The New Tor website, plus a slapfight

As you may have heard, the new Tor.com website is up and running. I had the chance to demo the site for the last week and there were (and are) some bugs that should still be worked out, but the site is improving. There is a decent round up of blogs on various topics: John Scalzi is doing a science blog, John Klima has a short fiction blog (this is my favorite, btw), and others including folks like Patrick Nielsen Hayden (senior editor at Tor) and Irene Gallo (art director at Tor). It’s pretty cool with something for most people.

Besides Klima’s blog, the best part of the new site (not crazy about the social aspect of the site, though we'll see how that goes) are the free stories.

Right now there are stories from both John Scalzi and Charles Stross.

Scalzi’s story “After the Coup” is an Old Man’s War story. The Stross, “Down on the Farm”, is a Laundry story (which may be the only reason I have any interest in the story).

I don’t think the site will be the best thing since sliced bread (I kind of think that would be tires, electricity, the cotton gin, the Gutenberg press, or Tupperware – depending on when exactly sliced bread came about), but there is some goodness to be found. And free fiction from name authors!


Then! It gets better! Jonathan McCalmont posted his thoughts about the site and wasn't impressed for several reasons. John Scalzi responds in the comments of the post and, seriously, it's good reading.

(thanks to Neth for pointing out the comments in the McCalmont. I saw the post, but never saw the rest of the fun)


Oh, and my comment about free fiction from name authors? I think that's what Scalzi is talking about (in part) in the comments of the McCalmont entry. Scalzi's name gets me in the door (Stross's doesn't), and besides coming back for the blogs I like there, I'll probably find new stories from authors I haven't read before, and hopefully enjoy it enough to go seek out their other fiction (if they write novels).


Blog content that is forthcoming here:
A review of Seeds of Change
A review of Specials
A review of Extras (Scott Westerfeld anyone?)
A review (of sorts) of Sweet Silver Blues
A review of Blood Follows and The Healthy Dead

And then we'll see. I actually have to write these reviews, and the Seeds of Change review should really come first here since JJA was kind enough to get me a copy of the book.