Re: All The Windwracked Stars

I generally look forward to reading stories by Elizabeth Bear, so I was intrigued to find a whole novel by her, All The Windwracked Stars. Plus I heard it was an example of the Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot trope. The what?

Re: Just Before Recess

I still need to take a recess after Readercon, which makes me think of “Just Before Recess“, by James Van Pelt. Parker kept a sun in his desk.

Hugo 2009 roundup

Well, I’ve read all of the Hugo nominees that I’m going to. I managed the first chapter of Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross, and kept putting off returning to it. The perky tone of Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi is exactly the kind of YA that punts me right out. Then I ran out of […]

Re: The Occupation of the Architect

“The Occupation of the Architect“, by Jason Heller starts off with a conceit that pulled me in: The buildings pulled themselves out of the ground one morning and decided to speak.

Re: Alastair Baffle’s Emporium of Wonders

One thing’s for sure about “Alastair Baffle’s Emporium of Wonders” by Mike Resnick; the title lets you know right away that it’s a magic shop story. And if you like sentimental magic shop stories, this one delivers.

Do you like your cookies sweet or crispy?

Here’s a twofer Tuesday. Why not?

Re: Ancestor Money

It’s a real pity that a copy of China Mountain Zhang has been languishing on my bookshelf, because what little I’ve read of Maureen McHugh I really like. Take “Ancestor Money,” (collected in Mothers & Other Monsters) which was read on Podcastle a few months ago. Rachel is spending her afterlife in Swan Pond Kentucky, […]

Re: Squidges

Here’s a silly one from the Drabblecast for you Car Talk fans: “Squidges” by Thomas Canfield. The narrator brings his car to the three eccentric Maine brothers, who are sort of like the Tappet Brothers to the nth degree. The story itself is pretty non-consequential, but it’s well told. Even in something so short, it […]

Re: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman is a good example of how to write a chapter book. While each chapter stands on its own, small things get repeated, binding the book into a satisfying whole. In a wonderfully understated opening, we follow “the man Jack” tracking down the last surviving member of a family he […]

Re: The Fable of the Octopus

Still working my way through the Podcastle archives, I enjoyed a series of four fables by Peter S. Beagle that were podcast last fall. My favorite was “The Fable of the Octopus,” about an octopus who wanted to see god. His ideas about god are about as good as your typical human New Age book. […]