Aaron Allston releases new ebook: An Occurrence at Bifrost Bridge

An Occurrence at Bifrost BridgeAaron Allston, author of many Star Wars novels including the upcoming Wraith Squadron novel, X-Wing: Mercy Kill, has announced the ebook release of a new short story, An Occurrence at Bifrost Bridge. Set in the 1940s, this fantasy story journeys into the realms of Norse mythology, with a title reminiscent of a classic Ambrose Bierce tale.

Available in several formats, the story is available for purchase at Allston’s ArcherRat Publishing store or get the Kindle edition on Amazon. Physical copies may be available for purchase from the author at Dragon*Con. Also now available in multiple electronic formats is Allston’s first ebook, Dead But Hostile, a trio of horror shorts.

Sunday reader: An except from Tyra Banks’ YA novel

Remember how Tyra Banks got a book deal last year? Well, Modelland is officially in the publishing pipeline for a September 13th release, and if the sample chapter is anything to judge by, this shit is crazy.

First off, the heroine’s name is Tookie De La Crème. Yes, I did copy and paste that directly, and I’m pretty sure that somewhere in the depths of basic cable a drag queen is cursing Tyra for getting there first.

There’s also a feather eyepiece ‘smize’ (What? Yes.) that increases ones chances of being an ‘Intoxibella’ (supermodel) “by 91 percent.” 91 percent!

And then there’s this:

Scores of girls marched down their own stretches of the square, paused, posed for the cameras (real and imaginary), and then turned around. Trains of walking girls intersected with others. One area behind Tookie was so crammed with street vendors, it bottlenecked into a slow, shuffling line. Some walkers had only enough space to take a few steps before they had to stop and turn. Tookie’s heart went out to a young girl in a ruffled pink dress who seemed way below the unofficial thirteen- year-old age requirement. She marched in place as if she were on a drill team.

Riiiip. A girl stepped on the train of a walker a few feet from Tookie and tore the fabric right off the dress. Both girls fell forward into a heap. The walkers behind them stepped over their bodies and continued.

Crash. The De La Crème white and cream blow-up tent went down as two brawling girls entered it. Oof. A girl who looked as if she had never walked in heels before stumbled, breaking the tips of both stilettos. Two girls got into a fight at the end of their makeshift catwalk, rolling to the ground. “Kenya, use the Gyaku Zuki move!” her mother screamed. “Reverse- punch the hairy hag! But watch your hair, sweetie!”

At least Tyra (or her ghostwriter) have a sense of humor, right? Read the rest of the excerpt at Barnes and Noble.

Gencon: Fantasy Flight previews Star Wars games

After announcing last week that Fantasy Flight Games had obtained the licensing rights for Star Wars-themed RPG, card and miniatures games, it seemed pretty natural for them to be demoing their upcoming titles at Gencon this past weekend. Beasts Of War interviewed Fantasy Flight Games on the two upcoming titles demoed the gaming convention: X-Wing, the miniatures game, and Star Wars: The Card Game. io9 enjoyed their chance to try out a demo version of the starfighter combat minis.

Buzz on Board Game Geek for the card game seems to be positive, especially from the fans of FFG’s other cooperative Living Card Games. But a few CCG gaming friends tried it out and weren’t as positive – was it a poor demo experience (not being told that it was cooperative and not competitive)? Several players remarked on the game having some bad artwork. Hopefully the look and feel will get more polished as they finish it up for its 2012 release. But as a co-op game with all players being the Rebels against the Empire, players seeking to play on the Dark Side of the Force will be left unhappy.

TheHopelessGamer has some pictures of both Star Wars: The Card Game, and X-Wing.

On TV: Warehouse 13, Leverage renewed, new Thrones characters, and more

Fresh off the heels of killing, renewing, and really killing Eureka, SyFy has renewed its most watched series, Warehouse 13 for a fourth season in 2012. Entertainment Weekly discusses Syfy’s image post-Eureka, and announced a fifth season of Leverage on TNT. Also not axed yet: Syfy had to quash rumors that its new superhuman show, Alphas, had been canned.

Can’t wait for the next season of Game of Thrones? Check out these three new character castings on Blastr. Or check out this tribute video: (Warning: NSFW!)

Carbonite on Carbonite: Nail polish vs. the real thing

The winners of our Revlon Carbonite nail polish giveaway have been chosen, but if you didn’t win, the polish display has been spotted in drugstores around the country. One of the people who found it was Rach, a Jader who just happens to own a life-size Han in Carbonite replica. She took some pics of her Han with the polish:

Here’s what Rach had to say: “Does it match? Well… kinda. Just like the comparisons to Graphite it’s just a wee bit too gold.”

In true dedication, Rach painted a crack on her Han’s thumb with the polish: “It blends from a distance but up close you can tell it’s been painted.”

We’re not sure if this polish is a limited edition* yet, so be aware it will be on a standalone display somewhere near the makeup. (I found mine on a Meijer endcap.)

HUGE thanks to Rach for the pics, and happy hunting, everyone!

* The bottle says ‘New Shade,’ but so did a previous Chanel dupe which don’t seem to have made the permanent collection.

Tolkien, Douglas Adams top NPR’s top 100 of SF/F; Star Wars makes the ranks with Zahn

NPR has been formulating a list of the top 100 science fiction and fantasy all summer, and finally the results are in. It includes few surprises – J. R. R. Tolkien takes the top with Lord of the Rings, followed by Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, Frank Herbert’s Dune series, and George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

There are only a handful of books by women represented, though: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale take #20 and #22. Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula K. Le Guin, Lois McMaster Bujold, Susanna Clarke, Robin Hobb, Audrey Niffenegger, Jacqueline Carey, Mary Stewart, Diana Gabaldon, Robin McKinley and Connie Willis also appear. (J.K. Rowling would no doubt have had a good shot at a high placement, but NPR is saving young adult books for “summers yet to come.”)

Also making an appearance, at #88, is the only Star Wars work: Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. Not too bad, considering the shabby reputation of tie-ins. Though I can’t help but point out that the cover they’re using to represent the trilogy is actually for the comic adaptions. Sigh.

SyFy cancels Eureka, plays bait-and-switch

After Twitter exploded with rage that Eureka was being cancelled last week, The Wrestling Channel SyFy announced that they were giving them six episodes to wrap up the series, next year. Apparently, they have now changed their minds.

Wil Wheaton, who has been playing the hilariously petty Dr. Parrish on the show, wrote up his reaction on his blog. And here’s a round-up of the fan and cast reactions.

After the way they played Stargate fans, you’d think SyFy would have learned how to better break up with a show.

In the news: Fans love the Yoda statue, ILM may establish Canadian outpost


Emily Lewis, right, and her pal Jason at the Yoda Fountain. (Photo by Emily Lewis.

A dispatch from the mainstream. The Yoda statue at the Presidio is a landmark for Star Wars fans, an Associated Press article says this week. No, really? Other key Star Wars locales, like Tunisia and Lake Como, are also mentioned.

ILM looking north? The Hollywood Reporter says that Industrial Light + Magic is looking into opening a facility in Vancouver.

Your daily dose of stormtroopers. The Illinois 501st get profiled in the Chicago Tribune.

Baseball. The San Francisco Giants are freezing pitcher Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boy) in carbonite for the Star Wars day on September 4th. Wouldn’t it make more sense to freeze the visiting team’s pitcher?

Science! Spoilers are good for you, says a study by UC San Diego. Okay then!