Really enjoyed this piece on a fascinating time in American history. Mr. Okrent does a great job of presenting the historical figures central to this time and issue, and illuminates the scale of the issues involved with great prose and funny little anecdotes.
Highly recommend it!
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Call-Rise-Fall-Prohibition/dp/074327704X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316049631&sr=1-1
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
BOOK AT A GLANCE: "Nexus: Ascension" by Robert Boyczuk
And now for something completely different: I just finished Nexus: Ascension, by Robert Boyczuk and printed by ChiZine Publications (http://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Ascension-Robert-Boyczuk/dp/0981374689) and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The story starts in media res, with a great hook: the four-person crew of the STL starship Ea (no wacky FTL in this universe!) have just returned to their home world of B'haret from a 30-year trading mission. They come out of cryogenic stasis to discover that no one is responding to their hails, and the whole planet is under quarantine. A plague erupted and everyone is dead....
Thus begins taunt, exciting hard-SF tale of desperation, madness, revenge and perhaps some little hope. The story ends hundreds of years and many lightyears later, in places the viewpoint characters probably could never have imagined.
I enjoyed this book, although I had two complaints about it. First, there is a pretty big clue dropped in the prologue as to what is going on. Perhaps it is a clue, or perhaps a red herring - I won't tell you which (trying not to spoil the ending). However, as a clue it is heavy-handed and as a red herring it is pointless. Compared to the relative leanness of the rest of the narrative, it seems glaringly out of place.
Second, while in general Mr. Boyczuk conveys well the mind-crushing effect that the end of the world has on the Ea's crew and other B'harians, he over-does it in the two viewpoint characters. Both of them act, and do not act, in ways that seem puzzling or just downright stupid at points in the narrative. Maybe a little more background on these two characters might explain their choices a bit more?
Overall, however, these are minor quibbles. While I don't think Nexus: Ascension is a book I will return to again and again to tease out buried truths, it was well worth the time and money I spent on it and would recommend it to any other SF fan.
The story starts in media res, with a great hook: the four-person crew of the STL starship Ea (no wacky FTL in this universe!) have just returned to their home world of B'haret from a 30-year trading mission. They come out of cryogenic stasis to discover that no one is responding to their hails, and the whole planet is under quarantine. A plague erupted and everyone is dead....
Thus begins taunt, exciting hard-SF tale of desperation, madness, revenge and perhaps some little hope. The story ends hundreds of years and many lightyears later, in places the viewpoint characters probably could never have imagined.
I enjoyed this book, although I had two complaints about it. First, there is a pretty big clue dropped in the prologue as to what is going on. Perhaps it is a clue, or perhaps a red herring - I won't tell you which (trying not to spoil the ending). However, as a clue it is heavy-handed and as a red herring it is pointless. Compared to the relative leanness of the rest of the narrative, it seems glaringly out of place.
Second, while in general Mr. Boyczuk conveys well the mind-crushing effect that the end of the world has on the Ea's crew and other B'harians, he over-does it in the two viewpoint characters. Both of them act, and do not act, in ways that seem puzzling or just downright stupid at points in the narrative. Maybe a little more background on these two characters might explain their choices a bit more?
Overall, however, these are minor quibbles. While I don't think Nexus: Ascension is a book I will return to again and again to tease out buried truths, it was well worth the time and money I spent on it and would recommend it to any other SF fan.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Latest Story in Print - "Night of the Sevens" at Aoife's Kiss #37
My latest short story in print is the Eastern-flavored "Night of the Sevens," based on an old Chinese folktale. It appears in the 10th anniversary issue of Aoife's Kiss, which you can order here: http://sdpbookstore.com/aoifeskiss.htm
Also on the ToC - multi-Hugo-Award-winning scifi author Robert Sawyer! Mr. Sawyer wrote the novel Flashforward (source of the TV show), amongst many others. He is one of Canada's most important exports! :)
Look forward to appearing in Aoife's Kiss again, hopefully - and maybe I'll be on a Hugo ballot myself someday.
Also on the ToC - multi-Hugo-Award-winning scifi author Robert Sawyer! Mr. Sawyer wrote the novel Flashforward (source of the TV show), amongst many others. He is one of Canada's most important exports! :)
Look forward to appearing in Aoife's Kiss again, hopefully - and maybe I'll be on a Hugo ballot myself someday.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Lilly the Assassin Strikes Again!
Rogue Blades Entertainment has posted up the ToC for its upcoming Assassins: Clash of Steel Anthology, and my "Three Rules to Live By" is in it!
http://www.roguebladesentertainment.com/2011/02/assassins-toc-unmasked/
Some impressive names on there with me (Bruce Durham?! Christopher Heath?!) I hope my piece holds up!
Look forward to seeing this book!
You can order it from RBE's website if you're interested.
http://www.roguebladesentertainment.com/2011/02/assassins-toc-unmasked/
Some impressive names on there with me (Bruce Durham?! Christopher Heath?!) I hope my piece holds up!
Look forward to seeing this book!
You can order it from RBE's website if you're interested.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Good News Everybody!
Daily Science Fiction (http://dailysciencefiction.com/) has kindly agreed to publish my comic-SF flash story "Vacuum Delay!" I'm excited to be in this great publication!
As "icing on the cake," this counts as a SFWA-pro sale and I pretty excited to make some progress on that goal!
As "icing on the cake," this counts as a SFWA-pro sale and I pretty excited to make some progress on that goal!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Santayana vs. Wall Street
"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" - George Santayana
"Past History is No Predictor of Future Performace" - most Wall Street investment literature.
In my life, I have tended to side with Santayana over the bankers. As a science fiction writer, I have absolutely lived by his quote; generally, history tends to repeat itself and probably will in the future.
But what if you could actually predict history, ala Hari Seldon? Check out the new Cliodynamics: Journal of Theoretical and Mathematical History, mentioned in this nifty article!
A must-read for SF writers, I think!
"Past History is No Predictor of Future Performace" - most Wall Street investment literature.
In my life, I have tended to side with Santayana over the bankers. As a science fiction writer, I have absolutely lived by his quote; generally, history tends to repeat itself and probably will in the future.
But what if you could actually predict history, ala Hari Seldon? Check out the new Cliodynamics: Journal of Theoretical and Mathematical History, mentioned in this nifty article!
A must-read for SF writers, I think!
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