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The Black Death
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/09/The-Black-Death.mp3[/podcast]The Space-Time Continuum: Sturgeon’s Law doesn’t always apply
My latest column for Freelance, the magazine of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. *** [caption id="attachment_10283" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Theodore Sturgeon"][/caption] Ever heard of Sturgeon’s Law? It does not, as you might think at first glance, regulate the caviar industry in Russia; rather, it is a general description of the world around us. Formulated by the late science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, it is usually paraphrased as, “Of course 90 percent of science fiction is crap. Ninety percent of everything is crap!” This poses a challenge to anyone who wishes to seek out the best of anything, whether movies, music...or science fiction. And if you’re just thinking of taking the plunge into the speculative fiction ...Montreal WorldCon: the science column
Every now and then I attend a science fiction convention, and when I do, I like to talk about it in this column, as part of my ongoing evangelical campaign to raise the profile of science fiction and win the genre new readers. Well, I just finished a doozy of a convention, the grandaddy of them all: the 67th annual World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal, a.k.a. Anticipation. Yes, there were people in costumes (though I only saw one Star Trek costume—an original series one, at that—and not a single Klingon). And, yes, the media tended to focus on those people. Which is fine: they’re the eye-catching ones, and they’re an important part of science fiction fandom. (And as someone who loves ...Montreal WorldCon Day 4: Hugos, a play reading, and more food
Today's highlight would ordinarily have been the Hugo Awards, presented this evening here at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal, but as it happened we were rather late arriving at the Hugos because I ended up having a dinner meeting with my edito,r Sheila Gilbert, and her fellow publisher at DAW Books, Betsy Wollheim. Among many other things, we discussed my--or, at lest, my alter ego Lee Arthur Chane's--next book, Magebane, and Sheila suggested I send along some of what I have so far after I told her I'd been struggling a bit with it. I expect that to be very helpful and was grateful she suggested it. By the time we got to the Hugos, the place was ...Hugo Awards final ballot released
The Hugo and John W. Campbell Best New Writer final ballot has been announced. Alas, Marseguro is not on it. (I and everyone else would have been shocked if it had been!)What I find most interesting about it is that three of the Best Novel nominees are young adult books: Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (which just won the Newbery Medal) and John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale. Rounding out the list are Neal Stephenson's Anathem (which will my first choice!) and Charles Stross's Saturn's Children.You can read the complete list of nominees here. To vote, you have to be a member of Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, being held ...A recommendation from Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer, Canada's best-known science fiction writer, has written a series of blog posts discussing people and things he believes are deserving of nominations for the Aurora and Hugo Awards, which will be presented at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal this August. In the last of the series, he recommends work by his writing students...one of whom is me!It was in Rob's class in writing science fiction, part of the Writing With Style program at the Banff Centre, that Marseguro was born, on September morning in 2005.Besides Marseguro, he also recommends Tony Pi, one of his students at the University of Toronto in 2001, who has stories ...Hugo nominations open
Hard on the heels of the announcement that Aurora Award nominations are open comes the announcement that the nominating period for the Hugo Awards has begun. (Why, yes, Marseguro is eligible to be nominated. Thank you for thinking of it!)The Hugos work differently than the Auroras, though. In order to nominate you must be a current members of the World Science Fiction Society, which means you were either a supporting or attending members of the 2008 Worldcon (Denvention 3) or are a supporting or attending member of the 2009 Worldcon (Anticipation). If you aren't, and you'd like to be, go here. (You'll have to buy your membership by January 31 in order to nominate.)...I’m back!
I've been away on vacation, hence the paucity of posting here, but I'm back now.And to ease back into blogging, here are the Hugo Award winners for 2007, announced Nippon 2007, the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan:Best Novel: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (Tor, 2006)Best Novella: "A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed (Asimov's, October/November 2006)Best Novelette: "The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald (Asimov's, July 2006)Best Short Story: "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt (Asimov's, July 2006)Best Related Non-Fiction Book: James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips (St. Martin's, 2006)Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Pan's Labyrinth, screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Picturehouse)Best ...Neil Gaiman one step closer to sainthood…
...and other April Fool's "stories" are at Locus Online.Apparently it is not an April Fool's story, however, that here has been a correction to the Hugo Award nominees I listed recently: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has been replaced on the long-form dramatic presentation ballot by Pan's Labyrinth.Hugo Award nominees announced
The Hugo Awards, for those who don't know, are roughly equivalent to science fiction's People's Choice Awards. Nominees are nominated and voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, and the Hugo Awards Ceremony is always a centrepiece of said convention, which this year is being held in Yokohama, Japan.Here are this year's Hugo Award nominees, which I just grabbed from John Scalzi's Whatever (the blog which has earned Scalzi, last year's John W. Campbell Award winner and Hugo Best Novel nominee, another Hugo nomination, this time as best fan writer!):NovelMichael F. Flynn, Eifelheim (Tor)Naomi Novik, His Majesty’s Dragon (Del Rey)Charles Stross, Glasshouse (Ace)Vernor Vinge, Rainbows ...
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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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