Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Fresh Pick | THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson
Fresh Pick / October 13, 2009

September 2008On Sale: September 16, 2008480 pages ISBN: 0307269752EAN: 9780307269751Hardcover$24.95 Thriller Crime, Suspense Psychological Buy at Amazon.com 2009 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson A sensation across Europe—millions of copies sold A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves. It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and…

GAIL CARRIGER A QUESTION AND ANSWER ABOUT STEAM PUNK
Uncategorized / October 13, 2009

When I knew I’d be writing a little something about steampunk, I thought I’d try to figure out what people still wanted to know on the subject. Steampunk has been around for a while now, and certainly the internet has taken notice. So I took my request, as I do with most things these days, to the web. Here’s what I was asked:1. What’s the best way to explain steampunk to someone totally unfamiliar with the genre? One can simply say that steampunk is the future as the Victorians imagined it, where steam power never died, and electricity never dominated. Think hot air balloons flying to the moon. If they still seem interested at that point, one can prattle on about Jules Verne and the birth of science fiction; the current aesthetic overtones (which I describe as the love child of a BBC costume drama and Hot Topic); and the importance of creativity, found object art, and the maker mentality in spearheading the movement. If they still seem interested I suggest pointing them to this brilliant overview article by Jeff VanderMeer, which pretty much covers everything. steampunk__an_overview To read more about the steampunk question and answer with Gail please click…