Horse war.
3 out of 5
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
And Ministers of Grace - Tad Williams
Lamentation Kane, Guardian religious nut human weapon.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Monday, August 29, 2011
Mammoths of the Great Plains - Eleanor Arnason
Extinct, frozen, stewarded, revived, frolicing in casino rivers.
4.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
Mammoths of the Great Plains - Eleanor Arnason
Extinct, frozen, stewarded, revived, frolicing in casino rivers.
4.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
City of the Dog - John Langan
Not so groovy ghuly girl.
4 out of 5
http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025...
4 out of 5
http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
At the Riding School - Cody Goodfellow
Hunt mystery school beast stable mistress rebellion.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
The Starship Mechanic - Jay Lake and Ken Scholes
Alien booknerd byebye.
2.5 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=story&id=58363
2.5 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=story&id=58363
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Emperor of Mars - Allen M. Steele
Prefer planetary romance to reality.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2010/12/21/aural-delights-no-168-allen-steele/
3.5 out of 5
http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2010/12/21/aural-delights-no-168-allen-steele/
Friday, August 19, 2011
In-Fall - Ted Kosmatka
Big black hole no death threat chop off.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/in-fall/
3.5 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/in-fall/
Flower Mercy Needle Chain - Yoon Ha Lee
Bullets yet again.
2.5 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/flower-mercy-needle-chain/
2.5 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/flower-mercy-needle-chain/
Sleepover - Alastair Reynolds
Unfrozen for basal simulation AI Realm war peoplesicle platform robot repair back up, hopefully not to be eaten by inter-reality sea monsters.
4 out of 5
http://freesf.strandedinoz.com/wordpress/2011/01/sleepover-alastair-reynolds-2/
4 out of 5
http://freesf.strandedinoz.com/wordpress/2011/01/sleepover-alastair-reynolds-2/
Elegy For A Young Elk - Hannu Rajaniemi
Booze, bears and quantum relatives plague.
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-elegy-for-a-...
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-elegy-for-a-...
Under The Moons Of Venus - Damien Broderick
'Massri’s dinosaur fantasy was off by a factor of at least 7.4.' Sporky.
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-mo...
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-mo...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Things - Peter Watts
Communal network rejection assimilation Goes There, that's Who.
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
The Night Train - Lavie Tidhar
No-name no girl chop choice.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Swords and Dark Magic - Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
As a sword and sorcery anthology this generally succeeds, and in general the writers understand what that actually means.
Except for Gene Wolfe. Having read a lot of stuff by Wolfe, I see no evidence of him ever having the ability to produce a sword and sorcery story.
And I still don't. As a story his is passable - and I do happen to like chess. However, passable, but a failure as a S&S tale. A case of editor really likes writer and wants the name perhaps, but they certainly should have dumped this. You wouldn't ask Glen Cook to write fluffy unicorn stories, so same thing, wrong writer.
They also could have got rid of the Silverberg. Maybe the Majipoor thing was a selling point, but this was ordinary and predictable and also outside the subgenre.
While I don't think you'd ever get a sword and sorcery story out of Wolfe, even if you beat him over the head with a hammer, it seems that Michael Moorcock can still do it if he wants to - and with what he has produced here, he could probably manage it with one hand while beating Gene Wolfe in the head with the hammer in the other.
Steven Erikson, along with the camel-killing sized novels has shown a talent for shorter work in the novella, and this is shorter still. Goats of Glory is one of the three best stories in this book, the other two being the aforementioned Moorcock, and Tim Lebbon's 'Echo City' tale. The other standouts are Enge's Singing Spear and Lynch's library exam outing.
I like the Black Company a lot, so was very happy to see another story, however I think that those unfamiliar may find this one a little lacking.
Rounding up, this book gets a 4.5. Without the bad cases of editormusthaveitis and replaced with something that fits it would approach the top score.
Swords and Dark Magic : Goats of Glory - Steven Erikson
Swords and Dark Magic : Tides Elba A Tale of the Black Company - Glen Cook
Swords and Dark Magic : Bloodsport - Gene Wolfe
Swords and Dark Magic : The Singing Spear - James Enge
Swords and Dark Magic : A Wizard of Wiscezan - C. J. Cherryh
Swords and Dark Magic : A Rich Full Week - K. J. Parker
Swords and Dark Magic : A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet - Garth Nix
Swords and Dark Magic : Red Pearls An Elric Story - Michael Moorcock
Swords and Dark Magic : The Deification of Dal Bamore - Tim Lebbon
Swords and Dark Magic : Dark Times at the Midnight Market - Robert Silverberg
Swords and Dark Magic : The Undefiled - Greg Keyes
Swords and Dark Magic : Dapple Hew the Tint Master - Michael Shea
Swords and Dark Magic : In the Stacks - Scott Lynch
Swords and Dark Magic : Two Lions A Witch and the War-Robe - Tanith Lee
Swords and Dark Magic : The Sea Troll's Daughter - Caitlin R Kiernan
Swords and Dark Magic : Thieves of Daring - Bill Willingham
Swords and Dark Magic : The Fool Jobs - Joe Abercrombie
We kill demons for a living, silly shovel boy.
4 out of 5
Taken generation garrison not hairy.
4 out of 5
Chess tyrant chop.
3 out of 5
You killed my bartender, demon. You're really in the shit now.
4 out of 5
Tewk me. I'm an illusion Master.
3.5 out of 5
DeadHeadroom for improvement
3.5 out of 5
Maladroit music mishaps, evil entity. Naked God preferred.
4 out of 5
Sphere world Phroom pirate slaughter dragon dad distraction White Sword steal.
4.5 out of 5
Sorcerer torture scare stunt revenant rebellion ending.
4 out of 5
Potion deflowering rebound problem.
3 out of 5
Godridden good riddance, virgins.
3.5 out of 5
Slymire crystal revelation.
3.5 out of 5
Vocabuvore giant exam passing psycho roommate consumption.
4 out of 5
Better if you geas don't think about it, brothers.
3.5 out of 5
Kill dad, no big deal short girls. Want furs?
3 out of 5
Sorcerers. If you stab them and they don't die they have an absolute shitload of deathtraps.
4 out of 5
No, get that thing.
3.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
Except for Gene Wolfe. Having read a lot of stuff by Wolfe, I see no evidence of him ever having the ability to produce a sword and sorcery story.
And I still don't. As a story his is passable - and I do happen to like chess. However, passable, but a failure as a S&S tale. A case of editor really likes writer and wants the name perhaps, but they certainly should have dumped this. You wouldn't ask Glen Cook to write fluffy unicorn stories, so same thing, wrong writer.
They also could have got rid of the Silverberg. Maybe the Majipoor thing was a selling point, but this was ordinary and predictable and also outside the subgenre.
While I don't think you'd ever get a sword and sorcery story out of Wolfe, even if you beat him over the head with a hammer, it seems that Michael Moorcock can still do it if he wants to - and with what he has produced here, he could probably manage it with one hand while beating Gene Wolfe in the head with the hammer in the other.
Steven Erikson, along with the camel-killing sized novels has shown a talent for shorter work in the novella, and this is shorter still. Goats of Glory is one of the three best stories in this book, the other two being the aforementioned Moorcock, and Tim Lebbon's 'Echo City' tale. The other standouts are Enge's Singing Spear and Lynch's library exam outing.
I like the Black Company a lot, so was very happy to see another story, however I think that those unfamiliar may find this one a little lacking.
Rounding up, this book gets a 4.5. Without the bad cases of editormusthaveitis and replaced with something that fits it would approach the top score.
Swords and Dark Magic : Goats of Glory - Steven Erikson
Swords and Dark Magic : Tides Elba A Tale of the Black Company - Glen Cook
Swords and Dark Magic : Bloodsport - Gene Wolfe
Swords and Dark Magic : The Singing Spear - James Enge
Swords and Dark Magic : A Wizard of Wiscezan - C. J. Cherryh
Swords and Dark Magic : A Rich Full Week - K. J. Parker
Swords and Dark Magic : A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet - Garth Nix
Swords and Dark Magic : Red Pearls An Elric Story - Michael Moorcock
Swords and Dark Magic : The Deification of Dal Bamore - Tim Lebbon
Swords and Dark Magic : Dark Times at the Midnight Market - Robert Silverberg
Swords and Dark Magic : The Undefiled - Greg Keyes
Swords and Dark Magic : Dapple Hew the Tint Master - Michael Shea
Swords and Dark Magic : In the Stacks - Scott Lynch
Swords and Dark Magic : Two Lions A Witch and the War-Robe - Tanith Lee
Swords and Dark Magic : The Sea Troll's Daughter - Caitlin R Kiernan
Swords and Dark Magic : Thieves of Daring - Bill Willingham
Swords and Dark Magic : The Fool Jobs - Joe Abercrombie
We kill demons for a living, silly shovel boy.
4 out of 5
Taken generation garrison not hairy.
4 out of 5
Chess tyrant chop.
3 out of 5
You killed my bartender, demon. You're really in the shit now.
4 out of 5
Tewk me. I'm an illusion Master.
3.5 out of 5
DeadHeadroom for improvement
3.5 out of 5
Maladroit music mishaps, evil entity. Naked God preferred.
4 out of 5
Sphere world Phroom pirate slaughter dragon dad distraction White Sword steal.
4.5 out of 5
Sorcerer torture scare stunt revenant rebellion ending.
4 out of 5
Potion deflowering rebound problem.
3 out of 5
Godridden good riddance, virgins.
3.5 out of 5
Slymire crystal revelation.
3.5 out of 5
Vocabuvore giant exam passing psycho roommate consumption.
4 out of 5
Better if you geas don't think about it, brothers.
3.5 out of 5
Kill dad, no big deal short girls. Want furs?
3 out of 5
Sorcerers. If you stab them and they don't die they have an absolute shitload of deathtraps.
4 out of 5
No, get that thing.
3.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
Friday, July 8, 2011
To Hie From Far Cilenia - Karl Schroeder
Oversatch sanotica it 2.0/3.0 plutonium dispersal.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
All The Love In The World - Cat Sparks
Postapocalyptic inconsistency, goodbye old crush on to surfing and beer.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
A Preliminary Assessment Of The Drake Equation - Vernor Vinge
Planets For Sale - all for us.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Under The Moons Of Venus - Damien Broderick
'Massri’s dinosaur fantasy was off by a factor of at least 7.4.' Sporky.
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
Graffiti In the Library of Babel - David Langford
They is tagging our stuff.
3 out of 5
http://martyhalpern.blogspot.com/2010/06/graffiti-in-library-of-babel-by-david.h...
3 out of 5
http://martyhalpern.blogspot.com/2010/06/graffiti-in-library-of-babel-by-david.h...
How To Become A Mars Overlord - Catherynne M. Valente
One morning you will wake up and ask Y.
2 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/how-to-become-a-mars-overlord/
2 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/how-to-become-a-mars-overlord/
The Hebras and the Demons and the Damned - Brenda Cooper
Predator prey colonist diplomacy.
3.5 out of 5
http://futurismic.com/2011/02/28/the-hebras-and-the-demons-and-the-damned/
3.5 out of 5
http://futurismic.com/2011/02/28/the-hebras-and-the-demons-and-the-damned/
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Quantum Thief - Hannu Rajaniemi
Posthuman Arsene Lupin on Mars.
So here you have a Finnish bloke doing his own homage to a famous French character while writing in English with greater skill than most native speaking writers can manage.
Not to mention his own spin on the planetary romance. Here's a habitable Mars, populated by weird beings and ancient superscience in places (even if the latter is of human origin and not millions of years old - although certainly the domain of scary immortals with godlike powers.) More smart matter and quantum missiles than heat guns, electro blasters and big strange machines.
So combine the flamboyant Gentleman Thief archetype with the planetary setting and it would be very hard not to like this book. The characters are addressed in the French manner at times, to keep with the overall Lupin feel. He mentions Leblanc an done of the novels by name, and takes a detective character from another that is mentioned to become an antagonist. To add to this twistily, the Thief's ex-girlfriend is a super powered vigilante known as The Gentleman. (The detective of the piece's girlfriend is a Valkyrie.)
However, even the best thieves sometimes get busted, and that is where you find le Flambeur at the start, in an AI-created prison. Others have use for his talents and assist him in getting the hell out, if he will agree to do a job for them. Plus be monitored by a hardarse and her spaceship.
This all leads back to Mars, and as the mystery to be solved unfold, including the regaining of memory, so does the sociopolitical and historical setting on the Red Planet come into play. In this information rich privacy focused (everyone has an interface to obscure what they look like and what they are doing) society everything is not as it seems. Which probably won't come as a surprise to those familiar with the Lupins of the world. Misdirection is the name of their game. So is taking down bad guys that are worse than they are. While avoiding the authorities, of course.
Really good.
4.5 out of 5
So here you have a Finnish bloke doing his own homage to a famous French character while writing in English with greater skill than most native speaking writers can manage.
Not to mention his own spin on the planetary romance. Here's a habitable Mars, populated by weird beings and ancient superscience in places (even if the latter is of human origin and not millions of years old - although certainly the domain of scary immortals with godlike powers.) More smart matter and quantum missiles than heat guns, electro blasters and big strange machines.
So combine the flamboyant Gentleman Thief archetype with the planetary setting and it would be very hard not to like this book. The characters are addressed in the French manner at times, to keep with the overall Lupin feel. He mentions Leblanc an done of the novels by name, and takes a detective character from another that is mentioned to become an antagonist. To add to this twistily, the Thief's ex-girlfriend is a super powered vigilante known as The Gentleman. (The detective of the piece's girlfriend is a Valkyrie.)
However, even the best thieves sometimes get busted, and that is where you find le Flambeur at the start, in an AI-created prison. Others have use for his talents and assist him in getting the hell out, if he will agree to do a job for them. Plus be monitored by a hardarse and her spaceship.
This all leads back to Mars, and as the mystery to be solved unfold, including the regaining of memory, so does the sociopolitical and historical setting on the Red Planet come into play. In this information rich privacy focused (everyone has an interface to obscure what they look like and what they are doing) society everything is not as it seems. Which probably won't come as a surprise to those familiar with the Lupins of the world. Misdirection is the name of their game. So is taking down bad guys that are worse than they are. While avoiding the authorities, of course.
Really good.
4.5 out of 5
The Dervish House - Ian McDonald
A novel with a short timeframe, following the events of a week in Istanbul. The story follows several characters.
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
Friday, June 10, 2011
Under The Moons Of Venus - Damien Broderick
'Massri’s dinosaur fantasy was off by a factor of at least 7.4.' Sporky.
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
Troika - Alastair Reynolds
Future message machine shell game madness infectious with music box.
4.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
The Night Train - Lavie Tidhar
No-name no girl chop choice.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
The Things - Peter Watts
Communal network rejection assimilation Goes There, that's Who.
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Things - Peter Watts
Communal network rejection assimilation Goes There, that's Who.
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
Monday, April 25, 2011
That Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Made - Eric James Stone
First swale or anything, Neuter Kimball.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Troika - Alastair Reynolds
Future message machine shell game madness infectious with music box.
4.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5
The Lifecycle of Software Objects - Ted Chiang
Digient maturity porn port choice.
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/fall-2010/fiction-the-lifecycle-...
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/fall-2010/fiction-the-lifecycle-...
The Dervish House - Ian McDonald
A novel with a short timeframe, following the events of a week in Istanbul. The story follows several characters.
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Care And Feeding Of Your Baby Killer Unicorn - Diana Peterfreund
Vermin crunching nookie beast raising.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
The Man With the Knives - Ellen Kushner
He's dead, marry her next.
3 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/12/the-man-with-the-knives?start=3
3 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/12/the-man-with-the-knives?start=3
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Dervish House - Ian McDonald
A novel with a short timeframe, following the events of a week in Istanbul. The story follows several characters.
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
A dodgy finance trader and his dodgy art dealer wife.
A young boy with a heart condition and a nanotech shapeshifting pet toy.
A Greek retired professor of economics.
A youth with a trouble violent past.
A fresh out of business college young woman.
A suicide bomber detonates on a tram in odd circumstances - the only person killed is herself. As the story unfolds the various strands of the book link together. The troubled youth was at the scene, affected by the nanotechnology delivery that the bomb was for. The young boy notices a robot watching the scene and begins to track down some information. The professor is a friend of his, taken a grandfatherly interest in the young lad and realises he has discovered something disturbing.
The dodgy trader and his mates are planning a short term gas price coup when they find out the company they work for is ridiculously insolvent - and are also the company that our young marketer has approached as a financier for the nanotech dna information writing project the two young men who have hired her have going.
And a gas pipeline is the final target for the terrorists who snatch the troubled youth to test the effects of their ideological conversion nanotech.
The problem with having so many disparate sections is that it feels somewhat fractured at times, compared to say, Brasyl, which does get a bit annoying.
A good book though.
4 out of 5
Zoo City - Lauren Beukes
An interesting novel that subverts the whole twee girl and special animal bond fantasy sub-genre.
In this case, you don't get to associate with such a beast because you are the chosen one, special, or anything like that.
Here, more the opposite. For example, if you are a junkie killer who writesinternet scams for a crimelord is when you will score the non-human companion.
Metaphysical punishment is what these creatures appear to be - and obviously if you are dragging a sloth, bunny, goat or crocodile around you become fairly easy to identify. The beginnings and current situation for this strange phenomenon is revealed to some degree in background 'excerpts' of the media in this particular milieu. Punishment, apocalypse, or something worse coming?
e.g., one of the background parts from the novel :
""I didn't have the tapir when I got here. She came on the second night, after I was jumped by a couple of the 4161's from Melbourne. Lucky my mate Len was already inside, and knew their game. He gave me a shank when I arrived, and it ended up in the neck of one of them, a tattooed fuckwit called Cal.
That night, at about the same time Cal was dying in a hospital in Geelong, the tapir appeared outside my cell. I heared her scratching at the door of solitary confinement. Scared the hell out of me. The guards said she was still covered in jungle mud when they found her.
I mean, there's cameras everywhere. And this thing's from a different continent. How come no one saw her arrive? How did she get here? If she can walk through walls or fly or something, why can't she carry me out of here?
Anyway, I love her. They let me look after her good, take her on walks around the yard. She's a stupid-looking creature and she's dopey as shit, but when they see her at my side, they remember what happened to Cal. They remember not to fuck with Carter.""
Hence Zoo City - a ghetto for such unfortunates and their animal encumbrances. The fantasy angle is expanded upon as people in this situation may have psychic abilities. The anti-heroine of the piece is a recovering drug addict and worse, and a psychic locator, able to make cash by having people hire her to find stuff
they have lost. Even her sloth is crippled.
Working off a debt to some bad people by writing and participating in hooking suckers over the net she also has a client employing her locator talents come to a nasty end. This gets her involved in something far more sordid than drugs and extracting money from the gullible: the music industry.
A pair of teen sibling pop sensations have issues - one being that the female of the pair likes to be a disappearing party girl. So, a somewhat youthful investigator with knowledge of the scene that doesn't smell 'cop' as soon as you see her, and a handy supernatural talent appears to be useful to the management of our pop idols.
It is all good up to here, but it seems to me that the actual find the missing person part is extended and somewhat aimless. Not sure if this is supposed to be a commentary on her existence or if it could just do with being shorter. Stories of the private investigation type tend to suffer at greater length, I think. I'd imagine more than a few people might think a little more of this space could have gone on a little more of the supernatural situation the world finds itself in. Or even the protagonist in particular.
What does make this more interesting is the South African setting. In fact, the author could even have thrown in a local music playlist perhaps, to add flavour.
After seeing the above, yes, it does end in the sort of violent depravity it is setting up.
So, interesting novel, but not as seamlessly excellent as her first book.
3.5 out of 5
In this case, you don't get to associate with such a beast because you are the chosen one, special, or anything like that.
Here, more the opposite. For example, if you are a junkie killer who writesinternet scams for a crimelord is when you will score the non-human companion.
Metaphysical punishment is what these creatures appear to be - and obviously if you are dragging a sloth, bunny, goat or crocodile around you become fairly easy to identify. The beginnings and current situation for this strange phenomenon is revealed to some degree in background 'excerpts' of the media in this particular milieu. Punishment, apocalypse, or something worse coming?
e.g., one of the background parts from the novel :
""I didn't have the tapir when I got here. She came on the second night, after I was jumped by a couple of the 4161's from Melbourne. Lucky my mate Len was already inside, and knew their game. He gave me a shank when I arrived, and it ended up in the neck of one of them, a tattooed fuckwit called Cal.
That night, at about the same time Cal was dying in a hospital in Geelong, the tapir appeared outside my cell. I heared her scratching at the door of solitary confinement. Scared the hell out of me. The guards said she was still covered in jungle mud when they found her.
I mean, there's cameras everywhere. And this thing's from a different continent. How come no one saw her arrive? How did she get here? If she can walk through walls or fly or something, why can't she carry me out of here?
Anyway, I love her. They let me look after her good, take her on walks around the yard. She's a stupid-looking creature and she's dopey as shit, but when they see her at my side, they remember what happened to Cal. They remember not to fuck with Carter.""
Hence Zoo City - a ghetto for such unfortunates and their animal encumbrances. The fantasy angle is expanded upon as people in this situation may have psychic abilities. The anti-heroine of the piece is a recovering drug addict and worse, and a psychic locator, able to make cash by having people hire her to find stuff
they have lost. Even her sloth is crippled.
Working off a debt to some bad people by writing and participating in hooking suckers over the net she also has a client employing her locator talents come to a nasty end. This gets her involved in something far more sordid than drugs and extracting money from the gullible: the music industry.
A pair of teen sibling pop sensations have issues - one being that the female of the pair likes to be a disappearing party girl. So, a somewhat youthful investigator with knowledge of the scene that doesn't smell 'cop' as soon as you see her, and a handy supernatural talent appears to be useful to the management of our pop idols.
It is all good up to here, but it seems to me that the actual find the missing person part is extended and somewhat aimless. Not sure if this is supposed to be a commentary on her existence or if it could just do with being shorter. Stories of the private investigation type tend to suffer at greater length, I think. I'd imagine more than a few people might think a little more of this space could have gone on a little more of the supernatural situation the world finds itself in. Or even the protagonist in particular.
What does make this more interesting is the South African setting. In fact, the author could even have thrown in a local music playlist perhaps, to add flavour.
After seeing the above, yes, it does end in the sort of violent depravity it is setting up.
So, interesting novel, but not as seamlessly excellent as her first book.
3.5 out of 5
Ghosts of New York - Jennifer Pelland
Fallen Tower afterlife.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/12/dark-faith-ghosts-of-new-york-by-jennifer-pelland/
3.5 out of 5
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/12/dark-faith-ghosts-of-new-york-by-jennifer-pelland/
Declare - Tim Powers
Declare - Tim Powers
Other things exist on Mount Ararat than the possibility of some rotting old boat. A complex web of spy organisations and agents have to work out what to do about the world's largest colony of djinn.
Mother Russia has a supernatural guardian that is holding the state together. Kim Philby, and our protagonist, Andrew Hale, are involved in both of these events, as is another agent, a woman named Elena, that both of them fancy, and have fancied.
The spycraft predominates.
3 out of 5
Other things exist on Mount Ararat than the possibility of some rotting old boat. A complex web of spy organisations and agents have to work out what to do about the world's largest colony of djinn.
Mother Russia has a supernatural guardian that is holding the state together. Kim Philby, and our protagonist, Andrew Hale, are involved in both of these events, as is another agent, a woman named Elena, that both of them fancy, and have fancied.
The spycraft predominates.
3 out of 5
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Occultation - Laird Barron
I believed that Laird Barron was the greatest new horror writer around after reading his first batch, so it was slightly nervously that I approached Occultation. I had already read two of the stories - The Forest, which is an extremely good science fictional mad scientist not-quite horror depending on how you look at it story, and The Lagerstatte, which is a good ghost story. Not much of a fan of ghost stories in general, either. Could he keep it up?
I need not have worried. Occultation is every bit as outstanding as The Imago Sequence, and even a little better (3.94 as opposed to 3.89). There's nothing to match the novella Hallucigenia, but there's nothing as weak as The Royal Zoo is Closed, either. Only problem is that there are only 9 stories to be found here. Unfortunately, Barron is no speed demon.
The collection starts with its strongest story (4.5), and branches out from there. There are two 'nameless couple' terrors in Occultation (4) and Six Six Six (3.5), another Asian mundane horror story is found in Strappado (3.5), and this time in India, and another similarly in the Pacific Northwest.
This is a setting that more normally has his Mythos horrors lurking, but here a pair of investigators are alone with a past relationship on the site that used to house a cult of serial killers. So goes --30-- (4).
Catch Hell gets outside of Seattle and all pentagram and devil summoning on us, and is also a very good scary vacation tale (4).
Mysterium Tremendum (4) and The Broadsword (4.5) return to supernatural Mythos Washington State and surrounds, the former a camping and drinking tour to the site of an ancient dolmen, and the latter, despite its title, a horror hotel-now-apartments experience. These two tales demonstrate that he has established a baseline output at a very high level, and continues to build on that. As the number of tales increases, the interconnectedness between his story cycles grows, which is sure to delight his fans. On his livejournal he wrote that an upcoming story 'Blackwoods Baby' is loosely connected to Catch Hell. There you will also find his notes on what he is working on every so often, as well as announcements of new work.
The only real horror is having to wait so long for more.
So check out Occultation and his previous collection the Imago Sequence.
There is a master at work, here.
Occultation : The Forest - Laird Barron
Occultation : Occultation - Laird Barron
Occultation : The Lagerstatte - Laird Barron
Occultation : Mysterium Tremendum - Laird Barron
Occultation : Catch Hell - Laird Barron
Occultation : Strappado - Laird Barron
Occultation : The Broadsword - Laird Barron
Occultation : --30-- - Laird Barron
Occultation : Six Six Six - Laird Barron
I need not have worried. Occultation is every bit as outstanding as The Imago Sequence, and even a little better (3.94 as opposed to 3.89). There's nothing to match the novella Hallucigenia, but there's nothing as weak as The Royal Zoo is Closed, either. Only problem is that there are only 9 stories to be found here. Unfortunately, Barron is no speed demon.
The collection starts with its strongest story (4.5), and branches out from there. There are two 'nameless couple' terrors in Occultation (4) and Six Six Six (3.5), another Asian mundane horror story is found in Strappado (3.5), and this time in India, and another similarly in the Pacific Northwest.
This is a setting that more normally has his Mythos horrors lurking, but here a pair of investigators are alone with a past relationship on the site that used to house a cult of serial killers. So goes --30-- (4).
Catch Hell gets outside of Seattle and all pentagram and devil summoning on us, and is also a very good scary vacation tale (4).
Mysterium Tremendum (4) and The Broadsword (4.5) return to supernatural Mythos Washington State and surrounds, the former a camping and drinking tour to the site of an ancient dolmen, and the latter, despite its title, a horror hotel-now-apartments experience. These two tales demonstrate that he has established a baseline output at a very high level, and continues to build on that. As the number of tales increases, the interconnectedness between his story cycles grows, which is sure to delight his fans. On his livejournal he wrote that an upcoming story 'Blackwoods Baby' is loosely connected to Catch Hell. There you will also find his notes on what he is working on every so often, as well as announcements of new work.
The only real horror is having to wait so long for more.
So check out Occultation and his previous collection the Imago Sequence.
There is a master at work, here.
Occultation : The Forest - Laird Barron
Occultation : Occultation - Laird Barron
Occultation : The Lagerstatte - Laird Barron
Occultation : Mysterium Tremendum - Laird Barron
Occultation : Catch Hell - Laird Barron
Occultation : Strappado - Laird Barron
Occultation : The Broadsword - Laird Barron
Occultation : --30-- - Laird Barron
Occultation : Six Six Six - Laird Barron
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
That Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Made - Eric James Stone
First swale or anything, Neuter Kimball.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
The Lifecycle of Software Objects - Ted Chiang
Digient maturity porn port choice.
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/fall-2010/fiction-the-lifecycle-...
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/fall-2010/fiction-the-lifecycle-...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model - Charlie Jane Anders
Just a million year exploitation job.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/the-fermi-paradox-is-our-business-model
3.5 out of 5
http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/08/the-fermi-paradox-is-our-business-model
No Time Like the Present - Carol Emshwiller
Much cheaper in the past.
3 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/no-time-like-the-present/
3 out of 5
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/no-time-like-the-present/
Elegy For A Young Elk - Hannu Rajaniemi
Booze, bears and quantum relatives plague.
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-elegy-for-a-...
4 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-elegy-for-a-...
Under the Moons of Venus - Damien Broderick
'Massri’s dinosaur fantasy was off by a factor of at least 7.4.' Sporky.
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
Under the Moons of Venus - Damien Broderick
'Massri’s dinosaur fantasy was off by a factor of at least 7.4.' Sporky.
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
3 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-under-the-moons-of-venus-by-damien-broderick/
The Naturalist - Maureen F. McHugh
Zombie reserve fire Bug.
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-the-naturali...
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2010/fiction-the-naturali...
The Night Train - Lavie Tidhar
No-name no girl chop choice.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
3.5 out of 5
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml
Amor Vincit Omnia - K. J. Parker
Total defense training.
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/summer-2010/fiction-amor-vincit-...
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/summer-2010/fiction-amor-vincit-...
Amor Vincit Omnia - K. J. Parker
Total defense training.
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/summer-2010/fiction-amor-vincit-...
3.5 out of 5
http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/summer-2010/fiction-amor-vincit-...
The Things - Peter Watts
Communal network rejection assimilation Goes There, that's Who.
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
The Things - Peter Watts
Communal network rejection assimilation Goes There, that's Who.
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
4.5 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/#
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Nimble Men - Glen Hirshberg
The trees didn't get us.
3 out of 5
http://media.libsyn.com/media/pseudopod/Pseudo210_TheNimbleMen.mp3
3 out of 5
http://media.libsyn.com/media/pseudopod/Pseudo210_TheNimbleMen.mp3