Category: News and Updates


Hugo Voting and Reviews

Filed under: Conventions, Industry, News and Updates, Reviews — 1 Comment
April 9, 2015

The week isn’t over, but it’s just getting crazier. Aside from the “No True Fan” argument, publications like Entertainment Weekly (though the editors almost immediately retracted the hit piece), Salon, the Telegraph, the Guardian, and more, as well as numerous websites like Cracked and various blogs, have been saying over and over that the Sad Puppies campaign is vile, vicious, vulgar, and villainous. It seems that the campaign that nominated works by liberal, female, non-white, and gay artists did so out of a strong desire for a right-wing utopia dominated by straight white men. Who knew?

But I’m not going to get into that right now. I’m going to leave that up to others. For now, if you want my opinion on the subject, I invite you to look at my previous blog posts. In “Piers Plowman and the Hugo Awards,” I discussed the problem of putting a message before the story. I followed that with a look at those who argue differently, with “G. K. Chesterton and the Social Fiction Warriors.” Finally, after the Hugo ballot was released, I talked about the effort to deny the validity of opinions, and what makes a fan a fan, in “You Are All Fake Geek Girls.”

According to the trackbacks and referrals I’ve been getting, these are all considered moderate opinions, and as unbiased as someone who’s taken a side can get. I’m flattered, everyone, and I’m glad the posts have been useful.

However, unless and until more specifically writing-related topics come up, I’m leaving it there. I’ve been enjoying the extra traffic, but my focus here, on this blog, is on writing and reviews. I’ve said as much as I can really think of about that in relation to the Hugos.

. . . well, almost. I still have to get on to reviewing Hugo nominees. I fully intend to crank out as many reviews of nominated material as I can get before the end of July, when the final ballot is due. I already have non-spoiler reviews of Jim Butcher’s Skin Game (nominated for Best Novel) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The LEGO Movie (both nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form).

But, for now, I want to talk about the voting process. Continue reading →

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G. K. Chesterton and the Social Fiction Warriors

Filed under: Industry, News and Updates, Publishing — 17 Comments
April 3, 2015

This weekend marks a particular event which pilgrims from all over the world have been waiting for. It’s a highly-anticipated event every year, and tomorrow evening, as darkness gathers, groups of the faithful shall come together, united by one desire.

I speak, of course, of the Hugo Awards nominee announcement. Easter’s the next day. Also, Easter involves less shouting, though admittedly it’s associated with at least one dead body.

The Hugo controversy is a hot topic every single year, and it’s only gotten louder in the last several cycles thanks to the campaign known as Sad Puppies. In case you missed my explanation from earlier this week, here’s a shiny and well-crafted link. That post details what the Hugo Awards are, why they matter, and how the controversy started. Or rather, the current controversy. As I said in that previous post, I was voting in the Hugos years ago, before I ever heard of this Larry Correia guy. Disputes happened a lot. That’s okay; I’d actually get worried if everyone was happy about the nominees.

The current dispute over the Hugo Awards boils down to this: books should be judged on their own merits, and good writing rather than ideology should win out. Any push for a book based on its politics, or the politics of its author, is to be treated with suspicion or even outright rejection.

The most interesting thing about this dispute is that both sides are saying the same thing. Continue reading →

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Jim Butcher’s April Fools Joke

Filed under: Just For Fun, News and Updates — 1 Comment
April 1, 2015

Every year, the Butcher team releases an official April Fool’s Day joke. This is the best one yet, and I had to share it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY

Due to readers’ frustration with the wait between books, Jim Butcher and his editor at Penguin Random House are taking inspiration from one of their favorite film trilogies and declaring a temporary hiatus on publication of the Dresden Files novels.

“I think Peter Jackson had the right idea with the Lord of the Rings movies,” Butcher explained. “The trilogy took eight years to make. You can’t expect an audience to wait that long between installments. It made more sense to film all three movies simultaneously, then release them back to back. That’s what I’d like to do.”

He continued, “I mean, these books take a long time to craft.  Each novel is its own challenge with new complexities, and ‘Skin Game’ was almost double the length of ‘Storm Front’.  Brandon Sanderson was kind enough to hook me up with the xenobiologists who grew his hybrid army of alien writer clones, but until these pupae mature, I’m just one man.”

Jim will be writing case books 16 through 20ish all at once, then releasing them six months apart.  Then, taking inspiration from Jackson’s treatment of The Hobbit, Butcher will split the final Apocalyptic Trilogy into fifteen books, also written simultaneously and released on the same schedule.

Look for “Peace Talks” on April 1st, 2027.

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Piers Plowman and the Hugo Awards

Filed under: Conventions, Industry, News and Updates — 28 Comments
March 30, 2015

When I was studying at Christendom College, I had to read a book called Piers Plowman. It was part of the core curriculum that all students had to study, a set of 24 separate classes (plus the math, science, and language requirements) that comprised the entirety of the freshman and sophomore years, as well as some of the junior year. This might sound a bit heavy, but it was actually very efficient and allowed a lot of information in both the lower and upper courses. All professors knew what their students had covered, and so little to no time was wasted on remedial material. This meant more in-depth study of a type normally seen only in graduate courses. With a few exceptions, we were rarely bored.

Piers Plowman was one of those exceptions. The only reason it isn’t a cure for insomnia is because of the torturous pain we suffered by studying it. In fact, in a student parody film based on 24, the villain tortures someone by tying him to a table and reading aloud from Piers Plowman. The actor’s screams were, no doubt, not entirely faked. Continue reading →

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The God of Discworld is Dead

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March 12, 2015

Another geek icon has left us. Terry Pratchett, best known for his Discworld series, died today at just 66.

I have to confess, I wasn’t a fan. I wasn’t able to get into the Discworld books. That doesn’t mean I can’t recognize how much influence he had on the genre. He melded humor into the fantasy genre so seamlessly that, to be honest, he makes Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide seem clunky. Just because I wasn’t engaged by the story of The Colour of Magic doesn’t mean I couldn’t tell he had talent.

Yes, I’ve been told I should try another one of his books. I just haven’t gotten around to it. When people tell me this or that book is better to start with and start arguing with each other, I tend to move on to another series.

I could also sympathize with him because of the physical issues he was dealing with. My condition is nowhere near as debilitating, but requiring assistance to just live is . . . well, a difficult adjustment. And he kept at it; he continued writing via dictation, and kept attending conventions until last year. That’s impressive, and definitely the sign of someone who loved being a storyteller.

Godspeed, Sir Pratchett.

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You May Experience Some Slight Turbulence and Then Explode

Filed under: Conventions, Just For Fun, News and Updates, Plugs and Promotions — 2 Comments
March 11, 2015

Okay, geek fans. We all know that Firefly was one of the most awesome things in the history of geekdom.

And if for some reason you disagree, then *fingers in ears* LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUU . . .

And if for some reason you disagree, then *fingers in ears* LALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOUUUUUU . . .

I could go into lots of reasons why it was a great show, but that’s not the point here. The point of this post is that there is a sort of shared community among Firefly fans that can’t ever be duplicated (well, except by Star Trek fans in the 70s . . . or Doctor Who fans in the 90s . . . never mind, you know what I mean). It’s a shared rapport over not just what it was, but what it could have been. There’s nothing more powerful than the imagination for that sort of thing.

And when you have a rapport like that, you tend to band together. And when you band together, you tend to find other fun things to share. And sometimes the people who help create those fun things show up too. And when that happens, you call it a convention.

And now Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion, with Gina Torres, Felicia Day, Seth Green, and James Gunn, are going to make a series about that experience.  Continue reading →

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Daredevil Trailer Released

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March 10, 2015

Another Dardevil trailer has been released today, this one a full-length theatrical trailer rather than the previous long teaser.

The previous teaser didn’t especially grab me, but this one is piquing my interest. I’m liking the personal angle, the feeling of two strong characters going head-to-head because of different visions for their homes. Continue reading →

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A Look at The Aeronaut’s Windlass

Filed under: News and Updates, Reviews — Leave a comment
March 4, 2015

The cover and dust jacket text for Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass have been released. io9 has an exclusive look at the second chapter, so just hop over there to take a look. Meanwhile, here’s the cover:

Jim Butcher Aeronaut's Windlass

What, no hats?

This isn’t just an announcement, however. I’m going to take a closer look at what this book seems to have in store for us.  Continue reading →

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He is, and Will Always Be, My Friend

Filed under: News and Updates — 1 Comment
February 27, 2015

image

Today, we say goodbye to an icon of not just geek culture, but that of America and the whole world.

Godspeed, Mr. Spock. Second star to the right, and straight on ’til morning.

Edit: I now have the chance to sit down and write more.

The Internet is filling up with tributes, and they’re nice to see. They’re filled with joy for what Nimoy had given us, rather than sorrow for what we’ve lost. And I rather like that. I’ve always preferred the Irish wake to the Roman funeral.  Continue reading →

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Dresden Files RPG: The Paranet Papers

Filed under: Just For Fun, News and Updates, Plugs and Promotions — Leave a comment
February 26, 2015

Paranet PapersLongtime readers may remember that I had some input on the Fate Core RPG system. (Yes, that is my name on the cover of Worlds on Fire. They didn’t tell me that was happening.) Evil Hat Productions and I haven’t had business together since, but Fate remains my favorite RPG system, and I actually have a review for one of their latest offerings in the pipeline.

Today, however, I just want to share the news that the long-awaited supplement for The Dresden Files RPG is finally scheduled for publication. The Paranet Papers will be released on June 1st.

“Big deal,” you might say. You’re not interested in anything other than the next Dresden Files novel. Why would you want an RPG supplement? I’m glad you asked, Mr. Strawman! Continue reading →

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