Library Journal Recommends Horror Films of the 2010s

To my delight and gratitude, Library Journal has reviewed my new book (and final contribution to this series), Horror Films of the 2010s. 

 Here is an excerpt of their review:

"Horror reflects the anxieties of an age, and Muir connects the films from 2010-2019 to economic unease, political polarization, and institutional mistrust in the post-Great Recession era... Muir goes out on a high note, documenting 275 movies with his trademark insight and wit." — Library Journal. 

Soon...

 

Announcing The Subway Game (2024)

I am thrilled to announce that this Thursday, April 4, my newest book, a novel called The Subway Game, begins its release on Kindle Vella!

What does that mean? 

Begins its release?

Well, I'm trying something a little different with this newest publication.  

A different chapter of the novel will be published every day on Kindle Vella, starting on the 4th, until the book finishes all 27 chapters (and 356 pages). 

So, yes, this is a serialized release, for now. We're back to the days of Charles Dickens! Only, virtually. Sort of.,,

The good news is that the first three chapters are free to all readers, and I hope you will be hooked enough after that to keep reading.

Another thing that makes this book project different is that I wrote it with a co-author, Alicia W. Martin, who plays Theresa in the audio drama Enter The House Between and is starring in our upcoming web series, Abnormal Fixation.

Alicia and I began collaborating on the text late last year, in 2023, and plan to release a whole series of books about the lead character and her adventures.

So, what is The Subway Game  (2024) about?

Here's a little teaser:

It’s Dr. Eloise Webb’s first day at Thanatos, a pioneering new, high-tech facility in New York practicing “therapy with no boundaries,” run by the enigmatic young tycoon known as Atlas.  

 

But before she can even settle in,  Eloise meets a new patient at Atlas’s request: a haunted older man apparently suffering from dissociative disorder, named Danny Bard. 

 

Something happened to Danny on the New York subway on July 15, 1977. Something terrifying…

 

…Now Eloise must use every therapeutic tool at her disposal to uncover the truth of that long ago incident. 

 

Is Danny actually a murderer and monster? What did he encounter on that strange night, nearly fifty years past.

 

And why is Atlas so insistent that Eloise learn the truth of Danny’s experience, and of the strange, forgotten college hazing ritual called “The Subway Game?”

 

Join authors John Kenneth Muir (Horror Films of the 1970s) and Alicia W. Martin (Enter The House Between) as they take you inside into a labyrinth of horror and unrelenting suspense in The Subway Game, the first Eloise Webb adventure.

Filtered Reality: Now Available

I want to draw everyone's attention to a new essay anthology from publisher House of Leaves: Filtered Reality, which concerns the found footage horror movie. The subtitle is - "The Progenitors and Evolution of Found Footage Horror."

The book is filled with remarkable essays from scholars including Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Jon Towlson, and Dawn Keetley. The foreword is by Stephen Volk.   

Some of the movies discussed in the essays include: The Blair Witch Project, REC, Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, etc.

I also have an essay in the book: "You'll Only Believe Your Eyes if the Camera Work is Lousy: A Historical Survey of Found Footage Bigfoot."

If any of this sounds like it is up your alley (and I hope it does), you can order your copy of Filtered Reality here: https://www.holpublishing.com/shop

Sci-Fi Pulse Radio Appearance: Enter The House Between, and Horror Decade Books

This week, I'm a guest on Sci-Fi Pulse Radio with co-hosts Ian Cullen and Marx Pyle to discuss Enter The House Between's first season (to wrap up beginning September 13, 2023), as well as my latest Horror Films decades book from McFarland, Horror Films 2000 -2009.  

We also discussed the Strange New Worlds' musical episode (which I loved), and some slasher movie remakes.

Give it a listen!

Ask JKM a Question: Book or Blog Regrets?

A reader named Will writes:

"I have been a fan of your writing since I read your first book: Exploring Space:1999. And I have been reading your blog for over a decade!

I was wondering: Are there any books or posts you wish you just hadn't written?"

Will, thank you for supporting me in print and on the net. I appreciate it very much.

Looking back over my career, I don't think there is any single book that I would "undo."  

That doesn't mean that all my books have been financial successes, or that all of them are perfect, by any means.  It just means that I've learned something from each and every publishing experience. 

And wishing a book away is too much like un-wishing your child.  I just can't do it. 

I think what I can establish, more completely, is the simple fact that I am a different writer today than I was twenty years ago. 

So how I approached a book a decade ago -- or two decades ago -- might not be how I approach writing a book today. 

When I look back, or re-read some of my books from many years ago, I muse sometimes about how much I would like to go back and improve certain arguments, or add certain points.

Things change. People change. Hopefully, I'm better at what I do now. Hopefully I've learned a thing or two.

Sometimes, I am indeed insecure, and absolutely second guess everything...and every choice I've made.
Certainly, the British press's response to my Doctor Who book back in 1999 -- in which I was seriously and regularly compared to the Anti-Christ -- gave me pause at a crucial time in my career. 

I've come to understand that those attacks weren't about my book's arguments...they were aimed straight at me, as a human being. I guess that's part of being a writer too, and I'm glad I learned, after much difficulty, to grow a thick[er] skin.

Other times, I feel like everything has turned out the way it should. 

Even that very negative experience taught me something valuable and significant. I don't think, before that experience, I had ever fully stopped to consider the idea of gatekeepers and territoriality in the publishing world, for example. 

On the other hand, the same book was also greeted with open arms by many readers. It came out at the dawn of the Internet, really, and I received so many fan letters from happy American Doctor Who fans (which I still keep in a scrapbook).

So for every bad thing that's happened because of my books, there was a good thing to go alongside it, a balance if you will.

Even if my books get negative reviews, or don't manage to be huge hits, I count them as important sign-posts in my professional and personal education.

The blog is a little different.

I have written here before that I regret some reviews I have written.  The nice thing about the blog, as opposed to book writing, is that I can review a film three, four, seven times if I want. If my perspective changes, I can update the review, or write a new one, and explain my thinking.

Certainly, I love that kind of freedom.  That's why I still like this format, and continue to blog.

Don't forget to send me your questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com

The X-Files Lexicon Interviews JKM

The X-Files Lexicon has just published a very in-depth interview that Christopher Irish conducted with me on the subject of The X-Files, and my book: The X-Files FAQ.

The interview is called "Belief and Skepticism" Part I, and you can check it out at the following link:

http://www.x-fileslexicon.com/exclusive/muir_part1.html

I would like to thank both Christopher and Matt Allair for featuring my work (and opinions) on the site.

I hope everybody enjoys the interview!

The X-Files Lexicon Reviews The X-Files FAQ

Christopher Irish at The X-Files Lexicon has written a review of my latest book, The X-Files FAQ. The review is titled "The Old World Falls Away."

Here's a snippet and the url: (http://thex-fileslexicon.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-old-world-falls-away.html)

"Overall, the book was very useful and I enjoyed reading it. It covered a lot of subjects that influenced the show, as well as the show itself. Muir's writing conveys that he is a big fan of the show, not to mention an expert on the subject. This is a good book that any fan would benefit from owning..."

Check out the full review here!

Support the Blog: Buy John's Books!

I hope as you begin thinking about gifts for the holiday season for that movie, horror, or cult-TV fan, you will consider one or more of my books as an option.

I try not to self-promote egregiously on the blog, but every now and then I bring attention back to my works in print, and ask for your support.  

Book royalties, in part, are the fuel that keeps this blog running, and that money allows me to devote time and energy to the blog.

So please, consider supporting the blog this season by buying a Muir Book! There are 25+ to choose from.

Here are a few recent options that may tickle your fancy.

Featuring a foreword by Chris Carter: The X-Files FAQ (2015)

Also featuring a foreword from Chris Carter: Horror Films FAQ (2013)

Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of the 1970s

Horror Films of the 1980s

Terror Television

If you are interested in shopping the full Muir book catalog, check out my author page at Amazon.com.

Have a safe and happy Turkey Day!

Announcing My New Book: The X-Files FAQ (2015)

Today, I want to make note of the release of my newest book. 

It's the second book I've written for the FAQ series (the first being The Horror Film FAQ in 2013), and this monograph focuses on one of the greatest cult-TV series of all time: The X-Files (1993 - 2002; 2016 - ).

So what will you find inside the book?

Well, it opens with a remarkable and heartfelt foreword by series creator Chris Carter.

Mr. Carter wrote this lovely piece on the eve of shooting the second episode of the six episode series revival, to begin airing in January 2016. He reflects on The X-Files journey at this juncture -- more than two decades in -- and discusses the people who have, alongside him, made the journey such a remarkable and memorable one.

The book also features chapters devoted to the many paranormal cult-TV series that aired before The X-Files, and those that followed in its pop culture wake in the 1990s.  

Some of the "ancestor" programs I discuss are Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975), The Sixth Sense (1972), Twin Peaks (1990 - 1991), and One Step Beyond (1959-1961). 

The descendent series looked at include American Gothic (1995), Prey (1998), Strange World (1999), Freakylinks (2000), and others.

But the bulk of this book focuses on what The X-Files means, what it says about our world and the culture that gave rise to it. My introduction discusses the series' historical context, and it compares the period of Pax Americana (the 1990s and the introduction of the Internet) to the Age of Pax Britannica a hundred years earlier (and the advent of globalism). 

Both ages witnessed rapid development in science and technology (namely communications technology), and were believed to be ages of peace and prosperity. Pax Britannica gave us the Gothic imaginings of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley -- Dracular and Frankenstein -- while Pax Americana gave us The X-Files.  

In some remarkable ways, The X-Files is thus a reinvention, for our age, of Gothic tropes and philosophies. In Mulder and Scully we see the battle between romanticism (Mulder, and the need for monsters), and enlightenment or rationality (Scully).

The X-Files FAQ also features chapters devoted to explorations of the series' entries on faith and spirituality, ethnocentrism and xenophobia, adolescence, Americana, and science and technology. 

Other chapters focus on the series' frequent recurring "monsters," meaning serial killers, lazarus species (creatures from prehistory, awakening in our age...), and so on.  

Across the book, I also name and sketch out all the players in the conspiracy, and note how the heroes, conspirators, villains and allies fit in, structurally, with the Monomyth narrative, or the hero's journey. Some characters function as oracles, others serve as gate-keepers, and some are loki-like mischief makers.

Another chapter is devoted to looks at other crucial elements of the Chris Carter universe, including Millennium (1996 - 1999), Harsh Realm (2000), and The After (2014).  Similarly, one chapter reviews, in depth the first two X-Files movies (of 1998 and 2008), respectively.

I hope that you will consider purchasing my latest book and supporting my work in print (which, let's face it, funds this blog, and allows me to continue working on it on a daily basis).  

So I hope you will share my love, personal and philosophical, as a fan and and as a critic, for The X-Files.  

The X-Files FAQ is now available for purchase at Amazon.com, here.

Join Me Tonight on Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction

In keeping with Breakaway Day 2014 celebrations, I'll be a guest on Dr. Howard Margolin's genre talk show, Destinies - The Voice of Science Fiction on WUSB, 90.1 FM  at 11:30 pm tonight to talk about my second Space: 1999 novel: The Whispering Sea (2014).

Tonight's show marks my thirteenth appearance on Destinies, and I was last there in late October, 2012, discussing Horror Films of the 1990s.   Last year, Howard celebrated Destinies' thirtieth anniversary.

Howard is a thorough and knowledgeable interviewer, so I'm really looking forward to the show, and discussing Space:1999 with him.  I'll also be reading an excerpt from my book.

If you aren't able to listen to the program live, the episode will be archived, and I'll get that information to you over the weekend.  Here's the link to listen to the program: http://www.captphilonline.com/Destinies.html

Now Available: Space:1999: The Whispering Sea (2014)

My new book, the officially-licensed Space:1999 novel The Whispering Sea (Powys; 2014), is now available.  You can purchase it at this link. 

The book is my first venture into the Year Two series continuity, and serves as a "bridge" between the episodes "The Metamorph" and "The Exiles." The story explains how the shape-shifting Psychon, Maya (Catherine Schell), went from being a refugee and alien on Moonbase Alpha, to its resident science officer.

Seriously, this book was so much fun to write, and if you're a Space:1999 fan, I hope first that you purchase it, and second that you enjoy the hell out of it.

Now Available: We Are What We Sell

Not long ago, I had the pleasure and privilege of contributing to a three-volume scholarly anthology about advertising called We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life, and Always Has.  

My essay is in Volume 3 and involves the movie E.T. (1982) and product placement there (specifically Reese's Pieces).  The essay is called "This Boy's Bedroom: Product Placement, The New Masculinity, and the Rise of Geek Culture in the 1980s." 

Well, the book -- edited by Danielle Sarver Coombs and my adviser at KSU, Bob Batchelor -- is now available at Amazon.com, and presumably shipping to libraries, universities and individual customers.  

So if you get the chance, please check it out, and let me know what you think!

Back in Print: Space:1999 The Forsaken

My first Space: 1999 novel, The Forsaken (2003), is now back in print, and currently available at Amazon.com for the first time in the better part of a decade.

If I'm reading the tea leaves right, The Whispering Sea (my second 1999 novel, which I wrote in 2011) will also be available (at Lulu.com) in a matter of days...

Below is the book's alternate cover, which was available in 2003.

Black Friday: Spend Your Holidays with a Muir Book!

Well, it's Black Friday again and that means that -- once more -- it is time for the hard sell.

So anyway...while you are thinking about spending money for the holidays today, how about spending time with one of my recent books?  They are the perfect gifts for horror and science fiction movie fans!

And when you buy one of my books -- as I've written before -- you are actively helping to support this blog, and its on-going life.

I derive my income (at least at present) from my books in print, so anything you can do to help support the cause is very much appreciated.

Here are two titles for your consideration:

Horror Films FAQ

"Muir, proverbial flashlight in hand, leads readers through the kaleidoscopic darkness of horror’s roughly century-long existence with clear-sighted and analytic commentary in “Horror Films FAQ.”...This new book is neither a behind-the-scenes tell-all nor an exhaustive encyclopedia; rather, the book delineates the nature, symbols and themes of various horror sub-genres, characters, and formulas -- some vanish as the sun sets on a generation, others are as perennial as Freddy Krueger...newcomers and aficionados alike will find something intriguing in Muir’s studied and insightful volume." - Michael Walsh, The New York Daily News.

"I was immediately sold on this book by Chris Carter's introduction....What follows that introduction is 370 or pages of discussion of 28 different sub-genres of the horror film...This is a great book for browsing, and it will remind you of a lot of movies you've seen, a lot you haven't and quite a few you might want to take a look at.  Belongs on every horror movie fan's bookshelf." - Bill Crider's Pop Culture Blog,

"You don’t need to be a film scholar or even a horror film buff to enjoy the essays in Horror  Films FAQ. Written in a thoughtful but accessible manner, they cite the political, psychological, and social messages behind the films. Horror Films FAQ is the thinking person’s guide to horror films. It is illustrated with black and white photos and film stills, and includes a foreword by X-Files producer Chris Carter." - Jade Blackmore, Cinema Sentries.

"Muir is obviously a huge horror fan and it shows. You can always tell when somebody's heart is in something, and this book is written with a lot of heart and plenty of research.  HORROR FILMS FAQ is listed by the published as "All that's left to know about slashers, vampires, zombies, aliens and more," and it couldn't have been said better...John Kenneth Muir knocked it out of the park. Rating: 10/10." Geno McGahee, Scared Stiff Reviews.

"With its brief chapters and easy style, Horror Films FAQ is an accessible book designed to get readers thinking about film.  Whether it piques your interest in a specific sub genre, inspires you to watch something new, or causes you to look at an old favorite in a different way, Muir's book succeeds in legitimizing horror as a topic of conversation." - Movie Pie.

"Muir gives the reader plenty enough to think about.  The movies that he covers that we heaven't seen, we now want to seek them out.  And even the movies that he covers that we've seen, for some reason, we start to want to go back and revisit the film again. Well done, Mr. Muir." - Kitley's Krypt

and...

Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of the 1970s

(Available on Kindle today for just 99 cents!)

"One of the best writers analyzing contemporary genre film and television is John Kenneth Muir. His new volumes adds to an impressive body of work with Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of the 1970s...highly recommended." - John W. Morehead, Theofantastique. 

Now Available for Pre-Order: Horror Films FAQ (with a foreword by Chris Carter!)

My new book, Horror Films FAQ is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com, and is on sale now at Hal Leonard.  The books just came into the warehouse this morning...

The book is the latest addition to the long-standing FAQ series, which has been described as: "a one-stop source of info, history, and minutia on an array of performing arts subjects."

Basically, the book includes thirty chapters focusing on aspects of the horror film such as found footage horror films, slasher films, J-Slashers, remakes, horror history, directors, and so forth.  

There are two chapters on slasher films, two chapters on "alien" movies, and an array of information about everything from mad scientist films to "rape and revenge" films, to zombie films.  The final chapter deals with horror television.

But what pleases me so tremendously about the book is that the foreword is penned by The X-Files creator: writer/director Chris Carter.  

Mr. Carter's foreword not only introduces the terrain of the book's subject matter, but discusses his time making the The X-Files (and dealing with network censorship...) and details Carter's history with and love for the genre going back to his childhood.  It's a great read, and starts off the book in brilliant fashion.  

I hope as readers of the blog, you'll support Horror Films FAQ, and let me know what you think!

Now Available in Paperback: Horror Films of the 1980s (2007; McFarland)

The second of my big decade survey books, Horror Films of the 1980s (2007) has just been re-published by McFarland in paperback format.  It's available through McFarland  and also at Amazon.com.

If you're debating picking it up, now that it's (a little...) cheaper, here are some reviews.

From Library Journal:

"Muir again plunges into the dark, following his Horror Films of the 1970s(McFarland, 2002), named an ALA Outstanding Reference Source in 2003. 

Appropriate to the so-called era of greed, he has this time added more of everything: films, background, appendixes, and critical analyses. 

Part 1 provides a concise, overarching summary of the decade's social and political climate; juxtaposed photos of President Ronald Reagan and A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger encapsulate the period's startling contradictions...A time line highlighting noteworthy current events accompanies each year and is followed by ample, witty, well-versed entries on films ranging from Poltergeist and Aliens to Cellar Dweller and Hide and Go Shriek...BOTTOM LINE: The summary in Part 1 would befit a college history lecture; the book as a whole is highly recommended..."

From Choice: 

"As readable and entertaining as it predecessor, this tremendous tome of terror is the quintessential concordance to the films of the dead teenager decade...Muir opts for comprehensiveness, covering each of the 300 horror flicks released between 1980 and 1989...

...Muir's genius lies in his giving context to the films. He offers a time line of events for each year, and his introductory essay documents the 1980s uncertainty that led the genre to become both influential and profitable.

...With the skill of a Jason, Muir has carved out a niche for himself with this kind of reference work. As fun as the films it documents, it will make readers run screaming for the local video store..."


From Booklist:

"The author watched hundreds of films, interviewed talents behind the movies and invited guest reviewers and critics to round out the details...Writing is clear, with a personal but expert tone. The 2-column layout facilitates reading the dense text."

"Can a horror film reference book be pleasurable browsing? This volume does a good job, combining useful information and enjoyable commentaries, and is recommended..."


From Gale-Thomson:

"Like Jason, Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, John Kenneth Muir keeps returning to horror films for a little more fiendish fun. In this episode, Muir surveys 300 films of the 1980's, or as he calls it, the "Dead Teenager Decade."...Muir closely examines organizing principles, plot devices, and the use of conventional characters. He looks hard for points to praise, but never lets sloppy work go without comment...Muir weaves contemporary commentary, thoughtful analyses and humor into a true art form. His entertaining guide will find fans in academic and public libraries. "


From The American Library Association (ALA):

Horror Films of the 1980s, by John Kenneth Muir (829 pages, March 2007), tackles the “dead teenager decade” of horror cinema with his characteristic comprehensiveness, insightful commentary, and trenchant wit.

A sequel to his 2002 Horror Films of the 1970s (the “disco decade”), this volume contains two introductory chapters that offer a sociopolitical context for horror (“Which towering figure dominated the ‘greed is good’ decade? Freddy Krueger or Ronald Reagan?”) and an analysis of 1980s horror conventions and subgenres. 

Films are arranged by year, rated on the traditional 1 to 4 star system, and accompanied by quotes from critics, cast and crew, synopsis, commentary, memorable lines, an occasional interview extract, and legacy." 

Tonight: Destinies - The Voice of Science Fiction

Tonight at 11:30 pm, I'll be a guest on Dr. Howard Margolin's genre talk show, Destinies - The Voice of Science Fiction on WUSB, 90.1 FM to talk about my recent book, Horror Films of the 1990s (McFarland; 2011).

It was a fascinating (if not always great...) decade for horror movies, and I always enjoy talking about horror movies in the age of The Blair Witch Project, Scream and Silence of the Lambs.

Howard is a great interviewer, so I'm really looking forward to the show, and hope you'll join us as we talk scary movies in the nineties.  

If you can't listen to the program live, the episode will be archived, and I'll get that information to you over the weekend.

Hope to see you tonight!

Ask JKM a Question #35: Cover-Images on My Horror Decade Books?

A reader, Chad (Chadillac) writes:

“I own your three Horror Movies of the decade books and had a question regarding the book covers. I know you have a great respect for The Blair Witch Project so it makes sense that it graces the cover of the 1990's book. 

I was wondering if you could explain why It's Alive and The Lost Boys were chosen for the 1970's and 1980's? Is the cover meant to symbolize the most iconic horror movie of the decade? How much say do you have over the selection?”

That’s a terrific question, Chadillac.  Thank you for asking it and thank you for purchasing my big horror movie decade books too.  I know they don’t come cheap!

I love writing those books, and McFarland is a great publisher.  I’ve been in business writing books for  McFarland since I signed my first contract in 1994, so it’s a happy and long-standing relationship.  I consider the publisher family.

That fact established, I don’t have cover image approval in terms of these books.  That’s not a unique arrangement to McFarland, by the way.  It’s true of most writer/publisher relationships.  It's just how the business tends to work.

In terms of these three books, I select photos from my personal collection/archive, and then send them to McFarland with the final manuscript, including captions.  However, McFarland chooses the cover images.  I was very happy that they went with my suggestion for Horror Films of the 1990s – The Blair Witch Project (1999).

Regarding Horror Films of the 1970s, I don’t think I even offered  a recommendation, so far as a cover image was concerned.  But I was gratified with the selection of Larry Cohen’s It’s Alive because I felt that this particular film encompassed many critical ideas of the decade’s horror films, from reproductive/women’s rights (Demon Seed, The Stepford Wives) to pollution and the environment (Empire of the Ants, Prophecy) to evil children (The Exorcist).  It seemed like a perfect choice to me.

I did offer an image that I would have liked on the cover of the book when I wrote Horror Films of the 1980s. It’s a shot of Michael Myers from Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers.  

In this image, he’s carrying a huge butcher knife, and behind him, there is an infinite regression of reflections in a mirror.  I love this image, because I feel it embodies, in some sense, the idea of the slasher format’s prominence in the Reagan Decade.  

Like the image of Michael with the knife, there was one slasher film after the other after the other, going on for eternity, it felt like.

Yet honestly, I very much like The Lost Boys image on the cover of Horror Films of the 1980s, because it also captures the kind of “punk” look or aesthetic of the decade. 

Today, I enjoy and appreciate all three covers because they each consist of a single, uncluttered image (a monster baby, a vampire, or a human face) enshrouded or surrounded by a field of darkness/blackness.  

This look gives the books a uniformity that I appreciate since I view the three “Horror of” tomes as part of a consistent and continuing series.  So in this case, perhaps I should thank McFarland for taking the longer view of the series as a whole, instead of following my specific advice about one chapter...

Great question!

Don’t forget to ask me more questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com

Back in Print: Space: 1999 The Forsaken

I’m very pleased to announce that my first Space: 1999 novel, 2003’s The Forsaken, goes back into print this week at Powys Media. 

The novel sold out shortly after publication almost a decade ago, and has been absolutely unaffordable on the second-hand market ever since.  The other day I saw copies of the novel selling for $146.00 on Amazon.  I can't even afford one!

So anyway, if you’re interested in reading my novel, which bridges Year One and Year Two of Space: 1999, be sure to order soon. Order information is forthcoming.

My next Space: 1999 novel, The Whispering Sea -- a bridge novel between “The Metamorph” and “The Exiles,” and which documents Maya’s first steps on Moonbase Alpha -- is now slated for a November 2012 release.

I’ll let you know the details as I get them.