Hey guys and girls, I thought I’d show you some of the cool book trailers I’ve had a chance to see – I’m sure you’ll forgive me for forcing you to use up some of your bandwidth, eh? 😉
Read my review here.
Order from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
Pre-Order from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
And the biggie…
Pre-Order from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
Be EPIC!
So I took a bit of a break from the blog to finish watching the second season of Supernatural. 🙂 We finished it last night, and will probably start watching the 3rd season today, and I have to say that I’m impressed. I knew Sam was going to die and that Dean would do a deal at the crossroads to bring him back, but I didn’t know that their dad would put in an appearance! That was a goose-flesh moment if there ever was one! Very cool! And now that the Yellow-Eyed demon is dead it’ll be interesting to see what the brothers have got to face in the 3rd season, though with all the demons that were released (an awesome moment that took me back to Smallville and the release of the Phantoms from the Phantom Zone) I’m sure they’ll have their work cut out for them. 🙂
We also watched the movie-adaptation of Jose Saramago’s Blindness on the weekend… The only thing that spoiled an otherwise excellent movie was the motivation of Julianne Moore’s character – being the only person who can see among hundreds who can’t, she decides that she’ll let herself (and the women who joined her) be subjected to rape for food. Huh?! Maybe someone can explain this to me, but putting myself in that position just wouldn’t be something I would want to do. You have such a huge advantage over everyone else, and you still want to go ahead and punish yourself like that? For what? Anyway. The rest of the movie was great, and I will recommend it, but I will also be reading the book at some time. 🙂
I am now about 400 pages into Stephen King’s Under the Dome, and it’s incredible so far! 🙂 The King is definitely pulling out all the stops here, and I’ve been getting that same epic-vibe from Dome that I got from The Stand, even though The Stand was a cross-country kind of novel and Dome is set in one town. The characters are amazing, the events awesome (and terrifying), and it’s really shaping up to be a shit-your-pants ride. 🙂
On to the Wheel of Time – I’m really digging the titles for Book 13 and 14! 🙂 Towers of Midnight is such an awesome penultimate-book-in-the-series title, don’t you think? I totally agree with those that have covered it so far that we might see a resolution to the Seanchan plot, though when you think about the outrigger novels that RJ had planned, maybe not. 🙂 But at least we can hope for Tuon and Rand to finally meet and cement the Seanchan as allies of Rand in The Last Battle. And the last book – A Memory of Light. Wonderful! 🙂 Thanks TOR, Harriet, Brandon! 🙂
Now for a blogger-birthday: I completely missed Mark Chitty’s BDay! (Sorry Mark!) I hope you had an incredible day, got plenty of awesome books to read, and will have another incredible year! 🙂 All the best!
David will also be bringing me the entire first season of Legend of the Seeker today, so I’ll have a review of Season 1 for you soon. 🙂 I have to say, I’m not particularly looking forward to it, but since I am a fan of Terry Goodkind’d work, I’m sort of honour-bound to at least give it a go. (Wasn’t impressed with what I’ve seen so far, but I promise to be more optimistic!)
So, I’m also busybusybusy relocating the blog. 🙂 The launch will happen as soon as I’ve finished Under the Dome (that’ll be the first review), and I’ll make an announcement here with a link to the new blog. 🙂 This blog will still be around (as will all the posts on it), and David and I will still be the review-team, but I’ll be using this blog for my writing-stuff and any non-SFF stuff that I want to chat about. 🙂
And I have to say, so far, Blogger is pretty cool.
What’ll I have coming up in the next few weeks? Well, hard to say. 🙂 I’m hoping to have finished All Yesterday’s Tomorrows, and then I’ll be really sinking in to Brent Weeks’ work. 🙂 I’m also itching to give Glenda Larke a go, and then get my re-read of Steven Erikson done so that I can read Dust of Dreams. I’m also hoping to get an ARC of The Other Lands (available to order now!), and then there’ll be a host of indie-published books that I’ll be reviewing (have to get those done!). Will everything work according to plan? Probably not! 🙂
Anyway, that’s me for now – will be back with another post tomorrow. 🙂
Be EPIC!
So, I thought I’d not take up much of your time and let you know about some cool stuff I’ve found. 🙂 I’m sure many bloggers have this news, too, but there’s no harm in spreading it!
First off, here’s something that sounds a bit strange, but on reflection may not be a bad idea -it’s news regarding who has been chosen to script the games (PC, Console, Other, etc) that Red Eagle Entertainment will be doing for the Wheel of Time:
“the studio (Red Eagle) announced it has signed Hollywood scribe Chris Morgan as story director on the project.
Morgan is perhaps best known for his (arguably ignominious) reputation as the writer behind a number of Hollywood blockbusters, including such heavily panned box-office successes as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, and Wanted.”
Okay, I’m just a bit scared, but I will say this: I’ll be optimistic until the game(s) for me to change my opinion. What do you all think? Good idea, bad idea?
Also, here’s some concept art:
Have no idea what it depicts, but it looks cool. 🙂 Check out the full post here! And also, check out this link to wet your appetites a bit more!
Next up, Michael Cobley has released two excerpts (so far) from the sequel (and book 2 in his trilogy, Humanity’s Fire) to Seeds of Earth, The Orphaned Worlds! 🙂 Check out the first excerpt here, and the second excerpt here. Mike has also graciously let slip that there’ll be a third excerpt coming! 🙂 Btw, these are excerpts from the first draft, so they may not be the same when in the finished book!
And third, but definitely not least, this is my last reminder for the giveaway running at the moment for Chris Evans’ The Light of Burning Shadows – get your entries in!! I’ll be closing the giveaway in a couple of hours, so if you haven’t yet entered, get to it! 🙂 I’ll be announcing the winners tomorrow, so check your inbox – I’ll be needing your addresses! 🙂
Wednesday or Thursday next week I’ll be posting my review of Chris’ debut, A Darkness Forged in Fire, so keep an eye out for that. 🙂
Until tomorrow,
Be EPIC!
Hey guys and girls, this news is a bit old already but still, it’s awesome stuff! 🙂
Dragonmount.com released the official cover images of comics that will comprise The Eye of the World comic series – and they look amazing! 🙂
If you haven’t yet seen them, have a look for yourself. 🙂
Moiraine and Lan standing against the Trolloc attack on what I assume to be Winternight.
Probably not Narg, but we can hope. 🙂
The Forsaken. But you knew that. 🙂 If you didn’t, though…
Perrin and Egwene, with Elyas and the wolves, Hopper probably among them 🙂
Nynaeve with the Braid of Doom 😉
The best Court Bard in all Fantasy!
Rand, Mat and Perrin with a looming Fade…
Fade-killer and Peddler. 🙂
Tam finds Rand on the slopes of Dragonmount – amazing image!
Beware its Kiss…
Awesome stuff, huh? 🙂 I thought so too. 🙂 And we’re not done yet! I also got a preview of the first The Eye of the World comic – enjoy!
There are also links at Dragonmount where you can order the first few issues! 🙂 I really hope this makes it to South Africa – plenty of WoT fans here! 🙂 Awesome work, Dabel Brothers!
Be EPIC!
I know this news is old but I thought I would revisit it and offer my thoughts on the preview. 🙂
First off, the cover:
Amazing! Our first sight of in-novel Lews Therin Telamon and he looks great! The muscles don’t bug me at all – after all, the Forsaken Sammael was a big man, too, and both had always been described as similar. I also like (yikes, might be the wrong word, lets change that, shall we?) feel Lews’ pain through the expression on his face – you can see by his slightly raised arms that he feels utterly helpless and shattered. I like his garments, too – not too ostentatious, and the ancient Aes Sedai symbols look great! We also see Ilyena Sunhair for the first time, although I s’pose it’s not much of a view. One mistake, though: the painting or tapestry on the wall to the right (probably a painting) shouldn’t be damaged. It was driven home in the Prologue how Lews’ insanity-driven channelling hadn’t touched the various artworks in his home. And it would have been cool to at least see Elan Morin Tedronai’s shadow lying across Lews. 🙂 But overall, awesome! 🙂
First Image after the cover:
Now, I’m not sure if this is part of the Prologue comic but it would make sense if it is – this is obviously based on the short piece added to the split-edition of The Eye of the World, in which we meet younger versions of the gang. That’s obviously Egwene, just having returned from a well or the river (probably the river, since I can’t think that a well would be outside Emond’s Field). The Raven is cool, as is the tree. I wouldn’t be surprised if the veiny things, vines or whatever, will be a colour evoking decay and corruption, reminding us of Shaitan. I’m also very glad that her hair isn’t braided! 🙂
Second Image after the cover:
I really like this one, makes me wonder if there isn’t some foreshadowing going on? Three trees have now been revealed and with the Raven they could symbolize the Seanchan, Egwene’s future enemies in the Rebel Aes Sedai camp, and her enemies in Tar Valon (these all being the trees), while the Raven represents Shaitan. What do you think?
Third Image after the cover:
Our first view of Emond’s Field and Tam al’Thor! 🙂 (IMO) Somehow I was expecting a bigger view of Rand’s hometown, but maybe that’s being left till when Rand and Tam arrive with Bela, so that the whole Winternight episode carries more weight. And my logic tells me that Rand is the small kid closest to Tam.
Fourth Image after the cover:
But then this image makes me think that maybe this entire scene is taking place on the Al’Thor farm? If that’s the case, then maybe we have to brace ourselves for some changes to the narrative.
Fifth Image after the cover:
Rand, Mat and Perrin? My guess is: Mat is the one leaning against the fence-post, Rand is the one standing with his hand on the sheep, and Perrin is the one with the longer hair (from the first panel). Anyone know for sure?
Sixth Image after the cover:
First glimpse of Bran Al’Vere? (Last panel) Can’t imagine what he’d be doing in a sheep-pen though? But then I realize he may be a judge and that it’s Bel Tine! 🙂
Seventh Image after the cover:
The real Tam? Seems a better Tam than my first guess. Preparing to tell them about the War of the Powers… 🙂
Eighth Image after the cover:
Very cool image! Trollocs trollocs trollocs!! And war and flames and male Aes Sedai in battle! 🙂
Ninth Image after the cover:
I like how they’ve done this, showing the action behind Rand and the rest – more foreshadowing? Death and destruction following in Rand’s wake as he tries to unify the world for Tarmon Gai’don?
Tenth Image after the cover:
First glimpse of Cenn Buie? And I’m thinking Egwene made a remark about Tam’s tale that drew their attention to her. 🙂 And are those more ravens streaming up out the forest?
I’m pretty damned pumped for this! Cannot wait to see the finished product! 🙂
Be Fantastic!
Wow, another day goes by and there’s plenty more to tell you all about! 🙂
First off, do you want to try your hand at creating your own Fantasy (or SF, for that matter) book cover? I followed a link from The Old Bat’s Belfry to this site, read the instructions, and created my own book cover! 🙂 Okay, granted, it’s a bit crappy (butterflies for sails?) but it still looks cool, and the title, together with the cover, really does make the book look intriguing. 🙂 Anyway, here’s my effort:
The Power of Lodon
The author’s name? That’s my pen-name when I write the literary stuff. 😉
Here are the instructions:
CREATE YOUR DEBUT FANTASY BOOK COVER
1 – Go to “Behind the Name”. Hit “Generate a Name!” or click http://www.behindthename.com/random/
The first name you get is your author name.
2 – Go to “Fantasy Novel Title Generator”
or click http://nine.frenchboys.net/novel.php
This is the title of your book.
3 – Go to Photobucket and click on “surreal art” or click http://photobucket.com/images/surreal%20art/
Add the two numbers of your age together (ex. 2 + 7 = 9). Go to that page of results. The fourth picture, no matter what it is, is your cover.
4 – Use photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together.
5 – Post it to your site along with this text.
Pretty easy, I have to admit, and quick, too! 🙂
Okay, next up: Wheel of Time News!
There is a widget available (which I cannot put on the blog) counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until A Memory of Light hits the shelves – in November. Now, now, don’t get too excited yet! Brandon Sanderson is working on rewrites for Harriet at the moment (for those who’s been living on another planet, Harriet is Robert Jordan’s widow and his long-time editor) and hopes to have them done by April (if I’m not mistaken); coupled with that, Brandon has time and again stated that this book will be a big, thick book, and that even his projected wordcount might get tossed out the window as he progresses. The book might even be split (I know, I’d like to devour it and finish it, too, without having to wait for part two, but hey, it’s not up to us), and the first part may hit shelves in November. Either way, I think the November date is a bit premature, considering the project and what Brandon has already said about working on it.
But if it does hit shelves in November, either Part One or the full book, you can be sure of one thing – in November, forget any other book hitting the shelves at the same time – The Wheel of Time will be the biggest news of the year! 🙂
Check out the announcement from Dragonmount here.
And now, back to Star Wars! 🙂
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil – I saw the announcement here, followed the link to the official site, and saw this:
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
I’m so glad they’ve decided to go back to the cover-style of the first book, Path of Destruction! I’m sorry, but the cover of Rule of Two was a major let-down. This looks great! 🙂
And then, this:
Star Wars Fate of the Jedi Omen front
This is the front cover, and now, here’s the back:
Star Wars Fate of the Jedi Omen back
I haven’t warmed up entirely yet to the new style of cover art, but it’s starting to look really cool – who is that on the cover, I wonder? 😉 Here’s the announcement on the official site, and if you want them, spoilers for Omen! 🙂
Okay, that’s it for now, I guess. 🙂
Be Fantastic!
Follow this link, and you’ll find a great blogospere-interview that Mark Thwaite over at the Book Depository did with me (thanks to Mark Chitty!). 🙂 It’s officially the second time I’ve been interviewed (ever – the first time was years ago over at the Wheel of Time site, WOTmania), and it’s pretty cool. Although, come to think of it, I could probably have found a better pick of myself! 🙂 Hehehe!
Also, check out this link, too: it’s Mark’s own literary blog, and always worth a read! 🙂
Nothing new to report yet, but I’ll let you all know as soon as I do have something. 🙂 And Jasper Kent’s Twelve is bloody good! Pun intended! 🙂
Be Fantastic!
P.S. the interview at WOTmania is down the page a bit, on the right – I went by Evad Bel-Burg in the chat-room there. 🙂
Okay, I know it’s been a quiet few days. 🙂 I’m busy reading Empire in Black and Gold, as well as Twelve (Jasper Kent), and enjoying both books at the moment, but until I’ve finished with them, there won’t be any reviews. 🙂 Stands to reason, that; felt like a complete boob for stating the obvious, but hey. 🙂
Anyway, on the Wheel of Time front, there has been a response from Red Eagle Entertainment regarding the very vociferous fan-response to their live-action movie and games announcement; here is the link to the post dealing with their responses – I know I’m following this like a hawk, and I’m sure many of you are, too. 🙂
I’m still waiting for two interviews to come back (I’m beeing patient; I would rather have them writing, anyway. 🙂 ), and also still waiting for news from Penguin Books, Random House, and the Harper Collins distributors here in SA, Jonathan Ball. 🙂 So far, it’s been quiet, I’ll tell you that much! 🙂
I saw the trailer for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek this morning, the latest trailer, and my jaw was hanging open for the duration of it – it looks INCREDIBLE!! I cannot, repeat, cannot wait to see this movie! 🙂 I saw it at Club Jade, so that’s where the link will take you, but if you want a site that gets most of the latest trailers as they are released, check this out: http://www.movly.com. The trailers can be downloaded in MP4 or 3GP format, and don’t pay too much attention to the plot analysis – sometimes it’s really dumb. 🙂 As far as I know, it’s not ilegal or anything, and I utilize it quite often – today, for example, I got the trailers for 2012, Star Trek, and Crossing Over (new H. Ford flick), so check back for regular updates. 🙂
Okay, I guess that’s about it. 🙂
Oh, and I’m working on a way to get my RSS feed up for you guys – I’m a complete newbie at this blogging thing (yes, still am), not to mention how WordPress works with its widgits and thingies, but as soon as I’ve got it up, you’ll see it! 🙂
Okay,
Be Fantastic!!
Hey Guys and Girls, no update yet on the live-action movie, other than the post I did on the 8th, but something else has broken at Dragonmount, so follow this link to check it out. 🙂
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Author of horror, sci-fi, and superheroes.
M.D. Thalmann, a novelist and freelance journalist with an affinity for satire and science fiction, lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, children, and ornery cats, reads too much and sleeps too little.
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