Chronicle 21 - The Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Web Site

Issue 21 - January 2003

Introduction and a Farewell to 2002:

Another year has been. We've had many wonderful contacts with readers and authors from all over the globe. We've read many, many good books. I just thought I would offer an opinion on the books I consider to be the highlights of the last year's releases. I've come to a decision on the three books I consider to be the top of the year (of the ones I've read).

But before I mention these I though I should pay some praise to titles that came close to my final selection.

I've just finished two book s that were of a very high standard (reviews below). Zane Smith's Anglomerika, a dark tale of future America gradually turning into a fascist dictatorship told from the point of view of Sam O'Hara, one of the change's victims was a compelling sf novel that plays on some common fears people have as they grow older in an ever-changing world, even if we don't normally expect the changes to be as great as O'Hara's character experiences.

Garth Nix's Sibrael is a young adult fantasy novel that I feel wonderfully spans the gap for readers of the Harry Potter novels before they move onto reading adult fantasy tomes. Unlike the Potter books it takes place in an entirely different world and includes many elements that are truly magickal.

And there was a quite wonderful novella of a different twentieth century with strong but not overpowerful political overtones entitled The Human Front from Ken MacLeod following the activites of a communist sympathiser in this alternate Scotland.

But good though each of these (and the many other books I read) were these are the three I pick as the best of 2002.

First up is a wonderful science fiction novel from Robert Charles Wilson - The Chronoliths. In the middle of the Thailand jungle a large stone monolith appears commemorating a great military victory acheived by General Kuin some twenty years into the future. When I first heard of this book and it's premise, I was gripped and anticipation built in me until its release when the Amazon package arrived. I was a little worried that I had let this book get built up in my head an I would only be disappointed. Thankfully I was wrong and Mr. Wilson delivered an amazing read.

The second of my choices is Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. This is the second adventure of Thursday Next. Ms. Next is a literary detective who investigates crimes involving works of fiction. This is one of the most surreal books I've read, nothing in it can be taken at face value. The character names are quite amazing and the authors use of characters and situations from some of the greats of English Literature is handled in a way which should not hinder a person (like me) who has knowledge of these works only from distant memories of school English lessons or from "watching the video".

But the best book of 2002 - I vote for Paul di Fillipo's A Year in the Linear City. This novella I found to be so original in concept. It's set on a world where everything that exists is one unending street, with every side road being no more than one block long. This street is enormous, with blocks numbering in the thousands. The story focuses on four events in the life of one man (a writer of that world's equivalent of science fiction) during one year. It is beautifully written, the author has a wonderful turn of phrase and a great imagination. It is for me the best of 2002.

Steve

This Month's Non-Fiction:

W.B. Vogel III's Theories in Chaos - With Regards To Sun Zu

Artist/Book News:

Canadian artist Kenn Brown will be having a total of 16 illustrations in the next two issues (Jan & Feb 2003) of Wired Magazine. He will also be changing the name of his studio from kontent-online to Mondolithic Studios by the start of 2003.

Author/Book News:

Read the press release for Garth Nix's young adult novel Abhorsen, the sequel to Sabriel and Lirael. Click Here

Read the press release for Cemetery Poets Grave Offerings the upcoming Horror Poetry Anthology edited by Peggy Jo Shumate and released by Double Dragon Publishing. Click Here.

Ever wanted to be immortalised in a novel. Author Simon Wood is giving you the chance - Click here for more details.

Ray Bradbury's classic sf novel Fahrenheit 451 has been selected for the inaugural year of One Book New Jersey. This is a program based in New Jersey Libraries to encourage state residents to all read the same book then take part in discussions and other events based on the novel.

Peter David and his wife Kathleen O'Shea (the person who did the actual work here) ar enow the parents of a daughter. Caroline Helen was born on December 5th 2002.

Terry Pratchett has announced that he will have a new young adult novel released this spring. Entitled The Wee Free Men, the title folk are a race of blue-skinned, six-inch tall warrior types how are the sole allies of Tiffany as she battles her way through Fairyland to defend her home.

Further news on the Pratchett front. Somerset UK town, Wincanton is now official twinned with Ank-Morpork of the Discworld. A ceremony of twinning took place on Saturday December 7th 2002 with artist Stephen Briggs in the guise of Ank-Morpork's patrician and Wincanton mayor Frank Foster signing the deed of twinning.

Yet more Terry Pratchett news - the online auction of Pratchett memorabilia held to raise funds to help pay the costs of restoring Prague's Dlouha Street Theatre (damaged in last years flooding) raised £1,600.

J.K. Rowling recently donated file cards with 93 hadwritten keywords relating to the plot if the upcoming fifth Harry Potter book to a chrity auction benefitting Book Aid International. The cards sold for a little over $45,000.

Michael Crichton backlist of titles is gradually being acquired and re-issued by Harper.

Book Deals:

Details of all book deals signed we've heard of recently...here.

Stories Sold:

Details of all short story sales we've heard of recently...here.

Market News:

Details of all open markets we've heard of recently...here.

Web News:

There's a new site posting speculative fiction in German. Entitled Ao-Lai you can find this site at http://www.aolai.de/. I'm not too sure of much mor ein the way of detail as I'm afraid I don't speak German.

Event News:

Grissecon 1 and the 2003 British FantasyCon are no longer to be held as a joint event. They will still both be held at the original venue (Tillington Hall Hotel, Stafford) but will take part about a month and a half apart. Full details can be found on the respective websites
Grissecon 1 - http://www.stormconstantine.com/gris.htm
2003 British FantasyCon - http://www.britishfantasysociety.org.uk/

Award News:

The 2002 Preditors and Editors Readers' Poll is currently open for nominations and votes. To vote for your favourite writer, novel, artist, publisher eZine etc. go to http://critters.critique.org/predpoll/.
And if anyone wants to vote for The Eternal Night we would find that most agreeable.

Nominations for the 2003 EPPIE awards have been announced. For details Click Here.

Nominations in the 2003 Whitbread prize for Children's Literature include Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, Celia Rees's Sorceress and Julie Bertagna's Exodus. The winner of htis section will receive an award of £5,000 and will be competing for the overall Whitbread Prize worth a further £25,000.

TV/Film News:

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, a six book series by Holly Black, illustrated by Tony Diterlizzi, have been optioned by Paramount and Nickelodeon Films to be produced by Artists Production Group and Gotham Group.

Despite our decision a while ago to not include film details on our site except for details of adaptations from novels I'd like to let any cult horror movie fans know that Vipco Video have recently upgraded their horror website HorrorVideo.Com and have an online catalogue including many hard to find video and DVD titles.

Author Interviews:

Mike DiCerto (SF)
Desiree Erotique (Fantasy)
Hugh McCracken (SF)
Caitlyn McKenna (Fantasy)
Gloria Oliver (Fantasy)
Timothy Whitfield (Horror)

This Month's Short Fiction:

Michael J. Arruda - Darkness (sf - Short Story Contest Winner)
Greg Beatty - The Man Not Travelling Through Time (sf)
Darren R. Scothern - The Tree at the Edge of Dreams (sf)

This Month's Sample Chapters:

Karen Koehler's Slayer: Black Miracles
Gloria Oliver's In Service of Samurai

New Reviews Added:

Jeanne Allen, Jeanine Berry, Shannah Biondine & Sheri L. McGathy - Twilight Crossings (sf)
Gregory J. Austin & Rick Sellers - Fallen City (sf)
Darrell Bain - The Pet Plague (sf)
Ramsey Campbell - Ramsey Campbell, Probably (h/non-fiction)
Paul Collins - Dragonlinks (f)
D. Jason Cooper - Slums of Paradise (h/sf)
Stephen Gallagher - Chimera (h)
Brian A. Hopkins - El Dia de Los Muertos (h)
Ed. Stephen Jones - Keep Out the Night (h/ss)
Katharina Katt - A Female Vampire (h/erotica)
William Meikle - Watchers: The Coming of the King (h)
Michael Moorcock - Firing the Cathedral (sf)
Garth Nix - Sabriel (f/ya)
Maria Osborne Perry - Ravished Wings (f/erotica)
T.K. Sheils - The Craving (h)
Zane Smith - Anglomerika (sf)

New Multi-Author Series Bibliographies Added

Isaac Asimov's Robot City Bibliography (sf)
Isaac Asimov's Robot City: Robots and Aliens Bibliography (sf)
Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time Bibliography (sf)
Quentaris Bibliography (f)
The Second Foundation Trilogy Bibliography (sf)
Smallville Bibliography (sf/tv/ya)

Updated Telefantasy Episode Listings

Charmed (f/h)
3rd Rock from the Sun (sf/com)

Books Delivered

Freda Warrington - In the Court of the Midnight King (Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster UK))

Books Received

Jeanine Berry - Dayspring Dawning (NovelBooks, Inc)
Becca de la Rosa - Painted with Shadows (Ltd Books)
Mike DiCerto - Milky Way Marmalade (Zumaya Publications)
John Grant - The Far Enough Window (BeWrite Books)
Diana Kemp-Jones - Dystopic Visions (Zumaya Publications)
Diana Kemp-Jones & Martine Jardin - Embracing the Skull (Zumaya Publications)
Diana Kemp-Jones - Subterranean Heartbeats (Zumaya Publications)
Diana Kemp-Jones - Sisters of the Wind (Zumaya Publications)
Karen Koehler - Black Miracles (Black Death Books)
Jennifer Macaire - Virtual Murder (NovelBooks, Inc)
Garth Nix - Abhorsen (Harper Eos)
Christopher Stires - The Inheritance (Zumaya Publications)