Recent Blog Entries:
Wednesday, May 1 2013, 10:29 AM Monday, April 8 2013, 04:07 PM Friday, April 5 2013, 05:15 PM Friday, February 22 2013, 09:41 AM Sunday, February 17 2013, 04:41 PM Friday, February 15 2013, 09:17 PM Friday, February 8 2013, 11:06 AM Thursday, February 7 2013, 12:22 AM Sunday, January 27 2013, 06:38 PM Wednesday, January 23 2013, 09:44 PM
Blog Archive
Wednesday, May 1 2013, 10:29 AM Monday, April 8 2013, 04:07 PM Friday, April 5 2013, 05:15 PM Friday, February 22 2013, 09:41 AM Sunday, February 17 2013, 04:41 PM Friday, February 15 2013, 09:17 PM Friday, February 8 2013, 11:06 AM Thursday, February 7 2013, 12:22 AM Sunday, January 27 2013, 06:38 PM Wednesday, January 23 2013, 09:44 PM
Blog Archive
Praise for the
Milkweed Triptych
"A major talent... I can't wait to see more."
—George R. R. Martin
"Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis's debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters-- an unstoppable Vickers of a novel."
—Cory Doctorow on Bitter Seeds
"Ian Tregillis triumphantly concludes his astonishing, brilliant, pulse-pounding debut trilogy, The Milkweed Triptych."
—Cory Doctorow on Necessary Evil
"Tregillis' conclusion of the Milkweed Triptych is the pièce de résistance of the series. Necessary Evil is a perfect marriage of science fiction, fantasy and alternate history."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on Necessary Evil
"Darkly fascinating…A thoroughly fascinating conclusion to an imaginative tour de force."
—Kirkus on Necessary Evil
"A cross between the devious, character-driven spy fiction of early John le Carré and the mad science fantasy of the X-Men... Despite the jaw-dropping backdrop and oblique plotting, the narrative is driven by character and personal circumstance...
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
—Kirkus on The Coldest War
"The characters come alive via [Tregillis's] imaginative dialogue and his storyline will keep readers spellbound and on the edge of their seats with an intense sci-fi/alternate history thriller plot."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on The Coldest War
"Well-drawn characters and a feel for time and place make this an excellent journey into an alternate Britain."
—Library Journal on Bitter Seeds
"Engrossing... Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology."
—Publishers Weekly on The Coldest War
Close
Speaking of John Jude Palencar's Artwork
Recent Blog Entries:
The End: NECESSARY EVIL Is Out! - 5/1/2013, 10:29 AM Because I Haven't Posted About tDCS In A While - 4/8/2013, 04:07 PM Announcing the NECESSARY EVIL Signing Tour - 4/5/2013, 05:15 PM Nuclear Deterrence in a Blood Magic World - 2/22/2013, 09:41 AM Guest Post #2 at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/17/2013, 04:41 PM Guest Post at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/15/2013, 09:17 PM A Conversation with Charlie Stross - 2/8/2013, 11:06 AM NOW OUT in the UK: THE COLDEST WAR - 2/7/2013, 12:22 AM Clarion Is Accepting Applications for the Class of 2013 - 1/27/2013, 06:38 PM Holy Smokes! Cover Art for Something More Than Night - 1/23/2013, 09:44 PM
Show all blog entries
The End: NECESSARY EVIL Is Out! - 5/1/2013, 10:29 AM Because I Haven't Posted About tDCS In A While - 4/8/2013, 04:07 PM Announcing the NECESSARY EVIL Signing Tour - 4/5/2013, 05:15 PM Nuclear Deterrence in a Blood Magic World - 2/22/2013, 09:41 AM Guest Post #2 at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/17/2013, 04:41 PM Guest Post at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/15/2013, 09:17 PM A Conversation with Charlie Stross - 2/8/2013, 11:06 AM NOW OUT in the UK: THE COLDEST WAR - 2/7/2013, 12:22 AM Clarion Is Accepting Applications for the Class of 2013 - 1/27/2013, 06:38 PM Holy Smokes! Cover Art for Something More Than Night - 1/23/2013, 09:44 PM
Show all blog entries
Friday, March 2 2012, 09:00 PM
It turns out that on Wednesday, the same day the Palencar Project was unveiled, I found a package on my doorstep when I arrived home.
I'd been expecting the package. But I definitely wasn't expecting what I found inside.
I'd been in touch with a really cool bookseller who was very keen to get signed copies of Bitter Seeds. (Hi, Steve!) But he also arranged to have several copies signed by none other than Mr. Palencar himself, since it's his artwork that graces the cover.
So the books first went to JJP, then from him to me. (And, okay, squeeing fanboy moment here: how cool is it that I got to scrawl my signature right alongside that of John Jude Palencar? Extremely. Yes. The answer is, "Extremely.")
The books were all there, as expected. But one copy had a post-it stuck to the cover. It read, "For Ian, from JJP."
And this is what I found when I opened it:
Not just signed, but signed WITH ARTWORK.
Clearly, Steve the bookseller told him of my great admiration for his work. What a pair of gentlemen! Thank you Steve and John for a wonderful surprise. (And what is now the most prized book of my collection.)
Close PermalinkComments (10)
Cool 2 -
Steve Halter, Friday, March 2 2012, 11:11 PM
Well that is indeed ultra cool. What a nice bonus surprise.
Well that is indeed ultra cool. What a nice bonus surprise.
untitled -
Alex Brown, Friday, March 2 2012, 11:14 PM
Not only is that incredibly cool, but that artwork is just screaming to be turned into a tattoo. I might have to push back that Totoro/Batman one I've been planning on and put this one ahead in the queue...
Not only is that incredibly cool, but that artwork is just screaming to be turned into a tattoo. I might have to push back that Totoro/Batman one I've been planning on and put this one ahead in the queue...
Re: Cool 2; untitled^2 -
Ian, Saturday, March 3 2012, 08:55 AM
I've been very, very lucky. This is definitely a very wild and unexpected surprise.
Tattoo, eh? That would never have occurred to me.
I've been very, very lucky. This is definitely a very wild and unexpected surprise.
Tattoo, eh? That would never have occurred to me.
A sad melancholia over everything -
Tengland, Saturday, March 3 2012, 08:25 PM
After reading your previous post about Palencar's art and this one, I am impressed by your at least public acceptance of the situation. It's the difference between you and me, I expect. I say those guys have no business writing stories based on that art because that's not what it was meant for. Were they told what the origin of the art was, why it was excess? Did anyone at Tor think they ought send the art back to Palencar if there weren't going to use it? Was he asked if he was OK with the anthology thing? Did they think so poorly of his art they just left it lying around? They seem to have a loose view of copyright.
Sorry to be such a drudge, Ian, but this whole thing has an off odor to it. That painting is awesome. It and the artist deserve better than they got. So do you.
After reading your previous post about Palencar's art and this one, I am impressed by your at least public acceptance of the situation. It's the difference between you and me, I expect. I say those guys have no business writing stories based on that art because that's not what it was meant for. Were they told what the origin of the art was, why it was excess? Did anyone at Tor think they ought send the art back to Palencar if there weren't going to use it? Was he asked if he was OK with the anthology thing? Did they think so poorly of his art they just left it lying around? They seem to have a loose view of copyright.
Sorry to be such a drudge, Ian, but this whole thing has an off odor to it. That painting is awesome. It and the artist deserve better than they got. So do you.
Re: A sad melancholia over everything -
Ian, Saturday, March 3 2012, 09:53 PM
Hey, Terry! Thanks for stopping by.
Well, Tor commissioned the artwork (and paid for it), so they really do have every right to find a use for it. Just because the original intended use of the artwork changed doesn't mean they can't still use it. They essentially had a complete, unused John Jude Palencar painting literally sitting around the office. They would have been crazy not to use it.
And I'm *always* happy to see more exposure for JJP's artwork.
My only confusion in this, the latest chapter in the interesting pre-publication life of The Coldest War, is the apparent reluctance to mention the connection to a forthcoming Tor novel. I'd hoped the Palencar Project might be a chance to cross-promote multiple Tor projects at once. I know that other people at Tor politely asked for a mention of The Coldest War, but...
Hey, Terry! Thanks for stopping by.
Well, Tor commissioned the artwork (and paid for it), so they really do have every right to find a use for it. Just because the original intended use of the artwork changed doesn't mean they can't still use it. They essentially had a complete, unused John Jude Palencar painting literally sitting around the office. They would have been crazy not to use it.
And I'm *always* happy to see more exposure for JJP's artwork.
My only confusion in this, the latest chapter in the interesting pre-publication life of The Coldest War, is the apparent reluctance to mention the connection to a forthcoming Tor novel. I'd hoped the Palencar Project might be a chance to cross-promote multiple Tor projects at once. I know that other people at Tor politely asked for a mention of The Coldest War, but...
Melon collie -
Tengland, Sunday, March 4 2012, 05:42 PM
You're obviously more OK with this than I am.And maybe Palencar is too. So be it. I will continue to think you and the artist were insulted by Tor. Tor's embarrassed, too, though, that's why they're reluctant to mention the painting's connection to your series.
You're obviously more OK with this than I am.And maybe Palencar is too. So be it. I will continue to think you and the artist were insulted by Tor. Tor's embarrassed, too, though, that's why they're reluctant to mention the painting's connection to your series.
Re: Melon collie -
Ian, Monday, March 5 2012, 09:29 AM
I actually think this is a really nice thing for JJP. Otherwise, he'd have done all that work with no publishing project to go along with it. His artwork doesn't need a companion project to make it noteworthy, of course, but it's nice that since he was commissioned for this painting it eventually found a special use.
It may be that there's concern the full story of the painting, and the fact it wasn't used for the original intended purpose, might give people the wrong impression about the value and quality of the work. It's difficult for me to imagine fans of JJP's art really reacting that way, but what do I know. Anyway, I prefer to believe this than to believe that a dead-simple cross-promotion opportunity would be considered not worth the effort.
I actually think this is a really nice thing for JJP. Otherwise, he'd have done all that work with no publishing project to go along with it. His artwork doesn't need a companion project to make it noteworthy, of course, but it's nice that since he was commissioned for this painting it eventually found a special use.
It may be that there's concern the full story of the painting, and the fact it wasn't used for the original intended purpose, might give people the wrong impression about the value and quality of the work. It's difficult for me to imagine fans of JJP's art really reacting that way, but what do I know. Anyway, I prefer to believe this than to believe that a dead-simple cross-promotion opportunity would be considered not worth the effort.
2nd Story -
Steve Halter, Wednesday, March 7 2012, 08:40 AM
The Gene Wolfe interpretation story is up on Tor. It was quite a nice story. I'm finding the project quite fascinating. So far, the interpretations have been very different from how I would view the picture; I have the original back-story and it colors my perception of the picture. This has made for an interesting experiment in comparative perceptions. So, in that respect it is quite successful.
It does continue to be odd that they don't mention the Milkweed books as the original intent. That seems like an obvious promotional link. Maybe they are going for some "unsullied by original intent" artistic statement. If so, we've already let the cat out of the bag in the comments.
The thought just occurred to me that it would be interesting if we really knew the original intent behind a lot of paintings. For example, what if we knew for certain that Da Vinci's intent had been to portray a noted murderess in the Mona Lisa.
The Gene Wolfe interpretation story is up on Tor. It was quite a nice story. I'm finding the project quite fascinating. So far, the interpretations have been very different from how I would view the picture; I have the original back-story and it colors my perception of the picture. This has made for an interesting experiment in comparative perceptions. So, in that respect it is quite successful.
It does continue to be odd that they don't mention the Milkweed books as the original intent. That seems like an obvious promotional link. Maybe they are going for some "unsullied by original intent" artistic statement. If so, we've already let the cat out of the bag in the comments.
The thought just occurred to me that it would be interesting if we really knew the original intent behind a lot of paintings. For example, what if we knew for certain that Da Vinci's intent had been to portray a noted murderess in the Mona Lisa.
Re: 2nd Story -
Ian, Friday, March 9 2012, 12:19 PM
I had a feeling the Gene Wolfe story would be boffo! It's really interesting to see how the same image inspires very different tales from different writers. It's a cool experiment. I'm eager to read the Swanwick story, too -- I love his work.
I never heard that story about the Mona Lisa! How intriguing...
I had a feeling the Gene Wolfe story would be boffo! It's really interesting to see how the same image inspires very different tales from different writers. It's a cool experiment. I'm eager to read the Swanwick story, too -- I love his work.
I never heard that story about the Mona Lisa! How intriguing...
Add Your Comment:
Unwalkers interview [English | French ]
Interview with Speculate! Podcast Interview with Adventures in SciFi Publishing
Ian Tregillis on the Sword and Laser Podcast
Ian Tregillis on John Scalzi's The Big Idea
Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with SFRevu
Interview with Mad Hatter Book Review
Interview with Apex Books
Interview at Literary Musings Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
An interview with the authors of Busted Flush at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with Travis Heermann at The Write Line
9-way interview with the contributors to the Wild Cards novel Inside Straight at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview in the February, 2008 newsletter of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
An extended interview with Ian Tregillis by Ty Franck, on www.wildcardsbooks.com.