Pinocchio - Tor/Forge Blog

6 Stories You Can Enjoy on Page and Screen

March 21, 2024March 13, 2024a cat

Don’t you just love it when books leap off the page? And onto the screen? Here’s a list of exciting titles with series and movie accompaniments!

opens in a new windowThe Three-Body Problem opens in a new window by Cixin Liu

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth.

Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

And meanwhile, on Netflix, you’ll soon be able to watch opens in a new windowtheir adaption of Liu’s work!

opens in a new windowI Am Legend opens in a new window by Richard Matheson

This New York Times bestselling classic tale of Earth’s last survivor of a vampire plague inspired the hit film opens in a new windowI Am Legend (2007), and if you haven’t gotten around to reading the book yet, now is seriously the time, because opens in a new windowI Am Legend 2 is set to release in 2025.

opens in a new windowThe Caladan Trilogy opens in a new window by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

opens in a new windowDune and opens in a new windowDune: Part Two have been all the rage in the box offices of recent years, and decades before that, David Lynch’s opens in a new windowDune (1984) captivated fans of epic science fiction. And all these movies beg a new question: What if there were more Dune books? Answer: There are. The Caladan Trilogy adds more detail to the lives of Duke Leto, Lady Jessica, and Paul. And if you want even more Dune, we’re thrilled to share even more with opens in a new windowPrincess of Dune and opens in a new windowSands of Dune.

opens in a new windowThe Wheel of Time Series opens in a new window by Robert Jordan

How epic do you like your fantasy? If you said “Very!” then The Wheel of Time is for you. All 14 books in the series (plus a prequel!). And if once you’re done with those stacks and stacks of epic writing, or honestly at whatever point you prefer, check out opens in a new windowThe Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime, starring Rosamund Pike. The first two seasons cover Jordan’s first two books, opens in a new windowThe Eye of the World and opens in a new windowThe Great Hunt.

opens in a new windowDark Harvest opens in a new window by Norman Partridge

Halloween, 1963. They call him the October Boy, or Ol’ Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death.

Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town. He’s willing to risk everything, including his life, to be a winner for once. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror—and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy.

You too can discover this secret, in the pages and now on screen with David Slade’s opens in a new windowDark Harvest (2023)!

opens in a new windowPinocchio opens in a new window with Introduction by Guillermo del Toro; Illustrated by Gris Grimly; written by Carlo Collodi

This edition of the timeless classic Pinocchio has the full text with a mixture of full-page and spot illustrations in black and white integrated in the text, in pen-and-ink style. The ink is sepia brown, and the introduction is from Guillermo del Toro, the director of Netflix’s adaptation of opens in a new windowPinocchio.

You’ll love it, no lie!

Lists / What's New

Trope Spotlight: 5 Accidental Child Acquisitions

June 18, 2023May 2, 2024a cat

by Merlin Hoye

Here at Tor, we love stories, and the building block tropes that make them! Today, we’re thinking about The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and opens in a new windowAccidental Child Acquisition.

If you’re going through withdrawal from lack of content involving Pedro Pascal accidentally acquiring a child under extremely dangerous circumstances and then reluctantly growing to love said child so much that he would die for them, we totally get it. Lucky you, we’re here to fill that Pedro-shaped hole in your heart with some equally hot reluctant parental figures!

Check them out here.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowMistborn by Brandon Sanderson

In a world torn apart by a despot known only as Lord Ruler, a thief named Kelsier forms a crew to take back the world. Kelsier is a Mistborn, a person with the ability to use Allomancy, or metal magic. When he comes across a girl named Vin with the same unique ability, he begins training her in the arts of Allomancy and crime. Vin has had a hard life and she is initially reluctant to allow herself to grow attached to anyone, but as the two broken souls work together, they soon form a kind of trust that is new to both of them.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

Without being too plot-specific because The Thousand Eyes is the second and final book in the incredible Serpent Gates Duology—this book is in many ways about getting older, as we all must, and do. Our lives don’t turn out the way we thought, for better or for worse. Sometimes that can involve not being wed and sacrificed to the god of death. Sometimes that means not getting as much time as we would like with those we love. In The Thousand Eyes, a character (who never really learned how to get this whole life thing right so much as always be landing on their feet) finds themselves in a guardian role to the precocious child of a former enemy. The kid is powerful, and reckless, and their mom is scary, but so is their world, and our reluctant, frequently exasperated, and sharply witty guardian might be the ideal candidate to help them prepare for it.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowPinocchio by Carlo Collodi

While there’s nothing accidental about the way Geppetto comes by Pinocchio, he’s kind of the OG when it comes to acquiring a child under unusual circumstances. After the lonely cobbler carves a boy out of wood and gives him a name, he is initially overjoyed when the boy magically comes to life. However, the puppet quickly shows a remarkable capacity for mischief and it isn’t long before Geppetto is rather wishing he could unacquire his new son as soon as possible. Don’t miss T.J. Klune’s wholesome take on the classic tale with In the Lives of Puppets, out next March!

opens in a new windowWitch King by Martha Wells

Kai is a demon. And he was dead. But after getting rudely re-alived by a particularly inept mage, Kai must rally his few allies in order to figure out what on earth has been going on since his assassination. A power called the Rising World Coalition is growing and Kai’’s ragtag group of demons, witches, and sorceresses sets out to stop them, picking up a plucky street urchin named Sanja along the way. There is no one better at writing prickly, emotional characters than Martha Wells and this is a touching story of loveable monsters who ultimately care greatly about one another.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowVicious by V.E. Schwab

When Victor is released from prison, he has only one thought in his mind – getting even with his best friend-turned-arch-nemesis, Eli. The two were college roommates who conducted dangerous experiments involving supernatural powers and superhuman abilities which eventually landed Victor in jail. With the help of Sydney, a young girl with extraordinary powers, he sets out to track down his old friend who he now blames for his misfortunes. In a story of superpowers gone wrong and morally-grey characters, the relationship between Victor and Sydney is the beating heart. If their budding friendship doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, yes it did. You’re lying.

Lists

Every Book Coming From Tor in Winter 2023

January 7, 2023July 11, 2023a cat5 Comments

It’s a new year and that means new books to keep you warm and cozy this winter! Check out everything coming from Tor Books in Winter 2023.

January 17

opens in a new windowPinocchio by Carlo Collodi; Illustrated by Gris Grimly

Now a Netflix original movie! This edition includes an introduction by Guillermo del Toro.

Once there was a lonely woodcutter named Geppetto-who dreamed of having a boy of his own. So one day he carved a boy out of wood and named him Pinocchio. When the puppet comes to life, it’s Geppetto’s dream come true. Except Pinocchio turns out to be not such a nice boy after all. Pinocchio enjoys nothing better than creating mischief and playing mean tricks. As he discovers, being bad is much more fun than being good. Happily for Pinocchio, he will learn that there is much more to being a real boy than having fun.

January 31

opens in a new windowThe Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Destry’s life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her. But the bright, clean future they’re building comes under threat when Destry discovers a city full of people that shouldn’t exist, hidden inside a massive volcano. As she uncovers more about their past, Destry begins to question the mission she’s devoted her life to, and must make a choice that will reverberate through Sask-E’s future for generations to come.

opens in a new windowUnder the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days. Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

February 7

opens in a new windowThe Cradle of Ice by James Rollins

To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed. A soldier, a thief, a lost prince, and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster. Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might unleash. Armies wage war around them. For each step has come with a cost—in blood, in loss, in heartbreak. Now, they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they’ve only known in stories. Time is running out and only the truth will save us all.

February 14

opens in a new windowHopeland by Ian McDonald

When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne—tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace—in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents and a series of events which will change the world. From rioting London to geothermal Iceland to the climate-struck islands of Polynesia, from birth to life to death, from tranquillity to terror to joy, Raisa’s journey will encompass the world. But one thing will always be true. Hopeland is family—and family is dangerous.

opens in a new windowThe Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter

Krona and her Regulators survived their encounter with Charbon, the long-dead serial killer who returned to their city, but the illusions of their world were shattered forever. Allied with an old friend they will battle the elite who have ruled their world with deception, cold steel, and tight control of the magic that could threaten their power, while also confronting beasts from beyond the foggy barrier that binds their world. Now they must follow every thread to uncover the truth behind the Thalo, once thought of as only a children’s tale, who are the quiet, creeping puppet masters of their world.

February 21

opens in a new windowArch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end. Antigone’s parents – Oedipus and Jocasta – are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father’s vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage. When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest. But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.

March 28

opens in a new windowRubicon by J. S. Dewes

Sergeant Adriene Valero wants to die. She can’t. After enduring a traumatic resurrection for the ninety-sixth time, Valero is reassigned to a special forces unit and outfitted with a cutting-edge virtual intelligence aid. They could turn the tide in the war against intelligent machines dedicated to the assimilation, or destruction, of humanity. When her VI suddenly achieves sentience, Valero is drawn into the machinations of an enigmatic major who’s hell-bent on ending the war—by any means necessary.