Today’s notable new releases:

• Clive Cussler has written a jillion adventure novels, all of which were bestsellers, so why should POLAR SHIFT be any different? Cussler has given us such titles as SAHARA and BLACK WIND, and all of them hold some interest for me, but I’ve already got a backlog of stuff to read that’ll take me years. Maybe when I’m old like my dad, I’ll start reading Cussler. My dad’s had the same dog-eared copy of RAISE THE TITANIC on his nightstand for at least two decades. Like I said, he is old.

• With an Antonio Banderas ZORRO sequel that I don’t think anyone was anticipating about to hit theaters, Penguin Classics weighs in with THE MARK OF ZORRO, Johnston McCulley’s 1919 novel that introduced the legendary swashbuckling character. It was originally titled THE CURSE OF CAPISTRANO until a year later, when Douglas Fairbanks filmed it, moviegoers turned out in droves and McCulley made the brightest move of his long career by changing the title to match it.

• While you’re waiting for Neil Gaiman’s ANANSI BOYS to come out, why not pick up his SMOKE AND MIRRORS: SHORT FICTIONS AND ILLUSIONS, finally out in mass-market paperback today (and including a preview of the highly anticipated ANANSI). This book collects 30 of Gaiman’s short stories – ranging from horror to sci-fi and fantasy – from more anthologies than you could ever keep track of. Oh, and it’s also damned good. I read it a couple years ago just as I was experiencing severe AMERICAN GODS withdrawal. He’s since published enough stories to fill a second edition, so hopefully that won’t be far off in the future.

You buying anything? Post your take below.