I was as surprised as anyone when Wizards of the Coast decided to release reprints of their old editions. It is a smart move, and one I’m glad to see them make, but personally the really interesting thing was the deluxe reprints of their Advanced Dungeons and Dragons First Edition books. Nice paper, thick covers, ribbon bookmarks, the works. I’ve heard people complain that the shading is too dark, but to me it looks crisp, and captures some of the fainter lines that might otherwise be overlooked. The fact that they donate a portion of the profits to the Gary Gygax Memorial Fund is more than icing on the cake; it is credit where credit is due (though it would be nice to have a Dave Arneson memorial, too; maybe if they reprint the non-advanced D&D?). I decided the best thing to do with these books is to look at them both in historical context…and in comparison to what follows. So I re-read them with a critical eye and was happy to find that they have a lot of great things to recommend them, and plenty of opportunities to talk about the evolution of game design.
May 22, 2013
Super Bass
Is Gian’s love for the Summer King stronger than his hate?
May 15, 2013
The Button Man and the Murder Tree
An all-new Wild Cards story
May 14, 2013
Shall We Gather
When one world brushes another, asking the right question can be magic…
May 8, 2013
Fire Above, Fire Below
The dragon below our city has died. What is to be done?
May 23 2013 4:00pm
May 23 2013 3:30pm
Check out Edward Lazellari's The Lost Prince, out on August 20. He'll be signing at BEA next week, so be sure to stop by!:
In Lazellari’s debut fantasy, Awakenings, New York City cop Cal MacDonnell and photographer Seth Raincrest found themselves stalked by otherworldly beings intent on killing them. The two had to accept the aid of a mysterious woman to unlock their hidden pasts, and what they discovered changed their lives.
Everything they knew about their lives was an illusion. They had in fact travelled to our dimension from the medieval reality of Aandor to hide their infant prince from assassins, but upon arriving, a freak mishap wiped their memories. Cal, Seth, and the rest of their party were incapacitated, and the infant prince was lost.
Thirteen years later, that prince, Daniel Hauer, is unaware of his origins—or that he has become the prize in a race between two powerful opposing factions. Cal and Seth’s group want to keep Daniel safe. The other wants Daniel dead—by any means necessary.
May 23 2013 3:00pm
Season 9, Episodes 1 and 2: “Nothing Important Happened Today” Parts 1 and 2
Episode Airdates: November 11 and November 18, 2001
This is a pilot, sort of. A pilot for a new show called Season 9 Of The X-Files, which is a bit of a cheeky title but then again, so is “Nothing Important Happened Today.” Just like a pilot would, these two episodes seek to introduce the show’s themes, characters, and ambitions. And in that respect, it’s a good pilot. We get the new characters, and the new themes, and the new ambitions. Unfortunately, it appears to be a good pilot for a lousy show.
May 23 2013 2:00pm
Here in the UK, there’s no more prestigious prize for literature than the Man Booker, and to no-one’s surprise, British genre fiction fans have made an annual habit of bashing this very visible award for its seemingly superficial dismissal of the innumerable novels we believe to be deserving of such recognition.
I’d like to say rightly so, but if the truth be told... I don’t know. Having only read one of the last batch of shortlisted novels, I don’t feel particularly qualified to pitch in with my personal opinion. I mean, speculative fiction should certainly get a look in, and sometimes it does—Communion Town and The Teleportation Accident were both longlisted in 2012—but is it tenable to suggest a genre novel need be nominated every year? I honestly don’t think so, no.
May 23 2013 1:30pm
Despite getting a writer’s credit for Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl by all accounts hated the final film, to the point where he was reluctant to allow any of his books to be filmed at all. Aware of this, his family hesitated to allow the book to be filmed a second time unless they could retain creative control. This, naturally, delayed matters still further. It was not until several years after Dahl’s death that film producers and the Dahl family could agree on hiring director Tim Burton, whose previous work seemed perfectly matched to Dahl’s grotesque visions. It took Burton another few years to develop the film, now back to its original title, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Still more delays followed: British child labor laws limited the hours that the children could legally be on set; set design turned out to be a nightmare, and the crew had to figure out how to transform forty squirrels into movie stars. (And if you are wondering how to do this, the answer is, Squirrel Training Camp.) The final result was not released until 2005.
The decision to use Real Squirrels was but one of many factors that Burton and his creative team, armed with far more money to spend, used to make a film that would be, they declared, closer to the original book than the earlier film had been. In some ways, they succeeded magnificently—perhaps too magnificently. In two major ways, they failed.
Did you know that this was the last film Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s production company worked on before their split? I didn’t. And with that pretty much entirely irrelevant aside, let’s plunge into further discussion!
May 23 2013 1:00pm
Take a look at Antti Tuomainen’s The Healer, out now from Henry Holt and Co.:
It’s two days before Christmas and Helsinki is battling a ruthless climate catastrophe: subway tunnels are flooded; abandoned vehicles are left burning in the streets; the authorities have issued warnings about malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola, and the plague. People are fleeing to the far north of Finland and Norway where conditions are still tolerable. Social order is crumbling and private security firms have undermined the police force. Tapani Lehtinen, a struggling poet, is among the few still able and willing to live in the city.
When Tapani’s beloved wife, Johanna, a newspaper journalist, goes missing, he embarks on a frantic hunt for her. Johanna’s disappearance seems to be connected to a story she was researching about a politically motivated serial killer known as “The Healer.” Desperate to find Johanna, Tapani’s search leads him to uncover secrets from her past. Secrets that connect her to the very murders she was investigating...
May 23 2013 1:00pm
My obsessively detailed reread of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles is over, but we want to keep on talking about the books. I’m going to post the occasional speculative summary of cool things posted since last time. Spoilers for all of The Wise Man’s Fear and The Name of the Wind—these discussions assume you’ve read all of both books, and frankly they won’t make the slightest bit of sense if you haven’t. But we welcome new people who have read the books and want to geek out about them. This post is full of spoilers, please don’t venture beyond the cut unless you want them.
May 23 2013 12:00pm
Welcome back to the Way of Kings reread! With the end of part one we get to see the true evolution of a hero from the lowest point in his life. Kaladin shall rise from the ashes of who he was to become something greater. He won’t just be a polarizing warrior, but a great leader, ideal, and the resurgence of honor itself on Roshar. But before that Sanderson gives us the interludes, which are a sort of mini-tour to parts of Roshar we haven’t seen thus far. With the first set of interludes we meet a most unusual fisherman, visit with two of Shallan’s brothers, and see what Szeth has been up to since he killed a king.
May 23 2013 11:00am
Unsurprisingly, the gaming news du jour has revolved pretty exclusively around Microsoft’s official Tuesday unveiling of the Xbox 360’s successor: the Xbox One. While there have been months of build-up for this next-gen console, including its fair share of controversy and leaks of system specifications and features dating as far back as last October, the general public has not been able to set eyes on the device itself until this week.
[So what’s new? Is the always-online requirement an official reality? Click and find out.]
May 23 2013 10:00am
According to what is generally upheld in Star Wars canon, there are only about six months to one year between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. On the other hand, a lot can happen in that time, and clearly has happened by the time Han’s friends come to his rescue. Luke has gone from Rebel grays to Jedi blacks, the Alliance is stepping up their game plan, and the Emperor is suddenly interested in what’s going on.
So how did all that happen? It was Shadow’s of the Empire’s job to tell us, thirteen years after Jedi hit theaters. And it was expected to fulfill that job in more than one medium. Now it’s time to talk about the book by Steve Perry. (And the soundtrack. I love soundtracks.)
May 23 2013 9:00am
Just shy of half a century since the young Michael Moorcock took the editorial helm of a long-running magazine called New Worlds and ushered in a new age of avant-garde science fiction, it appears that we might be in the throes of the birth of a new New Wave.
The original New Wave moved away from shiny futures and bug-eyed monsters and offered more experimental literature, both in technique and subject matter, perhaps best exemplified a couple of years later in 1967 when Harlan Ellison released his Dangerous Visions anthology, bringing new voices, new ideas and a new way of telling stories to take over from the rocket-ships and square-jawed heroes that had gone before. New Wave also brought to the fore many more female writers, such as Joanna Russ and James Tiptree, Jr.
But does the emergence of a new aesthetic in (largely) contemporary British SF signal a similar movement nearly 50 years on?
May 23 2013 8:00am
John, we need to let Moriarty know this is our turf. Futher, did you bring my hat? I want to wear my fly hat so the honeys know the Sher-Lock is on Lock. You are my homey, John. Homeys are forever.
Your daily collection of offsite links includes Ackbar heads, David Tennant in your shower and more!
May 22 2013 6:00pm
Tor Books has just received word that Brandon Sanderson's first young adult novel The Rithmatist has debuted at #6 on the New York Times YA Bestseller List!
Congratulations to Brandon Sanderson and illustrator Ben McSweeney on the debut! Curious about the book? Read the first six chapters for free right here.
And read up on how Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithmatist Could Have Been an RTS Named ChalkCraft.
May 22 2013 5:00pm
There’s nuts and bolts science fiction, and then there’s science fiction where the ideas are all drawn from some other field. In the case of the Merchant Princes, underneath the second world fantasy meets techno-thriller car-crash, there’s a science fictional examination of a topic that seldom gets air-play: the political determinants of economic development and industrialization.
The world of the Clan is mired in a classic development trap—a situation that prevailed for the vast mass of humanity until roughly 1800, and which we have no actual deep understanding of how to break out of. All we really know is that, prior to 1700 or thereabouts, Great Britain was economically not very far out of line with the rest of western Europe. But by 1860 the UK had achieved a mind-boggling industrial Great Leap Forward, becoming the first truly modern superpower: with naval basing rights in 130 other countries, a navy larger than the two next largest combined, and a staggering 60% of planetary GDP, it occupied much the position in the late 19th century that the USA occupied by the late 20th century.
May 22 2013 4:30pm
The first installment in Mark T. Barnes' Echoes of Empires series just came out yesterday from 47North, and we've got three brand-new copies for you to win. Take a look at the excerpt here, then 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 22, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 p.m. ET May 26, 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.
May 22 2013 4:00pm
Take a peek at Paul S. Kemp’s A Discourse in Steel, out June 25 from Angry Robot Books:
Egil and Nix have retired, as they always said they would. No, really – they have! No more sword and hammer-play for them!
But when two recent acquaintances come calling for help, our hapless heroes find themselves up against the might of the entire Thieves Guild.
And when kidnapping the leader of the most powerful guild in the land seems like the best course of action, you know you’re in over your head...
May 22 2013 3:00pm
Scratch 'n' Sniff
Written by Lily Taylor, directed by Tony Tilse
Season 3, Episode 13
1st US Transmission Date: 20 July 2001
1st UK Transmission Date: 24 November 2001
Guest Cast: Jool (Tammy MacIntosh), Raxil (Francesca Buller), Fe'Tor (Tamblyn Lord), Theiadh (Laura Keneally), Mitols (Anthony Martin), Sarl (Milan Keyser), Heska Tinaco (Jaye Paul), Blue Girl (Julia Trappe), Green Girl (Rachel Sheriff)
This episode features the crew of Moya. It takes the form of a tale being told by John to Pilot and as such may or may not be a complete lie on John’s part.
Synopsis: Pilot throws John and D’Argo off the ship because they bicker constantly. They and the girls they head to a pleasure planet, LoMo. At a bar, John and D’Argo are picked up by two girls who spike their drinks and steal their money. Jool and Chiana leave with local hotshot Fe’Tor.
[Read more]
May 22 2013 3:00pm
At the outset of Red Moon, Patrick Gamble, the teenage son of a single soldier, is having one of those mornings. You know:
A what the hell morning. His father is leaving his son, is leaving his job at Anchor Steam, is leaving to fight a war, his unit activated. And Patrick is leaving his father, is leaving California, his friends, his high school, leaving behind everything that defined his life, that made him him.
It’s enough to inspire violent fantasies in the mind’s eye of our protagonist, already unbalanced on the flight towards his new life in Portland, but though Patrick might feel “like punching through windows, torching a building, crashing a car into a brick wall, he has to stay relatively cool. He has to say what the hell. Because his father asked him to.” So he sucks it up. Lets his worries wash over him while he waits, as patiently as he’s able, for his turn in the toilet a few aisles back.
But the man who went into the bathroom a few moments ago doesn’t come out. Or rather, he doesn’t emerge a man, but a monster.
May 22 2013 2:15pm
If the excerpt for Jenna Black's Replica wasn't enough for you (and it shouldn't be—we were really bummed that it cut off right where it did), then get a copy into your hands now! We have ten of them, and they're ready to travel!
Check below for the rules:
May 22 2013 2:00pm
Tor.com is stoked to reveal the cover for The Emperor’s Blades, the first novel in The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, a new fantasy series by Brian Staveley beginning in January 2014 and published by Tor Books.
The Emperor’s Blades follows siblings Valyn, Kaden, and Adare, who are in different parts of the world when they learn about the assassination of their father, the Emperor. All of them are in danger of being the next targets, and all of them are caught in the maelstrom of conspiracy, intrigue, treachery, and magic that sweeps through Staveley’s auspicious debut novel.
See the full cover by artist Richard Anderson below and read Staveley’s thoughts on seeing it for the first time.
