December 14, 2011 | Lorna |
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William Gibson will be interviewed by Robert J. Sawyer at the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street on Thursday, January 12, 2012. Free tickets are available starting December 15. More information is available here: William Gibson at the Toronto Reference Library
June 22, 2011 | Lorna |
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A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, has spawned a tv show, several graphic novels, a fantasy role-playing game, and an on-line game. It's a good sign when a novel gives rise to fiction in other forms; it means that the readers liked the people, enjoyed the imaginary universe, and want to go back there again. The HBO tv series made The Game of Thrones the best known of Martin's many popular creations, and has increased interest in Martin's series.
The two-part graphic novel, The Hedge Knight, tells the story of a minor knight, not a major player, in The Game of Thrones. The story is set in Westeros, Martin's imaginary universe in A Game of Thrones, and reminds the readers that all minor characters have their own voices and their own stories to tell.
A Game of Thrones (Role-Playing Game)The fantasy role-playing game based on the original novel was published before the television series was made. It gives extra information about the world of Westeros, the society, religion and noble families which play out the game of thrones. The creation of their own characters gives players a worm's-eye view of life in a quasi-medieval society.
Another game, The Maester's Path, is an on-line game accessible at http://www.themaesterspath.com/#/intro. Players are trying to earn the chain of five metal links which identifies them as maesters, men of knowledge and good character who advise the noble families of Westeros.
A Dance With Dragons, the long-awaited next book in the series, will be published in the middle of July. I'm looking forward to reading it.
May 30, 2011 | Lorna |
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144 people came to the 15th Fantastic Pulp Show on May 15. There were 28 tables of different pulps and related materials available in the basement of the Lilliam Smith building. For anyone who would like more access to pulp materials, Pulpfest 2011 will take place on July 29-31 in Columbus, Ohio. For a more academic approach, Sracuse University's Bird Library has a display on pulp fiction and art, The Pulp Magazine and Contemporary Culture, illustrated with original work by Norman Saunders. The show is open until June 17.
May 17, 2011 | Lorna |
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boingboing provided a link to a new British Library Exhibit on science fiction entitled "Out of This World."
The International Aeon Award 2011 Short Fiction Contest is open to stories of up to 10,000 words in any speculative genre, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, or anything in between or unclassifiable. The aim of the contest is to promote new writers and writing in the speculative fiction genres.
May 13, 2011 | Lorna |
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The 15th Fantastic Pulps Show will take place on Saturday, May 14 between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The lower level of the Lillian H.Smith building will be filled with tables displaying the pulp magazines published in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, loved for their exotic fiction and dramatic cover art.
At 1:30 PM, Neil Mechem of Girasol Collectables will give a lecture on pulp cover art, using images taken from his own collection. The lecture will take place in the reading room of the Merril Collection of Science Fiction on the 3rd floor of the Lillian Smith building, at 239 College Street. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Merril Collection.
March 29, 2011 | Lorna |
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SF author, editor, and illustrator Glenn Grant will read from his upcoming short story collection Burning Days and talk about the writing and editing process. The event will take place on Friday, April 8 at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, 239 College Street, in the 3rd floor reading room. It starts at 7:00 p.m. and continues until people run out of questions.
Glenn Grant's fiction has appeared in Year’s Best SF 10, Interzone, Northern Stars, ArrowDreams, Island Dreams, and in the Quebeçois sf magazine Solaris. In collaboration with Tor senior editor David G. Hartwell, he has edited Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction and a second volume, Northern Suns. He has written the science fiction book review column for The Montreal Gazette, and also reviewed for such periodicals as Science Fiction Eye, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Science Fiction Studies, and bOING bOING.
The book is too new for me to provide a link, but copies will be available at Ad Astra, the local science fiction convention which will be taking place on the same weekend. It looks like being an interesting evening.
March 29, 2011 | Lorna |
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The books in the Merril Collection are mostly meant for adult readers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. However, YP fiction (fiction meant for slightly younger readers) is also collected, if it is of unusual merit. Holly Black's White Cat certainly falls into this category.
Cassell Sharpe is a student in an expensive private school. He is the family failure, the sole member of a family of magically talented criminals who has no magic. He compensates by practicing his mundane illegal skills upon his classmates. When Cassell's family brings him into their dangerous world, he and his friends use their unorthodox skills to save the lives of his brothers. The threats to life and limb are more easily resolved than the issues of trust within his complex family. This is book one of The Curse Workers, and I look forward to reading the next in the series. In the meanwhile, I am going to read all of Black's previous novels.
February 28, 2011 | Mary Cannings |
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Bonanza week! Some of my favourite authors have had new books come out and are available to be read at the Merril Collection now!
Patricia Briggs is currently my favourite fantasy author, and not only was her first fantasy reissued in a revised form last fall, Masques with a brand new sequel, Wolfsbane, but River Marked, the new Mercy Thompson book is now out!! Yeah and double yeah!
And Tamora Pierce has a new collection of short stories out: Tortall and other lands, which should help hold me until the next Beka Cooper book comes out in the fall.
I have a hard waiting for new books to come in. Authors just cannot write new books as fast as their audience can read them, and when the new book is going to continue a beloved series the wait can seem interminable, but now I have a couple of new books to keep me going while I wait for my hold on the new J. D. Robb, Treachery in Death to arrive…..
Masques http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2713107&R=2713107
Wolfsbane http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2734228&R=2734228
River Marked http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2723800&R=2723800
Treachery in Death http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2718790&R=2718790
January 25, 2011 | Lorna |
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"While You Were Reading Tolkien, I Was Watching Evangelion"
Madeleine Ashby will talk about animé in the Merril Collection reading room, Lillian Smith building, 239 College Street, 3rd floor. 7:00 PM March 16, 2011.
Canadian author Glenn Grant will read from his new collection, Burning Days, and discuss his experience as co-editor of the Canadian anthology series Northern Stars. In the Merril Collection reading room, Lillian Smith building, 239 College Street, 3rd floor, 7:00 P.M. April 8, 2011.
The 15th Annual Fantastic Pulp Show, sponsored by the Friends of the Merril Collection, will take place on May 14, 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM, in the basement of the Lillian Smith building at 239 College Street. Neil Mechem will discuss pulp cover art and artists in the afternoon in the Merril Collection reading room on the 3rd floor.
November 8, 2010 | Lorna |
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Fiction
Steampunk fantasy mixes advanced technology with Victorian culture. creating a world which is recognizable, but turned sideways to reality. In Meljean Brook's new book, Iron Duke Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth's problems begin with a murder on the property of Rhys Trahaearn, the sinister Iron Duke. The stakes become higher as Mina and Rhys use their wits to resolve political and personal dangers arising from pirates, zombies, zeppelins and nanotechnology. Highly recommended.
Related Non-Fiction
Packing for Mars: the curious science of life in the void was written by Mary Roach, author of Stiff: the curious lives of human cadaver, Spook: science tackles the afterlife, and other clever books in which she investigates aspects of everyday life which most people manage to overlook. Mary Roach shares the fun of researching the personal aspects of space travel; chatting with astronauts, visiting the vomit comet (NASA's freefall facility),and details the odd experiments devised to work out if it is possible to get there from here, exactly how we would have to prepare for the trip.
Favourite Sites
Lines and Colors - Art Blog
Charley Parker doesn't limit his blog to art involving science fiction and fantasy; he covers a wide variety of artists, techniques and areas of associated interest. Readers interested in dinosaurs will also enjoy this site. Lines and colors is updated frequently and provides links to other sites of interest.
