Posts Tagged ‘postcyberpunk’

Live Action Ghost in the Shell Trailer Drops

Monday, November 14th, 2016

I was pleasantly surprised to get to the end of the trailer and not automatically think “Boy, this is going to suck.”

It might still suck, but it looks like they’re making a good-faith effort to capture the postcyberpunk vibe at the heart of the franchise. Never mind that I’m a much bigger fan of GitS:SAC than I am of the original movies, and that the movie leans much more heavily on the latter. (“No Tachikomas for you!”)

Mood: Cautious optimism.

The Story of How the GITS:SAC Laughing Man Logo Was Designed

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Those of you who have been reading my Locus Online reviews for a while know that I’m a fan of the Japanese anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. One of the many interesting features of that series is a super-hacker known as “Laughing Man” who is so proficient he’s able to hack streaming video in real time, plastering his logo over the faces of various people in the video:

I’ve always admired the compelling, iconic simplicity of that logo, and how well it fit into the overall arc of the show’s first season. Which is why I found this piece on just how it was designed interesting.

Library Additions, July 12 to November 14, 2010

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

The period right around Halloween and the election was particularly busy, so I took a break from blogging here. To get back in the skiffy swing of things, here’s the latest list of books I’ve added to my library.

Books that I have available for sale through Lame Excuse Books are marked LEB (though some of those titles won’t appear on the stock page until after I send out my next book catalog, which will probably be late this month or early next; email me if you’d like to get on the mailing list to received it).

  • Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship-Breaker. Little Brown, 2010.
  • Baring-Gould, William S.. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1976. Two volumes, reprint.
  • Barker, Clive. Visions of Heaven and Hell. Rizzoli, 2005. Art book.
  • Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers. Orbit, 2010.
  • Bennett, Robert Jackson. Mr. Shivers. Orbit, 2010. Mass market paperback, inscribed by Bennett. (He was giving them away at his Armadillocon signing.)
  • Brackett, Leigh. The Best of Leigh Brackett. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1977. Near Fine/Near Fine.
  • Bradbury, Ray. Dark Carnival. Arkham House, 1946. First edition hardback, good only, with lettering on spine almost completely worn away, spine lean, general wear, and lacking the dust jacket.
  • Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man. Doubleday, 1951. First edition hardback, lacking the dust jacket.
  • Brunner, John. The Jagged Orbit. Ace (SFBC), 1969. (Book club, first hardback edition).
  • Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Subterranean Press, 2010. Signed limited edition.
  • Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Subterranean Press, 2010. Trade edition. LEB
  • Coover, Robert. The Public Burning. Viking, 1977. Signed by Coover.
  • Cullin, Mitch. Tideland. Dufour Editions, 2000. Signed by Cullin. Basis of the Terry Gilliam film.
  • Day, Bradford M. The Supplemental Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Arno Press, 1974. First hardcover edition, Fine, sans dj, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Di Filippo, Paul. Roadside Bodhisattva. PS Publishing, 2010.
  • Doctorow, Cory. Makers. Tor, 2009.
  • Egan, Greg. Zedengi. Orion/Gollancz, 2010. I have the Night Shade edition for sale here.
  • Harrison, Harry. The Stainless Steel Rat Returns. Tor, 2010.
  • Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Chatto & Windus, 1932. VG- only, lacking the dust jacket.
  • Kelly, James Patrick and John Kessel. Rewired: The Postcyberpunk Anthology. Tachyon, 2007. Trade paperback original.
  • King, Stephen. The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla. Donald M. Grant/Scribner’s, 2003. First trade edition.
  • King, Stephen. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. Donald M. Grant/Scribner’s, 2004. First trade edition.
  • Kay, Guy Gavriel. Under Heaven. Roc, 2010.
  • Kunitz, Stanley J. & Howard Haycraft. British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary. H. W. Wilson, 1975. Fifth printing, an Ex-Library copy, otherwise Fine-, no dust jacket, presumably as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Kunitz, Stanley J. & Howard Haycraft. British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. H. W. Wilson, 1982. Eighth printing, an Ex-Library copy, otherwise Fine-, no dust jacket, presumably as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Lansdale, Joe R. Deadman’s Road. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lake, Jay. The Sky That Wraps. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lake, Jay. Specific Gravity of Grief. Fairwoods Press, 2010. LEB
  • Leiber, Fritz. Strange Wonders. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Lentz, Harris M. III. Science Fiction, Horror, & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Second Edition: Volume 1: Credits. McFarland & Company, 2001. Ex-library copy, otherwise Fine-, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Ligotti, Thomas. The Conspiracy Against the Human Race. Hippocampus Press, 2010. Non-fiction.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. Black Seas of Infinity: The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. SFBC, 2001.
  • Lovecraft, H.P. Collected Poems. Arkham House, 1963. VG/VG, with top inch of boards discolored and sun-fading to spine.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft Hippocampus Press, 2010. Two volumes, one of 1000 sets. Non fiction. LEB
  • Manvell, Roger, ed. The International Encyclopedia of Film. Joseph, 1972. Near Fine/Near Fine.
  • McDevitt, Jack. Time Travelers Never Die. Ace, 2009.
  • McDonald, Ian. The Dervish House Pyr, 2010.
  • (Moorcock, Michael) Bilyeu, Richard. The Tanelorn Archives: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography of the Works of Michael Moorcock 1949-1979. Pandora’s Books, 1981. Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
  • Niven, Larry. Stars & Gods. Tor, 2010.
  • Oliver, Chad. The Wolf is My Brother. Herbert Jenkins, 1968. First UK and first hardback edition, a Near Fine copy in a Good+ only dust jacket, missing an irregular 3/4″ x 1/2″ ship at head, and shallow chipping and edgewear. I didn’t even know there was a hardback until I chanced across this copy (though it is in Currey).
  • Pohl, Frederik. The Best of Frederik Pohl. Nelson Doubleday (SFBC), 1975.
  • (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John, editor Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography PS Publishing, 2009. One of 200 signed, numbered Slipcased copies in slipcase with companion volume, The Waters Deep, Deep, Deep, not included with the trade edition. Non-fiction with additional fictional material included.
  • (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John, editor Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography PS Publishing, 2009. One of 26 signed, lettered Deluxe copies in slipcase with two companion volumes, The Waters Deep, Deep, Deep and bound, photographic reproduction of the original hand-written manuscript for The Anubis Gates, not included with the trade or Slipcased editions. Slipcase and Anubis Gates volume very slightly bumped, otherwise Fine/Fine. Non-fiction with additional fictional material included.
  • Priest, Cherie. Clementine. Subterranean Press, 2010.
  • Reilly, John. The Painted Word: Paintings by John Reilly. Cross Publishing, 2008. Trade paperback original, NF, slightly bumped and bent in center. Art book.
  • Rucker, Rudy. Hylozoic. Tor, 2009.
  • Sadler, Jeff, editor. Twentieth Century Western Writers: Second Edition. St. James Press, 1991. Ex-library copy., otherwise Fine-, sans dust jacket.
  • Schmitz, James A. The Demon Breed. Ace (SFBC), 1968. First hardback edition, a Fine/Fine- with a trace of edgewear.
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Five: The Palace at Midnight. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Last Song of Orpheus. Subterranean Press, 2010. On of 200 signed, leatherbound copies.
  • Summers, Rev. Montague. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. E. P. Dutton, 1929. First U.S. edition, VG, lacks dust jacket. Non-fiction.
  • Straub, Peter. The Juniper Tree. Subterranean Press, 2010. Signed, limited edition. LEB
  • Straub, Peter. The Juniper Tree. Subterranean Press, 2010. Trade edition. LEB
  • Stross, Charles. The Fuller Memorandum. Ace, 2010.
  • Stross, Charles. Toast. Wyrm Publishing, 2010. First limited edition and first edition thus, signed, with new material. LEB
  • Pringle, David, ed. The St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers. St. James, 1998. Ex-Library copy, otherwise NF.
  • Wells, H. G. The World of William Clissold. Published by Ernest Benn (UK) 1926. Three volumes, one of 198 copies signed by Wells on the title page. Full description here.
  • Vance, Jack. The Complete Dying Earth. SFBC, 1998. First omnibus edition.
  • Vance, Jack. Ports of Call/Lurulu. SFBC, 2004. First omnibus edition.
  • Vance, Jack. Sjambak. Wildside Press, 2010. Chapbook. (There seem to be multiple copies of this title from multiple POD publishers this year, so I’m unclear on the publishing precedence. I suspect that Vance failed to file a renewal, allowing the work to slip into the public domain, which is why it can be found at Project Gutenberg.)
  • VandeerMeer, Jeff, ed.. Last Drink Bird Head. Wyrm Publishing, 2010.
  • Wolfe, Gene. The Best of Gene Wolfe. Tor, 2009.
  • Wolfe, Gene. Home Fires: Tor, 2011. Uncorrected proof, trade paperback format. Details here.
  • Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn. False Dawn. Doubleday, 1978. NF/NF copy, signed by Yarbro.
  • Previous posts on my library:

  • A more comprehensive look at my library can be found here.
  • A previous list of library additions from January to June 2010 is here.
  • A previous list of library additions from December 2009 to January 2010 can be found here.
  • Here’s a list of books I picked up on a book-hunting trip to Archer City and Denton.
  • Top Five Anime

    Thursday, January 21st, 2010

    SF Signal has a Mind Meld up asking people to name their top five choices for anime. I wasn’t asked to participate in this one, but if I had been, my list would probably look like this:

    1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    2. FLCL
    3. Princess Mononoke
    4. Spirited Away
    5. Voices of a Distant Star

    My review of GitS:SAC can be found here. I also have a review of FLCL available, should I be able to find someone who’s willing to pay me for it…