http://www.suvudu.com/ A multi-contributor blog with the mission of providing information and content to fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy books, movies, and games. en Copyright 2009 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:21:59 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The extended versions. For those of you who don't want to whip out your abacus, that amounts to almost half-a-day of Frodo, Samwise, Aragorn, and Gandalf doing their thing across the splendor of Middle-earth. Now, there are other sci-fi draws on this day--Sci-Fi Channel has wonderfully picked up where the ol' New York WPIX left off with the "Twilight Zone" marathon, but with the advent of TiVo, the need (and desire) to sit through a day of commercial television seems paltry and weak compared to the majesty of a little Hobbit-on-Orc action (please keep your thoughts, like the movies, firmly in the realm of PG-13, thank you). So those can be enjoyed later, at my leisure, whereas to watch the whole of Peter Jackson's opus-like vision of Mr. Tolkien's opus (collectively: their "opi"), back-to-back-to-back not only fulfills some deep-seated nerd-need, but also bows to a skewed logic that I crave. This tradition started a few years ago, when I was young and impressionable, and my father suggested we should watch all the movies in a row. Understand: while I am a Tolkien fan, I am also of the opinion (and I am ready to stoically accept the cries of "Blasphemy!" which this next statement is sure to produce) that the movies are better than the books. Yeah, I know. Ouch. But I have my reasons: I grew up reading all the people who had themselves grown up reading Tolkien--people like David Eddings, Terry Brooks, and, well, every Dragonlance author TSR could trot out. So, by the time I finally got around to reading The Lord of the Rings, I'll admit that I found the books to be a bit . . . tiresome. My father--a man who can watch the movies and point out where a line should have been in the course of the novels (and which character should have uttered it)--almost wrote me out of his will when I told him that. But since I appreciate the movies so much (and still think The Hobbit to be one of the greatest stories, ever), he decided to let such an infraction slide. He also realized he doesn't actually have a will, but that's another matter entirely. Having done this done this marathon with my parents for three years now (yes, ladies--still single!), I have realized a few things that make such an endeavor possible:

1. Wear comfortable clothes. Face it--you're going to be a lazy slob for at least thirteen hours, so dress appropriately. While you might think it fun to wear your Gondor Infantry helmet, it probably is going to give you a headache. It might block your vision a bit, too.
2. Make sure you have a snack/beverage plan. You need to have readily accessible munchables that are not overly elaborate in their preparation. Our first year, we kept making little appetizer-like gnoshes, which stretched out the breaks times and really didn't add to the overall experience. Too, while alcoholic beverages might seem like a nice accompaniment, go for the caffeine. Having recently forsaken the daily intake of caffeine, I made sure to break that for LOTR Day. I mean, it takes two hours for them to leave the Shire! You're going to want some sort of stimulant.
3. Break times. As the movies are broken up onto two discs each, there are five natural break points, so use them accordingly: use the bathroom, refresh your drink and snack options, and--this is important--stretch. It may seem stupid, but your body is going to fight you on this, and getting the blood flowing will trick it into another two hours of lethargy. It's not called a "marathon" for nothing--this is an endurance sport!
4. No talking. Maybe this is just a family thing (Yes, I will watch with you, but that doesn't mean I need to interact with you), but if we didn't have this rule, we could be making comments throughout the whole thing. Comments, for me, invariably lead to thinking I'm Tom Servo, and the thing is I like these movies. Once I start riffing on a movie, I won't stop, so it's best to put the kibosh on the kibbutzing.
5. No pausing! We've all seen the movies, so if, for some reason, someone needs to get up, the disc keeps spinning. The worst of this was, the first year we did it, my dad paused halfway through The Return of the King to wish my mom and I a "Happy New Year!" Having been sitting through over ten hours of movie at that point, we were in no mood for such nonsense, and after being verbally chastised (and pelted with various cookies--we were at the cookie phase of our snack-deployment) he realized never to do it again. Even now, when he sees it's after midnight and wishes us a "Happy New Year," I can feel my mom tense up, as if she's about to beat him about the head and neck with a sock full of holiday clementines. She doesn't, but I can sense it.
6. Have fun! Remember, if you start taking this too seriously (setting up an over/under for orcs slain; groaning every time Legolas starts acting like the guy at the party with a new iPhone and explicates things for us without bothering to use context . . .), you're not going to enjoy yourself. And, when you throw in the fact that you're risking bed-sores for the sake of these films, getting angry that Jackson couldn't figure out when to end the last movie, or didn't include the scouring of the Shire, or dismissed the joyful absurdity of Tom Bombadil . . . well, you just need to let those things slide. Because don't forget:

You can always read the book. Happy New Year! ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/the-only-way-to-one-ring-in-th.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/the-only-way-to-one-ring-in-th.html lord of the rings movies new year's eve the hobbit tolkien Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:21:59 -0500 Here is a list of other book, DVD and theater new releases for this week! BOOKS

• Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
• In Shade and Shadow by Barb Hendee and J.C. Hendee
• Just Another Judgement Day by Simon R. Green
• The Legend of Drizzt Collector's Edition, Book III by R.A. Salvatore
• Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
• Regenesis by C. J. Cherryh

DVDS

• Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0
• Babylon A.D.

IN THEATERS FRIDAY

• The Unborn

]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/new-release-day-010609.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/new-release-day-010609.html new release day Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:42:46 -0500 The New York Times has been highlighting bestsellers via a list since 1942, a very long time and it has become a very important part of a publisher's / editor's / author's work week. For me, I find it fascinating so much energy surrounds the Bestseller Lists. To make the list, a book must have higher sales during that week compared to sales against all other books. One year a writer may hit #2 by selling 30,000 copies while the next year the same writer may only sell 25,000 copies and hit #1. That intrigues me for some reason. Year 2008 saw some great books come out. Below is a list of New York Times bestsellers based on their debut placement: ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/2008-new-york-times-debuts.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/2008-new-york-times-debuts.html 2008 bestsellers new york times Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:56:03 -0500 so over. But, New York Comic Con is only a month away and that's a good enough reason in my book to bring it back? Why, you ask? How 'bout the fact that you have the chance to meet Chip Kidd . That's right, Chip will be there speaking about - what else - Bat-Manga!. He'll even be signing books after the panel. Click here for more information. ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/bat-manic-mondays-the-encore-p.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/bat-manic-mondays-the-encore-p.html bat-manga! bat-manic mondays batman comic con ny comic con pantheon Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:49:20 -0500 As I wrote a few days ago, author Alan Campbell has written some really intriguing novels. Scar Night is a great first novel, but what I enjoyed most about it is its darker take on urban fantasy. The characters are fairly well developed and the story is a great one but its the setting I fell in love with. That continued in Iron Angel, the sequel to Scar Night. In a few months, the third and (probably) final book in the Deepgate Codex, God of Clocks, will be released on April 28, 2009. I have total faith in Alan's ability to finish off the trilogy with an even darker flourish! And after realizing I hadn't sent him my first Five Questions, I thought it'd be fun to do so! Here is Five Questions with Alan Campbell! Enjoy!

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Suvudu: When did you start writing? Why do you write? Alan Campbell: I suppose it would have been in my early twenties, while working in Budapest, Hungary. Thanks to meagre wages, I couldn't spend all my time in the pub, so scribbling words on paper seemed like a good way to pass the time. I write because I enjoy telling stories. S: Describe your writing day? How many words/pages do you write a day on average? Breaks? How much time do you spend editing and how do you go about it?]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/five-questions-alan-campbell.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/five-questions-alan-campbell.html alan campbell five questions god of clocks scar night Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:50:46 -0500 Alan Campbell made a fairly large splash in the fantasy genre with the release of his interesting and dark tale Scar Night. It is quite different from anything I have read and an interesting idea. Campbell followed up Scar Night with Iron Angel. And with a release three years in a row, Campbell will publish God of Clocks on April 28, 2009! Yes, Campbell is a writer who can put out a book every year! We love that, don't we? So if you haven't read Scar Night, do it. You just might find a new favorite! I am making this post to highlight Campbell a bit, but also to talk about one of my other side projects. As many of you already know, I moonlight as a late night webmaster for a few people in the publishing industry and one of those people is cover artist Stephen Youll. I've worked with Stephen for several years now, uploading new artwork to his website when he needs it done. The design of his website is not mine but I help where I can and I really enjoy seeing new artwork before it hits the shelves. For those who do not know Stephen's work, he is responsible for the US covers on books by George RR Martin, Robin Hobb, Brian Herbert (Dune covers), Kevin J. Anderson (Saga of the Seven Suns covers), as well as many more writers. Stephen has also done the artwork for all three of Alan Campbell's US book covers. Yesterday, Stephen sent me the gorgeous wraparound artwork for Alan Campbell's God of Clocks! To view that beautiful artwork, click HERE! What do you think?]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/god-of-clocks-by-alan-campbell.html http://www.suvudu.com/2009/01/god-of-clocks-by-alan-campbell.html alan campbell covers stephen youll Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:53:03 -0500 Here is a list of other book, DVD and theater new releases for this week! BOOKS

• Gears of the City by Felix Gilman
• Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
• The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick
• Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
• Stephen King: A Biography by Albert Rolls
• Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Robin Anne Reid

DVDS

• Serenity [Blu-ray]
• Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season
• Event Horizon [Blu-ray]

IN THEATERS

• No new movies.

]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/new-release-day-123008.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/new-release-day-123008.html new release day Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:17:38 -0500 Although the outcome is usually questionable, I really enjoy the anticipation when one medium decides to adapt work from another medium. It has the potential to be Superman: The Movie, adapted from a comic book. Or it has the potential to be Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, books adapted from the movies. Or it can be Star Wars: Dark Empire, comic books adapted from books and movies. These kinds of crossovers have worked well and delivered some great entertainment! But what happens when it goes wrong—and not because of creative influences but because of money? What will happen to our Watchmen movie? A few days ago, a judge ruled in favor of Fox Studios that it was wronged by Warner Bros. when the latter began to adapt the graphic novel Watchmen to the silver screen and planned to distribute it. I have no doubt it is the right ruling. But it sadly might push back the release of the Watchmen movie indefinitely—a movie many a fanboy and geek have been waiting for a long time—until some kind of settlement can be made. Will these two massive studios come to an agreement that benefits all and gives us our movie? We'll see. But I find it sad we may not get our movie and what could be a great adaptation and cross between mediums... we may not get to watch Watchmen. More on this as it becomes available. ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/watching-the-watchmen.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/watching-the-watchmen.html alan moore graphic novels movies watchmen Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:23:25 -0500 have ended, leaving in their wake debt and a lot of love shown. For Christmas I received a $200 gift card to my favorite local independent, University Bookstore, as well as several movies... Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Iron Man. Can't believe I had the will power not to buy them each on release day. I guess I should go out and finally buy my new flat screen television now, huh? Hmm... Support the economy? Anyway, I feel like I received some pretty neato gifts. They showed that my friends and family really do understand me. So, what fun stuff did you receive? Share!]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/your-holiday-swag.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/your-holiday-swag.html indiana jones iron man the dark knight wall-e Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:06:18 -0500 Thundercats movie is moving quickly through emails and the blogosphere, and with reason snarf snarf, it's a blast to watch. As well made as the video is, the true fun comes from watching A list stars like Brad Pitt, Vin Diesel, and Hugh Jackman as the Thundercats and, snarf snarf, in trying to guess all of the movies used to make this trailer. I count at least 12! How many can you catch? Fire away in the comments, snarf snarf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb50GMmY5nk]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/thunderthunderthunderthunderca.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/thunderthunderthunderthunderca.html Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:30:25 -0500 Here is a list of other book, DVD and theater new releases for this week! BOOKS

• The Breath of God by Harry Turtledove
• Give Me Liberty by Dave Gibbons and Frank Miller
• Batman: Private Casebook by Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen

DVDS

• Eagle Eye
• Ghost Town

IN THEATERS

• Bedtime Stories
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Spirit
• Valkyrie

]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/new-release-day-1202308.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/new-release-day-1202308.html new release day Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:27:50 -0500 Chip Kidd's Bat-Manga!? It's certainly the gift that's on everybody's wish list! Observe:

• According to the LA Times it's the perfect gift for "someone with a slight ironic distance from their fanboy (or fangirl) roots" since it's a book about comic books.
• And, The Village Voice lavishes praise on Geoff Spear's photographs which appear in the book.

See? There really is something for everyone! Still not convinced? Check out this video. Happy holidays! ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/holy-batman-have-i-got-a-gift.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/holy-batman-have-i-got-a-gift.html bat-manga batman chip kidd gift ideas graphic novels pantheon Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:26:12 -0500 In the last few days, Seattle has been buried under a thick white blanket of snow. The winter storm hitting the Pacific Northwest has been one of Seattle's most sustained, leaving it mostly incapacitated. Buses have crashed through protective guard rails, people have stranded their cars and 4x4 trucks. For good reason. I look outside and see more than a foot of snow covering everything. After ten days, temperatures have finally risen over the freezing mark but not enough to make the tiniest of dent in what has been done to the city. I wouldn't have it any other way. As I sit here, tucked away in my heater-driven warmth and looking out my living room window, it evokes one of my favorite books—The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Lyra Belacqua riding the armored polar bear Iorek Byrnison through the snowy wilds. It got me thinking. I wrote a few days ago how I have been asked to moderate a panel devoted to writers' influences at the NY Comic Con. I already have planned what I want to open with and once that is done I'll just let the authors go crazy wild with their stories and what writers influences them want to be writers. But I also realized each one of us—and I mean every one of us who come to Suvudu—has some definable moment in our lives when we fell in love with science fiction and/or fantasy. It could be a book we read or a comic book we collected or a movie we watched or a gaming experience we had... one moment in a past full of moments created how we spend our time today. Can you remember what sci-fi/fantasy writers or movies or games placed you on the path to this moment? Here are the other culprits that have led me to write my own book as well as blogging here on Suvudu...]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/influences-why-are-you-here.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/influences-why-are-you-here.html carlos ruiz zafon neil gaiman philip pullman stephen king stephen r. donaldson terry brooks Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:18:11 -0500 pleasure--how rare, how wonderful! What's going into my suitcase? Passage by Connie Willis. I've read everything else by Connie, who is one of science fiction's most delightful and intelligent voices. I've been meaning to read this one ever since 2001, when I'd set it aside to enjoy in a picturesque B&B located in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, as soon as I'd fulfilled my obligations at a writers conference in Albuquerque. I never got to go...the trip was scheduled to begin on September 14, 2001. Foucault's Pendulum, by Unberto Eco. Eco is a philosopher and historian whose most famous novel is The Name of the Rose--my favorite of his works so far. He writes what might be called "intellectual adventure" stories, intricate and challenging. I admit to skipping through paragraphs, if not full pages, of esoteric asides on such topics as medieval politics, but he's well worth the effort. Try also Baudolino, a Crusaders-era tall tale. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell, who also wrote the SF classic The Sparrow. (Yes, I know The Sparrow was published as a mainstream novel--don't be fooled, it's SF all the way!) Dreamers of the Day is her newest and does not appear to contain any SF/fantasy elements; its main character is a young woman who takes a dream trip to Egypt on the eve of the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, whose attendees will redraw the world map to create the modern Middle East. (Pretty book cover, but there's no way that young woman could have climbed a pyramid in those heels.) Missing Joseph by Elizabeth George. Thank you, Ms. George, for so many excellent mysteries starring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley. I look forward to this one! To all of you Suvudu readers, Happy Holidays and a terrific 2009! ]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/what-i-learned-this-week-i-nee.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/what-i-learned-this-week-i-nee.html Connie Willis Elizabeth George Mary Doria Russell reading list Umberto Eco what I learned this week Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:59:44 -0500 Ken Scholes is a new author releasing his first book in February, but that by no means means he is new to the industry. Ken is responsible for writing dozens and dozens of short stories, many of which have been published in several reputable magazines. He also won the Writers of the Future contest a few years back. Ever quirky and always fun—as evidenced by any number of photos on his website—Ken was then dared by his friends to write a full-length novel based on one of those short stories. Lamentation, released in mid-February 2009, is the fruits of that dare. I'll let Ken describe the rest! Here is Five Questions with Ken Scholes! Enjoy!

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Suvudu: When did you start writing? Why do you write? Ken Scholes: I started writing pretty young. I was stapling together little books (self illustrated) when I was in the First Grade. I started writing short stories when I was about fourteen—I'd read Bradbury's essay "How to Keep and Feed a Muse" and it had shown me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I tend to process my life through writing. Whatever my subconscious mind is processing tends to turn up, dressed as fiction, to be worked out on the page. I used to say that writing was a way of knowing myself. While that's certainly still true, there's also now a part of it that is just the love of telling a story that engages people, makes them think or feel, entertains them. S: Describe your writing day? How many words/pages do you write a day on average? Breaks? How much time do you spend editing and how do you go about it?]]> http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/five-questions-ken-scholes.html http://www.suvudu.com/2008/12/five-questions-ken-scholes.html five questions interviews ken scholes Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:35:00 -0500