http://xfire.com/scifi/
...is the place to hurry to! Head over there and sign up for any one (or more) of their week long range of amazing on line sci-fi chats, with such luminaries as Charles Stross, Vernor Vinge, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Mike Whelan, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson and... well, me.
Mine's at 1pm PDT/4pm EST/9pm BST on Friday 17th of August. Maybe I'll 'see' you there. The last one was a lot of fun.
In the mean time, feast your eyes on the above snap of Drew Drescher's Golden Daemon winning 'Sons of Ithaka' Iron Snakes, plus a shot of Drew in the act of celebrating his win. Thanks for the pics, Drew... more to come later, everyone!
heh, i signed up for that thing last time. and didnt get it. i was gutted, i wanted to speak to you!, i cant sign up for this one coz im going on holiday :P
ReplyDeleteWell, Rory, you can talk to me here, instead...
ReplyDeleteJust want to say, you own, just read Horus Rising, its AMAZING! Got Brothers of the Snake to read after, then I'm going to finish the horus series, can't wait for book 7. But cheers for the awesome books Mr Abnett
ReplyDeletealso, signed up for friday :)
ReplyDeleteIf you ever need any test or proof readers, let me know.
You AND Jim Butcher are already booked up? Shame.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of books, what are you guys reading now? We all at least (somewhat) share the same taste, since we all presumably like Dan.
I just finished my one of my three-per-year Flashman books. (Flashman's Lady) and am also pecking away at 1776 after seeing David McCullough speak at a conference. Both good. I bought John Adams as well, but it's a big brick and looks too clumsy for an airplane.
Mostly I've been plowing through the stack of historical novels I brought back from the Historical Novel Society conference in June... where I met the shining Demigod known by our clumsy tongue as Bernard Cornwell.
alas, the xfire chat coincides precisely with the date and time of my dog's hydrotherapy appointment, but I shall be there in spirit nonetheless (try not to talk to my spirit too much or people will think you're strange)
ReplyDeleteI too have signed up for the Xfire chat.. Hope I get in - The last one was very interesting and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteBy some strange coincidence I, like Ty, have just this morning finished Horus Rising, and concur wholeheartedly with his succinct summary - Amazing. I plan to read the other books in the Horus Heresy series this summer, and look forward to Legion.
I also read Brothers of the Snake earlier in the week. I can safely say it's the best Space Marine ficion I've read to date and eagerly await any sequels.
Oh and in reference to your previous post - More Eisenhorn/Ravenor? Woohoo!
Drews minatures are really good .The banner really does justice to the giant sea snakes of ithica.
ReplyDeleteI hope i can get into this so i can say thank you for entertaining me for years!
ReplyDeleteAmazing Models! I love seeing Abnett inspired stuff. I Want to see some more iron snakes!
ReplyDeleteDid anyone see the Perseids tonight? Dan and I just stood out in the garden, watching the show.
ReplyDeleteWith all the crap we throw at the world and out into space, the grace of the Universe can still reward us with moments of extraordinary beauty.
I've left Dan outside in the still, cool air, watching the heavens and wishing on stars, what more could a person ask for on a Sunday night?
..That happened already? Ah! Someone told me it was later on tonight!
ReplyDeleteAh well, I think it's cloudy anyway, but I'll think I'll climb out of my window and take a look..
And yes, I always find peace when looking up to the heavens. Something quite majestic about the stars..
Dan, met you at the Chicago Games Day. Half expected to see servo skulls guarding you.
ReplyDeleteOne question my 40k friends wish I'd asked, "Which 40k army do you play?"
Cheers
Richard
Aw, no fair! It's always raining at night this last days... wanna see some dying ships up in orbit out there... uhm, I mean...
ReplyDeletewill you be at gduk in september?
ReplyDeleteNik said...
ReplyDeleteDid anyone see the Perseids tonight?
you mean the TYRANID SPORES
I'm still saying it's been dying ships, falling out of formation at a battle in orbit...
ReplyDeleteYeh the light show was great but my mum kept on about us all going blind the next day and how we would all be stalked by 7 ft plants that slap u with poisenous barbs (thats when i caught an slap on the back of my neck complimentry in her description)
ReplyDeleteto much 80s television i say.
But just in case no ones seen any walking plants lately have they!
Perseids? Tyranid Spores? Dying ships?
ReplyDeleteNonsense, it's Optimus Prime and his doo-gooders falling to Earth.
All hail Megatron!
M
Hey dan
ReplyDeletei already signed up
i won last time actually, but i had work at the time you chat was
i was very dissapointed about this
i do hope i can speak with you this friday though!
Glad you saw it Nik.
ReplyDeleteI tried, but Hurricane Flossie has been stirring up some clouds over Honolulu and the sightings were pretty spotty.
yes, it's all very pretty until you get up one morning and find a juvenile trygon in your toilet
ReplyDeleteI'll just read what happens afterwards....my computer rebels against me on a regular basis when I encounter such things.
ReplyDeleteDamn heathen machine that it is.
And Mr. Abnett.....strange question but I'll ask anyway. Do you like jam?
Xhalax - without wishing to put anyone off him, Dan's more of a marmite man ;-) Although he is partial to a good home made chutney.
ReplyDeletei just finished reading the founding...
ReplyDeletegreat work ;)
Thanks for the kudos all! Now back to work on squad Damocles. Brothers of the Snake gave me way too many cool ideas to just leave em fermenting in the brainpan. I'm looking forward to more Eisenhorn goodness!
ReplyDeleteIve had to reorder the Saint twice now due to errors with BL's system it better be worth all this hastle, but knowing your writing Dan i doubt im gona be disappointed :)
ReplyDeletemy friend pointed out that you write about a lot of mustard coloured armoured companies?
ReplyDeleteany reason why lol?
Nick- Ah! I see.
ReplyDeleteI only ask because I had a really weird dream the other morning in which Mr. Abnett ended up in my house and he ate all of our jam.
What did you eat or read that evening?
ReplyDeleteXhalax - i wonder if Mr Freud might have something to say about that :-)
ReplyDeleteThat could be a very interesting analysis...
ReplyDeletepack_master: I was watching Princess Mononoke before I went to sleep....and there was discussion of good anime film with my family while Mr. Abnett was sitting at the table eating all of our jam.
ReplyDeleteThe dream had started with me going to Games Day...only it being in the hall of the local middle school.
Then.....when the day ended (I arrived near the end of the day for some reason), I wanted to speak to Mr. Abnett.
Then for some reason we were in my kitchen and I asked Mr. Abnett if he was ever going to write about what happened to Nathun on Elvara Cardinale.
He said no and was quite mean actually....and then asked if we had any jam.
I gave him what we had and we went into the living room where my parents and brother were watching anime....and we started talking about what films were good and which wasn't....all the time Mr. Abnett sat at the table eating jam and not saying anything.
All kinda of strange, weird and bizarre.
Nik: You're probably right, though a man on a galloping horse with half a blind eye can see that I'm nuts......so there is no need for Mr. Freud's help.
well if it happens again then defend the jam!!
ReplyDeletedefend it!!
Freud's analysis, from what I understand of Freud, would probably be more... well... anatomical, let's say.
ReplyDeleteHe was an interesting guy, he was also one of the first to suggest cocaine as a localized anesthetic. (You can imagine how well that went.)
Colonel Tempest: Next time I shall defend it with my life!
ReplyDelete"Defend the jam!" There's a rallying cry if I ever heard one. Much better than "Men of Tanith!"
ReplyDeleteYes, the comet dust was an amazing sight and, no, I haven't gone blind or been assualted by triffids ("Triffid" was my nickname in school, by the way... probably because Day Of The Triffids was our set text and I was the only one who had read it... experiences nerd throwback trauma).
Personally, I think it's ships on fire off the shoulder or Orion (comet or no comet).
Richard, if I played, I'd play Imperial Guard (but I don't get that much time for playing given the, you know, novel writing...)
Sredni - a juvenile trygon in my toilet is pretty much par for the course here at chez Abnett.
Yes, Colonel, I will be at Games Day. And mustard drab is a great colour for tanks, in the desert.
Still and all, I join Matt... "All hail Megatron!"
Autobots is for wimps.
Hey Dan,
ReplyDeleteSince drinking is pretty much the only way to combat monotony here in Arizona, I'm putting together a 40k drinking game. The rules are terrifically easy. 3000 point army cap. Bring the alcoholic beverage your army would consume. Every time a unit suffers one or more casualties, the suffering unit takes a shot of the inflicting unit's beverage. Vehicles are a double shot.
My question: since my IG will be under the Tanith leadership, what category of beverage is sacra? I get a brandy or upscale whiskey vibe from the books, but I need official clarification.
So far I have a confirmation from an eldar player bringing "some overpriced froo-froo brand of wine;" an Ultramarine bringing grappa; and a Dark Angel who is bringing "something bitter." I had to tell my tyranid player to try again because he handed me a recipe for the drink he was bringing and one of the ingredients was DEET (I'm NOT kidding). The rest of his ingredients would have combined to make something disgusting to behold and physically painful to consume. I also have a tentative confirmation from an ork player who wanted to bring unfiltered grain alcohol mixed with lawn clippings. I told him as well to try again.
Do you see what Arizona does to people?
Jesse–
ReplyDeleteI don't wanna see Chaos drinks. I'm thinking Tequila and Tobasco...
Strangely, I read a book on alcoholic commanders in the Civil War this summer, and mostly the cause was determined to be "long postings on the western frontier where there was nothing to do but drink." It mentioned Arizona quite a bit, actually.
Sorry you're bored, but we all sleep better knowing you're protecting us from Comanche raiding parties.
@Jesse
ReplyDeleteSo, you never drink your own armies drink? I'll be fielding Chaos then, and anyone who manages to down it gets major Kudos.
I play Slaanesh btw.
@ Jesse: In one of the novels The Sacra is really good described. Something with a taste of vanilla, a shot promethium and the likes... dunno which it has been. Guns of Tanith or Sabbat Martyr would be my guess.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, The Sacra should taste like bitter alcohol, Chimera anti-freeze and vanilla.
thanks for the answers.
ReplyDeletei now return to play vassal.
(40k online)
Hehe, thanks dan. Finished Ravenor Rouge last night. amazing! =]
ReplyDeleteJesse - In my mind, sacra tastes like gin produced by people who make tequila, or vodka made by people who produce gin, or tequila made by people people who produce vodka. It's a clear grain alcohol, easy to produce in a home made still in the Irish peat bogs, like potcheen. (Okay, I know the spellings off, I couldn't remember how it's spelt in Ireland, so if someone would like to correct me that'd be cool). It's got a kick like a cancan girl and it likes the taste of a man's tonsils. The process of its production is quite skilled and complicated. Unless you're Bragg.
ReplyDeleteAnd by people people, I mean people people (too much sacra).
ReplyDeleteI had to check half the words in your post, but I think I got the picture now :D
ReplyDeleteIts Poitín, pronounced Putcheen. And it's very, very powerful. The smell from it is enought to knock me out :)
ReplyDeleteMcKennsy.
How do I get it, and how much does it cost? :)
ReplyDeleteSeeing as it's highly illegal you have to know the right people. Emperor protect you if the Inquisition or the Commissar's find you with it!!
ReplyDeleteDan, I really loved Eisenhorn, and Ravenor Omnibus, can't wait to read the next book in this series. Thank you for the great reading!
ReplyDeletePoitín is essentially undiluted Irish Whiskey careful not to make yourself temporary blind by the high alcohol content! If you are real friendly with a distillery perhaps you could procure some. My curiosity would be how to make Amasec. What would give it the greenish hue? Vintage mind you, not the lower hive stuff ;)
ReplyDelete