Warner Brothers has set the release date for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The Guy Ritchie adaptation, starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, will be in theaters January 16, 2015.
Monthly Archives: February 2014
More From Guardians of the Galaxy
You can tell the folks at Marvel are in no danger of having a “why John Carter flopped” book written about their project. The day after the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer hit the internet they’ve sliced and diced it with footage of the voice actors and turned it into a suite of character videos. Here are two.
Rocket carries a gun bigger than himself and so he needs somebody like Bradley Cooper to lend a full-sized voice.
And Groot speaks in the dulcet tones of Vin Diesel.
Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters August 1.
Question Beggars’ Opera
When John Scalzi left office as SFWA President he announced an absolute, carved-in-stone policy against commenting on the organization’s issues for one year. He explained it anew the other day so everyone would be sure to understand he hadn’t violated his self-imposed gag rule with a new post, Join the Insect Army:
Although I reference my time in SFWA here, I won’t be directly commenting on current SFWA actions, etc. I’m still in my one year “don’t talk about SFWA” stage (I’ve noted the recent unpleasantness elsewhere because it is not something SFWA is doing, but rather, something being done to SFWA).
I may be a science fiction fan but even my Slan-like imagination cannot conceive any way Scalzi could be doing more to inject himself into matters SFWAn had he not taken that mighty oath.
This month alone he’s written about SFWA controversies three times, the two other posts being Ten Things About Petitions and Freedom of Speech and Today’s General Comment Apropos of Nothing in Particular.
But there must be a difference, even if I can’t see it. So I will continue to shout along with the mob, “The Emperor is wearing clothes! The Emperor is wearing clothes!” For no particular reason at all.
William Tienken (1960-2014)
William Tienken at the 2004 Campbell Conference. Photo by Keith Stokes.
Sercon fanzine editor William Tienken died February 17 in Topeka, KS. He was involved in Kansas City fandom, attending KaCSFFS meetings and local conventions. He also was a member of the Chronicles of the Dawn Patrol.
Between 1987 and 1997 Tienken published 500 issues of Pulsar, writing 2,500 reviews of sf and fantasy books. From 1997-2011 he produced 313 issues of its successor, an online zine titled Bookview, which covered nonfiction books of all types.
The cause of his death has not been announced, however, over the years Tienken often noted in Bookview that he was receiving dialysis treatments and had health problems.
[Via SF Site News.]
Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer
Today’s youth demands more movies with machine-gun-toting raccoons and sentient trees. Guardians of the Galaxy promises to deliver.
2013 Aurealis Award Shortlist
Finalists for the 2013 Aurealis Awards have been announced.
Judging coordinator Tehani Wessely said the entry record was broken again this year, with over 800 entries across the twelve categories.
Three finalists were self-published and a high percentage of entries were e-published.
Many judges were needed to winnow the entries — the entire list is here. Wessely, the judging coordinator, was not a panelist in the anthology category where two of her books were selected as finalists.
The 2013 Aurealis Award winners and the recipient of the Peter McNamara Convenors’ Award for Excellence will be announced at a ceremony on April 5.
BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK OR GRAPHIC NOVEL
Savage Bitch by Steve Carter and Antoinette Rydyr (Scar Studios)
Mr Unpronounceable Adventures by Tim Molloy (Milk Shadow Books)
Burger Force by Jackie Ryan (self-published)
Peaceful Tomorrows Volume Two by Shane W Smith (Zetabella Publishing)
The Deep Vol. 2: The Vanishing Island by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer (Gestalt Publishing)
BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK
Kingdom of the Lost, book 2: Cloud Road by Isobelle Carmody (Penguin Group Australia)
Refuge by Jackie French (Harper Collins)
Song for a scarlet runner by Julie Hunt (Allen & Unwin)
The four seasons of Lucy McKenzie by Kirsty Murray (Allen & Unwin)
Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)
Ice Breaker: The Hidden 1 by Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin)
BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT FICTION
“Mah Song” by Joanne Anderton (The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories, FableCroft Publishing)
“By Bone-light” by Juliet Marillier (Prickle Moon, Ticonderoga Publications)
“Morning Star” by D.K. Mok (One Small Step, an anthology of discoveries, FableCroft Publishing)
“The Year of Ancient Ghosts” by Kim Wilkins (The Year of Ancient Ghosts, Ticonderoga Publications)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
The Big Dry by Tony Davies (Harper Collins)
Hunting by Andrea Host (self-published)
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near (Random House Australia)
The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn (University of Queensland Press)
BEST HORROR SHORT FICTION
“Fencelines” by Joanne Anderton (The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories, FableCroft Publishing)
“The Sleepover” by Terry Dowling (Exotic Gothic 5, PS Publishing)
“The Home for Broken Dolls” by Kirstyn McDermott (Caution: Contains Small Parts, Twelfth Planet Press)
“The Human Moth” by Kaaron Warren (The Grimscribe’s Puppets, Miskatonic Press)
“The Year of Ancient Ghosts” by Kim Wilkins (The Year of Ancient Ghosts, Ticonderoga Publications)
BEST HORROR NOVEL
The Marching Dead by Lee Battersby (Angry Robot Books)
The First Bird by Greig Beck (Momentum)
Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart (FableCroft Publishing)
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near (Random House Australia)
BEST FANTASY SHORT FICTION
“The Last Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff (Thomas Dunne Books)
“The Touch of the Taniwha” by Tracie McBride (Fish, Dagan Books)
“Cold, Cold War” by Ian McHugh (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Scott H Andrews)
“Short Circuit” by Kirstie Olley (Oomph: a little super goes a long way, Crossed Genres)
“The Year of Ancient Ghosts” by Kim Wilkins (The Year of Ancient Ghosts, Ticonderoga Publications)
BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Lexicon by Max Barry (Hachette Australia)
A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan (self-published)
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)
Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix (Jill Grinberg Literary Management)
Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts (FableCroft Publishing)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT FICTION
“The Last Tiger” by Joanne Anderton (Daily Science Fiction)
“Mah Song” by Joanne Anderton (The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories, FableCroft Publishing)
“Seven Days in Paris” by Thoraiya Dyer (Asymmetry, Twelfth Planet Press)
“Version 4.3.0.1” by Lucy Stone (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #57)
“Air, Water and the Grove” by Kaaron Warren (The Lowest Heaven, Pandemonium Press)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Lexicon by Max Barry (Hachette)
Trucksong by Andrew Macrae (Twelfth Planet Press)
A Wrong Turn At The Office Of Unmade Lists by Jane Rawson (Transit Lounge)
True Path by Graham Storrs (Momentum)
Rupetta by Nike Sulway (Tartarus Press)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2012 by Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (Eds), (Ticonderoga Publications)
One Small Step, An Anthology Of Discoveries by Tehani Wessely (Ed) (FableCroft Publishing)
Dreaming Of Djinn by Liz Grzyb (Ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)
The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year: Volume Seven by Jonathan Strahan (Ed) (Night Shade Books)
Focus 2012: Highlights Of Australian Short Fiction by Tehani Wessely (Ed) (FableCroft Publishing)
BEST COLLECTION
The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories by Joanne Anderton (FableCroft Publishing)
Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer (Twelfth Planet Press)
Caution: Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott (Twelfth Planet Press)
The Bride Price by Cat Sparks (Ticonderoga Publications)
The Year of Ancient Ghosts by Kim Wilkins (Ticonderoga Publications)
Worldcon Bids Filed for 2016
Both Beijing in 2016 and Kansas City in 2016 filed by the February 15 deadline and will appear on the Worldcon site selection ballot. Loncon 3’s Ben Yalow said their filings will be added to the con’s site selection page.
For a bid to qualify for the ballot it has to provide the following information at least 180 days before the start of the administering Worldcon:
(1) an announcement of intent to bid;
(2) adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed site’s facilities, such as a conditional contract or a letter of agreement;
(3) the rules under which the Worldcon Committee will operate, including a specification of the term of office of their chief executive officer or officers and the conditions and procedures for the selection and replacement of such officer or officers.
Kansas City’s committee and facilities have been publicized for some time. The Beijing bid was announced in January on a website that gives none of these details and fans have been waiting to see who’s behind the bid and their proposed facilities.
Update 02/19/2014: Filings are posted — link now goes directly to filing page.
Loncon 3 Rates Increase March 1
Loncon 3, the 2014 Worldcon, will raise prices on some memberships March 1.
- Full Adult Attending membership rates increase from GBP 115 (US$185, Euro 145) to GBP 125 (US$205 / Euro 160).
- Family membership rates, for two adults and two or more children, increase from GBP 260 (US$430, Euro 330) to GBP 280 (US$470, Euro 360).
Infant, child and Young Adult rates will remain the same.
The committee is also reminding fans that the installment payment plan to help fans to spread the cost of their membership in Loncon 3 closes to new participants on March 1.
The full press release follows the jump.
Tiptree Award Winner
The 2013 Tiptree Award winner is Rupetta by N.A. Sulway of Queensland, Australia.
Sulway will be honored at WisCon over the Memorial Day weekend. She will receive $1000 in prize money, a specially commissioned piece of original artwork — and chocolate.
Nike Sulway has previously won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Best Emerging Author (2000) for her novel The Bone Flute. Since 2007, she has been the co-director of Olvar Wood Writers Retreat, and one of the editors of Perilous Adventures, a literary magazine.
The 2013 Tiptree winner was selected by a panel of five jurors: Ellen Klages (chair), Christopher Barzak, Jayna Brown, Nene Ormes, and Gretchen Treu.
The jury also selected the following works for this year’s Tiptree Award Honor List: Eleanor Arnason, Big Mama Stories (Aqueduct Press 2013), Aliette de Bodard, “Heaven Under Earth” (Electric Velocipede #24, Summer 2012), Nicola Griffith, Hild (Farrar Straus & Giroux 2013), Alaya Dawn Johnson, The Summer Prince (Arthur A. Levine 2013), Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice (Orbit 2013), Bennett Madison, September Girls (HarperTeen 2013), Sarah McCarry, All Our Pretty Songs (St. Martin’s 2013), Janelle Monae, Electric Lady (Bad Boy Records 2013), Helene Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni (Harper 2013), S. M. Wheeler, Sea Change (Tor 2013).
Sale of the (Next) Century
Maybe the prayer ring isn’t a bizarre outlier, just one example of a whole Amazon pastime about writing copy for faux products and attracting play-along comments…?
Case in point – the JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser Tank.
At least I think it’s fake. Or is it? The asking price is $19,999.95. For that they could actually make one and still turn a profit.