Forthcoming Anthology: Rogues

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martin-georgeI love short stories. Therefore, I love anthologies! Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin have delivered one helluv an anthology in Rogues. They turned in the completed manuscript last week to their editor at Bantam Spectra. Which is pretty damn cool for me because—since I freelance for Bantam Spectra—I might be able to read the book early! From George's Not a Blog:

"This one was an enormous amount of fun. We’re got something for everyone in Rogues — SF, mystery, historical fiction, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, comedy, tragedy, crime stories, mainstream. And rogues, cads, scalawags, con men, thieves, and scoundrels of all descriptions. If you love Harry Flashman and Cugel the Clever, as I do, this is the book for you. If there’s any bloody justice, some of these stories will contend for awards."
Here is the Table of Contents:
  • George R.R. Martin: “Everybody Loves a Rogue” (Introduction)
  • Joe Abercrombie: “Tough Times All Over”
  • Gillian Flynn: “What Do You Do?”
  • Matthew Hughes: “The Inn of the Seven Blessings”
  • Joe R. Lansdale: “Bent Twig”
  • Michael Swanwick: “Tawny Petticoats”
  • David Ball: “Provenance”
  • Carrie Vaughn: “The Roaring Twenties”
  • Scott Lynch: “A Year and a Day in Old ...

PlayStation First: Reaching Out to the Next Generation of Developers

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Students at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne will soon find PlayStation development on the syllabus in a major way, thanks to a new partnership with Sony’s ‘PlayStation First Academic Partnership Programme’.

The institution will be given six Vita development kits, alongside all the required tools, documentation and support. The AIE is the first partner for the programme in Australia, which has been running since 2010 and already works with more than a dozen tertiary institutions in the UK and Europe, as well as in North America, Latin America and Singapore.

“The crux of it is fostering the next generation of PlayStation savvy developer,” says Dr Maria Stukoff, Head of Academic Development for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “PlayStation First was established because the next generation – all the talent - are very much in education right now… and we want to work with that talent. We want to provide them with up to date, cutting edge technology so that they can get the right skillsets.”

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Defiance: "Brothers in Arms" Review

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Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

Defiance kept up its usual trend with this week's episode, as after an episode focused more on the secondary cast it once again shifted back to the likes of Sheriff Nolan and Datak Tarr. It didn't exactly do much to address the problem of underdeveloped supporting characters, even though it initially seemed that Doc Yewll might finally be stepping into the spotlight. That didn't pan out, but once the episode cleared a few hurdles it proved to be an enjoyable enough look into Nolan's past deeds and current relationships.

The premise of "Brothers in Arms" was familiar enough, as Nolan had the chance to team up with an old buddy/mentor from his past. Anytime this happens in serialized police dramas like Law & Order, you can predict pretty much exactly how the episode will play out. The two lawmen will have fun busting heads, but eventually the pressure of a case will splinter their friendship and the mentor's true colors will reveal themselves, forcing an unhappy showdown in the climax. And in a broad sense that was pretty much what unfolded here. However, Eddie (Rob Stewart) was written with enough nuance that he rarely felt ...