Pull out your pipe, dust off your magnifying glass, and get ready for a rollicking adventure.

Surprisingly for a sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr., and Jude Law, has gotten better ratings than their first foray into detective work. This is likely due to the wide breadth of story possibilities and characters to pull from Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. In fact, two famous characters from the novels make debut appearances in this movie, Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft Holmes played by Stephen Fry, and the infamous villain Professor James Moriarty played by Jared Harris.

Guy Ritchie has focused more attention on the story, less on camera tricks, while still maintaining strong action sequences. Holmes ability to survive a four-against-one fight, explosions and fireworks, and dodging artillery rounds while racing through a forest will satisfy hardcore action buffs, while an excellent plot, strong acting and character development fulfills the needs of even the staunchest critic. The movie includes various elements from the original stories, including the famous encounter with Moriarty in The Final Problem from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes knack for disguises from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Sign of the Four.

With a third movie currently in the works this is a perfect time to brush up on Holmsian lore with Conan Doyle's original stories.

Compilations:
The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.
The Complete Novels of Sherlock Holmes.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.

Or get each book separately:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.
A Study in Scarlet.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.
The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle.

With the release of Hollywood's 2011 version of The Three Musketeers, it is a good time to dust off Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel.

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Matthew MacFayden and Logan Lerman, The Three Musketeers 3D "is an enjoyable romp reminiscent of some of Hollywood's Golden Age excursions" (CineVue). Ebert Presents praises the action packed film, telling moviegoers that "if you want over-the-top entertainment that doesn't respect the laws of physics, you can't do better than this."

However, if you are looking for a faithful adaptation of Dumas' novel then you will be disappointed. According to Movie Cynics "The film’s story is a bundle of clichés wrapped in historical inaccuracies and sprinkled with straight up rip-offs of other action films. D’Artagnan even asks the local bully to apologize to his horse, just like Clint Eastwood in “Fistful of Dollars.” All told, it rips off nearly every major action franchise in the last 40 years, from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “Pirates of the Carribean.” The attempt to tell an original story is clearly less important to the filmmakers than random stylized action and trite one-liners."

There is no question that a seventeenth century automatic rapid-fire cannon would be great to see on the big screen, but there is something to be said for picking up the original novel and experiencing the swashbuckling-spirited adventure for yourself.

The novel is available in Paperback, Hardcover or on the Kindle.

Engage Science Fiction Releases First Science Fiction Book, ‘Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars’

How will we clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and space junk in the future? Chris Stevenson addresses these problems in his latest novel.

What if an experienced crew of trained professionals were on-hand to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and clean up the ocean? In his new science fiction book , "Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars ," author Chris Stevenson poses the pertinent question of how we will solve environmental disasters in the future. How would we handle an oil spill in space that threatens to enter our atmosphere?

Stevenson says that we have other environmental problems that are just too big for current technology to handle. According to NASA, there are 19,000 objects larger than four inches in Earth’s orbit, just waiting to hit a satellite or spacecraft. In fact, the National Academy of Sciences calculated that the International Space Station has a one in five chance of being hit by rogue debris within a ten-year period.

The Aurora Reviews gives Stevenson “The highest praise... You would absolutely buy everything else this author had to offer." And Stevenson delivers in his latest novel “Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars,” which explores the possibilities faced by a future clean up crew. Stevenson got the idea for "Planet Janitor" when he “wondered who was going to clean up space junk, or at least reclaim it. How hazardous could or would it be to our future space missions?”

Stevenson has published numerous short stories for magazines like Amazing Stories, and Space and Time, nearly 350 newspaper articles for Sunset Publishing, and several fiction and non-fiction titles, including a collaboration with Ralph Nader. In his 1988 book “Garage Sale Mania,” about reclaiming and refurbishing junkyard parts, Stevenson stressed how important it was to recycle and fix everything before it was discarded.

"Planet Janitor" will be the lead hardcover for January 2011 from Vancouver’s first and only science fiction press Engage SF , which is distributed by Ingram. With such shows as the X-files, Outer Limits, and Battlestar Galactica shot it Vancouver, B.C., the city has been screaming for a science fiction press for years.

Stevenson was a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, and is praised by author Jim Melvin, of “The Death Wizard Chronicles”: “In the imagination department, few active writers can hold their own against Chris Stevenson. His mind goes places that the rest of us reach only in our dreams. I thoroughly enjoy his work.”

Usually authors sit in a cozy armchair dreaming up heroic actions for their characters. Stevenson is unique in that he received a commendation for bravery from the U.S. Department of the Interior, for evacuating a burning building with a bullhorn, putting out the fire, and being hospitalized for injuries sustained in combating the fire.

“Planet Janitor” follows a crew of environmental heroes, who clean up space trash, divert rogue meteors from shipping lanes, and clean the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Their latest mission involves a clean up job that no one else wants, a 12 light-year trip to a newly found habitable planet in the Tau Ceti system. What they find will pose an ethical dilemma, test their wits, and threaten their very survival.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 75% of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is unaccounted for. According to the U.S. Congress, the amount of space trash in orbit will double within seven years. In a world where environmental disasters are destroying our ecosystem, we need a specialized crew like "Planet Janitor" that can get the job done.

To order  your copy of Planet Janitor, click here.

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary copy by contacting Engage Science Fiction at info(at)engagebooks(dot)ca.

http://www.planetjanitor.com
ISBN: 978-1926606415

INTERVIEWS with Chris Stevenson: stevenson_333(at)msn(dot)com
MORE INFO book cover, and author photo: planetjanitor.com
QUESTIONS contact Alexis Roumanis: alexis(at)engagebooks(dot)ca
ORDERS contact: info(at)engagebooks(dot)ca

The original press release is available on PRWeb

Put down your cell phone. Stop texting or sexting or whatever it is you are doing. Matty Cox's new book ‘Let Me Put My Poems In You,’ the single greatest piece of literature the World has ever seen, is officially available!

“Move over William Shakespeare — there's a new Bard in town,” declares a review from the University of Alberta’s student newspaper ‘The Gateway.’ In his own mind at least, Matty Cox has written the greatest book of poetry of all time. Referring to himself as a “sheer genius and a cunning linguist,” Matty Cox is anything but shy. His new book, ‘Let Me Put My Poems in You’ aims not to confuse or bewilder, but to bring deep joy to those who read it. Some of his poems will make you laugh uncontrollably, while others may make you cry. Some of them may even make you laugh so hard that you cry.

According to a review from Florida State University’s student newspaper ‘FSView’ “author Matty Cox’s ‘Let Me Put My Poems in You’ is Canada’s answer to Tucker Max’s ‘I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.’” When Matty Cox sent a copy of his book to his favorite radio DJ, Bro Jake from Vancouver’s Rock 101, he began reading Cox’s poems on the air. Advance copies of the book have also been sent to Steven Colbert, John Stewart, and David Letterman among others, and Matty Cox is confident that he will be on the late night circuit in the coming weeks. He is also convinced that he will sell a million copies by Christmas.

The Florida State review gives Matty Cox “five stars in the category of sexual euphemisms” which is fitting since Cox claims to have created a new genre of poetry known as smut poetry. In that case, this is some wickedly funny smut poetry. Once you pick this book up you will not be able to put it down until you have read it through twice. Florida State recommends that “‘Let Me Put My Poems in You’ is a great choice for a college kid’s coffee table or bathroom book. No matter which page one chooses to open, that poem is sure to garner a laugh.” According to Matty Cox, “this book is the single best thing you could ever spend your money on.” He goes as far as to say that “you would have to suffer from some sort of mental disorder to not want to purchase a copy” of his self proclaimed masterpiece.

Clearly Matty Cox is a funny man and is not to be taken seriously. He doesn’t take himself seriously, not even for a second. He merely wants to make people laugh, whether it is with his writing or in his interviews. His book is seriously funny, but also seriously well written. According to the U of A review, “this genius and diverse subject matter is coupled with an equally diverse selection of styles, from free verse to limerick,” and a University of Calgary review declares that Cox’s poems are “quite clever.” Straight from the horse’s mouth, please let him put his poems in you. He promises not to disappoint.

Here is a sample poem from the book.

‘Ode to Beer’

Oh to beer, sweet sudsy beer
Oh how it is that I revere
Your flavors like a rainbow are
So many choices at the bar
Oh how am I to choose but one
No that would not be too much fun
You’ve been with me through thick and thin
Through ups and downs, the vomit bin
Oh loyal beer sweet nectar true
It’s liquid bread it’s good for you

‘Let Me Put My Poems in You’ was officially released by Engage Books on December 1, 2010, and is available on Amazon. For more information and to purchase a copy of your very own, visit http://www.mattycox.com.

INTERVIEWS with Matty Cox: me(at)mattycox(dot)com
MORE INFO book cover, and author photo: http://www.mattycox.com
QUESTIONS contact Alexis Roumanis: alexis(at)engagebooks(dot)ca
ORDERS contact: info(at)engagebooks(dot)ca

To read the full press release from PRWeb click here.

At the Vancouver Science Fiction Convention this weekend. The Engage Books booth is in the dealers room at the Marriott in Richmond. We have all of our books, including a preview of Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars. Come on down and say hi.