Beginnings: 1954 Hugo - Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

"It was a pleasure to burn.

It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.  With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.  With his  symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black.   He strode in a swarm of fireflies.  He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house.  While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.

Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame.

He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt corked, in the mirror.  Later, going to sleep, he would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark.  It never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long as he remembered."   (Chapter 1 excerpt pg 3- 4)

2010 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees

2010 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Ceremony will be held during the Science Fiction Awards weekend June 25  - 27th in  Seattle, Washington.  The 2010 inductees are:

Roger Zelazny

 May 13, 1937 to June 14, 1995 

Hugo Award Winner in 1966 and 1968.    His works include:  Lord of Light, This Immortal,  The Chronicles of Amber, Jack of Shadows and many more.  "Roger Zelazny was one of the foremost writers of science fiction's New Wave movement, authoring short stories and novels packed with both psychological and mythological structures."

Douglas Trumbull

April 8, 1942

American Film Director and Special Effects Supervisor.  The 1968 film 2001 Space Odyssey "utilized Trumbull's own process of slit-scan photography to obtain the more abstract sequences. This groundbreaking technique contributed to the film's critical acclaim and established Trumbull as one of the top names in motion picture special effects."   He was also responsible for the special effects for science fiction films: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and Blade Runner (1982)

Richard Matheson

February 20, 1926

American author and screenwriter in fantasy, science fiction and horror.  He had several novels  adapted for film including  I am Legend.  The novel was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and as I Am Legend in 2007.  "Matheson's publications and film work often explore themes of human existence facing alternate reality and incorporate the paranormal, terror, survival and ardor."

 Octavia E. Butler 

June 22, 1947 to February 2006

American science fiction author and won the Hugo Award for her short stories Speech Sound in 1984 and Bloodchild in 1985.  She wrote several novels including Kindred, The Patternists Series and Lilith's Brood.  She is "notable for being a female African American writer of science fiction—a rarity—but mainly she's notable as one of the most eminent science fiction writers overall."

New cool Sci Fi Movie - Inception

Opening July 16, 2010

Now this looks interesting, weird, but interesting.  Inception staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine. The synopsis according to IMDB

Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.

Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossibleinception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

Want to find out more - go to www.inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com

Aussiecon Membership live and online

Wouldn't you like to have a say so in who wins the Hugo Award for Best Novel or Best Novella or Best Graphic Story, etc.   I always envied those folks who got to take part in voting for the awards. Today, thanks to John Scalzi, I discovered I could register online to become a member of Aussiecon.  Along with the membership, is the right to vote for the 2010 Hugo Award and John C. Campbell best writer award nominees.   Aussiecon has released an electronic 2010 voters packet which contains the full length works of the nominees:

Best Novel:

• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Tor)
• The City & The City by China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
• Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)
• Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
• Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (Ace; Penguin; Gollancz; Analog)
• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)

Best Novella 

• Act One" by Nancy Kress (Asimov's 3/09)
• The God Engines by John Scalzi (Subterranean)
• "Palimpsest" by Charles Stross (Wireless; Ace; Orbit)
• Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow (Tachyon)
• "Vishnu at the Cat Circus" by Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days; Pyr; Gollancz)
• The Women of Nell Gwynne's by Kage Baker (Subterranean)

Best Novelette:

• Eros, Philia, Agape" by Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 3/09)
• "The Island" by Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2; Eos)
• "It Takes Two" by Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three; Night Shade Books)
• "One of Our Bastards is Missing" by Paul Cornell (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three; Solaris)
• "Overtime" by Charles Stross (Tor.com 12/09)
• "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster (Interzone 2/09)

Best Short Story

• "The Bride of Frankenstein" by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s 12/09)
• "Bridesicle" by Will McIntosh (Asimov’s 1/09)
• "The Moment" by Lawrence M. Schoen (Footprints; Hadley Rille Books)
• "Non-Zero Probabilities" by N.K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld 9/09)
• "Spar" by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld 10/09)

Best Related Work

• Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute (Beccon) (Excerpt)
• Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees by Michael Swanwick (Temporary Culture)
• The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn (McFarland) (Excerpt)
• On Joanna Russ edited by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan)
• The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of SF Feminisms by Helen Merrick (Aqueduct) (Excerpt)
• This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is "I") by Jack Vance (Subterranean)

Best Graphic Story

• Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Written by Neil Gaiman; Pencilled by Andy Kubert; Inked by Scott Williams (DC Comics)
• Captain Britain And MI13. Volume 3: Vampire State Written by Paul Cornell; Pencilled by Leonard Kirk with Mike Collins, Adrian Alphona and Ardian Syaf (Marvel Comics) (Link to issues #10 and #11)
• Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein (Vertigo Comics)
• Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm Written by Kaja and Phil Foglio; Art by Phil Foglio; Colours by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment) (Link)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse Written and Illustrated by Howard Tayler

Best Semiprozine

• Ansible edited by David Langford (Links)
• Clarkesworld edited by Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, & Cheryl Morgan
• Interzone edited by Andy Cox
• Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
• Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

Best Fanzine

• Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
• Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer
• CHALLENGER edited by Guy H. Lillian III (Link)
• Drink Tank edited by Christopher J Garcia, with guest editor James Bacon
• File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
• StarShipSofa edited by Tony C. Smith (Links)

Best Professional Artist - (package includes works from the artists)

• Bob Eggleton
• Stephan Martiniere
• John Picacio
• Daniel Dos Santos
• Shaun Tan

Best Fan Artist

• Brad W. Foster (Link)
• Dave Howell
• Steve Stiles
• Taral Wayne

Best Fan Writer (package includes works by)

• Claire Brialey
• Christopher J Garcia
• James Nicoll
• Lloyd Penney
• Frederik Pohl (Link)

 John C. Campbell Award for Best Writer (includes works by)

• Saladin Ahmed
• Gail Carriger
• Felix Gilman
• Seanan McGuire
• Lezli Robyn

According to the folks at Aussicon:

The electronic versions of the work you see here are available to you through the efforts of the authors and artists who have been nominated, and we are grateful for their participation and willingness to share with Anticipation members. Please support these creators! Their work is available in bookstores and online. Thanks are also due to these authors' publishers, who have graciously allowed these works to be present in these packages.

Plus they are trusting that all supporting members will keep the information confidential and not share it so that the authors and publishers will continue to support this idea in the future.  I promise not to share it - solemn oath, cross my heart and scout's honor.  :)   The works are available in PDF, Word or Rich Text format so will be easy to read. 

    

You can sign up online for an attending membership which gives you attendance, voting rights and publications for Au $ 310 or supporting membership which gives you voting rights and publications for Au $ 70 ($68 u.s.)    I signed up for a supporting membership because I know I won't be able to go to Australia in September. But at least I'll be able to vote for who I think should get the Hugo.  How cool is that.  I've got my work cut out for me since all ballots are due by July 31, 2010.