I posted a similar list last year, and I think it is worth posting a number of the books I didn't read in 2011. Now, the actual list is absurdly long, but this is a decent representation of books I would have liked to have read and, for various reasons, never did.
For the sake of keeping this list manageable, I limited it to genre books. If I browsed through listings of LitFic and Nonfiction, well, the list would be absurd.
The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie
The Dragon's Path, by Daniel Abraham
Daybreak Zero, by John Barnes
The Mostly True Story of Jack, by Kelly Barnhill
Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey
The Sacred Band, by David Anthony Durham
Raising Stony Mayhall, by Daryl Gregory
The Magician King, by Lev Grossman
God's War, by Kameron Hurley
The Kingdom of Gods, by N. K. Jemisin
11/22/63, by Stephen King
Of Blood and Honey, by Stina Leicht
A Dance With Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
Soft Apocalypse, by Will McIntosh
Embassytown, by China Mieville
The Tempering of Men, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
The Cold Commands, by Richard K. Morgan
The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
The Tiger’s Wife, by Tea Obreht
Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor
Ganymede, by Cherie Priest
The Quantum Thief, by Hannu Rajaniemi
The Diviner, by Melanie Rawn
City of Ruins, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson
Fuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi
Eclipse Four, by Jonathan Strahan
Osama, by Lavie Tidhar
Deathless, by Catherynne M. Valente
The Folded World, by Catherynne M. Valente
Zone One, by Colson Whitehead
And, finally, pretty much every awesome book published by Pyr and Night Shade Books.
Since I’ve posted this list almost two months later than usual, I have read Fuzzy Nation and The Heroes. I’ve begun The Sacred Band and have God’s War and Soft Apocalypse at home from the library. I own copies of Daybreak Zero, The Mostly True Story of Jack, A Dance With Dragons, The Tempering of Men, Ganymede, The Diviner, The Allow of Law, Eclipse Four, and Deathless. None of this helps me consider these novels for the best I read last year.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
A Memory of Light Publication Date
If I had a 2013 calendar, it would be marked. January 8, 2013. A Memory of Light.
I understand that there are individuals unhappy that the novel is being pushed back from Autumn 2012 to January 2013. That’s right, people are complaining on the internet. This is not one of those posts. This is an expression of happiness and relief that I will be reading A Memory of Light in less than twelve months and that it will be given sufficient time to ensure that the novel is the best that it can possibly be. Isn’t that what should be important*?
January 15, 1990 – January 8, 2013
From start to finish, The Wheel of Time will have taken almost twenty three years to complete. Longer, if you count the time Robert Jordan spent writing The Eye of the World before it was published. But, let’s just go with 23 years based on publication date.
I started reading the series in 1993 when The Fires of Heaven was just being published. I was fourteen years old. I will be two months from my thirty fourth birthday when A Memory of Light is published. Except for the most recent two novels, I have read and re-read each book in the series multiple times, more than that if we’re just talking about the first four. I have shook my fist wondering who really did kill Asmodean and I have joked that Bela is actually the Creator. I have marveled at The Cleansing, and been awestruck in wonder at the scenes of Rand going through the arches at Rhuidean. I’ve dreamed of new trips through the Portal Stones and grew to appreciate Egwene’s handling of her captivity as one of the strongest storylines in the entire series.
There is no pretending that I am at all neutral in how I feel about The Wheel of Time. I am an unabashed fan. Though I may have grumbled at the pacing in some of those middle / late novels, I was still right there on publication day picking up my copy and reading the book a second and third time. Robert Jordan’s passing was heartbreaking and given my love of the series, I was okay if the last novels were never published if the man himself wasn’t around to write them. I was apprehensive about how Brandon would do in finishing the series and relieved when I saw how good of a job Sanderson did.
So the publication date has been bounced a couple of months from an expected October / November publication date? I’ve been invested in this world for twenty years. What’s two more months to get the book right, to nail the ending and ensure that we get the conclusion we’ve hoped for and that Robert Jordan’s series deserves?
I want to be able to turn that last page, exhale, and whisper a thank you to Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Harriet, and everyone involved in making The Wheel of Time happen for those twenty three years. Not just for ending it well, but for that first introduction to Lews Therin and Dragonmount to that last coda to A Memory of Light. For the twenty years of enjoyment those books have given me. But to do that, I think it matters that sufficient time is given to getting that last book right. Two more months? Take four.
*Yes, I know that we can apply this argument to a wide variety of much delayed novels that readers have been anticipating for years. I’m not going there right now. We’ve blown the original expected publication date by maybe four months? (Well, maybe a year and four months when it was announced we weren’t getting a 2011 release of AMOL) Brandon has done one hell of a job pushing out these three novels in a four year span and he’s kept a high level of quality. Brandon and I? We’re totally cool.
I understand that there are individuals unhappy that the novel is being pushed back from Autumn 2012 to January 2013. That’s right, people are complaining on the internet. This is not one of those posts. This is an expression of happiness and relief that I will be reading A Memory of Light in less than twelve months and that it will be given sufficient time to ensure that the novel is the best that it can possibly be. Isn’t that what should be important*?
January 15, 1990 – January 8, 2013
From start to finish, The Wheel of Time will have taken almost twenty three years to complete. Longer, if you count the time Robert Jordan spent writing The Eye of the World before it was published. But, let’s just go with 23 years based on publication date.
I started reading the series in 1993 when The Fires of Heaven was just being published. I was fourteen years old. I will be two months from my thirty fourth birthday when A Memory of Light is published. Except for the most recent two novels, I have read and re-read each book in the series multiple times, more than that if we’re just talking about the first four. I have shook my fist wondering who really did kill Asmodean and I have joked that Bela is actually the Creator. I have marveled at The Cleansing, and been awestruck in wonder at the scenes of Rand going through the arches at Rhuidean. I’ve dreamed of new trips through the Portal Stones and grew to appreciate Egwene’s handling of her captivity as one of the strongest storylines in the entire series.
There is no pretending that I am at all neutral in how I feel about The Wheel of Time. I am an unabashed fan. Though I may have grumbled at the pacing in some of those middle / late novels, I was still right there on publication day picking up my copy and reading the book a second and third time. Robert Jordan’s passing was heartbreaking and given my love of the series, I was okay if the last novels were never published if the man himself wasn’t around to write them. I was apprehensive about how Brandon would do in finishing the series and relieved when I saw how good of a job Sanderson did.
So the publication date has been bounced a couple of months from an expected October / November publication date? I’ve been invested in this world for twenty years. What’s two more months to get the book right, to nail the ending and ensure that we get the conclusion we’ve hoped for and that Robert Jordan’s series deserves?
I want to be able to turn that last page, exhale, and whisper a thank you to Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Harriet, and everyone involved in making The Wheel of Time happen for those twenty three years. Not just for ending it well, but for that first introduction to Lews Therin and Dragonmount to that last coda to A Memory of Light. For the twenty years of enjoyment those books have given me. But to do that, I think it matters that sufficient time is given to getting that last book right. Two more months? Take four.
*Yes, I know that we can apply this argument to a wide variety of much delayed novels that readers have been anticipating for years. I’m not going there right now. We’ve blown the original expected publication date by maybe four months? (Well, maybe a year and four months when it was announced we weren’t getting a 2011 release of AMOL) Brandon has done one hell of a job pushing out these three novels in a four year span and he’s kept a high level of quality. Brandon and I? We’re totally cool.
The Top Nine Books Published in 2011
This list is so very late, to the point that someone else might consider not even posting it. But hey, I like my lists. I still have at least two more for last year that I want to post (one is a list of books that I didn't read. The list is long, but distinguished...). I'll try to get that one done before June. That's a joke.
As I’ve mentioned previously, compared to other years, the list of books I read last year is fairly thin. I wasn’t able to read as widely or deeply as I have in the past and the volume of new releases was greatly diminished. This does not take away from the quality of novels on this list, though. Had I read everything I wanted to, I believe a significant portion of this list would remain in place.
Some people do a top ten list, others do a top eleven, yet others may only do five. My list is 9 books long. Why? Partly to be a little bit different and partly because I want the tenth spot on my list to be reserved for that really great book which I simply did not get the chance to read during 2011. That really great book may also be something I have only heard whispers about and I may not discover for several more years. Whatever that tenth great book is, I’m holding a spot for it on my list.
This Top Nine List is more or less in order. Ask me tomorrow and some titles may shift around a little bit. Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2011 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year, popularity be damned.
1. Among Others, by Jo Walton: Among Others is a novel which perfectly captures the childhood of a fifteen year old who is at a new school, feels isolated, and finds solace in the worlds and magic of books. There are hints and echoes of magic in the novel for the protagonist, Morwenna, but the real magic is in the story itself – that depiction of a childhood filled with the discovery of new worlds and how liberating that was, even as those school days are less inviting.
2. The Sea Thy Mistress, by Elizabeth Bear: Oh, Bear, why must you continue to crush my heart? I wouldn’t have it any other way and the way you crush me time and again is a major reason why I keep coming back, but damn.
3. Mechanique, by Genevieve Valentine: I rather liked this strange tale of a traveling circus in a post apocalyptic, steampunk, slightly magical world. While this may seem like an odd thing to single out, but what I appreciated about Valentine’s writing was her use of repetition for effect. Every now and then, there was a phrase or an image or something that was repeated and it was more than just a stylistic quirk. It helped build the tone of the narrative and a piece of the world. Mechanique is Valentine’s first novel and I hope for many more.
4. Grail, by Elizabeth Bear: More Bear is always a good thing. Here she concludes the Jacob’s Ladder trilogy of a generation ship finally arriving at a home planet only to find another tribe of humanity already there with their own particular culture in place. Except that is a gross simplification of the complexity of Bear’s work and the shape of life and post-humans on the ship. In introducing sections on the humans on Fortune, the novel loses a bit of the claustrophobic tightness of Dust and Chill, but as a whole, Grail still satisfies.
5. Harbinger of the Storm, by Aliette de Bodard: One of the cooler bookish things I’ve discovered in the last couple of years is Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian and Blood series. Aztec Murder Mysteries, with blood magic. Harbinger of the Storm is the second of three (so far, I hope) novels. They follow Acatl, the High Priest of the Dead, as he is pushed to investigate murders touching the highest levels of the empire. It’s good, interesting, and fresh.
6. Dark Jenny, by Alex Bledsoe: If you’re not reading Bledsoe’s Eddie LaCrosse novels then you are missing out on some excellent sword and sorcery disguised as an old school private eye novel. If you’ve read Glen Cook’s Garrett PI books, you have an idea what to expect (if you haven’t, you should). Eddie LaCrosse is a “sword jockey” and a self-aware wisecracking investigator with a heart for the dames. Dark Jenny touches upon the Arthurian legends and is just a damn good read.
7. Bloodshot, by Cherie Priest: The first of the Cheshire Red novels, Bloodshot tells a different sort of vampire story. Raylene Pendle is a high end thief, stealing rare art and jewels. She is also a vampire. Bloodshot is chock full of government conspiracy, a drag queen, the supernatural, and a healthy amount of action. While I don’t think this quite measures up to her Clockwork Century novels (or the Eden Moore books), Bloodshot is still worth checking out.
8. Kitty’s Big Trouble, by Carrie Vaughn: It starts with some historical research on whether or not General William Tecumseh Sherman was a werewolf, touches on the possibility of Wyatt Earp as a vampire hunter, and then moves on to the larger story arc Vaughn has been teasing for much of this series: that of the “Long Game” played by Roman. Vaughn takes Kitty to San Francisco, introduces readers to yet more aspects of the supernatural (if some of it is true, why not all of it?), and as always, tells a heck of a good story. The Kitty Norville novels are like summer crack.
9. Kitty’s Greatest Hits, by Carrie Vaughn: While the Kitty Norville series stands on its own as complete novels that tell the full and necessary story, this collection of Kitty-verse tales fills in some of the gaps in what we know of the backstory. It enriches our understanding of the characters and the history involved. The focus here isn’t solely on Kitty. We get Rick and TJ and the story of what really happened to Cormac in prison (this perhaps sounds more salacious than it should). This is sort of like a disc of bonus footage that goes along with the main feature. They don’t really fit into the main narrative, but it’s a treat to get to see more.
Previous Best Ofs
2007
2008
2009
2010
As I’ve mentioned previously, compared to other years, the list of books I read last year is fairly thin. I wasn’t able to read as widely or deeply as I have in the past and the volume of new releases was greatly diminished. This does not take away from the quality of novels on this list, though. Had I read everything I wanted to, I believe a significant portion of this list would remain in place.
Some people do a top ten list, others do a top eleven, yet others may only do five. My list is 9 books long. Why? Partly to be a little bit different and partly because I want the tenth spot on my list to be reserved for that really great book which I simply did not get the chance to read during 2011. That really great book may also be something I have only heard whispers about and I may not discover for several more years. Whatever that tenth great book is, I’m holding a spot for it on my list.
This Top Nine List is more or less in order. Ask me tomorrow and some titles may shift around a little bit. Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2011 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year, popularity be damned.
1. Among Others, by Jo Walton: Among Others is a novel which perfectly captures the childhood of a fifteen year old who is at a new school, feels isolated, and finds solace in the worlds and magic of books. There are hints and echoes of magic in the novel for the protagonist, Morwenna, but the real magic is in the story itself – that depiction of a childhood filled with the discovery of new worlds and how liberating that was, even as those school days are less inviting.
2. The Sea Thy Mistress, by Elizabeth Bear: Oh, Bear, why must you continue to crush my heart? I wouldn’t have it any other way and the way you crush me time and again is a major reason why I keep coming back, but damn.
3. Mechanique, by Genevieve Valentine: I rather liked this strange tale of a traveling circus in a post apocalyptic, steampunk, slightly magical world. While this may seem like an odd thing to single out, but what I appreciated about Valentine’s writing was her use of repetition for effect. Every now and then, there was a phrase or an image or something that was repeated and it was more than just a stylistic quirk. It helped build the tone of the narrative and a piece of the world. Mechanique is Valentine’s first novel and I hope for many more.
4. Grail, by Elizabeth Bear: More Bear is always a good thing. Here she concludes the Jacob’s Ladder trilogy of a generation ship finally arriving at a home planet only to find another tribe of humanity already there with their own particular culture in place. Except that is a gross simplification of the complexity of Bear’s work and the shape of life and post-humans on the ship. In introducing sections on the humans on Fortune, the novel loses a bit of the claustrophobic tightness of Dust and Chill, but as a whole, Grail still satisfies.
5. Harbinger of the Storm, by Aliette de Bodard: One of the cooler bookish things I’ve discovered in the last couple of years is Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian and Blood series. Aztec Murder Mysteries, with blood magic. Harbinger of the Storm is the second of three (so far, I hope) novels. They follow Acatl, the High Priest of the Dead, as he is pushed to investigate murders touching the highest levels of the empire. It’s good, interesting, and fresh.
6. Dark Jenny, by Alex Bledsoe: If you’re not reading Bledsoe’s Eddie LaCrosse novels then you are missing out on some excellent sword and sorcery disguised as an old school private eye novel. If you’ve read Glen Cook’s Garrett PI books, you have an idea what to expect (if you haven’t, you should). Eddie LaCrosse is a “sword jockey” and a self-aware wisecracking investigator with a heart for the dames. Dark Jenny touches upon the Arthurian legends and is just a damn good read.
7. Bloodshot, by Cherie Priest: The first of the Cheshire Red novels, Bloodshot tells a different sort of vampire story. Raylene Pendle is a high end thief, stealing rare art and jewels. She is also a vampire. Bloodshot is chock full of government conspiracy, a drag queen, the supernatural, and a healthy amount of action. While I don’t think this quite measures up to her Clockwork Century novels (or the Eden Moore books), Bloodshot is still worth checking out.
8. Kitty’s Big Trouble, by Carrie Vaughn: It starts with some historical research on whether or not General William Tecumseh Sherman was a werewolf, touches on the possibility of Wyatt Earp as a vampire hunter, and then moves on to the larger story arc Vaughn has been teasing for much of this series: that of the “Long Game” played by Roman. Vaughn takes Kitty to San Francisco, introduces readers to yet more aspects of the supernatural (if some of it is true, why not all of it?), and as always, tells a heck of a good story. The Kitty Norville novels are like summer crack.
9. Kitty’s Greatest Hits, by Carrie Vaughn: While the Kitty Norville series stands on its own as complete novels that tell the full and necessary story, this collection of Kitty-verse tales fills in some of the gaps in what we know of the backstory. It enriches our understanding of the characters and the history involved. The focus here isn’t solely on Kitty. We get Rick and TJ and the story of what really happened to Cormac in prison (this perhaps sounds more salacious than it should). This is sort of like a disc of bonus footage that goes along with the main feature. They don’t really fit into the main narrative, but it’s a treat to get to see more.
Previous Best Ofs
2007
2008
2009
2010
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Jason Sanford Recommendations
Jason Sanford has posted up his nominations for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards. I already agree with some of it, and hopefully will be able to track down other that I haven't read. Unfortunately, there are a few stories that I probably won't be able to because they're published in print zines that don't let their fiction out for free (unless it has already been nominated and then only during the voting period).
Also, I'm not sure about the eligibility of Paolo Bacigalupi's The Alchemist. Or, Tobias Buckell's The Executioness, for that matter (not on Sanford's ballot, but it's a linked story). Sort of like Mary Robinette Kowal's "Water to Wine", they were first published in 2010 by Audible.com and then in print by Subterranean Press in 2011. Like MRK's novella, absolutely worth nominating if you feel strongly about it. Worst case, it gets enough votes and we get a ruling on cases like this.
Also, I'm not sure about the eligibility of Paolo Bacigalupi's The Alchemist. Or, Tobias Buckell's The Executioness, for that matter (not on Sanford's ballot, but it's a linked story). Sort of like Mary Robinette Kowal's "Water to Wine", they were first published in 2010 by Audible.com and then in print by Subterranean Press in 2011. Like MRK's novella, absolutely worth nominating if you feel strongly about it. Worst case, it gets enough votes and we get a ruling on cases like this.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Preliminary Hugo Ballot
I've got some work to do and some stories and books to read (and some thinking to do on some categories), but here's what I'm thinking of right now. I still need to read Eclipse Four and I'm hunting out some more stories of varying lengths.
- Best Novel (40,000 words or more)
- The Sea Thy Mistress, by Elizabeth Bear**
- Grail, by Elizabeth Bear
- Among Others, by Jo Walton**
- Mechanique, by Genevieve Valentine
- Harbinger of the Storm, by Aliette de Bodard
- Dark Jenny, by Alex Bledsoe-Books I hope to get through in the next month: The Sacred Band, by David Anthony Durham, God's War, by Kameron Hurley, and Soft Apocalypse, by Will McIntosh. I'm not sure I'll hit any other plausible novels.
- Best Novella (17,500 to 40,000 words)
- “The Small Dark Movie of Your Life”, by Leah Bobet (Shadow Unit)
- “Bulletproof”, by Emma Bull (Shadow Unit)
- The White City, by Elizabeth Bear
- “The Rat Race”, by Cherie Priest (Fort Freak
- “Show Trial”, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Subterranean)
- “Water to Wine”, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Subterranean)**
- “Kiss Me Twice”, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov's June 11)
- Gravity Dreams, by Stephen Baxter (PS Publishing)-To be fair, I need to read both The White City and "The Rat Race". I feel that I will have strong feeling about The White City, just based on the previous Abby Irene novellas. Not sure if I'll get through Fort Freak in time. I won't nominate something I haven't read. Just in case it needed saying.
- Best Novelette (7,500 to 17,500 words)
- “Six Month, Three Days”, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)**
- “The Taste of Promises”, by Rachel Swirsky (Life on Mars)
- “Fields of Gold”, by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
- “The Migratory Pattern of Dancers”, by Katherine Sparrow (GigaNotoSaurus)*
- “House of Aunts”, by Zen Cho (GigaNotoSaurus)
- “Work, With Occasional Molemen”, by Jeremiah Tolbert (GigaNotoSaurus)
- “The Nearest Thing”, by Genevieve Valentine (Lightspeed)
- Best Short Story (up to 7,500 words)
- “The Leavings of the Wolf”, by Elizabeth Bear (Apex, Nov)
- “Simulacrum”, by Ken Liu (Lightspeed) **
- “Her Husband’s Hands”, by Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed) **
- “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, by E. Lily Wu (Clarkesworld) *
- “Demons, Your Body, and You”, by Genevieve Valentine (Subterranean) – Maybe
- “Paper Menagerie”, by Ken Liu (F&SF)*
- Best Related Work
- Best Graphic Story *
- Best Dramatic Presentation "Long Form" (more than 90 minutes)
- Best Dramatic Presentation "Short Form" (less than 90 minutes)
- Best Editor Short Form
- George R. R. Martin
- Best Editor Long Form
- Anne Groell
- Best Professional Artist
- Sparth
- Jon Sullivan
- John Picacio
- Jeremy Geddes
- Jon Foster
- Rima Staines
- Best Semiprozine
- Best Fanzine
- Best Fan Writer
- Larry Nolen
- Aiden Moher
- Adam Whitehead
- Best Fan Artist
Monday, February 13, 2012
coming soon to a home near me
To celebrate receiving my tax returns, I decided to treat myself to a little bit of frivolity: books!*
The Tempering of Men, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear: I highly recommend A Companion to Wolves and I’ve been looking forward to the follow up from the moment I turned the last page.
Death Draws Five, by John Jackson Miller: This is the long out of print Wild Cards novel which, I believe, only had some 600 copies out in the world before the publisher closed shop. Every now and then I ran some searches to see if a copy was available anywhere for $50 or less. The answer was always no, with some copies running well over $150. That’s a bit steep. But, as previously mentioned, Death Draws Five was reissued in a trade paperback format (with a trade paper price) and I finally pulled the trigger on it. Thus completes my collection of Wild Cards. I’ve got a full set. That said, if I happen to run across a copy of the novel at Uncle Hugo’s and it isn’t absurdly priced, I may still pick up the hardcover.
Machine, by Jennifer Pelland: I’ve been talking about her short stories for several years now and I’ve been anticipating Pelland’s debut novel since I first heard an inlking that it might one day happen. Now it has. I must read it.
*I also picked up Dragon Quest V for the DS and Modern Warfare 3 for the PS3. I’m still chipping my way through DQVI and I love the old school goodness that Dragon Quest offers me. I only need to pick up DQ II, III, IX and I’ll have everything that’s been released thus far. We won’t talk about the MMO aspects of the forthcoming DQ X. The only thing is that I keep getting distracted by Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Friggin awesome game, that one.
And MW3? Sometimes you just need to shoot some fools.
The Tempering of Men, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear: I highly recommend A Companion to Wolves and I’ve been looking forward to the follow up from the moment I turned the last page.
Death Draws Five, by John Jackson Miller: This is the long out of print Wild Cards novel which, I believe, only had some 600 copies out in the world before the publisher closed shop. Every now and then I ran some searches to see if a copy was available anywhere for $50 or less. The answer was always no, with some copies running well over $150. That’s a bit steep. But, as previously mentioned, Death Draws Five was reissued in a trade paperback format (with a trade paper price) and I finally pulled the trigger on it. Thus completes my collection of Wild Cards. I’ve got a full set. That said, if I happen to run across a copy of the novel at Uncle Hugo’s and it isn’t absurdly priced, I may still pick up the hardcover.
Machine, by Jennifer Pelland: I’ve been talking about her short stories for several years now and I’ve been anticipating Pelland’s debut novel since I first heard an inlking that it might one day happen. Now it has. I must read it.
*I also picked up Dragon Quest V for the DS and Modern Warfare 3 for the PS3. I’m still chipping my way through DQVI and I love the old school goodness that Dragon Quest offers me. I only need to pick up DQ II, III, IX and I’ll have everything that’s been released thus far. We won’t talk about the MMO aspects of the forthcoming DQ X. The only thing is that I keep getting distracted by Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Friggin awesome game, that one.
And MW3? Sometimes you just need to shoot some fools.
Friday, February 10, 2012
GigaNotoSaurus
As I work through recommended stories to nominate for the Hugo, I've run across a number from a publication called GigaNotoSaurus. I hadn't heard of it before and was a little skeptical, but after reading three of the stories they published last year, I'm impressed.
GigaNotoSaurus reminds me a bit of the excellent and defunct Lone Star Stories, except that I think GigaNotoSaurus might be even better. I'll need to read more, but my Hugo reading is definitely recommending the zine.
Oh, and the latest story published - it's by Ken Liu. Of course. I'll be following GigaNotoSaurus with interest this year.
GigaNotoSaurus reminds me a bit of the excellent and defunct Lone Star Stories, except that I think GigaNotoSaurus might be even better. I'll need to read more, but my Hugo reading is definitely recommending the zine.
Oh, and the latest story published - it's by Ken Liu. Of course. I'll be following GigaNotoSaurus with interest this year.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Two MRK Novellas and Hugo Considerations
Mary Robinette Kowal has two novellas I would like to bring some attention to, especially since we're in the Hugo nominating period.
The first is "Kiss Me Twice", originally published in the June 2011 issue of Asimov's and now available on her website. MRK has a great voice for the detective story and the use of the AI personality actually works here rather than seem an unnecessary anachronism as it might in other stories. I like it.
The second is "Water to Wine". I love this story. It's not the first time Kowal has built a story around wine, and I don't drink wine or understand anything about it, but she does a fantastic job in telling this story that isn't really about wine. This is a lock for my Hugo ballot. There's just a big question about its eligibility.
See, "Water to Wine" was originally published in the audio anthology METAtropolis: Cascadia in November of 2010. In the author's note for the print edition of the story on Subterranean, Kowal writes
Unfortunately, I seem to have run into a grey area that won't / can't be answered unless it becomes an issue.
Now, if only METAtropolis: Cascadia was available in a print edition like the original Metatropolis ended up being. I'd totally buy that.
Dear Subterranean Press: Make it happen.
The first is "Kiss Me Twice", originally published in the June 2011 issue of Asimov's and now available on her website. MRK has a great voice for the detective story and the use of the AI personality actually works here rather than seem an unnecessary anachronism as it might in other stories. I like it.
The second is "Water to Wine". I love this story. It's not the first time Kowal has built a story around wine, and I don't drink wine or understand anything about it, but she does a fantastic job in telling this story that isn't really about wine. This is a lock for my Hugo ballot. There's just a big question about its eligibility.
See, "Water to Wine" was originally published in the audio anthology METAtropolis: Cascadia in November of 2010. In the author's note for the print edition of the story on Subterranean, Kowal writes
I couldn't find anything concrete regarding the eligibility status of the story (since fiction tends to go from print to audio, not the other way around), I reached out to Kevin Standlee, the former Hugo Administrator who can often be counted on to provide sage advice and clarification regarding details of the Hugo Awards.
Because I wrote the story specifically for audio, I had given “stage directions” for how I wanted lines to be read by the actress, Kate Mulgrew. For the Subterranean version, I went back through the story and wrote additional material to cover the emotional content that a narrator’s voice can deliver. The story is the same, but it is adapted for a different medium.
Unfortunately, I seem to have run into a grey area that won't / can't be answered unless it becomes an issue.
Well, I don't have a definite answer to this. It might be eligible, if the Administrator were to rule that the revisions were sufficient to make it a new work. Unfortunately, the Administrators are loathe to make rulings without a specific case before them. That means that they probably won't tell you in advance, and they won't rule at all unless the work receives enough nominations to appear on the short list.As such, I'm just going to put the novella on my ballot, recommend "Water to Wine" to you for the same. After all, it doesn't take many votes to get on the ballot. I'd love to see a ruling on this (and that the ruling state that Kowal's story is eligible). If it isn't, well, you just got to read an awesome story.
Now, if only METAtropolis: Cascadia was available in a print edition like the original Metatropolis ended up being. I'd totally buy that.
Dear Subterranean Press: Make it happen.
Range of Ghosts Excerpt
Go head on over to Tor.com and check out an excerpt of Elizabeth Bear's forthcoming novel Range of Ghosts.
I'm going to hold off, but that's only because I am absolutely, positively going to buy this upon publication and I want to be able to immerse myself and get the full experience. But y'all know how I feel about Bear's fiction.
I'm going to hold off, but that's only because I am absolutely, positively going to buy this upon publication and I want to be able to immerse myself and get the full experience. But y'all know how I feel about Bear's fiction.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
"Six Months, Three Days", by Charlie Jane Anders
Thanks to Rachel Swirsky's novelette recommendations, I can now recommend to all of you "Six Months, Three Days".
Swirsky says,
She said it better and far more concisely than I was going to manage (clearly), but you all must read this story. I wanted a little bit more from the ending, but that's only because I wasn't ready for the story to end. Charlie Jane Anders did what she needed to with the story, but I was hooked and wanted more.
If you want a preview of my Hugo ballot, know that it is rather likely to include this story.
Swirsky says,
Two precognitives meet and fall in love. Their relationship is fraught by the fact that one of the precognitives is a determinist (seeing the future as a single stream) and the other believes in free will (and sees possibilities branching from most moments). The philosophical contrast and science fictional premise provide an intriguing philosophical flavor to the human romance; the two work exquisitely in synchrony.
She said it better and far more concisely than I was going to manage (clearly), but you all must read this story. I wanted a little bit more from the ending, but that's only because I wasn't ready for the story to end. Charlie Jane Anders did what she needed to with the story, but I was hooked and wanted more.
If you want a preview of my Hugo ballot, know that it is rather likely to include this story.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Ken Liu at SF Signal
There is an interview with Ken Liu over at SF Signal. Liu is a short story writer I expect to be talking a whole lot more about and one who I am convinced is a writer to watch. I'm glad that Charles Tan was able to get the interview and shine a bit of a spotlight on Liu. This won't be the only spotlight. Expect award nominations in the future, hopefully the near future.
Watch for him. Seek out his stuff if you hear a whisper of his name.
Watch for him. Seek out his stuff if you hear a whisper of his name.
Friday, February 03, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
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!
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!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, December 30, 2011
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.
So, just something to look forward to.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Pelland and Bear
There is news. More or less.
Elizabeth Bear has news:
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.
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.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.
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.
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.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
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.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Brain Pickings: My New Favorite Everything
Holy crap, people. I don't know if I'm the last person on Earth to discover this, but thanks to the Magic of the Internet* I now know of Brain Pickings, a website of sheer awesomeness and the work of Maria Popova.
*(at this time the role of The Internet will be played by Tobias Buckell on Twitter)
About Brain Pickings:
Or, as I described it elsewhere, Brain Pickings is a website which compiles all the coolest smart shit that I never would have known about, and then TELLS ME ABOUT IT!
For example, I want to know more about The Physics Book, color theory, and this. And everything.
So much of what I read here pushes me into another digression, to another post, and to another fascinating subject. It's all stuff that I didn't know I was interested in. Until I was.
*(at this time the role of The Internet will be played by Tobias Buckell on Twitter)
About Brain Pickings:
Brain Pickings is a human-powered discovery engine for interestingness, culling and curating cross-disciplinary curiosity-quenchers, and separating the signal from the noise to bring you things you didn’t know you were interested in until you are.
...
Brain Pickings is your LEGO treasure chest, full of pieces across art, design, science, technology, philosophy, history, politics, psychology, sociology, ecology, anthropology, you-name-itology. Pieces that enrich your mental pool of resources and empower you to combine them into original concepts that are stronger, smarter, richer, deeper and more impactful — a modest, curiosity-driven exercise in vision- and mind-expansion. Please enjoy.
Or, as I described it elsewhere, Brain Pickings is a website which compiles all the coolest smart shit that I never would have known about, and then TELLS ME ABOUT IT!
For example, I want to know more about The Physics Book, color theory, and this. And everything.
So much of what I read here pushes me into another digression, to another post, and to another fascinating subject. It's all stuff that I didn't know I was interested in. Until I was.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six: Table of Contents
Jonathan Strahan has announced the Table of Contents for the sixth volume in his consistently excellent survey of the Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy.
In an interesting twist for me, I haven't read a single story collected here - even though a number of them are available online. That's what happens when a fellow is away for a number of months. As such, I am doubly looking forward to this volume.
Introduction, Jonathan Strahan
The Case of Death and Honey, Neil Gaiman, (A Study in Sherlock)
The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees, E. Lily Yu, (Clarkesworld, 4/11)
Tidal Forces, CaitlÃn R Kiernan, (Eclipse Four)
Younger Women, Karen Joy Fowler, (Subterranean, Summer 2011)
White Lines on a Green Field , Catherynne M. Valente, (Subterranean, Fall 2011)
All That Touches The Air, An Owomoyela, (Lightspeed Magazine, 4/11)
What We Found, Geoff Ryman, (F&SF, 9-10/11)
The Server and the Dragon, Hannu Rajaniemi, (Engineering Infinity)
The Choice, Paul McAuley, (Asimov‘s, 1/11)
Malak, Peter Watts, (Engineering Infinity)
Old Habits, Nalo Hopkinson, (Eclipse Four)
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong, K. J. Parker, (Subterranean, Winter 2011. )
Valley of the Girls, Kelly Link, (Subterranean, Spring 2011)
Brave Little Toaster, Cory Doctorow, (TRSF)
The Dala Horse, Michael Swanwick, (Tor.com, 7/11)
The Corpse Painter’s Masterpiece, M Rickert, (F&SF, 9-10/11)
The Paper Menagerie, Ken Liu, (F&SF, March/April 2011)
Steam Girl, Dylan Horrocks, (Steampunk!)
After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh, (After the Apocalypse)
Underbridge, Peter S. Beagle, (Naked City)
Relic, Jeffrey Ford, (The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities)
The Invasion of Venus, Stephen Baxter, (Engineering Infinity)
Woman Leaves Room, Robert Reed, (Lightspeed Magazine, 3/11)
Restoration, Robert Shearman, (Everyone’s Just So So Special)
The Onset of a Paranormal Romance, Bruce Sterling, (Flurb, Fall-Winter 2011)
Catastrophic Disruption of the Head, Margo Lanagan, (The Wilful Eye: Tales from the Tower Vol. 1)
The Last Ride of the Glory Girls, Libba Bray, (Steampunk!)
The Book of Phoenix (Excerpted from The Great Book) , Nnedi Okorafor, (Clarkesworld, 3/11)
Digging, Ian McDonald, (Life on Mars)
The Man Who Bridged the Mist, Kij Johnson, (Asimov’s, 10-11/11)
Goodnight Moons, Ellen Klages, (Life on Mars)
In an interesting twist for me, I haven't read a single story collected here - even though a number of them are available online. That's what happens when a fellow is away for a number of months. As such, I am doubly looking forward to this volume.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Yellow Guys
Yellow guys do not just happen. Yellow guys are not in my life. Yellow guys do not just emerge out of thin air. Yellow guys are in the movies. Yellow guys are not real. Yellow guys are for Chernobyl, not Clarence. Why don't I have a yellow suit? I do not have a yellow suit. I quite clearly need a yellow suit.
This is a paragraph from very early on in Anne Ursu's first novel, Spilling Clarence. I want to quote pages and pages of it, but I love this paragraph the most. I love the repetition (as I do). I love how that repetition builds a sort of quasi-calm terror.
Excuse me, I must continue reading.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Anne McCaffrey
Gone away, gone ahead,
Echoes away, gone unansweréd.
Empty, open, dusty, dead.
Why have all the Weyrfolk fled?
Where have dragons gone together?
Leaving Weyrs to wind and weather?
Setting heardbeasts free of tether?
Gone, our safeguards, gone, but whither?
Have they flown to some new Weyr
Where cruel Thread some others fear?
Are they worlds away from here?
Why, oh, why, the empty Weyr?
-"The Question Song", Dragonflight
Anne McCaffrey passed away yesterday. My childhood is sad.
I started this paragraph four times, but I can't quite come up with the words to describe just how influential Anne McCaffrey was in my early reading of speculative fiction. The Dragonriders of Pern was a seminal series in my life. McCaffrey's blending of what initially seemed to be a fantasy series with a growing amount of science fiction was fascinating. But, just as much, I loved the three Crystal Singer novels and wished she would write more - even though the story there was complete. I just wanted more. So often, that's what McCaffrey left her readers: wanting more of a damn good story.
Anne McCaffrey was 85 when she died.
Others will write about Anne McCaffrey with greater eloquence than what I am able to do. There will be tributes and memorials and remembrances. There should be. McCaffrey was one of the legends of the genre. Her fiction was what introduced so many readers to science fiction and instilled a lifelong love of the genre.
From io9:
Anne McCaffrey wasn't just the inventor of Pern, the world where a whole society is based on dragon-riding. She was also an incredibly influential author who helped transform the way science fiction and fantasy authors wrote about women, and the way all of us thought about bodies and selfhood. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award, as well as a Grand Master of science fiction.
I don't know if it is really possible to overstate McCaffrey's importance in science fiction, to the readers, to the writers, to the genre as a whole. To me.
These last few hours I have been filled with a profound sadness at the world's loss of Anne McCaffrey. While there is no taking away the experience of reading McCaffrey for the first time and for the adventures I had with her stories, I mourn the loss of the one who introduced me to Pern and Ballybran, to Lessa, Menolly, and Killashandra Ree.
Goodnight, Anne McCaffrey. Thank you for the stories and for enriching my childhood.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Kitty's Big Trouble, by Carrie Vaughn
I want to catch up on some of the books I've read during the last four months. I won't be able to write in depth about most of these books because it's been too long. This may be more of a series where I talk about what I think about when I think about these books. If that makes sense.
This is the third in that series of posts.
I read Kitty's Big Trouble back in July. I've been reading Carrie Vaughn for the last five years and Vaughn has maintained my interest and excitement from the first book. Kitty's Big Trouble is the ninth novel in the series and continues Vaughn's expansion of the scope of Kitty's world.
Kitty's Big Trouble opens with Kitty's belief that William Tecumseh Sherman was really a werewolf and her investigation into that, but it extends into San Francisco to get deeper into the looming war with Roman and is minions. Vaughn explores the depth of what Kitty (and the reader) knows of the supernatural in this world.
After all these months, what I most want to convey about Kitty's Big Trouble is that there is no drop in quality in this ninth Kitty Norville novel. Vaughn continues to deliver a fast paced, entertaining story which builds what the reader knows of the world while not neglecting the ever developing characterization of all the recurring characters.
When I stop to think about it, Kitty's Big Trouble reads as an episode in a television series. The novel itself is a singular episode which tells a particular story and has a beginning, middle, and end. Carrie Vaughn puts the story first and doesn't fail to tell a good one. But, the novel also succeeds in the context of the larger Kitty Norville series. Kitty Norville is not a static character, but rather develops based on experience. The Kitty readers met back in Kitty and the Midnight Hour is not the same Kitty in these more recent novels, though the journey is clear. Bit by bit, Carrie Vaughn explores this world which seems so similar to our own, if not for the presence of the supernatural. Kitty, like the readers, have only scratched the surface of what all is out there. This is the heart of the sense of discovery in the Kitty Norville series. Through the “Adventure of the Week” stories, Vaughn works the larger thematic, character, and overall series arcs to deliver a multi-layered experience.
Or: It's just good, y'all.
Kitty Steals the show is due out in Spring 2012.
Previous Reviews
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Raises Hell
Kitty's House of Horrors
Kitty Goes to War
This is the third in that series of posts.
I read Kitty's Big Trouble back in July. I've been reading Carrie Vaughn for the last five years and Vaughn has maintained my interest and excitement from the first book. Kitty's Big Trouble is the ninth novel in the series and continues Vaughn's expansion of the scope of Kitty's world.
Kitty's Big Trouble opens with Kitty's belief that William Tecumseh Sherman was really a werewolf and her investigation into that, but it extends into San Francisco to get deeper into the looming war with Roman and is minions. Vaughn explores the depth of what Kitty (and the reader) knows of the supernatural in this world.
After all these months, what I most want to convey about Kitty's Big Trouble is that there is no drop in quality in this ninth Kitty Norville novel. Vaughn continues to deliver a fast paced, entertaining story which builds what the reader knows of the world while not neglecting the ever developing characterization of all the recurring characters.
When I stop to think about it, Kitty's Big Trouble reads as an episode in a television series. The novel itself is a singular episode which tells a particular story and has a beginning, middle, and end. Carrie Vaughn puts the story first and doesn't fail to tell a good one. But, the novel also succeeds in the context of the larger Kitty Norville series. Kitty Norville is not a static character, but rather develops based on experience. The Kitty readers met back in Kitty and the Midnight Hour is not the same Kitty in these more recent novels, though the journey is clear. Bit by bit, Carrie Vaughn explores this world which seems so similar to our own, if not for the presence of the supernatural. Kitty, like the readers, have only scratched the surface of what all is out there. This is the heart of the sense of discovery in the Kitty Norville series. Through the “Adventure of the Week” stories, Vaughn works the larger thematic, character, and overall series arcs to deliver a multi-layered experience.
Or: It's just good, y'all.
Kitty Steals the show is due out in Spring 2012.
Previous Reviews
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Raises Hell
Kitty's House of Horrors
Kitty Goes to War
Monday, November 14, 2011
Spaceman!
So, I was looking for some new comics to put on my reading list and I happened across this post on MTV.com. It's not where I normally would have thought to check, but I'll be damned if there's not some good looking stuff on that page.
A number of books haven't been collected yet and some are just beginning (Xenoholics, anyone?), but what caught my eye was something called Spaceman.
Spaceman is written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Eduardo Risso. That's all I really needed to know. You should know Azzarello from the hella ambitious 100 Bullets, or from a number of other comics, but really - 100 Bullets.
The AV Club has a very recent interview with Azzarello.
Spaceman is written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Eduardo Risso. That's all I really needed to know. You should know Azzarello from the hella ambitious 100 Bullets, or from a number of other comics, but really - 100 Bullets.
The AV Club has a very recent interview with Azzarello.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Reading: Kelly Barnhill and Anne Ursu
I went to a reading today. It's not something I do very often, but each time I do I am reminded that I really should do this more often.
Kelly Barnhill and Anne Ursu were reading at The Loft. I've known Kelly for a few years now and I've enjoyed her short fiction for just as long, but Anne Ursu was new to me. Like, never heard of her before new. But, thanks to the magic of the internet (and Kelly raving about her on Facebook), I was intrigued about the other half of the reading.
Kelly read from her debut novel The Mostly True Story of Jack. I've heard Kelly read before, but never from her novel (it did just come out this year, after all). Friggin delightful. If the rest of the book is as good as what she read, I'm in for a treat. But then, I figured as much.
Speaking of being in for a treat...
Anne Ursu.
I had never heard of Anne Ursu before. I've heard of her now.
Ursu was funny, charming, and self deprecating all at the same time. That's before she started reading from her latest novel, Breadcrumbs. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", the portions of Breadcrumbs Ursu read stoked my interest in checking out the rest of the book (and Ursu's other novels, for that matter). Unlike Kelly's book, I don't already own a copy of Breadcrumbs. That would be silly. I hadn't heard of Ursu before. But, it shall be read.
Neither Kelly Barnhill nor Anne Ursu had to use their AK. Today was a good day.
Kelly Barnhill and Anne Ursu were reading at The Loft. I've known Kelly for a few years now and I've enjoyed her short fiction for just as long, but Anne Ursu was new to me. Like, never heard of her before new. But, thanks to the magic of the internet (and Kelly raving about her on Facebook), I was intrigued about the other half of the reading.
Kelly read from her debut novel The Mostly True Story of Jack. I've heard Kelly read before, but never from her novel (it did just come out this year, after all). Friggin delightful. If the rest of the book is as good as what she read, I'm in for a treat. But then, I figured as much.
Speaking of being in for a treat...
Anne Ursu.
I had never heard of Anne Ursu before. I've heard of her now.
Ursu was funny, charming, and self deprecating all at the same time. That's before she started reading from her latest novel, Breadcrumbs. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", the portions of Breadcrumbs Ursu read stoked my interest in checking out the rest of the book (and Ursu's other novels, for that matter). Unlike Kelly's book, I don't already own a copy of Breadcrumbs. That would be silly. I hadn't heard of Ursu before. But, it shall be read.
Neither Kelly Barnhill nor Anne Ursu had to use their AK. Today was a good day.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
New Brin!
A big thank you to Adam Whitehead for pointing out that David Brin has a new novel due out in 2012. I haven't read Brin in years, nor has he published a novel in almost a decade. It's high time both change.
Whitehead reports the cover blurb is as follows:
Want. To. Read.
Now.
Oh, and it seems Brin has a short story in Lightspeed titled "Bubbles". I'll go read that, too.
Whitehead reports the cover blurb is as follows:
Bestselling, award-winning futurist David Brin returns to globe-spanning, high concept SF.
As he did in his New York Times bestselling novel Earth, David Brin takes on the rapidly accelerating rate of change in technology in a very human way.
Telepresence. The neural link world wide web, where a flash crowd can gather in an instant if something interesting is happening. We see it today--one man in Pakistan live-tweets the assault on Osama bin Laden, and the whole world turns to watch. A revolution in Egypt is coordinated online.
Into the maelstrom of world-wide shared experience drops a game-changer. An alien artifact is plucked from Earth's orbit; an artifact that wants to communicate. News leaks out fast, and the world reacts as it always does: with fear and hope and selfishness and love and violence.
Existence is packed with tension, with characters we care about in danger that seems unstoppable. It is a novel brimming with ideas about the future, and how humanity will--must--adapt to it. This is a big book from David Brin, and everyone is going to be talking about it.
Want. To. Read.
Now.
Oh, and it seems Brin has a short story in Lightspeed titled "Bubbles". I'll go read that, too.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011
Via Rose Fox at Genreville
Publisher's Weekly has named its Best Books of 2011. Below is a selection, but head on over to PW to see all the lists. Looks like an interesting list of stuff I should like to read.
SF/F/H
Zoo City, by Lauren Buekes
Triptych, by J. M. Frey
Unpossible, by Daryl Gregory
Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of CaitlÃn R. Kiernan, Vol. 1, by CaitlÃn R. Kiernan
Erekos by A.M. Tuomala
Top Ten Overall
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Devil All the Time, by Donald Ray Pollock
State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
After the Apocalypse, by Maureen F. McHugh
Bossypants, by Tina Fey
Catherine the Great, by Robert K. Massie
There but for the, by Ali Smith
Hemingway's Boat, by Paul Hendrickson
One Day I Will Write About This Place, by Binyavanga Wainaina
Arguably: Essays, by Christopher Hitchens
I haven't read any of these. I'm a huge fan of Ann Patchett's work and I've been following Eugenides since The Virgin Suicides. I have no clue how I didn't know he had a new novel out. Also, Daryl Gregory tends to be fantastic. I haven't read his new novel OR this new collection. Sigh. So much to read.
Publisher's Weekly has named its Best Books of 2011. Below is a selection, but head on over to PW to see all the lists. Looks like an interesting list of stuff I should like to read.
SF/F/H
Zoo City, by Lauren Buekes
Triptych, by J. M. Frey
Unpossible, by Daryl Gregory
Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of CaitlÃn R. Kiernan, Vol. 1, by CaitlÃn R. Kiernan
Erekos by A.M. Tuomala
Top Ten Overall
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Devil All the Time, by Donald Ray Pollock
State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
After the Apocalypse, by Maureen F. McHugh
Bossypants, by Tina Fey
Catherine the Great, by Robert K. Massie
There but for the, by Ali Smith
Hemingway's Boat, by Paul Hendrickson
One Day I Will Write About This Place, by Binyavanga Wainaina
Arguably: Essays, by Christopher Hitchens
I haven't read any of these. I'm a huge fan of Ann Patchett's work and I've been following Eugenides since The Virgin Suicides. I have no clue how I didn't know he had a new novel out. Also, Daryl Gregory tends to be fantastic. I haven't read his new novel OR this new collection. Sigh. So much to read.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
The Outback Stars, by Sandra McDonald
I want to catch up on some of the books I've read during the last four months. I won't be able to write in depth about most of these books because it's been too long. This may be more of a series where I talk about what I think about when I think about these books. If that makes sense. First up was David Gemmell's Legend.
Next up is The Outback Stars, by Sandra McDonald. I read this at the end of September.
Sandra McDonald described The Outback Stars and its two sequels as “sf military romances” and, well, fair enough. That aspect is certainly present in The Outback Stars. The more I think about that description, the better it fits. The Outback Stars is all three, with no one part of that overwhelming the others.
From the back cover:
Lieutentant Jodenny Scott is a Hero. She has the medals to prove it – and the scars.
She's cooling her heels on Kookaburra, recovering from the fiery loss of her last ship, the Yangtze, and she's bored – so bored, in fact, that she takes a berth on the next ship out. That's a mistake. The Aral Sea isn't anyone's idea of a get-well tour.
Jodenny's handed a division full of misfits, incompetents, and criminals. She thinks she can handle it. She's wrong. Aral Sea isn't a happy ship. And it's about to get a lot unhappier.
What I think about when I think about The Outback Stars is the interpersonal drama of The Aral Sea, Jodenny's struggle to bring a sense of military discipline and decorum back to her new unit and how she is undermined by others who should be leaders. McDonald goes much deeper than that, in the end, but the day to day struggle of Lt Scott was the core of what worked best for me. McDonald herself is a former Navy officer and that working knowledge of the day to day life of a junior officer comes through in her writing. She isn't writing dry military minutiae, either. There is real conflict that is core to the story being told in the novel. It works.
There really isn't a weak aspect of the novel. 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. The Outback Stars was one of those novels that was on my list of books I'll get to “sometime soon”. Sometime soon became several years. Now I only need not to wait so long to read the sequel. Very good stuff here.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Legend, by David Gemmell
First up is a book that I read in mid-September: Legend, by David Gemmell
People have tried to get me to pick up Legend for years now. Every few months there would be a comment here insisting that I give the book a shot because I am sure to love it. We'll see. I might not have picked it up but I was in a situation where the only real access I had to books was a rare trip to a Half Priced Books and hope they have something decent. The result of one of those trips included Legend. Without much else to read and with the novel priced at $3, why not?
Originally published in 1984, Legend is a specific type of epic fantasy: which is to say, the ultra-heroic type where the hero is a hero and always does what is right and is capable of great feats. When I wrote about James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven trilogy, I mentioned that I considered the Raven novels to be something of a bridge between quest fantasies of the 80's / 90's and the modern quest fantasies. Though I didn't realize it at the time, Legend is the beginning of that conversation of how that epic fantasy storytelling would shift.
Had Gemmell written about “Druss the Legend” earlier in the character's life, we would have been given a story of heroic feats of a young man at the height of his powers. There would have been a sense of obviousness in the story. Where Gemmell begins to twist things is that Druss here is an old man. Druss is something of a Clint Eastwood type character. You know he can kick the ass of men half his age, but you also know that people are going to want to test him even as they whisper about his legend. That's Druss and that's a major facet of Legend.
Having a somewhat “elderly” warrior means that there will always be a question on whether Druss's body will hold up to he demands of it and therein lies the tension. There's also a siege defending against vastly superior forces and the way Gemmell closes the novel is...interesting, but at its heart, Legend is heroic epic fantasy where things are a little too simple, too pat, and in many cases, too obvious. On the other hand, Legend does not pretend to be anything other than what it is.
There is a place for this type of fantasy. Certainly there is a market for it, and the David Gemmell Legend Award celebrates epic fantasy and Gemmell's legacy. I'm just not sure this is what I want to read on a regular basis.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Elizabeth Bear story and interview
There's a double shot of Elizabeth Bear goodness over at Apex Magazine. I'm off my game because this news is a whole day old! I don't know what's wrong with me.
First, they've got an interview with Bear. It's about stuff.
Second is a brand spanking new short story titled "The Leavings of the Wolf." I must read this when I'm not fixing to fall asleep.
While you're there, Apex also has a new story from Catherynne Valente.
You're welcome.
First, they've got an interview with Bear. It's about stuff.
Second is a brand spanking new short story titled "The Leavings of the Wolf." I must read this when I'm not fixing to fall asleep.
While you're there, Apex also has a new story from Catherynne Valente.
You're welcome.
Weird Fiction Review
From the press release, an interesting blog / magazine emerges:
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR WEIRD?
Weirdfictionreview.com: Your Non-Denominational Source for The Weird
Weirdfictionreview.com launched today, a website devoted to The Weird and created by Luis Rodrigues. The project is the brainchild of editing-writing team Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. Hugo Award-winner Ann VanderMeer until recently edited Weird Tales Magazine and has co-edited several anthologies with her husband. Jeff’s last novel, Finch, was a finalist for the Nebula Award and World Fantasy Award. Together they edited the just-released The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Stories (Atlantic/Corvus), a 750,000-word, 100-year retrospective of weird fiction.
The site kicks off today with the following features:
---Exclusive interview with Neil Gaiman about weird fiction:
---First episode of exclusive “Reading The Weird” webcomic by Leah Thomas:
---Translation of Thomas Owen’s short story “Kavar the Rat” by Edward Gauvin:
---The full Table of Contents for The Weird compendium, with notes:
---Weird Gallery, Featuring the art of New Orleans artist Myrtle Von Damitz III:
Come back later this week and next for: “Weirdly Epic: A Century of First Lines,” exclusive interviews with Kelly Link and Thomas Ligotti, a feature on artist/writer Alfred Kubin, Kafkaesque entertainments, China Mieville’s “AFTERWEIRD: The Efficacy of a Worm-eaten Dictionary,” and a feature on classic Weird Tales women writers. An ongoing “101 Weird Writers” feature will also begin next week.
Weirdfictionreview.com will initially focus on features related to The Weird compendium, but its primary mission over time will be to serve as an ongoing exploration into all facets of the weird, in all of its many forms — a kind of “non-denominational” approach that appreciates Lovecraft but also writers like Franz Kafka, Angela Carter, and Shirley Jackson – along with the next generation of weird writers and international weird. Writer Angela Slatter serves as the managing editor.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR WEIRD?
Weirdfictionreview.com: Your Non-Denominational Source for The Weird
Weirdfictionreview.com launched today, a website devoted to The Weird and created by Luis Rodrigues. The project is the brainchild of editing-writing team Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. Hugo Award-winner Ann VanderMeer until recently edited Weird Tales Magazine and has co-edited several anthologies with her husband. Jeff’s last novel, Finch, was a finalist for the Nebula Award and World Fantasy Award. Together they edited the just-released The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Stories (Atlantic/Corvus), a 750,000-word, 100-year retrospective of weird fiction.
The site kicks off today with the following features:
---Exclusive interview with Neil Gaiman about weird fiction:
---First episode of exclusive “Reading The Weird” webcomic by Leah Thomas:
---Translation of Thomas Owen’s short story “Kavar the Rat” by Edward Gauvin:
---The full Table of Contents for The Weird compendium, with notes:
---Weird Gallery, Featuring the art of New Orleans artist Myrtle Von Damitz III:
Come back later this week and next for: “Weirdly Epic: A Century of First Lines,” exclusive interviews with Kelly Link and Thomas Ligotti, a feature on artist/writer Alfred Kubin, Kafkaesque entertainments, China Mieville’s “AFTERWEIRD: The Efficacy of a Worm-eaten Dictionary,” and a feature on classic Weird Tales women writers. An ongoing “101 Weird Writers” feature will also begin next week.
Weirdfictionreview.com will initially focus on features related to The Weird compendium, but its primary mission over time will be to serve as an ongoing exploration into all facets of the weird, in all of its many forms — a kind of “non-denominational” approach that appreciates Lovecraft but also writers like Franz Kafka, Angela Carter, and Shirley Jackson – along with the next generation of weird writers and international weird. Writer Angela Slatter serves as the managing editor.
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Greatest Peanuts Comic Strips
As I read through the Fantagraphics collections of the Peanuts comic strips, I am often struck by just how perfectly written some of the strips are. Schulz can break your heart with just one panel, and with another show the quiet humanity and pricelessness of family or friendship. I've looked for just those strips to share, but have had little luck.
Specifically, I wanted the October 11, 1980 strip which closes a story arc where Snoopy has been trying to figure out what exact kind bird Woodstock is and, in the end, suggests that maybe Woodstock is a duck. When Woodstock is distraught at Snoopy's bad joke, the final panel is this perfect touching moment of reconciliation and friendship. I could never find the strip online.
Today, I ran into another.
I found this one. It speaks volumes. Still couldn't find the Snoopy / Woodstock strip.
I also ran across a series of blog posts from one Trapper Jenn, MD listing out what she feels the 50 greatest Peanuts strips are. She has good taste, though she doesn't count that Snoopy / Woodstock strip as one of them.
Regardless, I want to share her list. And her commentary.
The Honor Bag
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11
10-1
Enjoy!
Specifically, I wanted the October 11, 1980 strip which closes a story arc where Snoopy has been trying to figure out what exact kind bird Woodstock is and, in the end, suggests that maybe Woodstock is a duck. When Woodstock is distraught at Snoopy's bad joke, the final panel is this perfect touching moment of reconciliation and friendship. I could never find the strip online.
Today, I ran into another.
I found this one. It speaks volumes. Still couldn't find the Snoopy / Woodstock strip.
I also ran across a series of blog posts from one Trapper Jenn, MD listing out what she feels the 50 greatest Peanuts strips are. She has good taste, though she doesn't count that Snoopy / Woodstock strip as one of them.
Regardless, I want to share her list. And her commentary.
The Honor Bag
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11
10-1
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
2011 World Fantasy Award Winners
Via Twitter and Tor.com
Best Novel: Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
Best Novella: “The Maiden Flight of McAuley's Bellerophon”, by Elizabeth Hand
Best Short Fiction: “Fossil-Figures”, by Joyce Carol Oates
Best Anthology: My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, by Kate Bernheimer
Best Collection: What I Didn't See, by Karen Joy Fowler
Best Artist: Kinuko Y. Craft
Special Award, Professional: Marc Gascoigne, for Angry Robot
Special Award, Non-Professional: Alisa Krasnostein, for Twelfth Planet Press
Congratulations to all the winners AND all the nominees.
Now it's time to start catching up on all of the goodness I missed this year.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Underland Stuff
It occurs to me that I haven't heard much about Underland Press in a while, but they had two books published this year.In Extremis, by John Shirley
In Extremis features more than twenty of Shirley’s most intense stories originally published in anthologies and periodicals like Asimov's Science Fiction, Cemetery Dance, and New Noir. In addition, this volume contains two never-before-published pieces that are sure to roil the genre’s most hardened readers.
The Other, by Matthew Hughes
Meet Luff Imbry, an insidiously clever confidence man . . . He likes good wine, good food, and good stolen goods, and he always maintains the upper hand. When a business rival gets the drop on him, he finds himself abandoned on Fulda—a far-off, isolated world with a history of its own. Unable to blend in and furious for revenge, Imbry has to rely on his infamous criminal wit to survive Fulda’s crusade to extinguish The Other.
Now, I have this inexplicable manner of deciding which books I want to read and simple descriptions tend to not play into it, but one thing that helps is history. Underland Press is the publisher of The Pilo Family Circus, Last Days, and Finch. Good stuff (and, in the case of Finch, great stuff).They've published a Joe Lansdale collection which I really have to read one of these days. All of this is to say that I think I need to track down these two Underland books.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Griaule
That Dragon Griaule collection from Lucius Shepard that I've been dreaming about for years?
You can order it now.
You can order it now.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Machine Cover
The news is a good month old by this point, but I only just now have consistent internet access and wanted to share.
One of my more anticipated novels for the last couple of years is Jennifer Pelland's Machine. I absolutely love her short fiction and can't wait to see what she will do at novel length (despite that I have, in fact, been waiting to find out). Machine is forthcoming in late December from Apex Books.
Machine has a cover! Looks damn good.
Cover Artist: Katja Faith
Cover Design: Mekenzie Larsen
One of my more anticipated novels for the last couple of years is Jennifer Pelland's Machine. I absolutely love her short fiction and can't wait to see what she will do at novel length (despite that I have, in fact, been waiting to find out). Machine is forthcoming in late December from Apex Books.
Machine has a cover! Looks damn good.
Cover Design: Mekenzie Larsen
Friday, October 21, 2011
Dreamhaven Books to Close
Disappointing news on the home front. According to Locus, Dreamhaven Books is closing its doors at the end of January. Here is a copy of the e-mail sent out with the catalog.
I only shopped Dreamhaven perhaps once a year. I like the store, it was just never part of my regular rotation. That's probably part of the problem and why the store is closing. I always took for granted that the Twin Cities had two outstanding genre bookshops. I saw Paolo Bacigalupi read from Pump Six there and bought the book on the spot. It's a good store. I don't really want to say "was", but that's about to happen in just a few months.
I wish Greg Ketter the best and hope that whatever his plans are for the future, that they are a smash hit.
I only shopped Dreamhaven perhaps once a year. I like the store, it was just never part of my regular rotation. That's probably part of the problem and why the store is closing. I always took for granted that the Twin Cities had two outstanding genre bookshops. I saw Paolo Bacigalupi read from Pump Six there and bought the book on the spot. It's a good store. I don't really want to say "was", but that's about to happen in just a few months.
I wish Greg Ketter the best and hope that whatever his plans are for the future, that they are a smash hit.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Stumptown
Stumptown
Greg Rucka (writer)
Matthew Southworth (art)
Stumptown features Dex Parios, a private investigator with shit luck at gambling. Down nearly eighteen grand to a casino, she is offered a case by the head of casino operations: find the missing granddaughter of Sue-Lynne Suppa, and the debt is erased.
Greg Rucka has worked on some of the biggest franchises from Marvel and DC Comics, but should be best known for his work on Queen & Country and Whiteout. Queen & Country is some of the best espionage fiction you're likely to run across, and given the difference in medium, I'd hold it up against prose fiction. It's damn good.
The thing about comic books is that where a writer can be so good on one series, his next work can fall flat and not meet the expectations his own excellence has set. Granted, this is true about anything, but I am a bit more hesitant with comics than with prose novels. Whiteout was good. Queen & Country was great. Could Stumptown even compare?
Happily, yes.
Charlotte Suppa has been missing for four days, and like any good detective story, Stumptown isn't quite so simple as “find the girl who ran away.” There's more to it, but not so much in a way that would begin to strain credulity. After telling personal stories on the world's stage with Queen & Country, Rucka tells a smaller story with Stumptown. Though the focus is on Dex's investigation, readers get a sense of Dex's life and personal story in an organic manner that serves both the macro story of the investigation as well as the micro story of introducing this new world. Rucka is very good at that balancing act. He does well with Dex's characterization and gives enough hints for the supporting cast to come alive as well.
Matthew Southworth's illustrations should also be commended. There is a certain washed out quality that serves the tone of the story while perfectly conveying who the characters are and what sort of world they inhabit. The art does its job, but it is more than simply serviceable. Matthew Southworth helps tell Rucka's story and with a different artist, we'd have an entirely different book – and probably not as good as the one we have now.
The four issues collected in Volume One cover “The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left her Mini).” That title is the only bit of cheese to be found in the book. The only collected edition available is the hardcover that'll run you in the neighborhood of $30, but it's well worth checking out. One can only hope that Rucka has more Stumptown books in the works and that Southworth will be back doing the illustrations. This interview suggests that there is.
Greg Rucka (writer)
Matthew Southworth (art)
Stumptown features Dex Parios, a private investigator with shit luck at gambling. Down nearly eighteen grand to a casino, she is offered a case by the head of casino operations: find the missing granddaughter of Sue-Lynne Suppa, and the debt is erased.
Greg Rucka has worked on some of the biggest franchises from Marvel and DC Comics, but should be best known for his work on Queen & Country and Whiteout. Queen & Country is some of the best espionage fiction you're likely to run across, and given the difference in medium, I'd hold it up against prose fiction. It's damn good.
The thing about comic books is that where a writer can be so good on one series, his next work can fall flat and not meet the expectations his own excellence has set. Granted, this is true about anything, but I am a bit more hesitant with comics than with prose novels. Whiteout was good. Queen & Country was great. Could Stumptown even compare?
Happily, yes.
Charlotte Suppa has been missing for four days, and like any good detective story, Stumptown isn't quite so simple as “find the girl who ran away.” There's more to it, but not so much in a way that would begin to strain credulity. After telling personal stories on the world's stage with Queen & Country, Rucka tells a smaller story with Stumptown. Though the focus is on Dex's investigation, readers get a sense of Dex's life and personal story in an organic manner that serves both the macro story of the investigation as well as the micro story of introducing this new world. Rucka is very good at that balancing act. He does well with Dex's characterization and gives enough hints for the supporting cast to come alive as well.
Matthew Southworth's illustrations should also be commended. There is a certain washed out quality that serves the tone of the story while perfectly conveying who the characters are and what sort of world they inhabit. The art does its job, but it is more than simply serviceable. Matthew Southworth helps tell Rucka's story and with a different artist, we'd have an entirely different book – and probably not as good as the one we have now.
The four issues collected in Volume One cover “The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left her Mini).” That title is the only bit of cheese to be found in the book. The only collected edition available is the hardcover that'll run you in the neighborhood of $30, but it's well worth checking out. One can only hope that Rucka has more Stumptown books in the works and that Southworth will be back doing the illustrations. This interview suggests that there is.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Bookshelf
Even though I haven't been able to read nearly as many books these past months I've been in training, I've managed to accumulate a decent starting collection of books. Now, eight of these were books that I brought from home after the Fourth of July holiday, but the rest...well, the rest are all new to my collection.
To save some money, I haven't picked up the highest profile releases that I really want to own, but I'm rather happy with what I've picked up. Some good stuff here.
Oh, and if you wondered what happens when you take a book with you to some field exercises where you're going to be made up like a casualty and you don't take care where you leave said book...
Oh, and if you wondered what happens when you take a book with you to some field exercises where you're going to be made up like a casualty and you don't take care where you leave said book...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Forthcoming 2011: Q4
Welcome to the latest installment of "Stuff I'm Looking Forward To This Year". As always, I take my information from the Locus Forthcoming list, plus a little bit of extra research when I'm aware of things that should be on the Locus list and are not.
October
The Hum and the Shiver, by Alex Bledsoe: New series. I've pretty well enjoyed everything I've read from Bledsoe
After the Apocalypse, by Maureen F. McHugh: Her collection Mothers and Other Monsters was fantastic. This is a new collection. Can't miss.
Ganymede, by Cherie Priest: Aww, come on. It's a new Clockwork Century novel from Cherie Priest. I love this stuff.
November
Stone Spring, by Stephen Baxter: What Baxter I have read has been consistently excellent. I expect more of the same.
Master of the House of Darts, by Aliette de Bodard: If you're not reading de Bodard's Aztec set murder mysteries laced with blood magic, you're seriously missing out. This is fantastic stuff and is her third novel.
The Allow of Law, by Brandon Sanderson: Set in the Mistborn universe, only a couple centuries later.
December
11.22.63, by Stephen King: I dunno, it's new King. Very hit or miss, but what the hell. He mixes time travel and the Kennedy assassination with this one.
That's it for the year!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
2011 World Fantasy Award Nominees
Via Locus
It's that time of year again and the nominees for the World Fantasy Awards have been announced. It's a good list. If you're not sure what to read, the World Fantasy Awards are a great place to start.
Best Novel
Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (Jacana South Africa; Angry Robot)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz; Doubleday)
Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada; Roc; Harper Voyager UK)
Redemption In Indigo, Karen Lord (Small Beer)
Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)
Best Novella
Bone and Jewel Creatures, Elizabeth Bear (Subterranean)
The Broken Man, Michael Byers (PS)
“The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon”, Elizabeth Hand (Stories: All-New Tales)
The Thief of Broken Toys, Tim Lebbon (ChiZine Publications)
“The Mystery Knight”, George R.R. Martin (Warriors)
“The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window”, Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer 2010)
Best Short Fiction
“Beautiful Men” , Christopher Fowler (Visitants: Stories of Fallen Angels and Heavenly Hosts)
“Booth’s Ghost”, Karen Joy Fowler (What I Didn’t See and Other Stories)
“Ponies”, Kij Johnson (Tor.com 11/17/10)
“Fossil-Figures”, Joyce Carol Oates (Stories: All-New Tales)
“Tu Sufrimiento Shall Protect Us”, Mercurio D. Rivera (Black Static 8-9/10)
Best Anthology
The Way of the Wizard, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Prime)
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, Kate Bernheimer, ed. (Penguin)
Haunted Legends, Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas, eds. (Tor)
Stories: All-New Tales, Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio, eds. (Morrow; Headline Review)
Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, S.T. Joshi, ed. (PS)
Swords & Dark Magic, Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders, eds. (Eos)
Best Collection
What I Didn’t See and Other Stories, Karen Joy Fowler (Small Beer)
The Ammonite Violin & Others, CaitlÃn R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
Holiday, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon)
Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter (Tartarus)
The Third Bear, Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon)
Best Artist
Vincent Chong
Kinuko Y. Craft
Richard A. Kirk
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Special Award, Professional
John Joseph Adams, for editing and anthologies
Lou Anders, for editing at Pyr
Marc Gascoigne, for Angry Robot
Stéphane Marsan & Alain Névant, for Bragelonne
Brett Alexander Savory & Sandra Kasturi, for ChiZine Publications
Special Award, Non-Professional
Stephen Jones, Michael Marshall Smith, & Amanda Foubister, for Brighton Shock!: The Souvenir Book Of The World Horror Convention 2010
Alisa Krasnostein, for Twelfth Planet Press
Matthew Kressel, for Sybil’s Garage and Senses Five Press
Charles Tan, for Bibliophile Stalker
Lavie Tidhar, for The World SF Blog
It's that time of year again and the nominees for the World Fantasy Awards have been announced. It's a good list. If you're not sure what to read, the World Fantasy Awards are a great place to start.
Best Novel
Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (Jacana South Africa; Angry Robot)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
The Silent Land, Graham Joyce (Gollancz; Doubleday)
Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada; Roc; Harper Voyager UK)
Redemption In Indigo, Karen Lord (Small Beer)
Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)
Best Novella
Bone and Jewel Creatures, Elizabeth Bear (Subterranean)
The Broken Man, Michael Byers (PS)
“The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon”, Elizabeth Hand (Stories: All-New Tales)
The Thief of Broken Toys, Tim Lebbon (ChiZine Publications)
“The Mystery Knight”, George R.R. Martin (Warriors)
“The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window”, Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer 2010)
Best Short Fiction
“Beautiful Men” , Christopher Fowler (Visitants: Stories of Fallen Angels and Heavenly Hosts)
“Booth’s Ghost”, Karen Joy Fowler (What I Didn’t See and Other Stories)
“Ponies”, Kij Johnson (Tor.com 11/17/10)
“Fossil-Figures”, Joyce Carol Oates (Stories: All-New Tales)
“Tu Sufrimiento Shall Protect Us”, Mercurio D. Rivera (Black Static 8-9/10)
Best Anthology
The Way of the Wizard, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Prime)
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, Kate Bernheimer, ed. (Penguin)
Haunted Legends, Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas, eds. (Tor)
Stories: All-New Tales, Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio, eds. (Morrow; Headline Review)
Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, S.T. Joshi, ed. (PS)
Swords & Dark Magic, Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders, eds. (Eos)
Best Collection
What I Didn’t See and Other Stories, Karen Joy Fowler (Small Beer)
The Ammonite Violin & Others, CaitlÃn R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
Holiday, M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon)
Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter (Tartarus)
The Third Bear, Jeff VanderMeer (Tachyon)
Best Artist
Vincent Chong
Kinuko Y. Craft
Richard A. Kirk
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Special Award, Professional
John Joseph Adams, for editing and anthologies
Lou Anders, for editing at Pyr
Marc Gascoigne, for Angry Robot
Stéphane Marsan & Alain Névant, for Bragelonne
Brett Alexander Savory & Sandra Kasturi, for ChiZine Publications
Special Award, Non-Professional
Stephen Jones, Michael Marshall Smith, & Amanda Foubister, for Brighton Shock!: The Souvenir Book Of The World Horror Convention 2010
Alisa Krasnostein, for Twelfth Planet Press
Matthew Kressel, for Sybil’s Garage and Senses Five Press
Charles Tan, for Bibliophile Stalker
Lavie Tidhar, for The World SF Blog
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