I’ll have a few more thoughts on these in a bit, but for now, here are your 2008 Parsec Award Winners! If you want to see all the nominees you can check out my earlier post.

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form)

One thing I love about living in YouTubeworld is that it gives aspiring filmmakers a sweet outlet for putting out short projects and getting feedback on them. While you undoubtedly have to regularly wade through some pretty awful stuff to get to the fun ones, it’s worth it.

So I thought I’d take you through 3 ways to kill five minutes on YouTube while satisfying your undeniable craving for horror.

First up — a music video by French electronica band Zombie Zombie that remakes John Carpenter’s “The Thing” using G.I. Joe figures. Sah-weeeeeet!

Two more to check out….

I used to work as a bookseller. I also worked in a library. So I am qualified to tell you that the romantic notion of a bookstore or library as a quiet, tranquil spot free from the burdens of the outside world may be true, on occasion, for the consumer, but not very often for the person behind the counter. No, my experience with bookselling is that it is a constant exercise in guessing at what people will really want to read, ordering, hoping the order arrives in time, stocking the books, and then hoping against hope that you have ordered the book everyone wants only to watch as a completely different book soars to new heights and you’re left fielding questions and complaints.

You experience the occasional joy of winning a customer’s trust with a great recommendation and the frequent experience of being asked for a recommendation only to watch your chosen book be glanced at and then placed back on the shelf. You field questions about release dates, cover prices, and a host of other things that you have no control over. And, oddly enough, you still look forward to coming in to work everyday. Because, after all the difficulties and drama, it is a chance not only to work, but to evangelize the medium that means so much to you, that provided you with countless hours of entertainment, thoughtful questions, introspection, and a host of other things.

That is to say, it’s a labor of love. I won’t say it’s unrequited love, though. I can remember plenty of customers and patrons who genuinely understood that we poor bookselling souls were making an effort. But there are lots of times where you feel like you’re out on an island.

My experiences in retail were only as a bookseller; I can’t imagine what it must take and feel like to open and own a bookstore.

More after the jump…

Yes, the Eisner’s and Comic-Con have come and gone for another year, but a recent conversation (via the comments section) about the perceived weakness of comic writing, especially superhero writing, set me thinking about the Bill Finger Awards. The Bill Finger Awards honor comics writers who have established themselves as master storytellers within the genre.

Each year the Bill Finger Award is given to one writer posthumously and one writer still living. This year Larry Lieber was the recipient of the Bill Finger Award for Comic Writing Excellence. Larry wrote the first issue of Iron Man and Thor and has been working on Spiderman for nearly as long as it’s been in print. He is a master of the superhero genre and brings a depth to his characters that is worthy of his prose form novelist counterparts.

The Posthumous award went to a man named Archie Goodwin. Archie worked with many different comics publishers over his long career, including both Marvel and DC, and though he had a very powerful job, he managed to craft a career that seemed devoid of enemies.

In the videos that follow, you’ll get a few great stories about them men who received the Awards this year as well as a great story about Bill Finger, the man after whom this award is named.

No quality writing in comics? Don’t you believe it. Enjoy:

Videos after the jump…

So if you aren’t familiar with the Parsec Awards-they’ve only been around since 2006-here’s the low down from Parsec’s Site:

Mur Lafferty, Michael R. Mennenga & Tracy Hickman founded The Parsec Awards in 2006 to celebrate Speculative Fiction Podcasting, under the banner of Farpoint Media.

Podcast shows are nominated by fans, and finalists are chosen by a yearly steering committee. Those finalists are then voted on by an independent panel of judges from outside of podcasting. Awards are given in several categories ranging from content to audio quality.

[Kyle’s Note: If you’re a fan of podcasting and haven’t checked out Farpoint Media yet, you’re missing out. They are a group of independently produced podcasts (most of which specialize in SciFi and Fantasy) who have come together to form what they call “The Indie Podcast Network.” The shows are fun, informative, and just generally some of the best things to happen to my iPod since time began. No joke.]

The winners will be announced during this year’s Dragon*Con in Atlanta, which means this weekend.

Just a few quick words before I plunge you head first into the nominees. First, I have tried to tell you in previous posts how very very good Mur Lafferty and Scott Sigler are. If my yammering on and on about them isn’t enough to convince you, then hopefully the nominations here will be. Between them, they have 8 nominations (Mur: 3 & Scott: 5) this year. If you still aren’t listening to them (assuming their genres are of interest to you) then you’re missing out big time. I’m trying to help you here, I really, really am.

More after the jump…

Bringing you a feel good moment. And the reason why authors make a difference!

Terry Brooks held his first event for the release of The Gypsy Morph last night. It was a great event where he read an excerpt from the Landover novel to be released in 2009, answered several questions (I’ll post video of that Q&A soon), and he signed hundreds and hundreds of books for his fans.

Halfway through the signing event, a mother with three young children brought her copy of The Gypsy Morph to Terry to be signed. At that exact moment, her cell phone rang; it was her husband calling, a soldier stationed in the Middle East and a huge Terry Brooks fan. The book to be signed was for him and would soon be mailed to the Middle East.

Terry stood up from his chair and asked for the phone.

I’ve been reading sci-fi and fantasy since I was 13. In the 20 years since that time and even in the last 12 years of doing this professionally, much has changed in the industry—cover prices, cover art, the rise and fall of sub-genres, the internet(s) and blogosphere, etc.

But one truth has remained in my life concerning this madness and geeky celebration we call sci-fi/fantasy:

Science fiction and fantasy has the ability to bridge gaps between people of varied gender, race, culture and age.

One such bridging took place at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 between artist Todd Lockwood and writer Tobias Buckell.

Quick! We need your votes!

We noticed that the good folks over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist have posted a poll up about Suvudu (you can see it to the left) and there are only three days left to vote. So, once you’re done here, head on over to Pat’s blog and cast your vote.

We’re going to be keeping our eye on it as well. Suvudu is here for you and, as such, your opinions count. We’ve asked for your suggestions before but don’t feel as though you need an invitation to make a request. Seriously, hit up that comment box or send us an email and we’ll do what we can to follow through.

Suvudu is still in Beta, kinda like wet cement, so if you get your hands in now you might leave some prints around the place. So read, write, vote!

And really, thank you for stopping by for a bit; we wouldn’t be here without you.

[Kyle’s note: let’s just call this new release Tuesday, shall we? In addition to Shawn’s earlier post about Terry Brook’s new book, I’m finally able to introduce Acacia to you. It’s hot off the presses today, but I’ve been lucky enough to have had it in my hands for a little while now. Read on.]

A couple of days ago, one of my roommates and I were discussing the virtues of the SciFi/Fantasy genre. We had just finished recommending books for each other-she recommended Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, I recommended Acacia-and this lead to a brief discussion about what we loved so much about the genre.

I mentioned the sheer joy of reading a thought experiment played out in a fictional world and how difficult (though not impossible) it was to find that sort of thing in other genres. She spoke about wanting to abandon herself to a world with a strong separation from the real world we live in day-to-day, hour-by-hour, be it by the existence of a magical element or an entirely different planet.

Good SciFi and Fantasy can pull off one of those two things masterfully. Great SciFi and Fantasy will do them both.

David Anothony Durham’s Acacia, falls squarely in the latter category; it is great Fantasy.

When Maus won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, it was cited as a watershed moment in the world of graphic novels, giving them legitimacy as an art form. So, why almost 30 years for the medium to explode?

And, what’s happening in the world of graphic novels now?

Find out here.

Then, tell me which book got you into graphic novels.

Karen Marie Moning is giving readers the chance to read three free excerpts from her forthcoming novel, Faefever before it goes on sale September 16th. This is the third installment of Moning’s New York Times bestselling Fever series staring MacKayla “Mac” Lane (Darkfever and Bloodfever were the first two installments).

Read the Prologue and Chapter One by clicking on the animated book image below (click here if you cannot see the flash animation).

This is Moning’s second offer of free content for fans in August. A full audiobook podcast of Darkfever, is already available at www.darkfeverpodcast.com (and of course iTunes and Podiobooks).

Get your own - Open publication

The Gypsy Morph, Book Three in the Genesis of Shannara series, has now been released. It wraps up the story arc begun in Armageddon’s Children and The Elves of Cintra, where a ragged band of Seattle children, two Knights of the Word, and a few others fight to survive in a world devastated and destroyed by evil—and on the brink of apocalypse!

To help promote The Gypsy Morph and give fans a little insight into his world, Terry has put together a podcast. Use the player above to listen to Terry’s thoughts on the new book, why he tours, why fantasy is relevant and what his future plans are.

Terry is also doing a lengthy tour beginning today! Visit the Events page of his official website to see if he is coming to a bookstore near you!

More on Terry Brooks to be posted here in the coming days so stay tuned!

Via Noam Cohen’s New York Times Media Talk item titled What George Orwell Wrote, 70 Years Later to the Day.

It seems The Orwell Prize, the Orwell Trust, Political Quarterly, the Media Standards Trust, and Orwell scholar Peter Davison are bringing the 1984 author’s diaries to the web in blog format, with a very clever twist right in line with the Orwell’s prescient time- and world-shifting narratives.

In their own words:

From 9th August 2008, Orwell’s domestic and political diaries (from 9th August 1938 until October 1942) will be posted in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were written.

Cool project.

Check out the Orwell Diaries at: http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

Lots of fascinating stuff about comics in the media in the last couple of days. First, there’s this piece on last spring’s SPLAT symposium in the Washington Post. It’s the best piece I’ve seen on comics in the mainstream media in at least the past five years.

Above all, “SPLAT!” is filled with enthusiastic voices.

What is a graphic novel?

“It’s a perfect synthesis of artwork and literature!”

When will graphic novels come into their own?

“We seem to be in a golden age of comics publishing right now!”

And yet …

To a lifelong Prose Guy, whose idea of a good time involves a comfortable couch and a book full of nothing but words, the graphic novel galaxy can still feel far, far away.

Yes, I know comics can be ambitious and aimed at adults. Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” made this indisputable two decades ago, and there has been plenty of impressive work done since. But I can’t help wondering, even as I begin to explore the rise of what’s sometimes called “sequential art,” if I can ever overcome my personal bias toward prose.

Maybe Scott McCloud will help me sort this out.

Meanwhile, over at The Wall Street Journal…

Tomorrow, The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks will be released. So why feature author and screenwriter Eldon Thompson today?

Because the two writers are connected in a very unique way, possibly so unique it has never been seen before.

With New York’s Fashion Week just around the corner, it’s time to take a closer look at science fiction and fantasy fashion, long unfairly maligned as an unreclaimable wasteland of silver lame unitards and zippered monster suits. But I would argue that, at its best, it can serve as the fictional equivalent of a haute couture laboratory, in which the fashion of the future—and of our dreams—can be brought to life.

1. Jane Fonda in Barbarella

I must begin with Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy, in which outer space is imagined as a fur-lined, groovetastic after-hours lounge where Stereolab is always on the turntable. This film is the Retro Style Bible, more sixties than the real sixties could ever have been. And though Barbarella may be better known for slipping out of her fabulous outfits than wearing them, Jane Fonda’s good humor and intelligence in this role are the perfect accessories for this awesomely bizarre spider-monkey dress.

More after the jump!

Apparently, 8 times is a charm. At least that seems to be the case for Jiro Kuwata’s 8-Man.

Just who is he? Find out here:

And, if you’re desperate to see more of Chip Kidd’s Bat-Manga! talk before next Monday, be sure to check out Suvudu channel on YouTube.

It was 1995, Toy Story would be the top grossing movie, Coolio’s Gansta’s Paradise was burning up the charts (look at me going all Casey Kasem on ya), and my exposure to science fiction on television had been mostly limited to Star Trek and professional wrestling. Truth be told, I was still more of a fantasy and horror reader, having not yet discovered the joy of a fantastic thought experiment being played out via good SciFi.

I don’t want to say that Sliders changed all that; that would be giving it just a bit too much credit, but it was one of those stepping stones on the path to SciFi fandom.

The show was short-lived, running only five seasons, but felt even shorter to me as I lost interest in it midway through the third of these five when it started turning into some “run from/battle with the aliens” show. And when you combine that with the loss of Professor Arturo, it seemed almost as though Sliders wasn’t content to simply jump the shark after the third season, instead bounding over it in a double somersault and delivering a kick to the head on the way for good measure. Oddly enough, it was the SciFi channel that finished the show off with seasons four and five.

No, to me, the first two seasons are where it’s at for Sliders.

More after the jump…

Several weeks ago, I was introduced to Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible. Loved it! The story was great, the singing was great, the writing was great and the cast was great.

That’s not all that was great. For one of the first times that I’m aware of at least, a major talent in Hollywood brought a well-financed and well-acted story to the internet! We have theaters, yes. We have televisions, sure. But this was new and fresh content meant specifically to entertain via our computers—and it was done so well that I could see the writing on the wall before it hit.

Well, now it has hit! And the wall will probably never be the same again!

Here comes Gemini Division!

Remember when comics and movies were just fun. When box office earnings, plot, character development, and whether a book was on schedule or not didn’t matter? When all that mattered was if the comic had two big guys smashing stuff in an all out fight or if the movie’s heroes showed up to save the day just in the nick of time? Well, if you’ve forgotten how that felt, I encourage you to check out The Kid’s Comic Book Reviews. More after the jump.

How did they find me? I’m not a Wiccan or a New Age fanatic. I’m not into astrology and I didn’t actively participate in Talk Like a Pirate Day, although I’m sure I told my one and only pirate joke a few times (Q: What’s the most important part about throwing a pirate party? A: The Arrr-SVPs!)

So how did this catalog find me? It offers, true enough, a rather alluring collection of clothing, jewelry, artwork, and “magical objects” that do, okay, appeal to me here and there, especially the …

The comic book company Dabel Brothers Publishing is producing a 2009 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar! It will feature artwork from amazing artist Michael Komarck based on the New York Times bestselling series by George R. R. Martin!

Pat at Fantasy Hotlist is offering three copies of the calendar signed by George R. R. Martin! So go enter the contest today!

Don’t feel like your luck will bring you one of the three? Just go buy it today at the Dabel Brothers Store!

Good luck!

I confess, I love the new cover for the forthcoming January 2009 US release of The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan. I also loved the UK cover art for The Steel Remains. It’s apparent to me that the time it took to create such moody covers—no doubt a reflection on the dark grittiness of the book within—bodes well for fantasy readers.

I will be reading The Steel Remains soon. It’s one of those books I’ve been impatiently waiting for the last few years! I can already tell you, based on Richard’s other work, that this book will be well-constructed, the characters will be flawed but real, and the prose will be outstanding—and the action will be unrelenting! I have no doubt Richard will delve into the darkest part of what makes us human, and he will do it in a sub-genre of fantasy that has needed a swift kick in the butt for a while!

Below is the summary of the book! I’ll be reading it soon and hopefully holding an interview with Richard. Stay tuned!

Slate’s Paul Collins has a ghoulish time cooking Banana Pancakes Stonehenge and other horrifying delights from Vincent Price’s cookbook, A Treasury of Great Recipes. Yes, that Vincent Price. Listen to Vincent describing the preparation of Viennese stuffed eggs.

Read a new Bryan Lee O’Malley and Hope Larson webcomic, Bear Creek Apartments. [via Heidi @ The Beat]

Get ready for the next book in the Ice and Fire series by studying up with the Tower of the Hand , a fan-authored George R.R. Martin Encyclopedia. Along with the expected but wonderfully exhaustive resources like character bios and plot summaries, the site also offers deep investigations into important series questions: My favorite: Who Are Jon Snow’s Parents? [via SciFi Weekly]:

In 1984, Russian animators created this beautiful and unusual animated version of Bradbury’s classic short “There Will Come Soft Rains” [via The Website at the End of the Universe]

I love audiobooks. I don’t know if it’s that I love having something read to me because it hearkens back to an older storytelling tradition, or if perhaps I enjoy listening to other character interpretations besides my own, thus allowing me to focus on other aspects of the story, or if I’m just lazy.

In any event, I go through a lot of audiobooks in a year, so I’m always on the lookout for something fun and entertaining. So, finding out about Podiobooks a couple years back was a big deal for me. Since that time I’ve been able to “discover” several authors that I might not have otherwise stumbled across; authors like Scott Sigler, Cory Doctorow, Mur Lafferty, and Patrick McLean (whose How To Succeed in Evil should be in everyone’s audiobook queue).

Previously, I mentioned some Fantasy titles you should check out on Podiobooks.com or iTunes or directly through the particular author. Now, I want to share some of my favorite Science Fiction titles. Go forth and discover some new (or new-to-you) greatness out there…there is, apparently, a lot of it floating around (Yeah internet!).

So, without any further adieu, my SciFi podiobook recommendations:

On August 26th, Terry Brooks and Del Rey Books will publish The Gypsy Morph, Book Three in the Genesis of Shannara series. It is the book that wraps up the story arc begun in Armageddon’s Children and The Elves of Cintra, both excellent post-apocalyptic reads which are now both out in paperback.

It is easy to get lost in Terry’s Shannara work; after all, there are numerous volumes and starting them can feel a daunting task even for the most seasoned of fantasy readers. But I wanted to feature Armageddon’s Children and what Terry is doing with this series, because 1) it is very much a stand alone series that can be read by anyone, and 2) from a literary standpoint it is interesting to see it set against our current politically charged climate much like The Road by Cormac McCarthy is.

Armageddon’s Children, right from the first chapter, echoes McCarthy’s book a great deal despite it being released a month earlier. Such similar books published at almost exactly the same time means there was a need for them to be written, a need that is more than likely buried in the subconscious of the world.

So try it! See if it is for you! Read Chapter One of Armageddon’s Children!

And have a great first chapter from an author you enjoy? Write me and let me know!

Blair Butler, as you probably know, reviews comics in her Fresh Ink segment on G4’s Attack of the Show. Up until now, she’s stayed away from manga, but apparently a trip to Akihabara brought out the inner otaku we all knew was in there somewhere. In her most recent taping, she reviewed Monster, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and Del Rey Manga’s Parasyte. Guess which one was her favorite?

“Parasyte puts a crazy manga spin on the sci-fi territory first mined by movies like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The resulting story and visuals are absolutely entertaining. I can’t wait for [the next volume].”

Check it out.

So you may have heard that Quentin Tarantino called Takashi Miike one of the world’s greatest living directors. So you’ve probably seen some of Miike’s films, including his terrifying Audition, and perhaps have formed your own opinions. And so you may know of the long and fascinating American/Japanese cultural exchange inspired by the Western that stretches from Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone to Tampopo and Kill Bill.

Still, there’s no better argument to be desperately excited to see Miike’s new film, Sukiyaki Western Django, than the trailer (the film debuts in New York and LA on 8/29):

In less than a month, LucasArts will release their much-anticipated next generation Star Wars video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed — a bold new chapter in the expanding saga that tells a never-before-told tale of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. (And in case you missed the news, a downloadable demo will be available this Thursday!)

For those who cannot wait to explore this story, this is the week to visit bookstores and add The Force Unleashed to your Star Wars bookshelf, as three major titles are unleashed: a novelization, a graphic novel, and a behind-the-scenes book.

The hardcover novelization by bestselling author Sean Williams (co-author of the Force Heretic trilogy of The New Jedi Order series) uses the video game story by Haden Blackman (read an interview with Haden) as a foundation for an original novel set in the dark times between Episodes III and IV. While the video game itself presents a player with myriad options and story paths, this novel can be thought of as the “true story” of the Starkiller. Here is an link to Chapter One.

A couple weeks ago, I was standing in my hot, stuffy, Brooklyn laundromat… waiting for the clothes to dry. And anyone who goes to the laundromat knows that a hot and humid day means more quarters spent at the dryer. Well, this was a day I didn’t mind the extra time and money spent, because I had Daryl Gregory’s debut novel Pandemonium to read. I kid you not… this novel was giving me the chills. And that’s at 95 degrees!

Pandemonium is all about possession. I could simply say the possessions are by demons, but that’s not entirely true. The “demons” in this novel are pop-culture archetypes. Imagine your favorite pulp fiction or comic book character taking control of your body, using your body to do superhero stuff (throw boulders, stop bullets, jump off cliffs) and when they’re done, you waking up to the bodily consequences of it all. It’s not pretty… but it is still way cool… as long as you’re not the one being possessed.

Matt Schwartz’s recent post, Music to My Twisted Ears, got me thinking about my music collection and the horrors it might contain. Genuine horrors — not bad music, of which there is, of course, none on my iPod (okay maybe a track or two from the ’80s but, hey…).

It took just one pass through the iPod to realize that to my twisted ears, Slint makes the most truly frightening music I know of. Hands down and for many reasons, not the least of which is the seeming normality of the band’s members, photographed here in a quarry in their homeland of Kentucky by Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy), another dark Kentucky musician. More after the jump…

We interviewed Haden Blackman, the Project Lead for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game from Lucasfilm. He told us what it’s like to write the screenplay for a game and how his vision translated into novel format—all from a gamer engineer’s perspective.

Question: Can you first tell us a little bit about your role in the creation of the FORCE UNLEASHED video game?

Haden Blackman: I was the project lead, which is basically a hybrid between creative director and executive producer. I was responsible for setting the overall vision for the game, and rallying and managing the team throughout the development. I directly managed all of the leads, worked very closely with the design staff, and wrote the “shooting script” for the cinematics.

Q: As the lead writer of the game story, how much input were you able to give Sean Williams while he was writing the book?

Haden Blackman: He was on a pretty tight schedule, and I was deep in crunch on the game, so we only had a few opportunities to talk and exchange notes. Fortunately, he was able to use the game’s shooting script as his starting point, which I think gave him a strong foundation. After he finished his first draft, I was able to take a few days reading it and providing notes, most of which he incorporated into the final draft. A great deal of my feedback was centered on keeping the characters true to the way they are portrayed in the game. This was really important because, in the game, we can’t get into the characters’ heads the same way a novel can, and there were thoughts and feelings expressed by the characters in the first draft that weren’t always true to our vision of the characters. Juno was probably the toughest character in this regard: The novel spends a lot of time exploring her character, and I really wanted to make sure that it was aligned with our take on her personality, motivations and psychology, even in areas that aren’t explored in depth in the game.

(A quick heads-up — no spoilers in here).

For months, I’ve been eagerly anticipating Alexandre Aja’s Mirrors, a remake of the K-horror film Into the Mirror. Not just because Aja is one of the more interesting new voices of horror out there (High Tension was a sick, twisted roller coaster up until an ill-advised late-in-the-game plot twist, and The Hills Have Eyes breathed some new life into one of Wes Craven’s lesser works). But primarily it was because it looked like this was going to be a horror movie for grownups.

First of all, this was an R-rated U.S. remake of an Asian horror film (the first ever? Correct me if I’m wrong — The Ring, The Grudge, Pulse, Dark Water, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Eye — all PG-13.) Secondly, with one secondary-character exception, there’s nary a person on-screen throughout Mirrors between the ages of 15 and 32. Take that, Gossip-Girl-crowd.

So did Aja succeed in actually making a good movie? The answer is…kinda.

It turns out Twilight is all that and a bag of chips. I know, I know, I’m like 2 years late to the snack machine, but better late than never, right?

So after 2 days of non-stop reading (substitute swimming with Twilight and my life was not so different from Michael Phelps’s Olympic regimen: eat, read, sleep a little, get up in middle of the night to read, eat some breakfast, read some more on morning commute, eat some lunch, sneak a read in at work…etc. etc.) I finish it and immediately set out as a veritable one-woman publicity machine, telling everyone to get their hands on a copy, under the promise that this is “vampire love, at it’s finest”.

Fast forward a few days and I see my good friend - let’s call her “Gemma” - at dinner. Apparently, Gemma had taken me up on my endorsement, literally verbatim, and asked a bookseller for a copy of “Vampire Love”. Unbeknownst to Gemma (and a slightly perplexed bookseller), she is taken to the paranormal erotic section and handed copies of “I Only Have Fangs for You” and “Love Bites”. Poor girl. And the saddest bit of all, she has yet to read the book! Oh well, I guess she can get in line and borrow my copy, embarrassment-free.

How many of you have read the series? Did you devour it (pardon the pun) the same way I did?

Two weeks ago, I began a little Suvudu column called My Reading Pile. Like any self-respecting bibliophile, I have stacks of books in my home that demand attention, books I know are worth my reading time but I can’t find the time needed to crack them open. That has left some of the better-reviewed books of the last few years waiting for me…

I gave you all six books to vote on: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss won by a few votes, making it the first book to review out of my My Reading Pile .

But since Alan Moore’s Watchmen got many votes and it would be a quick read, I decided to read it over the weekend.

And I’m happy I did!

I am a firm believer that it’s the little things in life that make it so much fun. Things like discovering the a good author before anyone else or getting a great deal on something for which you know you should have paid more.

And that’s why I love Podiobooks.

If you aren’t familiar with Podiobooks they are the new frontier in independent publishing. Any author with a microphone and a manuscript is able record and syndicate their work to the masses. If you like a story, you can make a donation to the author. Podiobooks.com states that at least seventy-five percent of your donation goes directly to the author. It’s a winning situation all the way around.

Of course, some are better than others, but thus far I’ve been able to find quite a lot of quality work over on the site.

Interested in discovering the next great audiobook? Want to test drive it first before slapping down your payment? If so, then here’s a list of a few of the titles you might want to try (You can download any of these titles, in their entirety, from either Podiobooks.com or through iTunes):

Our first week’s tally is in!

Many many people have voted, and suggested, and opined … and xxxHolic is winning by a fair margin. I’m going to leave the voting up for one more day, but it will take a lot of support for another title to surpass the margin xxxHolic has.

I have a new list of contenders and their tally after the jump

Also, to see the comments where the voting took place, and to hear what Catherine had to say about my synopsis …
My First Manga: First Cry for Help
My First Manga: Meet Catherine

Neil Gaiman’s delightfully wicked little fairy tale, “Coraline,” is going to be an animated film—brought to life by Henry “Nightmare Before Christmas” Selick. Rotten Tomatoes has an awesome series of behind-the-scenes videos. “Coraline” will be out in February 09, making it a nice stop-gap for otherwise inconsolable Harry Potter fans who may be grieving over the recent Half-Blood Prince news.

Neil himself also recently blogged about the forthcoming Coraline musical, which, if anything, is even more exciting—it features music by the brilliant Stephin Merritt.

Wherein the blogger attempts to begin a semi-regular feature.

Let’s attempt updates about Chip Kidd’s forthcoming book, Bat-Manga! —which will be in stores this October—shall we?

I’m game if you are.

In this clip, we begin at the beginning as Chip explains who Jiro Kuwata is and how he relates to Bat-Manga!

Somehow, I had never noticed that one of my favorite writers, Lewis Shiner, has put up a ton of his short fiction for free on his website. And what’s even better, he’s put up a short story of his that scared the hell out of me 25 years ago — and to this day, still terrifies me. It remains, to me, a perfect example of a short story that does so much by doing less.

Take 15 minutes out of your life and read The Circle. And let me know what you think.

Nothing new here (in fact, quite a few years old). But ended up discussing today with a friend how many musicians I listen to have explored telling horror stories in their music (no big shock, given my love for the genre). Among them include Concrete Blonde, Kirsty Maccoll, Kate Bush (arguably the master of it). and They Might be Giants, among many others. But not many have gone as far as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, whose Murder Ballads album devoted 9 of its 10 songs to fleshed-out stories. Many of you will know his brilliant duet with Kylie Minogue, “Where the Wild Roses Grow” but for those of you that haven’t seen the equally wild video — well, enjoy.

The movie Iron Man blew my socks off! I went into it with no notions of how good it was and came out thinking, “Wow, that almost rivals Batman Begins as my favorite superhero movie!”

Now Access Hollywood has posted a 3-minute clip that was edited from the movie and has posted it online. It will be part of the DVD, which will be released September 30th! Nothing major happens in the clip, but it was nice seeing Robert Downey, Jr. again as Tony Stark—and what a playboy he is!

“I’m thinking of a number between one and five…”

I’ve long been fascinated by the Gorillaz, in part because of my admiration for Damon Albarn—but also because the idea of a virtual animated band is just amazing and kind of future-rific (except that, I guess it has been done before).

However you feel about the Olympics, you’ve got to enjoy this epic animated ad for BBC’s coverage, from the Gorillaz’ co-creators, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl fame), featuring an extremely ambitious monkey.

Actually, this isn’t a lesson I learned recently. I was merely reminded of it while mud-wrestling this week with a list of possibilities for a major book on the 2009 Del Rey list which must—perforce—remain nameless, since it certainly has no title at this moment and seems determined to avoid one until it is dragged kicking and screaming to the typesetters in a few weeks’ time.

Some manuscripts arrive on an editor’s desk with the perfect title already in place. Others seem to defy the best efforts of everyone who tries to help—editor, editor’s assistant, editor’s boss, copyeditor, marketing director, publicist, cover copywriter, and the nice lady who makes sure we always have enough paper towels in the restroom. I swear, at times I have asked all of these fellow professionals and more. I’ve even been known to consult the website http://nine.frenchboys.net/novel.php, which uses a random word generator to offer up to 50 fantasy titles at a time, from Ruby of Legend to The Mists of Denubin. (Thanks, guys!)

Greg Bear, one of the best science fiction writers of our time in my opinion, visited the University Bookstore in Seattle WA on August 12th for the release of his new novel, City at the End of Time. The event was the launch of a tour that will take Greg down the West Coast; to read more about that tour and his new book, visit the book’s official website!

I videotaped Greg speaking. So what did Greg talk about? Want to learn how City at the End of Time grew into being, how science fiction had its beginnings and how it transformed into what we know today, and how Tolkien is tied to science fiction and H.G. Wells? Read on!

Catherine here, your manga virgin, checking in. The votes have been pouring in—- thank you!— and soon it will be time to surrender myself to the winner. I admit I’m rather nervous. I’ve never done this before, so we’ll have to go slow. I made a pledge to myself in college to guard my literature purity, you know, but those Del Rey girls were just so cute! But, wait! Wait! Where are the neat rows of words? You want me to turn pages in what direction? Sue Moe, what have I gotten myself in to?!

Sigh.

Let’s review my options.

Too Cool to be Forgotten is the latest graphic novel from Alex Robinson, a creator who is one of the most exciting graphic novelists in the market today. I’m a big fan, having read Box Office Poison and Tricked several times over. Too Cool, while not up to the level of his previous work, is nevertheless a satisfying drama with just enough funny to keep it from getting too heavy.

But on the last page, Top Shelf adds a note that is either a joke in poor taste, or an extremely unprofessional show of disrespect to the author, and it’s got me pretty angry.

In my normal day of web surfing I come all manner of articles that make me pause and think, or pause and smirk. Today, I’m sharing a few of those with you. Read on, read on, and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Kat Goodwin writes on SFFWorld.com weighs in on The Great Debate with Science Fiction: Alive and Kicking

A great article that looks at some of the supposed causes for alarm, from Hollywood’s lack of SciFi interest to a paperback depression, as well as some future fixes, like infiltrating Kids/YA markets and ceasing to tell the media that SciFi is dying. There’s plenty here to chew on. What’s your take on it?

Fantasy has been on a roll in Hollywood; movie studios have been optioning everything under the sun. It has now gotten around to buying the rights for one of the grandest fantasy series ever written.

Universal Pictures has optioned The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan in a seven-figure deal that would bring Rand al’Thor, the latest incarnation of a force for good called “The Dragon,” into direct silver screen conflict with the evil Shai’tan. Read the Variety article for all the available details.

It is not known when this project will be greenlit into production. As with all movie options, the studio may never make the movie. But this is interesting and the first step of adapting the series is out of the way.

More on this news as it develops!

Just a day after questioning whether Chip Kidd needed sleep, it looks like I have my answer. The man does, in fact, get exhausted from time to time.

Of course, in this case, it was with good reason. He was signing pages to go into 7,000 copies of the Limited Edition of Bat–Manga!.

For those of you who were wondering precisely how long it takes Chip to sign 6,000 copies of something: 2 days.

One great mystery down. Countless more to go.

If you’re a Stephenie Meyer fan looking for a way to pass the time between the final book release in the saga last week (Breaking Dawn) and the Twilight movie in December (although it’s never too early to grab that sleeping bag and start forming a line outside the theater), check out the Breaking Dawn game that was hooked up to celebrate the latest release.

I have very fond memories of playing the original Nintendo when I was growing up. Those memories lasted until my second year in college when I bought the brand new Nintendo 64 with the Mario 64 game. The Mario 64 blew all things before it away. My last year in the dormitory at the University of Washington was mostly spent having all the guys on my floor—and many of the girls—stopping by to play the new system and keeping me up at night!

After that, I lost interest. And even in recent years with great advancements in gaming technology I still don’t hold much interest. I’d rather be reading or going to the movies or writing on my book. But the film adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has me glued to the internet for developments.

Why, might you ask?

Mike Newell, the director of Prince of Persia, has also been chosen to helm the director’s seat for the live-action film adaptation of The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks!

The title got me first: I can’t hear the words “Heart-Shaped Box” without hearing at the same time those shivery, spider-legged opening notes. And the knowledge of Joe Hill’s distinguished parentage—his real name is Joseph King…yes, as in that King—however nobly he chose to forgo the advantage of it (the fact was not disclosed either in the author bio or in any publicity materials), had also not escaped me. Either way, it was for the best that this book grabbed hold of me with its cold dead hands and drew me into its shadows: Heart-Shaped Box is a great horror novel, gruesome and gorgeous, artfully, even elegantly creepy. But while it’s a great horror novel, it’s also a beast far more rare: a damned fine rock n’ roll novel.

This question—Is there a Great Rock N’ Roll novel? Is it even possible to write one?—has invited much speculation, most of it frustrated, complaining, and flippantly un-definitive. Heart-Shaped Box deserves a firm place in this shadowy, shifting pantheon…

More, and a video interview with Joe Hill, after the jump.

Has there ever been an author so fortunate with film adaptations as Jack Ketchum? After more than two decades of writing some of the most critically-acclaimed, disturbing, and controversial horror fiction in the business, he’s seen not one, not two, but three outstanding film adaptations in the last 2 years.

If you haven’t caught the DVDs yet of “The Girl Next Door” and “The Lost”…well, go out and get them (although, honestly, read the books first, especially “The Girl Next Door” which remains one of the most shocking…and shockingly brilliant…modern horror novels ever written.) But right now, his third adaptation, “Red” has just hit theaters in New York City and Los Angeles…and it’s a doozy.

I have always liked short stories.

I don’t know what that says about me as a reader. Do I perhaps enjoy their ability to get right into the meat of the story? Is it that I can finish a whole story in one sitting without having to put it down, thus breaking the spell that a good tale casts over me, the reader? Do I have some deep-seeded fear of commitment?

In honesty, it’s a little bit of all those reasons (minus that last one) and one other: the short form allows the writer a greater ability to experiment. Unlike long form, they aren’t tied to their creation for hundreds of pages or multiple storylines…or at least, they needn’t be. So it should come as no surprise that when I came across the Flight series, I was hooked.

While we’ve been gearing up for the debut of Peter V. Brett’s incredible epic fantasy THE WARDED MAN, on sale in March ‘09, Peter has been working on a little project of his own:

I have never watched a full episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. I admit it. I’m never going to live that little nugget of truth down from my fellow geeks. But, in my defense, three of my favorite movies of all time are Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. I fell in love with Kirk, Spock and Bones; I fell in love with how these characters interacted, the Enterprise mythos and the adventures they found themselves on.

When Star Trek: First Contact came out featuring the New Generation characters, I too loved it—but in an additional way. I enjoy those characters a great deal and have watched dozens of episodes and all of the movies, but it was the storyline of First Contact that I really embraced: We were allowed into the past where we saw Zefram Cochrane, the creator of warp drive, initiate a brand new era of “faster than light” travel for Earth and what would ultimately become the Federation and space exploration.

Cue the Star Trek theme music for J.J. Abrams, creator of Alias, Lost and Mission Impossible III—and the new Star Trek prequel!

I edited Greg Bear’s City at the End of Time several months ago, but when the book finally went on sale last week I flipped through it to savor again some of my favorite passages. I love, love, love a book that leaves me feeling smarter than when I’d started reading it, and City at the End of Time definitely did that for me.

What, exactly, is a sense of wonder?

I’m convinced that Chip Kidd must not sleep.

How else could he find time to design so many iconic book jackets, preform with his bad and write novels? Heck, he even spent a day last week signing 6,000 copies of a limited edition version of his latest book, Bat-Manga!

Just thinking about it makes me feel inadequate.

But, this video of Chip and his band, Artbreak, does not. Correct me if I’m wrong, but something tells me you’ll enjoy it, too.

Some of horror fiction’s most brilliant talents use their websites to give you free short stories, often incredible tales that may be out of print or hard to find. Some of the authors whose sites you should keep an eye on:

Douglas Clegg (The Priest of Blood, Neverland) offers a new short story each month. Currently up is a particularly nasty tale, “Fries With That” that anyone who’s ever hated high school can relate to.

Robert McCammon (Boy’s Life, Speaks the Nightbird) gives you a slew of amazing short fiction on his site, many hard to find. Of the ones to choose from, my favorites are “Something Passed By,” “Nightcrawlers” and the hard-to-find “The Deep End.”

The legendary Joe R. Lansdale (The Drive-In, Two-Bear Mambo) also gives you a new tale each month from his impressive backlist. Right now it’s the chilling “In the Cold Dark Time” but watch for a new tale this Thursday.

Norman Partridge (Slippin’ Into Darkness, Dark Harvest) offers both free fiction and nonfiction on his site. Right now it’s “The Mojave Two-Step” and also ten tips about writing from his must have Mr. Fox collection.

Check back for more links to great free horror short stories on the web. Or post links to some of your favorites in the comments box. Spread the love!

In the Denver airport, hogging up their free wi-fi; more to come when I’ve recovered from the con crud, but in the meantime, here are the 2008 Hugo winners! Congratulations to all the winners!

* Best Novel: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)
* Best Novella: “All Seated on the Ground” by Connie Willis (Asimov’s Dec. 2007; Subterranean Press)
* Best Novelette: “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chiang (Subterranean Press; F&SF Sept. 2007)
* Best Short Story: “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s June 2007)
* Best Related Book: Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press)
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Stardust Written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman Illustrated by Charles Vess Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Paramount Pictures)
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who “Blink” Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Hettie Macdonald (BBC)
* Best Editor, Long Form: David G. Hartwell
* Best Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder
* Best Professional Artist: Stephan Martiniere
* Best Semiprozine: Locus
* Best Fanzine: File 770
* Best Fan Writer: John Scalzi
* Best Fan Artist: Brad Foster
* Campbell Award: Mary Robinette Kowal

It’s Stephen King’s “The Shining” — with robots. For your consideration, I give you my YouTube guilty pleasure of the day.

The Goonies. That young band of Astoria outcasts coming together for one last adventure to find the “rich stuff” and save their homes. The Goonies. Mouth harassing the Spanish-speaking housekeeper with promises of cockroaches. The Goonies. Data being saved from a deadly fall by his Pinchers of Power. The Goonies. Chunk doing the Truffle Shuffle to get into the Goondocks. The Goonies. Bran entering the Men’s Room for a pee break. The Goonies. Andy playing the Bones with shaky fingers, trying to remember how to read music. The Goonies. Mikey’s hunt for One-Eyed Willy.

Who would have thought such a movie would imprint itself so firmly in popular culture?

Then, years later, who would have thought a sequel would be possible—or even plausible?

The Goonies. That young band of Astoria outcasts coming together for one last adventure to find the “rich stuff” and save their homes. The Goonies. Mouth harassing the Spanish-speaking housekeeper with promises of cockroaches. The Goonies. Data being saved from a deadly fall by his Pinchers of Power. The Goonies. Chunk doing the Truffle Shuffle to get into the Goondocks. The Goonies. Bran entering the Men’s Room for a pee break. The Goonies. Andy playing the Bones with shaky fingers, trying to remember how to read music. The Goonies. Mikey’s hunt for One-Eyed Willy.

Who would have thought such a movie would imprint itself so firmly in popular culture?

Then, years later, who would have thought a sequel would be possible—or even plausible?

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning by EA Mythic is one of the most highly anticipated MMOs to come for a while. Here’s a little info from the press release for the uninitiated “Based on Games Workshop’s epic and longstanding tabletop fantasy war game, WAR is a unique MMORPG that features revolutionary Realm vs. Realm (RvR) gameplay that will immerse players in a world of perpetual conflict for years to come.” Earlier this week, the official announcement was made of the game’s release date: September 18th, 2008 - the “Day of Reckoning.”

So here comes the big question: Will you align yourself with The Witch King of the Dark Elves, the powerful greenskin tribe of Orcs and Goblins, or the Council of Wisdom? Is it your destiny to Conquer the World?

Let’s be honest—are you one of those people that have a really hard time making decisions, let alone picking your character when you start a new MMO? We’re here to help you out. Check the new Warhammer Online Destiny Quiz to see your destiny. Answer a few questions, take a rorschach test or two, and let us show you your way!

The finalists for the World Fantasy Awards for 2008 have been announced and Logorrhea, an anthology of short stories edited by John Klima and released by Bantam Spectra, racked up three nominations. Two stories from the anthology — “The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics” by Daniel Abraham and “Singing of Mount Abora” by Theodora Goss — were nominated in the Short Story category. In addition, Logorrhea was selected as one of five finalists in the Anthology category.

Also of note, John Klima received a nomination in the Special Award—Non-professional category for his magazine Electric Velocipede. Bantam Spectra author Tim Pratt (The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl) who also has a short story in Logorrhea, received a nomination for his collection Hart & Boot & Other Stories.

Earlier this year, Bantam Spectra made the full text of “The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics” available for free via Issuu. Click on the book image below to read the story.

Get your own - Open publication

For the first time ever, Dean Koontz attended San Diego ComicCon as part of a special panel focusing on the author and to launch his brand new In Odd We Trust manga graphic novel. In addition he also revealed that a movie version of his book Odd Thomas is in the works. Here is a clip of Dean discussing the Odd Thomas manga, movie, and the serialized webisodes released for his latest hardcover, Odd Hours, which you can view here.

Dean Koontz's 'Odd' comics

So over at McSweeney’s, Sarah Schmelling has written a hilarious (yet disturbingly accurate) revamp of one of the world’s most famous horror stories, Hamlet, as told through a Facebook news feed.

Killer.

Now, if someone can just tell The Exorcist using LOLcats, my life will be complete.

I need your help!

Catherine, a good friend of mine here in the Random House office, has never read either a Graphic Novel or a Manga. This is unacceptable to us (and to her boyfriend). Luckily, she volunteered her services as a guinea pig - and she has agreed to read whatever WE choose to give her—and we want you to be involved in this choice!

What should she read first? Should she start with shape-shifting parasitic aliens who discover their humanity while trying to take over the world; wizards and flying cats; the unfortunate indentured servant of a time-space witch; or a hipster-lit, Canadian love story/kung-fu extravaganza?

My list so far:
Parasyte
Scott Pilgrim
xxxHolic
Fairy Tail

More details (and voting) after the jump.

To see the follow-up blogs in the “My First Manga” thread:
My First Manga: Meet Catherine
My First Manga: First Week’s Tally

Last week I asked you to answer Batman trivia questions to win a copy of the ESSENTIAL BATMAN ENCYCLOPEDIA by Robert Greenberger.

Five people wrote in, but not all of them are winners. Even with the vast internet at their fingertips (and the option to phone a friend), they didn’t quite answer everything correctly. Hopefully the videos of people at the premier will help you win the Batman Encyclopedia. Answers after the jump —>

Author Sean Williams will be coming to the US all the way from Australia later this month. His only US event for the new hardcover STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED will be at Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu, CA on Tuesday, August 19 at 6:30pm. Diesel is located at 3890 Cross Creek Road in Malibu.

Drawn links to cartoonist Gavin Ewing and his amazing project: Drawing comic characters from A-Z. That’s his “C Is for Captain Haddock.”

Which fictional sport should be at the Olympics? NY Metro’s Vulture Blog posts a highly entertaining list here. My vote’s for Pyramid!

A long-lost pilot for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated pilot leaks to Youtube, and Underwire has the goods.

Over at MTV’s Splash Page, comics luminaries including Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, and Tim Sale speculate on who the next Batman movie villain should be. Vote in the comments—and include your casting choices!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m a little late to the party on this one. I only discovered Josh Neufeld’s web comic A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge earlier this summer, when I learned that Pantheon was publishing a book version of it.

I haven’t wasted any time in catching up, which, of course means that - like everyone else - I’m anxiously waiting for the next installment.

I am a bibliophile. As I’ve said before, I’ve been one for more than two decades. There is something about having a book, reading a book, and placing read book on the bookshelf to sit with other read books that appeals to some scholarly aspect of my personality. If I surround myself with smart things, perhaps I’ll be smart? It’s a hopeless belief and one that obviously has not come true yet!

What about surrounding oneself with beautifully made books? That’s where Subterranean Press comes in—and their example of the limited, fully-illustrated edition of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson!

A couple days ago I brought up the subject of vampires in fiction, specifically the hoopla over Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. The idea wasn’t so much to unleash a storm of squee or slam posts, but to talk about vampires, why they’re hot, why they’re not.

Chances are, if you haven’t been a big reader of horror fiction over the last 20 years, you’re not going to know James Kisner’s name. And frankly, even if you have been a big horror reader — he may have flown under your radar. Thorughout the 80s and 90s, James wrote eleven novels (most under his own name, with a couple under the pseudonyms Eric Flanders and Martin James) and dozens of short stories.

On June 26, James Kisner and his wife Phyllis passed away in their sleep of carbon monoxide poisoning. But while he may be gone, it’s never too late to familiarize yourself with an author you haven’t read, particularly one who wrote one of the most quietly terrifying short stories of the last several decades…

I have been a voracious reader since I was about 13 when I first discovered The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Ever since then I couldn’t get enough of the science fiction and fantasy genre. To me, the genre allows writers to analyze what is going on in our real world, holding a magnifying glass up to problems we face today—or lets us escape from that reality for a while!

That means, however, there are a lot of books coming out and I only have so much time! So after looking at my book pile, I decided to pick out some of them and let you all decide what I should read next!

So I was reading my weekly batch of comics the other day, when I noticed something that seemed a little odd to me. It was the ads. Oh, they were still there, but the more I looked at them, the more I realized that most of them were house ads for other comic books.

That’s actually more significant than you might think, since periodical comics derive a fair amount of their revenue from ad sales. So how many ads ran this month in comics as compared to just a couple of years ago? The answer surprised me.

Yes, the secret’s out. I profess an undying love for young adult fantasy and myth retellings. Esther Friesner’s sequel to last year’s Nobody’s Princess, Nobody’s Prize, continues the saga of Princess Helen of Sparta (before all that messy Paris and Trojan War stuff) as she tries to find her place in a male-dominated society.

(Mini-review and request for reccs after the jump)

Metal Gear Solid author Raymond Benson will be signing copies of his new book, along with his other non-MGS books. (Which are of course of equal importance… to him. I’m his editor on MGS, so I’m pushing that one.)

You can read more about Raymond’s works at his site, and the signing details are as follows.

Where: The Mystery Bookstore
When: Saturday, August 9, 12:30pm (sharp!)
Where again, only this time more specifically: 1036-C Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024 (Westwood)

You can call the bookstore at 310-209-0415 for more details.

Bantam Dell has officially launched the audiobook podcast of New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s Darkfever. This the very first joint effort between Bantam Dell and one of its authors to release the full version of a book for free as a podcast. The book will be presented in its entirety, with four episodes per week available for download. Darkfever is the first book in Moning’s Fever series which features protagonist MacKayla “Mac” Lane, a woman who possesses the gift to see beyond the world of man and into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

Visit www.darkfeverpodcast.com for full details.

I’ve always been both a metalhead and a total fantasy geek—possibly the two most powerful formative influences on my teen years were Metallica and J.R.R. Tolkien. There exists a deep and occult connection between heavy metal and fantasy fiction, one that surfaces both obliquely—Spiked wristbands! Album covers that could double as Wheel of Time book jackets! Fire!—and overtly, as in the legacy of metal songs explicitly inspired by fantastical literary sources.

After the jump, check out a few of my favorite heavy metal songs inspired by fantasy novels. And I know I’ve forgotten a few, so add them in the comments!

Among the bigger news of the past week was the announcement that J.K. Rowling would be releasing another Harry Potter related book. The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of fairy tales from the Harry Potter universe. Everything old is new again, it would seem. Not having been able to secure one of the seven original hand-written editions, I’ll have to wait for the mass publication to read these stories for myself; I’m most interested to see what tone the stories strike.

The Harry Potter series aged well with its audience and J.K. Rowling’s publication of a collection of Fairy Tales might, on the face of it, seem like a way to reach out to a new generation of young readers. But the term “Fairy Tale” does not now, nor has it ever, been exclusively the province of children’s literature.

In fact, the genre of the Fairy Tale has a long history of being enjoyed by adults as well as children.

I was 15 when Terminator 2: Judgment Day came to movie theaters. It was one of the first movies I saw on the big screen and it left an indelible impression on me. The scope of the story and the special effects were fantastic. Very few sci-fi movies before 1991 captured the greatness of the genre, but Terminator 2 was one of them. I believe I was an official geek from that moment on.

There are many reasons why the first two movies were blockbusters, but the main one did not even appear in the movie. James Cameron directed and co-wrote the first two movies, the second of which raised the bar where the blending of story and special effects were concerned. Sure, technology versus nature has been a theme in sci-fi for decades, but in the terminators nature met its match—mankind met its match.

Then Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released. It was not directed by James Cameron and make no bones about it lacking his vision and subtlety. It did well at the box office but fans of the series were angry; they wanted a continuation of greatness from Cameron and instead got lukewarm results.

Now, the fourth Terminator movie is in full production. And again, James Cameron is not in the director’s seat. What does that mean for fans of the series?

What does director McG have to offer?

With the success of the live-action movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Hollywood has proven once again that the public enjoys and embraces well-done fantasy movies. Hellboy was great fun and Hellboy II was no different, Guillermo del Toro (who is now directing The Hobbit for New Line) proving he can do no wrong when he steps into the director’s chair.

But I got to thinking: I have not read a Hellboy comic book. Once upon a time I helped manage a fun comic book store and still had not read Hellboy. Grown older and now free of my non-superhero bias, I had to ask myself, “Why not?” After returning from Comic-Con, I quickly went online to find out what was going on with Hellboy in the comic book industry.

That’s when I discovered creator Mike Mignola had just released Issue #1 of a new three-issue mini-series called Hellboy: The Crooked Man—and there was a Preview of it online at Dark Horse Comics! Check it out!

OK. San Diego Comic Con is over and done and Team Suvudu is pretty well recuperated from exhaustion and jet lag and convention-borne respiratory ailments and everything else that comes with exhibiting at the big show.

But before we turn our attention to new things (like, say, the nigh-imminent New York Anime Festival) here’s one more reminder for us all of the reason why we do these conventions and why we love them so, starring videographer extraordinaire Jim Staylor and two special guests:

Did you miss this week’s episode of one of the coolest shows on TV? If you did, chillax…all the coolness of The Venture Bros. can be found at Adult Swim’s website. Link to this week’s episode after the jump…

If you haven’t visited Christian Lander’s hilarious blog Stuff White People Like yet (or read his bestselling book based thereon) you’re simply missing out. A few moments with his satirical observations on the unbearable whiteness of being and you’ll be able to understand (and, perhaps, to exploit) folks of Caucasian persuasion like never before.