Free Weekend Pass for “Star Wars: The Old Republic”

Are you one of those people who wanted to but never got around to trying out the online Star Wars: The Old Republic game? Or maybe you’re curious but don’t want to spend the money? Well, you’re in luck.

Starting today (April 19, 2012), BioWare is offering a free trial weekend, which extends until Monday, April 23 at 2:00 a.m. (CDT). If you’d like to check it out, click on the picture below for lots more details.

 

(http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20120417-1)

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Red Sand — A Mass Effect Prequel

I’ve had my eye on this project for a while and I have to say, it’s looking more interesting as time goes by.

Students out at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona have been working on a fan film that is a prequel to the Mass Effect game series. Here’s the plot outline as found on the Red Sand Facebook page:

Serving as a prequel to the MASS EFFECT game series, “Red Sand” is set 35 years before the time of Commander Shepard and tells the story of the discovery of ancient ruins on Mars. Left behind by the mysterious alien race known as the Protheans, the ruins are a treasure trove of advanced technology and the powerful Element Zero, an energy source beyond humanity’s wildest dreams. As the Alliance research team led by Dr. Averroes (Ayman Samman) seeks to unlock the secrets of the ruins, a band of marauders living in the deserts of Mars wants the ruins for themselves. Addicted to refined Element Zero in the form of a narcotic nicknamed “Red Sand” which gives them telekinetic “biotic” powers, these desert-dwelling terrorists will stop at nothing to control the ruins and the rich vein of Element Zero at its core. Standing between them and their goal are Colonel Jon Grisson (Mark Meer), Colonel Lily Sandhurst (Amy Searcy), and a team of Alliance soldiers tasked with defending the ruins at all costs. At stake — the future of humanity’s exploration of the galaxy, and the set up for the MASS EFFECT storyline loved by millions of gamers worldwide.

All I know is that if this trailer is any indication of what the final product will be, we’re in for a real treat once it’s finished. What do you think?

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Note: The UAT Digital Video blog can be found at: http://uatdigitalvideo.blogspot.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Links of the Week

This is one of those weeks where I say, “Is it Friday already?” But, yes, it is and that means I get to post my favorite links from this week. Let the fun begin…

Mistborn, the movie. Aw, man, how cool would that be??! While it’s not a done deal, movie producers of the popular fiction series written by Brandon Sanderson are currently pitching the project to studios using the very, very cool trailer below. Check it out:

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For more info on the Mistborn movie deal, check out this post on Brandon Sanderson’s blog.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Chrysanthe by Yves Meynard: Giveaway

Today I want to give you a link to a giveaway of one copy of Yves Meynard‘s fantasy novel Chrysanthe, courtesy of bastardbooks. I haven’t read the book, but have heard good things about it. Usually I list giveaways in my Friday mash-ups but I want to pass this one along to you early as the deadline is fast approaching — this Sat., April 14, 2012. Here’s the link. If you want to more about the book, here’s the synopsis:

Christine, the princess and heir to the real world of Chrysanthe, is kidnapped as a small child by a powerful magician and exiled in a Made World that is a version of our present reality. In exile, supervised by her strict “uncle” (actually a wizard in disguise), she undergoes bogus memory recovery therapy, through which she is forced to remember childhood rape and abuse by her parents and others. She is terribly stunted emotionally by this terrifying plot, but at seventeen discovers it is all a lie. Christine escapes with a rescuer, Sir Quentin, a knight from Chrysanthe, in a thrilling chase across realities.

Once home, the magical standoff caused by her exile is broken, and a war begins, in spite of the best efforts of her father, the king, and his wizard, Melogian. And that war, which takes up nearly the last third of the work, is a marvel of magical invention and terror, a battle between good and evil forces that resounds with echoes of the great battles of fantasy literature.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Links of the Week

It’s Friday! Time to share my favorite links I found this week in the realm of science fiction and fantasy and then some. Enjoy!

  • First off, let’s have the baddest of the bad: A life-sized Darth Malgus. Yep, all 7 feet of him, complete with a glowing red lightsaber. However, at a price of $5,999.99, I’m afraid I’ll have to save my money for a while before this guy makes an appearance at my house. (Yeah, like hubby’s gonna go for that one! I can just hear the conversation now. “Hey, hon! I found the most awesome decoration for the corner of the front room…” Uh, huh.)
  • Are you a horror fan? Named for the inimitable author of Dracula, the winners of the 2011 Bram Stoker Awards were announced this week. If this is your cup of tea, maybe you’ll find new reading material here.
  • Percy Jackson news: The sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie, set to be released next year (2013), is based on Rick Riordan‘s second book in his Percy Jackson series. You can find more info here.
  • Free Wheel of Time wallpaper for your desktop is being released by Tor, featuring the ebook artwork for the series. The latest is for The Fires of Heaven. I saw this beautiful picture by Dan Dos Santos a while back and it’s always intrigued me.
  • Giveaway: Jill Williamson has posted an entry form to win a copy of Robert Liparulo‘s new supernatural suspense book, The 13th Tribe. I believe the deadline is April 9, 2012 at 8 p.m. (PST).

Here is an amazing bit of video shot from the Solid Rocket Booster of the Space Shuttle, complete with enhanced sound mixing by the people over at Skywalker Sound. This is actually an excerpt from the upcoming Special Edition Ascent: Commemorating Space Shuttle.

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Now for the jokes. With it being April Fool’s this week, there were lots of fun links to be had. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Now for one last trick. On April 1st, George Takei had an amazing announcement on his Facebook page, as shown below:

  

Have a great weekend, all!

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”