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Events / What's New

Tor Books at Phoenix ComicCon

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PhoenixCC It’s time for opens in a new windowPhoenix ComicCon! We have authors on a bunch of exciting panels this year, plus our own Director of Publicity Patty Garcia will tell you all about some of the books we love this year in the Totally Tor! panel on Thursday. Here’s the lineup:

Wednesday, June 1

opens in a new windowThe Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ

7:00 PM
Hosted by Kevin Hearne and featuring Patrick Rothfuss, opens in a new windowBrandon Sanderson, Pierce Brown, Beth Cato, opens in a new windowAdam Christopher, Ryan Dalton, opens in a new windowLeanna Renee Hieber, Jason Hough, opens in a new windowMary Robinette Kowal, Tom Leveen, Michael Martinez, Brian McClellan, opens in a new windowJoseph Nassise, Sarah Remy, opens in a new windowV.E. Schwab, Scott Sigler, Michael J. Sullivan, Sam Sykes, opens in a new windowDan Wells, and Django Wexler

Thursday, June 2

  • 3:00 – 4:00 PM opens in a new windowEvil as Heck
    It’s not enough to have a faceless villian who hides in the shadows, our authors discuss whether villiany can be a sympathetic motivation. Featuring Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and V.E. Schwab.
    Location: North 128B
  • 4:30 – 5:30 PM opens in a new windowTotally Tor!
    What’s new from Tor! Join Patty Garcia, Director of Publicity for Tor Books as she takes you through current and upcoming releases, and a take a sneak peak at big titles coming in 2017! Raffle and giveaways throughout the presentation.
    Location: North 129A

Friday, June 3

  • 12:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowWriting Excuses Podcast
    Join Writing Excuses hosts Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal and Howard Taylor as they interview Alan Dean Foster, Greg Van Eekhout, Trina Philips and Victoria Schwab.
    Location: West 301A
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM opens in a new windowTrope Talks: Kick Ass Heroines
    As a protagonist, a woman of action is high in demand. This Trope Talk focus on the allure of woman of action and where she is going next. Featuring Alyssa Wong, Christina Henry, Dan Wells, Django Wexler, Lexie Dunne, and Yvonne Navarro.
    Location: North 128A
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowIs This a Kissing Book?
    Are romantic relations really important to fantasy? Is the pursuit of love just as important as the hero conquering all? Our panel of authors discuss where romance fits in the crafting of fantasy. Featuring Bradley Beaulieu, Leanna Renee Hieber, Sam Sykes, and Suzanne Young.
    Location: North 129A
  • 3:00 – 4:00 PM opens in a new windowBuilding a Believable World: The Deets
    Building a believable a world is more than just a good map, our pannelist discuss the finer points of constructing a believable universe. Featuring Bradley Beaulieu, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Michael Martinez, Shannon Messenger, and Victoria Schwab.
    Location: North 129A
  • 6:00 – 7:00 PM opens in a new windowWould You Lie to Me?
    Authors lie for a living, but are they any good at knowing when they are being lied to? Hosted by Jason Hough, our two teams of authors will try to outwit each other and discern fact from fiction. Featuring Beth Cato, Brandon Sanderson, Jason Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Sam Sykes, Scott Sigler, and Victoria Schwab.
    Location: North 128B

Saturday, June 4

  • 10:30 – 11:30 AM opens in a new windowCrossing the Streams: Genre Splicing
    It’s too much to ask genres to stay neat and organized. As the number of genres grow, so too does the chance for cross-genres to be born. Our panelists discuss what happens stories refuse to stay in one genre and behave. Featuring Adam Christopher, Aprilynne Pike, Michael Martinez, Neo Edmund, and Yvonne Navarro.
    Location: North 128A
  • 10:30 – 11:30 AM opens in a new windowMother Flippin’ Wizards
    Everyone loves a good magic system, but what impact does it have on characters? Our panelists will talk about their favorite stories and their favorite wizards from Gandalf to Harry Potter and discuss how magic impacts people on a personal level. Featuring Bradley Beaulieu, Christina Henry, Leanna Renee Hieber, Sam Sykes, and Victoria Schwab.
    Location: North 129A
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowGlowy Swords: Magical MacGuffins
    The One Ring, Harry Potter’s wand, Excalibur, epic fantasy is full of magical MacGuffins, but is this just a mere plot device or is there a deeper purpose? Featuring Alyssa Wong, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Sam Sykes, and Victoria Schwab.
    Location: North 129A
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowTrope Talks: Unlikely Heroes
    Reluctant, unsuitable, or just plain bad- heroes come in more varieties than ever this Trope Talk focuses on writing less than heroic protagonists. Featuring Dan Wells, Django Wexler, Kevin Hearne, Sarah Remy, Shannon Messenger, and Todd Lockwood.
    Location: North 128A
  • 4:30 – 5:30 PM opens in a new windowAuthor Batsu
    Join your favorite authors for Phoenix Comicon’s 3rd Annual Batsu game. Authors will play a Russian Roulette style game and hope to survive another year. Featuring Sam Sykes, Alyssa Wong, Becky Chambers, Jason Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Pierce Brown, and Scott Sigler.
    Location: North 129A
  • 6:00 – 9:00 PM opens in a new windowDrinks with Authors
    Join our Author Guests for a glass or two in an informal setting. There will be door prizes and other giveaways from our participating publishers.
    Location: North 120 Seating and Events

Sunday, June 5

  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM opens in a new windowShared Worlds
    Some names carry the weight of a legacy with them. Authors who work in shared worlds are tasked with not only coming up with original creations, but building on what’s come before. Our panelists discuss establishing and helping legacy worlds. Featuring Adam Christopher, Jody Lynn Nye, Neo Edmund, and Yvonne Navarro.
    Location: North 128A
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowSomeone Else’s Sandbox
    TV, Film, Comics, RPGs every property has a story to tell, these are the author who flesh out our favorite visual universes. Join these media-tie in craftspeople in a discussion about writing in someone else’s sandbox. Featuring Adam Christopher, Alan Dean Foster, Michael Kogge, and Yvonne Navarro.
    Location: North 128B
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowWorld Building: Are We Still Talking About This?
    It sometimes feels like worldbuilding and magic systems are the be-all, end-all of fantasy. Our panelists gather to discuss the times when it matters and the times when it doesn’t. Featuring Greg Van Eekhout, John Peck/Jack Heckel, Michael Martinez, and Sarah Remy.
    Location: North 129A
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM opens in a new windowWorst Panel in the World
    At the end of another fine year of Phoenix Comicon, the grim survivors of the authors who made it out gather for one last hangover panel. Come shoot the breeze with authors as they discuss what’s fun and terrible in their industry. Featuring Dan Wells, Sam Sykes, Scott Sigler, and Suzanne Young.
    Location: North 128A
  • 3:00 – 4:00 PM opens in a new windowMythology and Folklore
    Fantasy has always borrowed heavily from the myths and legends around the globe. As the genre expands, so too do the myths we draw upon. Our panelists discuss their favorite legends throughout history and how they use them in their work. Featuring Alyssa Wong, Joseph Nassise, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Todd Lockwood.
    Location: North 129A
  • 4:30 – 5:30 PM opens in a new windowEmbarrassing Author Con Stories
    Everyone’s got one. Sometimes they witnessed it. Sometimes they were a part of it. Sometimes they caused it. Our authors relive hilariously awkward and light-heartedly embarrassing experiences at conventions. Featuring Kevin Hearne, Leanna Renee Hieber, Mary Robinette Kowal, Patrick Rothfuss, Pierce Brown, Sam Sykes, and Shannon Messenger.
    Location: North 128B

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New Releases

New Releases: 3/15/16

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Here’s what went on sale today!

opens in a new windowThe Last Mortal Bond by Brian Staveley

opens in a new windowThe Last Mortal Bond by Brian Staveley The ancient csestriim are back to finish their purge of humanity; armies march against the capital; leaches, solitary beings who draw power from the natural world to fuel their extraordinary abilities, maneuver on all sides to affect the outcome of the war; and capricious gods walk the earth in human guise with agendas of their own.

But the three imperial siblings at the heart of it all–Valyn, Adare, and Kaden–come to understand that even if they survive the holocaust unleashed on their world, there may be no reconciling their conflicting visions of the future.

NEW FROM TOR.COM:

opens in a new windowPieces of Hate by Tim Lebbon

opens in a new windowPieces of Hate by Tim Lebbon

During the Dark Ages, a thing named Temple slaughtered Gabriel’s family. A man with snake eyes charged him to pursue the assassin wherever he may strike next, and destroy him. Gabriel never believed he’d still be following Temple almost a thousand years later.

Because Temple may be a demon, the man with snake eyes cursed Gabriel with a life long enough to hunt him down. Now he has picked up Temple’s scent again. The Caribbean sea is awash with pirate blood, and in such turmoil the outcome of any fight is far from certain.

NOW IN PAPERBACK:

opens in a new windowThe Machine Awakes by Adam Christopher

opens in a new windowThe Machine Awakes by Adam Christopher Adam Christopher’s The Machine Awakes is a far future space opera set in the universe of Burning Dark. In the decades since the human race first made contact with the Spiders—a machine race capable of tearing planets apart—the two groups have fought over interstellar territory. But the war has not been going well for humankind, and with the failure of the Fleet Admiral’s secret plan in the Shadow system, the commander is overthrown by a group of hardliners determined to get the war back on track.

opens in a new windowRobert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century by William H. Patterson, Jr.

opens in a new windowRobert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century by William H. Patterson Jr. Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with his Century: 1948-1988 The Man Who Learned Better: The real-life story of Robert A. Heinlein in the second volume of the authorized biography by William H. Patterson!

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) is generally considered the greatest American science fiction writer of the twentieth century. His most famous and widely influential works include the Future History series (stories and novels collected in The Past Through Tomorrow and continued in later novels), Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress—all published in the years covered by this volume. He was a friend of admirals, bestselling writers, and artists; became committed to defending the United States during the Cold War; and was on the advisory committee that helped Ronald Reagan create the Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s.

NEW IN MANGA:

opens in a new windowEvergreen Vol. 4 by Yuyuko Takemiya, art by Akira Kasukabe

opens in a new windowFreezing Vol. 7-8 by Dall-Young Lim, art by Kwang-Hyun Kim

opens in a new windowSee upcoming releases.

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What's New

R is for Robot

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opens in a new windowMade to Kill by Adam Christopher
Written by opens in a new windowAdam Christopher

Y’know, there’s just something about robots that I like. Maybe it’s because they’re one of those rare creations that actually made the leap from sci-fi to the real world—what started out as a fictional concept of artificial workers ended up as real machines which build our cars and explore the solar system. Maybe it’s because robots are real that we can see what they might one day become. A warp drive that can take us to the next star in the blink of an eye is pure fantasy…but a walking, talking, thinking machine that can make coffee and take out the trash is tantalizingly possible.

Maybe I like robots because they’re just so damned retro, the term first coined in 1921 by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Here, the robots are synthetic, organic people, mass-produced in a factory—the Czech word “robota” meaning forced labor. A little different to what we would call a robot today, perhaps, but it’s the idea that’s key—artificial, manufactured life.

Robots may come and go according to science fiction fashion, but I have three particular favorites of my own.

D84 (Doctor Who: The Robots of Death, 1977)

It won’t surprise anyone to discover that one of my favorite Doctor Who stories is about a bunch of robots who throw Asimov’s three laws out the airlock and start slaughtering the human crew of a vast, floating sandminer that is sucking minerals from the dunes of a distant, unnamed planet. The robots, with their Art Deco stylings, are divided into three classes: Dums, mute worker drones; Vocs, the standard mechanical crewmen; and the Super Vocs, one of which runs the whole operation. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that one of the supposedly silent Dums—D84—can not only speak, but is a secret undercover agent on the trail of dangerous roboterrorist, Taren Capel.

Now, D84 is something of a hero of mine. Played with eerie calmness by Gregory de Polnay, he not only assists the Fourth Doctor and his companion, Leela, to uncover Taren Capel (hiding among the human crew of the sandminer) but, in a noble—and very human—act of self-sacrifice, destroys one of his killer kin to allow the Doctor’s plan to succeed.

Robbie the Robot (Forbidden Planet, 1956)

An obvious choice, but you can’t argue with the most famous robot in all of science fiction. One of the first robots to be shown as a distinct character with his own personality, Robbie’s impressive 7-foot bulk is a true design classic. While the original prop is now part of a private collection, 1:1 replicas are available—George R.R. Martin even has one in his hallway.

Andromeda (A for Andromeda, 1961)

From the famous to the obscure, Andromeda is closer to the R.U.R. concept of robots, being an artificial, organic creation. In the story, a newly operational radio telescope immediately begins receiving signals from the Andromeda galaxy; the signals turn out to be plans for an advanced alien supercomputer. Once the computer is built, it gives instructions for the creation of Andromeda, played by Julie Christie in the original production and by Susan Hampshire in the 1962 sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough. It might sound a little hokey, but A for Andromeda was co-written by famous cosmologist and astronomer Fred Hoyle with producer John Elliot and is a remarkably ambitious piece of early television sci-fi. The 2006 remake, starring Kelly Reilly as Andromeda and Tom Hardy as her creator, Fleming, is well worth tracking down.

opens in a new windowAnd then there’s this robot called Ray…

Buy Made to Kill today:
opens in a new windowAmazon | opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble | opens in a new windowBooks-a-Million | opens in a new windowiBooks | opens in a new windowIndiebound | opens in a new windowPowell’s

Follow Adam Christopher on Twitter at opens in a new window@ghostfinder and on his opens in a new windowwebsite.

Events / What's New

On the Road: Tor/Forge Author Events in November

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opens in a new windowMystic by Jason Denzel opens in a new windowWheel of Time Companion by Team Jordan opens in a new windowMade to Kill by Adam Christopher

opens in a new windowTor/Forge authors are on the road in November! Once a month, we’re collecting info about all of our upcoming author events. Check and see who will be coming to a city near you:

Kendare Blake, opens in a new windowUngodly

Monday, November 2
opens in a new windowUniversity Bookstore
Also with Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Also with Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
Lynnwood, PA
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 7
opens in a new windowWoodstock: Portland’s Book Festival
Toil and Trouble: Monsters, Witches, and Ghosts, Oh My! – also with Virginia Boecker, Paige McKenzie, McCormick Templeman, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Cat Winters.
Portland, OR
12:00 PM

Orson Scott Card, opens in a new windowGatefather

Tuesday, November 10
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Greensboro, NC
7:00 PM

Adam Christopher, opens in a new windowMade to Kill

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowKGB Bar
New York, NY
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 11
opens in a new windowJoseph-Beth Booksellers
Lexington, KY
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 12
opens in a new windowFountain Books
Richmond, VA
6:30 PM

Friday, November 13
opens in a new windowThe Doylestown Bookshop
Doylestown, PA
6:30 PM

Saturday, November 14
opens in a new windowFlyleaf Books
Chapel Hill, NC
6:00 PM

Jason Denzel, opens in a new windowMystic

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Also with Michael Livingston, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Mt. Pleasant, SC
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 4
opens in a new windowUniversity Temple United Methodist Church
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 5
opens in a new windowBorderlands Books
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
San Francisco, CA
6:00 PM

Friday, November 6
opens in a new windowCopperfield’s Books
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Petaluma, CA

Saturday, November 7
opens in a new windowVroman’s Bookstore
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Pasadena, CA
6:00 PM

Sunday, November 8
opens in a new windowMysterious Galaxy
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
San Diego, CA
2:00 PM

Monday, November 9
opens in a new windowClark County Library
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons
Las Vegas, NV
7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 10
opens in a new windowJean Cocteau Cinema
Also with George R.R. Martin, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Sante Fe, NM
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 11
opens in a new windowMurder by the Book
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Houston, TX
6:30 PM

Thursday, November 12
opens in a new windowAnderson’s Bookshop
Also with Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
Naperville, IL
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 14
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Sacramento, CA
2:00 PM

Sunday, November 15
opens in a new windowTrent’s Bookshelf
Elk Grove, CA
2:00 PM

Saturday, November 28
opens in a new windowAvid Reader
Davis, CA
7:30 PM

Team Jordan, opens in a new windowThe Wheel of Time Companion

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Also with Michael Livingston and Jason Denzel.
Mt. Pleasant, SC
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 4
opens in a new windowUniversity Temple United Methodist Church
Also with Jason Denzel.
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Thursday, November 5
opens in a new windowBorderlands Books
Also with Jason Denzel.
San Francisco, CA
6:00 PM

Friday, November 6
opens in a new windowCopperfield’s Books
Also with Jason Denzel.
Petaluma, CA
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 7
opens in a new windowVroman’s Bookstore
Also with Jason Denzel.
Pasadena, CA
6:00 PM

Sunday, November 8
opens in a new windowMysterious Galaxy
Also with Jason Denzel.
San Diego, CA
2:00 PM

Monday, November 9
opens in a new windowClark County Library
Also with Jason Denzel.
Las Vegas, NV
7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 10
opens in a new windowJean Cocteau Cinema
Also with George R.R. Martin and Jason Denzel.
Sante Fe, NM
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 11
opens in a new windowMurder by the Book
Also with Jason Denzel.
Houston, TX
6:30 PM

Thursday, November 12
opens in a new windowAnderson’s Bookshop
Also with Jason Denzel.
Naperville, IL
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 21
opens in a new windowQuail Ridge Books & Music
Raleigh, NC
4:00 PM

Michael Livingston, opens in a new windowShards of Heaven

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowBarnes & Noble
Also with Jason Denzel, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.
7:00 PM

Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear, An Apprentice to Elves

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowPandemonium Books and Games
Cambridge, MA
7:00 PM

Michael Ransom, opens in a new windowThe Ripper Gene

Saturday, November 14
opens in a new windowThe College of New Jersey
Ewing, NJ
2:00 PM

Monday, November 16
 opens in a new windowPenn Bookstore
Philadelphia, PA
6:00 PM

Hank Phillippi Ryan,  opens in a new windowWhat You See

Sunday, November 1
opens in a new windowBook Carnival
Orange, CA
3:00 PM

Tuesday, November 3
opens in a new windowPoisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ
7:00 PM

Monday, November 16
opens in a new windowBridgewater Library
Bridgewater, MA
6:30 PM

Tuesday, November 17
opens in a new windowTewksbury Public Library
Tewksbury, MA
7:00 PM

Wednesday, November 18
opens in a new windowAbington Public Library
Abington, MA
7:00 PM

Monday, November 30
opens in a new windowBookends
Winchester, MA
6:00 PM

Catherynne M. Valente,  opens in a new windowRadiance

Thursday, November 5
opens in a new windowThe Toadstool Bookshop
Milford, NH
6:30 PM

Sunday, November 8
opens in a new windowPhoenix Books
Burlington, VT
2:00 PM

Thursday, November 12
opens in a new windowGibson’s Bookstore
Concord, NH
7:00 PM

Anne A. Wilson, opens in a new windowHover

Saturday, November 7
opens in a new windowVelma Teague Branch Library
Glendale, AZ
1:00 PM

Wednesday, November 11
opens in a new windowChanging Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ
7:00 PM

Sweepstakes

ARC Collection Sweepstakes

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ARC Sweepstakes Collection
We’ve got some amazing SF titles coming out this year, and we want to give you a chance to read them before they publish! Sign up for the Tor Newsletter for your chance to win an fantastic collection that includes opens in a new windowAll the Birds in the Sky (signed copy), opens in a new windowMade to Kill (signed copy), opens in a new windowRadiance, and opens in a new windowBarsk.

Read More »

Events / What's New

Tor Books Announces Programming for San Diego Comic-Con 2015

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Tor30SDCC

opens in a new windowTor Books is heading to San Diego Comic-Con!

 

Once again Tor (Booth #2707) continues our wildly popular *in-booth signings and giveaways, offering you a chance to meet your favorite authors up close and personal and pick up free books. We’ve got a great line up including appearances by:  opens in a new windowBrandon Sanderson, opens in a new windowCharlie Jane Anders, opens in a new windowSusan Dennard, and more!

For excerpts, a spotlight on our newest authors, panel schedules, giveaway times and much more, please visit opens in a new windowtorbooks2015.com. And make sure to follow @TorBooks on Twitter for up to date information and last minute events.

Wednesday, July 8

Thursday, July 9

  • 1:00pm—2:00pm Resurgence of Science Fiction, Room 32AB
    Welcome to the promised land, oh geeks and nerds: your time has come. Star Wars is getting new movies, and so is Star Trek. Andy Weir’s The Martian and John Scalzi’s opens in a new windowOld Man’s War are heading to the big and small screens and Mars One is looking for volunteers—Science Fiction and the draw of technology, futurism, space and the final frontier are hot on everyone’s mind. Come join Adam Christopher ( opens in a new windowMade To Kill), Margaret Stohl, Peter Clines, and others as they discuss this renaissance of SF and why now is an exciting time to live in, for both fiction and fact.
  • 2:30pm—3:00pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA06
  • 1:30pm—2:30pm Authors of Epic Fantasy, Room 24ABC
    How do you best describe stories of epic fantasy? Expansive worlds with long histories, huge casts of characters, political intrigue, massive battles, magic, legend, and much more… they are indeed epic! Join authors of fantasy fiction Peter Orullian ( opens in a new windowTrial of Intentions), Susan Dennard ( opens in a new windowTruthwitch), Peter Brett, and others as they discuss their own works, as well as other popular series that have made epic fantasy one of pop culture’s most successful genres.
  • 3:00pm—4:00pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09
  • 3:00pm—4:00pm Worldbuilding, Room 25ABC
    Fact: worlds are important. But how are they made? Join our panel of top authors as they describe how they set the stage for their stories and create a living universe for their characters. Moderated by Charlie Jane Anders ( opens in a new windowAll the Birds in the Sky).
  • 4:30pm—5:30pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09
  • 4:00pm—5:00pm I’m Sleeping with the Lights On: Horror and Thriller Authors in Discussion, Room 25ABC
    Horror and thriller books have an amazing way of keeping readers up at night. From demons to zombies, and from historical to even seemingly mundane settings, certain authors can find bone-chilling ways to make sure the reader keep turning the pages. Join Robert Brockway ( opens in a new windowThe Unnoticeables), Mary Kubica, Matthew Riley, and others as they discuss their books and what motivates them to scare you! Moderated by Del Howison ( opens in a new windowMidian Unmade), owner of the Dark Delicacies Bookstore.
  • 5:30pm—6:30pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09

Friday, July 10

  • 11:30am—12:30pm Gender in Science Fiction, Room 24ABC
    Pizza rolls, not gender roles! From the strong female protagonist to the battle of the sexes, Science Fiction has long given us the ability to challenge the way we think about traditional gender roles. Come listen to Maryelizbeth Yturralde, owner of the bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, lead acclaimed authors such as Wes Chu ( opens in a new windowTime Salvager), Nick Cole, and more in a discussion about the importance of gender in Science Fiction, how Science Fiction novels open our minds to non-traditional ideas, and just what is the difference between gender and sex.
  • 1:00pm—2:00pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09

Saturday, July 11th

  • 12:00pm—1:00pm Family Feud: Sci-Fi vs. Fantasy, Room 7AB
    Calling all Nerds! Since the dawn of time we have argued and contemplated crucial matters: What’s cooler? Who would win in a fight? Who would lose? Star Trek or Star Wars? Ironman or Captain America? Now, in an open forum, join us as other diehard Nerds and geek experts—including Brandon Sanderson ( opens in a new windowMistborn series), Chuck Palahniuk, Ernie Cline, and others—prove their mettle by squaring off into furious debates about the hottest topics in geek culture.
  • 1:30pm—2:30pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09
  • 4:00pm—5:00pm Epic Fantasy, Room 29AB
    Learn about fantasy literature and book-to-movie adaptations from New York Times bestselling authors Heather Brewer, Jonathan Maberry, Kami Garcia, Brandon Sanderson ( opens in a new windowMistborn series) and Maggie Stiefvater. Moderated by Henry Herz.

Sunday, July 12

All Tor Booth signings are on a first come first serve basis and while supplies lasts. Limit one book per person.

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Sweepstakes

The Burning Dark Sweepstakes

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The Burning Dark poster and book

Adam Christopher’s The Burning Dark went on sale today and we are celebrating by offering a chance to win a copy of the book and a poster of the cover art!

Comment below to enter for a chance to win.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment opens in a new windowhere beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) March 25, 2014. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET April 1, 2014. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

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Author Features

The Lost Cosmonauts

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The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher

Written by Adam Christopher

It’s the ghost story of the space race–a haunting tale of death and loss, a mystery the truth of which will likely never be proved…or disproved. They are the lost cosmonauts, a group of men and women sent into space and lost to history. As the story goes, Yuri Gargarin was not the first man in orbit. He was the first man in space…who made it back alive.

The story began with the Judica-Cordiglia brothers, two Italian radio enthusiasts who set up an amateur listening post in a disused German bunker just outside of Turin in the late 1950s. Over the next several years, they picked up both Soviet and US transmissions, including communications relating to Sputnik and the first American satellite, Explorer 1.

The brothers picked up something else, too. A serious of strange communiqués between Russian ground control and space capsules which do not appear in any official timeline of space travel. The transmissions–the recordings of which still survive–are straight out of a horror movie. In one, the last dying breaths and heartbeats of a doomed cosmonaut can be heard as his capsule spirals out of control into deep space, while in another the familiar SOS signal can be heard apparently receding as the craft moved away from the Earth. In the most famous recording, a female cosmonaut dubbed “Ludmila” desperately reports to ground control as her capsule burns up on re-entry. The list goes on, a catalogue of phantom cosmonauts who never were, all meeting their ends far above the Earth.

But it’s just a conspiracy theory, isn’t it? An urban legend of space travel. The recordings are unclear, and Ludmila’s mostly unintelligible transmission sounds more Italian than Russian–one theory being that the brothers had tuned into a garbled frequency used by local air traffic control. There are other problems with the recordings, too: incorrect terminology and odd, grammatically incorrect Russian–unlikely to have come from educated and highly trained cosmonauts on an official mission.

And that’s where we could leave the tale…if it weren’t for the fact that the Soviets were secretive, and at the height of the Cold War, people really did disappear in the USSR. On Stalin’s orders, dissidents were erased, their records expunged–even photographs were doctored to delete former aides and advisors who had fallen out of favor. In one apt example, an official photograph from 1961 of eleven cosmonauts has been shown by researchers to have had at least five people airbrushed out of it.

Given the hotly contested space race with the USA, it’s easy to believe that the Russians would have been so keen to keep their failures a secret that all records of cosmonauts killed or lost on missions were destroyed. There is some evidence of this: the death of fighter pilot Valentin Bondarenko during his cosmonaut training, just three weeks before Gargarin’s flight in 1961, was not made public until 1980. Later, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, much documentation relating to the Soviet space program was destroyed or lost.

So, did the lost cosmonauts really exist? Were people sent into space before Gargarin’s historic flight? Unless new documentation surfaces, it’s impossible to tell whether these phantoms are a sad legacy of a secretive program, or just a tall tale to be passed down the generations of space travel enthusiasts and science fiction fans.

But that doesn’t stop us looking at the night sky and wondering, what if there really were others left out there….

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From the Tor/Forge March 17th newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

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Starred Review: The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher

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The Burning Dark by AUTHOR“Claustrophobic in mood but with the scope of great space opera, this is sf you will want to read with the light on.”

Adam Christopher’s The Burning Dark got a starred review in Library Journal!

Here’s the full review, from the March 15th issue:

Image Place holder of - 86 As his last assignment with the Fleet, Capt. Idaho Cleveland heads to the U-Star Coast City to assist with the space station’s decommissioning. Put in place as a science station around an unusual star known as Shadow, the Coast City also served as a defensive outpost against an implacable and technologically superior enemy known as the Spiders. From Cleveland’s arrival it’s obvious that things are not quite right on the station and the strange purple light from Shadow seems to be making the skeleton crew aggressive and paranoid. Isolated, resented, and bored, Cleveland builds a radio that somehow picks up a signal from across time and space that might be a message—or a warning.

VERDICT This dark and chilling novel from the versatile Christopher (Seven Wonders; Hang Wire) builds tension expertly. Claustrophobic in mood but with the scope of great space opera, this is sf you will want to read with the light on. Although the ending arrives quickly, this is apparently the first book in a new series exploring more of the world of the Fleet and the Spiders.

The Burning Dark will be published on March 25th.

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