Ok,

I have no idea if this is accurate or not, but Amazon is listing a July '07 date for this title that "seems" to combine both Somewhere a Band is Playing AND Leviathan '99.

I sorta hope is wrong, as Amaazon's page count (I know they are often wrong...) is 208, which pretty low if these are really two "novels"

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Forever-Somewhere-Playing-Lev...9655?ie=UTF8&s=books

Does anyone have any info on this release?

Aren't these actually plays or film scripts? If so, 208 pages doesn't seem as unlikely. A rule of thumb for film scripts is that one page equals about a minute of screen time.

No, they are both 'novels', but Leviathan is based on a play and Band may be based on a script.

I read an interview the other day where Ray said he was currently working on 'a double novel'. This struck me as an odd phrase, and I assumed it was a slip of the tongue, or a misquote by the interviewer. But maybe these two 'novels' are such slim works that it only makes sense to bind them together.

Ray has never been renowned for the length of his novels. F451 is pretty short.

His new book,The Homecoming, is very slender [54 pages], but of course comprising just the story, The Homecoming from his book From The Dust Returned.

Hey everyone, it's me from William Morrow. I can confirm that we are publishing NOW AND FOREVER in hardcover next Summer. It combines two novellas -- so they aren't quite novel length, too short to publish separately, so that's why we've got them both in one volume. The page count on Amazon.com is tentative, as we haven't gotten that far in the publishing process yet to have the exact number of pages set.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to update you on this book, because I know you mark Ray's pub dates in your calendars. NOW AND FOREVER is now on sale this Fall, on September 4th, 2007, to be exact.

Thanks, TK, I can't wait.

Still no cover art on Amazon... coming soon,TK?

The latest stage version of Leviathan '99, performed in the last few months in Pasadena, California, is brilliant. This may wind-up ranking as one of Ray's finest works. I thought the last 15 minutes were Ray's finest moments. I saw Levianthan '99 originally back in the early 70's. But this one has matured. I am glad Ray didn't give up on this one.

Equally, the latest stage version of 'The Man', has matured into a brilliant piece. The latest productions of Ray's works on stage in Pasadena, have been videotaped. Future works will continue to be documented in the same way giving others down the road an opportunity to see Ray's works in their original presentations by his own theater group.

It sometimes takes a while for the jackets to transmit to amaon.com. Because the book's been delayed, you may not see it up there for another month or so.

TK, am I right in assuming that the Somewhere a band is playing in NOW & FOREVER is the same novella soon being published by Gauntlet? Can you clarify this?

quote:

Originally posted by oz-crumley:
TK, am I right in assuming that the Somewhere a band is playing in NOW & FOREVER is the same novella soon being published by Gauntlet? Can you clarify this?

Now and Forever will have the novella for Somewhere the Band is Playing. The special edition book, Somewhere the Band is Playing, not only is beautifully illustrated but will have additional items. Per the web site: "...will contain segments Bradbury wrote which he never finished, the beginnings of a script he never finished, plus the completed manuscript. Also, William F. Nolan will be writing an introduction for the book in addition to signing the Lettered edition.

http://www.gauntletpress.com/cgi-bin/gauntletpress/perl...k&ORDER_ID=727801207

Hi everybody, thought you'd enjoy this early starred review from one of our trade magazines.

Publisher’s Weekly
July 30, 2007

Now and Forever
Ray Bradbury. Morrow, $24.95
(224p) ISBN 978-0-06-113156-3

This slim volume eloquently displays two sides of the venerated Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles) with two highly contrasting tales of the fantastic. “Somewhere a Band Is Playing,” the quieter piece, explores journalist James Cardiff’s unexpected attraction to the rural own of Summertown, Ariz. Summertown’s secrets unfold with Bradbury’s hallmark pacing, gentle and inexorable, and the plot arcs just as gently into the fantastical before circling back to Cardiff himself. Framed by engaging wistful lyrical verse, this classically appealing Bradbury fantasy is at distinct odds with the prickly and disturbing “Leviathan ’99.” In this space-faring homage to Melville, the dread comet Leviathan takes the whale’s place, and Queequeg becomes the enigmatic telepath Quell. The result, while not at all comfortable, cogently packs Moby Dick’s psychological complexity into a quarter of the space, despite the padding of lengthy quasi-Shakespearean dialogue. Bradbury’s brief summaries of each novella’s decades-long path to completion invoke the extraordinary length of one of the most distinguished careers in speculative fiction.

It's always exciting to see a new book by Ray. I'm anxious to get it, now. That is one reason I like this site. I had not heard of the book. Now I'm excited to get it. Thanks for flagging it for us. And thanks, TK, for contributing to this forum. Your input is very valuable and is much appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Dark:
It's always exciting to see a new book by Ray. I'm anxious to get it, now. That is one reason I like this site. I had not heard of the book. Now I'm excited to get it. Thanks for flagging it for us. And thanks, TK, for contributing to this forum. Your input is very valuable and is much appreciated.

I've been lucky enough to have gotten the book a few weeks ago. I have also seen two rendentions of the play, Leviathan '99. I must say I could see the stage in my mind as I read the book. Ray has refinded the story to perfection.

Somewhere A Band is Playing was first written as a script for Miss Kate Hepburn. Chew on that when you read this story.