SF:
Speaking of YA literature (as I was, briefly, in the previous post), I would be remiss if I didn't note that Cory Doctorow has put up a Little Brother section on his web site, promoting his new book. As with...
Posted on May 6, 2008 11:22 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The latest book by Iain M. Banks proudly proclaims itself to be a Culture novel-- part of a loosely connected series of novels and stories about humans living in a vast and utopian galactic civilization-- which makes its opening in...
Read on »
Posted on May 6, 2008 8:07 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I see a lot of science stories that sound like kookery, but this is the first in a while that sounds like Golden Age science fiction.
Posted on April 29, 2008 8:07 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I'm not sure whether he's making some kind of obscure point, or just trolling, but John Scalzi gave a recent installment of his "Big Idea" series over to the witterings of "Vox Day," talking about his book The Irrational Atheist....
Read on »
Posted on April 10, 2008 8:36 AM • 228 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The Hugo Award nominees for this year have been released. The category I care most about is Best Novel, where we have: The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate) Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr) Rollback by...
Read on »
Posted on March 21, 2008 8:46 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
As approximately six billion other blogs have noted, Arthur C. Clarke is dead. His obit in the Times runs to three pages, which is a good indicator of just how long and distinguished his life was. My initial reaction is...
Posted on March 19, 2008 7:53 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Joshua Palmatier, whose first two books I enjoyed, and probably ought to booklog, has organized the "Plot Synopsis Project," in which a bunch of published SF authors post copies of the plot synopses they sent with their successful novel pitches,...
Read on »
Posted on March 18, 2008 8:10 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Little Brother is Cory Doctorow's bid for a place on this year's list of banned books. It's a book that not only encourages kids to hack computers, commit vandalism, and thwart law enforcement, it gives them detailed instructions on the...
Read on »
Posted on March 2, 2008 9:11 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Notes from my appearance as a guest speaker in an English class.
Read on »
Posted on March 1, 2008 10:36 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I'll be guest-lecturing on Ted Chiang's story this Friday, and here are some SPOILER-laden preliminary thoughts.
Read on »
Posted on February 28, 2008 10:36 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Say you were offered the chance to be introduced to the great love of your life, your absolute perfect soul mate. The two of you will be perfect together-- compatible personalities, the same taste in movies and books, sex so...
Read on »
Posted on February 27, 2008 3:50 PM • 97 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Because I'm a Bad Person: (Context here, here, and here, Flickr group here.)...
Posted on February 23, 2008 11:45 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Do you know of any good portrayals of nanotechnology in fiction?
Posted on February 22, 2008 11:56 AM • 31 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The Hugo Award nomination deadline is fast approaching, so I've been doing a bunch of reading to make sure I've covered a reasonable range of potential nominees. I've been really bad about book-logging recently, but I thought I'd at least...
Read on »
Posted on February 22, 2008 10:52 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Since basically nobody reads my inside-baseball stuff about SF, I'll put the details below the fold. Short version: Kate and I went to Boskone this past weekend, and it was good....
Read on »
Posted on February 18, 2008 9:58 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I gave a talk at Boskone in the prime Sunday 10 am slot, on quantum teleportation. I read the opening dialogue from Chapter 8 of the book, and then did a half-hour (or so) explanation of the real physics behind...
Posted on February 18, 2008 10:47 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
"Prof. Orzel gives the impression of an everyday guy who just happens to have a vast but hidden knowledge of physics." (anonymous student evaluation comment)
