Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 213

Newly Romanian

If you can read Romanian, you're in for a treat!
The Praxis is just out from Leda, and comes equipped with a terrific cover by Alex Popescu.
Find your copy wherever fine Romanian literature is sold.

Glass Houses

Color me stoked about the WikiLeaks scandal.  250,000 classified documents, half a billion words, a look at the way the US views the world, unfiltered by press secretaries (though apparently the cables will be redacted by several major news organizations, including the NY Times).And what earth-shaking secrets have been revealed so far?  Well, we've learned that Iran is hated and feared by its neighbors, that Angela Merkel is timid, that Sarkozy is thin-skinned, that Karzai is ineffectual and ...

Taos Toolbox

Just a reminder that the submission period for Taos Toolbox begins on December 1, only a very few days from now!
Taos Toolbox (as if you need reminding) is a master class in science fiction and fantasy taught by Nancy Kress, Walter Jon Williams, and special lecturer Jack Skillingstead.  It will take place in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, July 10-23, 2011.
If you have aspirations toward writing this stuff, you should definitely submit.

Flame and Citron (2008)

I caught this Danish film, based on the lives of two real-life Second World War Resistance heroes, thanks to Netflix.  Since it's based on real-life Resistance heroes, you know going in that this won't be a happy film, because pretty much all the real-life Resistance heroes died.  (Hey, I'm not telling you anything the original Danish audience didn't already know.)The story concerns two young Danes, Bent (called "Flame" for his red hair) and Jorgen (called "Citron" because he once sabotaged a...

Things To Be Thankful For

It's the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States, so I'll be spending the day with friends, engaged in drinking and gluttony.
Wherever you may be, have a happy Thursday.
And feel free to feast your eyes on the UK cover for DEEP STATE, available in the English-speaking world this coming February.

Mongol

When I was a child, Omar Sharif was my image of Genghis Khan.  I had seen the big-screen Hollywood biopic, perhaps the last to be made in the tradition of Ben-Hur and El Cid, with Omar as Temudjin, Stephen Boyd as the villainous Jamuga, and Robert Morley, of all people, as the Chinese Emperor.  The love interest, Temudjin's wife Borte, was played by the astoundingly blonde Francoise Dorleac (Catherine Deneuve's older sister).  Other notable Caucasians in the cast included Eli Wallach, James M...

Baby Head to Bed

So I have now delivered Mister Baby Head (otherwise known as Dagmar III).
So I'm going off to celebrate.  Drink some champagne, maybe.  Or maybe just sleep around the clock.
Check you later.

Another Glorious Voice Heard From

Paul Stotts has written an extremely perceptive review of This Is Not a Game.    (Extremely perceptive because he agrees with me, okay?)[The] interconnection between reality and fiction is masterfully explored in Walter Jon Williams' latest novel This Is Not A Game, a beautiful multi-layered novel, both vastly entertaining and
It's a fascinating sociological experiment, an exploration of large-scale problem-solving by a community of minds. An ode to the Hive Mind and the power of...

Your God Has Smelly Armpits!

This one's been around for a while, but I hadn't seen it.  Maybe you haven't, either.

Tycho Brahe Has Risen From the Grave!

A few years ago I made an effort to visit the crypt of pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, which is located in a moderately obscure Prague church called Our Lady Before Tyn.  Tycho's meticulous astronomical observations, all with equipment he designed and built himself, were so good that his Rudolphine Tablets were used well into the 20th century.Tycho was also a swashbuckler who lost part of his nose in a duel and who possibly left Denmark for Prague because he'd had an affaire with...