Michael Whelan cover art for "A Memory of Light"

You can find a pic of the final book cover here: A Memory of Light book cover

You can find Michael Whelan’s web site here: http://www.glassonion.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.”

Unfinished AMoL cover by Darrell Sweet

Are any of you eagerly awaiting the final book in the Wheel of Time series? The fourteenth (and final) book in this series conceived of and largely written by Robert Jordan is entitled A Memory of Light (referred to fans as AMoL) and is set for release by Tor in January 2013. (Due to Jordan’s tragic and untimely death, Brandon Sanderson is writing the final three books, as outlined and partially written by Jordan before his death.)

While next January still seems like a long time away, Tor has released a couple of teasers. Above you can see the still unfinished cover art. The artwork remains unfinished because Darrell K. Sweet, the artist who illustrated all the previous Wheel of Time book covers passed away before it could be completed. The painting will now be finished by the incredible artist Michael Whelan. (For more details regarding the AMoL cover, visit this link to Dragonmount.com.)

Tor has also released an excerpt of the Prologue for those of us who are chaffing at the bit. I feel it my civic duty, an opportunity my responsibility to pass that on to you. After all, that’s why I’m here, right? (grin)

If you’d like to get a taste of this much anticipated book, follow this link to get a preview into the life of an Andorian soldier preparing for the end of the world:

Excerpt of A Memory of Light (Book 14 in The Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

What do you think of the excerpt and cover art? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment and let’s talk about it, ok?

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.”

By Vassil (Own work) Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The second place my mind goes is to the spirit behind fantasy — that special thing that draws me into these fantastical worlds of swords, horses, chivalry, good versus evil. That last one is the clincher for me. Good versus evil. I think that’s the one thing that keeps me coming back.

You see, my faith in God runs deep and what is Christianity based on? Good versus evil. The redeeming power of God in the face of an adversary who seeks to destroy mankind. I love to hear stories of good conquering evil, of hope to be found in dark, oppressive lands, or battles that can be fought — and won — in the face of ultimate evil.

I see fantasy fiction as an illustration of the unseen spiritual wars that influence all of our lives, wars that we become involved in all the time. To me, the good forces found in fantasy fiction provide a light. They remind us that there is good, that there is a God, the true champion of the human race. I believe that if we follow the true spirit behind this light, we will eventually find our way to the feet of God.

I recently received an email from one of my blog followers with a link to an article he and his brother (James Lang and Anthony Lang) wrote for Notre Dame Magazine. The article, entitled Flights of Fancy, explores the perceived good and bad of fantasy fiction. Does it enlighten or corrupt mankind? What do you think?

I found the article to be an interesting discussion of themes that I hold dear to my heart and, I’m the first to admit, the Lang brothers have expressed their thoughts on this topic much more elegantly than I ever could have. As such, I want to provide you a link and I encourage you to check it out.

Flights of Fancy
BY JAMES M. LANG ’91 AND ANTHONY F. LANG JR. ’90
Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 2011 

What about you? What do you love about fantasy fiction? And science fiction too, for that matter. I think the same applies to this genre as well. Leave me a note in the comments section and let’s talk. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

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.”

• I stumbled across http://www.thetatteredscroll.com this week. There you can find many current fantasy ebook deals, including two RA Salvatore ebooks currently priced at $4.99 (that’s $3 off the usual digital price). It’s nice to have someone willing to go through what’s out there and find the cream of the crop.
• http://www.starwarsuncut.com/ has released a remake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, comprised entirely of 15-second fan clips. I watched a few minutes and have to shake my head at the originality of some of the submissions.
• I love beautiful artwork. Naomi Novik has posted a beautiful piece of fan art by Daniel Govar, a dragon based on her Temeraire series.
• MIT unveiled In Europe the Hiriko electric car, a windshield mounted car that folds up to take up one-third the parking space of an average size car. A pilot program for the little sci-fi looking buggy is set to begin next year.
• I see Steven Spielberg is considering creating a Moses epic for Warner Bros. Will it going to be more fantasy or faith? I guess we’ll see.
• Last year, Tor Forge gave away copies of Templar One (EVE, #2) by Tony Gonzales. Well, they’re at it again. Five copies are available on Goodreads. Deadline is February 24, 2012. (The book is based on the MMORPG game, http://www.eveonline.com/) For a peek at the action-packed trailer for the game see the publisher’s book page.
• Here’s one that cracked me up: The 10 most undignified deaths in SFF, according to the Facebook followers of io9.com.
• Care to contribute to one man’s attempt to list the family tree of every character in Lord of the Rings? http://www.lotrproject.com/. I wish him luck.
• Giveaway: To kick off the Year of the Dragon, Tor is giving away four copies of the Wheel of Time prequel, New Spring: The Graphic Novel by Robert Jordan, Chuck Dixon, and Mike S. Miller. Speaking of WOT, the publisher is also offering 10 copies of the first book in the series, The Eye of the World. The deadline for both is February 24, 2012.
• Giveaway: Another offering by Tor on Goodreads — The Stolen Throne by David Gaider, the prequel to Dragon Age: Origins, the role-playing video game from Bioware. Deadline is February 24, 2012.
• Here’s some geek news: University of Washington researchers have created a game, Foldit, where players can decode and create protein shapes to help scientists learn how proteins work and help with drug research for HIV and Alzheimer’s cures. Gamers, go forth and save the world! More on this story on CNET.
• Minecraft and Zelda unite! Here’s a video showing the Hyrule Temple built in Minecraft. Now that must have taken quite some time.
• Want to up your geek-cred points a tiny bit? Tell people you know where to find the video showing the Lego Man in Space, footage shot by 17-year-olds Matthew Ho and Asad Muhammad using a weather balloon and makeshift Styrofoam spacecraft to send a Lego man 15 miles up into the stratosphere. To make it easy, here you go:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think that’ll do it for now. Have a great weekend, everyone! If I missed any good links, leave a note in the comments. I love to hear from you.

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.”

• Giveaway: Tor is giving away several books on Goodreads. Entry deadline for all these is December 17, 2011. Click on the book titles for the contest links. Each of these will not be released to the general public until February 28, 1012.
• Touchstone by Melanie Rawn.
• The Scar by Sergey Dyachenko and Marina Dyachenko.
• Living Proof by Kira Peikoff.
• Cain at Gettysburg by Ralph Peters.
• Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell.
• More Tor giveaways. I think these books are already out. Deadlines for these contests are also December 17.
• An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor.
• A War of Gifts (Ender’s Saga #5) by Orson Scott Card.
• Giveaway: Future Lovecraft, An anthology of scifi stories and poems inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Book was released December 6, 2012. Contest deadline is December 31, 2011.
• In fantasy art news, I’m sad to say that Darrell K. Sweet died this week. Among his many works, he created the artwork for Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. You can see several of his artwork on this Tor blog post.
• Speaking of the Wheel of Time books, you can purchase a 24k gold-plated bronze Asha’man dragon pin. If you know what this is, you have an automatic membership in the unofficial circle of geekdom.
• Just in time for Christmas, how about a gingerbread AT-AT? Amazing. I love the candy canes underfoot. <snicker>
• And finally, here’s a video, just for fun. Have you heard of The Piano Guys? These guys are amazing musicians. One of their latest pieces is a Star Wars parody entitled “Cello Wars: The Phantom Chellist.” Not all their pieces are humorous, but this one is too funny. Here you go:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I hope you’re enjoying the holidays so far.  Until next time, happy geekdom to you. May all your Christmas dreams come true.

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.”

• Giveaway: Win a copy of Blake Charlton’s Spellbound and a signed copy of Spellwright, courtesy of Fantasy Book Critic. Here’s the link. Deadline: October 7, 2011.
• Share a scary book. Neil Gaiman starts a new tradition: All Hallow’s Read. Tor Books celebrates with a sweepstakes and free monster stories October 24-28.
• Just for fun: Star Trek bloopers from the 1960s series.
• Sci-fi movie Robopocalypse finds a home and a director: Steven Spielberg takes it on. Release date set for Summer 2013.
• Tor puts ebook versions of three classic epic fantasies on sale for $2.99 each: The Eye of the World (Robert Jordan), Gardens of the Moon (Steven Erikson), and Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson). Here’s the link.
• How 9/11 Changed Science Fiction, according to io9.com.
• For sales of physical books, only one genre of books experienced a sales increase in 2010: Science fiction/fantasy. According to Nielsen Bookscan, this was due in great part to sales of G.R.R. Martin’s books. Whatever works, right?
• Here’s a comprehensive list of 184 sci-fi, fantasy and horror books being released in September 2011. Any look good to you?
• Nathan Fillion stars in Season 5, episode 6 of The Guild, a web series about gamers. Here’s the scoop according to GeekDad at wired.com.
• John Scalzi shows us which sci-fi and fantasy films we can expect out before year’s end.
• Giveaway on Goodreads: Vernor Vinge’s The Children of the Sky, the sequel to A Fire on the Deep that’s been 20 years in the making. Here’s the link. Hurry…the deadline’s September 15, 2011.

Do you have any favorite links or sites this week I missed? I love to hear from you. Please feel free to share. On September 30, I will have a drawing for a $5 Starbucks card. For every blog post you comment on, you will receive one entry. Leave a comment and join the fun! If you don’t want to miss a post, make sure to subscribe to my RSS or email feeds here.

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.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.”

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.

The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Several retailers are offering deep discounts off the book’s $29.99 retail price. For example, you can currently purchase the book from Amazon for $16.49. For more details, click here.

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.”

Meanwhile, here is the first of three online videos that feature different aspects behind “The Gathering Storm.” In this video Harriet (Robert Jordan’s widow) talks about choosing Brandon to complete the series.

The dates of the national tour have been released. To see if Brandon will be signing books nearby, check the list here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.”

“The Gathering Storm” is Volume 12 in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Unfortunately, Mr. Jordan passed away before the series could be completed, so Tor hired Brandon Sanderson to finish the series. Originally slated to be one book, the end of the series has now been split into three volumes, the first of which is “The Gathering Storm.”

The audio chapters are available to those registered on Tor.com. See: http://www.tor.com/gatheringstorm/register

Further info on the book can be found here.

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.”