Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Silverheart by Michael Moorcock Chasing Silverheart. The industry’s most intimate gaming event for senior industry executives, developers and investors. This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff. The shot above is from Roberts Space Industries which can be seen after signing up on the site which shows a countdown to October 10th. Not sure what the picture represents yet, but it's a good guess it's concept art for one of the places you'll be visiting within the exciting new project that Wing Commander creator, Chris Roberts, may be returning to space with. Or, at the very least, something sci-fi. Roberts has apparently hung up his producer's hat for awhile to build a whole new game that's obviously got something to do with his space combat days with Wing Commander. But as for other specifics, only bits and pieces of fiction are being posted on the site to whet everyone's appetite for now with more is promised in the coming months. With Chris Roberts seemingly back to his old haunts, I thought it might be neat to turn the spotlight on another project that he had (or still has) in the works before he left Origin and founded Digital Anvil – Silverheart. I first caught mention of this in Next Generation's January '96 issue which included a story on Origin filled with a number of interviews including one with Chris Roberts who mentioned this game as his next project following WC4 that he hoped would "be coming out next year." The mysterious project, which he hinted at as far back in the Official Guide for WC3 in '95, turned out to be something completely different than anything he had ever done. It didn't happen, unfortunately, but according to Next Generation's story, it would have followed the same FMV style that Wing Commander was currently on and take place in a fantasy world that he had asked English writer, Michael Moorcock, to create for it. From the features being touted, it sounded fairly sophisticated for the time: First-person perspective Third-person perspective for puzzles Seamless interface Gesture mechanics for spellcasting. The last point was particularly interesting. Arx Fatalis from Arkane Studios would independently implement a mouse gesture-based system six years later in 2002. And in 2003, Digital Anvil would pump out Freelancer which focused on the mouse as its main interface. So Silver Heart had seemed to become the FMV fantasy game that never was with the kind of cutting edge ideas that made the Wing Commander series such an iconic space combat sim. But was that it? Scrounging around for answers, the answer seems to be a combination of where the technology wasn't good enough at the time and where EA may have also simply pulled the plug. Chris Roberts checked in with the hardcore Wing Commander fans over at Wing Commander Combat Information Center News in a chat last month on August 10. On Silverheart (now without the space which is how it appeared in Next Generation): LOAF> Can you tell us what "Silverheart" was going to be? Chris_Roberts> Loaf – Silverheart is cool _ I still have (and own) that IP and want to make it one day. Michael Moorcock (of Stormbringer fame) created the world and wrote the script. And as to its fate: Chris_Roberts> We were in production on Silverheart at OSI before I left but we could never get the tech to work. We needed a livign breathing city – something Assasin's Creed does so well nowadays. Also mentioned before that was the question of the novel which actually did come out based on the ideas for the game. The book was done as a collaborative effort between authors Michael Moorcock and Storm Constantine. Also called "Silverheart", the novel initially came out in 2000 in the UK and, years later, be available in the US. Moorcock himself addressed questions on this at his own site, Moorcock's Miscellany, where he often interacts with fans. In a post that archived his response to a question on Silverheart way back in 2000, he answered: Confusing titles for one book. It will be Silverheart and is likely to appear in the UK in Autumn 2000. It's written by me and Storm Constantine and I'm really delighted with Storm's contribution. Based on and extending the game I wrote for Chris Roberts some while ago and which Chris (and Digital Anvil) are planning to revive (though not as live action). I was originally asked to provide a scenario for a game. My condition, in writing the game, which at the time was going to be live action movie/game as some of Chris Roberts's other games, was that we dump genre conventions and didn't have super villains with booming voices for a start, but people with different interests, different moral notions of how to order the world. Once we'd agreed the basic idea I sat down and began a scenario so detailed that it became a short novel of some 45,000 words. By this time we also had the script I had produced for the movie and for the game — re-done from the original ideas. It's still ambitious, but I don't think we'll have live action. I haven't asked Chris what he thinks. We also get some idea, at least from Moorcock's side, of how much the project cost before it was apparently canned by EA in a reply dated January 22, 2002: You might be thinking of SILVERHEART, which was originally done for Origin (Electronic Arts) and then taking over by Digital Anvil (essentially Microsoft) but by last year they had disappeared and I really have no idea any more what's happening with the game, which exists in very sophisticated script form, with the entire game mapped out. They had done about $2m worth of work on it — some superb fresh artwork, great new engines — when EA pulled the plug. D.Anvil presumably now own the rights, but I don't know what's happened to them! But we do know now what happened to Roberts and company. Freelancer arrived in 2003 for Windows, but it, along with Brute Force for the Xbox, were the only two games to come out from the studio. Aside from also being involved in SFX for the Wing Commander film, nothing else was heard from the company. Microsoft dissolved it in 2006 moving personnel to Microsoft Game Studios while others left to pursue interests elsewhere. As for Chris Roberts, he had long left the company when Microsoft first took it over in 2000 although remained an active consultant to Freelancer. Roberts didn't return to gaming after feeling "burned out" and sought new pursuits to flex his creativity. Over the last several years, he found that outlet in Hollywood as a producer of films such as Lord of War. And now, in 2012, it looks like he's finally itching to get back into gaming with his latest adventure. But what about Silverheart? Judging from the chat transcript above, he still has the IP. It's not too much to wonder that quite possibly, the production sketches, scripts, and whatever else may have survived all of those years in moving about. And he still wants to make it. Imagine a fantasy setting with a city as detailed as any in Assassin's Creed. Add in an extensive backdrop written up by an author such as Michael Moorcock avoiding cardboard cutout villains with a "booming voice" focusing instead on individuals and motives while dumping fantasy cliches, blend in the expertise of an experienced developer like Chris Roberts, and it could be the beginning of something exciting. After all, it was hoped that it could have become a new IP for Origin. As different as it is from what Roberts has done in the past, part of me also wants to see what the developer who has always pushed the envelope of storytelling on PCs will do with it. This is the guy who made countless would-be space pilots feel Spirit's sacrifice, blend Hollywood techniques with gameplay as we took to the stars in the final hours of a war for survival, and deliver an iconic finish in a post-war world after the guns fall silent. To me, that could be about as amazing as seeing Wing Commander for the first time on my 386SX. SILVERHEART - SIGNED uncorrected proof copy. In six days Max Silverskin, theif and trickster, must discover the secrets of his heritage or perish from the witch mark - the silverheart - on his chest which will devour his heart. Lady Rose Iron, daughter of the leader of the mighty Clan Iron in Karadur, city of metal, steam and ancient secrets, is thrown into an uneasy alliance with Max as she searches out the secrets which may save the city's future. Captain Cornelius Coffin, head of the clans' security forces, is in love with Lady Rose and obsessed with capturing Max. And there are others, in Shriltasi, Karadur's underworld twin, who know th e prophecy which says that only Max Silverskin can save both realms. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title. Visa & Mastercard accepted along with PayPal but not Amex. Returns accepted, if books don't meet your expectation! Please inform on day of receipt if returning. We can provide scanned images of any title if needed, just ask. Web site www.fantasticliterature.com - has new small press, magazines and much more besides. Please visit us. Orders usually ship within 2 business days. Overseas orders always shipped airmail or in M-Bags. UL shipping second class unless requested. Secure and safe packaging. A Novel of the Multiverse. This is a novel set at the very heart of Michael Moorcock’s multiverse, in Karadur, city of metal, steam, and ancient families, the mighty clans of the metal. In six days, Max Silverskin, thief and trickster, must discover the secrets of his heritage or die from the witch mark – the silverheart – which will devour his heart. Lady Rose Iron, daughter of the leader of the powerful Clan Iron is thrown into an edgy alliance with Max as she searches for the secrets that could save the city’s future. Captain Cornelius Coffin, head of the clans’ security forces, is in love with Lady Rose and obsessed with capturing Max. And there are others, in Shriltasi, Karadur’s underworld twin, who know the prophecy which says that only Max Silverskin can save both realms. In Silverheart, Michael Moorcock and Storm Constantine have combined their talents to produce a novel that is both surreal and gothic. Reviews. “This collaboration brings out each author's strong points: the elegant and highly visual imagination of Moorcock (the Elric Saga) and the lush and evocative storytelling of Constantine (the Wraeththu trilogy). Fans of both authors and gothic fantasy aficionados will enjoy this tale of intrigue and rebellion set in a unique double city on the edge of change. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal. “One of the delights of a collaboration such as this is that the authors' strengths meld so beautifully. Moorcock has long proven himself able to pile wonder on wonder, and Constantine is certainly no slouch in the imagination department. And both are masters of mood. a wonderful, magical creation. if you know and appreciate Moorcock's work, you will most likely enjoy this one.” —GreenManReview.com. "One of our topmost novelists." —Kirkus Reviews on Michael Moorcock. "Storm Constantine is a tremendously impressive novelist." —Locus. "Storm Constantine is a mythmaking, Gothic queen, whose lush tales are compulsive reading. Her stories are poetic, involving, delightful, and depraved. I wouldn't swap her for a dozen Anne Rices!" —Neil Gaiman, American Gods. Born in 1939, Michael Moorcock is a highly respected author who has won many awards over his prolific career. His novella Behold the Man won the Nebula Award. He is also the recipient of the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award, among others. Currently he resides in Texas, with wife, Linda. Storm Constantine has written over twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction, and well over fifty short stories. Her novels span several genres, from literary fantasy, to science fiction, to dark fantasy. She is most well known for her Wraeththu trilogy (omnibus edition published by Tor) and has recently completed a new set of novels set in the world of Wraeththu, concluding with The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (Tor, 2005, USA; Immanion Press, 2005, UK). Storm is also cofounder of the small publishing house Immanion Press, created in order to get classic titles from established writers back in print and innovative new authors an audience. She’s currently working on several ideas for new books, as well as reading and editing a far too large pile of manuscripts for other writers. She lives in the Midlands of England, with her husband, Jim, and eight cats. Photo Credits: Moorcock: LM Steele ©2000; Constantine: Jim Hibbert ©2000. Silverheart by Michael Moorcock. Storm Constantine (b.1956) died on January 14 following a long illness. Constantine published her first novel, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit , in 1987, kicking off her long-running Wraeththu series, which is comprised of multiple trilogies as well as several short stories. She later published books in the Corinna Trogarden series, the Grigori Trilogy, and the Magravandias Chronicles. Constantine also published the novel Silverheart in collaboration with Michael Moorcock. She co-edited several anthologies set in her Wraeththu universe with Wendy Darling and an original anthology with Paul Houghton. Her debut novel earned her a Lambda nomination and over the years she was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Constantine was an expert in the occult and tarot and published nonfiction work on both subjects, including the works The Inward Revolution in collaboration with Deborah Benstead and Bast and Sekhmet: Eyes of Ra , with Eloise Coquio. In 2003 , Constantine founded Immanion Press in order to reprint her own works as well as the works of other niche authors and non-fiction writers. Although Immanion published authors such as Tanith Lee, Brian Stableford, Ian Watson, and Freda Warrington over the years it focused more on works on paganism, myth and mythology, and magic. Storm Constantine (1956-2021) Author and publisher Storm Constantine, 64, died January 14, 2021 following a long illness. She was best known as the author of the Wraeththu series, and as the publisher of Immanion Press, founded in 2003, which published her own work and that of other authors including Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, and Brian Stableford. Born October 12, 1956 in Stafford, England, Constantine attended art school in the 1970s, and worked in the music business in the ’80s and ’90s, managing bands. Storm Constantine was initially a pseudonym, but she legally adopted the name in the 1980s. The Wraeththu series began with The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (1987) and continued with The Bewitchments of Love and Hate (1988) and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire (1989). The related Wraeththu Histories is The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure (2003), The Shades of Time and Memory (2004), The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (2005), and Student of Kyme (2008). The Hienama (2005) and Grimoire Dehara (2005) are set in the same world. She edited a number of Wraeththu anthologies with Wendy Darling, beginning with Paragenesis: Stories of the Dawn of Wraeththu (2010). Stalking Tender Prey (1995) Scenting Hallowed Blood (1996), and Stealing Sacred Fire (1998) form the Grigori trilogy. The Magravandias Chronicles are The Thorn Boy (1999), collection The Thorn Boy & Other Dreams of Dark Desire (2003), Sea Dragon Heir (1999), Crown of Silence (2000), and The Way of Light (2001) Other novels include The Monstrous Regiment (1989) and sequel Aleph (1991), Hermetech (1991), Burying the Shadow (1992), Sign for the Sacred (1993), Calenture (1994), and Thin Air (1999). She wrote Silverheart (2000) with Michael Moorcock. Her short fiction has been collected in Colurastes (1995), Three Heralds of the Storm (1997), The Oracle Lips (1999), Mythophidia (2006), Mythangelus (2009), Mytholimina (2009), Splinters of Truth (2016), A Raven Bound with Lilies (2017), and Mythumbra (2018). Constantine was an expert on the occult and Tarot. Her non-fiction books include The Inward Revolution (1998, with Deborah Benstead) and Bast and Sekhmet: Eyes of Ra (1999, with Eloise Coquio). She co-founded Visionary Tongue in the ’90s, and edited anthologies Night’s Nieces: The Legacy of Tanith Lee (2015), Dark in the Day (2017, with Paul Houghton), and Visionary Tongue: A Selection of Stories and Poems from the Magazine (2017).