Happy Fourth of July! Declare your independence from the mundane today!
I can't wait to dig into this lovely little book. Mind you, I'm reading two books and a magazine at the moment. Pretty neat trailer, eh?
In Minister of Chance news, the prologue and all five episodes of this fabulous sonic movie are available for download at iTunes for free. Meanwhile, their Kickstarter campaign needs your help as they bring the story to the screen as a feature movie. Visit www.ministerofchance.com to download the sonic movie and help them get the feature film going. This is a spin-off of sorts from the Dr. Who series and stars Julian Wadham, Lauren Crace, Jenny Agutter (Logan's Run anyone?), Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann. The sound and acting is top-notch. I've reviewed more than one episode here on Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. Put Minister of Chance in the google search box on the right to find them.
The magazine I'm reading is the second volume of Galaxy's Edge. So far, I'm liking it better than the first. Some of the stories are riveting. The full review will follow next week. Meantime, my review of issue one is available here and volume three was just released on the first. Get it at Phoenix Pick's site, where you can also download a free novel. This month's Phoenix Pick's free book is Rogue Queen by L. Sprague de Camp. The description calls it a ground-breaking science fiction novel that was the first to explore sexual themes. Really? I find that hard to believe. Anyway, you can read it for free, so nothing lost. See what you think. The code to enter at Phoenix Pick is 9991539 and is good through July 2013.
May the Fourth be with you!
Showing posts with label science fiction magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction magazine. Show all posts
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Galaxy's Edge, issue 1 - a mixed bag mag
In "Schrodinger's Cathouse", Kij Johnson (also interviewed herein) shows us a man who takes an unexpected trip down the rabbit hole while sitting at a stop light. Reality bends on him again and again, though a few things are constant. He tries to hang onto the things that don't change and is guided by a person of undetermined or perhaps changing gender. She attempts to help him, then seduce him - it is a cathouse after all - and just when he decides to go with the flow, he gets another curveball that is just too much. It's an amusing tale that speaks of our inability to venture far from our social norms.
"Creator of the Cosmos Interview Today" by Nick DiChario is just plain weird. It's another fish out of water story with an interesting premise, but left me scratching my head a bit and not feeling very satisfied.
The nonfiction piece that follows, "From the Heart's Basement" by Barry Malzberg, is a rant about the "in" club of the specfic world and how we're not in it. It would be an interesting blog post, but I'm not sure why it's in the magazine. Too depress us and make us give up?
"Just a Second" by Lou J. Berger is the first story that really held my attention, even though it's predictable. A man asks for a potion, achieves success, but is never satisfied. In the end, he gets his comeuppance. The compelling prose and the colorful characterization pulled me in and didn't let go. I loved hating this guy!
The science in "Act of God" by Jack McDevitt is pretty hokey and it's a long tell. In fact, the whole thing is one side of a conversation. Reminded me of an Outer Limits episode about teleportation (from the reboot version of OL), but was all telling about it after the fact. It would have been stronger if I could see the action and get to know the players along the way.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Requiem for a Druid" by Alex Shvartsman. What I liked most was the protagonist's voice. He's an underdog and a fraud, but makes a decent living for a non-gifted by faking it with his bag of tricks. And the real estate developer, for once, isn't pure evil, but an astute, open-minded businessman who keeps the peace and still gets something for himself.
I didn't finish reading "The Bright Seas of Venus" which was not really what was advertised as the writer admits directly to his readers as he's telling us how much he hates us. This bit of reader thrashing was delivered by Stephen Leigh.
"The Spinach Can's Son" wisks us through the "underfunnies" where comic strip physics are skewed and nothing works quite right. This is a back drop for a married couple who are mourning - each in his/her own way - the loss of their son. Robert T Jeschonek wrote this fun diversion.
A fabulous reprint from James Patrick Kelly will keep you thinking long after you've read it. Honestly, just reading this and Mike's Editor's Word makes all the other mediocre stories forgiveable and the magazine worth picking up. The reprint is "Think Like a Dinosaur" and involves teleportation, the balancing of the equation and the prospect of adopting alien thought to justify doing the unthinkable thing set before you. Can you kill a person to keep the universe in balance?
At the back of the mag, Horace E. Cocroft offers an essay entitled "Economics in SF" for the Something Different column.
Also included in each issue are book reviews and part of a serialized novel.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
BayCon, trailers and a free e-book
BayCon was last weekend in Santa Clara (read San Jose), CA. It had some competition this year in the form of two more local conventions of a similar nature, which definitely had an impact on attendance. I've never seen the dealers room so small, either.
The panels, though long (90 mins. a piece!), were great. I moderated two on Friday and sat on two more on Sunday. I brought my fiancé, Kevin, this year. He's by far a mundane, but this was his first convention. We went easy on him. ;) We both had loads of fun with my con friends old and new alike. The dance on Saturday night was uber lame, but I guess if you're 20-something and LIKE to jump up and down and flap your arms to techno, it was passable. I couldn't tell you as I couldn't stand hangin' in for more than two songs. I gave the masquerade a miss as well, opting instead to go off the reservation for dinner with buddies Bob Brown, Irene Radford, Jeff Lemkin, Dan Pietrasik (Yes, he won my flash contest, and no, it wasn't fixed. I wasn't the judge, remember?) and newbie writer Arley, who is astoundingly prolific and charming. Then we hung out in the lobby bar with Dani Kollin and a flock of new friends.
The parties, probably because of the aforementioned low attendance were also lame. We just cruised the party floor Friday and Saturday keeping our ears open for good conversation but finding none, alas.
I did meet Shahid of Phoenix Picks in the dealers room. Now he's not just some dude. Very nice man. I enjoyed chatting with him. Which brings us to his June picks. He also gave me the first two issues of the new mag, Galaxy's Edge edited by Mike Resnick. Mike's history of science fiction magazines at the beginning of the first issue is very entertaining. I'll review the mag in the next couple of weeks here.
Phoenix Pick's free e-book for June is L. Neil Smith's The Crystal Empire.
Use coupon code 9991642, which will be good from June 2nd-June 30.
I'd love to give you a review of the new Star Trek movie, but I was at BayCon all weekend and still haven't seen it. And, besides, you probably have. Instead, here's a trailer for a Will Smith (and son, Jaden) SF flick coming out this Friday.
The panels, though long (90 mins. a piece!), were great. I moderated two on Friday and sat on two more on Sunday. I brought my fiancé, Kevin, this year. He's by far a mundane, but this was his first convention. We went easy on him. ;) We both had loads of fun with my con friends old and new alike. The dance on Saturday night was uber lame, but I guess if you're 20-something and LIKE to jump up and down and flap your arms to techno, it was passable. I couldn't tell you as I couldn't stand hangin' in for more than two songs. I gave the masquerade a miss as well, opting instead to go off the reservation for dinner with buddies Bob Brown, Irene Radford, Jeff Lemkin, Dan Pietrasik (Yes, he won my flash contest, and no, it wasn't fixed. I wasn't the judge, remember?) and newbie writer Arley, who is astoundingly prolific and charming. Then we hung out in the lobby bar with Dani Kollin and a flock of new friends.
The parties, probably because of the aforementioned low attendance were also lame. We just cruised the party floor Friday and Saturday keeping our ears open for good conversation but finding none, alas.
I did meet Shahid of Phoenix Picks in the dealers room. Now he's not just some dude. Very nice man. I enjoyed chatting with him. Which brings us to his June picks. He also gave me the first two issues of the new mag, Galaxy's Edge edited by Mike Resnick. Mike's history of science fiction magazines at the beginning of the first issue is very entertaining. I'll review the mag in the next couple of weeks here.
Phoenix Pick's free e-book for June is L. Neil Smith's The Crystal Empire.
Use coupon code 9991642, which will be good from June 2nd-June 30.
About the book:The last episode of the first season of The Minister of Chance is here! Let me entice you with the following trailer.
Earth is ruled by three mighty empires: The Saracen-Jewish Empire led by
the Caliph of Rome, the Mughal-Arab Empire, ferocious in its determination
to destroy its neighbor, and the great Sino-Aztec's Crystal Empire, led by
a living God.
Little is known about the Crystal Empire, which spans most of western
America. But it is the most powerful force surviving on Earth and its
might is unchallenged.
One man, however, will change that. Sedrich Sedrichsohn, a legendary
fallen fighter, has a chance at redemption and nothing will stand in his
way to reclaim his life and his purpose, even if he must fight the Sun-God
himself.
I'd love to give you a review of the new Star Trek movie, but I was at BayCon all weekend and still haven't seen it. And, besides, you probably have. Instead, here's a trailer for a Will Smith (and son, Jaden) SF flick coming out this Friday.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
New Mags, a Movie and a Short
New sci-fi magazines continue to pop up on the Net. Some will make it and some won't. Clearly, readers are doing more digital reading as opposed to holding that pulp in their hand and flipping paper pages. Have you checked out a couple of the newest yet? Phoenix Pick's Galaxy's Edge is still free. Their first issue is still available through the end of the month at www.GalaxysEdge.com. Their free book for April, by the way, is Stephen Leighs' The Abraxas Marvel Circus and can be read for free by inserting 9991932 into the coupon code box at www.PPickings.com (before May 1, 2013).
There's a plethora of stuff to read on the reboot of Amazing Stories. I had been asked to help by being in their stable of bloggers. It's a worthy endeavor, but it required more time than I could commit to. I do, however, wish them the very best. I hope they do the name proud. It looks like they're off to a good start.
I continue to get requests to promote indie films, which I love doing. However, it helps if I have a decent trailer to decide if I want to get behind it. Just a word of advice to those considering sending me something.
This guy may not have his full-on, production trailer ready, but he seems to have the chops and a good storyline. I happen to have read and enjoyed "New" as well. ;) I guess it does help to know me.
"NEW" - the movie from John Harden on Vimeo.
And here's an IFC movie you can watch now. I wish I had time to watch Antiviral and review it for you. Maybe one of you can send me a review. I'm honestly having a hard time with the premise. It won at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and it's an Official Selection at Cannes, so maybe I shouldn't be so hasty.
There's a plethora of stuff to read on the reboot of Amazing Stories. I had been asked to help by being in their stable of bloggers. It's a worthy endeavor, but it required more time than I could commit to. I do, however, wish them the very best. I hope they do the name proud. It looks like they're off to a good start.
I continue to get requests to promote indie films, which I love doing. However, it helps if I have a decent trailer to decide if I want to get behind it. Just a word of advice to those considering sending me something.
This guy may not have his full-on, production trailer ready, but he seems to have the chops and a good storyline. I happen to have read and enjoyed "New" as well. ;) I guess it does help to know me.
"NEW" - the movie from John Harden on Vimeo.
And here's an IFC movie you can watch now. I wish I had time to watch Antiviral and review it for you. Maybe one of you can send me a review. I'm honestly having a hard time with the premise. It won at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and it's an Official Selection at Cannes, so maybe I shouldn't be so hasty.
Set in a dystopian future-present, where celebrity has become a commodity, Syd March (Jones) works in a clinic that specializes in harvesting celebrity illnesses and selling off them as injections. After becoming infected with a deadly virus himself, Syd must now fight to save his life from a savage disease as well as from a population of crazed super-fans.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
So Much Science Fiction and Fantasy to See and Hear!
The fourth episode of The Minister of Chance has been released! See the trailer now!
As soon as you hear ep 4, you'll want more. Here's how to make it happen sooner.
Mike Resnick is the editor of a new, free online SF/F magazine for Phoenix Pick's. The bimonthly magazine, Galaxy's Edge, launched on March 1. The inaugural issue includes stories, columns, SF book reviews and more. Epub, Mobi and PDF versions will be available for download at a nominal fee and a print edition is available from many online stores, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Phoenix Pick’s free ebook for March is Grandmaster Robert Silverberg’s Starborne. The coupon code (good through March 31) is 9991828 and the link can be found in the online catalogue page at PPickings.com.
Here's some new trailers. This first one looks like modern-day Godzilla.
Not much to see on this one, but I guess it's another first contact flick.
These folks are looking for Zero G Coupling Experts? I'm not going to touch that one. I guess I already did, huh?
As soon as you hear ep 4, you'll want more. Here's how to make it happen sooner.
Mike Resnick is the editor of a new, free online SF/F magazine for Phoenix Pick's. The bimonthly magazine, Galaxy's Edge, launched on March 1. The inaugural issue includes stories, columns, SF book reviews and more. Epub, Mobi and PDF versions will be available for download at a nominal fee and a print edition is available from many online stores, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Phoenix Pick’s free ebook for March is Grandmaster Robert Silverberg’s Starborne. The coupon code (good through March 31) is 9991828 and the link can be found in the online catalogue page at PPickings.com.
Here's some new trailers. This first one looks like modern-day Godzilla.
Not much to see on this one, but I guess it's another first contact flick.
These folks are looking for Zero G Coupling Experts? I'm not going to touch that one. I guess I already did, huh?
Friday, December 21, 2012
The World Can't End, Because Amazing Stories Is Back!
Well, we're still here. And it's raining water, not fire (at least here in the North Bay). I wonder how many Mayans are laughing their asses off at the thought of us thinking the world would end today. I think they just didn't get around to doing the succeeding calendar. What was the hurry, after all? Who can come up with a calendar that lasts for all eternity?
There are loads of wonderful things in store for science fiction fans. For instance, on January 2nd, the original science fiction magazine, that was in uninterrupted existence for fifty years is back. If you remember Amazing Stories, you're excited already. If you don't, you will be after you read the press release below. This has been in the works for years and promises to be everything the old rag was and so much more as it embraces the possibilities that modern technology presents.
DON'T MISS THE 2013 MOVIE TRAILERS after this press release...
There are loads of wonderful things in store for science fiction fans. For instance, on January 2nd, the original science fiction magazine, that was in uninterrupted existence for fifty years is back. If you remember Amazing Stories, you're excited already. If you don't, you will be after you read the press release below. This has been in the works for years and promises to be everything the old rag was and so much more as it embraces the possibilities that modern technology presents.
DON'T MISS THE 2013 MOVIE TRAILERS after this press release...
***
Dec. 21, 2012 -- Amazing Stories, the world's first science
fiction magazine, opens for Beta Testing of Phase 1 on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013.
Fifty+ Writers Sign On to provide
genre-related content!
Experimenter Publishing Company
Hillsboro, NH
December 20, 2012
The Experimenter Publishing Company is
pleased to announce the reintroduction
of the world's most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES!
Set to relaunch with a Beta Test of
its new Social Magazine Platform, Amazing Stories will feature content
from 50+ bloggers, covering an enormous array of subjects of interest to genre
fans.
“We've got authors and agents, bloggers and
editors, pod casters and broadcasters; we've got gamers and game designers;
artists and art collectors; pulpsters and indie authors; we've got Hugo
winners, John W. Campbell Memorial Award winners, John W. Campbell Best New
Writer winners, Nebula and Hugo Award winners and nominees and winners and
nominees of many other awards; people
who review films, people who make films; we've got fanboys and fangirls; we've
got former editors of Amazing Stories, writers who've become synonymous with the
field and writers who are just getting started; comic artists, book reviewers;
traditionally published authors, self-pubbed authors and authors who've done it
all. The response to my request for
participation was phenomenal – it couldn't be more perfect if I had set out
with a list of must-haves!” said Steve Davidson, publisher.
Amazing Stories' Social Magazine platform
is designed to create an interactive environment that will be familiar to fans
with blog content designed to encourage discussion and take things beyond the usual
user-generated content model for social networks.
The Amazing Stories Blog Team will cover
(for now – more coming!) fourteen popular topics – Science Fiction, Fantasy,
and Horror, (lit), Film, Television, Gaming, Comics and Graphic Works, the Visual Arts, the Pulps, Audio Works, Anime, the Business of Publishing, Science
and Fandom itself.
At this year's Worldcon (Chicon 7 the
70th Worldcon, Chicago), Toastmaster John
Scalzi talked about what it was to
be a fan and concluded by saying
“We are
diverse - and we are all in this together.”
We are diverse – and we are all in this
together, a sentiment that captures the very heart and soul of what it means to
be a fan. Amazing Stories aims to be a
vehicle through which the diversity of fandom can come together.
Amazing Stories' relaunch will take place
in two phases. Those interested in
participating in the Beta Test of Phase 1 should contact the publisher at steve.davidson33@comcast.net. Participants
will receive full access to the site with Member status and will receive on-site
benefits as the project moves forward.
Phase 2 will introduce additional
interactivity and user-customization to the site. Following the completion and testing of Phase
2, the magazine, featuring both new and reprint fiction, essays, photo galleries,
reviews and more will begin publication.
Readers who are interested in what the magazine will look like can read
two Relaunch Prelaunch issues on
line, or download them
from the Amazing Stories store.
(Additional Amazing Stories themed product is also available here.)
Experimenter Publishing is pleased to
introduce the Amazing Stories Blog Team:
Cenobyte, Mike Brotherton, Ricky L. Brown,
Michael A. Burstein,
Catherine Coker, Johne Cook, Paul Cook,
Gary Dalkin, Jane Frank,
Jim Freund, Adam Gaffen, Chris Garcia,
Chris Gerwel, Tommy Hancock,
Liz Henderson, Samantha Henry, M. D.
Jackson, Monique Jacob,
Geoffrey James, J. J. Jones, Peggy Kolm,
Justin Landon, Andrew Liptak, Melissa Lowery, Barry Malzberg, C. E.
Martin, Farrell J. McGovern, Steve Miller, Matt Mitrovich, Aidan Moher,
Kevin Murray, Ken Neth, Astrid Nielsch, D. Nicklin-Dunbar, John
Purcell, James Rogers, Diane Severson, Doug Smith, Lesley Smith,
Bill Spangler, Duane Spurlock, Michael J. Sullivan, G. W. Thomas, Erin
Underwood, Stephan Van Velzen, Cynthia Ward, Michael Webb, Keith West,
John M. Whalen, Karlo Yeager, Leah Zeldez
BACKGROUND:
Originally published in 1926 by the father
of science fiction, Hugo Gernsback, Amazing Stories helped to launch both the
science fiction genre and its most enduring feature, science fiction
fandom. The magazine is well known for
its Frank R. Paul covers and for publishing the first stories by many iconic
authors such as Isaac Asimov, Jack Williamson and Ursula Le Guin. Published continuously from 1926 until 1995,
followed by two brief resurrections from 1998 till 2000 and again from 2004
thru 2005. In 2008 Hasbro, the then
current owner, allowed the trademarks to lapse and publisher Steve Davidson
applied for and eventually received them in 2011.
Additional history and background on
Amazing Stories can be found at the Science Fiction Encyclopedia and Wikipedia. A complete gallery
of all 609 previous issues with publication history is also available.
The Experimenter Publishing Company was
created in 2012 for the purpose of returning Amazing Stories magazine to
regular publication. The company shares the name of the original magazine's
publisher as homage. The trademarks for
Amazing Stories were acquired by Steve Davidson in 2011, the previous owners having allowed the marks
to lapse in 2008, at which time application was made for a new incarnation of
the same title.
A complete copy of this press release will
appear on the Amazing Stories Blog on the date of release.
***
Here are some hot movies to look forward to in 2013. Not exactly uplifting, feel-good movies. But they are a testament to the determination of the human spirit, even when the world is destroyed...
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Renovation revisited and more con news
I find, several days later, refreshed and regrouped, I have more to say about Renovation, the Worldcon in Reno last weekend. I mentioned getting a chance to meet all kinds of cool authors face to face whom I had only virtually met. Well, what do you care? Let me tell you now, why you should care.
I have promises of interviews from:
Madeleine Robins
Steven Gould
Scott Edelman (editor)
David Boop
Harry Turtledove
Look for those to roll out soon.
I also scored copies of The Brahms Deception by Louise Marley and Brenda Cooper's Mayan December. You should check out the cover of Mayan December. The woman on the front looks like Zoe from Firefly. Not exactly, but the expression is what does it. I'm looking forward to reading them both.
I let slip that I review books while in the dealers room and before I knew it, was inundated with books. Yikes! I'm sure some of them will be worthy of a review at Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. One guy, however, was so desperate for a review that he insisted his self-published historical fiction was alternate history. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.
I requested Harry Turtledove's latest from the publisher as it's silly SF. I can definitely go for that.
I didn't make the Hugo Awards, but heard about this highlight and found the video. Chris Garcia - best acceptance speech ever!
Scholastic emailed me when I got back requesting reviews of their titles, so you may see some YA reviews in the near future here at SFOO.
And in other con news, FOGcon is back! I went to the first one in San Francisco last year and they just announced their plans for 2012 after Renovation. The second annual Friends of the Genre Convention will be held in Walnut Creek, CA (East Bay) March 30 - April 1. The theme for 2012 is The Body. Registration is open and memberships are $60/adult.
From their first progress report, here are their Guests of Honor:
Nalo Hopkinson, Honored Guest
NALO HOPKINSON, born in Jamaica, has lived in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana and for the past 30 years in Canada. She is the author of four novels and a short story collection (_Brown Girl in the Ring_, _Midnight Robber_, _The Salt Roads_, _The New Moon's Arms_, _Skin Folk_). She is the editor of fiction anthologies _Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction_, and _Mojo: Conjure Stories_. She is the co-editor of fiction anthologies _So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction_ (with Uppinder Mehan) and _Tesseracts Nine_ (with Geoff Ryman). Hopkinson's work has received Honourable Mention in Cuba's "Casa de las Americas" literary prize. She is a recipient of the Warner Aspect First Novel Award, the Ontario Arts Council Foundation Award for emerging writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Locus Award for Best New Writer, the World Fantasy Award, the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Aurora Award, and the Gaylactic Spectrum Award. She was the Guest of Honor at the 2011 WisCon.
Shelley Jackson, Honored Guest
SHELLEY JACKSON is a writer and artist known for her cross-genre experiments, including the groundbreaking hypertext _Patchwork Girl_ (1995). Her works deal with issues of the body, displacement, touch, and desire. Born in the Philippines, Shelley Jackson grew up in Berkeley, California. She is the author of several hypertext novels, including _Patchwork Girl_, a non-chronological reworking of Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_, as well as the autobiographical _My Body_ and _The Doll Games_, which she wrote with her sister Pamela. In 2001 she received the Electronic Literature Award. Shelley Jackson's short story collection, _The Melancholy of Anatomy_, appeared in 2002. A year later, she launched the "Skin Project", a novella published in the form of tattoos on the skin of volunteers. Her first novel, _Half Life_, won the 2006 Tiptree Award.
Mary Shelley, Honored Ghost
MARY SHELLEY is best known for her pioneering novel _Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus_ (1818), often considered the first science fiction novel. She wrote the book while she was 18, unwed, and pregnant with her first child. Given that her own mother had died in childbed when Mary was only 11 days old, the terrors of pregnancy and childbirth are a powerful theme in the text. Her second novel, _The Last Man_, is also science fiction: it is a portrait of the end of the world from a plague in the 21st century. Mary Shelley moved in the first intellectual circles of her day. Her father was the political theorist William Godwin; her mother, the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, author of _Vindication of the Rights of Woman_; family friends included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Leigh Hunt. Before she turned 17 she eloped with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was married and the father of two children. Their friends included Lord Byron. She traveled widely and wrote several books about her journeys. Although her later books are overshadowed by the fame of _Frankenstein_, she continued writing novels, essays, poetry, and criticism throughout her life, as well as editing her husband's papers. She died, aged 53, of a brain tumor.
And two more tidbits...
Gameforge, which just hit 300 million registered players, launched a new ommunity-based, free-to-play Star Trek Q&A game. More information at www.keengames.com.
Kindle users can now download the digest edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction for free. That's the good news. The bad news is that you get all the editorial goodies but only one story. You can get the full edition for $12/yr.
I have promises of interviews from:
Madeleine Robins
Steven Gould
Scott Edelman (editor)
David Boop
Harry Turtledove
Look for those to roll out soon.
I also scored copies of The Brahms Deception by Louise Marley and Brenda Cooper's Mayan December. You should check out the cover of Mayan December. The woman on the front looks like Zoe from Firefly. Not exactly, but the expression is what does it. I'm looking forward to reading them both.
I let slip that I review books while in the dealers room and before I knew it, was inundated with books. Yikes! I'm sure some of them will be worthy of a review at Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. One guy, however, was so desperate for a review that he insisted his self-published historical fiction was alternate history. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.
I requested Harry Turtledove's latest from the publisher as it's silly SF. I can definitely go for that.
I didn't make the Hugo Awards, but heard about this highlight and found the video. Chris Garcia - best acceptance speech ever!
Scholastic emailed me when I got back requesting reviews of their titles, so you may see some YA reviews in the near future here at SFOO.
And in other con news, FOGcon is back! I went to the first one in San Francisco last year and they just announced their plans for 2012 after Renovation. The second annual Friends of the Genre Convention will be held in Walnut Creek, CA (East Bay) March 30 - April 1. The theme for 2012 is The Body. Registration is open and memberships are $60/adult.
From their first progress report, here are their Guests of Honor:
Nalo Hopkinson, Honored Guest
NALO HOPKINSON, born in Jamaica, has lived in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana and for the past 30 years in Canada. She is the author of four novels and a short story collection (_Brown Girl in the Ring_, _Midnight Robber_, _The Salt Roads_, _The New Moon's Arms_, _Skin Folk_). She is the editor of fiction anthologies _Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction_, and _Mojo: Conjure Stories_. She is the co-editor of fiction anthologies _So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction_ (with Uppinder Mehan) and _Tesseracts Nine_ (with Geoff Ryman). Hopkinson's work has received Honourable Mention in Cuba's "Casa de las Americas" literary prize. She is a recipient of the Warner Aspect First Novel Award, the Ontario Arts Council Foundation Award for emerging writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Locus Award for Best New Writer, the World Fantasy Award, the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Aurora Award, and the Gaylactic Spectrum Award. She was the Guest of Honor at the 2011 WisCon.
Shelley Jackson, Honored Guest
SHELLEY JACKSON is a writer and artist known for her cross-genre experiments, including the groundbreaking hypertext _Patchwork Girl_ (1995). Her works deal with issues of the body, displacement, touch, and desire. Born in the Philippines, Shelley Jackson grew up in Berkeley, California. She is the author of several hypertext novels, including _Patchwork Girl_, a non-chronological reworking of Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_, as well as the autobiographical _My Body_ and _The Doll Games_, which she wrote with her sister Pamela. In 2001 she received the Electronic Literature Award. Shelley Jackson's short story collection, _The Melancholy of Anatomy_, appeared in 2002. A year later, she launched the "Skin Project", a novella published in the form of tattoos on the skin of volunteers. Her first novel, _Half Life_, won the 2006 Tiptree Award.
Mary Shelley, Honored Ghost
MARY SHELLEY is best known for her pioneering novel _Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus_ (1818), often considered the first science fiction novel. She wrote the book while she was 18, unwed, and pregnant with her first child. Given that her own mother had died in childbed when Mary was only 11 days old, the terrors of pregnancy and childbirth are a powerful theme in the text. Her second novel, _The Last Man_, is also science fiction: it is a portrait of the end of the world from a plague in the 21st century. Mary Shelley moved in the first intellectual circles of her day. Her father was the political theorist William Godwin; her mother, the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, author of _Vindication of the Rights of Woman_; family friends included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Leigh Hunt. Before she turned 17 she eloped with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was married and the father of two children. Their friends included Lord Byron. She traveled widely and wrote several books about her journeys. Although her later books are overshadowed by the fame of _Frankenstein_, she continued writing novels, essays, poetry, and criticism throughout her life, as well as editing her husband's papers. She died, aged 53, of a brain tumor.
And two more tidbits...
Gameforge, which just hit 300 million registered players, launched a new ommunity-based, free-to-play Star Trek Q&A game. More information at www.keengames.com.
Kindle users can now download the digest edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction for free. That's the good news. The bad news is that you get all the editorial goodies but only one story. You can get the full edition for $12/yr.
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