A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
Interviews & Profiles
Filed under: Tidbits
REVIEW SUMMARY: A satisfying conclusion to the Chaos Knight Trilogy.
MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Vidarian rallies his allies to oppose the monstrous plans of the Alorean Import Company, with the world’s fate in the balance.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Worldbuilding; well-conceived ending to the series; well done reveals of major aspects of the world.
CONS: Pacing issues, although less problematic than previous books, persist; some character motivations remain murky; some elements from earlier in the trilogy seem lost.
BOTTOM LINE: A conclusion to the Chaos Knight Trilogy that pays the promise of the first volume.
In Lance of Earth and Sky , Vidarian Rulorat, the Tesseract, found himself with new challenges and a burgeoning adversary — the Alorean Import Company. A corporation powerful enough to shape a world, the Company set in motion some truly horrible plans, even as Vidarian struggled with his own nature, his relationship with Ariadel, and more. Now, things have gotten only more complicated. Two kingdoms still stand perilously close to the brink of war. The return of magic to the world is still disrupting everything and everyone, unmaking old social structures and upending long held traditions and beliefs. It’s not easy for Vidarian to be the Chaos Knight, the Tesseract. And even greater sacrifices might be needed on the part of him and those who would follow him, to stop the truly monstrous plans of the Alorean Import Company from coming to pass.
Tagged with: erin hoffman
Filed under: Book Review • Books
Guy Hasson is an SF author and a filmmaker. His latest books are Secret Thoughts by Apex Books and The Emoticon Generation by Infinity Plus. His 45-minute epic SF film, The Indestructibles, which he wrote and directed, will be released on the web in a few weeks, and his start-up New Worlds Comics will go live in July.
A few days ago, I got a phone call from an unknown caller.
“Am I speaking to Guy Hasson?” The woman was cordial.
“Yes,” I said, wary.
“I read your guest post in SF Signal,” she said as if we’re old friends. “The one about the zombies.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Strangers don’t usually call me about these things. There’s a reason God created email.
“And I saw no one left any comments,” she continued.
“Yeah?” I said, warier and warier.
“We can help you with that.”
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: guest post • Guy Hasson
Filed under: Science and Technology
“It is unfortunate to me that we have to classify reading fiction as anything other than what it is. Why must it be escaping “from” something? If it has to be escapism, aren’t we escaping “to” something? Does the distinction matter? I’m not sure.” Carl V. Anderson“Escapism is a social practice and a cultural stereotype, not an inherent characteristic of the fantastic. It is an exaggeration of the word escape itself, which does not mean ‘to lose oneself in another world,’ but to elude something that constrains you.” from “The Inevitable Reduction of the Imagination and its Opportunities: A Brief Exploration“
The last time I wrote about escapism I was trying to get a better handle on the term and its implications. As a response to that column, Carl V. Anderson asked a very pertinent question about the literary idea of escape: what are we escaping to? I’ve thought about this on and off but it wasn’t until I read Foz Meadows’ article at A Dribble of Ink last week that something clicked in my thinking about this idea. Or, more to the point, altered my perspective on the dynamic aspect of this idea. Meadows’ piece starts slowly but builds to a very incisive conclusion:
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: the bellowing ogre
Filed under: The Bellowing Ogre
The finalists for the 2013 Locus Awards have been announced!
Tagged with: Free Fiction • Locus Awards
Filed under: Awards
Fantastic Books has cut prices on their ebooks.
Check out the following press release for the juicy, money-saving details…
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: eBook • eBook deal • Fantastic Books
Filed under: Books
Editor Roberto Mendes has sent in the table of contents for the new issue of International Speculative Fiction Magazine:
FICTION:
NON-FICTION:
It will be available for free download from 10 May forward as epub, mobi and pdf.
Filed under: Books • Free Fiction
Unrelated housekeeping in an obscure Northern dialect: Sorry, Habs fans, but this is the year for the Sens. Please get out of the way of history. (Next year: Jets)
What’s special about today’s free fiction?
Tagged with: Amazon • audio fiction • fiction • free • free ebooks • free fantasy fiction • Free Fiction • free flash fiction • free horror fiction • free science fiction • serialized • serialized fiction
Filed under: Free Fiction
Check out this awesome cover art for Catherynne M. Valente’s upcoming (July 16, 2013) collection The Melancholy of Mechagirl.
The information on it is sparse, so far. Here’s the synopsis:
Science fiction and fantasy stories about Japan by the multiple-award winning author and New York Times best seller Catherynne M. Valente.
A collection of some of Catherynne Valente’s most admired stories, including the Hugo Award-nominated novella Silently and Very Fast and the Locus Award finalist “13 Ways of Looking at Space/Time,” with a brand-new long story to anchor the collection.
Book info as per Amazon US [Also available via Amazon UK]:
Tagged with: Catherynne M. Valente • Cover & Synopsis
Filed under: Books
Interviews & Profiles
Filed under: Tidbits
Paul Gillebaard lived in Nassau Bay, Texas during the moon shot years, home for many of the Apollo astronauts. Living among these men who would make history inspired Paul to write this book. Paul received a Mechanical Engineering degree from the California State University at Fullerton. He resides in Orange County, California with his wife and two children.
Kristin Centorcelli: Paul, will you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
Paul Gillebaard: I am a small business owner of Gillebaard Engineering Corp. I graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I coach track at the local high school. My wife and I have been married 20 years and have two wonderful daughters. We live in Orange County California.
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: Moon Hoax • Paul Gillebaard
Filed under: Interviews
REVIEW SUMMARY: A strong continuation if the Eternal Sky series, building on the already considerable strengths of Range of Ghosts.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Prince Temur and allies seek to rescue the woman he would make Queen, who may not even need rescuing, even as the plans of a death cult threaten the fate of all of the Kingdoms on the Celadon Highway,
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Amazing worldbuilding; character growth and development from the main characters; excellent through line.
CONS: Some secondary characters get a bit of short shrift; book does not conclude so much as end.
BOTTOM LINE: Bear’s foray into Epic Fantasy continues to be a highlight of the subgenre.
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: Elizabeth Bear • Eternal Sky • The Shattered Pillars
Filed under: Book Review • Books
Recently, I looked at books whose film adaptations will be in theaters by year’s end. But we all know that the road from book to screen is a long one that has more pitfalls than bridges. This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I take a look at some of the science fiction and fantasy books that have been optioned and might (hopefully) see the light of day as a film or television series.
Check out More SF/F Books to Read Before You See Them on the Screen.
Tagged with: Kirkus • science fiction
[Do you have an idea for a future Mind Meld? Let us know!]
Novels and stories about all things faerie have become extremely popular in the past few years, rather notably in young adult fiction. So we asked this week’s panelists…
Here’s what they said…
Faeries have always fascinated me. I love creepy tales and stories about things that go bump in the night, and I love the idea that there is this whole other world that exists right alongside ours, we just don’t see it. I think this is exactly why audiences are fascinated with the fey. They’re beautiful, seductive, mysterious, dangerous, and alluring, and we can’t help but be drawn to that.
For me, writing about the fey is like being turned loose in a fantasy playground. There are so many types of fey, so many myths and stories and legends. Nearly anything is possible when you venture into the faery world; not only do you have the denizens of Faery–goblins and piskies and kelpies and trolls–the very land can surprise you with how beautiful and dangerous it is. Trees are more than they appear. Flowers could very well be carnivorous. That bright red strawberry might turn you into a rabbit if you eat it, or put you to sleep for centuries. Nothing is safe, and anything can happen when you’re dealing with the fey. Creating the land of Faery, called The Nevernever in my books, was one of my favorite parts when writing The Iron Fey series.
My other favorite part was the cast of characters. From tiny brownies to deadly beautiful fey princes, to talking cats and faery queens, to bloodthirsty redcaps and brilliant faery tricksters, the world and legends of Faery has everything a fantasy lover could want. For authors and readers alike. They might be dangerous, they might be infuriating, seductive, devious and amoral, but when dealing with faeries, one thing is for certain. You might be eaten, seduced, made to dance forever or turned into a hedgehog for all time, but you will never be bored.
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: Allan Frewin Jones • Allison Pang • Cyn Balog • Freda Warrington • Herbie Brennan • Julie Kagawa • Melissa Marr • Mind Meld • Seanan McGuire • Stina Leicht • Tina Connolly
Filed under: Mind Meld
Book View Cafe is reporting that Vonda McIntyre’s The Moon and the Sun is being adapted for film, with Pierce Brosnan playing Louis XIV.
The synopsis from Screen Daily:
The fantasy-adventure centres on imagined events during the reign of King Louis XIV as the French leader’s bid for immortality leads him to capture and attempt to steal the life force from a mermaid, to be played by rising Chinese star Fan Bingbing.
Complications arise when the Sun King’s 18-year-old illegitimate daughter Marie-Josephe falls for the mermaid’s keeper and risks everything trying to set him and the mythical creature free.
Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer) will direct The Moon And The Sun. Bill Mechanic will adapt the novel with co-writers Barry Berman, James Schamus and Laura Harrington.
Tagged with: adaptation • Pierce Brosnan • The Moon and the Sun • Vonda McIntyre
The Hugo-nominated Apex Magazine (edited by the multi-Hugo Award-winning Lynne M. Thomas) has posted the table of contents for the May 2013 issue:
Read the rest of this entry
Filed under: Books • Free Fiction
Check out this short video of clips from the indie SF film, From the Future with Love. You can see the cyberpunk/Blade Runner/Judge Dred influences, but it’s put together extremely well and the hints of the larger story here are very intriguing. It’s amazing what technology allows talented people to do with relatively little money, this was shot using the RED camera system and it looks great.
Synopsis:
Squads of privatized police officers from various corporations, walking the streets of New York and selling protection plans. Make sure your insurances are up to date. This is not the future. This is YOUR future.
Filed under: Movies
Thanks to Dave Tackett and his QuasarDragon for some of these lovely links!
What’s special about today’s free fiction?
Tagged with: Amazon • audio fiction • fiction • free • free ebooks • free fantasy fiction • Free Fiction • free flash fiction • free horror fiction • free science fiction • serialized • serialized fiction
Filed under: Free Fiction
HarperCollins reminds us of the upcoming novel TITLE by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter, sequel to The Long Earth.
Here’s the synopsis:
Read the rest of this entry
Tagged with: Cover & Synopsis • Stephen Baxter • Terry Pratchett
Filed under: Books
Interviews & Profiles
Filed under: Tidbits
