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Torture Cinema Polls

Torture Cinema Poll #9: Emergency Movie Poll — Help Us Fill the Gap!

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Jen and I were supposed to read Tom Kratman’s Caliphate, but after trying to read the book, we realized that the kind of bad we are looking for when we do these Torture Media segments doesn’t exist there.  Caliphate is a bad book, but it’s not a book that we can make fun off without crossing our own lines of comfort with comedy. That’s where you all come in!  We need to pick a movie for Torture Cinema, and fast!  If you’ll be so kind, please vote for the bad movie you’d like us to watch this week to fill the gap. The poll will run for 24 hours.  Thanks!

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Linda Nagata Reaches For Twenty Reviews: Can you help?

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Nebula Award-winning author Linda Nagata wants to hit twenty reviews on Amazon.com for The Dread Hammer and Hepen the Watcher, the first two books in her Puzzle Lands series.  From Nagata’s website: Author Stephen Harper Piziks, a fellow Book View Café member, says that: “Amazon makes recommendations based on the number of reader reviews a book gets. When a book reaches 20 reader reviews, Amazon’s computer starts recommending it. The content of the reviews doesn’t matter–only that the book got reviews.” To test Stephen’s theory, I’m following his example and launching a contest to encourage you to help me by writing an Amazon review of either The Dread Hammer or Hepen the Watcher, or if you’re really into it, of both! The review doesn’t have to be elaborate. A couple of sentences conveying your general opinion should do it, though of course longer coverage is fine too. To sweeten the pot, she’s going to give away free books to one international and one U.S. reviewer. All you have to do is leave a comment with a link to your review! In the pot: The selected USA commenter will receive EITHER a print copy of both Puzzle Lands books OR a print copy of any ONE of the Nanotech Succession books OR the Tor® hardcover of Memory. The selected non-USA commenter will get to select any two of Mythic Island Press LLC’s ebooks. Admit it.  That sounds pretty awesome, right?  You can find free samples here.  Both books are available on Booktopia, Powell’s, Book View Cafe, Amazon and Barnes and Noble in print and/or ebook editions.  You can find links to all these places here.  The ebook is only $4.99! Have at it, folks!

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Guest Post: “The Perils of the Past” by Michaele Jordan

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If you’ve read my novel Mirror Maze, then you already know that I’m just a tad obsessive about accurate historical detail. I admit it: it just drives me nuts to read a supposed period piece only to discover that it is chock full of anachronisms and all the characters have a completely 21st century ‘tude. Perhaps my suspension of disbelief is more fragile than some, but that always knocks me right out of the story. So when I’m writing, I research. But. . . The thing about research is that you never know where it will lead you. Sometimes it won’t take you anywhere (or at least nowhere useful.)  I had a character once who heard a loud bonging noise. I wanted to say that it sounded like Big Ben, but I figured I should check if Big Ben had been built in 1886. It seemed like a simple yes or no question. I discovered immediately that the tower for Big Ben was certainly in place. The clock was installed in plenty of time. But the bell was put in later. After four hours of research (during which I learned many interesting things about Victorian construction techniques, the sociological functions of large

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Guest Post: “Superhero Ethics” by Myke Cole

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I grew up on comic books. By this, I don’t mean that I grew up standing on piles of them (although, now that I think about it, I probably did that a few times); I mean that I grew up reading them. I thrilled to Superman reversing the earth’s rotation in an effort to turn back time to stave off disaster. I loved it when Batman crashed through a window to save a sleeping couple from a would-be marauder. The X-Men kept us safe from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Avengers did that when Hydra and AIM came calling. The Justice League? Always on watch. From space. Seeing all. I was a kid. I never asked why. They did it because they were “good guys” (and by “guys,” I mean some of them weren’t). They were genetically driven to do what was right, which always happened to coincide with my desire to sleep safe and comfy in my bed at night. As I grew up, I began to understand that human interests are sometimes at odds with each other. Two different people can both want the same thing, a

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Guest Post: “Tackling Other Cultures in Fiction” by Stina Leicht

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All fantasy authors write about foreign cultures and countries they’ve never visited. When an author makes up an imaginary place, that is what they’re doing. Elizabeth Moon told me that back when I first started writing Of Blood and Honey. She was right, of course, but that didn’t remove the anxiety I (rightfully) felt when tackling Northern Ireland as a setting. There were many reasons why. Shortly after the start of my research, I attended a literary discussion about fantasy and foreign myth appropriation. It was the first time I’d heard the word ‘colonialism’ associated with genre fiction. One of the panelists was an author who worked with an American Indian tribe. She said that everything else had been taken from Native Americans and that disrespectfully stealing their myths made everything worse. She said she felt that fantasy writers had a responsibility to the cultures they borrow from — a responsibility to do thorough, thoughtful research and to be careful and respectful with the borrowed myths. One audience member loudly disagreed. He said that everyone has been perfectly fine with doing whatever they wanted with Irish myth for decades. No one complained. However, that story-mine was now tapped. It was time fantasy writers moved on to other cultures, and they had

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Lit Bits: Adam Christopher Signs Two Book Deal w/ Angry Robot

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Here’s the press release: Following the hugely successful launch of his debut novel Empire State earlier this year, Angry Robot has signed Adam Christopher for another two titles. Christopher revisits the world of the Empire State in a sequel, The Age Atomic, to be published in May 2013, with Hang Wire – a tale of ancient gods and serial killers – to follow within a year. The deal included world English rights in physical and electronic formats and was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris and Christopher’s agent Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Agency. New Zealand-born Christopher, who now lives in the UK, said: “I’m delighted to be back for another visit to the Empire State! Rad Bradley is a character close to my heart, and as soon as he reappeared on the page and started throwing punches, I felt like an old friend had returned… albeit one I’m obliged to put through the wringer again! Angry Robot continue to impress with a kick-ass roster of authors and titles, and I’m thrilled that The Age Atomic and Hang Wire will be part of it.” Editor Lee Harris said: “I couldn’t be happier to have more of Adam’s books on our list. Adam joins a very exclusive club – he is now one of only three authors to have placed four books with Angry Robot. We’re thinking of getting them membership cards.” Empire State was launched in January to widespread acclaim. Adam’s second novel – Seven Wonders – will be published worldwide in September 2012. This is incredible news indeed!  I haven’t had the opportunity to read Empire State, but it is on my list of “must reads for 2012.”  If anyone would like to leave a quick opinion about the book, feel free to do so in the comments. I should also say how lovely it is to receive emails from Angry Robot that are almost always positive.  Every time they send me something, it is either about new books, new deals with authors, or new imprints.  That tells me that they’re doing something right over in their UK offices.  Congrats to Adam and everyone else involved at Angry Robot.  Here’s to 10,000 more books from them all (yes, I mean that; you hear me, Adam Christopher?  10,000 books.  Start writing…). Go Kiwis!  

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