Philip K Dick novel heads to TV

Philip K Dick’s Hugo Award-winning novel The Man in the High Castle is to be adapted for digital channel Syfy.

The novel will be adapted into a four-hour miniseries. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions will produce, alongside Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions and FremantleMedia International. “The X Files” writer Frank Spotnitz will write the first two hour-long episodes, and supervise the writing of the second two hours.

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Why the 2012 World Fantasy awards are a triumph

Final fantasy … Lavie Tidhar has stretched the boundaries of the fantasy genre

When Osama beat Stephen King’s 11/22/63 at this year’s World Fantasy awards, it was not only a win for Lavie Tidhar, but a huge victory for his small book-publisher, PS Publishing, too.

By David Barnett

When the World Fantasy award for best novel went to Lavie Tidhar’s groundbreaking Osama at the weekend, it was a triumph on a number of levels.

First, of course, getting the gong at the World Fantasy convention in Toronto was a validation of Tidhar’s determination to stretch the boundaries of the genre. Osama is a stunning novel set in an alternate reality where Osama Bin Laden is the anti-hero of a series of thrillers penned by a reclusive writer. There are shades of Philip K Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, a resonance also spotted by Damien G Walter who waxes effusive about Osama here.

But the success of Osama – it finished ahead of stiff competition from Stephen King’s 11/22/63, George RR Martin’s A Dance With Dragons, Jo Walton’s Among Others and Christopher Buehlman’s Those Across the River – also gives us cause to celebrate the great British small-press outfit that published it.

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Philip K. Dick: A Primer

Philip K. Dick

By Jon Korn

Philip K. Dick occupies a unique position in the canon of 20th century Science Fiction. Despite working for his entire life in a field that is often dismissed as mere genre, Dick enjoyed numerous accolades from the mainstream while alive. And in the years since his death in 1982, Dick’s work has become even better known and respected. Primarily, this is because of the many films that have been adapted from his work. But fans of Science Fiction who have neglected Dick’s novels and shorts stories are truly missing out on one of last century’s finest writers.

Dick led an odd and iconoclastic life, much of which became fodder for his writing. He was born prematurely with a twin sister Jane, who died six weeks later. As Dick’s wikipedia page mentions, a lingering sense of loss – and the concept of twinning – would stay with him as an adult and reoccur in his writing.

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10 Science Fiction Books That I Love (And You Will At Least Like A Lot)

By Jon Korn

As the new ‘Sci-Fi guy’ here at LitReactor, it only seems proper to formally introduce myself. I really enjoyed writing my first piece contrasting John Carter as a book and a film, but thought a more expansive entrée might be fun. And rather than the standard recitation of resume and influences, why not throw myself upon the mercy of the comment section and offer a list of my favorite books in the genre?

Lists like these are imperfect in their very conception, so feel free to tell me where I went awry. (My theory: not taking a year off between high school and college to devote myself to becoming Jay-Z’s intern by any means necessary.) Some of these titles are very well known, others less so, but as a whole I think they reflect my admittedly idiosyncratic taste. At best, I’m hoping to provoke passionate discussion and inspire you to check out some truly rad books. At worst, we’re going to have an old-tyme, AOL circa 1996 thermonuclear flame war. To be completely honest, both sound sort of awesome.

Two caveats, then: First, these are in no particular order. Trying to winnow my packed bookshelves down to ten titles was traumatic enough; I’m not going to parse superlatives. And second, my definition of ‘science fiction’ is pretty far-reaching. High, low, near future, alternate history, literary – all are welcome. I’m a big tent kind of guy. Who doesn’t love big tents?

Enough prologue, on to the books!

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‘Art is Useless Because…’: Letters from Famous Writers

By Gabe Habash

Last month we featured a few letters from famous writers from the wonderful blog Letters of Note, which collects personal letters from famous figures from all areas. Being biased toward writers, we picked out a few more of our favorites. Enjoy!

Mark Twain to publishers Chatto & Windus: “There is humor in Dod Grile, but for every laugh that is in his book there are five blushes, ten shudders and a vomit.“

Publishers Chatto & Windus asked Twain for a blurb for one of their books, Nuggets and Dust Panned Out in California by Dod Grille, which was by one of Twain’s friends, Ambrose Bierce. The publishers probably expected a kind word from Twain, but instead he ripped the book apart:

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Madonna’s Sex most sought after out-of-print book

Madonna's Sex most sought after out-of-print book

Explicit coffee-table title continues to be in hot demand, according to Bookfinder research.

By Alison Flood

Madonna’s explicit book Sex is once again America’s most sought after out-of-print title of the year, according to BookFinder’s annual report.

The graphic coffee-table book, featuring – in the words of BookFinder, “photos of the Material Girl, without the material” – has been one of the most popular out-of-print titles in the US for years and a collector’s item since it was first published in 1992. “Since Madonna is never one to do something twice, and the fact that the once highly controversial book is less edgy than it once was leads us to guess that Sex will remain out of print,” predicted the book search engine, a subsidiary of AbeBooks, last year.

BookFinder has tracked the most searched for out-of-print titles in America over the last 12 months for its annual report, which sees romantic suspense author Nora Roberts’s novel Promise Me Tomorrow come in second.

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