ASIMOV'S JAN. 2009
I finished this issue a few weeks ago but never got around to writing about it. It got recycled back then but I think I can remember well enough to say a few things about the stories; I'd like to not miss writing about a month of either Asimov's or F&SF this year.
The issue started off with Mary Rosenblum's "Lion Walk," where a mystery arises about girls getting killed on a nature preserve in the near future. Rosenblum is not concerned only with the mystery but where society has gotten to. It's good solid SF.
"Passing Perry Crater Base, Time Uncertain" is a short piece by Larry Niven that was okay but not memorable enough that I can remember anything about it other than my general impression.
Will McIntosh's "Bridesicle," on the other hand, is completely memorable. It's set in (perhaps) the same future as a previous Asimov's story (was it "Midnight Blue?") where people who die can stick around in the consciousness of their offspring. This story goes even further, into a future where the cryogenically-frozen dead can be brought back to life (and maybe to a real body) if they become brides. It's told from the perspective of a prospective "bridesicle" who also happens to be a lesbian. Good stuff.
"Five Thousand Light Years from Birdland" by Robert R. Chase is a solid first contact story in which a member of the translation team is sacrificed by being sent to the alien world, except for the fact that he understands more than the rest. Solid SF.
E. Salih makes his debut with "Messiah Excelsa" but unfortunately doesn't do much for me with a story about time travel and Stradivarius. It wasn't the subject as much as the execution.
Nancy Kress looks at divorce through the lens of a dog who can "talk" in "Unintended Behavior," a sharp little tale that I liked.
Finally, "Uncle Bones" by Damien Broderick focuses on the conspiracy behind a treatment that allows the dead to live, albeit in a way that makes them outcasts from society (as well they would be). It's a fun story (and yes, I know that sounds incongruous but it is).
In all, it's another solid issue of Asimov's...
Showing posts with label SF Mags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SF Mags. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, January 08, 2009
ASIMOV'S DEC. 2008
Continuing my coverage of my ongoing attempts to get caught up on SF magazines...
The issue opens with "Way Down East" Tim Sullivan. It's a meditative story about dreams and class set in the world of lobster trapping. There is an alien as well but it's presence is really just the means with which to look at life. It's quiet and effective.
"Welcome to Valhalla" by Kathryn Lance and Jack McDevitt is a shorter high concept work about Richard Wagner and his encounter with on of the Valkryies, who shows him what will be done in the service of his music. It's a decent story.
Steven Utley steps away from his Silurian setting with "Perfect Everything," a story about misplaced love and a tragedy in space. It's solid.
The husband-and-wife team of Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem appear with "In Concert." An elderly woman has always had the gift (curse?) of being able to hear snatches of other people's thoughts. It's not just people near her either - in this case, she gets impressions from an astronaut lost in space. This story teetered on the edge of my skipping the rest at times (it could be shorter and still work, I think) but in the end, I enjoyed where it led.
I've never been into Kerouac and his crew but Geoffrey A. Landis's "Still On the Road" is short and good for a chuckle.
The last, longest, and cover story was also my favorite of the issue - David Ira Cleary's "The Flowers of Nicosia." It follows an aging band (Downtown Dharma) as they try to unite West and East in Cyprus amidst upheaval over a biological weapon known as Amanita. The band are followers of Kurt Cobain and do covers of Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots as well as their own music. It's a character study, an issue study, and a big of an action story at times. I dug it.
That's all for this time around but I still have 5 unread SF mags, so the quest continues...
Continuing my coverage of my ongoing attempts to get caught up on SF magazines...
The issue opens with "Way Down East" Tim Sullivan. It's a meditative story about dreams and class set in the world of lobster trapping. There is an alien as well but it's presence is really just the means with which to look at life. It's quiet and effective.
"Welcome to Valhalla" by Kathryn Lance and Jack McDevitt is a shorter high concept work about Richard Wagner and his encounter with on of the Valkryies, who shows him what will be done in the service of his music. It's a decent story.
Steven Utley steps away from his Silurian setting with "Perfect Everything," a story about misplaced love and a tragedy in space. It's solid.
The husband-and-wife team of Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem appear with "In Concert." An elderly woman has always had the gift (curse?) of being able to hear snatches of other people's thoughts. It's not just people near her either - in this case, she gets impressions from an astronaut lost in space. This story teetered on the edge of my skipping the rest at times (it could be shorter and still work, I think) but in the end, I enjoyed where it led.
I've never been into Kerouac and his crew but Geoffrey A. Landis's "Still On the Road" is short and good for a chuckle.
The last, longest, and cover story was also my favorite of the issue - David Ira Cleary's "The Flowers of Nicosia." It follows an aging band (Downtown Dharma) as they try to unite West and East in Cyprus amidst upheaval over a biological weapon known as Amanita. The band are followers of Kurt Cobain and do covers of Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots as well as their own music. It's a character study, an issue study, and a big of an action story at times. I dug it.
That's all for this time around but I still have 5 unread SF mags, so the quest continues...
Sunday, January 04, 2009
SOME THOUGHTS
I spent most of my day reading Prince of Stories, a book covering the work of Neil Gaiman by Hank Wagner, Christopher Golden, and Stephen R. Bissette. It features synopses of his comics, novels, short stories, and so forth along with details of his legal battles with Todd McFarlane and interviews and so forth. It's not a perfect book. For instance, the section on his Sandman series summarizes each issue and then includes a "People, Places, and Things" section that pretty much restates the summaries. Still, I enjoyed reading about his work and I chose this book to be my first of the year for a reason, which I will get to shortly. In the end, though, the book makes me want to reread Gaiman's work and pick up the stuff I haven't read yet. Guess the book did its job.
I learned yesterday that F&SF is going to be changing its publishing schedule to every other month starting with the Apr./May issue this year (I just received the Feb. issue in the mail yesterday). The issues will be bigger (longer than the usual double issues are) but they will be losing about 10% of their annual content. It's not surprising with the way things are in publishing these days and I don't fault Gordon Van Gelder for it in the least. I am also glad that the best SF magazine will still be published.
I chose the book about Gaiman because he is one of my favorite writers and I've felt he is an example of the sort of writing career I would like to have. I thought reading about him would help to inspire me. It's no secret that I've wanted to be a writer for a long time...really, ever since I was a kid. College was when I actively made the decision and then spent a long time putting a ton of pressure on myself and becoming depressed over the whole thing. It's a dream I've put on the backburner over the last five years or more as I found something I liked doing and found some self-worth for the first time since I was a teenager.
My "Year of 35" project back in 2006-2007 was a way of reconnecting with all of those old creative dreams. It was always my plan to include writing as part of the project but I was having so much fun with the music and it was on such a smaller scale that I was content.
I start this year realizing that I do still want to write and I think I'm in a better place to do so now. I've made changes in my life that have me heading in a direction for the first time ever and I am content with that direction. Looking back, I think part of my problem with writing is that I had pinned all of my hopes on it...I couldn't conceive of myself doing anything but being a writer. So much pressure. I don't have that pressure now.
I want to see what I can do. I'd love to eventually be published in a place like F&SF, because I respect the magazine so much and greatly enjoy many of the writers published therein. I know that's getting ahead of myself. I'm going to start by trying to get something down, to finish something I start, and see where it goes from there. It's a modest proposition and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm looking forward to the journey.
I spent most of my day reading Prince of Stories, a book covering the work of Neil Gaiman by Hank Wagner, Christopher Golden, and Stephen R. Bissette. It features synopses of his comics, novels, short stories, and so forth along with details of his legal battles with Todd McFarlane and interviews and so forth. It's not a perfect book. For instance, the section on his Sandman series summarizes each issue and then includes a "People, Places, and Things" section that pretty much restates the summaries. Still, I enjoyed reading about his work and I chose this book to be my first of the year for a reason, which I will get to shortly. In the end, though, the book makes me want to reread Gaiman's work and pick up the stuff I haven't read yet. Guess the book did its job.
I learned yesterday that F&SF is going to be changing its publishing schedule to every other month starting with the Apr./May issue this year (I just received the Feb. issue in the mail yesterday). The issues will be bigger (longer than the usual double issues are) but they will be losing about 10% of their annual content. It's not surprising with the way things are in publishing these days and I don't fault Gordon Van Gelder for it in the least. I am also glad that the best SF magazine will still be published.
I chose the book about Gaiman because he is one of my favorite writers and I've felt he is an example of the sort of writing career I would like to have. I thought reading about him would help to inspire me. It's no secret that I've wanted to be a writer for a long time...really, ever since I was a kid. College was when I actively made the decision and then spent a long time putting a ton of pressure on myself and becoming depressed over the whole thing. It's a dream I've put on the backburner over the last five years or more as I found something I liked doing and found some self-worth for the first time since I was a teenager.
My "Year of 35" project back in 2006-2007 was a way of reconnecting with all of those old creative dreams. It was always my plan to include writing as part of the project but I was having so much fun with the music and it was on such a smaller scale that I was content.
I start this year realizing that I do still want to write and I think I'm in a better place to do so now. I've made changes in my life that have me heading in a direction for the first time ever and I am content with that direction. Looking back, I think part of my problem with writing is that I had pinned all of my hopes on it...I couldn't conceive of myself doing anything but being a writer. So much pressure. I don't have that pressure now.
I want to see what I can do. I'd love to eventually be published in a place like F&SF, because I respect the magazine so much and greatly enjoy many of the writers published therein. I know that's getting ahead of myself. I'm going to start by trying to get something down, to finish something I start, and see where it goes from there. It's a modest proposition and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm looking forward to the journey.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
NOVEMBER 2008 ROUNDUP
It's been a long day and it's getting late but I wanted to get this up tonight, since this week gets busy immediately...
I read 1.4 books in November, brining my total for the year to 45. The .4 was my finished of Sideways In Crime and the whole book was Jeffrey Ford's The Drowned Life, which was finished today. This is now my lowest number of books read this year but I'm still slightly ahead of pace for my goal of 48. Last year I read 4 books in November and had started on my 40th of the year.
I read 50 stories in November, bringing my total on the year to 249. Those stories came from the two books I just mentioned, as well as the Sept. 2008 issues of both Asimov's and F&SF plus the Oct./Nov. 2008 double issue of the latter. This might be my biggest story count ever; if not, it's got to be close. Last year I read 30 stories in November and had 187 on the year.
I read 2 comics in November (both trades - Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns and The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made To Suffer) for a total of 81 on the year (33 trades). Last year I also read 2 trades but was up to 111 comics on the year (25 trades).
I downloaded 7 CDs (and also 4 songs) in November for a total of 81 on the year. All but Jenny Lewis's Acid Tongue were eMusic downloads and I will cover them in a separate post. The 4 songs were by Bruce Springsteen (2), Wilco w/ Fleet Foxes, and Andrew Bird. Last year I got 9 new CDs in November and had 99 on the year.
I actually saw a movie in November (Role Models), which brings my total on the year to 8. Last November I didn't see any and was holding at 14 on the year.
One more month to go, as well as the year-end totals...
It's been a long day and it's getting late but I wanted to get this up tonight, since this week gets busy immediately...
I read 1.4 books in November, brining my total for the year to 45. The .4 was my finished of Sideways In Crime and the whole book was Jeffrey Ford's The Drowned Life, which was finished today. This is now my lowest number of books read this year but I'm still slightly ahead of pace for my goal of 48. Last year I read 4 books in November and had started on my 40th of the year.
I read 50 stories in November, bringing my total on the year to 249. Those stories came from the two books I just mentioned, as well as the Sept. 2008 issues of both Asimov's and F&SF plus the Oct./Nov. 2008 double issue of the latter. This might be my biggest story count ever; if not, it's got to be close. Last year I read 30 stories in November and had 187 on the year.
I read 2 comics in November (both trades - Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns and The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made To Suffer) for a total of 81 on the year (33 trades). Last year I also read 2 trades but was up to 111 comics on the year (25 trades).
I downloaded 7 CDs (and also 4 songs) in November for a total of 81 on the year. All but Jenny Lewis's Acid Tongue were eMusic downloads and I will cover them in a separate post. The 4 songs were by Bruce Springsteen (2), Wilco w/ Fleet Foxes, and Andrew Bird. Last year I got 9 new CDs in November and had 99 on the year.
I actually saw a movie in November (Role Models), which brings my total on the year to 8. Last November I didn't see any and was holding at 14 on the year.
One more month to go, as well as the year-end totals...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
ASIMOV'S SEPT. 2008
My never-ending quest to catch up on my SF magazines continued this past week with the Sept. issue of Asimov's. It is the third issue I've read since the start of September, so at least I'm on a better pace. Anyway, here's what I thought...
The opening novelette was William Barton's "In the Age of the Quiet Sun." I have had my share of frustrations with Barton in the past and have given up on his stories in the middle more than once. This tale about a future where long life and space travel are possible, though you have to become less human to do so. It's a story of failure and redemption and the discovery on an alien and its ship on an asteroid. I liked it.
Robert R. Chase's "Soldier of the Singularity" takes a turn in the middle that I didn't see coming and that was a good thing. It's set in the office of a psychiatrist who is helping humanity try to come to grips with the horrors of the advent of the Singularity. His patient? A damaged robot who is a part of the Singularity...or is it?
There is a very intriguing idea at the heart of Mary Rosenblum's "Horse Racing" - that there is an auction where companies bid on kids based on their future potential. They will then try to manipulate the circumstances of those children to get them to evenutally pay off as investments. It's social engineering and profiteering wrapped up in one. A very good story.
Ian Creasey explores what life would be like if a destructive parent could be downloaded and part of your life forever in "Cut Loose the Bonds of Flesh and Bone." Here's a hint: it wouldn't be ideal for some people.
"Slug Hell" is another Silurian tale by Steven Utley. I really like the series, though the last couple stories haven't done much for me. This one, however, is a keeper. It's a quiet, reflective tale, a character study. It has an odd shifts in viewpoint and I'm not entirely sure why but maybe it just adds to the overall tone.
My favorite story in the issue and one of the best stories I've read this year is Will McIntosh's "Midnight Blue." It's set an an alternate world where different-colored spheres were found out in the wild. If you found the three of the same color, you could put them in a staff and absorb its power. You could get powers like Good With Machines or Better Looking or Flyer. At the time of this story, there aren't many spheres left in the wild and David dreams of finding one. He does and it not only changes his life but the world. It's a great idea, it's well done, and I would love to see more stories or a novel in that world. Get to it, Will!
Derek Zumsteg takes a look at cross-country racing in the near future in "Usurpers." It's short, prickly, and to the point.
Finally, Stephen Baxter gives us an alternate history where aliens made of ice overrun Britian in the 18th century in "The Ice War." We have a less-than-heroic main character, Jack Hobbes, and he meets Isaac Newton, Daniel Defoe, and Jonathan Swift along the way. It's not a happy story by any means but I liked it.
I think this might be the strongest issue of Asimov's in a while - I liked every story and the McIntosh was outstanding.
My never-ending quest to catch up on my SF magazines continued this past week with the Sept. issue of Asimov's. It is the third issue I've read since the start of September, so at least I'm on a better pace. Anyway, here's what I thought...
The opening novelette was William Barton's "In the Age of the Quiet Sun." I have had my share of frustrations with Barton in the past and have given up on his stories in the middle more than once. This tale about a future where long life and space travel are possible, though you have to become less human to do so. It's a story of failure and redemption and the discovery on an alien and its ship on an asteroid. I liked it.
Robert R. Chase's "Soldier of the Singularity" takes a turn in the middle that I didn't see coming and that was a good thing. It's set in the office of a psychiatrist who is helping humanity try to come to grips with the horrors of the advent of the Singularity. His patient? A damaged robot who is a part of the Singularity...or is it?
There is a very intriguing idea at the heart of Mary Rosenblum's "Horse Racing" - that there is an auction where companies bid on kids based on their future potential. They will then try to manipulate the circumstances of those children to get them to evenutally pay off as investments. It's social engineering and profiteering wrapped up in one. A very good story.
Ian Creasey explores what life would be like if a destructive parent could be downloaded and part of your life forever in "Cut Loose the Bonds of Flesh and Bone." Here's a hint: it wouldn't be ideal for some people.
"Slug Hell" is another Silurian tale by Steven Utley. I really like the series, though the last couple stories haven't done much for me. This one, however, is a keeper. It's a quiet, reflective tale, a character study. It has an odd shifts in viewpoint and I'm not entirely sure why but maybe it just adds to the overall tone.
My favorite story in the issue and one of the best stories I've read this year is Will McIntosh's "Midnight Blue." It's set an an alternate world where different-colored spheres were found out in the wild. If you found the three of the same color, you could put them in a staff and absorb its power. You could get powers like Good With Machines or Better Looking or Flyer. At the time of this story, there aren't many spheres left in the wild and David dreams of finding one. He does and it not only changes his life but the world. It's a great idea, it's well done, and I would love to see more stories or a novel in that world. Get to it, Will!
Derek Zumsteg takes a look at cross-country racing in the near future in "Usurpers." It's short, prickly, and to the point.
Finally, Stephen Baxter gives us an alternate history where aliens made of ice overrun Britian in the 18th century in "The Ice War." We have a less-than-heroic main character, Jack Hobbes, and he meets Isaac Newton, Daniel Defoe, and Jonathan Swift along the way. It's not a happy story by any means but I liked it.
I think this might be the strongest issue of Asimov's in a while - I liked every story and the McIntosh was outstanding.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
GOOD BEHAVIOR
On Sunday night, I logged onto our local library's website and requested a book. Now, that's not unusual for me - I've requested a fair number of books that way over the past year plus. But the more I thought about it Sunday night, I realized I should be good and hold off on getting any library books. Why? A few reasons.
One is that I can't let myself get too distracted as my college semester winds down. So far, I'm doing very well in my classes (another 100% on last week's Algebra test) and I need to make sure I finish off strong. Picking up a book right now wouldn't be the best idea, even though I'm only 4 books away from reaching my goal for the year.
I'm not going to stay completely away from books until the end of the semester, though. I've long targeted Thanksgiving break as a good time to get some reading done. Even though we travel 600 miles and hang out with family, there is still some time to relax and read. That coincides with last week's release of Jeffrey Ford's new story collection, The Drowned Life. I plan on ordering that in the next day or two, so I can take it to PA. I'm very much looking forward to it.
After I get past my finals, I will jump into reading as many books as I can. I'll have 2 whole weeks on not having to go to school or work at either job. Book-reading heaven!
I've also gotten myself into a groove with catching up on my SF magazines. That said, I still have 5 piled up after I finish the Sept. issue of Asimov's...and 2 of those are double issues. I also have a couple trade paperbacks I haven't read yet and I think I'm going to reread the first Zot! collection before I get to the new one (it's been a long time since I've read any Zot!). So, it's just comics and short stories for a few more weeks as they are much easier to squeeze into my busy schedule. I also won't buy any new trades until I get these read too.
So, there you go. I'm going to be on good pop culture behavior the next few weeks and beyond, but I'm not depriving myself. And best of all, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
On Sunday night, I logged onto our local library's website and requested a book. Now, that's not unusual for me - I've requested a fair number of books that way over the past year plus. But the more I thought about it Sunday night, I realized I should be good and hold off on getting any library books. Why? A few reasons.
One is that I can't let myself get too distracted as my college semester winds down. So far, I'm doing very well in my classes (another 100% on last week's Algebra test) and I need to make sure I finish off strong. Picking up a book right now wouldn't be the best idea, even though I'm only 4 books away from reaching my goal for the year.
I'm not going to stay completely away from books until the end of the semester, though. I've long targeted Thanksgiving break as a good time to get some reading done. Even though we travel 600 miles and hang out with family, there is still some time to relax and read. That coincides with last week's release of Jeffrey Ford's new story collection, The Drowned Life. I plan on ordering that in the next day or two, so I can take it to PA. I'm very much looking forward to it.
After I get past my finals, I will jump into reading as many books as I can. I'll have 2 whole weeks on not having to go to school or work at either job. Book-reading heaven!
I've also gotten myself into a groove with catching up on my SF magazines. That said, I still have 5 piled up after I finish the Sept. issue of Asimov's...and 2 of those are double issues. I also have a couple trade paperbacks I haven't read yet and I think I'm going to reread the first Zot! collection before I get to the new one (it's been a long time since I've read any Zot!). So, it's just comics and short stories for a few more weeks as they are much easier to squeeze into my busy schedule. I also won't buy any new trades until I get these read too.
So, there you go. I'm going to be on good pop culture behavior the next few weeks and beyond, but I'm not depriving myself. And best of all, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
F&SF SEPT. 2008
I'm still pretty well behind on reading my SF magazines but I just read the Sept. issue of F&SF in a couple days. Of course, it helps when the stories are good enough to make you want to read.
The lead story is the title track from Paolo Bacigalupi's story collection, Pump Six and Other Stories. His work has been prominently featured in F&SF over the last few years, so it makes sense that they would reprint a new story here. Bacigalupi usually writes about grim futures and "Pump Six" is no exception. He also writes very well about those grim futures and again, "Pump Six" is no exception. This is a future when intelligence is not at a premium in society, where there are trogs who just have sex all day, where drug use is an accepted part of culture, and where all the machines that keep things running (like sewage) and getting old and breaking down. The story does end on a bit of hope, however.
After the two books columns comes "Search Continues for Elderly Man" by Laura Kasischke. I didn't care for it. I got what she was going for but I didn't feel like there was anything to hold onto in the story.
Fortunately, Carolyn Ives Gilman's novella, "Arkfall" was up next. It takes place on a planet where the (human)population lives underwater and lives either in "arks" or in an overcrowded dome. Society has evolved into one of passive-agression and is relatively stagnant. Osaji wants to break from from that stagnation but is also caring for her aged grandmother and feels trapped. She literally becomes trapped in an ark with an off-worlder and they end up exlporing a lot of the planet after a volcanic eruption. The relationships and the adventure are well done and make a nice complement to the other. I liked it.
Rand B. Lee's "Picnic on Pentecost" was an okay tale of big changes for the human race out in the stars and "'Shed That Guilt! Double Your Productivity'" by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn was a fun little story about an unusual service for writers.
A quick count shows that Robert Reed's "Salad for Two" is the sixth story I've read by him this year. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of his but even his lesser stories are well worth reading.
Finally, Jim Aikin's "Run! Run!"was a solid capper to the issue. It's an alternate world where the United States becomes fully Christian and unicorns exist. A woman reflects on events from when she younger and she ended up saving the unicorns that lives on her farm (and were hidden from everyone else until her sister told people).
In the end, another good issue of F&SF and I continue to think it is the best SF magazine available. I have already started on the Sept. issue of Asimov's, so you can look for a rundown of that later this week.
I'm still pretty well behind on reading my SF magazines but I just read the Sept. issue of F&SF in a couple days. Of course, it helps when the stories are good enough to make you want to read.
The lead story is the title track from Paolo Bacigalupi's story collection, Pump Six and Other Stories. His work has been prominently featured in F&SF over the last few years, so it makes sense that they would reprint a new story here. Bacigalupi usually writes about grim futures and "Pump Six" is no exception. He also writes very well about those grim futures and again, "Pump Six" is no exception. This is a future when intelligence is not at a premium in society, where there are trogs who just have sex all day, where drug use is an accepted part of culture, and where all the machines that keep things running (like sewage) and getting old and breaking down. The story does end on a bit of hope, however.
After the two books columns comes "Search Continues for Elderly Man" by Laura Kasischke. I didn't care for it. I got what she was going for but I didn't feel like there was anything to hold onto in the story.
Fortunately, Carolyn Ives Gilman's novella, "Arkfall" was up next. It takes place on a planet where the (human)population lives underwater and lives either in "arks" or in an overcrowded dome. Society has evolved into one of passive-agression and is relatively stagnant. Osaji wants to break from from that stagnation but is also caring for her aged grandmother and feels trapped. She literally becomes trapped in an ark with an off-worlder and they end up exlporing a lot of the planet after a volcanic eruption. The relationships and the adventure are well done and make a nice complement to the other. I liked it.
Rand B. Lee's "Picnic on Pentecost" was an okay tale of big changes for the human race out in the stars and "'Shed That Guilt! Double Your Productivity'" by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn was a fun little story about an unusual service for writers.
A quick count shows that Robert Reed's "Salad for Two" is the sixth story I've read by him this year. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of his but even his lesser stories are well worth reading.
Finally, Jim Aikin's "Run! Run!"was a solid capper to the issue. It's an alternate world where the United States becomes fully Christian and unicorns exist. A woman reflects on events from when she younger and she ended up saving the unicorns that lives on her farm (and were hidden from everyone else until her sister told people).
In the end, another good issue of F&SF and I continue to think it is the best SF magazine available. I have already started on the Sept. issue of Asimov's, so you can look for a rundown of that later this week.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
PRE-COLLEGIATE PILE
As I've mentioned a few times, I am starting college again this fall. Well, "this fall" is now tomorrow and my first College Algebra class is less than 20 hours away; my first Spanish I class follows about 24 hours after College Algebra finishes. I am already working my new job in the school system and this will be the first full week of school. Luckily, I still have two more weeks before I add in another 6 1/2 hours of teaching swimming lessons at the YMCA. I'm not sure how all this will affect my pop culture intake but I thought I'd jot down some things I still need to read and/or watch, as much to remind myself as anything.
I still have the last 2 books in the Company series to read, Gods and Pawns and The Sons of Heaven. I want to read Lord Tophet and I have Sideways in Crime, an anthology of alternate history crime stories, on my shelf. Coming up in a few months, there will be 4 books from Jeffrey Ford available that I've never read, plus one from Kelly Link. Beyond that, there are tons of books I want to read.
I have 3 trade paperbacks lined up to read - JLA Presents: Aztek the Ultimate Man, Astro City: The Dark Age, and Zot! The Complete Black and White Collection. I still have 2 trades of The Walking Dead sitting in my file at the comics shop and the latest Invincible volume is on the shelves as well. Of course, new single issues keep coming out too and I've demonstrated I can't fully quit those.
The ever-present drawer of SF magazines holds 7 issues at the moment - 3 of Asimov's and 4 of F&SF (and one of those is a double issue). I also have 3 issues of EW that I haven't gone through, plus parts of another, and a new one should arrive in the mail tomorrow. Oh, there's a new issue of Spin too but I usually just flip through those.
What's on the DVD shelves that I haven't gone through? Well, Grant and I are about 2/3 of the way through Superman Animated Season 3 and then we have 2 volumes of Batman Animated and The Simpsons Season 10. I have two seasons of The Venture Bros. and The Darjeeling Limited, not to mention stuff like 30 Rock Season 1 that I've seen most of as it aired but haven't looked at on DVD.
As I've mentioned a few times, I am starting college again this fall. Well, "this fall" is now tomorrow and my first College Algebra class is less than 20 hours away; my first Spanish I class follows about 24 hours after College Algebra finishes. I am already working my new job in the school system and this will be the first full week of school. Luckily, I still have two more weeks before I add in another 6 1/2 hours of teaching swimming lessons at the YMCA. I'm not sure how all this will affect my pop culture intake but I thought I'd jot down some things I still need to read and/or watch, as much to remind myself as anything.
I still have the last 2 books in the Company series to read, Gods and Pawns and The Sons of Heaven. I want to read Lord Tophet and I have Sideways in Crime, an anthology of alternate history crime stories, on my shelf. Coming up in a few months, there will be 4 books from Jeffrey Ford available that I've never read, plus one from Kelly Link. Beyond that, there are tons of books I want to read.
I have 3 trade paperbacks lined up to read - JLA Presents: Aztek the Ultimate Man, Astro City: The Dark Age, and Zot! The Complete Black and White Collection. I still have 2 trades of The Walking Dead sitting in my file at the comics shop and the latest Invincible volume is on the shelves as well. Of course, new single issues keep coming out too and I've demonstrated I can't fully quit those.
The ever-present drawer of SF magazines holds 7 issues at the moment - 3 of Asimov's and 4 of F&SF (and one of those is a double issue). I also have 3 issues of EW that I haven't gone through, plus parts of another, and a new one should arrive in the mail tomorrow. Oh, there's a new issue of Spin too but I usually just flip through those.
What's on the DVD shelves that I haven't gone through? Well, Grant and I are about 2/3 of the way through Superman Animated Season 3 and then we have 2 volumes of Batman Animated and The Simpsons Season 10. I have two seasons of The Venture Bros. and The Darjeeling Limited, not to mention stuff like 30 Rock Season 1 that I've seen most of as it aired but haven't looked at on DVD.
I've got a number of TV shows on the DVR - all 7 episodes of Generation Kill and one each of The Middleman, Californication, Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys, Burn Notice, and Mad Men. And of course, the new fall TV season gets underway very soon.
So, there's plenty to keep me busy in my shrinking spare time and that's not including spending time with my family, being social, and keeping up with my own music. Still, I'm very much looking forward to getting into all of it.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
RETURN OF THE ROUNDUP
I've been doing a lot of reading and listening and watching and not a whole lot of writing about it lately, so I thought it might be a good idea to at least document what I've been up to. The year is already half over, which is just hard to believe. I still have plans and the second half of the year could see a lot of changes in my life, so this is a good spot to sum up the year to date.
I read 3 books in June for a total of 26 on the year (I also started and abandoned 2 other books). Last June I read 5 books but only had read 19 on the year by that point. My book goal for the year is 48, so I am definitely ahead of the pace, needing to read only 22 books in the next 6 months. If I keep up the same pace, I can finish the year with 52 (one a week). My average books read per month is 4.33.
I read 43 stories in June for a total of 144 on the year. Those stories came from The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the June issue of Asimov's, and the April, May, and June issues of F&SF. Last June I read only 9 stories and had read 89 on the year. I don't know if I've ever read 4 of my SF mags in one month before; I do still have 3 of them still piled up, though that's the smallest the pile has been in a long time. My average stories read per month is 24.
I read 14 comics in June, all of which were trades (9 of them were rereads). On the year I have read 62 comics, 24 of which were trades. Last year I had read 85 comics by this point in the year, 19 of which were trades. Like with the stories, I don't think I've ever read 14 trades in a month and certainly not in years and years; I do still have 3 trades stacked up. My average comics read per month is 10.33 or 6.33 single issues and 4 trades. Like last year, my books and trades are pretty close in number.
I bought 3 CDs and downloaded 5 more for a total of 8 new CDs in June and 50 on the year (18 bought and 32 downloaded). I also downloaded 3 songs this month, bringing that total to 8 on the year. Last year I had 13 new CDs (buys and downloads) in June and a total of 60 on the year. I can tell that my more frugal ways have had an effect. My average CDs bought per month is 8.33.
I saw 3 movies in the theater in June (Kung Fu Panda, The Incredible Hulk, and Wall E) for a total of 5 on the year (the other two were Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). I didn't keep track of when I saw movies until July last year but I'm guessing I saw 4 movies in the theater last June and had seen 11 on the year by that point. My average movies seen in the theater per month is .83.
I stopped keeping track of DVDs and TV shows shortly after my last roundup in January, so that's the end of the numbers!
I've been doing a lot of reading and listening and watching and not a whole lot of writing about it lately, so I thought it might be a good idea to at least document what I've been up to. The year is already half over, which is just hard to believe. I still have plans and the second half of the year could see a lot of changes in my life, so this is a good spot to sum up the year to date.
I read 3 books in June for a total of 26 on the year (I also started and abandoned 2 other books). Last June I read 5 books but only had read 19 on the year by that point. My book goal for the year is 48, so I am definitely ahead of the pace, needing to read only 22 books in the next 6 months. If I keep up the same pace, I can finish the year with 52 (one a week). My average books read per month is 4.33.
I read 43 stories in June for a total of 144 on the year. Those stories came from The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the June issue of Asimov's, and the April, May, and June issues of F&SF. Last June I read only 9 stories and had read 89 on the year. I don't know if I've ever read 4 of my SF mags in one month before; I do still have 3 of them still piled up, though that's the smallest the pile has been in a long time. My average stories read per month is 24.
I read 14 comics in June, all of which were trades (9 of them were rereads). On the year I have read 62 comics, 24 of which were trades. Last year I had read 85 comics by this point in the year, 19 of which were trades. Like with the stories, I don't think I've ever read 14 trades in a month and certainly not in years and years; I do still have 3 trades stacked up. My average comics read per month is 10.33 or 6.33 single issues and 4 trades. Like last year, my books and trades are pretty close in number.
I bought 3 CDs and downloaded 5 more for a total of 8 new CDs in June and 50 on the year (18 bought and 32 downloaded). I also downloaded 3 songs this month, bringing that total to 8 on the year. Last year I had 13 new CDs (buys and downloads) in June and a total of 60 on the year. I can tell that my more frugal ways have had an effect. My average CDs bought per month is 8.33.
I saw 3 movies in the theater in June (Kung Fu Panda, The Incredible Hulk, and Wall E) for a total of 5 on the year (the other two were Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). I didn't keep track of when I saw movies until July last year but I'm guessing I saw 4 movies in the theater last June and had seen 11 on the year by that point. My average movies seen in the theater per month is .83.
I stopped keeping track of DVDs and TV shows shortly after my last roundup in January, so that's the end of the numbers!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
THE BIG PURGE
Garage sale season is in full effect around Valparaiso and yesterday was the one for our neighborhood. 56 houses were participating with ads in a variety of papers complete with maps and the like. We weren't planning on participating but our neighbor had so much stuff that we opened up our garage to her and then decided we might as well get rid of some stuff. It came at a perfect time, as we were at the point of needing to figure out a new storage plan for all of our CDs and books and comics. Instead, we went through and culled.
I used to have a real problem getting rid of anything...I didn't even want to get rid of issues of the various comics magazines I had (never know when you might need to refer to it!). I've gotten better at it over the years and purging my entire collection of comics back in the early 2000s (well, all of the single issues anyway) helped me be more receptive to it. In a perfect world, I would keep everything but we just don't have the space. Nowhere close to the space. In any event, I've been able to get rid of comics and books fairly easily since then but the one area I still couldn't get past was music.
I think my reluctance to get rid of CDs comes from 1994 when I got rid of a ton of CDs during one of my biggest depressed periods. I got rid of all my Springsteen and Dylan albums as well as a bunch of other stuff that I subsequently spent a couple years reassembling. It made me a bit gunshy with the whole idea. However, we just had too many CDs around here and I went through them. If I knew I hadn't listened to an album in years, I should get rid of it. If I could look at the song titles and not conjure a single song to mind, it was time for it to be gone. Albums I kept trying to warm up to and never could? Gone. The big step of getting rid of albums by artists I liked and kept other albums from? Done. For example, the first three Weezer albums were kept and the rest were not. And yes, I could have converted all of them to mp3s but it seemed like a waste of hard drive space and time; I did convert about a dozen CDs in the end, though. Some stuff seemed more suited for that format (I also went through the digital files and deleted stuff I just didn't listen to outside of random appearance on the Sunday Shuffle).
In the end, Jill and I put out over 125 CDs and 90 books for sale. I put out about 50 trade paperbacks and maybe 80 single issues of comics. We saved ourselves a lot of room (don't worry, we still have plenty of stuff) and ended up making some decent money. Rain kept some of the business away yesterday, so we are going to try again next Saturday morning and I hope to get rid of as much of it as we can.
That purge has bled over into my pop culture intake as well. Late last week I'd checked three books out of the library, one I had requested and two I grabbed on the spur of the moment. Just too much. I've also been in the habit of putting any book that seems interested on my request list and I just can't do that. I need to go back to grabbing one book at a time, maybe two, and just letting my interest at the time lead me. So, I took all three books back realizing I may check out one or more of them again in the future. For now, though, I'm content to work my way through the pile of 6 trades and 5 SF magazines. Feels good.
Garage sale season is in full effect around Valparaiso and yesterday was the one for our neighborhood. 56 houses were participating with ads in a variety of papers complete with maps and the like. We weren't planning on participating but our neighbor had so much stuff that we opened up our garage to her and then decided we might as well get rid of some stuff. It came at a perfect time, as we were at the point of needing to figure out a new storage plan for all of our CDs and books and comics. Instead, we went through and culled.
I used to have a real problem getting rid of anything...I didn't even want to get rid of issues of the various comics magazines I had (never know when you might need to refer to it!). I've gotten better at it over the years and purging my entire collection of comics back in the early 2000s (well, all of the single issues anyway) helped me be more receptive to it. In a perfect world, I would keep everything but we just don't have the space. Nowhere close to the space. In any event, I've been able to get rid of comics and books fairly easily since then but the one area I still couldn't get past was music.
I think my reluctance to get rid of CDs comes from 1994 when I got rid of a ton of CDs during one of my biggest depressed periods. I got rid of all my Springsteen and Dylan albums as well as a bunch of other stuff that I subsequently spent a couple years reassembling. It made me a bit gunshy with the whole idea. However, we just had too many CDs around here and I went through them. If I knew I hadn't listened to an album in years, I should get rid of it. If I could look at the song titles and not conjure a single song to mind, it was time for it to be gone. Albums I kept trying to warm up to and never could? Gone. The big step of getting rid of albums by artists I liked and kept other albums from? Done. For example, the first three Weezer albums were kept and the rest were not. And yes, I could have converted all of them to mp3s but it seemed like a waste of hard drive space and time; I did convert about a dozen CDs in the end, though. Some stuff seemed more suited for that format (I also went through the digital files and deleted stuff I just didn't listen to outside of random appearance on the Sunday Shuffle).
In the end, Jill and I put out over 125 CDs and 90 books for sale. I put out about 50 trade paperbacks and maybe 80 single issues of comics. We saved ourselves a lot of room (don't worry, we still have plenty of stuff) and ended up making some decent money. Rain kept some of the business away yesterday, so we are going to try again next Saturday morning and I hope to get rid of as much of it as we can.
That purge has bled over into my pop culture intake as well. Late last week I'd checked three books out of the library, one I had requested and two I grabbed on the spur of the moment. Just too much. I've also been in the habit of putting any book that seems interested on my request list and I just can't do that. I need to go back to grabbing one book at a time, maybe two, and just letting my interest at the time lead me. So, I took all three books back realizing I may check out one or more of them again in the future. For now, though, I'm content to work my way through the pile of 6 trades and 5 SF magazines. Feels good.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
READING RAINBOW
I haven't talked to much about my pop culture intake of late, so I thought I'd do some posts to update that. This is the first of three (I think) and it covers what I've been reading since the beginning of June.
The first and only book I've read so far this month (I did abandon a second) was The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, an anothology of new stories edited by Ellen Datlow. It was a solid collection, though the percentage of stories I liked a lot was relatively small...but nothing was horrible either. My favorite three were "Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex (don't think I've read her work before); "All Washed Up While Looking for a Better World" by Carol Emshwiller (a creepy and cool story about a woman searching for adventure only to have it backfire); and "Daltharee" by Jeffrey Ford (hard to go wrong with Ford...this one is about a bottled city).
I've read both the April and May issues of F&SF, finishing the latter this morning. Solid issues of each but the standouts were "The First Editions" by James Stoddard (about people who have been turned into books); "Five Thrillers" by Robert Reed (pretty much what it implies - five stories packed into one, all featuring the same amoral character); "Reunion" by Robert Reed (yeah, him again); "Rebecca's Locket" by S.L. Gilbow (dealing with a potential change in how the dead live on); and "Immortal Snake" by Rachel Pollack (a wonderful story about stories and how they can both save and destroy).
I've also been reading a lot of comics. I just now finished Y: The Last Man - Ring of Truth, which is the 5th volume of the series. I'm glad I made the decision to reread this series before the final volume comes out this Wednesday, as it as been many years since I've read the ealier stories. I had forgotten quite a bit, though I also remembered quite a bit too. I've been caught up in the story all over again as well as marveling over the art by Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. Even though I've gotten through five trades since last Sunday, I don't think I'll be quite ready to read the last one on Wednesday. That's okay...I've waited this long, so what's a few extra days or even weeks?
Lastly, I also read Fables: The Good Prince, which is the 10th and latest volume of the ongoing series. It's a thick one too, collecting 10 issues. The story centers around Flycatcher, who has recently recovered the painful memories of the loss of his family, and his quest to get vengeance. Actually, something much more interesting happens. It's a very uplifting tale in the end and I kept turning the pages to see what was coming next. Well done, Bill Willingham. And the same to you, Mark Buckingham and his inker posse. Looking forward to the next one already.
So, have I exhausted my reading material yet? Ha! In addition to the 4 remaining volumes of Y: The Last Man, I now have 6 trades stacked up and ready to go. I have 2 issues each of F&SF and Asimov's in a drawer next to the bed. And after my trip to the library on Friday, I now have three books piled just to my right. So there's the next couple weeks or more...
I haven't talked to much about my pop culture intake of late, so I thought I'd do some posts to update that. This is the first of three (I think) and it covers what I've been reading since the beginning of June.
The first and only book I've read so far this month (I did abandon a second) was The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, an anothology of new stories edited by Ellen Datlow. It was a solid collection, though the percentage of stories I liked a lot was relatively small...but nothing was horrible either. My favorite three were "Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex (don't think I've read her work before); "All Washed Up While Looking for a Better World" by Carol Emshwiller (a creepy and cool story about a woman searching for adventure only to have it backfire); and "Daltharee" by Jeffrey Ford (hard to go wrong with Ford...this one is about a bottled city).
I've read both the April and May issues of F&SF, finishing the latter this morning. Solid issues of each but the standouts were "The First Editions" by James Stoddard (about people who have been turned into books); "Five Thrillers" by Robert Reed (pretty much what it implies - five stories packed into one, all featuring the same amoral character); "Reunion" by Robert Reed (yeah, him again); "Rebecca's Locket" by S.L. Gilbow (dealing with a potential change in how the dead live on); and "Immortal Snake" by Rachel Pollack (a wonderful story about stories and how they can both save and destroy).
I've also been reading a lot of comics. I just now finished Y: The Last Man - Ring of Truth, which is the 5th volume of the series. I'm glad I made the decision to reread this series before the final volume comes out this Wednesday, as it as been many years since I've read the ealier stories. I had forgotten quite a bit, though I also remembered quite a bit too. I've been caught up in the story all over again as well as marveling over the art by Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. Even though I've gotten through five trades since last Sunday, I don't think I'll be quite ready to read the last one on Wednesday. That's okay...I've waited this long, so what's a few extra days or even weeks?
Lastly, I also read Fables: The Good Prince, which is the 10th and latest volume of the ongoing series. It's a thick one too, collecting 10 issues. The story centers around Flycatcher, who has recently recovered the painful memories of the loss of his family, and his quest to get vengeance. Actually, something much more interesting happens. It's a very uplifting tale in the end and I kept turning the pages to see what was coming next. Well done, Bill Willingham. And the same to you, Mark Buckingham and his inker posse. Looking forward to the next one already.
So, have I exhausted my reading material yet? Ha! In addition to the 4 remaining volumes of Y: The Last Man, I now have 6 trades stacked up and ready to go. I have 2 issues each of F&SF and Asimov's in a drawer next to the bed. And after my trip to the library on Friday, I now have three books piled just to my right. So there's the next couple weeks or more...
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
ASIMOV'S APRIL/MAY 2008
Just a short while ago, I finished my reading of the first Asimov's double issue of 2008, all 240 pages of it. I've been on a real book kick of late but thought it was time to dive into some short SF goodness and this issue really brought the goods. There wasn't a bad story in the bunch, though as usual I found a few more to my liking than others...
Can I mention again just how good and how underrated Robert Reed is? I really hope we get some big fat collections of his stories down the road; he's put out a couple through Golden Gryphon but they don't begin to cover his amazing output. This time around, he gives us "The House Left Empty," set in a future that is different from ours in ways both good and bad. The story is a love letter to those days of the dream of space exploration and how we shouldn't let that dream die.
Matthew Johnson wonders what life would be like for people of earlier times (mainly Roman) who are transported to the present in "Another Country." These new members of society have usually escaped hardship but long for their lives and not the lives they've been given. Very well done.
Finally, Kristine Kathryn Rusch delves into questions of survival and history and why people do what they do in the novella, "The Room of Lost Souls." I have a feeling it will be shortlisted for awards at the end of the year.
I still have 5 SF mags stacked up to be read but I also have three books out from the library, so I doubt I'll get to another for a week of two...but I've got the taste for them again, so we'll see.
Just a short while ago, I finished my reading of the first Asimov's double issue of 2008, all 240 pages of it. I've been on a real book kick of late but thought it was time to dive into some short SF goodness and this issue really brought the goods. There wasn't a bad story in the bunch, though as usual I found a few more to my liking than others...
Can I mention again just how good and how underrated Robert Reed is? I really hope we get some big fat collections of his stories down the road; he's put out a couple through Golden Gryphon but they don't begin to cover his amazing output. This time around, he gives us "The House Left Empty," set in a future that is different from ours in ways both good and bad. The story is a love letter to those days of the dream of space exploration and how we shouldn't let that dream die.
Matthew Johnson wonders what life would be like for people of earlier times (mainly Roman) who are transported to the present in "Another Country." These new members of society have usually escaped hardship but long for their lives and not the lives they've been given. Very well done.
Finally, Kristine Kathryn Rusch delves into questions of survival and history and why people do what they do in the novella, "The Room of Lost Souls." I have a feeling it will be shortlisted for awards at the end of the year.
I still have 5 SF mags stacked up to be read but I also have three books out from the library, so I doubt I'll get to another for a week of two...but I've got the taste for them again, so we'll see.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
SHORTS
It was actually warm enough for me to wear shorts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. I didn't but I could have. After the long winter we've had, that felt very good.
Earlier this week I finished reading Maps and Legends, the new non-fiction collection from Michael Chabon. The essays collected discuss comics, genre fiction, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, his personal history, his own work, and more. I loved it. He reminds me why I want to be a writer and why I should start being one now. It also has an amazing triple-fold cover by Jordan Crane; McSweeney's knows how to produce beautiful books, don't they?
I've finally managed to finish the March 2008 issues of Asimov's and F&SF. Asimov's was solid with no stories standing out or the opposite (though I didn't quite follow the Steven Utley). I liked F&SF a lot more - a bunch of good stories, my favorite of which is probably Nancy Springer's "Rumple What?," which is a fresh take on that old story.
I'm going to stay on my short story kick for the forseeable future too; my next 2 books are new collections from Kevin Brockmeier and Steven Millhauser. Can't wait.
It was actually warm enough for me to wear shorts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. I didn't but I could have. After the long winter we've had, that felt very good.
Earlier this week I finished reading Maps and Legends, the new non-fiction collection from Michael Chabon. The essays collected discuss comics, genre fiction, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, his personal history, his own work, and more. I loved it. He reminds me why I want to be a writer and why I should start being one now. It also has an amazing triple-fold cover by Jordan Crane; McSweeney's knows how to produce beautiful books, don't they?
I've finally managed to finish the March 2008 issues of Asimov's and F&SF. Asimov's was solid with no stories standing out or the opposite (though I didn't quite follow the Steven Utley). I liked F&SF a lot more - a bunch of good stories, my favorite of which is probably Nancy Springer's "Rumple What?," which is a fresh take on that old story.
I'm going to stay on my short story kick for the forseeable future too; my next 2 books are new collections from Kevin Brockmeier and Steven Millhauser. Can't wait.
Monday, March 24, 2008
FEBRUARY SF IN MARCH
I've spent the last 4 days reading the Feb. 2008 issues of Asimov's and F&SF. I haven't dipped into either magazine since early February and it was nice to sink back into some short SF.
The Asimov's issue was in the classic mode - big name authors, a conclusion to a serialization, some short stories that really were short, and examples of both classic and idea SF. The issue started with Michael Swanwick's "From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled...," about an attack that kills all humans but one and his (and his suit's - possessed by the intelligence of his dead lover) attempt to negotiate with and through aliens to survive. It's followed by a short sharp story from Nancy Kress; there's also another short not quite as sharp story from Edward M. Lerner, though only author I was unfamiliar with. "The Ray-Gun: A Love Story" by James Alan Gardner takes the idea of a kid finding an alien ray-gun and spools out a story of loneliness and heroism and love; I really liked it. Mary Rosenblum's "The Egg Man" shows a future where people in the US do what they can to survive and what one Mexican man does to help; "The Last American" by John Kessel is the story of a future President...and it's not a very nice story. Finally, Allen M. Steele concludes his Galaxy Blues in a sufficiently rousing fashion and reminds me yet again that I need to read all of his Coyote-related works.
F&SF offered up its share of goodies as well. The opening story, "Balancing Accounts" by James L. Cambias, is told from the POV of a ship trying to earn a living that gets caught up in the machinations of humans; it works very well. I love stories about books and stories about time travel, so the combination of the two in Ann Miller's "Retrospect" hit my sweet spot. When I think about writers I like, I never think about Ron Goulart. But his "Memoirs of the Witch Queen" reminds me that he always turns out entertaining stories, usually about regular guys with a few problems who get caught up in supernatural events. Matthew Hughes delivers a story not focused on Guth Bandar or Henghis Hapthorn but "Petri Parousia" still scores with a tale of a scientist who can separate the DNA of your ancestors and takes it a logical extreme (well, in one sense). A troubled marriage and dinosaurs playing soccer makes up "Bread and Circus" by Steven Popkes; a mystery surrounding even more books is at the center of the alternate world in "Philologos; or, A Murder in Bistrita" by the married writing team of Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald. Finally, Richard Bowes gives us "If Angels Fight" about the prodigal son of a great political family who still lives on 30 years after his death, ending the issue on a very strong note.
I've spent the last 4 days reading the Feb. 2008 issues of Asimov's and F&SF. I haven't dipped into either magazine since early February and it was nice to sink back into some short SF.
The Asimov's issue was in the classic mode - big name authors, a conclusion to a serialization, some short stories that really were short, and examples of both classic and idea SF. The issue started with Michael Swanwick's "From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled...," about an attack that kills all humans but one and his (and his suit's - possessed by the intelligence of his dead lover) attempt to negotiate with and through aliens to survive. It's followed by a short sharp story from Nancy Kress; there's also another short not quite as sharp story from Edward M. Lerner, though only author I was unfamiliar with. "The Ray-Gun: A Love Story" by James Alan Gardner takes the idea of a kid finding an alien ray-gun and spools out a story of loneliness and heroism and love; I really liked it. Mary Rosenblum's "The Egg Man" shows a future where people in the US do what they can to survive and what one Mexican man does to help; "The Last American" by John Kessel is the story of a future President...and it's not a very nice story. Finally, Allen M. Steele concludes his Galaxy Blues in a sufficiently rousing fashion and reminds me yet again that I need to read all of his Coyote-related works.
F&SF offered up its share of goodies as well. The opening story, "Balancing Accounts" by James L. Cambias, is told from the POV of a ship trying to earn a living that gets caught up in the machinations of humans; it works very well. I love stories about books and stories about time travel, so the combination of the two in Ann Miller's "Retrospect" hit my sweet spot. When I think about writers I like, I never think about Ron Goulart. But his "Memoirs of the Witch Queen" reminds me that he always turns out entertaining stories, usually about regular guys with a few problems who get caught up in supernatural events. Matthew Hughes delivers a story not focused on Guth Bandar or Henghis Hapthorn but "Petri Parousia" still scores with a tale of a scientist who can separate the DNA of your ancestors and takes it a logical extreme (well, in one sense). A troubled marriage and dinosaurs playing soccer makes up "Bread and Circus" by Steven Popkes; a mystery surrounding even more books is at the center of the alternate world in "Philologos; or, A Murder in Bistrita" by the married writing team of Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald. Finally, Richard Bowes gives us "If Angels Fight" about the prodigal son of a great political family who still lives on 30 years after his death, ending the issue on a very strong note.
Monday, March 17, 2008
21%
That's how full the DVR is right now. Granted, not all of it contains shows I need to watch but most of it is mine. I still have Knight Rider from more than a month ago. I'm more than a week behind on my regular shows too and now that new episodes are starting to come back (new How I Met Your Mother tonight!), chances are I'll only fall further behind. The NCAA basketball tournament will suck up quite a bit of time at the end of the week too.
I have a book out from the library that's due Friday and I've already renewed it once. My Revolutions is only 280 pages long, so do I start it today and race through it? Do I try to renew it again? Do I just drop it off and get to it at some future time? I also ordered The Shadow Year at my local B&N, though that won't be in until later this week at the earliest.
I have three issues each of Asimov's and F&SF sitting around waiting to be read. I have the last of the four trades I bought at the comics sale still unopened. And to top it all off, I plan on using up all of my current eMusic downloads in the next few days - a couple new albums drop tomorrow, the rest has been out, and my numbers add up beautifully.
So, I'll be making quick comments on stuff or I'll just be reading and watching and listening without saying much. Either way, I hope you enjoy your week.
That's how full the DVR is right now. Granted, not all of it contains shows I need to watch but most of it is mine. I still have Knight Rider from more than a month ago. I'm more than a week behind on my regular shows too and now that new episodes are starting to come back (new How I Met Your Mother tonight!), chances are I'll only fall further behind. The NCAA basketball tournament will suck up quite a bit of time at the end of the week too.
I have a book out from the library that's due Friday and I've already renewed it once. My Revolutions is only 280 pages long, so do I start it today and race through it? Do I try to renew it again? Do I just drop it off and get to it at some future time? I also ordered The Shadow Year at my local B&N, though that won't be in until later this week at the earliest.
I have three issues each of Asimov's and F&SF sitting around waiting to be read. I have the last of the four trades I bought at the comics sale still unopened. And to top it all off, I plan on using up all of my current eMusic downloads in the next few days - a couple new albums drop tomorrow, the rest has been out, and my numbers add up beautifully.
So, I'll be making quick comments on stuff or I'll just be reading and watching and listening without saying much. Either way, I hope you enjoy your week.
Friday, February 08, 2008
STATUS REPORT
I had planned on a couple more posts this week - one on the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday and the debut of my long-planned "Midweek Music Review" (on the new Drive-By Truckers album) - but things have been busy and I've been quite tired. I've also been trying to catch up on my pop cutlure intake.
I'm about 150 pages into the book I started reading on Sunday. I like it a lot so far but I just haven't been able to get to it as much as I'd like. I have another book from the library that is due tomorrow and will have to be renewed. Yesterday I picked up 4 more books from the library as multiple requests all arrived at the same time. Yikes.
I still have 2 issues each of F&SF and Asimov's stacked up. I have the 7th trade of Walking Dead sitting in my file at the comics shop and I'd like to reread DC: The New Frontier before the DVD adaptation comes out on the 26th. Oh, and there's a big sale at the comics shop a week from tomorrow and I have my eye on several more trades. I'm still reading Entertainment Weekly from 2 weeks ago and I'm not even halfway through the Wizard I bought last week.
I have 16 episodes of TV shows to catch up on between the DVR and On Demand. 2 more shows will be recorded tonight; 2 again tomorrow night; and yet 2 more on Sunday night (plus another that we'll watch live). I've had Ocean's Thirteen sitting around for about 2 weeks from Netflix and it's probably time to give up on watching it for now. A friend keeps asking me if I've watched Battlestar Galactica: Razor yet...I haven't.
Yep, I'm behind. And coherent blog posts will probably be sparse for a while. The good news is I'm not on call this weekend and we have nothing on our schedule. I am thinking about catching a movie, though. Maybe Juno or No Country For Old Men?
I had planned on a couple more posts this week - one on the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday and the debut of my long-planned "Midweek Music Review" (on the new Drive-By Truckers album) - but things have been busy and I've been quite tired. I've also been trying to catch up on my pop cutlure intake.
I'm about 150 pages into the book I started reading on Sunday. I like it a lot so far but I just haven't been able to get to it as much as I'd like. I have another book from the library that is due tomorrow and will have to be renewed. Yesterday I picked up 4 more books from the library as multiple requests all arrived at the same time. Yikes.
I still have 2 issues each of F&SF and Asimov's stacked up. I have the 7th trade of Walking Dead sitting in my file at the comics shop and I'd like to reread DC: The New Frontier before the DVD adaptation comes out on the 26th. Oh, and there's a big sale at the comics shop a week from tomorrow and I have my eye on several more trades. I'm still reading Entertainment Weekly from 2 weeks ago and I'm not even halfway through the Wizard I bought last week.
I have 16 episodes of TV shows to catch up on between the DVR and On Demand. 2 more shows will be recorded tonight; 2 again tomorrow night; and yet 2 more on Sunday night (plus another that we'll watch live). I've had Ocean's Thirteen sitting around for about 2 weeks from Netflix and it's probably time to give up on watching it for now. A friend keeps asking me if I've watched Battlestar Galactica: Razor yet...I haven't.
Yep, I'm behind. And coherent blog posts will probably be sparse for a while. The good news is I'm not on call this weekend and we have nothing on our schedule. I am thinking about catching a movie, though. Maybe Juno or No Country For Old Men?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
ASIMOV'S JAN. 2008
I'm still behind in my SF magazine reading but I've at least been able to read them in the month of their cover publication date. That has to count for something, right? Right? Anyway, here are some quick thoughts on the recently read Jan. 2008 issue of Asimov's.
The cover story this time out is "The Perfect Wave," a collaboration between Rudy Rucker and Marc Laidlaw. It's subcutlure SF, taking place in an establishment where you surf electronically and can design your own courses. Things get out of hand, of course, and it's a fairly cool idea. I think I may have liked it more had I read the story all the way through and not in bits and pieces like I did. Happens sometimes.
The next story was a bit more in my wheelhouse. Two old friends decided to seek out the magic store where they first met years ago in "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders" by Mike Resnick. They do find the shop, of course, and what happens next is quite entertaining. Well-written and fun.
Deborah Coates gives us the mood piece of "The Whale's Lover," which is the search for a leviathan and redemption. "The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald" by Tanith Lee tells the tale of an unusual plague in a way that things don't start to make sense until you get about halfway through the story. Will McIntosh looks at the strangeness of how the world works by throwing together two people whose proximity to each other makes everybody safer in "Unlikely." All three are good stories, with the McIntosh being my favorite.
The last story is the third part of Allen M. Steele's serialized novel Galaxy Blues, "Fool's Errand." Things get even more complicated amongst the aliens of the Talus and lead to an impossible situation. The next issue brings the last part and I'm looking forward to its conclusion.
I'm still behind in my SF magazine reading but I've at least been able to read them in the month of their cover publication date. That has to count for something, right? Right? Anyway, here are some quick thoughts on the recently read Jan. 2008 issue of Asimov's.
The cover story this time out is "The Perfect Wave," a collaboration between Rudy Rucker and Marc Laidlaw. It's subcutlure SF, taking place in an establishment where you surf electronically and can design your own courses. Things get out of hand, of course, and it's a fairly cool idea. I think I may have liked it more had I read the story all the way through and not in bits and pieces like I did. Happens sometimes.
The next story was a bit more in my wheelhouse. Two old friends decided to seek out the magic store where they first met years ago in "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders" by Mike Resnick. They do find the shop, of course, and what happens next is quite entertaining. Well-written and fun.
Deborah Coates gives us the mood piece of "The Whale's Lover," which is the search for a leviathan and redemption. "The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald" by Tanith Lee tells the tale of an unusual plague in a way that things don't start to make sense until you get about halfway through the story. Will McIntosh looks at the strangeness of how the world works by throwing together two people whose proximity to each other makes everybody safer in "Unlikely." All three are good stories, with the McIntosh being my favorite.
The last story is the third part of Allen M. Steele's serialized novel Galaxy Blues, "Fool's Errand." Things get even more complicated amongst the aliens of the Talus and lead to an impossible situation. The next issue brings the last part and I'm looking forward to its conclusion.
Friday, December 28, 2007
F&SF DEC. 2007
The highlight of the Dec. 2007 issue of F&SF is definitely M. Rickert's "Don't Ask." No surprise there, as Rickert is one of the best writers working today. This story is about a town that had boys stolen by wolves years ago and what happens after their return. It's creepy and sad and wise, plus it's told in the third person. One of the best stories I've read all year.
That's not to say there weren't other worthy stories in this issue. No, no. I was particularly taken with the cover story, "Finisterra" by David Moles. Its narrative is told within the framework of a truly alien world that is all air (it's called Sky) and it's landmasses are islands that float through the sky. Highly original. David Marusek's "Osama Phone Home" tells the tale of capable people who decided to do something about tracking down Osama bin Laden through the use of crazy technology...and how it ultimately backfires on them. And "Stray" by Benjamin Rosenbaum and David Ackert is about an immortal who falls in love with a black woman and has to learn to give up his ways.
"Who Brought Tulips to the Moon?" by S.L. Gilbow had its moments and some interesting ideas but it stayed on the surface of things and didn't quite earn the surprise ending. Frederic S. Durbin's "The Bone Man" had some nice atmosphere and writing about an amoral man learning about a local legend but I didn't care for the ending so much either.
Books columns, Lucius Shepard on films, and some Plumage From Pegasus by Paul Di Filippo round out the issue. Overall, another solid issue with the Rickert leading the way.
The highlight of the Dec. 2007 issue of F&SF is definitely M. Rickert's "Don't Ask." No surprise there, as Rickert is one of the best writers working today. This story is about a town that had boys stolen by wolves years ago and what happens after their return. It's creepy and sad and wise, plus it's told in the third person. One of the best stories I've read all year.
That's not to say there weren't other worthy stories in this issue. No, no. I was particularly taken with the cover story, "Finisterra" by David Moles. Its narrative is told within the framework of a truly alien world that is all air (it's called Sky) and it's landmasses are islands that float through the sky. Highly original. David Marusek's "Osama Phone Home" tells the tale of capable people who decided to do something about tracking down Osama bin Laden through the use of crazy technology...and how it ultimately backfires on them. And "Stray" by Benjamin Rosenbaum and David Ackert is about an immortal who falls in love with a black woman and has to learn to give up his ways.
"Who Brought Tulips to the Moon?" by S.L. Gilbow had its moments and some interesting ideas but it stayed on the surface of things and didn't quite earn the surprise ending. Frederic S. Durbin's "The Bone Man" had some nice atmosphere and writing about an amoral man learning about a local legend but I didn't care for the ending so much either.
Books columns, Lucius Shepard on films, and some Plumage From Pegasus by Paul Di Filippo round out the issue. Overall, another solid issue with the Rickert leading the way.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
ONCE INTO THE SPIRAL LABYRINTH
About a week ago, I got around to watching Once. It's a musical but a musical in which the music is completely organic to the story. It's about an unnamed musician who works in his father's vacuum repair shop and also busks on the street; he's trying to futher his musical career. One day he meets an unnamed girl who turns out to be a piano player. The story is about their relationship, both real and musical. In fact, the music-making often says what they can't actually say to each other and neither is really in the position to give themselves to the other. It's all done in a subtle way...in fact, it's a really low-key film. The performances by Glen Hansard (the lead singer of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova are very charming and real and the music stays in your head, especially "Falling Slowly" and "When Your Mind's Made Up." I'm not a fan of musicals but I would watch more stuff like this with no hesitation.
On Sunday I finished the last book I'm reading this year, The Spiral Labyrinth by Matthew Hughes. It's another short novel in the Hengis Hapthorn series and the first couple chapters were published earlier this year in F&SF as "Sweet Trap." Hapthorn and Osk Rievor are still dealing with their shared cohabitation of the same body and Rievor is keen to investigate magic. This leads to the two being separated into two bodies and leaves Hapthorn stranded in the future where magic has fully taken over. He has to navigate this landscape and eventually to deal with a future version of a symbiote that has grown in knowledge and capabilities over the centuries. I think if you like Hughes' tales of Old Earth, you'd like this one too. It's readable and fun and a pleasant way to spend a couple days.
About a week ago, I got around to watching Once. It's a musical but a musical in which the music is completely organic to the story. It's about an unnamed musician who works in his father's vacuum repair shop and also busks on the street; he's trying to futher his musical career. One day he meets an unnamed girl who turns out to be a piano player. The story is about their relationship, both real and musical. In fact, the music-making often says what they can't actually say to each other and neither is really in the position to give themselves to the other. It's all done in a subtle way...in fact, it's a really low-key film. The performances by Glen Hansard (the lead singer of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova are very charming and real and the music stays in your head, especially "Falling Slowly" and "When Your Mind's Made Up." I'm not a fan of musicals but I would watch more stuff like this with no hesitation.
On Sunday I finished the last book I'm reading this year, The Spiral Labyrinth by Matthew Hughes. It's another short novel in the Hengis Hapthorn series and the first couple chapters were published earlier this year in F&SF as "Sweet Trap." Hapthorn and Osk Rievor are still dealing with their shared cohabitation of the same body and Rievor is keen to investigate magic. This leads to the two being separated into two bodies and leaves Hapthorn stranded in the future where magic has fully taken over. He has to navigate this landscape and eventually to deal with a future version of a symbiote that has grown in knowledge and capabilities over the centuries. I think if you like Hughes' tales of Old Earth, you'd like this one too. It's readable and fun and a pleasant way to spend a couple days.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
ASIMOV'S DEC. 2007
I read the Dec. 2006 issue of Asimov's back in January, so I guess I've gotten a bit more caught up on my SF magazine reading over the year. Really, it's hard to believe we're at the point of the year (I've already gotten the Jan. 2008 issue too). Anyway, here's what I thought...
The issue starts off with a Christmas story from Connie Willis, "All Seated on the Ground." I'm not a big fan of how Christmas keeps creeping up the calendar - the TV commercials are now starting the day after Halloween, fer cryin' out loud! - but at least I chose to read this now. This is a madcap Christmas tale featuring disapproving aliens and choirs and buffoons of all stripes, plus a falling in love story. It's solid.
Next is a short tale from Tim McDaniel, "The Lonsesome Planet Traveler's Advisory." It's modeled after the "Lonely Planet" guidebooks, the twist being it's a primer for aliens who travel to Earth. Amusing.
"Strangers on a Bus" is the 13th Asimov's appearance for Jack Skillingstead, whom I've found very readable over the course of the last four years. This story, about a writer who thinks he can create the realities of those around him and the woman he meets on a bus, is no exception. It's odd and cool and affecting, even if you're not quite sure what's happening.
Nancy Kress gives us "The Rules" or rather, a story in which a dying rich man uses new technology to try and stop the effects of climate chaos by appealing directly to people. Another solid effort.
I'm not quite sure I understood "do(this)" by Stephen Graham Jones, as it's a very philosophical tale that has a character trying to find metaphors in computer languages. Very very interesting.
Finally, there's part two of Galaxy Blues by Allen M. Steele. "The Pride of Cucamonga" takes Jules Truffant and his fellow crew members into orbit and across the galaxy to the habitat of the hjadd. Along the way he learns more about the crew and the hjadd, naturally. It's the second part of four, so there's a lot of character work and moving the plot along. The ending suggests things are about to change and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
I have only two issues of SF mags in my pile now, though the last time I did a new issue arrived in the mail a couple days later. Time will tell if that happens again. With four books piled up, though, it will take a while before I get to another. But that's a story for another day.
I read the Dec. 2006 issue of Asimov's back in January, so I guess I've gotten a bit more caught up on my SF magazine reading over the year. Really, it's hard to believe we're at the point of the year (I've already gotten the Jan. 2008 issue too). Anyway, here's what I thought...
The issue starts off with a Christmas story from Connie Willis, "All Seated on the Ground." I'm not a big fan of how Christmas keeps creeping up the calendar - the TV commercials are now starting the day after Halloween, fer cryin' out loud! - but at least I chose to read this now. This is a madcap Christmas tale featuring disapproving aliens and choirs and buffoons of all stripes, plus a falling in love story. It's solid.
Next is a short tale from Tim McDaniel, "The Lonsesome Planet Traveler's Advisory." It's modeled after the "Lonely Planet" guidebooks, the twist being it's a primer for aliens who travel to Earth. Amusing.
"Strangers on a Bus" is the 13th Asimov's appearance for Jack Skillingstead, whom I've found very readable over the course of the last four years. This story, about a writer who thinks he can create the realities of those around him and the woman he meets on a bus, is no exception. It's odd and cool and affecting, even if you're not quite sure what's happening.
Nancy Kress gives us "The Rules" or rather, a story in which a dying rich man uses new technology to try and stop the effects of climate chaos by appealing directly to people. Another solid effort.
I'm not quite sure I understood "do(this)" by Stephen Graham Jones, as it's a very philosophical tale that has a character trying to find metaphors in computer languages. Very very interesting.
Finally, there's part two of Galaxy Blues by Allen M. Steele. "The Pride of Cucamonga" takes Jules Truffant and his fellow crew members into orbit and across the galaxy to the habitat of the hjadd. Along the way he learns more about the crew and the hjadd, naturally. It's the second part of four, so there's a lot of character work and moving the plot along. The ending suggests things are about to change and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
I have only two issues of SF mags in my pile now, though the last time I did a new issue arrived in the mail a couple days later. Time will tell if that happens again. With four books piled up, though, it will take a while before I get to another. But that's a story for another day.
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