For Fans of Signed Books

DreamHaven Books currently has a fantastic selection of signed books by authors who have recently appeared there. These writers include Sarah Monette, Lois McMaster Bujold, Alastair Reynolds, Patrick Rothfuss, Charles de Lint, Jim Hines, Kelly McCullough, Christopher Moore, Elizabeth Moon, and Lyda Morehouse. If you scroll to the bottom of their home page you can see the complete list of authors who have recently signed books. It's a very tempting selection.

Also, if you are in the area (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Lois McMaster Bujold will be answering questions and signing books there on April 22. I'm very sad it's so far away; authors rarely do book signings where I live.

Signed Copies of Elantris for Sale!

I read in this post on Brandon Sanderson's blog today that he has signed and personalized hardback (at least I assume that's what "harback" is supposed to mean) copies of his first published novel Elantris for sale here. Elantris is harder to find in hardcover now than any of his newer books in the Mistborn series. I'd love to get one but I already promised not to buy any more books until The Born Queen comes out toward the end of next month (having already ordered Joe Abercrombie's Before They Are Hanged from Amazon the moment I heard it was in stock already - and added Sanderson's The Well of Ascension to the order because one must get free shipping when ordering from Amazon).

Sanderson also mentioned several items of interest on his previous blog post. He put up artwork for the new paperback copy of Mistborn: The Final Empire (which is supposed to come out in September with a coupon for the third and final book in the series). The cover image says it's only $4.99 in the U.S. and $5.99 in Canada so that's not bad at all. I like the picture of Vin, but I still think the cover on the hardcover copy of Mistborn: The Final Empire is much nicer. He also wrote that Hero of Ages, the final book in the trilogy, is up on Amazon for pre-order now (the release date is October 14), and he shared some thoughts on the fifth Wheel of Time book since he has been rereading the series.

So much exciting news! I really want one of those copies of Elantris now... but must be good!

Brandon Sanderson News: Signed and Free Books

Brandon Sanderson, the author who will be writing the final Wheel of Time book, has a limited number of signed hardcover copies of the first book in his Mistborn trilogy available on his website for $20 each. Last month I got a signed first edition copy of this book off of bookcloseouts.com (they're all out now, unfortunately) since it should be a good collector's item someday... plus I just love signed books. I'm a little over 100 pages into it now, and so far it is good. The Well of Ascension, the second book in the series, is currently out in hardcover, and the final book The Hero of Ages is scheduled to be released in October 2008.

Also available on Sanderson's website is a free copy of his forthcoming novel Warbreaker. This is not a polished, finished novel, but the author wanted to make one of his books free under a Creative Commons license and also thought it would be a nice way to allow readers to contribute to the novel. It's an interesting experiment, and I'll be curious to see if he will do it again.

At the end of Warbreaker, Sanderson also included excerpts from some of his other books - his award-winning debut novel Elantris, Mistborn: The Final Empire, and his young adult novel Alcatraz: Versus the Evil Librarians. (The first line of Alcatraz cracked me up.)

FantasyCafe Holiday Gift Guide

I've been looking around for interesting books for presents this year and thought I'd list some of the more interesting ones in case others are also looking for fantasy and science fiction book gifts that are more special than books you can get from a nearby bookstore. All the books below are autographed and are divided into price ranges ($100+, $50 - $99.99, and under $50). Be aware to pay attention to the instructions on any books ordered from DreamHaven, as sometimes you have to specify if you want a signed version of the book when you place your order.

Happy holiday shopping! I'd like to get some of these for myself... But I must resist - I need to get gifts for other people instead!

$100+

• Clive Barker Imajica Signed and Numbered First U.S. Edition Hardcover ($100) - More info here
• Steven Brust To Reign in Hell First Edition Hardcover Signed and Numbered ($300) - More info here
• Octavia Butler Fledgling First Edition Hardcover Signed ($175) - More info here
• Ursula K. Le Guin The Left Hand of Darkness First Thus Hardcover signed ($120) - More info here
• Terry Pratchett Pyramids First Edition Hardcover Signed ($150) - More info here
  
• Dan Simmons The Fall of Hyperion First Edition Hardcover Signed ($125) - More info here
  
• Jack Vance The Dying Earth First Edition Mass Market Paperback Signed ($200) - More info here
  
• Vernor Vinge A Fire Upon the Deep First Edition Hardcover Signed ($145) - More info here
  

$50-$99.99

• Clive Barker Imajica Signed First Edition Hardcover ($50) - More info here
• John Crowley Little, Big First Edition Trade Paperback ($85) - More info here
• Robert Asprin and Phil Foglio Myth Adventures One (comic book) First edition hardcover signed ($60) - More info here
• Ellen Kushner Thomas the Rhymer First edition hardcover signed ($60) - More info here
• Scott Lynch The Lies of Locke Lamora signed limited edition starting at $95 - More info
• George R.R. Martin Wildcards #1 - #4 First Edition Signed by Martin ($54.10) - More info here
  
• Terry Pratchett Interesting Times First Edition Hardcover Signed ($50) - More info here
  
• Spider Robinson Callahan and Company First Edition Hardcover Signed and Inscribed ($50) - More info here
  
• Gene Wolfe Fifth Head of Cerberus First Edition Signed with letter to Dickson ($60) - More info here
  

$0-$49.99

• Peter S. Beagle The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version Signed and Numbered Limited Edition ($35) -More info here
• Steven Brust To Reign in Hell First Printing Mass Market Paperback Signed (to author Gordon R. Dickson) ($15) - More info here
• Lois McMaster Bujold The Curse of Chalion Hardcover signed ($10) - More info here
• Storm Constantine The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit First Edition Hardcover Signed ($42) - More info
• Hal Duncan The Book of All Hours #1: Vellum Signed First Edition Hardcover ($40) - More info here
• David Anthony Durham The War with the Mein #1: Acacia First Edition Hardcover ($26.95) - More info here
• Steven Erikson The Healthy Dead Limited Edition hardcover Leatherbound, signed, and numbered ($45) - More info here
• Steven Erikson The Bonehunters Trade Paperback Signed by Steven Erikson and cover artist Todd Lockwood ($5) - More info here
  
• Neil Gaiman American Gods Hardcover signed ($26) - More info here
• Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Good Omens Second Edition Hardcover black signed by Gaiman ($29.95) - More info here
• Neil Gaiman Stardust (comic book) Trade paperback signed - More info here
• Graham Joyce Dreamside First US Edition Hardcover signed ($10) - More info here
• Guy Gavriel Kay Tigana First US Edition Hardcover signed ($38) - More info here
  
• George R.R. Martin Fevre Dream First Edition Hardcover Signed ($30) - More info here
• Robin McKinley Spindle's End Hardcover Signed ($12) - More info here
• Sarah Monette The Mirador First Edition Hardcover signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear A Companion to Wolves First Edition Hardcover signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Richard Morgan Thirteen First Edition Hardcover signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Vera Nazarian The Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass Limited Edition Trade Paperback signed - More info here
  
• Tim Powers The Anubis Gates First UK Edition Mass Market Paperback Signed and Inscribed ($20) - More info here
  
• Terry Pratchett Going Postal First US Edition Hardcover Signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Terry Pratchett Thud! First US Edition Hardcover Signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Kim Stanley Robinson Red Mars Paperback signed ($20) - More info here
  
• Spider Robinson Lady Slings the Booze First Edition Hardcover Signed and Inscribed ($35) - More info here
  
• Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind Hardcover Signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Dan Simmons Ilium First Edition Hardcover Signed ($24) - More info here
  
• Jeff VanderMeer Secret Life First Edition Hardcover Signed ($24.95) - More info here
  
• Joan Vinge World's End First Edition Hardcover Signed ($10) - More info here
  
• Vernor Vinge A Deepness in the Sky First Edition Hardcover Signed ($29.50) - More info here
  
• Jack Whyte The Skystone First Edition Hardcover Signed ($39.99) - More info here
  

The Signed Page

Fans of signed speculative fiction books may want to check out The Signed Page, which has signed copies of Richard K. Morgan's Thirteen and Black Man and Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Justice available for pre-order. There are also signed copies of Martin's A Feast for Crows currently in stock (I wish I'd known about this page when Storm of Swords came out - how I would love a signed first edition copy of that.) It's a page worth checking out once in a while anyway if you're into signed books. I got my fiance to pre-order me a personalized copy of Midnight Tides by Erikson, which I can't wait to get!

They're also going to have copies of Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic available for pre-order soon. I might get that one, too, since I have a signed copy of Forest Mage (and Golden Fool, for that matter).