Locus reviews Federations

The May 2009 issue of Locus has two reviews of Federations.

The first, from Gardner Dozois, says: “[Federations is] filled with good solid stuff, and a few stories are a bit better than that.”  Gardner goes on to single out John C. Wright’s story, “Twilight of the Gods,” as the best story in the book.

The other review is from Rich Horton, who says: “Where the book shines is with the original stories, many of which are by quite new writers. … The mix—of  old and new stories, of newer and more established writers, and of tones and styles—is vigorous and impressive.” Horton also offers some nice commentary on a few of the stories, for instance, calling Jeremiah Tolbert’s “The Culture Archivist” “very fine” and saying that it “modulates from an almost Strossian romp to a serious examination of its central issue.”

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Star Trek Smackdown

Come see me debate the merits of science fiction’s best starship captains at the Star Trek Smackdown on May 12 at the Paley Center (formerly known as the Museum for Television and Radio) in New York.

From the Paley Center’s website:

Event: Star Trek Smackdown

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
New York

John Joseph Adams, Editor of anthologies Federations, Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, and The Living Dead
Matt Mitovich, Senior Editor, TVGuide.com
Bones Rodriguez, Author, Captain Kirk’s Guide to Women
Moderated by David Bushman, Curator, Television
Additional panelists to be announced.

O Captain! My Captain! Who’s the greatest leader in the history of science fiction on television? We’re pitting Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek against your choices, based on the results of our Star Trek Smackdown poll. We’re beaming aboard a panel of sci-fi experts to debate the pros and cons of all the leading contenders, but we also want to hear what YOU think, so set your coordinates for the Paley Center and come join the debate.

Bring your tricorders to help you answer some trivia questions to win some DVDs and other special prizes! Costumes welcome!

Tickets include admission to the Paley Center (free to Members, $10 for non-members).

Hope to see you there!

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New Anthology Sale & Anthology Update

I just signed the contracts and mailed them off, so I figure it’s safe to announce this now: I’ll be editing a wizards anthology for Prime Books, scheduled for publication in November 2010. It will be structured like Federations—half reprints, half originals. I’ll be doing an open reading period for the book at some point, which I’ll post about at a later time. So if you’ve been dying to write a wizard story, you can start brainstorming it now.

Since the wizards anthology will consist of originals and reprints, I’ve setup a database to solicit recommendations for the reprints. You can recommend a wizard story, or view the current entries. If you’d like to repost my call for recommendations, the database entry form is here: http://tinyurl.com/jja-wizards-db and the current entries are here: http://tinyurl.com/jja-wizards.

As for my other projects… Federations should be in bookstores in May. I just turned in By Blood We Live (vampire reprint anthology) to Night Shade, and am currently putting the finishing touches on The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes mystery/fantasy reprint anthology). Both of those are due out later this year (August/September).

Next year, what I currently have lined up for release are The Living Dead 2 for Night Shade and this as-yet-unnamed wizards anthology* for Prime.

Farther down the line, with an unset release date is Brave New Worlds (dystopian reprint anthology) for Night Shade, and possibly a few other projects if the stars align properly.

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* If anyone has title suggestions for the wizards book, feel free to offer them up. If someone throws something out there really great and I end up using it, I’ll give you a free copy of the book and praise you in the acknowledgments.

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The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I’m editing a new reprint anthology of Sherlock Holmes fiction for Night Shade Books, which is scheduled for publication this fall. The working title is The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and it will contain tales of both mystery and the fantastic.

As with my past reprint projects, I’ve setup a database to solicit recommendations of Sherlock Holmes fiction. Since the book will include tales of multiple genres, pretty much any story featuring Sherlock Holmes is eligible for consideration.

ETA: The book is done, so recommendations are now closed. Thanks!

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15 Albums Meme

[meme] Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. [/meme]

Okay, from that starting point, I had to just kind of think of albums that influenced the evolution of my musical tastes. Perhaps they were important to me in other ways, but I don’t know that I could come up with *15* albums that changed my life or the way I looked at it. In many cases, these were the first albums that I listened to by the band in question, and often these albums led me down a path toward a different sort of music than I had listened to previously. Admittedly, these are all metal, but they’re different kinds of metal, and each were important, as I said, to the evolution of my musical tastes.

1. Metallica – And Justice For All
2. White Zombie – La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1
3. Pantera – Far Beyond Driven
4. Biohazard – State of the World Address
5. Ultraspank – Ultraspank
6. Spineshank – The Height of Callousness
7. Various Artists – MTV2 Headbanger’s Ball
8. In Flames – Reroute to Remain
9. Dark Tranquillity – Damage Done
10. At the Gates – Slaughter of the Soul
11. Ceremonial Oath – Carpet
12. Trivium – Ember to Inferno
13. Protest the Hero – Kezia
14. Lamb of God – Sacrament
15. Wintersun – Wintersun

[crossposted from Facebook]

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