Jack McDevitt’s latest novel, Firebird (Ace, 2011), is the sixth adventure following Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath. Alex is a well-known antiquities dealer and Chase is his pilot and assistant. After agreeing to look into the value of some objects that once belonged to the famous physicist Christopher Robin (who allegedly disappeared near his home and…
Ah, the smell of books. Most of my reading these days is done on my iPad, with its sharp, gleaming lines and dark features like some obelisk out of a science fiction film. I read books on it. I read news on it. I read my RSS feeds on it. I read all of my magazines, save…
io9 recently ran a post called “10 Debut Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels that Took the World By Storm.” Reading through the list, one in particular stood out, mostly because I almost never see critical references to it, despite it being a very good novel. I’m talking about Chthon by Piers Anthony. My first attempts at…
Last night, before continuing my reading of Jack McDevitt’s Firebird, I downloaded and read Action Comics #3: “World Against Superman.” Of the 5 issues I’ve read so far (3 Action Comics and 2 Superman) in the New 52, this was the best one yet. The story started out on Krypton and you could see where…
Here is this month’s list of short fiction that I managed to read. I’ve been aiming for one story a day from a variety of magazines. I think I did a pretty good job this month. Just like last month, the bold titles are, in my opinion, particularly worth reading. Old Fireball by Nat Schachner…
I’m back from 4 days in Newport, Rhode Island, where Kelly and I watched our friends Sarah and Jay get married. Wonderful wedding, great setting, and it even turned sunny so that they ceremony could be held outside. I was only intermittently online during those four days and so here is a consolidated post of…
I’ve written before about books from my childhood that made some kind of impact on me. One of those books is Edward Ormondroyd’s David and the Phoenix. This book may very well be the first fantasy novel I ever read. I don’t exactly recall where I got it, or why I was attracted to it. Possibly…
Recall a few weeks back when I was the randomly-selected winner of Strange Horizons’ donation drive? Well, yesterday, my prizes arrived, the two gorgeous, hardcover volumes of Paul Cornell’s Superman: The Black Ring. And Mr. Cornell was kind enough to sign them, too: Thanks again to Strange Horizons and Paul Cornell. This was a really…
I’ve pre-ordered several books over the last few months and in roughly a week or so, four will begin arriving, about one each week or so. I’m looking forward to all four of them. Which four, you ask? The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, October 18 Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, October 24 Firebird by…
I picked up Action Comics #2 last night and read the issue while sitting in the Little Man’s doorway, waiting for him to fall asleep1 I had a lot of fun reading it. I still think the artwork outshines the writing, but I am beginning to get the notion of how these things work. And…
Somehow, I missed the release of DC Comics Superman #1 last week and didn’t discover that the issue was available until the weekend. But having discovered it, I acquired an electronic copy and on Saturday evening, I read it, my second comic ever. I liked it. Once again, I thought the art was considerably better…
This morning, after I woke up and showered, I turned on the iPad and looked to see what was new. Here is what I found that I had received while sleeping: December issue of Analog (with a Brad Torgersen cover story) for the Kindle app December issue of Asimov’s (with a Connie Willis Christmas novella!) for…