Yesterday was sunny, warm, clear blue skies: the best day of the summer. Today, the clouds and wind were back. A life of constant adventure 'round these parts...
Still, here's the list of books I've looked at so far this month through the SFWA Circulating Book Plan. If I find I have something to say about a book, I'll put a paragraph up about it; otherwise, I'll just note its existence. I'm always open to other people's takes on books, too: just drop me a line, and I'll ruthlessly edit your comments before posting them. A more complete rendering of my Policies and Disclaimers can be found by clicking the Policies and Disclaimers link earlier in this sentence, if anyone's interested.
[Nov 07] [Dec 07] [Jan 08] [Feb 08]
[Mar 08] [Apr 08] [May 08] [Jun 08]
[Jul 08] [Aug 08] [Sep 08] [Oct 08] [Nov 08]
Since these pages follow the Nebula Awards rules for "rolling eligibility," rules I feel certain are explained somewhere on this vast web site, I only keep 12 month's worth of stuff up here. The rest go off to those places where web pages live when you're not looking at them, a place my computer-savvy friends in high school used to call "the bit bucket."
Oh, and the links for each book will take you to that book's page on amazon.com, in case you're wondering. Any books you buy from Amazon after taking one of these links will send a few pennies to the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund, too.
Van Name, Mark L. & Weisskopf, T.K.F., eds.: Transhuman (Baen, Feb08)
One thing I've noticed about the various anthologies I see coming through the Book Plan here: most of them are filled with depressing fantasy stories. Sure, some of these are very good depressing fantasy stories, and I mention them here when I find that to be the case, but it gets to be a little wearying at times. So just finding an anthology full of generally upbeat science-fiction stories is an attention grabber right there. And the stories are largely well-done, too: "Guardian" by Paul Chafe and editor Van Name's own "Reunion" stuck with me, but all in all, another antholgy worth reading from the folks at Baen.
Bryan, Kathleen: The Golden Rose (Tor, Mar08)
The second in Judith Tarr's pseudonymous fantasy series suffers a bit from having the two main characters so far apart for most of the story--they work so well together, it's just fun to read--and from a set-piece during the climax that I've seen before in books by Jane Lindskold and Martha Wells, I think it was, but I continue to enjoy the interplay of religion and magic throughout and the whole world the author's building. I'll definitely be looking for the next one.
And the rest of the month:
Arroyo, Rane: The Roswell Poems (Wordfarm, Feb08)
Nelson, Resa: The Dragonslayer's Sword (Mundania, May08)
Erikson, Steven: Toll the Hounds (Tor, Sep08)
Herbert, Brian & Anderson, Kevin J.: Paul of Dune (Tor, Sep08)
Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve: Duainfey (Baen, Sep08)
Anderson, Taylor: Destroyermen: Crusade (Roc, Oct08)
McKiernan, Dennis: City of Jade (Roc, Oct08)
If you're reading this on a Sunday afternoon between 4 and 6 Pacific Time, let me invite you to listen to my radio program, The Darkling Eclectica. I play music and read stories at KUCI in Irvine, CA; the page there should have instructions telling you how to make the sounds come out of your very own computer if you have the proper equipment.
You can also check out my web comics: Terebinth, updated five times a fortnight; and Daily Grind, running Monday through Friday till I can't stand it anymore as part of the Daily Grind Competition.
Or you can always visit these other fine parts of the SFWA Web Site.
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