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Magebane picked up by Science Fiction Book Club
Wonderful to see that Magebane has been picked up by the Science Fiction Book Club; my last book the SFBC brought out in hardcover was Marseguro. Their description is nice, too: Magebane by Lee Arthur Chane is that rare breed of novel—a brisk-paced, twist-filled stand-alone adventure of science vs magic! Four centuries ago, a devastating revolution swept the world, and the arrogant MageLords, who had long ruled by spell power, were driven to a distant land, protected by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords devolved into legend, and people turned to science to improve their lives. Meanwhile, behind the Barrier, the magic-wielders’ brutal ...The Holy Grail of hemophilia treatment
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/12/Hemophilia-Gene-Therapy.mp3[/podcast] Over more than two decades of science writing, I’ve seen a lot of my past writings rendered obsolete by scientific progress. Case in point: the release last week of a research report on exciting new progress in gene therapy for hemophiliacs. Back in 2001, I wrote a book on hemophilia for the Enslow Publishers series Diseases and People (<brag>School Library Journal called it: “An excellent resource for basic research for personal or academic use.”</brag>). Gene therapy—the insertion of genes into living cells in the human body to treat disorders—has always seemed to hold particular promise for the treatment of hemophilia because it is a genetic disease: you can’t catch it, you can only ...A couple of more Magebane reviews…
First up, Just a Guy Who Reads Books begins his review by saying: Chane combines some steampunk sensibilities with a magic world, infuses the whole thing with some potent political plotting, and presents the result - a fantastic novel. And finishes... Ultimately, a highly satisfying novel. I'd love to see something further in the world that Chane has created... Read the whole thing. Review Room has some quibbles, but still says: I found the book quite appealing because it pitted science against magic, and couldn’t help being drawn in by the detailed descriptions of this alternate magical reality – it’s spells, it’s inventions and it’s different life. Commoners have achieved through ...The Big Idea: Magebane
(This is a slightly modified version of an essay that originally ran on John Scalzi's blog Whatever--here's the original version. John generously gives over his popular blog on a regular basis to authors with new work coming out, for which he deserves much praise and honor. Thanks, John!) I know this is called “The Big Idea,” but my new fantasy novel Magebane didn’t grow out of a single big idea. Instead, it grew out of four ideas: three big ones, and one not-so-big one. (But “The Big 3 1/2 Ideas” isn’t nearly as catchy a name.) First: it is, of course, one of the hoariest of fairy-tale tropes that ...Night Owl Reviews likes Magebane
A.M. Donovan at Night Owl Reviews rates Magebane at 4.5 stars ("I Loved it - Top Pick"): Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, magic, hidden kingdoms, cruel tyrants, usurpers, and a hint of steampunk make this book entertaining. Lee Arthur Chane (also known as Edward Willett) has done a marvelous job of making all of this work together. Instead of being overwhelmingly complicated and difficult to follow with the danger of being boring, he manages to tie the different themes together into an entertaining, cohesive whole. The good guys do win, just not the way anyone expected. Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time. Yay!The science of ebooks vs. print books
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/10/Ebooks-vs-Print-Books.mp3[/podcast] Once upon a time, the word “book” meant only one thing: a stack of paper printed with text and bound together along one edge. These days, though, the word “book” has developed two meanings. You can still read a bound-stack-of-paper book, but you can also read a book without ever touching anything that was once part of a tree, because the text has become divorced from the physical artifact to which it was once bound, thanks to the development of electronic reading devices. I will admit up front that I was an early convert to electronic reading. I bought my first ebook reader many years ago, before hardly anyone had such a ...Magebane hits bookstores today!
Is it October 4 already? It is, and that means that Magebane is officially available, published (of course) by DAW Books. You can buy it in all the usual places: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters, Barnes & Noble, to name just a few. And it's available in both paperback and popular ebook formats. Here's the blurb from the back, just to remind you what it's all about: The kingdom of Evrenfels is the last bastion of magic in the world, cut off from the outside by the Great Barrier through which magic cannot penetrate. For centuries, the Magelords have ruled their kingdom with ...Coming in April: The Helix War
I had a phone call recently from my editor at DAW Books, Sheila Gilbert, letting me know that DAW wants to bring out an omnibus edition of Marseguro and Terra Insegura in April 2012. We batted around titles and settled on The Helix War. It's still a ways until April, but lo and behold, I discovered the book is already listed at Amazon. Go forth and pre-order! You know you want to.CM Magazine recommends Song of the Sword
CM Magazine (a.k.a. Canadian Review of Materials) has given Song of the Sword three out of four stars and a "Recommended" in its current issue. The review is mainly a pretty complete synopsis, with a longish excerpt from the first chapter. It ends with: Written clearly, and with an interesting version of the Arthurian legend, the tale portrays some common teenage problems through the eyes of the two main characters, while placing them in harrowing fantasy situations...The story will appear to those who enjoy fantasy and will not require a knowledge of the Arthurian tales to follow. Recommended. Nice!Quill & Quire review raves about Song of the Sword
I was pleasantly--very pleasantly, as you'll see--surprised to discover a review, the first I've seen, of Shards of Excalibur: Song of the Sword in the September issue of Quill & Quire, Canada's magazine of book news and reviews. The review, by author Robert J. Wiersema, almost gave me a heart attack with the first sentence, though. It begins: Authors who incorporate, interpret, or subvert Arthurian legends in works of contemporary fantasy take a huge risk: the failure rate of such books is staggeringly high. Gulp. Fortunately, he continues with: Every so often, though, a writer is skilled enough to utilize the stories of King Arthur and Camelot to significant effect. ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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