The late Avram Davidson, winner of Hugo, Edgar, and World Fantasy Awards, may be one of genre‘s most influential authors, but he has never received quite the recognition granted many other SF/fantasy pioneers. For this year’s SF summer beach reading, I recommend Masters of the Maze. In scarcely more than 150 pages, Davidson boggles your brain with this bizarre blend of SF, fantasy, time-travel, conspiracy theory, history, and old-style adventure.
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Some years later, two men and a cat are tying one on in a bar that doesn’t exist. (146)

Charles Stross’s latest novel, Accelerando, puts the quirky author in the running for the 2006 Hugo Award. The plot concerns a technological singularity, posthumanity, alien contact, and a sentient pseudo-cat. It’s a fascinating read, and one which likely could not have been written before the age of the internet.

Those with little interest in computers and SF will likely find it irritating and incomprehensible. As for the rest of us….

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Jim Baen died June 28. A special memorial will be held at this year’s WorldCon in August.

Neal Stephenson’s 1995 novel depicts a late twenty-first century transformed by nanotechnology– and the second reign of Queen Victoria.
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At long last, I offer a review of The System of the World, the final part of The Baroque Cycle, which also includes Quicksilver and The Confusion . All three form a prequel of sorts to Cryptonomicon. The Cycle runs nearly 3000 pages and represents a stunning achievement by a writer.

But is it worth the effort to the reader?

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The results are in. Here’s a quick rundown of the winners:

Novel: Camouflage, Joe Haldeman
Novella: “Magic for Beginners”, Kelly Link
Novellette: “The Faery Handbag”, Kelly Link
Short Story: “I Live With You”, Carol Emshwiller
Script: Serenity, Joss Whedon
Andre Norton Award: Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie, Holly Black

Here’s a list of the final nominees.

Polish-born Stanislaw Lem, one of SF’s most influential writers, has died today at the age of 84. Lem’s most well-known work is Solaris, but his many works, translated into more than 40 languages, established his fame. An obituary may be found here.

Would you like to be a superhero, but you’re not from another planet, and you’ve never been befriended by a wizard or received a power ring from an alien? You haven’t inherited a gene that gives you amazing powers, and you know that exposure to radiation will most likely give you cancer? Perhaps The Batman Handbook can help you.

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General Information

Title: Whiteout

Vicki Delany

Original Publication Date: 2002, previously published in electronic format, 2001.

ISBN: 1-55316-561-6

Buy from: Amazon.com or
Amazon.ca

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