Each novel in the sequence is proof that as a writer, artist and let me just say it: Creative Force, Matthew Stover is unwilling to retread previous paths, he challenges and reinvents himself (and challenges his readers) with each book. “The Acts of Caine,” particularly the first novel Heroes Die is a novel ahead of its time. Stover tackles grimdark themes seen in the work of Mark Lawrence, Kameron Hurley, and Joe Abercrombie – well over a decade before those books were published. His blurring to decimation of the line dividing Science Fiction from Fantasy, though not new at the time, is something few writers were doing in the very late 1990s when Heroes Die first published. This series is one of the great underappreciated sets of books in the genre, but the people who have read all four, by and large, rank them very highly.
A couple of weeks back, I posted my review of Brian Staveley’s second Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, The Providence of Fire:
The most welcome element of The Providence of Fire is the increased “screen time” of Adare, and more importantly, Adare as a character with agency who has an effect on events in the story. She goes through a rebirth as she leaves her city and trudges through muck and gathers a cadre of allies in her hope to take back what is hers by birthright and redeem her family’s name. Although the princess has lived a relatively sheltered life of royalty, she is willing to get dirty to see justice for her family and her people. Along the way she finds herself “taken in” by a harsh woman by the name of Nira, whom Adare comes to trust for the woman’s brutal honesty. There’s a threat of death and violence from Nira much of the time they are together, but as their relationship developed, I found some resonance with how Wesley depicts his life as a prisoner of the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
…
The Providence of Fire marks a “leveling up” in character development/story, a spreading out of the world canvas, a deepening of the plot, and the book is longer by about a hundred pages.
Earlier this week, my review of Rachel Aaron’s Nice Dragons Finish Last, the first installment of her self-published urban fantasy series, Heartstrikers:
Julius Heartstriker is the protagonist here, one of the youngest dragons in a long line of dragons – He is the least like his family, an introvert more concerned with continuing his online education and playing MMPORGs until his mother Bethesda kicks him out and tells him she will kill him unless he starts acting like a real dragon. Bethesda, as one might surmise by this small introduction is not a kind dragon (as is befitting her race), for she excommunicates Julius to DFZ, the Detroit Free Zone sealed in his human form…which is fine since Detroit is the one place where Dragons are not permitted by the Algonquin, Lady of Lake, the magical/supernatural ruler of the domain.
...
I found the world-building here very interesting and fun; the explanation of how magic and supernatural creatures exist in a near future version of our world to have an interesting starting point. A meteor crashed into Canada in 2035, which triggered a powerful surge of forgotten magic into the world, including spirits that had lain dormant for nearly one thousand years. The action of the novel takes place 60 years after magic’s return, so there is a status quo and a generation of people who have known only a world with magic. So even though this novel reads primarily as an urban fantasy, there are also hints of post-apocalypse in that the world has been changed by a cataclysmic event.
Last but not least, blogger Stuart (SC) Flynn interviewed me for his blog, as a part of his series of interviews with reviewers, podcasters and bloggers.
This post may come off as a pedantic rant with an air of entitlement.
As an SFF book reviewer/blogger, I wasn’t sure whether or not I should write about this issue. However, I’ve communicated with a few of my peers in the SFF reviewing community about the issue and I know I’m not the only person to be frustrated by this position/situation.
We book reviewers are accustomed to ARCs being formatted differently than the final book, but this usually comes down to a generic cover and lower paper quality used in the manufacture of the ARC. For the most part (in my experience), nearly every physical Advance Reader Copy I’ve received passes snuff as a better than decent readable copy. In other words, aside from the often boilerplate cover, the book could very easily rest on a bookstore’s bookshelf. To the strongest extreme, the ARC I was sent for Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings looked better from a finished standpoint than some published books I own.
Electronic Advance Reader Copies, well, that’s a different kettle of fish. To put it mildly, formatting on the files for some of these books is not up to the same level as many physical ARCs I’ve read and received. This should be a simple thing, to just to layout the text in a readable file, right? Not so. I realize I spent a decent portion of my career proofreading, formatting, and line editing text so my eye for such things may be more sensitive than most. Or to use one word, you might say I can be pedantic. However, for a decent number of eARCs I’ve received, the text formatting looks like a seven year old got a hold of the file and formatted the text like a serial killer’s ransom note. eARCs like this have paragraphs broken at irregular intervals, letters in the middle of words are capitalized, while other instances proper names or the first word of a sentence are not capitalized. I’ve got more than one electronic ARC wherein the formatting looks something like the text below, which I’ve pulled from my Derek Jeter post on Monday:
I have been a fan of the New York Yankees my entire
life, I may
have been three yEars old when my paRents took me to my first
game and
I recall going to
Helmet
day
during a
very rainy day as one of my first bASeball memories
and memories overall. if I was tHrEe years old, then that puts
my first Yankees game in 1978, when they were in the midst of their second Championship season in a row.
it was a loNg time before they would return to the
World
Series
and win it in 1996, the intervening years were not that great, to put it mildly. there were some highlights, for sure. dave righetti’s no-hitter against the Boston reD sOx
If publishers want reviewers to read their eARCS, then the publishers need to make the product they are offering to us not give rise to migraine headaches due to the formatting. What is surprising is that a recent eARC I read (or tried to read) was from the publisher whose parent company makes the leading eBook device. I think this specific book may have been a one-time blip because other eARCs I have from this publisher are just fine. But other publishers, a couple of them with a significant place in the SFF market, have the formatting problem I’ve highlighted on multiple books.
When publishers make this awful, painful formatting their feature rather than a blip on the radar, my decision on which book to read becomes all the easier. I won’t request eARCs or read books from the publisher in electronic format any longer when multiple files I’ve had are that painful for me to read.
I won’t go into too much of a side rant about reading PDFs on my kindle except to say that I have to zoom into every single page in order to read the file. So no more PDF eARCs for me.
I realize I might be doing a disservice to the author by using the file formatting as one of my criteria to eliminate their book from my reading queue. In the end, though isn’t it incumbent on the publisher to make that connection between author and reader as few barriers as possible?
With that negativity pointed out, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, Angry Robot Books as a publisher whose eARCs are usually the best formatted and most readable files I get as a reviewer.
Any other reviewer/bloggers experience this “ransom note format” issue and if so, have you contacted the publisher or gone the passive aggressive route I’ve so glibly outlined above?
It has been an interesting week, from my perspective in the SFF online community.
On Tuesday, I made my second podcast appearance, this time on The Functional Nerds. John Anealio is a fellow NJ SFF fan and he and I drove into NYC for a couple of Tor.com events over the past year. Since we both live in NJ, we've been trying to get some NJ-based gatherings together since there seems to be quite a few of us in the great Garden State. He, Ed Lazellari (author of Awakenings and The Lost Prince) and I got together a couple of weeks ago and John (and his co-conspirator Patrick Hester) decided to invite me onto the podcast. So, go listen to me talk about The Strain, Guardians of the Galaxy, and how I came to be involved in the online genre community
Playing on that theme of "live" interaction with the genre community, Tor.com had a launch party for the new Tor.com Imprint headed up by Lee Harris and Irene Gallo on Wednesday. It was a great event where I finally had the opportunity to meet some folks with whom I interact on twitter and elsewhere intarwebs like Richard Shealy (@SheckyX on twitter), spelling bee champion Max Gladstone, Thea James of the The Book Smugglers (we both choke up at about the same point in reading Memory, Sorrow and Thorn), Marty Cahill (@McFlyCahill90) and the legendary (in his own mind) Justin Landon. Yes he is a tall dude, we are nearly the same height so we literally did see eye to eye. (Seriously, though his Rocket Talk podcast for Tor.com is MUST listen for any genre fan).
Photo courtesy of Irene Gallo
It was also great chatting with my Tor.com editor Bridget McGovern, Orbit editor Devi Pillai, Orbit PR sorceress Ellen Wright, Myke Cole, DAW editor Joshua Starr, Lee Harris, Irene Gallo, and quite a few other folks. What was coolest, from the point of view of my own ego, was that a few people knew my name, and people I didn't know too well or interact with much online recognized my name.
The great Robert Jackson Bennett provided SFFWorld a guest post this week on the subject of secondary world fantasy:
Lastly, I posted my review of Shattered Pillars, the second book of Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky Trilogy. While I recognize all the great things about the book, I wasn't connected with the narrative through the whole thing. That said, she's doing some very interesting things in the book and series.
What Elizabeth Bear does in Shattered Pillars is broaden the global canvas of her world, adding depth to a world that already had a rich and authentic feel. Not only does Bear expand on the gods and world, she introduces new concepts of divinity and power foreign even to the characters we’ve already met. In part, Shattered Pillars can be seen as a travelogue through this beautifully created world. In other words, the world is a fully realized character in and of itself....But…and I hate adding buts into these things, but I must. For all of the splendor on the pages of Shattered Pillars, I found myself not connecting with the narrative or the characters as much as I would have liked. I felt a distance between me as the reader and the story on the pages. Perhaps because it was just over two years since I read Range of Ghosts, perhaps something else. I recognize what a solid piece of fiction Shattered Pillars is, but I had my problems staying intimately invested in the novel.
I’ve attended one author signing, George R.R. Martin’s signing for A Dance with Dragons, worked Book Expo America a couple of times and hamet and had Peter V. Brett and Myke Cole sign things for me at NY Comic-Con.
Rear: Me, Bob S, Brandon, Drew; Front: Phil, SaraJane, Harriet, Paul, and Ash
The Brandon Sanderson signing in the Philadelphia Library on February 19, 2013; however, was a bit different. I was one of the helpers, designated as a Memory Keeper whereby seven people in total helped to keep the line of fans (approximately 300-400) entertained; take photos of fans with Brandon and Harriet; and to help with the shuffling of books between Brandon and Harriet when the books were signed.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? The event began for me at about 5:15 when I met three of the other seven Memory Keepers (Paul, Phil, and SaraJane) at the Library and proceeded to a nice restaurant close to the Library where we chatted over dinner. Paul, Phil, and Sara-Jane were as enthused as I was. Phil brought several pieces of memorabilia (Wheel of Time playing cards most of which have really great art although the rendition of Rand makes him look like the lead singer of a 1980s hair-metal band, a poster of one of the cards) which we exchanged over dinner.
As is often the case when people like us get together, the discussion strayed a bit and of course it landed on A Song of Ice and Fire and the Game of Thrones show on HBO as well as other authors we enjoyed. As dinner was winding down, Drew, the fifth Memory Keeper arrived. Me being a NJ Devils fan, I of course made sure I wore my NJ Devils hoodie and Drew, a fan of the rival Philadelphia Flyers, had kind words for me (i.e. not kind), but he then joined in with our discussion of A Memory of Light and similar reading tastes (George R.R. Martin, Terry Brooks, Joe Abercrombie and I kept mentioning Peter V. Brett and Myke Cole as authors they should be reading) and hashed out who are favorite WoT characters were. Discussion focused quite a bit on The Last Battle
Phil, Me, Paul & Sara Jane
Dinner concluded and we headed back to the library and donned our red Memory Keepers t-shirts, met up with the remaining Memory Keepers (Bob S. and Ash) and set about our tasks. Initially, we just sort of walked the line of people waiting to go into the auditorium in the library's basement. Phil took photos and helped to herd people into the auditorium, which was eventually filled with some folks standing in the rear. Prior to Brandon and Harriet arriving, I had the opportunity to speak with Joshua Bilmes and Jessie Cammack of JABberwocky Literary Agency, who represents Brandon as well as great authors like Peter V. Brett, Jack Campbell, Myke Cole, David Louis Edelman, Jim Hines, Elizabeth Moon, and T.C. McCarthy among many others. Memory Keeper Paul and I discussed with them some of their clients a. We also discussed the Composite Superman of an author Peter Brent Weeks and the event in general.
Brandon and Harriet arrived after their dinner with the library staff. Brandon apologized for his voice because he’d be sucking on cough drops because, well, he’s been touring and his throat was sore from all the talking at this late stage of the tour. He recounted the story of his introduction to The Wheel of Time and fantasy in general. Brandon told the story (which I’m sure he’s recounted at many of these signings and many interviews) of how Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly (a terrific novel recently re-released by Open Road Media in eBook) was gently forced upon him by his teacher named Mrs. Reader and Brandon was hooked on fantasy. Realizing he liked big books, he found The Eye of the World at his local comic/book/Magic store and was happy to finally have a series that was ‘his’ to share with his friends who were always sharing ‘their’ series with him. When Brandon mentioned submitting his novels for publication, the one novel he submitted directly to Tor rather than through his agent was his first published novel Elantris. Brandon recounted how he didn’t let Joshua (his agent) do his job and negotiate because he wanted to be published by Tor, specifically because they published The Wheel of Time. In 2005 Elantris was published.
Harriet joined in the storytelling when it came to the point where Brandon was offered the gig to finish writing the series
Two natural storytellers keeping the crowd entertained
Harriet also told of how she realized Brandon would be "The Guy" (or as I've sometimes thought, the proverbial Rand Al'Thor tapped on the shoulder by the creator to take up the tale). She also relayed her conversation with Tom Doherty, after being handed a printout of Brandon’s eulogy for Robert Jordan. Doherty was concerned that maybe Harriet didn’t connect with Brandon’s writing because Harriet fell asleep after reading a small portion of Mistborn: The Final Empire. Harriet said because she didn’t want to (a) correct everything in the book due to her Editor’s mindset or (b) throw the book across the room in frustration, she felt comfortable with the story he was telling. She also told Doherty, “Besides, I’m not hiring him to write a Mistborn novel, I’m hiring him to write a Wheel of Time novel.”
Harriet mentioned that when she called information for Provo, Utah, she was given Brandon Sanderson’s phone number, but the person with whom she spoke on the phone had no idea about what she was talking. As it turned out, another Brandon Sanderson lives in Provo, UT but he’s a professional wrestler. When she called Brandon, she told him he was on the short list and held up one finger for the audience. Brandon, after thinking about it, said yes. Again, he didn’t let Joshua do any negotiating, Brandon simply said yes.
Another humorous anecdote involved the many, many, many files Robert Jordan kept regarding The Wheel of Time. Brandon was determined to get a word count of all the notes so he assembled all the word documents into one file. If I recall correctly, Brandon mentioned the page count was at 32,000 pages in his final document when he clicked the word count button. Word stopped at (IIRC) 5 million words and it wasn’t done counting. Word and his PC summarily crashed.
The Q&A session then began, much of which involved questions about The Wheel of Time and Brandon’s experience working in it. He also noted that the second Stormlight Archivebook is tentatively set for the fall/November 2013, and he hopes he can make that date.
When a fan asked about the Outrigger novels and Prequels, Harriet answered “No.” After a moment of silence, she recounted that while Jim very much wanted the mainline Wheel of Time series to be finished, he didn’t want anybody making up things in his sandbox. Jordan’s extensive notes, dictated and written, were the framework for the final three novels while three sentences at most constitute the Outrigger and prequel novels.
When asked why Brandon didn’t write the second Stormlight novel between Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light he indicated writing The Way of Kings simultaneously with The Wheel of Time nearly drove him crazy. (Personal note, it is amazing that he produced two quality novels under that type of pressure.)
Brandon also indicated that he felt selfish about asking if he could create a new character or work with a character which was mostly his own creation for the books. Harriet immediately shushed him for hinting that he was selfish for thinking such a thing, then Brandon continued to tell of the creation of Androl, which allowed him to play with the magic in ways he’d hoped (fannishly) to explore (i.e. Portals). Harriet also provided Brandon with a folder about how leathermaking works in Randland which was perfectly timed to provide Androl with more depth as a character.
The Encyclopedia came up in the discussion as potentially publishing next year. Harriet indicated that this “wouldn’t be just another version of the Big White Book.” It would be an encyclopedia in the truest sense of the word and would likely include some of Jordan’s vast stores of notes. Once the manuscript is finished, it will go off to Tor and illustrating will begin. Unlike the rushed (to be kind) illustrations in the Big White Book, more time will be allowed for the illustrations. No illustrator name was given, so it wasn’t clear if they had one under contract already, if they would have only one illustrator for the entire volume, or if multiple illustrators would be commissioned. Personally, I can see both sides, having one artist’s vision for things in Randland would provide a unified vision versus the chance to see a lot of artists take on things in Randland.
A few more specific questions were asked about things like Asha’man, one person noted that he’d been with his wife for “five books,” another mentioned that she hadn’t read The Wheel of Time and was more of a Brandon Sanderson fan but started The Eye of the World once A Memory of Light published and was really enjoying it.
Questions were asked about the difference between editing Jordan and editing Brandon. Harriet responded that it worked well and Brandon’s insightful answer was that it was not as problematic as one might think. Specifically, Harriet knows more about the characters and world of The Wheel of Time than anybody in the world, so Brandon felt that freed him up a bit in order to flow through the story more easily. After the Q&A/Discussion concluded, everybody headed upstairs to the main foyer of the library for the signing.
Whoo boy.
A small portion of the line.
The line wended its way down a hall, around bookcases and finally outside of the library and around the side of the building. I believe approximately 400 people were on line at one point, with many of them holding onto their minimum 3 items. Brandon would sign only the final three Wheel of Time novels (and none of the ones he didn’t co-author), any of his own novels, and whatever assorted Wheel of Time miscellany (such as the poster one of the Memory Keepers brought). Harriet would sign and Wheel of Time novel or memorabilia and Ender’s Game which she edited. I did not know she edited that novel.
My role at this point was to take pictures of people with Brandon and/or Harriet on fan’s own cameras/devices. Point of information, the camera on the iPhone is FAR superior to the camera on Android devices. Phil was handling overall photo events, and Bob was handling the video. SaraJane sat between Brandon and Harriet preparing the books for Harriet after Brandon’s signature. Drew, Paul, and Ash helped to entertain the crowd/line with Wheel of Time trivia which resulted in people walking away with messenger bags and/or iPhone cases emblazoned with the WOT logo, author’s names and A Memory of Light. Towards the end as the line became more bunched up at the signing table, Paul stepped up and helped to take some photos.
Although I was taking some pictures during the signing, I was able to point my ears into some of the conversations between Brandon and the fans.
First and foremost, Brandon is an awesome person.
He first thanked people for coming, then asked if they had any questions for him. Never once did he rush anybody or shush them. For fans who mentioned they were writers themselves, he offered words of encouragement.
One great bit of information I overheard was the next Mistborn novel would be published in 2014. Brandon also mentioned (and I tried to filter this through all the other discussions circulating) that Hoid would be the main character (I think) of the trilogy or that Hoid would feature as the main character in another trilogy.
I also overheard Brandon say his least favorite Wheel of Time character was Cadsuane, I don’t think he is alone in that. Actually, for I fact I know he isn’t alone because she was probably my least favorite character as well.
One Russian fan brought a Russian edition of Mistborn: The Final Empire to be signed.
Another Bulgarian fan said the Bulgarian translations, which are recent, were done very well.
I spoke to Harriet about the covers in the series, remarking how she indicated when she saw Whelan’s cover for A Memory of Light she said “that is the Rand I have waited to see for twenty years.” Harriet then said how Whelan’s art, though his own style, she felt, was able to mesh with the sensibilities Sweet had always brought to his covers, in particular the landscapes. I asked her what her favorites of the covers were she immediately said The Eye of the World she thought another moment and said she liked The Shadow Rising.
After all the other folks had their books signed it was down to the library staff, Brandon, Harriet, Brandon’s agent Joshua and the seven Memory Keepers. Brandon graciously signed what we brought including my paperback copy of The Way of Kings which quotes my SFFWorld review and calls out my name (!!!).
Still chuffed to see my name in print like that! First time I'm called out by name.
I also had my hardcover copies of Mistborn: The Hero of Ages, A Memory of Light, and Towers of Midnight signed as well as The Alloy of Law signed for one of my wife’s colleagues and paperbacks of Mistborn: The Well of Ascension and Mistborn: The Hero of Ages signed for a friend who was unable to attend.
My SFFWorld review of The Well of Ascencion is on the back flap
So, a long night, but one of the best nights I’ve had as a fan and a reader. It was a blast meeting and chatting with Harriet and Brandon, as well as his agent Joshua and great to get to know some other Wheel of Time fans in real life. A big thanks to the folks at Tor books, Brandon, Robert Jordan, Harriet McDougal and the folks at Dragonmount for making this night possible
I was going to respond to Larry’s post about the Hugo Awards, but I figured I’d just write up a blog post myself. I already made some brief comments on Justin's excellent blog post (and really, I’m sure many of the folks who read my blog read his blog, but if you aren’t go right now add it to your blog roll or RSS Feed). So I might as well join the fun and run down my thoughts on the just released Hugo Nominations even if I didn’t plunk down the $50 just to vote. I'm sort of in tune with the voters this time 'round, at least in terms of what I read compared to what made the short list. The last time I read as many as four out of the five (like this year’s list) was 2009 whose novel short list follows: Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross, and Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi.
Having written that, here's the rundown of the 2012 Hugo Awards (courtesy of Tor.com). I’ll comment on each category, at least briefly:
Among Others was a great book and when I read it, I predicted it would at the very least make a few short lists. I think it has a very good chance of winning the Hugo. The novel hits a lot of good nostalgic notes, the protagonist has a wonderfully engaging voice, and like films about films, books about books tend to get critical (i.e. awards) recognition. I’d have no problem with this one winning A Dance With Dragons, though excellent was not as strong as the first three books in the series. Not to damn it with faint praise, but I found it to be far stronger than A Feast for Crows because I enjoyed the book a great deal. However had I nominated, I wouldn't have added this book to the shortlist. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A Dance With Dragons be Martin’s The Departed, though. I am a big fan of Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy (at least the two books thus far). I find the books to be several notches above what might be considered typical Zombie fiction. Both books had me thinking long after I finished them about some of the science involved, about the characters, and how the impact of what the ‘science gone awry’ has drastically changed the world. Many people seem to be down on this book being on the list because it is a middle book of a series, but it can stand on its own. Will it win? I doubt it. Should it win? Not sure. The last Miéville novel I read was Un Lun Dun, which was good and though I enjoyed it and Iron Council, I haven’t felt overly compelled to read more by him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his first true SF novel take away the award. Leviathan Wakes was old-school Space Opera and a novel I thought was a blast. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it wins. However there’ve been some relatively divisive thoughts on the novel. One novel I would have liked to see on the short list is The Kings of Eternity by Eric Brown but I wonder if being a lesser known author (despite publishing novel length fiction for many years) coupled with a relatively small imprint allowed this excellent novel to fly on the radar.
BOTTOM LINE: In the end, I think it comes down to Among Others and A Dance with Dragons Best Novella
Countdown by Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction November/December 2011)
“Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s June 2011)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s September/October 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)
I’ve not read any of these, I tend not to read much short fiction. That said, I see/read nothing but praise for Ken Liu and it’s nice to see Grant get a double nomination for fiction set in a milieu I really enjoy. Best Novelette
“The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s July 2011)
“Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
“Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog December 2011)
“Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)
“What We Found” by Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)
Even shorter fiction that I don’t read. I’m happy to see Paul Cornell nominated since his work in the relaunched DC “New 52” and DC Comics/Vertigo has been very solid. I need to read Charlie Jane Anders’s story and based on everything I’ve seen on the blogoverse/geekly intarwebs the story is as the kids once said “the bee’s knees.” Best Short Story
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld April 2011)
“The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s April/May 2011)
“Movement” by Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s March 2011)
“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi (Tor.com)
Even shorter-shorter fiction I tend not to read. My roll of the dice has John Scalzi or Mike Resnick winning this one. Best Related Work
Jar Jar Binks Must Die… and Other Observations about Science Fiction Movies by Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books)
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson
I’ve listened to a few episodes of Writing Excuses but shouldn’t it be in the fancast category? That said, I expect The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition to win here. Best Graphic Story
Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)
Fables Vol 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)
I consider Fables to consistently be the best monthly comic on the shelves though Locke & Key is quite good, too. I’d be happy to see either of those titles win. Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)
I think if Game of Thrones doesn’t win, there will be some kind of revolt and violence. I haven’t seen Hugo and want to see it. I enjoyed Captain America: The First Avenger but even by superhero movie standards, it was not the strongest superhero film last year (and I doubt I’d put any of them on a shortlist). Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
“The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech,” Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
“The Girl Who Waited” (Doctor Who), written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Community), written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)
Apparently the only SF show on TV is Doctor Who and that seems to be the case for the past few years. I’ll echo other thoughts, why wasn’t an episode of Game of Thrones on this list? Specifically, Baelor? Odd that an acceptance speech would be on this list. If they’re going the sitcom route, what about Big Bang Theory? I know SyFy is chastised quite often, but they produced Eureka which is quite entertaining. I would like to think shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm might get consideration next year. Best Editor, Short Form
John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams
No problems here, between JJA (in addition to Lightspeed) and Strahan I think they’ve published a combined 483 anthologies last year Best Editor, Long Form
Lou Anders
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Lesley Groell
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Betsy Wollheim
Now here’s a MAJOR disconnect but should NOT be construed as a knock to Lou Anders (who I think has done an incredible job with Pyr, keeping up with and ahead of genre trends) or Betsy Wollheim (who publishes some of my very favorite authors) but… Pyr published a lot of good novels in 2011, novels I enjoyed a great deal but none of them made the short list. DAW has no books on the shortlist though is responsible for the juggernaut that is Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear. On the other hand, two Orbit titles are on the Novels short list but none of their editors are on this list of Long Form editors. Best Professional Artist
Dan dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Michael Komarck
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
I feel like at least three artists appear on a rotating basis every year. Don’t get me wrong, I like the work all five of these men have done, but I haven’t seen very many covers from Bob Eggleton while somebody like Raymond Swanland is doing great work and his art appears on many, many books. All that said, I’d love to see John Picacio win here. Best Semiprozine
Apex Magazine edited by Catherynne M. Valente, Lynne M. Thomas, and Jason Sizemore
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed edited by John Joseph Adams
Locus edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney, Kris Dikeman, and Avram Grumer
I never quite understood the term Semiprozine, do the people running these thing get paid only half a normal rate? I read locusmag.com every day and think JJA is doing good stuff with Lightspeed (and hey, look at this, he was nominated for editor short form and the thing he edits on a regular basis was nominated). Other than, I have nothing else to say about this batch. Best Fanzine
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
The Drink Tank edited by James Bacon and Christopher J Garcia
SF Signal is the only one I visit regularly (and before reading this list the only one about which I was aware beside File 770), probably my MUST visit general genre spot on teh intarwebs. I suppose Fanzine means the people running it are fans and don’t get paid.
On a more personal note, I'm wondering if SFFWorld is eligible or how to get it nominated for such an award. SFFWorld has been a very active fan community for the genre for over a decade, we have several official reviewers, and have been publishing between 50 and 75 reviews per year. Best Fan Writer
James Bacon
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
Jim C. Hines
Steven H. Silver
No knock against him, but isn’t Jim C. Hines a professional writer? Aside from him, I’m only familiar with Silver but I'm thinking maybe one of the folks from SF Signal should have received a nod. Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Randall Munroe
Spring Schoenhuth
Maurine Starkey
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne
Not sure about the criteria for this award nor do those names look familiar to me. Best Fancast
The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
SF Signal Podcast, John DeNardo and JP Frantz, produced by Patrick Hester
SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith
SF Signal Podcast is the one I listen to most regularly so that would get my vote although I enjoy SF Squeecast a great deal. John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer WHICH IS NOT A HUGO
Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Karen Lord
Brad R. Torgersen
E. Lily Yu
I’ve not read any of these folks but do know of Lafferty, Leicht, and Lord.
OK, so that's what I've got to say for the moment.
So, as every fan of the genre knows, A Dance with Dragons published on Tuesday. What not many people do know is that it has already become the best selling fiction book of 2011. That's one of the the things George R. R. Martin told the assembled mass of about 1,000 fans at the book signing I attended with my brother-in-law and our friend last night at the Barnes & Noble Union Square in NYC. We arrived at about 2PM, so we were lucky enough to get seats though about 200-250 people were already seated by the time we arrived.
Mr. Martin also informed the crowd, some of whom claimed to have been waiting since 8 AM, of the 13 Emmy nominations Game of Thrones received, including Best Drama, Best Supporting actor for Peter Dinklage, Best director, Best Writing, as well as the other awards. He went on to talk a bit about the delay and indicated he wouldn't be making any promises about deliveries of future novels or adding notes in the back of books telling readers to expect the next book "in about a year." He also said, along these lines, he wants to keep the series to seven and is doing everything he can to stick with 7 books. He won't promise, but thinks it is possible although he reminded us that the series was originally a trilogy.
He spoke of the split between A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, how he thought he had a head start with 500 pages ready for Dance. As we all know, that wasn't quite the case as the final manuscript for Dance turned into 1500 pages with some of those original 500 pages scrapped.
Mr. Martin reminisced about one early signing for A Game of Thrones where the four people in the store walked out after he was announced. He likes signings like last nights just a little bit more than that first signing. Some of the other things he touched upon he'd said in previous interviews and talks, like Tyrion being his favorite character, though he loves all of his literary children, especially when writing that specific character.
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Mr. Martin voiced the frustration of taking six years to write the book and "some of you finished the goddamned book in one day!"
When asked what book he'd recently read that really blew him away he said Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. He of course recused himself by admitting that Daniel Abraham, one half of the author, is a friend.
This was the first real author-specific book signing I attended and it was a bit different than I expected. The people around whom I was sitting, who indicated they were members of the Westeros forum, and I expected to see at least a few people decked out in costumes. What we did see on a lot of people were the shirts from the HBO shop. For my part, I wore the HODOR shirt I had made as part of the team theme my wife, brother-in-law and our friends wore about a month ago for WARRIOR DASH.
I'm the shouting fool with the black cap at the far right throwing up the Metal Horns
Quite a few people commented on my HODOR shirt and even Mr. Martin gave me a HODOR of approval just before signing the glorious tome.
All told, a great evening, despite the horrendous traffic on the NJ Turnpike Extension after exiting the Holland Tunnel.
How important are genre awards? Every year when the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominations are announced, there always seems to be something “wrong” with the list of nominees with a certain segment of the genre reading public. At the very least, discussion of some sort is generated. The Philip K. Dick Award, which has a more specific criteria, doesn’t seem to suffer from that annual “the nominators just don’t get it.”
Aidan has an interesting post, which to be honest, inspired this very post you are reading right now. The thing I agree with the most, perhaps obviously, is Aidan’s point that these awards all but ignore the online community. Something the members of SFFWorld have bemoaned in the past.
The purpose of this post isn’t about any award nominees for this year, but awards in general. I've never voted on any of these three major awards, so I am putting that disclaimer of possible ignorance right up front. The other disclaimer is that this post is VERY stream of conscience.
Here’s the rundown on the three awards alphabetically, for those not in the know:
Nominations are open to members of the current year’s Worldcon and to members of the past year’s Worldcon. The final ballot is open only to members of the current year’s Worldcon. You do not have to attend the Worldcon in order to vote. A special category of Supporting Membership is available for people who wish to vote but cannot afford to attend the convention. Supporting Membership also entitles you to all of the official Worldcon publications for that year, and entitles you to participate in the vote to select the site for the Worldcon to be held two years hence. You can find details of the current Worldcon’s membership rates by following this link.
…
Voting for the Hugos is a two-stage process. In the first stage voters may nominate up to five entries in each category. All nominations carry equal weight. The five entries that get the most nominations in each category go forward to the final ballot. In the final ballot voting is preferential. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference. The system for counting the votes is quite complicated but it is designed to ensure that the winner has support from the majority of voters. There is a full description of the counting procedure here.
…
Generally speaking, works are eligible if they were published in the calendar year preceding the year in which the vote takes place. Some Awards are given for a body of work rather than for a single item, in which case it is all work produced in the calendar year in question that is considered. See the list of Award categories for full details of eligibility rules.
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year. There is no cash prize associated with the award, instead the award itself being a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula with gemstones cut to resemble planets.
All Active and Associate members of SFWA in good standing are eligible to make nominations during the NOMINATION PERIOD.
World Fantasy Award winners are chosen by a panel of judges, which differs every year. Andrew Wheeler was a past judge and blogged extensively about his experience
So, do these awards mean anything to readers? I realize that’s a naïve question, but a certain segment of fandom sees these awards as one of the most important parts of publishing in Speculative Fiction, others think the awards are narrow-minded and don’t really speak to the genre as a whole. Of course the answer is likely somewhere in the middle.
For example, from what I understand of the Hugos, you basically have to pay a not so slim chunk of change just to vote on the awards. I think the Nebula is the same, since you have to be a member of the SFWA. In my opinion, the awards are more or less a barometer of what is going on in Speculative Fiction on a year-to-year basis. With the WFAs, you only have five people really judging the awards, from what I can see, so that’s something of a narrow view. Conversely, those five people change every year, so the flavor of the voting could change every year, which is interesting.
In terms of awards upon which anybody can cast their vote, the Locus Awards are probably the longest running and may give a more clear indication of what fandom as a whole is reading. The recently instituted David Gemmell Award, which focuses primarily on Fantasy of the secondary world variety, opens up voting to the entire world. I’ve voted the past few years for both of these awards, the Gemmell especially speaks to my subgenre of preference. Of course, when you open the gates so wide, there’s a chance of vote-loading, much like the MLB All Star game.
This post is by no means exhaustive nor should it be judged for any sense of completeness. Though I’ve been reading SF for over 20 years, I’ve only become heavily involved in the past ten years through SFFWorld, so by no means am I an expert on these, just a fan asking questions.
Feel free to discuss in the comments and let me know where I’m wrong.
Complete the following sentences with book titles that you have read this year. Put the author of the book in parenthesis.
I am: The Stuff of Legend (Mike Raicht, Brian Smith & Charles Paul Wilson III) I will never be: By Heresies Distressed (David Weber) I fear: Neverland(Douglas Clegg) My best friend is: The Dragon Reborn (Robert Jordan) What’s the weather like?Cold Magic (Kate Elliott) Best Advice: No Doors, No Windows (Joe Schreiber) I’ve never been to: Elegy Beach (Steven R. Boyett) Favorite form of transport: Jump Gate Twist (Mark L. Van Name) I’ll never fit in at: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (N.K. Jemisin) How I’d like to die: With the Old Breed (E.B. Sledge) You and your friends are: Warriors (edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozios) Thought for the day: Bitter Seeds (Ian Tregillis) Your soul’s present condition:Earth Ascendant (Sean Williams)
We did this with the Science Fiction Masterworks and this Fantasy version was knacked specifically from the Mad Hatter. The standard instructions for memes like this is to bold books one has read, italicize books one owns but hasn't read yet, and strikethrough books one violently disagrees with.
The Book of the New Sun, Volume 1: Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe
Time and the Gods - Lord Dunsany
The Worm Ouroboros - E.R. Eddison
Tales of the Dying Earth - Jack Vance
Little, Big - John Crowley (I hated this book, but understand many, many people adore it)
The Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny
Viriconium - M. John Harrison (It isn’t so much that I didn’t like the book, I just felt very meh towards it and don’t get why it is held in such reverence)
The Conan Chronicles, Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle - Robert E. Howard (Read in the Del Rey reprints of the Wandering Star volumes)
The Land of Laughs - Jonathan Carroll
The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea - L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
Lud-in-the-Mist - Hope Mirrlees
The Book of the New Sun, Volume 2: Sword and Citadel - Gene Wolfe
Fevre Dream - George R. R. Martin
Beauty - Sheri S. Tepper
The King of Elfland's Daughter - Lord Dunsany
The Conan Chronicles, Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon - Robert E. Howard (Read in the Del Rey reprints of the Wandering Star volumes)
Elric - Michael Moorcock (Read in both the SFBC omnibus and in the White Wolf Eternal Champion ominbus series)
The First Book of Lankhmar - Fritz Leiber (Read in the SFBC omnibus edition The Three of Swords)
Riddle-Master - Patricia A. McKillip (Read in the Ace omnibus edition)
Time and Again - Jack Finney
Mistress of Mistresses - E.R. Eddison
Gloriana or the Unfulfill'd Queen - Michael Moorcock
The Well of the Unicorn - Fletcher Pratt
The Second Book of Lankhmar - Fritz Leiber
Voice of Our Shadow - Jonathan Carroll
The Emperor of Dreams - Clark Ashton Smith
Lyonesse I: Suldrun's Garden - Jack Vance
Peace - Gene Wolfe
The Dragon Waiting - John M. Ford
Corum: The Prince in the Scarlet Robe - Michael Moorcock (Read in the White Wolf Eternal Champion ominbus series)
Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams - C.L. Moore I read this in an old copy entitled Jirel of Joiry
The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson
The House on the Borderland and Other Novels - William Hope Hodgson
The Drawing of the Dark - Tim Powers (What’s not to love when a major plot element is beer!?)
Lyonesse II and III: The Green Pearl and Madouc - Jack Vance
The History of Runestaff - Michael Moorcock (Perhaps one of, if not my favorite incarnations of Moorcock’s Eternal Champions-Read in the Eternal Champion ominbus series)
A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay
Darker Than You Think - Jack Williamson
The Mabinogion - Evangeline Walton
Three Hearts & Three Lions - Poul Anderson
Grendel - John Gardner
The Iron Dragon's Daughter - Michael Swanwick
WAS - Geoff Ryman
Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
Replay - Ken Grimwood
Sea Kings of Mars and Other Worldly Stories - Leigh Brackett
The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
The Mark of the Beast and Other Fantastical Tales - Rudyard Kipling
Since Adam and Pat are doing it, among others, I figured I might as well do it, too with a couple of disclaimers. The tally is for all the books I’ve read (35), not just those I reviewed (20) and not all are 2010 books. 15 of the books are 2010 books and all the 2010 books (graphic novels excluded) I read were for review.
Usually a glass of water or beer. The type of beer depends on the season, of course. In cooler months, maybe a pint of Guinness or pumpkin in warmer months, maybe a Hoegaarden or summer ale.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
No, not never.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Either a book mark or the promotional/marketing letter included with the book.
Fiction, nonfiction, or both?
Mostly fiction, but occasionally a sports biography, a war book (like the excellent With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge, the basis for HBO’s The Pacific.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I try to read through to the end of a chapter, or one of those double-paragraph breaks – the sub chapter.
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
The only book I every threw across the room in disgust, since I’ve been reviewing, is Sara Douglass’s Hades Daughter. I came close with a couple of others, though.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
If I’m near a computer, I’ll rock a Wiki.
What are you currently reading?
Shadowrise by Tad Williams and Swords and Dark Magic edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders.
What is the last book you bought?
With all the books I get for review for SFFWorld.com, I don’t buy books for myself very often any more. The most recently purchased book is With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge
Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
No more than two at a time. One I will read during my lunch break at work and the other at home.
Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
Any time and everywhere
Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Not really, although from a distance it would seem series since many of the books I’ve been reading are part of a series. I think that’s more a condition of the genre itself, really.
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Matthew Stover’s Acts of Caine, beginning with Heroes Die, George R.R. Martin’s Ice and Fire, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, Joe Abercrombie, Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin
How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)
Haphazardly, at best. I’ve got bookshelves in different rooms in the house, so there’s no real rhyme or reason other than…hmmm, all of my Tad William’s doorstoppers will fit on this shelf in this room, so here they go orI’ll put my first edition A Game of Thrones in the living room bookshelf so all can see it in its Silvery foil glory.
