The Year in Review

Well its been quite a year. I started a blogger account to be able to comment on other blogs. Then I figured as long as I had it I might as well make some use of it and thought. I'd start writing up a brief review of the books I read. Even though its still a relatively small readership, I never imagined that I'd have hundreds of people all over the world checking this out. Its really amazing.

We did lose some great authors this year. John M. Ford, Octavia Butler, David Gemmell, Peter Benchley, Mickey Spillane all passed this year.

There were also some tremendous debuts this year. The best of which in my opinion was the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

I didn't get as many books read as I wanted to this year. The final count was 31. Just past the minimum goal of 30 I'd set for myself. I'm shooting for 40 in 2007

Here is a recap of what I read in 2006

The Warrior-Prophet by RS Bakker 9.5
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson 6.5
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold 8.0
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford 9.0
The Thousandfold Thought by RS Bakker 9.0
Dune by Frank Herbert 8.5
Supreme Power by JM Stryzinzki 9.0
Shadow Twin by Martin, Doziois, & Abraham 7.0
A Shadow in Summer by Danial Abraham
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 9.0
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 8.5
Dying of the Light by GRR Martin 8.0
The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross 7.5
The Man in the High Castle by PK Dick 9.0
The Forever War by Joe Haleman 9.5
Paladin of Souls by Lois M Bujold 7.0
Neuromancer by William Gibson 8.0
Lamb by Christopher Moore 9.0
River of Gods by Ian MacDonald 8.5
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 9.5
Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link 8.0
Fevre Dream by GRRM 7.5
The Blood Knight by Greg Keyes 7.5
Ultimate Iron Man by OS Card 8.0
One More For the Road by Ray Bradbury 5.0
Tripping to Somewhere by Kristopher Reisz 6.0
Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight 7.5
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan 9.0
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay 8.0
Starship Troopers 9.0
Blindsight by Peter Watts 8.5


My book of the year would have to be The Lies of Locke Lamora, and the Best book I read this year would be The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker.

I'm looking forward to a lot of new books in 2007. Red Seas under Read Skies by Lynch, Thirteen by Morgan, A Sword from Red Ice by JV Jones, Brasyl by MacDonald, as well as hopefully A Dance with Dragons by GRRM.

In additions I still have a huge backlog of genre classics to get to as well as a lot of newer releases by authors I've been meaning to get to such as John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, and Jo Walton. It seems lie there is never enough time to read everything I'd like.

Thanks to all of my readers, and hopefully I'll have a lot more to bring you in 2007!

LibraryThing

I signed up for a lifetime account with LibraryThing recently and ordered the :cuecat scanner which arrived yesterday. So I spent the evening scanning in my collection. So far I got my hard covers and trades scanned in. I'll probably get to the mmpbs this weekend.

Its a pretty nice inventory system, and is customizable. I really like it. Its free to try $10/yr or $25 for life. That's cheaper than many other software based applications I've seen. Out of over 200 books I only had trouble finding a couple, mainly with non US editions.

Here are the links.

my profile
my catalog

Blindsight

Blindsight by Peter Watts is a hard sci-fi novel set near the end of the 21st century. Humankind has just experienced Firefall, when 65,536 objects simultaneously enter earth's atmosphere. In response man sends a manned mission to investigate the source of this phenomenon.

The spaceship Theseus is a wonder of engineering, beyond the cutting edge of science. The crew is an eclectic group selected for their unique abilities and skill sets. First there is Siri Keaton, the synthesist. He is there to observe and report. The story is told through Siri's viewpoint and is interspersed with flashbacks from his past life, which give us a view of what Watt's future Earth is like.

Next is Jukka Sarasti, the mission commander. Sarasti is a vampire, and as such his reasoning and logic skill far outstrip what any homo sapien could hope to achieve, even with cybernetic enhancements.

The rest of the crew consist of Amanda Bates, the pacifist military officer in charge of security. Next is Susan James, AKA the Gang of Four. James is a linguist who has split her brain into 4 unique personalities. Finally there is Isaac Szpindel, a biologist so heavily interfaced with equipment he can see xrays but at the cost of most of his normal senses.

These five are sent in suspended animation to make first contact. What they encounter is beyond their wildest nightmares.

Blindsight has a definite horror element to it. Conceptually its a brilliant take on first contact. The science is highly plausible, and the alienness of what the crew of the Theseus encounter is unlike pretty much anything I've seen before. There is an appendix at the end up the book in which Watts explains certain concepts, and while the technology factor is pretty high, the story doesn't get bogged down in jargon.

Hard sci fi isn't my normal sub genre of choice, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lot of the early buzz surrounding Blightsight has speculated that it could win the Hugo. While its not my first choice, it definitely belongs on the short list and I wouldn't be upset if it did win. Any fan of hard sci fi should certainly pick this book up.

8.5 out of 10

Buy this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon

If you would like to try before you by Watts has even made this book available under the creative commons licence. It can be downloaded here.

Starship Troopers

"I always get the shakes before a drop."

Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein is a seminal novel of military Science Fiction. It won the Hugo for best novel in 1960 and has been sited or at least suggested as an influence on such award winning novels as The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and Old Man's War by John Scalzi.

It novel is the first person narrative of Johnnie Rico, a young man from the not to distant future, and details his experience in the Mobile Infantry. It follows him from recruitment, to boot camp, to action. From raw recruit to non-com to officer. Interspersed in the scenes of training, and a few sparse battle scenes are a number of philosophical arguments on subjects such as the nature of war, the rights and duties of citizenship, and the merits of various forms of government.

Its these philosophical arguments that have made this book so controversial over the years. Heinlein was widely criticized for his belief in a meritocracy and what many see to be his anti communist views.


This is a great book. Its strength lies in the storyline and the development of Rico as a soldier. The world building is rather limited, but the Heinlein does do a pretty good job in portraying both a future Earth society , as well as developing the alien society of the Bugs.

I greatly enjoyed this book. Many of course criticize Starship Troopers as a propaganda vehicle for for Heinlein's personal views on society, and while that certainly is a relevant argument. I don't think it needs to detract from the reader's enjoyment of the book. I found it to be a quick read, and while its not a light read, and is filled with philosophical questions, one doesn't get bogged down in them as you can with other books. The influence of this book can't be denied. In fact the themes have been repeated so much in other works I almost felt like I'd read this book before.

9 out of 10

You can purchase the book at

Amazon

or

Clarkesworld

Tigana

"In the autumn season of the wine, word went forth from among the cypresses and olives and the laden vines of his country estate that Sandre, Duke of Astibar, once ruler of that city and its province, had drawn the last bitter breath of his exile and age and died."

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, is a beautifully written example of high fantasy. It tells the story of the people of the Palm, nine provinces located on a peninsula and surrounded by greater powers. Eight of the provinces have by conquered by two separate tyrants Brandin, King of Ygrath hold sway in the west, and Alberico of Barbadior rules in the East.

The driving point of the story is the fate of the province of Tigana, and its remaining survivors, for it was the Prince of Tigana who had slain the son of the Tyrant Brandin. In revenge the King of Ygrath not only scourged the land itself but cast a sorcery over the rest of the palm wiping the very memory of Tigana of anyone not born there. This is why Alessan the Heir of Tigana has gathered his company together. To take down the Tyrants and restore freedom to the people of the Palm.

Kay is a true wordsmith. His prose is beautiful and moving. His world building is not very deep, but where most high fantasy seems to have evolved into epic multi volume series, the economy here is welcome. The characters are interesting, and deep, even the antagonists receive enough attention so they are more than just a mysterious dark lord. If the story falls short anywhere its in plotting. It is a fairly standard story line, a group of heroes struggling against an oppressor. Perhaps I've become a bit cynical, but by and large there seem to be a lot of times where the heroes make it out of impossible situations nearly unscathed due to fortunate coincidences or twists of fate. Despite this the ending is rather bittersweet, Kay doesn't totally cop out with an entirely happy finish to the story.

Tigana was a good read. I liked it quite a bit. When starting a new book with unfamiliar characters, it tends to take me a while to find my footing, and feel out who is who. I reached this point about 100 pages in, and from there everything rolled by very smoothly. Its a very traditional story, and the ending left me very satisfied. This is probably a must read for fans of high fantasy.

8 out of 10

You can purchase this book at

Amazon

Book Sale!

Neil at Clarkesworld is having in inventory reduction sale
Click here for details.

over 1500 titles have had their priced slashed!

Quote of the Day

To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser.
- Robertson Davies

Quote of the Day

I found the google quote of the day to be quite apropos, so I thought I'd share it.

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
- Arnold Lobel

Altered Carbon

"Coming back from the dead can be rough."

Altered Carbon is Richard K. Morgan's debut novel but you'd never guess if you didn't know. Its a Sci -Fi Thriller set on 25th century earth, and Buck Rogers it is not.

Man has colonized the galaxy under the guidance of the UN Protectorate, and The UN has created the Envoys to deal with special problems. Technology has changed the definition of life itself. Peoples consciousnesses can be downloaded in to a cortical stack, so that a person's body is no more part of their being than their car, or home. Something that they make be attached to, but can be changed, upgraded, or even sold. For those with the means death merely becomes a minor inconvenience.

Takeshi Kovacs is on the stack doing a 120 year sentence, when he is freighted to Earth via needlecast to go to work for Laurens Bancroft. Bancroft is a meth, a Methuselah, one of the privileged who have extended their lives for centuries. Bancroft had his head, and his stack blown off, the police have ruled it a suicide, Bancroft doesn't buy it. That's why he has brought in Kovacs. The investigation throws Kovacs into the middle of a far reaching conspiracy. He must find a way to solve the puzzle, while saving his skin and those of his friends.

Morgan weaves a complex tale of mystery, adventure, and betrayal. His world building isn't extensive, but as the story takes place mostly on the San Francisco, he doesn't need much. He does create a very interesting back story of colonization and the UN Envoys. Characterization is strong. Kovacs is a very memorable complex character, the supporting cast is strong as well.

Fans of sci-fi or detective stories should enjoy this book. It evokes comparisons to the work of Phillip K. Dick. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Broken Angels has moved to near the top of my to be read pile.

9 out of 10

Buy this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon

Dragon Champion

Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight is the first book in the Age of Fire sequence. I'd seen Knight by an author I'm a fan of so I decided to give him a read. Knight is more known for his pulpy Vampire Earth books, but as I'm a fan of high fantasy I went with his new series instead.

Dragon Champion has all the staples of High Fantasy going for it. It has elves, dwarves, and of course dragons. It even has a dragon on the cover. ( Beautifully drawn by Paul Youll.) The protagonist is an orphan. Sounds cliche right? Well it certainly could be, but Knight take the cliche and turns it around. Perhaps not 180 degrees, but at least a sharp 90.

The orphan protagonist is Auron, a rare scaleless gray dragon, and the story is told entirely from his viewpoint. It follows his life from an emerging hatchling to a full fledged dragon. Along the way he experiences loss, finds new friends, makes new enemies, and discovers what it is to truly be a dragon.

The world building is very good. Knight sets sown several varied histories of the world, differing of course on which race is recording them. The creation mythologies are well layed out. He also does a fine job with characterization. For the most part his characters are very believable. The book sets a strong pace, but also gives the reader time to rest and reflect.

All in all Knight does very well in this endeavor. He takes what could be a tired concept and injects it with new life. I very much enjoyed Dragon Champion and will be looking to pick up the soon to be released follow up Dragon Avenger.

7.5 out of 10

you can purchase this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon.com

New Look

I got tired of the dark look so I decided to change template to go along with the switch to Beta.

Let me know what you think.

Tripping to Somewhere

Life is going nowhere fast... until the night some freak wanders into the convenience store where Sam and Gilly are hanging out. He lets them in on a secret; The Witches'Carnival is nearby. If they travel fast, they might catch it.

Tripping to Somewhere is the debut novel by Kristopher Reisz. It was described to me as a cross between Gaiman and Kerouac. While that may be what the author was aiming for, I think its too lofty of a goal for his first book.

The story follows Gilly and Sam a pair of angst filled teenage girls as they run away from home to join the fabled Witches' Carnival.
Their chase takes them on a trip across not only the country, but across the ocean. Along the way they run the gambit of sex, drugs, rock & roll, and even throw in a few felonies for good measure. They find the Carnival, but the cost to join in might just be too much to pay.

Tripping was published by Simon Pulse which is an imprint of Simon and Schuster generally aimed at younger readers. I think I was outside the key demographic audience for this book. While I found it fairly enjoyable, and a fun easy read, It did nothing to particularly grab me. Perhaps I'm just not capable of empathizing with an angst filled teenage lesbian, but the characters did not make me care about them. The situations they got into and out of seemed too unrealistic for me, even in a fantasy novel.

All in all, while I don't think its a great novel, I think that it will appeal to many teens, who are looking to live vicariously through the protagonists. As I said it was a fun read despite the flaws.

6 out of 10

One More for the Road

One More for the Road is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. It consists of 24 unrelated stories, 17 of which had never been published before. Bradbury is a master of the genre, and this book contains some really nice stories. It also contained some that fell very flat. A few of the stories grabbed my, and several others were very interesting in concept, but just weren't my style. Unfortunately a lot of the stories didn't meet either of those criteria for me.

The Nineteenth was my favorite. It was a moving story of a man mysteriously encountering he deceased father on a golf course looking for lost balls.

The Dragon Danced at Midnight was a furiously paced story of the rise of a filmmaker via the lucky accident of a drunken projectionist showing the reels of his film out of order.

Autumn Afternoon was a sad tale, of an old woman and her young niece. The niece saves calendar pages as remembrances. When cleaning out her attic the lady finds a stack of her own calendar pages from her youth, but she can't recall why she saved them.

For the rest the tales were mostly forgettable. Not bad really, just not remarkable. If you are a fan of Bradbury, feel free to give this a shot. You may like it more than I did. If you are new to the man, I'd stick with Fahrenheit 451 or the Martian Chronicles.

5 out of 10

John M. Ford 1957-2006

R.I.P. to Mike Ford who passed away this morning. It was reported on Making Light today.

Mike was a local author whom I had to end up going to Boston to meet. I only got to talk to him for the few moments it took him to sign my books, but he was very gracious and engaging. Other authors such as Elizabeth Bear, Steven Brust, and Charles Stross are lamenting his loss on the LJ circuit. This truly is a great loss for Speculative Fiction. Mike wrote two of the best books, I've ever read in The Dragon Waiting, and The Last Hot Time. He also has several collections of short stories, as well as a couple of the most highly regarded Star Trek novels ever to his credit.

Its criminal that authors such as Terry Goodkind and Robert Newcombe achieve such commercial success, while a man like Mike Ford toils in obscurity. If you have never read Ford, go out and do it.

Ultimate Iron Man

I have been reading comic books since the late '70's. Since then comics have gone from selling for Still Only $.35 to $3.95 for many titles. I've recently stopped buying comics on a monthly basis, as I feel the price is too much for what I get. However, one other change in comic publishing had been the rise of the graphic novel. It used to be that Marvel or DC would publish a special graphic novel once in awhile, but over the past few years, they have begun publishing omnibus editions of their regular comics a lot more often. Some of them even in nice hardcover editions.

Ultimate Iron Man is one of these. For those not familiar with the Ultimate Universe, let me give you a brief overview. Marvel has been publishing super hero comics since 1960, which of course gives their trademark characters like the Fantastic Four and Spider-man huge histories. Every writer needs to try and keep continuity with what every writer before has done, and this can certainly stifle creativity. What's more it can be imposing to new readers. So Marvel launched the Ultimate Universe, and treated all the characters then in as if they were brand new. They updated origin stories, and from what I've read Iron Man's update is one of the most extreme.

I was interested to read this seeing that Card who wrote the wonderful Ender's Game, was the scripter. I've really enjoyed some comics penned by big names in entertainment like Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and J Michael Stryzinski. One of the best Graphic Novels I've read was Richard Morgan's run on Black Widow. I wasn't disappointed in Card.

The reimaging of Tony actually begins before his birth and involves an accident effecting his geneticist mother. The only way to save Tony is by utilizing some experimental technology developed by his father Howard. Quite the change from the original story of Tony being taken prisoner and forced to develop the armour to keep a bullet lodged in his chest from reaching his heart. Of course we do eventually get to the Iron Man armour, but that ends up being fairly secondary to the main storyline.

I don't believe that the series has gone beyond the first 5 issues, but I'm hoping it does eventually, as the story ends rather abruptly. There is certainly more to tell, and I hope that Card gets to do it.

8 out of 10

The Blood Knight

The Blood Knight is the third book in the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series by Greg Keyes. This follows up The Briar King and The Charnel Prince. Reportedly he is planning on wrapping this series up in the next novel, tenatively titled The Born Queen.

I really enjoyed the first two novels in this sequence, so I had high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed. I would recommend brushing up on what happened in the previous installments before reading this, as Keyes drops you right in the middle of the action. It took me nearly 100 pages before I found my footing and recalled where The Charnel Prince had left off.

*spoilers for the first two books follow.*

Anne, Austra and Cazio, have met up with Sir Neil, as well as Aspar, Winna, and Stephen, so almost all out protagonists are together, or nearly so. The lone exception is the composer Leoff who has been imprisoned by Robert after the performance of his enchanted concert. Robert also has Queen Murielle imprisoned, and has allied himself with the corrupt church and with Crotheny's ancient enemy Hansa. With the help of her friends Anne must find a way to win the throne. She will have to manage without the full group as Stephen is taken and Aspar and Winna are sent to find him, and help him fufill his destiny.

I've heard Keyes often described as Martin-Lite. The comparison is fairly accurate. Keyes writes in the same POV chapter style, and his strength is characterization. His characters are certainly a bit more cliche than Martin's but they are strong none the less. He also does a nice job of world building. The history of the world is fleshed out a bit more with each novel, and he does manage to throw a few curves to keep the reading guessing as to what side certain supporting characters are on.

Keyes doesn't rate on my top tier of writers of epic fantasy but he sits with some pretty good company on the rung below Martin and Bakker. The Blood Knight is certainly an enjoyable book.
If you are a fan of the series, by all means keep reading. If you haven't read this yet and are looking for something to tide you over until A Dance with Dragons, or the Aspect emperor are release, give Keyes a shot.

7.5 out of 10

The Hugo Awards

I'll start with a brief run down of the winners and then get to commentary.

John W. Campbell Award
John Scalzi

Best Fan Artist
Frank Wu

Best Fan Writer
Dave Langford

Best Fanzine
Plokta

Best Semiprozine
Locus

Best Professional Artist
Donato Giancola

Best Professional Editor
David G. Hartwell

Best Dramatic presentation, Short Form
Dr. Who the Empty Child

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Serenity

Best Related Book
Storyteller : Kate Wilhelm

Best Short Story
Tk' tk' tk' : David D. Levine

Best Novellete
Two Hearts : Peter Beagle

Best Novella
Inside Job : Connie Willis

Best Novel
Spin : Robert Charles Wilson

Special Awards were also given to Betty Balantine and Harlan Ellison and Forrey Ackerman was given the Big Heart Award, which was renamed in his honor.

Now my commentary on the results

I wasn't happy with them.
I did not purchase a membership in time to vote, but had I vote, the only choice of mine to win would have been Serenity.

Now I'm a total GRRM fanboy, I've gotten to meet him and chat with him several times, and I really wanted him to win "the big one". But I'm also a realist, and while I think A Storm of Swords is one of the best novels ever written and was robbed, A Feast for Crows was not the book that was going to do it for him. Spin and Accelerando were both extremely tough competition, and Spin likely was deserving.

I also though Magic for Beginners was brilliant, and figured it was a shoe-in for Novella. I'm wondering if Willis didn't get some votes because she was GoH.

Dr. Who beating BSG was also hard to understand... Actually the who voting process is hard to understand. When leaving the awards we were given a printout of the official results. I wish there was an explanation as to how it worked because looking at the results BSG had more first place votes than Dr. Who, the empty child.... in fact is appears to have more votes for Everglade except for last.

This seems to have occurred several times, AFFC had the 3rd most first place votes and finished 5th. John Picacio had the 3rd most votes and finished 5th. Its all very confusing.


Now this was my first Worldcon and my first Hugo Awards. I really enjoyed the ceremony. It did drag on a few times, but for the most part it was very entertaining. The by play between Connie Willis and Robert Silverberg was a highlight. And then of course there was Harlan.
The man is a total dick. However, I find him to be an amusing dick, so I enjoyed his rant. Swallowing the mic was a hoot. Then of course there was "boobgate". IMO it was wrong. But I think some are making a mountain out of a foothill.

The most amusing thing to come out of the hugos to me personally was the rant by William Lexner at I hope I didn't just give away the ending. Looks like he got all the old guard of fandom riled up. Now William is a friend of mine, in fact he was my roommate at Worldcon, and I sat next to him at the Hugos. The man certainly can come off as bombastic, but in reality, he's one of the nicest guys you could meet. That said I know he is getting a kick out of the angry SMOFs. I mean they call themselves Secret Masters of Fandom... They deserve a bit of chain yanking now and again. Kevin Standlee has been one of the biggest critics. Check it out here.
He was also accused of causing Cheryl Morgan to close Emerald City.

Ahhh Good times....Good times.

64th Annual Worldcon

I just got back from Worldcon today and I'm incredibly glad I went. I had a great time as a collector and a fan. My fan report is posted in my LJ.

For my official con experience, I spent most of it in lines to get books signed. Over the course of Friday through Sunday I managed to get books signed by the following.

George R.R. Martin
Ray Bradbury
Anne McAffrey
Joe Halderman
Robert Charles Wilson
P.C. Hodgell
Larry Niven
Tim Powers
Barbara Hambly
Glen Cook
Vernor Vinge

I also neglected to bring A Shadow in Summer and River of Gods but Daniel Abraham and Ian MacDonald were gracious enough to sign bookplates for me.

Due to all the queuing, I missed all of GRRM's panels. The only other official events I went to were the BwB's Human Chess Match between Martin and Abraham, in which I was a participant, the Hugo Awards ceremony, and Ray Bradbury "Himself".

I picked up a few Books in the Dealers Room. I bought the first Black Company book from Glen Cook himself. I also picked up a trade edition of Dhalgren by Delany. Finally I hadn't gotten around to Reading Spin yet, and I was going to pick up a copy for Wilson to sign, but after it won Hugo, all the dealers seemed to sell out of that book. Instead I picked up a short story collection of his to have him sign.

I will write up a Hugo awards report later.

Fevre Dream

Imagine if Mark Twain had written a vampire novel, and you've got Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin. The novel follows the story of Captain Abner Marsh and his dream of having the grandest steamboat on the mighty Mississippi. Unfortunately his dream has been shatter thanks to a hard winter destroying his fleet. Captain Marsh is thrown a lifeline, however, when a mysterious and eccentric benefactor named Joshua York offers to build him the ship of his dreams.

Marsh of course accepts and they begin their maiden voyage. But once on the river York's eccentricities begin to rouse suspicions. Why does he only appear at night? What is up with his equally odd friends. Why does he leave the ship for days at a time, only to return with blood stains on his hands.

Martin deftly weaves a tale that grows more engrossing the further I read. Not all is as it appears to be, and the amalgam he has created, between Life on the Mississippi, and Dracula was certainly interesting. He leads you to what you think is the climax of the story several times, before finally wrapping the story very satisfactorily.

I liked the book, and Martin is my favorite author. I'm a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm slowing getting around to reading his earlier works. While not up to the level of the other Martin novels I've read, Fevre Dream is definitely worth picking up.

7.5 out of 10

New Scott Lynch Message Board

The inesteemable OsRavan has started a message board dedicated to Author Scott Lynch.

Check it out HERE.

Books and Food

I read the following post on Steven Brust's LJ. I found it to be a pretty good metaphor.

"I spent a delightful morning hanging out with Niel Gaiman, and, as usual, we talked about Stuff. If the following makes you go, "Splendid! Brilliant! Insightful!" then Niel gets the credit, because it was his metaphor. On the other hand, if it makes you go, "Lame! Stupid! Strained!" then blame me, because I stretched it to the breaking point.

Books can be broken down into four classes: popcorn, steak, caviar, and celery.

Popcorn is pretty obvious. Anyone here enjoy The Destroyer novels by Sapir and Murphy as much as me? gobble gobble gobble Steak is the stuff you can bite into, chew, swallow, and gain sustenance from. Some of us use spices on our steak, or do interesting things with it by stir-frying it, adding ginger and various vegetables, and so on. In my case, paprika. But at the end of the day, it is steak. Niel writes particularly good steak--range fed, the spicing is different every time, always delectable, and some of it obviously comes from places where cattle are not indigenous, making you go, "Wow. How did they ever think of doing that?" as you go for the next bite.

Gene Wolfe and John M. "Mike" Ford write caviar. It is a lot of work to get to. You have to open the can, you have to make sure the refrigeration is exactly perfect. You have to have the right atmosphere, and you have to approach it with the proper reverence if you're going to get anything out of the experience. But if you do, my god, is it worth it!

Celery is that stuff you have to chew and chew and chew and, by the time you're done, you've gotten even less nutritional value from than the popcorn. I won't name any names.

Some turn up their noses at popcorn. Well, that's okay. Just don't bring 'em to a ball game. Most of us like steak, in one form or another. Some object to caviar because they have just never got into the glories of eating--into food that is worth the work. For them, the payoff just isn't there.

The interesting thing, to me, is that there really are people out there who like the celery because it is so hard to chew, and the fact that there's nothing of substance there doesn't bother them.

Okay, so, probably not as deep as I'm making it sound. But fun to think about."

Magic for Beginners

Short Fiction is something I've not read much of. For most of my life the majority of what I read was Epic fantasy, big heavy multi-volume works. As a result, I've missed out on a whole lot of great writing. While good epic fantasy is still my favorite, I've been trying to expand my horizons, and I thought a great place to start would be with Kelly Link. The fact that she will be appearing at Dreamhaven on Thursday probably lead me to pull her book of the shelf ahead of other worthy canidates, like Jeff Ford or Ted Chaing. I will get to them eventually though.

Magic for Beginners, is a collection of 9 stories. Having never read Link I went in not knowing what to expect. The first story, The Faery Handbag, was a winner for me. Odd and quirky are the first two words that spring to mind when I try and describe this story, and come to find out the rest of the stories make this one seem pretty normal. In this story a young woman searches for her grandmother's magical handbag, that contains a realm in which time runs at a fraction of the speed of our world.

The Hortlak, details the goings on of a 24 hour convenience store. Its sort of reminded me of Clerks meets Shawn of the Dead.

The Cannon, was the shortest story and I didn't care for it. Link has a very stream of consciousness style of writing. Sometimes its brilliant, other times, its just too disjointed and out there for my taste.

Stone Animals, had a very horror feel to me. While not a scary story really, I felt very disturbed at times while reading this.

Catskin, was like a Grim Brothers' fairy tail on acid. While reading many of the stories, I found myself baffled as to how someone thinks of stuff like this.

Some Zombie Contingency Plans, was my favorite story, not only does it have an awesome title, but it was the most realistic of the stories. I felt more connection to Soap than to anyone else in these stories.

The Great Divorce, is a story about a man and his dead wife. She was dead when they were married. People occasionally marry ghosts. This of course can be problematic.

Magic for Beginners, seems to be a favorite to take the Hugo for Novella this year. I can see why. This was a great story. How Link manages to craft a world within a world in such a short amount of space is amazing. The story centers around a group of teens and their love of the cult show The Library. The ideas she presents here are mesmerizing. I marvel at how her mind works.

Lull, was a bit anticlimactic after the wonderful title story. This story was again rather meta. Stories within stories.

As a whole I like the collection. Odd, weird, strange, and beautiful. I fully intend to read more by Link , and read more short fiction.

8 out of 10

On Ratings

Its probably about time I gave a brief explanation of my rating systems.
I give ratings on a scale from 0 to 10 including half integers.

0 : would be something I'd have to have an awfully compelling reason to finish. I'm stubborn but not that stubborn. Zero is something I probably wouldn't even want to wipe my ass with for fear of contamination.

1 : is about as bad as it gets, for example: Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind I'd rate a 1

2 : very bad

3 : is a bad book, but it probably has some redeeming qualities, a cool character or a impressive concept that was just poorly executed.

4: below average

5 : an average book. I probably enjoyed parts of it, but its probably nothing I'd ever pick up again or recommend to anyone.

6 : a bit better than average, has several positive qualities.

7 : a good book one I would recommend to people and that I might re read given time.

8 : a very good book something that any serious fan of the genre should put on their to be read list. Must be exceptionally well written, be incredibly enjoyable, or be in some way a ground breaking work.

9 : a great book. One that people should read as soon as possible

10 : As good as it gets. I don't give out 10 to many books. The only 10 that I can think of that I've read would be A Storm of Swords.

These ratings of course are subjective, but I do try and insert some objectivity into them. I realize that not everything is going to be my cup of tea. If something is well written or groundbreaking, but I just don't care for it that much, I will not downgrade it substantially. For example Neuromancer. A groundbreaking seminal sci -fi work, I just didn't care for it that much. Not a style I prefer, but I still recognize its significance so it still gets a very good rating.

Some may notice that to this point I haven't given any bad grades. Well I don't grade on a curve. Many of the books I've read this year have won major literary awards, or they have come heavily recommended. I haven't been reading a lot of run of the mill books lately. When I get caught up with some long over due classics and books I've been waiting for, I may get into some more mediocre works.

What has come before.

I'm not a super fast reader. Plus I have that stupid thing called a job, which cuts into my reading time, I like TV and have a handful of shows I watch every week. So when the year began I wanted to set a realistic goal to hit this year. I figured I could at least read two books a month. Three might be pushing it. So I set a goal of 30 books. With a good summer, I'm ahead of pace.

Here is what I've read so far this year, along with the rating I gave them, and the link to my review if I did a full one.

The Warrior-Prophet by R.Scott Bakker 9.5

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson 6.5

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold 8.0

The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford 9.0

The Thousandfold Thought by R.Scott Bakker 9.0

Dune by Frank Herbert 8.5

Supreme Power HC Graphic Novel by J.M.S. 9.0

Shadow Twin by Dozios, Martin, & Abraham 7.0

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham 7.5

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 9.0

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 8.5

Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin 8.0

The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross 7.5

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick 9.0

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman 9.5

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold 7.0

Neuromancer by William Gibson 8.0

Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff by Christopher Moore 9.0

River of Gods by Ian MacDonald 8.5

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 9.5

The Lies of Locke Lamora

"Richer and cleverer than everyone else!"

That's the cry of the Gentleman Bastards, in The Lies of Locke Lamora by debut author Scott Lynch.

Lies is the first volume in a planned seven book series called the Gentleman Bastards.

Set in the canal city of Camorr, Lies is part Oliver Twist, part heist movie and is as fun of a romp as you could want to read. The prologue starts with our young protagonist, Locke, being sold from one gang of thieves into another where he is trained into adulthood where most of the story takes place. Scott uses interludes between the present day chapters to tell more of the backstory of the Gentlemen Bastards. Its a toll he uses very well, at least for the first 3/4 of the book. The flashbacks set up action in the present with a wonderful sense of timing and flair. However, the last few interludes, are not flashbacks, but more history lessons, and while they were informative, they felt a bit out of place to me.

While some of the plot elements are fairly standard, the way they are executed keeps them from seeming cliche. In fact and exciting as the plot was, I don't think its the best part of the book. Its the dialogue that I fell in love with, the witty banter that brings to mind some of the best I've ever read, like GRRM's Tyrion Lannister. The thief with the heart of gold would be all to easy of a trap for Lynch to fall into, but he manages to avoid all pitfalls, and deliver a book that should be heralded as a classic of the genre twenty years down the road.

I loved this book, it has all I could want, action, drama, suspense, plot twist, fun characters, witty dialogue. Do me a favor, do yourself a favor, read this book. Buy it now. If you cant buy it, beg borrow or steal it. The Crooked Warden will reward you. :p

9.5 out of 10

River of Gods

Ian McDonald earned a Hugo nomination last year for this novel set in near future India. The year is 2047 and the Hamilton Acts have restricted the development of all AI beyond Gen 2. India has shattered into smaller warring nations. A drought has nearly dried up the Holy Ganges. This is the backdrop for a complex and beautiful story.

McDonald uses a Point of View chapter style to weave his plot. Nine separate characters start the story and they are eventually intertwined and woven into a rich tapestry. Mr. Nanhda, the Krishna cop, His wife Parvati. Professor Lull and his protege Lisa. Shiv, the gangster. Vishram, the family blacksheep, Tal the Nute, Najia the reporter, and Khan the political advisor.

The vision of the future presented is exciting and scary. Its relatable enough to seem well within reach.

Overall I really liked this book, It was a complex tale and not one to be lightly read. I found myself getting lost a few times, but in the end it was well worth the investment put into the read.

8.5 out of 10

Signed Lies

The flash kinda muted out the actual signature.

Scott Lynch

I attended a reading and signing by breakout author Scott Lynch at Dreamhaven last night. Snacks and fizzy drinks were served. There was a nice turnout of probably 25 -30 people, many of whom seemed to be friends of the author. Scott was very friendly and outgoing, and was cracking me up all night, starting with him addressing the crowd just prior to staring and cracking "What are you looking at? I don't have to be nice until 6:30." Much witty banter with the crowd ensued, most especially with his lovely fiance who was seated in the front row.

Let me interject the fact that regrettably, I haven't had the chance to read the book yet. I had ordered a copy from Neil at Clarkesworld. But Neil going the extra mile sent the books off to be signed, resulting in a slight delay. Being the book addict I am, I of course purchased an additional copy last night to get personally signed.

The reading consisted of the entire prologue, which is available for download here. If you haven't read this books yet, and aren't sure you want to, read this, and it will convince you. I've attended a number of readings over the past year or so, and some authors are certainly more enthusiastic than others. You could tell that Scott really enjoys his book, because he certainly seemed to be having fun reading it. He delivered all the punch lines with proper flair.

After the reading, Scott answered questions for quite awhile. The first question was about his career as a fireman. Scott then regaled us with several amusing anecdotes regarding folks of questionable intelligence, running the gambit from fireworks, or smoking in bed, to intoxicated 20 somethings, dry ice, and superfluous nipples. He also discussed the providence of landing not only a 2 book deal from a 45 page prologue, but it evolving into a 6 book deal, and optioning book 1 off into a movie.

Finally it was time for signing. Scott nixed the singing as he was worried about liability due to brains bleeding if he attempted to sing the book. He was once again extremely nice, and took the time to write some nice personal inscriptions. Once I get mine scanned or photo'd I will put it up here.

Lamb

"The fist time I saw the man who would save the world he was sitting near the central well in Nazareth with a lizard hanging out of his mouth. Just the tail end and the hind legs were visible on the outside; the head and forelegs were halfway down the hatch. He was six, like me, and his beard had not come in fully, so he didn't look much like the pictures you've seen of him."

Lamb, The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore is the most enjoyable book I've read in years. I suppose you'd have to say its irreverent, but unless you are pretty uptight, I think anyone would be hard pressed to claim that its disrespectful.

The premise of the book is pretty much spelled out in the extended title. Moore endeavors to fill in the blanks in the life of Christ from his birth until his ministry. He uses humor as his vehicle, telling about the life of Christ from the perspective of his best friend, Levi, who is known as Biff.

Jesus, or Joshua as he is named in the book, (Joshua is the English version of the Hebrew Yeshua. Jesus is the Greek translation. Christ is Greek for messiah. The H., well Biff never asked what that stood for.) and Biff grow up together in Nazareth. They have their childhoods, which were not quite normal, but hey one of the is the son of God, how normal could he be? The whole son of God part is where the crux of the story gets underway. Josh doesn't know how to be the messiah, so he and Biff embark on a journey to find and to learn from the three Magi who witnessed Christ's birth.

I loved this book. I laughed out loud countless times while reading it. The story was fun and it was a nice relaxing read. I haven't read a book this amusing since the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy. If you have never read Moore, and you have any sense of humor make sure you pick this one up.

9 out of 10

Neuromancer

"Cyberspace. A consentual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation."

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

Neuromancer by William Gibson was a groundbreaking sci-fi novel, and was awarded the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Philip K. Dick awards in 1984. It effectively introduced "cyberpunk" as a sub genre of science fiction. Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" and envisioned the internet and virtual reality well before either existed.

The book follows Case, a former cyber cowboy, who jacks in and surfs cyberspace for his employers. But he went to far and now has been severed from the matrix. A mysterious power offers to fix him, in return for going along on one last, dangerous mission. Case is joined by Molly, and lovely yet deadly bodyguard, and the ex military man Armitage.

Neuromancer is a relatively short book clocking in at just over 250 pages in my trade edition. The influence this book has had on the genre is undeniable. Movies like the Matrix seem derived almost completely from this work. The world Gibson unfolds for us is remarkable. Like Verne before him he predicts where technology will go uncanily.

However, personally I found it rather hard to follow it points. The story never totally grabbed me. Conceptually I was hooked, but I just couldn't like it as much as I wanted to. I don't think this style is really my cup of tea.

8 out of 10

Paladin of Souls

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold is the second book in her Chalion series. It won the Hugo award for best novel in 2004. While I enjoyed the book, I think there were probably some better choices out there.

The story takes up where the Curse of Chalion left off. If you havent read the first book and don't want to be spoiled skip to the end of the review.

The curse of the golden general has been lifted, and Cazand Iselle have settled in to their new roles as Queen andChancelor. For Dowager Royina Ista though, things have changed. With the curse lifted so has her madness, or so she hopes. In order to gain some freedom she sets off on a pilgrimage with some old friends and some new.

Along her journey she discovers that there are demons loose in the land. Not only that but there are new tensions along the border of Jokarna. More troubling yet, are her dreams. Is her madness truly gone?

The book clocks in at just under 500 pages. It probably could have been been shrunk to two thirds that side without much trouble. I felt there was too much exposition, and that too much of it was repeated. I read the first book. I know the story of Lord dy Lutez. I can deal with hearing it retold once, but two or three times, is too much. There wasnt anything groundbreaking in this book, but it was still a good story worth the read.

7 out of 10

Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is a prolific writer probably best known for her Farseer trilogy. She has also written the Live Ships trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy set in the same world. She is currently working on the Soldier's Son series. She also wrtes contemporary fantasy under the name of Meagan Lindholm.

I got the chance to meet Ms. Hobb last year during a reading at Dreamhaven books. She was very nice and engaging. To this point I've only had the chance to read the Farseer books, but the other Hobb books are in my collection, and I'm looking forward to getting a chance to get to them finally.

The Forever War

"Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man."

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman won both the Hugo an Nebula Awards for Best novel, and its easy to see why. It is truly a masterpiece of hard Sci-Fi. Written as an allegory to the author's own experience in the Vietnam War, the book follows the story of one young conscript and his time served in the never ending war with the Taurans.

Private William Mandella was drafted due to his unique skill set, and trained to fight in the far reaches of space. However due to relativity each mission while taking mere months subjectively can take years or even centuries back on Earth. Haldeman uses this to explore radical social and economic possibilities in our future.

I absolutely loved this book. The Science is hard enough to dazzle you, but not so hard as to leave you scratching your head in confusion. The story is wonderful. The author uses his experiences well to demonstrate not only the dangers a soldier faces in combat, but those he faces off duty, and while trying to reassimilate into the public. If you haven't read this book, and you at all enjoy Sci-Fi pick it up now.

9.5 out of 10

The Man in the High Castle

"It is 1962 and the Second World War has been over for seventeen years: people have now had a chance to adjust to the new order. But it's not been easy. The Mediterranean has been drained to make farmland, the population of Africa has virtually been wiped out and America has been divided between the Nazis and the Japanese. In the neutral buffer zone that divides the two superpowers lives the man in the high castle, the author of an underground bestseller, a work of fiction that offers an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers didn't win the war."

The Man in the High Castle won the Hugo award in 1963. This alternative history story is an amazing vision of what if. But its much more than that. It's a story of a book with in a book. One of the cornerstones of the story is a book titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy by Hawthorne Abendsen, who is the Man in the High Castle. Grasshopper is itself an alternate history book in which Germany and Japan did not win WW2.

Dick is a master of the esoteric in this book. He weaves a tale worthy of the title "Masterwork". For a work over 40 years old it does not feel dated. Characterizations are well developed for a book if this modest length. I found myself re-evaluating my opinions of the protagonists, most especially Juliana, several times as I read. This is a must read for any fan of speculative fiction.

9 out of 10

The Clan Corporate

I'm a big fan of Charles Stross's the Merchant Princes series, and I've been eagerly anticipating the release of The Clan Corporate, the third book in the series. For those of you not familiar with the series I will give you a brief plot overview.

Minor spoilers.

The premise is that there are multiple worlds. and that certain people have the genetic ability to move between them by concentrated on a particular pattern associated with a particular world. One of the world is ours. This is the world our protagonist Miriam Beckstein was brought up in. But our Earth is not the world she was born into. She is a scion of the Clan, the familial alliance of genetic world walkers, who have used their ability to cross to modern Earth to amass great fortune and great power in their medieval world. Miriam reintegration into that world has caused them a number of headaches however.
That is where the third book picks up.

Stross writes another page turner. The book is a fun and easy read. I previously called this series two parts Zelazny's Amber and one part Puzo's The Godfather. This book adds in what feels like a forth part Tom Clancy. The introduction of the pov of a DEA agent is part of the fall out of book two's climax. Stoss also gives us a number of interludes consisting of transcripts of conversations between minor or supporting characters. They felt a bit odd and out of place. Miriam also seems changed. Where up to this point she has adapted and overcome all the challenges presented to her, in this book she seems much more helpless.

Overall, the book seemed to have a different feel to it than the opening installments. While I still enjoyed The Clan Corporate immensely, I don't think this volume was as good as the first two.

7.5 out of 10

Dying of the Light

"A whisperjewel summoned him to Worlorn, and a love he thought he'd lost. But Worlorn isn't the world Dirk ta'Larien imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight, forever falling toward night."

Dying of the Light is George R.R. Martin's first novel. For a debut its tremendous. While technically this is a sci-fi story at its core its its a love story. The characterization that is the bread and butter of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, is abundantly evident here.

Worlorn is a rogue planet which is temporarily passing through a star system, and as a result will be able to support life for awhile. The planets of the outer fringe decide to each build a city on Worlorn, and hold a festival to show the inner planets their glory. Now the festival has passed. Worlorn is passing beyond the warmth of the suns and is slowly dying, a little more each day.

The book is well paced, and has a number of plot twists that have you reevaluating your views of the characters. No one seems to play with my views like Martin does. I'm a bit more torn about the ending. I just finished it, and I don't know if I like what he did or not. At the very least it was a bold way to finish of his first novel. Over all it was at very good book, and I'm eager to read more of George's early works.

8 out of 10

Lord of Light

"They called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He himself preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be."

Lord of Light was Roger Zelazny's third novel and it won him the Hugo award for Best Novel in 1968.

The story on the surface seems like diefied fantasy, based around the Hindu pantheon. Deeper in however clues are revealed as to what is truly going on. The book starts out with the introduction of Sam, or Buddha, or Siddhartha, or any of the half dozen other names he is known by. Each of the subsequent 5 chapters are flashbacks telling the story of Sam's fight against "Heaven", with the seventh and final chapter occurring chronologically after the first.

Many consider this to be Zelazny's finest work. I still prefer the first Chronicles of Amber, but I can certainly see why other chose this. Once I got a grasp on how the story was being told, and began to pick up clues as to what the gods truly were the story made a lot more sense. This is a book that really makes you work.

8.5 out of 10

What is yet to come.

Books I'm looking forward to.

The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross : Book 3 of the Family Trade

The Blood Knight by Greg Keyes : Book 3 of the Kingdom of Thorn and Bone

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

A Sword from Red Ice by J.V. Jones : Book 3 of A Sword of Shadows

Farther down the road

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin : Book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan : Book 12 of the Wheel of Time

The Aspect-Emporer by R. Scott Bakker

John M. Ford

Ford is, I believe, a criminally under known author. The Dragon Waiting won him the World Fantasy Award. He has also written amongst other Heat and Fusion and Stories a collection of short stories, and The Last Hot Time, which is simply an amazing contemporay fantasy. I met Mr. Ford at this year's Boskone. He is also a local Minnesota resident like a slew of other talented fantasy authors. If you are looking for something new to read, you could dop far worse than picking up some of Mr. Ford's work.

Ender's Game

Winner of the Hugo and the Nebula Ender's game has become a Sci-Fi classic. Many people dislike Card because of his political and religious views, but I prefer to keep an authors works separate from his beliefs.

Ender's Game was originally written as a short story and later expanded into a novel. It follows the sory of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a boy of 6 years, who is mankind's last hope to lead them against the "Bugger" threat. It is a moving and at times very sad story of what one little boys is put through for the good of the world. The book also includes one of the coolest names ever, Mazer Rackham. At about 320 pages its not overlong, and was a fun easy read, while still doing a tremedous job of exporing Ender's character. Card wrote a series of sequels to this book as well as a spin off written from the viewpoint of a supporting character.

9 out of 10

The Salmon of Doubt.

I finished listening to the audio book of The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams yesterday on my walk. I'm of two minds concerning it. I always have reservations about publishing unfinished materials following a great author's death. This book is no exception. I have not read the print version. Narration by Stephen Fry and Simon Jones.

The Salmon of Doubt was Adams working title for his last novel. He had intentions of making it a Dirk Gently novel, as well as a HHGTTG novel. In the end it hadn't really evolved into either, while having elements of both. The actual story however was, in my opinion, the weakest part of the book. Probably 2/3's of the books consists of friends eulogizing Douglas, as well as a hodge podge of Adam's musings, columns, and anecdotes.

The eulogies are bittersweet of course. You can feel the love his friends had for the man and their palpable sense of loss. The various columns, anecdotes, and unconnected musings, were the best part of the book. Many times I found myself laughing out loud while listening, as Douglas related his bizarre plans or expounded on his love of computers. He debated philosophy and theology. My favorite part is where he details the history of science and divides it into the four ages of sand.

My this work is extremely disjointed and the actually story is cobbled together and unfinished, this is a must read, or even better listen for any fan of Adams. The rough nature and incompleteness of the work are the reason for the lowered score.

7 out of 10

The Bronze Canticles

A big thanks to Pat at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist and the folks at Warner Books for the signed copies of the Bronze Canticles, by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Pat is generous enought to work with publishers and offer periodic giveaway contests.

A Shadow in Summer

I finished A Shadow in Summer this past weekend. I thought it was a very good debut novel for Abraham. In some was it has a lot of familiar plot elements typical to fantasy, but the presentation of those elements was very unique. The setting has a definite Asian vibe to it

Strengths:
The introduction of the poets and andat. The andat are demi-god like spirits that are bound into corporeal form by poets in the crafting of their poem. Each poem is unique and reflects the personality of the poet, which is mirrored in the personality of the andat.

Communication: Abraham, in addition to verbal, gives us a secondary form of communication, in the form of poses. I series of forms and gestures designed to show mood, as well as ask and answer simple questions, and relate position such as student to master, etc.

weaknesses: Characters. While the main characters had depth, none of them were all that memorable. Otah is probably the most interesting. The andat Seedless was also fairly interesting.

I enjoyed the book , and that's key for me. Although ASiS only the first book in a four book series, it feels like a complete story. In some ways that's great, The sub-story is completed. In another way there is no cliffhanger, It didn't leave me immediately wondering when the next installment was due.

7.5 out of 10

More Neil

American Gods won the Hugo, Nebula, Stoker, and Locus awards for best novel on 2002.

Neil Gaiman

Neil, who lives near the Twin Cities, had a signing at Dreamhaven this past winter. My Friend Ro and I attended this event. I would say that over 200 people showed up. It was quite a turnout. Neil read an exceprt from his novel Anansi Boys. He was very friendly, and outgoing, and even after spending several hours signing for people, he was extremely nice and courteous whenmy turn came.

The item pictured is his hugo winning short story, A Study in Emerald, published in poster form. Its a very neat piece, and I have it framed and hanging on my library wall.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Awards

Do you ever read dust jackets on books and in the authors bio it lists different awards their work has won? Ever wonder what the hell those awards were? Yeah, me too.

So here is a list of the major literary awards for speculative fiction. Most of the major awards are given in mulitple categories such as Best Novel, Best Novella, and Best Short Story.

Pulitzer : Named for Joseph Pulitzer, this is not a speculative fiction award, but a much broader award given in the realms of journalism, letters, and music. Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventure's of Kavalier and Clay won the award in 2001

Hugo : Named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, is the Science Fiction Achievement Award. They are awarded every year at Worldcon, in a number of categories.

Campbell : Named in honor of John W. Campbell, this award is also given out at Worldcon and is given to the best new writer.

Nebula : Awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is awarded for several categories similar to the Hugo. The Bradbury award for Screnewriting is also awarded at the Nebula banquet.

World Fantasy Award : Awarded at World Fantasy Con for excellence in fantasy writing and art. The WFA is sometimes called the Lovecraft Award, or the "Howie," since the trophy is a wonderfully gloomy and cadaverous Gahan Wilson bust of H.P. Lovecraft

Stoker : The Horror Writer's Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula.

Clarke : Named for Arthur C. Clarke, The Clarke Award is awarded every year to the best science fiction novel which received its first British publication during the previous calendar year.


Philip K. Dick : The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States.

Tiptree : The James Tiptree, Jr. Award, an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender.

Locus : The Locus Awards are presented to winners of Locus Magazine's annual readers' poll, which was established in the early '70s specifically to provide recommendations and suggestions to Hugo Awards voters.


Thanks to

Where I found much of this information.

Charles Stross

Charles Stross is relatively new to the speculative fiction scene. But boy is he prolific, and has he made his prescence known. In just a few short years, he has become the darling of the Hugos. He won Best novella in 2005 for The Concrete Jungle, and he is nominated this year for Accelerando, which is near the top of my to be read pile. I have however read the two novels so far released in The Merchant Princes series. The series takes 2 parts Zelazny and one part Puzo and combines them in a delightful and entertaining amalgam. The Merchant Princes consists so far of The Family Trade, The Hidden Family, and the soon to be released, The Clan Corporate

I got the pleasure of meeting Mr. Stross at this year's Boskone. Unfortunately I didn't arrive in time to stand him up for drinks like the rest of my friends. perhaps the next con.