John R. Fultz's Blog, page 60
December 15, 2013
Seven Songs for SEVEN SORCERERS
Since I posted a playlist for SEVEN PRINCES and one for
SEVEN KINGS on this blog, it only makes sense to offer a playlist for the final Book of the Shaper. So here they are,
Seven Songs for SEVEN SORCERERS.
(NOTE: Max volume recommended for optimum playback.)
Black Sabbath – “Megalomania”
Conan – “Invincible Throne”
Elder – “III”
Orchid – “Marching Dogs of War”
Rainbow – “Stargazer”
Tool – “Schism”
The Sword – “Seven Sisters”
December 12, 2013
December 11, 2013
Endings, Trilogies, and Trash
In order to promote the release of SEVEN SORCERERS I’ve written a trio of articles this week. Here’s the lowdown and the links…
Art by CAZA
First, a piece on ENDINGS for Orbit Books: LA PETIT MORT: The End of the Story
Second, a piece on TRILOGIES for SFSignal: The Power of a Trilogy
Third, a piece on “Trash vs. Treasure” for Black Gate:
ONE MAN’S TRASH...
December 10, 2013
SEVEN SORCERERS now available
The Giants march. The armadas of the Southern Kings sail toward death and glory. The Hordes of Zyung ride across the world bent on conquest in the name of their Almighty leader. A sea of blood is sure to flow…
SEVEN SORCERERS hits bookstores everywhere TODAY.
Ask for it by name.
November 20, 2013
SEVEN SORCERERS: 1st Advance Review
Three more weeks until SEVEN SORCERERS hits a bookstore near you. Here’s what RT Book Reviews has to say about the book in their advance review:
“Fultz’s grand saga concludes in true epic fashion, with a blood-soaked, good-versus-evil finish to the ongoing conflict. The worldbuilding is amazing; Fultz’s narrative paints both a graphic and magical picture of war, and his characters are all perfectly rendered — from the fearsomely nightmarish villains to noble heroes, both immortal and human. (4.5 stars; Top Pick)“
The new release date for the book is December 10.
November 14, 2013
Rodriguez To Remake FIRE AND ICE
The FIRE AND ICE movie poster/DVD cover, minus logo and text. Because Frazetta’s work speaks for itself…
This is the best news I’ve heard all week! Director Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE) announced his plans to remake Frazetta and Bakshi’s FIRE AND ICE, one of the greatest animated fantasy films ever made.
Rodriguez is working on a remake of FIRE AND ICE that will present Frank Frazetta’s vision in the same way that SIN CITY presented Frank Miller’s vision.
For those who don’t already know about it, FIRE AND ICE is a 1983 Ralph Bakshi movie that Frazetta designed and co-directed. Now Rodriguez “feels the technology exists to bring Frazetta’s vision to life properly.”
Does this mean a live-action version with Frazetta-inspired CGI realism? Sure sounds like it. Rodriguez told Entertainment Weekly: “I want it to look like you just stepped into one of his paintings, where you get to see his world, and how he saw people, anatomy, and composition and color. It will feel like it’s real, but not real. It’ll be his reality. He saw things differently. He painted from his imagination. He didn’t take a photograph and just paint it.”
EW also captured an official synopsis for Rodriguez’s film, which doesn’t yet have a production start date. From his stronghold in Ice Peak, the evil Nekron sends forth a wave of deadly glaciers, forcing humanity to retreat to Fire Keep, a kingdom ruled by a generous king. When King Jarol’s daughter Teegra is kidnapped, young warrior Larn teams with the mysterious and legendary Dark Wolf, to rescue the princess and the realm from Nekron’s evil sorcery.
Don’t wait for the remake—see the original if you haven’t experienced it yet. It’s the closest thing we have (so far) to a Frazetta painting come to life.
November 11, 2013
Salute to the Warriors
HAPPY VETERANS’ DAY!!!
Art by Frank Frazetta
November 2, 2013
SEVEN SORCERERS: One More Month
”Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called The Pledge. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course…it probably isn’t. The second act is called The Turn. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call The Prestige.”
– Cutter, from Christopher Nolan’s THE PRESTIGE
Only one more month until the third act of my Great Magic Trick is revealed. I call this trick—or trilogy—THE BOOKS OF THE SHAPER. This final act, this all-important Prestige, the most important part of the Great Trick, is the Big Payoff, the Grand Finale, the Coup de Grace…the Great Reward for reading one’s way through the trilogy.
It is the best of the trilogy because it is the best book I’ve ever written, period. It HAD to be. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, the magic is more potent and more deadly; the threats and conflicts are increasingly colossal…
On December 3rd, my great Act of Magic concludes with a bang. Come witness for yourself the part where the magic overflows the pages. A story is only as good as its ending, and every end is a new beginning.
Come along, read, and feel the magic.
October 30, 2013
October 26, 2013
DRACULA Has Risen From the Grave
Click over to the Black Gate website for my
spoiler-free review of DRACULA,
NBC’s new re-invention
of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale.
