Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: March 2016

WWWednesday: March 9, 2016

Today’s word for Wednesday is blatherskite, a noun with two meanings; one, a person who talks nonsense and a lot of it; two, the nonsense itself. “He’s an ignorant blatherskite,” is one use; “She rattled on, filling her time with blatherskite” is the other. The word can be traced back as far as the mid-17th century, in Scotland (how did I know that?) and is the combination of the word “blather,” and “skite,” which the Oxford Dictionary site demurely defines as a Scottish derogatory term.

Books and Writing

Is this the world’s tiniest book?

March 9th, 2016. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |

The Last Witness: A fascinating study of memory

The Last Witness by K.J. Parker

The Last Witness is another of K.J. Parker’s novellas in which an unreliable first-person narrator tells us the story of his unfortunate life. This technique worked brilliantly in Blue and Gold, and it does so again here.

The Last Witness is about a man who, when he was a boy, realized that he had the magical ability to remove people’s memories from their brains.

Patternmaster: Patternists and Clayarks battle for dominance

Patternmaster by Octavia Butler

Patternmaster (1976) was written first in Octavia Butler’s PATTERNIST quartet, but comes last in chronology. It takes place several hundred years after Clay’s Ark (1984), back in the Forsythe, CA territory where the Patternists settled down earlier. Society remains scattered and non-industrial, and power is divided between the Patternists, a network of linked human telepaths who can kill at a distance, and the Clayarks, now completely transformed into intelligent, sphinx-like animals with extreme strength,

Against a Dark Background: A fun story that lacks depth

Against a Dark Background by Iain Banks

Despite being Iain M. Banks’ fifth published work of science fiction, Against a Dark Background has all the feel of being the author’s fledgling effort in the genre. Overwritten, narrative fragmented in inconsistent fashion, and plot devices and storytelling all rather overt, the book is good if you’re looking for a light read that doesn’t require too much thought. Otherwise, it leaves a lot to be desired when compared to much of the author’s other sci-fi.

Against a Dark Background is the story of Sharrow,

Tim Hanley talks about INVESTIGATING LOIS LANE and gives away a book!

Today Fantasy Literature welcomes Tim Hanley as he celebrates the release of his second book, Investigating Lois Lane: the Turbulent History of the Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter. (Jana, unsurprisingly, loved it.) Mr. Hanley was kind enough to chat about the Daily Planet’s most-decorated employee, his research methods, and his favorite tea. Plus, we’ve got a copy of Investigating Lois Lane to give away!

Jana Nyman: What was your initial impetus behind writing a comprehensive survey of Lois Lane as she appeared in various media like comic books,

March 8th, 2016. Jana Nyman | Comics, Non-fiction | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 7 comments |

Fire Touched: An excellent installment in a fresh, inventive series

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

*Note: spoilers for earlier books in the series

Fire Touched, just published on March 8, 2016, is the ninth novel in Patricia Briggs’ MERCY THOMPSON urban fantasy series, and the series is still going strong. In fact, this is one of the stronger entries in the series.

Mercy is relaxing in her home with her husband Adam, the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack. Of course there are all the small day-to-day annoyances: Adam’s ex-wife,

March 8th, 2016. Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Patricia Briggs | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Mockingbird: A warning against drug use and illiteracy

Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

In the 25th century, the human race is quickly dwindling. Robots and computers do all of the work while humans spend their meaningless lives in a drug-haze. From birth they are not educated except to be taught not to question their circumstances (“Don’t ask; relax.” “When in doubt, forget it.”) and not to get involved with other humans except to quickly satisfy sexual urges. Most people think they’re happy this way and any who become conscious enough to realize they’re not tend to kill themselves. A preferred method is to set themselves afire in public while others try not to stare.

Man Plus: Puzzling and enjoyable

Man Plus by Frederik Pohl

In the 1970s Frederik Pohl produced a number of highly regarded science fiction novels. Man Plus, which earned a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1976, shows its age just a bit but I still found it very much worth reading.

In the near future, as seen from the 1970s, we may well be there now, the world is in a pretty bad shape. The sheer size of the human population the earth has to support has put a strain on the resources available.

SHORTS: El-Mohtar, Miller, Cooney, Pullman, Bear, Valente

Here are some of the stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about. This week we continue focusing on 2015 Nebula-nominated short fiction, along with some other stories that caught our attention.

“Madeleine” by Amal El-Mohtar (2015, free on Lightspeed magazine, Kindle magazine issue), nominated for the 2015 Nebula award (short story)

Madeleine is in therapy after the death of her mother from Alzheimer’s. She and her therapist, Clarice, are discussing the loss of her mother and the odd side-effects from a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug that Madeleine has taken part in.

March 7th, 2016. Kate Lechler, Katie Burton, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper | Amal El-Mohtar, C.S.E. Cooney, Catherynne M. Valente, Greg Bear, Philip Pullman, Sam J. Miller | Nebula Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Proto Zoa: Five early short stories by Bujold

Proto Zoa by Lois McMaster Bujold

Proto Zoa, whose title literally means “first animal,” collects five of Lois McMaster Bujold’s earliest short stories:

“Barter” — (Originally published in 1985 in The Twilight Zone Magazine) Mary Alice has a lazy husband, three young bratty children, and a couple of clumsy cats. She’s having her usual rough morning when a strange little man shows up on the doorstep asking for a bottle of ammonia. Mary Alice decides to make a deal with him. This cute story will especially be appreciated by harried mothers.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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