Today we offer the final installment in our series of interviews with Ray Bradbury. These videos follow closely on the heels of our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel adaptation of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury has discussed Hamilton’s vision of his famous novel, and reflected on his writing process, his life philosophy, and other collaborations he’s joined to bring his fiction to new media. Last week he shared how he overcame one of the greatest challenges of his career–a fear of flying which prevented him from traveling and lecturing as he wished.
In this week’s segment, the author is enthusiastic about the forthcoming film adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, to be written and directed by Oscar-nominee Frank Darabont. Bradbury advocates for a renewed focus on childhood literacy in the United States, lest his novel’s dystopian vision come to pass.
Henry Holt has generously donated ten copies of Ying Compestine’s collection A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales for Tor.com’s readers! Ying has blogged about some of the real life events that inspired her stories here on the site, and now you have your chance to read them for yourself. Here’s the official blurb:
According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying Chang Compestine takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the GreatWall in 200 BCE to themodern day of iPods, hungry ghosts continue to torment those who wronged them.
At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales—complete with historical notes and delectable recipes—will both scare and satiate!
A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts has earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and recommendations from Kirkus, Booklist, and Horn Book, among others.
The Rules: To get this giveaway, all you need to do is comment (once—duplicates won’t count) on this post. The winner will be selected at random. You have until noon EST on Monday, November 23rd, to comment here. Please check your e-mail on this day—you have 24 hours to respond before we select a new winner.
This week’s Bradbury interview exposes an unlikely fear for a master of literary space travel: flight. The author shares how, after finishing his work on Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center in 1982, he was forced to confront his phobia. “I wasn’t afraid of flying; I was just afraid of me,” he reflects.
Today marks the sixth in our series of seven interviews with Ray Bradbury on the visual nature of his fiction, the art of collaboration and the process of writing. Just tuning in? Don’t miss last week’s segment, in which the author discusses adaptations of his work into plays, films and graphic novels.
If you just can’t get enough Bradbury (and really, who can?), check out our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451. This striking adaptation from Hill & Wang includes a new foreword by Bradbury and even an iPhone app.
Welcome to the fifth serialized installment of J.C. Hutchins’ human cloning thriller 7th Son: Descent. A recent review in Publishers Weekly said, “(T)hriller readers seeking edge-of-your-seat action flavored with conspiracy and futuristic tech will love every page.”
If this is your first exposure to our free serialization of 7th Son, you can easily catch up by experiencing Part one, Part two, Part three and Part four. You can also dive in right away, thanks to...
Welcome to another installment of Bradbury Thursdays! Today the SF master reflects on the collaborations in which he’s engaged to transfer his fiction to stage, screen and panel. The author strives to strike a balance between his vision of the work and that of the director or visual artist who brings it to a new medium. Some of these collaborations work better for Bradbury than others. In this segment he notes his frustration with some of François Truffaut’s choices with his film adaptation of Fahrenheit 451.
Today marks the fifth in our series of seven interviews with Ray Bradbury on the visual nature of his fiction. Just tuning in? Check out last week’s segment, in which the author discusses his writing process.
The release of these videos closely follows our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. Don’t miss this remarkable new vision from Hill & Wang, which, besides stunning artwork, includes a new foreword by Bradbury and even an iPhone app.
Welcome to the fourth serialized audio installment of J.C. Hutchins’ 7th Son: Descent, a high-tech thriller novel. In 7th Son, human cloning isn’t near—it’s already here.
If this is your first exposure to our free serialization of 7th Son, you can easily catch up by experiencing part one, part two and part three. You can also dive in right away, thanks to...
We’ve had a wonderful time with Steampunk Month, and we hope you have, too. It would never have come together without a little help from our generous friends, old and new, so we’d like to extend our thanks to them! Visiting their homepages and Etsy stores will definitely whiten teeth,* cure all manner of diseases,* and continue the steampunk love after Steampunk Month’s official end.
*Statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.
G. D. Falksen and Evelyn Kriete for hosting the Tor.com meetup/afterparty at The Way Station, and for their general steampunky moxie. Evelyn is responsible for connecting us to many of the incredible steampunk artists and creators out there that so generously donated their wares to give away to you. We owe her, and so do you.
Ross MacDonald, for helping us with the letterpress poster.
Greg Manchess, for designing the rocket logo.
Jamie Stafford-Hill for designing the rest of the logo, some gorgeous calling cards and steampunk buttons, and, you know, the whole site you see before you.
Scholastic Books, Eddie Schneider, Kat Richardson, and Abrams Books, for donating books to our meetup, and Andy Heidel, owner of The Way Station, where we held the meetup.
Heather Kahn and Jeff Witkavitch of Chrononaut Mercantile for a DIY in accessorizing.
Cherie Priest, for teaching us how to be stylish.
Jaymee Goh, for blogging like a madwoman.
S. J. Chambers, for her fascinating Poe retrospective.
The Museum of the History of Science and Sydney Padua for letting us reprint her comic.
Tor Books, for donating books for the meetup and for online giveaways.
Subterranean Press, publishers of many dark and lovely tales.
Sarah of Sweet Libertine, for donating some of her incredibly vibrant handmade eyeshadows.
Laura of Retroscope Fashions, home of sexy vests and strappy pinstripe skirts, for donating a gift certificate.
Sock Dreams, for donating two luxurious pairs of legwear and two gift certificates.
Chet Phillips, for donating a set of his beautiful and hilarious Steampunk Monkey Cards.
The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, for donating scents from their intoxicating Steamworks line.
Clockwork Couture, for donating the gift certificate that will be a photo contest prize.
Steampunk World’s Fair, for donating two passes as a photo contest prize.
RockLove, for donating the keyhole plate pendant.
LondonsGate, home of the crystal pendant.
VividWhimsy, maker of the book locket.
19Moons, mistress of wind-up bird rings.
QA Trading, with clockwork rings and typewriter jewelry galore.
TrashAndTrinkets, maker of the deliciously creepy spider brooch.
And last but not least: an extremely special thanks to all of you for following along and making this month so much fun. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have.
Welcome to the third serialized audio installment of J.C. Hutchins’ SF thriller 7th Son: Descent, a novel set in present day featuring human cloning, dangerous technologies, and “beyond Top Secret” government conspiracies.
If this is your first exposure to our free serialization of 7th Son, catching up is a breeze. You can find the novel’s first installment here, and its second installment here. Or you can dive in right away, thanks to...
Today marks the fourth in our series of seven interviews with SF legend Ray Bradbury, in which he discusses the visual aspects of his work and recent adaptations of his fiction into the world of comics. These videos are released in tandem with our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s stunning graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451. In this week’s interview, Bradbury discusses how he brings the images, characterizations and metaphors of science fiction from his creative mind to the page.
This interview follows last week’s installment on the inherently visual qualities of Bradbury’s fiction, “They're All Graphic Novels.” Stay tuned for a new segment next Thursday!
As part of our ongoing coverage of J.C. Hutchins’ new release of 7th Son: Descent, from St. Martin’s Press, Tor.com is offering a link to a PDF of the 10-chapter “Special Edition” of 7th Son: Descent. This special edition is available for download by clicking here starting today.
Additionally, J.C. is also making the full text of 7th Son: Descent available on Google Books for a limited time, until November 03.
Our interview series with Ray Bradbury continues! This week we showcase Bradbury’s discussion of the visual elements of his work. All his fiction, he says, begs for adaptation into visual media–whether comics or film.
We have four more Bradbury Thursdays to go, so stay tuned. If you’re just catching on to the Tor.com Bradbury extravaganza, check out last week’s interview on the author’s youthful encounter with the fantastic Mr. Electrico. Also, don’t miss out on our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451.
Welcome to the second serialized installment of J.C. Hutchins’ SF thriller novel 7th Son: Descent. To celebrate the Oct. 27 release of the book, J.C. is releasing Descent in several free serialized formats: PDF, blog text, and audio. We’re distributing the audio version of the novel in ten weekly installments.
Tor.com would like to formally apologize to David Malki, the brilliant and talented creator behind Wondermark. Last week we put up a post using both the title and image from his gloriously steampunk T-shirt design, without attribution or permission. This was absolutely and completely wrong. We will be purchasing the license to use the image, and are deeply sorry to Mr. Malki for our disrespectful action.
It’s time for the next installment in our series of video interviews with SF master Ray Bradbury. In this segment, Bradbury tells the story of a carnival he attended at the age of 12. Here he met Mr. Electrico, who inspired young Ray to begin writing about the bizarre, the terrifying, and the astounding.
Missed last week’s installment? Never fear, a hyperlink is here. And don’t forget to feast your eyes on the graphic novel adaptation of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, created by Tim Hamilton and published by Hill & Wang.
The president of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy...
Those are the opening lines of J.C. Hutchins’ sci-fi thriller novel 7th Son: Descent, which will be released in North American bookstores on Oct. 27.
When dozens of publishing pros rejected 7th Son in 2005, J.C. reckoned the book would never be published. But convinced the story he’d told was worth sharing, he took to the “podwaves” in 2006 and released 7th Son: Descent as a free serialized podcast novel.
It wouldn’t be steampunk month without an opportunity for everyone to show off his or her goggles!
So in the spirit of offline camaraderie, we’d like to invite you to join us at The Way Station, Brooklyn’s premiere steampunk bar and performance venue, where Tor.com will be co-sponsoring the afterparty for Brooklyn Indie Market’s Steampunk Showcase.
The night will be hosted by G.D. Falksen (who you’ll also find guest blogging here this month) and will feature musical performances by Psyche Corporation and Karen LeBlanc.
We’ll have book giveaways from Scholastic, Tor, and Subterranean Press, a prize for the best steampunk costume, and of course, lots of Tor.com steampunk swag.
We hope you can make it out! RSVP on the event page to let us know if we can expect you.
Steampunk Day Afterparty
8pm—2am
The Way Station
685 Washington Avenue (at Prospect Place)
Brooklyn, NY
In conjunction with our serialization of Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Tor.com will release video mini-interviews with Bradbury every Thursday starting today and for the next six weeks. These snapshots of Bradbury’s life and career offer insight into his creative process, his life philosophy, and the collaborations that have turned some of his most famous fiction into graphic art. The SF master begins by reminiscing about his introduction to comics as a kid growing up in the 1930s.
In conjunction with Macmillan Audio, Tor.com is happy to bring you an exclusive listen from Chapter Two of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s The Gathering Storm.
You can listen to the entire second chapter from the upcoming audiobook release of The Gathering Storm now, by using the audio widget after the jump. This excerpt is available only on Tor.com—and you must be a member to access it! If you’re already a registered user, simply log in to read the first chapter. If you haven’t registered yet, we’d love to have you—as you can see, there are perks to membership. Signing up is free and only takes a minute. Fill out this form to get listening right away. And don’t forget to share your thoughts with others in the comments when you’re done.
Tor.com (not to be confused with Tör.cöm) is pleased to let you all know that index pages are now available for both our April Fool’s Day shenanigans and our Moon Landing Day stories. Enjoy!
As with previous volumes in the Wheel of Time® series, Macmillan is making the prologue for Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderon’s The Gathering Storm available for purchase before the hardcover is released on October 27, 2009.
The prologue, titled “What the Storm Means,” is available for $2.99 as either an ebook or an audio download. You can buy the ebook from a wide range of online retailers and it is compatible with nearly all e-reading devices, including the Sony Reader and the Kindle.
Click here to buy the prologue now.
