Stephanie Meyer - The Host

For those who enjoyed previous posts about Stehanie Meyers's Twilight, you'll be pleased to know she's got a new book out for adults called The Host. You can see Stephanie talking about the new launch on the US Borders website here. It's out from 6th May in hardback and available in all the usual places, with a rather intriguing synopsis on the Borders page: "An invading species threatens to control the human race by taking over the minds of the human bodies they inhabit. Melanie staves off Wanderer, the invader of her mind, through conscious resistance and thoughts of the man she loves. A fantastic read, The Host may be the first story ever to feature a love triangle involving only two bodies."

CNN interview - Iain M Banks

There's a pretty cool two-parter interview up on CNN for fans of Mr Banks. Here he talks to CNN's Linnie Rawlinson about being inspired by Sci Fi in his youth and the appeal of the SFF genre.

The video interview is here.

And is transcribed here for those with bands that are less-broad.

"Ahhh, smug mode"

As Kryton once said. Of course, if you're not a Red Dwarf fan then you won't know what that means and so you should probably leave, go buy a dvd box set, and come back when you've caught up... in about 3 months' time.

Good to see that the Gnu got in ahead of the Times Online in flagging up the new JK Rowling (apparently). Something tells me there are going to be a lot of them...

New SciFi site from NBC Universal

For addicts of the SciFi Channel, there is a new site launched this week which is promising all sorts of downloads, exclusive interview content, competitions and whatnot to satisfy you in the few spare minutes when you're not glued to.. the SciFi Channel.

Looks alot like every other TV channel site to me but hey, its SciFi goodness so we thank them for that. Oh yes.

I'll let you know if anything remotely exciting occurs once I join the "community".

Stay tuned....

Blog of the week

Ok, we don't really have a blog of the week - they're all great aren't they - but the Gnu just stumbled across the Toasted Scimitar blog whilst he should have been doing something far more constructive and found what is possibly the most comprehensive review ever of the entire Redwall series by Brian Jacques.

The Gnu was immediately transported to the days of yore where, as a baby Gnu, long before the smoking began, he indulged in the intrigues and traumas of Mattimo and Martin the Warrior. Darn that evil foxy gentleman.

Needless to say, it's a great and highly entertaining review. Now all we have to do is overcome the renewed desire to re-read the whole darn lot of them when I've got far too much to do (ie other books to read that I haven't read) and although I know that they'll never be as good when read with the cynicism of age... the Toasted one has got me tripping down memory lane to the local bookshop once again...

Robin Hobb - graphic novel a la francaise

Following on from yesterday's Robin Hobb post the Gnu has been drooling over Laurent Sieurac's upcoming graphic novel adaptation which was up on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist a few days ago. Some examples of other graphic work in the genre can be seen at the rivages maudits website - Gnu's speak french, it's one of their special powers.. but if you are not so lucky then just have a poke around and see what you can find - its a great site.

There's an interview with Laurent to be found here. When I have some free time I'll have a go at a Gnu-level translation for interested parties. And his other mighty works can be purchased on amazon.fr.

Robin's views on the whole business can be found here.

This interview was proposedby EdiFanoB who's blog I can't find to link to but here's the Gnu-shaped kudos for ya any way.

The new Harry Potter... allegedly..

This film, and the series of books by Stephanie Meyer which spawned it is set to be the next over-hyped teen fantasy obsessesion suggests Wired Magazine today. Revolving doors anyone?

According to Wired, the franchise already boasts a considerable fanbase who "dress up as Twilight characters and turn out in droves for book signings, start Twilight-themed rock bands and even celebrate lead character Isabella Swan's birthday"

Here's the new trailer. I can hear distant sound of parents' bank accounts being drained across the world...

Twilight in HD

Weird world - SFF meets Russian folk-art

Just for fun and the weirdness of the world take a look at the pics on this page and see if you can find a connection... no? well basically, some weird and wonderful person has redrawn SFF movie classics as Russian fairytale-style woodcuts. Work out what they all are before you read the highly amusing comment section..... go on I dare you.

Sorry no hints guys, Gnus don't speak Russian..

:(

Robin Hobb - The Liveship Traders

To be fair this one should have gone up a while ago but I guess best things come to those who wait etc. You don't have to wait until the bottom of the post for my two cents.. though you can if you're in to antic-ip........ation) because frankly the Gnu loves this series. In fact, if he had any say in it, he might marry this series and have lots of little Liveship babies but we're getting ahead of ourselves... We'll take the series as a whole just because.

Book info: (for Ship of Magic):

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Voyager; New Ed edition (1 Mar 1999)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 000649885X
• ISBN-13: 978-0006498858

Synopsis:

Gripping first instalment of a new series from the author of The Farseer Trilogy. Wizardwood -- a sentient wood. The most precious commodity in the world. Like many other legendary wares, it comes only from the Rain River Wilds. But how can one trade with the Rain River Traders when only a liveship, fashioned from wizardwood, can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain River? A liveship is a difficult ship to come by. Rare and valuable, it will quicken only when three family members, from succesive generations, have died on board. The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening, as Althea Vestrit's father is carried to her deck in his death-throes. Althea waits with awe and anticipation for the ship that she loves more than anything in the world to awaken. Only to find that her family has other plans for her...And dark, charming Kennit, aspiring pirate king, also lusts after such a ship: he well knows the power of wizardwood, and has plans of his own...


Amazon review:

Robin Hobb, author of the Farseer trilogy, has returned to that world for a new series. Ship of Magic is a sea tale, reminiscent of Moby Dick and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series in its details of shipboard life. It is also a fantasy adventure with sea serpents, pirates and all sorts of magic. The "liveships" have distinct personalities and partner with specific people, somewhat like Anne McCaffrey's Brain ships and their Brawns, though these are trading ships and have full crews.

Hobb has peopled the book with many wonderfully developed characters. Most of the primary ones are members of the Vestritts, an Old Trader family which owns the liveship Vivacia. Their stories are intercut with those of Kennit, the ambitious pirate Brashen, the disinherited scion of another family who served on the Vestritt's ship, and Paragon, an abandoned old liveship believed to be insane. The sentient sea serpents have their own story which is hinted at as well.

Though Ship of Magic is full of action, none of the plot lines is resolved in this book. Readers who resent being left with many questions and few answers after almost 700 pages should think twice before starting, or wait until the rest of the series is out so that their suspense won't be too prolonged. But Hobb's writing draws you in and makes you care desperately about what will happen next, the mark of a terrific storyteller. --Nona Vero --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Reviews:

Yes, as a rarity in recent posts, this does read as an original work and that's the first thing most reviewers pick up on. It is also, as one reviewer so eloquently pointed "a story that grabs you by the shorts and gives you an atomic wedgie". Another important point is that, unlike the initial Farseer (IMHO) it doesnt leave you hanging or wallowing in almost unrealistic and certainly unsatisfying endings (hurrah for the Tawny Man though) and indeed "All the different plots and characters got interwoven into a great and believeable finale, leaving me very satisfied." I have to disagree with Foothills however - that "this is a complex book with a cast of thousands, lots of complex relationships, and pots of action. I had to read it slowly; as always, Hobb is extremely hard on her characters, and small doses go down better." half of the joy of Hobb's writing is that she tries to drown you in to the worlds and the characters she creates.


My two cents:

This was without a doubt (IMHO again) far superior to the Farseer Trilogy. Possibly because it deviates so far from the traditional fantasy material, possibly just because Robin Hobb is really getting in to her swing or just letting herself go but it's a wonderful read that draws you in without feeling like a light read that you could take to the beach and not really concentrate on. So much so that there are elements in the style and story telling that permeate the Tawny Man series which was concluded after this one.

Just writing this makes me want to read them all over again.

Tor site relaunch

Thanks to Aidan at Dribble of Ink for flagging up this site - shortly to relaunch the Tor.com SFF community and review site which claims to be:

"A science fiction and fantasy site not quite like any you’ve seen before, mixing news, commentary, original stories and art, your own comments and conversations, and more. A place on the net you may find yourself wanting to visit—and participate in—every day.

Once you register, you’ll receive our newsletter and a link to download a digital book, as well as free wallpapers from bestselling and award-winning SF and fantasy authors and artists. And you’ll receive a link to another new book, and new wallpapers, every week. Additionally, you’ll be entered in our Watch The Skies Sweepstakes to win the very cool Asus Galaxy EEE mobile PC.*"

Every day huh? not sure how much work will be done in Gnu towers once the site goes live..

Aidan's tip is to sign up for the newsletter to get yer greasy mitts on some free ebook love - done done and done. He has the links up to download previous ebooks so I won't post them here - get on over Dribble and get em yerself .

Terry Brooks - Magic Kingdom for Sale, Sold!

Not to be put off by the minor disappointment of the Sword of Shannara Trilogy the Gnu has recently been at the receiving end* of "Magic Kingdom for Sale, Sold!" and thought we'd have a traipse across the blogosphere to see what has been said.

This book though written back in the mists of time (1992) was re-released last year on Orbit.


Book info:

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; New Ed edition (14 May 2007)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 1841495557
• ISBN-13: 978-1841495552
• 
  

Synopsis:
Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, complete with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchased it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovered that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. Such as the fact that the kingdom was falling into ruin. The barons refused to recognize a king and taxes hadn't been collected for years. The dragon, Strabo, was laying waste to the countryside, while the evil witch, Nightshade, was plotting to destroy no less than everything. And if that weren't enough for a prospective king to deal with, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, challenged all pretenders to the throne of Landover to a duel to the death - a duel no mere mortal could hope to win. But Ben Holiday had one human trait that even magic couldn't overcome. Ben Holiday was stubborn...


Reviews:

The Landover series seems somewhat (inevitably?) dwarved by the ongoing Shannara franchise however those that stumble across it seem to leave rave reviews across the net. This is mainly because it seems to appeal to the inner fantasy-reading child in all of us. Definitely one to read to the kids it has a pretty safe PG rating, minimal violence and only the occasional naked sylph and hormonal rumblings. In fact, there's not a lot said against it to even warrant a quote - even the blogs seem unwavering in their support.


My two cents:

It has to be said, the Gnu plugged in on this one out of sheer boredom because it was on one's audible.com download list and we were on a long journey... Gnu's are commuters too you know... Having said that, I didn't switch off immediately, head lolling against an unnecessarily vibrating train window because actually this was quite good! Yes there is a fairy tale, formulaic (we've covered this before, ok - it just works!) kids bedtime story to it but then if this had been baby Gnu's bedtime reading then the lights would not have been out by the prescribed hour. It was fun, it was easy and it was entertaining. Sure, there were no major life-altering philosophical insights, no significant fantasy or literary boundaries pushed but for sheer entertainment alone - hurrah!

We'll certainly be investing in the next in the Landover series however, might be old-school paperback as not sure we can take another 20 hours of poor attempts at British accents...



There is, rumour has it, a movie version of the first Landover title in production as we speak so we'll keep an eye out for that one..





* audiobooks - the TV equivalent of "reading"?