Monthly Archives: November 2011

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

Via Angry Robot, publishers of Zoo City:

Helena Spring, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most accomplished motion picture producers, has just been awarded the highly sought-after film rights to Zoo City, the Sci-Fi thriller penned by South African author Lauren Beukes – who garnered the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction novel. In the wake of whopping sales figures, multiple awards and critical acclaim Beukes’ book generated fierce interest from numerous bidders in the entertainment industry, putting Spring alongside major US and UK producers eager to tell Beukes’ unique tale.

Zoo City was published first in South Africa by Jacana Media and thereafter internationally by by Angry Robot.

The urban fantasy is set in a futuristic, gritty and hard-core Johannesburg where the eponymous ghetto has been colonised by society’s outcasts – like criminals, drug-dealers and psychopaths, and their animal companions. Like the other residents of the Zoo City slum, Zinzi, the anti-heroine, is “animalled”, but she is also a shrewd, street-smart girl with the gift (or burden) of finding lost things. Zinzi wears her power animal, a sloth, on her back. When she is hired to find a missing teenybopper star, she hopes that it will be her ticket out of Hell’s waiting room.

“I’m delighted to have secured the film and television rights for Zoo City,” commented Helena Spring. “It is a groundbreaking, magical novel begging for a life on the big screen. Lauren’s storytelling is masterful – edgy and futuristic, unique yet universal. It is high in entertainment value yet emotionally charged, a dream project for any producer.”

An easy and obvious choice for this project would be Neill Blomkamp, the acclaimed director of District 9. Not only is Blomkamp South African himself, but his films are well known for their artistic vision and high-end use of CGI to create believable alien creatures, a trait that would be put to excellent use in Zoo City, which features animal familiars similar to those found in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass (and I think we can all agree that we hope this adaptation is more successful the stodgy adaptation of Pullman’s work). Promises are always dicey (and often left unfulfilled) whenever the film world is involved, so, as always, Zoo City fans should temper their excitement somewhat, but it’s still great to see Beukes recognized and rewarded for her work.

Via SFX:

“We were in Hobbiton three weeks ago. I turned 19 when I was in Hobbiton for the first time and I’m 30 now so it just shows you how much time has passed and I think the movies are going to be incredible.”

Of his cameo, he went on to explain, “Frodo is not alive during the time of The Hobbit so they’ve done a flash forward. I didn’t get chance to work with the dwarves – I was just hanging out with them. I got to do a little bit of work with Martin Freeman, who is awesome – I’m a really big fan. I think what he’s doing with Bilbo is great and everyone will love it.”

Elijah Wood on his role in THE HOBBITOff the bat, it’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since The Lord of the Rings first began filming. I’m three years younger than Wood, which would put me at 16 when he first suited up as Frodo Baggins. I was just learning to drive, deep into my discovery of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time and still ignorant enough to enjoy Terry Goodkind and I was just about to meet the girl who would grow up into the woman who’s now my wife (we went and saw each of the three Lord of the Rings films together as friends.) It’s somewhat startling to think of how much my life has changed since the films first started production.

More on topic, however, are Wood’s comments about his role in the film. As any fan of Tolkien’s work will know, Frodo Baggins isn’t born yet when The Hobbit is taking place, from what Wood says, it sounds like his role will (thankfully) be constrained to more of a cameo, potentially book-ending the film as a pre-LOTR Bilbo Baggins reads to his nephew from There and Back Again. Did Frodo need to be shoehorned into the film? No. Will it be weird seeing Martin Freeman playing an older Bilbo instead of Ian Holm? Yep. Will it affect my enjoyment of the film at all? I doubt it.

What do you think about Frodo Baggins being included in The Hobbit?

A DRIBBLE OF INK is on Facebook!Hello, everyone!

As you might have noticed, one of several new changes/additions to A Dribble of Ink (can you spot the others?) is the addition of a new Facebook badge on the sidebar. I’ve long neglected starting a Facebook page for A Dribble of Ink in fear of cannibalizing my audience and spreading them too thinly across several platforms. But, In the past several months I’ve spent a lot of time with social networking and very much appreciate its ability to help me improve my current audience’s experience and appeal to a new audience who doesn’t yet read the blog.

So, if you enjoy A Dribble of Ink (which I assume you do, given that you’re reading this) please us on Facebook. If you’re really kind, share the page on your Facebook profile/twitter and spread the love to your friends and family.

Even if you’re not on Facebook, you can still access the A Dribble of Ink page or subscribe to it via RSS. So, you have no excuse not to join in the fun!

Bitter Seeds by Ian TregillisFrom the Orbit Books website:

I’m very happy to announce that Orbit UK has acquired Bitter Seeds plus two further novels by the highly talented Ian Tregillis.

Bitter Seeds is an audacious fantasy retelling of the events of World War II – where Nazis create superhumans that can throw fire, see the future and turn invisible, whilst the British warlocks use dark magics to hold back the German invasion. I was totally wowed by the deliciously sinister atmosphere of this novel, with its endlessly imaginative plot twists and awesome superhero-like characters. Ian has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m so glad that we’ve been able to take him on in the UK.

I’ve not read Bitter Seeds, the first volumes of The Milkweed Triptych, though it comes very well recommended from several readers and bloggers whose opinions I trust. Why, then, haven’t I read it? Mostly due to this kerfuffle between Tregillis and his north american publisher, Tor Books. Perhaps it’s not fair to Tregillis to hold Tor’s decisions against his novel, but I couldn’t bring myself to devote time to a series that was being so mishandled by its publisher and editor. The issue’s been sorted out, thankfully, and now that the series is back on the track of a regular publishing schedule, I hope to read Bitter Seeds in the near future.

It’s great that UK readers will now also be able to get their hands on the series, though we have to hope that Orbit UK will handle Tregillis’ novels than Tor did.

The Scar by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko

Where did he come from and where is he going? He wanders the world like the constellations wander the sky. He roams along the dust-laden roads and only his shadow dares to follow in his footsteps.

It is said that he possesses great powers, but they are not of this world.

Even the mages avoid him, for he is not subject to them. Whoever stands in his way, either through the whim of fate or through his own folly, curses the day of that encounter.

His intentions are unknown. The roads serve him like dogs.

The mountain heights and the pebbles of the far sea; the hills, ravines and fields; the forests and foothills; the plains and shores; the lanes and highways: all hide his secrets.

It is said that he will roam and wander eternally. Take care not to meet him, either in a crowded fair or in a hermit’s den – for he is everywhere.

And if one day you should hear the footsteps of the Wanderer at your door…

Several weeks ago, I gushed enthusiastically about the cover art for The Scar by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, a well-respected novel by the Ukranian authors that is finally being translated and brought to English readers. I love the idea of tackling Fantasy from the perspective of writers from different cultures than the usual UK/North American/Australian writers, so this is firmly on my radar, but I can’t say that this excerpt has me too excited; a lot of passive, overly complicated writing:

The room became quiet immediately, so quiet that the landlady stuck her inflamed, purple nose out of her kitchen. The revelers looked around in mute amazement, as if they expected to see the menacing Spirit Lash on the smoke-fouled ceiling. Bewildered, at first Ita just opened her mouth, but then, finally realizing what had happened, she dropped an empty jug on the floor.

Yowza.

Still, you can read the excerpt from The Scar by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko and judge for yourself.