Ah Wednesday, how I love thee! Wednesday means the middle of the week, and we’re halfway to the weekend at last. Wednesday means bringing you, our loyal FanLit readers, the very best of what is going on out there in the wide world of the Internet. Without further ado, let’s get started!
1) Three of the Best
This event has received a write up from a few notables — in the UK on Thursday 20th May, at Forbidden Planet, three fantastic authors of speculative fiction came together for a mass signing: these being Mark Charan Newton, Adam Nevill and China Mieville. A crowd of bloggers descended and most have provided their feedback of the event: Dark Fiction Review, Speculative Book Review, Floor to Ceiling Books, Speculative Horizons, and Next Read.
2) Negative Reviews
Sharon from Dark Fiction Review also pulled together a fascinating article on negative book reviews, talking to a UK-centric crowd of bloggers, authors and publicists. Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen had his own thoughts on the matter.
3) Completing a Trilogy
The lovely Tia has invited David Williams to Debuts & Reviews to discuss completing a trilogy. It would be great if you guys could head over there and show Mr Williams some love in the comments section.
4) The Republic of Thieves
The Gollancz team have allowed Speculative Horizons the honour of revealing the new cover art for The Republic of Thieves — I think it looks simply gorgeous; what do you all think? While we’re talking cover art, the French have done it again — Mihai Dark Wolf brings us the new cover for Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliott.
5) Rural Fantasy
We all know about urban fantasy — both the original kind as written by Charles de Lint and the more recent efforts by Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison — but are you on Rural Fantasy? Mark Charan Newton describes the genre and offers up some examples of the craft, including Mythago Wood — be sure to read the comments where a number of readers familiar with this subgenre give their opinions on what you should be reading.
6) Publisher Spotlight
Sometimes it seems as though ideas come to those on the Interwebs at the same time across space and regions — one such is a sort of publisher spotlight. Wondrous Reads shows us a profile of UK publisher Simon & Schuster Children’s, while Tia is conducting a slightly different sort of profile where she studies the publishers who send review copies, starting with Small Beer Press.
7) Myths & Misconceptions
Our newest guest reviewer, Paul, has once again penned an article for his own blog that I think is essential reading — especially if you’ve been looking at China Mieville‘s books and wondering a) where to start and b) whether his books are for you. He talks about the myths and misconceptions that particularly surround Mr Mieville’s Bas-Lag books.
8) The Future Is…
Angry Robot’s latest guest blogger is Adam Christopher, and he talks all about whether the future of books is the eReader. Are you ready to make the switch? Or will you always be a paper-based reader? What advantages can you see to buying an eReader?
9) What Fantasy Series is Under-Rated?
SF Signal bring us another entertaining Mind Meld — this time asking various authors which series, comprising three or more books, is under read and under rated. The results make interesting reading — and had me compiling a massive wishlist!
10) Optimism and pessimism
Alastair Reynolds is invited to blog over at Borders on the optimism and pessimism found in the world of science fiction.
Alright, people, we’re all done — thanks for joining me in another exciting episode of World Wide Wednesday!
I have to admit I was partial to the original Prince of Dogs artwork, but that’s mostly because it’s full of Rottweilers, and I wanted to take them all home and hug them and squeeze them and name them George. :-))
I don’t like dogs much, but if I had one, it’d be a Rottweiler. I do like to look at them — so powerful.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Mythago Wood.
My Rottweiler looks incredibly powerful when she sprawls out on the floor with her tongue hanging out and her wee tail wagging. ;)
(Powerful jaws, though. I’ve lost a few shoes and–HORRORS!–books along the way.)
(And rural fantasy can be awesome! You’ve got stuff like Ilona Andrews’ Edge series, which is kind of like the current UF wave except it takes place in the boonies, and stuff like Mythago Wood, which I so need to read one of these days…and I’m such a sucker for a “quaint little town with supernatural secrets and maybe a big scary house” novel, and there are lots of those too.)
The Riryia Revelations by Sullivan is highly underrated. Great series and no one is reading it.
A lot of Charles de Lint’s lesser known stuff would classify as rural fantasy. Something like Circle of Cats, for instance.
Tyson, we’ve reviewed all of those books (last review isn’t posted yet). Please find them here: https://fantasyliterature.com/sullivanmichaelj.html
Welcome!