In episode 178 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester chats with author Chuck Wendig.

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In episode 177 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester and Jaym Gates gather panelists to talk about the past, present and future of Cyberpunk.

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In episode 176 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester chats with author Mary Robinette Kowal.

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In episode 175 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester asks his motley crew of mis-fit panelists to discuss: Which conventions are you looking forward to this year?

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Over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today, I have a post about the three-volume set of graphic novels based on Charlaine Harris’ Grave Sight.

Charlaine Harris is probably best known for her Sookie Stackhouse books, which serve as the foundation for HBO’s popular True Blood television show.  But another fan favorite is the Harper Connelly series (four books) that follow title character Harper Connelly and her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang.  Harper has the power to find the dead and see their last moments, revealing how they died.  She uses that power to eek out a living by sharing the information with the living.

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In episode 174 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester chats with author Seanan McGuire.

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The Ultramarines are coming to Blu-Ray.

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In episode 173 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester asks his motley crew of mis-fit panelists to discuss: Who is on your 2013 Hugo Nomination Ballot?

This is a long podcast! Fair Warning! Tons of show notes after the jump.

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In episode 172 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester chats Paul and Storm who write music that makes people laugh and feel good. They are the co-founders of Wootstock, they co-produce the JoCo Cruise Crazy, a Caribbean cruise/concert festival for fans of internet musician Jonathan Coulton, and now have a new show called ‘Learning Town’ which debuted on Tuesday, January 15th on YouTube’s Geek & Sundry channel.

About LearningTown:

“LearningTown” follows a fictional Paul and Storm as they try to keep an old-style kid’s show (in the spirit of Captain Kangaroo, Mister Rogers, etc.) going after its original host dies. They hire a producer (“Cookie Tuesdays”) away from a rival show to help them; and they also enlist the help of a superfan (“Teddy”) to handle the puppets. But the challenge is steep, not only because they have no idea what they’re doing, but because they have radically different ideas about how to run the show, and there are lots of other characters who help and/or hinder their cause along the way. Oh…and puppets sometimes catch fire. There will be ten episodes in Season 1, each between 7-9 minutes each in length. There may also be some shorter bonus videos. New episodes will be released every Tuesday starting on January 15, 2013.

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First announced at Gen Con 2012, Wizards of the Coast is making good a promise to release its backlist of products as PDF’s for download and even printing (some titles).

From Wizards of the Coast: 

Today, Wizards of the Coast together with DriveThruRPG, is thrilled to announce the official launch of Dungeons & Dragons Classics, a new online PDF store containing classic content from every edition of D&D, including fan-favorite supplement materials and iconic adventures. A one-stop-shop for classic D&D content, DnDClassics.com offers an easy way to access and download favorite titles electronically by computer, mobile phone, or tablet (including iPads).

How does it work? It’s easy! Simply create an account* and instantly gain access to a wealth of D&D titles.  There are 80 titles available at launch, with smaller batches of additional titles being released on a rolling basis starting in early February.  Favorite titles can be downloaded to an online Library or saved to a “Wish List” for purchase later. Most titles can also be printed. Settings can also be customized and users can opt to get email alerts whenever favorite publishers or topics get new items (*Users can also sign-in using their DriveThruRPG.com or RPGNow.com login).

All right, who wants to roll some new characters, DL a copy of Temple of Elemental Evil and get our game on?

Paul?  Karen?  I’m looking at you…

SF Signal just learned that Amazing Stories, the world’s first science fiction magazine, is now open to the public.

Here’s the release:

Social Magazine Website Offers Nearly Sixty Writers and Social Networking For Fans!

Experimenter Publishing Company
Hillsboro, NH
January 19, 2013

AMAZING STORIES are just one click away!TM

The Experimenter Publishing Company is pleased to announce the  reintroduction of the world’s most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES!

Following the completion of a successful Beta Test begun on January 2nd, 2013, Amazing Stories is now open to the public.  Fans of science fiction, fantasy, and horror are invited to join and encouraged to participate in helping to bring back a cherished icon of the field.

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In episode 171 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester asks his motley crew of misfit panelists to discuss: Which SF&F Books, Movies, TV Shows and Comics Are We Looking Forward To In 2013?

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Posted without comment.
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Came across these and wanted to share. Both are wonderful versions/interpretations of ‘Over The Misty Mountains Cold. by J R R Tolkien.

Check them out after the jump.

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Alex Scarrow is a British author, whose books include The Candleman, A Thousand Suns, Last Light, Afterlight, October Skies, and the young adult science fiction series TimeRiders. His new series begins with The Legend of Ellie Quin, in a universe with genetically engineered pocket pets, plant life with a crabby attitude, soda pops that fight back…and revoltingly slimy junk food.

SF Signal: Hello Alex. TimeRiders is a popular time travel series in the UK about a group of teenagers who have cheated death and are now working for an organisation to combat others from changing history. Where did you get the idea for the series?

Alex Scarrow: I’ve always liked time travel as a story telling device because it gives you an infinitely large canvas to work with. I was a big fan of the Terminator movies and the Back to the Future movies in the 80s, mainly because of the idea of alternate versions of the present day that could be the result of an altered past. Great stuff; at once familiar and at the same time so very different.

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The film 1 is an adaptation of one of the stories in Stanislaw Lem’s book One Human Minute.

Here’s the synopsis of the film:

A bookshop renowned for its rare works is mysteriously and completely filled with copies of a book entitled 1, which doesn’t appear to have a publisher or author. The strange almanac describes what happens to the whole of humanity in the space of a minute. A police investigation begins and the bookshop staff are placed in solitary confinement by the Bureau for Paranormal Research (RDI Reality Defense Institute). As the investigation progresses, the situation becomes more complex and the book increasingly well known, raising numerous controversies (political, scientific, religious and artistic). Plagued by doubts, the protagonist has to face facts: reality only exists in the imagination of individuals.

‘Enigmatic in form, encyclopedic in scope, and leaving room between its lines for many different readings, Sparrow’s truly singular film encapsulates the whole of human experience in eccentric, elliptical cross-section. It is all at once science fiction, political allegory, transcendental mystery and free-form documentary, recalling the early works of Peter Greenaway in its vast referential breadth, its mannered blurring of fact and fiction, and the beauty of its tableau-like images.’

Watch the film after the jump.

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“It’s your kid, Rory. Something’s got to be done about your kid!”

This video is full of wonderful mash-up moments.  I especially liked 9-Stein.

Check it out after the jump!  …and whatever you do, don’t blink.

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With A Memory of Light bringing The Wheel of Time to a close this month, over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today I take a look at four volumes of the Wheel of Time Graphic Novels out from TOR and Dynamite.  Adapted by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Mike S. Miller,  Chase Conley,  Andie Tong,  Marcio Fiorito and Francis Nuguit, these books take us from New Spring to the mid-point of The Eye of the World.

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In episode 170 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester recaps your favorite SF&F:

• Podcasts
• Book Bloggers
• News Websites
• Publishers
• Comics

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Who doesn’t remember the awesomeness that was the 90′s X-Men animated series?  The folks behind this pretty nifty stop-motion animation version of the intro to that cartoon, that’s who!

Check it out after the jump!

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