Around the Net

This week was a some what slow week for books but with Comic-con in full swing. If I were a publisher I would save all the big news for another day. This week's Around the Net will have a lot of Comic-con news but I will not go into full details as you can find it anywhere on the internet. These are the articles that made it to the top:

Books

Steven Erikson has announced that he has completed his final book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series (even thought there are more books in the Malazan world to come)

From his Facebook account:

GASP! That would be me, coming up for air. How long was I down there? About twenty years, from conception to completion. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is done. Sure, editing and all that crap to follow. But ... done. I don't know who I am. Who am I again? What planet is this? Three months of butterflies ... maybe this double whiskey will fix that. Hmm. No. Delayed reaction going on here.

Yep, The Crippled God is finished. So unless editing goes wrong, then the current pub date should hold. :)

eReader News

The Android software which allows you to read books on your cell phone has been released for Barnes and Nobles Nook which shows that the Android is on the rise.

Barnes and Noble eReader for your phone download.

From PC World:

Nook App Is Another Sign of Android Ascent

Barnes and Noble just couldn't afford to ignore Nook for Android any longer.

For months, Barnes & Noble has promised a Nook digital book reader app for Android, even though the bookseller's eReader app for iPhone and BlackBerry phones actually launched a year ago, long before the Nook's debut. I don't know why the Android version took so long, but with Android reader apps already available from Amazon, Kobo and Borders, it's about time Barnes & Noble caught up.

Nook's Android app has all the features of its iOS counterpart. You can launch Barnes & Noble's e-book store from within the app, let other people sample your library with LendMe and sync purchases and page counts across multiple devices. The Android app is also Barnes & Noble's first to get Nook branding; according to Electronista, the B&N eReader apps on other platforms will be rebranded in the future.

I'm guessing Barnes & Noble had to hustle on Android with all its competitors already on board, but the bigger picture is that all these new e-reader apps are a sign of Android development heating up. For reader apps specifically, it makes sense to start supporting Android now, with the large-screen Droid X and HTC Evo 4G on the market, and with Android tablets on the way.

Generally speaking, the rise of Android is proving attractive to developers. In related news Thursday, AOL's new content portal app launched for Android first. iPhone users will have to wait, or just use AOL's HTML5 Web app instead.

Why is iOS waiting its turn behind Android? "Momentum is the key reason," David Temkin, AOL's vice president of mobile, told GigaOM. Android phone sales outpaced the iPhone for the first time in Q1, and the activation rate for new Android phones is now 160,000 units per day.

Eventually, all those sales had to pay off for users in the form of new apps, faster development and in some cases priority treatment over the iPhone. Looks like it's finally happening.

Comic-con:

Priest
Tired of all those glittery vampires? Looks like Priest may get you out of your funk. The trailer for the upcoming film Priest starring Paul Bettany, my biggest concern is that it is in 3D which I am already tired of:

Priest trailer
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Tron
We also got a full trailer for the new Tron movie Tron Legacy. I thought I had seen this extend trailer a while ago but I am told it is new footage, you decide:




Sucker Punch
The movie that I am looking forward to the most is Zach Snyder's Sucker Punch. While the project is still rather hush, hush the posters have been released and I really like the steam punk look and feel of the world and characters. The big debate was which girl looked the best and I have to go with Jaime Chung's Amber. Feel free to add your own voice to the debate. Seems like everyone else likes BabyDoll. Either way a mech with the face of a bunny should be a good time for all:

Sucker Punch is a movie about little girl who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution and while there she starts to imagine alternative reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is caught by a vile man. Story is set in 1950's.

Brandon Sanderson

If you did not get a chance to read some of author Brandon Sanderson's tweets from comic con you missed out but you can still catch his interview from Tor/Forge's blog. The interview was conducted by Suvudu's Shawn Speakman. There is some great insights on his fellow authors and some discussion on The Way of Kings.

Funny
That is about all the news I found and last but not least it would not be Comic Con without some Star Wars:


Stan Lee

Stan Lee, creator of some of the greatest superheroes in the world has finally reached godhood as he sits on the Asgardian throne for the Comic con announcement of the Thor movie. Excelsior!!