Science Fiction

The internet(s) gives and gives and gives. There are some great sci-fi/fantasy bloggers out there, fans who are devoting a lot of time and energy into supporting authors and their readers. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and with the menagerie of unique and very different individuals out there contributing, it produces a whole that is better than its parts. Last week, Suvudu featured the First 50 Pages of Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks. Final Frontiers featured 15 Minutes of Fiction with Rick Yancey! Matt Staggs interviewed Christa Faust, author of Fringe: The Zodiac Paradox. Thalia Sutton featured Greek Myth in Game of Thrones: Part 7. Sarah Peed posted A Letter from Kevin Hearne. Eric Geller featured the newest Star Wars HoloNet Digest. And I interviewed Laura Andersen, author of The Boleyn King! In other areas of the professional internet(s), Tor.com is conducting a read of A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin, Pyr Books posted the 2013 Hugo Award Nominations, and Orbit Books features the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel, 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Here are some of the blogging highlights I found outside of Suvudu week ending 5/18/13: Review: The Tyrant's Law by Daniel Abraham, posted by A Dribble of Ink Comment: May Releases, posted by A Fantasy Reader Review: The Tyrant's Law by Daniel Abraham, read by Fantasy Book Critic Review: Thistle and Thorne by Ann Aguirre, read by Fantasy Literature Excerpt: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, posted by Pat's Fantasy Hotlist Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness, posted by Sci-Fi Chick Comment: 2012 Nebula Award Winners, posted by SF Signal Update: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, posted by Wertzone I highly recommend all Suvudu readers to visit these fine examples of sci-fi / fantasy blog work! Get involved, post your thoughts, and enjoy what else is out there! And feel free to talk about it or anything else on our Forum here! Till next week... Shawn Speakman is the author of The Dark Thorn, an urban/epic fantasy hybrid novel bestselling author Terry Brooks calls, "a fine tale by a talented writer." He is also editor and contributor of Unfettered, a fantasy anthology featuring some of the best writers in the genre. When Shawn isn’t lying for a living, he runs The Signed Page and Grim Oak Press.

Out Wednesday 22nd May Outside – Glenn Fabry makes a welcome return to 2000AD, as a new Cadet Anderson strip starts. Inside – gradually moving things round more Stickleback by Edginton & D’Israeli and Zombo by Al Ewing and Henry Flint. Second episode of Sinister Dexter by Dan Abnett and John Burns, and brand new Cadet Anderson by Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquera. Dredd comes from Michael Carroll and PJ Holden, and it’s the fourth part of The Forsaken: More art under the cut:

Here’s a nice way to start the working week, a small collection of different videos from various folk filming and interviewing away at the recent Toronto Comic Art Festival. Here’s Miles Baker, assistant co-ordinator of the 2013 Toronto Comic Arts Festival discussing a bit about how TCAF comes together and works: A short video interview with Tom Kaczynski, who was at TCAF with Uncivilised Press and also promoting his own recent Beta Testing the Apocalypse, a fascinating an unusual collection from Fantagraphics (highly recommended): The French Consulate in Toronto has a cool short video with acclaimed creator David B talking about his work and how the North American market is opening up more to translated European works, while he is behind what looks to me very much like the SelfMadeHero stand at TCAF (in French but the nice consulate folk have very kindly added English subtitles for those who don’t speak French!): Matt Kindt signs a copy of Red Handed (recently published by First Second) at TCAF: A short interview with Steve from small press publisher One Per Cent Press: And don’t forget you can read our short round table discussion with several top Indy comics publishers about why  they attend TCAF here on the blog.

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included. Since I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile with April’s series, this week I’ll just be discussing some of the books that came in since this feature has been on hiatus. I’m going to cover the books that look most intriguing and next week I’ll resume as usual. There’s also a lot of catching up to do on reviews, and some of the books I still need to review are ones I thought were very good indeed (Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear, Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson, and River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay, to name a few). Onward to some books I’m quite looking forward to reading! Tankborn and Awakening (Tankborn #1-2) by Karen Sandler These books are in a young adult science fiction trilogy by Karen Sandler, who also writes romance and mystery books. Awakening, the second book in the Tankborn trilogy, was just released in April. The final book in the trilogy, Rebellion, will be released next spring. Both Tankborn and Awakening are available in hardcover, and Tankborn appears to also be available as an ebook. I’m intrigued by the premise of this series, plus I saw some of my Goodreads friends seemed to really like these books, so I’m excited to read them. About Tankborn: Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. GENs are gestated in a tank and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen. When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds secrets and surprises; not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul’s great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan to save the disappearing children. Yet can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, revealing secrets no one is ready to face. A Study in Silks (The Baskerville Affair #1) by Emma Jane Holloway I was basically sold on reading this book the moment I saw it was a novel about the niece of Sherlock Holmes. The cover quote by Jacqueline Carey didn’t hurt, either! A Study in Silks will be released in mass market paperback and ebook in September. The next two books in the series will be following it closely with A Study in Darkness in October and A Study in Ashes in November. A two paragraph long excerpt from A Study in Silks is on the author’s website, but it will be replaced with a longer excerpt once the book has been copyedited. Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London’s high society. But there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse. In a Victorian era ruled by a council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch, and sorcery the demon enemy of the empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out? But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock’s niece

Is it too early to start talking about the Blu-ray for Star Trek Into Darkness? Well Best Buy doesn’t think so and they will give you $8 coupon for a ticket to see the movie if you pre-order an Into Darkness Blu-ray/DVD Bundle. More details below. Pre-order Blu-ray and get $8 Off movie tickets plus more bonus content Starting today (May 19) through to June 1, you can pre-order Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray/DVD combo pack (2D or 3D) and receive a $8 coupon towards an adult admission at participating theaters nationwide. You can also get access to exclusive content from Star Trek: Into Darkness on CinemaNow and the ability to watch Star Trek: Into Darkness via CinemaNow approximately 2-3 weeks before the movie is available in-stores. The 2D Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack is selling for $22.99 and the 3D version is selling for $29.99. Go to BestBuy.com to pre-order yours. As of now there is no release date.

Hello everyone, Happy Sunday!!! Thea here, trying to recover from eating ridiculous amounts of food at yesterday’s Great GoogaMooga festival in Brooklyn. Ahem. Sorry for the gratuitous food pictures. Now, down to business! Nebula Awards 2013: Each year, the Nebula Awards® are voted on and presented by the active members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA), for outstanding science fiction and fantasy. We were thrilled with the 2012 shortlist of nominees for its inclusivity and diversity (read: not all books by and/or about white dudes) – and here are the final winners: NOVEL: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK) NOVELLA: After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (Tachyon) NOVELLETTE: “Close Encounters” by Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories) SHORT STORY: “Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12) RAY BRADBURY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director), Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight) ANDRE NORTON AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK: Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr) 2011 DAMON KNIGHT GRAND MASTER AWARD: Gene Wolfe SOLSTICE AWARD: Carl Sagan and Ginjer Buchanan KEVIN O’DONNELL JR. SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD: Michael H. Payne While some of our favorites didn’t win, we are very happy with the range of diversity across the winning titles. Congrats to all the winners! And speaking of winners… Giveaway Winners: We have a few giveaways to close out! The winner of the Nebula Showcase is… Matthew The winner of a copy of The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is… Mary Preston And the winner of our second Resurrectionist giveaway is… Lexi Congratulations to all the winners! You know the drill – contact us directly (contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com) with your snail mail address and we will get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! This Week on The Book Smugglers: On Monday, to celebrate the 50th anniversary and conclusion of the 7th cycle of Doctor Who, we have a big fat giveaway – a Doctor Who library including Plague of the Cybermen by Justin Richards, Shroud of Sorrow by Tommy Donbavand, The Dalek Generation by Nicholas Briggs, plus a Classic Doctor Who DVD Giftpack: “Doctor Who: The Robots of Death,” “Doctor Who: The Ark in Space,” and “Doctor Who: Shada.” Tuesday, Ana reviews speculative fiction novel The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty. Then, it’s our second ever Old School Wednesday Readalong! We review and discuss The Naming by Allison Croggon. on Thursday, we are thrilled to be a part of The Wig in the Window blog tour! We have an interview with Kristen Kittscher, plus Thea’s review of the middle grade mystery novel. And on Friday, we close out the week with Ana’s review of Loki’s Wolves, meanwhile Thea is over at Kirkus. And that’s it from us today! Until tomorrow we remain… Star Trek Into Darkness poster by Paul Shipper (via Blurppy) ~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers

We’re thrilled to congratulate Kim Stanley Robinson, whose 2312 won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2012. Visit our 2312 page to read an extract from the book and explore a visual guide to terraforming an asteroid. The Nebula Awards are selected and presented by the members of the SFWA, and honor the best in science fiction and fantasy across a number of categories. The awards were announced over the weekend at the Nebula Awards Banquet in San Jose, CA. Visit the SFWA for a complete list of the nominees and winners. The post 2312 Wins the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel appeared first on Orbit Books | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.

Above is the cover for what to me is the most anticipated super-anthology of the year, Dangerous Women. I've already mentioned all the contributors, but seeing many of them listed there does give me goosebumps. Especially knowing how many of these will connect to the novel worlds of many of the writers. While I do like the general look, it looks a bit just too that--general, but then again so was Warrirors which this is a companion volume to. Maybe Tor was concerned with ending up with a chain mail bikini girl so they went safe. Still I would have thought this would have been a good opportunity to show a strong, dangerous woman on a Fantasy cover with out the awkward poses or unrealistic accouterments. Dangerous Women will be out in early December. Get your Christmas lists ready. You Might Also Like: Joe Abercrombie Interviews George R.R. MartinART | A New Look to GRRM's A Song of Ice & FireGUEST POST | Ekaterina Sedia on Anthology EditingREVIEW | The Way of Kings by Brandon SandersonAUTHOR INTERVIEW | Lev Grossman author of The MagiciansREVIEW | Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes

Review Glen Chapman 19 May 2013 - 19:00 Maron maintains its initial promise by delivering great performances, skilful writing, and real emotional heft in its third episode... This review contains spoilers. 1.3 Marc's Dad “The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” For better or worse, I'm sure this is a concept that most of us have had to come to terms with over the years. Fortunately for Marc Maron, he has the platform of his show to air grievances and confront his issues with his father without necessarily doing it face to face.  If the preceding two episodes have both demonstrated levels of emotional catharsis and showed the gradual growth of the character and indeed, of Maron as a person, this episode is the most personal to date.  Maron's strained relationship with his father was brought up in last week's episode with a meltdown towards the end where he bemoaned the lack of a responsible father figure to guide him into adulthood. This week we get to meet his dad who is played wonderfully by Judd Hirsch, the legendary actor famed for his role in Taxi. The fact that Hirsch nails the material so expertly is testament to his incredible ability as an actor. He completely gets the role and the relationship and the similarities between him and Maron both visually and in terms of mannerisms and demeanour are striking at times.  We feel the presence of the character of Marc's dad way before he appears as he has had his mail forwarded to his son's address so that it'll be there waiting for him when he turns up unannounced in a camper van armed with a 'get rich quick' scheme but little to no interest in his son's well-being. His scheme involves selling vitamins imported from China that apparently increase virility but which haven't been FDA approved and cause podcast guest Jeff Garlin to have an averse reaction later in the episode.  Numerous similarities are drawn between Marc and his Dad throughout the episode, in the aforementioned physical manner but also in how they're both essentially selfish and antagonistic people. Both of their career directions have similarities also; both are pretty much at rock bottom and going down a path that few can see the benefit of, but which their maverick sensibility compels them to explore.  It's clear the influence his dad's behaviour had on Marc, for better or worse, and the manner in which it is addressed is testament to Marc and his writing team's skill. It feels incredibly natural and emotional. I can't imagine it will go down overly well with the Maron family and will place further strain on an already challenging relationship, but it's clear that the catharsis from getting this off his chest is incredibly important. This week's episode is directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, who is no stranger to directing stories featuring outsider characters with complex family issues so in this first of a three episode run that he's directing, he gets the chance to establish his style and have fun with the material whilst still honouring the show's format. The latter doesn't allow for a tremendous amount of directorial flourishes but the framing of shots and and performances elicited from the cast are really excellent here.  Maron's performance in the episode is the best of the series so far, he gets away with the opening address to the camera, which could have easily have come across as hack, and throughout the episode his interactions are all very real and believable. The undercurrent of irritation that permeates his performance in the episode really enhances the material. It's so much more than simply reading lines and acting as an exaggerated version of himself here, he's living this character and making you believe in the relationships portrayed.  I'm finding it hard to pick fault with the series to date, it is a new show that's finding its

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAIiaE4ksiA An Excerpt from the Q&A after Much Ado About Nothing; the Seattle International Film Festival's Opening Night Film. Joss Whedon explains why it wasn't bad shooting in his own home and the actor's weigh in on their favorite moments of the film.