| sfsignal |
| Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:08:01 PDT GIVEAWAY: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made |
It's that time again, time for yet another freebie for you our readers! This time, Titan Books has graciously provided 5 copies of their soon to be released book: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made, and you, our readers, get the chance to own a copy of your very own, for free. Always a good thing. You probably can guess from the title what the book is about, but here's a short quote from the website: This fully updated edition also reveals the fascinating details of the movies that nearly were: what would James Cameron's version of Spider-Man, or Terry Gilliam's Watchmen have been like? How close did Ridley Scott come to directing I Am Legend starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and why was Nicolas Cage paid $20 million for not playing Superman? That sounds very cool to me. If it does to you too, here are the rules:
It's that time again, time for yet another freebie for you our readers! This time, Titan Books has graciously provided 5 copies of their soon to be released book: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made, and you, our readers, get the chance to own a copy of your very own, for free. Always a good thing. You probably can guess from the title what the book is about, but here's a short quote from the website: This fully updated edition also reveals the fascinating details of the movies that nearly were: what would James Cameron's version of Spider-Man, or Terry Gilliam's Watchmen have been like? How close did Ridley Scott come to directing I Am Legend starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and why was Nicolas Cage paid $20 million for not playing Superman? That sounds very cool to me. If it does to you too, here are the rules:
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| Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:29:15 PDT REVIEW: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann |
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Maurice Newbury and Victoria Hobbes investigate an airship disaster while victims of a revenant plague make the streets of Victorian London unsafe. MY REVIEW: The Affinity Bridge can be succinctly described as "a steampunk Sherlock Holmes story with zombies". The initial appeal for me was immediate because (1) there is a certain glamour associated with steampunk; (2) I thoroughly enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories; and (3) who doesn't love a good zombie story? But succinct as this description is, it can be misleading, as I was soon to discover. The Affinity Bridge is not a zombie story, per se, despite the appetite-whetting prologue that would lead readers to expect otherwise. The emphasis here is on the Sherlock Holmes and steampunk aspects. The zombie parts, while integral to the story, are largely kept beyond the main focus. The plot follows Maurice Newbury, researcher for a museum by day, otherwise employed as an agent to Queen Victoria herself and tasked with investigating the supernatural. Initially, Newbury is looking into a rash of murders attributed to the legendary and possibly mythical Glowing Policeman. But that investigation takes a back seat when he is reassigned by the Crown to investigate a suspicious disaster regarding the airship The Lady Armitage. This is a perfect opportunity for Newbury to break in his new assistant, Victoria Hobbes. Together they investigate the disaster which may or may not be connected with the revenant plague, an infectious condition that causes its victims to suffer zombie-like symptoms - that is, deteriorating flesh and the need to eat hapless victims. A period novel such as this relies heavily on setting and world building and here the author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London. Not only are social mores (particularly regarding the role of women) depicted in striking detail, but the portrayal of a city on a technological cusp is given as well. Outdated technology is slowly giving way to steam technology, as evidenced by airships, steam engine carriages and the proliferation of automatons which mirror present-day outsourcing. The descriptions of this environment are so clearly described that you can practically smell the machine oil coming off the pages. Worldbuilding is not the only thing to consider when writing a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. But here, too, Mann has succeeded winningly. It feels like you're reading a Sherlock Holmes story. It's in the Victorian setting, the language, the demeanor of the characters, and even the pacing of the story. There are also more overt parallels to Holmes: Newbury has a fondness for laudanum much like Holmes' flirtation with cocaine; Newbury's police contact, Lestrade, is realized through Constable Bainbridge of Scotland Yard; Newbury even has a helpful housekeeper like Holmes did. And what of Newbury's "Dr. Watson"? Victoria Hobbes is somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand, she publicly acts as the devoted female companion. But she often exhibits clear signs of otherwise being a tough, independent female. The former trait makes her a native of her surrounding culture; the latter endears her to the reader. For Newbury's part, he sees Victoria for the strong woman she is, not the submissive female she pretends to be, which is all the more reason to like them both. Another nice touch: Newbury is not the clichéd perfect detective (see aforementioned fondness for laudanum). Nor is he the Kolchak that his reputation seems to infer. There is little evidence of the supernatural in this story, many relegated to mentions of past cases and office souvenirs, and one that deals with Hobbes' sister; though the last pages foreshadow some supernatural directions in which the next adventure may lead. Now, about those zombies... After that eye-opening prologue, they are rumored to be wandering the dark alleyways of Whitechapel, but mostly kept offstage until the second half of the book, where they do make up for their long absence. As I said though, their presence is not really the focus of the book. But they are integral to the case, which is good, because why include them then? Regardless of this hiccup of false expectation on my part, Mann has written a thoroughly engaging story that's just plain fun to read - one that I heartily recommend to both Sherlock Holmes fans and steampunk fans, or any reader who would like to experience either.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Maurice Newbury and Victoria Hobbes investigate an airship disaster while victims of a revenant plague make the streets of Victorian London unsafe. MY REVIEW: The Affinity Bridge can be succinctly described as "a steampunk Sherlock Holmes story with zombies". The initial appeal for me was immediate because (1) there is a certain glamour associated with steampunk; (2) I thoroughly enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories; and (3) who doesn't love a good zombie story? But succinct as this description is, it can be misleading, as I was soon to discover. The Affinity Bridge is not a zombie story, per se, despite the appetite-whetting prologue that would lead readers to expect otherwise. The emphasis here is on the Sherlock Holmes and steampunk aspects. The zombie parts, while integral to the story, are largely kept beyond the main focus. The plot follows Maurice Newbury, researcher for a museum by day, otherwise employed as an agent to Queen Victoria herself and tasked with investigating the supernatural. Initially, Newbury is looking into a rash of murders attributed to the legendary and possibly mythical Glowing Policeman. But that investigation takes a back seat when he is reassigned by the Crown to investigate a suspicious disaster regarding the airship The Lady Armitage. This is a perfect opportunity for Newbury to break in his new assistant, Victoria Hobbes. Together they investigate the disaster which may or may not be connected with the revenant plague, an infectious condition that causes its victims to suffer zombie-like symptoms - that is, deteriorating flesh and the need to eat hapless victims. A period novel such as this relies heavily on setting and world building and here the author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London. Not only are social mores (particularly regarding the role of women) depicted in striking detail, but the portrayal of a city on a technological cusp is given as well. Outdated technology is slowly giving way to steam technology, as evidenced by airships, steam engine carriages and the proliferation of automatons which mirror present-day outsourcing. The descriptions of this environment are so clearly described that you can practically smell the machine oil coming off the pages. Worldbuilding is not the only thing to consider when writing a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. But here, too, Mann has succeeded winningly. It feels like you're reading a Sherlock Holmes story. It's in the Victorian setting, the language, the demeanor of the characters, and even the pacing of the story. There are also more overt parallels to Holmes: Newbury has a fondness for laudanum much like Holmes' flirtation with cocaine; Newbury's police contact, Lestrade, is realized through Constable Bainbridge of Scotland Yard; Newbury even has a helpful housekeeper like Holmes did. And what of Newbury's "Dr. Watson"? Victoria Hobbes is somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand, she publicly acts as the devoted female companion. But she often exhibits clear signs of otherwise being a tough, independent female. The former trait makes her a native of her surrounding culture; the latter endears her to the reader. For Newbury's part, he sees Victoria for the strong woman she is, not the submissive female she pretends to be, which is all the more reason to like them both. Another nice touch: Newbury is not the clichéd perfect detective (see aforementioned fondness for laudanum). Nor is he the Kolchak that his reputation seems to infer. There is little evidence of the supernatural in this story, many relegated to mentions of past cases and office souvenirs, and one that deals with Hobbes' sister; though the last pages foreshadow some supernatural directions in which the next adventure may lead. Now, about those zombies... After that eye-opening prologue, they are rumored to be wandering the dark alleyways of Whitechapel, but mostly kept offstage until the second half of the book, where they do make up for their long absence. As I said though, their presence is not really the focus of the book. But they are integral to the case, which is good, because why include them then? Regardless of this hiccup of false expectation on my part, Mann has written a thoroughly engaging story that's just plain fun to read - one that I heartily recommend to both Sherlock Holmes fans and steampunk fans, or any reader who would like to experience either. |
| Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:09:39 PDT Tube Bits for 07/22/2008 |
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| Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:04:54 PDT SF Tidbits for 7/22/08 |
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| Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:55:01 PDT REVIEW: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog |
JP commented on it last week, and unfortunately at the time the first act went up the server was overloaded. Unfortunately, it slipped out of my mind at that point. But thanks to one of the SFSignal crew (props Kevin!) I was reminded of it late Saturday and watched the entire 45min yesterday. The show stars "TV's Doogie Houser" Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as the love-interest Penny. My guess is these folks that Joss has worked with before were willing to give his alternate business model a try and that's who is on the project (witness the crew contains his 2 brothers as well.) I applaud their attempt and I hope it works out for them because I have to see more. Simply put, the show was fantastic. Neil Patrick Harris is stunning in how good an actor he is. He can deliver comic lines, seriously evil lines, and even sing with timing and perfection. Every line of dialog, every line of every song has to be listened to intently - there is something important in every word and phrase. I felt I was watching the video equivalent to an O'Henry short story - every word hand-crafted to contribute to advancing the story. Nathan looks awesome as the shallow Captain Hammer and also delivers lines with aplomb. There is a scene where he describes what the hammer is in act 2 that had me laughing out loud. He also does a great job belting out the songs. The songs are driving and compelling and very often intertwined between characters. Each one has their agenda and point of view on the song making it very interesting to listen to. I watched the whole series twice just to listen to different vocal parts of the songs. For example, in the first act there is a 3-part song from each character's point of view that is expertly woven together to hit phrases and words together. The same is true with a two-part song at the beginning of act 2 with Penny singing about hope and Dr Horrible singing about evil. Captain Hammer even takes over one of Dr Horrible's songs while foiling his plot. It was amazing work and impressive on many levels. My only real regret is that it ended. I wanted 45 more minutes of it! While the free event is over, you can get it via iTunes for $4 for all 3. They are also working on a DVD which Joss claims will contain several extras. And there is a companion comic authored by Zack Whedon that gives us more on Captain Hammer. I'm not sure what the DVD will cost, but $4 is a small price to pay for such high-quality content.
JP commented on it last week, and unfortunately at the time the first act went up the server was overloaded. Unfortunately, it slipped out of my mind at that point. But thanks to one of the SFSignal crew (props Kevin!) I was reminded of it late Saturday and watched the entire 45min yesterday. The show stars "TV's Doogie Houser" Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as the love-interest Penny. My guess is these folks that Joss has worked with before were willing to give his alternate business model a try and that's who is on the project (witness the crew contains his 2 brothers as well.) I applaud their attempt and I hope it works out for them because I have to see more. Simply put, the show was fantastic. Neil Patrick Harris is stunning in how good an actor he is. He can deliver comic lines, seriously evil lines, and even sing with timing and perfection. Every line of dialog, every line of every song has to be listened to intently - there is something important in every word and phrase. I felt I was watching the video equivalent to an O'Henry short story - every word hand-crafted to contribute to advancing the story. Nathan looks awesome as the shallow Captain Hammer and also delivers lines with aplomb. There is a scene where he describes what the hammer is in act 2 that had me laughing out loud. He also does a great job belting out the songs. The songs are driving and compelling and very often intertwined between characters. Each one has their agenda and point of view on the song making it very interesting to listen to. I watched the whole series twice just to listen to different vocal parts of the songs. For example, in the first act there is a 3-part song from each character's point of view that is expertly woven together to hit phrases and words together. The same is true with a two-part song at the beginning of act 2 with Penny singing about hope and Dr Horrible singing about evil. Captain Hammer even takes over one of Dr Horrible's songs while foiling his plot. It was amazing work and impressive on many levels. My only real regret is that it ended. I wanted 45 more minutes of it! While the free event is over, you can get it via iTunes for $4 for all 3. They are also working on a DVD which Joss claims will contain several extras. And there is a companion comic authored by Zack Whedon that gives us more on Captain Hammer. I'm not sure what the DVD will cost, but $4 is a small price to pay for such high-quality content. |
| Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:27:57 PDT REVIEW: Project Moonbase and Others by Robert A. Heinlein |
MY RATING: BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A collection of previously unseen scripts and story treatments for a science fiction television series that never came to be. MY REVIEW: After the success of Destination Moon, Robert A. Heinlein teamed up with television producer Jack Seaman to bring to the small screen an anthology series based on both Heinlein's existing short stories and a number of new treatments. Don't remember the show? Well, it never came to be: Seaman decided to make a movie out of the pilot script (you can watch it online here) and the project faded into obscurity. The movie, Project Moonbase, was pretty awful. Even so, you could detect a number of Heinlein's touches. The pilot of the moonship was a woman (as was the President of the United States). The station orbiting the Earth was there for observation and to act as a missile platform. The ferry ships had city names. It was "almost" like reading Heinlein's Space Cadet (which was itself adapted to the small screen...loosely!). The book is a collection made up of a script for Project Moonbase, a number of screenplays based on Heinlein's short stories (ranging from "The Black Pits of Luna" to "Deliah and the Space Rigger" to "Rocket Jockey" to Misfit). Most of the stories take place in Heinlein's future history series (collected in books such as The Past Through Tomorrow, The Man Who Sold the Moon and The Green Hills of Earth); and originally appeared in genre publications such as Astounding Science Fiction as well as a number of the "slicks" that Heinlein wanted to break into (the money was bigger). Because of the differences between what occurs in Heinlein's future history and what happens in the scripts of the series, some changes are made. For example, in "Requiem", Delos D. Harriman did not finance the first trip to the Moon. In "The Long Watch", Ezra Dahlquist is not a member of the nascent Space Patrol. The changes here, and in the other stories are minor, you're getting authentic Heinlein here. The collection also includes a non-future history tale ("-And He Built a Crooked House-") as well as two script treatments (which can be skipped and are the weakest and least-interesting parts of the book). The real meat of the collection are Heinlein's notes. Remember, we're at the dawn of the space age here. Nobody has been in orbit, let alone to the Moon. Heinlein spends a lot of time educating, through notes and asides, the potential stage crew on how to depict space flight (of course, from some of the productions today, education is still needed!). There is, for example, an extensive note on how to use a tennis ball, suitably marked with pen, to understand how direction on the Moon is different from that of the Earth. "Crooked House" is followed by very, very extensive notes on how to build the sets. Some of the advice is pretty funny such as this: And console yourself that any slips aren't too likely to be spotted by the audience. But it is worthwhile to try to get the relationship right, time and money permitting-it helps to build empathy, a point in which most space opera fails miserably. A fascinating (if expensive!) look at what might have been. Maybe this will lead to an in-depth look at the production and filming of Destination Moon!
MY RATING: BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A collection of previously unseen scripts and story treatments for a science fiction television series that never came to be. MY REVIEW: After the success of Destination Moon, Robert A. Heinlein teamed up with television producer Jack Seaman to bring to the small screen an anthology series based on both Heinlein's existing short stories and a number of new treatments. Don't remember the show? Well, it never came to be: Seaman decided to make a movie out of the pilot script (you can watch it online here) and the project faded into obscurity. The movie, Project Moonbase, was pretty awful. Even so, you could detect a number of Heinlein's touches. The pilot of the moonship was a woman (as was the President of the United States). The station orbiting the Earth was there for observation and to act as a missile platform. The ferry ships had city names. It was "almost" like reading Heinlein's Space Cadet (which was itself adapted to the small screen...loosely!). The book is a collection made up of a script for Project Moonbase, a number of screenplays based on Heinlein's short stories (ranging from "The Black Pits of Luna" to "Deliah and the Space Rigger" to "Rocket Jockey" to Misfit). Most of the stories take place in Heinlein's future history series (collected in books such as The Past Through Tomorrow, The Man Who Sold the Moon and The Green Hills of Earth); and originally appeared in genre publications such as Astounding Science Fiction as well as a number of the "slicks" that Heinlein wanted to break into (the money was bigger). Because of the differences between what occurs in Heinlein's future history and what happens in the scripts of the series, some changes are made. For example, in "Requiem", Delos D. Harriman did not finance the first trip to the Moon. In "The Long Watch", Ezra Dahlquist is not a member of the nascent Space Patrol. The changes here, and in the other stories are minor, you're getting authentic Heinlein here. The collection also includes a non-future history tale ("-And He Built a Crooked House-") as well as two script treatments (which can be skipped and are the weakest and least-interesting parts of the book). The real meat of the collection are Heinlein's notes. Remember, we're at the dawn of the space age here. Nobody has been in orbit, let alone to the Moon. Heinlein spends a lot of time educating, through notes and asides, the potential stage crew on how to depict space flight (of course, from some of the productions today, education is still needed!). There is, for example, an extensive note on how to use a tennis ball, suitably marked with pen, to understand how direction on the Moon is different from that of the Earth. "Crooked House" is followed by very, very extensive notes on how to build the sets. Some of the advice is pretty funny such as this: And console yourself that any slips aren't too likely to be spotted by the audience. But it is worthwhile to try to get the relationship right, time and money permitting-it helps to build empathy, a point in which most space opera fails miserably. A fascinating (if expensive!) look at what might have been. Maybe this will lead to an in-depth look at the production and filming of Destination Moon! |
| Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:20:37 PDT Books Received for July 2008, Week 3 (+ Book Meme) |
Here are the books received this past week.
1. Which book has the coolest cover? I'm gonna have to go with Lord Tophet on this one. The giant bridge city is all sensawundery. 2. Which book has the worst cover? Although the artwork is skillful, Mage-Guard of Hamor screams "standard fantasy fare" to me, which was not my experience when I read Modesitt's story "The Lord-Protector's Daughter". 3. Which book do you most want to read? Too many to choose from again! I've put off reading Iain M. Banks' Culture novels for far too long. Misspent Youth also looks to a be a nice return to Hamilton's Commonwealth universe, only this time offering up a back story to the beginning of long lifespans. Red Seas Under Red Skies looks tasty, and severs as a reminder that I should have already read the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora. And, of course, Eisenhorn is the Warhammer 40K book that Chris Roberson says is da bomb. (Note: I've already read Mathematicians in Love.)Here are the books received this past week.
1. Which book has the coolest cover? I'm gonna have to go with Lord Tophet on this one. The giant bridge city is all sensawundery. 2. Which book has the worst cover? Although the artwork is skillful, Mage-Guard of Hamor screams "standard fantasy fare" to me, which was not my experience when I read Modesitt's story "The Lord-Protector's Daughter". 3. Which book do you most want to read? Too many to choose from again! I've put off reading Iain M. Banks' Culture novels for far too long. Misspent Youth also looks to a be a nice return to Hamilton's Commonwealth universe, only this time offering up a back story to the beginning of long lifespans. Red Seas Under Red Skies looks tasty, and severs as a reminder that I should have already read the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora. And, of course, Eisenhorn is the Warhammer 40K book that Chris Roberson says is da bomb. (Note: I've already read Mathematicians in Love.) |
| Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:11:25 PDT SF Tidbits for 7/21/08 |
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| Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:10:04 PDT Introducing Guest Blogger Matt Staggs |
Matt Staggs is a freelance book publicist, blogger and sometimes writer who'll be guest-blogging at SF Signal for the next couple of weeks. Matt caught my attention with the stellar job he does rounding up the best sf/f links the web has to offer, which he does at his own blog Enter the Octopus. (Which is not nearly as dirty as it sounds.) Matt will be picking up tidbit duties here at SF Signal. If you have any tidbits you'd like Matt to consider for inclusion, you may contact him at mattormeg a-t gmail d-o-t com. Welcome aboard, Matt! Matt Staggs is a freelance book publicist, blogger and sometimes writer who'll be guest-blogging at SF Signal for the next couple of weeks. Matt caught my attention with the stellar job he does rounding up the best sf/f links the web has to offer, which he does at his own blog Enter the Octopus. (Which is not nearly as dirty as it sounds.) Matt will be picking up tidbit duties here at SF Signal. If you have any tidbits you'd like Matt to consider for inclusion, you may contact him at mattormeg a-t gmail d-o-t com. Welcome aboard, Matt! |
| Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:05:22 PDT Tube Bits for 07/21/2008 |
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