A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
Back in 1983, the Alarm released “The Stand, a song based on The Stand by Stephen King. This is the video from MTV (y’know…when the “M” actually stood for “music”…)
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The official Stephen King webiste has revealed the cover art for Stephen King’s upcoming novel Doctor Sleep, arriving in September 2013 from Scribner.
Here’s the synopsis:
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Subterranean Press has posted the cover art and synopsis of the upcoming novel Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (Gift Edition).
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I have a new post up over on the Kirkus Review site looking at Stephen King’s The Dark Tower-The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins, Graphic Novel from Marvel Comics. The script is by Peter David, a name comic book readers are well accustomed to seeing (The Incredible Hulk, Young Justice). He also wrote one of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation novels: Imzadi. The series is illustrated by Sean Phillips (WildC.A.T.S.) and Richard Isanove (Wolverine: Origin), and plotted by Robin Furth (Stephen King’s personal research assistant for The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance).
Here’s an excerpt:
The story opens with Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, tracking the man in black across a desert wasteland. He comes across a man who offers news of the man in black along with food, water and shelter for the night. All he asks in return is for The Gunslinger to tell him a tale. Through flashbacks, we see the day Roland’s ka-tet were slaughtered by the Good Man, John Farson. As Farson’s followers are stacking up the dead for a pyre, Roland escapes along with another Gunslinger, Aileen. She is mortally wounded and asks that he bury her in her family crypt back home – in Gilead.
Check out the full article over on the Kirkus Reviews blog.
The Horror Writers Association has announced the nominees for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award.
Press release follows…
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In my last column, Laird Barron commented, albeit briefly, on the marginalization of the short story. The subject seemed to interest readers, so this time around my guest, Paul Tremblay, and I will discuss the current state of the short story and perhaps a bit of history as to how we got to this point.
Stephen King ventures into the world of comics with the launch of a new series called American Vampire, a new series co-authored with Scott Snyder and illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque. King will co-write the first five issues of the series, which is described thusly:
When notorious outlaw Skinner Sweet is attacked by an old enemy (who happens to be a member of the undead), the first American vampire is born… a vampire powered by the sun, stronger, fiercer, and meaner than anything that came before.Plus… Pearl Jones is a struggling young actress in 1920′s Los Angeles.
But when her big break brings her face-to-face with an ancient evil, her Hollywood dream quickly turns into a brutal, shocking nightmare.
This is the beginning of an epic new series, spanning decades and generations, and it all begins here.
The website includes a 40 second video (shown here) and other extras like a preview of the first issue.
[via Robot 6]
REVIEW SUMMARY: One of Stephen King’s most interesting novels.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: With his life, and mind, in shambles after an industrial accident, Edgar Freemantle retreats to an island in Florida, where both the island, and Edgar, are deeper and darker than he had imagined.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: As with any King novel, it’s full of strong dialog, sharp characters, and a slowly-building mystery which makes it hard to put down.
CONS: A few King-isms creep in (the tendency for characters to laugh uncontrollably, to tears, in odd places, as one example).
BOTTOM LINE:Sharp, poignant, scary, mysterious, funny, with a terrific ending, this is one Stephen King novel among a few others that I would hand to someone and say “Here, you might like this author…”
REVIEW SUMMARY: There’s something to be said for a book that holds your intense interest for 1,000+ pages.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A transparent dome materializes around the town of Chester’s Mill allowing one of the local politicians to make a power-grab.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Completely engrossing and often page-turning; excellent characterizations; reads fast; deals with relevant issues.
CONS: I’m hard-pressed to name a single gripe with this novel.
BOTTOM LINE: I cannot image a better reading experience.
There’s a point in Stephen King’s new 1,080-page novel Under the Dome where one of the many characters — contemplating the life plans she had before she was trapped in the small town that has been inexplicably covered by a huge, transparent dome — expresses the desire to be a writer. She deems it as risky, because what if you “wrote a thousand-pager, and it sucked?” If King had been echoing his internal fears while writing this, he can rest easy by my reckoning. Under the Dome is easily one of the best reading experiences I’ve had this year.
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[SF Signal extends Best Wishes to Joe Haldeman, who took an unexpected trip to the hospital. Get well, Joe!]
