Hiram Grange Review

Here is a nice review of my novella Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist and Kevin Lucia’s Hiram Grange and the Chosen One.

“Juggling Glass Globes at the Hemophiliac’s Zoo” at Murky Depths

My short story “Juggling Glass Globes at the Hemophiliac’s Zoo” is in the latest issue of Murky Depths (#15), with really awesome artwork from Rick Fairlamb. The story is about a chimpanzee named Pornography who works at a very special zoo. Yes, of course, it is a love story.

You can order it here.

Boxed In – Al Ewing [Art: Neil Roberts]
An Unforseen Legacy – Juliet E McKenna [Nancy Farmer]
Deep Trouble – Anthony Malone [Dylan Williams]
Suzie Pepper’s Teeth – Robin Bell [Thomas Tuke]
The Fence-Sitters – John Hilario [Russell Morgan]
Spare Change – Jon T Cook [Matt Soffee]
Frozen – Gareth D Jones [Mick Trimble]
Juggling Glass Globes at the Hemophiliac’s Zoo – Robert Davies [Rick Fairlamb]
The Face – Rory McConville [George Gousis]
Fishers Of Men – Jasper Bark [Paul Rafferty]
Victimized – Richard Thomas [Brian Typhair]
I Dream Of Ants (1) – Lavie Tidhar [Neil Struthers]
Now and then 2  – Kaolin Imago Fire [Natalia Pierandrei]
Depth Charge – Matt Wallace
Interview with Manon & Al Ewing
Spotlight – Thomas Tuke
Book & DVD Reviews – IE Lester

Final Arisia Schedule

Arisia is January 14-17, 2011. I am going to be on several panels, trying to pretend I know what I am talking about. There are a lot of panels throughout the weekend that look interesting, so I will be pretty busy running from room to room, when not in the book dealer’s space or the blessedly faux Irish bar. I hope to see you there!

UPDATE: I have added another panel on Monday.

Friday 6:30 PM   —   Boston as Setting

The subway line to Cambridge inspired H.P. Lovecraft to visions of subterranean Antarctic horror; Hal Clement drowned Beantown under dozens of feet of water. Why Boston? Who’s writing about here lately? What scenic SFnal and fantastical possibilities do our fair city present?

Panelists: Cecilia Tan, Margaret Ronald, Steve E Popkes, Alexander Jablokov, Rob Davies

Friday 9:30 PM    —     Not Your Parents’ Zombies!

These days, zombies come in many shapes, sizes, and speeds. From Shaun of the Dead to Fido, what zombie works break the mold and set new standards? Which writers got it right and made the best use of their BRAAAAAAINNNS?

Panelists: Tony Finan, Gayle Blake, Santiago Rivas, Chris Denmead, Rob Davies

Saturday 11:00 AM  —   Book Club: The Windup Girl/The City and the City

The 2010 Hugo Award for best novel went to two very different novels: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi and The City and the City by China Mieville. Let’s read both books and discuss them here!

Panelists: Bey Woodward, Jack Dietz, Marlie Philiossaint, Rob Davies

Sun 12:30 PM   — Reading – Davies, Doyle, Feinman

Authors Robert Davies, Debra Doyle, and Alex Feinman read selections from their works.

(I will be reading an excerpt from my novel-in-progress The Bitter Taste of the World Snake’s Tail or a short story “Bruise for Bruise” or “India Pale Angel”. )

Sunday  6:30 PM — No Capes! Non-superhero Comics

Come and discuss some of the best non-superhero comics.

Panelists: Little Mel, Donna Martinez, Mark Waks, René Walling, Rob Davies

Sunday 9:30 PM    —    The City and Science Fiction

From the planet-spanning urbs of Trantor or Coruscant to the steampunk precincts of New Crobuzon — what’s your favorite SF megalopolis? Would you move there tomorrow? Would it actually work as a technological/societal/economic artifact? In an advanced, post-scarcity society, would people even want to pig-pile together? What will cities be like in the future? And what would you prefer them to be?

Panelists: Adam Lipkin, Meredith Schwartz, Toni Lay, Shira Lipkin, Rob Davies

Monday 11:00 AM  —     Book Signing – Davies & Shawl

Book signings with me & Nisi Shawl. I will have unexpurgated copies of Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist with me, along with magic Chimp-Head buttons that ward off ague!

Monday 12:30 PM  —  Genius Loci: Setting and Story

How do the vast arc of the Ringworld, the snug hills of the Shire, and the treeless plazas of Trantor shape their stories’ characters and events? Does local color bewitch or bore the reader? Are real places easier to evoke than imaginary ones? What SF/F/H settings do you find unforgettable? Vikki Ciaffone, Rob Davies, Greer Gilman, Shira Lipkin (m).

Burton & Swinburne in The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack

I have always been a big fan of Pyr Books. I can pretty much be assured that anything with the Pyr logo is going to be something I’ll like,  and the cover artwork is often breathtaking.

This latest book takes the cake. This is one of the most compelling book covers I have seen in a long time. And a cover blurb from Michael Moorcock does not hurt at all. I am getting this as soon as I can.

“This is an exhilarating romp through a witty combination of nineteenth-century English fact and fiction. Mark Hodder definitely knows his stuff and has given us steam opera at its finest…. A great, increasingly complex, plot, some fine characters, and invention that never flags! It gets better and better, offering clues to some of Victorian London’s strangest mysteries. This is the best debut novel I have read in ages.” —Michael Moorcock

More info on the book here.

Readercon 21 Rundown

Sara and I just got back from Readercon. It was great this year, starting with some great panels and ending with Spain’s glorious victory over the Dutch. Gol!

I got to attend a discussion with Samuel R. Delany, who talked expansively about writing in general and his new novel that comes out next year. The discussion was great, and I even got to ask him a question without making myself sound like a complete ass. As terrifying as meeting your idols may be, if you get the chance, take it.

I also got to sit in on a great discussion with James Morrow later in the weekend, where he talked about sundry interesting things, including steampunk, the Titanic, his new novel, and the scientific method. I am a great admirer of Morrow’s because there are apparently no limits to his creativity and his daring. Towing Jehovah is one of my favorite books. The novel he is working on now (involving Darwin) sounds amazing.

I gave away three copies of Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist to poor, unsuspecting souls. People also took a bunch of fliers for all five Hiram volumes, which hopefully will compel them to pick up the complete set in a frenzy of online commerce.

Got books signed by Paolo Bacigalupi, Peter Straub, John Crowley, and James Morrow.

Readercon has the best dealer’s room; every table simply makes your inner bibliophile drool with envy. Alas, like last year, I didn’t buy that much because we were going home via the bus and subway, and everything I bought would have to be carried (along with all the books I brought from home to be signed). I seriously need a book caddy.

These are the books I got:

• The Third Bear, Jeff VanderMeer
• Strange Itineraries, Tim Powers
• Shambling Toward Hiroshima, James Morrow
• Darkness, ed. Ellen Datlow
• The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, Samuel R. Delany
• About Writing, Samuel R. Delany
• Star-Maker, Olaf Stapledon

Readercon 21

I am going to be at Readercon again this year. Sara and I are going on Friday in the early afternoon and will be there until late Sunday (once the World Cup Final is over.) Readercon has always been our favorite con because it focuses just on the literature, and a lot of great writers and editors go every year.

I am a huge fan of Samuel Delany, Michael Swanwick, and James Morrow. Hopefully, I will have a chance to talk with them during the weekend.

Also, it will be great to meet some of the folks that I know only through their blogs or Facebook. I will be at the Meet the Prose party, and, when not at panels or in the bookshop, I will most likely be in the vicinity of the bar, so say hi.

These are panels I definitely would like to see, but it is possible that one or two may clash with a kaffeeklatsch/beer talk or autograph session.

Fri – 3:00 Influence as Contagion

Fri – 4:00 The Unknowable Character

Sat – 11:00: Starmaker My Destination: Teleological SF

Sat – 12:00: Orphans of the Time Stream

Sat – 2:00: The Fiction of the Unpleasant

Sat – 4:00-6:00 Charles Stross/ Nalo Hopkinson Interviews

Sun – 10:00 Metaphysical Hard SF

Sun – 12:00 The Short Fiction of Theodore Sturgeon

Chung Kuo Series Coming Back

One of my favorite SF series, David Wingrove’s Chung Kuo, is being revised and reprinted, with a few new novels thrown in, to make a complete 20-volume series. I am beyond excited.

The original series was published in 8 volumes, but the publisher pulled the plug on the planned ninth book, so the ending was very rushed and most people agree that the 8th volume was the weakest, souring many on the entire series. It looks like this will be rectified in the new versions, as new material has been written to fill in the missing gaps.

• The Middle Kingdom (1989)
• The Broken Wheel (1990)
• The White Mountain (1992)
• The Stone Within (1993)
• Beneath the Tree of Heaven (1994)
• White Moon, Red Dragon (1994)
• Days of Bitter Strength (1997)
• The Marriage of the Living Dark (1999)

You can get these pretty readily on eBay and in used bookstores, except for The Marriage of the Living Dark, which had a much smaller print run and may cost you a kidney or two to acquire.

I would suggest waiting for the new revised reprints to experience this phenomenal series.

Boskone

Sara and I just booked a room for Boskone. The prelim schedule is out and looks pretty good.

Well, actually, this looks amazing:

Friday 7pm Harbor 1: The Singularity: An Appraisal

Arguably the idea of the Singularity — a period where change happens so quickly that life afterwards is incomprehensible to people who lived before it — is one of the few entirely fresh ideas in SF in the last forty years. Perhaps it is time for an appraisal. Has the idea of the Singularity been a good thing for SF, providing fresh ideas and stimulating great writing or has the notion that the comprehensibility of the future has a sharp (and near-term) limit diminished possibilities? Has it been a good thing for *your* writing? How about the Singularity in reality — after twenty years does it look more or less plausible that it is lurking in our own real-world future? Discuss the interplay between the idea of the Singularity in SF and actual scientific research. Where are the really exotic ideas coming from?

Alastair Reynolds (m), Karl Schroeder, Charles Stross, Vernor Vinge

Harlan Ellison at E-Reads

Harlan Ellison. Looks like there are a lot of reprint/POD editions of Ellison’s work available at e-reads. This is the first time I checked out their site, so I don’t know much about them. I will have to check to see if there are any books that I do not already have somewhere. I think I need Gentleman Junkie.

I am curious to see the quality of these POD books. Could be a viable way of keeping good books in print.

UPDATE: I finally bought one of these and it looks great. Very professional looking. I will be filling in the holes in my Ellison collection ASAP.

Hugo Awards Announced

The Hugos were awarded last night. I was happy to see Weird Tales and Electric Velocipede win. I have no complaints about any of the winners, but I was hoping Kij Johnson’s “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” won the short story category, because it is a great story and, well, monkeys! Congratulations to all the winners.

• Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
• Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
• Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
• Best Short Story: “Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
• Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
• Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
• Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
• Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
• Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
• Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
• Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
• Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu
• The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham