SF

Dear readers,

Finally, some real news about THE SOLOMON KEY.  According to the publisher, quoted in today's Wall Street Journal, the release date has been set -- but it is a secret.   Which is progress!  There was no release date at all before.  There's no new news about the content of the book (or any confirmation of the title), but the thrust still seems to be that the book will be set in Washington, D.C. and focus on those wacky Freemason Founding Fathers.

I brought out my SOLOMON KEY pre-book/meta-book in 2005 (!)

  "The Solomon Key" and Beyond: DIGITAL FORTESS, ANGELS & DEMONS, DECEPTION POINT, THE DA VINCI CODE, and more ... 

and I have to say it has stood the test of time quite well.  It has already made a pretty healthy profit, and among my forty titles in print ranks sixth in lifetime revenue per month.

The content is still sound because  book is far less speculative than most efforts in the pre-book genre.  I cover Brown's entire oeuvre, and I include a detailed analysis of Dan Brown's work habits and narrative strategies, but I didn't think it wise to go on speculative excursions into the occult and Freemasonry before seeing the published books.  I stick closely to what Brown and his publishers have actually said about the book. Judge for yourself if you like my approach: take a look at the Table of Contents in Search Inside the Book mode.

I've gotten better at covers since I published this book, but I'm reasonably satisfied with the dominant cover image: Kryptos in the CIA courtyard is still a pretty darned cool piece of Washington architecture, and  it's neat to look at and learn about.  I would probably use a different font for the title type. Although the cover colors look clunky, they are keyed off the colors used inTHE DA VINCI CODE, so I don't think there was a principled basis for a better choice.

I will update this book when THE SOLOMON KEY finally comes out, but I am not sure exactly what mechanism I will use -- I may update this edition, or I may issue a separate thinner paperback.  Either way, I will provide a PDF softcopy to previous purchasers, as stated in the book. (Simply send me proof of purchase using the email address in the book).

I will update this post as publication nears.  Until then, enjoy the anticipation!

Cordially,

Fred Zimmerman
Publisher, Nimble Books LLC

Finally, some real news about THE SOLOMON KEY. According to the publisher, quoted in today’s Wall Street Journal, the release date has been set — but it is a secret. Which is progress! There was no release date at all before. There’s no new news about the content of the book (or any confirmation of the title), but the thrust still seems to be that the book will be set in Washington, D.C. and focus on those wacky Freemason Founding Fathers.

I brought out my SOLOMON KEY pre-book/meta-book in 2005 (!)

and I have to say it has stood the test of time quite well. It has already made a pretty healthy profit, and among my forty titles in print ranks sixth in lifetime revenue per month.

The content is still sound because book is far less speculative than most efforts in the pre-book genre. I cover Brown’s entire oeuvre, and I include a detailed analysis of Dan Brown’s work habits and narrative strategies, but I didn’t think it wise to go on speculative excursions into the occult and Freemasonry before seeing the published books. I stick closely to what Brown and his publishers have actually said about the book. Judge for yourself if you like my approach: take a look at the Table of Contents in Search Inside the Book mode.

I’ve gotten better at covers since I published this book, but I’m reasonably satisfied with the dominant cover image: Kryptos in the CIA courtyard is still a pretty darned cool piece of Washington architecture, and it’s neat to look at and learn about. I would probably use a different font for the title type. Although the cover colors look clunky, they are keyed off the colors used in THE DA VINCI CODE, so I don’t think there was a principled basis for a better choice.

I will update this book when THE SOLOMON KEY finally comes out, but I am not sure exactly what mechanism I will use — I may update this edition, or I may issue a separate thinner paperback. Either way, I will provide a PDF softcopy to previous purchasers, as stated in the book. (Simply send me proof of purchase using the email address in the book).

I will update this post as publication nears. Until then, enjoy the anticipation!

Cordially,

Fred Zimmerman
Publisher, Nimble Books LLC

wfzimmerman's review: "What I have learned from the LibraryThing reviews: 1) no one really liked the book very much, and some people really hated it; 2) the structure, content, and style, which was a conscious experiment, wasn't a very successful one; 3) people really hate seeing Wikipedia listed as a source. Fair enough! Onward... Cordially, Fred Zimmerman"
Nimble Books (2007), Paperback, 188 pages

wfzimmerman's review: "A beautiful new edition from Tor of Isaac Asimov's first novel. I can't wait to re-read this!"
Tor Books (2008), Hardcover, 256 pages
tags: sf, science fiction

wfzimmerman's review: "Tor's usually sure-footed publicity team stumbles a bit by identifying William H. Drinkard as a 12-year veteran of the Alabama State Legislature. I am sure that the Alabama State Legislature of today is not the Alabama State Legislature of fifty or a hundred years ago, but it's still not exactly a confidence-inspiring background."
Tor Books (2008), Hardcover, 544 pages
tags: science fiction, sf, ARC

Heinlein, Project Moonbase and Others (preorder): Subterranean Press

Subterranean Press is proud to announce a two volume set that will contain virtually the last unpublished material by Robert A. Heinlein.

Project Moonbase contains the screenplay for the now classic sf film, plus twelve finished teleplays and two story outlines for a projected television show, The World Beyond. In addition to original tales (”Ring Around the Moon” and the story outlines “Home Sweet Home” and “The Tourist”) Project Moonbase also contains teleplay adaptations of such RAH classics as “Delilah and the Space Rigger,” “And He Built a Crooked House” and much more.

Important news. I wonder exactly when Heinlein wrote these things and whether this work represents his “A” game.

Dear reader,

 

Welcome to the COOL MAPS series! this has been a strong-selling title and I am proud of it.   this beautifully printed volume contains 24 high-resolution color maps and images of Afghanistan, ranging from historical maps to satellite photos and covering every dimension of the land and its people.  If you or your kids enjoy flipping through beautiful picture books, as I do, and you believe that a map can be worth ten thousand words, this is the book for you.

 

In the interest of setting expectations accurately, here is a list of the maps included here:

• Afghanistan and Persia in 1856.
• Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878
• The Durand Line.
• An Ethnolinguistic Map of Afghanistan.
• Land Use and Economic Activity.
• Greenness.
• Topography.
• Color Topography.
• Afghanistan from Space.
• Afghanistan provinces.
• Kabul
• Kabul and Environs.
• Herat Area, 1942.
• Soviet Invasion 1979.
• Clinton Strikes at Al Qaeda in 1998
• Operation Enduring Freedom
• Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
• Opium Production
• Oil and Gas Wells in Afghanistan.
• Dust Storm over Afghanistan.
• Dust Storm over Afghanistan (Surface Temperature)
• The Flag of Afghanistan
• Afghan Currency
• Afghanistan at night

 

Gee, I have say that's a pretty interesting list.  You do have to bear in mind that this  book is printed in a 8.5 x 8.5 inch paperback format,  so the images are reduced in size  from their original  form.  These images are  meant to provide interesting  synoptic views of the whole country of Afghanistan, and I have to say that I am satisfied that they do just that.   By all means, take a look at Search Inside the Book and judge for yourself.

This series was originally titled COOL MAPS FOR CURIOUS KIDS, but as I moved along with publication of new volumes I found that the extra words were getting in the way.  Suffice it to say that this book is aimed at curious minds, aged 7 to 77!

 

Cordially,

 

Fred Zimmerman

Publisher, Nimble Books LLC

P.S. If you like this idea, take a look at some of the other books in the COOL MAPS series:

• Cool Maps of Baghdad: the Emerald City and other cities of Iraq 
• Cool Maps of Cuba: An Atlas of History, Population, Resources Before and After Fidel Castro 
• Cool Maps of Indonesia: An Unauthorized View of the Land of EAT, PRAY, LOVE
• Cool Maps of Iran: Persian History, Oil Wealth, Politics, Population, Religion, Satellite, WMD and More
• Cool Maps of Iraq: History, Oil Wealth, Politics, Population, Religion, Satellite, and More

 

 .

wfzimmerman's review: "Classic sf. Does Will Smith realize what a contribution he is making to the genre? If he keeps up he will have starred in more classic SF novelizations than any other star."
Tor Books (2007), Edition: Reissue, Paperback, 320 pages
tags: science fiction, sf, vampires, Will Smith

Review of: A random walk down Wall Street : the time-tested strategy for successful investing by Malkiel, Burton Gordon

Outstanding because it combines pragmatic insight with the best avaialble peer-reviewed academic knowledge about investing.

Review of: Halting state by Stross, Charles

Very clever near-future espionage SF. Quite a bit of wish fulfilment going on as the novel is set entirely in an indepenedent Scotland and US is irrelevant to Stross's future EU - CHina conflict. Rather surprisingly for someone of Stross's intelligence the CHinese are treated as one-dimensional bogeymen, an almost Sax Rohmeresque approach.