Art Inspiring... Fiction

It should be no surprise to hear that I'm an massive fan of science-fiction and fantasy art. People who enjoy F/SF books tend to like the same themes in their art, of course. I've already stated on this blog how much I enjoy Alex Boyd's work, for example. And that isn't merely because he's painted awesome covers for two particular novels by yours truly.

Alex, if you're reading this, get an online gallery together, will you? I've searched for your work on Google, but haven't found a dedicated web-site so far. Shame on you!

Anyway, back to the blog post. It's a well known fact that a tremendous amount of incredible science-fiction art has been inspired by the genre's fiction. I can hardly count the number of wonderful pieces I've seen that were created for books in the Dune universe, for example.

It goes both ways, though. I'm sure a good number of writers are regularly inspired by works of fantastical art. I know I am, and I can't be alone in that. I regularly peruse copies of Spectrum and I have a number of other art books within easy reach of the desk in my little studio.


Spectrum, by the way, is an annually published collection of 'the best in science-fiction and fantasy art'. I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in this kind of thing, and, if you're an aspiring professional artist, you could do a lot worse than to submit a few pieces. The book is put together by a body of judges that utilise a kind of submissions competition. Be warned, though; the standard is extremely high... and there's a fee.

If, on the other hand, you simply want to see some amazing art and you need a quicker, cheaper fix, I have a great link for you. Check out conceptships.blogspot.com

There's more than enough incredible art there to satisfy almost anyone, and, if you happen to be a speculative fiction writer, you're sure to get some inspiration from it. Enjoy!

Lost Hours

Well, as you can probably tell from the frequency (or infrequency) of my posts, I still haven't gotten into a proper groove with this whole blogging thing. Not surprising really, since I'm basically a self-confessed introvert, but I'd like to get into the habit of blogging more. It might help if I didn't play my damned Xbox 360 so much.

Anyone who knows me knows that games are, and always have been, one of my greatest weaknesses. It was through my love of games that I ended up working as a video game designer for a couple of years before making the move to Japan and switching over to writing fiction.

There's something really compelling about the mix of music, art and story that a great game provides. Combine it all with well balanced and addictive play mechanics and you've got a really powerful combination. Video games might just be the most potent form of story-telling on the planet today, though the recent proliferation of game-based novels clearly shows there is more than enough room for both. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they compliment each other (when the latter are done right).

Of course, the video game as storytelling medium only really shines when it all comes together well. Hits like Half Life 2, Call of Duty 4 and others show what can be done, but it's a sad fact that the storytelling aspect often gets left in the hands of game designers rather than professional writers. That's not to say this is always bad. Some of these guys have turned out work I'd happily admit to being jealous of. But how much better could they be with a pro writer onboard who truly understands the freedoms and limitations of writing for games? It's starting to happen more and more often nowadays, particularly since the games industry is overtaking Hollywood in terms of revenue.

In my tray at the moment is the fantastic Lost Odyssey by Japanese studio Mistwalker. I'm only sixteen hours into the story ('only' he says!) but, so far, I'm enjoying the hell out of it. The music and art are exceptional and the character design (particularly that of Kaim, the central hero) is top rate.


If the game has a problem, it's the consistency of the writing, which stops the game short of being truly mind-blowing in quite the same way that CoD4 or Portal were. On occasion, the writing is genuinely mature and even quite moving. At other times, it lets the overall atmosphere of the game down. Part of this is no doubt due to the translation process. Perhaps understanding a little Japanese is actually a hindrance in cases like this - I frequently notice moments in the story where the subtitles deviate unnecessarily from what's actually being said by the characters onscreen. The original Japanese script seems to be of a far better standard than the English version. The difference is regrettable.

It's still an intense and beautifully crafted role-playing game, though. If you're an Xbox360 player with an interest in fantasy and SF, and can handle turn-based combat in your games, I urge you to check it out.

By the way, if anyone asks, you didn't get that recommendation from me. If my editor hears I've been playing games, it'll be fifty lashes... and he won't hold his strokes!

UK Games Day 2008

This weekend sees the Birmingham NEC host Games Workshop's biggest event of the year (in the UK, at least). It's called Games Day and it's a chance for fans of the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 worlds to get together, play games, meet authors, compete for the prestigious Golden Demon awards and much, much more.

Last year, with Rebel Winter having launched only a few months before the event, I had the pleasure of doing a book signing, meeting the Black Library team, and getting to know a good number of my fellow BL authors. It was a great experience and one that I hope will be repeated in the near future.

Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I won't be able to attend Games Day this year. But I can whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in fantasy and science-fiction. It's a hell of an event.

Fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction can look forward to some new releases available on the day, such as Titanicus by Dan Abnett and Cain's Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell (aka Alex Stewart). I'm looking forward to reading both these books myself.

To all those who'll be attending, have an awesome day, and maybe I'll see you there next year.

Daydreaming, HD-DVD and BSG 1

Not all that much has been happening in the world of Steve this week, I must confess. I'm currently submerged in the important 'thinking stage' that comes before starting work on any new story. It's at this stage that a writer spends most of his time in a combination of daydreaming and research - basically, it's the fun part!

When I was at primary/elementary school, my teachers complained to my parents a number of times about how much daydreaming I seemed to do in class. The fools! Couldn't they see I was already in training for a career as a pulp SF writer?

Life is more than just writing, of course. I've had some great training sessions this week (plenty of scrapes and bruises to show for it, thanks to Hide-san, my current sparring partner). I've also just finished watching the first season of Battlestar Galactica on HD-DVD (the recent re-make, not the original series).

I was an early adopter of Toshiba's HD-DVD and was sorry to see it lose the recent high-definition format war. Despite the format being officially dead now, I haven't actually regretted buying into it for a minute. I've got a great little collection of films on HD-DVD that I genuinely love (like King Kong, Batman Begins, The Thing, The Matrix, etc.).

Battlestar Galactica was a joy to watch in high-def and, if you haven't seen the series but love quality science fiction TV, I strongly recommend that you see it. Give it a few episodes to grow on you, though. The characters don't really become sympathetic or engaging until the latter half of the first series, but stick with them. It's worth it.

If you have any recommendations for great sci-fi series that just have to be watched, why not post a comment and let us all know?