A Dribble of Ink

Hot on the heels of the recently released promo photos from Entertainment Weekly, we’ve got a wonderful trailer and, as far as I know, our first real glimpse of dialogue between major characters. I’m sure I’m not the only one who got chills from Ned explaining to Bran about the execution. Joffery getting bitch-slapped by Tyrion? For that matter, the look on Tyrion’s face as several swords are levelled at him? Priceless. And who would’ve guessed, when the cast was first announced, that Mark Addy would so perfectly nail Robert Baratheon?

Nitpicks? Joffery and Dany look a little over-the-top and Ned’s a bit too stocky/powerfully built. But that’s about it.

Winter is coming, indeed.

Two new images from HBO’s adptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire:

More proof that they’ve absolutely nailed Tyrion by casting Peter Dinklage. Like, seriously, that look is classic Tyrion Lannister. He’s a bit too good looking for the role, but that’s about the only knock I can put against him. I wonder if we’ll see Tyrion do a backflip in the television series, mimicking the strangely out-of-character scene from early in A Game of Thrones?

Sansa looks good, older than I’d pictured her, but they’ve aged her (and all the rest of the children) for the sake of the show, so that’s to be expected. There’s been some bellyaching about the size of the Dire Wolf, but, far as I’m concerned, they’re just pups for the first book or two anyway. As long as they grow through the course of the first few seasons, I don’t think it will negatively impact the show. It’s better than shitty CGI animals (which a television show likely wouldn’t have the budget to properly accomplish with any sort of justice).

A few more photos can be found in Entertainment Weekly magazine or at The Making of Game of Thrones website.

The official release from Angry Robot Books:

On December 1st 2010, Angry Robot will be launching “Nano Editions”. Exclusive to the publisher’s own webstore at angryrobotstore.com, Nanos are digital short stories by Angry Robot novelists, sold at sensible prices in ePub format, ready to load onto the world’s most popular eBook readers.

Most Nanos will be in the 5,000 – 15,000 word range. Shorter works than that will be automatically bundled with another story to ensure value for money.

Talking of which – stories will cost just 59p each (approximately US $0.95). Readers can bundle a collection of any 10 by any combination of authors, for only £3.49 (US$5.59). The files will be DRM-free and available worldwide. If demand for the stories takes off, AR plan to also sell them via eBook retailers.

Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris said, “Publishing is changing, but our role as publishers remains the same – to find cool stories and bring them to readers. This is another step in Angry Robot’s ongoing plan to embrace the new opportunities digital formats provide – and an excellent way for readers to sample unfamiliar authors, without breaking the bank.”

Authors included in the Nanos series include multi-million-selling novelist Dan Abnett and award-winning short fiction authors Kaaron Warren and Aliette de Bodard, along with many others. We will have at least 30 Nanos available for the December 1st launch, with more added at regular intervals.

I’m a huge supporter of eBooks and eReaders being a necessary tool in allowing short fiction to not only sustain itself, but actually grow its audience. There’s an endless supply of great short fiction available on the Internet and eReaders have finally made those stories readable in a comfortable format—no more sitting in front of the computer monitor to enjoy the latest edition of Clarkesworld or Beneath Ceaseless Skies, I can now read them from the comfortable, soothing suds of my bubble bath.

So it’s nice to see more publishers getting on board with digitally distributed short fiction. It’s a bit of a shame that, like Orbit Books, Angry Robot Books is opening the platform only to authors already in their library (as opposed to Tor.com, who is open to submissions from all authors), but it’s a start. Selling them for a fee (even a small fee) is also a concerning given how many publications provide their fiction for free on their websites. Still, the writers of these stories deserve to be paid, and, no doubt, they won’t be supported by ads, sponsors or donations like many of those websites that offer free fiction. I do like the idea of a make-your-own-anthology style bundle and hopefully the small cost means we’ll see eBooks created with proper care and attention to aesthetics, something still lacking in much of the ePublishing world.

Over at Speculative Horizons, James Long is hanging them up and ceding his spot in the race to become the most awesome, money-hatted and influential blogger in the SFF Blogosphere, moving me one step closer to claiming that illustrious title (damn you Wert and Pat!) James leaves the blogosphere to pursue his efforts to become the world’s scariest Sting impersonator.

James Long:

Sting:

Long still has a *ahem* long way to go.

In all seriousness, James has accepted a gig at Orbit Books as their new Editorial Assistant and the blogosphere will soon be a poorer place for his absence. The blogosphere’s bigger than ever, but for my money Long’s Speculative Horizons was king of the hill. He wasn’t the most prolific blogger, nor did he have the largest audience, but I always anticipated his reviews and commentary and often weighed my own blogging endeavours against his blog. We’ve often seen eye-to-eye on most of the major brushfires that’ve swept through our community and our taste in books (not to mention our reading speed!) has always been eerily similar. Always witty, James was able to balance acidic humour with keen criticism, a combination that made him one of the most interesting voices among independent bloggers. I remember when Speculative Horizons first arrived and watching it grow from that infancy has been great fun. In a huge sea of bloggers, there were few I appreciated as much as James Long. Orbit Books is a lucky organization to have him joining their ranks.

Congrats, Long. Now… can you help me find my new favourite blog?