June 06, 2008
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition (Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and all D&D based games included) comes out today in some places, tomorrow in others, but for those of you unfamiliar with the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing, here is a post worth reading by Jeff Grubb, one of the minds behind the whole game, who relates the publishing history of D&D.
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June 05, 2008
Han Solo is NOT a Loser
I love it when SF crosses over into mainstream storytelling. Thanks to io9 you can watch an earnest Grey's Anatomy doctor insist that "Han Solo is not a Loser".
HT: Tobias Buckell
June 03, 2008
John Zakour in Zuda Competition - Again
Scifichick already mentioned this, but I thought I would too. John Zakour is once again participating in DC Comics Zuda competition and needs your vote. This time he has a comic called Sam 3.14, PI about a robot private investigator. It is a lot like Zakour's novels in its content and humor, and is a nod to the old Sam Spade stories. I thought it was hilarious. You can check it out HERE.
May 28, 2008
Free Ebook: Hal Spacejock
If you need a little more humor in your life, try for free the writing of Simon Haynes. He has posted at his website as an ebook, Hal Spacejock, the first in his 4 books and counting. I've not read it, so I can't comment on its worth, but I've heard it is good entertainment.
May 23, 2008
Creative Nonfiction or Real Science?
In this day and age of so-called "creative nonfiction" it is hard to know what information is trustworthy. It's like it is April Fool's Day everyday. That's why I wonder if this art project called the Telectroscope is real or a figment of the author's imagination. In particular, after reading the "story" of the original Victorian period project, I question the veracity of the invention. Especially when the artist, Paul St. George, states that his art "has always been concerned with questioning the relationship between the viewer and what is viewed. His work is also often associated with different realities, spectacle and viewer participation."
Fox News included an article in their scitech section today, so maybe there is some truth to the science part of it all.
Anybody know anything about this project?
Obituary: Robert Lynn Asprin
Robert Lynn Asprin, author of the popular Myth Adventures and Theives World stories passed away yesterday at his home in New Orleans. He was 61. His passing was unexpected as he had been planning on attending a convention this weekend as well as working on new projects including an urban fantasy story set in his home of New Orleans that began with the novel Dragons Wild.
I never met that man, but he sure was able to make me laugh when I was feeling down. May such memories comfort his family and friends in their time of grief.
Read Obituaries and homages to him at:
Myth Adventures.net
Wikipedia
Boing, Boing
Oeswalrus, this one is a reposting of the detail from the Pennsic Bards list.
Lee Darrow
Brian Ruckley reads from Bloodheir
Brian Ruckley reads from Bloodheir at Alt.Fiction.
I just finished reading this book last night and it was awesome! My review should be out soon. In the meantime, read a review of Bloodheir at The Book Swede and read my interview with Brian here.
And see and hear more readings by Orbit Authors.
May 22, 2008
Free ebook from EOS
EOS' newest free ebook for their continuing ten year celebration is Sara Douglass' The Serpent Bride, The Darkglass Mountain Series, Book 1. You will have to purchase and then use a redemption code, but it works fine. Firefox users may have to click certain buttons twice, but it will go through. Click here to download.
May 20, 2008
May 16, 2008
Star Wars, Tunisia
I was doing some research for a trip to Tunis this summer and came across this interesting gem about the filming of Star Wars in the Tunisian desert. It is apparently a popular tourist destination for Star Wars fans, so much so that Tunisia.com loudly proclaims it!
"When I was searching in 1977 for a place to make the first Star Wars movie I found Tunisia the ideal country for filming: beautiful countryside, unique architecture and a very high level of technical sophistication." - George Lucas
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May 13, 2008
Odds and Ends
Thrinidir of Realms of Speculative Fiction pointed out to me that the full trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars is available for viewing. This full length animated film hits theaters August 15th.
Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas character has been turned into a four part web only movie. The orginal story is called "Odd Passenger" and takes place after the ending of BROTHER ODD and start of ODD HOURS (on sale in hardcover May 20th). The first episode is on Youtube. As is the second. And episode 3.
The List Universe has the top ten fantasy adventure movies.
Jeffrey Overstreet's Auralia's Colors, which I reviewed a while back, ahs been nominated for the Clive Staples (i.e. C.S. Lewis) Award.
Mental_Floss has 7 wizards...or are they all the same guy?
Some of my interviews and reviews will now also be appearing on the Flashing Swords e-zine website. They can be found in the right hand column on the home page under "Interviews" and "Book Reviews".
May 09, 2008
Snippet from Paul Kemp's Shadowrealm
Paul S. Kemp has posted a little scene from his latest Forgotten Realms novel Shadowrealm at his livejournal. Shadowrealm is currently slated for publication in December of 2008, and will conclude the Twilight War trilogy.
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May 08, 2008
Authors Finishing Series
Joe Sherry of Adventures in Reading has a thought provoking post entitled "On Authors and Finishing Series" where he givens a dressing down to Melanie Rawn and her decision to leave ufinished one trilogy for a while to write another. I disagree with Joe's opinions quite a bit. I think he is unfair to Rawn, while excusing other authors. Ya'll ought to drop by and join the discussion.
May 05, 2008
May 2008 SF Crowsnest
The May 2008 edition of Stephen Hunt's SF Crowsnest is up, and guess who has two interviews in it? Can you guess? Can you?
Oh, and stay tuned, as I'll be reviewing Hunt's novel The Court of the Air in the next month or so.
Weird Places to find Fantasy References
I got my print edition of the Economist on Saturday and guess what was on the front cover? A quite evil looking dragon. In fact, the cover this week reminds me of the book covers for Christopher Paolini's Eragon and Eldest especially the latter of the two.
It seemed an odd place for a fantasy reference, although I get the red dragon and angry China metaphor. Still, it got me thinking. Have any of you come across weird places for a fantasy reference?
April 30, 2008
Interview with Michael Flaherty, President of Walden Media
Read this interesting interview (Part 1; Part 2) with the president of Walden Media, Michael Flaherty. Walden is the company producing the new Prince Caspian movie, set to release in mid-May.
HT: Mr. DawnTreader
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April 25, 2008
April 22, 2008
Cool Castings Trilogy Promo
Pamela Freeman's Castings Trilogy, from Orbit books, is shaping up to be a really interesting series. Check out this neat promotional tool, the marketers at Orbit have put together that just hit my inbox. I reviewed the first book in the trilogy, Blood Ties. Or read my interview with Pamela Freeman.
April 20, 2008
Black Gate
Black Gate's magazine's website front page gave me a wonderful nod this week. They decided to look at some of the reviews written for their eleventh issue, and of the four mentioned, I'm #3. Somehow, I managed to contradict myself, but to give myself the benefit of the doubt, it was one of my very early reviews. Still, Black Gate calls it a critical analysis, which is nothing to sneer at. Thanks Black Gate for the mention and the compliment.
April 10, 2008
Decipher's New CCG - Fight Klub
Decipher has a new approach to the trading card game. Relying on player advocacy and viral/internet marketing to build up a fan base, it hopes that you will make the game successful. It also is not limited to one topic as with Star Wars or Magic: The Gathering. "Fight Klub™ is a classic battle of good and evil. Each expansion set features four heroes and four villains. The game pulls these heroes and villains from a pool of thousands of classic movies and TV shows."
Sounds interesting, and they are looking for people to become founding members who earn 10% on purchases people they mentor make. It's an interesting idea, I wonder how it will play out.
April 08, 2008
Space Opera
Paul DiFilippo has an essay on the space opera subgenre at the B&N review.
You might also want to check out their interview with Philip Pullman.
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Featured on Red Room
My interview with Rosemary Jones, author of the Forgotten Realms novel Crypt of the Moaning Diamond has been featured on the homepage of Red Room.com!
Redroom is:
... the online home of the world’s greatest writers. Through original, author-generated content, we offer a trustworthy and creative social network unlike any other. Here, you can connect with your favorite authors, access current industry news, and comment on engaging features. By fostering true community between authors and readers, Red Room showcases esteemed writers and inspires the next generation. We also give back to the community we aim to nurture with our commitment to the Causes We Support.
Thanks to Rosemary for posting a link to our interview at Red Room, and to Red Room for thinking it worthy enough to put on their homepage!
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April 02, 2008
A few worthwhile Fantasy Links
Here's an article about comics and graphic novels from the London Review of Books.
Here's an excellent review of Jeanette Winterson's post-apocalyptic novel The Stone Gods. Like Cormac McCarthy or Doris Lessing, she writes a variety of fiction, but most recently turned her hand to scifi.
The Politics of Scifi discusses the Nebulas and Hugos and their effect on fans.
And here's an article about using statistical graphs to help create plot.
April 01, 2008
Scott Lynch on the Worst Cliches in SF&F
Spectra Pulse's Facebook page has a special article from Scott Lynch entitled "Be Thou Familiar, but by No Means Vulgar". It is a republication from their special convention only magazine that they have been talking about for weeks now.
From the extremely well-written article:
Clichés can only become clichés if they work, if they strike a chord in a relatively broad audience time and time again. In the grand evolutionary cycle of the SF/F narrative, clichés are like sharks--ideas so robust and effective that they survive indefinitely with their essential nature more or less unchanged.Authors are often accused of laziness merely for using clichés in their work, but I’ve come to find that accusation rather obtuse. We don’t all pile clichés into our work because we’re lazy. We pile them in because, once having encountered them as readers, they fascinate us. We then burn with the urge (in some cases for years or decades of deep obsession) to apply our particular spin to the objects of those fascinations, and to make them seem new again. This is mirrored in the tastes of those readers that can never get enough of something that tickles their fancy, be it swashbuckling rogues or palace intrigue or the Hero’s Journey. The urge to chase favorite clichés from book to book is no lazier or more shameful than a preference for one kind of wine over another.
You will likely need a Facebook account to view it. Become a Fan of Spectra Pulse if you are already a Facebook user and you will have access.
March 31, 2008
GRRM on B&N's Center Stage
Center Stage is Barnes and Noble's book club forum. They have announced that during the period from April 14 to the 18th of 2008, George R. R. Martin will be online discussing his books. Anyone is able to join the discussion.
There will be several threads of conversation:
3: Discussing Inside Straight specifically.
They are also beginning a discussion of The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes as part of their current book club reading.