Story Recs

If you're wondering what I've been doing while I haven't been posting, I've been catching up on short stories.  See, I think that the only short fiction I've read this year was Kitty's Greatest Hits.  It was good, but not enough to fill up a nomination ballot for the Hugo Awards. 

Luckily for me, Rachel Swirsky has been posting her recommendations


Short Story
Novelette
Novella

I rather like what I've discovered from Ken Liu.  He's so very new to me, but he appears to have had an awesome year and I'll be seeking out his stuff throughout 2012.  I hope for an abundance. 

I've made solid progress through the short story list.  Don't think I'll read everything on it at once, but it's a great resource.  I plan to move on to the more prominent novelettes this week. 

I will, at the very least, post a preliminary ballot by the end of the month.  But, with any luck, I'll also start talking about some of the stories I like.  Besides Ken Liu - I recommend him now.

Hugo Nominees?

So, while I very gradually work on last year's Best Of lists and scarcely post otherwise, maybe my last reader who hasn't run away in frustration can help me out.

Hugo nominations are open until March 11. 

I've got a decent set for novel, but I'm not sure I've read a single short story - novella that wasn't a part of Shadow Unit.  It's been an off year.

What should I be looking for? 

What artists should I be considering?  I'm starting to compile that list based on what I know and some of my covers and comparing artist websites, but who do I absolutely need to look and what did they do?

Thanks!

The Top Nine Author Discoveries of 2011

2011 has come to an end and it’s time to reflect on all of the good stuff I’ve read in the last twelve months. This is going to come up again when I talk about the Best Books Published in 2011 (that I’ve read), but 2011 was something of an off year in regards to the number of books that I’ve read and also with the number of new books and authors I have encountered for the first time. There is a fairly obvious reason for this: seven months out of my year was spent in Texas (TEXAS!!) and due to the vagaries of training and a lack of access to the newest fiction, I had to take what I could get when I could get it. 

Here then, are my top nine author discoveries of 2011. In the spirit of acknowledging that there is always something or someone I’ve missed, either by a slip of memory or just lack of opportunity, the traditional tenth spot on my list remains blank.


1. Jo Walton: I've been reading Jo Walton for so long on Tor.com and have been aware of her fiction for even longer, that I have to remind myself that I've never actually read one of her novels until picking up Among Others. It was a revelation. Among Others is such a beautiful novel and I hope everyone reads it.

2. Sandra McDonald: The Outback Stars. Wonderful. I wrote that “The SF, military, and romantic elements of The Outback Stars all come together to tell a singular story which I really didn't want to end. Fantastic novel and one which I wish I didn't wait so long to read.” McDonald blends different elements into a seamless whole, and what I appreciated most was the deeply personal story of Lt. Jodenny Scott. McDonald hooked me early on and I'll be catching up on the two other novels in this sequence sooner, rather than later.

3. Anne Ursu: I blame Kelly Barnhill for this. I went to one of Kelly's readings to support her and to hear Kelly read from her debut novel (which, being a bad person, I still haven't read) and came out entranced by the other reader, Anne Ursu. Ursu read from her latest novel Breadcrumbs, but I'm still waiting on my library to deliver it to me. Impatient, I picked up one of her more adult novels, Spilling Clarence. I devoured it. Ursu also occasionally uses one of my favorite techniques: repetition.

4. Alastair Reynolds: I feel confident that I've read some of his short fiction before, and possibly blogged about it, but 2011 was the year which I read Revelation Space. It is excellent. It demands that I pick up the next two volumes in the trilogy. Quality science fiction and space opera. It gets a little heavy on the description, but is well worth checking out if you're one of the twelve people who haven't already read this.

5. Sara Zarr: Here's something else to blame that darned Barnhill woman for. I am 95% positive I ran across something she posted that praised up Sara Zarr's novel How to Save a Life. Being a sucker for books about broken and hurting people, I fell into the grief stricken recovery of Zarr's storytelling.

6. Dan Wells: So, you've got a boy who knows that he is a sociopath and believes he is destined to become a serial killer. Then, in his small town, there is a serial killer. The boy believes he may be the only one who can catch the killer, but if he does, will that let loose the “monster” he knows is deep inside himself? Really damned well done.

7. John Barnes: So, John Barnes has apparently written all sorts of novels before Directive 51. I thought he might have been a debut novelist before I looked him up for this entry. He's not. Barnes has more than 20 previous novels. Naturally. Directive 51 is a post-apocalyptic novel that begins just before a series of linked attacks using nanotechnology destabilize the industrial infrastructure of the world. I like that sort of thing and the novel is fascinating. There are two more books following this one and I plan to read them both.

8. Vince Flynn: Flynn writes political action thrillers. It's not really in the style of Tom Clancy because Clancy is more known for the intense amount of detail and jargon that laces his novels, even his best. Flynn writes with a much more aggressive sense of pace and even though I would suggest that he isn't a technically great prose writer, following Mitch Rapp's assault on terrorists and the political intrigue that goes along with it is an exciting ride.

9. David Gemmell: I feel uneasy about placing Gemmell here. Or, on the list at all. Part of the reason is that if I had the chance to read more widely this year, I know Gemmell wouldn't make the list. The other is that I didn't love Legend the way I hoped to. I see where Legend could be an influential novel, but I felt that it was a little too pat and simple.


 Previous discoveries can be found for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

lists

There isn't much of a question that I've been a bad blogger lately, but I've been thinking about end of year lists that I enjoy doing every year.  There really isn't much chance that I'm going to get them out today or tomorrow, but I do hope to get them in the first week or two of January.  That seems reasonable.

So, just something to look forward to. 

Pelland and Bear

There is news.  More or less.

Elizabeth Bear has news:

This is probably a good time to mention that Subterranean will be doing an e-collection of all the previously uncollected New Amsterdam stories, including “Almost True,” “The Tricks of London,” “Twilight,” and “Underground,” and either one or two new ones, depending on how many pages it takes me to dispatch my ideas.

I also may or may not have sold “Faster Gun,” the story frequently known as “John Henry Holiday Is Sick Of These Time Traveling Assholes,” to Tor.com, but I can’t actually tell you until they send me a contract. Ahem.

There may also be some good news on the horizon regarding a short story collection, but until paperwork is signed, that’s all I can tell you about that.

Starting from the top (which is actually the second paragraph from Bear's post) - Great news, and I may have to pick it up despite my disinterest in ebooks if there are new stories in it.  I've the chapbooks for "The Tricks of London" and "Twilight", and will get "Underground" when I order up the limited edition of ad eternum (which I should really do soon).  On the other hand, I'd love a print edition of this e-collection.  Because I like print editions of awesome stuff.

Bear's last two Tor.com stories were "The Horrid Glory of Its Wings" (review) and "The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder" (review).  Both were excellent, so should that mystical contract arrive, I very much look forward to reading "Faster Gun".  But then, I tend to very much enjoy reading anything that Bear writes, be it novel or short fiction.

Which brings us to the third quoted paragraph.  I've been hoping for a new collection for some time now, but it's kind of like talking about a new Promethean Age novel - I want what I probably can't have and it's completely out of Bear's hands.  So, here's hoping that we catch the horizon for this one.


In Jennifer Pelland news: The first chapter of her debut novel Machine is up for reading over at Apex.  I've been looking for this one since I first learned of the sale.  I absolutely adore her short fiction and can't wait to read Machine. 

As such, I am not going to read the first chapter.  I want to wait until I can read the whole thing at once.  You can also buy the book.

Night Shade Books: One Year Later

So often we focus on the big story of the day, but then never think to find out what happens after the spotlight has shifted to another "Big Story of the Day".  When I say "we", I place myself at the forefront of "we".  This is fairly normal, I think. 

The thing is, the follow up is also part of the story and if we were interested enough to engage with the original story, we should engage in checking back in to see if there is any resolution. 

What brings this up is that Rose Fox posted an update to last year's Night Shade situation. 

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out Post 1 and Post 2.  As a result, the SFWA placed Night Shade Books on a one year probation to give them the chance to get their act together. 

According to the SFWA, they did.  Probation has been lifted and Night Shade remains a qualifying market for authors.  See Rose Fox's post for the full SFWA letter regarding this.

Awesome. 

I have long been a fan of the work Night Shade publishes and I'm glad that the issues were able to be resolved, though I'm still saddened that they ever had to occur in the first place. 

Boneshaker: The Movie!

Holy shit, y'all. 

So, you know Boneshaker, that fantastic novel from Cherie Priest which featured an alternate America where the Civil War stretched into the 1880's and had a steampunk flair to it? 

If your answer to that question is "no", then go read the book! 

If your answer is "hell yeah!", then you may be as excited as I am (though not as excited as Cherie) that the film rights to Boneshaker has been sold. 

A huge congratulations go out to Cherie Priest.  I've been a fan of Priest's work for a while now and I am absolutely thrilled at her continued success in general and this sale in particular.  Good on her.