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Not at San Diego Comic-Con Sweepstakes – Swag Bag #1

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We hope to see many of you San Diego Comic-Con! If you are there, stop by Booth #2707 to say hi or to participate in one of our many events.

Can’t make it? You can still get some or our swag when you enter our Not at San Diego Comic-Con Sweepstakes! Just sign up for our newsletter, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win this awesome swag bag:

SDCC swag bag

This prize includes:

  • Wheel of Time bag
  • California Bones coaster set
  • Lock In keychain
  • Dragon Age poster
  • The Way of Kings magnet set
  • The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp
  • Among Others by Jo Walton
  • Blindsight by Peter Watts
  • California Bones by Greg van Eekhout
  • Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising by Lara Parker
  • Dragon Age: The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes
  • Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • Lock In by John Scalzi
  • The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind
  • Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell
  • Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
  • The Time Traveler’s Almanac edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

Sign up for your chance to win today!

And, after you sign up to enter this sweepstakes, head over here to enter for a chance to win our other amazing swag bag!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 or older as of the date of entry. To enter, complete the entry form here beginning at 12:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) July 23, 2014. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 PM ET July 27, 2014. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

Tor Books Announces Programming for San Diego Comic-Con 2014

Tor Books is heading to San Diego Comic-Con!

Place holder  of - 46 Once again Tor (Booth# 2707) continues our wildly popular *in-booth signings and giveaways, offering you a chance to meet your favorite authors up close and personal and pick up free books. We’ve got a great line up including appearances by: John ScalziGreg van EekhoutTobias Buckell, and Tor Teen debut author Ben Tripp.

 


Thursday, July 24th

  • 12:00 – 1:00am Panel: Fairy Tale Remix, Room 32AB
    Tor Teen author Ben Tripp (The Accidental Highwayman) joins Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles) and others that will give insight to the fairy tales of old, and new!
  • 1:30pm – 2:30 pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09
  • 1:30pm – Author Reading Spotlight – John Scalzi, Science Fiction Author Cosplay, Horton Grand Theater, 444 4th Ave, between Island and J Street.
    John Scalzi reads from his forthcoming near-future thriller, Lock In, answers audience questions and maybe even serenades them on the ukulele!
  • 3:00pm – 4:00pm Panel: When Magic & Myth Meet Main Street, Room 25ABC
    When stories mix modern cities like Paris, LA, New York with magic, myth and demon spawn they are collectively known as Urban Fantasy, and many of today’s popular authors are adding their otherworldly ingredients to the melting pots of modern (and not-so-modern) society. Join some of today’s top urban fantasy authors, including Greg van Eekhout (California Bones), Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire and others as they discuss why something old with something new equals gold.
  • 4:30pm – 5:30pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09

Friday, July 25th

  • 1:00pm – 2:00pm Panel: 101 Ways to Kill a Man, Room 32AB
    Coming up with creative ways to commit mayhem and murder is the lifeblood of these talented thriller authors. A fatal chimera virus; hybridized bioengineered parasites; murderous microchips; lethal electric stimuli; deathstrike via satellite targeting. How many ways can you kill someone? Join top thriller authors Tobias Buckell (Hurricane Fever)Greg Hurwitz (Don’t Look Back) and others as they discuss the art of delivering deadly thrills. But don’t worry too much. A little light reading never killed anyone.
  • 2:30pm – 3:30pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09

Saturday, July 26th

  • 12:00pm Tor Booth (#2707) Signing: Hurricane Fever – Tobias Buckell
  • 2:30pm – 3:30pm Panel: The Art of Fear, Room 8
    Horror novels have been keeping us at night for years. From puppets that come to life, to creepy-crawly worm, haunted towns, demons out for blood, killer wolves, possible possessions, to the apocalypse, these authors give you goosebumps while you read. Glen Hirschberg (Motherless Child), moderates this panel featuring, Mira Grant and others as they discuss their novels, the writing process, and why you keep the light on while you read.
  • 4:00pm – 5:00pm Signing to follow in the autographing area, Table AA09

Make sure to follow @TorBooks on Twitter for up to date information and last minute events!

All Tor Booth signings are on a first come first serve basis and while supplies lasts. Limit one book per person.

On the Road: Tor/Forge Author Events in July

Hurricane Fever by Tobias BuckellA Plunder of Souls by D. B. JacksonThe Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. AndersonFull Fathom Five by Max Gladstone

Tor/Forge authors are on the road in July! Once a month, we’re collecting info about all of our upcoming author events. Check and see who’ll be coming to a city near you:

Thursday, July 3

Jo Walton, My Real Children
Flights of Fantasy
Albany, NY
7:00 PM

Thursday, July 10

Kevin J. Anderson, The Dark Between the Stars
Connecticon, July 10-13
Connecticut Convention Center
Hartford, CT

Saturday, July 12

Jane Lindskold, Artemis Awakening
Bookworks
Albuquerque, NM
3:00 PM

Sunday, July 13

Paul Park, All Those Vanished Engines
Brian Staveley, The Emperor’s Blades
Max Gladstone, Full Fathom Five
Felix Gilman, The Revolutions
Barnes & Noble
Burlington, MA
3:30 PM

Monday, July 14

D. B. Jackson, A Plunder of Souls
BooKnack
Rock Hill, SC
6:00 PM

Tuesday, July 15

D. B. Jackson, A Plunder of Souls
Books A Million
With authors Faith Hunter and A. J. Hartley
Gastonia, NC
6:30 PM

Max Gladstone, Full Fathom Five
Pandemonium Books & Games
Cambridge, MA
7:00 PM

Thursday, July 17

D. B. Jackson, A Plunder of Souls
Fountain Bookstore
Richmond, VA
6:30 PM

Paul Park, All Those Vanished Engines
Barnes & Noble
Holyoke, MA
7:00 PM

Friday, July 18

Tracy and Laura Hickman, Unwept
Barnes & Noble
Orem, UT
7:00 PM

Paul Park, All Those Vanished Engines
Amherst Bookstore
Amherst, MA
7:00 PM

Monday, July 21

Glen Hirshberg, Motherless Child
Literati Bookstore
Ann Arbor, MI
7:00 PM

D. B. Jackson, A Plunder of Souls
Quail Ridge Books
Raleigh, NC
7:30 PM

Wednesday, July 23

Max Gladstone, Full Fathom Five
Barnes & Noble
Framingham, MA
7:00 PM

Saturday, July 26

Jane Lindskold, Artemis Awakening
Steven Gould, Impulse
Barnes & Noble, Coronado Mall
Albuquerque, NM
2:00 PM

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Benzie Shores District Library
Frankfort, MI
3:00 PM

Sunday, July 27

Tobias Buckell, Hurricane Fever
Borderlands Books
San Francisco, CA
3:00 PM

Monday, July 28

Tobias Buckell, Hurricane Fever
University Book Store
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Tuesday, July 29

Tobias Buckell, Hurricane Fever
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
7:00 PM

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Starred Review: Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell

Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell“Buckell has written a smart and well-constructed tale that’s filled with excitement and the flavor of the Caribbean isles… So don’t wait for a dark and stormy night to read this novel; you’ll have plenty of fun.”

Tobias S. Buckell’s Hurricane Fever got a starred review in Kirkus!

Here’s the full review, from the June 1 issue:

Image Place holder  of - 9 A stormy, aptly named thriller set in the Caribbean of the near future.

“Destruction brewed in the far-off trade winds,” writes the narrator, who spent his early years in Grenada and the Virgin Islands. In this story, hurricanes are rated up to Category 6, yet humans threaten to do even more damage than nature. Prudence “Roo” Jones is a former operative of the Caribbean Intelligence Group who now wants simply to enjoy sailing his catamaran, Spitfire II, and dodge an approaching hurricane. He thinks he has “left all that spy shit behind.” Then a friend and a relative die, a package arrives, and Roo is up to his dreadlocks in trouble. A mysterious woman named Kit claims to be the sister of Roo’s dead friend Zee, and a company named Beauchamp Industries may prove a bigger threat than the worst of storms. There are terrific action scenes with flying debris, falling bodies, poisoned projectiles and tattooed neo-Nazis. Roo (don’t call him Prudence) is a tough gent who can take seemingly endless physical abuse and never look like a victim. Violence is present, of course, but it’s never excessive or gory. The stakes are higher than one might expect, and even the specter of racism comes into play. Buckell has written a smart and well-constructed tale that’s filled with excitement and the flavor of the Caribbean isles. The only nit is the prominence of Aves Island, a rock squabbled over by Venezuela and Barbados that in reality barely peeks out of the ocean but in the story hosts skyscrapers and a harbor patrol. But any reviewer who points that out is just reaching for something to criticize.

So don’t wait for a dark and stormy night to read this novel; you’ll have plenty of fun.

Hurricane Fever will be published on July 1.

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Hurricane Fever and the Caribbean’s Forgotten Space Program

Hurricane Fever
Written by Tobias Buckell

It is, without doubt, the biggest gun I’ve ever seen.

I’m in Barbados doing research, and I’m standing under a 100 caliber barrel. The thing looks big enough to crawl into, but not quite. And the barrel just keeps going and going. Big enough that I have to trudge through the wet grass a ways to get some perspective on the whole thing. This cannon is so damn big it has a structure around the barrel to keep it rigid. It’s mounted on a concrete pad the size of an office building’s foundation. And there’s this huge space for recoil: a dark pit that I don’t want to fall down into, because it’s filled now with stagnant water.

I’m on the coast of Barbados, so there’s a pleasant, salty wind kicking up that’s cutting the heat as I walk around the 119 foot long barrel. It’s pitted with exposure to the corrosive Atlantic, but still majestically aims off over the Atlantic crashing against the low cliffs not too far away. Credit Tobias Buckell

I was born in Grenada, an island further to the west of Barbados, both of us at the southern tip of the sweep of the Caribbean as it curves down toward South America. Only Trinidad and Tobago lie between Venezuela and us. And all that time growing up, I had no idea that a lost, but no less major and fascinating chapter of humanity’s early attempts to get into orbit lay just one island over from me.

Jules Verne first tinkered with the idea of just shooting things into space with a giant enough gun. In the 1950s and 60s, some scientists actually did the math and realized that, hey, it wasn’t as crazy as you might think. Sure, human beings would get turned to toothpaste. But maybe you could get a satellite up there.

A Canadian scientist named Gerard Bull, the US military, and Barbados all collaborated together to actually try to launch small satellites into orbit from Barbados. They achieved the world record, shooting a micro-satellite up to 110 miles. Alas, the program was shut down due to a too-real-to-fictionalize stew of inter-personal and inter-country politics, and the creation of the rocket-oriented NASA. Gerard Bull, in a sadly-fascinating-maybe-ready-for-film twist, sold his idea to Saddam Hussein and prepared to build the largest cannon in the world for the dictator, and then was assassinated by parties unknown in 1990.
Buckell-canon2
When I set out to write Hurricane Fever, my follow up novel to Arctic Rising, I wanted to explore the role of the Caribbean in a larger world. As someone who grew up in the islands, it was always dispiriting to see the world view my homeland as only a beach, a cocktail, and an exotic location. I enjoyed the James Bond films, but they had a habit of disregarding the people actually living in the far flung regions of the Commonwealth the spies had their adventures in.

I created Prudence Jones to push back at that. A Caribbean spy, trying to help the Caribbean deal with the larger nations throwing their weight around in his backyard, he’s stepping it up. And when I found out about the HARP gun project in Barbados, I knew I had to revive the program, bigger and better, and feature it as the capstone of the book.

Bond has always featured rockets and mega-projects. It’s part of the discussion. And when I walked around the HARP gun project, I thought this was a project a villain would love to take over.

As for what they’re planning to do with one, you’ll have to read Hurricane Fever to find out!

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From the Tor/Forge June 16th newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

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