‘The Invention of Morel’ (1940) by Adolfo Bioy Casares is usually classed as ‘literary fiction’ (whatever that means), but for me it’s an exemplary piece of fantastika.
Finished Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee last night, completing her Green Bone trilogy. The series is excellent, bringing gangster epic storytelling to a 20th century-inspired world where martial arts film feats are a reality.
There's a lot to like about it, but maybe my favorite part is the seemingly effortless way the books adopt the POV of wildly different people with different perspectives, making all these characters feel real and worthy of empathy.
Some of the 2024 Hugo finalists for Best Novelette:
"One Man's Treasure", by Sarah Pinsker, is about garbage collectors and the difficulties they have picking up discarded magical items. Clever world-building with a pointed social message; my favorite story this year. (1/4)
For all the wonderful writers contributing to this shared-world anthology, it really reads like so many extra yards of the Jerry Cornelius novels. The best writing is by Hilary Bailey, who turned a lovely sentence.
Here's my after action report for North Star 7, our #SF#TTRPG convention held at the Garrison Hotel. I had a great time, thanks to everyone who attended.
New on my blog is the second half of my top 10 imaginary worlds. I get a bit deeper this time (or go on a bit more!), as these are ones that have shaped me as a writer.
Full disclosure: I know Alex Cochran. But that’s not why I was so knocked out by this book. ‘The Pollutant Speaks’ is a beautifully written exploration of themes I’m already obsessive about: social justice, the philosophy of language, aliens, big spaceships…
I've been struggling with Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space for so many years... I don't know why, but I've never finished the first chapter. I don't know if it's the pace of the characters, and I do love the main theme (archaeology, space exploration, etc).
This may be mainly travel for now as that is what I am lucky enough to do for the next year. So, food, landscapes, reflections, and maybe music or just weird things that catch my eye.
I'm reading Foundation for the first time, in preparation for an upcoming review for @NerdsofaFeather , and I'm torn between 'Asimov is doing something brilliant' and 'Asimov is doing something very silly'. I really hope it's the former. I can see how it could be. But I fear it's going to end up being the latter, because in my experience reading Golden Age #SF, writing in that era doesn't tend to do the thing that needs to happen for the former.
New FREE Short Story: TOWER GIRLS 🌈🌱#solarpunk
(Halfway to Better 2)
A cute technician keeps breaking things in her too-shiny lab, then calling a fixer in for repairs. Zita’s a certified member of the International Guild of Repair Workers, Local 772, and she’s certain this hot girl is breaking her toys on purpose. But why? Something very sexy but very weird is going on…