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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 April 1 at 12 a.m. ET. and ends April 30, 2013, 11:59 p.m. ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law. For Official Rules and to enter, go here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

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.

 

• Rumors are flying about new Star Wars movies, including the origin story of Han Solo. Tor.com wants to know: who do you think should play a young Han Solo?

• Because you needed more books to add to your TBR list: io9 has posted their list of books you can’t afford to miss in February.

• The Wheel of Time reread continues with the final volume, A Memory of Light!

• All young scientists start somewhere, and this girl has a great story – and video! – of where her future science career will begin. She sent a Hello Kitty doll into space.

• Are you following along with Ron Hogan’s read of The Human Division, by John Scalzi? They’re up to Episode 4, “A Voice in the Wilderness.”

• Flavorwire compiled a list of some truly amazing fictional libraries. What did they miss?

• Tor.com has announced that they’re expanding their short fiction program. Submit your stories now!

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

• Cory Doctorow on Aaron Swartz
• An Interview with Lady Trent, Dragon Naturalist by Marie Brennan
• Speechless: Writing Dialogue for Characters Who Don’t Speak by Evie Manieri
• A Demented Labor of Love by James Frenkel, Senior Editor

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

• Waiting on Wednesday: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett (Ends 2/12)
• Goodreads First Reads: Deep Down by Deborah Coates (Ends 2/13)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett (Ends 2/13)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Six-Gun Tarot by R. S. Belcher (Ends 2/15)
• Goodreads Giveaway: Eve of Destruction by Sylvia Day (Ends 2/26)
• Goodreads First Reads: Pandemonium by Warren Fahy (Ends 2/27)
• eBook Sale: The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 2/28)
• Goodreads First Reads: Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal (Ends 3/1)
• Goodreads First Reads: Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn (Ends 3/1)

New Releases: 2/5/2013

See upcoming releases.

An Interview with Lady Trent, Dragon Naturalist

Written by Marie Brennan

We are pleased to share with our readership an exclusive interview with Lady Trent, who graciously consented to answer a few questions one morning during a recent visit to Falchester. For her generosity and toleration, we owe her our thanks.

Lady Trent, why publish your memoirs now? You’re already known the world over—what more could you possibly hope to accomplish?

I hope to be able to write a single line in response to queries about one part or another of my life: “I have discussed that in great detail in my memoirs, and urge you to consult them if you wish to know more.” I do not mean to sound arrogant, but the truth is that it has become exceedingly tedious, repeating myself time and time again in my letters. The notion of being able to direct interested parties to a single authoritative source has become very attractive, especially as I get on in years. My eyesight is not what it once was.

In all your published materials, one thing you’ve never discussed was what has been referenced in the lesser city papers as the “Chiavoran Affair.” Is there anything you’d like to clear up regarding that matter?

“Clear up?” I should say so, if you believe there is any red meat to be found in that incident—as you so patently do. Good heavens, the idea that anybody should still be digging around in the dust-bin of my life in search of entertaining scandal. . . but perhaps I can finally lay this one to rest. (Hope, as they say, springs eternal.)

The affair, if it even merits that name, was entirely one-sided, and largely imaginary at that. I was introduced to Dom Pappino quite properly during the opening supper for the Congresso Internazionale per la Ricerca Draconica, and he behaved like a perfect gentleman. We spoke at some length during the dinner, and more in the coming days, as he was very interested in my presentation on morphological lability—a topic I dare say you don’t understand in the slightest, much less care about, as there is nothing salacious to be found in it.

That ought to have been the end of things, except that after the conclusion of the congress, Dom Pappino followed me back to Scirland. He had business there—an interest in one of the fledgling caeliger enterprises—but yes, he also had an interest in me. What the scandal-sheets failed to grasp was that his motives were intellectual in nature, not carnal. At no point did Dom Pappino attempt to proposition me. His presence at the various social events I attended may have looked suggestive, but if there was any conspiracy involved, it lay in our mutual disinclination to small talk, and preference for the company of a scholarly peer. And as for the report that he was evicted from my back garden late one night, I assure you it is entirely false.

I admit I found his company wearisome after a time, as even I enjoy conversation on topics other than dragons, and Dom Pappino was nothing if not single-minded. But the affair, as I say, was largely imaginary, existing far more in the scandal-sheets than in reality. If this disappoints you, I am afraid I cannot bring myself to apologize.

In the first volume of your memoirs, you describe an unfortunate night-time encounter with Stauleren smugglers. Was it truly your quick wit, as you claim, that persuaded the smugglers to let you go free?

It was my understanding that working at a newspaper required the sort of basic literacy skills imparted in grammar school. Was I in error? Had you attended to your reading, you would know I claimed it was the self-interest of the smugglers which persuaded them to let me go, and not my quick wit at all. As for anything else, I will thank you not to make such insinuations again.

You’re well known for your inappropriate, unladylike behavior, yet somehow you’ve become a role model for a whole generation of young ladies. What do you have to say to the thousands of shocked parents whose daughters are clamoring to follow in your footsteps?

As flattering as it is for you to paint me in such light, I suspect you exaggerate with your “thousands.” Be that as it may, I do acknowledge the situation, and understand why it distresses some.

I would say to those parents that several hundred years ago, it was inappropriate and unladylike for women to sit intermingled with men in an Assembly House—but that standard has changed. So, too, has the standard that said women should never attend the public spectacle of the theatre; now attendance is almost de rigeur, at least for those who wish to be thought socially significant. Once it was unladylike for a married woman to show her hair; then lovely hair on display became the mark of a lady; I could go on, but I believe my point has been made.

The true question is not whether a given behavior would meet with the approval of our forebears, but instead whether that behavior is detrimental to society in general or the individual in particular. I quite understand the concern of a mother or father for their daughter’s safety; my life has not been an easy one, and I bear the scars to prove it. In such instances my advice might better be directed to the young ladies themselves, in the hopes of persuading them that adventurousness and recklessness are different things, and that getting yourself killed will impress no one. But the difficulty of youth is that you believe yourself to be indestructible, and so I can only hope that the young ladies will listen to me and have a care for their own well-being.

Not all of those girls are clamoring to get sick with yellow fever or fall over an icy cliff, though. Some are merely clamoring to attend university (which I never did) or subscribe to one of the scholarly journals. In those cases, I assure the parents that no harm will be done to their daughters’ health, unless perhaps the girls are prone to eyestrain, or become wild as some of our young men do when carousing in university towns. Such perils do not, in my opinion, outweigh the benefit that might be gained from allowing bright young female minds to stretch their wings.

…………………………

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

…………………………

More from the February Tor/Forge newsletter:

• Cory Doctorow on Aaron Swartz
• Speechless: Writing Dialogue for Characters Who Don’t Speak by Evie Manieri
• A Demented Labor of Love by James Frenkel, Senior Editor
• Grab Bag Sweepstakes

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.

• Because we love tormenting fans (and ourselves, let’s be honest), check out this post from Irene Gallo of Tor.com, who went behind the scenes to watch A Memory of Light being printed at the bindery. Also: Tor.com is having a NYC midnight launch for the final Wheel of Time book!

• Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit comes out today! Over on io9, there’s a fun list of 12 things you probably didn’t know about the epic new movie.

• Looking for new reading material for the holidays? Tor.com has you covered. They’ve invited some of their regular reviews to share their favorite reads of 2012. The result is an eclectic list of books sure to please almost any genre fan.

• A well deserved award: SFWA has named Gene Wolfe the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award Winner for 2012. If you want to check out some of the award-winning author’s earlier works, we’ve just announced 19 of his backlist titles are now available as ebooks.

• Tor.com has launched a new series: Talking with Tom. In this initial conversation, the legendary founder of Tor chats with L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

• In November, science fiction author Frederik Pohl made a rare appearance at Windycon, where he did an interview with ChicagoScope.

• Finally, io9 has their impressions of the first nine minutes of Star Trek: Into Darkness. Is anyone else ridiculously excited for this movie? I know I am, but I’m a bit of a Trekker, so…

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

• The Toughest Part of Writing Cold City by F. Paul Wilson
• A Letter from Harry Ransom by Felix Gilman
• Crying Bully by J. A. Souders
• What if? Two little words that created S. J. Day’s Eve of Darkess by Sylvia Day

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

• Newsletter Sweepstakes: Big Fat Books for the Holidays (Ends 12/16)
• Goodreads First Reads: Impulse by Steven Gould (Ends 12/18)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Sixth Station by Linda Stasi (Ends 12/19)
• eBook Sale: People of the Earth by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
• eBook Sale: Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
• eBook Sale: Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War by Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
• eBook Sale: Imager by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
• Goodreads First Reads: Homeland by Cory Doctorow (Ends 1/9)
• Goodreads First Reads: Kalimpura by Jay Lake (Ends 1/9)
• Goodreads First Reads: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Ends 1/9)

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.
 

 

• Want to know more about Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time? Tor and Rock Soup Productions have put together a series of videos with Brandon Sanderson, Harriet McDougal, Tom Doherty, Jason Denzel, and more. You can see the first two on Tor.com now!.)

• John Scalzi returns to the Old Man’s War universe on January 15th, with the debut of The Human Division!

• Jim C. Hines, the fantasy author famous for striking a pose, has decided to do it again – this time for charity. And he’s challenged John Scalzi to a pose-off!

• There are some truly beautiful images in Tor.com’s Picturing the Hobbit.

• This week was Hobbit Week on The Colbert Report. Did you watch?

• Tor.com is collecting some of their favorite stories from the year, and the ebook is now available for pre-order.

• io9 has a new glimpse behind the scenes of Season 3 of Game of Thrones!

• Last but not least, here’s the first look at Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff, yelling at Ender and his fellow launchies. We can’t wait for this movie to come out.
   
  And, just to make Friday that much sweeter, here’s a list of sweepstakes and sales we have going on!
  • Goodreads Giveaway: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 12/14)
  • Newsletter Sweepstakes: Big Fat Books for the Holidays (Ends 12/16)
  • Goodreads First Reads: Impulse by Steven Gould (Ends 12/18)
  • Goodreads First Reads: The Sixth Station by Linda Stasi (Ends 12/19)
  • eBook Sale: People of the Earth by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
  • eBook Sale: Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
  • eBook Sale: Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War by Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
  • eBook Sale: Imager by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 1/2)
  • Goodreads First Reads: Homeland by Cory Doctorow (Ends 1/9)
  • Goodreads First Reads: Kalimpura by Jay Lake (Ends 1/9)
  • Goodreads First Reads: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Ends 1/9)

Goodreads First Reads: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s pre-eminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Marie Brennan introduces an enchanting new world in A Natural History of Dragons.

Enter for a chance to win here!

(Ends January 9)

Also, don’t forget to check out our other sweepstakes!

New Releases: 9/25/2012

See upcoming releases.

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.

• io9 found these amazing silhouettes showing comic book characters at recess. They are now my desktop background. Which one is your favorite?
• Tor.com wants to know: what are your favorite Wheel of Time quotes? Mine: “Blood and bloody ashes!” From Mat, of course.
• Another great link from io9, this time an incredibly comprehensive list of upcoming sf/f movies that aren’t sequels or prequels.
• Over at SF Signal, there’s a new MIND MELD post: Has Space Opera lost its luster?
• Ursula K. Le Guin tackles the Literature vs. Genre debate.
• A fun music video from the New York State Reading Association.
• William S. Burroughs was an exterminator, and the odd jobs of 23 other famous writers.
• And finally, the beautiful cover of Marie Brennan’s upcoming A Natural History of Dragons has been revealed!

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

• Summer Manga Sweepstakes (Ends 7/1)
• Kitty Goes to War by Carrie Vaughn (Ends 7/3)
• Seed Seeker by Pamela Sargent (Ends 7/6)
• Farseed by Pamela Sargent (Ends 7/6)
• An Echo Through the Snow by Andrea Thalasinos (Ends 7/9)
• The Eye of the World Graphic Novel, Volume Two by Robert Jordan (Ends 7/13)
• The Eye of The World trade paperback edition, by Robert Jordan (Ends 7/13)
• The Great Hunt trade paperback edition, by Robert Jordan (Ends 7/13)
• Kitty’s Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn (Ends 7/17)
• Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero written and illustrated by Fred Chao (Ends 7/18)

Steampunk Sweepstakes

Sign up for the Tor/Forge Newsletter for a chance to win the following prize pack:

About our newsletter: every issue of Tor’s monthly email newsletter features original writing by, and interviews with, Tor authors and editors about upcoming new titles from all Tor and Forge imprints. In addition, we occasionally send out “special edition” newsletters to highlight particularly exciting new projects, programs, or events.

If you’re already a newsletter subscriber, you can enter too. We do not automatically enter subscribers into sweepstakes. We promise we won’t send you duplicate copies of the newsletter if you sign up for the newsletter more than once.

Sign up for your chance to win today!

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 October 3, 2011 at 12 a.m. ET. and ends November 9, 2011, 11:59 p.m. ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law. For Official Rules and to enter, go here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

More giveaways:

• The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (Ends 10/7)
• The Dark at the End by F. Paul Wilson (Ends 10/12)
• Cold Gory by B. Kent Anderson (Ends 10/12)
• Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham (Ends 10/14)
• Repairman Jack Sweepstakes (Ends 10/16)
• Steel by Richard Matheson (Ends 10/19)