Paloppa option film rights on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy
On January 11, 2010 Paloppa Pictures LLC and Brandon Sanderson announced that Paloppa has taken an option on film rights to Sanderson’s NY Times bestselling Mistborn fantasy trilogy.
Sanderson is the most successful new fantasy writer of the past decade, and the Mistborn series, published by Tor Books, is his most successful to date. The trilogy commenced with publication of Mistborn: The Final Empire in 2006, followed by The Well of Ascension in 2007, and The Hero of Ages in Fall in 2008. The Hero of Ages debuted at #21 on the NY Times Hardcover Fiction bestseller list. Subsequently, Sanderson co-wrote, with Robert Jordan, The Gathering Storm, which in November 2009 dethroned Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol to become #1 on the NY Times hardcover fiction list and every other major bestseller list.
The principals in Paloppa Pictures LLC are Christopher Geary, Rob Micai and Marc Bryant. Micai is a co-producer of the forthcoming Letters to God, a Possibility Pictures release through Vivendi-Universal. Bryant has a strong background in commercial projects via DNP Studios for companies such as Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Lockheed Martin and Nickelodeon. Geary has been partnered with Micai since their graduation from the University of Central Florida’s Film Program in 1999, with the two working in the live stage, music videos, commercial productions and other areas, and it was Geary who was the driving force behind the Mistborn option.
Said Geary, “As I was reading the book I felt more and more that this was a story that just had to be seen on the big screen. I contacted Brandon Sanderson, and was able to persuade him that Paloppa Pictures was the right team for the job. Obviously we’re very excited by the opportunity to bring his work to life.”
As part of his efforts to woo Brandon Sanderson, Christopher Geary flew up to New York City during Sanderson’s national tour in support of The Hero of Ages in 2008. Sanderson said, “When I arrived, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and when I left I knew I wanted to be in business with Chris Geary and his partners in Paloppa. Chris knew the books, had palpable enthusiasm for them, and most of all had a real and relatable vision for adapting the series that was at once exactly how I envisioned and distinctly filmic.”
In summer 2010, Tor will commence publication of a new fantasy series from Sanderson with The Stormlight Archives Bk. 1: The Way of Kings. Sanderson is published in twenty languages, and the Alcatraz novels are currently under option to Dreamworks Animation.
Posted: January 28th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Brandon Sanderson
Name of the Wind author organizes charity drive
Patrick Rothfuss, author of the fantasy novel The Name of the Wind, is proving that you don’t have to be wealthy to be a philanthropist. Rothfuss has organized a charity drive through his blog to benefit needy families around the world.
Last year, the 36-year-old Wisconsin writer expected to raise a few thousand dollars when he began his first fundraiser aimed at giving farm animals to poor people. He impetuously promised to match all contributions. It cost him $53,000 and nearly wiped out his savings.
This year, Subterranean Press, one of his publishers, has pledged to match the first $10,000; Rothfuss has promised to match half the money raised after that. “I’m still matching 50 percent of all donations,” he tells fans on his blog. “Do your worst.”
The money that Rothfuss collects goes to Heifer International, an Arkansas-based charity that gives cows, goats and other assistance to hungry families in 23 states and 51 countries.
So far, this year’s drive has raised more than $96,000, which means Rothfuss is already on the hook for at least another $43,000. The campaign ends Jan. 15.
Rothfuss offers donors a chance to win prizes, including more than 1,000 fantasy books. Some are first editions, and many are signed by their authors, including Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson and Rothfuss. Other prizes include a piece of a meteorite and a guitar donated by Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti.
Fantasy Book Review would like to wish Rothfuss’s wonderful charity drive all the success in the world.
Patrick Rothfuss had the good fortune to be born in Wisconsin where long winters and lack of cable television brought about a love of reading and writing. His mother read to him as a child, and his father taught him to build things. If you are looking for the roots of his storytelling, look there.
Posted: January 13th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Brandon Sanderson, Latest News, Neil Gaiman
Twilight rules audio-book downloads at Christmas
A glance at the best-selling science fiction and fantasy downloads on Audible.co.uk shows that Stephenie Meyer’s enormous popularity is also evident amongst those who like to listen to a good story. Twilight and New Moon list #1 and #2 respectively, with Eclipse and Breaking Dawn coming in at #4 and #5. If not for Terry Pratchett and the audio version of Unseen Academicals Meyer would have claimed a Beatles-esque dominance over the top 10.
- Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1 (Unabridged)
- New Moon: The Twilight Saga, Book 2 (Unabridged)
- Unseen Academicals: Discworld #32 (Unabridged)
- Eclipse: The Twilight Saga, Book 3 (Unabridged)
- Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga, Book 4 (Unabridged)
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (Unabridged)
- And Another Thing…: Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three (Unabridged)
- Under the Dome (Unabridged)
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Unabridged)
- The Gathering Storm: Wheel of Time, Book 12 (Unabridged)
An exciting new audiobook has also appeared on the site with Robin Hobb’s Dragon Keeper, read by Saskia Butler, now available for download. Here’s the synopsis:
Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive.
People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life’s work to study all there is to know of dragons.
But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them.
To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist…
Posted: December 23rd, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Audio-books, Brandon Sanderson, Stephenie Meyer, Terry Pratchett
Eagerly anticipated fantasy books: October 2009
Steven Erikson’s Dust of Dreams and Robin Hobb’s Dragon Keeper were the books that we were most looking forward to this year. But luckily the anticipation does not stop there and there are still several titles due out in the next couple of months that are sure to be bestsellers.
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
October 1 2009 will see the release of Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals:
Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork – not the old fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving, but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go going when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they’re in the mood for trying everything else. The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt, which worries him, too. As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever. Because the thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football. Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!
Terry Pratchett is the acclaimed creator of the Discworld series, started in 1983 with The Colour of Magic, and which has now reached 37 novels with Unseen Academicals. Worldwide sales of his books are 60 million, and they have been translated into 37 languages. Terry Pratchett was knighted for services to literature in 2009.
Terry Pratchett biography
The Colour of Magic book review
Lords and Ladies book review
The Light Fantastic book review
Night Watch book review
Mort book review
The Wee Free Men book review
A Hatful Of Sky book review
Wintersmith book review
Nation book review
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
October 27, 2009 will see the release of the penultimate novel in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. The last two books will be completed by Brandon Sanderson due to Jordan’s death in 2007. Entitled The Gathering Storm, early reviews have been positive:
The most eagerly anticipated fantasy novel of the last two decades, THE GATHERING STORM has been completed by acclaimed fantasy author Brandon Sanderson from Robert Jordan’s extensive notes. It will begin the final chapter of the compelling saga that started almost twenty years ago with THE EYE OF THE WORLD.
Robert Jordan was born in 1948 in Charleston. He was a graduate of the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, with a degree in physics, and served two tours in Vietnam. His hobbies included hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool and pipe collecting. He died in September 2007.
A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin
Possibly the most eagerly expected of all books released in October is the fifth volume in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series:
George RR Martin biography
A Game of Thrones book review
A Clash of Kings book review
A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow book review
The long-awaited fifth volume in the hugely popular and highly acclaimed epic fantasy A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE The last of the Targaryons, Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, has brought the young dragons in her care to their terrifying maturity. Now the war-torn landscape of the Seven Kingdoms is threatened by destruction as vast as in the violent past. Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf with half a nose and a scar from eye to chin, has slain his father and escaped the Red Keep in King’s Landing to wage war from the Free Cities beyond the narrow sea. The last war fought with dragons was a cataclysm powerful enough to shatter the Valyrian peninsula into a smoking, demon-haunted ruin half drowned by the sea. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS brings to life dark magic, complex political intrigue and horrific bloodshed as events at the Wall and beyond the sea threaten the ancient land of Westeros.
So, all-in-all, it is going to be a bit of a bumper October for fantasy fans with all three books mentioned above likely to be extremely popular and above all, very good, books.
We’ll take a look at the releases for November soon as well as the books that will make great Christmas presents this year.
Posted: August 23rd, 2009
Author: Floresiensis
Categories: Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett
A big thumb up for The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm, the penultimate book in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, has begun to make its way to some select and privileged reviewers. Jason Denzel is one on the lucky few.
As many will already know, the responsibility for finishing the Wheel of Time series was handed over to Brandon Sanderson following Robert Jordan’s sad and untimely death.
Jason does not hide anything in his review as the disclaimer introduction to his review shows:
“Before you read my review, I need to give you full disclosure. It’s important to remember my point of view. I’m running a large fan site for a book series that is very near and dear to my heart. Over the years I came to know Robert Jordan, and am proud to have had him call me friend. So, with all that in mind, I tell you truthfully: My review below is for you, the reader who wants the truth, and not the hype.”
Jason goes on to say that “The Gathering Storm is, in my opinion, quite easily one of the most intense and exciting books in the entire Wheel of Time series. I would rank it up there in the top 4 in the series along with The Shadow Rising, The Fires of Heaven, and The Great Hunt. Pacing-wise, I would agree with Brandon Sanderson’s statement that it’s similar to books 4-6 in the series.”
So Robert Jordan fans rejoice! It appears that the series has been placed in very capable hands and that Brandon Sanderson has done full justice to the work that has gone before.
Source: Examiner.com
Robert Jordan was born on the 17th of October 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. In 2006 he was diagnosed with the rare blood disease amyloidosis and died on September the 16th, 2007. Jordan will be best remembered for his best-selling fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, with 14 million copies having been sold in North America alone.
Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 and must be, at 32, classed as young for a successfully published fantasy author. He was born in Nebraska and currently lives in Provo, Utah.
Posted: August 4th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan
Sapkowski wins David Gemmell Legend Award
Blood of Elves, by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski, has received The David Gemmell Legend Award for establishing honour and lending dignity to the fantasy genre.
Sapkowski’s UK editor, Jo Fletcher, collected the award in front of an audience of publishing professionals, authors, media and fans at the Magic Circle headquarters in Euston, London. The inaugural award had the official support of Stella Gemmell and the trophy, supplied by Raven Armoury, took the form of a butterfly axe, named Snaga, that featured in Gemmell’s fiction.
Fantasy Book Review would like to offer Andrzej its warmest congratulations.
Read our full review of Blood of Elves
The runner-ups were each presented with a miniature version of Snaga. They were Joe Abercrombie (Last Argument of Kings); Juliet Marillier (Heir to Sevenwaters); Brandon Sanderson (The Hero of Ages) and Brent Weeks (The Way of Shadows).
Andrzej Sapkowski was born on the 21st of June 1948 in Lodz, Poland. Sapkowski studied economy and business, but the success of his fantasy cycle about the sorcerer Geralt de Riv turned him into a bestselling writer and he is now one of Poland’s most famous and successful authors, selling more in his own country than Stephen King or Michael Crichton. Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories Lesser Evil in 1990, Sword of Destiny in 1992 and In a Bomb Crater in 1993, and two for the novels Blood of the Elves in 1994 and Narrenturm in 2002.
Posted: June 22nd, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Andrzej Sapkowski, Brandon Sanderson, David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie
Whitney Awards winners announced
The Whitney Awards were first created to honour Mormon authors and the 2008 winner were announced on Saturday, April 25, at a dinner event at the Provo Marriott.
The winner of the Whitney Award for the best novel of the year was "Traitor" by Sandra Grey. "Traitor" follows a woman who joins the resistance in France only to be captured by the Nazis and interrogated by a conflicted German who must make a decision of life or death. Sandra Grey is the pen name of Norene Uchytil, who lives in St. Johns, Ariz.
The best novel by a new author was "Bound on Earth" by Angela Hallstrom. The novel follows a multigenerational Mormon family. The book recently received a 2008 Association for Mormon Letters award as well.
The best speculative fiction was "The Hero of Ages"by Brandon Sanderson. The book is the third in Sanderson’s "Mistborn" series. Sanderson is currently writing three books to complete the late Robert Jordan’s "Wheel of Time" fantasy series. "That’s an enormous thing for him — taking over for the king of fantasy," Wells said.
More winners:
- Best romance: Spare Change by Aubrey Mace
- Best mystery/suspense: Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black
- Best youth fiction: The 13th Reality by James Dashner
- Best historical novel: Abinadi by Heather B. Moore
- Best general fiction novel: Waiting For the Light to Change by Annette Hawes
The Whitney Awards also honoured Kerry Blair and Orson Scott Card with lifetime achievement awards.
The Whitney Awards were named for early Mormon apostle Orson F. Whitney.
Posted: April 27th, 2009
Author: Floresiensis
Categories: Brandon Sanderson
The short-list for The David Gemmell Award announced
At the beginning of 2009 the final long-list for the David Gemmell Legend Award [complete list of nominations] was announced. Comprising of 78 titles the list was in obvious need of pruning and this weekend came the announcement of the lucky 5 titles that had made it onto the short-list.
The short-list is:
- Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
- Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
- The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
The overall winner was originally going to be decided by a panel but feedback has lead to the final decision being made by public vote.
Source: British Fantasy Society
Good luck to all on the list and commiserations to those that did not make it. What do you think of the short-list? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy will be awarded to the best fantasy novel of the year (2008). The award has the official support of Stella Gemmell and has been instigated by friends and professional colleagues to celebrate David’s life and literary legacy.
Posted: April 15th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Andrzej Sapkowski, Awards, Brandon Sanderson, David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie
Red Eagle Entertainment to make Wheel of Time video games
The film studio Red Eagle Entertainment is making a big bet today as it announces it is starting a video game publishing studio, Red Eagle Games, which will make games based on the epic fantasy “Wheel of Time” novels by Robert Jordan.
The books have sold more than 44 million copies worldwide and Red Eagle Entertainment has the rights to making films, TV shows and games based on the property. At least one major motion picture, based on the first novel “The Eye of the World,” is in the works.
There are 11 novels in the series (with a 12th being written by Brandon Sanderson since Jordan, whose real name was James Oliver Rigney, passed away in 2007). The series is known for its detailed imaginary world, large cast of characters and an edgy “Lord of the Rings” meets “Road Warrior” blend of fantasy and sci-fi.
Between the films and the games, the companies are expecting to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the entertainment property. While the movie financing is in place, Selvage said he is just beginning the process of raising money for the game studio. That could prove difficult, but he said he has already received an enthusiastic reaction, largely because the rights to the series are considered so valuable.
Robert Jordan was born on the 17th of October 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. In 2006 he was diagnosed with the rare blood disease amyloidosis and died on September the 16th, 2007. Jordan will be best remembered for his best-selling fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, with 14 million copies having been sold in North America alone.
Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 and must be classed as young for a successfully published fantasy author. He was born in Nebraska and currently lives in Provo, Utah. Whilst researching on the Internet he appeared on a website featuring famous Mormons, along with Runelords author David Farland so that, for a start, is a claim to fame.
Posted: November 12th, 2008
Author: Lee
Categories: Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan
Brandon Sanderson and The Hero of Ages
Brandon Sanderson, the creator of the fantasy Mistborn saga introduces the trilogy’s final chapter, The Hero of Ages. Sam Weller’s Bookstore, 254 S. Main, 328-2586, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.
For more information visit the official Sam Weller’s Bookstore website – SamWellers.com
Posted: October 11th, 2008
Author: Floresiensis
Categories: Brandon Sanderson
Book of the Month
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
On the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen. The fate awaiting the Bonehunters is one no soldier can prepare for, and one no mortal soul can withstand - the foe is uncertainty and the only weapon worth wielding is stubborn courage.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
