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About EVE: Templar One: “There will be neither compassion nor mercy;
Nor peace, nor solace
For those who bear witness to these Signs
And still do not believe.”

Book of Reclaiming 25:10

New Eden: the celestial battleground of a catastrophic war that has claimed countless lives.

The immortal starship captains spearheading this epic conflict continue their unstoppable dominance, shaping the universe to their will and ensuring a bloody, everlasting stalemate.

But a powerful empire is on the verge of a breakthrough that could end the war and secure their rule over mankind forever. For deep in a prison reclamation camp, a secret program is underway…one that will unlock dangerous secrets of New Eden’s past.

It all begins with inmate 487980-A . . . Templar One.

Prepare for DUST 514.

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(Ends February 24)

More giveaways:

• The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes (Ends 2/14)
• Blowout by Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagbert (Ends 2/10)
• Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard (Ends 2/10)
• The Isis Collar by Cat Adams (Ends 2/10)
• Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear (Ends 2/10)
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 2/24)
• New Spring: The Graphic Novel Based on the novel by Robert Jordan, by Chuck Dixon, Mike Miller, and Harvey Tolibao (Ends 2/24)
• Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne by David Gaider (Ends 2/24)

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About Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne: The thrilling prequel to Dragon Age: Origins, the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare!

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

After his mother, the beloved Rebel Queen, is betrayed and murdered by her own faithless lords, young Maric becomes the leader of a rebel army attempting to free his nation from the control of a foreign tyrant.

His countrymen live in fear; his commanders consider him untested; and his only allies are Loghain, a brash young outlaw who saved his life, and Rowan, the beautiful warrior maiden promised to him since birth. Surrounded by spies and traitors, Maric must find a way to not only survive but achieve his ultimate destiny: Ferelden’s freedom and the return of his line to the stolen throne.

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(Ends February 24)

More giveaways:

• Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard (Ends 2/10)
• The Isis Collar by Cat Adams (Ends 2/10)
• Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear (Ends 2/10)
• The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes (Ends 2/14)
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 2/24)
• New Spring: The Graphic Novel Based on the novel by Robert Jordan, by Chuck Dixon, Mike Miller, and Harvey Tolibao (Ends 2/24)
• EVE: Templar One by Tony Gonzales (Ends 2/24)

Peter Warlock is a magician with a dark secret. Every night, he amazes audiences at his private theater in New York, where he performs feats that boggle the imagination. But his day job is just a cover for his otherworldly pursuits: Peter is a member of an underground group of psychics who gaze into the future to help prevent crimes.

No one, not even his live-in girlfriend, knows the truth about Peter—until the séance when he foresees an unspeakable act of violence that will devastate the city. As Peter and his friends rush to prevent tragedy, Peter discovers that a shadowy cult of evil psychics, the Order of Astrum, know all about his abilities. They are hunting him and his fellow psychics down, one by one, determined to silence them forever.

Dark Magic is a genre-bending supernatural thriller from national bestselling novelist and real-life magician James Swain.

GALLENTE MEGATHRON

Leaning in appearance more to an intimidating simplicity than the standard biomechanical aesthetics common in Gallente ship design, the Megathron has been a solid presence in Federation space since its introduction only two decades ago. The firepower and defense of this ship has made it a popular choice for Gallente capsuleers.

CALDARI RAVEN

The Caldari Raven has proven to be an excellent warship against most any class of opponent. Its look is typical Caldari, bearing the signature red band and near-featureless panels on its asymmetrical body. With a heavy arsenal of launchers and exceptional defensive ability, the Raven makes for a formidable ship to face in combat.

AMARR APOCALYPSE

Its graceful golden shell being lined with a deadly array of turrets, the Amarr Apocalypse is as beautiful as it is deadly. Originally only attainable by those in high favor with the Emperor, it has since become a mainstay of Amarrian fleets.

MINMATAR TEMPEST

A key vessel of the Minmatar Republic Fleet, the versatile Tempest offers hard-hitting long-range firepower combined with one of the highest top speeds available in its class. Its bizarre appearance is a typical example of Minmatar ship design.

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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter. Promotion begins January 3, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. ET. and ends February 14, 2012, 11:59 p.m. ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules go here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

More giveaways:

• Blowout by Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagbert (Ends 2/10)
• Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard (Ends 2/10)
• The Isis Collar by Cat Adams (Ends 2/10)
• The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes (Ends 2/14)
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 2/24)
• New Spring: The Graphic Novel Based on the novel by Robert Jordan, by Chuck Dixon, Mike Miller, and Harvey Tolibao (Ends 2/24)

See upcoming releases.

Every month leading up to the release of A Memory of Light, we will be offering the chance to win a copy of The Eye of the World on Goodreads. So if you’ve been waiting for the last book to come out to get started on the series, or if you just need to replace that well worn copy, here’s a chance to do just that.

Enter for a chance to win here!

(Ends February 24)

More giveaways:

• Blowout by Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagbert (Ends 2/10)
• Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard (Ends 2/10)
• The Isis Collar by Cat Adams (Ends 2/10)
• The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes (Ends 2/14)
• New Spring: The Graphic Novel Based on the novel by Robert Jordan, by Chuck Dixon, Mike Miller, and Harvey Tolibao (Ends 2/24)

Enter for a chance to win here!

(Ends February 24)

More giveaways:

• Blowout by Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagbert (Ends 2/10)
• Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard (Ends 2/10)
• The Isis Collar by Cat Adams (Ends 2/10)
• Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear (Ends 2/10)
• The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes (Ends 2/14)
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 2/24)

See upcoming releases.

When our editor offered us the opportunity to contribute an article to this newsletter about our middle grade horror series, Deadtime Stories, we were hesitant—until she wrote, “What we are unequivocally NOT looking for is an article about how you got your ideas …”

We couldn’t have been more relieved.

It’s not that we are incapable of waxing poetic about our creative process; it’s just that we don’t want to. Nor could we, really, without offending someone. Even our muse walked out on us—with good reason. Nobody wants to be trapped in a room with two menopausal women who act like eight-year-old boys.

It’s not that we don’t take our work seriously. We do. In fact, we take it so seriously that it is important to us that we identify with our audience. As a result, we have no choice but to play “What if …” for hours. No booger joke is beneath us; and there are entire days when bathroom humor rules.

Yes. That’s our process.

Writing horror and humor for middle grade readers is not for the faint of heart.

Anyway, since we’re not going to discuss the birth of our series, we thought it would be fun to tell you a little bit about its rebirth.

A couple of years ago, in a land full of tinsel, two filmmaking brothers, David and Scott Hillenbrand, were looking for brides …

Wait. We lie. We are, after all, fiction writers. The brothers weren’t really looking for brides; they were looking for projects suitable for children to produce as a live action film series. And so, we shipped them one—in the form of the original series of Deadtime Stories books published in 1996.

It was love at first sight.  One month later, a marriage really was made.

Luckily for the brothers, we all live in different houses, on two different coasts. No way they wanted to be trapped in a room with us while we adapted the first two books into screenplays. Even Skyping was out of the question. If the honeymoon was to be a success, there could be no visuals; and no conversations about “special effects.”

With the screenplays for Grave Secrets and The Witching Game complete, the honeymoon was over, and the real magic kicked in.

It started with the casting of Diane Ladd and Jennifer Stone; and ended with a food truck.

Yes. That’s right. A food truck.

No. We’re not lying to you this time.

That food truck was magical. We couldn’t believe the meals that came out of that thing. No wonder everybody wants to work on a film set—you’ve got catering chefs feeding you morning, noon, and night! Talk about a dream come true. No cooking; no cleaning; no kidding!

In all seriousness, if we could take just one thing away from our entire movie making experience, it would have to be that truck.

Now, if we could only convince the brothers to add some massage tables to the set of The Witching Game, this really would be a marriage made in heaven!

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

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More from our January newsletter:

• Building Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
• Why the Future Never Gets the SF Right by Michael Flynn

The problem with near-future science fiction is that the fiction is over-taken by events.  My novel Firestar, recently re-issued by Tor, concerns the near “future” of 1999-2010 and the hot scoop is that things didn’t work out that way.  Some of it, sure, including, alas, the predicted recession.  But Serbia is no longer the Bad Boy of the Balkans (nor are the Balkans the Place to Keep an Eye On) and we don’t have regularly-scheduled ballistic transport or single-stage to orbit or…  However, anyone who thinks the main basic function of SF is to commit journalism on the future will be perennially disappointed.

The problem with far-future science fiction, like the Spiral Arm series (In the Lion’s Mouth, Jan 2012) is different.  We can no more imagine the world of seven thousand years to come than Sumerian peasants could imagine Manhattan.  But we need to keep it intelligible.  What we imagine of the far future is no more likely to be accurate than Sumerian tales of crossing the sky in flaming chariots.  Rockets, maybe; but not flaming chariots.

Yet “the accelerating pace of change” is such a cliché that we might ask, “What if it isn’t?  After all, for most of human history, change has been minimal.  Our Sumerian peasant would find life among the today’s Marsh Arabs full of wonders—iron tools!—but not incomprehensible.

So to keep the Spiral Arm intelligible to modern “Sumerians,” I decided to put a banana in the tailpipe of the engine of progress.  There is precedent.

Science and technology need not go hand in hand.  China achieved a high technology without developing natural science.  And scattered individuals in ancient Hellas and medieval Islam pursued a personal interest in natural philosophy without applying it to “base mechanics.”  Only in the Latin West did a passion for technological innovation develop alongside an institutionalized interest in investigating Nature.

The Scientific Revolution combined them.  No more was Nature to be studied simply to grasp and appreciate its Beauty.  Its purpose would henceforth be to invent Useful Stuff and extend man’s Dominion over Nature.  Science, in short, changed from Art Appreciation to Engineering.

Nothing like this happened in China, thought Joseph Needham, because the Chinese lacked a concept of the universe as a created artifact, and therefore had no expectation of a rational order waiting to be discovered.  Other historians have linked the stillbirths of science to a persistent belief in the Great Year and “eternal returns.”  The ancients—Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Aztecs, Mayans, Hindus, et al.—extrapolated from the cycles of the sun, the seasons, the heavens to an endlessly repeating universe, destroyed and reborn whenever the planets returned to some “original” configuration.

But this belief proved fatal to science.  If an eternal and uncreated universe repeats itself endlessly, then whatever can happen has happened, again and again, and the natural laws we discover are only transient configurations of particles eternally in motion.  Wait a while.  They’ll change.

This is the outlook I superimposed on Spiral Arm society.  Scientific progress stopped long ago.  Techs apply “the Wisdom of the Ancients” by rote, recite the prayers (formulas) to be followed, but have lost all sense that these things are ordered by deeper principles.

Can it happen?  The endless universe has been making a comeback courtesy of Hegel and his disciples: Schelling, Engels, Nietzsche, et al.  Even scientists imagine multiverses and endlessly repeated Big Bangs.  And—OMG!!!—the Mayan Long Count is ending!!!!

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

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More from our January newsletter:

• Building Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
• Two sisters, two brothers, and the rebirth of the Deadtime Stories by Annette and Gina Cascone