Welcome to Show #47!
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Brian and Jen discuss the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos and Sean Young, this movie set the standard for futuristic noir, and inspired an entire generation of scifi fans.
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, or use the Contact Form… and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books and Films mentioned:
Promo: British Invaders
Promo: The Adventures of Indiana Jim
Promo: Slice of SciFi
Welcome to Show #46, and Happy New year to all our Ninja fans!
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Brian and Jen discuss the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451, both the original and restored versions of the novel, and the 1966 film, directed by Francois Truffaut.
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, or use the Contact Form… and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books and Films mentioned:
Promo: Short Cummings Audio
Promo: The WEIRD Show
Promo: Upside Down and Halfway to Happyland
Link: Wikipedia: Fahrenheit 451
Link: 1 Million Words: Fahrenheit 451
Welcome to Show #45!
Feature Discussion: Summer, Brian, and Jen discuss the 1984 pop culture sensation Ghostbusters, the lamentable GB 2, the ideas for more sequels, and even the different TV animated series.
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, or use the Contact Form… and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books mentioned:
Promo: The WEIRD Show
Promo: Upside Down and Halfway to Happyland
Welcome to Show #44!
Feature Discussion: Brian, Dave, Jen and special guest Sam Roberts discuss Glen Cook’s 1984 fantasy debut, The Black Company. This story and series is noted for it’s gritty portrayal of war and its combatants, and its cult classic following amongst members of the military.
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books mentioned:
Link: Wikipedia: The Black Company
Link: Wikipedia: The Black Company (novel)
Promo: Can’t Stop the Serenity 2009
The New England Science Fiction Association is the group behind Boskone and NESFA Press, and during 2009, they are publishing the collection stories of Roger Zelazny.
Volume 1: Threshold and Volume 2: Power & Light are already available.
Coming in July 2009:
Volume 3: This Mortal Mountain
Volume 4: Last Exit to Babylon
Coming in December 2009:
Volume 5: Nine Black Doves
Volume 6: The Road to Amber
From NESFA Press:
We plan to print a complete collection of Roger Zelazny’s short fiction and poetry, in (most likely) six hardcover volumes. We expect to include all published fiction and poetry we can find, however obscurely published, and a number of unpublished works retrieved from Zelazny’s archived papers. We also expect to include the shorter early versions of several novels, several novel excerpts that were published independently as short works and a few of Zelazny’s articles on topics of interest to him.
The order of the volumes will be semi-chronological, generally by publication date. A few works, along with all the unpublished items, will be inserted near other works written at the same time. Most pieces will have forewords and/or afterwords of a literary or biographical nature.
We will commission introductions and/or essays from family, friends and writers who were fans of Roger Zelazny’s work. As of this date, Robert Silverberg has contributed a general introduction. One of our editors has written some biographical essays to spread among the volumes.
They also have a special request:
If anyone knows of a copy of an unpublished Zelazny story named “Checkup”, we would like to obtain a copy. It was written in 1975 for a special “children’s future” issue of a UNICEF quarterly publication. We have records of it being paid for, but no trace of the story has surfaced.
Feel free to contact them directly if you have any information about this lost story.
Link: Read more about NESFA’s Zelazny Project
The next KAMN show is coming your way soon!
Our topic for Show #44: The Black Company by Glen Cook.
The first volume in the Books of the North, a series chronicling The Black Company’s time fighting in the Empire of the North, in service of The Lady and her efforts to revive her empire.
Published in 1984, it is now a true fantasy classic, and still a rich tapestry of a story.
We’ll also be welcoming guest Ninja, Sam Roberts (”Slice of SciFi”), in on the discussion of this book.
Welcome to Show #43… Greetings, Programs!
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Jen and special guest Krazy Joe discuss the 1982 scifi cult classic TRON, brought to us by Disney Studios.
Brief Story Description: Kevin Flynn is a young hotshot programmer who’s been ousted from his job at ENCOM after an older programmer, Ed Dillinger, stole the game code Flynn had been writing, and presented them to the ENCOM brass as his own work.
In his attempts to find proof of Dillinger’s theft, he’s been trying to hack his way back into ENCOM’s mainframes, which threatens to shut down the work of his friends Alan Bradley and Lora Baines.
Not realizing that Dillinger’s security program, MCP, is out of control and power hungry, Flynn uses Lora’s lab to try to access the information he’s been searching for. In retaliation, MCP digitizes Flynn to bring him into the cyber world, in an attempt to control and destroy Flynn.
But there’s another program MCP should be worried about: Alan Bradley’s TRON…
Related news: Yes, TRON 2.0 is a sequel currently in pre-production, slated for production start sometime later this spring. The electronica band Daft Punk has been signed to score the TRON 2.0 soundtrack
Go watch the lightcycle scene again just for that nostalgic kick.
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Movies mentioned:
Link: Wikipedia: TRON
Link: Tron-Sector: dedicated to the original movie, and TRON 2.0
Promo: The British Invaders
The Day of the Triffids is being remade. On the upside, it’s being done by the BBC:
BBC’s apocalyptic “Triffids” sets cast
By Mimi TurnerLONDON — Dougray Scott, Joely Richardson, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard and Jason Priestley are to star in a TV remake of the apocalyptic sci-fi drama “The Day of the Triffids,” based on the 1951 John Wyndham classic sci-fi novel.
The two-part apocalyptic drama, scripted by Patrick Harbinson and produced by Power Television and Canadian producer Prodigy Pictures, is in production and will air on BBC1 this year. RHI Entertainment holds rights for the U.S.
Scott will play Bill Maysen, a doctor who has to lead a band of humans in an epic battle with the Triffids, a flesh-eating vegetable originally used as an energy source. When spectators gather worldwide for a much-anticipated solar storm, billions are left blinded and the few sighted survivors watch as society collapses into chaos.
The Triffids, meanwhile, find their way out of captivity, roaming the planet with a fatal sting, and taste for human flesh.
BBC Wales head of drama Julie Gardner said audiences would be “captivated.”
“The incredible cast lined up for ‘The Day of the Triffids’ is a testament to the quality of Patrick Harbinson’s script. We hope audiences, both old and new, will be captivated by this modern take on John Wyndham’s classic best-selling novel,” she said.
“Together with its amazing effects and iconic locations, it will deliver the drama miniseries event of 2009,” added Power chief executive Justin Bodle, who also will exec produce the show.
“Triffids” also will be shown on BBC HD, the BBC’s high-definition channel available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
Maybe the Ninjas should do a show on the original movie and the book…
So, what do you think of the new look?
It’ll take some time to add in the appropriate thumbnails for older posts and shows, but eventually we’ll get there.
Welcome to Show #42!
Stainless Steel Rat. Brian and Dave delve into puns. ’nuff said.
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Brian and Jen discuss the original 1961 story The Stainless Steel Rat, first in a long series by Harry Harrison.
Brief Story Description: The Stainless Steel Rat, a mastser thief and con artist, believes he has pulled off a successful bank job, but discovers that his heist is really an elaborate countersting to capture him. Once caught, he discovers that the government wants him to join them in helping them catch others like himself who live outside the law.
In the Special Corps, the elite law-enforcement and spy agency led by the former greatest crook in the Galaxy, Harold P. Inskipp (a.k.a. Inskipp the Uncatchable), he joins the ranks of an organization that is entirely constituted of ex-criminals like himself. In the novel, he has several adventures during which he believes he has escaped from the Corps, and meets his love interest, Angelina, who is even more sociopathic than he is – she too is a criminal genius but lacks Jim’s moral strictures against killing. (thanks to Wikipedia)
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books mentioned:
Link: Wikipedia: The Stainless Steel Rat
Link: The Stainless Steel Rat Series
Promo: Future Traditions: A Jericho podcast
Show #42 will cover The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison.
Originally published in 1961, it tells the story of The Rat, a criminal and thief who is convinced to join an elite law enforcement agency… comprised entirely of former criminals like himself.
As we’ve seen so often in history, sometimes bad guys can be pretty good good guys.
The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat, an omnibus collecting the first three novels, was reprinted in 1987 (pictured)… a quick way to introduce yourself to the series if you’re unfamiliar with it.
Link: Wikipedia: Stainless Steel Rat
Link: The Harry Harrison Official News Blog
Welcome to Show #41!
Yes, it’s a longer than typical delay, but we think you’ll still enjoy the fun. Dave apologizes wholeheartedly apologizes to Steven Brust. Why can’t we just acknowledge that there really was no fantasy idea theft, and that maybe there were similar inspirations for the object back in the day?
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Brian and Jen discuss 1987 cult favorite The Hidden, directed by Jack Sholder and written by Jim Kouf. There’s a Hidden II… supposedly. But there’s love, there’s hate, there’s humor for the first one, and we share it all with you.
Brief Story Description: A murderous rampage by a previously normal individual ends in a shootout after a bank robbery, one where the suspect doesn’t seem to be normally affected from multiple gunshot wounds. The police officer in charge of the investigation, Sgt. Tom Beck (Nouri), is convinced the case is closed when the suspect dies in the hospital, but he’s unaware that another man is about to continue the rampage where the previous man left off. This new “citizen” commits a new series of crimes around Los Angeles, leaving the police department perplexed, until FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (MacLachlan) arrives with seemingly more information about what’s going on than he’s letting on…
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books mentioned:
Link: Wikipedia: The Hidden
Promo: Between the Lines Studios: Call for Firefly Writers
Welcome to Show #40!
Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave, Brian and Jen discuss the 1983 fantasy Jhereg. A fun, fast-paced story set in a uniquely crafted world, it’s a good opening story in the Taltos saga, even though there is mucd laid down that doesn’t get explained until later books in the series.
Yes, we argue about the casting of the non-existent movie. After more thought, Summer thinks Vlad should be played by Guy Pearce. Jen wants to see Vin Diesel in anything. The casting discussion gets silly, as it should be.
Brief Story Description: Vlad Taltos, an assassin and mid-level mobster in the Dragaeran city of Adrilankha, is offered a large contract to fulfill for his house, House Jhereg, but as more details about the target and the reasons for taking him out quickly become apparent, he wonders if he might not have gotten in over his head. Can he take out a master swordsman, recover a stolen treasury, and prevent a major war, all while not getting himself killed in the process?
Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.
Books mentioned:
Link: Steven Brust
Link: Wikipedia: Jhereg (Novel)
Promo: Star Wars: Codename Starkeeper
Audible.com has brought all of Fritz Leiber’s classic Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser stories, all seven books of this all-time great series, into audio for the first time.
As a cherry on top of the treat, each audio title comes with an exclusive introduction by none other than Neil Gaiman, and narrated by noted Star Wars audiobook narrator Jonathan Davis.
For those of who remember, we talked about the first story (chronologically) in the series, Ill Met in Lankhmar just about 2 years ago.
Here is a short piece by Neil Gaiman, in which he talks generally about his love of Fritz Leiber’s works and how they influenced his own works. Find out more by visiting Audible’s Neil Gaiman Presents Lankhmar
KAMN SE #2: Neil Gaiman talks about Fritz Leiber [2:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8453)Show #40 will cover Jhereg by Steven Brust.
Published in 1983, it’s the first book in the Vlad Taltos saga, of a planned 17 volumes. Steve likes the number 17; he’s said so.
The 11th book in the series, Jhegaala, just came out this month, in hardcover from Tor.
Immortals, sorcery, political intrigue, assassins, thieves and familiars. What’s not to love?
