Terry Pratchett Talks Discworld-Inspired TV Show, New Book Dodger | Underwire | Wired.com

Terry Pratchett Talks Discworld-Inspired TV Show, New Book Dodger | Underwire | Wired.com: “I fully intend there to be a Dodger sequel,” he said, but with a caveat: “as long as I’m spared. You must pray for me.” Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in December 2007. He didn’t waste the opportunity to playfully mock his fans, though: “You don’t look like a praying lot, I must say.”

Discworld City Watch Television Series | The Mary Sue

Discworld City Watch Television Series | The Mary Sue:
Diane Duane, author (of such close-to-my-childhood books as So You Want To Be A Wizard) and attendee had this to say about the panel’s contents:

The new Discworld series “The Watch” (AKA CSI:Ankh-Morpork) has been approved by Terry Pratchett and will go into production with BBC Worldwide

British Fantasy Awards 2012 - The British Fantasy Society

British Fantasy Awards 2012 - The British Fantasy Society: The British Fantasy Awards were presented yesterday, September 30th, at FantasyCon in Brighton. This year’s Judges were James Barclay, Hal Duncan, Maura McHugh, Esther Sherman, and Damien G. Walter.

“The Casual Vacancy”: Rowling on fire - Salon.com

“The Casual Vacancy”: Rowling on fire - Salon.com: “The Casual Vacancy” is an unforgiving novel. With it Rowling summons her formidable narrative skills to issue an indictment of contemporary British society, for which the provincial Pagford stands. It is fueled by anger and its final scenes have a genuine, admonitory thunder. It is not the sort of book that hordes of people would choose to read if its author had not also written a far more comforting series of stratospheric bestsellers. But perhaps the world will be better for them reading it. Rowling may not be an easy woman, but she uses her powers for good.

Announcing the 2012 Hugo Award Winners | Tor.com

Announcing the 2012 Hugo Award Winners | Tor.com: Tor books and Tor.com is especially proud to announce the Hugo award to Jo Walton for Best Novel, Among Others, and Charlie Jane Anders’ for Best Novelette, “Six Months and Three Days”.

Harry Harrison, 1925-2012 | Tor.com

Harry Harrison, 1925-2012 | Tor.com

The Wertzone: Chris Wooding calls time on the KETTY JAY series

The Wertzone: Chris Wooding calls time on the KETTY JAY series: Chris Wooding has announced that the forthcoming fourth novel in the Tales of the Ketty Jay steampunk airship series, The Ace of Skulls, will be the final book in the series. Originally Chris had planned to write a series of self-contained adventures with a few continuing elements, but during the fourth book discovered that the number of continuing storylines he'd built up had become larger than he'd planned. He's chosen to end the story definitively rather than risk it sprawling out of control across numerous volumes.

Nebula Awards Winners – Whatever

Nebula Awards Winners – Whatever:

Novel
Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)

Wrexler Flex One Ereader - A Tough And Bendy Ereader | eBookanoid.com

Wrexler Flex One Ereader - A Tough And Bendy Ereader | eBookanoid.com:

As far as I can see, the only reason to use a flexible screen on this ereader is to make it both extremely light, thin and capable of withstanding the most appallingly bad treatment. I have read descriptions of test in which they have dropped the poor thing from a height of 1.5 meters, repeatedly whacked it with a plastic hammer, and such unlikely actions, and none of these tests damaged the thing in any way. Of particular interest to me was the fact that even hitting the screen repeatedly with that hammer didn’t succeed in even scratching the screen (something the Nook GlowLight could learn from).

Read The Song of the Quarkbeast (Jasper Fforde) last week

Read The Song of the Quarkbeast last week. Its the second book of the Young Adult fantasy trilogy The Last Dragonslayer (also the name of the first book). It was a fun read. There were good mystery adventure elements as the hero, a 16 year old orphan fends off the predations of both the government and a competing magic company.
There is a good balance between fun gags, quirky characters and word play with a 'believable' fast-paced plot with sympathetic good guys and believable bad guys. Much of the humor in the series comes from the hokey way magic is codifed/described and how little respected it is despite the amazing things it is capable of. This is a world where magic carpets are only used to deliver pizza and levitation is only good for landscaping and parking control. This is set against a despotic government that shackles magic users in bureaucracy and oppressive laws restricting the use of magic.

The King stepped up to the royal microphone and gave a long rambling speech that made reference to how proud he was that the hard toil of a blindly trustful citizenry kept him and his family in the lap of luxury while war widows begged on the street, and how he thanked providence that he had been blessed to rule over a nation whose inexplicable tolerance towards corrupt despots was second to none.

The corrupt government would be dark and oppressive if it wasn't also so ineffectual, populated by bumbling bureaucrats and dim-witted aristocrats. Its funny stuff that serves up some social commentary along with the usual plucky kid outsmarting the adults you usually see in YA novels.

I introduced them all and Miss Shard said something about how it was ‘entirely convivial’ and ‘felicitous’ to meet them on ‘this auspicious occasion’, and in return they shook hands but remained wary. It pays to distance oneself from clients, especially ones who use too many long words.

Despite the Young Adult nature of the book it is always fun to read an author who enjoys playing with language.

I bid him goodbye and then took the main road towards Colonel Bloch-Draine’s country estate at Holme Lacy.

Throw in a little light romance and a couple of hokey puns and you have a thoroughly pleasant read. I look forward to the next book in the series The Return of Shandar.