Academic Spotlight: Afrofuturism -- The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha L. Womack

This isn't an explicitly academic book, but I'm sure the academically-minded will find as much value in Ytasha Womack's upcoming Afrofuturism as anyone else who has an interest in the cultural movements within the SF/F field.  I first learned about the concept of Afrofuturism in an American Studies course on African American SF at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  We watched Sun Ra's Space is the Place, which I still think is a weird, but sort of brilliant film, and read a number of amazing works by folks like Nalo Hopkinson, Samuel R. Delany, Tananarive Due, Walter Mosley, and several others.  I mention all of this so you'll understand why I jumped up and down when I saw Womack's book on Twitter.

In any case, here are the details:

Week of Joy (Day Six): Heart of Fire by J. Damask (A Mini Interview)

J. Damask (a.k.a. Joyce Chng) was kind enough to answer a few questions about her new book, Heart of Fire, which hits digital shelves in September.  The book comes from Masque Books, a digital-only division of Prime Books, a notable small press genre publisher (notable most recently for releasing the absolutely amazing Yoon Ha Lee collection, Conservation of Shadows -- check out the Skiffy and Fanty interview here).  In other words, Heart of Fire is sure to be damned good!  Though you'll have to wait for a little while, you should bookmark this page and remember to buy it in a couple months!

Now for the mini interview:

Promo Bits: Game of Thrones (Season Three)

The news that Game of Thrones is "in production" is nothing new.  That doesn't mean this little video from HBO isn't exciting!

Enjoy!

Now the most important question of the day:
How much are you looking forward to Season Three?

Sneak Peak: Alphas Episode Promos (Syfy)

The folks behind the marketing campaign for Syfy's new/returning show, Alphas, have been sending me lots of video links.  I've decided to share those with all of you (by "share" I mean "use my blog space to point to things you might have found on Youtube if you had been looking").  If you have been watching the show, please let me know what you think in the comments.

Here are the video promos:

Sneak Peak: Alphas (Season Two)!

The marketing long arm of Syfy recently pointed me in the direction of these great sneak peaks into the second season of their hit show, Alphas (starring David Strathairn, Ryan Carthwright, Malik Yoba, and many others).  I must admit that I haven't been able to watch the show, being a poor graduate student who simply cannot afford cable, but I am quite intrigued and may have to check out the first season on DVD.

A bit about the show:

The second season of Syfy's hit series Alphas returns Monday, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars. New this season are Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Summer Glau (Dollhouse, Firefly) who was a fan favorite last season playing an Alpha, Skylar Adams, will return for three episodes.

The new season picks up eight months after last year’s stunning season finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences. Dr. Lee Rosen, having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his stunning revelation. Some of the team have disbanded and without Dr. Rosen’s care and guidance, have regressed to their old, destructive ways. They must now battle their individual demons, reunite and try to save their own.

For those of you who have been watching, the following clips should get you salivating for the upcoming season!


Who is going to watch?

Promo Bits: The Art of Carpe Chaos (Kickstarter)

The folks behind this interesting SF/F comics project contacted me in hopes that I would post something about their Kickstarter campaign.  And so I shall!

Here's the blurb:

The independent graphic novel series Carpe Chaos has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a concept art book. The team of writers and artists behind the project have amassed thousands of concepts when fleshing out their huge universe, and they are hoping for the chance to share that artwork with fans. The book will include at least 150 pages of imaginative alien creatures along with their environments, technology, and spaceships, many of which haven't yet been shown to the public. Whether you're an artist looking for inspiration or simply a concept art aficionado, this book won't disappoint! Be sure to check out the Kickstarter video to see many of the concepts that will be included in the book.

If you're interested in supporting the project, you can do so here (there are lots of rewards for donating).  So far, they've collected $1,500 of their $7,500 goal, but there are still two weeks or so to go.  You can find out more about Carpe Chaos on the website.

Below are some images related to the project:

Promo Bits: The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

The folks over at Entangled Publishing brought this interesting book to my attention, and so I am passing on the information to all of you.  (FYI:  Lynn Flewelling, author of a whole bunch of lovely books, has a blurb on the back cover!)

Here goes:

Promo Bits: The Hermetica of Elysium by Annmarie Banks

Some interesting stuff is flying through my email.  I can't read it all, so I've offered to toss up some information for all of you who might be interested.

Here goes:

1494 Barcelona. As Torquemada lights the fires of religious fervor throughout the cities of Spain, accused heretics are not the only victims. Thousands of books and manuscripts are lost to the flames as the Black Friars attempt to purge Europe of the ancient secrets of the gods and the bold new ideas that are ushering in the Renaissance.

Nadira lives a dreary life as servant to a wealthy spice merchant until the night a dying scholar is brought to the merchant’s stable, beaten by mercenaries who are on the hunt for The Hermetica of Elysium. To Nadira, words are her life: she lives them as her master’s scrivener and dreams them in her mother’s poetry. She is pursued as passionately as the fabled manuscript for her rare skill as a reader of Ancient Greek, Latin, Arabic and Hebrew that makes her valuable to men who pursue the book to exploit its magic.

Kidnapped by Baron Montrose, an adventurous nobleman, she is forced to read from the Hermetica. It is soon revealed to her that ideas and words are more powerful than steel or fire for within its pages are the words that incite the Dominicans to religious fervor, give the Templars their power and reveal the lost mysteries of Elysium.

As Nadira begins her transformation from servant to sorceress, will she escape the fires of the Inquisition, the clutches of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI and the French king, Charles VIII? And will Montrose’s growing fear of her powers cause her to lose her chance for love?

You can find out more about the book at Knox Robinson Publishing (where they have a magic excerpt).

Promo Bits: Ashes of the Black Frost by Chris Evans

It's time for a little bit of love for someone's book.  This time it's for Ashes of the Black Frost by Chris Evans, which is one of those Iron Elves books.  If you've read his books before, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Here goes:

Promo Bits: Kafkaesque edited by John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly

The wonderful folks at Tachyon Publications are up to mischief again with a new anthology called Kafkaesque, edited by John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly.  I'm letting you all know about this book because I want it, and one of you is going to buy it for me for my Birthday, which is on the 6th of October.  Seriously.  You are.  Or we're not friends anymore, you hear?  And I don't care that the book doesn't come out until November 2011.  You can pre-order it.  Or steal an ARC from a reviewer.  It's only wrong if you get caught...

Anywho.  Enough of that.  Here's the back cover blurb (ToC to follow):

Promo Bit: Department of Time Travel (A Kickstarter Project)

The fine folks behind Department of Time Travel asked if I could spread the word about their fundraising attempts. They want to product a 50-minute film and need to raise $15,000 to do it.

Here's the description:

Time travel has been theorized by authors and scientists since before time travel was even possible. Now, with the emerging business of chronosportation, the cosmos are all aflutter with chrononauts. Many of these travelers are simply peaceful tourists but there are others who intend to use the delinearization of time as a method for devious purposes.

Cue the DOTT : the American Department Of Time Travel with operations and offices all across the cosmos and chronos. One of the offices is right here in your time and they're looking to hire a new agent for operations!

Characterized as The Office meets Dr. Who meet The X-Files, DOTT promises to be a new and exciting addition to the science fiction genre. But, DOTT is not JUST another science fiction show. It promises to get back to the majesty of shows like Star Trek, that not only entertained but highlighted and addressed many of the social and political issues of it's day. A trait lost with many modern scifi series and films that attempt to wow their audiences with special effects and neat gadgets, but sadly fall short of a good story.

With your donation, a fifty minute long episode of DOTT will be shot. Donations will pay for Actors, Crew, Props and Rentals.

DOTT will not only entertain, but it will make a difference. How will your donation make a difference?

Sounds cool, doesn't it?

If you'd like to support them with a donation, see their Kickstarter page. There are fifteen days left as of this post!

P.S.: There are all kinds of cool incentives, by the way. If I had $10 I'd swing for one of those DOTT badges...

P.S.S.: Here's a video thing related to DOTT (after the fold):

Promo Bits: Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell

Buckell has hit the Internet with news about his latest book, Arctic Rising.  Set to hit shelves in Feb. 2012, it's certainly one of the few books I am eagerly anticipating.  I suspect I'll be in line (in costume) when my local B&N or indie store gets it in stock.

In any case, here's some cool stuff about the book.  First, the back cover blurb:

Global warming has transformed the Earth, and it’s about to get even hotter. The Arctic ice cap has all but melted, and the international community is racing desperately to claim the
massive amounts of oil beneath the newly accessible ocean.

Enter the Gaia Corporation. Its two founders have come up with a plan to roll back global warming. They plan to terraform Earth to save it from itself—but in doing so, they have created a superweapon the likes of which the world has never seen.

Anika Duncan is an airship pilot for the underfunded United Nations Polar Guard. She’s intent on capturing a smuggled nuclear weapon that has made it into the Polar Circle and bringing the smugglers to justice.

Anika finds herself caught up in a plot by a cabal of military agencies and corporations who want Gaia Corporation stopped. But when Gaia loses control of their superweapon, it will be Anika who has to decide the future of the world.

And the cover image:

Promo Bits: Tor at Comic-Con -- the Schedule

If you haven't received an email from them yet, then you'll be surprised to learn about all the fun things Tor Books will be up to at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con.

They include (taken from the email):

This year at the Tor Booth (#2707), we’ll not only have our popular *in-booth signings and giveaways, but you’ll also have a chance to download exclusive content via QR codes and win a tablet from our friends at Tor.com!

And finally, our esteemed Tor Staff will participate in our popular #Torchat series on Twitter, live from the con on Thursday the 21st from 10am – 11am PST. Read on for all the details!

And (the schedule of Tor-related events):

Promo Bits: Robocalypse Book Trailer (German Edition)

I'll be honest: I don't speak German and half of the words spoken in the video below are unintelligible to me. But the video is too damn awesome to ignore!

Check it out (after the fold):

Promo Bits: Lord of the Rings: Returning to Theaters!

The title only gives you have the picture.  It's been a long while since RotK hit the big screen.  Now we can see the extended cut the way it was meant to be seen!

Here's the info:

Return to Middle-earth as the most magical epic adventure in motion picture history comes to the big screen this June for a three-night theatrical event series. NCM Fathom and Warner Home Video are bringing all three The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition films to movie theaters nationwide so that you an experience them the way they were meant to be seen – on the big screen!

The events will begin with a new and personal introduction for each film from The Lord of the Rings™ director Peter Jackson captured from the set of his current film, and The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, and will be immediately followed by the Extended Edition feature presentations which altogether include nearly three hours of additional feature footage carefully selected by Peter Jackson.

The Academy Award®-winning trilogy will be featured in an exclusive series of three in-theater events including The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring™ on June 14, 2011; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers™ on June 21, 2011; and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King™ on June 28, 2011. Each event will begin at 7:00 p.m. local time.

Participating theaters and tickets can be found at www.fathomevents.com – limited seats available!

I don't know if they are showing where you live, but nothing can beat seeing the extended cuts on the big screen!

Promo Bits: Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh

I figured this would be of interest to you guys:

Soft Apocalypse is the extraordinary debut novel by Will McIntosh. It follows the journey of a tribe of formerly middle class Americans as they struggle to find a place for themselves and their children in a new, dangerous world. A world that still carries the ghostly echoes of their previous lives.

What happens when resources become scarce and society starts to crumble? As the competition for resources pulls America's previously stable society apart, the "New Normal" is a Soft Apocalypse. This is how our world ends; with a whimper instead of a bang.

Soft Apocalypse is a must read and available now! For a sneak peak at the first two chapters, click here.

Here's the cover image (after the fold):

ToC for ODD? (vol. one) Released (and It Looks Good!)

Jeff VanderMeer has released the table of contents for the first volume of the upcoming anthology called ODD? (edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer). Here's the list:

Amos Tutuola – “The Dead Babies”
Gustave Le Rouge – “The War of the Vampires” (new translation by Brian Evenson and David Beus)
Jeffrey Ford – “Weiroot”
Leopoldo Lugones – “The Bloat Toad” (new translation by Larry Nolen)
Mark Samuels – “Apt 205”
Michael Cisco – “Modern Cities Exist Only to Be Destroyed” (published only in a limited edition previously)
Nalo Hopkinson – “Slow Cold Chick”
Sumanth Prabhaker – “A Hard Truth About Waste Management” (revised since publication)
Hiromi Goto – “Stinky Girl”
Eric Basso – “Logues”
Edward Morris – “Lotophagi”
Karin Tidbeck – “The Aunts” (previously unpublished)
Jeffrey Thomas – “The Fork”
Rikki Ducornet – “The Volatilized Ceiling of Baron Munodi”
Amanda le Bas de Plumetot – “Unmaking” (previously unpublished)
Karl Hans Strobl – “The Head” (new translation by Gio Clairval)
Caitlin R. Kiernan – “A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills”
Stacey Levine – “Sausage”

I'll admit that I haven't heard of a number of folks on this list, but the fact that Amos Tutuola, Jeffrey Ford, and Nalo Hopkinson are on it tells me a lot about the quality and the vision of the anthology. You better believe that this sucker will be on my Christmas list.

What do you all think of it?

Promo Bits: Gantz (Live Action Film) Premieres on the Jan. 20th,2011!

I recently received an email about this event and decided that, since I'm planning to go, you all should know about it so you can go too.

Here's the info (after the fold):

Brandon Sanderson: New Fantasy Titles Coming Soon!

For those of you who are fans of Brandon Sanderson, he's got two more books in the pipeline (according to Tor)!  (And, yes, I realize I'm not the only one throwing this information out there).

Here's the press release:

The Choir Boats: Free eBook Download and Promo Bits

Author Daniel Rabuzzi recently emailed me to let me know that his novel, The Choir Boats, is available as a free eBook (pdf) download at WOWIO (only until the end of the month). What is The Choir Boats? It's a novel published by ChiZine Publications, a small press of considerable note, actually, which is described as follows (after the fold, hopefully):

What would you give to make good on the sins of your past? For merchant Barnabas McDoon, the answer is: everything.

When emissaries from a world called Yount offer Barnabas a chance to redeem himself, he accepts their price—to voyage to Yount with the key that only he can use to unlock the door to their prison. But bleak forces seek to stop him: Yount's jailer, a once-human wizard who craves his own salvation, kidnaps Barnabas's nephew. A fallen angel—a monstrous owl with eyes of fire—will unleash Hell if Yount is freed. And, meanwhile, Barnabas's niece, Sally, and a mysterious pauper named Maggie seek with dream-songs to wake the sleeping goddess who may be the only hope for Yount and Earth alike.

And some notes from the author:

The Choir Boats was selected by January Magazine as a Top Ten YA Novel for 2009. Reviewers describe it as “Gulliver’s Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop of Pride and Prejudice,” and as "a muscular, Napoleonic-era fantasy that, like Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series, will appeal to both adult and young adult readers."

This special edition of the novel includes bonus illustrations by Deborah A. Mills. It's also DRM-free, so it can be read on any platform compatible with PDFs, and shared with friends just like a regular book.

I've officially put this book on my Amazon wishlist. It sounds like an awesome read, don't you think?

And, of course, no promo would be complete without a cover image:
You can find out more about the author at his website.