Humanity’s Fire Vol 3: The Ascendant Stars – Interim Report

Posted on July 22, 2010 by rockitboy

Blog posts, you may find, are becoming scarcer of late. Simple reason being that I am engaged in the furious ongoing writing of The Ascendant Stars, 3rd part of the Humanitys Fire trilogy. Plenty happening, of course, now that the story threads are drawer closer together and the dramatic clashes grow more frequent and more intense. I’m enjoying the hell out of it, and I aint even reached the first really big battle yet!

Patience, my people, patience and all will be revealed. In time, of course.

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Die Saat Der Erde: Seeds Of Earth From My German Publisher, Heyne

Posted on July 16, 2010 by rockitboy

For yes, today I received my contractually obliged 6 copies of the paperback of the first part of Humanity’s Fire in german, Die Saat Der Erde, and a rather handsome volume it is too. And in the opening pages I discover that ‘Deutsche Ubersetzung von Norbert Stobe’, meaning that the translation into German was carried out by one Norbert Stobe (with an umlaut on the 2nd ‘O’).

My thanks to you, Norbert – I would love to know how you got on with translating some of the book’s boisterous  Scots flavour!

die saat der erde

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Frenzied Fear Of Garments!

Posted on July 14, 2010 by rockitboy

You know what this is about – uh huh, its about French legislators banning the niqab (thats the veil, not the burkah as the braindead Daily Express has it). Now, who in their right mind really think this is going to change actions and more importantly the thinking of Muslim women in France? Are they going to look at this new law and think, “Gosh, well, if its the law then I better not wear it any more.” Or will they think, “Why should I give up my customs and beliefs to satisfy the infantile fears of some French people?” (and of course, there will continue to be pressure from the husbands of Muslim women for them to keep wearing it).

Its all so stupid. If you focus on one ethnic group and make it illegal for them to wear a piece of cloth, isnt it just possible that maybe, just maybe that might make them bloody-minded enough to determinedly adopt it?

I mean, this has happened before, in Britain, no less. In 1746 the Dress Act banned the wearing of the kilt, which was essentially the traditional garb of the Highland clans and the Jacobites. When the act was repealed 35 years later, the kilt was embraced by almost every community in Scotland (or least the ones who could afford the cloth). I commend to your attention the following link:

http://thecrosshead.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/the-kilt-the-burkha-hatred-and-the-express/

Just take a look at the Daily Express clippings below the article – if ever there a case were needed for closing down that vile rag in the name of decency and civilisation, there it is. In fact, if the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and the Sun were to vanish overnight, the level of civilisation in the UK would burgeon and a new golden age would be upon us…or at least an age where we’d be spared the febrile, corrosive hate that drips from their pages.

Filed under: Berzerkergang, Politics | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Sherlock Holmes: Warner Home Video Pulls A Switcheroo

Posted on July 11, 2010 by rockitboy

I think I blogged here a few months ago about how much I loved the new Sherlock Holmes movie (so much that I went to see it twice). So naturally I was waiting for the dvd to hit the shelves, especially the 2-disc special edition which had been mentioned in much of the post-cinema release promo, along with a list of the extras and featurettes etc.

Well, time has worn on, the single-DVD version was released and now that several weeks have passed by I thought I’d do a google-trawl to see when we could expect the special edition. Well, imagine my surprise when I found that yes, there is a 2 disc version available but its a DVD+blueray special edition with the extras on the blueray disc. There is an American special edition out, but its the same as the UK standard edition (the movie plus a 14 minute featurette) but also including some artwork and a comic.

Wot the fudge is going on? Much dedicated, rephrase-heavy googling later I discovered that there IS in fact a 2-DVD special edition avaiable – er, in the Asia market, Thailand, Korea, etc etc. Yet for some reason it is impossible to purchase this version via Amazon or Play.com. So, in short, we the public have been flipped the bird. “Haw haw, so now if ya wanna see the extras, yer gonna haveta buy a blueray machine. Kerching kerching!”

Scum.

Filed under: Movies, Politics | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Humanity’s Fire Ebooks

Posted on July 1, 2010 by rockitboy

Indeed, it’s true – have just signed paperwork regarding Orbit publishing the Humanitys Fire trilogy in ebook format(s), and once the paperwork procedure has been completed, and Orbit’s team get it on the conveyor belt, said ebooks shall be forthcoming from the usual outlets. More information on schedule, price, availability as and when.

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SFX Mag Mugshot Extravaganza!

Posted on June 27, 2010 by rockitboy

So, if you wander down to your local news/mag emporium and pick up a copy of the latest SFX (June edish), you can turn to page 45 and see real, untouched pictures of your hmble scribe from the SFX bash at Waterstones Piccadilly branch. Sitting right there between Philip Palmer and Mike Carey, with the inimitable China M holding forth (and later next to Dan Abnett and Adam Roberts with China M once more addressing the comrades). Twas a great night (lurgy notwithstanding), and I hope there’ll more to come.

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My Favourite Space Operas Over At SF Signal

Posted on June 23, 2010 by rockitboy

Says it all really – was asked to contribute my faves to SF Signal’s regular Mind Meld feature. So get ye hence and scroll to the bottom for my pronunciamentos:

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/06/mind-meld-the-best-space-operas-in-science-fiction/

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Top Ten Obscure Doom Metal Bands

Posted on June 19, 2010 by rockitboy

Okay, bit of a rush job this, no links and stuff, just the band titles and comment. Just throwing it out there to see what the response will be:

10. Elder – doom band from Massachusetts, got an ep and a full-length out

9. MOAB – little known doom band, has an ep called ‘The Dimensioner’ out

8. Black Pyramid – another Massachusetts band, have released a demo, a full-length, an ep and a split with Old One

7. Catapult The Smoke – swedish band, got an album called ‘Unearth’ available

6. Orodruin – New York band, released ‘Epicurean Mass’ full length, and ‘Claw Tower And Other Tales Of Terror’, a compilation of early songs.

5. Maligno – great trad doom band from Guadelupe, Mexico. Two albums out (but hard to get hold of on this side of the world) – self-titled CD from 2006, and ‘Universevil’ from 2008.

4. Nogg (aka Eggnogg) – from Clinton, New York, this band put out their 1st under the name Eggnogg, a tasty, downtuned sludgy slab of Sabbath-channelling. Recently released a followup EP, free to download from their myspace

3. Sloth – released one cd, ‘Voice of God’, in 2001, astonishing collection of bass-heavy, blues-ridden doomtastic tunes

2. Forsaken – from Malta, they’ve release a coupla demos, coupla eps, and 4 full-length albums redolent of Sabbath-worship yet vibrant with an energy and direction all their own. Recently released a split ep with Fall Of The Idols.

1. Krux – this is the side-project of Leif Edling, songwriter and bassist for Candlemass; there have been just 2 Krux albums (entitled 1 and 2) and they are both astonishing, hard, heavy, doom-laden and angry. A new Krux cd is supposedly in the works for this year.

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The 5 Unjust Beliefs

Posted on June 16, 2010 by rockitboy

Happened across  this quote from a book called INJUSTICE by Danny Dorling:

“The five tenets of injustice are that: elitism is efficient, exclusion is necessary, prejudice is natural, greed is good and despair is inevitable. Because of widespread and growing opposition to the five key unjust beliefs, including the belief that so many should now be ‘losers’, most of those advocating injustice are careful with their words. And those who believe in these tenets are the majority in power across almost all rich countries. Although many of those who are powerful may want to make the conditions of life a little less painful for others, they do not believe that there is a cure for modern social ills, or even that a few inequalities can be much alleviated. Rather, they believe that just a few children are sufficiently able to be fully educated and only a few of those are then able to govern; the rest must be led. They believe that the poor will always be with us no matter how rich we are. They have also come to believe that most others are naturally, perhaps genetically, inferior to them. And many of this small group believe that their friends’ and their own greed is helping the rest of humanity as much as humanity can be helped; they are convinced that to argue against such a counsel of despair is foolhardy. It is their beliefs that uphold injustice.”
— Danny Dorling, Injustice, Policy Press, 2010, pp. 1-2

 

Wish I could afford the book – pricey hardcover, ya see!

Filed under: Politics, history, philosophy | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Back From Alt.Fiction In Derby

Posted on June 16, 2010 by rockitboy

And what an interesting jaunt it was – was meant to catch the 7am from Glasgow Central (for an arrival in Derby at 12.25, allowing enough leeway to cab it to the Derby Quad in time for the signing sesh at 1pm); however, said train broke down and we passengers were shifted onto the 8am to Birmingham New St. Got there with about 5 mins to find the Derby connecting train, which I did with barely seconds to spare – except that the train manager wouldnt let me on. Just stood there and told me – twice – that I`d missed the train. His face was expressionless as the door closed and off the train sped.

I was massively unimpressed. Anyway, got the next train, got to the signing with more than half an hour to go so wasnt too much of a loss. The signing took place in a room called the Box, in which a few dealer tables had been set up. Kate Griffin and Mike Carey were there too, so we exchanged bon mots and pithy sayings until our time was done (also caught up with Mark Chitty from Walker of Worlds website, finally!). After a break at the bar (encountering the singular Ian Sales, the unique John Jarrold, and sundry other mould-breaking stalwarts) it was off to a media room for the podcast. This involved myself, Tony Ballantyne and Colin Harvey (Tony’s brother from Bizzaroworld!). Hosted by the podcastmistress, Adele, we discussed the Future Of The Future, delved into definitions, the meaning of SF in culture, the effect of tech on the way we write, and various other sidealleys. It was all very enjoyable, and apparently the podcast of this event will be released to the internet in a few weeks time, I understand. Announcements will be made on this blog and elsewhere.

After that, the Saturday went pretty well – went off to the hotel, Jurys, which was very nice, and my room was nice and cool (with adjustable a/c controls), had a shower, then back to the Quad for more general chinwaggery prior to heading off for some nosh at the local Slug & Lettuce, truly one of the loudest restaurants I’ve ever been in. In attendance were myself, Ian Sales, Tony Ballantyne, Roy Gray and local lad Jyoti Mishra and as we were attacking our various platters the England-USA match was being shown on the various screens; and yes, when England scored the goal the entire place went pure stone mental! (Luckily w were spared the sight of THAT goalie fumble as we’d left by then).

So back to the Quad bar for nattering and gossiping, and such like. Made it back to the hotel for about 11pm, feeling pretty shattered (was up at 5.30am after all, for the train that never was!). Next morning had breakfast with Tony Ballantyne during which we speculated upon the various methods by which Andy Remic could (or indeed should) tackle everyday activities. (Cue gritty male Hollywood movie voice-over: “In a world gone mad, Andy Remic gets his laundry done!”….that kinda thing…)(Sorry, Andy, it was the camo pants that set us off).

After that, got a cab to the station and boarded a crowded, standingroom only train to Birmingham New St from which I caught the next one to Glasgow (in a seat of me own). So in all a great weekend was had – my thanks to the organisers of Alt.Fiction for inviting me, and major major thanks to Rose Tremlett at Orbit for coordinating it.

Filed under: Buddies, humour, my publications, on writing, science fiction | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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