Winter-is-coming.net is reporting an unconfirmed rumor that HBO has purchased two more seasons of their successful adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, Game of Thrones. Filming on the second season, which adapts the second novel of the series, A Clash of Kings, is ongoing, with a scheduled premiere date of April 2012 in the US. The third and fourth seasons HBO has reportedly picked up will probably comprise a two-part adaptation of the lengthy third book of the series, A Storm of Swords, generally thought to be the best volume of the story so far.
The Future of Randland
Nov. 28, 2011 By 2 Comments
Dragonmount‘s Theory Blog has an interesting post up about what the world of the Wheel of Time might look like post-Last Battle, based on small hints Robert Jordan placed throughout the books. The entry also has links to useful collections of Egwene’s dreams and the future histories spread throughout the series’ 13 volumes.
The post essentially posits that Jordan has foreshadowed the eventual reunification of the two sexes in the practice of the One Power, forming a “Gray Tower” from the white and the black, leading the wheel of time inexorably back towards a future that looks a lot like its past.
My question about the future of Randland is this: will the wheel of time continue to turn out age after age, causing the struggle between light and dark to continually repeat itself in one form or another, or, as Ishamael/Moridin has insistently argued, is there something different about this instance of the great battle? Will the wheel of time be broken or changed, for better or for worse? The theme of Jordan’s books seems to indicate a need for balance, light versus dark, male versus female, life versus death; is the implication that a light side victory merely means the continuation of the cycle?
Whatever the ultimate answer, the greatest thing about sites like Dragonmount is not the theories and explanations you can find there, but the fact that they serve as a convenient repository of information, providing things like collections of different types of prophecy or passage or event in one place, allowing you to form your own opinions and theories about the series. Incidentally, the previously-linked to WoT wiki is quite good, though it could use much better citation.
Superflu!
Nov. 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Where’s the Hand of God when we need it? Via Slashdot:
Pierre Bezukhov writes with this excerpt from an article at Doctor Tipster:“A Dutch researcher has created a virus with the potential to kill half of the planet’s population. Now, researchers and experts in bioterrorism debate whether it is a good idea to publish the virus creation ‘recipe’. However, several voices argue that such research should have not happened in the first place. The virus is a strain of avian influenza H5N1 genetically modified to be extremely contagious … created by researcher Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Netherlands. The work was first presented at a conference dedicated to influenza, that took place in September in Malta.”
Geeky Christmas Tree Ornaments
Nov. 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
My wife and I decorated our Christmas tree today. Below are a few of my favorite ornaments. It is important to note that my wife purchased many of these for me, and encouraged their noteworthy placement on our tree.
Blurry Version of the Prometheus Trailer
Nov. 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Inception horn aside, this looks pretty awesome, even watching it taped off of a computer screen with barely discernible picture and audio:
‘Prometheus’ Trailer Description
Nov. 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Via Prometheus Movie News and IMDB, here’s a description of the Prometheus (Ridley Scott’s prequel to Alien) trailer footage that was leaked last week:
“Trailer starts with a clip of Ripley from Alien and the words “What if the beginning” and then we see the mouth of the Xenomorph “Wasnt the beginning” or something like that. Then theres this shot of like a giant waterfall on some planet I don’t know what the planet was and a ship traveling to it.
Then we see like two cloaked people talking to eachother near the waterfall or something and theres a voice over from who I’m guessing is Noomi Rapace and she says something like: “A woman once told me a story of how man was created” then we see this giant human like creature thing (which im guessing is the Space Jockey thing from Alien but I’m not sure) Voiceover: “First there was the sun” and we see this giant oval alien ship covering the sky. Voice over ” And the sun said I’m alone and I have noone to shinedown on so it created man” and another shot of the giant space jockey thing. and then theres like shots of the crew on the space ship traveling to that planet
You see like a quick shot of Noomi Rapace and and the rest of the crew and a bunch of stuff is happening they’re all in their space suits running around with theyre flame throwers and stuff and theres this epic shot of this giant space station thing that looks like droid control ship from Star Wars Episdoe 1 falling down through the sky and the words
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ALIEN come up and more shots of the crew in the ship running from explosions and stuff. Theres a shot of a green laser scanner thing running through a woman’s belly some more stuff then theres a quick shot of something bursting out from the space jockey thing.
And the last shot of the trailer is a close up Michal Fassbender in his space suit looking down at a kid face to face and he holds up a finger and he says “Big things have small beginnings” then the title comes up PROMETHEUS 6.8.12
I marked out at Fassbender that was a cool line, great teaser trailer it should be hitting theatres within the next month or so maybe I can’t wait”
Anne McCaffrey Dies at 85
Nov. 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Anne McCaffrey passed away yesterday at the age of 85.
My sophomore year honors English class in high school was assigned several science fiction books among all of the works we read that year, due mainly to my teacher’s obvious personal love of the genre. Included among them was Dragonflight, the first in McCaffrey’s Pern series, a book I had already devoured by the time we got to it in English class. I read it again, fascinated, at the time, that a book I considered escapist fantasy was being assigned next to Shakespeare in English II. I discovered the wonders of fantasy and science fiction on my own, but in a way, it was Anne McCaffrey’s work that helped me realize that speculative fiction can be just as serious and important as mainstream literary fiction.
I always respected McCaffrey’s insistence on defining her own work as hard science fiction, rather than the fantasy it more superficially resembled. She owned her work, and was proud of it, and was justly lauded for it.
What are your memories of Anne McCaffrey’s work?
A Conversation of Ice and Fire
Nov. 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I just now finished A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. I know, I know: what the hell kind of a geek are you, you ask. And you are right to do so. Most fantasy fans worth their salt finished ADWD shortly after its release, Bill included. But it had been a couple of years since I had read any of the previous books, particularly the lackluster A Feast for Crows, and I knew that a re-read was in order if I was to get the most out of the long-awaited sequel. We all spent six years waiting for it, after all, so it occurred to me that I should make the most of the experience. The book came out this August. I spent much of the late summer and autumn rereading the series, and due to work and other pursuits I didn’t finish until just the other day.
Rather than post a review at this late stage, I thought it would be a more interesting idea to have a spoiler-filled conversation with Bill about it and post it here. The result is a mixture of excitement and frustration, always laced with anticipation for the series’ final two books.
This conversation is spoiler heavy. That’s right, HERE BE SPOILERS. Read on at your own risk. If you’re in for some sweet, juicy spoilers, meet us back here after the jump.
Mark Hamill: Sincere Wit or Arrogant Cad?
Nov. 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Via Tor.com, this 1978 British interview with Mark Hamill shows off the actor’s personality (at least, as it was shortly after Star Wars came out) in a rare way. Some people think he comes off as immodest; others think he’s simply being forthcoming. I tend toward the latter, myself. If his attitude appears a bit sharp I’d have to attribute it to (1) the fact that he’s young and successful beyond his wildest dreams and (2) the utter ridiculousness of his snide, preening, foppish (not to mention ambiguously gay) British interviewer.
