Science Fiction News & Recent Science Review for the Spring 2008

This page builds on the seasonal science fiction news previously posted.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

EDITORIAL MATTERS

Nothing out of the ordinary for the Concat' team last season (autumn up to Christmas 2007). A number of those vaguely connected with the loose association that passes for Concat' attended various conventions including the Eurocon and British Fantasycon but sadly no Worldcon report as previously hoped. Any sorrow this might have engendered was quickly dispelled by the Christmas and New Year festivities that the core team held in various combinations of individuals across Britain's midlands. Then there was the rush to code-check and load this seasonal volume early in January. It's the same every year. Our best wishes to you all for 2008.

BREAKING NEWS. With sadness we relay the news that the partner of one of the Concat' team's core members has just died. There had been a long period of illness but past recovery has meant that this news still has come somewhat out of the blue. We are sure that you will understand that this may result in some hiccoughs in our activities and trust that you will bear with us. No e-mails please as we have enough to deal with and in any case only those close to the core team need know the details. Naturally our heartfelt condolences go to our colleague.

Concat' Site Update Alert Service: You can receive e-mail alerts (only every other month) letting you know when this site has an update. This alert service is free and your e-mail addresses will not be passed on to other parties. For details see the bottom of this news page. SF to your computer at near the speed of light. :-)

Help support Concatenation: Get Essential Science Fiction which is also available from Amazon.co.uk. In addition to helping this site it makes a great present and helps you do your bit to spread the genre word. See also news of signed copies from Porcupine Books (who can send you copies cheaper than Amazon...).

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

MAJOR HEADLINE LINKS

Our autumn news saw the Hugo and Locus Award results, this season therefore must be a look back at the Nobel Prizes. This year's wins include a politician who made a film and an SF writer -- click here for Nobel details below.

Galaxies magazine in hiatus click here for details

The 2006 Blue Planet Prizes have been announced -- click here for Blue Planet details below.

SF awards last season included: the Canadian Prix Aurora Awards, the French Utopiales Awards, the German SF Awards, Germany's Fantastic Prize, Russia's Big Zilant and Spain's Ignotus. On the fantasy front the World Fantasy and International Horror Awards and the British Fantasy Awards have been presented.

Most anticipated films of 2008 revealed by survey of 2,000 -- click here for details

Top books and films of the past year (2007). click here for details

New SF on-line film and TV channel -- click here for details

A new exotic 'element' has been created out of both matter and anti-matter particles. click here for details

Holy confinement! -- Batman held in airtight bag in bank vault!!!! -- click here for details below.

NEW YEAR STOP PRESS: SF product of January 2008 -- Discworld Collector's Calendar and Discworld Diary alias Lu-Tze Yearbook of Enlightenment by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, illustrated by Paul Kidby. Apologies for the late notice but we got news of these after we posted last season's news. The good news is that if you are quick off the mark in the New Year you may well be able to pick these up. These are one-off collector's items so even if you don't need a diary or calendar they are still worth getting and can only accrue in value. Go on, you know it makes sense for Gollancz to have few stock returns.
          Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collector's Calendar 2008 £12.99. ISBN 978-0-575-0-8044-7.
          Lu-Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008 (a 2008 diary with many extra bits) by Terry Pratchett with Stephen Briggs and Paul Kidby, £12.99. ISBN 978-0-575-0-7724-9.

Call the above a plug for the Lu-Tze Yearbook of Enlightenment? Balderdash! What is wanted is an excerpt of the sage advice given! Oh all right then, don't say we don't aim to please (please). Here goes...
Fasting ...Lu-Tze's considerable experience of human nature has led him to devise
the following rules:-
          When you decide you are going to fast, eat as much as
          you can first. This is vitally important for successful fasting.
          If you begin to feel peckish, the following things do not count as breaking the fast:-
                - Anything you didn't mean to eat
                - Food tasted while preparing food
                - Anything you don't like
                - Rice cakes
                - Slimming food (the more slimming food you eat, the
                  slimmer you will become and the less you will have eaten.
                  Homeopathic food works the other way.)

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

NEWS

MAJOR SCIENCE & SF NEWS

The 2007 Nobel wins were:-
          Peace Prize goes to Al Gore and the InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for their work on disseminating understanding on anthropogenic climate change concerns. Al Gore made the film An Inconvenient Truth while the IPCC co-ordinated hundreds of scientists to write its 'assessment reports' (sets of which came out in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2007). Now, normally the Nobel accrues a cash windfall for the winners with a 10 million Swedish krona prize (£763,000, US$1,540,000). Half of this will go to the IPCC but as literally thousands of scientists were involved in writing and the extensive peer review of these reports then in theory, if divided equally they will each get a hundred or so pounds sterling. Meanwhile it should be noted that Al Gore's film is more a polemic on climate change and while its core message (humans are changing the global climate) is correct, some (just some) of its content is not backed by science.
          Literature Prize goes to British SF writer Doris Lessing. At 87 years and with a writing career so far of 57 years, Doris Lessing has written a body of science fiction and other works. She has, of course, been recognised for her genre work by fans and was one of the Guests of Honour at the 1987 Worldcon (Brighton, UK). Her genre works include: Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971) which was short-listed for a Booker Award, The Summer Before the Dark (1973), The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) which became a film (1981), The Fifth Child (1988) and more recently The Cleft (2007) to which we gave a 'title alert'. On her SF, many mainstream commentators reporting the win have cited her -- what they call 'sci-fi' -- 'Canopus' series. These explore personal dramas in differing societies on different worlds that are loosely part of the Canopan Empire. The sequence begins with Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta (1979) and includes The Sirian Experiments (1981) which was also short-listed for a Booker Award. Meanwhile most news reports have cited her (non-SF) 'breakout work' (excuse the term) The Golden Notebook (1962) that has often been described as a feminist bible. Harper Collins will no doubt be blowing the dust off Lessing's backlist (though, as The Guardian pointed out, Harold Pinter's sales actually went down after his Nobel win). Harper is indeed to re-release The Memoirs of a Survivor through its perennial imprint. +++ Then in December Lessing blasted the internet society (oops -- is that us?), the possible decline of books (phew, we encourage novel and non-fiction reading), and Zimbabwe's regime. Details lower down here.
          Medicine Prize goes to Mario Capecchi (US), Martin Evans (UK) and Oliver Smithies (US citizen formerly UK subject), for their gene targeting and removal (knock out) technique that has enabled special strains of 'knock-out' animals (often mice are used) so that the function of individual genes can be elucidated. So far more than 10,000 mice genes -- that is about half -- have been knocked out and more than 500 different mouse models of human disorders have been developed. These last include cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases, as well as diabetes and cancer.
          Chemistry Prize goes to Gerhard Ertl (Germany) for solid surface chemistry. We tend to think of chemistry as mixing gas and liquids but many reactions take place on solid surfaces (for example rusting). His work has enhanced understanding of Haber nitrogen fixation (important for fertilizer production) and the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum surfaces (used in car catalytic converters).
          Physics Prize goes to Albert Fert (France) and Peter Grunberg (Germany) for their discovery of 'giant magnetoresistance' (GMR) in the late 1980s. Here weak magnetic changes give rise to big differences in electrical resistance. It has been fundamental in hugely increasing the sensitivity of hard-disc readers and so enabled the development of lap-top computers in the late 1990s and the continued development of smaller and more powerful home PCs to date.
          Biology Prize -- there is no Nobel Prize for biology so biologists have to make do with the Medicine or (if they are molecular biologists) chemistry, prizes. This has long been a bone of contention but you won't see it reported in Nobel win coverage.

What were the best books and SF films of the past year (2007)? With folk gearing up for the 2008 awards for what it is worth we cite our hot tips of offerings that caught our attention in the UK.
         Films:
                    Exitz (substantially for rarity of exposure)
                    I am Legend (for the vision of Matheson's empty future)
                    The Last Man (strictly for fantastic film die hards)
                    28 Weeks Later (brilliant sequel)
                    There seems to be some theme developing here. Cough, cough.
         Books - Science Fiction:
                    Divergence by Tony Ballantyne
                    Brasyl by Ian MacDonald
                    Cowboy Angels by Paul McAuley
                    Black Man by Richard Morgan
                    The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds
                    Interestingly apart from a Tor (UK) title the rest are Gollancz which might (or might not) say something about where SF is at in Brit Cit. Alternatively it might be the 'm' in the name gene.
         Books - Fantasy:
                    Fatal Revenant: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Book 2 by Stephen Donaldson
                    Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
                    Making Money by Terry Pratchett
          TV offerings, well when it comes to the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form from recent years alone Dr Who is likely to get a nomination or two (especially for The Master episodes). Heroes may well get a nomination for season one, though may suffer because of the season two downturn. If there is any justice then Jekyll should get a nomination but it may not have had the profile in North America.
          Non-fiction SF, no choice really, the essential non-fiction SF 'must buy' of the year has to be Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of SF by Jeff Prucher. Now this could be the kiss of death as Jonathan, who raved over this, totally slammed the The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction a few years ago and that went on to win a non-fiction Hugo! (Of course some Hugo wins have been decidedly surprising given the short-list titles they were up against.) Though in fairness to Jonathan he did check that review with our two main co-editors who declined to review the book themselves. In fairness to us collectively, with the benefit of hindsight nearly all our past recommendations of the year have gone to win one or more awards. So it will be interesting to see how this year's recommendations fare.

The 2007 Utopiales prizes have been awarded. Summary con report below. The principal category award wins were:-
Utopiales Prix Européen: La Zone du Dehors [Out of the Zone] by Alain Damasio. (Which comes with 3,000 Euros (£2,160, US$4,440).)
Best French Novel: Bloodsilver by Wayne Barrow.
Prize for Best Foreign Novel: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson.
Prize for Best New (translated to French) Foreign Novel: Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. le Guin.
Prize for Best Francophone Novel: L'Immaculée Conception [The Immaculate Conception].
Prize BD Best Graphic Novel: Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Jury Grand Prix (film decided by jury panel): Gadkie Lebedi [Ugly Swans] by Russia's Konstantin Lopushanski.
SF Prix du Jury (film decided by vote): Black Sheep by New Zealand's Jonathan King.
A special film prize went to David Delrieux for his TV film Flowers for Algernon which is of course based on the Hugo-winning short story (1959) and expanded novel (1966) of the same name by Daniel Keyes.

The 2007 German SF Awards have been announced:-
Best Novel: Die fünf Seelen der Ahnen [The Five Souls of the Ancestors] by Ulrike Nolte.
Best Short Story: 'Canea Zero' ['Canis Zero'] by Marcus Hammerschmitt in Visionen 3 [Visions 3].
The German SF Award is given by the Science Fiction Club Deutschland [German SF Club] and this year was presented at the SFCD's Jahrescon in Dresden in September just as our last season's news was being coded. Both writers were present to accept their wins. The German SF Awards come with a 1,000 Euro (£670, US$1,300) cash prize. (This award is not to be confused with Germany's Kurd Lasswitz Prize (whose 2007 winners we announced last time) which is decided on by Germany's SF professionals.)

Germany's Fantastic Prizes for 2007 were awarded at the BuchmesseCon book fayre cum convention in October. The principal category wins were for:-
Best Novel: Die Mächte des Feuers [The Powers of the Fire] by Mark Heitz.
Best Translated Novel: Die Rebellin - Gilde der Schwarzen Magier [The Rebel - Guild of a Black Magician] by Trudi Canavan.
Best First Novel: Die Trolle [The Trolls] by Christoph Hardebusch.
Best Original Anthology: Der Dünne Mann - Edgar Allan Poes Phantastische [The Thin Man - Edgar Allan Poe's Fantasy] edited by Alisha Bionda.
          Interestingly the first two runners up to the Translated Novel category were for Stephen King's Love and Sergei Lukyanenko's Wächter des Tages [The Day Watch]. Stephen King is, of course well known in both North America and western Europe but, given that Sergei Lukyanenko's books are now beginning to make an impression in these countries and now Germany (so building on his considerable reputation in Russia, the Ukraine, and other countries were Russian is commonly spoken), perhaps we might see other of Lukyanenko's books translated into English?
          Germany's Fantastic Prizes are decided on by on-line poll of visitors to the German website Phantastik News in two rounds: a nomination one and the finals.

Canada's Prix Aurora awards were announced at Vcon 32 (the 27th Canvention) in British Columbia. The principal category winners were:-
Best Long-form Book in English: Children of Chaos by Dave Duncan.
Best Long-form Book in French: Reine de Mémoire 4. La Princesse de Vengeance [Memory Queen 4: The Princess of Vengeance] by Elisabeth Vonarburg.
Artistic Achievement: Martin Springett (see www.martinspringett.com).
Fan Achievement Organisational: Cathy Palmer-Lister for Con*Cept.
          The award comes under the aegis of the Canadian SF and F Association and has been presented each year since 1980. This year 175 fans voted in two (nominating and final) rounds with the greatest interest in the English fiction, artist and fan organisational categories.

Spain's Ignotus awards were announced at this year's Hispacon at a special dinner. The principal category winners were:-
Best Novel: Juglar [Jongleur] by Rafael Marín.
Best Non-fiction Book: El Universo de la Ciencia-Ficción [The Universe of Science Fiction] by Sergio Gaut vel Hartman.
Best audio-visual production: El Laberinto del Fauno [Pan's Labyrinth] directed by Guillermo del Toro.
For details of the other wins and Spain's national convention this year see the Hispacon review article.

Russia's 'Big Zilant' award in 2007 went to authors Yuri Braider and Nikolai Chadovich who worked together as a writing team. The award wins were announced at the 16th International Festival of Fantastic Fiction and Role Playing Games, Zilantkon. Sadly Yuri Braider died in 2006. (Brief con-report below here.) The Big Zilant goes to works of writers considered significant but which have not yet received Russia's other big awards.

The 2007 British Fantasy Awards were announced at Fantasycon back at the end of September. The principal winners were:-
Best Novel: Dusk by Tim Lebbon
Best Collection: Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
The British Fantasy Society Special Award: 'The Karl Edward Wagner Award' went to Ellen Datlow.
Full details of the other categories are on the Fantasycon website www.fantasycon.org.uk.

The 2007 Blue Planet Prize has been awarded to Prof Joseph Sax (lawyer) and Dr Amory Lovins (energy strategist). The prize commends annually two achievements of individuals and organizations that have significantly contributed to the resolution of global environmental problems. Joseph Sax (US) for his contributions to environmental protection law and Amory Lovins (US) for his work on low (soft) energy strategies. Each gets a certificate and 50 million yen (about £223,700 or US$447,400). The winners gave commemorative lectures at the UN University, Tokyo (Japan), in October. The Award is sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation. +++ Last year's winners here.

Hollywood writers have been on strike. Studios are not paying them residuals (effectively royalties) on DVD and internet use of their material. The argument the studios use is that these are in the main not commercial and are used to promote films, hence of no commercial value. Meanwhile Viacom and other large studios are suing You Tube for using their material and estimate that their annual internet rights' value is around US$500 million (£245 million) a year. Go figure? +++ Also Harlan Ellison has a related comment -- see below. +++ Also the strike has caused a production gap at Britain's Pinewood studios which, though a key UK cinematic resource, has already been struggling. Apparently a £3 million (US$6m) shortfall could affect the end-of-year accounts. +++ Striking writers use Star Trek message. Their campaigning slogans include: 'Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few', and 'Beam us down some justice'. +++ George (Sulu) Takei is reported on Sci Fi Wire as saying, "This is really corporate greed vs. the creative people." +++ Fans4Writers have auctioned scripts from Battlestar Galactica, Smallville and Buffy with proceeds to the Writers Guild of America and the WGA Solidarity Fund.

Sci-Fi-London.TV the on-line free TV channel launched with films old and new as well as author interviews. Last time we reported the imminent launch of Sci-Fi-London.TV but the content has been even better than we expected. The first visitors had a choice of several films to show from golden oldies to more recent independent works as well as an author interview (with more soon to follow). Among the golden oldies was the new extended version of Things To Come (1936) that had its premiere at the last Sci-Fi London film fest. First up on the author front was an interview with William Gibson. If you have the ability to watch online video then you may want to add www.sci-fi-london.tv to your favourites.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

PEOPLE: MAJOR SF & SCIENCE AUTHOR AND ARTIST NEWS

Brian Aldiss looked at global warming and SF in The Guardian. +++ There is some discussion as to a possible film adaptation of Brian's novel Non-Stop. Brian comments, 'Pretty quick off the mark, since it appeared only half a century ago'.

Isaac Asimov video clips posted on BBC's Horizon page. The 1965 mini interview clips last only around a minute. In one he discusses robotics and in another the drift towards each other of humans with more metal bits and machines with more organic components. Quick! Check out the site before it is taken down (and we remove this link in our next net-rot excision) see the page here.

Margaret Atwood extols Huxley's Brave New World (1932) in a major Guardian article (17.11.07). She says it stands up well after 75 years and is still 'vibrant, fresh, and somehow shocking as when [she] first read it'.... All this probably means, and we would certainly concur, that if you have not yet read this classic then you are in for a real treat. +++ The following week readers John Hoyles (Hull) and Alan Myers (Hitchin, Herts) commented that Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel My [English trans. We] (1924) was a seminal precursor to 1984 and Brave New World which Orwell acknowledged as an influence on his novel. Meanwhile David Tester from Somerset opined that Zamytin, Huxley and Orwell, as well as Fritz (Metropolis) Lang were influenced by H. G. Wells' The Sleeper Wakes (1897). +++ Meanwhile talking of SF trope inspiration, below we note that the film I am Legend was not only inspired by Matheson's novel and the film The Omega Man but that Mary Shelly explored the same plague-decimates-humanity theme much earlier.

Cory Doctorow says that the SFWA have mucked up legitimate SF criticism that promotes the genre on Scribd website. This happened just as we were link-checking and posting last time's seasonal news column in September (hence is the oldest news in this section). In case you missed it what happened was that the Science Fiction Writers of America complained that Scribd allowed postings of Silverberg's and Asimov's and other SF authors' works so breaking copyright. Scribd then did a search on the SF titles the SFWA gave and removed them. However the search accidentally caught SF comment and criticism articles that mentioned titles and these too were removed. While the SFWA is laudably addressing copyright piracy issues, and citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, they are being heavy handed in that not all SFWA members want to be so championed. Cory Doctorow is himself quite liberal about e-use in that free electronic access can promote hard-copy sales. He also says he has previously asked the SFWA not represent him in negotiating rights with electronic publishing venues. He also is reported of having the view that the collateral damage to SF reviewers and commentators has not only seen such folk maligned but it is not good for the genre. +++ Scribd has re-instated the critical works and the SFWA has disbanded its e-piracy committee pending a review of SFWA members' views on copyright. +++ We at Concatenation find this debate interesting and very relevant to the early 21st century. As it happens we ourselves post a free access selection of SF authors' works with the Nature 'SF Futures' short stories. However we do have a formal memorandum of understanding with the publishers of Nature and we also seek permission of each author before we post. (Fingers-crossed, as yet no author has said 'no' but if they do we will respect that.)

Arthur C. Clarke is 90. Well he made it (we were a tad lacking in the faith department hence our last season announcement). To mark the occasion, Arthur has posted a nine minute vid-cast on YouTube. Regrets: loss of his cohort over the years. Wishes: evidence of ETI; humanity kicking the fossil habit; and peace in Sri Lanka. We sincerely hope he gets at least one of these in his remaining years: all three might be pushing it.

Harlan Ellison speaks out on the need for writers to be paid. SF Signal notes a Harlan Ellison You Tube clip with the author speaking out specifically about Warner Brothers asking him to do a free interview for a Babylon 5 DVD but, as SF Signal notes, this is germane to the Hollywood writers strike -- see above. +++ Let's hope he gets his cut for the next Star Trek film should it use the elements he created in its plot -- see below.

Harry Harrison hints at film adaptation of one of his novels. See story in the film section.

Stephen King likes the latest cinematic adaptation of one of his stories. See the item in the film sub-section below.   He is also getting his second face lift in as many years with Hodder in the UK giving 40 novels on his backlist new style covers. The author's name will be large (taking up half the cover) in scrawly font and the King backlist republished in paperback.

Doris Lessing wins Nobel for literature (see above story) but is in ill-health. +++ Then in December for her Nobel acceptance speech she submitted a recording as her health prevented her attending the award ceremony. In it she spoke fearfully of the internet society and its 'fragmenting' culture. She pointed out that "writers do not come out of houses without books" and that today despite education some people have 'read' nothing (not books). The internet has seduced a whole generation. She contrasted her experiences with her former home Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa where people were clamouring for books. She was critical of President Mugabe's regime. "It is said that a people gets the Government it deserves, but I do not think it is true of Zimbabwe. She was also critical of the modern publishing industry and felt sorry for young writers who cannot get publish, cannot write what they want and who are disillusioned.

H. P. Lovecraft is to have another story turned to film.

Sergei Lukyanenko revealed to western fans at this year's Eurocon that his 'Night Watch' books, that have in Europe and N. America been marketed as a trilogy, actually have more than three in the series... There is a fourth volume and possibly a fifth to come. +++ The second 'Night Watch' film, Day Watch was released in western Europe in October. +++ His The Day Watch also runs up in Germany's Fantastic Prize. +++ Sergei's Knights of Forty Islands may become a film?

Paul McAuley champions science in SF (sort of) in his blog. Commenting on a Paul Kincaid (a British fan) piece that suggests that mainstream authors are doing a better job of portraying science and scientists than SF writers, Paul McAuley cites several examples of where science and scientists feature strongly in SF. (See his blog entry here.) +++ McAuley's latest SF novel is reviewed here.

Larry Niven returns to 'Known Space' see story below. +++ We understand he has also recently had an eye operation to remove a cataract and that this has gone well. His other eye may need attendion.

Terry Pratchett tragically announces that he is ill! Calling it 'an embuggerance', unfortunately he appears to have a form of early onset Alzheimer's. He asks us to keep things cheerful and says that this is an early diagnosis so that he has some time left. He says that he would like to meet current and future commitments but obviously we all have to be understanding and we must respect it is his choice as to which events and conventions he would like to attend while he can. No offers of help. Lets try to keep it business as usual. More details here under 'December 2007': www.paulkidby.com.

Philip Pullman has moved from Scholastic to Random House for the UK publication of Once Upon a Time in the North. It is part of the 'His Dark Materials' sequence. +++ Pullman story stirs religious fundamentalists - story below in 'Interface' section. +++ Before Christmas he was a principal guest on BBC Radio 4's Go For It programme in which he revealed: which he hates more -- in-growing toenails or people getting his characters' names wrong; that his animal demon would be a jackdaw as these birds always steal glittery things which is what writers do; that his next novel will be set in the universe of 'His Dark Materials' but will be a separate story to that trilogy, and that this novel is currently a third complete with the possibility of coming out in 2009/10.

Roberto Quaglia, it is reported, has had an enjoyable encounter with Dario Fo (a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature) in which the trials and tribulations of writing were probably discussed. It has been quite a year for Roberto as earlier he appeared in a vest in the Russian edition of Penthouse in which you can see an SF writer as you have never seen one before. (No elbowing now ladies (or gents).) +++ In December he was interviewed by Italy's new and first on-line TV channel to discuss 9/11 -- the subject of Roberto's last non-fiction book. +++ Also Roberto has this year completed a joint collection of themed short stories, The Beloved of My Beloved with the British writer Ian Watsonand this is currently seeking a publisher for the English-language edition. Five of the stories from this collection have been published separately elsewhere in both print and on-line publications to some critical acclaim...

Alastair Reynolds is interviewed in Physics World, the house magazine of the Institute of Physics (the UK professional body for physicists). In it he says: "I had always been interested in science, but the thing that pushed me into considering a career in it was seeing Carl Sagan's TV series Cosmos in the early 1980s. At this time I was also an avid reader of science fiction, and I had begun to read some of Isaac Asimov's and Arthur C Clarke's non-fiction books about science. Together with a deep fascination with the night sky that I had retained from an early age, this prompted me to do a degree in physics and astronomy at Newcastle University in the UK." He also said, "I noticed that many of the writers I enjoyed - Clarke, Gregory Benford, Joe Haldeman - were either practising scientists, or had studied physics and astronomy at some point. That galvanized me to take my studies even more seriously."   As such he is part of the cadre of modern scientists turned on to science by SF. The full interview is here.

J. K. Rowling who, as is commonly known, has few public engagements, conducted a mini-tour of the US appearing in Hollywood, New Orleans and New York. This was her first US tour since 2000. During it, while at the Carnegie Hall in New York, she outed her Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore as gay. She said she regarded her Potter books as a 'prolonged argument for tolerance'. She also opined that it would give certain groups (possibly referring to Christians who do not turn the other cheek and who feel that the books promote witchcraft) one more reason not to like her books. There has, as one might suspect, been some comment on fan sites. SF Scope's was to say 'so what?' in a reasoned way. +++ A copy of Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard has sold for £2 million (US$4m) The book is just one of seven made. The book itself is referred to in the final Harry Potter novel as containing clues for Harry to defeat Voldemort. Six copies went to those close to Rowling and the HP books. The seventh was auctioned for charity. The £2m reached was 39 times its estimated pre-auction value. The seven copies are all hand written by Rowling.

Robert Sawyer does robotics in Science -- see story below in our science & SF interface section.

Ridley Scott turns to fantasy in a surprise move having earlier had harsh words about SF films. Story below in the film subsection.

Mary Shelley, most famous for Frankenstein, has her novel The Last Man (1826) turned into a film. Story below.

George Takei has an asteroid named after him -- see item in the Science & SF Interface subsection below.

Jeff and Ann VanderMeer to compile 8 multi-author anthologies in 2008. These build on the success of last year's Best American Fantasy. The titles will be published in the US and are: The New Weird; Steampunk; The Leonardo Variations; Best American Fantasy 2; Fast Ships, Black Sails; Mapping the Beast: The Best of Leviathan & Album Zutique and Last Drink Bird Head. Some of these are to come out through his resurrected Ministry of Whimsy Press as an imprint of Wyrm Publishing. +++ The Ministry of Whimsy Press went into hibernation at the beginning of 2005 as Jeff found it difficult to juggle his real job with both editing, publishing and writing.

Vladimir Vasilyev has been interviewed by Mobi.ru (a commercial mobile phone and gadget site) on the topic of... well, er... mobile phone technology. (Vladimir is a young but respected Russian SF and fantasy writer who has several stand-alone novels out as well as collaborations with other leading SovBlock nation writers. He also is a keen yachtsman.) In the interview he says he contemplated the idea of mobile phones while at school (with a friend who is also now also an SF writer) in the mid-1980s. He says that given the technology the explosion of mobile phone technology was inevitable as humans are essentially a social species. He views much of the plethora of mobile technology facilities as unnecessary using only the phone, text, alarm and clock functions. Use of mobiles to access the internet is largely trivial unless you are away from towns and cities. He was asked whether the GPS was useful considering his yachting but replied that the mobile GPS is not comparable to technology such as the Garmin 172C. As to the question of a direct neural mobile interface with the internet he noted that the 'biotechnology' is no where near and in any case there are safety and security concerns.

Sean Williams is to explain what happened in that gap between the two trilogies of Star Wars films. See report below.

Robert Charles Wilson sees his novel Blind Lake quarantined! This is not quite as bad as it sounds. What has happened is that it has just been translated and released in Germany by publishers Heyne. What they have done is change the title from Blind Lake to Quarantine [Quarantäne] (because in the novel the Blind Lake observatory gets quarantined). However this might cause some confusion with Greg Egan's novel of the same name. +++ Wilson's Spin recently won Germany's 2007 Kurd Lasswitz prize in the best translated novel category and one of France's Utopiales Prizes. Good to see Canadian Wilson get appreciated in other European languages (and of course it won a Hugo in 2006 for Best SF Novel of 2005). +++ In December Wilson commented about his latest novel Vortex. It is a sequel to Spin. This is his first follow-up book and is actually part of a trilogy. What it is not, Wilson said, is Spin redux. "Can consciousness arise in a medium other than the human brain? Can it be distributed over time and space? How big can a thought be? Can a 'mind' exist across vast spans of time?" he said. "Plus one of the biggest SF questions of all: Does the human race have a special status in the cosmos, or are we just one more short-lived terrestrial species enjoying our brief day in the sun?" He added: "I want each book in the trilogy to occupy its own narrative space."

For SF author websites click SF author links.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

FILM NEWS

Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man has been turned into a film. Published in 1826, the novel is set at the end of the 21st century. In it Britain's population is decimated and the surviving Americans come over and invade Europe. Fortunately this war of survivors ends before humanity dies out. As such the novel hugely resonates today with Britain now a second rate power to US cultural and economic imperialism and, of course, the idea of a global pandemic given current avian flu and post-SARS concerns. The film is a low budget one by Hollywood standards and opinion so far on websites and blogs has been mixed with some saying that the film suffers because of this and others that it does not matter: so we guess you should make your own mind up. The film is out in the US but not, so far, in Europe. Let's hope that some film festivals show it and that we get a DVD over here. The film arguably owes a little to Matheson's I am Legend novel (1954) which itself is now a new film. (See immediately below.)

I am Legend has been released to a record ticket sale as well as discussion comparing novel and the ending. The film's December launch night saw US$76.5million (£38.25 m) taken at the box office: this is the biggest take for a December opening night in the US to date. (The previous December opening day record holder was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003 which took US$72m.) After 12 days of North American release it had taken well over US$150m (£75m). It opened in a number of continental European countries prior to Christmas and took US$25.3 (£12.65m). Then it opened in Britain on Boxing Day so that Worldwide by early New Year it had taken US$195m (£97.5m). Akiva Goldsman who co-wrote the screenplay of the latest version of Matheson's I am Legend novel (1954) has said that the film is in fact both an adaptation of the novel mixed together with a re-make of the Omega Man (1971) that starred Charlton Heston (who got to demonstrate his real-life love of guns). One of the most debated points has been the ending, not only with regards as to how Matheson's novel ends (which gives meaning to the title) but because the new I am Legend film makers (in true Hollywood style) at the very last minute decided to go back and re-shoot the ending. Of course what this means is that the DVD will now have as part of its extras an alternative ending. (No chance of having that as part of the main film as was done with the Brit film 28 Days Later: that would be too honest a directorial pitch to viewers.) +++ Other changes of lesser concern are the resetting of the action to the near-future (2012) New York rather than Los Angeles 1954. Part of the 2012 near-future trappings include a poster for the movie Batman vs. Superman (if ever made then that would be a world's finest film (ho, ho, comics buff joke)). Also the price of a gallon of oil is given as US$663: let's see how this stands the test of time with regards to 2001: A Space Odyssey's price of a satellite telephone call.
+++ We posted a link to the I am Legend trailer last time. +++ Gollancz has produced a 2007 printing of I am Legend Matheson's 1954 novella. +++ History note: I Am Legend is the 4th adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. It follows 1964's The Last Man on Earth, 1971's The Omega Man, and the 2007 straight-to-DVD release I Am Omega.

Alien film future hinted. Further to last time's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem news the film is now out. The film takes up the story arc not longer after the events of Alien vs. Predator and we will not spoil the plot for you here save to say that that report was not that far off the mark. The other thing we can say without spoiling the story, is that the soundtrack in the new film relates more closely to both the first Alien and the Predator films. It is also a bit of a romp. All well and good, but what of the future? Directors Colin and Greg Strause told reported following pre-launch showings (an oxymoronic term if ever there was one) that the next film to come may well be set in space. The Earthbound near-future storyline has run its course. The next film might perhaps be set at a time just before the events of the first Alien film. Whether or not it will set up the comics version of the alien and predator universe remains to be seen but the way things are panning out so far leaves that a very real option.

The most anticipated films of 2008 are revealed by movietickets.com's survey of 2,000 polled. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was identified as the most anticipated movie of 2008. It comes out in May. Meanwhile The Batman sequel The Dark Knight came second and it comes out in July. Of genre interest The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian came fifth. +++ Concat' has a list of forthcoming genre film releases here.

British films box office boom led by Potter. The boom has been exemplified by UK cinemas selling 22 million tickets in July alone. This is the biggest monthly sale since January 1970. Brit films have now grown to 27% of the UK market. The sales have been led by the fifth Harry Potter film which itself has taken over £49 million globally over the summer. (Other big Brit hits were Hot Fuzz and Mr Bean's Holiday.

Golden Compass' makers are suing the makers of a documentary. New Line is apparently suing Koch Entertainment for making a documentary called Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman as allegedly it is... "a cynical and transparent effort to unfairly compete with (and) capitalize on the massive publicity and promotional effort attendant to the upcoming release of plaintiff's film, and in complete disregard of plaintiff's exclusive rights in the underlying materials, defendants have produced and are marketing and distributing the infringing video."   Right, and so this sort of thing has not been done before and New Line's film will not benefit from a free plug?   Notwithstanding this, the documentary's title suggests it is more about Philip Pullman's novel than the spin-off film. More info on Yahoo News. +++ Of course New Line is no stranger to legal disputes (see our report last year of the conflict with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson -- see also Jackson below). +++ Meanwhile The Golden Compass film attracts the attention of religious fundamentalists -- see story below in the Interface section.

Peter Jackson to produce The Hobbit. Peter Jackson seems to have had, and accepted, an offer from NewLine over his profit share from The Lord of the Rings films. With the dispute now settled, Jackson has agreed to produce The Hobbit which will be directed by Sam Raimi. (Raimi is known for Spiderman and the forthcoming Drag Me To Hell.) There will also be a sequel to the forthcoming Hobbit.

The next Star Trek film will be launched on Christmas day in the US Paramount has announced. (This begs the question as to when will Christmas Day be outside of the US?) It confirms our previous news last summer: you get stuff early from us. It will be the 11th Star Trek film to date and is directed by Lost creator J. J. Abrams and looks at Kirk and Spock's first meeting at the Starfleet Academy. Also Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg is to play Scotty; so at least the accent should be OK, unlike the mangling from the person playing Scotty in the Star Trek New Voyages web episodes. Leonard Nimoy will have a cameo but William Shatner will not as the story focuses in the Enterprise's previous captain, Captain Pike. Nichelle Nichols says she is open to the idea of a cameo if she is asked. Zoe Saldana will play the young Uhura. +++ STOP PRESS: The film's makers are still trying to see if Shatner can do a cameo. One of the big hurdles is that Kirk died in the film Generations (1994). Another problem is the current Hollywood writers strike (see above) which currently precludes script re-writes.

The plot of the next Star Trek film is rumoured. The website Filmstalker reveals what may be the plot. Apparently it is a return to the world of the classic Trek season one episode 'The City on the Edge of Forever' written by Harlan Ellison. (Let's hope all the copyright payments have been paid -- see above.) You will recall that there there is a time portal that whisks one of the unwitting landing party back to early 20th century Earth and then history is changed preventing the Enterprise existing. Apparently, in the forthcoming film, the Romulans in the current Star Trek present (circa Deep Space Nine time) now discover the planet and go back in time to assassinate their Nemesis the young Captain Kirk before he can later thwart Romulan dastardly plans. Is there no end to Romulan cunning? Or just an attempt at a new beginning for the stalled ST franchise? IESB.net has more detail.

Star Wars plot gap. -- So what did happen between the films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope? LucasArts is to bring out a computer game for the XBox 360 and Play Station while Titan is to publish the official tie-in novel that explains it all. Called Star Wars: The Force Unleashed it is by Sean Williams and the hardback will be £17.99. There will also be a parallel graphic novel with the same title (bound to cause confusion somewhere in shops).

Jane Fonda Barbarella safe from re-make for now. Universal Pictures has dropped Robert (Sin City) Rodriguez's proposed remake reportedly because he apparently insisted on casting his new fiancé, Rose McGowan in the star role. This reason, if true, seems a little odd given that Jane Fonda, who starred in the 1968 original, was directed by her (then) husband Roger Vadim.

Watchmen website really good! Further to last time's news of the Watchman film production blog, including parts of the original graphic novel there is now a top notch website worth checking out www.watchmencomicmovie.com.

Exitz has been made and shown, but not on general release or DVD. The cyberpunky film stars Malcolm McDowell and has good production values. Exitz had its World premiere at last year's Sci-Fi London and was also shown at the last Eurocon. However apparently the production company played fast and loose with the UK VAT (Value Added Tax) people. So it looks like only if the film is loaned to a convention or a film fest will you be able to see it until matters are resolved. So keep your eyes out as the comments we have received about this film are good.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is being remade. It will star Keanu Reeves. The original (1951) was directed by Robert Wise (who died in 2005) concerns an alien who visits Earth with a warning from the Galaxy underlined by a demonstration of power. It is a classic and an Essential SF film. The remake is coming from 20th Century Fox and was to come out in the summer but production was delayed. A tentative 2008 Christmas release is being contemplated but there are industrial problems in Hollywood generally that may push it further back.

Underworld 3 underway. Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans follows on from Underworld Evolution. This prequel explores the origins of the ancient blood feud between the aristocratic vampires (or Death Dealers) and their onetime slaves, the werewolf Lycans. In the Dark Ages a young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king. Lucian is aided by his lover, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in the battle against the Death Dealer army. Filming is just beginning in New Zealand.

Warner has got the distribution rights to Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins and two sequels. Production of Terminator Salvation is expected to commence imminently with screen launch in the summer of 2009. Apparently the idea is not to just continue the saga with John Connor battling the robots following the nuclear attack but also to re-invent the franchise. The The Halcyon Company (not to be confused with Halcyon Films Ltd) has announced that this fourth film will be the first in a new 'Terminator' trilogy. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines saw over $430 million in the international box office (i.e. excluding DVD and other income.)

Ridley Scott turns to fantasy with next film Stones. Having reportedly (in The Times among other places) had harsh about SF as a genre one may have thought that that was it regarding fantastic films from the director of Alien and Blade Runner. But no, apparently according to the magazine Variety, his next film will be Stones and is a fantasy thriller. Ancient sites around the globe are destroyed and the link is Stonehenge which has primeval powers.   It is enough to make one opine about fantasy horror films: "There's nothing original. We've seen it all before. Been there. Done it." And asked for examples examples to say: "All of them. Yes, all of them."

Sergei Lukyanenko's Knights of Forty Islands may be a film. The rumour is that this may be a joint Ukrainian-US production and this tentative news is all the more interesting given the possible Deathworld film (see previous story above). Word also has it that Marina and Sergei Dyachenko (who are very well known in Russian and Ukrainian SF circles) may be involved with the film's script. There is speculation as to big name Hollywood stars. However all this is, we stress, rumour, and we remember are talking Eastern Europe here so anything may, or may not, happen.

Serenity 2 increasingly likely. The DVD sales of Serenity (which won a Hugo in 2006) have done so well that Universal released a second edition of the DVD. Given this and the box office sales, Universal (who axed the original TV series (called Firefly), are now thinking that a second film may be profitable. Having said that apparently actress Jewel Staite, who played Kaylee, told fans on her Myspace site that the project as of the autumn had not been approved. All of which depressingly goes to show how much it takes for a penny to drop in Hollywood... However there is even talk of a plot and this suggests that if the film is made then it will be a prequel. So expect some dead characters. The first Serenity film and Firefly series was developed by Jos (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Whedon.

Film download tip!: I Am Legend comic strip trailer. This is the spin-off from the most recent film adaptation of the classic SF novel. (The comics will most likely be compiled into a graphic novel in the future.) See the clip here.

Film download tip!: Star Trek does the Holy Grail! 'We're knights of the Round Table...' This amusing clip has been spotted by SF Signal. See the clip here.

Film download tip!: Clip from the monster film Cloverfield -- here. Monster begins to trash New York.

Film download tip!: Max Headroom is back!!!! That pseudo-computer-generated character from just 20 minutes into the future (or alternatively from one of the 1980s most inventive SF television offerings that spawned what is arguably the first cyberpunk TV series) Max Headroom is back on Britain's Channel 4 (who did the original pilot TV film). This time he is promoting the UK analogue-to-digital switch. Beware, he has aged. The clip is here.

Film download tip!: Simpson's Star Wars parody. SF Signal points to The Simpson's opening re-done like Star Wars by Rich Cando. -- See here.

Talking of The Simpsons here's a micro-chortle:-
          Patient:   Doctor, doctor, I seem to be hard of hearing!
          Doctor:   Really? What are the symptoms?
          Patient:   They're yellow people off of the TV...

[Ed: Enough. Normal service resumes below...]

For a reminder of the top films in 2006/7 (and earlier years) then check out our top Science Fiction Films annual chart. This page is based on the weekly UK box office ratings over the past year up to Easter. You can use this page if you are stuck for ideas hiring a DVD for the weekend.

For a forward look as to film releases of 2008 see our film release diary.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

SF BOOK TRADE AND RELATED TRADE NEWS

Larry Niven's 'Known Space' makes a comeback. Larry Niven has teamed up with Edward M. Lerner to generate more 'Known Space' novels. Niven's 'Known Space' series of novels were a huge SF hit of the 1960s and 1970s and its 1970 novel Ringworld had both Locus and Hugo success (hence is cited as Essential SF). In subsequent decades much of Niven's SF became less hard but of greater appeal to a more fantasy orientated readership and there was little new in 'Known Space'. He has allowed others to write Man-Kzin War 'Known Space' stories that have been collected in the 1980s. First out of the new novels is Fleet of Worlds (sadly at the moment only in N. America). It sees the Puppeteers assemble a human exploration team while the Puppeteers themselves do a leisurely runner into the scary unknown (Puppeteers are cautious) away from 'Known Space' as they know the core of our Galaxy (tens of thousands of light years away) is exploding. Fleet of Worlds is billed as a prequel to Ringworld.   Meanwhile Niven and Lerner have also completed a second 'Known Space' novel Juggler of Worlds which sees the return of Sigmund Ausfaller, the ARM agent, as its protagonist.

Whimsy Press (US) is back. See Jeff VanderMeer news earlier.

Following the English language launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (reported last time) its foreign language editions have been released overseas. In France Harry Potter et les Reliques de la Mort came out at the end of October and the French publishers, Gallimard, saw 1.5 million copies sold in the first two days: this was half their print run. In Germany Harry Potter und die Heiligtümer des Todes saw a million sold the first day of the launch and additionally half a million copies of the English edition..

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows mass market paperback edition launch date announced. It will be out on 5th July and priced £8.99. There will be both a children's and an adult edition. (Normally we would list this in our season's forthcoming publishing listing but these only go up to March and besides we thought you would appreciate the early heads up.)

Life moves on after Harry Potter for Bloomsbury Publishing. Having been boosted by sales of seven-figure print-runs of the 'Harry Potter' books and with the last one published in the summer, Bloomsbury seeks to develop. Announced at its 21st birthday bash at the beginning of October, Richard Charkin joins Bloomsbury as its Executive Director. This was a surprise as Charkin was up till then Chief Executive of the far bigger Macmillan! It is thought that he may spend some of Bloomsbury's Potter-inflated reserves on new companies in emerging markets such as South America and China.

PS Publishing has a new website, store.pspublishing.co.uk. It is e-commerce enabled for paypal. They still accept cheques too. PS Publishing are noted for the quality of their book production and selection of titles. They are very much a publisher for SF book collectors. If you do not mind paying just a little over the odds for quality SF and fantasy and quality production then they really are worth checking out. We have listed below just a couple of their forthcoming titles of classic reprints from Arthur Clarke and Harlan Ellison in special limited editions. No rushing now...

One of Russia leading publishers of SF, Eskmo, has produced a 2008 calendar of SF art. Though such a venture is not new in the West, in Russia such a project is rare and Eskmo are waiting to see if it is profitable. +++ Western fans going to this year's Eurocon in Moscow may want to keep an eye out for this as it will be a rare opportunity to get hold of some contemporary Russian SF/fantasy art. What is more the months are depicted in both English as well as Russian.

Book vid-trailers coming! The Bookseller magazine, Random House, Play.com, and the National Film & TV School (NFTS) have teamed up to develop three 90 second trailers of Random House books. The trailers will be made by students and graduates of the NFTS and will be put on Play.com in March. The project has been described as groundbreaking, but if you will recall that last April we reported a trailer for Greg Bear's SF novel Eon.

Borders sold -- One of the big UK bookselling worries of 2007 resolved. The 42 Borders and 28 Books Etc shops in UK and Ireland have been bought at a cheap price (£10 million plus £10 million if sales targets are reached) by Luke Johnson the venture capitalist who has been involved in both a pizza chain and UK's Channel 4 TV national station. Worries were that W.H. Smiths (the newsagent chain that also sells a few popular books) might take it over. It looks like they stayed away from the deal in case they fell foul of Britain's monopolies guidelines (as in the past they took over Waterstones -- who are a proper bookshop chain -- and then closed some branches that were near Smiths shops). It looks as if Borders will expand their stock to include some computer games and educational toys but that books will remain central to the business. Luke Johnson likes the idea of real books.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

TV NEWS

Heroes gets even bigger airing by BBC! Our last season' news column had literally just been handed over to our webmaster for link checking when the BBC held a catch-up Heroes weekend to show the first half of the series again from the season's begining. This means that the first half of the first season has seen episodes screened four times each on national terrestrial within three months! As it was, and as we reported the previous three showings per episode was a British TV first. +++ Meanwhile news is coming in, from those who attended the 2007 Worldcon in Japan, that a number of Heroes enthusiasts are wondering whether to submit the whole Heroes story arc (rather than individual episodes) for the Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation. Ahh, but would this nomination be for Dramatic Presentation Long Form or Short Form? +++ Also a Heroes DVD has recently come out.

Heroes season 2 sucks. As season 1 came to a close on the UK terrestrial channel BBC2 before Christmas, the word was not good from the blogs, and various places on the internet, as to season 2 being broadcast in the US. (For example see this SF Signal posting.) Such criticism has led to Heroes creator Tim Kring apologise for the season 2 quality dip. Meanwhile the question of fannish interest is what will this do for the possibility of Heroes getting a 'Best Dramatic Presentation' Hugo at this year's Worldcon? There was talk among some at last year's Worldcon (2007, Japan) that the Heroes season 1 story arc might be nominated for a Hugo. Certainly Dr Who currently seems to have a strong hold over the 'Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form' Hugo Award suggesting that it might be difficult to oust. However other factors do come to play when folk vote for the Hugos. (It is not all about which is the best work, as you might think, and factors such as the number of previous nominations, fan profile, etc., do play a part.) Here, even though the Hugo is for previous year's works, Heroes season 2's quality dip may harm season 1's chances at either the Hugo nominating and/or final ballot stages of the Award.

Torchwood back in UK this Spring. The BBC Dr Who spin-off returns shortly for a second series straight to BBC2 (not BBC 3 as with the first series). Further to our autumnal Dr Who news that the Doctor's former companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) will feature in three of the new Torchwood episodes, there will also be a special guest appearance in the first episode by James Marsters (formerly 'Spike' in Buffy). Storylines include: include an encounter with a rogue Time Agent; a tragic time-slip from World War One; and a memory-thief who uncovers long-forgotten secrets among the entire team. +++ Meanwhile Torchwood series 1 aired in North America on BBC America back in September/November and series 2 will air later this year.

Dr Who returns to UK in Easter and has specials in 2009. Last time (autumn) we said that Dr Who will not have a new series broadcast in 2009 after the 2008 season and that the next new series would take place in 2010. This was correct. However we were wrong to say that there would be 'no new material' in 2009 as there will in fact be three Dr Who specials that year! Our apologies for the error. Sometimes we report plans that do not come to pass but this time (hands up) we reported the news we received incorrectly. Can you forgive us?

Terry Nation's Survivors to return to BBC. The late Terry Nation (probably best known for creating Dr Who's Daleks) created Survivors for the Beeb which first broadcast it in three seasons between 1975 and 1977. It told the story of the aftermath of a highly infectious and lethal flu global pandemic that wipes out 99.99% of humanity (the wiping out takes place just in the first episode). Given current avian flu, post-SARS concerns it is arguably prescient but equally it is an SF theme that has been around since at least Mary Shelly's The Last Man (1826) which itself has been the loose basis for James Arnett's recent film. Now Terry Nation's estate have given permission for the BBC to re-make the series (lets hope they broadcast highlights of the old one first, though it is available on DVD). The re-make has probably been spurred by interest in the recent film I am Legend (current news above here and based on Matheson's novel (1954)): there is also of course The Last Man. BBC's Susan Hogg is to produce the new Survivors.

The Knight Rider may return in a new TV film. David Hasselfoff (the original star) is rumoured to want a cameo appearance. KITT has been upgraded. The IMDB listing is here. The new KITT car is now a Ford Shelby Cobra Mustang. Picture here.

Red Dwarf to your mobile phone. Smeg head news below here.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

EUROCON / WORLDCON NEWS

The 2007 Worldcon was held in Japan back at the beginning of September just before we posted last season's news which only has outline coverage.

The 16th International Festival of Fantastic Fiction and Role Playing Games, Zilantkon, took place in Kazan in November. Attracting some two and a half thousand, it saw the usual writers panels and workshops as well as role playing games and tournaments. Filk has been growing in Russia and was a feature at this year's international con. As usual there was a fancy dress as well as fencing and other practical displays. This year's historical ball had the theme of the Venitian Carnival circa 15th to 18th centuries. Some parts of the convention, and a few of the programme items, were not only enjoyed by convention registrants but open to the public. As happened last year some underprivileged children from Kazan had special access to the convention. Participating writers included: Loginov, Lukin, Skiryuk as well as Zlotnikov, and Kudryavtsev . The first day's launch event was particularly popular with an early evening rock concert by Sergei Kalugina and the group 'Orgy Pravednikov'. Also during the con there was a performance of the British rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. The con saw films and there was a fan/amateur film competition. The Big Zilant win was as usual announced.

The Word Fantasay Convention was held in Saratoga Springs, New York. Around 1,150 attended. During the convention the World Fantasy Awards were presented with the best novel category going to Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe. Details of other category wins on www.worldfantasy.org. Also presented at the convention were the International Guild of Horror Awards with the best novel category win going to Conrad Williams for The Unblemished. Britain's Ramsey Campbell was honoured as a 'living legend'. Full category win details on www.horroraward.org.

The 2007 Eurocon was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was another good Eurocon, arguably even a brilliant one, albeit a little ragged around the edges. Some 400 attended. Reportedly there were good guests, multi-track programme, functional (though sparse) venue, excellent programme, the usual European bonhomie, very good programme, easy access to airport and main station, fantastical programme, open-late café-bar plus alternate out-doors social area, and a stupendously crafted programme, all meant that despite frayed edges it went off particularly well. Oh, and -- if you are into that sort of thing -- the programme was OK too. New for a Eurocon there were a number of set parties by future Eurocons and bids. In addition to Guests of Honour authors Harry Harrison, Anne McCaffrey, Stephen Baxter, and Zoran Zivkovic as well as space artist Dave Hardy, there was also Stanislaw Lem as Ghost of Honour. In addition Brian Aldiss was virtually present at the banquet as a recording. A dozen authors from a range of European countries attended: perhaps the biggest name present, in terms of book sales, was Russia's Sergei (Night Watch) Lukyanenko. Full report here.

2008 Worldcon, Devention, news. Progress Report 2 and the Hugo nomination ballot are now out, and the competition for design of the Hugo Award base has closed. Kathy Mar is the special music guest. The membership rates went up in the New Year and of course they will go up on the door. Progress Report 3 is due out early in March. -- Web link on our diary page (only to the end of 2008).

The 2008 Eurocon is in Moscow. Its organisation has been a bit of a roller-coaster (see last time's Eurocon coverage). Some lessons have been learned and things are looking better. It could well be a very good convention and a different experience for western fans. However if you are going to do some additional tourism then you are strongly advised to ensure that your ancillary visa documentation is 100% correct. (This is separate to the ancillary paperwork needed for the convention with which the convention organisers can help: they cannot help with other tourist paperwork for beyond the specific period of the convention in a different hotel actually in Moscow (which you will undoubtedly require).) In addition to this year's Eurocon guests there will be some big name Russian authors present and possibly a cosmonaut. Still time for you to book. Web link on our diary page (only to the end of 2008).

2008 Moscow Eurocon change of dates! The new dates are 15th - 18th May (from 3rd - 7th May). The change has come about due to the Russian calendar and its public holidays. This meant that the old dates would have both been inconvenient to Russian fans and also the hotel owners (understandably catering to their regular trade) would not have had as many hote rooms available for the Eurocon. Hopefully this change of date will have happened before anyone actually booked their flights and accommodation and also hopefully will not result in a clash in anyone's work commitments. In case you are Googling -- searching on Moscow Eurocon and change of dates -- you need to know that this is the second change of dates. The dates were first moved back shortly after Russia won the bid and this was welcome as it made tourist activities more feasible than in the depth of the Russian winter. (It was originally to have been held in February not May but there was some discussion about this at the bidding session.)

The 2009 Eurocon is in Italy. It is early days yet and the organisers are a little behind (with one apparently having a separate personal problem in their life). This means that if you are not Italian-speaking and have tried to e-mail prior to Christmas you may not have had a reply. Hopefully early in the New Year (that is around when this page is posted) matters will have been resolved. If they have, then the convention is likely to be a good one and the Italian team certainly have a good spread of quality guests covering SF in both its written and visual forms. If the communication is still out then matters will obviously not look so good, but there is still time for everything to fall into place. At the time of drafting this news page (prior to Christmas) Concatenation has been told that the web site is being created. (Remember Eurocon websites have to be both in the native European language and English so it is not unreasonable to allow three or four months following a Eurocon winning the vote to create their site and this year's vote took place in Copenhagen at the end of September.) -- Web link on our diary page (only to the end of 2008).

The 2009 Montreal Worldcon will be called 'Anticipation' and the web link is on our diary page (only to the end of 2008). As with Italy (above) this one also has its communication problems. For some reason having found they won, they did not seem to have a sufficiently strong core committee in place and key posts are only now being filled. There also appears to be a lack of Canadian conrunners onboard and a number from other countries (including Great Britain) seem to have been drafted in. The last Canadian Worldcon was Torcon 3 in 2003 (Toronto). This one appeared to get some criticism for the way aspects of it were run. Certainly the film programme was decidedly limp, and there were problems with one or two of the extravaganza's, but Torcon III's science programme ran very much as the pre-convention draft programme had billed items with a good spread of topics running to schedule. How Anticipation will fare in 2009 is likely to fix how North American fandom views the prospect of Canadian Worldcons for some years.

Irish Eurocon for 2010 almost proposed. Ansible reports in its 'Rumblings' col' a proposal for Ireland to bid for the 2010 Eurocon. Eurocon regulars may recall that an Irish bid had been previously presented at the 2005 European SF Society (ESFS) business meeting at that year's Eurocon in Glasgow. However back then the (presumed?) humour of Ireland's pitch -- that the convention will have some European programming 'for those that want it' -- was lost on the assembled Eurocon fans. Now Ansible reports that at this year's Octocon (the Irish national convention) there was a move to present a bid at next year's ESFS business meeting in Moscow for Ireland to host the 2010 Eurocon. Despite the presence of an ESFS officer, Ansible reports that elements of the proposal were viewed as controversial and the bid folded. December's Ansible noted that no Irish conrunning team is currently planning a Eurocon bid.

For links to Worldcon bid websites check out the Worldcon bid page.

For a list of national and major conventions, check out our convention diary.

[The other key sections within this seasonal newscast are: Major Headline Links |
News which contains: Major Science & SF News, People: Major SF Author, Science Writer and Artist News; Film News; SF Book Trade News; TV News; Eurocon/Worldcon News; Fandom & Other News; and Net Watch |
Last Season's Science News Summary including: General Science, Astronomy and Space and Natural Science |
Forthcoming Book Releases including: Science Fiction Forthcoming Fantasy & Horror Forthcoming Science Fact and Non-Fiction and Forthcoming TV & Film Tie-ins Book Releases | Selected Recent DVD Releases |
R.I.P | Interface: Science and SF | End Bits.]

Spring 2008

FANDOM & OTHER NEWS