Babel Clash

We’ve had a wonderful two weeks with the two authors responsible for Leviathan Wakes, the space opera beginning The Expanse series.  After reading it, and reading Daniel and Ty’s posts these past two weeks, I can’t wait for more from them!  As is customary for the last day of our guest’s stay on the blog, I’m opening up the floor to them both to plug, promote, and let our readers know about anything they’ve got in the pipeline!  Also, don’t forget that while you’re waiting for Leviathan Wakes to release in June, you should definitely take a gander at Daniel’s latest novel, The Dragon’s Path.

Again, I want to sincerely thank Daniel and Ty for their time.  As an aspiring novelist myself, I especially appreciated all the writing tips and inspiration you both offered up. 

Once the space dust settles from Daniel and Ty, we’ll be switching gears to the world of Anita Blake, vampire hunter!  That’s right!  For the next two weeks, we’ll be joined by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series!  We are absolutely humbled and delighted to have Laurell K. Hamilton join us on Babel Clash.  It will be great to hear what she has to say.

Also, don’t forget, her 19th installment of the Anita Blake series, Bullet, comes out in paperback on May 31st.

Then, one week later, the newest Anita Blake novel, Hit List, hits stores! Feel free to pre-order it now at borders.com for 47% off the retail price! Click the image below to be taken to the Hit List pre-order page!

Again, please join me in thanking Daniel and Ty, as well as welcoming Laurell K. Hamilton to the blog!  What a great four weeks of posting between the three, right?

I’d like to thank Chris Wooding and Kevin Hearne for a great two weeks on the blog.  Not only did we receive two weeks of great posting with topics ranging from the state of sci-fi/fantasy today to a discussion about literary awards and their necessity for the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but we also got a very cool map that Kevin and Chris helped populate with our readers! 

Since today is the last day, I’m going to allow Chris and Kevin to both plug away to their heart’s content.  SPOILER ALERT:  I can guarantee you’ll probably see the final map today as well.

Then, starting tomorrow, we have Daniel Abraham, author of The Dragon’s Path and Ty Franck, who have joined forces to write as James S.A. Corey.  Their first book together, Leviathan Wakes, releases June 15th from Orbit Books.  Leviathan Wakes is the first in a planned series called The Expanse, that mixes space opera, noir thriller, and excellent world building. 

I believe George R.R. Martin said it best about this book - “It’s been too long since we’ve had a really kick-ass space opera.  Leviathan Wakes is interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be be written, the kind of SF that made me fall in love with the genre.”

Why are so many fantasy settings based on medieval Europe?  The journeys through these new worlds seem familiar because they have this common root ancestor.  There are exceptions, such as Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet or Jane Lindskold’s Thirteen Orphans, but they tend not to catch on in a big way.

One of my favorite non-European settings is Stephen King’s Dark Tower world.  This apocalyptic Old West is one of the most unique landscapes in speculative fiction, and it shows that the fantasy fan is willing to branch out.  Granted, the Stephen King name helps.  There’s also Star Wars, which is as much fantasy as science fiction.  It features a traditional fantasy plot (rescuing the princess and overthrowing an evil empire) in an outer space settting.

So what other cultures or time periods are ripe for a fantasy interpretation?  I’d vote for Shogun-era Japan.