Matt Forbeck's Blog, page 59
February 27, 2011
Games for New Zealand
Over at Tor.com, I posted about the latest charity bundle of tabletop gaming PDFs that DriveThruRPG has put together. This one gives you $330+ of product for only $20, with proceeds going to the New Zealand Red Cross to help with its efforts to give aid in the wake of the recent earthquake there. It's a great cause supported by a great group of publishers. Check it out.
February 25, 2011
Ranting Dragon Raves over Vegas Knights
Benni at the Ranting Dragon recently read Vegas Knights, and it seems to have struck a chord with her. She insightfully identifies the book as being closer to Bringing Down the House/21 than Ocean's 11. I've often thought the book hews closer to Dresden Files meets Bringing Down the House than Harry Potter meets Ocean's 11, but the latter pairing is less likely to cause anyone to wonder what I'm talking about.
Either way, I always enjoy seeing a reader get what I'm going at, and Benni nails it. She writes:
"I have held my breath before; I have felt my heartbeat rise before; but never have I physically shaken from the rush generated from the action contained in a book until I read Vegas Knights… If you're craving a fast-paced action adventure, skip a movie and grab a copy of Vegas Knights instead… This is popcorn fantasy at its best."
Go read the whole thing though. It's head-spinningly awesome.
As I've mentioned before, Vegas Knights hits the UK on March 3 and releases worldwide as an ebook that same day. That's less than one week away.
Print copies reach the US on March 29. If you have a UK Kindle, though, the book apparently slipped through there a bit early, and you can grab it right now.
February 23, 2011
Vegas Knights Gets 9/10
A savvy reader known as Bane of Kings reviewed Vegas Knights at The Founding Fields today, and he loved it. He gives it a stellar 9 out of 10 and writes:
You'll find that you can get through this book pretty quickly, mainly because you simply won't be able to put it down… The plot of this novel is well constructed, and written in a way that you don't know what's coming next… Should you buy this book? Yes. It's a fantastic read, and a must for any fans of the fantasy genre.
Vegas Knights hits the UK on March 3 and releases worldwide as an ebook that same day. Print copies reach the US on March 29. If you have a UK Kindle, though, the book apparently slipped through there a bit early, and you can grab it right now.
February 20, 2011
New Rave for Vegas Knights
Stefan Fergus of the Civilian Reader read Vegas Knights last week, and he enjoyed it. Among his sharp praise for the book, he writes:
"Brisk and action-packed, Vegas Knights is an entertaining read… It's fun, pacey, and interesting. Recommended."
Vegas Knights hits the UK on March 3, and it has a worldwide ebook release that same day. Paper copies arrive in the US on March 29.
February 17, 2011
The Sixteen Forty-Nine Premiere
If you're anywhere near Beloit this weekend, come out to the Beloit Film Festival for the premiere of Sixteen Forty-Nine. This documentary by Ruben Burgos highlights the issue of homeless teens in Rock County, and my wife Ann — who's the homeless student liaison for the School District of Janesville — is interviewed about the situation in the film. It will show twice during the festival:
February 18 at 7:30 PM, at the Eclipse Center in Beloit
February 20 at 2:00 PM, at the Pontiac Convention Center in Janesville
Tickets for both shows are on sale now. Here's the trailer for the film here to give you a sample of what it's all about.
February 12, 2011
Officially a Geek Dad
As of today, I'm officially a member of the Geek Dad team. Geek Dad is a fantastic blog that's part of Wired.com, and it concentrates on "Raising Geek Generation 2.0." If you know me — and my kids — you know that fits me to a T. I'll be chipping in posts there as time allows, and you can go read my first one right now. "Valentine Games" covers three different games/apps with a Valentine's Day theme.
February 10, 2011
More Amortals Raves
Over at Amazon UK, their Amazon Vine program has produced another two excellent reviews for Amortals. Dinky writes:
This is a blast of fresh air… This book not only throws together all the elements of a good modern thriller — shoot-outs, chases, explosions, gadgets, intrigues, a sparky agent of the opposite sex, politics, hints of exotic foreign travel (as in Mars, this being sci-fi after all) — it is also written deftly… You can enjoy this as a straightforward thriller set in a theoretical, not-so-shiny future with technologically advanced guns and transport. Or you can stop every so often, just as I did, to think: yeah, what if? … Read this, please.
Amortals is a slice of light science fiction that wraps complex ideas around an action packed thriller. The book has as many explosions, chases, and gun fights as it does science fiction concepts… It has as much in common with the likes of Lee Child as it does Iain M. Banks.
That's fine company to be in any day.
Vegas Knights in SFX Magazine
The latest SFX Magazine features a review of Vegas Knights. It's only available in the print edition, but I'm told it says many good things about the book, including:
What's clever about the way Matt Forbeck has structured this novel is that the magic-heist stuff is a good enough hook to get you reading, but as it develops beyond that initial hook you don't have much idea what's going to come next. It builds on the smart concept intelligently, and the plot is well-constructed and compelling, goading you to keep reading.
Vegas Knights hits UK shelves and e-readers worldwide on March 3, three weeks from today. Print copies arrive in the US on March 29.
February 9, 2011
See Sixteen Forty-Nine
My wife Ann is one of the leaders of Project 16:49, an effort to set up a shelter for homeless teens here in Rock County, Wisconsin. One of their biggest tools for drawing the public's attention to this problem has been a documentary about three such teens, filmed right here in Beloit by Ruben Burgos. Ann and the other members of Project 16:49 have been showing the film privately to various people and groups in the area, but soon you'll be able to see it too.
The public premiere of SIXTEEN FORTY-NINE is slated for the Beloit International Film Festival, coming up the weekend of February 18–20. It will show twice during the festival:
February 18 at 7:30 PM, at the Eclipse Center in Beloit
February 20 at 2:00 PM, at the Pontiac Convention Center in Janesville
Tickets for both shows are on sale now. Please come out, witness this inspirational film, and show your support. I hope to see you there!
February 8, 2011
More Praise for Amortals
Over at SF Signal, John DeNardo (who I met at the World Fantasy Convention) has a number of kind things to say about Amortals. He calls the book:
[T]hought-provoking rather than preachy as it deals with topics of privacy, civil liberties and caring about what happens to the world around you.
Also, the Amazon Vine program produced another great review at Amazon UK, this one from Paul Tapner. He writes:
It manages to transcend what may feel too familiar to do something new and a little different, and for that it's worth a look.
