In a remarkable move, Archaia Studio Press has made almost all the issues of its flagship title, Artesia, available for free at Wowio. This includes all three initial series of six issues, through Artesia Afire. The on-going Artesia Besieged, however, is not included, nor are the annuals Smylie created.

Artesia is, hands down, the best epic fantasy being produced in American comics. There is now absolutely no excuse to give these a try.

The first chapter of Kushiel’s Mercy can now be found on Jacqueline Carey’s website. The book is due out in June.

The news has been spreading like wildfire that Brandon Sanderson, author of Elantris and the Mistborn series, has been personally chosen by Robert Jordan’s wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, to complete the final book in the Wheel of Time Series, A Memory of Light. A press release and links to further information can be found here.

If you haven’t picked up all the Christmas gifts (for yourself or others) yet, perhaps some ideas of interest can be found on our little list of books that we wouldn’t have minded getting (except for the fact that we already have them all).

Subterranean Press has begun serializing a story by Daniel Abraham. Looks like it’s quite amusing. The first part of the serial can be found over at Subterranean Online.

Daniel Abraham, an excellent writer currently best known for his Long Price Quartet (beginning with A Shadow in Summer), has begun to post on his blog about an informal symposium on epic fantasy that he organized involving a number of authors, including George R.R. Martin, S.M. Stirling, Walter Jon Williams, Melinda Snodgrass, and others. His first post outlines very broadly some interesting areas in which the discussion ranged, and he promises more details posts in the future giving readers a fuller idea on these topics. Definitely something to keep an eye out for.

Daniel Abraham’s debut novel, A Shadow in Summer, has seen its paperback version finally released. First in the Long Price Quartet, the paperback release precedes the publication of the next installment of the series, A Betrayal in Winter

Summer vacation usually means a chance to catch up on some reading, and this year was no different, though it took some effort rounding up enough books to keep us happy for two weeks. Clearly, we’ve been slacking when it comes to finding new things to try out. In the end, however, we ended up finding some new favourites, both among recent and older books. 

The fourth chapter of The Mirador can now be read on Sarah Monette’s official website, and if offers another tantalizing teaser (which may or may not make the wait easier) for the book that is due out in August. 

It took some effort this year, but we finally managed to put together a decent-sized order of books to bring along for our vacation. In case we’re not alone in suffering a shortage of ideas for what to read, we figured we’d share a few of the titles we’re picking up as well as some of the books we’ve either read recently or will be picking up as soon as they’re released.

The third chapter of The Mirador is now up at Sarah Monette’s official website. This is the sequel to Mélusine and The Virtu, and this chapter (like the two earlier previews) is a real treat.

Subterranean Press has just announced that they’ll be producing limited editions of the first two Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. If the limited edition run does well, Subterranean will produce limited editions of the following books. Besides the high-quality that Subterranean promises to bring to the book, one of the most exciting things about it all is that Michael Komarck will be providing the full-color interior illustrations. He’s a fabulous artist who’s created what’s widely-considered the definitive depiction of Jaime Lannister, and promises to be a name fans of genre art will be hearing quite a lot of in the future.

The promotional blitz for Babylon 5: The Lost Tales has begun ahead of its July 24th release date, and fans of the series will appreciate some of the material that’s now making the rounds. We’ve gathered links from far and wide to share with the fans, and you can read our reviews of B5’s pilot and first season if you’re wondering about the show but just aren’t quite sure about it.

Via SF Scope and the Science Fiction Book club blog, we’ve learned that Lloyd Alexander—the author of such memorable Young Adult books such as the Prydain and Westmark series—passed away while in hospice care, two weeks after the death of his wife of 62 years. He will be missed.

There’s a veritable perfect storm of announcements coming from Dabel Brothers Productions regarding upcoming series they’ll be publishing. A fan of romantic fantasy? Check out the forthcoming adaption of Kinley MacGregor’s Lord of Avalon: Sword of Darkness. Or perhaps you’re a big fan of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake? Feast your eyes on this original comic story written by Hamilton, Anita Blake: The First Death. Or perhaps you’ve a yen for the work of George R.R. Martin? Try The Hedge Knight II: The Sworn Sword.