2012 – edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Ben Payne
Twelfth Planet Press, 2008
118 pages
RRP: AU$20
ISBN 978-0-9804841-0-6
Reviewed by Russell B. Farr
Where will we be in 4 years’ time?
If 2012 is anything to judge by, very unhappy. In the debut anthology from Twelfth Planet Press, 11 writers give a pretty bleak vision of the future.
Happy new year!
Sorry for the delayed update.
Now we’re looking at the 2009/2010 publishing schedule, and there should be some exciting news soon. But to start…
LOVE IN VAIN – LEWIS SHINER
We will shortly have some exciting announcements to make on this, but I can confirm that we have a publication date: 25 March 2009. Many thanks to those patient pre-orders.
SALE ON TITLES
We are presently offering 20% selected Ticonderoga titles, until 23 January. Now is a good time to grab a bargain — you can even pre-order LOVE IN VAIN at the discounted price.
INDIEBOOKSONLINE?
It is still the Ticonderoga Publications store. We’re in the process of expanding and rebranding, and right now it’s as if the shop is half painted but still stocked with some great stuff.
http://www.indiebooksonline.com
See you in store,
Russell
Dark Space – Marianne de Pierres
Hachette Livre Orbit, 2007
416 pages
RRP: AU$19.95
ISBN: 978-1841494289
Chaos Space – Marianne de Pierres
Hachette Livre Orbit, 2008
395 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN: 978-184-149429-6
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
The first two novels in the Sentients of Orion series are the beginning of a fantastic space opera from Australian author Marianne de Pierres. After reading her Parrish Plessis trilogy I was expecting butt-kicking action in the same vein, rather than this twisting tale of plots and counter-manoeuvres centring around the invasion of Araldis, a small desert mining planet of no particular significance, and the discovery of Sole, a godlike entity who has an agenda which doesn’t necessarily correspond to that of the humans.
Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth – Ben Peek
Wheatland Press, 2006
152 pages
RRP: US$14.95
ISBN 0-9755903-8-3
Reviewed by Russell B. Farr
This book bills itself as an “autobiography of a man who has been nowhere, done nothing and met nobody”, and with such a low goal to aspire to, accomplishes this. It consists of a number of short pieces, sometimes arbitrarily grouped around the alphabet, that overall form several plot lines. Thrown into the mix are examples of literary fraud.
Sasha – Joel Shepherd
Hachette Livre, 2007
448 pages
RRP: AU$32.95
ISBN: 978-0-7336-2141-3
Reviewed by Andrew Williams
With Sasha, Joel Shepherd has moved from SF/cyberpunk (Crossover, Breakaway, Killswitch) into the fantasy realm. The main character, Sasha, living in a small village and in training with her mentor, a master warrior, is, as you might expect, a princess. In most stories, however, she would have grown up as an orphan, and discovered (at the climax of the story) that she was in fact a princess. Instead, Sasha grew up in a castle, and when her oldest brother was killed, through treachery, renounced royalty, luxury, and her home to train with the greatest warrior in the kingdom.
Blue Noon (Midnighters book 3) – Scott Westerfeld
Penguin Atom, 2006
344 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN: 1-906233-84-8
Reviewed by Andrew Williams
This is the third book in the Midnighters series, starting with The Secret Hour, and Touching Darkness - urban fantasy with young-adult protagonists. In addition to the usual high school and family woes, they all have to deal with the ‘blue time’. In the town of Bixby, if you were born on the exact stroke of midnight, you have an extra hour each day – while the rest of the world is frozen in time.
In revamping ticon, one of the things we’ve had to cut back on is feedback to unsuccessful writers.
In previous years, we would sometimes give 500 word responses to stories, to give writers some guidance on how to improve their writing.
Giving feedback isn’t an easy process. Good, constructive criticism is a skill that not everyone has, and even those who can do it, many find the process tiring. It can take a lot out of the critic: being balanced, getting the story’s strengths and weaknesses across, and also making sure that the feedback reads as criticism of the story, not the writer.
It can make a 100 metre dive into a glass of water seem easy.
“[Zdrastvuitye]! Salām and hello! And welcome everyone aboard our Scorpion Tour Bus! My name is Zenka and I will be your guide on today’s tour of New Alamut or, as it is more colourfully known, the City of Assassins.
Tall, Dark & Dead – Tate Hallaway
Hachette Livre Headline, 2007
280 pages
RRP: AU$22.95
ISBN: 978-0-7553-3655-5
Dead Sexy – Tate Hallaway
Hachette Livre Headline, 2007
RRP: AU$22.95
ISBN: 978-075-533657-9
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Paranormal romance seems to be popping up all over the place. A bit of sex, a few vampires, some sort of threat to mankind (or just the heroine) to spice things up, and voila: the new gothic romance.
Graceling- Kristin Cashore
Hachette Livre Orion Gollancz, 2008
431 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 978-0-575-08462-9
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Kristin Cashore’s Katsa is a Graced killer – she has a talent for it that was discovered at the age of eight when she killed her cousin with one hit when he threatened her safety. As a result, she became an official bully for her uncle, King Randa of the Middluns, a role she despises but cannot see any way out of. Then she meets Po, another Graced fighter from Liend whose friendship encourages Katsa to question her power.
