Tor/Forge August 2010 Newsletter

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In This Issue

Dead Space: Martyr

Space Cadets and Starship Troopers: The Voyage Continues

Odd historical things Mary Robinette Kowal learned while writing Shades of Milk and Honey

Writing a book—sort of—and Besmirching a great writer

Dead Space: Martyr

By Brian Evenson

As my girlfriend knows all too well, I’m an unapologetic gamer. I’m all too capable of sitting down at the computer at ten at night and only realizing that I’ve been playing for eight hours once I see the sun start to come up. I read in something like the same way: I like when I read to fall into another world and stay immersed in it, swimming around in it, only rarely coming up for air.

Space Cadets and Starship Troopers: The Voyage Continues

By Stacy Hague-Hill, Your Captain for this Journey

In August, Tor will be releasing an all-new biography of a singular figure in the history of the genre: Robert A. Heinlein. This will be the first-ever authorized biography, and it’s a fascinating look at a famously private man.

As our own little celebration of Heinlein and his works, we thought it would be fun to find out just how much of an impact Heinlein’s stories and novels had on a number of our—and your—favorite sf writers. We asked them a simple question—what’s your favorite Heinlein novel?

We’ve been posting their answers once a week as we head toward publication of the biography and so far we’ve heard from David Brin, David Drake, David G. Hartwell, and L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Additionally, we’ve been picked up by Tor.com and Boing Boing, and Cory Doctorow has been posting notes on the biography. In the coming weeks, you’ll see contributions from Michael Swanwick, Charles Stross, and many more.

Thanks to all of you who have jumped in to tell us about your favorites: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, Stranger In a Strange Land, and JOB are just some of the novels discussed in the comments so far. What other Heinlein novels do you all love?

Odd historical things I learned while writing Shades of Milk and Honey

By Mary Robinette Kowal

When one decides to write a historical novel, even if it is a fantasy, one must brace oneself for copious amounts of research. Research which feels as though it will never end. The curious thing about all this research is that much of it does not show up on the page. While writing Shades of Milk and Honey, set in an alternate England in 1814 I learned a number of things which surprised me. Here are a few my favorites.

Writing a book—sort of—and Besmirching a great writer

By Don Borchert

I like the whole idea of mash-ups. The first time I heard the Grey Album by Danger Mouse (Jay Z’s Black Album mashed up with the Beatles White Album), I thought: genius. You hear the whole thing in a completely different way, a new way that was unintended at its inception.