Book Trailer: The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos

 
The Planet Thieves is the first thrilling installment of a new middle-grade series by Dan Krokos.

Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.

But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.

With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.

Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.

The Planet Thieves, by Dan Krokos, is available now!

Book Trailer: The Navigator by Michael Pocalyko

 
The Navigator by Michael Pocalyko

Wall Street comes to Washington in Michael Pocalyko’s The Navigator.

On the darkest night of 1945, a 20-year-old B-24 navigator assists in the liberation of a German concentration camp. His haunting trauma is prologue to destiny.

Flash forward to present-day Manhattan. Warren Hunter, reigning master of the financial universe, is poised to close the world’s first trillion dollar deal. ViroSat is the Street’s biggest-ever technology play—an entirely new worldwide communication system. It will catapult his investment bank and the global economy into a bright future . . . if the deal goes through.

In Washington, ViroSat captures the attention of Senate political aide Julia Toussaint. Meanwhile, battered tech start-up veteran Rick Yeager has just landed his dream job at a mysterious but well-connected financial firm whose partners want a piece of the action.

Warren, Julia, and Rick are caught in a web of intrigue, money, power, and dangerous secrets. Coincidences are not what they seem as the past collides with the present in a way that will change their lives forever.

A gripping story written by a consummate insider from both Washington and Wall Street, Michael Pocalyko’s The Navigator is a furiously-paced parable of our troubled age.

Book trailer produced by Brian Jackson. The Navigator, by Michael Pocalyko, releases June 11th!

The Week in Review

Welcome to the week in review! Every Friday, we comb through the links and images we found and shared this week, and pull the very best for this post. Consider it concentrated genre goodness from all around the web.
 

 

• The trailer for Ender’s Game is here!

• In addition to the trailer, check out an interview with star Asa Butterfield as he talks about his space camp regimen.

• Congratulations to all the 2013 Locus Award finalists!

• Help send David Brin to Mars!

• The Los Angeles Times blog Jacket Copy dug into their archives and found a great video featuring Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, and Studs Terkel in conversation.

• I would pay money to see a full movie version of this: Star Wars Episode VII: Return of the Junior Jedi.

• The nominees for the 2012 Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced! Congratulations in particular to Tor’s own Brian Evenson and his novel Immobility.

 
The Tor/Forge newsletter went out this week! Check out these fascinating articles from our authors:

• Four Songs for Stealing Planets by Dan Krokos
• Changing the World by Susan Palwick
• Genre Identity Crisis by Paul Cornell

 
And, just to make Friday that much sweeter, here’s a list of sweepstakes and sales we have going on!

• The Ultimate Urban Fantasy Sweepstakes (Ends 5/31)
• Goodreads First Reads: Sandstorm by Alan L. Lee (Ends 5/13)
• Waiting on Wednesday: Solstice by P. J. Hoover (Ends 5/14)
• Goodreads First Reads: Requiem by Ken Scholes (Ends 5/15)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Navigator by Michael Pocalyko (Ends 5/22)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson (Ends 5/22)
• Goodreads First Reads: Sea Change by S. M. Wheeler (Ends 5/29)
• Goodreads First Reads: Solstice by P.J. Hoover (Ends 5/29)
• Goodreads Giveaway: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Ends 5/29)
• eBook Sale: The Hum and the Shiver, by Alex Bledsoe, is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 6/7)
• eBook Sale: Lamentation, by Ken Scholes, is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 6/14)
• eBook Sale: Building Harlequin’s Moon, by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper, is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 6/21)

Book Trailer: Sea Change by S. M. Wheeler

 
Sea Change by S. M. Wheeler

The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken. In Octavius’s many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price.

Her journey to win Octavius’s freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly’s quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.

A powerfully written debut from a young fantasy author, Sea Change is an exhilarating tale of adventure, resilience, and selflessness in the name of friendship.

Sea Change, by S. M. Wheeler, releases June 18th!

Four Songs for Stealing Planets

Written by Dan Krokos

I’m lucky enough to have my dream job. But even though I make up stories for a living, I still seek inspiration outside of books. Music gets me inspired more than anything. I like everything (except for some things). My favorite band is TOOL, but I will rock out to Rihanna. I’d prefer some NIN, but you know what? That Katy Perry song “Who Am I Living For?” is pretty good. It’s actually really good. Don’t look at me like that.

Whenever I sit down to write or revise The Planet Thieves or its sequel, The Black Stars, there’s a core list of songs that keeps me going. When I don’t see what I’m supposed to write next, I’ll throw on one of these songs and they help me sink back into Mason Stark’s world.

Leaving Earth – Clint Mansell

 
I’m a gamer. My favorite series of all time is Mass Effect. It’s one of the greatest SF stories ever told, and also happens to be an enormous inspiration for The Planet Thieves. This music plays after the first level of the final game. Earth is being invaded; there’s destruction everywhere from machines as tall as skyscrapers. Watch the sequence of Commander Shepard leaving Earth. If you don’t get chills, check your pulse.

I’ve never heard something so sad and full of hope at the same time. When I listen to this, I can’t help but slip into that mindset, no matter what I was feeling before. At the end of this sequence, I sat in front of my computer, completely stunned. The game had barely started.

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

 
This song is special because I don’t like anything else by this band. When I listen to it, I see a movie trailer in my head consisting of the most exciting parts of my book. If I listen to it a few times in a row, I might add something to that trailer, which I can either discard or keep if it fits into the story.

Lyrics usually don’t matter so much, but these really resonate with me regarding Mason Stark’s path.

Primavera – Ludovico Einaudi

 
This song is here because it’s timely. I was listening to it just yesterday on a crowded subway, plotting the final moments of The Black Stars with the notes app on my phone.

I am grateful to this song for allowing me to crack something that had been troubling me for a year. This is one I can put on and just let my mind wander. It makes me see new things, and it’s one of the few songs that doesn’t just supply images, but the emotions attached to those images.

I first heard this song while watching a seven minute fan-made trailer for the TV show Fringe, one of my all-time programs. I immediately added the song to my library, and it has never let me down.

Lateralus – TOOL

 
I have said this before: “Lateralus” is my favorite song of all time, it doesn’t matter what I’m writing. This video is pretty cool. It explains why TOOL is the best band in the world and it shows the lyrics to the song. Just listen to it. It’s almost ten minutes long, so if you want to, you can start at the 5:00 minute mark. This is widely regarded as TOOL’s most important/emotional/complex song. Fans of TOOL have been waiting for a new album since 2006. Take pity on us. Enjoy.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Journey to the Line – Hanz Zimmer
Injection – Hanz Zimmer
What If We Could? – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

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From the Tor/Forge May newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

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More from the May Tor/Forge newsletter:

• Changing the World by Susan Palwick
• Genre Identity Crisis by Paul Cornell
• Ultimate Urban Fantasy Sweepstakes

Book Trailer: A Time of Change by Aimée Thurlo and David Thurlo

 
A Time of Change by Aimée Thurlo and David Thurlo

A Time of Change is a perfect example of the Thurlos’s ability to combine passion with tension as they introduce readers to Josephine Buck and other employees at a New Mexico trading post. When The Outpost’s owner dies, Josephine, a young Navajo woman, is shocked to discover that Tom Stuart, whom she thought of as a surrogate father, has left her the business.

Ben Stuart and his dad had had problems, but military service changed Ben for the better and put the two men back in each other’s lives. His father’s sudden death ends any possibility of a true reconciliation and leaves Ben fuming at being disinherited.

Suspecting that Jo had an affair with his father, Ben is determined to get control of the trading post. Jo’s hataalii training shows her that Ben is wounded in both body and soul, and she becomes determined to help him.

As Jo and Ben move toward a deeper understanding of each other, they learn that Tom Stuart was murdered and that the trading post at the center of their lives holds many secrets.

A Time of Change, by Aimée Thurlo and David Thurlo, releases today, April 9th!

Book Trailer: Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal

 
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal

Up-and-coming fantasist Mary Robinette Kowal enchanted fans with award-winning short stories and beloved novels featuring Regency pair Jane and Vincent Ellsworth. In Without a Summer the master glamourists return home, but in a world where magic is real, nothing—even the domestic sphere—is quite what it seems.

Jane and Vincent go to Long Parkmeade to spend time with Jane’s family, but quickly turn restless. The year is unseasonably cold. No one wants to be outside and Mr. Ellsworth is concerned by the harvest, since a bad one may imperil Melody’s dowry. And Melody has concerns of her own, given the inadequate selection of eligible bachelors. When Jane and Vincent receive a commission from a prominent family in London, they decide to take it, and take Melody with them. They hope the change of scenery will do her good and her marriage prospects—and mood—will be brighter in London.

Once there, talk is of nothing but the crop failures caused by the cold and increased unemployment of the coldmongers, which have provoked riots in several cities to the north. With each passing day, it’s more difficult to avoid getting embroiled in the intrigue, none of which really helps Melody’s chances for romance. It’s not long before Jane and Vincent realize that in addition to getting Melody to the church on time, they must take on one small task: solving a crisis of international proportions.

Without a Summer, by Mary Robinette Kowal, released on April 2nd!

Book Trailer: Cartboy and the Time Capsule by L.A. Campbell

 
Cartboy and the Time Capsule by L.A. Campbell

In the tradition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid comes Cartboy and the Time Capsule by L.A. Campbell, a laugh-out-loud debut novel about sixth-grader Hal Rifkind—unfortunately nicknamed “Cartboy”—and his horribly historic, hilarious year.

Hal hates history class—it literally bores him to tears. But his father is a big history buff, and unless Hal gets a good grade this year, he’ll never get his own room. Sixth grade gets off to a horrible start when history teacher Mr. Tupkin gives the class an assignment to write journals that will be buried in a time capsule at the end of the year. Things get even worse when his dad makes him take his neighbor’s old shopping cart to school, earning him the nickname “Cartboy.” What else could possibly go wrong? Read Hal’s journal to find out!

Filled with photos, drawings, and timelines, Hal’s time capsule journal chronicles a year in the life of the hopelessly hapless Cartboy.

Cartboy and the Time Capsule, by L.A. Campbell, publishes today, April 2nd!

Book Trailer: Virus Thirteen by Joshua Alan Parry

 
Virus Thirteen by Joshua Alan Parry

Virus Thirteen is an irreverent and contagious thriller from debut author Joshua Alan Parry.

Scientists James Logan and his wife, Linda, have their dream careers at the world’s leading biotech company, GeneFirm, Inc. But their happiness is interrupted by a devastating bioterrorist attack: a deadly superflu that quickly becomes a global pandemic. The GeneFirm complex goes into lockdown and Linda’s research team is sent to high-security underground labs to develop a vaccine.

Above ground, James learns that GeneFirm security has been breached and Linda is in danger. To save her he must confront a desperate terrorist, armed government agents, and an invisible killer: Virus Thirteen.

Virus Thirteen, by Joshua Alan Parry, releases March 26th!

Cory Doctorow at the Tools of Change Conference

Cory Doctorow attended the Tools of Change (TOC) in Publishing Conference in New York this month, to talk about copyright and piracy in the digital age, as well as his new novel, Homeland.

About Homeland: In Cory Doctorow’s wildly successful Little Brother, young Marcus Yallow was arbitrarily detained and brutalized by the government in the wake of a terrorist attack on San Francisco—an experience that led him to become a leader of the whole movement of technologically clued-in teenagers, fighting back against the tyrannical security state.

A few years later, California’s economy collapses, but Marcus’s hacktivist past lands him a job as webmaster for a crusading politician who promises reform. Soon his former nemesis Masha emerges from the political underground to gift him with a thumbdrive containing a Wikileaks-style cable-dump of hard evidence of corporate and governmental perfidy. It’s incendiary stuff—and if Masha goes missing, Marcus is supposed to release it to the world. Then Marcus sees Masha being kidnapped by the same government agents who detained and tortured Marcus years earlier.

Marcus can leak the archive Masha gave him—but he can’t admit to being the leaker, because that will cost his employer the election. He’s surrounded by friends who remember what he did a few years ago and regard him as a hacker hero. He can’t even attend a demonstration without being dragged onstage and handed a mike. He’s not at all sure that just dumping the archive onto the Internet, before he’s gone through its millions of words, is the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, people are beginning to shadow him, people who look like they’re used to inflicting pain until they get the answers they want.

Fast-moving, passionate, and as current as next week, Homeland is every bit the equal of Little Brother—a paean to activism, to courage, to the drive to make the world a better place.
 

TOC: Cory Doctorow on how we’ll get beyond the piracy debate.
 
 

TOC: Henry Jenkins in Conversation with Brian David Johnson and Cory Doctorow.