UK/AU/NZ

With Daughter of Blood almost upon us — the final, official version — I can’t help reflecting a little on deleted scenes, of which there are quite a few.

So waddya reckon, should I share some of them with you here?

I really think I could… But should I?

What do you think, dear readers?

USA

Shall we only stick with the final, official version, or would you like a taste of what didna make the author’s cut*?

I shall eagerly await your wise guidance. 😉

*Because this is material that was ruthlessly discarded long before even 
my beta readers or my editor got to see it.

Almost

Here!

Yes, my dears, it’s that time–just on week left until Daughter of Blood is finally published on 26 January (US and UK), which is 27 January here in New Zealand and Australia.

I’ll be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit Fantasy on the 26th (AU/NZ 27th) and will also have an interview on my friend Sharon Stogner’s ismellsheep genre site.

I’ll be back with more details for both of those closer to the time–and I do hope you’ll consider dropping by and asking me a question on the AMA, so I won’t feel lonely “out there, among the English.”* 😉
(Although you do have to sign up/sign in for Reddit Fantasy, I believe, so I’ll understand if you prefer not to.)

Then on the 30th (although it may post a little later), I’ll be doing a podcast interview with Paul Weimer, Kate Elliott and Courtney Schafer, talking world-building, writing great characters, and magic systems—and all with the crown of excellent company!

A little later still, after 5 February, I’ll also be doing a blog interview with Mary Victoria—once she’s had a chance to read the book!

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*An Amish admonition apparently, "the English" being non-Amish Americans.:)

The Woods of Westermain

I

Enter these enchanted woods,
You who dare.
Nothing harms beneath the leaves
More than waves a swimmer cleaves.
Toss your heart up with the lark,
Foot at peace with mouse and worm,
Fair you fare.
Only at a dread of dark
Quaver, and they quit their form:
Thousand eyeballs under hoods
Have you by the hair.
Enter these enchanted woods,
You who dare.

II

Here the snake across your path
Stretches in his golden bath:
Mossy-footed squirrels leap
Soft as winnowing plumes of Sleep:
Yaffles on a chuckle skim
Low to laugh from branches dim:
Up the pine, where sits the star,
Rattles deep the moth-winged jar.
Each has business of his own;
But should you distrust a tone,
Then beware …

… Enter these enchanted woods,
You who dare.
…

by George Meredith, 1828 – 1909

—

As I mentioned last week, I am starting my year in poetry by featuring poems that concern trees. I am wondering if it is coincidence that both my poems to date are Victorian … The Woods of Westermain is a rather long poem, and quite “dense” in terms of word style and material as well, which is why I’ve only used an excerpt today — but I think it gives you the “feel” of the work.

Also on trees, check out Sunday’s post on “treemail”: love letters to Melbourne’s trees.

Last week, I kicked off the second part of my “avid reader” special—and this time some of the most avid readers I know are sharing their Most-Anticipated Reads of 2016.

Paul is not only a book reviewer, but also podcaster, and a Mind Meld convenor on SF Signal: let’s see what he’s most looking forward to reading this year.

—

Paul Weimer’s Five Most-Anticipated Reads of 2016

Once upon a time, before the internet, before I discovered Locus, this question would have been more of an aspirational question. I hope that there will be a new Raymond Feist next year! Maybe there will be a new C.J. Cherryh? A new epic fantasy series would be nice. But what actually was coming soon? Little clue. With the introduction to me of the Locus Forthcoming List, and later, lists on the Internet, social media from authors and publishers, podcasts and blogs and interviews, that problem is long gone. I already had a large list of books I wanted to read in 2016, even before 2015 was finished.

Here are just five of the many books I am excited to get to read in 2016:

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Lois McMaster Bujold

Space Opera

Ever since I discovered the novels of Miles Vorkosigan, I’ve been hooked on the fiction of Lois M Bujold. Her Space Opera universe and set of characters are like none other, a complex and complicated saga spanning worlds and decades, and generations. With Miles aging, she has started to explore other characters as major protagonists, such as his cousin, “that idiot” Ivan, in Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance. In this newest book, we return to Cordelia Vorkosigan, widow of the late Aral Vorkosigan, and mother to Miles. She’s up to something, and what does Admiral Oliver Jole have to do with it? If you give me fast penta, I will still tell you I want to read this book.
.

Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire

Portal Fantasy

I’ve heard good things about this novella from McGuire for months and months now. Portal Fantasy seems to be a burgeoning thing, again, in SFF. McGuire’s novella, however, plans to deconstruct the portal fantasy by showing what happens to the people who go through the portal and return to the real world, and have to deal with mundanity again. I’m ready to step through.
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The Edge of Worlds, Martha Wells

Fantasy

I’ve been a fan of Martha Wells work from the beginning of her career, and I think her novels and stories of the Raksura are a full maturation of her skills, her particular brand of fantasy, and are a fascinating world of characters and races and beings to explore in the bargain. The Edge of Worlds continues the story of the Indigo Cloud clan of Raksura and I look forward to exploring the Reaches once again to learn the newest adventures of Moon, Jade, and the rest of their fractious family group.
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Company Town, Madeline Ashby

Science Fiction

Ashby’s science fiction is sharp, futuristic, detailed and thoughtful. Company Town brings her back into her near-future zone of augmentation, and artificial persons, and adds a layer of a mystery noir plot to the proceedings on a gigantic oil rig in Canadian water. I’m on board!
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A Gathering of Shadows, V.E. Schwab

Fantasy

Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic nearly made it onto my Top 5 for 2015, and it was my first introduction to her work. A Gathering of Shadows continues the story of Lila and Kell, in a universe of parallel universe Londons: the former a thief who wants to be a pirate, and the latter one one of the few mages left who can travel between these Londons. I look forward to worldwalking across worlds to see how these characters, and these Londons, continue to collide.
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~ Paul Weimer

—

Paul Weimer is a writer, gamer, blogger, podcaster and ubiquitous genre enthusiast. At venues ranging from Skiffy and Fanty, to SF Signal, SFF Audio and beyond, he can be found exploring the world of science fiction and fantasy. He can be found on his own website http://www.skyseastone.net/jvstin, on twitter @princejvstin, and many other places on the internet.

“Dearest Golden Elm”, wrote one correspondent earlier this month, “I finally found you! I see you every day on my way to uni, but I had no idea of what kind of tree you are. You are the most beautiful tree in the city and I love you.” ~ “A.”

—

A Christchurch variegated elm

I have — much against my will with Daughter of Blood being published on the 26th/27th and The Chaos Gate (The Wall of Night Book Four) a work in progress — gotten dragged into the “Recovery” planning process for Christchurch’s significant (Heritage and Notable) trees. (It’s complicated so I may leave fuller explanations to another day.)

But as a result of this, someone I haven’t even met emailed me a link to a wonderful BBC article, which I hope you will also take time to read. 🙂

As the article says, because of prolonged drought, Melbourne City has actually mapped all the trees in the city, assigning each of them an individual tree ID and allowing residents to interact on a digital platform. The Council thought this would be for reasons of maintenance, but …

“It was then that something extraordinary happened. Instead of identifying a tree in need of attention and emailing the council to get it done, people in Melbourne began sending personal messages to the trees.”

Apparently in the past two years individual trees have received over 3000 emails! As I say in my title, love letters to the trees. 🙂

The lead quote is an example of one of them. Here’s another, from an expatriate Australian:

“I miss you, Gum. I miss all that you represent for me. Stand tall and strong, and know that my heart reaches out to you across the seas.”

I think it’s a great human — and tree! — article. To get the whole story and see more emails to the trees, click on:

The Melbourne treemail phenomenon
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Local oak avenue

~ by Andrew Robins
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58 Eridani: Episode 6

Record of owners meeting held on-board Freetrader “Mistral”, location 58 Eridani Analogue Reference 1, enroute to NRRNV Frigate “Lepanto” 45.64 days elapsed time – mission 14.

Shareholders present: Glandin Frutnok van Glomzimmer, Amelia Delaware, Buffy Chinks, Bob Stark

Observing meeting: Didi Turner (official witness of record), Huia Turner, Sheen Turner and Tina Turner of the Ramadan Collective. RI “Lepanto” present via remote.

Agenda:

1. Status review and update
2. Origins of the outbreak
3. General discussion re Vader situation
4. Discussion re status of communications link with sentry gun 5. What does the apparent tie up with our jump drive locus mean?
5. Future plans and goals

Item 1 – Status Review:

It is noted that the Vader outbreak in the hold has been contained. 12 members of the Ramadan Collective were unfortunately exposed to sequestration and are now deceased. It is noted that the shareholders officially offer their regrets and condolences to the surviving members of the collective here present, and extend to them the hospitality of the ship. State room 6 will be allocated for their use, and they will also be offered free access to the ships fabrication facilities and remaining supplies.

There appears to be residual contamination in the hold, although the use of specially constructed, high power infra-red radiators has been effective in sterilising all exposed biological material. All material has now been ejected from the hold with the exception of two items noted below:

1. The drone “Mike 3” which was used to eject the material from the hold
2. The artefact known as “the horn” which was acquired back on Mission Target 3 (see Agenda item 4)

The residual contamination takes the form of a glass-like material which has embedded itself into the ships hull. Lepanto has confirmed that similar contamination is also present in its structure, and that the contamination will not spread as long as it does not have access to an energy source. Further use of the infra-red radiators is not recommended, as the energy released has been observed to speed up this part of the contamination process.

Item 2 – Origins of the Outbreak:

The outbreak appears to have occurred when Moana Turner and Raz Turner handled artefacts that had been acquired on Mission Target 3, shortly after these had been subject to spectroscopic analysis. Records uploaded to Mistral core during the analysis confirm that the artefacts collected on Mission Target 3 include nano machines identical to those contained in the samples we have collected and successfully analysed from 025.456791 LV 1 – (hereafter referred to as the “C.O.D” – capsule of doom).

Lepanto confirms that the Vaders originate from Mission Target 3. When asked how they got here, it only states that we are all still present at Mission Target 3. (Shareholders note: “We must pursue this line of inquiry further with Lepanto”)

Item 3 – Vader Situation:

Sensor data from both Mistral and Lepanto confirms that there is a nuclear exchange underway on the planet (named “Origin Point” by Lepanto). Weapons used appear to be in the megaton range.

Origin Point also appears to have launched roughly 2 dozen large vessels, powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. These vessels are en route to Lepanto, and are apparently hostile to each other. Various types of ordinance appear to be being exchanged.

Item 4 – Link to Sentry Gun 5:

In the process of evacuating the contaminated material from the hold it was noted that the signal from sentry gun 5 began to weaken. Further investigation of this phenomenon determined the following two facts:

1. The signal from sentry gun 5 appears to emanate from our jump drive locus. Or at least the place where the locus was, when we still had a jump drive
2. The signal weakens when the artefact known as “the horn” is physically separated from the ship. None present are very happy with the idea of keeping a potential infection vector on board, but the shareholders have resolved to retain this artefact for now.

Item 5 – Future Plans and Goals:

1. Rendezvous with the Lepanto.
2. Resupply and repair Mistral using supplies found on board.
3. Investigate the anomaly.
4. Use the weapons on Lepanto to deal with the inbound Vader ships.

Let it be noted that the shareholders have no further plans beyond, “figure this stuff out and find a way home”.

Meeting ends.

.

Check back in on Saturday 23 January for Episode 7 of 58 Eridani.

—

You can read the previous issues by clicking on the following links:

Introducing 58 Eridani, a Game Log

58 Eridani Episode 1

58 Eridani Episode 2

58 Eridani Episode 3

58 Eridani Episode 4

58 Eridani Episode 5

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Andrew Robins is a long time reader – and sometime reviewer – of science fiction, fantasy and history. People pay him to test stuff, which most of the time is more fun than it has any right to be.

To check out Andrew’s book reviews, see “Book Reviews for ‘on Anything, Really’” in the right-hand side bar.

USA

Yup, that’s right, after yesterday’s release on SF Signal, the first three chapters of Daughter of Blood are now available in the wild—which is pretty durned cool, from where I’m sitting. 😉

Two of the releases featured on the wonderful SF Signal, the third was on Barnes & Noble’s SciFi site.

To read them in order, click on the following links:

Prologue

Chapter 1: Lady Mouse

Chapter 2: The Serpent Prince

UK/AU/NZ

Enjoy!

Oh, and don’t forget there’s a giveaway, too — click here for details:

(First Ever!) Daughter Of Blood Giveaway

“Outside, the latest Wall storm had blown itself into a brief respite of calm weather, but inside the Red Keep the storm that had been raging between the ruling kin for weeks continued to generate acrimony and raised voices. Although, Myr thought, wrapping her arms around her drawn-up knees, “raised voices” was only her former governess Ise’s way of being polite. Anyone else would say shouting, usually over the top of whoever else was yelling at the same time. …”

from Chapter 1, Lady Mouse: Daughter Of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three

~~

USA

UK/AU/NZ

Yes, that’s right — the opening chapter of Daughter Of Blood has been posted as part of another exclusive feature on SF Signal.

To read the chapter in full and meet Myr* properly, click on:

Lady Mouse
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But that is Not All — concurrent with the Chapter feature, SF Signal is also running the FIRST EVER giveaway for Daughter Of Blood .

There are  a total of 4 copies up for grabs:

• 2 for North American readers, and
• 2 for readers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

To enter, click on:

Giveaway: Daughter Of Blood

And good luck!

—

* The "y" in Myr is pronounced like the "i" in "fir": so "Mir".
 In her full name, Myrathis, it becomes largely silent, more "M'rathis."

USA

UK/AU/NZ

~ by Rebecca Fisher

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There’s no denying that Ridley Scott’s Legend is a strange film, and not a hugely successful one either. Despite the title, it’s based more on fairy tales than legends, with a good-versus-evil conflict drawn from Christian duality and its ideas surrounding light and dark, spring and winter, innocence and corruption.

The Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry playing what is possibly the most arresting depiction of satanic magnificence ever seen in a film) wants to increase his power by ensuring perpetual darkness, and so sends his goblins out to destroy the only two unicorns in the world, creatures whose deaths will prevent the sun from ever rising again.

But to kill the unicorns, the goblins must bait their trap. This task unknowingly falls to Princess Lili, a young royal who regularly escapes the palace to spend time in the forest with Jack, a mysterious woodland boy. On this day he has a particular treat in store: taking Lili to see the unicorns.

Jack keeps his promise to Lili and takes her to where the unicorns dwell

Unable to resist temptation, Lili ignores Jack’s warnings and steps out of hiding to touch one of the beasts – inadvertently making it a perfect target for the goblins in the trees. Soon enough one of the unicorns is dead, and the world is encased in cold and darkness.

It all sounds rather trite on paper, but there is a dark undercurrent to the proceedings that definitely prevents Legend from being classified as a kiddie-friendly film. Although Jack’s quest to defeat Darkness is drawn straight from the pages of Joseph Campbell, it’s Princess Lili who gets the more interesting material across the course of story.

After realizing the part she’s played in luring one of the unicorns to its death, she vows to make amends, and on finding herself trapped in Darkness’s lair, withstands his attempts to corrupt her in the hope she’ll find a way to free the remaining unicorn.

Tim Curry under about twenty tonnes of prosthetics

Though the film is probably best remembered for starring Tom Cruise in one of his earliest roles (he was only twenty-two at the time), it’s Mia Sara as Lili who really carries the film, first as the embodiment of a pure-hearted princess (with a slight bratty streak) and then as a distorted reflection of herself who is sorely tested by the dark powers that surround her.

Shot entirely on a sprawling soundstage that’s alive with flowers and birds and other animals, Legend is an odd, almost experimental film. Favouring archetypal characterization and rich visuals over a complex plot, it’s often criticized for its shallowness and predictability – but that is to miss the point of its deliberate simplicity, as well as its unique hypnotic quality.

The unicorns (but don’t look too closely; their horns bounce when they move)

As it happens there is more than one version of Legend in circulation: the European and American releases (one scored by Jerry Goldsmith and the other by Tangerine Dream) as well as a more recent director’s cut. Each involves slightly-tweaked variations of cut or extended scenes, and though devoted fans will want to watch all the available renderings, the story itself is so straightforward that the essentials remain the same throughout.
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Next Time: Willow

On completing the original Star Wars trilogy George Lucas found that he had a lot of leftover ideas – and what better way to deal with them than incorporate them into a brand new film? Willow is standard swords-and-sorcery fare, but there is definite charm to the proceedings. Maybe that’s just the nostalgia talking, but we can certainly thank it for making Warwick Davis a household name.
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About The Reviewer:

Rebecca Fisher is a graduate of the University of Canterbury with a Masters degree in English Literature, mainly, she claims, because she was able to get away with writing her thesis on C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman. She is a reviewer for FantasyLiterature.com, a large website that specializes in fantasy and science-fiction novels, as well as posting reviews to Amazon.com and her They’re All Fictional blog.

To read Rebecca’s detailed introduction of both herself and the series, as well as preceding reviews, click on:

Big Worlds On Small Screens

Rebecca won the 2015 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Fan Writer, for writing including Big Worlds On Small Screens.