Larry Correia has created an interesting niche for himself in genre fiction. He has mashed up fantasy (magic or supernatural creatures) and a lot of really, really big weapons. He continues this with the latest installment of the Grimnoir Chronicles: Spellbound. The first book in the series, Hard Magic, introduced us to our magical supergroup set in the Depression. This book continues from the first book and, not only introduces a new bad guy and danger, but also sets things up nicely for a third book in the series (tentatively titled Warbound according to the author’s blog). So let’s see what happened after Jake, Faye and the rest of our Grimnoirs saved the world at the end of book one.
2011 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees
Locus has announced the 2011 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees.
- The Company Man, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
- Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit)
- The Other, Matthew Hughes (Underland)
- A Soldier’s Duty, Jean Johnson (Ace)
- The Postmortal, Drew Magary (Penguin)
- After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer)
- The Samuel Petrovich Trilogy, Simon Morden (Orbit)
I haven’t read any of these, so I’m curious about which ones I should try first.
Red Tails Preview
In addition to the Star Wars TV show, George Lucas and Rick McCallum have been working on the new movie (coming out next week) Red Tails. You can see a preview of the first seven minutes (and an interview with George Lucas as well)
Directed by TV helmer Anthony Hemingway with some re-shoots by Lucas himself when Hemingway was busy with Treme (production started in 2009 and had a few breaks), the film is based on the true stories of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African-American aerial combat unit and their heroic adventures during World War II.
It has some interesting science fiction links. Not only with George Lucas, but the writers are John Ridley (author of the super hero novel Those Who Walk In Darkness and its sequel) and Aaron McGruder (creator of the Boondocks comic strip and TV show).
While it’s not science fiction, it does look interesting.
Star Wars Live Action TV Show
Lucasfilms Producer Rick McCallum has started talking about the live action Star Wars TV show, tentatively named Star Wars: Underground. It’s a look at the underside of the Star Wars galaxy.
He confirmed earlier reports that the action will take place in the 20-year gap between the end of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and the beginning of “Episode IV: A New Hope.”
Set in the early years of the fledgling rebellion against the Galactic Empire the series will focus on the bounty hunters, criminals and gangs in the seamy side of the “Star Wars” universe. Confirming what George Lucas told reporters last year, McCallum revealed that producers already have 50 “incredible” one-hour scripts waiting to be filmed. He described them as “dark, complex and adult.”
Sounds interesting and hopefully it will be better than the prequels.
Section Zero online
A decade (or so) ago, a bunch of comic creators decided to create their own imprint and publish some creator-owned books through it. And Gorilla Comics was born. Unfortunately it died soon afterwards due to lack of funding and the planned internet portal never worked out. And some of the books were left half finished. Karl Kesel has decided to post the existing pages of Section Zero (created by Kesel and Tom Grummett) on his website: Mad Genius Comics.
And not only is the old material being reprinted (reposted?), but Kesel and Grummett are going to be doing new material as well. Exciting news.
Morrisoncon
Anyone interested in Morrisoncon?
FALL 2012
A once in a lifetime opportunity to see Grant Morrison and 9 hand picked comic creator superstars, all together for one weekend, one time only.
It sounds interesting, but I’d be interested to see a few more details (such as were, when, who else and how much).
Batman Arkham City review
I loved the original Arkham Asylum game(my review). To me, it was the first game that really demonstrated what could be done with Batman. And now the developers have gone and made it bigger and better in Arkham City. They’ve left in the best parts of the game and improved a bunch of other pieces. It’s a fun, exciting game on a much bigger scale than the original game and still as much fun. Let’s check out what’s different.
Continue reading
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
I’ve been hearing great things about Lauren Beukes, so I decided to grab her two novels. The first one I read was Zoo City and can see why everyone was raving about it. Her work is original and, being set in Africa, a much different setting than most other science fiction. The setting alone would make the book an interesting read, but Beukes’ writing makes the novel well worth reading. So, let’s step into Zoo City and see what’s going on.
Best TV, Movies, Video Games of 2011
Ground Rules first. This is a list of the best TV shows, movies and video games that I saw (played) for the first time in 2011. The TV/movies/games didn’t have to be distributed in 2011. And this is the best TV/movies/video games I saw(played) this year in no particular order.
- Super 8 – I absolutely hated the ending and think Abrams blew it with the monster and how he handled the dads. But the first half to two-thirds was a well done movie that was ultimately undone by a poor ending. My review.
- Captain America – One of the better super hero movies recently and it manages the trick of making the super hero film into a war movie while still being a super hero film. My review.
- The Muppets – Jason Segal manages to bring back the Muppets into relevance without damaging anything that came before. Not really science fiction or fantasy, but a good, fun film. My review
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Surprisingly good prequel to Planet of the Apes that was a lot smarter than the previews made it out to be. My Review
- Alphas – After several disappointing super hero shows on the major networks, Syfy shows everyone how it’s done. Interesting characters that fight bad guys, but the show focuses on the characters more than the super hero schtick. My review.
- Once Upon A Time – Interesting but a little flawed fairy tale show that distinguishes itself from the charge that it is a bad Fables ripoff. But it’s dark side might harm it’s family audience. My review.
- Batman Arkham City – OK. I haven’t had a chance to actually review this one yet. But if you liked the Arkham Asylum game, then you are going to love this one. They take the best of the first game and add to it with more tricks and goodies as well as multiple storylines, multiple characters and more powers.
This post is part of the thread: BestOf – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.
Best Book/Comics of 2011
Ground Rules first. This is a list of the best books that I read for the first time in 2011. The book/comics didn’t have to be published in 2011. And this is the best books/comics I read this year in no particular order
- Alison’s Bechdel Fun Home – Alison Bechdel is the creator of the comic Dykes to Watch Out For and the originator of the Bechdel Test for movies. This book is her memoir about coming out of the closet and her issues with her father (and his issues as well). Wonderfully told in a circular way, it must be read. My review.
- David Small Stitches
– A family doesn’t deal with issues, psychological and physical and a small by is left with stitches that the family cannot hide. A wonderful look at a dysfunctional family. My review.
- GRRM A Dance with Dragons – After years of ignoring them, I finally caught up with The Song of Ice and Fire in time for GRRM’s latest masterpiece. A huge cast of characters deal with issues on an epic scale. This is a series everyone should be reading. My review.
- Adam Levin The Instructions – A huge book covering a four days in the life of a small boy who may (or may not) be the messiah. This is a wonderfully told tale, but it isn’t for everyone. My review.
- Junot Diaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – A look at a boy who is so tied up in science fiction/fantasy that he cannot have the life he really wants despite the efforts of everyone around him. My review.
- Neal Stephenson REAMDE – Stephenson goes back to his Stephen Bury days to give us a modern day thriller with video games and technology and geography thrown in as sidelines. There’s been a lot of disappointment from some quarters, but it is still a great Stephenson book. My review.
This post is part of the thread: BestOf – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.