Fresh off a Hugo nomination, Solaris Books has published Stephen Baxter’s short story, Last Contact, on their web site for (free) public consumption! The story, along with many others, was first published in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction and was edited by George Mann.
You can find the story HERE.
Thanks to James at Speculative Horizons for the heads up.
A couple of weeks ago there was a lot of discussion about reviews, their purpose and how best to write one. A lot of bloggers popped in (especially over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist and OF Blog of the Fallen) and left their ideas about how they wrote reviews and how they thoughts others could improve.
It was all well and good… except for the fact that it was a bunch of bloggers telling each other how to blog without much input from the people who’s opinions really matter: the readers. So, leave it to Tobias Buckell (INTERVIEW), author of Crystal Rain (REVIEW) and Ragamuffin, to come up with a novel approach to the subject…
He asked – wait for it – his readers!
No endless dissertation on what he wants in reviews. No lamentations on the state of online SFF journalism. Just three simple questions:
What do you look for in a book review?
Who are some of your favorite book reviewers?
Do you buy books based on book reviews? Or only be specific reviewers?
It sparked some interesting discussion in the comments section and is definitely worth a look for any bloggers, readers or writers. While you’re at it, why not leave your own $.02? What do you appreciate in a review?
You can find the whole discussion HERE.
Author – Joe Haldeman
Paperback
Page Count: 288 pages
Publisher: EOS Books
Release Date: September 2, 2003 (First published by St. Martin’s Press in 1974)
ISBN-10: 0060510862
ISBN-13: 978-0060510862
Knock one off the Pile o’ Shame.
My Pile o’ Shame is full of Science Fiction novels, a genre I’ve sadly ignored over the last several years as I’ve been wrapped up so heavily in Fantasy. Deciding it well past time that I rectified this mistake, I picked up an old, ratty copy of a novel constantly caught my attention as I perused Internet message boards. That book was The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, and within pages I was regretting the fact that I hadn’t picked it up sooner.
My edition of The Forever War clocked in at a lean 218 pages and Haldeman doesn’t waste a word of it. Like the last SF novel I read, Tobias Buckell’s Crystal Rain (REVIEW), The Forever War packs more content between its covers than many novels three times its length do.
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Michael Swanwick‘s been around a long time, seen a lot of things and written a lot of stories. In fact, to use a classic cliché, he’s probably forgotten more about writing genre fiction than most authors remember and he’s got the hardware to prove it – how does 5 Hugos, a Nebula (along with a few more nominations), a Theodore Sturgeon, and a World Fantasy Award sound? On top of all of this, he’s got to hang out with a Koala at some point in his life and had stories published by Penthouse. If that isn’t enough to qualify him for your attention, I don’t know what is.
He’s known for taking conventions of the genre and spinning on their head, often with thought provoking and comical results. His latest novel, The Dragons of Babel is his riff on the classic quest-fantasy, only this time it includes Dragons that double as fighter jets, motorcycles and a post-industrial version of the Fey World.
So check out the interview and you’ll find out why Michael Swanwick is the best author you’ve never heard of… yet. And when you’re done, be sure to head on over to his terrific blog, Flogging Babel, to further find out just why you should care about him.
So, without further adieu, Michael Swanwick, everyone!
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So, apparently Tor doesn’t read my reviews. Why? Because a day after I lamented over R.A. Salvatore’s latest lackluster effort (found HERE) I received an email from Tor asking if I’d be willing to show off this little widget. Now, not one for offering free advertising to huge publishing houses, I normally wouldn’t worry about it, but… the web designer in me just thought this was too damn cool too pass up.
The Widget there is chock full of cool information about The Ancient, including an audio/video interview, an excerpt from the novel, news and more. Despite my less than stellar review of his novel, I’m still a fan of Salvatore; and hey, who knows, I may not have liked The Ancient but maybe you will. If anything, this is a great example of how publishers can use the web to properly promote their authors.
