It’s time again for SFSite’s Annual SF Site Readers’ Choice: Best Read of 2008, where you can vote for your favorite books of the past year. Deadline for voting is February 6, 2009, midnight Eastern Standard Time. Rules and guidelines at the link. May the best books win!
SF Site’s Reader’s Choice Read More »
David Louis Edelman’s MultiReal
An amazing hard scifi tale, this is the second in an action-packed series from Edelman. …With so much mass-media science fiction featuring anti-science heroes who battle to stop science from ‘going too far,’ it’s great to read a really smart novel about a hero who’s fighting to save scientific progress from being suppressed. David Louis Edelman’s MultiReal, the second volume in the trilogy that begins with Infoquake,
is a welcome cure to the Fringe/Eleventh Hour science-bashing, even though it presents both the pro- and con- arguments about radical progress. But MultiReal is also way more entertaining than the science bashers.
MultiReal makes io9’s Best of 2008 Read More »
Ryun Patterson, at Bookgasm, publishes his 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2008, and Fast Forward 2
“Up until last year, I would never have believed that an anthology of new science fiction could be the best sci-fi book put out in a given year. First of all, is there even a demand for such a beast? It seems that a budding anthologist could make a far more successful book by picking a theme, say ‘green aliens with tentacles who are really children in search of their parents but are thought of as evil because of a cultural misunderstanding,’ and find awesome tales from the genre’s creaky grandmasters that would guarantee an endcap placement at Borders…
But Anders, who has paid his dues many times over in the science-fiction trenches, doesn’t seem to do the predictable thing, and his risk-taking has paid off. Fast Forward 2 is even more electric than last year’s first: Anders has assembled some of the best and brightest current stars of the genre, and they turned in stories that, as a whole, really do represent the cutting edge of fiction. From a fashion designer who grows living gowns to a raid on the doomsday seed bank to a young man getting Cyrano-with-a-twist dating advice in the India of the future, Fast Forward 2 is the book to read this year. It’s the surest of sure things, and a bargain, to boot.”
Deeply honored.
Best of 2008: FF2 is Bookgasm’s Best Book of the Year Read More »
Two video interviews with Pyr authors have cropped up recently.
David Louis Edelman is interviewed by the long-running show Fast Forward.
Joe Abercrombie is interviewed by Sci-Fi-London.
Both interviews are worthwhile and informative. Who knew these guys could talk as well as type?
Watch Real Live Authors Talk, Breath, Shrug and Scratch Themselves Read More »
From Library Journal: “The author of Here, There & Everywhere and The Voyage of Night Shining White blends high fantasy, Victorian mystery, and urban fantasy into one mesmerizing story that refreshes the Arthurian legend. “
From Publishers Weekly: “This ambitious fantasy combines three very British stories: an Arthurian fable, a Victorian murder mystery and a modern-day YA adventure tale. …The hinted interconnections between the three tales are complex and fascinating… a rollicking ride.”
From Booklist: “…a spectacular collection of secrets, murky underworld organizations, and everything from time travel to magical swords. In the dizzying conclusion, time lines converge in a satisfying reimagining of a very old story.”
From Geek Monthly: “What do a soldier from the 6th century, a sleuth from the 19th century and an American teenager in 1999 all have in common? They are all characters in Chris Roberson’s ambitious quest for the Holy Grail that intermingles all three ages to truly entertaining effect.”
Excited yet?
End of the Century Rawks Read More »
A host of recent acquisitions, which, since they have appeared in Locus and are being talked about on various websites, I might as well aggregate here to whet your collective appetites:
The Ghosts of Manhattan, and an untitled sequel, a “steampunk superhero” tale from George Mann (The Affinity Bridge).
The Grave Thief, Book Three of the Twilight Reign, gritty epic fantasy from Tom Lloyd.
The Quiet War, brilliant near-future space opera from Paul McAuley.
Sasha: A Trial of Blood & Steel, book one of a epic fantasy quartet, from Joel Shepherd. Very politically savvy stuff and more of that “gritty” fantasy we love so much.
Diving into the Wreck, from Kristine Kathryn Rusch, wonderful space opera adventure based on her Asimov’s Readers Choice Award-winning novella of the same name.
Dawnthief, Noonshade, and Nightchild, the Chronicles of the Raven trilogy – more (yes) “gritty” epic fantasy from James Barlcay.
The Office of Shadow, espionage meets epic fantasy in this sequel to Midwinter, from DC/Vertigo author Matthew Sturges.
Excited? I am.
Anyone with a sincere interest in science fiction, its past and its future, its problems and its promise, needs to check out The Agony Column Podcast, Episode 519 right now. It’s a taping of the panel discussion from SF in SF, this one featuring Kim Stanley Robinson, Cecilia Holland, and Barry Malzberg. I found it one of the most interesting and stimulating discussions of SF I’ve heard in ages, and it reminded me that a really good discussion of SF can be as exciting as reading the stuff. Here’s the direct link (also on iTunes).
Ryun Patterson, of Bookgasm, on Fast Forward 2:
…a worthy successor [to Fast Forward 1]: Anders has assembled a batch of stories that span the breadth of modern science fiction and provide a better introduction to today’s scene than the musty copies of Fahrenheit 451 lingering in high school English classes ever could. …anybody that loves science fiction (and fans of the recent outpouring of well-written sci-fi television and movies looking for literary sustenence) can put their trust into Mr. Anders and this instant classic.
And I’m grateful that Ryun took time to mention the cover art:
John Picacio’s ridiculously cool jet-legs-ape-in-front-of-rampaging-mob cover infers a story all its own, and readers can use their own imaginations to come up with the plot for that one.
FF2: An Instant Classic Read More »
SF Grandmaster and living legend Michael Moorcock is blowing out the b-day candles today. If you don’t have a copy of his Pyr release THE METATEMPORAL DETECTIVE, the gift-giving season is a great time to rectify that (gentle holiday nudge…;)). Have a good one, Mike!
Mike Moorcock Turns 69 Read More »
Here is the jacket for the trade paperback edition of Kay Kenyon’s A World Too Near,
As with the hardcover, art is by Stephan Martiniere, design by Jacqueline Cooke.
Cover Debut: the trade paperback edition of A World Too Near Read More »
