DEATH TROOPERS contest winner AND Prequel announcement!

Win this book!

Win this book!

Death Troopers, the uber cool book that blends Star Wars with zombie fiction is now out in stores, and we recently gave you guys a chance to win it as part of our Pauloween Horror Nights month-long event!

So who won?

As it turns out it’s Not Eddie Murphey, who actually goes by the name Z0MBIE on Twitter!  Congrats Z0MBIE!  I’ll be e-mailing you soon!

In other Death Troopers news, the official Star Wars site had an interview with author Joe Schreiber, where he announced another Death Troopers novel, already completed!

The way you wrote Death Troopers lends itself to having one heck of a horrifying prequel. Any chance fans will be getting the tale of what happened on the Star Destroyer before the prison barge showed up?

Actually, I just finished the next book and sent it to Shelly Shapiro. It’s a prequel that deals with the virus and where it came from.

Awesome news! Can’t wait!

Written on October 24th, 2009 , Books, Contests, Star Wras Tags:
PHN 2009: Screw it…win a copy of DEATH TROOPERS!

Win this book!

Win this book!

Since everyone seems super excited about this week’s Star Wars book release, DEATH TROOPERS, we decided to say “screw it,” and give away a free copy!  Yes, folks, we know people wanna read this book, and here’s your chance to do it…FOR FREE

How do I win, you may ask?

Simple! E-mail ideologyofmadness@gmail.com with “DEATH TROOPERS CONTEST” in the title before midnight on October 23rd for a chance to win!  Must be over 18, and winner will be drawn at random!

Tell your friends and get the word out on Facebook and Twitter – the more entries we get in the contest, the more likely we are to give out more than one copy of the book!

Good luck!

Written on October 13th, 2009 , Books, Horror, Star Wras Tags:
PHN 2009: Are you ready…for STAR WARS ZOMBIE WEEK?
new_death_troopers

Death Troopers, out this week from Del Rey Books!

Hell yes, you heard me right.  This week on the official Star Wars website, to celebrate the release of this week’s book Death Troopers, they’re “kicking off a week’s worth of content showcasing some fantastic artwork contributions made by several well-known artists in the Star Wars community.”

What’s Death Troopers?  It’s a horror novel set in the Star Wars universe!  Yes, the undead have infested the galaxy far, far away and they’re munching on a pack of clone troopers!

When the Imperial prison barge Purge–temporary home to five hundred of the galaxy’s most ruthless killers, rebels, scoundrels, and thieves–breaks down in a distant, uninhabited part of space, its only hope appears to lie with a Star Destroyer found drifting, derelict, and seemingly abandoned. But when a boarding party from the Purge is sent to scavenge for parts, only half of them come back–bringing with them a horrific disease so lethal that within hours nearly all aboard the Purge die in ways too hideous to imagine.

And death is only the beginning.

The Purge’s half-dozen survivors–two teenage brothers, a sadistic captain of the guards, a couple of rogue smugglers, and the chief medical officer, the lone woman on board–will do whatever it takes to stay alive. But nothing can prepare them for what lies waiting aboard the Star Destroyer amid its vast creaking emptiness that isn’t really empty at all. For the dead are rising: soulless, unstoppable, and unspeakably hungry.

Read an except of Death Troopers here!  And read more about Death Troopers at its official site!

Written on October 13th, 2009 , Books, Horror, Star Wras Tags: , ,
Little Fuzzy for everyone!

little-fuzzyMore than 20 years before George Lucas started his long, downhill slide with  Ewoks, H. Beam Piper gave us fuzzies or, by their appropriate scientific designation, Fuzzy fuzzy holloway zarathrustra. Little Fuzzy, a 1963 Hugo nominee for Best Novel, is terrific science fiction.  With its themes of corporate espionage, civil rights, and climate change, this book could have been written today rather than four decades earlier.

I’ve been a fan of this book since I was a kid, and due to the “cute” aliens the book is often marketed to children, branded as juvenile fiction.  It isn’t.  There are very mature themes in this book, such as greed, racism, and murder.

Fuzzies are a newly discovered race of humanoid creatures found on the distant, resource-rich world of Zarathrustra.  They are about a foot tall, covered in soft fur.  The question of their sapience (e.g. are they “people”) is central to the book.  How do we define intelligence?

I’ve loved this book for a long, long while.  ‘Read it several times and, in fact, I’m currently listening to the audiobook.  Everyone I know who’s read it, loves it. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on August 20th, 2009 , Books, Games, Role Playing Games Tags: ,
Pauloween Horror Nights: OCTOBER SHADOWS
Artwork by William Basso

Artwork by William Basso

Reading this month’s issue of Rue Morgue, I came across an article about an upcoming book entitled October Shadows: A Celebration of Halloween in Art.  Apparently, each Fall, there’s an art show exhibiting art that pays homage to the traditions of Halloween – the stuff that reminded us of Halloween as kids, like pumpkins, witches, vampires, etc.

In recent years, we have taken Halloween and made it more adult.  Movies are getting darker and scarier, Halloween events are getting gorier and less fun.  But, ultimately, what made us love Halloween in the first place is just how fun it was, and the imagery present in the art show (see some pics at the official site) are reminiscent of the fun side of Halloween.  A little creepy, but a lot of fun.  And the iconography of the Jack-o-Lantern?  Better than that stupid other holiday with the jolly red fat man!

This fall, October Shadows: A Celebration of Halloween in Art will be making its debut in art book form, so you have a nice little centerpiece for your coffee table.  The book features art from Rick Baker, William Stout, Dan Bereton, Gris Grimly, Michael Dougherty…the list goes on and on, but do you really need any other excuse?  Pre-orders begin on July 15th!

Check out the official site for more info!

Written on July 12th, 2009 , Books, Horror Tags: ,
Pimp-of-the-Internet, Tony Mast: The IoM Interview, part 4

the-storm-cloud-coverToday we wrap up our week-long interview with Pimp of the Internet Tony Mast.  We talk about the new short story anthology The Storm Cloud which just recently went on sale as well as the upcoming anthology, Built for Speed.  To top it all off, he also talks a little about some other St. Louis podcasters…

TONY: Built for Speed is the next anthology that we’re doing.  The Storm Cloud we just released.  It’s on sale now on our website. We are acting as publisher and distributor.  At least for this first edition.  We’re doing two editions.  The first is a preview or a fan edition, if you will.

To sell a book in a bookstore, you need the International Standard Book Number.  The ISBN.  It is a unique code that is built into the barcode identifying that book as that book.  It’s how bookstores track them, how major distributors track them.

That little number?  Costs a couple of bucks. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on June 19th, 2009 , Books, Podcasts Tags:
Pimp-of-the-Internet, Tony Mast: The IoM Interview, part 1
tonymast001

The blogger (left) chillaxes with Tony Mast (right).

Tony Mast is a man who seems to be everywhere at once.  He hosts two podcasts (Back Seat Producers and Tony’s Losing It).  He’s contributed to and edited three short story anthologies, the most recent of which – Storm Cloud – came out just a few weeks ago.  He is currently accepting submissions for a fourth anthology, Built for Speed. He’s rehabilitated tired and used-up podcasters.  He’s given poorly nourished gamers fruit.

Tony’s a man with a lot of energy, a lot of talent, and a remarkable ability to promote his efforts.

They don’t call him the Pimp-of-the-Internet for nothing.

Recently, I had the good fortune to spend an evening chatting with Tony about writing, podcasting, and other pimpy goodness.  We started off with his short story writing… Read the rest of this entry »

Written on June 15th, 2009 , Books, Podcasts Tags:
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan talk about THE STRAIN!

I’ve been talking about The Strain, the novel from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, for the past couple of weeks now.  Reading it, I totally understand the hype.  The book is scary, exciting, and a good mix of both the technical parts of Hogan’s writing, with the touches that make it classic del Toro.  If you haven’t picked it up, be sure to ASAP!

Meanwhile, Hogan and del Toro recently did a panel at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, and we’ve got it below for you to watch!

Written on June 13th, 2009 , Books Tags: ,
Your Morning Head: Trek books are delicious candy

067102127301lzzzzzzzIt’s no secret, I loves me some Star Trek.  The movies, the TV shows, and the comics?  All of them I regard with deep affection.  The novels though?  I’m crazy for the novels.

I’ve not read all of them.  Hell, I doubt I’ve even read most of them.  That would be a full time job.

Trek books are the purest kind of brain candy, providing a familiar escape.  They offer an easy transition to a far-a-way place that while strange, is populated by friends we’ve known a long, long time. These stories are neither challenging nor threatening.

Strangely enough, that is some times a good thing.

I love a book that’s in my face, pushing me, agitating me to consider new ideas… even scaring me.  But there are times when you need the comfort of a known quantity, the friendly voice of a beloved character.

Star Trek books have gotten me through some stressful times.   In a lot of respects, these books are a security blanket I clutch when times are bad. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on May 28th, 2009 , Books, Columns, Star Trek, Your Morning Head Tags: ,
Your Morning Head: Holiday Weekend Haul
the-loot1

The Loot

Of the many laudable aspects of the Memorial Day Weekend – time with friends and family, BBQ, swimming in the pool, beer – my absolute favorite is the Half Price Books 20% off sale.  During the sale, they provide an additional 20% off their everyday half-off prices on every item in the store.  It’s a pretty sweet sale that HPB schedules several times each year – Memorial Day, Labor Day, and after Xmas.

I rarely miss a sale.  And with locations all over Texas, there’s a lot to explore.

I scored hard this time around: Read the rest of this entry »

Written on May 26th, 2009 , Books, Columns, Comics, Games, Horror, Podcasts, Role Playing Games, Star Trek, Your Morning Head Tags: , , ,
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