This post is about book stores - I swear.

I don't go to BestBuy looking for advice. I know that BestBuy has spent a good deal of time and money attempting to brand themselves as being quite knowledgeable about the products that they sell and I salute them for that effort, but it has never been my experience that their general employees are particularly knowledgeable. This is not necessarily their fault, and I'm not trying to be mean or slam them - I know they try. But I liken it to multiple levels of tech support; you have your ground floor grunts who wander around the store looking quite aimless who are more than capable of pointing out to you where something is in the store or how much it costs, but beyond that, they aren't particularly helpful. Above them is the next tier, people who have a bit more knowledge and the power that comes with it. You rarely see them wandering the floor. Above them are the true techies and they are around but you will have to stand in line for a long time to chat with them (which I have done - don't get me wrong here!). They tend to be overworked and underpaid, which can make them grumpy. Just sayin'...

So, when I walk into a BestBuy and some random employee on the floor asks me if they can help me with something, I smile and tell them no and go about my business.I admit that I might be above the curve on technology stuff - just a bit. I also tend to do all my research before I ever step into one of their locations. Maybe that's why I don't feel these folks can help me.

Now, flip this and say I'm walking into a book store...

Comments (5) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by Patrick Hester at Thursday September 02, 2010 at 12:25 AM

Phoenix Pick is continuing their "Free eBook-a-Month" promotion!

For the remainder of September, you can get an eBook copy of Arkfall by Carolyn Ives Gilman for free with the coupon code below!

As Phoenix Pick notes: "Arkfall was nominated for the Nebula this year. Carolyn Gilman is a not a prolific (or very well known author), but nearly everything she writes get outstanding reviews. Her novel Halfway Human is an outstanding study of gender issues and her novelette, "The Honeycrafters" won the nebula in 1993."

Here's a description of the book from Amazon:

Humans live deep within an apparently lifeless planet covered by massive ice sheets. Having to survive in confined spaces has bred a unique culture where deference and non-confrontation make co-existence possible. Osaji's opportunities are limited by the need to care for her aging grandmother. But all that is about to change as circumstances push her toward a journey like no other.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday September 02, 2010 at 12:20 AM

I like the artistic style of James Turner's Warlord of IO.

A slacker prince inherits a space empire and finds himself responsible for the lives of billions. Finally, the comic you did not get a chance not to buy becomes the graphic novel that you will ignore!

Emperor Zoz of Io has retired, leaving his slacker son Zing in charge of the Ion Empire. After initiating sweeping social reforms to impress his friend, Moxy Comet, Zing upsets the army by cutting the military budget to pay for them. Can one slacker prince get up off his ass long enough to save the galaxy!

Written by Rex Libris creator James Turner, Warlord of IO is fun fast-paced action and adventure for the ADD generation.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday September 02, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Tony C. Smith of Starship Sofa writes in to let us know that he's finalized the table of contents for his new anthology StarShipSofa Stories, Volume 2

1. "Bitterseed" by Ted Kosmatka (Illustrated by Leigh Gallagher)
2. "Buddha Nostril Bird" by John Kessel (Illustrated by Rory Kurtz)
3. "Conjunctions" by Neil Gaiman (Illustrated by Cliff Chiang)
4. "I, Robot" by Cory Doctorow (Illustrated by Tom Kyzivat)
5. "Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas" by Jason Sanford (Illustrated by Jef Murray)
6. "Island Tales" by Jeff VanderMeer (Illustrated by Len Peralta)
7. "The Mary Anna" by Adam Roberts (Illustrated by Jim Murray)
8. "Jimmy" by Pat Cadigan (Illustrated by Anton Emdin)
9. "Then, Just a Dream" by Lawrence Santoro (Illustrated by Daniele Serra)
10. "Personal Jesus" by Paul Di Filippo (Illustrated by Boo Cook)
11. "Art of War" by Nancy Kress (Illustrated by Andreas Rocha)
12. "The Frozen Sky" by Jeff Carlson (Illustrated by Paul Rivoche)
13. "Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard (Illustrated by Brian Thomas Woods)
14. "Skin Deep" by Mary Rosenblum (Illustrated by Danijel Zezelj)
15. "The End of Oil; in three acts" by Gwyneth Jones (Illustrated by Jouni Koponen)
16. "The Soap Bubble" by Sean Williams (Illustrated by Bob Eggleton)
17. "Tides" by Tobias S. Buckell (Illustrated by Evan M. Jensen)
18. "Unworthy of The Angel" by Stephen R. Donaldson (Illustrated by Chris Butler)
19. "Watching God" by China Miéville

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday September 02, 2010 at 12:14 AM

• Redstone Science Fiction interviews Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Angela Slatter interviews Kyla Ward, Jonathan Strahan, and Brendan Fredericks.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Laura Resnick.
• Tor/Forge interviews Lena Meydan.

• Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear have published the first chapter of The Mongoliad.
• Clarkesworld Magazine - Online Science Fiction and Fantasy : Issue 48.
• New issue of Ideomancer.
• Atomic Fez Publishing Starts the September Sale-A-Bration!
• Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival - Call for entries now open.
• The producers of Browncoats: Redemption announce Ustream's official sponsorship of the film's September 4 premiere at 7PM EDT at UStream and Facebook.
• Neil Gaiman's Sandman being developed for TV, minus Neil Gaiman.

• Darin Bradley on Salvage, the Switch to Digital, and Book PR.
• Howard Andrew Jones on After the Book Deal.
• Janice Hardy on Re-Write Wednesday Golden Oldie: Get Over Overstating.
• Eric Rosenfield on The Ebook Reader Landscape Changes Again, Translation Dictionaries Are Buried Lede.
• N.K. Jemisin on How to -- possibly -- torpedo one's own career in epic fantasy.
• Kaaron Warren on The Genesis of Slights.
• Pimp My Novel on The Blockbuster Phenomenon.
• Matt Cheney on The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction.
• Christopher Conlon on What Is An Editor, Anyway?
• Derek Johnson on the Cultural Impact of Kubrick's Science Fiction Masterpiece.
• Andrew Liptak on Opposing Viewpoints.
• Analee Newitz on A syllabus and book list for novice students of science fiction literature.
• Triplanetary on Nekojin roundup.
• Mary Weilage on Superhero sci-fi tales for mere mortals.
• SciFiNow lists Five famous sci-fi spats.
• Phil Plait lists 5 big-budget sci-fi films that actually got their science right.
• Cyriaque Lamar lists 10 awesome science fiction stories for gamers.

• The Jedi Comback, An Evaluation of Character Triumph in Star Wars.
• "Ann VanderMeer Presents..." Art Galleries.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Thursday September 02, 2010 at 12:05 AM

[Do you have an idea for a future Mind Meld? Let us know! This week's Mind Meld question was suggested by John Ginsberg-Stevens.]

Comments (19) | PermaLink | Category: Mind Meld
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday September 01, 2010 at 12:29 AM

The website Daily Science Fiction goes live today. The website is structured around delivering free original short fiction to your email inbox every weekday.

Here are the stories lined up for September 2010:

• Wed. Sept. 1: "An Adventure in the Antiquities Market" by Jeff Hecht
• Thurs. Sept. 2: "Mark and Shelly's" by Steven R. Stewart
• Fri. Sept. 3: "Butterfly and the Blight at the Heart of the World" by Lavie Tidhar
• Mon. Sept. 6: "Fiddle" by Tim Pratt
• Tues. Sept. 7: "Ezra's Prophecy" by Deborah Walker
• Wed. Sept. 8: "Hobo Signs" by Ree Young
• Thurs. Sept. 9: "Tag, You're It" by Melissa Mead
• Fri. Sept. 10: "Seeking Nothing" by Cat Rambo
• Mon. Sept. 13: "Chameleon" by Colin Harvey
• Tues. Sept. 14: "On the Sweetness of Children" by Michelle Muenzler
• Wed. Sept. 15: "Mercury in Hand, " by Amanda M. Hayes
• Thurs. Sept. 16: "Azencer" by Rigel Ailur
• Fri. Sept. 17: "American Changeling" by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Mon. Sept. 20: "Flint's Folly" by J. Chant
• Tues. Sept. 21: "Picture in Sand" by Susan A. Shepherd
• Wed. Sept. 22: "The Man who Said Goodmorning" by Ralph Gamelli
• Thurs. Sept. 23: "The Jug Game" by Jennifer Moore
• Fri. Sept. 24: "The Fosterling" by Therese Arkenberg
• Mon. Sept. 27: "Long Pig" by Matthew Johnson
• Tues. Sept. 28: "Sparks" by Mari Ness
• Wed. Sept. 29: "Small Differences" by Tim Patterson
• Thurs. Sept. 30: "A Little-Known Historical Fact" by Tim McDaniel

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction, Web Sites
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday September 01, 2010 at 12:20 AM

From YouTUbe: "A version of a famous tune by Flanders and Swann, with lyrics by Danuta Orlowska. Interpreted by CERN Choir, performing in the CERN Control Centre."

[via The Great Geek Manual]

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Music, Science and Technology
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday September 01, 2010 at 12:15 AM

• Suvudu On Air interviews Charles Yu.
• Angela Slatter interviews Ben Payne, Sean Wallace and Jonathan Strahan.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Harry Connolly.
• StarShipSofa interviews Jason Sanford (podcast).
• Sharon K. Reamer interviews Colin Harvey.
• John Joseph Adams interviews Bob Fingerman.

• Angry Robot Launches in the US and Canada and Angry Robot eBooks now available.
• 40% Discount on Pyr Books at Dragoncon.
• Black Static/WHC 2011 Short Story Contest.
• Apex Publications releases The Blackness Within: Stories of The Pagan God Moccus.
• Jayme Lynn Blaschke's webiste gets a facelift.

• Nancy Fulda on Death as a Plot Device.
• Jason S. Ridler on Escape, Resonance, and Recovery: Traversing the Values of Fantasy.
• Brit Mandelo on Queering SFF: Where's the Polyamory?
• Brandon Sanderson on It's Here!
• Robert Freeman Wexler On Robot Workers.
• Rachelle Gardner on To Endorse or Not to Endorse.
• Nicola Morgan on Editing for Toughies.
• Jason Sanford on Guess what? A reprint is a "new story" if you haven't read it!
• T.N. Tobias on Writers Agree: Story Emerges from Simplicity and Clarity.
• Paul Gilster on Poul Anderson's Answer to Fermi.
• Annie Gala on The Great Debate: Bruce Wayne vs. Dick Grayson.
• Triplanetary on Favourite Heinlein.
• Jessica Strider on Fan Expo Canada, Part 2.
• Heather Massey on RT Book Reviews Brings On The Science Fiction Romance.
• Science Fantasy Universe lists The Ten Worst Aliens in Star Trek History, Part 1.
• Furious Fanboys lists 5 Ridiculously Improbable Moments in Science Fiction.

• Frankenstein T-Shirt, His Exciting Life.
• Star Wars Prints by Andy Helms.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Wednesday September 01, 2010 at 12:05 AM

This week's SF Signal podcast asks the question: What is the SciFi equivalent of Sword & Sorcery? I was delighted to see this topic strike a cord with the podcast panel and thought it would make a good topic to throw at you, dear reader.

Sword & Sorcery has been getting a lot of press thanks to high-profile anthologies like Swords & Dark Magic edited by Lou Anders & Jonathon Strahan. But what, if anything, equates to this genre in the pure science fiction realm?

Jay Garmon, I think, said it best: "Sword & Sorcery is the gritty, personal down and dirty alternative to epic high fantasy. It might be useful to analogize: High Fantasy is to Space Opera as Sword and Sorcery is to...?"

Several people had thoughts on this over on the podcast, but I want to know what you, the reader of this blog, thinks.

So take a minute, listen to the podcast and the come back, tell us your thoughts and point us at a book that embodies your take on this.

Comments (8) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by Patrick Hester at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 11:29 AM

Hunger no more for podcast excitement. Line up Signal-file for your free steaming bowl of Beware The Hairy Mango! Sate your belly with a magical tale of love and water-skiing. Hear the Oz that never was. With only two sentences I've pretty much given the entire episode away but humor us, please, and give a listen to "Joe the Larry" anyhow.

Warning: Adult situations for immature audiences!

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Beware The Hairy Mango
Posted by Matthew Sanborn Smith at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 11:25 AM

This week, I read a trio of comics from Radical Publishing, a relative newcomer to the field but no less unable to attract top talent. (Current notables in their lineup include Warren Ellis, Nick Sagan and Wesley Snipes.) The titles we've received to date are mostly marked for mature audiences, and rightly so; they are rife with language and situations that are easily intended for older audiences. (Looks at self.) The enjoyment level of the following titles varied from mediocre to outstanding, but nevertheless the premises offered have me wanting to see what happens next.

Each of these titles is the first issue of a three-issue run...

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Book Review
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 12:29 AM

Star Wars and gospel go together like, well, Star Wars and gospel but in this case it works exceptionally well. I know what you're thinking, "Ewoks? Ewoks?! Who the hell likes those guys?!" And yes, the only thing even more reviled amongst most fans than Ewoks is Jar Jar but Billy Dee lays out the Ewok righteousness for all to hear. Can I get an Amen!

It's enough to make you like the Ewoks again.

For a little bit anyway.

Bonus Bill Dee Williams commercial after the jump!

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Humor, Music
Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Now that it looks like the proposed live action Star Wars TV show is on hold, something about an intergalactic TV series with spaceships and aliens and lasers being too expensive to produce, I know! right?, maybe it's time for the fans to come up with something. Well this group of fans did back in 2008 and produced Sandrima Rising. Sure the acting is bad but some of the effects are decent and really, is this worse than any SyFy original movie? No, I don't think so.

The vibe I get from watching this is Serenity set in the Star Wars universe, which intrigues the hell out of me. Instead of going wide scope, perhaps Lucas needs to narrow things down and go for a more personal approach. Heck, if he wanted to go dark, how about following the exploits of a team of Jedi hunters? I'd watch that!

[H/T Quiet Earth]

Comments (3) | PermaLink | Category: Movies, Star Wars
Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 12:15 AM

• Peter Orullian interviews Daniel Abraham.
• The Outer Alliance interviews Karen Romanko.
• Hour of the Wolf interviews Sybil's Garage (podcast).
• Betsy Mitchell interviews Harry Connolly.
• Angela Slatter interviews Jeffrey Ford and Alisa Krasnostein.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Mark Van Name.
• René A. Guzman interviews Chris Roberson.
• Joseph Mallozzi's readers interview Lou Diamond Phillips.
• SFF Ausio interviews Luke Burrage and Gregg Margarite (podcast).
• Daniel Goodman interviews Charles Yu (How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe). (Thanks for the shout-out , Charles!)

• Indigenousfuturisms Writing Contest $1000 Prize.
• How the Washington Shakespeare Company came to offer Shakespeare in Klingon.
• Black Library announces Hammer and Bolter.
• Crossed Genres Year One - Half off through Saturday! ($2.50 PDF, $5 print!).
• Doctor Who Series/Season Six Will Be Split.
• SF Scope rounds up The 62nd Annual Emmy Award Winners--the sf/f/h nominees.
• Congrats to SF Signal contributor Lisa Paitz Spindler, whose first novel will be released by Carina Press this Spring.

• A Washington DC-area Shakespeare theatre company is doing a fundraising performance of Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing in the original Klingon.

• Darin Bradley on Noise, the Apocalypse, and You.
• Ryan Britt on I Can Has Ray Gunz! Cat-People in Science Fiction.
• Matthew David Surridge on Worlds Within Worlds: The First Heroic Fantasy (Part I).
• Mike Brotherton on Where is the Science Fiction Writer's Promised Land?
• Rachelle Gardner on Writing Online Book Reviews.
• Richard Dansky on Heresy! Blasphemy! Rah Rah Rah!
• Alma Alexander on 10 Authorial Confessions.
• Stroppy Author on How to read a publishing contract (20).
• Cory Doctorow on Doctorow's First Law.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch on Changing Times.
• T.N. Tobias on Writing Believable Fantasy.
• Marty Halpern on Philip K. Dick & Rudy Rucker's Warez.
• Mike Brotherton asks Where is the Science Fiction Writer's Promised Land?.
• Ryan Britt on Cat-People in Science Fiction.
• Brian E Niskala on The History of Scifi in Horror.
• Being Ruth on When times get tough, science fiction pulls us through.
• Dan Goodman on The Brave New World of SF/F: The New Weird.
• Yo Prinzel on 3 Worst Science Fiction Movie Remakes.
• JO Walton reviews Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein.
• Elizabeth Bear reviews Omnitopia Dawn by Diane Duane.
• Adam Roberts on The Eighty-Minute Hour by Brian Aldiss.
• Cyriaque Lamar lists Fantastic scifi graphic novels that will get you hooked for life.
• Lorraine McInerney lists Top Five Female Vampires in Literature.

• Retro review: Siskel & Ebert discuss 1996 Sci-Fi spoof Mars Attacks!
• Feel like a challenge: The Way of Kings Holds a Secret From The Wheel of Time.
• io9 Book Club on The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.
• More of Lawrence Person's photos from Armadillocon.
• Infographic: The tortured 73-year history of The Hobbit film.
• Wolverine toy fail.

Want More? See SF Signal's Twitter and Facebook pages for additional tidbits not posted here!

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 12:05 AM

The winners of our Matthew Hughes contest have been randomly chosen and notified.

Congratulations to:

• Caitrin C. from NV (Prize Pack Winner)


• Jeffrey H. from FL


• Andrew W. from Ontario


• David H. from Washington, DC

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 12:04 AM

In the fifth episode of the SF Signal podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by John Anealio, Jay Garmon, Karen Burnham, JP Frantz and Matt Sanborn Smith to discuss the science fiction equivalent of Sword & Sorcery.

Later, Patrick Hester sits down with Karen Burnham who talks about blogging at SF Signal and writing reviews. She also reveals her upcoming, previously-unannounced, super-secret project.

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Podcast
Posted by Patrick Hester at Monday August 30, 2010 at 12:29 AM

John Joseph Adams has just launched the website companion for his new zombie anthology, The Living Dead 2. Like the websites done for his previous anthologies, the site is incredibly comprehensive, offering tons of supplemental and related material.

For starters, you can view the hi-res cover image featuring David Palumbo's awesome artwork, the first of many upcoming contributing author interviews, Adams' introduction to the anthology, and the Table of Contents (with links to each story's intro).

Not enough? How about this juicy selection of free fiction stories and pointers (also available as an eBook sampler):

• "The Skull-Faced City" by David Barr Kirtley
• "And the Next, and the Next" by Genevieve Valentine
• "Flotsam & Jetsam" by Carrie Ryan
• "Mouja" by Matt London
• "Who We Used to Be" by David Moody
• "The Days of Flaming Motorcycles" by Catherynne M. Valente [external link]
• "Obedience" by Brenna Yovanoff [external link]
• "Rural Dead" by Bret Hammond [external link]

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books, Free Fiction, Web Sites, Zombies
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday August 30, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Even though the original Halo video game trilogy has run its course, there are still stories (and money!) to be made from the Halo universe. Earlier this year saw the release of Halo: ODST and on Sept. 14th, the latest game, Halo: Reach, will ship. It's been interesting to see the TV ad campaigns for the later games forgo using in game footage and instead focus on using 'live action' shots. They've become very effective at presenting the sweep of the stories and the cinematic quality of the games. The latest Halo: Reach trailer, dubbed "Deliver Hope", is no exception. According to the press release, "the short is a riveting, action-packed production that offers an emotional look at the courage and sacrifice of Noble Team in their defense of the planet Reach from a crushing Covenant invasion."

The trailer itself looks incredible and it's a shame the 'live action' Halo movie never got off the ground. Take a look:

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Games
Posted by JP Frantz at Monday August 30, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Monday August 30, 2010 at 12:11 AM

Interviews & Profiles

• The Observer interviews William Gibson. [via Largehearted Boy]
• Cat Rambo interviews L. Timmel DuChamp.
• Nick Gevers discusses steampunk on BBC's World Service. [via Jay Lake]
• John Jospeh Adams interviews John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow.

• 2010 Harvey Awards Announced. [via Largehearted Boy]
• Issue 13 of HorrorBound Magazine is now available.

• James Wallace Harris on Kindle 3 and Science Fiction Short Stories.
• Nancy Kress on Armadillocon 32, Day 2.
• Jessica Strider on Fan Expo Canada Part 1.
• The romance aspect in George Mann's The Osiris Ritual (reviewed here).
• Darrell Schweitzer on The Collecting Game: Urban Legends and What Entropy Means to Me.
• Don Lawson on Starlog was a Sci-Fi collectors treasure.
• Cyriaque Lamar lists 10 awesome science fiction stories for gamers.
• Sam Kurd on 5 SciFi Sports I'd Pay Money To Watch.

• Cool art at CoolVibe: "The Bridge by David Demaret and "Alien" by Dan LuVisi.
• James van Pelt points us to the Steampunk Wallpaper website.
• The Many Faces of Spock.

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

The annual ArmadilloCon convention is being held in Austin this weekend and I had the pleasure of attending on Saturday. One of the nice things about this particular con is that it's book-focused, so it's a chance to mingle with like-minded people and talk about all things bookish, which is exactly what I did.

The programming, as usual, was interesting and I often found, as usual, that there were many panels that I wanted to attend that were simultaneously scheduled. I caught the last half of a panel on the ties between gaming and storytelling. That was followed by a fascinating short fiction panel. Sanford Allen's comment about the one-sitting short fiction reading session being the perfect vehicle with which to build up a continuous atmosphere of horror stuck with me because I think that continuity (as afforded by as few reading sessions as possible) lends to the enjoyment of a story. I also attended Sanford excellent reading of his fantastic story, "The Circus" (great stuff), and the tail end of a cross-genre fiction panel.

As much fun as the panels were, that's not where I get the most enjoyment out of Armadillocon...

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Events
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday August 29, 2010 at 12:25 AM

From the YouTube description:

In 1970 University of Kansas professor James Gunn interviewed a series of science fiction authors for his Centron film series "Science Fiction in Literature". This footage from an unreleased film in that series featuring an interview with Rod Serling, which wasn't finished due to problems with obtaining rights to show footage from Serling's work in television. This reconstruction is based on the original workprint footage that was saved on two separate analog sources since the audio track was separate. Re-syncing the footage was a long involved process as the audio track didn't match the film and there was substantial sync drift. While not perfect, there's a lot of interesting information on writing for television in the dialogue with Serling as well as a prophetic statement about his health at the beginning.

Part 2 follows...

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: TV
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday August 29, 2010 at 12:20 AM

• @Tor.com: "The Speed of Time" by Jay Lake
• @Subterranean Online: "Dream of the Arrow" by Jay Lake
• @Lightspeed Magazine: "More Than the Sum of His Parts" by Joe Haldeman
• Issue 126 of Hub Magazine is posted.
• @Strange Horizons: "Five Rules for Commuting to the Underworld" by Merrie Haskell
• @Gutenberg: "Abandoned" by Jules Verne
• @Candlelight Stories: "Reaping" by Pam Farley
• @Author's site: "Farm Girl's Lament" by C. Ceres Merry
• @The Kenyon Review: "The Transfiguration of María Luisa Ortega" by E. Lily Yu
• @ManyBooks.net:
  • "The Book of Gud" by Harold Hersey
  • "The Frightened Planet by Sidney Austen
  • "The Variant Effect" by G. Wells Taylor
  • "Underground Man" by Gabriel Tarde
• Audio:
  • StarShipSofa #150 features fiction by Paul Di Filippo, F. Paul Wilson and Hugh Cook.
  • @PodCastle: "Bespoke" by Genevieve Valentine, Read by Tina Connolly
  • @Escape Pod: "Variations on a Theme" by William Meikle, read by Zachary Ricks
• Serialized: @The Chain Story: "The Longest Distance" by Sherry D. Ramsey

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday August 29, 2010 at 12:14 AM

Interviews & Profiles

• Mur Lafferty interviews Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Slice of SciFi interviews Billy West.

• John Cusack will portray Edgar Allan Poe in Raven.

• File 770 on Heinlein Letter on Ebay.
• Andreww Wheeler reviews October 2010 Graphic Novels.
• David Brin on More SciFi! More Science!.

• Skiffy has scans from the 1979 art book Alien Landscapes.
• Cool art at CoolVibe: "City in the clouds" by Inga Nielsen.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday August 29, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Dan Abnett has written numerous comics for 2000AD and Marvel and has written many Warhammer 40k novels for Black Library. His latest novel is Triumff, an alternate history fantasy adventure.

Johnson who, let's face it, ought to know, called puns the lowest form of wit. He should try coming down here sometime. Wilde, on the other hand, once boasted he could compose a pun on any subject. Some bloke in the audience suggested, "Queen Victoria!" Wilde returned that he couldn't, because she was the Queen and therefore not an appropriate target for puns of any kind.

Or something.

People often come up to me and say, "Dan, do people really come up to you?" Also, they ask what it is with me and puns. Call me paranomasiac, but I love 'em, god help me. Homophonic puns, homonymic puns, homographic puns, Homer Simpson puns, I can't get enough. I love graphological puns and morphological puns, logical puns and illogical puns, polysemic puns and metonymic puns, old school puns and current puns and, at the risk of fracturing myself, I love compound puns. I can't have too many multiple puns and as for double entendres, woof! get a load of the double entendres on that, if you know what I mean. I enjoy a good feghoot and adore a fine eggcorn. Recursive puns have made me swear more than once. I like big loud puns like the Puns of Navarone, I like hard rocking puns like Puns and Roses, and I like quiet, relaxing puns like a late Punday afternoon in high summer. I cannot, furthermore, help but admire the following:

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Books, Humor
Posted by Dan Abnett at Saturday August 28, 2010 at 7:00 AM

There is still some time left to enter our Matthew Hughes contest , but hurry!

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

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday August 28, 2010 at 12:20 AM

M. Night Shyamalan parodies his own trailer for Devil with this one for Escalation. Bonus points for the appearance of Stephen Lang from Avatar.

For a comparison, the original trailer for Devil follows...

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Humor, Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday August 28, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Interviews & Profiles

• Pat's Fantasy Hotlist interviews Peter F. Hamilton (The Evolutionary Void).
• Geeks On interviews David Brin (Podcast).
• John Scalzi's Big Idea: Mike Shevdon (Sixty-One Nails).
• Jeff VanderMeer interviews Publishers Weekly's Rose Fox.
• Innsmouth Free Press interviews Sanford Allen.
• Susan Whitfield interviews Stuart Clark (Project U.L.F. - Reacquisition).
• Frederik Pohl remembers Gene Roddenberry (Part 2).

• The awesome short-fiction review site Best SF gets a redesign.
• Functional Nerds interview Aidan Moher and Daniel Goodman.
• It's gonna be a Steampunk Autumn at Pyr Books.
• Book View Café Member Phyllis Irene Radford is hosting a giveaway of Enigma, which she wrote under the pen name C.F. Bentley.

• Ann VanderMeer on VanderMeer Stories: A Personal Reminiscence.
• Mike Brotherton on Science Fiction Food and Drink.
• Bridget McGovern on Alternate Universe Movie Posters.
• Lou Anders on Comic Matters.
• Andrew Liptak on Politics and Speculative Fiction.
• Wired profiles Space Squid.
• Shaun Duke on Placing New Weird in the Aesthetic Moment.
• Katie Connolly on Teaching philosophy with Spider-Man. [via Look At This]
• Michael Lee on Avatar, Inception, District 9 and the Art of the Infodump.
• Ruth on Why Science Fiction Is So Appealing in Hard Times.
• Real Science Part 1: Planets Weighed Using Pulsar Flashes. [via Look At This]
• Real Science Part 2: When worlds really do collide. [via Look At This]
• ScifiSquad lists The Top Ten Sci-Fi Comedies.
• Bloginhood lists Top 5 Rock'n'Roll Adventure Movies of SF.

• Original advertisement for Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1917 novel A Princess of Mars.
• The Joker is Lex Luthor's Imaginary Friend.
• New futuristic SciFi reality web series: Vexika.
• Cool Art: "Space Neanderthals" by jonone, a tribute to Frank Frazetta
• James Ng Eastern Steampunk Art.

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday August 28, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Interviews
Posted by Charles Tan at Friday August 27, 2010 at 12:25 AM

Today is a joyous day indeed for today is the day that all you poor schmucks who missed out on the most totally awesomest movie ever, the movie that incites depression and suicidal thoughts on its fans, the movie that steamrolled it's way to $2.7 billion worldwide (thanks to overpriced 3D and IMAX tickets), today is the day you get a second chance to see Avatar. In 3D even, if you're 'lucky' enough to live near a theater that is showing that version. Sadly for me (not!), the closes theater is 45 minutes away on the south side of Houston. No thanks James!

I saw Avatar on DVD and yes, I missed out on all the 'golly gee whiz' visuals, but really, 3D gives me a headache and while the movie looked impressive, even on a small screen, the story was one long trip down mediocrity lane. A wise man once said, "Nuke 'em from space, it's the only way to be sure." If only the humans had done so.

Not even the promise of 8 more scintillating minutes is enough to get me back in the theaters to see it.

How many of you are are planning to go (or go back) and help make Cameron king of this world (and others)?

Comments (10) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by JP Frantz at Friday August 27, 2010 at 12:20 AM

"Bidi-bidi-bidi...you said it, Buck."

[via The Retroist]

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: TV
Posted by John DeNardo at Friday August 27, 2010 at 12:15 AM

• William Sullivan interviews Rachel Swirsky.
• Suvudu video of Terry Brooks.
• Angela Slatter interviews Jack Dann.
• Fantasy Book Critic interviews David J. Williams.
• Aidan Moher interviews Jeff Vandermeer.
• Adventures in Scifi Publishing interviews Eric T. Reynolds.
• Kougar Magazine interviews Marina Sirtis. [via Mish Sci Fi Musings]
• Book Chick City's latest Where Stories Are Made column features Jocelynn Drake.
• Upcoming: Goodreads Q&A with Mary Robinette Kowal.

• First Come First Sale! Get great deals on GUD Magazine, Crossed Genres, Residential Aliens, Shimmer Magazine, M-Brane SF, and Bull Spec.
  
• Black Library announces new download-only short fiction magazine called Hammer and Bolter. Issue #1 contains an unpublished John Brunner Story!
• Mary Robinette Kowal is designing puppets for Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants stage adaptation in Houston, TX.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Friday August 27, 2010 at 12:05 AM

The winners of our Dust giveaway have been randomly chosen and notified.

Congratulations to:

• Isaac B. from Brooklyn, NY


• Hurshel D. from North Richland Hills, TX


• Kathleen K. from Fort Collins, CO


• Jake L. from Chittenango, NY


• Andrea M. from North Pole, Alaska

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Friday August 27, 2010 at 12:04 AM

You may be wondering what I mean when I use the term 'meta'. In the context of this post, I use 'meta' to mean 'a conversation/dialogue about X', where X is any particular show. In other words, the things that are about a particular show, rather than of that show. But to begin, we must go back to 1993.

Picture a time where the Internet as we know it today didn't exist. That's right, a mere 17 years ago and the tangled World Wide Web + Intertubes of today were just a glimmer in the eye of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Instead, if you wanted to talk with other fans of science fiction fans, you had to brave the wilds of USenet, if you were lucky enough to be on a college campus, pay to join a service such as CompuServer or GEnie, or dial up (yes, dial up, at 9600 baud if you were lucky) your favorite FidoNet based BBS. It seems primitive today, and it was, but the level of connectivity between people could be quite high, even without email. Into this world, on February 22nd, 1993, a show called Babylon 5 aired its pilot episode. Because of the Usenet and CompuServe, not to mention Starlog, I was aware of the show and eagerly awaited the premiere. It did not disappoint. Well, me at least. Babylon 5 did several things that a SF series before had rarely, if ever done: it had a planned out 5 season story arc, it was aimed squarely at adults, it attempted to show realistic space flight, and it used CG for the external visuals. But its creator, J. Michael Straczynski, also did something unprecedented for the time; he turned to Usenet (rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated) to interact with the fans and spread the word.

Comments (8) | PermaLink | Category: TV
Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:29 AM

This latest trailer (see the previous one) gives another sneak peek at Games Workshop's upcoming animated (straight-to-DVD) film Ultramarines, set on the Warhammer 40K universe. What's shown here looks to be true to the @$$-kicking military sf action that I've come to expect from these stories. Bonus: the voice talents of Terence Stamp and John Hurt. The expected release date is this Fall.

What do you think?

[via gammasquad]

Comments (3) | PermaLink | Category: Movies
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:15 AM

A new batch of juicy and free fiction is up at Free Speculative Fiction Online:

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:14 AM

The contents of Interzone #230 have been posted:
Stories

• "Love and War" by Tim Lees
• "Age of Miracles, Age of Wonders" by Aliette de Bodard
• "The Insurance Agent" by Lavie Tidhar
• "Camelot" by Patrick Samphire
• "The Upstairs Window" by Nina Allan

• Ansible Link by David Langford
• Book Zone by Jim Steel and the team
• Laser Fodder by Tony Lee
• 25 Years of Nick Lowe's Mutant Popcorn film reviews

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Books
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:11 AM

I liked this scene from the upcoming Resident Evil Afterlife the first time I saw it...in The Matrix.

[via SFX]

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Movies, Zombies
Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:10 AM

• Book Lovers Inc. interviews Gail Carriger.
• Gail Z. Martin interviews Scott Sigler and Judith Briles (podcast).
• Locus interviews Charlie Jane Anders.
• The Rejectionist interviews Nnedi Okorafor.
• Gregory Manches interviews Dave Stewart.
• Suvudu Terry Brooks & Peter V. Brett Chat.
• Angela Slatter interviews Alan Baxter and Kim Wilkins.
• I Should Be Writing interviews David Williams (podcast).
• Matt Staggs interviews Paul Jessup.
• Flickering Myth profiles Steven Spielberg (Part 1).

• Norilana Books - 4th Anniversary Non-Sale Sale!
• DailyScienceFiction.com launches 1 September with e-mailed and posted stories. [via SFScope]
• The 3rd book in David Moody's Hater trilogy is titled Them or Us.
• BBC Officially Announces Dirk Gently TV Show.

• Jeff VanderMeer on Shared Worlds: Zombies, Alien Babies, and Book Recommendations from Students and Shared Worlds Teen Writing Camp This Summer.
  
• P.N. Elrod on Always read the contract.
• The Little Red Reviewer on Let's talk about manga.
• Janice Hardy on Re-Write Wednesday Golden Oldie: Preposition Patrol.
• John Scalzi on The 2010 Summer Sci-fi Wrap-Up.
• Jason Sandford on A great year for science fiction and fantasy novellas.
• Gary Westfahl on Notes from a Mixed Marriage, Or, The Lady and the Monster. Locus Online's Mark R. Kelly responds.
• Michael A. Burstein on Alienating Readers.
• Shawn Speakman on How Terry Brooks Changed My Life.
• io9 on Important scientific ideas that inform science fiction and 25 classic science fiction movies that everybody must watch.
• Cracked lists 6 Baffling Flaws in Famous Sci-Fi Technology.
• Pat's Fantasy Hotlist lists Favorite SFF characters.
• Furious Fanboys lists 9 Jaw Dropping Explosions In Sci-Fi.
• SFX lists Top 10 Greatest SF&F characters of all time. [via Whedonesque]

• The Mars of Leigh Brackett depicted through Russian endpaper art.
• Abby Normal Soap In A Jar.
• Avalanche Software Art: Brian Cutler's awesome Bowie in Space!
• Cool art at CoolVibe: "Landing Platform" by MiNze.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Update: Added John Joseph Adams' thoughts.

Update #2: Added Bob Dierks' response.

Update The Third: Added Adam Callaway's response. My apologies to Adam for completely missing his email. Bagels on me.

One of the good things about reading SF and F is that it allows the author to create as mundane or as wild a setting for a story to take place in. And with innumerable stories to choose from, the range of settings, and a reader's favorite, is limitless as well. We asked our panel this week to answer this question:

My favorite setting would have to be deep space, out exploring new worlds. This is why I loved Star Trek and Stargate so much. They were able to encounter new worlds and alien races each week. The mystery of the unknown, exotic aliens, and advanced technology - these are what I love most about science fiction. So space operas and adventures will always be my first love.

Comments (9) | PermaLink | Category: Mind Meld
Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday August 25, 2010 at 12:29 AM

It's about time we had a weekly zombie series on television. Here's hoping it doesn't suck. The trailer gives me high hopes. Oh, Halloween, you cannot arrive soon enough...

[via Topless Robot]

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: TV, Zombies
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday August 25, 2010 at 12:15 AM

There is still some time left to enter our Dust giveaway , but hurry, before the zombies get you!

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

| PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday August 25, 2010 at 12:11 AM

• Matthew Cheney interviews Nnedi Okorafor.
• Jeff VanderMeer interviews some of the 2009 World Fantasy Award Nominees.
• Angela Slatter interviews Amal El-Mohtar.
• The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast interviews Ian Whates.
• The Dragon Page interviews Kelley Armstrong (podcast).
• The Rejectionist interviews Elizabeth Hand.
• Lightspeed Magazine spotlights Joe Haldeman.
• Helen Lowe interviews Cheryl Morgan. [via Eos]
• Wired interviews China Miéville (podcast). [via Futurismic]
• John Otttinger III interviews Kij Johnson.
• MTV interviews Bruce Campbell.
• Time interviews Ray Bradbury.
  

• Mary Anne Mohanraj looking for South Asian SF Authors.
• Stieg Larsson: lover reveals why she won't hand over final manuscript.
• Tor Two Editorial Interns Wanted.
• Orbit UK is looking for an Editorial Assistant to join its publishing team based in London.
• Norman Spinrad has posted his script adaptation of his novel Pictures at 11.
• Lou Antonelli signs contract for Texas and Other Planets with Merry Blacksmith Press.
• StarShipSofa #150 is posted.

• Nancy Fulda on What I've Learned From Critique Groups.
• Rene Walling on Upcoming SF Events in September.
• Angela Slatter on The Frustration of the Long-Distance Editor.
• Rachelle Gardner on Are You a Do-It-Yourself Type?
• Janice Hardy on Golden Oldies: Making Trouble.
• Nathan Bransford on The Package of Services Publishers Provide Authors and How This Is Changing.
• Andrew Liptak on The Sky Isn't Falling: Science Fiction as a Genre.
• Adam Roberts reviews Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief.
• Art Appreciation 101: The two rules of awesome SF/fantasy art.
• Brian Palmer - iPads and Kindles are better for the environment than books. [via Bookninja]
• Matt London on Cyborg-netics.
• 10 Websites For Free Audio Books.
• Nicole Peeler on Writing a Greedy Heroine.
• John Ginsberg-Stevens on Never Worlds Enough, Or Time and Time Isn't Holding.

• Check out this cool Judge Dredd fan film trailer.
• iZombie #5 cover and preview.
• Bill Walko's Wonder Twins.

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Wednesday August 25, 2010 at 12:05 AM

The nominees for the 2009 World Fantasy Awards have been posted:

• Blood of Ambrose, James Enge (Pyr)
• The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
• The City & The City, China Miéville (Macmillan UK/ Del Rey)
• Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland) [See SF Signal review]
• In Great Waters, Kit Whitfield (Jonathan Cape UK/Del Rey)

Comments (1) | PermaLink | Category: Awards
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:58 PM

SF Signal has lots of cool Matthew Hughes books to give away!

One grand prize winner will receive a signed, slipcased hardcover edition Template and a signed copy of Quartet & Triptych, both published by PS Publishing! These editions are rarer than the signed limited editions; they're not numbered among the limited editions...they are extra "Publisher's Copies" of which only a few are produced. Also, they're from the Matthew's personal "author's copies".

Three more winners will each receive a copy of the Paizo publishing edition of
Template with a signed label!

Here's a photo of the actual prizes that will be sent.

Read on to learn more...

Comments (2) | PermaLink | Category: Contest
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:25 AM

REVIEW SUMMARY: A good clockwork fantasy that bites off more than it can chew.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: An automaton named Mattie struggles for her true independence against the backdrop of social and political change.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Intriguing world-building; sympathetic protagonist.
CONS: Weak personal interrelationships between characters; some weighty issues are raised but never fully explored.
BOTTOM LINE: A good novel with much more potential.

Comments (5) | PermaLink | Category: Book Review
Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:20 AM

A long time ago, when Disco ruled the radio airwaves, a little movie called Star Wars was released on an unsuspecting public. One man, Domenico Monardo (Meco), saw his chance to take destiny by the horns and combined the Star Wars with the smooth funk sounds of disco to produce the following incredible aural deliciousness. You may not know, but this single even hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1977. If you need any more indication on my age, I remember hearing this on the radio while being ferried around town by my parents. And yes, it rocks just as much now as it did then.

Comments (3) | PermaLink | Category: Music, Star Wars
Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:15 AM

• Fantasy Book Critic interviews Susannah Applebaum.
  
• Sam Weller interviews Ray Bradbury (video).
• Matt Staggs interviews Johannes Cabal.
• Mur Lafferty interviews Tracy Hickman & Scott Sigler.
• Cult Pop interviews Bob Fingerman.
• Book Chick City: Where Stories Are Made with Kate Ellis.
• The New Gay interviews Hal Duncan. [via Locus Online]
• Graham Sleight profiles the awesome Theodore Sturgeon.
• SFFaudio interviews Julie Davis (podcast).
• Frederik Pohl on Gene Roddenberry.

• Charity Auction for The Way of Kings.
• Angry Robot TV launches!
• Brandon Sanderson has finsihed writing Towers of Midnight, book 13 in The Wheel of Time series.
• Darren Nash Named Digital Publisher for Gollancz.
• Liz Gorinsky Promoted to Editor.

• Guillermo del Toro will be signing his new novel The Fall at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Wednesday 6th October 6 - 7pm.

• Aliette De Bodard on Thought Experiments: The View from the Other Side: Science Fiction and Non-Western/Non-Anglophone Countries.
• Jeff VanderMeer on Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Ammonite Violin & Others.
• Marly Youmans on Writing & Her Daughter.
• Gary Westfahl on Notes from a Mixed Marriage, Or, The Lady and the Monster.
• The Rejectionist on Why Science Fiction?
• Steven Harper Piziks on Writing Nowadays-How We've Changed.
• Gerald M. Weinberg on Are We Writers Good Enough for the Internet Age?
• Janice Hardy on Golden Oldies: Start Me Up.
• Nicola Morgan on Twitter for Authors - Part 1: Why? and Part 2: Begin to Follow.
• Ian Sales on An untapped market? (a response to Damien G. Walter.
• Cécile Cristofari on Written in Maps.
• George R. Morgan on The Locus Index, Galactic Central, and other Fantasy Resources.
• What's Your Favourite Heinlein Novel, Charles Stross?.
• Annalee Newitz on All the books you'll be lusting for this fall season.
• Jaye Wells on Comedy and Other Tragedies.
• Karen Burnham reviews Shine edited by Jetse de Vries.

• Suzanne Collins reads the first chapter of Mockingjay.
• Scans from The Illustrated Dune.
• 25 Amazing Avatar Movie Digital Art Works.
• Cool Art: "For The Colony" by ertacaltinoz
• Fahrenheit 451 Fire Truck.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Tidbits
Posted by Charles Tan at Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:05 AM

Gord Zajac's crazy-awesome novel Major Karnage is available in a free e-book edition until August 25th. (Note: Access to PDF requires "liking" the Wowio Facebook page.)

Here's the synopsis:

DON'T TALK TO HIM ABOUT THE WAR!!!!!!!!! It has been 20 years since The War, and Major John Karnage has finally settled into retirement: locked up in an insane asylum, with an explosive device embedded in the back of his neck to curb his violent tendencies. Karnage and his troopers have been deemed unfit to live in normal society. Like a bit of old chewing gum stuck under a coffee table, the world has left The War and its scarred, unstable veterans behind. The military has been disbanded and World Peace has descended upon the Earth. Its inhabitants live happy, profitable lives under the global rule of the benevolent Dabney Corporation. All is tea and roses in this new, sanitized world . . . until a terrifying threat from beyond the stars rears its squiggly head! An invading armada of aliens threatens to destroy the Earth, and it's up to Major Karnage to stop them -- as long as he doesn't accidentally blow his own head off first.

Comments (0) | PermaLink | Category: Free Fiction
Posted by Matthew Sanborn Smith at Monday August 23, 2010 at 11:29 AM