Wednesday 9 January 2008

Science Fiction & Fantasy - What do you want to see in 2008?

This is a cross between an open ended question and a game...
It's early January and there's a whole brand new year stretching out in front of us where absolutely anything could happen, what would you like to see come out of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Genre? Are you one of the many people who's waiting to see if GRRM makes good on his intention to finish 'A Dance With Dragons' this year? Would you like to see Christopher Tolkien produce another book from his father's notes? Is there a favourite book of yours that you would like to see adapted for the big screen? Or do you just want the Writer's Strike over and done with so your TV watching can proceed apace?
Let's take things a little further, this is a speculative genre after all! :o) What ideas/concepts would you like to see hit the bookshelves or the big screen. Have you ever had a hankering to see an urban fantasy about a feisty young dragon trying to make it big on the Stock Exchange (and deciding whether or not to eat his attractive female co-worker) or a vigilante troll trying to deal with the early morning rush hour in London? Actually, that last one is one of mine... Let's get creative people!
And here's the 'game bit'. Leave a comment here and at the end of the year we'll see whos wishes came true. If nothing else it will determine whether some of my readers are psychic...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm craving a new bloody, violent, sword wielding barbarian novel, in the vein of Karl Edward Wagner's "Kane"; the return of a more traditional line-up in Marvel comics "The Avengers"; a new Mike Resnick short story collection; more mainstream SciFi pulp adventure ala James Rollins and Preston & Child; the Repairman Jack movie; a few really smart and scary horror novels; and I'd like to find out who David Gunn really is.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I am one of those rabid George RR Martin psychopaths (fans) that is praying for A Dance with Dragons in 2008.

Alternatively, I'd settle for a green light from HBO to get the Song of Ice & Fire TV series into production.

I'd like to see more of Mike Carey's Felix Castor novels, and I've just discovered the Dresden files, so I'm working my way through that list and looking forward to more there.

gav(NextRead) said...

I'd love to see more clever retelling so myth and legends as well as something that's going to reinvigorate the sci-fi genre.

Not sure where they'll come from though.

Carl V. Anderson said...

Hmmm...wishlist, eh?

I'd love to see Harry Harrison do another Stainless Steel Rat book...one that would take the awful taste of the last novel in the series, The SSR Joins the Circus, out of my mouth. It has been forever and that novel still pisses me off.

I'd love to see a new Patricia A. McKillip fantasy with a fantastic Kinuko Y. Craft cover in the tradition of her last several novels.

I'd love to see a novel, any novel, by Neil Gaiman. Something I can sink my teeth into. The Interworld YA collaboration was dreadful.

Another Christoper Tolkien novel from his father's notes would be terrific. I'll take two!

I'd love to see James P. Blaylock write another novel length Langston St. Ives story.

Thankfully Scalzi has books coming out this year, so that wish is coming true.

Glenda Larke said...

I'm waiting for the GRR Martin...

I have a copy of the HarperCollins Voyager (Aust) desk diary. Under January it says: "'A Dance with Dragons' may come out this June. If this should be the case - you'll want to re-read all the previous books starting about now..."

For April it has: "A secret from the Voyager crew...it has been prophesied that George R.R.Martin may have finished 'A Dance with Dragons' and it may come out this June. As it is a prophecy we can't confirm anything. Ever. EVER."

And so on, month by month...

I guess even his publishers are in the dark.

Chris, The Book Swede said...

That calendar sounds quite cool :D

Definitely ditto the GRRM release! I'm going to try and catch up on some "books from the past" this year, particularly "classic" sci-fi and fantasy, see whether it lives up to it's name!

That said, there are still a slew (cool word) of writers from last year to catch up on, and some cool ones this year.

Pretty much everything that I've said above is pointless, then! Just the same reading schedule as usual!

I'm reading Wastelands, that's good; Liz William's series: Detective Chen mysteries or whatever, is very good Chinese contempoary / un-contemporary fantasy.

~Chris
The Book Swede