Saturday Links:

• There's a really good interview with Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, over at the Guardian.

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• Charlie Stross talks about where he gets his ideas from, and strongly urges you not to buy a book that he fears will create a whole new generation of super-writers and thus put him out of business...

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• David B. Coe talks about killing off characters, over at the SF Novelists site, a place I'd recommend you visit...

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• Not strictly relevant: a fascinating post by Yau-Man Chan about the links between numbers and language in Chinese numerology superstition. It has a lot to do with homonyms, y'see...

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I really would suggest you read this post by Pat Rothfuss about Heifer International. I believe he, and his readers, have helped raise over $21,000 at present... He's aiming for $30,000...

He says: "So here's my plan, the bare bones version.

1. You will help by spreading the word, and making donations.

2. I will match all of the donations, dollar for dollar.

3. We both have a big warm fuzzy feeling in our chests that lets us know we've helped make the world a better place.

4. Finally, as a gesture of my appreciation, I will supply gifts for the people who participated: Signed books, maps, sneak peaks of book two, stuff like that."

Stuff. Like. That. You really should have a look at his blog: every update is filled with more and more excellent prizes, from signed advanced proof copies of books like Batman/Superman: Enemies and Allies see the amount

And then, after you've read that post in particular, have a look at all the prizes he's offering!

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Joe Abercrombie has the coolest artwork ever, and talks a bit about the process over on his spectacular blog.


That's all for the moment, just tiding things over, until I actually get down to it and write some flaming reviews... ;) Which I do intend to do... See you next week.

Merlin: the BBC TV Series

Merlin, is of course, the wizard from the tales of King Arthur, one of my favourite myths of any culture. There have been many interpretations of the classic story: books, films, plays, musicals, etc. This time it's a 13-episode series by the BBC which has hooked me. It's aimed at the Saturday tea-time family slot and it's by far better than that other reinterpretation the BBC did of a classic legend -- the horror that was the new series of Robin Hood. Shudder.

The BBC series does change things quite a bit, however. Merlin is now roughly the same age as Arthur when they meet, and Arthur seems (at first, anyway) to be an arrogant bully. Guinevere is a serving maid to Morgana, who is fey, but a good guy, nonetheless, and a ward of the King. Magic is banned in the kingdom, with Merlin (who lives with Gaius, a physician to the king, Uther) having to hide his abilities from most people. Nimueh (who is in most stories the Lady of the Lake, but not in this one, I think) hates Arthur and Merlin with a passion and is always trying to kill them. There is a grumpy dragon as well...


I enjoy this show a lot! It's very good fun, and doesn't take itself too seriously most of the time. There's a good cast (including Anthony Head as Uther, John Hurt and Richard Wilson) of experienced actors, and some newer ones, too.

The series makes use of so-called colour-blind casting, with various key characters portrayed by black actors despite the series' setting in mediaeval Britain where the vast majority of the population were white and those of African ethnicity were a rarity. To be honest, the rest of the series, though very good fun, is so happy to change bits of the legend and add and embellish and reinvent, that this particular change doesn't really stand out. The quality of the acting, and the fact that it's taken as granted in the series, means you don't notice.

The rights to Merlin have been bought by NBC, which is the first time in a while that an actual British television series (not a reinvention) has been bought by a major US network. It will go out in January 2009 in the States. It's also been bought in Australia and Canada. Look forward to it :)

John Jarrold: Two Major US & UK Rights Deals

THREE-BOOK US RIGHTS DEAL FOR BRITISH URBAN FANTASY WRITER

Susan Howe, Rights Director at Orion, has sold US rights in three dragon fantasies by UK novelist Stephen Deas to Ginjer Buchanan of Berkley Ace in a very good deal. The first book will be published in hardback in 2009.

World rights in the series, which opens with Deas’s debut THE ADAMANTINE PALACE (to be published in hardback and trade paperback in the UK in March 2009), were acquired by Simon Spanton at Gollancz from John Jarrold earlier this year.

‘Ginjer and the people at Berkley Ace will do a terrific job with Steve,’ said John Jarrold. ‘Can’t wait to see their editions!’ Contact Susan Howe or John Jarrold for further information: Susan Howe by e-mail: susan.howe@orionbooks.co.uk or by phone: 020 7240 3444. John Jarrold by e-mail: j.jarrold@btinternet.com or by phone: 01522 510544.

Simon Spanton was kind enough to send me a copy of The Adamantine Palace, which I'll be getting properly stuck into soon. There's been a slight lag in reviews and those promised contests, you'll have noticed. I'm parched of time of late, but I will have more of it soon :)

TWO-BOOK DEAL FOR DEBUT BRITISH SF NOVELIST

John Jarrold has concluded a two-book deal for British SF writer Ian Whates with Christian Dunn of Solaris, the mainstream genre imprint of Games Workshop’s publishing division, BL Publishing. The first book, titled THE NOISE WITHIN, is due for delivery in October 2009 and publication in 2010, with the sequel coming a year later. The deal is for UK and US rights.

The two books are wide-screen SF featuring war in space, AIs, and a mysterious ship that combines them both…

‘This is a terrific deal for Ian,’ said John Jarrold. ‘Having read the synopsis and opening section of THE NOISE WITHIN I can’t wait to read the finished article.’

Whates has had short fiction published in a number of magazines. He has been nominated twice and shortlisted once for the BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction. THE NOISE WITHIN will be his debut novel. Multi-award-winning SF novelist Ian Watson has already had this to say about Ian Whates: ‘A bright new star rapidly in the ascendant, Ian Whates' fluent and engaging stories range from witty humane SF reminiscent of a latterday Bob Shaw, through inventive fantasy, even unto vampiric horror. Ian here turns his highly versatile hand to galaxy-shaking space opera.’

Contact John Jarrold for further information: e-mail: j.jarrold@btinternet.com phone: 01522 510544.

Want your bit of news, or press release, included next time? Just send it to the email address on the right-hand side of this page - providing it's relevant!

New Moon

New Moon
Stephenie Meyer
Atom Books

608 pages
2007

I had a lot of fun reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (shortly due to be released in cinemas near you...), the story of Bella and the ... not-a-man-but-a-vampire ... that she loves, and I was eager to get straight into the next, much larger, book in the series: New Moon...

Except.

It's one of the most frustrating books I've read in a while...

When something goes dreadfully wrong at Bella's birthday party (she is majorly accident prone), putting her in danger and terrifying the vamp she loves, it starts a chain of events that leads to ... well, nothing. I enjoy Meyer's writing style very much, but nonetheless, nothing happens for most of the novel. Said vampire goes away, taking his entire family with him, to protect Bella (which is a very stupid thing to do, since she really needs protection at all time, being a danger-magnet) and poor Bella is left moping for a while. Well-written moping that makes you feel dreadfully sorry for her, but still an awful lot of moping, which gets annoying towards the middle -- particularly when Bella seems utterly unable to cope after Edward runs off (idiot vampire) and is nigh-suicidal most of the time, constantly putting herself in harm's way and crashing her motorbike into trees and rocks on an almost daily basis. Which is silly. From a feminist point of view, that part isn't great at all -- Buffy is much stronger, more independent. I do sympathise with her, though, which probably says something.

I won't even mention Jacob, who is essentially Edward, but not as cool, by half. I'm not sure what it is about werewolves, they're much maligned, but I can sort of see why. Oh, by the way, Jacob hates vampires...

It's the last third of the book where things pick up, as Alice, one of the vampires, arrives to bring some bad news to Bella, and they all go rushing off to Italy and end up meeting the vampire equivalent of the Mafia. That was fun. There were some good threads and threats set up there for the next book, and it does make one eager for the next book...

I should add that I have already read that book, Eclipse, and am reviewing this one a bit retroactively, which isn't a very good reviewerly thing to be doing; I expect that some of my thoughts on Eclipse (which I really enjoyed) are rubbing off on this book, which really wasn't that great. It is worth reading, though, if only to pick up the pieces and prepare for a much more action-filled sequel.

For more information:

Amazon UK
Amazon US

--Previous review--

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Remembrance Day, Poppy Day, Armistice Day, Veterans Day. World War I was formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. The Great War, to End All Wars, it was called. 21 years later, the world was at war again, and 70 million people, mostly civilians, lost their lives. We remember.

Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est is one of the best war poems from that time, and one that is frequently read at this time of year.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country.

Charles Stross, Obama and Me...

...A slightly misleading title. First: me. An apology for the now-quite-frequent, nigh hebdomadal delay in posting anything to this site. My life is a rollercoaster and so on right now, but I'll try not to do it again for a while :) A few fun bits of news for you, here.

The Stross:

CHARLES STROSS

will be signing copies of

THE CLAN CORPORATE

the new book in the Merchant Princes series

Waterstone’s West End, 128 Princes Street, Edinburgh

On Thursday 11^th December, 6pm

Free tickets available in store

For more information, telephone 0131 226 2666

The Obama:

Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America. Yay. Just thought you might need to be made aware of that fact. He will be pleased to know that the online speculative fiction community is also in concordance with the decision made by the voters, and bethought themselves of something they could do to show their support...

SCIENCE FICTION FANS VOTE ON NEW NAME FOR THE OBAMA YEARS

Kennedy's administration was known as Camelot, and now the world's science fiction and fantasy fans have voted for their choice of name for Barack Obama's upcoming years of rule, choosing a name with echoes of the Kennedy age, Avalon.

Following on from an online election between Obama and McCain on SFcrowsnest.com which Obama carried with 68% of the vote, the question of a name for Barack Obama's coming administration was also posed to the world's genre fans.

Their top five choices were:

1. The Avalon years
2. New Camelot
3. Camelot II
4. Second Camelot
5. Obamalot

The Avalon years was the most popular name suggested by thousands of Internet users, Avalon being the land of magic and hope from Arthurian legend, a land that lived on in legend after Camelot.

SFcrowsnest.com's owner, fantasy author Stephen Hunt, said, "It was fascinating to see Obama winning by the same healthy margin in SFcrowsnest.com's online elections, just before he swept to power in the real popular ballot. I think the Internet's genre fans have made a very apt choice in the name they've selected for the new Obama administration. Avalon, the land from the tales of King Arthur where magic and hope is reborn. That land is now the US and I'm sure than when our children look back on the Avalon years, they'll feel the same sense of wonder that those who were there recall when remembering Kennedy's age of Camelot.'

*I should add, a bit late, that I am pleased Obama has won -- mainly because the alternative was unbearable, rather than because of any particular hopefulness I feel for the Obama presidency. I think he's a step in the right direction, but I think we've all become slightly swept up in a messianic feeling, with Obama as the saviour of the world. He has a lot of potential to do good -- it's nice to have a President who at least understands science to some degree! -- but I think there will be some quite big disappointments, particularly, as Christopher Hitchens points out, for the left. Don't get me started on McCain and Palin, though! McCain is a decent human being, but his mental capacity has been noticeably diminishing since January; Palin is simply terrifying.*