Posts Categorized: News

David Anthony Durham dropped me (along with some other bloggers, I’m sure!) a line today with some good news today. His first Fantasy novel Acacia: The War with the Mein has been optioned for film!

I’m finally able to announce that Acacia has been optioned by Relativity Media and they’ve hired a screenwriter who is going to work on the screenplay.

From Variety:

Relativity Media has acquired rights to David Anthony Durham’s epic fantasy novel “Acacia: The War With the Mein.”

Andrew Grant will adapt the first installment of a planned trilogy.

Story kicks off after King Akaran is assassinated and the kingdom of Acacia is overthrown by the warlike Mein tribe. Four Akaran siblings spend nine years in exile before reuniting as adults to retake their father’s kingdom.

Relativity’s Ryan Kavanaugh will produce alongside Michael De Luca. De Luca Prods.’ Zach Schiff-Abrams, who brought the project into Relativity, will exec produce along with Relativity’s Tucker Tooley.

Kavanaugh said “Acacia,” which was published by Doubleday in June 2007, has “great franchise potential.” “The book has already generated such a huge response across the world,” he added.

Book was one of Kirkus Reviews Ten Best Works of Fiction in 2007 and one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2007.

To date, Relativity has structured more than $8 billion in production slate financings. The company’s single-picture business has more than 30 films in various stages of production and release.

I was a big fan of the novel, so this is great news.

The guys at SFCrowsnest (those lovely british chaps who sometimes run my interviews!) have launched their very own stab at social networking. The Hivemind is a little like Facebook for Fantasy nerds. Sounds pretty cool, right?

You can check out The Hivemind HERE and, if you decide to sign up, you can find my profile HERE. Don’t be afraid to add me to your friends list!

My review of The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney started a bit of a stir. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but, as we all know, I’m not you.

The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney

Like I said in my review, I have a feeling that my opinion’s the exception, rather than the rule. I’m curious to hear what other people think about the book, but since it’s not out yet, I found the next best thing: Sample Chapters! I may not have been the biggest fan of the novel, but I’m also certain that a lot of people will really enjoy it. So check out the sample and let me know what you think.

Solaris has a PDF sampler of the novel available to download HERE.

More info about the Television mini-series based on Terry Goodkind’s fantasy series Sword of Truth.

A Promotional Photo for Terry Goodkind's upcoming Television mini-series

From Suvudu:

Terry Goodkind, the author of the bestselling The Sword of Truth series, visited Comic-Con today with director Sam Raimi and those who produced the television shows Xena and Hercules. Together as a panel, they laid out their plans for adapting Wizard’s First Rule into a 22-episode season to air on ABC via Disney.

I will be posting a lot more news on this in the forthcoming days, but I wanted to share with Goodkind fans that the name of the ABC series is Legend of the Seeker and it will begin November 1, 2008. Richard Cypher and Kahlen have been cast, but today Sam Raimi announced the casting of Zedd. The actor playing the wizard Zedd is Bruce Spence, who had minor roles in LOTR: Return of the King and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith but who has decades of acting experience.

I have to admit that I’m disappointed (and a little surprised) that Goodkind himself didn’t demand the lead role. He does have his work cut out for himself though, convincing everyone that it’s not a fantasy mini-series won’t be easy!