Cool Science Fiction and Fantasy bookish things from around the web:
1. Grasping for the Wind hosts a video of Terry Brooks reading from his Garet Jax short story.
2. In additional Terry Brooks news, the SHANNARA books are in development to be turned into a TV show. This news has caused some kerfuffle amongst fantasy fans as everyone has their own favorite series they think should be on TV. Note: Terry Brooks and Terry Pratchett are different people.
3. I have discovered a level of geekiness even I could not imagine existed. The Lord of the Rings Project is a family tree of every named character in the Lord of the Rings. It includes demographic data and has statistical breakdowns for age, racial distributions and special notes about important characters.
4. An eighteen year old girl just got a six figure advance for her new vampire novel. “I really enjoyed the Twilight saga, but I felt it could go further and be more bloody and edgy,” says Abigail Gibbs. That sound you just heard? Every mid-list authors’ head exploding.
5. SF Signal, which just deservedly won the 2012 Hugo for best Fanzine, has compiled this awesome list of fantasy books recommended for people who play Dungeons and Dragons. I have to say that I agree with all the books I’ve read that are on the list. In fact, I’ve built characters inspired by Elizabeth Moon’s DEED OF PAKSENARRION series. (As an aside, rumor is that she wrote that series to show people how a paladin should be played in a campaign, rather than how they usually are played.) The Paks books are on my comfort read shelf.
6. SFSignal is also giving away two signed copies of Mike Resnick’s new novel, Stalking the Zombie. Head over there for more details on how to enter and win.
7. Tor/Forge‘s blog hosts an interesting interview with Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross about their new book, The Rapture of the Nerds. I’m supposed to be reviewing this book soon, and this interview just made me even more excited to get my hands on a copy.
8. Tor/Forge is also giving away an audiobook of Path of Daggers, book eight in Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME saga, and three ARCs of Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. Head over there to enter.
And, in a huge giveaway that just got announced this morning,
[Tor/Forge is] offering the chance to win one of five Memory of Light backpacks! Each backpack will include a copy of Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe, Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, Spellwright by Blake Charlton, and Shadow and Betrayal by Daniel Abraham.
Go here to enter.
9. io9 has posted their top ten most epic love stories in Science Fiction. I agree with maybe three of them. What do you think? I’m also a little disappointed that so many of their choices aren’t from books.
10. And finally, Chuck Wendig gives us an incredible post about how to write. Not surprisingly, given the source, it’s profanity laced brilliance.
I can’t wait to see the arguments erupt in the comments over whether or not Shannara should be the next big fantasy on TV, and which love story trumps Han and Leia. I expect to see a flame war between the the Brooks fans and the Jordan fans. Don’t disappoint me, people. Come up with a slogan for your preferred book to TV scenario gets a prize of my choosing!
Cool comments may get prizes. Just saying.
How about, “Shannara: Lord of the Rings for Dummies.” :-) I actually enjoyed the Shannara books when I read them as a teenager, but they are often criticized for being similar to Lord of the Rings, especially The Sword of Shannara.
I checked out the 10 most epic love stories, and though I’m familiar with seven of them, I’d only rate a couple of those. In at least three cases, I couldn’t remember the love story at all, which suggests it may not have been that memorable or generally appealing. And I agree, not much on the book front, and even the ones mentioned are safely classic / literary SF.