How to use this Page

This May, the OUP Philosophy team honors Thomas Hobbes (April 5, 1588 – December 4, 1679) as their Philosopher of the Month. Hobbes is remembered as the author of one of the greatest of books on political philosophy ever written, Leviathan, in which he argued with a precision reached by few other thinkers.

The post How well do you know Thomas Hobbes? [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.

How do large-scale societies achieve cooperation? Since Thomas Hobbes’ famous work, Leviathan (1651), social scientific treatments of the problem of cooperation have assumed that living together without killing one another requires an act of depersonalization in the form of a transfer of individual powers to an all-powerful central government.

The post Legal order: lessons from ancient Athens appeared first on OUPblog.

If you thought the strafing hawks in Leviathan seemed unbelievable, behold the 1912 French air force experiments with eagles:

Note that these weren’t engineered creatures like in my books, nor were they equipped with special razor talons. They were just regular eagles using their own claws.

Of course, in 1912 airplanes were barely reaching tops speeds of 160KPH (100MPH), and the world altitude record was about 4000 meters (13,000 ft) for heavier-than-air craft. Depending on the species, eagles can get close to that speed while diving, and have been spotted at higher altitudes.

I’m not sure what top airship altitude is in 1912, but it was probably higher than 4000 meters. But there’s no way an airship could go faster than an eagle back then. So the whole thing probably seemed feasible, except for the tricking business of training eagles to attack something much bigger, and to tell friend from foe.

I have no idea how long this program lasted, but it probably didn’t bear much fruit. (Lucky for the eagles, who got to stay out of the Great War. Though the pigeons wound up fighting.) By 1914, planes were flying at up to 200KPH and at altitudes of 6000 meters, beyond the capacity of any bird to hunt.

But as I often say, you can’t always tell what technologies are feasible before they’re invented. From way back then, walking machines and fighting eagles looked like a real possibility.

This attack eagles story was a hit all over the world, by the way. Here’s another version ganked from the Freeman’s Journal in Sydney, Australia, 4 July 1912.

A pretty weird moment in military history.

Okay, I’m still matching any contributions you guys make to the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program, the wing of Nano that assists teen novelists. The YWP is revamping their website, refreshing their already excellent (and free!) curriculum guides for schools who participate in Nano, and expanding their outreach to correctional facilities, halfway houses, and juvenile detention facilities.

Donate in the next month through this website, Justine and I will match the first ten grand of your donations.

Tell your friends!

Here’s a longer video from The Creator’s Project (a Vice and Intel collaboration), about the Future of Storytelling work that the USC School of Cinematic Arts World Building Media Lab has been doing with my Leviathan series.

What interests me about this project is that it’s a form of extreme rpg/fan fiction. They’re taking the raw materials of the world of Leviathan and building it into a digital environment that’s both interactive and useful for telling extended stories, often with different characters, altered timelines, and crazy new beasties. For me, it fires the same brain cells as when you guys write fan fic, that sense that my and Keith’s world keeps echoing out there somewhere in other people’s brains, where those characters (and new ones) get to have more adventures.

So thanks to the students at USC and their sponsors, and to all you guys who write fan fic and generally let your imaginations roam.

Here’s my previous blogpost about the project, and the post on The Creator’s Project blog.

I know you’re all busily enjoying The Manual of Aeronautics, but it’s the time for Fan Art Friday Fortnightly! And as a bonus, this FAFF is actually a fortnight after the last one. (Tiny w00t.)

And so we begin with this from Sandra G:

Somewhat larger w00t!

Thanks to you all for your comments and enthusiasm. It’s been really fun seeing the book out in the world.

Next, we have this pissed-off Leviathan by Nicole Marquez (AKA adventaim on DeviantArt).

I like it when the airbeast can haz all the feelings, even when the foremost feeling is hey-I’m-going-to-kick-yer-butt!

And speaking of emotions (masterful segue!) check out this lovely pencil work of a laughing Deryn from Lauren S:

I like how happy Deryn is in lots of fan art. It was really important for her to be a joyful person, given that Alek was depressed all the time. Of course, as the series progresses, the two of them switch places to some extent.

This piece by jurodo was part of Dalek Week, which we’ve already covered, but I missed it. And it rules! So here it is a few weeks late:

And here are two more Spore pieces from Oskar, a message lizard and a monoplane, because everyone likes message lizards, especially when they have big kawaii eyes that seem to say, “Please give me a message, I’d love to take your message somewhere!”

Nice monoplane too. The Spore stuff is all so friendly.

And finally, in honor of the Uglies quartet boxed set that just came out with the new covers . . .

Alert! Shameless advertising in the middle of FAFF!

. . . here’s a remix of all four covers by Hannah A:

Those are pretty cool. I wonder if a time will ever come when we all just put our own covers on books, because they’re either all print-on-demand or electronic or something. That would be cool.

Okay, that’s it. Hope you’re all having a good end of summer. It’s the first day of spring here in Sydney, because we do it all backwards and on the first instead of the 21st of the month! (Wait. You do your seasons backwards? And offset by 21 days? Isn’t that, like, one thing too many?)

Heh.

The full-color, slightly larger format, all-singing and all-dancing art book to the Leviathan series, also known as The Manual of Aeronautics, is OUT NOW. Actually, several people have found them on store shelves over the weekend, but today is the official release date. (Well, tomorrow morning in the United States. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN . . . )

You can go buy the Manual with your monies! Or ask your librarians for it, or get it online at Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, the paperback of Goliath also came out today!

One of my favorite features of the Leviathan series is that each of the books has a splendid color endpapers by Keith, and the Manual is no exception. Which means I get to follow my tradition of revealing the endpapers on publication day.

As a wrap up of the series, Keith and I wanted to do something that encapsulated the whole series, with pretty much all of the characters in it. Also there was a certain piece of fan art about Deryn and Alek posing for the cover photo on Goliath. So we thought it would be cool for Keith to create the photo shoot for the Clanker/Darwninist Co-Existence Treaty signing!

Most likely, the image below wouldn’t really happen in the world of the Leviathan. I mean, all these characters wouldn’t all get credit for what they did to end the Great War (and all of those machines and beasties in the background would be a bit of a mess). But think of this as a visual confection, a collage that reveals the themes of the book (not unlike the frontispiece of that OTHER Leviathan).

So this is what we went with, and from this humble idea Keith created this awesome image:

Click here for the HUGE and zoomable version. And then see if you can find all the amusing (or sad) details.

Feel free to comment on the Manual in this comment thread, given that there aren’t really spoilers for an art book. (Or are there? Hmm.)

So I guess this is KIND OF THE END. You know? I mean, I’ll certainly post about the Leviathan series again, and people will go on talking about it and cosplaying it, and as new people are born and taught to read, they’ll discover it for the first time. Also, it’s completely possible that someone will make graphic novels or movies or interpretive dances of it, or that I will do more work in that universe someday.

But that doesn’t change the fact that with the Manual finally out, the Leviathan series is kind of . . . over now, at least in its original flavor version. *MAKES SAD FACE WITH TINY TEAR*

It’s been a great five years of working with the awesome Keith Thompson, who really threw his genius into this project, making it much better and bigger and realer than I could ever have hoped it would be. (I’m pretty sure I’ll be working with him again. Steampunk card game!)

It’s also been great having so many voluble, passionate, opinionated, and ridiculously creative fans. Thank you for coming along for the ride, and especially for all the amazing fan art. You are the best.

Seriously. Barking spiders to all of you.

I have officially declared the voting for the Manual of Aeronautics art reveal to be over, and to be a tie between #1 (portrait of Dr. Barlow and Tazza) and #2 (rigger’s uniform).

SO YOU GET THEM BOTH. Now, we just need to vote again to see which one to show first . . .

“Um, but that would be stupid,” you say. And you would be right. So instead I shall flip a coin.

*flips coin*
*realizes hadn’t chosen which side was which*
*flips coin again*

We start with the rigger’s uniform!

compressed air rifle: check
rigger’s knife boot sheath: check
safety harness and clip: check
steampunk goggles: check

I don’t know how Keith remembers all this stuff, because I never do.

Oh, and I also promised you the rank and specialist patches that go on the shoulders:

There you have it! Enjoy, cosplayers! PLS SEND PIX 4 FAF.

I’ll be posting the portrait of Dr. Barlow in a couple of days, and the new and astounding cover for the Chinese edition of Leviathan very soon.

(Usual blah, blah: You can pre-order the Manual from Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound. Or support your local bricks-and-mortar store by buying it on Tuesday, August 21.)

The Leviathan series artbook, The Manual of Aeronautics, comes out on August 21. That’s just two and a half weeks from now, so it’s probably time for more art revealings.

Here are the previous art reveals, in case you missed them:
The Bridge of the Leviathan!
The Cyklop Stormwalker!
Clanker uniforms!
Flechette bat!

Shall we vote on this? We shall.

Would you rather see . . .

1) A portrait of Dr. Barlow? (with bonus Tazza!)

2) A rigger’s uniform? (with various specialist/rank patches)

3) Or the message lizard? (carried over from round 4)

And all of it in glorious color!

Please vote by number. As always, use this comment thread to wrangle, browbeat, and bludgeon your co-commenters into agreement. They like it when you do that.

Let the voting begin.

You can pre-order the Manual from the usual online joints: Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound. It will land at your local bricks-and-mortar store on Tuesday, August 21.

So there’s this movie coming out soon called Taichi O . . .

From IMDB: Young genius Yang Luchan travels to Chen Village to learn the forbidden secrets of martial arts, but quickly learns that the village is menaced by a formidable battalion of Steampunk soldiers. The villagers realize that in order to save their home, they must trust this strange outsider with their knowledge of Tai Chi.

I love that the hero of this movie, Yang_Lu-ch’an, was a real person, an influential martial artist who lived from 1799-1872. For me, steampunk works better when wrapped around historical people, places, and events. I’m trying to work out exactly why I feel this way. (Maybe because technofantasy tends to drift off into isn’t-this-cool gadgetry unless grounded in the gnarly power relations and other unpleasant realities of the 19th century, or something.)

Anyway, steampunk soldiers versus soft-style martial arts FTW!

Click here to watch the trailer bigger, better, steampunkier.

PS This is not the first steampunk martial arts movie, by any means. That might be K-20, WHICH HAS A BIG-ASS TESLA CANNON IN IT. But there are no doubt earlier ones, depending on how much you’re willing to stretch the definition of steampunk.

Greetings from Sydney, home of the on-time Fan Art Friday!

Also useful for getting this post up on time is that July 8-14 was Dalek Week over at Deviant Art’s Alek-and-Deryn group. Each day of that week, the Alek-and-Deryners posted art based on themes like “Obsession,” “Parents,” or “The Roaring 20′s.” The results can be found by clicking here.

Here are a few examples (not the “winners” of the day, just some random ones I like):

One of the themes was “Blindfold,” which inspired a lot of cool art. Some had Deryn and Alek tied up, others with eye injuries or sleep masks, but this one by CMCanary was elegant and matched the colors of this blog beautifully:

Love the inky goodness of this art. And you can tell how ANNOYING Deryn would find this.

Another theme was “Roaring 20′s,” imagining what Dalek would get up to in the decade after the war. This decade was called “roaring” because everyone basically decided to have a big post-war party (until the Depression came along, of course).

I quite like akatsukicloud227′s flapper version of Deryn:

I also appreciate that Deryn is enjoying the Roaring Twenties more than Alek. (Oh, yes. I think she would.)

The “Obsessions” theme generated lots of cool pieces. This one from Peachdust imagines Alek growing obsessed with the new art form just starting up in 1914, moving pictures!

And you would totally take Bovril to the movies, right?

The theme entitled “Generations” also took people in lots of unexpected directions, like this piece from Jurodo:

According to the comment thread, that’s a young Deryn and Alek if they’d somehow met when their parents were still alive, and had gotten to hang out together. Which is totally awwww . . .

There was also a “Parents” theme. Most of the entries for this imagined Deryn and Alek as parents in the future, but this one by stkidd points out that both of them had non-biological parental figures in their lives, like Klopp and Jaspert:

Also very awwww . . ..

Overall, Dalek Week looks like a huge success to me. The randomness of the themes seems to have inspired a lot of non-canonical extrapolations, which is the kind of fan art that I find most

Hey, thanks for your patience while I was traveling. I had a great time and saw lots of lovely people. The signings and panel at San Diego Comic Con were lashings of fun, so thanks to everyone who came to them. Perhaps I’ll go through my photos from the trip and try to find some cool ones.

But right now it’s time for the Manual of Aeronautics art reveal! The votes have been voted and they have been counted, and what you guys wanted to see was the flechette bat.

A BAT. THAT POOS SPIKES. That’s what you wanted to see. Seriously, what does that say about you? I mean, you had a choice of many beautiful images, but you used your sacred voting rights to vote on a spike-pooing bat. Really?

Okay, as someone who wrote a trilogy featuring bats that poo spikes, perhaps I can’t point fingers.

EXCEPT AT THIS . . .

What’s that you say? This picture of a spike-pooing bat isn’t big enough? YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS BIGGER? Then I think that you should click here.

Or perhaps you’re asking me, “How did you come up with the idea of bats pooing spikes?”

The true answer is: I don’t remember. But flechette bats appear in the very first short story I wrote in the Leviathan universe, called “Mr. Darwin’s Favours.” This story was never finished or published, but it contained this somewhat familiar passage:

Jones and two others waited for him at the bow, where the Goliath’s colony of flechette bats were clustered to bask in the rising sun. They had grown noisy at the sight of the men, jousting for position on the half sphere of the bow. In their thousands, the ruckus of echo-location chirps sounded like an audience of old ladies clucking at some off-color joke.

“Now, now. Wait your turn,” Jones said, looking at Newkirk for approval.

The older man nodded sagely, and the three junior tenders began to throw the feed. In the hard light of dawn, flechettes sparkled among the grain, and waves of bats lifted from the envelope to catch mouthfuls of wheat and metal. Although he knew the bats were bred to do so, Newkirk always felt vague discomfort in his stomach at the thought of eating and passing the cruel pennies. Though, as Captain Digby often said, the strangeness of originated species only showed the extent of man’s mastery over natural life forms.

“Mind you don’t leave that lot out,” he said, pointing at a cluster of smaller bats on the starboard aerilon.

“Like feeding ducks as a wean, sir,” Jones said, casting a glittery handful in that direction. “Could never get bread to the little ones. No matter where you tossed it, the bullies always had their way. Nature’s way, I suppose.”

“Nature’s way is hardly our line, Jones,” Newkirk said, though he was glad to hear that the boy had at least made that long-ago attempt at equanimity. In the long run, animal lovers made the best tenders.

Weird, huh? As you can see, this story is partly from Newkirk’s point of view, and has no Deryn in it. There was no Alek either, just a few other POV characters on the airship, which was called the Goliath. Also, Newkirk is rather older, with the rank of “tender” rather than midshipman.

“Mr. Darwin’s Favours” only reached 2500 words long. I pillaged a couple of character names and some bits of dialog (like the above) but some stuff was really different. Like, message lizards were called “parrot dragons.” Shows you how much things

Sorry I’ve missed the last two Fridays, but at last FAF is BACK!

Okay, so Dalek Week is approaching over at Deviant Art. It runs from July 8 to 14, and is a seven-day challenge, each day with a different Deryn-and-Alek-y theme. (Click here for more details.) So I thought I’d start with a couple of entries from last year’s Dalek Week.

First here’s one from the estimable PrinceofParties, which reminds me of a certain schoolyard taunt (containing the line, “K-I-S-S-I-N-G”).

So romantic.

And here from Sorcaron, a sorta metaphorical image of Darwinist and Clanker angels:

Those wings of Alek’s have an interesting story behind them. When Keith and I were first conceptualizing the series, Keith wanted to start with portraits of Alek and Deryn. (Those portraits appear in the original Leviathan trailer, and will be in the Manual of Aeronautics, along with newer ones of Barlow and Volger.) He spent a lot of time on frames that signified the warring powers, and which began the notion of two distinct Clanker and Darwnist aesthetics. Then Sammy Yuen, the designer for the original Levaiathan cover, used Alek’s Clanker wings on the cover. Since then, that visual motif has become the symbol of the series. So it’s great to see it here in angelic-Alek form.

And here’s Deryn doing some Clanker stuff, and I have no idea whom this is from, or where it was created. Help me!

And now some Japanese fan art! Thanks to Brita O. for sending these along.

Both from Pivix.net. I don’t know who did them, because the whole site’s in Japanese. But they’re really cool.

This one’s called “Thinking”:

Link to original.

And the text here says, “There’s no way jellyfish balloons can be that cute!”

Link to original. Kawaiiii!

And now a great Deryn poster from SarahD:

And finally, here’s some rare So Yesterday fan art from Camilla. It’s called “French Revolution,” which will make sense t

June was Audiobook Month, which I forgot, because it’s not like Halloween where everybody keeps reminding you it’s coming up (which seems unfair because audiobooks are at least as awesome as chocolate eggs). But allow me to make up for this with some Videos of Me.

First I go behind the scenes with Alan Cumming, audiobook narrator of the Leviathan series audiobooks and all-around awesome actor. (Floop! Nightcrawler! And now MacBeth!)

If you want to hear a sample of Alan actually reading the books, we can arrange that too. Click for the first chapters of Leviathan, Behemoth, or Goliath.

And lastly, here’s me in one of early prototype ads for Levaiathan. (You can see how much I’ve aged over the last three years. Touring does that.)

Hah, fooled you! Not actually me, but MaxSanKoll. A young YouTube talent who made this and a much weirder sequel, which gets bonus points for the Imogen Heap soundtrack,

Okay, return to your homes. FAF will return next Friday (or maybe Saturday) when I get to my dad’s house to chill out after my exhausting trip to New York. While there, I’ll be doing an online chat with Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan, co-authors of the upcoming book, Team Human. Mostly we’ll be discussing what it’s like to collaborate on a novel.

Figment.com Chat
Sunday July 8
8PM US-ET (5PM Pacific Time, 10AM Monday AUS-ET)
Click here to find out more.

Now go buy or check out from the library some audio books, even though it’s July.

Welcome to part 3 of the Manual of Aeronautics art reveal. As you may recall, the voting for part 2 was very close between the Stormwalker and the Clanker uniforms. The Stormwalker won by a hair, but second place counts!

So rather than vote again, let’s just get with the Clanker uniforms. I know from my mail that lots of you cosplayers have been waiting for these color versions, so you’ll be pleased by that, and by the detail on these. (Of course, they’re a lot more detailed in the book. Computer screens have about 100 pixels per inch, but printed paper is between 600 and 1600 pixels per inch.)

This reveal shows what Alek and Volger would typically wear into battle.

Alek is wearing a typical walker pilot’s uniform. Above the waist, it’s based on the historical Austrian cavalry officer’s uniform, but the trousers and knee padding are special for pilots. You would bang the crap out of your knees and shins working in a walker, Keith surmised, and designed accordingly. (Also, Keith told me that the pilot’s pickelhaube helmet has a special foldy-downy spike, so he won’t poke his crewmates).

Volger’s is more of a classic cavalry uniform, because he wasn’t really in an armored unit. (He just got stuck riding around in the Stormwalker.) Note his crazy flat-topped helmet, which is called a schapska. Schapskas are typically worn by cavalry units that used lances, though by 1914 most of them would have switched to rifles and swords (especially in the Leviathan universe, with armored walkers roaming around). Volger doesn’t actually wear his schapska in the book, because he never appears in full dress uniform.

This page in the Manual itself will also show the walker crewman uniforms, such as Klopp, Hoffman, and Bauer would wear. And there’s another two-page spread with four Darwinist air-navy uniforms (sailors, riggers, officers, and midshipmen), complete with all their various patches and equipment.

Hope you like these, and keep up the costly!

You can pre-order the Manual from the usual online joints: Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound. And it will be at your local bricks-and-mortar store on August 21.

There was flu here at Casa Larbfeld South this weekend, so FAF is taking another holiday. SORRY. But you’ll get lashings of fan art this coming Friday.

I’ve never seen the Manual of Aeronautics art reveal voting so close! I might have to actually count the votes by hand, AND THIS WOULD BE HARD.

So let’s just say this: today we do the Stormwalker, and in a couple of weeks the Clanker uniforms (AKA Cosplay Color Guide). And I’ll keep the Sultan’s Elephant in the running for the next vote.

Okay? Okay.

Then here is . . . the Cyklop Stormwalker, revealed!

Image by Keith Thompson. Click here for the BIGNESS. You know you want to.

As you may know, the images for the Manual were first created as world-building exercises. In other words, they started life guides for my writing and Keith’s future illustrations, and only later became fodder for The Manual of Aeronautics.

I first saw this one very early on, about halfway through Leviathan. Until that moment I hadn’t realize how cramped the Stormwalker would have to be, especially with five people riding around in it. Seeing this cutaway changed the whole way those interior scenes were written, because it was so cramped. (No crossing of legs or waving of arms. Just constrained movements and facial expressions?)

But seriously, just imagine riding around in this thing for weeks on end. It would be super oppressive and make everyone cranky. I hope I got that across.

BONUS WRITING ADVICE: I recommend that all you aspiring novelists to create visual aids like this. Even if your book is set in a regular civilian house, making a floor plan can be incredibly useful. Even if your readers never see these plans, they’ll sense whether you know how your world is put together or not.

For example, seeing this cutaway made me add the bit where Volger sticks his head out and then prods Alek with his feet. So it was good not only for atmosphere, but also for a moment of comedy between the two.

Note that this isn’t the only image of the Stormwalker in the Manual. There will also be:

1) Two outside images, comparing Alek’s Hapsburg House Guard Stormwalker to the standard Austrian Army issue.

2) An interior image, showing how the controls work!

Okay, see you Friday, and probably before then. The cover of part 2 of the Uglies manga Cutters should be here soon.

It’s time to vote again for the next art reveal from The Manual of Aeronautics, the four-color all singing and dancing art supplement to the Leviathan series. This time we’re going Clanker!

Here are the three possibilities:

1) The Sultan’s elephant walker

2) An interior cutaway of the Stormwalker

3) And for you cosplayers, Alek’s and Count Volger’s uniforms in full color!

Use this comment thread to argue and discuss all you want, but please vote by number.

Other News

If you’re age 18 to 25 and live in Queensland, Australia, the State Library is running a Young Writers Award competition that you might be interested in. It has a first-place cash prize of $2,000, and also lots of runners-up prizes, including a 12-month youth membership to Queensland Writers Centre. Any story length of up to 2500 words is acceptable.

You can find more info by clicking here.

Vote early and often!

A Portuguese fan named Guilherme Pires has kindly translated the post-Goliath Bonus Chapter I wrote last year. Huge thanks to him for this service. I hope that all you Portuguese-speakers out there enjoy it.

(NOTE BRAZILIANS, this is a huge spoiler, because Leviathan isn’t out yet, but will be in two months!)

Anyway, here we go . . .

– Esta situação é absurda – disse Alek.

– Pela qual apenas se pode culpar a si –?Esboçando um ligeiro sorriso, o Conde Volger recostou-se no sofá de veludo púrpura do quarto de hotel. – Avisei-o para não fazer aquela aposta.

– Era uma questão de princípio!

– Ah, jovem príncipe, ou Sr. Hohenberg, se faz tanta questão, será que nunca irá aprender que quando se trata de um julgamento por combate, não há princípios? Apenas força bruta.

Alek deixou o espelho e virou-se para lançar um olhar frio ao conde. – Um julgamento por combate? Muito engraçado – Suspirou ele. – Eu realmente não pensei que ela me pudesse derrotar.

– Miss Sharp passou vários meses a escalar às enfrechaduras. Calculo que faça maravilhas pelos músculos.

Alek assentiu, esfregando o ainda dorido bicep direito. Tinha mesmo sido uma batalha. Um verdadeiro julgamento por combate!?Num instante, ele e Deryn estavam a ter uma discussão perfeitamente razoável sobre os méritos dos dois sexos, força, resistência, tolerância à dor, e subitamente ele tinha dito algo imperdoável e Deryn estava a desafia-lo para um braço-de-ferro.

Ser derrotado por ela não teria sido assim tão mau, afinal ela era Deryn Sharp, mas Alek tinha ido demasiado longe e feito aquela aposta idiota.

Se ao menos esta festa de Final de Ano não fosse um baile de máscaras. Nunca irei entender a adoração que os britânicos têm por disfarces. Todos os funcionários da Sociedade Zoológica de Londres andaram a palrar durante vários dias sobre os disfarces que iriam usar. A maioria iria como monstrinhos, ou grandes cientistas famosos, ou caricaturas de figuras modernas como políticos ou clérigos dos Macacos Ludistas. Outros iriam ficar-se pelos disfarces mais clássicos: anjos, demónios, Grécia antiga, ou fadas do bosque.

Como novatos na Sociedade, tanto ele como Deryn tinham estado algo ansiosos quanto à escolha dos seus disfarces. (E para Alek, toda aquela coisa dos disfarces parecia-lhe francamente vulgar, mesmo agora que ele já tinha renunciado a toda a sua herança e pretensões de realeza.)

Portanto, um braço-de-ferro tinha parecido uma ideia brilhante para resolver aquele assunto, pelo menos para um deles. E tal como o Conde Volger lhe continuava a lembrar, a aposta tinha sido uma ideia inteiramente sua.

Até teria sido divertido, se ao menos ele não tivesse perdido. Então seria Deryn e não ele a usar um vestido. Ele tinha de admitir que a sua própria curiosidade o tinha precipitado para aquela aposta imprudente. Como ficaria Deryn com vestuário adequado ao seu próprio género?

Não que ele se importe de a ver de calças e blusão todos os dias. Parte do apelo da sua relação, assentava no facto de ele saber algo sobre ela que apenas mais meia dúzia de pessoas sabiam. Mas mesmo assim, ele estava tão curioso como qualquer rapaz na sua situação estaria.

– Este faux-cul está no sítio correcto?– Perguntou ele.?– Há apenas um único sitio para usar um faux-cul, Alek.

E é exactamente esse – Gracejou o conde Volger. – Não lhe parece . . . desnecessariamente grande?

– Certamente uma interrogação com a qual as mulheres se vem defrontando há décadas.

– Não seja impertinente, Conde. Eu estava a falar do faux-cul – Disse Alek enquanto endireitava os laços que se espalhavam praticamente por todo o

I have had interesting news about my work in progress this week, but it’s all super secret. It’s pretty cool, though, and you will all hear it about one day.

One day soon? MAYBE. Maybe one day somewhat less soon. But one day. I PROMISE.

Let me just say that things they are a-brewin’.

In the meantime, it’s time for FAF! Let’s do this.

We begin with some cool 3-D projects. First is a Clanker lamp from Kirsten. Here it is, both in its raw form and with the shade on:

Like I’ve often said, one of my favorite things to come out of Keith’s illustrations is the sense they give of Clanker and Darwinist physical culture. Not just machines and beasties, but simple things like desks and lamps. So thanks to Kirsten for following that vision.

And here’s Haley’s cool Leviathan-wing ring:

The wing wasn’t entirely Keith’s creation. It was something that the designer of the hardback cover of Levaithan, Sammy Yuen, put together from pieces of Keith’s art.

Speaking of wings, here’s Kaitlyn’s cool shot of Deryn using her body-kite outfit:

Nice. Love the color scheme, and the fact that it makes Deryn look a bit like the shot of Lilit from Behemoth.

And here’s another one from Kaitlyn with that always favorite theme: hangin’ on the ratlines:

And from Patricia, a blow-up of A CERTAIN CREATURE WEARING A CERTAIN COMEDY COSTUME PIECE. SEE IF YOU CAN GUESS BEFORE LOOKING.

Okay. I think you were right:

And finally some Uglies action, a cityscape of New Pretty Town from Trenton:

What I love about this is that it calls to mind the classic Saul Steinberg image of how New Yorkers see the world:

0 Comments on Fan Art Friday as of 1/1/1900