Valar Morghulis of course means, "All Men Must Die," in High Valyrian. Game of Thrones returns on 6 April in the US and the following day in the UK.
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Selasa, 25 Februari 2014
First GAME OF THRONES Season 4 posters unveiled
HBO has unveiled its first set of posters for Season 4 of Game of Thrones. These depict the prominent members of the Lannister family: Charles Dance as Tywin, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime and Lena Headey as Cersei.
Valar Morghulis of course means, "All Men Must Die," in High Valyrian. Game of Thrones returns on 6 April in the US and the following day in the UK.
Valar Morghulis of course means, "All Men Must Die," in High Valyrian. Game of Thrones returns on 6 April in the US and the following day in the UK.
Senin, 24 Februari 2014
RIP Harold Ramis
Actor, writer, director, producer and comedian Harold Ramis has passed away at the age of 69.
Born in Chicago, Ramis is best-known visually for his performance as Egon Spengler on the two Ghostbusters movies, where he starred alongside Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. He reprised the role for what would prove to be his final acting appearance, as a voice-over for the Ghostbusters video game in 2009. He also co-wrote both films. Previous to that success, he'd appeared on the successful 1981 comedy movie Stripes and on the Canadian sketch show Second City.
However, Ramis will likely be remembered more for his impressive directing resume, which includes Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, Multiplicity, Analyze This, episodes of the American version of The Office and, of course, the classic Groundhog Day.
Ramis was expected to reprise his role as Egon, possibly just for a cameo, for the long-in-development Ghostbusters III. Following his passing, it is even more doubtful if the project will ever be made (at least with the involvement of any the original cast).
This is sad news. Like anyone else who grew up in the 1980s, Ghostbusters and its sequel were a huge part of my childhood, whilst Groundhog Day remains a classic take on a difficult-to-make-work science fiction premise. He will be missed.
Update: Ghostbusters fans in New York have been leaving tributes at the 8th Hook and Ladder Firehouse on North More Street, Manhattan. This was where the firehouse exterior scenes for both movies were filmed. Inevitably, the tributes include Twinkies.
Born in Chicago, Ramis is best-known visually for his performance as Egon Spengler on the two Ghostbusters movies, where he starred alongside Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. He reprised the role for what would prove to be his final acting appearance, as a voice-over for the Ghostbusters video game in 2009. He also co-wrote both films. Previous to that success, he'd appeared on the successful 1981 comedy movie Stripes and on the Canadian sketch show Second City.
However, Ramis will likely be remembered more for his impressive directing resume, which includes Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, Multiplicity, Analyze This, episodes of the American version of The Office and, of course, the classic Groundhog Day.
Ramis was expected to reprise his role as Egon, possibly just for a cameo, for the long-in-development Ghostbusters III. Following his passing, it is even more doubtful if the project will ever be made (at least with the involvement of any the original cast).
This is sad news. Like anyone else who grew up in the 1980s, Ghostbusters and its sequel were a huge part of my childhood, whilst Groundhog Day remains a classic take on a difficult-to-make-work science fiction premise. He will be missed.
Update: Ghostbusters fans in New York have been leaving tributes at the 8th Hook and Ladder Firehouse on North More Street, Manhattan. This was where the firehouse exterior scenes for both movies were filmed. Inevitably, the tributes include Twinkies.
Minggu, 23 Februari 2014
More new WILD CARDS cover art
I previously posted the covers for the Gollancz UK reprints of the fourth and fifth Wild Cards books, but Gollancz have now unveiled (via Amazon) the new covers for the sixth and seventh books.
This year's UK Wild Cards publishing schedule runs as follows:
Aces Abroad (Wild Cards #4): 8 May
Down and Dirty (#5): 12 June
Ace in the Hole (#6): 10 July
Dead Man's Hand (#7): 14 August
Lowball (#22): 11 December
This year's UK Wild Cards publishing schedule runs as follows:
Aces Abroad (Wild Cards #4): 8 May
Down and Dirty (#5): 12 June
Ace in the Hole (#6): 10 July
Dead Man's Hand (#7): 14 August
Lowball (#22): 11 December
Rabu, 19 Februari 2014
Marvel releases first GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY trailer
Disney and Marvel have unveiled the first full trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, their big summer Marvel Cinematic Universe film and the most 'out there' of their films to date.
Set in space, Guardians will chronicle the adventures of five mismatched 'heroes' who get into conflicts with evil forces etc. The movie will be more tangentially connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe than their other films (i.e. don't expect Iron Man to show up halfway through) but will partly set things up for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will follow in 2015.
I am not acquainted with the Guardians as a superhero team, although I did thoroughly enjoy the Rocket Raccoon solo strip in the 1980s (when it ran as the back-up strip in the Marvel UK Transformers comic), which was enough to make me want to check this out. The trailer is also pretty cool. It's good to see Marvel embracing full SF craziness for once.
Set in space, Guardians will chronicle the adventures of five mismatched 'heroes' who get into conflicts with evil forces etc. The movie will be more tangentially connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe than their other films (i.e. don't expect Iron Man to show up halfway through) but will partly set things up for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will follow in 2015.
I am not acquainted with the Guardians as a superhero team, although I did thoroughly enjoy the Rocket Raccoon solo strip in the 1980s (when it ran as the back-up strip in the Marvel UK Transformers comic), which was enough to make me want to check this out. The trailer is also pretty cool. It's good to see Marvel embracing full SF craziness for once.
Take-Two Interactive shut down Irrational Games
Take-Two Interactive has closed down the Irrational Games studio, which it owns. Irrational are the creators of the BioShock franchise, most recently responsible for creating and releasing BioShock Infinite and its expansions.
The head of Irrational, feted game designer Ken Levine, announced the move on the company's website. The move stunned both gamers and critics, as BioShock Infinite had been both a critical and apparently a commercial success upon its release a year ago. According to Levine's announcement, the move had been taken as he wished to re-focus on narrative-driven games and needed only a small team of 15 or so people to do that. This led to speculation from the press, as the move meant making 185 people jobless. Questions were raised about whether it would have been easier to Levine to simply leave Irrational and leave the team intact for other projects (such as future BioShock games, with Take-Two confirming it is interested in pursuing the franchise with new games in the future).
However, an alternative possibility is that BioShock Infinite's success was overstated. Though the game sold 3.7 million copies in its first two months on sale, that came after a development period lasting more than five years (since BioShock's release in 2007; BioShock 2 had been created by a different studio) and costing anything up to $200 million (including marketing), although that figure was later denied by Levine. In comparison, the game Skyrim from Bethesda took only about two and a half years to make, cost less than $80 million and sold 7 million copies in its first month on sale. Take-Two's biggest 2013 release, Grand Theft Auto V, has sold over 32 million copies to date and made $1 billion in just its first three days on sale. Compared to these figures (though admittedly outliers), it looks like BioShock Infinite underperformed and, given its long development time and budget, failed to turn a profit, certainly not before the end of that financial year.
Regardless, this is regrettable news. Irrational were one of several companies to splinter off from the legendary Looking Glass Studios. At Looking Glass Levine worked on a series of iconic games, including System Shock and Ultima Underworld. After leaving to found Irrational in 1997, Levine continued to work on Looking Glass titles such as System Shock 2 (a co-production with Irrational) and Thief: The Dark Project. In 2002 Irrational released their first solo game, a superhero RPG called Freedom Force, which was well-reviewed and praised for its art style and humour. A sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, followed in 2005. Irrational also released Tribes: Vengeance in 2004 and SWAT 4 in 2005, both of which were also well-received. In 2007 Irrational released BioShock, a 'spiritual successor' to System Shock 2 which focused on narrative and political themes fused to a memorable art style and an emphasis on combat. Irrational passed on making the 'quickie' sequel, BioShock 2 (instead released by 2K Marin, themselves rendered defunct last year by Take-Two), to focus on a more ambitious project, BioShock Infinite. This game was repeatedly delayed and was not released until early 2013.
Irrational focused on narrative and story-driven games with strong, recognisable characters and offbeat atmospheres not quite like anything else out there. Their loss from the gaming world is regrettable.
The head of Irrational, feted game designer Ken Levine, announced the move on the company's website. The move stunned both gamers and critics, as BioShock Infinite had been both a critical and apparently a commercial success upon its release a year ago. According to Levine's announcement, the move had been taken as he wished to re-focus on narrative-driven games and needed only a small team of 15 or so people to do that. This led to speculation from the press, as the move meant making 185 people jobless. Questions were raised about whether it would have been easier to Levine to simply leave Irrational and leave the team intact for other projects (such as future BioShock games, with Take-Two confirming it is interested in pursuing the franchise with new games in the future).
However, an alternative possibility is that BioShock Infinite's success was overstated. Though the game sold 3.7 million copies in its first two months on sale, that came after a development period lasting more than five years (since BioShock's release in 2007; BioShock 2 had been created by a different studio) and costing anything up to $200 million (including marketing), although that figure was later denied by Levine. In comparison, the game Skyrim from Bethesda took only about two and a half years to make, cost less than $80 million and sold 7 million copies in its first month on sale. Take-Two's biggest 2013 release, Grand Theft Auto V, has sold over 32 million copies to date and made $1 billion in just its first three days on sale. Compared to these figures (though admittedly outliers), it looks like BioShock Infinite underperformed and, given its long development time and budget, failed to turn a profit, certainly not before the end of that financial year.
Regardless, this is regrettable news. Irrational were one of several companies to splinter off from the legendary Looking Glass Studios. At Looking Glass Levine worked on a series of iconic games, including System Shock and Ultima Underworld. After leaving to found Irrational in 1997, Levine continued to work on Looking Glass titles such as System Shock 2 (a co-production with Irrational) and Thief: The Dark Project. In 2002 Irrational released their first solo game, a superhero RPG called Freedom Force, which was well-reviewed and praised for its art style and humour. A sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, followed in 2005. Irrational also released Tribes: Vengeance in 2004 and SWAT 4 in 2005, both of which were also well-received. In 2007 Irrational released BioShock, a 'spiritual successor' to System Shock 2 which focused on narrative and political themes fused to a memorable art style and an emphasis on combat. Irrational passed on making the 'quickie' sequel, BioShock 2 (instead released by 2K Marin, themselves rendered defunct last year by Take-Two), to focus on a more ambitious project, BioShock Infinite. This game was repeatedly delayed and was not released until early 2013.
Irrational focused on narrative and story-driven games with strong, recognisable characters and offbeat atmospheres not quite like anything else out there. Their loss from the gaming world is regrettable.
Selasa, 18 Februari 2014
New SONG OF ICE AND FIRE covers for the UK
HarperCollins Voyager have unveiled new cover art for the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin.
The new books emphasise landforms and geography, unlike the previous covers which featured military and medieval iconography.
They're striking, but to my mind don't quite capture the feel of the series. In particular, A Clash of Kings featuring (presumably) the Red Waste on the cover is a little odd given that only one chapter takes place there. It's also mildly disappointing that Voyager still haven't recombined A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons into a single paperback volume each, given how many larger or comparable novels out there are available in one paperback volume (The Wise Man's Fear, The Naked God, Atlas Shrugged, The Lord of the Rings, Diana Gabaldon's novels etc). I'm also hoping that the Game of Thrones tie-in note are stickers and not part of the cover, as they are rather incongruous. The current paperback set rather subtly and elegantly notes the GoT reference in a small section on the back cover, which is a better idea.
The new covers will be available alongside the previous ones and will not replace them outright.
Click to embiggen.
The new books emphasise landforms and geography, unlike the previous covers which featured military and medieval iconography.
They're striking, but to my mind don't quite capture the feel of the series. In particular, A Clash of Kings featuring (presumably) the Red Waste on the cover is a little odd given that only one chapter takes place there. It's also mildly disappointing that Voyager still haven't recombined A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons into a single paperback volume each, given how many larger or comparable novels out there are available in one paperback volume (The Wise Man's Fear, The Naked God, Atlas Shrugged, The Lord of the Rings, Diana Gabaldon's novels etc). I'm also hoping that the Game of Thrones tie-in note are stickers and not part of the cover, as they are rather incongruous. The current paperback set rather subtly and elegantly notes the GoT reference in a small section on the back cover, which is a better idea.
The new covers will be available alongside the previous ones and will not replace them outright.
Sabtu, 15 Februari 2014
Some stunning views of Middle-earth
The fan community for Outerra - a graphics engine capable of rendering high-quality terrain images from relatively sparse data - has recreated Tolkien's Middle-earth using the software. This has resulted in some stunning and impressive views, especially considering this is only an alpha version.
You can see more pictures here and here, and a discussion on the Outerra forum here. The dedicated Middle-earth project website can be found here. Plus there's also a tech demo video:
This could be the next big thing for fantasy cartography. Westeros or Faerun next?
You can see more pictures here and here, and a discussion on the Outerra forum here. The dedicated Middle-earth project website can be found here. Plus there's also a tech demo video:
This could be the next big thing for fantasy cartography. Westeros or Faerun next?
Jumat, 14 Februari 2014
GoG releases DUNGEON KEEPER for free
GoG have started a Valentine's weekend giveaway. Until Sunday, you can get the original Dungeon Keeper and its expansion pack, The Deeper Dungeons, absolutely free. All you need is a GoG account, which takes just a few seconds to set up if you haven't already got on. You can also get Dungeon Keeper 2 at 75% off its normal (very low) price, which currently works out $1.49 (so, not free but almost).
Dungeon Keeper was originally released in 1997 by the legendary Bullfrog Studios, the same company behind classics such as Populous, Powermonger, Margic Carpet, Theme Hospital and Syndicate. It's a dungeon management game where you play the dungeon keeper, digging out new rooms, giving homes to monsters and setting up puzzles and traps to defeat the invading heroes. It's still one of the (relatively) few games where you play the bad guy. Dungeon Keeper 2, released in 1999, retained much of the same classic gameplay but moved the series into full 3D graphics.
Both games were originally released for Windows 95, but GoG have tweaked them both to work - relatively - stress-free on modern systems. They are both absolutely brilliant, so frankly going to get them for nothing (or almost) is a no-brainer.
Electronic Arts recently caused huge controversy by releasing a mobile/F2P version of Dungeon Keeper for tablets and phones that was absolutely terrible, forcing the player to spend significant amounts of real-world cash to progress anywhere. GoG's move means that people can instead sample the original, superb games for nothing (or almost).
Dungeon Keeper was originally released in 1997 by the legendary Bullfrog Studios, the same company behind classics such as Populous, Powermonger, Margic Carpet, Theme Hospital and Syndicate. It's a dungeon management game where you play the dungeon keeper, digging out new rooms, giving homes to monsters and setting up puzzles and traps to defeat the invading heroes. It's still one of the (relatively) few games where you play the bad guy. Dungeon Keeper 2, released in 1999, retained much of the same classic gameplay but moved the series into full 3D graphics.
Both games were originally released for Windows 95, but GoG have tweaked them both to work - relatively - stress-free on modern systems. They are both absolutely brilliant, so frankly going to get them for nothing (or almost) is a no-brainer.
Electronic Arts recently caused huge controversy by releasing a mobile/F2P version of Dungeon Keeper for tablets and phones that was absolutely terrible, forcing the player to spend significant amounts of real-world cash to progress anywhere. GoG's move means that people can instead sample the original, superb games for nothing (or almost).
Two new novels from Paul Kearney
Paul Kearney has two new novels in the pipeline. First up is Umbra Sumus, a Warhammer 40,000 novel about Space Marines, which is a stand-alone right now but has sequel potential. The novel features a new chapter of Space Marines and is tentatively planned for publication by the Black Library at the end of 2014 or start of 2015.
Paul has also been contracted for a new novel by Solaris. The Wolf in the Attic is a stand-alone fantasy novel and will be set in Oxford in the 1930s. From the sound of it, it marks Kearney's return to the stand-alone, less epic kind of storytelling of his first three novels. The blurb is as follows:
The Wolf in the Attic will be published in Autumn 2015.
Paul talks about the process that led to the writing of the new novel here, and discusses his recent backlist reissues and Umbra Sumus here.
Paul has also been contracted for a new novel by Solaris. The Wolf in the Attic is a stand-alone fantasy novel and will be set in Oxford in the 1930s. From the sound of it, it marks Kearney's return to the stand-alone, less epic kind of storytelling of his first three novels. The blurb is as follows:
The novel is set in very early 1930′s Oxford, features Tolkien and Lewis as characters, and is told from the point of view of a lonely 11 year old girl. She’s Greek, a refugee from the sack of Smyrna, and one day discovers a Romany boy in her attic. The boy is a shape-shifter, and becomes her friend. The two begin to explore the world around Oxford, discovering things they never imagined existed. The girl, Anna, is obsessed by the Odyssey, and likens the Romany boy, Luca, to Odysseus.
The Wolf in the Attic will be published in Autumn 2015.
Paul talks about the process that led to the writing of the new novel here, and discusses his recent backlist reissues and Umbra Sumus here.
Selasa, 11 Februari 2014
RIP Campbell Lane
Canadian actor Campbell Lane passed away on 30 January at the age of 79. SFF fans may not recognise the name, but they'll be familiar with some of his work.
Lane is best-known as the narrator of the Homeworld series of games. He also played the voice of the Bentusi species and appeared in all three games released to date (Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm and Homeworld 2). Fans were hoping he would return for the upcoming prequel, Homeworld: Shipbreakers but clearly this will not now happen.
Lane's other genre credits include playing the First Hybrid in the Battlestar Galactica TV movie Razor and playing the voice of Rampage on the Transformers: Beast Wars animated series. He played three different roles on The X-Files (including the recurring role of the Committee Chairman) and also appeared on First Wave.
His other voice work included playing the English-language narrator for Gundam Wing, Mastermind on X-Men: Evolution and Skeletor on The New Adventures of He-Man.
Lane had a highly distinctive, gravelly voice which was immediately recognisable. An accomplished voice actor, his tones will be missed from Homeworld: Shipbreaker and other potential projects.
Homeworld's classic opening cinematic, narrated by Campbell Lane.
Lane is best-known as the narrator of the Homeworld series of games. He also played the voice of the Bentusi species and appeared in all three games released to date (Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm and Homeworld 2). Fans were hoping he would return for the upcoming prequel, Homeworld: Shipbreakers but clearly this will not now happen.
Lane's other genre credits include playing the First Hybrid in the Battlestar Galactica TV movie Razor and playing the voice of Rampage on the Transformers: Beast Wars animated series. He played three different roles on The X-Files (including the recurring role of the Committee Chairman) and also appeared on First Wave.
Campbell Lane as the First Hybrid on BSG. He was the go-to actor for distinctive and foreboding voice-overs.
His other voice work included playing the English-language narrator for Gundam Wing, Mastermind on X-Men: Evolution and Skeletor on The New Adventures of He-Man.
Lane had a highly distinctive, gravelly voice which was immediately recognisable. An accomplished voice actor, his tones will be missed from Homeworld: Shipbreaker and other potential projects.
Selasa, 04 Februari 2014
AMERICAN GODS gets new TV development deal
Having failed to get the American Gods TV show off the ground at HBO, Neil Gaiman has signed a development deal with Fremantle Media. Fremantle has recently gotten a number of projects off the ground, including the third version of The Tomorrow People, the American version of the French drama The Returned and a new Rob Reiner project, Basket Case. The hope must be that they will guide American Gods to a new home.
The reasons for HBO passing on American Gods have not yet been given, and likely never will be. HBO were being extremely enthusiastic about the project merely weeks before they canned it, and Gaiman had developed three draft scripts for them.
The reasons for HBO passing on American Gods have not yet been given, and likely never will be. HBO were being extremely enthusiastic about the project merely weeks before they canned it, and Gaiman had developed three draft scripts for them.
Senin, 27 Januari 2014
A game designer's perspective on HERO QUEST 25th Anniversary Edition
Gamezone Miniatures, a Spanish company, are crowdfunding a new edition of the classic Hero Quest boardgame, as related previously. Gamezone have repeatedly said they have the legal rights to do so, and have been in consultation with Hasbro about it.
However, game designer Mike Selinker, a veteran of both Hasbro and Paizo, pours cold water on these claims in an interview with Gaming Trend and a discussion board on Board Game Geeks. In both cases, he points out that Gamezone may indeed have the Spanish trademark for the game, but this does not automatically allow them to re-release the game without Hasbro's permission. The fact that they are doing so, and that Hasbro has not yet stopped them, hints at another possibility: that their Hero Quest game will have substantially different rules to the original game and will merely be using the same name and the same generic fantasy archetypes.
If so, this will be disheartening to the majority of backers, who no doubt committed funds on the basis that this would be a simple remake of the original game, rules and all. Selinker's conclusion is that the end product will be either infringing of Hasbro's copyright (if Hasbro don't stamp on it first) or will be de facto fraudulent (the game they deliver will not be the game backers were expecting), with neither alternative appealing.
It looks like this controversy will run and run, at least for a while.
However, game designer Mike Selinker, a veteran of both Hasbro and Paizo, pours cold water on these claims in an interview with Gaming Trend and a discussion board on Board Game Geeks. In both cases, he points out that Gamezone may indeed have the Spanish trademark for the game, but this does not automatically allow them to re-release the game without Hasbro's permission. The fact that they are doing so, and that Hasbro has not yet stopped them, hints at another possibility: that their Hero Quest game will have substantially different rules to the original game and will merely be using the same name and the same generic fantasy archetypes.
If so, this will be disheartening to the majority of backers, who no doubt committed funds on the basis that this would be a simple remake of the original game, rules and all. Selinker's conclusion is that the end product will be either infringing of Hasbro's copyright (if Hasbro don't stamp on it first) or will be de facto fraudulent (the game they deliver will not be the game backers were expecting), with neither alternative appealing.
It looks like this controversy will run and run, at least for a while.
Minggu, 26 Januari 2014
Publisher update on THE WINDS OF WINTER
George R.R. Martin's UK publishers, HarperCollins Voyager, have offered (via a redacted Twitter exchange) a rare comment on the progress of The Winds of Winter, the sixth and planned-to-be penultimate volume of A Song of Ice and Fire. They have confirmed that the novel will definitely not be published in 2014, but that a 2015 release is possible.
To clarify, Martin himself has not offered an update on the book's progress since April 2013 when, on the carpet for a Game of Thrones TV event, he confirmed that about a quarter of the book was complete (very roughly 375 manuscript pages, assuming the book will be as long as A Dance with Dragons) with additional material in drafts and partial chapters also done. Subsequently, he offered upbeat assessments that he was writing fast to stay ahead of the TV show (which will begin introducing plot elements and even characters from Books 4 and 5 in the fourth season, due to air from April to June this year) but not specific page counts.
To focus on The Winds of Winter, Martin eliminated his outstanding side-projects in the first half of 2013, completing editing work on several anthologies (some of them now out) and concluding his contribution to The World of Ice and Fire companion volume. Several other works that were judged to be too time-consuming have either been cancelled completely (a short story for a Poul Anderson tribute anthology) or put on the back-burner until either the completion of The Winds of Winter (most notably the next Dunk 'n' Egg short story) or the completion of the whole series (a second and more in-depth companion volume, tentatively dubbed the 'GRRMarillion'). The result is that Martin has certainly had time to make inroads on The Winds of Winter.
Last month, a website randomly said that Martin had over a thousand manuscript pages completed for the book. Martin later confirmed that he had said no such thing, whilst not offering an update on his estimated page count for the book. It may be that we will get an update on the book during the inevitable press clamour for Season 4, but also possibly not: after providing updates on A Dance with Dragons that didn't seem to help the situation, Martin has indicated that he will be providing far less frequent updates on The Winds of Winter, if any at all.
However, it should be noted that George R.R. Martin has also said he wants to stay ahead of the HBO TV series if at all possible, and this will only remain a realistic goal if The Winds of Winter is released in 2015 with A Dream of Spring to follow, at the absolute latest, in 2018.
As always, believe nothing (not even this post!) until it comes from GRRM directly.
A fan mock-up of the potential cover to the book.
To clarify, Martin himself has not offered an update on the book's progress since April 2013 when, on the carpet for a Game of Thrones TV event, he confirmed that about a quarter of the book was complete (very roughly 375 manuscript pages, assuming the book will be as long as A Dance with Dragons) with additional material in drafts and partial chapters also done. Subsequently, he offered upbeat assessments that he was writing fast to stay ahead of the TV show (which will begin introducing plot elements and even characters from Books 4 and 5 in the fourth season, due to air from April to June this year) but not specific page counts.
To focus on The Winds of Winter, Martin eliminated his outstanding side-projects in the first half of 2013, completing editing work on several anthologies (some of them now out) and concluding his contribution to The World of Ice and Fire companion volume. Several other works that were judged to be too time-consuming have either been cancelled completely (a short story for a Poul Anderson tribute anthology) or put on the back-burner until either the completion of The Winds of Winter (most notably the next Dunk 'n' Egg short story) or the completion of the whole series (a second and more in-depth companion volume, tentatively dubbed the 'GRRMarillion'). The result is that Martin has certainly had time to make inroads on The Winds of Winter.
Last month, a website randomly said that Martin had over a thousand manuscript pages completed for the book. Martin later confirmed that he had said no such thing, whilst not offering an update on his estimated page count for the book. It may be that we will get an update on the book during the inevitable press clamour for Season 4, but also possibly not: after providing updates on A Dance with Dragons that didn't seem to help the situation, Martin has indicated that he will be providing far less frequent updates on The Winds of Winter, if any at all.
However, it should be noted that George R.R. Martin has also said he wants to stay ahead of the HBO TV series if at all possible, and this will only remain a realistic goal if The Winds of Winter is released in 2015 with A Dream of Spring to follow, at the absolute latest, in 2018.
As always, believe nothing (not even this post!) until it comes from GRRM directly.
Rabu, 22 Januari 2014
THE X-FILES gets a HD makeover
Back in 2012, CBS began re-releasing Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-Ray. At great expense they went back and remastered the series from the ground up, extracting a HD image from the original 32mm film and redoing all of the effects from scratch. A labourious, expensive and time-consuming task - taking six months and approximately $9 million per season - the work has paid off with the series selling very well. Seasons 6 and 7 of the remastered Next Generation are expected to be released later this year, with Deep Space Nine hopefully to follow.
It's unsurprising that other companies are now looking at doing the same thing. Warner Brothers have confirmed that they are 'looking at' Babylon 5 and, hopefully, the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (Buffy's first two seasons were particularly poorly mastered and if they can redo them in HD, I think everyone would be grateful). But it's Fox who are the next out of the gate, launching a completely remastered version of The X-Files.
Oddly, the HD version of the series isn't launching on Blu-Ray, Netflix or in the States, but on German TV, where ProSieben Maxx have already started airing the series. Picture comparisons posted on various sites already show a huge improvement in image quality, although sadly the effects footage has only been upscaled, not redone from scratch like ST:TNG's. On the one hand, big effects sequences are rare enough in The X-Files that this is not too jarring a problem. On the other, since there are relatively few scenes it's rather baffling why Fox didn't shell out to redo them. Another problem is that stock footage used by the show, particularly of locations in places like Washington, D.C., remain in SD, resulting in occasional-but-brief drops in image quality.
However, one very nice bonus is the fact that the show is now in widescreen. Star Trek: The Next Generation was 'shot for TV', meaning that whilst widescreen cameras were used, only the middle section of the camera view (i.e. what a late 1980s TV audience would see) was kept clear. This means that the widescreen shots often have crew, props, extras, actors waiting for cues, the edge of the stage etc, in view, so it was impossible to get a usable widescreen image. The X-Files, however, was launched after the Laserdisc and early widescreen TV boom of the early 1990s when TV companies realised that widescreen was the way forwards. As a result, it was filmed with widescreen in mind and this new HD release is the first time viewers have been able to see the show in this way. That said, the pilot was shot somewhat differently, with the result being that some cropping was necessary to get it looking right. How Fox are going to handle this on Blu-Ray is unknown, since cropping images to eliminate information just to get a widescreen effect is generally frowned on. The rest of the series, which was apparently filmed to account for this, should not suffer the same problem.
No timeframe has been given for the release of The X-Files on Blu-Ray, but it seems like it's a safe bet for later this year. It's also rather unclear why Fox have slipped the show out on German TV like this before confirming a US release date.
Before...
It's unsurprising that other companies are now looking at doing the same thing. Warner Brothers have confirmed that they are 'looking at' Babylon 5 and, hopefully, the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (Buffy's first two seasons were particularly poorly mastered and if they can redo them in HD, I think everyone would be grateful). But it's Fox who are the next out of the gate, launching a completely remastered version of The X-Files.
...and after.
Oddly, the HD version of the series isn't launching on Blu-Ray, Netflix or in the States, but on German TV, where ProSieben Maxx have already started airing the series. Picture comparisons posted on various sites already show a huge improvement in image quality, although sadly the effects footage has only been upscaled, not redone from scratch like ST:TNG's. On the one hand, big effects sequences are rare enough in The X-Files that this is not too jarring a problem. On the other, since there are relatively few scenes it's rather baffling why Fox didn't shell out to redo them. Another problem is that stock footage used by the show, particularly of locations in places like Washington, D.C., remain in SD, resulting in occasional-but-brief drops in image quality.
However, one very nice bonus is the fact that the show is now in widescreen. Star Trek: The Next Generation was 'shot for TV', meaning that whilst widescreen cameras were used, only the middle section of the camera view (i.e. what a late 1980s TV audience would see) was kept clear. This means that the widescreen shots often have crew, props, extras, actors waiting for cues, the edge of the stage etc, in view, so it was impossible to get a usable widescreen image. The X-Files, however, was launched after the Laserdisc and early widescreen TV boom of the early 1990s when TV companies realised that widescreen was the way forwards. As a result, it was filmed with widescreen in mind and this new HD release is the first time viewers have been able to see the show in this way. That said, the pilot was shot somewhat differently, with the result being that some cropping was necessary to get it looking right. How Fox are going to handle this on Blu-Ray is unknown, since cropping images to eliminate information just to get a widescreen effect is generally frowned on. The rest of the series, which was apparently filmed to account for this, should not suffer the same problem.
No timeframe has been given for the release of The X-Files on Blu-Ray, but it seems like it's a safe bet for later this year. It's also rather unclear why Fox have slipped the show out on German TV like this before confirming a US release date.
Jumat, 17 Januari 2014
HERO QUEST returns! Again!
After their previous crowdfunded resurrection of Hero Quest floundered on the shoals of iffy legal licensing rights, Gamezone Miniatures have returned with a new attempt. This time they are using Spanish crowdfunding site Lanzanos to fund the resurrected game.
In all other aspects, this is the same deal as their previous Kickstarter attempt: a new boxed set, with all Warhammer/Games Workshop-troubling lore and design references removed. The rules, spells, characters etc all remain the same, but the new version of the game will improve on the original in some respects: the cardboard scenery and obstacle markers will be replaced by plastic miniatures.
The campaign runs for another 23 days, but the game is already funded to the tune of 402% of its original goal. As more money is raised, more features will be added to the game (including extra cards, character sheets, models and so on). Assuming no more obstacles, the game should be available to buy at the end of this year.
In all other aspects, this is the same deal as their previous Kickstarter attempt: a new boxed set, with all Warhammer/Games Workshop-troubling lore and design references removed. The rules, spells, characters etc all remain the same, but the new version of the game will improve on the original in some respects: the cardboard scenery and obstacle markers will be replaced by plastic miniatures.
The campaign runs for another 23 days, but the game is already funded to the tune of 402% of its original goal. As more money is raised, more features will be added to the game (including extra cards, character sheets, models and so on). Assuming no more obstacles, the game should be available to buy at the end of this year.
Kamis, 16 Januari 2014
Richard Morgan completes THE DARK DEFILES
Richard Morgan has confirmed that he has finished The Dark Defiles, the concluding volume of the Land Fit For Heroes trilogy which began with The Steel Remains in 2008 and continued with The Cold Commands in 2011.
As Morgan says, this is by far the longest book he's ever written. At 247,000 words, it's a little bit shorter than Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind (259,000 words) and almost half again the length of The Cold Commands. At one stage the book was getting so big there were talks about splitting it, but that fear seems to have passed.
The book is listed as being released in the UK on 21 August and in the USA on 7 October, though neither date is finalised yet.
Great news. Morgan has reported that his next project will probably be SF, possibly set in one of his already-existing universes, so it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. In the meantime, we have one very large fantasy (with SF overtones) novel to tide us over with.
As Morgan says, this is by far the longest book he's ever written. At 247,000 words, it's a little bit shorter than Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind (259,000 words) and almost half again the length of The Cold Commands. At one stage the book was getting so big there were talks about splitting it, but that fear seems to have passed.
The book is listed as being released in the UK on 21 August and in the USA on 7 October, though neither date is finalised yet.
Great news. Morgan has reported that his next project will probably be SF, possibly set in one of his already-existing universes, so it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. In the meantime, we have one very large fantasy (with SF overtones) novel to tide us over with.
Sabtu, 11 Januari 2014
Board game version of THE WITCHER in development
Having started out as a series of best-selling novels and short story collections before becoming a series of multi-million-selling video game RPGs, The Witcher franchise is now set to become a board game.
The game is being developed by Fantasy Flight in conjunction with CD Projekt Red, the developers of the video games. Its main designer is Ignacy Trzewiczek, whose track record in board games and RPGs is fairly impressive.
The board game is expected to be released later in 2014, possibly to tie in with the release of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (expected around August).
The game is being developed by Fantasy Flight in conjunction with CD Projekt Red, the developers of the video games. Its main designer is Ignacy Trzewiczek, whose track record in board games and RPGs is fairly impressive.
The board game is expected to be released later in 2014, possibly to tie in with the release of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (expected around August).
Cover art for HALF A KING by Joe Abercrombie
io9 have released the (presumably American) cover art for Joe Abercrombie's next novel, Half a King.The first in a new trilogy aimed at a somewhat younger audience than his previous work, it will be published on 8 July in the United States by Del Rey and around the same time in the UK by HarperCollins.
io9 also have an extract from the novel which is worth checking out.
io9 also have an extract from the novel which is worth checking out.
Minggu, 05 Januari 2014
So, there's a GORMENGHAST board game
That's pretty much it. Someone's taken Mervyn Peake's ornate, ultra-dense gothic fantasy and turned it into a board game.
Is it any good? No idea. But it does make me think that the days of the Book of the New Sun tactical miniatures game can't be far off.
Is it any good? No idea. But it does make me think that the days of the Book of the New Sun tactical miniatures game can't be far off.
Rabu, 01 Januari 2014
WILD CARDS resume their invasion of the UK in 2014
Gollancz's reprints of the first three Wild Cards books and the more recent ones seems to have been quite successful, as they will be reprinting further books in the series in 2014.
At the moment, the plan seems to be release the books on the following schedule:
Aces Abroad (Wild Cards #4): 8 May
Down and Dirty (#5): 12 June
Ace in the Hole (#6): 10 July
Dead Man's Hand (#7): 14 August
Lowball (#22): 11 December
Wild Cards (#1), Aces High (#2), Jokers Wild (#3), Inside Straight (#18), Busted Flush (#19), Suicide Kings (#20) and Fort Freak (#21) are already available in the UK. The books from Inside Straight onwards establish a 'next generation' kind of setting mostly focusing on new characters with familiarity with the earlier books not assumed, however completists will no doubt be pleased to learn that they will be able to read more of the series in order by the end of next year.
At the moment, the plan seems to be release the books on the following schedule:
Aces Abroad (Wild Cards #4): 8 May
Down and Dirty (#5): 12 June
Ace in the Hole (#6): 10 July
Dead Man's Hand (#7): 14 August
Lowball (#22): 11 December
Wild Cards (#1), Aces High (#2), Jokers Wild (#3), Inside Straight (#18), Busted Flush (#19), Suicide Kings (#20) and Fort Freak (#21) are already available in the UK. The books from Inside Straight onwards establish a 'next generation' kind of setting mostly focusing on new characters with familiarity with the earlier books not assumed, however completists will no doubt be pleased to learn that they will be able to read more of the series in order by the end of next year.
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