eBook Deals

Thought I'd stop by the blog for a quick post about some great deals I found. Sorry for the inactivity, but the bar is just a few weeks away.

[$0.99] A Pair of Aces by Joe R. Lansdale
[$1.99] The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
[$2.99] The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
[$3.79] Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders #1) by Robin Hobb

Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #34

Hello and welcome to a new issue of my Roundup, which will be a bit different than previous ones. Three things prevented me from spending as much time as usual on research. I took the pleasure to answer 19 questions for an interview. More information will be delivered soon.... I have been captured by The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. But the most annoying obstacle has been an infection of the middle ear (left ear). The constant pain has forced me to take pain killers because I couldn't concentrate on anything. Oh, and the antibiotics make me tired. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy reading the following snippets...

Books

It makes me even more sick when I can't read because of the pain and nauseating medication. Therefore, I'm still not finished with The Angels's Game (2009) [US][UK] by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It is a good book, but I feel that The Shadow of the Wind [US][UK] is better by far - more 'magic' moments. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'm still not sure whether to follow my summer reading list or not. I think my next read will depend on my mood.

Maps

Two months ago I wrote about Fantasy Maps. During one of my last web rambles I stumbled over Need help getting around the Seven Kingdoms? . You don't know the Seven Kingdoms? Ever have heard of A Song of Ice and Fire? Then I must tell you that you have missed an extraordinary fantasy series. Go immediately to the closest book store and buy A Game of Thrones [US] [UK] by George R.R. Martin, which is the first book. You won't regret it. And now back to maps. Read the mentioned post and follow the links. The map of Westeros which you see at the right side of this text - click on pic to enlarge- is a masterly peace of map art created by the Cartographer's Guild member 'Tear'. And when you finish enjoying this map then I have one more mouth-watering link for you.Watch and sink into Unusual and Marvelous Maps.

Blogosphere

Do you know the most commonly seen element appearing on fantasy books published in 2008 ? I know since I read The Chart of Fantasy Art. I don't bewray (archaic English for disclose) it, but I can promise that it is neither dragons or tattoos.

On 12th of August The New Yorker published Seven Essentials Fantasy Reads: Going to second Base. I think you know what happened next: Posts on book blogs. You find comments and alternative lists. I must admit that I didn't find the time in the past days to work on my own list, but I will try to post it in the next Roundup. Until then you have the opportunity to read An Aside The New Yorker's seven essential Fantasy reads by Aidan and Aidan's article: My Seven Essential Second-step Fantasies. Mark Charan Newton, the author of Nights of Villjamur [US] [UK] posted his own list. The post by Adam differs from the others. He commented on the list by using fantasy subgenres. Fantasy in the New Yorker!?! is Pat's answer. It seems Gav didn't like the list at all. James commented on every book. The longest post header and a really different list has been delivered by Jeff: A fantasy list for those who don't want to stop at second base, but who'd rather hit a grand slam and then score continuously or something !

Movies

This week I will show you two trailers. The first one I found over at BCS Reviews. The second one I searched for on my own. These are the trailers to Avatar (December 2009) and Delgo (December 2008). It seems there are parallels between the two movies. For detailed information please read: The 7 Eeriest Parallels Between Avatar and Delgo. Maybe some of you have seen Delgo and can tell more about it. And enjoy the trailers:

Avatar - Theatrical Trailer



Quotes

I didn't even need to think on a subject for quotes this week: E A R S

"We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less"
Diogenes

"One of my theories is that men love with their eyes; women love with their ears.”
Zsa Zsa Gabor

"What a blessing it would be if we could open and shut our ears as easily as we open and shut our mouths”
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

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)