Tolkien’s Estate Sues Warner Bros.

Written by Brandon Williams on Sunday, November 25th, 2012

The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and HarperCollins have filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. for $80 million over using licensed characters from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series in online games of various types.

The lawsuit alleges that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema infringed on the contract by licensing the characters out to online slot machines, online games and other downloads. (more…)

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Bryce Courtenay Dies at 79

Written by Brandon Williams on Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Bryce Courtenay, the most popular Australian author, died on Thursday at home in Canberra. He was 79.

He announced that his novel Jack of Diamonds would be his last, due to his battle with stomach cancer. The novel was published earlier this month.

His only novel to breakthrough in the United States was The Power of One, published in 1989. The novel tells the story of persecution and racism in South Africa in the ’30s and ’40s. The novel sold 8 million copies and was adapted to film in 1992. (more…)

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Order of World War II (David L. Robbins) Books


World War II is a series of historical fiction novels by American author David L. Robbins. The series is meticulously researched by Robbins and brings a lot of depth to the historical records of World War II. Later in the series, Robbins adds civilian perspectives into the narrative. (more…)

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Order of David L. Robbins Books


David L. Robbins is an American author of historical fiction and alternate history. He is the son of two WWII vets and thus the Second World War is a major theme in his novels. Robbins is a co-founder of the James River Writers, a non-profit organization that encourages creative expression in the Richmond, VA area. He is not to be confused with David Robbins. (more…)

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Order of Flavia De Luce Books


Flavia de Luce is the central character in a series of mystery novels by Canadian novelist Alan Bradley. Flavia is an 11 year-old girl who is fascinated by chemistry. Also known as The Buckshaw Chronicles, the series is set in 1950s England. The television rights to the series have been optioned by Sam Mendes. (more…)

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Order of Alan Bradley Books


Alan Bradley is a Canadian author of mystery novels. During his high school years, rather than socializing, Alan would spend his spare time reading at the cemetery. He worked as Director of Television Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan for 25 years before deciding to switch careers in favour of becoming a full-time writer. He first tried writing screenplays, but after the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire destroyed neighbouring houses, he decided to try his hand at writing memoirs. In 2007, he wrote 15 pages about the character who would become Flavia de Luce for a contest, which he won. (more…)

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Order of Geronimo Stilton Books


Geronimo Stilton is a series of children’s books by Italian author Elisabetta Dami, using the title character as a pen name. Geronimo is a talking mouse who lives in New Mouse City and is a best-selling author, journalist and editor of The Rodent’s Gazette. He is nervous and mild-mannered, but keeps getting into adventures with his sister Thea and other family members. The series is the most popular children’s book series in Italy. (more…)

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Order of Elisabetta Dami Books


Elisabetta Dami is an Italian author of children’s books, best known for creating her Geronimo Stilton series. She is the daughter of publisher Piero Dami, who founded Dami Editore. Elisabetta got her start proofreading at the Italian publishing house. Her Geronimo Stilton books have been translated into 35 languages and sold over 65 million copies. She is not credited by name on the cover of her Geronimo Stilton books. (more…)

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Order of Future History Books


Future History is a series of science fiction books by American author Robert A. Heinlein. The series ranges from the mid-20th century until the early 23rd century. The series was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1966 for the Best All-Time series, but lost to the Greater Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. (more…)

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Order of Robert A. Heinlein Books


Robert A. Heinlein was an American author of science fiction, considered to be part of the “Big Three” in the genre along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. Some of his work is also considered part of the fantasy genre as well. Heinlein wrote about space exploration as if it were a very real possibility. Other common themes in his work included individualism, non-conformity and free love. Because much of his work was written during the Civil Rights Movement, he would often imply a major character was not white or he would use an alien as a metaphor for another human race (in a positive manner). (more…)

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