After reading the Telegraph (UK) top 100 most influential books of the ‘noughties’ - we’ve decided spec fic (unsurprisingly) is not well represented. So we’re throwing the floor open to you – what are your top sf/f/h books of the decade? We’ll compile the list and put it up before the end of the year.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
15 Days of Deverry starts today
October 28, 2009
Book Seven of the Dragon Mage
The 15 Days of Deverry Party starts today with the release of The Silver Mage. Everyone is invited!
The Silver Mage is the final volume in the Celtic inspired cycle of interbraided lives, personalities and events in the alternate world of Deverry, through eras and generations of Deverry’s historical and chronological time!
15 Days of Deverry is an online celebration of the successful conclusion of Katharine Kerr’s vision for this Celtic knot of inter-braided novels. The 15 Days stands for the 15 titles that constitute the cycle’s sequence.
A community at livejournal, deverry15 , is now up and running – so go and post away to your heart’s content!
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
October 20, 2009This isn’t actually a Voyager book, nor is it strictly fantasy but it speaks to me as a fantasy fan, so thought I would share it on the blog:
15 Days of Deverry
October 20, 2009Book Seven of the Dragon Mage
The Silver Mage by acclaimed fantasy author Katherine Kerr is out at the end of this month from Voyager in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and from DAW in the US.
The 15 Days of Deverry Party Committee are delighted to share the news of an online-everywhere celebration in honor of the publication of The Silver Mage. Everyone is invited!
The Silver Mage is the final volume in the Celtic inspired cycle of interbraided lives, personalities and events in the alternate world of Deverry, through eras and generations of Deverry’s historical and chronological time!
15 Days of Deverry is an online celebration of the successful conclusion of Katharine Kerr’s vision for this Celtic knot of inter-braided novels. The 15 Days stands for the 15 titles that constitute the cycle’s sequence.
A community at livejournal, deverry15 , has been set up and will be used to house all links to all things Deverry over the next two weeks and more.
For further information, join the deverry15 community at livejournal where you can ask questions, join the discussion, and make additional suggestions.
We encourage you to post about your experience reading these books, as well as to post your congratulations to the author and her grand vision. You can post about how and when you first read one of the books, what attracted you to the series, which of the Deverry heroes ranks #1 in the Hotness Factor, the overarching themes and structure of the series — or anything else about the Deverry world and books that has affected you. We hope you all will share your own unique views of Katharine Kerr’s achievement.
We’re very excited by the successful completion of this Grand Fantasy Vision, so we’re throwing a big party to celebrate! All of you are special guests. Please come! Post often! Bring your friends, your dog, your cat and your dragon too!
Author Mary Victoria on her influences
October 7, 2009In which the author lists influences on her writing, rather than writing under the influence, whatever you may think of the result!
It all started a terrifyingly long time ago, when kids wore cords, computer games were massive burping things in the arcade and bikes were engines of bravado and destruction on which fearless young acrobats rode without bothering about such things as helmets. Helmets? For people riding bikes? Why? Because I’m doing a wheelie while standing on the pedals? Pfft, that’s not dangerous. You should see me doing a wheelie while standing on the pedals and executing a 108 degree turn holding the handlebars with only my knees.
In those golden years, young tearaways might opt to spend their quieter hours watching Little House On The Prairie, mesmerized by the gap between Melissa Gilbert’s teeth, or else read a book. We had no television: therefore I read, Melissa-less. I read, and read. I read fantastical history and historical fantasy, fairy tales and science fiction. And the books I read during those years trickled down deep, collecting sediment in my soul. These are the books I am now made of. They form the bedrock structure of me. I sometimes forget they are there, and unconsciously reproduce them in my own work. Surprise! There’s nothing new under the sun. And certainly, the best of these books are worthy of imitating, almost blindly. Shall I list the saints? Here they are, icons of my childhood:
Mary Stewart, whose Arthurian saga told from the point of view of Merlin was set in a historically accurate 5th century Britain, rather than a medieval pastiche. The books are called The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and the Last Enchantment. There are others in the series, but those were the ones I read. They are still among the best retellings of that story I have come across.
Rosemary Sutcliff gave us another set of wonderful Arthurian tales. She also wrote Song for a Dark Queen, now apparently out of print, about Queen Boudicca. (Or Boadicea, as I would have called her.) Enter the tragic red-haired heroine!
Mary Renault, who wrote The King must Die, was probably the greatest influence on my current work. She was also one that I had entirely forgotten about until a couple of years ago – when I realized I was writing yet another version of the Theseus legend. Her retelling of that story as a ‘bildungsroman,’ a coming-of-age tale, anchored in historical fact and immensely believable, simply engraved itself in me as a template… I remember having the sense, when I discovered ancient Greece through her eyes, that “this was how it was.” Mary Renault did not lie.
Ursula K. Le Guin may be my chief saint, and certainly at the age of nine I had set her up in a wall alcove, with a candle. This was a woman who produced imaginary worlds so vivid I immediately recognized those island landscapes of Earthsea, populated by goats and wizards. I was home. (Perhaps it helped that I grew up on the island of Cyprus, which contains a surfeit of goats, though sadly no wizards.) She conjured up alien customs and fantastical beliefs with conviction, as if she had just returned from an anthropological survey with a sack-full of notes. And she did not judge the people she described. They were just there, the good and the bad, the wise and the ugly, and it was her job to introduce them, and tell their stories.
They all had that in common, these storytelling saints and demiurges. They did not pronounce judgment on their creations. I was left with the responsibility of making up my own mind – that, perhaps, was their greatest gift to me…
Mary Victoria’s first book Tymon’s Flight isn’t out until next year but it will be well worth waiting for – it’s set in a tree! You can read more about it at Mary’s LiveJournal.
See Karen Miller at Gen Con in Brisbane
September 17, 2009Friday September 18th
Hot Tips for Fiction Writers (Seminar Room 1, 2pm): Join Karen Miller, David Conyers, and Matt Farrer as they give away the hot tips that all aspiring writers should know.
Everything I know About Writing I Learned from TV (Seminar Room 1, 4pm): Karen Miller, Kylie Chan, and Marianne De Pierres discuss the things writers can learn from television, film and games.
Saturday September 19th
From Fan to Fiction (Seminar Room 3, 11 am) Join authors Karen Miller, Keith Baker and Matt Farrer as they discuss their journey from fans to fiction authors in the worlds of Eberron, Star Wars, Star Gate, and Warhammer.
Mass Signing: Our current goal is to set up a mass signing for all the authors at the show between 1pm and 3 pm in Authors Alley.
Q&A with Karen Miller (Seminar Room 1, 5 pm): Join our Special Guest Karen Miller as she discusses her own novels and her work in the Star Wars and Stargate universes.
Sunday September 20th
Writing Fantasy and SF Novels (Seminar Room 3, 12 pm, 2 hours): Join Star Wars, Stargate and fantasy novelist Karen Miller in this workshop as she introduces you to the craft and technique of writing your first science fiction or fantasy novel.
September 16, 2009
The Official Sequel
Someone is (rightfully) excited about the upcoming sequel to Dracula by Bram Stoker’s descendant …
I utterly love love love all of this – imagine having access to notes by one of the top writers of an era which has made such an impact on future writers and artists and film makers? I am so looking forward to attending this [an evening with author Dacre Stoker] and reading the book. I may have to go and buy myself a new copy of Dracula as I’ve not read it in ages, ten years or so. Just, you know, to make sure I’ve not lost any of the story…
An evening with Dacre Stoker (for lucky Londonites – but here’s hoping it will be recorded) – and have a peek through the pages through Browse Inside below.
 |
  Browse Inside this bookGet this for your site |
 |
Win a Voyager New Release Pack worth more than $100!
September 7, 2009
Voyager Competition
We have so many great new stories from Voyager we just couldn’t choose which one to giveaway. So we will give you a chance to win them all!
Three lucky winners will win a Voyager pack worth over $100. Your pack will include:
K.J Taylor’s tale of a world where griffins rule — The Dark Griffin
The Last Stormlord — The beginning of Glenda Larke’s absorbing new series
Galileos’s Dream — The dazzling new novel from the acclaimed author of the Mars trilogy Kim Stanley Robinson
We’ll Always Have Paris – an all-new collection of effortlessly beautiful tales from the author of FAHRENHEIT 451 Ray Bradbury
Rides A Dread Legion — The first book in a blockbuster series by the master of epic fantasy, Raymond E. Feist.
For your chance to win tell us in 25 words or less:
What has been your favourite Voyager book of 2009 and why?
Remember to include your name and address details. Competition closes 5pm Wednesday 30th September 2009. To enter email voyager@harpercollins.com.au with the subject line “New Release Pack”
Competition terms and conditions
1. Information on how to enter forms part of the terms and conditions of entry. Promoter is HarperCollins Publishers Pty Limited ABN 36 009 913 517, 25 Ryde Road, Pymble NSW 2073, Australia.
2. Competition closes at 5pm Wednesday 30th September 2009(AEST).
3. Entry is open to Australian & New Zealandresidents only.
4. Entry is closed to employees (and their immediate families), agencies or trade customers of HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd and its associated companies.
5. All entries are via e-mail only. The competition requires entrants to answer a question.
6. Entries close 5pm Wednesday 30th September 2009(AEST) and entrants may enter one (1) time only.
7. This is a game of skill in which chance plays no part.
8. The judge’s decision in relation to any aspect of this competition is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
9. Prize consists of a Voyager Book Pack valued at more than $100 – The Dark Griffin, The Last Stormlord, Gelileo’s Dream, We’ll Always Have Paris, Rides a Dread Legion
10. Prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash.
11. All prizes will be awarded. The prize will be awarded the business day following the competition closing date, 5pm Wednesday 30th September 2009(AEST) at 25 Ryde Road, Pymble NSW 2073.
12. The cost of entering the competition is limited to the cost of individuals telephony charges and Internet access rates.
13. The promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss) or personal injury suffered or sustained in relation to use of this prize.
14. All entries received remain the property of HarperCollins Pty Ltd and may be used for additional promotions.
Win a Glenda Larke book set worth over $150!
August 28, 2009
 Win a prize pack!
|
Voyager is giving you the chance to win the complete Glenda Larke pack including The Mirage Makers and Isles of Glory series, a finished copy of The Last Stormlord and the next two books in the Stormlord series as soon as they are released!
To win send your review of The Last Stormlord to voyager@harpercollins.com.au
And to sweeten the deal we will give FIVE runners up a Glenda Larke backlist pack with the Mirage Makers & Isles of Glory books. So your chances of winning are 5 times greater!
Read & Review The Last Stormlord here
This competition is for Australian residents only.
