Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 208
March 14, 2011
Corpse-Eaters
I've started getting spam from organizations claiming to be charities engaged in helping the people of Japan.They're lying, of course. They'll keep the money and laugh at you while dancing on the corpses of the tsunami's victims.I'm sure that everyone reading this knows enough to treat this sort of solicitation with the contempt it deserves, but it doesn't hurt to issue a warning. When a titanic disaster like this occurs, we want to help, and there are people who will take advantage of our ...
March 12, 2011
Set Phasers Tae Malky
I have a full weekend ahead of me and probably won't be posting much, so while you're waiting for me to serve up my usual broth of wisdom, please enjoy the trailer for the new Star Trek franchise.
March 10, 2011
Science Fiction Bagpipe, Illustrated
So the artist Ward Shelley has achieved a degree of celebrity in our tribe through his painting, in which he managed to encapsulate the history of science fiction in a graphic that seems to otherwise depict a couple of Lovecraft monsters having sex.Or maybe it's a bagpipe turned inside-out.But I'd like to point out that this can't be a real history of science fiction, for the simple reason that I am not mentioned anywhere in the design.And it can't be complete without me, now can it? This i...
March 8, 2011
Still More Me!
It's another Walter Jon Williams interview! This one's in Lightspeed Magazine and is conducted by the fine author Chris Moriarty, who knows my work well, and who is also really, really smart.
Check it out!
Check it out!
March 7, 2011
Trendspotting
One interesting thing I discovered from looking at my financial data this year is that in 2010 I earned far more in foreign sales than in any other category. I could make a decent, if not spectacular, living writing just for translation into other languages.It would spare me all the weird second-guessing that comes with American publishers and their sad, useless charting of trends. "No, you can't sell a book with space ships this week, it's all near-future." "No, you can't do vampires...
March 6, 2011
Reviews Too Late: the IRS Edition
Once again I've been slogging through hundreds of inadequately-labeled bits of paper in an effort to get my taxes in good enough shape for the accountant to make sense of them. And once again, I've been watching action films in order to make the time pass, if not more quickly, at least with more entertaining explosions than the sight of me shouting at the incomprehensible scribble on some old receipt. So here are some quick reviews of what passed before my eyes while I was engaged with...
March 4, 2011
Meanwhile, in a Galaxy Some Distance From Here . . .
I am interviewed again! But this time the questions are all about Destiny's Way, the Star Wars novel I wrote about ten years ago.
Those unfamiliar with the Star Wars Expanded Universe are forgiven, in advance, for being bewildered.
Those unfamiliar with the Star Wars Expanded Universe are forgiven, in advance, for being bewildered.
March 3, 2011
Another Fine Signing
I'll be at a signing at Page One in Albuquerque this coming Saturday, beginning at 2:30.Firstly, I'll be part of a crowd of fine writers signing the new Saberhagen-themed anthology Golden Reflections. On hand will be Daniel Abraham, Robert Vardeman, John Maddox Roberts, and Jane Lindskold.
Secondly, I'll be signing (and talking about) my new novel Deep State.
Come on Saturday, and get a double dose of Waltery goodness!
"I, for one, welcome our new robot overl—- CHOMP!"
Two signs of the coming Robot Apocalypse.First (via Robert) the US Navy has issued a proposal calling for scientists to create: " . . . swarms of little semi-autonomous machines that can team up to manufacture complex objects (including, presumably, more robots). "That's right, the only thing scarier than a swarm of intelligent military mini robots is a swarm of intelligent military mini robots in control of the means of production . . . "Plus, over in Japan, a cute little gastronomic...
