YEAR OF THE HORSE and THE ALCHEMASTER'S APPRENTICE in Philadelphia Weekly Press

Philadelphia Weekly Press includes two Overlook titles in the December round-up of Science Fiction, or nearly science fiction, books - The Alchemaster's Apprentice by Walter Moers and Year of the Horse by Justin Allen.

"Walter Moers works in a surreal fantasy world that has a unique logic to its background. Diseases inflict the city of Malaisia. Ghoolion, the alchemist-in chief, lives in an ancient castle and collects fat from rare animals. When the talking cat (crat) Echo, who may be the last of his kind, is turned out on the street when his mistress dies; he is near starvation when Ghoolian makes him an offer. He’ll be fed and amused for one full moon, and then killed for his fat. It seems a good deal at first because death is near, but as Echo recovers from the street he soon wants to break his contract. Ghoolion tells Echo his secrets as he prepares marvelous meals, making Echo The Alchemaster’s Apprentice. Echo, like all crats, can talk in any language, so he talks to the blood drinking, bat-like, leathermice; and the wise owl on the roof, Theodore T. Theodore. Soon he is working with the last Ugly in the town, Ghoolian’s enemy, a woman secretly in love with Ghoolian. I was so caught up in the tale that I had to sneak a peak at the end to discover if Echo did, indeed survive. This is a children’s book for adults who want to remember the joy of youth, but want more complexity."

"Justin Allen has translated the Hobbit into a western coming-of-age novel in The Year of the Horse. Our hero is a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy born on the banks of the great river in the St. Frances Chinatown, Tzu-lu. A great gun-fighter (wizard) comes to town to deal with Lu’s alchemist grandfather, and Lu finds himself volunteered to go on an expedition to find hidden gold. Gollem is present as an Indian chief, but the magic bullets come from Pecos Bill, which was a nice touch. There are also references to Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. The main villain is Old Scratch, i.e. Satan. The quoted reviewers didn’t catch the parallels with the classic tale because the magic is kept to a minimum, and they also didn’t catch on to the fact that the background is not quite our America. Lots of fun."

More Praise for Justin Allen's THE YEAR OF THE HORSE

Kirkus Reviews takes a look at the splendid new novel by Justin Allen, The Year of the Horse: "When Yen Tzu-lu (nicknamed Lu) hears his grandfather speaking in Chinese with a mysterious white man named Jack Straw about some kind of mission, he never dreams that he will be plucked from his Mississippi River hometown to join it. Jack, a legendary gunslinger, is leading a group of roughnecks that includes a former slave who fought in the Union army, a Mexican outlaw and ex-Confederate John MacLemore and his daughter. They're out to reclaim a gold mine that MacLemore says belongs to him, and Lu has been hired as an explosives expert. (He's not, but only Jack knows that.) En route, the group encounters Native American tribesmen, bullying Union soldiers, supernatural ghost-riders and a dark figure who may just be the devil himself. The harsh realities of frontier travel are slightly mitigated for Lu by the pleasures of learning to ride horses and hunt. The author clearly has a great love for old-style boy's-adventure tales, but he doesn't allow the genre's tropes to keep him from trying new things. In particular, the multicultural cast of characters, while perhaps historically improbable, is refreshing, and Allen doesn't gloss over the widespread racial prejudices of the time. Best of all, however, he knows how to tell a cracking good story. Exciting, original update of the ripping-yarns formula."

Justin Allen's THE YEAR OF THE HORSE in Publishers Weekly

Justin Allen's The Year of the Horse in Publishers Weekly: "Allen, author of the historical fantasy Slaves of the Shinar, plots a supernatural wild west adventure in his sophomore outing that should hold appeal for younger readers. Chinese-American teenager Tzu-lu finds his life upended when his grandparents send him on an expedition west with famous gunslinger Jack Straw and his rag-tag crew of mercenaries. Exploring anew the tropes of the cowboy western—Indians, polygamous cultists, “Ghost Riders” and the perils of the open desert—Allen follows the gang to Silver City, the very edge of settled America, to reclaim a treasure stolen by a mysterious man known as “the Yankee,” and perhaps illuminate the fate of Tzu-lu's dead father. With a few playful nods to Washington Irving, Allen mixes western and fantasy into a high adventure coming-of-age, keeping his world's more outré elements grounded with a surfeit of dead-on historical details. "

Overlook TV: The Release Party for Justin Allen's SLAVES OF THE SHINAR

We packed into The Dead Poet last night to celebrate the release of Justin Allen's Slaves of the Shinar. Watch the video! With exclusive interviews with Justin Allen and Peter Mayer, our gentleman publisher.

SLAVES OF THE SHINAR Book Release Party This Thursday

Meet Justin Allen and join us to help celebrate the release of Slaves of the Shinar
~With drinks named for many of the characters~

THU 7/26/07
7 to 9 PM
The Dead Poet
450 Amsterdam Avenue
(between 81st Street & 82nd Street)
New York, NY 10024 :: (212) 595-5670 ::
1 Train to 79th St. Station

And mark your calendar:
Justin Allen reads from Slaves of the Shinar
Wednesday, Aug 15th - 7:00 PM at McNally Robinson
52 Prince St. New York, NY

Slaves of the Shinar galley hits Ebay

You know you've *made it* when your soon-to-be-published first novel is up for sale on Ebay. Justin Allen, today is that day. You can bid on an early reader's edition of what we think will be one of the hits of the summer. A bargain at ANY PRICE. Or you could send your buddy Jim the Publicist a quick note about why you are worthy of a galley copy (I have maybe 3 or 4 left). It's up to you. Enter the world of Shinar and embrace the rising literary star that is Justin Allen.

Overlook TV: Justin Allen on his debut novel THE SLAVES OF THE SHINAR

Justin Allen stopped into our offices today to talk about his debut novel Slaves of the Shinar, which is due out this July. Here Justin says hello and describes the unique world he's created. Enjoy!