The Wheel Turns and 'Winter Dragon' sneaks into our lives

"Lewis Therin returns home to his family after a 10-year war against 

an army of  darkness; he is greeted by an unexpected guest."

Last night, the internets were abuzz with rumors of a stealth pilot for a Wheel of Time TV series that was due to play at 130am on FXX, a channel I wasn't even sure existed on Comcast (note: it does). While I recorded it, and haven't had a chance to watch it, 'unrelentingly bad' seems to be the most common opinion of it, though I've seen some reactions that didn't seem to hate it so much.
Universal Pictures has had a seven year long option to develop a tv show or film, which it has failed to do. And the common opinion is that this was a stealth pilot put out to preserve the option (The Hobbit had a similar history) which was due to expire.
This morning, Harriet issued a press release, which I've included below.
Did you watch the pilot, if so, what did you think?

Edited to include this link to the pilot of Youtube, thanks to Alicia Beckerman for pointing this out:

This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).

It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.

Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.

I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.

I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.

Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015

Review: 'Pacific Fire' by Greg Van Eekhout

You know those books where the first book was so much better than the second book? This isn't one of those. This is one of those books where an idea from the first book bears unexpected fruit in the second one. I really liked California Bones, but Pacific Fire may be the book that in the future I will say I became a fan of Van Eekhout.
This book stands just fine without having read the first book, the major plot points get hit on, without revealing too much that will spoil the joy of reading of it, and that's a tough road to hew to. This has been my favorite book I've read this year so far.

Style:
While Van Eekhout isn't writing for beautiful prose (there are no lush descriptions of the majestic Pacific) he does something I appreciate almost as much; he writes a lean fast-paced book that moves. He doesn't waste space writing glorious prose. And for the type of book this is, I really like that.

Character:
  I hate to say I miss Daniel a lot in this book. It's not a spoiler, it's in the cover blurb, but Daniel isn't our main character. While Sam's voice grows on you in the same way that Daniel did in the first book, I just missed Daniel. That likely says a lot about how well Greg can write a character you grow to care about, doesn't it?

Worldbuilding:
  I like the world Van Eekhout has built, in a 'magic world I have no desire to live in' kind of way. This isn't Narnia, or even Hogwarts. The powerful in this world are food for the more powerful. And when you're at the top of the heap, you have to worry about everyone below you. It feels like the apocalypse is going to happen at any moment (seriously, you just know Northern California is just going to fuck up his alternate LA eventually).

Managed Expectations:
  I think Greg does a great job of managing expectations in this book, and I think the way he switches gears on you, so that you don't always know what you think you know, is consistently well done. When Daniel and Sam fuck things up, and things go wrong, it's at times and places where that's likely to happen.
My only way I can wrap this up is, oh god how long til the third book?!?

What's New In My Reading Stack This Week 02/03/2015

Bear, Elizabeth • Karen Memory        02/03
        “You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I'm one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It’s French, so Beatrice tells me.”
         Hugo-Award winning author Elizabeth Bear offers something new inKaren Memory, an absolutely entrancing steampunk novel set in Seattle in the late 19th century—an era when the town was called Rapid City, when the parts we now call Seattle Underground were the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes bringing would-be miners heading up to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront. Karen is a “soiled dove,” a young woman on her own who is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello. Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts into her world one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, seeking sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.
          Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper-type story of the old west with the light touch of Karen’s own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science.

Gaiman, Neil • Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Discoveries   02/03
       Multiple award winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors andFragile Things—which includes a never-before published American Gods story, “Black Dog,” written exclusively for this volume.
       In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warningincludes previously published pieces of short fiction—stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013—as well “Black Dog,” a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.
        Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In Adventure Story—a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane—Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience A Calendar of Tales are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year—stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother’s Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale The Case of Death and Honey. And Click-Clack the Rattlebag explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we’re all alone in the darkness.
         A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day

Borderlands in SF to close, or, Why I think there's more than meets the eye to this decision

      So yesterday Borderlands Books in SF announced they were closing in March. And while the closing of any bookstore is a tragedy, this is one of the most revered specialty bookstores our genre has.
      But there are some very suspicious things to me in this announcement. Actually, there are several things I'm suspicious about. The first thing that occurred to me is why the first response of the owners isn't to sell. We aren't talking about a random hole-in-the-wall bookstore, this is a destination bookstore. When I went to San Fransisco last year, this was on my list to-do. Just as when I finally make it to San Diego again, I'll go to Mysterious Galaxy. This type of national name recognition has value to a buyer.
        But the more I thought about the post, the more the facts as described didn't add up. I don't usually criticize the way other people choose to run their business, but the owners of Borderlands invited inspection by choosing to post details about their business that don't even stand up to a cursory examination. I'm not criticizing their decision to close, but the logic and numbers used to reason it.
       The principle excuse given was that the wage hike that starts phasing into effect this year and finalizes in 2018 (yes, that's 3 years away) will increase payroll costs by 18%. I don't know what Borderlands is paying their people, but this indicates that it's not currently much above minimum wage. The thing about wages is that they're tax deductible, so the argument that they will need to increase sales by 20% means that either they have no tax liability ever, even on years that they made a record profit like 2014, or that there is something else going on.
      Another thing that didn't add up for me was the way they address staffing. The owner posts about how they would have to drop half of their staff to offset a less than 20% increase in labor over the next three years. This logic doesn't add up at all. You don't reduce your staffing 50% to account for a 20% increase in labor costs, the majority of which isn't even in effect this year.
      The 18% increase stated for their labor costs under the new minimum wage comes out to about 6% a year. This is about flat for the usual sales increases that an established business would expect per year. After the great year they claim to have had in 2014, I'm surprised they're not expecting some type of increase in 2015.
Or 2016.
Or even in 2017.
       The odds that things will be flat for the next three years, in fact, is virtually non-existent. I've never worked for a business with flat sales for three consecutive years in an improving economy.
      Which brings me back around to my original statement: there is something else going on with this closing than what has been presented to us.

Forthcoming: February Releases I'm Looking Forward To

Oh my god February, you are a great gray beast indeed!
         Seven more books on my must-read list! I'm not even caught up on January's books yet!
         Seriously though, these are some great books, and I'm very excited about them. Veronica Schwab's debut novel 'Vicious', got great reviews, and the blurb for this one has me very excited! New short fiction collections from Gaiman and Elliott, the finale of Brian McClellan's flintlock trilogy, and a new novel from the author of the 'Somnambulist'.
          What are you looking forward to in February? Anything that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Bear, Elizabeth • Karen Memory        02/03
Gaiman, Neil • Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Discoveries   02/03
Barnes, Jonathan • Cannonbridge                                            02/10
Elliott, Kate • The Very Best of Kate Elliott 02/10
McClellan, Brian • The Autumn Republic                             02/10
Abercrombie, Joe • Half the World 02/17
Schwab, VE • A Darker Shade of Magic                                02/24


Other Releases:
Adams, John Joseph, ed. • Wastelands II                                02/10
Asher, Neal • Dark Intelligence                                  02/03
Elliott, Will • Shadow                                                              02/24
Enge, James • The Wide World's End                                     02/17
Lethem, Jonathan • Lucky Alan and Other Stories                  02/24
Link, Kelly • Get in Trouble                                                    02/03
McAuley, Paul • Something Coming Through                        02/19
VanderMeer, Ann, & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. • Sisters of the Revolution    02/01

What's New In My Reading Stack This Week 01/27/2015

It looks like it's going to be a quiet week, with just a couple of books out that I'm super excited about. Last year's 'California Bones' was a great read, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel. And I'm always excited for another book in Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century, the milieu of her hugely popular 'Boneshaker'.

Van Eekhout, Greg • Pacific Fire                                                         01/27
(Sequel to 'California Bones')
      Okay, yeah, I’m a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can.
       Daniel’s the reason the Hierarch’s gone and I’m still alive. He’s also the reason I’ve lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel’s determined to protect me. To teach me.
But it gets old. I’ve got nobody but Daniel. I’ll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl.
      Now it’s worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction.  Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel’s been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Many of them. All named Emma. It’s a long story.) They seem to be healing him, but he isn’t going anyplace soon.
       Do I even have a reason for existing, if it isn’t to prevent this firedrake from happening? I’m good at escaping from things. Now I’ve escaped from Daniel and the Emmas, and I’m on my way to LA.
       This may be the worst idea I ever had.

Priest, Cherie • Jacaranda                                                       01/27
(A novel of the Clockwork Century)
The Ranger
On the island of Galveston, off the coast of southeast Texas, lies a hotel called the Jacaranda. In its single year of operation, two dozen people have died there. The locals say it’s cursed. The Rangers say that’s nonsense, but they know a man who might be willing to investigate. Horatio Korman crosses the water from the mainland, and hopes for the best.
The Nun
But the bodies pile up, and a hurricane is brewing up fast. One of the Jacaranda’s guests sees time running out, so she seeks an authority of a different sort: a priest from El Huizache who is good at solving problems and keeping secrets. Eileen Callahan has a problem to solve, and a secret to keep. She crosses her fingers, and sends a message that could save them all.
The Padre
Juan Miguel Quintero Rios broke a promise to the Virgin, and so he was punished…but his intentions were pure, so he was also blessed. Now he walks the southwest with second sight and a tattoo across his back: Deo, non Fortuna—By God, not chance. The former gunslinger crosses himself, and makes for the Jacaranda Hotel.

Also out this week:
Cole, Myke • Gemini Cell                                                       01/27

Forgotten Gems: 'The White Tribunal' by Paula Volsky

I never know where to begin when it comes to recommending Paula Volsky, I usually select based on who I'm recommending to, which obviously doesn't work so well here. I first enountered Volsky in the ya section, and enjoyed but didn't love her Sorcerers Legacy trilogy, and went on to read and enjoy the rest of her juvenalia. But then it was like she had vanished. In 1992 she retuned, with a breathtaking and wonderful novel of revolution called 'Illusion'.
Illusion was fantastic! It was a gorgeously realized world, and fully drawn characters. The magic's stengths and weaknesses inform the shape of the story, and is used in the most limited of fashions. It's extroidinary.
The follow-up, 'The Wolf of Winter' set in the same world, but in a different country, with a very different traditional magic, is a glory as well. And has one of my favorite endings ever.
The third book, 'The Gates of Twilight' is actually my least favorite of her adult novels. There is something, I've never managed to put my finger on what, that just doesn't quite draw me in. It's not a bad book, and this isn't a universal opinion, but it's my opinion.
'The White Tribunal' is her fourth adult book, and the one I picked as the most universally appealing. It has a little of everything, deception, betrayal, and just a little bit of romance. But underneath, it deals with some very real issues of the costs of revenge, and its unltimate worth. I highly recommend you check it out!