Vol2 Updates 16 Jul 2013 04:21 am by David !
THIS IS HOW YOU DIE is officially released!
Halfway through the latest episode of #jjgo and look what shows up at my door. cc/ @malki @JesseThorn @Jordan_Morris pic.twitter.com/kbkldfuUwI
— Ernesto Ramirez (@eramirez) July 15, 2013
Great news! The A.V. Club has given This Is How You Die a solid A grade — the best grade of any book currently being reviewed by them (a pack that includes new works by Neil Gaiman, Terry Prachett, Dan Savage, and Brandon Sanderson). This is astounding. From the review:
…But what is consistently surprising about This Is How You Die: Stories Of The Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine Of Death is the range and quality of the stories. Machine Of Death was smart and sophisticated. The stories often had twist endings, but they tended to be O. Henry-style twists, based in well-realized characters and the inevitability of fate, rather than cheap reversals or shock-driven rug-pulls. The sequel keeps the insight and the commitment to solid storytelling, but broadens the scope considerably. The editors challenged contributors to take the central concept in bold new directions, and the result is a much wilder collection that stretches around the globe, spans a range of genres, and experiments with the short-story form.
SO GREAT.
We’ve also been named on New York magazine’s Summer Reading Guide of “(nearly) all the July and August books that are fit to read.” Well, I certainly agree.
Folks. THE BOOK IS OUT NOW. This is just too exciting for words.
And in addition to our 90-page preview PDF, we’re also pleased to share Ryan’s story “Cancer”, now online (in both print and audio) at Lightspeed Magazine:
• “CANCER”, by Ryan North
• Interview with Ryan about the story:
…I don’t actually think making a joke around bad news is an “if we don’t laugh we’ll cry” thing: I think it’s more of a “this is insane, can we all acknowledge how this is insane?” sort of thing! Helen’s not cracking wise to prevent herself from crying, she’s cracking wise because things are absurd and she’s thought of the perfect way to express it. Some funny people will tell jokes at times when others won’t, but I’m pretty sure most of them are thinking them. Helen’s just more willing than most to say what she’s thinking.
And it’s a powerful thing too: not letting something terrible change who you are, but staying strong in the face of that. I think that’s great, and I think it’s part of what not completely losing your mind to grief around bad news is.
If you’ve gotten the book already: Sweet! Tweet me a picture of you with it!
If you haven’t gotten it yet: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, TODAY IS THE DAY
If you’ll be at Comic-Con: Ryan and I will be signing at booth #1229 all the time except for Friday morning from 11-12, when we’ll be at the Hachette booth (#1116) with a bunch of the other contributors.
If you won’t be at Comic-Con: Keep doing your thing. Just keep on doin’ it. You got this.