Win a free copy of John Scalzi's THE ANDROID'S DREAM

Hi there!

The fine folks at Tor Books have given me the "go ahead" for another contest, this one for a couple of copies of John Scalzi's The Android's Dream. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

The rules are the same as usual. First off, you need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "ANDROID." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

Win a free copy of Sean Williams' THE BLOOD DEBT

Hi guys!

The good people at Pyr will hook up three lucky winners with a copy of Sean Williams' The Blood Debt, sequel to The Crooked Letter. The first volume of this series has been receiving rave reviews, and I can't wait to sit down and read both novels. Ken conducted an interview with the author, which you can find on www.nethspace.blogspot.com.

The rules are the same as usual. First off, you need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "DEBT." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy. Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

For more info about The Blood Debt: Canada, USA, Europe.

Quote of the day

How 'bout them Cowboys!?!

- Dallas fans after their team beat the Carolina Panthers 35-14. The Dallas Cowboys were losing 14-10 at the half.

News Update

Hey guys!

The weekend is just around the corner, for which most will be grateful!;-) Here's what's coming up on the Hotlist and a few other things. . .

Reading:

I'm currently reading Melanie Rawn's newest, Spellbinder, and I really like it so far. I'll reserve judgement until I reach the novel's ending, but this could well be Rawn's best book to date.

With just a few weeks to go before the end of the year, I'm trying to figure out what I'll read next. Just got my The Terror ARC, Dan Simmons' upcoming novel. The premise has piqued my curiosity enough that I'll likely give it a shot before the Holidays. High on my list are Sean Williams' The Crooked Letter and its sequel, The Blood Debt. I have also been asked to be the first to review an upcoming fantasy novel, and the fact that one of the most respected editors in the business claimed that this was the best debut she'd seen in 30 years certainly pushed this ARC near the top of the pile!;-) In addition, I really want to read George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings. Truth be told, I probably won't be able to read all 4 ASoIaF before the year is through, but I'll try my damnedest! I guess we'll have to wait and see which titles I'll end up reading. . . My 2006 Top 10 should be very interesting this year, as it's been a great year for speculative fiction.

I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get an ARC of Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay's soon-to-be released book. This one would automatically relegate anything I'm reading back to the shelf, pending my reading of Kay's newest!

Interviews:

Well, interviews with both China Miéville and Peter F. Hamilton are scheduled for early 2007, so that should be cool. I'm still waiting for Greg Keyes' answers to the questions Rob Bedford and I sent his way. I've just fired an email at Del Rey Books, to see if they have an idea when we should be hearing from the author.

Other than that, I have teamed up with William Lexner (Stego) for a Q&A with Ian McDonald, author of the excellent River of Gods. Can't wait to get his answers! Look for more collaborations in the future, as I found that it gives a different perspective to my interviews.

Still haven't heard from Voyager Books concerning that mini-interview with Raymond E. Feist. Perhaps my tepid Into a Dark Realm review put this one in the crapper. Oh well. . .

I don't know if there will be additional interviews before the end of the year. Pyr titles have been impressive thus far, so I may feel inclined to try to get a Q&A with Sean Williams if I enjoy his novels as much as other book reviewers have.

Manuscripts:

I'm in the middle of doing rewrites for both The Eye of the Serpent and Time of Your Life. Rewrites are a necessary evil, but it's not the same creative process as the actual writing. Hence, nowhere near as fun.

I was hoping that I would still like The Eye of the Serpent as much as I did when I last revised it, yet my wish didn't come true. Much to my dismay, analyzing all those novels and writing book reviews, as well as completing a brand new manuscript in the meantime, sort of changed my outlook on a lot of things. And the long and the short of it is that The Eye of the Serpent requires another polish before I feel comfortable enough to send a submission to Tad Williams' agent. Hopefully I should be all set in the coming week or so.

Things with Time of Your Life are a lot better, I'm happy to report. I made two of my test readers cry (no, not out of sheer boredom!), which is always a VERY good thing. I'm polishing the manuscript as we speak, and hope to have submissions ready for both Time of Your Life and The Eye of the Serpent soon. After that, it's out of my hands and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Matt Bialer enjoys those sample chapters and ask for more.:-)

Contests:

I have a few things I'm trying to set up with you guys. Stick around to find out what books you'll get a chance to win!;-) I figure I should know by early next week exactly what titles I'll have to offer for November.

Wine:

Okay, so don't expect this blog to become a wine-tasting affair any time soon! But everyone loves a good bottle of red wine that doesn't come with an expensive price tag. So if you can get your hands on it in your neck of the woods, do sample Cent'are Nero d'Avola, from Sicilia. Pretty good stuff, if you ask me!;-)

My own "stack" revealed!

A few weeks back, Ken (Kcf on most message boards and Mr. The Neth Space himself) revealed his infamous Stack -- his "books to read pile." He invited people to do the same, but I declined because there was simply too many books to list.

Part of my reticence stemmed from the fact that I didn't really want to know exactly how many unread books I owned. Believe me, there's a whole bunch of them! But my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to draw up a list of the "high profile" stuff awaiting my attention. The results sort of shocked me!

Do it yourself, if you dare! As for me, I now regret opening up that can of worms!;-)

Here is what I came up with:

- Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

- Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves and Only Revolutions

- George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows

- China Miéville's Perdido Street Station and The Scar

- Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Stardust and Smoke and Mirrors

- Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon

- Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian

- Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained

- David Drake's The Lord of the Isles series

- Jack Whyte's A Dream of Eagles series

- Dan Simmons' Illium and Olympos

- Mervyn Peake's The Gormenghast novels

- Gene Wolfe's The Knight and The Wizard

- Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series

- David Farland's The Runelords series

- Greg Keyes' The Briar King, The Charnel Prince and The Blood Knight

Yeah, that's right. . . Crazy, eh!?! The silver lining is that I have a lot of good reading ahead of me. . .:-)

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 24th)

In hardcover:

Laurell K. Hamilton's Strange Candy is down three positions, finishing its second week on the charts at number 11. For more info on this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Drew Karpyshyn's Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is down four spots, ending its third week on the NYT list at number 18. For more info on this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Max Brooks' World War Z. An Oral History of the Zombie War debuts at number 20. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things is up one position, finishing its third week at number 21. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife: Beguilement debuts at number 28. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Mercedes Lackey's Aerie is down three spots, ending its second week on the bestseller list at number 31. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

George R. R. Martin's The Ice Dragon is down one position, finishing its second week on the NYT Children's list at number 7. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is up 14 spots, ending its second week on the prestigious list at number 20. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

River of Gods

After reading fantasy and science fiction novels for over two decades, only on the rarest of occasions will I encounter a work that totally blows my mind. Hence, I'm pleased to report that Ian McDonald's River of Gods is one such works. I was thoroughly amazed by McDonald's ambitious project.

I have heard nothing but praise pertaining to River of Gods, which understandably piqued my curiosity. But the main problem with many scifi books is that they fall in the "hard" science fiction category. As such, they are not accessible works meant for the average reader. The beauty of River of Gods is that it's a richly detailed work that will satisfy anyone interested in reading a compelling tale set in a futuristic India.

The worldbuilding is "top notch." Ian McDonald conjures up fascinating images of India's near future, with its myriad gods, cultures, castes and more. River of Gods is beyond the shadow of a doubt a thought provoking novel. Its Indian environment, now divided into several independent states, gives this book a unique flavor. It's no wonder it was nominated for a Hugo Award.

McDonald's prose certainly is evocative. The pace is at times crisp and at times slower, depending on which POV character takes center stage in each particular chapter. Although there are times, especially early on, when one wonders exactly where the author is going with this story, there is never a dull moment.

The tale unfolds through the eyes of nine POV characters, which can be a bit puzzling sometimes. But as the storylines move forward and start to converge, the author's creative genius shines through. How McDonald managed to tell this multilayered tale though the eyes of such a disparate cast of characters is beyond me. But the characterizations are well-crafted and definitely are the heart of this novel.

I've read on several message boards that some readers gave up on River of Gods because they couldn't make sense of the early portion of the book. Personally, I say stick with it, as all will make sense in due time. Discovering just how all the different plotlines come together is one of the most satisfying aspects of reading this novel.

Ian McDonald has written what could well be the best scifi novel in quite a while. River of Gods is definitely one of the books to read in 2006. For my money, it ranks among Hal Duncan's Vellum and R. Scott Bakker's The Thousandfold Thought as one of the best novels of the year.

River of Gods deserves the highest possible recommendation!

The final verdict: 9/10

For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe

An attempt to get more people involved. . .

Yes, I know I said I wouldn't get involved and I did. I also claimed that I wouldn't get caught up into that debate again, and when Gabe Chouinard gave it new life I ultimately gave in. And yes, I did say it wouldn't happen again. I guess I just can't help it!;-)

Ken has done an excellent job putting together a list of pertinent links. You can find it here. Most of you will undoubtedly recall that this entire mess began following the release of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora (all the links associated with that rant are also part of the list). And since then, this debate just refuses to die, thanks in large part to people like me!

In an attempt to get a more interesting dialogue going, last night I emailed over 50 people in the publishing industry, including authors, editors, agents and publicists. My objective is to give them the opportunity to throw in their two cents concerning the endless debate pertaining to the quality and credibility of online reviews. I opine that it's ridiculous to sort of put all online reviews/online reviewers in the same basket and claim that they are mediocre at best. Just like "print" reviews, some online reviews are great and some are not. As for credibility, I believe that many online reviewers (and I'm not saying I consider myself part of that group) have as much or more credibility than their "in print" counterparts. Guys like Jay Tomio, Robert Bedford and William Lexner are just three of a variety of reviewers whose work I respect immensely.

Now that Guy Gavriel Kay has offered his thoughts on the matter, I thought it would be interesting to hear what professionals working in various fields of the publishing world would have to say on the subject. Hopefully this will generate a friendlier debate than the many flame wars we've seen over the last few months. . . Kay's thoughts can be found here. Scroll down to the October 3rd section.

Some people have already responded and told me that they were not comfortable with the idea of doing this on a public forum. I understand their reticence and respect their decision. But I do hope that others, like Kay, will share their thoughts with the rest of us!

Let's try to keep it clean!

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 17th)

In hardcover:

Laurell K. Hamilton's Strange Candy debuts at number 8. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

George R. R. Martin's The Ice Dragon debuts at number 6 on the Children's List. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Drew Karpyshyn's Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is down three spots, ending its second week on the bestseller list at number 14. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things is down eight positions, finishing its second week on the NYT list at number 22. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Mercedes Lackey's Aerie debuts at number 28. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Terry Goodkind's Phantom returns at number 29. The novel has spent eleven weeks on the charts. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Hunters of Dune is up one spot, ending its sixth week on the prestigious list at number 30. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys debuts at number 30. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian debuts at number 34. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

You know you've made it. . .

When a quote from one of your reviews will grace the back cover of an author's new novel!:-)

I have just learned that a quote from my review of one of Paul S. Kemp's books will appear on the back cover of his new novel, Shadowbred. How cool is that!?!

Who would have thought!?!;-)

Done!:-)

Hi guys!

Well, it is with great pride that I am reporting that I have just finished writing the first draft of Time of your Life. I completed the first version of the epilogue earlier this week, with the firm hope to revise it and get the "final" version ready by today. So I'm happy to report that the epilogue is now complete, hence bringing Time of your Life to a satisfying ending.

It's always with mixed emotions that I reach the end of a writing project. Indeed, there is something inexplicably special about moving a story forward. Of course, I have multiple rewrites ahead of me. But the true writing endeavor is concluded. The job now shifts to an overall polishing project.

Hard to believe that Time of your Life only took about 13 months to write from start to finish. After all, my previous manuscript, The Eye of the Serpent, took about 4 years to produce. The funny thing is that I didn't even know if I had enough material to come up with a novel. All the key scenes were already scrawled down in a pad I carried with me throughout my 2004 summer-long exile in Europe. For some reason, although I knew I needed to write this story, it still took me 10 months to finally sit down and begin work on the backpacking trip which would become Time of your Life. And because I did wait that long, I had everything -- or so I thought -- figured out before I wrote the first line of the preface. But like all backpacking adventures, there were quite a few unanticipated twists and turns along the way. Yet, with all the key scenes clearly established in my mind, the manuscript basically wrote itself.

Which brings us here, October 2006. Even though I was wondering if all my ideas could build the foundation of a sound novel when I started working on the manuscript in August 2005, Time of your Life weighs in at 141, 000 words and 393 pages. Not bad at all. . .;-)

Tad Williams' agent has accepted to take a look at it, in addition to reviewing a submission of The Eye of the Serpent. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Wish me luck, you guys!:-) Signed copies for everyone, if they ever get published!!!

After working for over a year on this project, it's time to set it aside for a while. I want to peruse The Eye of the Serpent, to ascertain myself that it's still to my liking, before I send it along to the literary agency. After that will come the first of what will likely be a number of rewrites of Time of your Life. And then, well I'll be hoping that either or both manuscripts will be picked up and sold to publishers!;-)

Many thanks to everyone who offered feedback when I posted those few sample chapters earlier this summer. Every comment will receive due consideration when the time for the rewrites comes. . .

Working on Time of your Life was an eye-opener for me. I had always thought that genre fiction was the only niche in which I could work comfortably. It seems that I might be a little more versatile than I ever thought possible!

Best of luck in all your writing endeavors!:-) Keep working hard. Keep believing in yourself. Because at this point -- as an aspiring writer -- if you don't believe in yourself and your work, nobody will.

Patrick

New Orbit Press Release

Sounds good to me!

This can only mean more quality works of fantasy and science fiction for the coming years. . .

Patrick
------------------

Hachette Book Group to Launch
Science Fiction and Fantasy Imprint, Orbit

(New York, NY - May 30, 2006) Hachette Book Group USA announced today the US launch of a Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint, Orbit.

Orbit is the UK’s #1 Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint. Its head, Tim Holman, will move to the US in July as Orbit’s Publishing Director. He will continue as Publishing Director of Orbit in the UK, an imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group (formerly Time Warner Book Group), and will also oversee the launch of Orbit in Australia. These two new lines will give Orbit a major presence in the three largest English-language markets in the world.

In the UK, Orbit’s market share so far in 2006 is 23.8 percent, and Orbit had all five of the top new-author debuts of 2005. Its bestselling writers include Robert Jordan, Laurell K. Hamilton, Terry Brooks, Iain M. Banks, Tad Williams, and Trudi Canavan.

In the US, Orbit will be incorporated into Little, Brown and Company under its Publisher, Michael Pietsch. The imprint will publish its first titles in 2007 and is planned to grow to 40 titles a year, in hardcover and paperback, within the first three years.

Tim Holman said: "I believe that there is a fantastic opportunity for a dynamic new SF/Fantasy imprint to thrive in the US, and I am hugely looking forward to working with my new colleagues. David Young’s understanding of SF/Fantasy publishing has been a key factor in Orbit’s success in the UK over the last ten years, and I am delighted that he and Michael have made this decision to launch the imprint in the US. The face of SF/Fantasy publishing is about to change, and with the support of the Little, Brown team I believe that we will be in a unique position to make every book we publish stand out."

Michael Pietsch said: "Science Fiction and Fantasy novels are some of the greatest and widest-selling novels of our time. Little, Brown’s commitment to publishing original writers of the highest imaginative quality led us to want to expand into this area, and Tim Holman’s standout success at Orbit made him the clear choice for the role. We look forward avidly to using our marketing experience and relationships with booksellers, reviewers, librarians, and the online world in launching Orbit at the highest level."

David Young said: "Tim has done a wonderful job in making Orbit the dominant SF/Fantasy imprint in the UK, and Michael Pietsch and I look forward to working with him to give Orbit a significant presence in the US. This genre has a truly global reach, and the launch of this imprint demonstrates the desire of the Hachette Livre companies in the US, UK, and Australia to work together to publish effectively in their key markets."

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 10th)

In hardcover:

Drew Karpyshyn's Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction debuts at number 11. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things debuts at number 14. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Hunters of Dune is down six positions, ending its sixth week on the bestseller list at number 29. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Terry Brooks' Armageddon's Children is down ten spots, finishing its fifth week on the NYT list at number 31. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith debuts at number 3 on the Children's Bestseller List. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

George R. R. Martin's A Feast for Crows debuts at number 17. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Crossover

When I first contacted Pyr to inquire about review copies, I was told that Joel Shepherd's Crossover was a hot new debut. Obviously, they had high hopes for this title. And what I read about it certainly piqued my curiosity.

Just as Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora was an extremely entertaining fantasy debut this spring, so is Shepherd's Crossover a very good novel as well. As an intelligent, action-packed, kick-ass scifi thriller, there is a lot to love about this book.

The worldbuilding is impressive in its simplicity. The story unfolds on the world of Callay, in the immense metropolis of Tanusha. A sprawling futuristic capital set amid verdant scenery, Tanusha is simultaneously exotic, alien and traditional. Shepherd has a great eye for details, and the city truly comes alive as we read on. Serving as a political backdrop is the struggle between the progressive League and the conservative Federation.

Crossover is a character-driven novel, in which the experimental android Cassandra Kresnov takes center stage. Through her moral awakening, the author explores a number of issues, chief among those being what it means to be human. Readers who love strong female characters will not be disappointed by this unlikely heroine. Although the sex-crazed android thing was a bit weird, it does add a little something spicy and unusual. Other female characters of note include SWAT Lieutenant Vanessa Rice and President Katia Neiland.

The novel is a fast-paced thriller with enough action sequences to satisfy anyone. And yet, there is also enough political intrigue to give this book a convoluted and well-executed plot. In addition, Shepherd manages to imbue the darker moments with the right amount of humor to make your lips curl up into a smile on more than one occasion.

Crossover is a remarkable scifi debut. Moreover, it's by no means a "hard" science fiction tale. It is accessible to all fans of the genre. By tackling a number of philosophical issues, the author demonstrates an intelligence that is seldom seen, let alone woven so subtly into the storylines. His multiethnic culture is also a welcome change from the habitual human vs aliens staple.

The fact that it took five years for something this good to reach North America shows that there is something fundamentally wrong with the system. There are some acquisition editors who are evidently sleeping on the job. Kudos to Lou Anders, Pyr's editor, for picking this one up!

Hard to put down. I commend this one to your attention. I can't wait to read the two upcoming sequels! Check it out!

The final verdict: 8/10

For more information about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Quote of the day

I would like to clarify an important point that is often the source of confusion: I am a novelist; I am not, in the essential sense, a fantasy author.

- Terry Goodkind

Win a free copy of Mark Z. Danielewski's ONLY REVOLUTIONS

Hi guys!

Thanks to the good people at Transworld, I have two copies of Mark Z. Danielewski's Only Revolutions up for grabs!

The rules are the same as usual. First off, you need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "REVOLUTIONS." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy. Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

The puck drops here!

YEAH!!!

The NHL season officially begins tonight! And for Canadians coast to coast, that's really something!

Sadly, the Montreal Canadiens are in no position to make much noise. The Habs made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth last year, and then proceeded to lose in the first round, even though they led the series 2-0. And no, being eliminated by the team that would ultimately win the Stanley Cup doesn't make us feel any better, thank you very much!

Our General Manager's inactivity this summer did little to help improve the team. Signing "homegrown" talent to contracts that such players would never have gotten elsewhere doesn't help matters in the least. As things stand right now, Hockey News ranks Montreal 15th in the Eastern Conference. Dead last. And as much as I hate to say this, I can find no fault in their reasoning. We'll be lucky to make the playoffs next spring. . .

Teams that finished the season below us last year have improved quite a bit. Which means that the Montreal Canadiens will be hard-pressed to secure the last playoff spot in the East -- which may not even be within the realm of possibilities. With deficient goaltending, a porous defense, and blatant lack of size down the middle, it could be a very, very long season.

Still, hockey's back, for better or worse.

Go Habs Go!;-)

SPIRIT GATE contest winners!

Hi guys!

The names have been drawn and we have our winners! Each will receive a copy of Kate Elliott's Spirit Gate. Many thanks to Tor Books for supporting this contest!

The winners are:

Kristen LeChevet, from Woodlawn, Maryland, USA (klecheve on asoiaf.westeros.org)

Lynn Phillips, from Santa Monica, California, USA (ajah on wotmania.com)

Jason Bridgman, from Pickering, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to all the participants! And stay tuned for more!;-)

Clarkesworld Magazine

Hi guys!

Just in case you didn't know yet, there is a new magazine in which you can read short fiction pieces. Fantasy, scifi and horror short stories by established and unpublished writers will comprise every issue.

Follow this link to check out the first issue of Clarkesworld Magazine. Looks pretty good!:-)

I might even submit something at some point. . .;-)

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 2nd)

In hardcover:

Terry Brooks' Armageddon's Children is down three positions, finishing its fourth week on the bestseller list at number 21. For more info about it: Canada, USA, Europe.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Hunters of Dune is down seven spots, ending its fifth week on the prestigious list at number 23. For more info about it: Canada, USA, Europe.

Mark Z. Danielewski's Only Revolution is down eleven positions, finishing its second week on the NYT list at number 24. For more info about it: Canada, USA, Europe.

Terry Goodkind's Phantom drops down four spots, ending its tenth week on the charts at number 28. For more info about it: Canada, USA, Europe.

Guy Gavriel Kay adds his two cents!

Guy Gavriel Kay offers his thoughts on the ongoing debate pertaining to online sff book reviews. You can read it here. It's actually quite interesting to see an author -- and a very good one at that -- speak up on the subject.

My God, but this thing refuses to die. . .;-) And yet, if more authors and editors came out and threw in their own two cents, perhaps this discussion could reach new heigths. . .

Technical Difficulties

Some sort of virus appears to be eating the inside of my hard drive, which, as a matter of course, is screwing up my entire computer. My anti-virus program cannot detect it, so things appear to be headed for the crapper. Which means that, depending on the sort of trouble I'll have to put up with in the coming days, things might not run as they usually do for a while. . .

At times, I can't even access my email, or remain online more than a minute or two. I couldn't notify the winners of the Wintersmith contest by email, so hopefully they'll be checking out the blog. Otherwise, they're in for a big surprise when the book reaches them in a couple of days!;-)

What good is an anti-virus program if things like this can happen??? And it appears that the virus has deactivated my anti-virus application, so that I can't even check for updates. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to wipe out the entire hard drive. . .

WINTERSMITH contest winners!

Hi there!

Here are our winners for the Terry Pratchett contest. They will each receive a copy of his latest, Wintersmith. Many thanks to Transworld for their support! For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winners are:

Eva Milosev, from Skofja Loka, Slovenia (Maid Sansa on asoiaf.westeros.org)

Vegard Flobak, from Bergen, Norway (The GardenGnome on malazanempire.com)

Tim Macdonald, from Canterbury, UK (Eyeless Myrddraal on wotmania.com)

Anja Schulz, from Homburg, Germany

Jostein Nygård, from Laksevåg, Norway (Iceman of the North on asoiaf.westeros.org)

Thanks to all the participants! Stay tuned for more!;-)

Fragile Things

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this book. Short stories are not a form of literature with which I'm very familiar. So when I heard that Fragile Things was a collection of short stories, it sort of dampened my enthusiasm for Gaiman's newest release. After all, my copy of Smoke and Mirrors has been sitting there for a few years, unread. Well, that may change very soon!

Generally, works of epic proportions scratch my hitch. Hence, I was wondering if I could possibly get into Fragile Things. I'm happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed it. A lot more than I ever thought I would. Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller, and his short fiction pieces are no less impressive than his novel-length works.

The only thing I could have done without is Gaiman's poetry. But then again, I could do without anyone's poetry. So it's not as though Neil Gaiman's poetry is worst than any other poetry. . .

Fragile Things is comprised of over 30 poems, short stories and one novella. Each tale demonstrates just how fertile Gaiman's imagination is. As always, the prose is impeccable. His narrative is evocative, plunging the reader into worlds with colorful imagery.

My favorite short stories include A Study in Emerald, Closing Time, Bitter Grounds, Keepsakes and Treasures, How do you think it feels?, Goliath and The Monarch of the Glen.

Fragile Things makes for a wonderful reading experience. Anyone who admires Neil Gaiman will not disappointed by this short story collection. And for newcomers, this could be an excellent starting point to discover the depths of the author's talent and imagination.

The final verdict: 8/10

For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe