SF/F updates

[eldritchhobbit]

Happy birthday to ithildyn and ruinithil, and happy early birthday to travels_in_time. May all three of you have fantastic days and wonderful years to come!

Apologies for being quiet of late. I've been chin-deep in work, but I hope to catch up with everyone soon! However, I did manage to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I came away with a very mixed impression; it accomplished some things extremely well and then completely fell apart in other areas. It certainly won't be my favorite HP film, but I don't think it will be my least favorite, either. I must mull it over some more, I think, and quite likely see it again, as well.

In other news...

* R.I.P. to two science fiction pioneers:
-- Charles N. Brown (1937-2009), father of Locus
-- Phyllis Gotlieb (1926-2009), mother of Canadian science fiction

* SF Signal continues its Mind Meld series with its "Guide to International SF/F" Part III and Part IV.

* Fantasy and science fiction author Martha Wells (a.k.a. marthawells) has made two new short stories available on her website: "The Potter's Daughter" (first published in Tor's Elemental) and "The Forest Boy" (available for the first time).

* Those of you who are Harry Potter aficionados should check out John Granger's latest work, Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures, which is hot off the press this month!

* The World in a Satin Bag offers a list of the "Top Six Lesser Known or Forgotten Fantasy Series."

* The Galaxy Express discusses a "Future Trend: Young Adult Science Fiction."

* Maria Lectrix has begun posting segments of her unabridged reading of "The Were-Wolf" by Clemence Housman. I discussed the significance of this 1896 story in my "History of the Genre" segment on StarShipSofa's Aural Delights show #44, which you can listen to or download here.


"You don't go after poetry, you take what comes."
- Phyllis Gotlieb

Comments

[sittingduck1313.livejournal.com]

Did they cut the scene where we meet the Whateleys, I mean the Gaunts? If so, I'll be sorely disappointed.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Whateleys, indeed!

Unfortunately, all of that was cut. :(

[arymetore.livejournal.com]

Hmm... not sure either if the Young Wizards series is simply not that known or that it has been forgotten. It is a great series and Diane Duane is a fabulous author. Sure some of her works fall under the "playing around in someone else's universe for fun and profit" type (her Spiderman and other Marvel titles books which I am sure are good, but not of her own inital creation). But the Young Wizards starts off on the level of what you might expect from a Young Adult/tween level novel and builds to some exploring some major themes (autism, death of mother to cancer, and more) in a unique and gripping manner. I also like that the Young Wizards universe expanded to include some of the side characters in their own featured books (Book of Night with Moon and To See the Queen).

I have been occassionally checking to see if the 8th or 9th books in the series has been written... cause it is still very much open ended. And it may be left that way, but the last book ended almost on a cliffhanger...

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Good call! I use Duane's series in my "Harry Potter and His Predecessors" class, actually. And you're right, it doesn't really have an ending yet, does it? *runs off to look up more information on possible forthcoming titles*

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

*hugs* :D

[ruinithil.livejournal.com]

Whoa! I haven't even checked LJ in ages, finding a little present when I checked my email was a great surprise! Thank you so much <33 I really appreciate it! :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yay! You're most welcome. Hope you had a great one!