Suvudu - Discussion Forum - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, and Games

Funn-e-Pages: Let's Talk Webcomics

2010-03-13T01:00:00Z

So Mike Braff and I have been doing a little column on webcomics every Sunday, and we've reviewed and discussed a lot of them over the past few months. But now we're asking you:

Which ones would you like to see discussed?

Which ones would you recommend Mike and I (and others) check out?

Where are we completely wrong (you'll need to check out our old posts to figure that out!)?

Suvudu Live Chats: Quick Links and Summaries

2010-03-11T21:46:51Z

China Miéville

China was our first Author Chat participant, and was a teriffic guy with whom to lead off. Want an idea of how the chat went? Here are a couple snipets to give you a taste:

[on genres and crime fiction]

(2:37) China: "I think the kind of hyperreal, apparently-moralist (though often not) intense scrutiny of the everyday in the best crime fiction makes it amazingly powerful as a form."

---------------

(2:43) Chris the Editor: To keep this answer short, let's try word association: "Cephalopod."

China: Apotheosis.

View the chat here: China Miéville Live Chat

Christopher Paolini and Terry Brooks

In what became one of our biggest chats, Christopher Paolini and Terry Brooks both came by to talk about anything and everything to do with Fantasy and their works.

View the chat here: Christopher Paolini and Terry Brooks Live Chat

Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry

Our Star Wars Essential Atlas chat featured the authors and A LOT of Star Wars cartography discussion and some really cool images.

View the chat here: Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry Live Chat

Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier

Dubbed the "cutest couple in comics" (you'll have to check out the chat to know why), Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier came by to talk about their work on X-Men: Misfits (Vol. 1), but ended up talking about much more including their upcoming projects and other items.

View the chat here: Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier Live Chat

David Anthony Durham

Fresh off his John W Campbell Award victory, author David Anthony Durham (Acacia, The Other Lands), stopped by to talk about his work and what it felt like to win the award for Best New Writer (2009).

View the chat here: David Anthony Durham Live Chat

Harry Connolly

Harry Connolly, author of , chatted about being a first-time published author and the joys, struggles, and realizations that come with reaching the first publication.

View the chat here: Harry Connolly Live Chat

Live Chat RPG

Jason Thompson (King of RPGs, Manga: The Complete Guide) hosted a live roleplaying game here on Suvudu with authors Diana Rowland, Peter V. Brett, and Ari Marmell in addition to a few lucky Suvudu guests. The result was a lot of fun, jokes, and an interesting transformation.

View the event here: Live Chat RPG

Paranormal Roundtable

View the chat here: Paranormal Roundtable Live Chat

Kelly Armstrong, Diana Rowland, Jenna Black, Lucy A. Snyder, Carolyn Crane, and Alex Prentiss all joined in for a wide-ranging discussion about Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance genres: the intersections, the differences, readership, and much more.

Naomi Novik and Scott Westerfeld

In November of 2009, Naomi Novik and Scott Westerfeld dropped by to discuss their works and careers, along with the challenges and benefits that come with writing fiction that transcends both genre and age categories.

View the chat here: Naomi Novik and Scott Westerfeld Live Chat

Nina Matsumoto

Nina, an Eisner Award-winning illustrator, dropped in and talked about working on The Simpsons, webcomics, manga, her latest Yokaiden books, Avatar: The Last Airbender (the manga of which she will be drawing), and much more. We included a lot of Nina's art in this one. Be sure to check it out.

View the chat here: Nina Matsumoto Live Chat

Peter Brett and Robert V.S. Redick

Peter V. Brett (The Warded Man, The Desert Spear) and Robert V.S. Redick (The Red Wolf Conspiracy, Rats of the Ruling Sea) appeared in our first dual-author chat and discussed a lot of awesome cover art in addition to covering their books and careers to-date.

View the chat here: Peter Brett and Robert V.S. Redick Live Chat

Terry Brooks

Terry Brooks stops by again for another chat with fans.

View Terry's Chat here: Terry Brooks Live Chat

Cage Match Gender

2010-03-10T21:59:50Z

As much as I am enjoying the Cage Match, I am very disappointed to see that women are barely represented in the contest. This seems like a missed opportunity to me.

Lets look at the numbers:

=Fictional Characters=
Male: 26 (81%)
Female: 4 (13%)
Genderless: 2 (6%)

=Authors*=
Men: 25 (78%)
Women: 7 (22%)

Ouch. So Suvudu lets women be represented a little more than four time less often then men. I can think of a few women who certainly could have been included.

Skade (from _Redemption Ark_)
Molly Millions (from _ Neuromancer_)
Arya Stark (from _A Game of Thrones_)
Cirocco Jones (from _Titan_)
Leisha Camden (from _Beggars in Spain_)
Claudia (from _Interview With the Vampire_)
Ramoth (from _Dragonflight_)

And there are a ton more female characters out there!

I don't think that anyone doubts that men dominate the science fiction and fantasy genres, both as characters and as authors. But Suvudu and Random House had a great chance to show the breadth of kick-ass female characters and amazing female authors out there. I'm sorry that they missed this chance, but I hope that if a second Cage Match comes around we can look forward to seeing strong women as half of the characters competing!

--Chris

* Raistlin and Haplo were created by a man/woman team, so I credited then as .5 each towards the male and female authors.

Cage Match 2010: Who'd We Miss?

2010-03-09T20:30:00Z

So it seems we've sparked a few debates with this little Cage Match venture.

One of the main questions seems to be: Where is this character?

Well, that's what we want to know, too. So if you think there's a character we've "snubbed," tell us who, and why they deserved to be in Cage Match 2010.

And, if you're really feeling ambitious, let us know who they should have replaced!

"Bullshot" and other ways Penny Arcade expands our vernacular

2010-02-17T14:00:00Z

When Del Rey put together The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 ½ Anniversary Edition, we asked fans for questions they were dying to ask Penny Arcade creators Mike and Jerry. Out of the thousands submitted (thanks, guys!) we were able to include a good number of questions, including the following stumper (excerpted from Splendid Magic)

Here's your chance to answer Jerry's question--the language question, not A/S/L!--and be part of Del Rey's Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade week (Feb 22-26) on Suvudu.com.

Send an e-mail to delrey@randomhouse.com with the subject heading "Penny Arcade Glossary," and include the term(s), the strip that it came from if you can remember it, and (this is optional, but awesome) an example of how you've used it in real life (or in your MMORPG of choice, same difference). We'll be taking submissions today from 1PM EST/10AM PST - 5PM EST/2PM PST.

As a primer, here's a classic example from Penny Arcade in 2005:

Hence our first entry:

During Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade Week we'll reveal some of our favorite Penny Arcade words and phrases each day, ending with the debut of a "Penny Arcade glossary" that Friday. Don't forget that you can read all of Mike and Jerry's fan Q&A when The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 ½ Anniversary Edition, goes on sale February 23!

Avatar

2009-12-18T17:20:02Z

So what did everyone think? Enjoy it? Hate it?

Library?

2009-12-03T18:44:35Z

What happened to the library?

There are no ebooks here. Well, OK, 5 ebooks. What happened to all the previous ebooks? A library doesn't just delete their catalog every couple of months.

Perhaps you should re-title the web page to SUVUDU free sample ebooks, it would be more honest.

Norm

What characters comprise you?

2009-10-23T23:45:40Z

Hi All,

Just curious what others have to say on the subject.

Here are my four characters that make up my whole: http://www.suvudu.com/2009/10/my-splintered-psyche-characters-i-am.html

Shawn

If dragons were real...

2009-10-23T23:12:23Z

... would humans still be on top of the food chain?

Discuss. :)

New vs. Used Bookstores

2009-10-05T23:24:25Z

Hi All,

I just went through my signed book collection and pruned out some of the books that I no longer wanted. I sold them on my business website as well as to ebay.com and a used bookstore.

It got me thinking: Where do people buy their books?

I frequent new and used bookstores, both independent and chain. I guess I am an equal opportunist buyer. I buy new books when I can at new bookstores, but when I am looking for an older edition or something rare, I visit the used.

How do you shop? Are you an Amazon person? B&N? Do you have to walk into a bookstore to buy a book? Or are you comfy with online buying? I have a hard time buying online because most of the time the books arrive damaged in some manner.

Shawn

Free Library Formats

2009-10-02T15:48:25Z

Please bring back the .pdf download for your free library books.

I can't download the kindle version, because I don't have a kindle, or an iphone or an ipod.

I can't download the B&N version because I don't live in the USA.

I might be able to download the Sony version, if I install their software, or it might not work eiter. Who knows? However I really don't want to install a 5th ebook software on my computer. The four formats I have already are enough.

Gary Young

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comics-based Movies of 2009?

2009-09-17T21:09:00Z

I know I'm jumping the gun here, but we've already got three quarters of the year under our belts here and I thought it might be cool to start discussing favorite sci-fi/fantasy/comics movies from the past year. Plus, since this is a forum thread, we can keep it going until the end of 2009. Ah, the beauty of technology. So, let's hear it! Your nom for the best SF/F/C movie of the year thus far? Or maybe you think one that's coming up is gonna be awesome... whatever floats your boat.

Movie recommendations?

2009-06-25T21:26:37Z

I'm looking to plump up my Netflix queue a bit - any suggestions for MUST SEE movies? I'm open to pretty much any genre except for horror. My imagination is scary enough on its own, thank you.

China Mieville | Author Live Chat

2009-05-28T22:12:55Z

China Mieville and Del Rey editor Chris Schluep stopped by Suvudu to answer questions and chat with fans in our first ever Author Live Chat.

You can view the now-archived live chat here: China Mieville Author Live Chat.

What are your thoughts on the chat? Any additional questions or items you would have liked to see covered? Responses to what was covered? Don't hold back, just because the chat is over, doesn't mean the discussion has to end.

Neil Gaiman explains George R.R. Martin

2009-05-14T13:35:03Z

In case you haven't read this already, or if you have and wish to weigh in, Neil Gaiman took the time to answer a fan's email regarding George R.R. Martin and the feeling that GRRM was procrastinating on producing the book.

Neil's thoughts? Well for his thoughts in his words (which I highly recommend), you can find them here: Neil's Journal on GRRM. If applauding a blogger did any amount of good, I would have done so for Neil after reading this. He's right, George isn't working for us, even though we might think that he is. Neil's explanation that purchasing a book or starting a series is not an implicit contract that the author owes the rest of the story on any particular deadline.

Anyway, read his article. It's fantastic. And once you do: what are your thoughts on Neil's take?