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The Witch’s Daughter Sweepstakes #2!

Stubby the Rocket — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

It’s time to give you another shot at winning a copy of The Witch’s Daughter! Take a look at an excerpt while you enter — we’ve got eight copies up for grabs and the next winner might be you!

Check below for the rules:

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Watch a Trailer for a Live Action Movie of Thundercats

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

What would a live action Thundercats movie look like? WormyTV took this question quite seriously and created a pretty convincing edit trailer for a Thundercats movie.

There’s a lot of great SFF movies in the mix here, starting with that first shot straight from Masters of the Universe. Indiana Jones, the Riddick series, the X-Men films, Farscape, Galaxy Quest, Star Trek VI, Garfield (for Snarf, obviously), The Lord of the Rings, Troy, and more are all used to great effect.

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and loves kitties but is on the fence about Thundercats.

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Once Upon a Time Special: “7:15 A.M.”

Teresa Jusino — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

While Grimm took a break, Once Upon a Time moved ahead with a new episode that focused on the ever-complicated relationship between Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas). In it, Mary Margaret reveals that she sits at the coffee shop every morning at 7:15AM, because she knows that’s when David comes in to pick up coffee for himself and his wife, and she cherishes this brief contact with him every morning. The thing is, he’s there at 7:15AM every morning, because he’s hoping to see her. After an emotional moment they shared in a cabin in the woods, and a pregnancy scare from Kathryn (Anastasia Griffith), they succumb to their feelings for each other.

Ruh-roh!

[I can’t get him out of my head...]

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No One Teenager Should Have All That Power: Chronicle

Danny Bowes — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The idea of constructing a movie out of what purports to be — but isn’t — found footage is not necessarily a bad one. The “found footage” conceit lends a level of hyper-naturalism, a kind of camera phone-captured really really real life, in theory. That it’s been used so often for horror and SF movies recently makes a degree of sense as well, as suspension of disbelief is a concern in both genres. Inevitably, there’s a point at which it becomes almost impossible to sustain the conceit — usually toward the end of the second act and in the third — but with Chronicle, writer Max (son of John) Landis and director Josh Trank have made a good enough movie that, when the found footage conceit occasionally falls apart, in the end it doesn’t really matter.

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Why Zardoz Isn’t the Kitsch Disaster You Think It Is

Ryan Britt — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

For many, the mere mention of John Boorman’s 1974 film Zardoz, immediately calls to mind an image of a mustachioed Sean Connery clad only in thigh-high leather boots, bandoliers, and a pair of trunks that resemble diapers. Since Boorman’s previous film was the highly acclaimed horror/thriller Deliverance, this visage of Connery might make you think Boorman continued to frighten audiences; but now chose to have the horror conveyed exclusively via costume design. Not that Connery’s body is the only flesh on display in Zardoz. In fact, just writing about all the gratuitous female topless scenes in this movie makes me think my sentences are NSFW.

And yet, despite being accidentally funny, visually preposterous, borderline offensive, and a host of other cinematic crimes, Zardoz is not intentionally kitsch or cheesy. Instead, it’s trying to be a very earnest, very arty science fiction movie, which on paper might have actually been okay. Except, of course, that it wasn’t. It’s not that Zardoz is simply a bad movie. It’s just hard to believe that it even exists.

[Spoilers from 1974 head!]

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The Great Alan Moore Reread: Swamp Thing, Part 3

Tim Callahan — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Tor.com comics blogger Tim Callahan has dedicated the next twelve months to a reread of all of the major Alan Moore comics (and plenty of minor ones as well). Each week he will provide commentary on what he’s been reading. Welcome to the 15th installment.

By now, you know the deal: I’m talking about Alan Moore’s seminal run on Swamp Thing, circa 1984-1987. Two weeks ago, I responded to Alan Moore’s opening few arcs on the series, and last week we read about all kinds of evil, political messaging, and the impending crisis. Or Crisis! As in, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC maxi-series that paired the complex multiversal history of the company down to a single Earth, a single reality, and almost-sort-of-kind-of rebooted everything in its wake, mid-1980s-style.

DC history was a flawed contradictory beast, pre-Crisis, and the “streamlined” DCU that followed wasn’t any better, really, even if it seemed that way at the time. A series of other kinds of crises followed over the next couple of decades, from Zero Hour to Infinite Crisis to Final Crisis to the most recent DC reboot in the fall of last year. Perhaps you heard about that?

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Love is a Path Marked With Bloody Footprints

Alyx Dellamonica — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

It’s almost impossible to look at Angel in the first year of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and not think of everything that awaits him in the second, and beyond. There’s the big, obvious, unforgettable stuff, of course, the events of “Surprise,” “Innocence,” and of course “Becoming.” But it’s little things too: in “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date,” Cordelia gets her first sighting of the Broodiest Vamp Ever. For seasoned fans, this whisper of an encounter brings up so many memories, calling up the whole story of Angel and Cordelia and their peculiar evil-fighting partnership.

Big things happen to Angel in his opening year in Sunnydale—that much is indisputable. He meet the Slayer, falls for her, and comes out to her as a vampire. He sacrifices Darla, gains Buffy’s acceptance and... well, other than that, he spends a lot of time avoiding her, actually.

It’s too painful, he says, by way of an excuse, to be around Buffy.

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How to Succeed in Haunting Without Really Trying: The Woman in Black

Ryan Britt — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

To call The Woman in Black a Daniel Radcliffe vehicle would be akin to that old SNL Wayne’s World bit in which Garth praises every small container with the phrase “you could put your weed in there.” Just because we’re used to the image of this scrappy English guy wielding a lantern/candle/wand while crossing paths with spooks or demons, doesn’t mean he must do such things for the rest of his career. With his first post-Potter outing, Radcliffe lands himself in the middle of a haunted house disguised as a movie. The haunted house part works. The movie doesn’t.

[Read more. Spoilers!]

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John Christopher, 1922-2012

Jo Walton — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0000

I was sad to hear that John Christopher (Christopher Samuel Youd) died this weekend at the age of eighty-nine. He was best known for his cosy catastrophe novels, especially The Death of Grass (1956) and for his YA “Tripods” trilogy (1967-8, prequel 1988), set in a world where aliens much like Wells’s Martians have conquered Earth. I never met him, but I’ve been reading him since I was ten years old, and I can quote Beyond the Burning Lands (1972) the way some people quote Pilgrim’s Progress.

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Changing Metaphors: On I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

Brit Mandelo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

For the first time, I recently watched the film I Walked With a Zombie, an oft-discussed 1943 “B-movie” directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. (If those names sound at all familiar, it’s because the cult-classic horror film Cat People came from the same creative team.) The movie stars Frances Dee, Tom Conway, and James Ellison; these three play, respectively, nurse Betsy Connell, sugar-cane plantation owner Paul Holland, and Holland’s half-brother, Wesley Rand.

Possibly what makes the film so odd is that it’s a reinterpretation of Jane Eyre, mixed with Haitian folklore and commentaries on slavery, teetering precariously between exoticism and realism. For a 1943 film, it’s less wildly offensive than I had expected it would be, though it’s hardly free of racist implications; it is trying to comment seriously on exploitation, slavery, and race, though it falls down on the job regularly and severely.

[A set of thoughts.]

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A Read of the Dark Tower: Constant Reader Tackles The Waste Lands, “Jake: Fear in a Handful of Dust”: Door and Demon, Sections 21-32

Suzanne Johnson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water.
—From T.S. Eliot’s “The Wastelands”

Welcome to A Read of the Dark Tower series. Join me each week as I, Constant Reader, tackle the magnum opus of Stephen King’s career for the first time. If you want to discuss in general terms or talk about these first sections, join me by commenting here.

We last left Jake heading for a date with Eddie in his world, and Eddie, Roland, and Susannah rushing for their assigned place in Ro’s world.

[Read this week’s post]

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Touchstone (Excerpt)

Melanie Rawn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

You’ve entered the sweepstakes, but you need something a little more substantial — take a look at this excerpt from Melania Rawn’s new fantasy novel, Touchstone, out on February 28:

Cayden Silversun is part Elven, part Fae, part human Wizard—and all rebel. His aristocratic mother would have him follow his father to the Royal Court, to make a high society living off the scraps of kings. But Cade lives and breathes for the theater, and he’s good—very, very good. With his company, he’ll enter the highest reaches of society and power, as an honored artist—or die trying. Cade combines the talents of Merlin, Shakespeare, and John Lennon: a wholly charming character in a remarkably original fantasy world created by a mistress of the art.

Although Touchstone can stand alone, it is the first book of a brilliant, utterly engaging new fantasy series from the author of the bestselling Dragon Prince series.

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Morning Roundup: You Can Now Wield a Lightsaber in Skyrim

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Monday! Though winter has decided to stay longer because a certain groundhog was manipulated by Moriarty into revealing a cerain shadow, it doesn’t mean everything is terrible. Proof? The Avengers are assembling this second! Check out this sample exchange between a fan and Samuel L. Jackson during the recent Avengers Twitter Chat:

Fan: How much of your portrayal is based on comics Nick Fury and how much of Nick Fury is based on you?
Samuel L: There’s a lot of Nick Fury in me already

And as you peruse today’s assortment of offsite links, we invite each of you to search for your own personal Nick Fury, Thor, Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, Bruce Banner, Hawkeye, or Nanny McPhee, buried deep, deep inside your heart.

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New Extended Avengers Trailer Shows the Whole Team in Action

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:51:00 +0000

The new Avengers trailer debuted during this year’s Superbowl and it’s the first to give us some lovely, lingering shots from the film. Marvel Studios has put an extended version on Facebook (embedded above) that features the movie’s villain and their footsoldiers, along with a great one-liner AND intense action sequence with Tony Stark.

Stubby the Rocket is just going to admit it. It’s Iron Man.

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The Scar (Excerpt)

Sergey and Marina Dyachenko — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Enjoy this excerpt from The Scar by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko, out on February 28:

Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.

Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as “The Wanderer” challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.

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Saturday Morning Cartoons: “TV of Tomorrow” and “Watching TV”

René Walling — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

TV of Tomorrow: A look at the future of television back in the early days of the technology. (7:04 minutes)

Watching TV: Another look at television, this one focuses more on the content than the technology. (4:41 minutes)

[Watch the films after the jump]

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Your Weekly Moment of Zen: Samurai Darth Vader

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

You’ve worked hard this week (just go with us on that) and you deserve a reward. Please accept this illustration of a samurai Darth Vader, created by Clinton Felker, as your shepherd into the peaceful waters of the weekend.

Want more Star Wars characters reinterpreted as warriors from Japan’s feudal era? This request can be granted.

[Star Wars feudal art]

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Tempest Sweepstakes!

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:01:00 +0000

Now that you’ve taken a look at that sweet excerpt (and the review as well!) we know that you want a chance to read the book! We’ve got 20 copies for all you fabulous ladies and gents, and we’re ready to give them out to someone who will love them. So take a look below and enter!

Check below for the rules:

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Tempest (Excerpt)

Julie Cross — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Take a look at this excerpt of Tempest by Julie Cross, out from St. Martin’s Press:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

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Liam Neeson & Patrick Stewart in Picard Vs. Qui-Gon Action Figure Smackdown

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:30:00 +0000

This week on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, guests Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson were treated to a contest of their respective action figures, whether they wanted it our not! The deck was clearly stacked in Liam’s favor since we know for a fact that there are some sweet Picard action figures out there which also have the ability to talk. Either way, this clip will make you smile.

Stubby the Rocket is the voice and mascot of Tor.com. Stubby lost a lot of money when betting on that mud-fight between Jean-Luc and his brother.

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Shadow Ops: Control Point (Excerpt)

Myke Cole — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Now that you’ve had a chance to read the review, enjoy this excerpt from Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole, out now from Ace Books!:

Lieutenant Oscar Britton of the Supernatural Operations Corps has been trained to hunt down and take out people possessing magical powers. But when he starts manifesting powers of his own, the SOC revokes Oscar’s government agent status to declare him public enemy number one.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: “Ménage à Troi”

Keith DeCandido — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:30:00 +0000

“Ménage à Troi”
Written by Fred Bronson & Susan Sackett
Directed by Robert Legato
Season 3, Episode 24
Production episode 40273-172
Original air date: May 28, 1990
Stardate: 43930.7

Captain’s Log: The Enterprise is attending a trade agreement conference on Betazed, and hosting an end-of-conference shindig in Ten-Forward, complete with Algolian ceremonial rhythms. The Ferengi were invited for the first time, and one of their delegation, Nibor, loses to Riker at three-dimensional chess. Meanwhile, Tog, the DaiMon of the Ferengi ship, has the hots for Lwaxana Troi. Against the advice of his aide Dr. Farek, Tog approaches Lwaxana, who rips into him, making it clear that a) she’s not for sale and b) if she was for sale, she still wouldn’t allow herself to become his property. Her tirade — which gets the attention of everyone in Ten-Forward, most notably Troi, who looks very much like she wants to throw up — only makes Tog more exhilarated.

[Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?]

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Looking Back on Womack’s Ambient, Cyberpunk, and Elvis Presley’s Vomitous Death

Douglas Lain — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

In order to understand Jack Womack’s first novel Ambient, I want to go back to the future that was the summer of the year 2000.

I’d become somewhat obsessed with an art exhibit; the Walker Art Center’s traveling exhibition of postmodern art entitled Let’s Entertain: Life’s Guilty Pleasures. It ran at the Portland Art Museum from early July through mid-September, and I visited it often, bringing friends and family members back with me and introducing them to Jeff Koon’s penis, Takashi Murakami’s pornographic statue of an anime girl whose giant breasts gushed milk in a frozen action sequence, Dara Birnbaum’s Wonder Woman spin video, and a video reenactment of Elvis Presley’s vomitous death on his toilet. For some reason, I wanted everyone to see these things.

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A Read of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings, Part 5

Leigh Butler — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to A Read of Ice and Fire! Please join me as I read and react, for the very first time, to George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

Today’s entry is Part 5 of A Clash of Kings, in which we cover Chapter 9 (“Arya”), and Chapter 10 (“Davos”).

Previous entries are located in the Index. The only spoilers in the post itself will be for the actual chapters covered and for the chapters previous to them. As for the comments, The Powers That Be at Tor.com have very kindly set up a forum thread for spoilery comments. Any spoileriffic discussion should go there, where I won’t see it. Non-spoiler comments go below, in the comments to the post itself.

And now, the post!

[In addition to terrorizing forest dwellers, I also hear that it’s raised over $1 million in small donations, and if you get this joke I’m fairly impressed]

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Malazan Re-read of the Fallen: Midnight Tides, Chapter Twenty

Bill Capossere — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Malazan Re-read of the Fallen! Every post will start off with a summary of events, followed by reaction and commentary by your hosts Bill and Amanda (with Amanda, new to the series, going first), and finally comments from Tor.com readers. In this article, we’ll cover Chapter Twenty of Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson (MT).

A fair warning before we get started: We’ll be discussing both novel and whole-series themes, narrative arcs that run across the entire series, and foreshadowing. Note: The summary of events will be free of major spoilers and we’re going to try keeping the reader comments the same. A forum thread has been set up for outright Malazan spoiler discussion.

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Melanie Rawn’s Touchstone Sweepstakes!

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Melanie Rawn makes an exciting return to epic fantasy in her new novel Touchstone, out on February 28! But we know you can’t wait. That’s why these 18 ARC copies are going straight to you! Enter to win and you might get lucky. And check back on Monday for a special exclusive excerpt from the book!

Check below for the rules:

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Once Upon a Time Vs. Grimm Ep 9: Daddy Issues

Teresa Jusino — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Sorry for the delay, kids. As there was no new episode of Grimm last week, I decided to hold off on the column and take a break. You understand, don’t you?

In this week of the Battle of the Network Fairy Tale Shows, the characters on Once Upon a Time and Grimm are dealing with some heavy-duty Daddy Issues. On Once Upon a Time, Emma tries to help a homeless brother and sister reunite with their father so that they don’t get lost in the foster care system. That brother and sister? Hansel and Gretel. On Grimm, a man who’s spent his life being mousy under his father’s thumb discovers his true self after his father’s death. The only problem is, the self he discovers is crazy.

[“Family always finds one another...”]

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Bend Over and Chew On This: The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Jason Henninger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Imagine this meeting. Screenwriters Carlton Cuse and Jeffrey Boam pitch a series idea to producers. “An airplane crashes onto a bizarre island,” Cuse says. “There’s science fiction and romance and fantasy and big stunts and ghostly appearances of dead fathers and destiny and time travel and heroes and villains and wise cracking antiheroes and mystery. Or, wait… never mind the island or the airplane. All that stuff, only in the style of light-hearted old western serial adventures.”

“Will there be chairs broken over bad guys’ heads and lots of broken glass?” asks a producer. “And folks tied to railroad tracks? And a smooth talking saloon chanteuse?”

“Sure will,” says Boam. “And a crazy orb that causes super powers. And a hardheaded tracker with a fondness for fine crystal. And the secret origins of Levis, hamburgers and Dunkin Donuts. And a horse who knows Morse Code and plays chess and a mad scientist with goggles and an airship. Trust me, 19^th century scifi is the coming thing!”

[Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam...in the ghetto]

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Morning Roundup: We’re Living in the Lego Hill Valley of the Future

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Friday Morning Roundup saw the Hill Valley of 2015 rebuilt in Lego and all it could think of was how it would fight every last one of you for the chance to live there. But it wouldn’t do that to live in Lego Hilldale. That place is nothing but a breeding ground for Lego tranks, lo-bos, and zipheads.

While we’re questioning the direction our life has taken, you should look at some offsite links detailing:

Hill Valley 2015 in Lego! I mean, does this really need further explanation?
A found poster for a velociraptor.
How to hunt dinosaurs on Venus.

[Read more]

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New John Carter Trailer is Surprisingly Giggle-Worthy

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:30:00 +0000

It looks like Disney has finally realized that no one understands what John Carter is actually about or who it’s for. They just released a featurette that lets us all in on a little secret: the movie’s actually a lot more goofy than they’ve been letting on. Complete with alien confusion over Earth names, plucky princess action and a couple of one-liners, this makes us us feel a little better about how silly the aliens looked in the earlier teasers.

What do you think? Fun or too far?

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Check Out the Locus Recommending Reading List of 2011

Management Services — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Need some recommendations? The Locus Recommended Reading List for 2011 has just been released. This list covers everything from SFF novels to short fiction to art books, and can help you get caught up on anything you might have missed in the last calendar year. Congratulations to everyone and a great big thank you to Locus Online for including some Tor.com stories in the mix!

Macmillan titles in general have a great showing amongst the recommendations. Full list below the cut.

[Titles below]

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Who Wants the Watchmen?

Tim Callahan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:30:00 +0000

Yesterday, DC Entertainment officially announced what has been rumored since last summer: sequels to the landmark Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons Watchmen series. Prequels, actually, bearing the collective banner Before Watchmen.

Neither Alan Moore or Dave Gibbons are involved in the project in any way, with the former taking a firm stance opposing the project and the latter giving a relatively weak endorsement in DC’s press release: “The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”

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Should Groundhog Day Become a Holiday for Time Travel?

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Groundhog Day has always been an odd little day. If the name of the day itself doesn’t make this apparent, imagine explaining it to someone from a foreign country, or an alien. (“It’s, um, this day where we pretend that a big ground squirrel can predict the weather?”) February 2nd has become, like Valentine’s Day or April Fool’s Day, a largely symbolic gesture, in this case representing our desire for winter to conclude.

Since the movie Groundhog Day came out, though, the day has also begun to remind one of the concept of time travel. So, starting with the premise that time travel is inarguably awesome, we wonder... should Groundhog Day become an appreciation of time travel?

[We’re serious!]

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Unicorns Against Nuclear War: A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Mari Ness — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Perhaps dissatisfied with the novels she had written about the children of Meg and Calvin O’Keefe, in 1978 L’Engle again turned to the Murry family for another novel featuring dazzling trips through time and space, this time on the back of a unicorn. A Swiftly Tilting Planet is simultaneously one of L’Engle’s most beautiful and poetic novels, filled with joy and despair, and also one of her most frustrating, a book that both celebrates her earlier books while completely contradicting some of their most important and fiercely argued ethical points. I find myself dazzled and irritated.

[Warning: one of my longer and more ranty posts ahead, with major spoilers for the entire book.]

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Student Film Space Stallions Revives Our Love For Space Horses

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

And out of the mists of the internet came Space Stallions, the most amazing thing we’ve seen all week.

Space Stallions doubles as a school film project from The Animation Workshop and as a cartoon parody of any 80s kids cartoon you can think of. Space horse gods will be questioned. Horse power will be used against the forces of evil. And someone’s sword will turn into a keytar!

Experience the glory of Space Stallions in full by watching the above video. Then visit the Facebook page of the creators to show your appreciation. And try not to yell, “Answer me!” at any horses you see afterwards.

Stubby the Rocket will team up with the Space Stallions any day, any minute, any time.

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New Hunger Games Trailer Focuses on Katniss’s Relationships

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:36:00 +0000

Lionsgate has released a new trailer for The Hunger Games movie adaptation. As opposed to the first trailer, this one focuses more on the emotional connections Katniss has with her sister, Gale, Peeta, and the variety of characters she meets throughout the Hunger Games.

(Also, there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it WALL OF FIRE.) Stick around for Rue’s haunting whistle at the very end.

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and the odds are always ever in its favor. Maybe. Did it say that correctly?

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Bill Murray Makes Any Science Fiction Film Better

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Today, of all days, is a perfect day to reflect on just how much fun it was to experience the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day back when it first came out. Some of us have already made our love for it well known, which got us thinking about the other science fiction movies we’ve seen him in. What resulted was an extensive and varied list of films we all overwhelmingly enjoy and which wouldn’t have reached the heights they did without the presence of Bill Murray.

Seems like science fiction needs Bill Murray. And for a period of his career, Bill Murray really needed science fiction.

[Back off, man. I’m a scientist.]

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Rothfuss Reread: Speculative Summary, Part 9: “That sparked the entire Creation War”: Speculations on the Creation War

Jo Walton — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

We’re half way through our no moon left unturned re-read of Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear, and we’re going to pause here for another speculative summary. After we’ve summed up some of the speculation we’ll be moving on. These posts assume you’ve read all of both books The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, and they are absolutely full of bizarre speculations and spoilers for all of both books. Please don’t go beyond the cut unless you want that!

[Read more: “Once, years and miles away, there was Myr Tariniel”]

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Welcome to the Source: Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

Michael M Jones — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Lieutenant Oscar Britton thinks he has things all figured out. A seasoned Army vet, he’s an expert at assessing the situation and getting results. But that’s before he and his team are tasked with assisting the Supernatural Operations Corps in taking down a pair of rogue Sorcerers, teenagers wielding dangerous and prohibited magical abilities. The situation is resolved, but only with the death of the teens involved, much to Oscar’s frustration and disgust. But the rules are simple: Selfers — those who refuse to use their powers for good, under strict supervision — either go to prison or die. Probes — those manifesting the forbidden schools of magic like Necromancy — simply die. It’s the only way to maintain order when anyone, anywhere, might be capable of controlling the elements, of raising the dead, of summoning elementals, of commanding others to do their bidding. It’s the law, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to like it.

With this incident fresh in mind and the first cracks in his loyalty to the government already showing, Oscar’s entire worldview is devastated when he himself manifests one of the rarest schools of magic: the ability to open gates, to summon creatures from afar and to teleport. And just like that, his career is shot, and his life is over.

[Read more]

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This Star Wars / Mad Men Mash-Up Makes Too Much Sense

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:11:11 +0000

Don Draper = Darth Vader? This Star Wars-ization of the Mad Men intro by Dann Matthews puts the parallels between the two into clear view. Both characters come from nothing and grow to a point where they have everything. Their great struggles are behind them and they don’t know what to do. Don self-medicates to excess. Darth kills indiscriminately and uses the resources of an entire Empire to chase a young farmboy around the galaxy.

See, now we kind of want a Peggy/Leia team-up. Or Roger and Cooper taking the Emperor out to a fancy dinner. Or a whine-off between Pete and Luke.

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and can think of a million more Star Wars/Mad Men crossover pairings.

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Reopening The X-Files: “Aubrey”

Meghan Deans — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Season 2, Episode 12: “Aubrey”
Original Airdate: January 6, 1995

I cannot yet tell you whether or not “Aubrey” is any good. It seems sort of good. I mean some parts really are. But “Aubrey” is also an episode that is sort of a terrible idea: you know how your ancestors did awful things? If you get pregnant (?) you may (??) repeat those things (!?). At its best, this is an episode about breaking the cycle of abuse, so that’s pretty good, except the cycle of abuse sort of involves weak genetic theory and a demon baby, and I’ll tell you guys one thing right now. I’m not a huge fan of demon babies. Though I am okay with weak genetic theory.

[A woman senses these things.]

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Re-living Your Own Life: Ken Grimwood’s Replay

Jo Walton — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Ken Grimwood’s Replay (1986) is the story of a man who dies in 1988 and finds himself back in his youthful body and dorm room of 1963 — over and over and over again. He knows the future, he can change the world, but no matter what he changes he’s going to live through twenty-five years and die on that day and start again. And just when you think you know where the book is going, it starts to get really interesting.

The book isn’t just the one gimmick. Grimwood explores the idea in a proper science fictional way, ringing a lot of variations on it. It’s also brilliantly written — tense, taut, fascinating. It’s a quiet almost pastoral character study as much as anything, but when I’m reading it, I can’t put it down. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation about it that wasn’t on the lines of: "If that happened to me, I’d...” The idea of re-living your own life while relieved from the burden of money worries and uncertainty is very appealing, and this is part of what makes the book so seductive.

[Read more: Spoilers]

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Groundhog Day Is Worth Revisiting, Wouldn’t You Say?

Chris Lough — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

What day is it, again?

Groundhog Day, the 1993 Bill Murray time travel movie, is one of those films that stands the test of time politely. It’s not quite a cult film, with devoted fan bases and a lot of tie-in activities, rather it’s a film that’s more quietly respected. You saw it when it came out (most likely), you found it to be entertaining (again, most likely), it left you wondering what you’d do in the same situation, and you kind of left it at that. Groundhog Day isn’t one of those lost gems of pop culture, it’s more of a pleasant memory.

Nearly twenty years later our hunger for sophisticated and fun time travel fiction is as large as ever, and sated far more often than it was in the early 1990s. So with the uniqueness of the premise somewhat dulled, and without the glaze of nostalgia, does a film like Groundhog Day still hold up?

[This is just the first day of many]

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Morning Roundup: Actual Audio of Lucasfilm Leaving Sanity Behind

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Thursday Morning Roundup is really curious about the process behind making the above “kids featurette” for a movie where someone gets stabbed through the chest and a Gungan genocide is attempted. Someone woke up one morning and thought this was a great idea. Then they spent money doing it.

While we’re jumping through mental hoops, you should look at some offsite links detailing:

How to kill Superman with pad thai.
A renegade boat that is illegally sailing to Antarctica has somehow accidentally kidnapped someone, too.
A card-based nerd marriage proposal.

[Read more]

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Shadows in Flight Sweepstakes!

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:00:00 +0000

The fifth installment of the Ender’s Shadow series is here and we’ve got ten ARC copies for ten lucky people! That’s Shadows in Flight, the latest from Orson Scott Card, and all you have to do is enter.

Check below for the rules:

[Read more]

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Save the Date: Tor.com Leap Day Meet-up!

Stubby the Rocket — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

2012 is shaping up to be a heck of a year, and let’s face it: there’s just no containing the mighty and powerful Year of the Dragon in a mere 365 days. It’s sheer awesomeness demands some extra time to shine, which can only mean one thing: FEBRUARY 29th!!!!!!!!!!

That’s right, folks: it’s Leap Day, and when the Gregorian Calendar drops a shiny, magical 24-hour bonus in our laps, we feel compelled to make the most of it. So, if you’re going to be in or around Manhattan on Wednesday the 29th, please join us for our first official Leap Day Meet-up at Professor Thom’s (219 2nd Avenue between East 13th and 14th Street). The whole Tor.com crew will be at the upstairs bar from 6 through 11 PM, and there should be plenty of snacks, free books and swag onhand, as always. All in all, it should be a fabulous shindig the likes of which may never be seen again…at least for another four years!

Please save the date and come on out (and if you follow Tor.com on Facebook, you can check out the event page and RSVP here). Hope to see you all on the 29th!

Kirk/Spock DJ illustration by Chris Whetzel

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I Wish This Was a Real Legend of Zelda Game

Chris Lough — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The above video is a fan-made trailer made by Joel Furtado for a non-existent Legend of Zelda game titled “The Lost Oracle.” It’s set in the same style (and perhaps the same world) as The Wind Waker and wonderfully evokes the nostalgiac feeling of playing the very first Zelda game. The appeal is so clear that it makes me wonder just why they haven’t redone the game in Wind Waker style. Obviously, from Furtado’s animation, it would be exciting as hell.

Check out more of Furtado’s stuff at his website.

Chris Lough is the production manager of Tor.com and will often raise items completely above his head during social situations.

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Grimjack: An 80s Indie Comic Classic

Rajan Khanna — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Saladin’s post on Fantastically Filmable Indie Comic Books from the 1980s, about overlooked indie comic series, was a wonderful post (and if you haven’t read it, go do so now), but he himself overlooked one of the seminal indie comic series of the late 80s, and my favorite comic series of all time: Grimjack.

Grimjack was the creation of writer John Ostrander and artist Tim Truman first appearing as a backup in First Comic’s Starslayer. It soon proved popular enough to spin off into its own series, lasting 81 issues, though First’s bankruptcy prevented any new material from being published until 2005.

[Read on to see what made this series so great...]

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Are the Images We Take of Outer Space Being Photobombed?

Stubby the Rocket — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Watch this short interview with Brant Widgeon, an Astronomical Image Enhancement Engineer, and get informed about the surprisingly common anomaly (nicknamed “space cats”) that he has to remove from the majority of images we receive from Hubble and other telescopes. You’ll be amazed at what doesn’t make it to the final image, and how widespread this anomaly seems to be. It’s enough to change one’s entire concept of the cosmos.

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and wants to scritch all the widdle heads of all the space cats.

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Wheel of Time Musings: The Eye of the World

Brandon Sanderson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000

I’ve read The Eye of the World so many times now that it’s very difficult to remember what my impressions were the first time. I know where I was when I first saw it, oddly enough. I remember the bookstore, the shelf it was on, and how awesomely big it looked. I don’t remember reading it, though I remember finishing it and being blown away. I was very eager for the second book to come out.

[Read on]

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Malazan Re-read of the Fallen: Midnight Tides, Chapter Nineteen

Amanda Rutter — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:20:00 +0000

[Read more]

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Coming Soon: Some of the Best of Tor.com, a Free Mini Ebook Anthology

Management Services — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:30:00 +0000

We have collected a few of our favorite stories from 2011 and put them together in a mini free ebook, free for downloading. Of course, you can always read the stories for free right here, whenever you’d like, but for those that like to move about Some of the Best of Tor.com 2011 will be available Feb 14th. Kindle readers can pre-order now, it will be available at other retailers on the 14th.

[The list of included stories]

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Barnes and Noble Bookseller’s Picks for February

Management Services — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

For over a decade, Barnes & Noble buyer Jim Killen has been a driving force behind Barnes & Noble’s science fiction and fantasy sections. Each month on Tor.com, Mr. Killen curates a list of science fiction & fantasy titles, sometimes focused on upcoming titles and sometimes focused on a theme.

We just finished exploring Military Science Fiction in January. Now check out the Barnes & Noble science fiction and fantasy picks for February.

[The lists below]

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Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz

Marissa K. Lingen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Presenting a new original story, “Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz,“ by author Marissa K. Lingen, a tale in which children and adults must be taught how to daydream properly; a respite against the never-ending war that rages around them.

My grandmother says all stories begin with a death. My grandfather says with a birth. And Aunt Albert says they’re both wrong, and stories begin with someone not getting what they want.

But no one was born, and no one died, and I got what I wanted, and that is where this story begins.

[Continue reading “Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz”]

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Morning Roundup: All of a Sudden You’re That Guy Attacking People With Lightsabers in a Toys ’R Us

Stubby the Rocket — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup thinks it would be really cool to see the Avengers playing in the Superbowl, but while Cap would be the ultimate QB we’re pretty sure the Hulk would just eat everyone. End of game.

While we play with this nifty gamma-irradiated football we just found, you should look at some offsite links like:

New Avengers footage, with more to come at the Superbowl.
The Klingon homeworld finally gets continents, oceans, and plants!
More free fiction from Cory Doctorow.

[Read more]

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Grand Theft Giant: Giant Thief by David Tallerman

Stefan Raets — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

You know that saying “For want of a nail”? Well, in Easie Damasco’s case, it was for want of a piece of bread, a chunk of fish and some cabbage that the fate of the entire land of Castoval was changed. When Easie is caught pilfering food from the baggage train of the invading warlord Moaradrid’s army, he is summarily pressed into service and assigned to a unit that’s ominously referred to as the “disposables.” Easie has no interest in becoming cannon fodder, and he sort of likes his home land the way it is, sans invading warlords, so he immediately plans to escape.

His ticket out of this predicament proves to be Saltlick, one of the terrifying giants in Moaradrid’s army. The thing is, Easie doesn’t just steal the giant — he also steals a money bag that, without his knowledge, contains the item that allows Moaradrid to control his contingent of giants. This unwitting theft sets off a long chase that will change the face of the Castoval forever...

[Read more]

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Nomansland (Excerpt)

Lesley Hauge — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Out in paperback today, take a look at this excerpt from Nomansland by Lesley Hauge:

Sometime in the future, after widespread devastation, a lonely, windswept island in the north is populated solely by women. Among them is a group of teenage Trackers, expert equestrians and archers, whose job is to protect their shores from the enemy—men. When these girls find a buried house from the distant past, they’re fascinated by the strange objects they find—high-heel shoes, magazines, makeup. What do these mysterious artifacts mean? What must the past have been like for those people? And what will happen to their rigid, Spartan society if people find out what they’ve found?

[Read more]

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We Could Have Been Riding Star Wars Speeder Bikes in the 80s

Stubby the Rocket — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Excuse us for a moment while we lament the utter lack of Star Wars playground equipment from our youthful years while simultaneously thinking of the ridiculous prequel merchandising flood we sneered at in our teens and 20s.

We’re of two minds about this Speeder Bike playground set. On one hand it’s disappointing that Star Wars displayed such a lack of integrity even during the original trilogy. (How many merchandise ideas do you have to go through before you get to playground sets?) On the other hand, we would have wanted this Scout Walker tower so badly that our tiny hearts would have burst from the strain of endless pleading. We want it we want it we WANT IT.

We have Branded in the 80s to thank for digging this ad out of an October 1984 issue of Woman’s Day Magazine. Head on over to their original article to see what other piece of baffling-yet-awesome Star Wars play item they found!

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and is waiting by the phone for the inevitable onslaught of merchandising company offers. Just... waiting.

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A Trip to Greenland and a Dream of Vikings: Nevil Shute’s An Old Captivity

Jo Walton — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

I first read this book when I was much too young for it and it made a huge impression on me. I had no idea at the time that the book wasn’t contemporary — it was published in 1940, and I would have read it in the early seventies. An Old Captivity is on an odd cusp of genre. Most of the book concerns the details of setting up an archaeological expedition to Greenland (in the late thirties). Shute was always interested in technology and planes and flying, and here he makes the seaplane and the photography seem absolutely real. Running alongside that is the archaeology — the Norse settlement of Greenland, the possible Celtic settlement. We learn a lot about these things slowly and in a very science fictional way before the book plunges outright into fantasy with the pilot’s dream of the discovery of Vinland, vindicated, within the novel, by his recognising geography he had never visited and locating a stone carved with runes.

[Read more: not the kind of story where spoilers matter]

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The Wheel of Time Re-read: The Gathering Storm, Part 17

Leigh Butler — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Happy Tuesday, y’all! Welcome back to the Wheel of Time Re-read!

Today’s entry covers Chapters 30 and 31 of The Gathering Storm, which may have left me with a mild concussion, and definitely left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Blarg.

Previous re-read entries are here. The Wheel of Time Master Index is here, which has links to news, reviews, interviews, and all manner of information about the Wheel of Time in general, including the newest release, Towers of Midnight.

This re-read post contains spoilers for all currently published Wheel of Time novels, up to and including Book 13, Towers of Midnight. If you haven’t read, read at your own risk.

And now, the post!

[Bingo cards for everyone!]

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: “Sarek”

Keith DeCandido — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:15:00 +0000

“Sarek”
Written by Marc Cushman & Jake Jacobs and Peter S. Beagle
Directed by Les Landau
Season 3, Episode 23
Production episode 40273-171
Original air date: May 14, 1990
Stardate: 43917.4

Captain’s Log: The Enterprise is given the singular honor of escorting Ambassador Sarek to a conference with the Legarans, a first contact that Sarek has worked on for 93 years. His staff — Ki Mendrossen, a human, and a Vulcan named Sakkath — beam aboard first, warning the captain that the ambassador will require rest and that Picard should forego the usual ceremonial stuff that ships do when ambassadors come on board. Picard is disappointed, but agrees.

Sarek materializes and insists upon seeing the conference room despite the attempts by his wife — a human woman named Perrin — and his staff to get him to rest. La Forge and Wes are getting the room ready for the Legarans, who have very specific requirements.

[You exaggerate, Captain, I recall only one tear.]

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Frank Reade Book Tour Coming to Portland, Oregon this February

Ay-leen the Peacemaker — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Steampunks of the Pacific Northwest, mark your calenders for a trio of steampunk book events that will amaze and inspire. Boy genius Frank Reade took the 19th-century by storm in sci-fi periodicals that showcased his globe-trotting escapades and his array of electric-powered, all-terrian vehicles. Since then, Frank Reade and his amazing machines has fueled steampunk’s imagination. Now, Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett — the authors behind the counterfactual history book Boilerplate — return with the “inside scoop” about the Edisonade’s past in FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention. This February, Guinan and Bennett will launch a series of book signings that give testament to Frank Reade’s ingenuity.

[Read more]

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Cowboy Bebop Re-watch: “Black Dog Serenade”

Madeline Ashby — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:05:00 +0000

“Black Dog Serenade” is an episode of the series that has a good example of what my workshop calls “The Refrigerator Door Effect.” (Not to be confused with other all-too-common refrigerator issues.) The Refrigerator Door Effect is what happens when someone enjoys a story so thoroughly that the plotholes and inconsistencies don’t occur to her until she has her hand on the refrigerator door to fetch herself a celebratory beer. She stands there remembering the story, and realizes: that whole thing made no sense at all.

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Morning Roundup: The New U.S.S. Enterprise Stands Revealed

Stubby the Rocket — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup remembers the time it had to set itself to self-destruct in order to trick the Klingon bastards that killed its son. It was just as surprised as you were when it arrived back in space dock to find the Tuesday Morning Roundup-A waiting for it.

Are you surprised to find this fantastic collection of offsite intrigues? You shouldn’t be. We’ve been doing this for a while, but we’ve never revealed:

A new Enterprise has been revealed, the NCC-1701-F.
George Washington came this close to being a real zombie.
30 reknowned SFF writers convene to talk about God and belief.

[Read more]

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We Will Be First in Line for the X-Files/Downton Abbey Crossover

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

What happens when you combine Downton Abbey and The X-Files? A very stirring but mysterious theme song, apparently! Listen above and imagine the possibilities of such a crossover. What would a frown-off between Maggie Smith and Gillian Anderson look like? (Answer: It would look amazing.)

(Want more fun with The X-Files? Catch Meghan Deans’ very entertaining retrospective.)

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and consistently mashes itself up with time and space.

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Lost Girl: The Sex-Filled Canadian Buffy-Style Fae Show You’re Missing

Liz Bourke — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Lost Girl is an urban fantasy television series in the mode of Blood Ties or Moonlight. Produced by Prodigy Pictures, it’s a little more than halfway through its second season on Canada’s Showcase Television, and has already been tapped for a third. SyFy started broadcasting the first season in the U.S. in the second week of January this year.

You know what else it is? Incredibly fun.

[Everybody just calm down, it’s just a little eye blood. Okay, who hasn’t had a little eye blood before?]

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What is the #BelieveinSherlock Movement? And How Did it Get So Widespread So Quickly?

Emily Asher-Perrin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

It is entirely possible that you were walking down the street recently anywhere in the world and passed by something that looked like the picture above. And maybe you noticed it and stared for a while. Maybe you shrugged and moved on. Maybe you didn’t see it at all. It could have been a weird post-it note stuck to a parking meter or a bathroom stall door:

“Richard Brook was a fake.”
“I fight John Watson’s War.”
“We know the truth. I believe in Sherlock.”

It looks as though the world is taking up the banner of the Reichenbach Hero. (For a full explanation of why, read our spoiler-heavy recap of the ending of Sherlock season 2.) There’s a movement on the streets, already sweeping through your town or city, and it’s a cause worth fighting for.

#BelieveinSherlock

[The wonders of Tumblr, construction paper, markers, photoshop, and fandom]

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The Great Alan Moore Reread: Swamp Thing Part 2

Tim Callahan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

As I described last week, Alan Moore launched his lengthy run on Swamp Thing in spectacular fashion, following up on Marty Pasko’s loose ends with the incredible single issue of “The Anatomy Lesson,” and then continuing to provide his spin on some of the more iconic DC characters, even if only for a few panels at a time.

This week, I’ll run through the bulk of what we might term as “Act II” of his Swamp Thing saga, from “The Burial” of issue #28 through the beginning of the “American Gothic” storyline which ultimately leads into “The End” in issue #50. It wasn’t the end, of course, since Moore continued to write Swamp Things for another fourteen issues, but it was the issue that marked the departure of the Steve Bissette and John Totleben art team (though they would each return briefly before the next year-and-two-months was up), and in many ways the oversized issue #50 provided a climax and conclusion for almost everything Moore was building during his run on the series. After that, Moore had nowhere else to go with the character except into deep space. So that’s what he did.

[Read more]

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Scoobies Assemble!

Alyx Dellamonica — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was promising, entertaining, exciting, fast-paced and funny... but not the show’s finest hour. (Not the show’s finest twelve hours, actually, but who’s counting?) I can say this the more confidently because I’ve just rewatched the whole thing, every frame, praying mantises, invisible girls and all. I had a great time, but I also knew the best had yet to come.

This is a good thing. It would have been terrible if the show had peaked early. But it does mean that S1 of BtVS doesn’t merit a full-on, loving, episode-by-episode examination.

[So what aspects of Buffy season 1 are worth talking about?]

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Introduce Yourself to The Wheel of Time for Only 99 Cents

Management Services — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The Wheel of Time is a truly epic fantasy series, spanning three decades and fourteen books, and representing many lifetimes’ worth of creativity both on and off the page. Its world is staggeringly detailed and full of mystery and the rewards for those who delve into it are immense.

With the promised final volume of the series well underway, now is a perfect time for fans of epic fantasy to see what all the fuss is about. To that end, Tor Books is making From the Two Rivers, the beginning of The Wheel of Time, available as an ebook for only 99 cents.

From the Two Rivers is available from all ebook retailers and for all devices, including Nook, Kindle, and iPad.

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Reviewing Futures: The Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050

Karl Schroeder — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Science fiction has a cousin—another genre of stories set in the future. Governments, corporations and militaries worldwide use scenarios and scenario fictions to explore strategic alternatives. They aren’t trying to predict the future—that’s impossible. What they’re trying to do is build resilience into their planning process. One of the most famous of these ongoing foresight efforts belongs to Shell, which most famously used scenario-based planning to ride out the energy crisis of 1979 and come out far ahead of its competitors.

Scenarios aren’t exactly stories; they’re more like the pile of raw material that you put together to make a story. They are foreseen settings, situations, trends and possibilities. The lines between scenario and story can blur, though, particularly when scenario findings are presented as fiction, as I’ve done, with, eg. my work for the Canadian army in Crisis in Zefra. In the interest of blurring these lines even more, I thought I’d write a few reviews of current and famous past scenarios. In doing so I’m looking to tease out the meta-narratives of our age—the scenarios we all subconsciously use to construct our own visions of the future. These aren’t the specific narratives of the future we find in works like Frankenstein or 1984; they’re the grand themes of fear and aspiration which we find lurking behind words like Progress and Apocalypse.

[Read more]

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A Read of the Dark Tower: Constant Reader Tackles The Waste Lands: “Jake: Fear in a Handful of Dust”: Door and Demon, Sections 10-20

Suzanne Johnson — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water.

—From T.S. Eliot’s “The Wastelands”

We last left Jake setting off on his great adventure, armed; Eddie worried about messing up his carving of the key; and a date between the two in Brooklyn that neither is sure what to expect.

[Read this week’s post]

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The Wary Returning Hero: Jack Campbell’s Dauntless

Robert H. Bedford — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Military Science Fiction hasn’t always been my go-to Speculative Fiction subgenre. I liked it, sure, but I was more often drawn to Epic Fantasy with toe-dips into Urban Fantasy, New Weird, Space Opera to name a few. Over the past year or so, I’ve been gravitating to Military SF for reasons I can’t quite explain, maybe the space battles, perhaps a yearning for something to fill the post-Battlestar Galactica hole, but for whatever reason, I’ve read quite a few of them in the past year. One series I’ve seen discussed over the past year, in my internet circles, is Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. Maybe because the first six-book series recently completed and is receiving release in the UK through Titan books this year, or maybe because a new ‘sequel’ series was launched this year with Dreadnaught – including a “promotion” from Mass Market Paperback to Hardcover. These things tell me Jack Campbell has been doing good things with the series. Reading Dreadnaught earlier in the year gave me an inkling those things were right. What finally convinced me was reading Dauntless, the first Lost Fleet novel.

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Morning Roundup: Nick Fury Battles Captain Jack for Film Dominance

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Your Monday Morning Roundup is brought to you by the letter ’H’. That stands for Honor, kids. And if you don’t know what honor is, you should ask Professor Dumbleworf. He’s got a whole army of kids fighting for his cause, and each one of them is prepared to ask the important questions, such as: if I end up in Hufflepuff, will that bring dishonor to my family? (The answer is yes, of course. Klingon wizards are never Hufflepuffs.) The rest of your offsite links are pretty awesome, too.

Highlights include:

1.) Torchwood and Nick Fury movies?

2.) An documentary tribute to Elisabeth Sladen.

3.) Playing Street Fighter as a lonely heart.

[Read more]

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The First Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer is Here

Stubby the Rocket — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +0000

HBO has debuted the first trailer for Game of Thrones season 2 and it is absolutely thrilling to see the kinds of trouble our beloved Starks are going to get into. (Even if you’ve read the books already.)

“My name is Daenerys Stormborn. And I will take what is mine!” Chills.

[Screencaps after the cut]

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Someone Combined Portal and Nightmare Before Christmas And You’re Welcome

Stubby the Rocket — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Internet video mash-ups are nothing new, but it’s still thrilling to find one that’s done just right, like in this fan-made music video for Portal 2.

“This is Aperture” by Harry-UK combines the chipper tone of the homicidal robots from the Portal series with the gleeful creepiness of the “This is Halloween” musical number from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The song features all original lyrics and is yet another reminder that GLaDOS has a promising career as a singer/songwriter should the testing-humans-unto-death industry ever collapse.

Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and wonders... if you say “glee” in the mirror three time, will the cast of Glee appear?

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David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers Stories

David Hartwell — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Today’s Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Pick is The Complete Hammer’s Slammers, Volume 1 by David Drake. In appreciation, enjoy this introduction to the second volume of The Complete Hammer’s Slammers by Tor Books editor David Hartwell (this originally appeared on the Baen Book website):

Any fiction that portrays war in SF, since the 1960s, has generally been eliminated from the leading ranks unless it is entirely dedicated to the proposition that war is, in Isaac Asimov’s phrase, the last refuge of the incompetent. All military SF became suspect in the 1970s, and most of it was rejected by major portions of the serious readers of literate SF, as advocating war. This was evident at Robert A. Heinlein’s famous guest of honor speech at MidAmericon in Kansas City in 1976, at which he was publicly booed for stating that war was a constant in world history, and that there was every indication that there would continue to be war in the future. At least since that time, much of the literary SF community has unfortunately failed to distinguish portrayal of war from advocacy of war, or to be interested in examining military SF. The literary community even tends to avoid the authors at convention parties. The only leading writer to overcome this has been Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War, and a majority of his fiction since has not been military SF. And so those authors hang out with their own crew, usually the Baen crew, mostly at conventions in the midwestern and southeastern US, where they are not so easily marginalized.

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Legion of the Damned (Excerpt)

William C Dietz — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Today’s Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Pick is Legion of the Damned by William C. Dietz. We hope you enjoy this excerpt from the novel, but first, here’s a note from the editor:

Many a year ago (1991, approximately), an Ace author named William Dietz who had been writing some pretty neat mid-list science fiction adventure novels (with protagonists graduated from the Han Solo School of Charming Rogues), wanted to step up his game. A military vet and a student of military history, he pitched the idea of a series detailing the exploits of the French Foreign Legion of the far-future, one in which some of the Legionnaires were no longer completely human—and some were not human at all. The setting was an intricately-realized universe, with as much attention paid to the politics “back home” as the fighting at the “front”. There were multiple viewpoints, shifting settings, and characters who were all shades of grey. And he proposed basing some of the stories on famous Legion campaigns of the past. It was one of the most detailed, well-thought out, lengthiest proposals that I had ever seen. I was suitably impressed. We did a deal, moved him from the mid-list to Feature Release status, then eventually into hardcover, and in 2011 (twenty years later) published A Fighting Chance, the novel that completed the story arc begun in Legion of the Damned. A terrific run for a terrific series! (Bill, however, just can’t quit universe—this year, Ace will publish the first of a trilogy of Legion prequel novels. Look for Andromeda’s Fall, in December!)

In the early ‘70’s, Ginjer Buchanan moved from Pittsburgh, PA. to New York City where she made her living as a social worker, while doing free-lance editorial work. In 1984, she took a job as an editor at Ace Books. She has been promoted several times. Her current title is Editor-in-Chief, Ace/Roc Books. In her spare time, she watches far too much television, evidenced by the fact that she wrote a Highlander tie-in novel titled White Silence, and has also had “pop culture” essays included in the third Buffy, The Vampire Slayer episode guide, in Finding Serenity (a collection about Firefly) and in A Taste of True Blood.

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Saturday Morning Cartoons: “La Faim” and “Spin”

René Walling — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

La Faim (Hunger): One of the first films animated on a digital computer, it was made at the NFB in 1974. (11:23 minutes)

Spin: This combined demo ranked first at Assembly 2011 last August.
(5:45 minutes)

[Watch the films after the jump]

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Who’s The Boss: Boneyards by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Michael M Jones — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Salvage expert. Wreck diver. Historian. The woman called Boss is no stranger to delving into abandoned ships and installations, and has encountered her fair share of trouble and dark secrets. However, this time, she’ll have to deal with problems in the here and now, as friendships and obligations force her to make a life-altering decision. Kristine Kathryn Rusch returns to her space operatic setting with this third book in the series (which boasts a cover blurb from Tor.com’s review of the last installment, City of Ruins, by our own Stefan Raets).

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Fiction Affliction: February Releases in Paranormal Romance

Suzanne Johnson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

One would think the looming holiday for lovers would mean a heart-full of paranormal romances in time for Valentine’s Day, but it’s a light month, with only twelve releases—a quarter of those for Young Adults. But there’s always time for love in the underworld, and The Darkest Seduction, ninth in Gena Showalter’s much-loved Lords of the Underworld series, will be unleashed at the end of the month. In the meantime, check out Brave New Love, a new anthology featuring dystopian love stories for the YA crowd, or Tempted by Blood, the third in Laurie London’s Sweetblood series, for those of us who can’t get enough vampires.

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.

[Read about February’s paranormal romance releases]

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My Brother Sam Has A Moustache: IDW’s Star Trek #5

Ryan Britt — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

“Operation: Annihilate!” was the 29^th episode of the original run of Star Trek, and in 1967 it ended the first season with a dignified zap. The story involved a solid (though familiar) science fiction premise and everything was ramped-up with family drama and testing of the big friendships. At one point, Kirk even has to consider killing a million people to prevent the “infection” of the multi-celled alien intelligence from spreading across the galaxy. In short, “Operation: Annihilate!” would be a great episode to show someone who had never seen Star Trek, and also a perfect one to revisit if you’d forgotten why you the old show is so fun.

Now, IDW’s ambitious comic project to re-imagine classic Trek stories inside the new film continuity continues with their take on “Operation: Annihilate!” Will the flying parasites look like ridiculous mushy pancakes as before? Will Kirk’s brother essentially just be a version of Kirk with facial hair? Find out below!

[Read more. Spoilers!]

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Spartacus: Vengeance returns with all-new episodes

Theresa DeLucci — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Starz’s sword-and-sandals (and boobs-and-blood) hit series returns for its second season this Friday. After taking time to shoot prequel miniseries Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus is back on track with a new star and new intrigues following the first season finale’s violent uprising. Liam McIntyre steps into the role as the leader of the slave rebellion, tough sandals to fill after the untimely passing of fan favorite Andy Whitfield last year.

Several huge changes loom over the cast of characters during this season outside of the House of Batiatus and its gladiator boot camp.

[Where do we go from here?]

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A Read of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings, Part 4

Leigh Butler — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to A Read of Ice and Fire! Please join me as I read and react, for the very first time, to George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

Today’s entry is Part 4 of A Clash of Kings, in which we cover Chapter 7 (“Catelyn”), and Chapter 8 (“Tyrion”).

And now, the post!

[“As I was sitting in my chair / I knew the bottom wasn’t there, / Nor legs nor back, but I just sat, / Ignoring little things like that.” ~Hughes Mearns]

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: “The Most Toys”

Keith DeCandido — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

“The Most Toys”
Written by Shari Goodhartz
Directed by Timothy Bond
Season 3, Episode 22
Production episode 40273-170
Original air date: May 7, 1990
Stardate: 43872.2

Captain’s Log: In order to stop the tricyanate poisoning of the water supply on Beta Agni II, the Enterprise has obtained hitritium, a highly unstable compound, from a trader named Kivas Fajo. Hitritium is too unstable to transport, so Data flies it from Fajo’s ship the Jovis to the Enterprise in a shuttle.

As he’s about to take his third and final trip, Varia, Fajo’s aide, neutralizes Data with some form of electrical shock and examines his molecular structure. A few minutes later, the shuttle leaves the Jovis and explodes.

[It took a lot of effort — effort...]

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Malazan Re-read of the Fallen: Midnight Tides, Chapter Eighteen

Bill Capossere — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

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A Warrior’s Complexity: Orphanage by Robert Buettner

Myke Cole — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

War is a tough thing to tell a story about. Like all extreme scenarios, it tends towards polarization. It’s either a glorious affair of flashing sabers and burnished medals a la Alexander Nevsky or it’s a meat grinder that chews up promising young men and turns them into shrieking red mist long before they can realize their potential (Platoon, All’s Quiet on the Western Front). Warfighters are either steel-eyed heroes (The Illiad) or adolescent killers (Generation Kill).

The tough truth? Wars are both glorious and horrible. The men and women who fight them are both heroes and villains, frequently at the same time. Military science fiction struggles just as mightily as literary fiction to wrap its arms around the complexity of what motivates people to step into what is arguably the most harrowing crucible a human can experience.

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I Am Not a Number!: The Prisoner

Jason Henninger — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Whenever a story pits an individual against an amorphous authority, it’s bound to be described as Orwellian or Kafkaesque. Seldom, however, does the intelligence of the work in question really merit these designations. The Prisoner is one of the few cases wherein the comparisons are definitely worthy. And for that matter, few shows since could fairly be considered “Prisoneresque.”

In my opinion—and I’m glad to say I’m not alone in this—The Prisoner is one of the finest TV shows of all time. It’s a very high water mark, to which elaborate recent creations such as Lost really don’t measure up (and the remake of The Prisoner I shall stick in a box with Highlander 2, the American version of Life on Mars and a few other Things That Should Not Be).

[Everyone votes for a dictator.]

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Introducing the Rewatch in One

Jason Henninger — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I wonder if a few years ago, when Tor.com first launched, the folks who put the site together knew that rereads and rewatches would be such a big part of the experience. These rereads/views vary in length and depth of analysis, but what they have in common is that it’s fun to be reminded of why our favorite science fiction and fantasy stories hold esteemed places in our hearts.

The big stories, such as Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, or the ever-popular Wheel of Time merit equally big and detailed discussions. But there are plenty of shorter works also deserving attention. Take Firefly, for example. In its original airing, it didn’t even make it an entire season, but it has established a serious and lasting fandom.

[What do you do with the little guys?]

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The Situation

Jeff VanderMeer — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Experience the familiar perils of office politics in a world eerily different from our own in “The Situation,” an original comic story created by Jeff VanderMeer and Eric Orchard.

“The Situation” is based on a short story by Jeff VanderMeer which Margo Lanagan called “darkly hilarious” and Kevin Brockmeier “a work of surreal humor, bemused sadness, and meticulous artifice...as if the workplace novels of Sinclair Lewis and Joshua Ferris had been inverted, shaken, and diced until they came out looking like a Terry Gilliam creation.” The original short story can be read online in its entirety courtesy of WIRED’s GeekDad and in Jeff’s collection, The Third Bear, available from Tachyon Books. For more of this special brand of weirdness, check out Ann and Jeff VanderMeer’s anthology The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, available in eBook and UK editions now and US print editions on May 8, 2012.

[Read “The Situation”]

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Morning Roundup: Dirty Harry Potter

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Friday Morning Roundup image comes to us from the Facebook page of George Takei. If you haven’t checked him out on Facebook, we recommend you do so now. He’s got all sorts of funny stuff on there, including this deleted scene from The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Your offsite links aren’t all as kick-ass, but they will still make your day. Go ahead.

Highlights include:

1.) Colbert talks to Sendak.

2.) Gizmo is Yoda’s son?

3.) A (sort of ) Monty Python comeback. And it’s sci-fi!

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Mirror, Mirror Trailer

Irene Gallo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:40:16 +0000

So, it may be true that I am the only person onboard Stubby that wants to see this but, come on, it does look charming. No? A little? My suspicion is that Mirror, Mirror will be semi-succesful at being light fun while the Snow White and the Huntsmen version will fail at being the dark, brooding adaptation of the original fairy tale...

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Virga Book Set Sweepstakes!

Stubby the Rocket — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000

You’ve read the excerpt to the upcoming installment, so now is the perfect time to start on the Virga series by Karl Schroeder! We’ve got the first two books in one omnibus, Virga: Cities of Air! Ten copies in all, so that’s ten chances to win. And for an extra treat, you’ll also get an ARC of the latest book, the climax of the series, Ashes of Candesce! Don’t miss out on this great set.

Check below for the rules:

[Read the rules and enter!]

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Full Trailer for Luc Besson’s Lock-Out

Stubby the Rocket — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:30:00 +0000

It’s been since the 5th Element that Luc Beeson has done actual science fiction, and now the famed director is back with Lock-Out, an action thriller that seems to have a little more of the Transporter thrown into the mix. But just how much of the plot does this trailer give away? It seems like a lot. Check it out below:

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A Look at The Postmortal Audiobook

Cassandra McNeil — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Drew Magary’s The Postmortal (a nominee for the 2011 Philip K. Dick Award) brings us to a future where the cure for aging has been developed. And the future isn’t that far away; by the year 2019 the world is torn between people seeking the cure and people opposing the cure in the most violent of ways.

Would you take the cure? A chance to look the same for hundreds, maybe thousands of years? To never age one minute? The flip side you can still be ravaged by disease, get hit by a car, or party yourself into the ground. The answer for the majority is yes, without hesitation. As soon as the President of the United States lifts the ban on the cure, the flood gates open, but so does the backlash.

[Read More . . .]

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Fiction Affliction: February Releases in Urban Fantasy

Suzanne Johnson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:40:00 +0000

A lot of reader favorites are among the 21 urban fantasy releases coming in February, including new series additions from Rachel Caine, Kim Harrison, Walter Jon Williams, Jennifer Estep, Christina Henry, Ben Aaronovitch, Jana Oliver, and Allison Pang. But tucked in the middle of this cornucopia of demons and vampires is Anne Rice, who with The Wolf Gift attempts a cerebral take on the werewolf. Will it do for the shifter set what her 1970s-80s fiction did for the vampire?

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.

[Read about February’s urban fantasy releases]

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Why Do You Write?: Women of Vision, edited by Denise Du Pont

Brit Mandelo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Women of Vision, edited by Denise Du Pont and published by St. Martin’s Press in 1988, is a collection of interviews with then-contemporary women writers of science fiction and fantasy, including such folks as Ursula K. Le Guin, Alice Sheldon, Suzy McKee Charnas, Joan D. Vinge and Pamela Sargent. It is a slim volume; each interview runs approximately ten to fifteen pages, and there are twelve all together.

The interviews are guided by a large set of questions that Du Pont condenses and summarizes in her introduction:

“Why do you write? What were the obstacles (or benefits) you encountered as a woman writer? Why do you write in the genre(s) you have chosen?” I would also add to the introduction a question that was clearly asked and makes an appearance in every woman’s interview, for better or worse: what role does feminism play in your fiction?

[Read on]

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Steampunk Events for February 2012

Ay-leen the Peacemaker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

For every upcoming month, I’ll be spotlighting various steampunk events across the US and around the world (we’re a social bunch!) with the help of the Airship Ambassador and the occasional guest from the steampunk community. For February, witness a musical re-telling of the Opium Wars, attend a gala to sponsor the Madison Ballet, join the post-apoc wasteland at a retrofuturistic gaming convention, and much more…

As always, if we missed listing your event, comment below with the details. For March, please send all event details to Ay-leen at attic.hermit@gmail.com by February 17th to be included in the next round-up!

[February 2012 Steampunk Events Around the World]

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This Title May Be Misleading: Dragons in the Waters

Mari Ness — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Dragons in the Waters, the second book in the O’Keefe family series, is, like its predecessor, a tale of suspense, intrigue and murder mingled with a touch of fantasy and science fiction, as Poly and Charles O’Keefe meet the 13-year-old Simon Renier on a freighter trip down to Venezuela and a lake there, named for dragons. Poly and Charles are travelling with their father who plans to examine potential environmental issues with drilling oil in the lake. Simon is travelling with Forsyth Phair, a considerably older cousin he has known for precisely one month, because his elderly aunt Leonis believes that Simon needs some culture and exposure to the world beyond their little North Carolina house. Forsyth is returning a portrait of Simon Bolivar to the Venezuelan government, in the first and last kindly thing he will do in the entire novel.

[When murder becomes an almost forgotten sideplot. Also, no dragons.]

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Rothfuss Reread: Speculative Summary Part 8: “I have a patron” Speculations on Master Ash

Jo Walton — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

We’re half way through our over-the-top re-read of Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear, and we’re going to pause here for another speculative summary. After we’ve summed up some of the speculation we’ll be moving on. These posts assume you’ve read all of both books The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, and they are absolutely full of wild surmise, speculation and spoilers for all of both books. Please don’t go beyond the cut unless you want that!

[Read more: He can teach me all kinds of things I need to know]

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