WWW: August 8, 2012

Hello, my beloved readers. This has been a bit of a slow week. It seems the entire world is watching the Olympics, which I’m okay with because I love the Olympics. The weirder the sport the better! So, what have I seen on the internet this last week?

1. The other big thing going on in the world, or I guess I should out of it, is that we landed a rover on Mars. You know how they say truth is stranger than fiction? If I had read the landing plan for the Odyssey rover in a science fiction book, I would have dismissed it as too far-fetched. Watch the video with the JPL engineers describing the “seven minutes of terror.” Curiosity took an awesome picture of it jettisoning its heat shield, and you should also check out this awesome photo caught by a satellite of the Odyssey parachuting towards the surface. Also, props to Bobak Ferdowsi for having the most awesome hair of anyone in the control room.

2. Joss Whedon, who has sort of become a demi-god in the world of fantasy and comic book fans, has inspired a rather vocal fan base. This list of the top 10 Whedon characters is sure to gather some, “But where is _____?” comments from the Whedonverse, but I must say I agree with number one.

3. How awesome would it be to have J.K. Rowling as a mom? Check out this Harry Potter inspired treehouse she is building for her kids. It’s so big it requires special zoning permission.

4. I try to avoid computer games because I have so little self control that I end up forgetting to do things like sleep. But Skyrim keeps tempting me to pick up a controller again. (I’m a sucker for a fantasy setting. Surprise, surprise.) That desire has only been strengthened by this awesome My Little Pony dragon mod. (Also, My Little Pony Dr. Who.)

5. Phoenix Pick is offering a free ebook for August. The coupon code for L. Neil Smith’s Prometheus Award-winning novel, Pallas, is 9991494 and will be good from now through August 31, 2012. Download the book from their online catalogue. They are also offering the second book in the series (Ceres, a Prometheus Award finalist itself) for only $3.99 through the download site. The regular ebook price of the novel is $9.99.

6. SF Signal hosted a podcast with Gail Carriger, Cherie Priest, Jay Lake, Paul Di Fillipo, Phillipa Ballantine and Tee Morris about steampunk. Go listen, my children, and be enlightened.

7. Sword and Laser, which I mentioned in last week’s column, hosted an awesome video chat with John Scalzi. See, I told you it was worth checking out. They are also kicking off their group read of Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb, which is one of my all-time favorite series and if you haven’t read it you should just turn off your computer right now and go read it. Seriously. It’s better than my column, I promise.  If you don’t own a copy (shuuuuuunnnn!!!) you can just click on the cover to the right and it will take you straight to a wonderful place where you can by it.

8. I’d just like to say that this fall looks like it is shaping up to be a wonderful television season for lovers of fantasy. Both Once Upon a Time and Grimm have been renewed. I love Grimm, especially the relationship that has developed between the monster hunting main character and Monroe, a vegetarian werewolf. Last season ended on a cliffhanger so I’m glad it’s back for it’s season premiere on August 13 – next Monday, my peeps. Also, the J.J. Abrams helmed post-apocalyptic adventure Revolution is set to debut. I really liked the earlier trailer because when they walked by Wrigley Field, it had a 2012 World Series champions banner hanging out front, but I guess they decided that was too fantastical for belief so it’s not in the trailer now. Revolution won’t debut until September 17th and Once Upon a Time doesn’t hit the screen until September 30th.

9. It looks like the cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is back on track, with rumors that Russell Crowe might be cast as Roland.  That might bring in new fans to one of King’s best loved series.

So, dear readers, what do you think of the links above? Who do you think Joss Whedon’s best character is? Will you be more likely to see The Dark Tower if it features Russell Crowe? Did you watch the Mars Rover landing? Feel free to weigh in down in the comments. And what’s the awesomest thing you saw on the interwebs in the last week? Leave a link in the comments below. And if you have anything you think should be featured in next week’s WWW post, send me a link at ruth [at] fantasyliterature [dot] com.