It's News To Me #35

It's that time again, finals start next week and I make no promises as to how many reviews I'll get out nor how many links will be included in the news segment. Because all of my classes are depending 100% on my final exams, I get a bit stressed at this time of year/semester. Just ask my wife, or better yet don't. :)

Cover Art

Covers like these make me want to read a book (Swanland is my hero):

Surrender to the Will of the Night (Instrumentalities of the Night Book 3) by Glen Cook [US] [UK]

Elfsorrow (Legends of the Raven Book 1) by James Barclay [US] [UK]

News

Brian Ruckley "Answers 8 Rad Questions" that aren't rad and can barely be considered questions. But he's a writer I guess, and of fantasy, so he's good at making things up. :D

The Nook Color is reviewed at Genre Reader. I probably won't get a reader for a while, but Jeff does a great job laying it down with his eReader reviews.

Sarah asks what was your "Gateway Drug" into Speculative Fiction - meaning that book that got you loving the genre, which you'll always love, but which in reality probably isn't the best book ever put to paper.

There's an exclusive excerpt of Orson Scott Card's new book (first in a trilogy), The Lost Gate. (thanks Yagiz).

I've been keeping up on Patrick Rothfuss's Worldbuilders project through donated, signed books and I think it's a great way to make this world a better place. If you have even a little to give, this is a great way to go.

On that note, Pat (Hotlist) is donating all proceeds from his links to Breast Cancer Research. You don't even have to do anything but buy your gifts through these links and you can help.

Oh, and he's not done...and others have things to say about that.

Movies/TV/Videos

I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones on HBO, I'm sure you can't tell, so here's a teaser trailer and if you follow this link, there are 9 other short clips to get you excited:

Clip Preview

And that's the news...at least to me.

Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #33

Hello and welcome to the second Roundup in August. To my surprise I didn't find a movie trailer worth posting, so I hope you "survive" without a trailer. After reading several reviews -- most of them negative -- about G I Joe I decided to save my money for an other movie. And now enjoy reading...

Books

In the last couple of weeks I have posted a lot concerning books that I bought and ordered. This week, I had to cancel my pre-order of the German edition of Best Served Cold (2009) [US][UK] by Joe Abercrombie because the publishing date has been postponed. I still wanted the book though, so I ordered the hardcover at Book Depository UK. You won't believe me but, I also found time for reading. I finished Bloodheir (2008) [US][UK] by Brian Ruckley. This middle book in The Godless World trilogy is strong, dark, vivid, harsh, and powerful. Next up on the reading list, The Angels's Game (2009) [US][UK] by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

US-Cover followed by UK-Cover


Have you ever read a book by Karen Miller? I must admit that I own all the books in the Godspeaker trilogy - unread. It seems there is a some hype surrounding her new book The Prodigal Mage (2009) [US][UK]. I have read several reviews by Mad Hatter, Kimberly Swan, John, a preview by Robots and Vamps and an intermediate reading impression by Jeff C which all praise the book, without exception. A little icing on the cake, I give you a link to a Karen Miller interview and the opportunity to read an exclusive excerpt. In case you have read it please let me know your impression. I'm also interested in your opinion on her other books.

Blogosphere

You may remember that I briefly touched on author Cherie Priest who is going "steampunk" with her upcoming book Boneshaker. How would you define steampunk? In case you don't have your own definition handy, you should refer to wikipedia steampunk entry which is a suitable starting point. But if you want more, then I highly recommend Steampunk: What it is, why I came to like it, and why I think it’ll stick around" by Cherie Priest.

And now I want to draw your attention to a special post over at SF Signal who asked several people (authors and blogger) What book or books hold special memories for you? What are they? I promise you interesting and entertaining posts. I read about a number of books I never heard of before.

Reality - Fantasy

Last week, I talked about how elements that we find in fantasy novels derive their origin from reality. This is not unusual. But when we can see, smell, and touch things in reality it helps our imagination along. In a lot of fantasy novels you find cities, towns, and hamlets. Maybe some of you read Nights of Villjamur (2009) by Mark Charan Newton [US] [UK]. For me the town Villjamur is the secret star of the book. Mark Charan Newtons depiction of Villjamur is one of the best I have read in the past years. That leads me to walled cities. There are a lot of old walled towns around the world. You know some of them? I highly recommend a look at The Walled cities post over at Dark Roasted Blend which I recommended some time ago. There are 890 properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List. And the list contains walled cities. The World Heritage Site posted a list of walled cities including vistor impressions. I couldn't resist showing you a video about the famous German town, Rothenburg ob der Tauber:


Quotes

This week I offer you quotes related to war. I have been inspired by the walled cities.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
Albert Einstein (1879 -1955)

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it."
George Orwell (1903 -1950)

"What difference does it make to the dead,
the orphans and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)