to fight the Dragon with humanity’s reason, magical faery instinct, and the power of sacrifice and devotion. Enchanting, fearsome faerie vistas and pinpoint character delineations make Galen’s absorbing quest one to savor and remember. (Sept.)

Filed under: News

“The third installment of Scholes’s grand-scale Psalms of Isaak saga (after 2009′s Canticle) expands the genre-blending narrative in glorious style”

Ken Scholes’s ANTIPHON receives a starred review in the July 12th issue of Publishers Weekly!

The full review is below.

Antiphon by Ken Schoels. Tor, $25.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2129-9

The third installment of Scholes’s grand-scale Psalms of Isaak saga (after 2009′s Canticle) expands the genre-blending narrative in glorious style. The secret revival of the bloody Y’Zirite religion, which may be an elaborate conspiracy created generations ago to bring down the Androfrancine Order, has brought madness to the Named Lands. Gypsy King Rudolfo, whose infant son is being called the “Child of Promise” by the cultists, finds blood-magicked spies in his home and enemies in his forest. And as the invisible enemy furthers its masterfully orchestrated invasion, Rudolfo and others hear an ethereal music that seems to require some kind of response. A diverse cast of dynamic characters, a tantalizingly labyrinthine mystery, a world full of wonders, and powerful symbolism and imagery power this seamless merging of epic fantasy and science fiction. (Sept.)

Filed under: News

Spawn creator and McFarlane Toys founder to sign in Tor booth #2301

New York, NY – July 14, 2010 – Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—and McFarlane Toys are teaming up at San Diego Comic-Con with a Halo: Reach poster giveaway and Todd McFarlane signing on Saturday, July 24th at 10:30 AM. This will be a limited one hour signing for the first 75 people. McFarlane will sign one free poster designed by McFarlane and Tor, and one additional item (i.e. Toy or Comic). Photography will be allowed.

This fall, Todd McFarlane’s McFarlane Toys will bring the world action figures from the most anticipated video game of 2010 – Halo: Reach! The Halo: Reach figure line will make its world debut at San Diego Comic –con booth #2401.

McFarlane Toys Todd McFarlane became a true comic book superstar in the 1980s as a result of his work on Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man franchise. In 1992, he launched his own comic title, Spawn, creating one of the most popular heroes of the 1990s. The title’s hugely popular 1992 debut sold an amazing 1.7 million copies – an unprecedented feat in independent comics. A whirlwind of growth and expansion followed: more comics, action figures, a top grossing film and Emmy Award-winning animation.

About McFarlane Toys
Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Producer/Director Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, is the force behind McFarlane Toys, one of America’s top action figure manufacturers. While McFarlane Toys produces products from many genres of pop culture, Microsoft’s HALO line has become the hottest selling action figures and vehicles ever produced by McFarlane Toys. McFarlane Toys also produces the highly collectible McFarlane Sports Picks line of officially licensed teams from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.. For complete information on this pop culture powerhouse, visit www.SPAWN.com.

About Tor Books
Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-two years in a row the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.

Filed under: News

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy – a 3,506-page, six-volume illustrated autobiography published by Taschen (who else?) – is the reason for The Guardian’s extensive profile of the man. There are only 1,500 copies and I’m sure they won’t last long.

The boxed set comes with what looks worryingly like a handkerchief but, on closer inspection, turns out to be a piece of Hefner’s pyjamas (buyers are assured that they were “worn by the great man himself”).

It’s odd that so many high brow types wrote off Hefner when Playboy always had a literary bent. It serialized Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac, Arthur C Clarke, PG Wodehouse, Bertrand Russell, Norman Mailer, Margaret Atwood and Vladimir Nabokov all wrote the magazine.

The autobiography covers the perod 1953 to 1979. It ends in 1979 because Hefner believed the 1980s were repressive as AIDs and political correctness kicked in, affecting both sexuality and culture.