Video Found: The Left Hand of God Trailer
A new book series is coming and it looks really fantastic. The first book is called The Left Hand of God, and it will be part one of a trilogy. Here’s the synopsis: They call him Cale. He is destined to save the world… …or destroy it. In the Redeemer Sanctuary, the stronghold of a secretive sect of warrior monks, torture and death await the unsuccessful or disobedient. Raised by the Redeemers from early childhood like hundreds of other young captives, Thomas Cale has known only deprivation, punishment, and grueling training. He doesn’t know that another world exists outside the fortress walls or even that secrets he can’t imagine lurk behind the Sanctuary’s many forbidden doorways. He doesn’t know that his master Lord Bosco and the Sanctuary’s Redeemers have been preparing for a holy war for centuries–a holy war that is now imminent. And Cale doesn’t know that he’s been noticed and quietly cultivated. Then, Cale decides to open a door. It’s a door that leads to one of the Redeemers’ darkest secrets and a choice that is really no choice at all: certain death or daring escape. Adrift in the wider world for the first time in his young life, Cale soon finds himself in Memphis, the capitol of culture–and the den of Sin. It’s there that Cale discovers his prodigious gift: violence. And he discovers that after years of abuse at the hands of the Redeemers his embittered heart is still capable of loving-and breaking. But the Redeemers won’t accept the defection of their special subject without a fight. As the clash of civilizations that has been looming for thousands of years draws near, a world where the faithful are as brutal as the sinful looks to young Cale to decide its fate. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Now here’s the trailer (after the fold): Hopefully I’ll get to review the book. We’ll see. Anyone else looking forward to this one?
Video Found: Total Recall (the Musical)!
How do you make a campy, but lovable 80s science fiction film based loosely on a story by the late Philip K. Dick and starring the Governator even better? You turn it into a freaking musical! Whoever came up with this idea deserves a cookie. Here it is for your enjoyment (after the fold): So, what do you think?
The Book Habits Meme (Reboot)
Writtenwyrdd originally posted this in October of last year, but I thought I would bring it back with a few additions. If you have a blog, then post your own answers to the following questions and leave a comment with the link! Here goes: Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:I don’t, actually. I sort of get involved in my reading, so snacking really isn’t an option. What is your favorite drink while reading?Hot chocolate, green tea, or water. But I don’t drink while reading. I stop, get a drink, and then continue reading. I can’t imagine doing both at the same time. That’s the kind of multitasking only crazy people can muster. Imagine that. You’re reading, imagining whatever is going on in your head, reaching out your arm, grabbing a mug, and drinking all at the same time. That’s a lot of stuff going on! Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?I don’t mark in books I am reading for fun. I do for books I am using for graduate school or research. Generally I don’t like marking, but when you have to remember passages and things, marking is inevitable. That said, I own duplicates of books I really love that I have to mark in. I’m doing just that with Tobias S. Buckell’s books, actually. I recently bought all his first edition hardcovers, signed, just so I’d have a set that I could keep in perfect condition. I’m a weirdo. How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?Bookmark. Rarely will I lay the book flat and open. People who dog-ear their books are communists and shouldn’t be allowed to vote. That’s the kind of blasphemous nonsense the Inquisition wouldn’t have put up with, and that might be the only thing I would agree with them on. Fiction, nonfiction, or both?A little of both, actually. Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?I can stop anywhere, but I prefer to stop at the end of a chapter. I hate stopping in the middle of things. At best, I am comfortable with stopping at a break within a chapter, but even that is bothersome. Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?I’ve come close. I’ve slammed books down onto my bed before, but I’ve yet to toss something across the room. To be fair, I don’t own my apartment, so throwing things is a bit dangerous when I don’t want to put holes in my walls. If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?It depends on the word. If it’s really obscure, I’ll look it up. Otherwise, I use what little I know of the English language to figure out what it means on the spot. What are you currently reading?Spellwright by Blake CharltonAngel Dust Apocalypse by Jeremy Robert JohnsonThe Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor PelevinServant of a Dark God by John BrownPerdido Street Station by China Mieville What is the last book you bought?I think it was every single book by Tobias S. Buckell (first editions and signed). He had a deal going on at his blog and I partook. Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?I can read more than one. Sometimes I start something, find it a little dull, and move on to something else for a while. Other times I don’t have much of a choice, being a graduate student and all. I’ve had 10+ different books going at once before. Do you have a favorite time/place to read?I prefer to read somewhere not in my house and away from a computer. That’s not an easy thing to do, especially right now with a few of my geckos needing regular care. On top of that, I either need absolute silence or pure noise. Anything between is a no go. Do you prefer series books or stand alones?Stand alones. I like series, but they require you to invest a lot of time into them, and unless a series is really good, I won’t do that. There are few series that I have been obsessed enough with to buy the rest of the books and read them (Harry Potter, Tobias Buckell’s Caribbean SF, and some others). When you find a good series, though, it’s a wonderful experience. Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?Four: Tobias S. Buckell, Karen Miller, Kage Baker, and Susan Beth Pfeffer. I’ve recommend loads of others, but those three have probably seen the most airtime from my lips (or fingers, actually). How do you organize your books?(by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)I organize my books by genre and size. Mass markets are all together, with a section for SF/F, general fiction, and non-fiction. All other sizes are much the same. I separate all my books on writing from the rest, though. It makes it easier to get to them. And now that that is over with, I am going to tag Weirdside and NextRead. Again, if you want to do this on your blog, go for it and come back here to give me the link!
Top 10 Most Commented-on Posts on WISB
The last few years have been really sporadic and crazy on this blog. It’s interesting to see which posts people find most intriguing, which is where this list comes from. So, without wasting any more of your time, here are the top 10 most commented-on posts on WISB: Science Fiction / Fantasy Awards: The Hugos and Others Things — 23 comments Book Review: The Tower of Shadows by Drew Bowling — 24 comments The Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy — 25 comments A Collective Chillpill For RaceFail — 25 comments Misconceptions About Star Wars — 26 comments Five Reasons Fantasy is Better Than Science Fiction — 29 comments 1000th Post Massive Giveaway — 39 comments Werewolves and Misconceptions About Science Fiction — 46 comments Movie Review: Star Trek (Why It Sucks and Why Abrams Needs to Stop) — 65 comments Self-Publishing: A Clarification (for those that don’t know) — 72 comments And there you go. I was actually surprised that some of these were so high up. The fun things you learn about your work!
New Poll: How do you read this blog?
I’ve decided to put up another poll, because I like this whole poll thing. This time, I really want input from you, the reader. I want to know how you read this blog. On the left side there you’ll see a poll. The options are: RSS Reader (such as Google Reader) Email Main Page (i.e. you visit the blog itself in order to read what I write) Electronic Device (such as the Kindle or Nook or whatever) Other (whatever it is, let me know in the comments for this post) So, how do you read this blog? Feel free to leave a comment!
Video Found: Your Light Saber and You (Vintage How-to)
I love Star Wars fan films when they’re good, and this film is cute and funny. It’s modeled after old 1950s how-to videos as a spoof in much the same manner as all those classic Goofy shorts from Disney. See for yourself (click the read more to see the video): (Thanks to SF Signal for the link.)