Books Received 12/10/07

0765314894In the Courts of the Crimson Kings
Author: S.M. Stirling

Book Description: In the parallel world first introduced in S. M. Stirling’s The Sky People, aliens terraformed Mars (and Venus) two hundred million years ago, seeding them with life-forms from Earth. Humans didn’t suspect this until the twentieth century, but when the first probes landed on our sister worlds, and found life—intelligent life, at that—things changed with a vengeance. By the year 2000, America, Russia, and the other great powers of Earth are all contending for influence and power amid the newly-discovered inhabitants of our sister planets. | Venus is a primitive world. But on Mars, early hominids evolved civilization earlier than their earthly cousins, driven by the needs of a harsh world growing still harsher as the initial terraforming runs down. Without coal, oil, or uranium, their technology was forced into different paths, and the genetic wizardry of the Crimson Dynasty united a world for more than twenty thousand years. | Now, in a new stand-alone adventure set in this world’s 2000 AD, Jeremy Wainman is an archaeologist who has achieved a lifelong dream; to travel to Mars and explore the dead cities of the Deep Beyond, searching for the secrets of the Kings Beneath the Mountain and the fallen empire they ruled. | Teyud Zha-Zhalt is the Martian mercenary the Terrans hire as guide and captain of the landship Intrepid Traveller. A secret links her to the deadly intrigues of Dvor il-Adazar, the City That Is A Mountain, where the last aging descendant of the Tollamune Emperors clings to the remnants of his power…and secrets that may trace their origin to the enigmatic Ancients, the Lords of Creation who reshaped the Solar System in the time of the dinosaurs. | When these three meet, the foundations of reality will be shaken—from the lost city of Rema-Dza to the courts of the Crimson Kings.

 

1892391554The New Weird
Editors: Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer

Book Description: This avant-garde anthology that presents and defines the New Weird—a hip, stylistic fiction that evokes the gritty exuberance of pulp novels and dime-store comic books—creates a new literature that is entirely unprecedented and utterly compelling. Assembling an array of talent, this collection includes contributions from visionaries Michael Moorcock and China Miéville, modern icon Clive Barker, and audacious new talents Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, and Sarah Monette. An essential snapshot of a vibrant movement in popular fiction, this anthology also features critical writings from authors, theorists, and international editors as well as witty selections from online debates.

 

0765317672Truancy
Author: Isamu Fukui

Book Description: In an alternate world, in a nameless totalitarian city, the autocratic Mayor rules the school system with an iron fist, with the help of his Educators. Fighting against the Mayor and his repressive Educators is a group of former students called the Truancy, whose goal is to take down the system by any means possible—at any cost. | Against this backdrop, fifteen-year-old Tack is just trying to survive. His days are filled with sadistic teachers, unrelenting schoolwork, and indifferent parents. Things start to look up when he meets Umasi, a mysterious boy who runs a lemonade stand in an uninhabited district. | Then someone close to Tack gets killed in the crossfire between the Educators and the Truants, and Tack swears vengeance. To achieve his purpose, he abandons his old life and joins the Truancy. There, he confronts Zyid, an enigmatic leader with his own plans for Tack. But Tack soon finds himself torn between his desire for vengeance and his growing sympathy for the Truants…. | Isamu Fukui wrote Truancy during the summer of his fifteenth year. The author’s purpose is not just to entertain, but to make a statement about the futility of the endless cycle of violence in the world as well as the state of the educational system. And, as he put it, “I need to be in school myself if I want to write about it.”

 

0316068004Black Ships
Author: Jo Graham

Book Description: The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling, to earthquakes, to flood, to raiders on both land and sea. In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings. When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure — to join the remnant of her mother’s people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny. In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

 

1564149560A Wizard’s Bestiary
Author: Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Ash Dekirk

Book Description: Strange beasts of all kinds have crawled, run, swam, and flown through humanity’s imagination and travelers’ tales since the dawn of time. From Gryphons and Unicorns, to Dragons, Mermaids, and even more bizarre and fantastical animals, A Wizard’s Bestiary takes you on a magical journey through the ages and around the world, to discover elusive creatures of myth and legend. Beware–here be Monsters!

 

imageNorthlanders: Sven the Returned
Author: Brian Wood, Artist: Davide Gianfelice

Book Description: NORTHLANDERS is a series of epic tales following unique individuals during the Viking Age, coming head-to-head with the end of history’s first millennium, struggling to balance the traditions and beliefs of their old ways with the rapidly-changing Europe around them. The first story arc of the series, “Sven the Returned”, tells the story of a 20-something warrior returning to his hometown after a mysterious 10-year absence. Eager to reclaim his vast inheritance, he finds his people enslaved by his brutal and corrupt uncle. Sven must then make his choice:  he can cut and run, or he can stay and fight to free his people and clear his family name.

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Grasping for the Wind reviews The Pirate Issue

Grasping for the Wind has a nice review up of The Pirate Issue. Here’s a snippet:

These ten stories and 1 interview are well written, and were good choices for a speculative fiction magazine’s issue on pirates. The fantasy, horror and/or sci-fi elements were neatly incorporated into the pirate stories. […] John Joseph Adams and the team at Shimmer have put together an enjoyable issue with some creative takes on the topic of piracy. […]  Fulfill[s] the mission of the magazine and provide[s] entertaining reads for the speculative fiction crowd.

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"Mars: A Traveler’s Guide" by Ruth Nestvold

image Ruth Nestvold, whose story “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” appears in the January 2008 issue of F&SF, said in an interview that the story is about a tourist on Mars who is stranded alone after an accident caused by a major dust storm. "The tour guide [is] dead and the rover damaged," Nestvold said. "The only thing the tourist has that is working is the supposedly ‘intelligent’ computer system to try to help him or her figure out a way to survive."

Like most of her stories, this one was brewing for a long time before it came together. "I think the original seed was a lecture Michael Swanwick gave at a workshop I once attended that he called ‘How to Win a Hugo,’" Nestvold said. "The gist of it was to have a character stranded somewhere in the solar system in a desperate situation with next to no options. The character should then solve the problem using science–so base the story on a combination of a ton of research and whatever hand-waving you need to get past the bumps. Of course, this impressed me, especially given the promise Michael made, and it was in the back of my mind for quite a few years before it came together with the idea of telling a story in a series of database entries."

(more…)

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How to Appreciate Death Metal

It’s just a coincidence that my previous post had to do with death metal, but I was just looking up the origin of the term death metal to see when it was first used, and I came across this page on wikiHow called, "How to Appreciate Death Metal":

1. Learn about the history and characteristics of death metal. I bet that it’s more interesting and complex than you thought. Also, learn about all the stereotypes of death metal music and its fans and why they aren’t true at all. They are not all lazy, Satan-worshipping, animal-sacrificing psychos. They are actually normal people with family, friends and complex off-stage personalities.

 

It’s a pretty interesting read, and if you’ve always been baffled about why people listen to death metal, well, go check it out.

Also, see "How to Do Harsh Death Metal Vocals". If you still want to know more after that, there’s always The Zen of Screaming.

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Concert: Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, and DevilDriver

So, I’ve done a number of interesting things lately that I feel I should have blogged about, but haven’t had time to do so, so let me attempt to rectify that.

First, on Nov. 30, I attended a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom featuring Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, and DevilDriver. I’ve been to the Starland Ballroom and the Roseland Ballroom, but never the Hammerstein before, and I can’t help but wonder at the fact that metal shows are being held in a place called a "ballroom." After seeing concerts there, it’s kind of hard to imagine them as ballrooms. The Hammerstein is the nicest of the three, I think, and the best for a concert, at least from my point of view as a 31-year-old who doesn’t want to get kicked in the face in the mosh pit. I sat up in the mezzanine on the advice of a friend, which turned out to be a great idea. There were actually chairs to sit down in, and the balcony gave me a great view of the stage, even though I wasn’t among the first people in line. I even got to sit in the chair for a good deal of the night; once Lamb of God came on stage (the third band to do so), it was pretty much standing from there on out (because everyone in front of me was standing).

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m a huge fan of all four of these bands, so it was a rare treat to see them all at one show–there was no "filler" bands I had to sit through in order to get to the main event. I thought all four bands played really well live; of all of them, I thought Soilwork had the best overall set, mainly because all of the songs they played were ones I’m particularly fond of, and they didn’t do a lot (or any, as I recall) of that annoying "make the audience sing the lyrics" bullshit. (Mostly they played stuff off their most recent album, Sworn to a Great Divide.)

DevilDriver annoyed me a bit by playing several songs off their first album, which I don’t really like, and completely neglected their second album, which is great (with most of the songs coming from their most recent third album, which is also really good). I wasn’t sure how good they’d be live, as before their third album came out, they’d released a live recording of one of the tracks on their MySpace page, and it was really terrible. The song itself is great, but that recording? Man, I don’t know what they were thinking, the quality was just abysmal. But turns out they do sound really good live.

Similarly, I felt like Lamb of God played too much of their older stuff, which I think most of the fans enjoyed, but as with DevilDriver, I’m not as fond of their older stuff. To me, their most recent album, Sacrament, is pure genius, whereas their other albums I can appreciate for the craft, but I don’t really enjoy listening to them. (However, I’ve enjoyed their older stuff live more than I do on CD.) As is the case when I saw them the first time, by far their best live song–and their best song period–is the great "Blacken the Cursed Sun." Incidentally, LOG is the loudest fucking band I’ve ever seen live. They use a gigantic wall of speakers  on the stage, and I mean wall. To give you an idea of how loud, check this out: Between sets, I was listening to my iPod, and had it up pretty loud to drown out the chattering (and house music) around me. But when the roadies were setting up LOG’s equipment, and they started testing the drums, that first drumbeat scared the crap out of me. I mean, I had my iPod blasting and that drumbeat completely drowned it out. And, you know, the earphones were in my ears.

Killswitch Engage played a lot of older stuff, mixed in with the newer stuff, which was fine with me, as I like pretty much all of their stuff. I didn’t realize how popular they were though; I thought they them and Lamb of God were about equal when it comes to popularity, but it was clearly a Killswitch crowd, based on the sing-along portions of their set (which they did, unfortunately, pretty often–of course, they have a lot of actual clean singing in their songs, rather than screaming, so it makes more sense for them to do it). They closed their set off, with their encore, which was their brilliant cover of "Holy Diver" (originally by Dio). I’d encourage anyone who likes rock or metal to go check out that track on KSE’s MySpace page; it’s really one of the best covers I’ve ever heard–it really captures the essence of the original, yet sounds utterly like a KSE song; they made it their own while retaining all of what made the original so good. I’m glad they ended on that song; it’s a great choice for a closer. It’s odd, though–they have not one but two songs that seem ideal for closing numbers: "Bid Farewell" and "My Last Serenade." Though they didn’t end on either of those, they did play both of them.

Great bands, great venue, great show. If all concerts were that good, I’d go more often.

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HarperTeen Writing Challenge

I can hardly believe I’m posting something I discovered on MySpace, but here goes:

HarperTeen Writing Challenge
Submit Your Writing For A Chance To Win $5000

Submit your writing (a short story, poem, or song) for a chance to win $5000! You’ll get free writing tips from some of the best authors and editors in the business. A panel of HarperTeen judges will select the 10 most original and creative pieces. But it will be up to YOU to decide who wins!
>>Check It Out

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Pirates of the Burning Sea scheduled for open beta

You might recall a SCI FI Wire piece I wrote a while back, about a forthcoming MMORPG called Pirates of the Burning Sea. Well, the game is scheduled to begin its worldwide open beta on Friday, December 7th, "allowing naval captains, freetraders, privateers, and pirates alike to experience first-hand this highly-anticipated online game," according to a press release I received.

From the release:

North American players can sign up for access to the beta through File Planet at www.fileplanet.com. File Planet subscribers will get priority access, with beta opening to all other players within a week.

For European players interested in playing, please go to www.piratesoftheburningsea.com for localized links.

For more information on Pirates of the Burning Sea  log onto www.piratesoftheburningsea.com and for new art assets log onto www.soepress.com

Pirates of the Burning Sea is an MMORPG featuring high seas action and adventure in a bold world of pirates and plunder.  Set against the backdrop of the New World of the 18th Century, players can choose one of three nations – England, France or Spain – or choose the role of a Pirate and battle it out for glory and power.

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