Seven duds for seven dustbins: More books to avoid

Recently I posted a collection of short hatchet jobs on books that I felt so strongly about I had to be bitter about them in public. This was one of the most popular reviews I’ve posted in the last 6 months, so you clearly like this stuff. I’ve found a few more. I haven’t included those … Continue reading Seven duds for seven dustbins: More books to avoid →

How (not to) market your book

My, what an interesting range of approaches there are in the publishing world as to how they think a reviewer can be best inveigled into reading their new book. In the interests of good relations between reviewers and the publishing industry, here are the methods that work for me, and why; some that could be risky; … Continue reading How (not to) market your book →

What I hope to read at Christmas

By the time you read this, I hope to be in Hawai'i (actually Kauai). This is a major splashout holiday, for a particular reason. It's halfway across the planet from my home, but it's also halfway between where my siblings live, and the Christmas holiday is conveniently close to a significant birthday that they will be celebrating … Continue reading What I hope to read at Christmas →

Collaborating with Anne McCaffrey: An interview with Elizabeth Moon

The science fiction novel that moved my reading tastes from adolescent dragon wonder to feminist space opera was Sassinak (1990), by the then immensely prolific Anne McCaffrey and the fairly unknown Elizabeth Moon. I had been a teenage McCaffrey completist, but once I’d read Sassinak – an engrossing space opera about planet pirates, orphan enslavement, naval … Continue reading Collaborating with Anne McCaffrey: An interview with Elizabeth Moon →

Newspapers, lies, magic and responsibility: Terry Pratchett and The Truth

This week's Newspaper Novel abandons the literary historical approach to journalism, and just wallows in satire. Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular and widely-bought British authors, but he is also hardly ever mentioned in the heavyweight literary weeklies because his writing is funny. He was a writer of fantasy fiction, predominantly in the Discworld series, … Continue reading Newspapers, lies, magic and responsibility: Terry Pratchett and The Truth →

Science fiction and speculative fiction from Iraq

I really like the concept of Iraq + 100. Stories from a Century After the Invasion. In 2013 Hassan Blasim and his collaborator Ra Page, the founder of Comma Press, asked well-known Iraqi writers to write speculative short stories envisioning Iraq in 2113 or thereabouts. The Introduction and Afterword are persuasive about the artistic ambitions of this … Continue reading Science fiction and speculative fiction from Iraq →