New Title Radar — Dec. 24 to 29
With the Christmas holiday arriving next week, it’s amazing that any new books will be shipped, but a few are on the way. Dick Wolf, creator of the TV series Law & Order, makes his fiction debut. Simon Garfield, whose book on fonts was a surprise hit, turns his attention to maps and the tie-in to a “zombie rom-com” movie arrives.
The Intercept: A Jeremy Fisk Novel by Dick Wolf, (Harper/Morrow; HarperAudio; Blackstone Audio)
Wolf, the creator of the TV series Law & Order introduces NYPD anti-terrorism detective Jeremy Fisk, in this, his first novel, planned as the beginning of a series. Expect heavy promotion for this one. It is already connecting with booksellers, who put it on the Indie Next List for January. Prepub reviews were enthusiastic about the tense plot, but not so much about the writing or character development.
On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks, by Simon Garfield, (Penguin/Gotham)
Garfield fed the growing fascination with fonts in his book Just My Type. Now he turns to a subject with even more enthusiasts, cartography. Published earlier this year in the UK and in several university library collections, this is a “fully Americanized edition” (besides taking out all those pesky u’s, we’re dying to know what that means).
Warm Bodies: Movie Tie-in by Isaac Morton. (S&S/Atria/Emily Bestler)
Billed as a “zombie rom-com,” the movie is based on a book that was originally a self-published success. Set in America after a zombie apocalypse, it features “R,” a young zombie who communicates mostly via grunts and moans. His favorite food is human brains, which give him a side of memories. After eating the brains of a suicidal teen, R falls in love with the boy’s girl friend. One hitch; her father, played by John Malkovich, is the country’s leading zombie killer.
Official Web Site: WarmBodiesMovie.com