Monday Book Pick: Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Another classic by the Grandmaster of Science Fiction. Valentine Michael Smith, born during, and the only survivor of, the first manned mission to Mars. Raised by Martians, he looks at Human society through a very different perspective than the rest of his species. Heinlein takes on sex and religion in a most irreverent fashion.
Damn You John Ringo! Damn You!
First off, ya…I’m a big fan of John Ringo‘s books, and he’s written a lot of them. I’ve been reading the Sluggy Freelance comic, which gets a lot of references in his books, even longer and I’m a long time Schlock Mercenary fan too.
I took a peek at the leaked advanced chapters for his next book, Live Free or Die, over at Buckley’s site (ya, that Buckley) and Ringo explains in the forward that this book is “sort of playing about” in the Schlock Mercenary universe, but back when the galactic civilization first made contact with Earth.
Now to highlight what an evil being John Ringo is (something he freely and perhaps just a bit too gleefully admits), this book won’t be released until February 2010. Oh…Baen will have an e-ARC version available earlier, which could be mine for about the cost of the hardcover that won’t be out for another four months.
Ok, so both John Ringo and Baen Books are EVIL! I say that with the highest level of respect for their grasp of the capitalistic system.
While I’m here, I’ll put in a good word for Baen’s ebook sales. No DRM (i.e. the copy ‘protection’ crap that assumes that paying customers are thieves), available in multiple formats, and when new books are released in hardcover, you can pick up the e-book version, direct from Baen, for usually $6. If that is still too much for you, check out what they have on the net for free! If you haven’t read of any of John Ringo’s books, you can read seven of his book for free.
Update: It’s late January, so you can pick up a DRM free e-book version of Live Free or Die at Baen‘s webscription.net site for $6. Or you could wait a little longer and get Live Free or Die as a hardcover from Amazon for $17.16. My bet is that Baen will make more money off that $6 e-book than the hardcover with a suggested retail price of $26.
Update: Live Free or Die was my Monday Book Pick for 2/1/2010.
Monday Book Pick: The Forever War
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The classic anti-war military SciFi book seen by many as an answer to Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (the Monday book pick from Feb. 9, 2009). Haldeman claims that isn’t how he wrote it, and Robert Heinlein thought it was a damn good good book. An opinion I share.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Steel Dawn
The next B-Movie to honor the late Patrick Swayze, is this post-apocalyptic action flick. Good martial arts scenes in this one. Not surprising, since Swayze studied both dance and martial arts while growing up.
Tuesday Book Pick:The Tuloriad (The Legacy of Aldenata)
Filed under: Baen Books, Monday Book Pick, Science Fiction
The Tuloriad (The Legacy of Aldenata)
by Tom Kratman with some help by John Ringo
The latest in the Posleen War series. Ya, this is supposed to be the Monday Book Pick, but I’m late with the post.
Monday Book Pick: To Where Your Scatter Bodies Go
To Where Your Scattered Bodies Go, by Philp Jose Farmer
This is the first book in Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld series, which includes a cast of everybody who was born and died from early proto-humans to 1985. We’re talking grand scale, epic Science Fiction here.
Quote of the Day
But Tokyo, let us remember, is still by far the largest, the richest and the most complex city the human race has ever devised. And it’s by far the most perverse, the most erotically intricate. Is this a coincidence? I think not.
William Gibson would most likely agree.
John Carter of Mars film still in the works
A film version of “A Princess of Mars”, the first in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars series has been listed on IMDB since 2005.
It’s still listed as in pre-production, with the latest in release dates as 2012. There are also some cast listings. The most interesting is Willem Dafoe as the Green Martian King Tars Tarkas.
As I said before, this film could be amazingly cool or a fiasco of epic proportions. With William Dafoe on board, I’m leaning more toward amazingly cool.
If the four armed Green Martians look sufficently cool, this could be a plus toward getting David Weber & John Ringo‘s March Upcountry made into a film. That would be a good thing.
Monday Book Pick: Two Hawks From Earth
Two Hawks From Earth, by Philp Jose Farmer
This classic alternate history/alternate reality book is back in print, which is a good thing. During WWII, Army Air Corps bomber pilot Roger Two Hawks bails out of his shot up bomber and lands in a different reality, one also experiencing a world spanning war.
Ya, I know. It’s Tuesday.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Six String Samurai
A fine B-Movie Martial Arts classic that combines Rock and Roll, post-apocalyptic SciFi, and Martial Arts. Oh ya, sprinke in a bit of Elvis Presley and Las Vegas for seasoning. It’s gritty, tounge in cheek, and very low budget. Our hero is stalked by non other than Death himself (who is the Heavy Metal counterpoint to our hero’s classic Buddy Holly style Rock and Roll).