AMAZING News 12/15/13

BLOG ORIGINAL FICTION EXCERPTS     Special Advance Excerpt from Words of Radiance-the (Gigantic) Manuscript is Here! Plus A Fancy New MistbornCover! We’ve got some special treats for those who are eagerly awaiting the second volume in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive: first, a special excerpt from Words of Radiance! Get a peek at an exciting new character in the interlude chapter, “Lift.” And if you’d like to see how many reams of paper it takes to print the giant manuscript, we’ve got an impressive visual for you.Also, the new Brazilian cover of Mistborn shows Kelsier getting into some axe-fighting action, so you should probably check that out right now! SHARE THIS:          Want Some Hobbits and Dwarves? We Got Your Hobbits and Dwarves Right Here! The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is almost upon us, so we’ve been celebrating by talking about it non-stop! We’ve got a gorgeous art post featuring the many illustrations Tolkien’s work has inspired over the years, a look at the process of putting up a 150-foot painted dwarf-infested mural in NYC, and an adorable Twitter interview with Benedict Cumberbatch where he reveals what sort of music the mighty Smaug jams to on his downtime. We’ve also discovered something entirely shocking-it would seem that the Extended Edition of the first film, An Unexpected Journey, is actually better than the theatrical release! Leah Schnelbach has graced us with a list of Middle-earth recipes for those of us who need to plan a Hobbit party, and Kelsey Ann Barrett is on hand to discuss what elements from the books and appendices might make into this film: more Thranduil! Giant spiders! We are so pumped for this movie now! SHARE THIS:          Dragons Take to the Sky! Updated Fairy Tales for the Modern Reader! Dracarys, y’all! We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite dragons to in honor of Smaug the Terrible-get in on the action and tell us who your best beloved fire-breathing beasties are, from Drogon and Kazul to Falkor and Toothless! And we also asked our readers to shareyour favorite fairy tale retellings, and your answers did not disappoint! Let’s take a peek at what modern fairy tales are capturing our hearts these days…. SHARE THIS:          Wonder Woman is Coming! So Are More X-Men Films! Spider-Man Might Not Need Peter Parker? Plus, Godzilla, Channing Tatum, and Life on Mars! We’ve got the very first trailers for the upcomingGodzilla reboot and the new Wachowski project,Jupiter Ascending, as well as a review for The Last Days on Mars! Not to mention news that the X-Men film to follow Days of Future Past will be X-Men: Apocalypse!What does that mean for the upcoming movies and storylines? We’ve got the scoop! And following a rumor that Andrew Garfield might not continue to a fourth Spider-Man film, Chris Lough is prepared to ask a hard question: do future Spidey movies really need Peter Parker at all? And finally, the news we’ve been waiting for… Wonder Woman has been cast for her debut in the Man of Steelsequel! Take a look and see what you think of the newest incarnation of everybody’s favorite Amazon! SHARE THIS:          The Song of Ice and Fire Read Has Finished A Storm of Swords! Meet Dunk and Egg! Plus…a Game of Thrones Video Game? Leigh Butler reached the stunning conclusion of A Storm of Swords in her ongoing Read of Ice and Fire,so now she’s going to take a little detour… moving on to the Tales of Dunk and Egg! We just met our intrepid duo in “The Hedge Knight” (Part One), then we’ll move on to”The Sworn Sword,” so don’t miss out on the fun (and swordplay)! And while we’re at it, how do you feel about a Game of Thrones video game? It would seem that Telltale Games has acquired the right to develop the series, and it’s coming… check out the new trailer and let us know: will you play? SHARE THIS:

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We have one last opportunity for review this year before we sign off for Christmas. We thought this one might be better coming from the commissioning editor himself, and the man you all know as @Gollancz, Simon Spanton.

Dear Reader,

First and foremost, thanks for signing up to Gollancz Geeks. Your enthusiasm for genre writing, your willingness to share that with us, to commit some of your reading time to be a part of what we’re trying to do? This is absolutely priceless. And your feedback is so valued by us and our authors alike. Finding out how readers feel about the books we’re working on is the best possible way to connect back to what our jobs are all about. So thank you for that opportunity.

Now to Son of the Morning.

Big isn’t it?

I don’t have an issue with big books (hell! I publish fantasy novels, I can’t really afford to), but I do need the story to be as long as the book. Padding is an indulgence for the author and an imposition on the reader. For all its epic size I don’t think you’ll find an ounce of padding in Mark Alder’s novel.

This massive book grew out of a single image. In my mind’s eye a gleaming  wavefront of plate-armoured angels mounted on horseback, their wings blinding white in the midst of the many chivalric colours, the blood and the mud, crash into the ranks of Edward the Third’s men-at-arms. That image, illogical, irrational, impossible, wouldn’t leave me. Now, any editor can have an idea. It takes an author to write a book. So I talked about this idea with Mark Alder. He loves history, he’s forgotten more than I ever knew and he has a real relish for research. But more importantly I know Mark can write a cracking story.

So we talked and Mark mulled it over and came back with some ideas and then he wrote this novel. And it’s an awesome piece of work. Mark has taken the facts of the Hundred Years War, the characters from history and the beliefs of the age, and has written a rip-roaring (no other word for it) historical fantasy. The religious beliefs of the time fit the idea and he brings it all to vivid and believable life. There are characters from history who would appear OTT in Game of Thrones – Mark lets them loose on the page.

And do Angels ride at men-at-arms? Mark comes up with something much, much better.

Welcome to the Hundred Years War as it should have been…

Do let us know what you think.

All the best

Simon

Simon Spanton

Associate Publisher, Gollancz  

We have 15 copies of Son of the Morning to give to some lucky geeks. If you are interested in reviewing it, please reply to this email no later than midnight on Tuesday 17^th December. We will pick 15 names at random to receive a copy.

Everyone who sends back a review to us before the deadline we will set for the chosen Geeks will receive their exclusive Gollancz Geeks t-shirt, bookmark, badge and pen by way of thanks. We reserve the right to publish your review on the Gollancz blog, but if you’d rather not go public then do let us know in your return email.

If you’d no longer like to be on Team Gollancz Geeks, simply reply to this email letting us know and we will remove you from the list.

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Merry Christmas, and a happy new year Geeks!

Gollancz

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Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Hi , Some people give fruitcakes, or special family-recipe cookies, but what does a writer give for a holiday gift? Stories, of course. In the spirit of the season, I wrote “Naughty and Nice,” a holiday-themed caper featuring my zombie PI, Dan Shamble. Since all the legendary creatures have come back to the world, why not Santa Claus? Santa hires the best zombie detective in town to retrieve his stolen list of who’s been bad or good. “Naughty and Nice” is available in all ebook formats for only 99¢. I also collected other holiday stories that I’ve shared with my writer friends over the years—a whole anthology called A Fantastic Holiday Season from WordFire Press. Also, if you’re interested in an excellent DRM-free bundle of books (including my Nebula nominee Assemblers of Infinity with Doug Beason, a Frank Herbert classic, and others), you can name your own price at fictionbundle.com. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the Challenger Centers and the American Red Cross. This ebook offer is available worldwide, but expires just after Christmas.

Rebecca and I have put a lot of miles on our suitcases recently. I’m in Washington, DC, now for my first official meeting as a board member for the Challenger Centers for Space Science Education. Last week Rebecca & I were in the Caribbean as instructors for the Sail to Success writing cruise. The week before that, we were in Las Vegas for a writer’s summit, and the week before that I was in Poland as a guest author in Warsaw and Lublin. (See pictures below: 1. me in Poland, 2. Fremont Street in Las Vegas, 3. Miami sunset as our ship sets sail.) Fortunately, I take my laptop along, so I managed to get the manuscripts edited for Dan Shamble Slimy Underbelly  and for Hellhole Inferno.

KJA