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Your July 2009 scifi mag SFcrowsnest is here
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SFcrowsnest
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Jun 28, 2009 06:32 PDT
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STEPHEN HUNT'S SFCROWSNEST.COM
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com | Issue 188. July 2009.
"The report read Routine retirement of a replicant. That didn't make me
feel any better about shooting a woman in the back."
Deckard - Bladerunner (1982).
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+++ FEATURES FOR JULY 2009
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A Mid Day Session: Ken Macleod interviewed
Ewan Angus interviews Scots science fiction author Ken Macleod about his
latest novel, The Night Sessions, why he might set another book in the
same world, why he is moving away from space opera and hard science
fiction, and chats to him about his next novel - The Restoration Game.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14005.php
Tim Powers interviewed: With Great Powers comes great Plot lines...
Twenty six years ago, the prestigious Philip K Dick Award was given to a
novel which had one of the worlds most convoluted plots. Starting out in
modern day 1983, the uncomfortable and intelligent Hero Brendan Doyle is
given the chance to give a lecture on a poet, in 1810. Mixing adventure,
beggar guilds, evil clowns, motor accidents and pure madness, The Anubis
Gates was an instant classic. I caught up with author Tim Powers to talk
about the novel and to have a general chat about time travel.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14010.php
Tom Hunter's Arthur C Clarke Awards wrap-up article
It's now just over month since we announced the winner of this year's
Arthur C. Clarke Award and I'm now starting to take stock of the year
just gone and begin the prep for 2010. And, yes, we really do start
thinking about this sort of stuff now. I'm probably slightly behind
schedule in fact.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14011.php
Speech for the Arthur C Clarke Awards ceremony April 2009 by Paul
Billinger, chair of the judges
As with last year we had a large number of submissions and for the first
time we published the full list of submitted books via the Torque
Control website. You can see a wide variety in the list which range from
books that you would expect to be called 'science fiction' - the ones
with spaceships and planets on the cover - to those that challenge
people's notion of what is eligible for a science fiction award. I'd
like to thank the publishers for their willingness to submit the books
and for submitting them in a timely fashion, which does make it just
that bit easier for the judges to give the books the consideration they
deserve.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14012.php
Drag Me To Hell (Mark's take)
A bank loan officer refuses a loan extension to a woman of Gypsy origin.
In return, the officer is cursed. The effects of the curse are
horrifying and frequently revolting. Were this a new story written by
Sam Raimi and his elder brother Ivan it would have been a better piece
of horror. The effects and the action are all Raimi, but the story is
cobbled together from familiar pieces. Largely this is a high-octane
version of M. R. James's Casting the Runes with equal parts of shock and
humour.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14015.php
John Barrowman talks about Torchwood Children Of Earth
Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones return to the good
old BEEB for Torchwood Children Of Earth, a new five part sci-fi TV
series for BBC One. The cast, John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth
David-Lloyd and Kai Owen talk to SFcrowsnest about the return of
Torchwood.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14017.php
Life on hold
On being the SFcrowsnest judge for The Arthur C. Clarke Award, by
Pauline Morgan. Our Pauline gives a judge's personal insight into the
hard work that it takes to pull off something of the scale of the Clarke
Awards. An eye-opener for all the science fiction readers who simply
roll out of bed one morning to read someone's 3rd hand
cut-and-paste-copied blog about the winning author of such an award,
chug a cappuccino, then immediately start bee-i-ching about who should
or shouldn't have won.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14032.php
Dead Snow (Mark's take)
A week long Easter vacation visit to a remote cabin in the mountains
turns into a horror for eight young medical students, finds our Mark.
Following the inspiration of Sam Raimi films Norwegian director Tommy
Wirkola does his own horror film of something nasty out in the woods.
This is very much by-the-numbers horror film making. It is not at all
bad, but it has little that is fresh and new.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14018.php
Arise, Sir Christopher Lee: Mark looks at horror's first knight
Many of you may have seen the film The Curse Of Frankenstein. The
monster's creator has given up on the experiment actually working. Then
the man he has built gets up on his own and in a jerky move, rips the
bandages off his face to reveal a visage with lumpy scars and stitches.
Apparently Victor Frankenstein had been more concerned with making a
face that would function than making one that would look good. It is a
classic moment of shock.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14028.php
| | | | Got a feature for us? Send your submissions to revi-@sfcrowsnest.com
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+++ REVIEWS FOR JULY 2009
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All The Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14043.php
Another Time, Another Place - Quantum Leap by Richie F. Levine & Judith
A. Moose
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14057.php
Blood Lust 4: Aftermath by Rhys A. Wilcox
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14053.php
Caprica by Bear McCreary and The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14036.php
Cinema Anime edited by Steven T. Brown
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14058.php
Diamond Star (The Skolian Empire series book 14) by Catherine Asaro
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14047.php
Dr Who: The Companion Chronicles: Magician's Oath by Scott Handcock
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14050.php
Dr Who: The Companion Chronicles: Transit of Venus by Jacqueline Rayner
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14051.php
Fireball XL5 Special Edition
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14045.php
Flames Of Herakleitos by Bob Lock
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14061.php
GUD issue 4 spring 2009
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14035.php
How Not To Write A Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14039.php
How To Write Fiction (And Think About It) by Robert Graham
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14068.php
Ice Song by Kirsten Imanikasai
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14034.php
Ink (The Book Of All Hours) by Hal Duncan
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14055.php
Interzone # 222 -
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14069.php
On Spec: The Canadian Magazine Of The Fantastic vol 21 no. 1 # 76 Spring
2009
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14060.php
Robin Hood: Friendly Fire by Trevor Baxendale
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14048.php
Robin Hood: Tiger's Tail by Jonathan Clements
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14049.php
Shadows In The Starlight (A Changeling Detective novel) by Elaine
Cunningham
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14042.php
Sky: The Complete Series
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14037.php
Speaker For the Dead audio book by Orson Scott Card
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14072.php
Star Wars: Dark Lord - The Rise Of Darth Vader by James Luceno
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14067.php
Starcombing by David Langford
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14070.php
Starship Fall by Eric Brown
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14064.php
Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko (Hardcover) by Steve Ditko
and Blake Bell
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14040.php
Swarmthief's Dance (The Swarmthief Trilogy book 1) by Deborah J. Miller
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14054.php
The book conversions July 2009
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14033.php
The Dark Volume: Glass Books Volume Two by Gordon Dahlquist
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14052.php
The Gift Of Joy by Ian Whates
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14044.php
The Hienama: A Story Of The Sulh by Storm Constantine
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14065.php
The Lightstone (The Lightstone book 1) by David Zindell
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14041.php
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14066.php
The Perils of Quad by Carl Joglar
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14046.php
The Ruby Dice (The Skolian Empire series book 13) by Catherine Asaro
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14038.php
The Sons Of Heaven (A Company Novel) by Kage Baker
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14056.php
The Wingless Boy (The Clouded World books 1 and 2) by Jay Amory
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14062.php
Victory Of Eagles (Temeraire book 5) by Naomi Novik
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14071.php
With The Light: Vol 2: Raising An Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14059.php
Wordsmithery: The Writer's Craft And Practice edited by Jayne Steel
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/nz14063.php
| | | | Got a review for us? Send your submissions to revi-@sfcrowsnest.com
|
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+++ EDITORIAL
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Postcards from a lonely planet
It's hard to believe that its forty years ago this month that Neil
Armstrong made the first steps onto the Moon. Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin made
the second steps. Michael Collins in orbit, a bystander and only
watched. Pretty much what we all did for the first most significant trip
off-planet. Nothing like its Science Fiction equivalents but a step into
a future we SF fans recognised so well even if it was nothing like early
imaginings. No lunar life. No atmosphere. Just rock. Arthur C. Clarke's
prediction that there were seas of dust in 'A Fall Of Moondust' was also
proved unfounded. Although I doubt if Science Fiction raised any
expectation by that time as more was discovered about our solitary
satellite.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/features/arc/2009/nz14073.php
DO YOU LIKE CURLING UP AND READING A BOOK?
Do you have a preference for fantasy, SF or horror? Do you find it the
greatest pastime you have next to being on your computer? Are you very
vocal about what you like and don't like in what you read? Would you
like to share your thoughts with others about books? Would you like an
endless supply of books to do this with? Do you live in the UK?
If you've been nodding your head up to this point then link in below and
see if you have what it takes to be a reviewer at SFCrowsnest. If you
have that special knack to read and write or want to develop said skill
then the only way you're going to find out is to take the plunge
yourself rather than wait for others to do it first. It's got to be
better than waiting for the sun to come out. Check out our recruitment
procedures through the following link and let me decide if you have what
it takes.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/contribute.php
<<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>>
<<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>> The Rise of the Iron Moon <<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>>
<<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>><<<<<>>>>>>
Stephen Hunt's third fantasy novel set in the Jackelian world...
THE RISE OF THE IRON MOON
From the author of The Court of the Air and The Kingdom Beyond the Waves
comes a thrilling new adventure set in the same Victorian-style world.
Born into captivity as a product of the Royal Breeding House, friendless
orphan Purity Drake suddenly finds herself on the run with a foreign
vagrant from the North after accidentally killing one of her guards. Her
strange rescuer claims he is on the run himself from terrible forces who
mean to enslave the Kingdom of Jackals as they conquered his own nation.
Purity doubts his story, until reports begin to filter through from
Jackals' neighbours of the terrible Army of Shadows, Maying across the
continent and sweeping all before them. But there's more to Purity than
meets the eye.
As Jackals girds itself for war against an army of near-unkillable
beasts serving an ancient evil with a terrible secret, it soon becomes
clear that their only hope is a strange little royalist girl and the
last, desperate plan of an escaped slave.
Available for pre-order now on Amazon - click here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0007232225?ie=UTF8&tag=scienficticrowst&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0007232225
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+++ SCIFI PLAY
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Online Game of the Month
Thousands of zombies are in your town, dude. Nobody else made it. You
must leave the city, find the source of undead in your burbs and slay
the heck out of it.
Play online at SFcrowsnest Sci-Fi Play and see if you can beat Stephen
or Geoff's high score (well, Uncle Geoff is easy, he's still on a slow
dial-up account in deepest darkest Somerset).
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/games/2575-Zombie-Zoo.html
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+++ SCIFI BLOGS
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| | | | A FEW OF THE SCIFI AND FANTASY BLOGS BEING HOSTED ON SFCROWSNEST.COM
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- SCIFI Now
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=SciFiNow
- Day Dream
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=DayDream
- Mulluane
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=Mulluane
- Turner
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=Turner
- Bob Lock
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=BobLock
- FantasySci
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/blog.php?user=fantasysci
- Scrybe Press
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/profile.php?user=ScrybePress
Set up your own fantasy/SF blog here.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/user_blog.php
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+++ EVENTS FOR MAY/JULY 2009
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Ancient City Con III
18/07/2009 - 19/07/2009
United States - Jacksonville
Science Fiction Con.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/events/arc/2008/nz13446.php
Mythcon 40
17/07/2009 - 20/07/2009
United States - Los Angeles
Fantasy con.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/events/arc/2008/nz13447.php
The Kingdom Beyond the Waves
21/07/2009 - 21/07/2009
United States - USA release
Book Release.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/events/arc/2008/nz13457.php
More sci-fi events at...
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/events/arc/lists/hm_events.php
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+++ SFCROWSNEST HIVEMIND
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RANDOM RECENT HIVEMIND MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Favourite SFF books: Planet of Adventure- Jack vance, Timescape- Gregory
Benford, Meeting With Medusa- Arthur C Clarke, Ringworld- Larry Niven.
About him: No alien abductions- far too English to be fooled by THAT
kind of thing.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/home.php
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+++ Stephen Hunt's THE KINGDOM BEYOND THE WAVES - Paperback out now
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Professor Amelia Harsh is obsessed with finding the lost civilisation of
Camlantis, a legendary city from pre-history that is said to have
conquered hunger, war and disease -- tempering the race of man's baser
instincts by the creation of the perfect pacifist society.
It is an obsession that is to cost her dearly. She returns home to the
Kingdom of Jackals from her latest archaeological misadventure to
discover that the university council has finally stripped her of her
position in retaliation for her heretical research. Without official
funding, Amelia has no choice but to accept the offer of patronage from
the man she blames for her father's bankruptcy and suicide, the fiercely
intelligent and incredibly wealthy Abraham Quest.
He has an ancient crystal-book that suggests the Camlantean ruins are
buried under one of the sea-like lakes that dot the murderous jungles of
Liongeli. Amelia undertakes an expedition deep into the dark heart of
the jungle, blackmailing her old friend Commodore Black into ferrying
her along the huge river of the Shedarkshe on his ancient u-boat.
With an untrustworthy crew of freed convicts, Quest's force of female
mercenaries on board and a lunatic steamman safari hunter acting as
their guide, Amelia's luck can hardly get any worse. But she's as yet
unaware that her quest for the perfect society is about to bring her own
world to the brink of destruction!
HARDBACK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007232209/ref=nosim/scienficticrowst
PAPERBACK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingdom-Beyond-Waves-Stephen-Hunt/dp/0007232217
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+++ DAILY NEWS UPDATES FOR JULY 2009
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Daybreakers
Trailer for an interesting concept for a horror movie - in Daybreakers,
most of humanity have become immortal vampires, and it's the few human
outcasts that are hunted down and farmed for blood. Trouble is, there's
too many vamps and not enough human sheep to feed them. What's to do?
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14031.php
Forget life on Mars: how about life on Saturn's moon Enceladus?
For the first time, scientists working on NASA's Cassini mission have
detected sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn's outermost ring.
Detecting salty ice indicates that Saturn's moon Enceladus, which
primarily replenishes the ring with material from discharging jets,
could harbor a reservoir of liquid water -- perhaps an ocean -- beneath
its surface.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14030.php
The Last Airbender bends some airtime
M. Night Shyamalan's live action fantasy-scifi movie The Last Airbender
gets its first trailer. This is the one that was based on the cartoon
Avatar, which was unusually imaginative for a toon.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14029.php
Fantasy gets Polish
It's not only Polish builders that are doing well in the UK - now, so
are Polish writers! The first annual David Gemmell Legend Award for best
fantasy novel has been won by Andrzej Sapkowski for his novel Blood of
Elves (published in the UK by Gollancz). The Award was accepted on
Sapkowski's behalf by his UK editor, Jo Fletcher. Well done, Andrzej.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14025.php
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
An online trailer for the film G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Much maligned in
advance by the netarati, this film might just be a suprise hit with the
kids. Well, it has some cool-looking power armour suits anyway.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14026.php
Cold Souls
Online trailer for a movie where the actor Paul Giamatti, plays an actor
called Paul Giamatti, who pays a high-tech outfit to remove his soul and
put it in cryogenic suspension - but then it gets stolen by soul
traffickers and bought by Russian criminals. It might be genius, it
might be arse of the highest order.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14027.php
2012: Goodbye USA
The USA gets well and truly wiped out in this new disaster movie from
the chap that gave us Independence Day. Watch the trailer here. Looks to
be based on the Mayan predictions for a cyclic catastrophe every few
millenia - possibly a reversal of the magnetic field combined with
passing through a regular comet storm?
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14022.php
Zombieland trailer
Trailer for the film Zombieland. Woody from Cheers gets his rocks off
killing zombies in the usual zombie-over-run USA scenario. A bit of
senseless violence. Excellent.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14023.php
The Dragon Keeper
Fantasy author Robin Hobb will be signing her latest novel The Dragon
Keeper at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 11th July 2009 from 1 - 2pm.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14024.php
Virtuality
Trailer for Ron - Battlestar Galactica reboot - Moore's new TV pilot
Virtuality - a vision of mankind's first ten year mission to another
star (supposedly to save the Earth somehow). It turns out NASA selects
the cast of Beverley Hills 90210 to save us, kits them out with some
rather backward-looking VR games, then sends the self-involved little
shits off to whine every light year of the way.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14019.php
The legacy of Asteroids
I remember as a kid the allure and the mystique of walking into a games
arcade. The smell of stale tobacco, the clinking of ten pence pieces,
the air of victory, and the desperate groans that signalled the harsh
reality of two words; 'Game Over'.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14020.php
Parallel dimensions
You are invited to Parallel Dimensions, a fantasy and science fiction
event in Wirral, Cheshire (UK). Adele Cosgrove-Bray, Rob Haines,
Adrienne Odasso, David Tallerman, CL Holland, Hazel Dixon and David
Clements share the common bond of having had scifi work featured in
anthologies by Hadley Rille Books.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14021.php
Back to the Futurama
20th Century Fox Television has signed up Simpsons guru Matt Groening
for the return of his animated comedy science fiction series Futurama.
The SFF toon is coming back for 26 new half-hour episodes - six years
after the last series was canned.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14013.php
James Lovegrove and Mark Chadbourn hit London
Fantasy and horror authors Lovegrove and Mark Chadbourn will be signing
their novels The Age of Ra and Lord of Silence at the Forbidden Planet
Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Thursday 9th
July 2009 6 - 7pm.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14014.php
Rockfish
Fantasy author Brian Ruckley points us in the direction of Rockfish, a
very nice cartoon short about a planet miner and his alien pet-like
assistant.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14016.php
iPhone goes Steampulping
Steampulp Publishing has released an electronic pulp fiction magazine
created exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Emulating the style
of the pulp adventure magazines of the 1920s and '30s, Steampunk Tales 1
contains original fiction with their first issue containing ten short
stories - aka between 4,300 and 11,000 words.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14006.php
One Giant Leap
To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing on 20th
July 1969, BFI Southbank in London is collaborating with the UK's
Science Museum in hosting a season of documentaries, feature films,
television and artworks focusing on the dream and reality of space
travel, the Cold War space race, and the American space programme of the
1960s and 1970s.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14007.php
Razorjack
The Forbidden Planet have just posted up a new interview by Matt Badham
(a regular Judge Dredd Megazine contributor), talking to 2000AD stalwart
John Higgins, taking in Dredd and his other 2000AD artwork as well as
his own new creator-owned series Razorjack, which has just been
collected and printed by Com.X.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14008.php
Peter Jackson goes to the fans for District 9
Movie god District Peter Jackson is going to bat for his new science
fiction movie District 9, as he tells the Nest he'll be going to this
year's Comic-Con. His District 9 panel will be held in the San Diego
Convention Center's Hall H on Friday July 24th 2009. Jackson will be on
the panel with the film's director, Neill Blomkamp, and leading mans,
Sharlto Copley. District 9 will heading to UK and US cinemas on August
14th 2009.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14009.php
Babel Clash - not Babelfish
We've just spotted the existence of a new sci-fi blog over at Borders,
tipped off by the always-useful Swivet blog from US science fiction
agent to the stars Colleen Lindsay. Borders new baby is called Babel
Clash. There are only a couple of posters at the moment, but that'll
probably grow over time, as Babel Clash have got some fairly organised
plans for guest contributors.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14004.php
David Eddings passes away
Fantasy author David Eddings has sadly passed away, aged 77, last night.
Best-selling and popular are often epithets that are applied to authors
on writers' press releases, but in David's case, it was well deserved.
His commercial success, says fantasy author Stephen Hunt, paved the way
for a whole generation of doorstopper sized fantasy series.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14000.php
Teaser trailer for the Prisoner re-boot
The first trailer for the reboot movie of The Prisoner TV series. Looks
like a lot more sand than I recall from life in the village!
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14001.php
Stephen Hunt's Secrets of the Fire Sea
Well, what do you know, fantasy scifi author Stephen Hunt has just told
us that the new title for his fourth fantasy novel in the Jackelian
series from HarperCollins now has an official title, and its name is...
Secrets of the Fire Sea.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14002.php
Surrogates movie review
Bruce Willis plays a cop in a future where most humans choose to
experience life in full-touch simulation through androids that look
exactly like them - the ultimate couch potato land. First trailer for an
interesting-looking high concept scifi thriller.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz13996.php
Cover roughs from Secrets of the Fire Sea
The cover illustration rough for Stephen Hunt's fourth fantasy novel set
in his Jackelian world, tentatively entitled The Secrets of the Fire Sea
(that title might change, btw), has now been released.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz13997.php
Thirteen Years Later
Simon Taylor of Transworld Publishers in London has concluded a World
Rights deal with John Jarrold, for a third historical vampire novel by
UK author Jasper Kent. This follows on the publication of Kent's debut,
Twelve, set in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars, earlier this year.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz13998.php
Moon
Trailer for a new film about Astronaut Sam Bell a lonely lunar miner
working alongside his computer, GERTY, catapulting fuel back to a far
future Earth that badly needs it. Then he starts going mad. Oh dear.
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz13999.php
Got news for us? Send your press releases to
pressre-@sfcrowsnest.com
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Stephen Hunt's +++ THE COURT OF THE AIR +++
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When streetwise Molly Templar witnesses a brutal murder at the brothel
she has recently been apprenticed to, her first instinct is to run back
to the poorhouse where she grew up. But there she finds her fellow
orphans butchered, and it slowly dawns on her that she was the real
target of the attack. For Molly carries a secret deep in her blood, a
secret that marks her out for destruction by enemies of the state.
Oliver brooks has led a sheltered existence in the backwater home of his
merchant uncle. But when he is framed for his only relative's murder he
is forced to flee for his life, accompanied by a agent of the mysterious
Court of the Air. Chased across the country, Oliver finds himself in the
company of thieves, outlaws and spies, and gradually learns more about
the secret that has blighted his life.
Soon Molly and Oliver will find themselves battling a grave threat to
civilisation, an ancient power thought to have been quelled millennia
ago.
Their enemies are ruthless and myriad, but indomitable friends in this
endlessly inventive tale full of drama, intrigue and adventure also aid
the two orphans.
"An inventive, ambitious work, full of wonders and marvels."
- THE TIMES newspaper: May 7, 2007 (Review: Hardback edition, The Court
of the Air)
"Hunt can take his place alongside such eminent Magratheans as JRR
Tolkien, Mervyn Peake and China Mieville. Creating a fully realised
other-world which feels new and different, yet cohesive and believable
is half the battle in a fantasy novel, and it is a battle Hunt wins with
honours... Hunt's world is so rich and colourful it keeps you engrossed
... It's a confident audacious novel."
- SFX magazine: JULY 2009 (Review: Hardback edition, The Court of the
Air)
"The characters are convincing and colourful, but the real achievement
is the setting, a hellish take on Victorian London where grim,
steam-driven machines work beside citizens with magical powers. The
Court of the Air is aimed at young adults, but the depth and complexity
of Hunt's vision makes it compulsive reading for all ages."
- THE GUARDIAN newspaper: May 21st 2007 (Review: Hardback edition, The
Court of the Air)
'Wonderfully assured ... Hunt knows what his audience like and gives it
to them with a sardonic wit and carefully developed tension'
TIME OUT magazine: October 2007 (Review: Paperback edition, The Court of
the Air)
Click here for free sample chapters...
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/author/sh_courtoftheair_home.php
@@@ HARDBACK (USA edition coming JULY 2009)
NEW - Tor's U.S. edition hardcover - Amazon USA
http://www.amazon.com/Court-Air-Stephen-Hunt/dp/0765320428/
@@@ PAPERBACK (UK edition out now)
| | | | Order now from Amazon UK <<
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007232187/ref=nosim/scienficticrowst
| | | | Order now from Amazon Canada <<
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http://www.amazon.ca/Court-Air-Stephen-Hunt/dp/0007232187/
| | | | Order now from Amazon Japan <<
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http://www.amazon.co.jp/Court-Air-Stephen-Hunt/dp/0007232187/
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+++ ADVERT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello from Voyager Books,
We're delighted to announce the launch of the Voyager Books website, a
brand new online book store selling the best science fiction, fantasy
and horror titles from HarperCollins Publishers.
Choose from hundreds of great titles for adults and children, with
special launch promotions on Raymond Feist, Garth Nix, George R.R.
Martin and Robin Hobb.
Over the months ahead we will be bringing you an exciting range of
unique editions of our books - and there are two exclusive titles,
available only on voyagerbooks.co.uk, on site now.
The highly acclaimed Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, is presented in a
slip case, signed by the author and limited to only 500 copies
worldwide. Features exclusive content by Cory and six original colour
illustrations.
Arthur C. Clarke's final book The Last Theorem written alongside
Frederik Pohl is available to buy as a numbered, signed and limited
edition with paintings by John Harris, and also comes in a collectable
slipcase.
Visit Voyager Books today, have a look around and enter our amazing
competition to win a copy of every book on the site - a prize worth over
£5,000!
We hope you enjoy the site!
http://www.voyagerbooks.co.uk/Community/Competition/Pages/CompetitionHome.aspx?DisplayName=Competition/bannerssf
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+++ CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the nice things about being online is that SFcrowsnest can
publish slightly off-the-wall material that would never find a home in a
highly targeted advertising-ruled print magazine world. An article we
always trot out as an example of this, is Uncle Geoff's piece about what
the heck fuel & engine combination the Thunderbirds craft might have
used in the classic 1960s TV series of the same name.
Let's face it, you're never going to read the likes of that in Analog,
Starlog, Starburst, Interzone or the rest of the print world's
publications! If there's an article inside you - could be continuity
errors in Andromeda, your latest work of short fiction, or just why you
think Iain Banks' novels are the greatest SF since a little man called
Verne put pen to paper - do drop Geoff a line below. Articles, fiction,
reviews and pieces you've already completed should ideally be submitted
as Microsoft Word attachments.
Contact Uncle Geoff in the rainy English countryside at
contrib-@sfcrowsnest.com
We still fund this puppy's bandwidth and other miscellaneous expenses
out of our own pocket, so the spirit of volunteerism is about the only
thing that keeps our happy ship in hyperspace. Any time, articles,
stories or reviews you can submit are always appreciated.
Current requirements: JULY 2009
- short fiction
- articles
- comment pieces
- convention reports
- web site reviews
- book reviewers (see below)
- Television reviews ... Stargate, Andromeda, Trek etc
- Movie reviews
- Games reviews ... RPGs, scenarios, wargames etc
- SFF models and figures ... reviews, painting tips, scratchbuilds,
conversions
BTW, if you're interested in becoming a book or DVD reviewer, we'd
really, really (no, really) appreciate it if you were UK-based. Posting
out the hundred of goodies we get every week is an expensive business,
and extra airmail costs could lead to Geoff, Jessica, Mark and Steve
eating dog food in a crazed economy-drive of death. Of course, if you're
based in the US, Canada or Australia and you fancy reviewing your own
drip-feed of goodies resulting from your science fiction and fantasy
addiction, then that okay by us ... but we can't supply you ourselves!
Sorry.
-----------------------------------------
+++ ET AL
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Know of any science fiction and fantasy pals who don't yet receive this
fine monthly magazine? Forward it to them and let them quiver in awe of
your highly evolved and very discriminating SFF-loving taste. Then twist
the arms of the little blighters in a cruel-to-be-kind attempt to get
them to subscribe free too!
Add science fiction & fantasy to your Google Toolbar
http://toolbar.google.com/buttons/add?url=http://www.SFcrowsnest.com/googlebutton.xml
Not got Google Toolbar? Click here first...
http://toolbar.google.com/
SFcrowsnest Daily Sci-Fi News via RSS feed
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/rss.xml
| | | | | | OUR ONLINE COMMUNITIES <<<
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SFcrowsnest.com FaceBook Page (the Nest's community on FaceBook )
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21093694832
Stephen Hunt's Rule Jackelia FaceBook Group (for FaceBook-based fans of
SH's novels)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34257537930
SFcrowsnest.com Twitter Page (the Nest's community on Twitter)
http://twitter.com/SFcrowsnest
Stephen Hunt FaceBook Page (SH's personal page for his FaceBook friends)
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen_Hunt/767028254
Stephen Hunt's HiveMind Page (SH's personal page for his HiveMind
friends)
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/profile.php?user=StephenHunt
Stephen Hunt's The Jackelians HiveMind Group (for HiveMind-based fans of
SH's novels)
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/hivemind/group.php?group_id=1
Stephen Hunt's BookArmy Page (SH's personal page for his BookArmy
friends)
http://www.bookarmy.com/Authors/Stephen_Hunt_Writer_1.aspx
Content is copyright (c) 1991-2009 SFcrowsnest and/or its respective
contributors.
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