Check out the cover art and synopsis of Cherie Priest’ upcoming Clockwork Century novel Fiddlehead.

Here’s the synopsis:
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In episode 162 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester recorded a live panel at MileHiCon 44 in Denver Colorado on Saturday, October 20th, 2012. Panelists were: Connie Willis, John E. Stith, Nathan Lowell and Cherie Priest, who was also the Guest of Honor for MHC 44.

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Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt sit down with Cherie Priest (Boneshaker, Dreadnought)…

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In episode 141 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester gathers a pantheon of Steampunk greats to discuss the genre.

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Zack Parsons is a Chicago-area writer known for his acerbic humor at Something Awful, his non-fiction books like My Tank is Fight! and his contributions to various compilations. His debut sci-fi novelLiminal States, described by author Cory Doctorow as “vivid, and relentless, masterfully plotted,” was released April of 2012.

When I set out to write my genre-spanning debut novel, Liminal States, I wanted to music to shape the outcome of my creative process. Ending with a free downloadable companion soundtrack from my friend, Conelrad, was something I hoped would excite readers and enhance their experience.

Listening to music while writing was vital for me. It allowed me to shut out what was going on, no matter where I was at the time, and depending on the music, it could serve as an inspiration for what I was writing. My obsession with scoring every moment made me curious about how more experienced authors of speculative fiction use music.

So I asked.
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• Interviews and Profiles:
  • @Wired: Cherie Priest and her awesome steampunk/zombie novel Boneshaker.
  • @Tor.com: Ray Bradbury’s Lifelong Love Affair With Comics
  • @BSCreview: Mark Chadbourn.
• The October 2009 issue of The Internet Review of Science Fiction is up.
• S.M. Duke asks: Where are my capitalist fantasies?
• John Anealio has posted Sci-Fi Songs Podcast #17.
• Laughing Squid has the scoop on live stage productions of Bride of Frankenstein & Barbarella in San Francisco.
• I’d bet good money that Zombie George Lucas could have done a better job with the prequels. Just sayin’…
• Lists:
  • @Topless Robot: The 10 Craziest Old People In Horror Movies. Oh my…Betty White!
  • @The Vault of Horror: Top 30 Pieces of Horror Literature. [via Divers and Sundry]
  • @Geek Culture: The 15 Biggest Sci-Fi Sellouts.
  • @SciFi Scanner, Mary Robinette Kowal lists Native Americans in Fantasy.

• Cool news! Scott Westerfeld‘s Midnighters is coming to NBC. The story “revolves around a group of people born at the stroke of midnight who have access to the 25th hour of each day, which they use to stop crime.” [via SFX]
• Interviews and Profiles:
  • John Scalzi answers Stargate Universe questions.
  • Innsmouth Free Press has a brief interview with Mary Robinette Kowal.
  • 3 Questions with Mindy Klasky at SF Novelists.
  • Jeremy Tolbert and Jeff VanderMeer join host Tony C. Smith in the latest Sofanauts podcast.
  • @Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy: David Gunn.
  • @Sci-Fi Fan Letter: Gail Carriger.
• Frederik Pohl on Fandom. (Part 3)
• Octavia Butler’s Papers Bequeathed to Huntington Library. [via Locus Online]
• Guest-hosting at Tor.com: Cherie Priest, author of the the aesome recent release, Boneshaker.
• The Post-Modernity of Steampunk.
• The Directors of Spectrum announced that Richard Corben is the recipient of the 2009 Grand Master Award.
• The World SF News Blog is now hosted over on WordPress.
• Rare Gene Roddenberry Science Fiction TV Pilots are coming to DVD.
• Lists:
  • Star Wars Lines Improved By Replacing A Word With “Pants”.
  • An Alternate Universe Reading Guide.
  • 10 Insanely Coveted Out of Print Sci Fi Novels.

• Interviews & Profiles:
  • Iain M. Banks is interviewed by Time, The Independent, and the Scotsman.
  • Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf interviews Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker.
  • The latest episode of Cult Pop features a video interview with Marcus Sakey.
  • Harry Connolly is featured on John Scalzi’s latest Big Idea post.
  • Joseph Mallozzi’s blog readers throw questions at actor Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe).
  • Wanna interview John Scalzi? John Scalzi is fielding questions about his involvement in Stargate Universe.
• Authors reviewing authors:
  • Jo Walton looks at Samuel Delany’s short fiction.
  • Chris Nakashima-Brown reviews The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard.
• Norilana Books will be publishing 7 Tanith Lee titles, including two reprint trilogies (The Birthgrave Trilogy and The Wars of Vis sequence) an one original sequel.
• Here’s a nice Flickr gallery of vintage sf paperbacks.
• Adaptation of the Day: Stephen King’s “The Colorado Kid”. [via Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine]
• ABC’s FlashForward is making references to Lost. [via SciFi Scanner]
• AMC’s The Prisoner remake gets a start date: Sunday Nov. 15.
• 50 years later, Twilight Zone bridges time: “Rod Serling’s veiled commentary remains as soul-baring today as it did a half-century ago…”
• @SCI FI Wire: 7 years after Firefly: Where are they now?
• Lists:
  • Speaking of Stephen King, Jigsaw’s Lair lists Part 1 of Best Stephen King Adaptations
  • Neatorama reprints 10 Sci-Fi Books That Even Non-Geeks Would Love from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe.
  • @BestScienceFictionStories: 6 Science Fiction Stories Containing Altered Human Bodies
  • There are several genre titles in Topless Robot’s list of The 5 Best and 5 Worst Book & Record Story Sets.
  • Can You guess which classic science fiction novel made Bookstove’s list of 10 Dirty Books You Should Read?

• Tim Powers confirms earlier rumors: “I can now say that Disney optioned On Stranger Tides and will use elements of the book in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.” On Stranger Tides is about a pirate named Jack who goes in search of the Fountain of Youth
• Interviews & Profiles:
  • Alethea Kontis interviews Cherie Priest, author of the fun-filled Boneshaker.
  • Agony Column podcast-interviews Nalo Hopkinson.
  • @io9: Richard K. Morgan.
  • @The Dragon Page: Robert J. Sawyer.
• Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland has been revived as a website. Like the magazine, the new website, Famous Monsters of Filmland “pays tribute to the monsters of old while keeping up with all things current in the world of genre.”
• Paul Di Filippo reviews new volumes by Roger Zelazny. [via Locus Online]
• Articulate stumbles upon the cool illustration of The Librarian who is made out of books, drawn by DeviantArt use amartinsdebarros.
• Listen to Louisville, KY’s 89.3 WFPL radio broadcast of The Subversive Side of Science Fiction, which features Amy Sturgis and James Gunn. [via Geekend]
• EVENT: A reading of Poe: 19 New Tales, with Editor Ellen Datlow, Gregory Frost and John Langan – Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.in the Poe Room of the Enoch Pratt Central Library in Baltimore, MD
• The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf has a fascinating gallery that shows The Evolution of The Martian Chronicles Book Cover (1950-2009).
• Tron Guy will make an appearance in Comedy Central’s Tosh.0.
• SuperPunch points us to some cool photos of Johnny Lightning’s 1950′s Batmobile Diecast model, a post in the Batman collectors’ blog Under the Giant Penny. Cool name. Get the reference?
• Real Science: The Cassini takes really pretty pictures of Saturn. [via Stone Dead Parrot]
• Lists:
  • SciFiNow: Top five: sci-fi vehicles.
  • @SciFi Wire: The NSFW list of 30 Memorable SF Shower Scenes. [via Slice of SciFi]

REVIEW SUMMARY: Every bit as good as a steampunk/zombie mash-up should be…and then some.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Briar Wilkes tries to find her son, Zeke, who enters the walled up, zombie-ridden city of Seattle to clear his father’s name.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Riveting adventure story; great characters; perfectly captures the flavors of the steampunk and zombie subgenres.

CONS: Some story elements might seem clichéd, but that’s very small potatoes next to the entertainment value this book provides.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a wonderful setting that demands more stories. I can’t wait.

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• Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast-interviews Kay Kenyon (City Without End).
• Blogging the Muse interviews Patricia Bray.
• The Willamette Writers honored Phyllis Irene Radford with a lifetime achievement award.
• Jayme Lynn Blaschke has the scoop on SFWA’s statement regarding the proposed Google book settlement.
• Authors reviewing books: Paul Di Filippo reviews Karl Schroeder’s The Sunless Countries.
• Jason Heller is Fantasy Magazine‘s new Book Editor.
• Cherie Priest’s thoughts on steampunk.
• Bibliophile Stalker on The Difficulty of Pricing eBooks (Part II).
• io9 lists Top 10 Silliest Alien Prosthetics.
• Star Wars Tidbits:
  • Boing Boing showcases these nerdy-but-cool Star Wars trash compactor bookends.
  • I watched this dozens of times, but I couldn’t find anything sexist in this video of Girls in Bikinis Reading Lines from Star Wars.
  • Star Wars Zombies. How did nobody think of this before?