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Out
of the Woodwork 144. November 2008 Welcome to our newsletter, it contains up to the minute news and gossip as well as awards details and items requiring help from the collective consciousness. If you wish to contribute please do so! We welcome your thoughts, your news items and any gossip! We do love a bit of gossip here at Fantastic HQ Barrington J. Bayley, born 1937, October 14, 2008, at the age of 71, from complications following bowel cancer. Bayley's first published story was "Combat's End" in Vargo Statten Science Fiction Magazine in 1954. In the 1960s he published regularly in New Worlds magazine and then various New Worlds anthologies, with notable stories including "All the King's Men" (1965), "The Ship of Disaster" (1965), and "The Four-Color Problem" (1971). His idiosyncratic, complex, sometimes gloomy novels began with Star Virus (1964, US publication 1970) and included over a dozen novels published in the US by Ace and later DAW, among them Collision Course (aka Collision with Chronos, 1972), The Fall of Chronopolis (1974), The Soul of the Robot (1974), The Garments of Caean (1976), and The Zen Gun (1982). Full Locus obituary Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park has died, aged 66, 2008 after a private battle against cancer. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background. He was the author of The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Timeline, State of Fear, Prey, and Next. He was also the creator of ER, but most famous for being the author of Jurassic Park, and its sequel The Lost World, both adapted into high grossing films and leading to the very successful franchise. BBC Tony Hillerman dies -26th October 2008 : A writer who won critical acclaim for his tales of Navajo crime fighters. Tony Hillerman won critical acclaim as well as professional awards – from the Crime Writers of America (CWA) and the Western Writers of America (WWA) – for his vivid, lyrical and absorbing novels featuring Native American (in his case Navajo) sleuths at work in contemporary America. Full Independent obituary Blushes at Locus, where on the 6th November they reported the death of Forry Ackerman at 95 years old. It turned out the old codger, who was a customer of ours, is still going strong, red faces and trebles all round! David Tennant has announced he will leave Doctor Who after filming a string of special episodes next year. We don't expect Russell Brand to be offered the role of the new Doctor! Full BBC interview The British Library has a recording of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle talking about the creation of Sherlcok Holmes - absolutely stunning to hear his voice! British Library According to the BBC Prince Charles snubbed an opportunity to take a part in Dr Who. The Prince of Wales turned down an offer to star in Doctor Who, executive producer Russell T Davies has claimed. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the BBC show's writer called the prince "a miserable swine" for not accepting the invitation. According to Clarence House, however, the prince did not see the offer as it was turned it down on his behalf. (Full BBC story) Ridley Scott to direct Joe Haldeman's "Forever War". The New York Times is reporting that after the disappointing box office performance of his film “Body of Lies” last weekend, the director Ridley Scott has added an adaptation of Joe Haldeman’s science-fiction novel “The Forever War” to his roster of projects, Variety reported. Mr. Scott first became interested in making a movie of the novel more than 25 years ago, after coming to prominence with the sci-fi films “Alien” and “Blade Runner.” Laura Wilson has won the 2008 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award with Stratton’s War, published by Orion. She was presented with the award and a cheque for £3000 at a ceremony held on the evening of October 27th 2008. The location was an elegant Georgian townhouse, the swanky, intimate, and lively headquarters of The Georgian Group at 6 Fitzroy Square, London. The judges commented: ‘Gradually Laura Wilson’s atmospheric book unites the two main strands of her subtle plot. Her characters are complex and totally believable, as is their struggle to cope with wartime London, with its constant bombing, increasing bureaucracy, and the breakdown of family life. The plot builds into a complex picture of a time in which no one is immune from the insidious effects of war. CWA Remember this one? One for the collective
consciousness: I've been idly trying to find a copy of a
sci-fi/futuristic book I read back in the 1980s which I borrowed
from the library at the time. Unfortunately I can't remember the
title or the author! I thought the author was Michael Frayn, but
having searched various booksellers and the library catalogue he
appears to be a playwright and doesn't appear to have written anything
like the book I remember, so I'm probably mistaken in this. Jean-Francois Virey tried :- Hi, I tried to answer the Newsletter query ("One for the collective consciousness") but the link didn't work. The novel sounds very similar to Kevin O'Donnell's "Ora:cle". Sincerely, JFV Andrew Ferguson thought it might be "This sounds a lot like James Follet’s Mindwarp book" Marise muddied the waters: Dennis Lien thought he knew, but hedged his bets: Based on the full query description, it sounds a little bit like Andre Norton's OUTSIDE, but probably not enough like it for that to be the answer. (For one thing, aboveground domes rather than underground, and not set in the UK as far as I know. It is a slim paperback, though, if that helps... The whole "underground life for pampered humans until the machinery breaks down" plot is a pretty common one, going back at least to E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" from 1909 (but it's not that story either). Denny Lien but then we had a rush of answers that seemed to point to the
correct answer: Mark Young thinks he's cracked it
though! Ramsey Campbell agreed: Hi folks!
Though I haven't read the book, I take the query to refer to Michael
Frayn's 1968 novel A Very Private Life. Kees Buis also checked in with us:
Actually, Michael Frayn did write SF: A Very Prive Life Graham Tubb also e-mailed us: Hi Sounds
like Michael Frayn's 'A Very Private Life' pub.1968 Jo Roth responded and we sent the link to Penny: The first "collective consciousness" book sounds like
A Very Private Life by Michael Frayn. Joe Roth Penny responded straight away: Hi Simon But we've had only a little help on this one - can anyone else offer any help? All of the excitment in the financial world of late, apart from reminding me of that Chinese curse about interesting times, reminded me of a story I read a while back. America was threatened with a recession, and someone traced the origins back to an individual somewhere in the backwoods who decided not to buy a new car or something. He was then given the money for whatever he had decided he couldn't afford and the whole impending recession unravelled. I (and doubtless the erstwhile, self-styled Masters of the Universe) would be grateful if your erudite readers could point me in the direction of this story. Thanks, and keep up the good work, David (can you help with this one?) Richard Christou at least gave us a little bit more to work on - ring any bells? Simon, On the second one for collective consciousness. I have read this story myself and remember it well – the description is really accurate. I know it was published in Analog around 1960 – 65, but I am afraid I can’t remember the title. Perhaps my reference will at least jog someone’s memory. Regards. Richard International Horror Guild Awards winners Peter Straub, named earlier as the year's LIVING LEGEND, was honored in an essay by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz. Winners and finalists are as follows: LIVING LEGEND
World Fantasy Awards winners
Feathered Dinosaur found in China The fossil of a "bizarre" feathered dinosaur from the era before birds evolved has been discovered in China. Epidexipteryx was very bird-like, with four long ribbon-like tail feathers - probably used in display. But the pigeon-sized creature shows no sign of the flight feathers seen in other bird-like dinosaurs, according to a report in the journal Nature. Full BBC story and weird picture! The Dabel brothers have been busy again! Dabel Brothers Publishing is excited to announce the original comic book series Take a Chance, written by best-selling author C.E. Murphy, with art by Ardian Syaf, already known for his fantastic work on Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle.
"Take A Chance has been a years-long pet project, built on the shoulders of my insanely talented artist and colorist, Ardian Syaf and Jason Embury. We've been on a long road, but I was convinced that patience would bring me to the right publisher, and working with the Dabel Brothers has proved me right," says C.E. Murphy. "They're as excited about the comic as I am, which is saying quite a lot--finally seeing it come to fruition is just amazing."
Five years ago, Frankie Kemp's four-year old son was shot and killed in the crossfire of gang warfare. Desperate to do something to protect other children, Frankie became "Chance", a masked vigilante in a world without superheroes.
However, that all changed when a genetically engineered virus escaped North Korean scientists and spread world-wide. Intended to create a super-soldier program, the virus improved on the basic human template--when it didn't sicken or kill. Now the world is suddenly littered with super-powered beings, and Chance must rediscover her place in the changing world around her.
"C. E. Murphy and Ardian Syaf make a great team. Ardian's work on Take A Chance is just as stunning as his art on The Dresden Files," says Les Dabel, Vice President of Dabel Brothers Publishing, "This is a book that we believe in, and one that I think readers will really enjoy." Dabel Brothers Publishing announced today the acquisition of an original story by Dean Koontz which they will develop in comic book and graphic novel form. Dean Koontz's Nevermore, written by Keith Champagne based on an outline by Koontz and illustrated by Andy Smith, will be published in five comic-book issues between February and June 2009. Nevermore's hero is 35-year-old multibillionaire Robert Godric. In a desperate attempt to bring back his wife, Nora, who died at 33 of an aggressive brain cancer, Godric invents cross-time travel and searches for a living Nora on the infinity of parallel Earths. Inadvertently, he and his team encounter an alien hivelike race—the Hydra—that is conquering Earth after Earth after Earth. If the Hydra find our version by following Godric back to it, our civilization will not survive the invasion. Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, will distribute a graphic-novel collected edition of the individual comics. "We are very excited about doing an original never-before-seen story by Dean Koontz," said Ernst Dabel, president. "To put it plainly, Dean is a storyteller of the highest caliber." Dean Koontz has said, "I love working with the Dabels for their style and exuberance." Dept of smug self satisfaction (cont): many thanks for the book i was really pleased with your service
it was in really good condition and you had packed it well http://www.fantasticliterature.com We also buy books and travel around the country to purchase, we will pay a finders fee to anyone who puts us in touch with a collection we later purchase. Instant ordering on our web site in
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