Beneath the skin of the world you know, a terrible machine grinds and gnashes its gears. Its cogs range in size from the flap of a butterfly’s wings to the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. The God-Machine’s tools are timeclocks and angels, crushing banality and outrageous supernatural intervention; these contradictions are unified in the alien-clockwork of its inevitability. Azathoth is not a screaming, pulsating tumor of chaos at the center of reality; it is rust and cold and wire, soldered together. The factory assembly line for the banality of evil. Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation, made from iron and clockwork and tesla coils. This is the premise behind The God-Machine Chronicle, the newest major World of Darkness offering (and its attendent short fiction anthology). Based on the piece of flavor text that began the core World of Darkness book, The God Machine Chronicle also introduces a number of major rules updates.

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The third and final installment of Chris Moriarty’s Spin Trilogy, Ghost Spin, releases at the end of May—nearly seven years after the initial release of Spin Control, itself the brilliant follow-up to her debut novel, Spin State. In much the same way that the second book differed significantly from the first in tone, focus, and structure, Ghost Spin is an ambitious attempt to once again provide a fresh angle on this universe and its problems—this time with space pirates, fractured AIs, and a desperate two-pronged search for answers to questions that are at first personal, but are ultimately the force that will shift the direction of the future.

The story revolves primarily around Catherine Li and Cohen, with the addition of other narrators, including ex-Navy captain, now-pirate William Llewellyn. In the opening chapter, Cohen is trapped on a backwater planet recently taken over by the UN—and, as a security team closes in on him, he commits suicide. His component parts are auctioned off almost instantly, as is the usual procedure for decoherent AIs; however, he’s left a trail of clues for Li, and the only hope for what he was trying to do, to save, is that she’ll find and pursue them. Li herself, without Cohen’s protection, is also in plenty of danger—from Nguyen, from the Syndicates demanding her extradition, and elsewhere. The question of what Cohen was up to, as well as how she can finish the job and put him back together, drives Li to make a series of dangerous and significant decisions that might alter the course of humanity’s future.

[A review.]

Season 8, Episodes 20 and 21: “Essence”/“Existence”
Original Airdates: May 13 and May 20, 2001

If it seems like we keep ending eras, we do. We do keep ending eras. We’ve said goodbye to the Consortium, and we’ve said goodbye to regular appearances from Agent Mulder, and, well, you know. It’s been a lot of change, a lot of goodbyes, and honestly I think we’ve handled it pretty well! But you guys, I hate to break it to you, we’ve got to do it again. We’ve got to say goodbye to the show as we know it, to the show that’s about Mulder and Scully solving cases together. This is it. This is the end of that. Are you ready? Better yet: is the show ready?

[I just felt a contraction.]

So the story is that there’s an interdimensional portal under the sea and something—maybe us?—accidentally opened it and WE’RE SORRY. WE DIDN’T KNOW. And now monsters. To which the only logical solution is to build robots to punch them. We like this plan! We’re excited to be a part of it!

Watch the new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro’s thought-vacation Pacific Rim. Because it is awesome. See that guy in the picture up there? We have no idea who he is. And we don’t care. Do you care? The monster is staring at him. That is what we care about.

[New trailer for Pacific Rim]

A few weeks ago, IGN took a stab at highlighting a few of the best vendettas in video game history. While a few inescapable classics will make almost any list largely based on tradition and recurrence (see: Nintendo and Sega’s brand-defining characters), we decided to highlight a few of our own favorites this week and volunteer them into the discussion.

[Warning: potential decades-old spoilers ahead.]

Well everyone, we’ve completed our 12 book re-read of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books. Thanks for sticking with me! But we can’t end this journey without discussing the long-awaited conclusion, book thirteen—Dead Ever After. Unfortunately, there were a number of spoilers released before the publication date, which I studiously avoided. After committing to thirteen books in this series, there was no way I would spoil the ending! But now that the book is out, permit me to spoil it now? I’ll give a short recap and then let’s discuss this potential HEA.

[Beware, Spoilers after the jump!]

The most recent season of Doctor Who has been one hell of a rollercoaster, dramatic within and without. First it was split in two, then Clara showed up early, then Amy and Rory left, then news about the 50th anniversary started overshadowing the season, then the show’s producer abruptly quit, then the Tenth Doctor came back, then the Ninth Doctor didn’t, then the final episode leaked early....

The quality of the episodes themselves has been markedly variable, as reflected in our own reviews, and it’s getting harder and harder not to feel so down about the show. But Doctor Who is still the best damn sci-fi show on television, so before the season closes we thought we’d get back in the spirit and comment on our favorite Eleventh Doctor episodes from the Moffat era.

[Come along, honorary Ponds]

Welcome back to the Way of Kings reread! We’ve reached Chapter 11, and with it the end of Part One. As such, I’ll only be covering one chapter this week, but will also offer my impressions on the entirety of Part One. I’ll discuss the characters introduced, how they developed, how the Part functions as a whole, and more.

In addition to that, I have stories from Brandon Sanderson’s visit to Tor headquarters, a special (and incredibly limited) giveaway of The Rithmatist, and more, all below the cut.

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I have a special emotional attachment to the comic book mini-series Shadows of the Empire. Issue #4 sports a beautifully painted Hugh Fleming cover featuring Leia and Chewie in their bounty hunter disguises but it ALSO contains, in the editorial section, a letter from a young fan complaining about stuff that happened in issue #1. This young fan felt like Rogue Squadron’s dialogue was “forced and unrealistic,” and his name was Ryan Britt. (The Dark Horse people were nice enough to publish my letter, and I’ve forever believed the improved dialogue in the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron series must have been a direct result of my complaining.)

But listen. The comic version of Shadows of the Empire was a town of space-crazy, populated by characters with insane names. What? You don’t remember Big Gizz? Let’s remember together.

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Tor UK’s 20th anniversary edition of Jeff Noon’s Vurt was published last month. And, as Jeff won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Vurt in 1994, last week’s Arthur C. Clarke Award ceremony was a great time to look back. But as they say you judge a book by its cover, we wanted to take a look at the huge amount of work that went into this new cover look for Vurt, Pollen and Jeff Noon’s entire backlist. Curtis McFee is one of Jeff’s oldest fans and supporters, and has championed his work for years—immersing himself in Jeff’s books, designing his website and even creating a Vurt-based role-playing game.

Curtis McFee also put together a really fabulous new Vurt trailer for us. But here, we want to take a look at the new covers—look at the inspiration behind them, the creative process and various early drafts, plus what messages Curtis was trying to convey. We also wanted to find out how this creative duo met and forged the links that would lead us to this body of work today.

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Regardless of whether you’re a casual summer blockbuster moviegoer or a long-time Star Trek fan, you’ll find that Star Trek Into Darkness pitches straight down the middle. You can jump into it not knowing anything about Trek and still fully enjoy the characters, environments, and story, although there are elements within that story that will resonate deeply with Trek fans.

But just because the gang’s all here doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s Star Trek.

[A spoiler-free review of Star Trek Into Darkness]

Artist Jenny Parks has done us all a solid and re-cast many super-popular characters as cats. Thank you, Jenny! We think our favorite was this Katniss Catniss painting. Also, would a cat version of Katniss hate her family’s pet kat? Also, “the Cat on Fire,” doesn’t sound good at all.

(We saw this on The Mary Sue, Jenny Park art here.) 

Your daily collection of offsite links features a giant J. Michael Straczynski, fake Robert Downey Jrs., and Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek.

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A common defense made by anyone who is called out for advancing a stereotype is, “Stereotypes exist for a reason,” the implied message being that they are most often true. But what if by simply saying that, you were putting someone at a disadvantage? What if insisting on the accuracy of a stereotype was one of the very factors that perpetuated it? Scientific American’s June issue has some intriguing information in the article “Armor against Prejudice” by Ed Yong, on the perils of “stereotype threat” and the fascinating ways we can combat it to give future generations a better chance of success.

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We've got ten lovely copies of Yoon Ha Lee's Conservation of Shadows, out now from Prime Books. This debut collection of incredible short stories is sure to please any reader, so don't miss out—comment in the post to enter!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, comment on this post beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 15, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 p.m. ET May 20, 2013. Void outside of the 50 US, and DC where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tor.com, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

This is a novel about a time-travelling serial killer from the 1930s, his victims, the girl who survived him, and a burned-out murder-beat journalist. It’s competently, even excellently, written, makes brilliant use of a non-linear narrative to create and build tension, wears its American Literature influences proudly on its sleeve—

And for me, despite its technical competence, The Shining Girls is ultimately a frustrating mess of a novel, one whose climax falls apart under the weight of nested paradoxes.

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Universal Pictures has just debuted the first trailer for Riddick, the upcoming epic action-adventure starring Vin Diesel, and it looks like everyone’s favorite criminal is getting back to his alien-slaying roots.

[Watch the first trailer for Riddick]

Meltdown
Written by Matt Ford, directed by Ian Barry
Season 3, Episode 12

1^st US Transmission Date: 14 July 2001
1^st UK Transmission Date: 19 November 2001

Guest Cast: Sierjna (Susan Lyons), Mu-Quillus (Mark Mitchell), Xhalax (Linda Cropper)

This episode features the crew of Talyn.

Synopsis: The crew believes another Retrieval Squad will be dispatched; nonetheless they are trying, and failing, to contact Moya. Talyn is lured into a sun by radiation pulses generated by a being called Mu-Quillus. Talyn manages to resist, but only just, and the heat causes him to ooze Drexim mist that affects the crew’s judgement. A woman called Sierjna manifests to Stark and he realises she is caught between life and death, held in limbo by Mu-Quillus. He bonds himself to Talyn in a vestigial Pilot’s Den in order to save the ship. John and Aeryn locate Mu-Quillus’ power source and destroy it with Talyn’s cannon, killing Mu-Quillus and releasing Sierjna so that Stark can help her cross over to death.

[“I love it when you take control!”]

Look, we have a thing that you want! At least, we sure wanted it, and were pretty pleased when it cropped up. It's the first two clips from Only Lovers Left Alive, starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as rock-savvy vampires. Basically, it's The Hunger for all us kids who wonder why more vampire movies today aren't exactly like The Hunger.

[Watch the clips!]

Book Expo America 2013 takes place in New York City from May 29th to June 1st and Tor Books will be there! Take a look below to see which Tor authors, editors, and more will be appearing. Meet Brandon Sanderson, Ellen Datlow, Kendare Blake, and more!

Tor Books will also be present in the Macmillan section at booth 1557 for the entirety of the conference. Stop by and say hello!

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So today, we launch the cover for Kinslayer, part 2 of my Lotus War trilogy. I honestly thought there was no way our illustrator Jason Chan could top his cover for Stormdancer. Almighty Zeus, I was wrong. When Lucas wrote midi-chlorians he wasn’t as wrong as I was... actually, no, who am I kidding? Anyway, after apologizing to Jason for my lack of faith, I asked him along today to talk about the evolution of the cover design, because I’m really only capable of drooling like a 3 year old when I look at this thing. So awaaaaaay he goes.

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