The Dragon Page "Cover to Cover"

Conversations with Authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Archives for 2008

Cover to Cover #304A: James A. Owen

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Interview: Illustrator and author James A. Owen joins us in studio, in the midst of his school and library tour to talk about The Search for the Red Dragon, the second book in the “Imaginarium Geographica” series.

The stories and the artwork in this series are wonderful, with the grand scope of history, geography, literature and mythology that are intertwined. Now, combine this with the 7-book “Mythworld” series that will eventually tie into the 7-book “Imaginarium” series, plus a tie-in with the “Starchild” graphic novels, and you’ve got a truly rich world that needs it’s own book of footnotes just to keep track of all of the references.

Cover to Cover #303A: Scott Sigler

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Interview: New Media Rockstar Scott Sigler joins Mike, Summer and Mike to chat about his newest hardcover release, INFECTED. He talks about the interest of Crown Books in experimenting with using free content to promote sales of the print version, with free e-book version available for a few days prior to the print release, as well as the podcast version of the book being released again.

Cover to Cover #302A: Kenneth Johnson

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Interview: Michael, Summer and Michael talk with Kenneth Johnson. Kenny is more known for creating the television shows “V”, “The Bionic Woman” (the original series), “The Incredible Hulk”, and “Alien Nation”, but he’s also got a new book out, V: The Second Generation.

Kenny tells us about the inspiration for the story, from when he was preparing the DVD release of the original miniseries, and he wondered what would happen if someone answered the distress call that was sent into space. So the book starts from when someone arrives in response to the call the Resistance sent out.

Review: “A Companion to Wolves” by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear

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Now this was a surprise. Here is one of those rare books not produced as a precursor to a series.

This is not to say that the land Monette and Bear have created couldn’t support multiple visits. It is merely to say that they have constructed a tale that is complete and unconcerned with possibilities and marketing strategies beyond its own ken.

Cover to Cover #301A: Leslie Davis

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Interview: First time author Leslie Davis tells us how her college thesis became a work of science fiction, Keeper’s Child. She tells us about the beginnings of the story, with it being initially written when environmental concerns weren’t in the forefront of the media at the time she wrote it, and being the thesis work written by the lone geek in her MFA program.

Review: “In the Courts of the Crimson Kings” by S.M. Stirling

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S.M. Stirling writes a whiz bang up alternative universe story. I really enjoyed how this book was so very different from the first but yet was JUST as compelling. The characters are interesting and he has no qualm about killing off someone you thought was a main character. The technology being living creatures, grown for very specific purposes was a nice, creepy touch.

Review: “The Awakened Mage” by Karen Miller

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Okay, okay, so Asher really is the Innocent Mage. No devastating, unexpected twists, despite the possibility. But just because Asher is the mage of prophecy, the Olken who can wield his own magic as well as Doranen magic, does not mean he has to like it. And it does not mean that he has to answer the call that prophecy has made.

Cover to Cover #300A: John Joseph Adams

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Interview: Mike, Mike and Summer talk with editor John Joseph Adams about Wastelands, the newest collection of post-apocalyptic fiction from Night Shade Books. John tells us about acquiring the stories (including one by Stephen King), putting the collection together, and what appeals to and attracts him to post-apocalyptic fiction.

Discussion ranges from the inspirations and influences of post-apocalyptic stories, to the extensive website that accompanies the book, and the joy of acquiring a Stephen King story.

Review: “The Innocent Mage” by Karen Miller

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The quick summary to The Innocent Mage sounds shockingly cookie-cutter. A farmer fisherman of low birth, from a rural part of Middle Earth the kingdom of Lur has a destiny. And his destiny is to save the kingdom and all its inhabitants from the Great and Looming Evil that no one knows is coming, save a chosen few who have seen the signs. How this is going to happen no one, least of all the hero, has any idea.

E. Gary Gygax Remembered

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by Sam Sloan, originally posted at Slice of SciFi “He was a gamer’s gamer, an icon of a time of wonder and imagination.” — Tracy Hickman (“Dragonlance”) The “Dungeons and Dragons” (D&D) co-creator and legengary gaming pioneer E. (Ernest) Gary Gygax has died at the age of 69 from complications arising from past multiple strokes. […]

Cover to Cover #299A: David Keck

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Interview: Mike M and Summer talk with David Keck about In A Time of Treason, the anticipated sequel to In the Eye of Heaven. Discussing the setting of faux-medieval fantasy, delving into the process of writing and publishing sequels, and writing despite the life that’s happening around you, we chat about making stories where the world feels lived in, and the reader connects with both the smaller and the larger scopes of the story at the same time.

Review: “Darwin’s Paradox” by Nina Munteanu

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Nina Munteanu weaves a good story that has some large concepts peppered through it. The story does have warts but they are easy enough to gloss over and dig into the main story. There are some nice twists and turns and rabbit holes to follow the tale down. I hope that future books have more about the world, the citizens who inhabit it, and the politics of city states.