Yearly Archives: 2010

News

An Aside | 2010 Hugo Award Nominees

By Aidan Moher April 5th, 2010

It’s that time of year again. Take a look at the 2010 Hugo Award nominees. Much love to Joe Sherry for providing links to a bunch of the material.

Best Novel
Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest (Tor)
The City & The City, by China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)
Palimpsest, by Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
Wake, by Robert J. Sawyer (Ace; Penguin; Gollancz; Analog)
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)

Best Novella
“Act One”, by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s 3/09)
The God Engines, by John Scalzi (Subterranean)
“Palimpsest”, by Charles Stross (Wireless)
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, by James Morrow (Tachyon)
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus”, by Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days)
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, by Kage Baker (Subterranean)

Best Novelette
“Eros, Philia, Agape”, by Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/09)
“The Island”, by Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2)
“It Takes Two”, by Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three)
“One of Our Bastards is Missing”, by Paul Cornell (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three)
“Overtime”, by Charles Stross (Tor.com 12/09)
“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast”, by Eugie Foster (Interzone 2/09)

Best Short Story
“The Bride of Frankenstein”, by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s 12/09)
“Bridesicle”, by Will McIntosh (Asimov’s 1/09)
“The Moment”, by Lawrence M. Schoen (Footprints)
“Non-Zero Probabilities”, by N.K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld 9/09)
“Spar”, by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 10/09)

Best Related Book
Canary Fever: Reviews, by John Clute (Beccon)
Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees, by Michael Swanwick (Temporary Culture)
The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction, by Farah Mendlesohn (McFarland)
On Joanna Russ, by Farah Mendlesohn (ed.) (Wesleyan)
The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms, by Helen Merrick (Aqueduct)
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”), by Jack Vance (Subterranean)

Best Graphic Story
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams (DC Comics)
Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf (Marvel Comics)
Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein (Vertigo Comics)
Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Avatar Screenplay and Directed by James Cameron (Twentieth Century Fox)
District 9 Screenplay by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell; Directed by Neill Blomkamp (TriStar Pictures)
Moon Screenplay by Nathan Parker; Story by Duncan Jones; Directed by Duncan Jones (Liberty Films)
Star Trek Screenplay by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Directed by J.J. Abrams (Paramount)
Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter; Story by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, & Thomas McCarthy; Directed by Bob Peterson & Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor” Written by Russell T Davies; Directed by Andy Goddard (BBC Wales)
Doctor Who: “Planet of the Dead” Written by Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts; Directed by James Strong (BBC Wales)
Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars” Written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; Directed by Graeme Harper (BBC Wales)
Dollhouse: “Epitaph 1″ Story by Joss Whedon; Written by Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon; Directed by David Solomon (Mutant Enemy)
FlashForward: “No More Good Days” Written by Brannon Braga & David S. Goyer; Directed by David S. Goyer; based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer (ABC)

Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Ginjer Buchanan
Liz Gorinsky
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Juliet Ulman

Best Editor, Short Form
Ellen Datlow
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder
Sheila Williams

Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Daniel Dos Santos
Shaun Tan

Best Semiprozine
Ansible edited by David Langford
Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

Best Fan Writer
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
James Nicoll
Lloyd Penney
Frederik Pohl

Best Fanzine
Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
CHALLENGER edited by Guy H. Lillian III
Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith

Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Dave Howell
Sue Mason
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Saladin Ahmed
Gail Carriger
Felix Gilman
Seanan McGuire
Lezli Robyn

Congrats to everyone nominated! I’m more interested in the ‘Best Novel‘ category than I have been for years. I read, and loved, The City & The City, I’ve been sitting on Julian Comstock and The Windup Girl for a few months. Boneshaker is near the top of my ‘To Buy’ list. Certainly a good list to turn to as I choose my reading material over the next couple of months.

After reading Blake Charlton’s interview with Saladin Ahmed, I was curious to check out his work. Seeing his name on the ballot for the Campbell Award makes it a priority.

One caveat, though. Am I the only one who doesn’t really understand why Ansible gets so much love? Is it based on legacy at this point? Or is there something I’m missing?

News

An Aside | Synopsis for ‘Towers of Midnight’ by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

By Aidan Moher April 2nd, 2010

The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unravelling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight. Perrin Aybara is hunted by spectres from his past. To prevail, he must find a way to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever. Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost. The end draws near. It’s time to roll the dice.

I’ve not much to add, having not read Wheel of Time since the seventh book, but I’m sure fans are eager to find out more about the penultimate volume.

News

An Aside | A Dance with Dragons is done!

By Aidan Moher April 1st, 2010

In a recent blog post, Martin confirms that his beast, long slaved over, is finally complete:

Instead of continuing work on the novel, pushing back the release date even further, I spoke with my editor and felt the best course of action would be to split the novel in half. What was once one novel is now three: A Feast for Crows, A Flank of Beef for Brienne and A Dance with Dragons.

In the spirit of the original split, I’ve moved many of the characters to A Dance with Dragons, including Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. A Flank of Beef for Brienne will focus solely on the title character, with cameos from that hooker in King’s Landing and the horse Bran rides around on.

A Flank of Beef for Brienne will be released September, 2011 and will contain work that has been completed for three years. By my estimate, it will ring in somewhere around 900 pages.

Haha.

April Fools!

But, the real trick here isn’t the lame attempt at a George R.R. Martin joke, but that you thought I seriously considered it a good, original April Fools Day gag. It’s not. It’s lame, and sure to be one of many jokes proclaiming that A Dance with Dragons is done. Guess the jokes on you.

Review

Review | The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

By Aidan Moher March 31st, 2010

The Desert Spear

Author – Peter V. Brett

Hardcover
Pages: 608
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: April 13, 2010
ISBN-10: 0345503813
ISBN-13: 978-0345503817

EXCERPT
Interview with Peter V. Brett

When buzz first began to build about Peter V. Brett, it wasn’t his debut novel, The Warded Man (REVIEW), everyone was talking about. Rather, it was about the Blackberry-like device he wrote the majority of the novel on, during his morning commute. Once readers got their hands on The Warded Man, the seriousness of Brett’s achievement became readily apparent – not only had he written a novel during his morning commute, using little more than his thumbs, he’d written a good novel during his morning commute. A damn good novel.

The Warded Man snuck its way onto my Best Novels of 2009 list. I was taken in by the strong characters, the easy pace and the imaginative magic system. The success of Brett’s debut was a surprise to everyone, but with that success comes a lot of pressure, placed squarely on the shoulders of The Desert Spear, Brett’s second novel and sequel to The Warded Man.

The opening chapters of The Desert Spear begin on the right foot, promising a novel that is everything The Warded Man was and more. Telling the life story of Jardir, a villanous character in The Warded Man, Brett pulls back the curtain on the absolutely brutal Krasian culture. A ruthless caste system, organized sodomy and rape, friends and family pit against each other in the name of honour, Krasia makes the lands predominantly featured in The Warded Man look tame in comparison. He takes Jardir, a character easy to hate, and pits him against a violent culture, creating empathy where I never thought I’d find any.

Easily the strongest part of the novel, Brett’s prose and language evolves, wrapping itself honestly about the storytelling and bringing a maturity to the novel that sets him in line with contemporaries like Joe Abercrombie and Richard Morgan. It’s after Jardir’s tale, when the tale catches up to the familiar tale of Leesha, Rojer and Arlen that things start to go south.
Read More »

Cover Art

Cover Art & Synopsis | Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks (Colour)

By Aidan Moher March 30th, 2010
Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks

“For more than three decades, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks has ruled the epic fantasy realm with his legendary Shannara series. With each new novel the mythos has deepened, ever more fascinating characters have arisen, and increasingly breathtaking vistas of magical adventure have emerged. Now, in Bearers of the Black Staff, the revelatory Genesis of Shannara cycle continues the evolution of the most beloved world in imaginative fiction.

Five hundred years have passed since the devastating demon-led war that tore apart the United States, leaving nothing but scorched and poisoned ruins and nearly exterminating humankind. Those who escaped the carnage and blight were led to sanctuary by the boy savior known as Hawk—the gypsy morph. In an idyllic valley, its borders warded by powerful magic against the horrors beyond, humans, elves, and mutants alike found a place they believed would be their home forever.

But after five centuries, the unimaginable has come to pass: the cocoon of protective magic surrounding the valley has vanished. When Sider Ament, only surviving descendant of the Knights of the Word, detects unknown predators stalking the valley, he fears the worst. And when Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, expert Trackers from the human village of Glensk Wood, find two of their own gruesomely killed, there can be no doubt: the once safe haven of generations has been laid bare and vulnerable to whatever still lurks in the wasteland of the outside world.

Together, Ament, the two young Trackers and a daring Elf princess race to spread word of the encroaching danger—and spearhead plans to defend their ancestral home. But suspicion and hostility among their countrymen threaten to doom their efforts from within. While beyond the breached borders, a ruthless Troll army masses for invasion. And in response, the last wielder of the black staff and its awesome magic must find a successor to carry on the fight against the cresting new wave of evil.”

A little while ago, a black and white version of this cover leaked. Now, we’ve got the final version (notice the staff has changed) in glorious colour! It’s like the 1960’s all over again.

The art, as always, is by Steve Stone.