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Eric Brown to Head Abaddon's Weird Space Series

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Abaddon Books has announced a new shared-world space opera series called Weird Space.   The series is set to begin in Summer 2012 with Eric Brown’s The Devil’s Nebula as the opening installment. Here’s the synopsis for the series and Brown’s introductory novel: Starship Captain Ed Carew and his crew of two – ex-marine Lania Takiomar and ex-convict Gord Neffard – lead a carefree life of smuggling, gun-running and other illicit pursuits in a far future ruled by the fascistic Expansion Authority. But when an Expansion judiciary ship captures Carew and his crew leaving the planet of Hesperides, an out-of-bounds world governed now by the fearsome Vetch extraterrestrials, Carew, Takiomar and Neffard are sentenced to death… Unless they agree to travel through Vetch territory in pursuit of an human colony vessel which set off for the Devil’s Nebula one hundred years ago. But why are the Expansion authorities so eager to track down the ship, will Carew and co. survive the journey through Vetch territory – and what might they find when they arrive at the Devil’s Nebula? The Devil’s Nebula is the first book in a thrilling space opera series, Weird Space. An evil race is threatening not only the human Expansion, but the Vetch Empire, too – an evil from another dimension which infests humans and Vetch alike and bends individuals to do their hideous bidding. And only if humans and Vetch cooperate to fight off the fearsome Weird do they stand a chance of ensuring their survival… Sounds interesting, no?  And the cover is bloody gorgeous!  Good on Abaddon for taking a shot at space opera!

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Episode 62 — An Interview w/ Daniel Polansky (the Literary Numismatist)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.archive.org/download/TheSkiffyAndFantyShow4.9–AnInterviewWDanielPolansky/Sandf–Episode4.9–InterviewWDanielPolansky.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSDaniel Polansky, author of Low Town, joins us for a riveting interview about his life in the Reformed Farm Animal Circus, in which he was known as the Great Fiddlestick. Okay, so that’s not really true.  Rather, in this episode, Daniel talks to us about his debut novel, a dark genre-bending noir monstrosity we could best describe as awesome, and other fun things, such as how his book can save the World Economy.  If you haven’t read Low Town, we highly recommend it.  It’s noir.  It’s New Weirdy.  It’s dark.  And it’s amazing. (Plus:  Daniel is a hoot.) Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 62 — Download (MP3) Intro and Interview w/ Daniel Polansky (0:00 – 58:02) Daniel’s Website (Because websites are cool…) Daniel’s Twitter (And so are Tweets…) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).  (We also borrowed a clip from the Ghostbusters Theme by Ray Parker, Jr.) That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Episode 61 — An Interview w/ Philippa Ballantine (the Geistbuster)

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.archive.org/download/TheSkiffyAndFantyShow4.8–AnInterviewWPhilippaBallantine/Sandf–Episode4.8–InterviewWPhilippaBallantine.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSPhilippa Ballantine, author of Geist, Spectyr, and many other fun novels, joins us to discuss her Books of the Order series, the Internet, podcasting, urban fantasy, religion, and much more.  We had a blast talking to her and hope you enjoy the interview. Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Note #2:  There’s something very special about episode 4.8.  It may involve singing.  It may involve a classic SF/F movie from the 80s.  It most definitely will be funny. Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 61 — Download (MP3) Intro and Interview w/ Philippa Ballantine (0:00 – 58:02) Philippa’s Website (which links you to everything she’s done and is still doing) Philippa’s Twitter (follow her or her geist will get you) Oh, and don’t forget to check out her books, like the one above (Geist) and the one below (Spectyr). You should also check out our friends at Adventures in Scifi Publishing.  The end of episode 4.6 has the new promo for their show, which you should listen to! Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).  (We also borrowed a clip from the Ghostbusters Theme by Ray Parker, Jr.) That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Blog Posts

Book of Interest: The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen

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We’ll be posting about things like this every once in a while (i.e., promos for interesting books). Since we’ve already read one book from Anarchy Books (Serial Killers, Inc. — we loved it!), we figured it wouldn’t hurt to let you all know about another monstrosity to appear from their wicked coffers (of wickedness, no doubt)! Here you go: Thomas Locke can find anything. You know the hurricane that hit a while back? Word is he found the butterfly that started it. So, when a desperate Veronica Drysdale hires Locke to find her missing husband, it makes perfect sense. Except the world of Thomas Locke doesn’t make sense. It puts monsters under the bed, makes stars fall from the sky and leads little children to worship the marvels of road-works. This world also hides from Veronica a past far darker and stranger than she could ever have imagined. To learn the truth, Veronica is going to have to lose everything. And that’s where Locke’s shadowy business partner Lafarge comes in… FOCUS ON –

Blog Posts

Children of a Factory Nation Short Story Contest (Anarchy Books)

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The deliciously twisted Andy Remic recently brought this contest to our attention, and now we’re bringing it to yours.  Make sure to spread the word: Jordan Reyne’s new album, Children of a Factory Nation, is being released September 2011 and follows a family who lived in Wales in the late 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. Like many alive in their time, they faced problems relating to difficult working conditions, poverty, and the tyranny of circumstance. This album constructs stories from facts known about Johnathan, Mary, their children Molly & Thomas, and grandchild Wynne. The competition is to write a short story surrounding any character or sets of characters from Children of a Factory Nation using Jordan Reyne’s lyrics or the facts about their real life counterparts as a starting point. The competition will be judged by Andy Remic, SFF author and co-owner of Anarchy Books, John

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Episode 57 — Books Will Take Over the Universe

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http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.archive.org/download/TheSkiffyAndFantyShow4.4–BooksWillDestroyTheUniverse/Sandf–Episode4.4–BooksWillDestroyTheUniverse.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIt’s time for some book love!  When you think about it, it’s been a while since we dedicated an episode almost exclusively to talking about book things.  But we’ve done it in Episode 57, so tune in and enjoy! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 57 — Download (MP3) Discussion (0:00 – 35:23) Spotlight Publishing picks up Jason Sanford’s Never Never Stories and the Million Writers Award (And we have decided to be his first official stalkers) Secret Service Confiscates Young Man’s Stuff (You know, because taking pictures of this guy is a threat to national security) Should we alter classic works of literature to make them easier? (Alternatively:  should we reduce the number of laws we have to observe while driving so we don’t have to think too much while doing it?)  Seattle Mystery Bookshop Sticks to Amazon (Meanwhile, Borders tries to sell its body to anyone who will pay for it…) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

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