SF Signal: SF Tidbits for 11/28/07

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SF Tidbits for 11/28/07

Author Michael Moorcock and artist John Picacio will be signing copies of The Metatemporal Detective on Saturday, Dec. 8th at 3pm at BookPeople in Austin, TX. [via John Picacio and Lou Anders]

Kay Kenyon shows off the Stephan Martiniere cover for her upcoming book A World Too Near, sequel to Bright Of The Sky.

At SciFi Wire, John Joseph Adams profiles Jeffrey Overstreet, author of Auralia's Colors.

Tom Swift is headed for the big screen, although apparently as "green propaganda" as Cinema Blend puts it.

Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, hits back at critics who accuse him of peddling "candy-coated atheism". "I am a story teller," he said. "If I wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon."

Has Amazon done away with mass-market paperback discounts? "Amazon's pricing for mass market books has suddenly gone full retail, no discount since the release of the Kindle. When questioned in Newsweek about the low pricing, [Amazon CEO Jeff] Bezos said 'low-margin and high-volume sale -- you just have to make sure the mix [between discounted and higher-priced items] works.' "

The Universal Digital Library has completed the digitization of 1.5 million books and on Tuesday made them free and publicly available. [via CNet]

Real Science: Astrobiology Magazine looks at what life would be like if the Earth had no Moon. [via Cynical-C]

Billie Piper (who played Rose Tyler) is returning to Doctor Who for three episodes.

Not happy with the posters for The Sarah Connor Chronicles? Fox invites you to design your own and possibly win a trip to the L.A. premiere party.

Cinematical has a sneak peek at Heath Ledger's Joker. I hope this image reflects a more serious Joker than we saw in Tim Burton's version. That movie does not hold up well at all.

Science Fiction Brewed Fresh Daily shows us Why Science Fiction is More Fun to Read Than Proper Literature.

That's an interesting claim from Pullman in light of his statement to the Washington Post: "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief," says Pullman.

Posted by Divers and Sundry on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 8:29 AM

I think it's a lovely cover, but the bevel and emboss on the title just ruins it a bit for me.

Posted by Tony on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 9:10 AM

"Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, hits back at critics who accuse him of peddling "candy-coated atheism". "I am a story teller," he said. "If I wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon.""

It is to laugh. Poor man. Poor, poor man.

I hope he someday repudiates AMBER SPYGLASS, and sits down and writes a real sequel to the first two books, something that actually does tell a story instead of preaching a message. I was expecting the subtle knife to kill God, since that was the prophecy; I was expecting a war in heaven, since that was Asrael's ambition. Instead we got a sermon on how religion hinders children from having sex, and God is Bad. Huhn?

Posted by John Wright on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 2:08 PM

The three-part series culminates in an epic battle in which God dies - at the hand of a child.

really? Now i actually want to read this piece of crap....Three part fantasy series though....i will give it some thought.

Posted by joshua corning on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 9:51 PM

That's an interesting claim from Pullman in light of his statement to the Washington Post: "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief," says Pullman.

Wait wait wait...are you accusing Pullman of changing his position??

Why would he do that?

I wouldn't have any thing to do with a movie coming out this Christmas would it?

Posted by joshua corning on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 9:54 PM

It always tickles me when religious zealots reveal just how thin they know their particular patch of ice to be.

Posted by Brian Prince on Thursday November 29, 2007 at 5:36 PM