Check out this uber-cool video for Muse’s "Knights of Cydonia."
I’ve become a bit obsessed with this band since discovering them on Guitar Hero III. And this video’s got it all–it’s a pleasing mash-up of kung-fu, SF, fantasy, and western tropes. It’s got cowboys, laser guns, robots, a unicorn…What more could you ask for? (Okay, well, it would be cool if it all made sense somehow, but come on! It’s a music video!)
BestSF.net has an extensive, story-by-story review of Wastelands, and sums it up: "A very strong collection … there’s an awful lot of good reading to be had."
Quiet Earth also has a nice review, giving the anthology a 9/10 rating, saying "Many of the stories go a long way to challenging our very notion of what PA fiction is. And to me this is the true nature of a great anthology."
In other Wastelands news, Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review has an interview with me. Here’s a snippet:
If you had to live through the aftermath of one of the apocalypses covered in this book which one would it be?
It would have to be the apocalypse depicted in Jerry Oltion’s "Judgment Passed." In that story, it seems like the world was left in pretty decent shape after the apocalypse–no irradiated wastelands or crazed mutants to deal with, no plague to worry about. Also, no angry biker gangs plotting to steal your fuel. On the other hand, it might be a bit lonely, and it might suck if you didn’t get along with any of the few people that you were stuck on the planet with. Or maybe the one in "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth." I mean, if the end of the world comes, and the internet is still working, it couldn’t be all bad, could it?
You may remember me blogging about the cool Wastelands business cards I ordered from OvernightPrints.com. Well, now they’re having another special offer. This time, you can get 100 one-sided postcards for free (you only have to pay for shipping). Enter coupon code FREEPC08 to redeem the offer, which ends February 29.
I haven’t seen the quality of their postcards yet, but as I noted previously, I was quite happy with the business cards. This seems like a great thing to buy to help spread the word about your books at conventions, etc. But a word of caution: resist the temptation to print on both sides of the postcards. I think if you use up all the real estate on the card, people will be much less likely to take them. If, however, you actually leave space on the back to write, people might take them and then use them as postcards, which will then actually market your book to two people instead of one.
New review of Wastelands on the Bison Survival blog. He seemed to like the book, but was annoyed that it didn’t sufficiently focus on the survivalist aspect of life after apocalypse. Which is fair enough–I didn’t put the book together with that being a factor in my mind at all.
My favorite line from the review: "Killers by C. Emshwiller was clever and a great story. Along the lines of ‘femi-Nazis protect town from male hobos.’"