This week on the radio show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me there was a segment that suggested classic books that would be turned into video games after noting that Dante's Inferno was coming out soon. Here is a list of the ones they came up with.

• Don Quixote Kong
• A Hundred Years of Solitaire
• Pacman and the sea
• War and Peace but Mostly War
• Super Karamazov Brothers
• A Tale of Sim-cities
• Grand Theft Odyssey
• Pride and Extreme Prejudice
• Love in the Time of Tetris

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Games, Humor
Posted by Scott Shaffer at Monday February 08, 2010 at 11:29 AM

As before, here are my quick takes on the genre-related films I've watched in the last several weeks...

1. Avatar (2009) - Excellent visuals but it has lackluster story. It's on par with the Star Wars prequels; great eye candy, but not much more beyond that.
2. Brazil (1985) - I absolutely loved the atmosphere and look of Terry Gilliam's weird and wonderful 1985 retro-futuristic Dystopia, which brilliantly spun bureaucracy into satirical social commentary.
3. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) - Like Resident Evil, there's nothing new and it does serve its aim of (in this case) zombie story set in a city, but I just couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of "more of same".
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) - Dumb, but nonetheless fun. Hank Azaria stole the show.
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - Some corny dialogue and predictability mar this otherwise intriguing extension of the X-Men franchise.

Comments (5) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:25 AM

• @Smashwords: Haven by Justin Kemppainen.


• The February 2010 issue of Expanded Horizons includes:
  • "Urban Phantoms" by Anne Abad
  • "Miss Lonelyhearts" by Georgina Bruce
  • "Silver Veins" by Michele Lee
  • "Thrilling Wonder Stories #52: The Invasion of the Zog" by Lavie Tidhar
  • "Distant Deeps or Skies" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • "Bijou LaVoix and the Coal Dust Faery" by Malon Edwards
  • "The Wedding Runner" by Mint Kang
  • "Jaded" by Daniel Gene Barkley


• @Fantasy Magazine: "The Armature of Flight" by Sharon Mock.


• @FeedBooks: "The Planet with No Nightmare" by Jim Harmon.


• Serialized: Shadow Unit: "The Unicorn Evils" by Emma Bull and Elizabeth Bear


• Audio:
  • The latest episode of Beware the Hairy Mango includes "Running Downhill, Naked" and "The Adventures of Smart Guy"
  • @EscapePod: "Roadside Rescue" by Pat Cadigan, read by Stephen Eley.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:20 AM

The table of contents for the NewCon Press sf anthology Conflicts edited Ian Whates has been posted. It contains "thirteen tales of human striving, of ingenuity, brilliance, desperate action, violence, and resolution." It will be available on April 2nd, 2010.

1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. "Psi.Copath" by Andy Remic
3. "The Maker's Mark" by Michael Cobley
4. "Sussed" by Keith Brooke
5. "The Cuisinart Effect" by Neal Asher
6. "Harmony in My Head" by Rosanne Rabinowitz
7. "Our Land" by Chris Beckett
8. "Fallout" by Gareth L. Powell
9. "Proper Little Soldier" by Martin McGrath
10. "War Without End" by Una McCormack
11. "Dissimulation Procedure" by Eric Brown
12. "In the Long Run" by David L. Clements
13. "Last Orders" by Jim Mortimore
14. "Songbirds" by Martin Sketchley

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:15 AM

From YouTube: "Have you ever wondered what the original Star Wars would have been like if Quentin Tarantino had animated it on a Macintosh computer?"

Interesting take on Leia's metal bikini...

[via J.M. McDermott]

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Humor, Star Wars
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:13 AM

Just a quick reminder for two giveaways that are ending tonight.

We have a copy of the Nintendo DS/DSi game Daniel X: The Ultimate Power plus we've also added a copy of James Patterson's book Daniel X Watch The Skies for the lucky winner. If you're interested, the original post has all the details. This contest ends tonight at 12pm CT so hurry if you want to enter!

Second we are giving away a Blu-ray and a DVD copy of the latest Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Again, all the details are in the original post. This contest ends this Wednesday, Feb. 10th.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by JP Frantz at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:12 AM

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:11 AM

The winners of our Rocket Boy and the Geek Girls eBook giveaway have been notified. They are:

• Kazimak T.


• Erin H.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:10 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• Fantasy Worlds interviews Vera Nazarian.
  
• Flipping Pages for All Ages interviews Rachel Caine.
  
• Innsmouth free Press interviews David Conyers.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: James Knapp.
• Odyssey Podcasts features Jack Ketchum.
• Gerry Canavan has posted video of Kim Stanley Robinson speaking at Duke University.
• Michael Moorcock on J.G. Ballard.
  

• Open Call for Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff.
• SciFiDimensions is going on hiatus. [via Locus Online]

• Aliette de Bodard on Writing cultures: insider vs. outsider.
• SFWA on Are You a Published Author? Now You Can Tell the World!
• Joshua Palmatier on Writing: Disappointment.
• Chris Dolley on Writing: Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa Fashion.
• Sherwood Smith on Writers on Writing-Emotion.
  
• Ari Marmell on The Write Way and the Wrong Way.
• Juliette Wade on Folklore, Parable and Metaphor.
  
• David Hartwell On Kage Baker.
• Janice Hardy on One Step Forward and Two Steps Back.
  
• Sarah Rees Brennan on Movies & Sex.
  
• Brenda Clough on Ways to Trash Your Writing Career: Surrender, Dorothy!
• Nicola Morgan on A Pointy Point About Queries.
  
• Paula Guran on Verso Survey, Further Remarks & Some Personal Musing.
  
• Twelfth Planet Press on The sky is not falling - the end is not nigh and Your debut book is the greatest gift you can ever give your readers.
• Rob Donoghue on The Price of Books.
• Carrie Laben on Hey, remember when I used to post long, half-thought-out posts on big topics?
• Jay Lake on Amazon, Gillette, cross-subsidies and supply chain integration.
• Teresa Nielsen Hayden on The "agency model" as I understand it.
• Anna Tambour on Amazon and the Pipeline.
• Michael Stackpole on Authors Can Be Stupid: Doing the Ebook Math and I Just Want to Write.
• Dean Wesley Smith on Michael Stackpole. Read His Blog.
• Charlie Stross on Amazonfail round-up.
• John Scalzi on A Technical Thing re: Amazon and My Tor Books.
• Visions of Paradise on Least Favorite Authors of SF.
  

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Monday February 08, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Sad news...

The Official Home Page of Science Fiction Writer William Tenn is reporting that Philip Klass (who wrote as William Tenn) died on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at age 89.

Klass only wrote one fiction novel (Of Men and Monsters) but was a prolific short story writer whose work was recently collected by NESFA Press in the three volumes Immodest Proposals, Here Comes Civilization and Dancing Naked.

[via Renovationsf]

See also:

• Remembrances by Matthew Cheney, Scott Edelman, and Jo Walton.
• The Official Home Page of William Tenn
• Wikipedia page
• William Tenn's ISFDB entry

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday February 07, 2010 at 3:02 PM

Minority Report -- based on the Philip K. Dick short story and starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, and Max von Sydow -- is one of my favorite films...

[via Classic SciFi Channel]

Comments (6) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday February 07, 2010 at 12:25 AM

At an AggieCon panel this weekend, panelists Ellen Datlow, Scott Cupp and Jayme Lynn Blaschke named an excellent selection of books released last year that are more than worth a look. (I hope I captured them all!)

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday February 07, 2010 at 12:15 AM

News

• Neil Gaiman Confirms That He's Written An Upcoming Episode Of Doctor Who.
• Amazon, Macmillan throw elbows over e-book prices.
• Story update: Random House to publish final Gormenghast book: "Titus Awakes, written by Mervyn Peake's widow based on notes left by the author to complete the sequence, set for publication in 2011".

• Rich Horton's Summary: Futurismic, 2009.
• Shaun Duke is Responding to the Stackpole: Amazon/Macmillan vs. Not-So-Stupid Authors.
• Jolene Twomey looks back at Omni magazine.
• The Amazon/Macmillan blow-up: An e-book lover's appeal for understanding.
• Gizmodo asks: Macmillan Books Back on Amazon: What Did Amazon Get Out of It? [via Jay Lake]

• Can you guess the genre titles on this list of 25 Movies So Bad They're Unmissable?
• Market saw shows off 5 new Clash of the Titans Posters. Resisting uncontrollable urge to play "Where's Bubo?"
• Lists at webrary:
  • From 1999: Science Fiction Titles For Those who Think They Don't Like Science Fiction.
  • From 2006: Romantic Science Fiction.
• Mmmmm...16-bit Space: 1999 game....

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday February 07, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Here's a simple Meme...answer the following questions:

1. What Book Are You Reading Now?
2. Why did you choose it?
3. What's the best thing about it?
4. What's the worst thing about it?

1. The Spiral Labyrinth by Matthew Hughes.
2. I chose it in preparation for reading the newest book in the sequence, Hespira.
3. The best thing: It's accurately described as "Sherlock Holmes meets Jack Vance's Dying Earth". What's not to like about that?
4. The worst thing: One plot twist confused me to the point of going back and skimming a past chapter -- all for naught. My confusion was soon explained. A clarifying sentence earlier on would have helped my slow, addled brain.

Comments (29) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday February 06, 2010 at 12:29 AM

• Paul Haines has made a PDF of his novella "Wives" (from Australian anthology X⁶) available online for Hugo consideration.
• @Daybreak Magazine: "Riding in Mexico" by Brenda Cooper.
• The latest issue of Afterburn has fiction by Jason Hardy, Joanne Hall, Sheila Crosby, and Chris Ward
• The latest issue of Crossed Genres features fiction by Jason S. Ridler, Barbara Krasnoff, Scott H Andrews, Marilou Goodwin, and Jennifer Brozek
• @Subterranean Online: "The Heart of a Mouse" by K. J. Bishop.
• @Strange Horizons: "Cory's Father" by Francesca Forrest.
• @ManyBooks.net:
  • "Where I Wasn't Going" by Leigh Richmond.
  • "The Observers" by G.L. Vandenburg.
  • "Telempathy" by Vance Simonds.
  • "The Planet with No Nightmare" by James Judson Harmon.

Comments (3) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday February 06, 2010 at 12:20 AM

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub hits bookstores next week.

he charismatic and cunning Spenser Mallon is a campus guru in the 1960s, attracting the devotion and demanding sexual favors of his young acolytes. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual in a local meadow, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered body--and the shattered souls of all who were present.

Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and to his friends by writing a book about this horrible night, and it's through this process that they begin to examine the unspeakable events that have bound them in ways they cannot fathom, but that have haunted every one of them through their lives. As each of the old friends tries to come to grips with the darkness of the past, they find themselves face-to-face with the evil triggered so many years earlier. Unfolding through the individual stories of the fated group's members, A Dark Matter is an electric, chilling, and unpredictable novel that will satisfy Peter Straub's many ardent fans, and win him legions more.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday February 06, 2010 at 12:12 AM

Interviews & Profiles

• Sci-Fi Fan Letter interviews James Knapp (State of Decay).
• Wizards interviews Elaine Cunningham, Ed Greenwood, Erin Evans, Mark Sehestedt, Richard Lee Byers, Christopher Rowe and more.

• David S. Goyer steps down as FlashForward showrunner. [via Robert J. Sawyer]
• The Father of Steampunk, K.W. Jeter, signs with Angry Robot.
• New Hubble Images of Pluto! [via Michael A. Burstein]
• Amazon vs. Macmillan updates and related:
  • Authors Guild Launches Amazon Buy Button-Tracking Program: WhoMovedMyBuyButton.com.
  • Third major publisher (Hachette) dumps Amazon $9.99 e-books model. [via Nick Mamatas]
  • HarperCollins and Hachette Join Macmillan.
  • Teleread: Maybe we should be hurting the authors.
  • Tobias Buckell asks Why do people want more expensive backlist books?
  • Michael A. Stackpole on Authors Can Be Stupid: Entitlement? Really?
  • Charlie Stross' Amazonfail round-up.
  • Finally: Amazon begins re-listing Macmillan books.
• @Fandomania: Vote for The 100 Greatest Books of All Time.
• The 40th annual Locus Poll & Survey is live! The deadline for voting is April 1, 2010. Oh look! There'sa write-in for best fanzine! [Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. :)]

• Louise Marley on Making a story work.
• Rich Horton's 2009 summary for Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet.
• N.K. Jemisin on Why I Think RaceFail Was The Bestest Thing Evar for SFF
• Psychohistory: Was Hari Seldon pulling our leg?
• The Fan History Project documents the history of science fiction fandom. [via MetaFilter]
• Brenda Clough on Ways to Trash Your Writing Career: Surrender, Dorothy!
• J.M. McDermott on The Collectors' Narrative.
• Justine Larbalestier on Zombies versus Unicorns Cover.
• MTV asks: : Which Oscar Sci-Fi Snub is the Most Offensive?
• Fanboy on Why George Lucas is More Original Than James Cameron.
• Check out John Anealio's Interstellar Jukebox!
  

• Art:
  • Cover Pr0n: Todd Lockwood's shows off his awesome skillz with the cover art for Tom Lloyd's The Ragged Man.
  • 3 awesome reasons to attend John Picacio's Guest of Honor Slideshow at Boskone.
  • @Robots & Vamps: A small gallery of Paul Youll covers.
• @Sci-Fi Heaven: Top 10 Sci-Fi Movie Quotes.
• @IGN: Top 10 Sci-Fi Shows That Deserve A Remake. Voyagers? Really?
• @SciFi Wire: 10 insane sci-fi sports that make the Super Bowl look tame.
• @TopFive: The Top 9 Funniest Scenes We'd Like to See in Sci-Fi.
• @BBC: Dr Who Quiz - New Earth. [via Look At This...]
• @SciFi Scanner: Mary Robinette Kowal lists The 10 Best Fantasy Movie Sequels.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday February 06, 2010 at 12:05 AM

[Voice Of The Fans is a weekly feature on SF Signal where we post an interesting item, handcrafted by the Secret Masters of Fandom, specifically for the fans of science fiction and fantasy to voice their opinions and be heard. If you have a topic (and incidentally be inducted into the SMOF via an embarrassing yet strangely compelling secret ceremony), drop us a line at voice (at) sfsignal (dot) com.]

WARNING: There will be spoilers below, if you haven't seen the latest episode, or want to stay otherwise unspoiled, read no further!

The greatest SF show currently on TV began its final season this past Tuesday. In case the post title didn't give it away, I'm speaking of LOST,of course! Sure it was slow to start, with the SF elements safely tucked away and only hinted at, but by the middle of the third season LOST cranked up the science fiction to 11. Not just content with someone's consciousness cavorting up and down the time stream, the writers have given also given us time skipping heroes, vanishing islands and much, much more, culminating in this seasons dueling realities, plus smoke monster!

I'm very curious and a wee bit excited to see where the LOST story will end up. Which is where you come in. What do you think will happen at the end of LOST? Will the realities merge to form a new one or they will they be destined to duke it out a la Fringe?

One thing I know for certain: I'll be very sad to see LOST hang it up. It's been a constant for me for the past six years and it's only gotten better the past two and a half season. I'm confident it will end on a high and not disappoint. Although, if the writers could find some way to use our end of LOST idea, I think that would put it over the top...

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: LOST, TV
Posted by JP Frantz at Friday February 05, 2010 at 4:56 AM

From the YouTube description:

Presenting Heavy Metal Pulp, a new line of novels combining noir fiction with fantastic art featuring the themes, story lines, and graphic styles of Heavy Metal magazine.

In Pleasure Model, the first book in the Netherworld trilogy, down-and out police detective Rook gets a big break when hes assigned to a bizarre and vicious murder case. The clues are colder than the corpse and the case looks like it'll remain unsolved--until an eyewitness is discovered. But the witness is a Pleasure Model, an illegal gene-grown human. Plesur's only purpose is to provide satisfaction to her owner--in any way. When the murderer targets Plesur in order to eliminate the one witness, Rook takes her into hiding to protect her. Thus begins a descent into the dark world of exotic pleasure mods and their illicit buyers and manufacturers. Rook frantically looks for clues, struggling to stay one stop ahead of those looking to kill them both. But is Rook falling under Plesur's spell?

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Friday February 05, 2010 at 12:20 AM

There is still some time left to enter our giveaway for a signed copy of James Rollins' latest scientific thriller Altar of Eden, but hurry!

See the original post for the details on how to enter.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Friday February 05, 2010 at 12:20 AM

From the makers of RoboCop Rap!

Funny...I don't remember Paul Reiser looking like an 80's teenager when I first saw the film...

[via Geeks are Sexy]

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Movies, Music
Posted by John DeNardo at Friday February 05, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• The Long Write interviews Sean Williams.
• J. Robert King profiles Ed Greenwood.
• SciFi Bookshelf interviews Jeffrey A. Carver.
• Hero Complex on Philip K. Dick, The Last Decade.
  

• Simon Drax is serializing an online novel, Doomtroopers.
• Night Shade ebooks: DRM-Free, only $6.00. (via John Ottinger)
• Innsmouth Free Press Multiethnic Issue TOC.
• New Message from Macmillan CEO John Sargent.
• Subterranean Press announces 2 NEW Announcing 2 new Robert Silverberg titles.
  
• Clive Barker's Nightbreed Screens (Uncut!) for the First Time Ever.
• Pyr Editor Lou Anders made it into the final cut of the upcoming film The People vs George Lucas.
  

• Charlie Stross questions whether information truly wants to be free. [via PyrBooks]
  
• Rich Horton's Summary: Wallace anthologies, 2009.
• Sue Burke on Study examines sf/f/h publishing in Spain, 2005-2009.
• Tansy Rayner Roberts on Reading as a Luxury.
• Fantasy magazine on Goodbye to Kage Baker.
• SFWA on The Importance of Style Sheets.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Freelancer's Survival Guide: Role Models.
• The Book Publicity Blog on Facebook profile or fan page? Who should set it up -- author? Publisher?
• Janice Hardy on Brains on a Page.
• Nathan Bransford on It's a Great Time to Be An Author.
  
• John Scalzi on Why In Fact Publishing Will Not Go Away Anytime Soon: A Deeply Slanted Play in Three Acts and A Quick Interview of Me, By Me, To Catch Up With Everything Amazon.
  
• JM McDermott on Evidence That Authors Are The Least Important Part Of Books.
  
• CJ Cherryh on Words from the Wise.
• Jonathan McCalmont on We are all sheep: Avatar, Bayonetta and the hypnosis of low-brow culture.
• The Guardian on Going back to the future with steampunk.
• John Anealio's commentary on his song "Cylon #6".
  
• Connie Willis's Blackout Arrives after a decade.
• Cover Pr0n: The Fires of Heaven ebook, cover by Dan Dos Santos.
  
• Catherynne M. Valente on Self-publishing. [via Making Light]
• Blake Charlton on What Happens to a Debut Author's Brain on #Amazonfail.
• T.J. McIntyre on Money for Nothing.
• Jay Lake on What my publisher does for me, and why I won't just quit.
• Michael Stackpole on Authors Can Be Stupid: Please Feed the Authors!
• The Huffington Post on The Macmillan vs. Amazon Throwdown.
• Nick Mamatas on All right, why writing isn't like music.
• Sarah Monette on Don't talk back, just drive the car.
• Alison Janssen on Defending Your Life.
• John Scalzi's Thoughts on This Year's SciFi Oscar Nominations.
  
• GeekDad lists The 10 Most Useful Gadgets From Science Fiction and Comics.
  
• Nancy Jane Moore on Brave New (Writing) World: Publisher vs. Retailer vs. Manufacturer.
• Andrew Wheeler on Myths of Amazon/Macmillan.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Friday February 05, 2010 at 12:05 AM

My name is JP and I'm a science fiction fanatic. Sure I've tried other genres, fantasy, horror and mainstream come to mind, but science fiction is always my primary interest and the genre that I read almost exclusively when it comes to fiction. The reasons are numerous, and in future installments I'll go over other reasons why I like science fiction over all other genres, but today I'm going to focus on science fiction's arch nemesis, at least in the minds of many fans: mainstream fiction.

A look at the New York Times Bestseller List shows an all too common site for fiction, namely it's populated by thrillers, crime/mystery stories and other assorted dramas. Most of them don't venture outside the realm of the mundane, focusing on the "real", albeit fictionally. There are the exceptions, but those are usually in the fantasy/supernatural department. Rarely does a science fiction book hit the list, and rarer still does one stay on for an extended period of time. A glance at the summaries of most of these books does absolutely nothing for me. They are mundane, slightly boring and most definitely not interesting to me. That's why I love science fiction. It's not afraid to explore those ideas that mainstream won't, or can't.

Comments (5) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday February 04, 2010 at 12:25 AM

Your Mission (should you choose to accept it): Tell us which cover you like best and why.

Books shown here:

• Muse and Reverie by Charles de Lint (Artist: John Jude Palencar)


• Wings of Wrath by Celia Friedman (Artist: Unknown)


• Lesser Demons by Norman Partridge (Artist: Vincent Chong)

NOTE: Bigger, better cover art images are available by clicking the images or title links...

Comments (14) | PermaLink | Category: Art, Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday February 04, 2010 at 12:24 AM

Filmmaker Dan Gaud has channeled his inner alternate ego in the parallel world short film, Leap:

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday February 04, 2010 at 12:18 AM

There are still a few days left to enter our giveaway for a copy of the Rocket Boy and the Geek Girl eBook...

See the original post for the details on how to enter.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday February 04, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• Fantasy Literature interviews Katie MacAlister.
• The Agony Column has a tribute to Kage Baker (podcast).
• Neth Space interviews Joel Sheperd.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Katharine Beutner.
• Jason Sanford interviews David Backer of Fiction Daily.
• Gail Z. Martin intervews Walter Hunt and Simon R. Green (podcasts).
• SciFi Cover-to-Cover interviews Daniel Suarez.
• The future and You interviews Gregory Benford.
  
• ArtOrder asks "Can I Be a Cover Artist?" Responses from Lou Anders, Todd Lockwood, Kate Irwin, Ralph Horsley, Mike Vaillancourt, and Irene Gallo.

• From PS Publishing: New Gene Wolfe novel, The Sorcerer's House, for pre-order, Secret Histories price-cut, postage rates capped, and much more!
• The Fiction-Writing Directorate. (via Amal El-Mohtar)
• Submissions are officially open for Issue #2 of Survival By Storytelling Magazine.
  
• The Preliminary Stoker Ballot.
• Apple Orders Change in the Stanza eReader Application.
• Resnick & Malzberg's "Dialogues" to be collected in a book by McFarland.
  

• Rich Horton's Summary: Dozois anthologies, 2009.
• Jay Lake on The folly of buying used books as a protest against the publisher and Amazon and the Price of Silence. (An index of Jay's Amazon/Macmillan links.)
  
• Mary Anne Mohanraj on Response to comments two entries ago.
• Jeff VanderMeer on E-Books and Issues of Entitlement.
• Bloggasm on Tor authors express worry over their careers because of Macmillan/Amazon dispute.
• Cheryl Morgan on Further Amazon Thoughts.
• Indie Author on Amazon v. Macmillan: Authors, Are You Backing The Right Horse?
  
• Genreville On Publishing and the Modernization of the Hunch.
• Hal Duncan on Notes from New Sodom: The Kerspindle Kerfuffle.
• Margaret Ronald on How much would you pay?
  
• Charlie Stross on Information, Freedom, Flame-bait.
  
• Leyla Aker on Yukikaze, More Than "Plane Porn".
• The Mad Hatters on What is the Weirdest Book You've Ever Read?
• Wizard of the Coast on FR Authors Speak: Unexpected Talents.
• Shawn Speakman on Question: Freewriters vs. Outliners.
• Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on The "Rules" of Writing.
• Rachelle Gardner on Should You Have a Book Trailer?
• Diana Pharaoh Francis on Writing Companions.
• Stroppy Author on How orphaned is an orphaned work?
• Janice Hardy on Re-Write Wednesday: The Frankendraft.
• F. Paul Wilson on Creating a series hero.
• Pimp My Novel on If They Use These Names, I Want Royalties.
• Ripley Patton on The Sir Julius Vogel Award in New Zealand.
• The Science of Fiction lists The Thirty-Five Sexiest Men of Science Fiction.
  
• Teleread on The real agenda of Apple's ebook partners: death to ebooks.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Thursday February 04, 2010 at 12:05 AM

There's an overwhelming selection of appealing titles to choose from when it comes to reading science fiction, fantasy and horror books. Yet some titles float to the top of the pile, making them more immediate candidates for the next books you'll read.

Read on to see the tasty selections of this week's panelists...

Art the top of my stack is Islington Crocodiles, the highly praised short fiction collection by the UK's Paul Meloy. Intro by is by Graham Joyce. Really looking forward to that.

Next up: Strange Forces - The Stories of Leopoldo Lugones, a collection of fantastical stories from an Argentine writer released in 1906. Lugones is very well known in Latin America, almost unheard of here. He's supposed to have been an eccentric a la Lovecraft and killed himself over a woman 30 years his junior by drinking a mixture of whiskey and cyanide.

Horacio Quiroga is a classic Latin American writer of extremely dark stories, some of which are included in The Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories. A disciple of Poe, he lived a tormented life that included the suicide of one wife and desertion by his wife and child while enduring his final illness. Many of his stories are set in the jungle where much of his life was spent. Sounds like my kind of guy.

Lucy Snyder's Spellbent -- I'm not sure what this one is, a YA I guess, but it sounds like a blast. About hell coming to Ohio. Having played in a lot of Ohio's armpit bars, I can relate.

Comments (10) | PermaLink | Category: Mind Meld
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday February 03, 2010 at 12:29 AM

We have yet another giveaway in store for you this week, this time we are giving away a copy of the new Jean-Claude Van Damme/Dolph Lundgren movie Universal Soldier: Regeneration. I saw the original Universal Soldier way back when it first hit the theaters and enjoyed it for what it was. But what bout Regeneration? The synopsis:

With stolen top-secret technology, terrorists have created a next-generation Universal Soldier - an elite fighter genetically altered into a programmable killing machine. With this "UniSol" leading the way, they seize the crippled Chernobyl nuclear reactor, threatening to unleash a lethal radioactive cloud.

The only one who can stop them is Luc Deveraux , a UniSol who's been decommissioned for years. Reactivated and retrained, Deveraux must make a full-out assault on the heavily armed fortress. But inside, he'll discover not one but two of these virtually indestructible warriors. Andrew Scott , Deveraux's vicious UniSol enemy from the original Universal Soldier, has been secretly reanimated and upgraded.

How about a trailer for your entertainment:

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday February 03, 2010 at 12:20 AM

As if to solidify the connection between SciFi and wrestling, the WWE tapped William Shatner (as it were) to speak-sing WWE wrestler themes. The results are...well, see for yourself...

[via popwatch]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday February 03, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• Studio 360 interviews Connie Willis (podcast).
  
• HTML Giant interviews Paul Tremblay.
  
• The Agony Column has a recording of the SF in SF Panel Discussion with Terry Bisson, Jeff Carlson and Nancy Etchemendy.
• Starship Sofa  interviews Lucius Shepard (podcast, interview at 1:09).
  

• The 2009 Locus Recommended Reading List is now available online.
• Book Bloggers & Publishers Online Conference.
• Kaaron Warren's Walking the Tree - now with free novella!

• Rich Horton's Summary: Datlow anthologies, 2009.
• Cheryl Morgan on For A Change, Some FacebookFail.
• Jim C. Hines on e-book Privilege.
• K. Tempest Bradford on eBooks, eReaders, and why you need to keep up with the tech.
• 2009 Locus Recommended Reading List.
• Dayle McClintock on Why the Oscars still aren't giving genre films the love they deserve.
• Ian Tregilis on So We Have This Plot Hiccup, And This Deadline...
• Rachelle Gardner on The Top Ten Query Mistakes.
• Janice Hardy on Jump on Those Ideas.
• Babel Clash on Blurring the lines between fantasy and horror.
• Nathan Bransford on What Should an E-book Cost?
• Books that Amazon is Missing Out On.
• Caragh O'Brien says Dystopias Rock.
• Babel Clash on Blurring the lines between fantasy and horror.
  
• John Scalzi: A Call For Author Support.
• Jay Lake's open letter to Kindle enthusiasts and ebook activists.
  

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Posted by Charles Tan at Wednesday February 03, 2010 at 12:05 AM

I liked John's posts about SF movies so much, I shamelessly plagiarized leveraged the idea for my own post on SF movies I've seen recently.

1. Gamer (2009) - We've seen this movie before when it was called Running Man or Death Race 2000. The attempt to modernize the 'convict must fight to win his freedom' yarn by adding a 'gamer' culture falls flat. Ridiculously over the top extrapolations of the idea aside, some of the action sequences are quite decent and using Dexter as the bad guy gets a 'one-up' from me (as does using Juliette and Shawn from Psyche). Oh, the film's online 'Society' game looks uncomfortably like a 'hopped up on goofballs' Second Life. Just sayin'.


2. Push (2009) - Ever wondered what a big screen Heroes would look like? Push is your answer and it's not any better than the TV show. +1 for trying to create a new 'every day people with special powers' universe, -10000000 for failing so utterly. Campy, cheese, cliched and poorly acted, Push is barely watchable, although, if you want to see how a scream can be over acted, this is your movie.


3. District 9 (2009) is the gem from this group. I can see why it's been getting a lot praise, though I'm not going to anoint it as one of the best SF movies ever. D9 has a good story married with a surprisingly good acting effort by the lead. However, the plot ha a couple of gaping plot holes that marred it for me. Still, if you haven't seen this movie, you probably should.


4. Ghost In The Shell 2.0 (1995) - This version is the original GitS, but with new CGI effects and soundtrack. At only 85 minutes, the story blows by in a rush and can be confusing if you don't pay attention. I'm a sucker for near future Earth/ A.I. vs. biological intelligence stories and GitS has that in spades. Sadly, the new CGI does not mesh with the traditional 2D animation at all and the nudity is, at times, gratuitous (that was true of the original movie as well). If you've seen the original, there's no need to see this, if you haven't, I'd still recommend the original.


5. The Black Hole (1979) - I have a soft spot for this movie as it was one of the few I saw in an actual, honest to goodness downtown movie house, complete with giant main floor and dark balcony (in Odessa, TX). This was Disney's first PG-rated movie and the schizophrenic nature of the movie is testament to that. On one hand, we have the cute robots and a fairly light story, up until the lasers break out, people are Cuisinarted and other darker things happen. Add in a religious sub-text to the eponymous black hole that is half-heartedly brought up before being shoved in your face by the 2001-light ending and you'ove got a movie that could have been better, but probably not by Disney. Still, it's a move about exploring black holes, that's worth 3 stars right there!


6. Franklyn (2008) - Exactly 1/3 of the story threads in this intertwinig tale is interesting at all. I love the steampunkesque feel to the future London-ish Meanwhile City with all of it's incredible inhabitants. It reminded me of part of Hal Duncan's Vellum where the main character runs around using chi-guns to whack people. Interesting! The rest is pretty much a bore and how they all finally meet at the end is as disappointing as it is almost completely random. I'd watch a while movie about Meanwhile City, sadly this isn't it.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 11:29 AM

REVIEW SUMMARY: I seriously can't get enough of Punktown.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A collection of short stories set in the fascinatingly dark and gritty city of Punktown.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Atmospheric stories; interesting characters and situations; many stories pack a punch.
CONS: Some story endings were confusing.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good group of stories and a great introduction to the bizarreness that is Punktown.

My first encounter with Jeffrey Thomas' Punktown -- you always remember your first encounter with Punktown - was the short story "In His Sights". That story left me wanting more so I soon gobbled up Deadstock and Blue War. It hit me like a ton of bricks, Punktown did...this fascinating gallery of humans, aliens, and inter-dimensional beings that exists on the faraway world of Oasis. "Punktown" is what the locals call the sprawling city of Paxton and it's an oddly appealing place. It's been the setting of many stories written by Thomas that have appeared in various venues over the years.

Voices From Punktown is a collection of stories set in this bizarre locale. As expected, the city plays host to many well-imagined aliens and creatures and generally colorful characters. The Choom (shown here), a native race to Oasis who look essentially human except for their mouths which stretch from ear to ear, even make an appearance or two.

The dark, gritty city of Punktown is the perfect backdrop for Thomas' blend of science fiction and horror. The stories seem to accentuate the "single conceit" aspect of short fiction, making each one come off like a well-executed manipulation of the short form. The author also tweaks the use of language for additional enjoyment. Toskins (for example), the reluctant business man of "Do You Know This Girl?", doesn't just walk over a busy street's overpass, he crosses " the roaring metal rapids of Folger Street", a phrase that perfectly and succinctly conjures up the desired image in the mind's eye. Such writing makes these stories come across as meticulously crafted. And while each story delivers it's own vibe, the sum is truly more than it's parts: Punktown feels like a living, breathing entity in it's own right, a place I want to visit even more. And that disturbs me.

Standout stories in this collection include "Johnny Pharaoh", "Do You Know This Girl?", and the Cthulhu story ""The Bones of the Old Ones"

Individual story reviews follow...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:29 AM

SF Signal has a signed copy of James Rollins' latest scientific thriller Altar of Eden to give away to one lucky reader.

Here's the book description:

Following the fall of Baghdad, two Iraqi boys stumble upon armed men looting the city zoo. The floodgates have been opened for the smuggling of hundreds of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles to Western nations, but this crime hides a deeper secret. Amid a hail of bullets, a concealed underground weapons lab is ransacked--and something even more horrific is set free.

Seven years later, Louisiana state veterinarian Lorna Polk stumbles upon a fishing trawler shipwrecked on a barrier island. The crew is missing or dead, but the boat holds a frightening cargo: a caged group of exotic animals, clearly part of a black market smuggling ring.

Yet, something is wrong with these beasts, disturbing deformities that make no sense: a parrot with no feathers, a pair of Capuchin monkeys conjoined at the hip, a jaguar cub with the dentition of a saber-toothed tiger. They also all share one uncanny trait--a disturbingly heightened intelligence.

To uncover the truth about the origin of this strange cargo and the terrorist threat it poses, Lorna must team up with a man who shares a dark and bloody past with her and is now an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol, Jack Menard.

Together, the two must hunt for a beast that escaped the shipwreck while uncovering a mystery tied to fractal science and genetic engineering, all to expose a horrifying secret that traces back to humankind's earliest roots.

But can Lorna stop what is about to be born upon the altar of Eden before it threatens not only the world but also the very foundation of what it means to be human?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:25 AM

The Suvudu Free Book Library has been updated with a new title: Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon available in ePub/Stanza, Mobi/Palm/Kindle, and RTF formats.

Here's the book description:

Paksenarrion--Paks, for short--refuses her father's orders to marry the pig farmer down the road and is off to join the army. And so her adventure begins--the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:20 AM

The contents of free web 'zine Clarkesworld Magazine #40 have been posted:

FICTION:

• "Torquing Vacuum" by Jay Lake
• "The Language of the Whirlwind" by Lavie Tidhar

• Chameleon of the Fantastic: An Interview with Jeffrey Ford by Jason S. Ridler
• Earth Science Gets No Respect by Russ Colson
• 2009 Reader's Poll Results by Neil Clarke

COVER ART: "Transfiguration of Sergeant 05" by Bryan Sola

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:18 AM

Asimov's has posted the table of contents (with samples) for the March 2010 issue:

NOVELETTES

• "Helping Them Take the Old Man Down" by William Preston
• "Blind Cat Dance" by Alexander Jablokov
• "The Tower" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

• "Centaurs" by Benjamin Crowell
• "Ticket Inspector Gliden Becomes the First Martyr of the Glorious Human Uprising" by Derek Zumsteg
• "The Speed of Dreams" by Will Ludwigsen

• "Marble People" by Bruce Boston
• "Crazy Man" by Mark Rich
• "Our Canine Defense Team" by Vincent Miskell

• Editorial: Affecting Eternity II by Sheila Williams
• Reflections: Showing and Telling by Robert Silverberg
• The Price of Free [Part 1] by James Patrick Kelly
• Next Issue by Brian Bieniowski
• On Books by Paul Di FilippoThe SF Conventional Calendar by Erwin S. Strauss

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:13 AM

Analog has posted the table of contents for the April 2010 issue:

NOVELLA

• "Swords And Saddles" by John G. Hemry

• "Snowflake Kisses" by Holly Hight & Richard A. Lovett
• "The Robots' Girl" by Brenda Cooper

• "A Sound Basis For Misunderstanding" by Carl Frederick
• "Nothin' But Blue Skies" by Stephen L. Burns
• "When We Were Fab" by Jerry Oltion
• "The Planet Hunters" by S.L. Nickerson

• What's In A Kiss? The Wild, Wonderful World Of Philematology by Richard A. Lovett

• The Editor's Page
• In Times to Come
• The Alternate View by Jeffery D. Kooistra
• BIOLOG: BRENDA COOPER by Richard A. Lovett
• The Reference Library by Don Sakers
• The 2009 Index
• Analytical Laboratory Ballot
• Brass Tacks
• Upcoming Events by Anthony Lewis

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:12 AM

In case you missed them, here are The Top 20 SF Signal Posts for January 2010:

1. MIND MELD: Anime Film Favorites (+ The Top 14 Anime Films of All Time!)
2. 1945A: You Got SciFi in My Alternate History!
3. MIND MELD: What's the Best Story to Never Win a Hugo?
4. Avatar: The Good and The Bad
5. 2009: A Year in Review [John's Take]
6. A Dozen Doses of Free Fiction From Robert A. Heinlein and Fritz Leiber
7. Book Cover Smackdown! 'The Shadow Rising' vs. 'A Game of Thrones' (French)
8. Have You Ever Binge-Read An Author?
9. Which Books Have You Bought More Than Once?
10. [GUEST POST] Sarah A. Hoyt on The Death of Science Fiction: It Ain't Over Till The Fat Droid Sings
11. MIND MELD: Who Should Be The Next Grand Master?
12. Free eBook: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
13. Question of the Day: What Are The Coolest SF Space Battles You've Seen?
14. Book Cover Smackdown! 'Zoo City' vs. 'Plague Year' (Czech) vs. Firedrake
15. [UPDATED] Amazon vs. Macmillan: A Battle Over eBook Prices
16. [GUEST POST] Lavie Tidhar Asks 'What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Steampunk?'
17. Trailer: Kick-Ass (Hit Girl Oriented) [NSFW]
18. Trailer: Battleship Yamato (Live Action)
19. Support for Kage Baker
20. AUDIO REVIEW: Thunder From Fenris by Nick Kyme
21. FINALISTS: 2010 BSFA Awards
22. Kage Baker Update
23. GIVEAWAY: 'Uncategorized' by Sue Lange [eBook]
24. Avatar: Creating The World Of Pandora
25. Free Fiction for 1/16/10

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:11 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• Temple Library Reviews interviews Holly Black and Ted Naifeh.
• BookBanter interviews Cherie Priest (podcast).
  
• The World SF News Blog interviews Roberto Mendes.
• The Agony Column interviews Charlie Huston (podcast).
• Vast Horizons interviews Ellen Datlow.
• Robot 6 interviews Chris Roberson.
• Suvudu interviews some bloggers on George R. R. Martin.
• The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast interviews Brian Dunning.
• Grasping for the Wind interviews Stephen Deas.
• Clarkeworld interviews Jeffrey Ford.
  

• The Best Horror of the Year Volume Three-call for submissions.
• 2010 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award Finalists.
• SFWA News: SFWA Vice President Elizabeth Moon has tendered her resignation for personal reasons and is being replaced for the term remainder by former SFWA president Michael Capobianco.
• David Langford has posted the new Ansible 271, February 2010.
  
• Vote for SF Site's Readers' Choice Awards for 2009.
• John Jude Palencar has won the Hamilton King award (presented by the Society of Illustrators) for his cover of Charles de Lint's novel Muse and Reverie.
  

• Rich Horton's Summary: Original Anthology Series, 2009.
• HarperStudio on Gen Y Asks "Why Not". (via Ami with an i)
• Ari Marmell on Fun and Games.
• Mindy Klasky on Attacking by Retreating.
• David Niall Wilson on Revision, and How it Changes a Fella...
• Juliette Wade on Point of View: more personal than pronouns.
• Andrew Wheeler on A Modest Proposal for E-Book Pricing.
• Janice Hardy on Talking About the Past.
• Nicola Morgan on Pitch Your Hook.
• Richard Bowes Thoughts on The Catcher in the Rye.
  

• Kevin Maher lists 5 Cartoon Visions of the Future.
• The Science of Fiction is taking nominations for best looking guys in sci-fi/fantasy.
  
• Photo Quiz: Name That Movie Planet.
• Jamie Bolton's Minimalistic Movie Posters.
  
• Where Star Wars credits go when they scroll off screen.
  

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Posted by Charles Tan at Tuesday February 02, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power is based James Patterson's best-selling book series, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X and it's also a new game from THQ for the Nintendo DS/i game systems and one lucky SF Signal reader is going to win a copy for their very own!

First, a bit of explanation about the Daniel X world:

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X is the story of Daniel, a young boy who possesses the incredible power of creation that he inherited from his alien parents. But Daniel also inherited something far more sinister: a frightening Wanted List of aliens that are bent on destroying Earth.

Here are some of the features for in Daniel X: The Ultimate Power:

• Daniel possesses the unique ability to create objects from nothing. The player will use this skill in creative ways to overcome obstacles, save friends and prevent the aliens on The List from taking over the world.


• Take Daniel through an alien world where he must use his intellect to solve puzzles in unique ways and battle otherworld enemies to get back to Earth.


• As an expert in many forms of combat, Daniel can kick, slam, bash and stomp his foes into submission, mixing it up with his alien telekinetic powers for a little extra fun.


• DSi Functionality allowing players to use their Nintendo DSi camera to take photos of family and friends. Let the Daniel X Alien Detector determine who can be trusted and who is an alien.

Sounds quite fun to me!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday February 01, 2010 at 12:23 PM

Back in the day, reading speculative fiction was something young people did outside of school. Today it's much more common to find speculative fiction books in their book bags. [grumble, grumble...these kids don't know how good they have it...grumble, grumble] While it may be some of the same standard speculative fiction books that are assigned, there are always a great list of alternative science fiction titles that should be assigned to students.

We received an email from one student, Ryan Bonick, who is supposed to read 2 short stories for a paper he is writing. His assigned author is Ursula K. Le Guin and has a simple question that I am passing along to our readers for their opinions:

Q: What are Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories?

Leave a comment after the beep....

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 01, 2010 at 12:25 AM

Courtesy of the fine folks at Book View Cafe, SF Signal has 2 eBook copies of Rocket Boy and the Geek Girls, an anthology edited by Phyllis Irene Radford. It's an anthology of classic and favorite science fiction stories by the BVC authors, never before gathered in a single collection.

Here's the table of contents:

SPACE

1. "Emancipation" by Pati Nagle
2. "Rocket Boy on Call" by Pati Nagle
3. "Blindsided by Venus in the House of Mars" by Nancy Jane Moore
4. "Sitting Shiva" by Judith Tarr
5. "Kinds of Strangers" by Sarah Zettel

6. "Alien Voices" by P.R. Frost
7. "Abelard's Kiss" by Madeleine Robins
8. "Perfect Stranger" by Amy Sterling Casil
9. "Revenants" by Judith Tarr

10. "Its Own Reward" by Katharine Kerr
11. "Your First" by C.L. Anderson
12. "Gray to Black" by Brenda W. Clough
13. "Slick" by Sylvia Kelso
14. "Ask Arlen" by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff (Free sample!)

15. "Steelcollar Worker" by Vonda N. McIntyre
16. "A Mighty Fortress" by Brenda W. Clough
17. "Who Killed Science Fiction" by Jennifer Stevenson
18. "Rocket Boy and the Geek Girls" by Irene Radford

Here's how to enter for a chance to win...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 01, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday February 01, 2010 at 12:11 AM

Interviews/Profiles

• The Dragon Page interviews Gail Z. Martin (podcast).
• Hour of the Wolf interviews Sheree Renee Thomas (podcast).
• Larry Nolen interviews Darren Campo.
• Fantasy Magazine interviews Sarah Monette.
• The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast interviews David Moore and Jonathan Oliver.

• Fantasy Magazine: Now Available for Free at the App Store.
• Terry Pratchett ready to be test case for suicide law.
• Announcement about SFWA vice president.
• Cris Robins and The Robins Agency: She's Ba-aaack!

• Rich Horton's Summary: Cabinet des Fées, 2009.
• The Guardian on Apple + iPad + Huxley = Orwellian nightmare.
• Anna Tambour on "Small press" is no excuse for this dog's breakfast, vomited.
• Odyssey Workshop on Writing Tip: Looking/Eye Words.
• Madeleine E. Robins on Ways to Trash Your Writing Career: Delayed on Account of Research.
• Alma Alexander on Finish It.
• Janice Hardy on Passing Through.
• Nicola Morgan on Self Editing - A Bit Like Weeding.
• David Levine's Mars Journal.
  

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Monday February 01, 2010 at 12:05 AM

We knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any less sad...

Green Man Review is reporting that Kage Baker passed away early this morning. They posted this update from Kathleen Bartholomew, Kage Baker's sister and care giver:

She died at 1:15 this morning. She had begun to have difficulty breathing early this evening; I gave her atropine and morphine for the breathing problems and the pain, but by about 8 PM she slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing she requested was to have her pillows adjusted - she said she was more comfortable, and after that she said nothing else. She became unresponsive very shortly thereafter, and by her own request, no heroic efforts were made.
Her sister Anne and nieces Kate and Emma were up this weekend, and watched with me for most of the evening. . At about 1 AM her breathing got louder and lighter and more urgent, though her pupils were not responsive to light; there was a rush of bile from her mouth, and then she passed away very quietly in our arms.
Kage's body will go to MedCure, a body donation program working on training surgery students. They will cremate it and return the ashes to me in about 3 weeks. Her ashes will then be scattered half from Catalina Island and half from Plaskett Creek beach near Big Sur.

Also see remembrances and appreciations from:

• Summer Brooks
• Michael A. Burstein
• Marty Halpern
• David G. Hartwell
• Mur Lafferty
• George R.R. Martin
• Cat Rambo
• Madeleine Robins
• Jeff VanderMeer
• Andrew Wheeler

Comments (5) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday January 31, 2010 at 3:47 PM

The Interwebs are ablaze with a disagreement between book publisher Macmillan and bookseller Amazon about the price of eBooks.

In short: Macmillan (who doesn't want to undermine their print book business) allegedly wants Amazon to raise their Macmillan eBook prices from $10 to $15. In retaliation, Amazon (who wishes to promote their Kindle reading device, even if it means selling eBooks at a loss) stopped selling Macmillan titles altogether (except through 3rd parties).

[1/30/10 UPDATE: Amazon Concedes to Macmillan on E-Book pricing]
[2/4/10 UPDATE: Or did they?]
[2/4/10 UPDATE: New Message from Macmillan CEO John Sargent]

Interesting links abound:

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday January 31, 2010 at 12:28 AM

Check out these amazing animation from Clément Morin. I love the look of these...

Invasions

Second Souffle

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday January 31, 2010 at 12:15 AM

• Interviews & Profiles
  • Locus Online has a Locus magazine interview excerpt with Charles Coleman Finlay.
  • Blue Moon Rising interviews artist Jeff Carlisle.
  • Frederik Pohl on Isaac Asimov (part 2).


• News
  • The storySouth Million Writers Award is now open. The deadline for nominations is February 28, 2010.
  • Diana Rowland submits candidacy for South/Central Regional Director of SFWA.


• Articles
  • Sci Fi Wire on The most influential sci-fi movie scores. Or are they?
  • Wired on one of the Great Geek Debates: Data vs. Every Other Android.
  • Matthew Sanborn Smith has posted Episode 25 of his always-entertaining podcast Beware the Hairy Mango. L


• Fun Stuff
  • Can you name the films from these robot/android/cyborg/etc pictures?
  • David B. Ellis is painting Dune.
  • 5 SF/F titles are listed in this list of The 50 Most Captivating Book Covers of All Time. [via The C.O.B.]

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday January 31, 2010 at 12:05 AM

And by "reads" I mean "over-acts".

Bonus for the daring viewer who clicks play: Fred Travalena!

So..apparently that 6 and not 5 Disturbing Things I Didn't Know About William Shatner.

Comments (4) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday January 30, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Articles

• M. John Harrison reviews Plan for Chaos by John Wyndham: "Despite its academic interest, Plan for Chaos is an almost unreadable book...it comes with an introduction by Christopher Priest, which is a good deal more interesting than the book itself." Ouch!
• Mike Resnick on Chemo for Algernon.
• Madeleine E. Robins on Ways to Trash Your Writing Career: Delayed on Account of Research.
• Maurizio Manzieri's 2009 Published Art.
• Mary Robinette Kowal says Call the AARP! Middle Earth's Ageism Needs an Intervention!

• John Jude Palencar wins the Hamilton King Award.
• Space Shuttle Atlantis highlights 2010 Nebula Awards Weekend.
• Chuck Gannon joins Steve White to continue Starfire Universe.
• The Abaddon & Solaris Books Pocast is here.
• The Black Library gets a new logo.
• Kevin J. Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, Rebecca Moesta, and Eric Flint are offering an intensive, no-nonsense 3-day writing seminar on March 19-21 at the Pasadena Convention Center.

• XKCD's take on the Mars Spirit rover.
• John Anealio's video commentary for "Cylon #6" (Part 6).
• The Top 8 Signs You're Reading a Bad Utopia Novel
• The Top Ten Sci-Fi Fathers and Daughters.
• 9 underrated, overlooked sci-fi and fantasy films of 2009

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday January 30, 2010 at 12:05 AM