Posts Categorized: News

News

“No one is claiming that Heinlein is a social justice blogger,” a short essay on the importance of Science Fiction

By Aidan Moher October 1st, 2012

I came across this on Tumblr, and thought it was worth a read:

Science fiction, speculative fiction, whatever, is the perfect choice for that kind of behavior. Someone […] once wrote that poking fun at science fiction, as a genre, is so silly, considering that mystery novels (which are also great!) are about death and murder and crime, while sci-fi is about reimagining the world and making it better and new and different. And, honestly, these are the books and pulps and magazines and comics that have done more than any other genre to begin the process of playing with race, and gender. No one is claiming that Heinlein is a social justice blogger, or anything like that, and it’s not a super-great book, but ANY KIND of science fiction, even of the Tits in Tight Silver Outfits variety, is implicitly saying that the world we currently live in is not the only way a world could be, that things could change. That’s really revolutionary, when you think about it. And, jeez, if you want to talk about “the story not the storyteller,” let’s think about Orson Scott Card. The man is a bag of dicks, when it comes to his personal politics, but Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus could actually make you a better person.

Science Fiction

This is an excerpted piece of from Nicole Cliffe‘s review of Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, I’ve always appreciated this aspect of Science Fiction and, like Cliffe, feel that the sensawunda, the insistance that the world, the universe, humanity has the potential to be better is a very strong reason why Science Fiction is so important to the history of human society and the future development of us as a people and a species. I’ve written something similar about Fantasy, come to think of it. Whether you agree with Cliffe or not, the whole review is worth reading, and I hope we can discuss some of these arguments that she raises.

Thoughts?

News

“Dear Robert Jordan,” the first review of A Memory of Light

By Aidan Moher September 24th, 2012

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonWelp, it begins. Jason Denzel, long-time Wheel of Time fan and founder of Dragonmount, the website for Wheel of Time fans, has written a lengthy, and spoiler-free reaction to A Memory of Light, the final volume in Robert Jordan’s long-running, and (for the most part) celebrated series.

An excerpt:

[T]oday, as I read the ending of your magnum opus, I yet again found a piece of you. In those final, beautiful moments, with tears in my eyes, I understood. I saw why you wanted to write the story. I see the point you were trying to make. And I laughed. It may not have been what people expected, but, to quote Stephen King, it was the right ending.

And a glorious one.

[…]

If only you could have seen the specific way in which it turned out. I loved each character’s ending, even if it made me cry. I celebrated victories and gasped at the raw, visceral failures. Rand and Egwene shined the brightest, as I could have only hoped and expected. And there’s that one chapter. Holy smokes, RJ. 50,000 words? Really? Wow.

[…]

Yours is a story for the Ages. Some may criticize or belittle it, but its sheer scope and influence can’t be argued. The final pages may have been written, but it will live on in memory, community, and (let’s face it) franchise tie-ins. There are neither beginnings nor endings, right?

So, RJ, as I finish this letter that you’ll never read, I’m left only with final thanks. Thank you for sharing your vision with me. With all of us. For all the worldwide success and attention this book will bring, it still spoke to me on an intimate, personal level. Thank you for expressing the beauty of your life in these pages. Thank you for giving us what is quite simply the most epic ending to the grandest saga of our time.

I’m going out on a limb here, but it seems like Denzel might’ve enjoyed A Memory of Light, just a little bit. Denzel’s full thoughts, which also double as a touching eulogy for Jordan and his creation, are worth reading, though they’ll likely only make the three-month wait for the novel even more difficult for committed fans.

News

Watch the second trailer for The Hobbit!

By Aidan Moher September 19th, 2012

Presented without comment. (Since I’m going into full-on media blackout on The Hobbit, and haven’t watched it myself!)

UPDATE: The YouTube trailer was taken down, but you can watch it here. Also, I may or may not have broken my media blackout, due to extreme pressure from my readers and innate curiosity.

News

Peter V. Brett completes The Daylight War

By Aidan Moher September 18th, 2012
The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

Peter V. Brett announced today that he has completed The Daylight War, the third volume in his Demon Cycle series. He comments on the experience:

When you work on a single project for three years, though massive ups and downs in your personal life and equally massive ups and downs creatively, it is a strange feeling to be done. There were times I never thought the day would come, hurdles in the story I never thought I would surpass.

He follows this by speaking directly about The Daylight War, at what fans can expect from the novel, and beyond:

Is The Daylight War better than The Warded Man or The Desert Spear? That is not for me to decide. It is very different in spirit and intent than those other books, intentionally so. I have grown as a writer and changed as a person over the last few years, and the book reflects that. When I start writing the same book over and over, then it’s time to worry.

But if I cannot say it’s better, I can say that it is the best book I could make it. I cut no corners, skipped no hurdles and took no shortcuts. This is clear in some ways from the sheer size of the book: 254,000 words (5% longer than Desert Spear, and close to 3x the size of your average genre book).

But it’s more clear in the content. Daylight War explores the characters of the Demon Cycle in a new light, adding depth to the world and weight to their actions. If Warded Man was a book about fear and Desert Spear was about opposing cultures struggling to find common ground, Daylight War is, as my editor put it, “a book about relationships”.

And some of them, I think, will surprise you.

[…]

The next book in the Demon Cycle series is tentatively titled The Skull Throne. There has been a working file for that book for over a year, with the stepsheet currently at 84 pages, spelling out in great detail the 21 key chapters of the book’s story arc. Doubtless more will be added, but I already have a clear skeleton to start from.

Given my thoughts on The Desert Spear, I’m a little concerned to be hearing the bolded comments from Brett. I felt that The Warded Man (which I quite liked) balanced nicely on the line of being an character-heavy narrative with just enough gut-wrenching action and magic to keep things interesting. The second volume expanded the relationship side of the story, quite dramatically, and suffered from poor pacing and some self-indulgent bloat. It also didn’t help that I felt that those relationships are the weakest part of the series, taking a back seat to Brett’s exploration of magic, his world-building and action. The Daylight War seems poised to continue along this path. Of course, I was something of an outlier in my opinion, so Brett’s legion of fans are surely salivating at the idea that this is his longest novel yet.

And, despite these reservations, I find myself looking forward to sinking again into Arlen’s story, especially given the events at the very end of The Desert Spear, which speak of major changes coming to Brett’s series. I’ll give the novel a fair shake when I get my hands on it.

The Daylight War will launch on the week of February 11th, 2013.

News

Update on The World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

By Aidan Moher September 17th, 2012
The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin

The original, totally awesome badge, minus my facetious photoshopping, is by Storied Threads/Veronica Bailey

George R.R. Martin provided an update this weekend on progress for both The Winds of Winter and The World of Ice and Fire. He says:

We all know how long the last novel took. And now I am writing the “sidebar” (hoo hah) about the first Dance of the Dragons, the fratricidal civil war between King Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra, for THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE, and it’s turned into a monster too.

As of today, I have a hundred and three bloody manuscript pages (some VERY bloody) and still no end at hand. I had hoped to finish this one today, but… no, not even close. Lots more to write.

I think there’s some good stuff here, and judging by the reception my reading got at Chicon, most of you seem to like the fake history too. But DAMN, there a lot of it.

The ‘sidebar’ he’s referring to will appear in The World of Ice and Fire, an encyclopaedic volume collecting much of the history, maps, characters and vast backstory that Martin has created for A Song of Ice and Fire, but which will likely never appear in the novels themselves. I’m sure there will be much sniffing at the fact that he’s not dedicating all of his time directly to The Winds of Winter, but, hey, any A Song of Ice and Fire content is welcome to this fan.

UPDATE: As pointed out below, that’s 103 pages of manuscript for The World of Ice and Fire, not The Winds of Winter, which is further along.

Actual progress on the novel seems slow at 103 pages. By comparison, when submitted, A Dance with Dragons was 1510 manuscript pages. So, not even 10% of the way through. In other words, it’s going to be a long wait, fans. My suggestion? Go read some Daniel Abraham, then follow it up with some N.K. Jemisin, Greg Keyes, David Anthony Durham, Kate Elliott and Tad Williams. After that, you’ll still have to wait a while, but, hell, at least you’ll have experienced some damn fine novels.