Posts Tagged ‘RUSH’

Neil Peart, Sept. 12, 1952–Jan. 7, 2020 #RIP

I was standing in a pharmacy this afternoon when my phone rang. It was my dear friend Randy Giudice calling from Los Angeles. I hadn’t heard from Randy in some time, so I picked up right away.

He was the one who broke the news to me that my hero, Neil Peart of Rush, had died:

Neil Peart, Rush Drummer Who Set a New Standard for Rock Virtuosity, Dead at 67

Shattered. Gutted. Bereft. That’s where I am right now.

I never had the honor of meeting Neil, (as I did with his Rush band-mates Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, in 2007), but Neil once sent me a brief but friendly email, as thanks for naming a character in his honor in my first pair of published Star Trek novels, A Time to Kill and A Time to Heal.

I wish I could have known the man behind the drum kit; I wish I could have had the chance someday to call the Professor a friend. Now that hope is forever quashed, and a measure of my joy in this life departs with him.

Neil Peart was more to me than a musician and an author in a band that I’ve loved most of my life. He was an inspiration to me, a guiding star, a talent who gave words and form to ideas that helped me find my own way as an artist and as a person.

Almost every work of prose I’ve ever published has contained some form of homage, either subtle or overt (usually overt), to Neil Peart’s lyrics. He was my idol — which, given his aversion to the notion of idolatry, is somewhat ironic.

I will always treasure the body of work that he and Rush created and shared with the world, and my grieving heart goes out to his family, his friends, and his colleagues.

All the world’s a stage, but the Professor has just made his exit, stage left.

Goodbye, Neil.

#RIPNeilPeart

More Interview Goodness on Generations Geek

Late last year, I sat for a lengthy interview by my pal Scott Pearson for his podcast Generations Geek. We had such a great and rambling chat that he ended up having to cut the interview into two parts.

Part Two

The new installment, Episode 41: “Midnight Mack,” is now live on The Chronic Rift Network. In this hour-long interview we discuss my non-Star Trek tie-in work, including my award-winning 24 novel, Rogue, and my contribution to the short-story anthology 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush.

We also dig into my original works, starting with my 2009 urban fantasy novel The Calling, and then we segué into my upcoming Dark Arts series for Tor Books, which will kick off in February 2018 with The Midnight Front.

Part One

If you’d like to listen to the first half of our conversation, in Episode #40: “Mack Trek“ we talked mostly about my work for Star Trek through the years and across many media, including television, comic books, video games, and novels.

Talking Trek & Rush on ENGAGE

I talked last week with Jordan Hoffman of Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast about my work for Star Trek — in particular, the Vanguard saga. We also touch briefly upon my upcoming projects, including my novel based on the new CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery.

We also spent a fair amount of time talking about my love for the work of Canadian rock trio RUSH, and the major influence their work has had on my own. And every time you think we might finally be done talking about Rush, we circle back to it. It was a hell of a thing.

If you just can’t get enough of the dulcet tones of my voice, or the brilliant insights of my warped brain, give it a listen. (My segment starts about 10-11 minutes in.)

For Nebula Consideration: “Our Possible Pasts”

Dear Fellow SFWA Members:

 

2113_largeFor your consideration, I present my short story “Our Possible Pasts.” It was published in April 2016 as part of the anthology 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush.

The story is now available for free to SFWA Members on the Nebula Awards Fiction forum, in the Short Story 2016 section, by gracious permission of its editor. (You must be a registered member of SFWA and logged into the Forums to access the story.) ETA 1 November 2016: The story is available in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI file formats.

If you are a member of SFWA and plan to recommend works for the upcoming Nebula Awards, I would be grateful if you would read my story and consider giving it your support.

ETA: The nomination period has opened and will remain open through February 15, 2017, 11:59pm PST. If you are a SFWA member and would like to recommend my work to other members for their consideration, please do so here on the SFWA Forum.

Thank you, and please feel free to share the word with other SFWA members.

// David Mack

#SFWApro

I talk about “Our Possible Pasts”

2113_largeLast week I spoke with the guys at trek.fm’s Stage 9 about my two new original short stories. Part one of that two-part interview is now live.

If you’d like to know more about “Our Possible Pasts,” my contribution to the anthology 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush, then this is the Q&A you’ve been waiting for.

We talk about the musical inspiration of the tale, the themes of the story, and how I chose to approach the tale’s ending.

So give the interview a listen and get the inside scoop on a story I’m very proud to have written.

First review of 2113: “Our Possible Pasts”

2113_largeOver at Tangent Online, reviewer Brandon Nolta had these very nice things to say about “Our Possible Pasts,” my new original short story just published in the anthology 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush —

“Mack manages to commingle legal proceedings, quantum physics, and the psychological machinery of loss into an elegant narrative of hope and the human condition. One of the most keenly felt, and outright beautiful, stories of this collection.”

He also shared his thoughts about each of the other entries in the anthology, and singled several other stories out for praise., including those by Michael Z. Williamson, David Farland, Larry Dixon, and Brad R. Torgersen.

I’m hoping this will be only the first of many thoughtful reviews of this wonderful anthology and of my story — a work of which I am quite proud, and that I hope I can get into the hands of as many readers as possible this year.

2113, the RUSH anthology, is here at last!

Good news! 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush shipped early on April 1 (no, it wasn’t a joke).

2113 Stories Inspired By The Music of Rush

I know, I should have posted about this sooner. This anthology edited by Kevin J. Anderson and John McFetridge contains my second professionally published work of original short fiction, a trippy little SF short story titled “Our Possible Pasts.”

About My Story

Here’s a brief description of my story (inspired by the song “Show Don’t Tell”):

An assistant U.S. attorney must prosecute for murder and fraud a woman who claims to have invented a machine that enables people to send their consciousness and memories back in time to their younger selves, but kills their bodies in the present.

About the Anthology

I’m only a bit more than halfway through this densely packed tome. It contains 18 tales in a variety of styles and genres by an all-star lineup of bestselling and award-winning authors. It’s always an honor and a pleasure to be on a table of contents alongside fellow New York Times bestselling author and my frequent literary partner-in-crime Dayton Ward. His gripping tale “Day to Day” immediately precedes mine in the book.

So far I know “The Burning Times V2.0” by Brian Hodge (inspired by “Witch Hunt”) will be one of my favorites from this volume. My story and John McFetridge’s “Random Access Memory” (inspired by “Lakeside Park”) could almost be set in the same fictional universe. I was also fascinated by the visuals evoked by Greg Van Eekhout’s “On the Fringes of the Fractal” (inspired by “Subdivisions”) and I dug the modern-day noir of David Farland’s “Players” (inspired by “Tom Sawyer”).

I for one am definitely looking forward to reading Kevin J. Anderson’s titular novella, “2113,” which closes out the book.

Get Your Free eBook of 2113

If you buy a print copy of the book from any retailer, keep your receipt! The publisher, ECW Press, will give you a free eBook version of 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush (in PDF or ePub format) just for e-mailing them with your receipt info and asking nicely. Look inside the back cover for details.

Bottom line: If you’re a fan of any of the authors in this anthology, or a fan of the Canadian rock trio RUSH, or know someone who is, pick up a copy of this book today!