My latest guest post at the Association for Mormon Letters is on the topic of “Mentioning Mormons in science fiction.”

In March, I interviewed author Brad R. Torgersen.

In April, I interviewed author Nancy Fulda.

A while back, when The Dark Knight was all the rage, I wrote up a little comparison On the Codex Writers forum between that film and X2: X-Men United, which I consider to be the best comic-book superhero movie ever. I updated it after seeing The Avengers, and now I’ve turned it into the chart below. WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE MOVIES ARE PRESENT!

Now, I actually liked The Avengers better than The Dark Knight, so obviously I’m not letting my personal feelings affect my grading. But this chart clearly shows that X2 is the best of the three movies.

Here are the translated lyrics (courtesy of Google Translate and lyricstranslate.com):

The balloon,
The air in the sense of like my fantasy,
He hangs between heaven and earth,
How often do I hang out
Flying in the astral world, gliding over the clouds
And heading to nowhere
I want to reach the depths of consciousness
But the fear, all broken off, as always.
Fear of excess weight,
With his soul, I will cast him as ballast
Let this step,
Help me get up and give hope.
Hope I,
And those who believe that love will save the world
Love and Blood of
Who gave us the blood.

Chorus:
I am going on a big balloon
Where I do not know why I do not know
And swim beneath me the sea and the country
And I’m flying by the will of the wind in the vast ocean
Flying on a big balloon
Where I do not know why I do not know
I have a dream where I find and lose, his cherished
dream

The balloon,
He is the embodiment of freedom and dreams
A priceless gift
Was sent to us to see the ground from a height
Do you understand what
With only the head was able to understand your
No one can explain to you all,
The answers hide all gloom.

But what I’m actually referring to is the new fairy-tale novel Enchanted, which was written by my friend Alethea Kontis, author of the Alpha-Oops picture books.

Way back in 2005, I participated in a fairy-tale-writing contest on the Codex Writers forum.  Through various skulduggerous means I managed to take first place with my story “Bird-Dropping and Sunday.”  Alethea came in third place with her story “Sunday.”  She later sold that story to Realms of Fantasy magazine.

But she didn’t stop there. She turned it into an entire novel: Enchanted, which came out today.

Well played, Alethea. Ultimate victory is yours.

Here are the translated lyrics (courtesy of Google Translate and nomorelyrics.net):

Night. Closed the last sheet.
We alone in the world – you and I,
In your hand is my hand.
You have a chance given only once.
We will give the world the best,
That took care of us for centuries.

Chorus:
Together, we are not accidental,
We know the secrets of dreams,
But after our meeting will be all serious.
The stars are waiting for us today,
Do you see their bright light?
People wake up tomorrow and we have no …

Away, Let us cast away the boring things.
On the music brought us crazy, doubt no more room.
Peace, Believe me, more beautiful than a dream.
Leave stories of the old house,
What was your so many years.

Chorus.

• 1974
• A Passage to Indiana
• A Shrub Grows in Brooklyn
• A Waiter of Earthsea
• A Wrinkle in Cloth
• Fit Club
• Howl’s Stationary Castle
• I Have a Guess as to Why the Caged Bird Sings
• In Front of the Looking-Glass
• Jonathan Livingston Seashell
• Life of 3.1
• Little Apartment on the Prairie
• Lucifer’s Hamper
• Medic Zhivago
• Middlefebruary
• Murder on the Orient Local
• On Her Majesty’s Postal Service
• Rendezvous with Ramen
• Something Naughty This Way Comes
• The Call of the Tame
• The Cider House Guidelines
• The Dime Machine
• The English Out-Patient
• The Hoarse Whisperer
• The Kite Holder
• The Left Pinkie of Darkness
• The Man Who Folded His Paper
• The Mote in Bob’s Eye
• The Once and Future Squire
• The Only Child Karamazov
• The Pickwick Paper
• The Princess Fiancee
• The Puppy of the Baskervilles
• The Satanic Haiku
• The Spy Who Liked Me as a Friend
• The Time Traveler’s Girlfriend
• The Visible Man
• Tinker, Tailor
• Uncle Tom’s Shed
• Vegetable Farm
• Weeds for Algernon
• Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance

Some of my favorites from other people:

• A Farewell to Wrists (Haas Cross Puns)
• A Game of Chairs (Damien Walter)
• A Polaroid of the Artist as a Young Man  (Wakefield Mahon)
• And Then There Were Five  (Wakefield Mahon)
• Battlefield Perth (Wakefield Mahon)
• Dinner Comes for the Archbishop (Jennie Goloboy)
• Fahrenheit 98.6 (Stephen M. Harmon)
• Have Space Suit… Will Go Back To Bed (Jamie Todd Rubin)
• Some of the King’s Men (Wakefield Mahon)
• Speaker for the Sick  (Bryce Moore)
• The Andromeda Sprain (Carl Stark)
• The Black Gelding (Linda Poitevin)
• The Ending Story (John Stevens)
• The Girl With the Hello Kitty Tattoo (Nick Mamatas)
• The Grapes of Mild Irritation (Stephen M. Harmon)
• The Handmaid’s Towel (Wakefield Mahon)
• The Middle Aged Man and the Pond (Patrick Tracy)
• The Postman Always Rings Once, Then Leaves it With a Neighbour  (Kate McHale)
• The Red Badge of Participation (Larry Correia)
• The Right Fielder in the Rye  (Bryce Moore)
• The Sign of the Three (Michael Collings)

Although there is music and singing at the beginning, the real song doesn’t start until around 2:08 in the video.

Here are the translated lyrics (courtesy of Google Translate and lyrics.mp3s.ru):

Call me, call
Call me, for God’s sake
After a time stretch
The voice is quiet and deep
The stars are melting over Moscow
Maybe I have forgotten the pride
How do I want to hear the voice
How do I want to hear the voice
The long-awaited your voice
Without you the days pass
What’s wrong with me, I do not know
I beg you – call
Call me – conjure
Reach distance
Suppose that under the starry abyss
Suddenly you hear the thunder of heaven
Suddenly you hear the thunder of heaven
phone Call
Call me, call

If I’m in your destiny
Nothing is not to
I will forget about you
I can, I will not pay
This pain pereterpya
I will not stop breathing
Anyway, a happy camp
Anyway, a happy camp
Even if without you

Strangely, I could not find a translation online for перетерпя, so it’s rendered as pereterpya above.

The Gruff Variations: Writing for Charity Anthology, Vol. 1 has over 100,000 words of stories and poems based on the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Contributors to this anthology include New York Times best-selling author Shannon Hale, award-winning children’s picture book author Rick Walton, Hugo Award winner (and Nebula Award nominee) Mary Robinette Kowal, Edgar Award finalist Dene Low, Nebula Award nominees Brad R. Torgersen and Nancy Fulda, and many other authors such as Kristen Landon, Lisa Mangum, Kristyn Crow, Clint Johnson, and Dean Hale.  A full table of contents is below:

• “The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale: Part I” — Rick Walton
• “A Starscape Slightly Askew” — Nancy Fulda
• “Touch of Power” — Erik Peterson
• “Haiku: The First Goat” — Shannon Hale
• “Bigger Than You Think” — Dan Wells
• “A Princess Predicament” — Danielle Christensen
• “Cold and Hungry” — Bret Carter
• “Trip, Trap, Tripping” — Mary Robinette Kowal
• “The Ladies Billet-Gruffin” — Jenel Copeabout
• “The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale: Part LXII” — Rick Walton
• “Gruff Riders” — Martin L. Shoemaker
• “Bridges Dark and Distant” — William Ledbetter
• “The Three Princes of Grufflan” — Danyelle Leafty
• “The Troll by the Footbridge: A Study in Four Parts” — Janet Kay Jensen
• “The Deposition of Harald Throckmorton, Esquire, the Troll beneath the Bridge” — Clint Johnson
• “The Wicker Warrior” — Joseph Zieja
• “The Necromancer’s Sons” — C.A. Lyons
• “The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale: Part CXIII” — Rick Walton
• “Sheep Dog” — Brad R. Torgersen
• “Haiku: The Second Goat” — Shannon Hale
• “A Tale Of Two Billies And A Troll” — George Nikolopoulos
• “Primary” — Cary B. Bishop
• “The Chili Stoat Bluff” — Emma Nelson
• “Gruffs in Debt” — Kristen Landon
• “A Mean, Mean Billy Gruff” — Kristyn Crow
• “Bridge to the Meadow” — Mandi Ellsworth
• “Indigestion” — M.K. Hutchins
• “The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale: Part CCCIV” — Rick Walton
• “The Three Brother Cities” — Deborah Walker
• “Haiku: The Third Goat” — Shannon Hale
• “Sold Out” — Lisa Mangum
• “Gruff Noir” — Dene Low
• “The Third Goat” — Dean Hale
• “Three Billy Goats Who C Sharp: A Norwegian Folktale” — Jared E. Stoddard
• “The Three Deaths of Devin Ochre” — Juliana Montgomery
• “A Gift Freely Offered” — Nikki Trionfo
• “The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale: Part CCCXXXIV” — Rick Walton

So please buy the anthology today, and if you can, spread the word about the book bomb so we can sell as many copies as possible today. Links to buy:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• Smashwords

Here are the translated lyrics (courtesy of Google Translate and masteroff.org):

Rhythms of two different countries
In the bars do not fall,
I live here, you there,
Birds flock to catch up.
Raise up the ladder,
And the skyscrapers above,
Wind threw down
Ripped the roof.

Hour to an hour for me and you,
Airport a strange city,
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Our only an hour, but we will soon.
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Flight transfers and simple spans,
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Lose an hour from the account.

The loudest sound pulse,
Meet me – what is it?
Only 60 minutes
Someone gave us.
Nervous hurry to board,
The cold signal lights,
Only the fate of the evil
I am to be with you is important!

Hour to an hour for me and you,
Airport a strange city,
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Our only an hour, but we will soon.
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Flight transfers and simple spans,
Hour to an hour for me and you,
Lose an hour from the account.