Octavia E. Butler died Saturday, February 25 after being injured in a fall. Her most recent novel, Fledgling, was published in 2005.
Category Archives: Books
Textbook review – “Linear Algebra Done Right”
With a title like this, you know that it’s either fantastic, or so pompous that it’s about to get thrashed. Read on to find out which it is.
Olympos
Olympos is no more the sequel to Ilium than Return of the King is a sequel to The Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers; rather, these books by Dan Simmons tell parts of one story. I highly recommend these to fans of SF who also enjoy classical mythology.
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Suzy McKee Charnas talks about Holdfast Chronicles and gender writing
Suzy McKee Charnas (1, 2, 3) has
had an interesting
exchange with one of her readers regarding writing
stories about worlds with gender issues more
exaggerated as our own. Give it a look.
Antarctica
“Say again X; I did not copy your last message, over.”
“I said I am being hijacked. Over!”
–Robinson 10.
Oh the weather outside is frightful
But your smile is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
–Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne
Novel Review: King Kong
A brand new novelization of King Kong exists to support Peter Jackson’s epic remake, which will be hitting theatres soon. The original novelization has lapsed into public domain, however, and should be easy to find in the coming months. Delos W. Lovelace adapted it from Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper’s screenplay, and it hit the stores in 1932, before the finished film appeared. The book can hardly be called great literature, but it nicely captures the spirit of the original film.
Novel review: Virtual Light
William Gibson kicked off his Bridge Trilogy with this 1993 book, set in the future year of… 2005!
Novel Review: All Tomorrow’s Parties
Published in 1999, All Tomorrow’s Parties concludes William Gibson’s loose Bridge Trilogy. It’s a sequel to both Virtual Light and Idoru and, while I found myself wishing I’d read both of those books before picking this one up, it can be followed without knowing either.
The Quill Awards
chad writes, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” has won “Book of the Year” in the first-ever Quill Awards. The nominees are selected by a large group of booksellers and librarians, but the winners are chosen by the readers. Genre winners include “The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror” by Christopher Moore (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror) and “Marvel 1602 Volume I” by
Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, and Richard Isanove (Graphic Novel). The Quill Foundation has some pretty heavy supporters–so I think we’ll be hearing more about these awards in the upcoming years. Having read (and reviewed) 1602, I’m a little surprised by the win. The wins for including Jon Stewart and company’s America: The Book in the humour and audiobook categories don’t surprise me in the least, though. The book is funny.
Novel Review: Pattern Recognition
Cayce’s first footage had been waiting for her as she emerged from the flooded all-genders toilet at a NoLiTa gallery party, that previous November. Wondering what she could do to sterilize the soles of her shoes, and reminding herself never to touch them again, she’d noticed two people huddled on either side of a third, a turtlenecked man with a portable DVD player, held before him in the way that crèche figures of the Three Kings hold their gifts.
And passing these three she’d seen a face there, on the screen of his ciborium. She’d stopped without thinking and done that stupid duck dance, trying to better align retina to pixel.
“What is that?” she’d asked. A sideways look from a girl with hooded eyes, a sharp and avian nose, round steel labret stud gleaming from beneath her lower lip. “Footage,” this one had said, and for Cayce it had started there.
Published in 2003, William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition has been called his best novel since the original cyberpunk trilogy. Does it live up to its reputation?