Thoughts, ramblings and other stuff

I was to write about the Expanse (and other new Syfy series) but I just read Rhianna Pratchett's obituary for her father and the screen is a little blurry. If you didn't read it go now. Space battles can wait till tomorrow.

And in the background +GNU Terry Pratchett keeps being sent.

I'm still unable to express my feelings, although I'm sure there is a meaning of Arghh! that encapsulates them perfectly so here are other people's thoughts and tributes:

Neil Gaiman, John Scalzi, Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing, Telegraph, io9, The Mary Sue, Wired, New Scientist, quotes from the books on Buzzfeed and tor.com - both the obituary and Jo Walton's reminiscence. All the guardian stuff including the main post, tributes, photos, obituary and Andrew Brown's reminiscence. Independent mentions his sword (that he made - from meteorite - after knighted because, obviously, knights should have swords).

Here is the link to the donation campaign in his name for The Research Institute for the Care of Older People.

Neil Gaiman talking about Terry Pratchett just a few days ago

The new, non-Malazan, sf book by Steven Erikson has publishing date. The Willful Child is coming out on 25th of September in UK and about two weeks later in US and it tells the whole truth about

These are the voyages of the starship, A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life life-forms, to boldly blow the...

And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback - a kind of James T Kirk crossed with American Dad - and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through 'the infinite vastness of interstellar space'...

Other books I'm waiting for this year, beside this and of course Assail, are:

The final book in Richard Morgan's fantasy trilogy - The Dark Defiles.

The first book in the new Commonwealth series The Abyss Beyond Dreams: Chronicle of the Fallers by Peter F. Hamilton.

The Fifth Season - the first book in N.K. Jemisin's new series about a world that persists throughout numerous extinction-level events and life and magic that adapt to the frequent upheaval.

Charles Stross’s new Laundry series book - The Rhesus Chart - this time Bob Howard takes on vampires.

The new Garth Nix book set in Abhorsen universe - Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen - the story of the young woman who eventually became Chlorr of the Mask happening 300 years before the events of Sabriel.

And, of course, new Pratchett - Raising Steam - that just come out yesterday here.

Terry Pratchett has Alzheimers and the realities of it are inescapable. He has sight problems and is no longer able to type but he writes books using dictation program. Of course he is popular and rich and gets all the best care and his kind of work lets him still be able to create. He still publishes books. He still tours and meets with fans. There is a contest on his official facebook page (open worldwide) to win his new book if he likes your Ankh-Morpork shop name best.

However, the sickness slowly and unavoidably takes it's toll. It's hard to think about it without feeling it's wrong and unfair but that's how it is every time it happens to someone you care about. There is so many people who stuffer the same fate. And all their families who both get affected when they have to take care of them and when they live in danger of getting sick themselves. This is why it is so important that he admitted it and became face for fighting it. He knows he is able to pay for pills and he has means to make sure he can go on his own terms but not all people can. Here's a great interview with a woman who lost her both parents to the sickness and is part of that fight too.

But we still are barley able to help and every time I listen to a talk about a new discovery about how it works I'm painfully aware that it's still years before this knowledge becomes treatment. We know more but still cannot do much about it. But we are getting there with genetic disease so prions will get theirs ass kicked too one day.

Right now however Terry Pratchett has to start planning for the future and it was announced that his daughter Rhianna will take over Discworld. She's already pretty well known game writer - she worked on Heavenly Sword and Overlord and Tomb Raider. She's also going to be a co-writer on the BBC Discworld series The Watch.

Some Australians are working on adapting Terry Pratchett's Troll Bridge. They've been working on it for a while and even got PTerry involved but they need some extra money to finish the project. They are trying to raise the funds over at Kickstarter and they show some things they've already done. And I think Cohen is perfect, don't you?

It was beautiful day today - sunny and warm. Temperature was above +10, even more in the sun. I walked around just in my blouse and felt warm. I spent the day doing gardening because snowdrops and crocuses are already out and should start blooming any day now. It's 9:30 p.m. and it's still +8 outside. Such a warm evening. I have to remind myself it's just a beginning of February not March or April. Too early to hide the winter clothes.


Dakota Fanning is the new face of science fiction - Taken (the miniseries), War of the Worlds and now the two movies I actually plan to see on the big screen - Coraline (she voices the title character) and Push.  She's everywhere. And if not her sister is.

Coraline - I liked the book and it's from the guy who did Nightmare Before Christmas and it's 3D.

Push - it looks like just the right mix of action and sf and psychics and special effects to enjoy the fun without it straying into ridiculousness of Emmerich movies where sfx club plot so long it is made only of nitpicks. Push seems like fun has TK battles and nobody runs around in funny costume.

I knew for a while that I want to see both movies. I've just read reviews on io9 - Coraline and Push (a bit spoilery) - they reminded me that both are out somewhere and I still don't know when I'll be able to see them. I just have to steer clear from friend offering to see them now.


In catching up with the book reading I'm finally done with Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. I loved it. All those internet metaphors - hacking, singularity, GNU and all. But the finniest part is that's a book published in 2004 but it explains exactly how we got into this whole financial crisis. Somebody looked at the end of the rainbow and checked if gold was there.