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.

 

• Check out the book trailer for The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson’s new young adult novel! Now we really want to see this as a movie. Don’t you?

• Because some weeks, a hilarious cat video is necessary. Luckily, this week, Mary Robinette Kowal found us an absolutely perfect one. Apparently cats can, in fact, levitate.

• Have you seen these Star Wars pulp covers? Artist Timothy Anderson did a whole series of them, and they’re truly amazing.

• This week marks the anniversary of Ray Bradbury’s death. In honor of one of the titans of genre fiction, why not read some of his work to inspire you? Tor.com has five story suggestions to start with.

• The San Francisco Public Library has chosen Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother as its One City, One Book selection for 2013!

• With Matt Smith’s upcoming departure from Doctor Who after this year’s Christmas special, bookies are already taking odds as to who’ll be cast as the next Doctor. Who do you think it’ll be?

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

• The Children Who Inspired Battle School by Aaron Johnston
• Krakens: What’s Not to Love? by S. M. Wheeler
• Summer Grab Bag Sweepstakes

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

• Waiting on Wednesday: Replica by Jenna Black (Ends 6/11)
• Goodreads First Reads: Thieves’ Quarry by D. B. Jackson (Ends 6/12)
• 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)
• Goodreads First Reads: Drift by Jon McGoran (Ends 6/21)
• Goodreads First Reads: Mist by Susan Krinard (Ends 6/24)
• Goodreads First Reads: Replica by Jenna Black (Ends 6/25)
• Goodreads First Reads: Storm Riders by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes (Ends 6/26)
• Goodreads First Reads: Traveling Light by Andrea Thalasinos (Ends 6/27)
• Goodreads First Reads: Extremities by David Lubar (Ends 6/28)
• Goodreads Giveaway: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Ends 6/28)
• Goodreads Giveaway: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Ends 6/30)
• Summer Grab Bag Sweepstakes (Ends 6/30)
• Goodreads First Reads: Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn (Ends 7/1)
• eBook Sale: The Affinity Bridge, by George Mann, is on sale for $2.99 (Ends 7/5)

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!

New Releases: 4/2/2013

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.

 

• 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)

A Demented Labor of Love

Written by James Frenkel, Senior Editor

I have edited, packaged, or been the in-house editor for several dozen anthologies since I started working in publishing, late in the last millennium. I’ve always loved working on them, especially anthologies with original stories, because they give readers (and the editor, too!) a chance to discover talented young writers who haven’t yet made a name for themselves with novels, as well as cool short fiction by wonderful established writers. Anthologies are also perfect new millennium media, especially for people who are too busy to read long books. In an anthology, each story is complete, but doesn’t take a long time to read. And themed anthologies, if they’re done well, like this one, are often a great revelation, as you read one story after another, each one offering a different writer’s original, creative take on the theme.

The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, brought to me by the obviously demented, twisted John Joseph Adams, has been a labor of love. Twisted, tortured, tied-up-in-baling-wire-that-cut-into-my-bleeding-wrists love, but definitely love.

Its genesis was a long, seriously difficult process: at one point, the longest story in the anthology was hijacked by the editors of another anthology; sadly, one of the contributors died, and we don’t know just how many have fled into the hills . . . but we know Adams himself abandoned the East Coast for what he obviously perceived to be the relative safety of California. Obviously, he doesn’t understand the perils of unstable plate tectonics and multiple fault lines.

Were all these developments really coincidence? Hmmm.

But I had to keep going. Why? Hahahahahaha! Did you read the title? It’s the Mad Scientist’s Guide.

Have you ever noticed, in sf and fantasy books, almost always, the good guys win. The bad guys — Mob bosses, over-ambitious warlords, evil scientists, power-mad wizards — are usually crushed, their hopes and dreams, however misguided, or yes, perhaps even malevolent, turned to ashes.

This book is for them—really, yes, for those maligned, misunderstood MADMEN who merely want to RULE THE WORLD (or destroy it). Cloaked in the sheep’s garb of fiction, hidden within the pages of this guide, are secrets that readers probably will never discover . . . but those for whom this book is really intended (you know who you are, in your secret lairs, your hidden laboratories, your camouflaged hideaways with booby-trapped entrances to trap the uninitiated) will see, will discern the true, masterfully disguised intent!

And then, all the others, the unsuspecting readers who will enjoy the “stories,” will know, to their eternal doom, that what they thought were mere tales by “fiction” writers such as Diana Gabaldon, Daniel Wilson, Austin Grossman, Ben Winters, Naomi Novik, Harry Turtledove, Jeffrey Ford, Mary Robinette Kowal, Alan Dean Foster, Seanan McGuire, David Farland, Carrie Vaughn, Grady Hendrix — there are nine others, and you might find them out if you are clever, but . . . stop me before I say too much! . . . are really plans.

Yes, plans . . .

World domination will be theirs! Even the “cover artist,” Ben Templesmith . . . ha! if you think the image on the cover is mere decoration, you will rue your naive confidence. What does a “temple smith” really do? Have you really considered that? I thought not.

And now it’s too late . . . and I have enabled them . . . if the world ends now, I will know I did my part. For now it is enough to know that nothing can stop them — the “stories” — now! They are free to infect the world . . .

…………………………

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
• An Interview with Lady Trent, Dragon Naturalist by Marie Brennan
• Speechless: Writing Dialogue for Characters Who Don’t Speak by Evie Manieri
• 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.

 

• Want to see Brandon Sanderson’s writing process? You can. He’s recorded himself writing the new Stormlight Archives book in real time.

• io9 looked at how the military background of some sci-fi and fantasy authors affected their fiction. Did they miss anyone?

• If you saw Wreck-It Ralph in theaters, you might have gotten to see a beautiful six minute short film from Disney. Now, the full thing is available for anyone to see. Check out Paperman on io9.

• Suvudu has announced the participants of the 2013 Cage Match! Who are you rooting for?

• Mary Robinette Kowal’s annual Month of Letters has begun! Are you participating in the challenge?

• This week, we were excited to announce that we’ve signed a new trilogy in author Charles Stross’s Merchant Princes series. More details are on Tor.com.

• In Forge author news, Linda Stasi, the author of The Sixth Staion, was on the Today Show earlier this week! Check out her interview and read an excerpt of her book.

• Last, but definitely not least, the Fantasy Reader blog has collected a huge variety of fantasy maps. Hours of entertainment, right there.

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

• 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)
• 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)
• eBook Sale: Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn (Ends 3/6)

Goodreads First Reads: Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal

About Without a Summer: 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.

Enter for a chance to win here!

(Ends March 1)

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

New Releases: 1/15/2013

See upcoming releases.

Goodreads First Reads: The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination edited by John Joseph Adams

About The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination: From Victor Frankenstein to Lex Luthor, from Dr. Moreau to Dr. Doom, readers have long been fascinated by insane plans for world domination and the madmen who devise them. Typically, we see these villains through the eyes of good guys. This anthology, however, explores the world of mad scientists and evil geniuses—from their own wonderfully twisted point of view.

An all-star roster of bestselling authors—including Diana Gabaldon, Daniel Wilson, Austin Grossman, Naomi Novik, and Seanan McGuire…twenty-two great storytellers all told—have produced a fabulous assortment of stories guaranteed to provide readers with hour after hour of high-octane entertainment born of the most megalomaniacal mayhem imaginable.

Everybody loves villains. They’re bad; they always stir the pot; they’re much more fun than the good guys, even if we want to see the good guys win. Their fiendish schemes, maniacal laughter, and limitless ambition are legendary, but what lies behind those crazy eyes and wicked grins? How—and why—do they commit these nefarious deeds? And why are they so set on taking over the world?

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, you’re in luck: It’s finally time for the madmen’s side of the story.

Enter for a chance to win on Goodreads here!

(Ends January 31)

Also, don’t forget to check out our other 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.

• Deviant Art user (and Whovian!) crazyfoalrus built his own TARDIS control room in his home. This is absolutely insane, and I desperately want one in my apartment.

• In Clarkesworld Magazine, author Lev AC Rosen has a heartfelt plea for genre fiction to include more queer characters: “I’m not saying every story needs a queer character. Or that it’s a writer’s responsibility to do more than tell a great story. But I do think it’s time for all of us—straight folks included—to think more about where queer characters fit into SFF.”

• Want to tour the United States without ever leaving your couch? Now you can, with this list of 50 young adult books, one for each state.

• Mary Robinette Kowal, the author of Shades of Milk and Honey and Glamour in Glass, is auctioning off a manuscript of her next novel, Without a Summer, for Hurricane Sandy relief. Check it out, and donate to a good cause. A lot of folks up here still need help.

• It’s time to start voting for your favorite books of 2012! Start with the Goodreads Choice Awards, a list of great 2012 titles to choose among, including several Tor titles, like Scalzi’s Redshirts and Card’s Shadows in Flight.

• Also announced are the nominees for RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards. In the science fiction category, we have Scalzi’s Redshirts; in fantasy, Tina Connolly’s Ironskin and Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamour in Glass; and in epic fantasy, Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts. Congratulations to all the authors nominated!

• Publishers Weekly and Booklist have also come out with the Best SF/F of 2012 lists, and they share a common book: Ann and Jeff VanderMeer’s The Weird!

• Finally, you can now download free wallpaper of The Gathering Storm ebook cover.

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

• Goodreads First Reads: Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson (Ends 11/18)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Ends 11/27)
• Goodreads First Reads: River Road by Suzanne Johnson (Ends 11/27)
• Goodreads First Reads: All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen (Ends 11/27)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest (Ends 11/27)
• Goodreads First Reads: The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman (Ends 11/27)
• Steampunk Collection Sweepstakes (Ends 11/30)