I’m reading the first 3 volumes of this by way of preparation for China Miéville’s(!) forthcoming contribution to the IP. Pretty good writing for a Hollywood actor, I thought, and brilliant art, but basically pretty pedestrian.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is on sale at Kobo AU right now and might also be on sale at your favourite provider. This has been one of my favourite fantasy reads so far this year.
Finished reading through the copyedit of the Owen Archer mystery coming out in December. Read it aloud to catch repetitions, changes in name forms, etc.--I always find things neither me, my beta readers, my agent, my editor, nor the copyeditor caught. Well worth the effort. A satisfying few weeks. I'll send it off to my editor tomorrow.
A Snake in the Barley, Owen Archer 15, out 3 December! @bookstodon @books #historicalfiction
On the eastern cape of southern Africa a land existed for but a brief moment in time, formed by a group of cultural castaways, strengthened via European investment and terrorized by dark forces. Amid this searing slice of savannah, male ambition, feminine yearning and the hunger of an ancient evil clash … with catastrophic results.
I’d like to show you the Brazilian edition of Star Wars: Thrawn (Timothy Zahn), by Aleph Publishing. All Star Wars books released by Aleph follow the same format and layout, being items that look beautiful in the collection (I am not sponsored by the publisher at all, it is my opinion as a consumer).
We're back to Blackwood! The long, hot summer days are the perfect weather for some chilling, weird, and spooky tales from one of the greats, so why not head over to https://www.twitch.tv/chilliteracy and listen in!
Starting soon
I am on vacation and buying too many ebooks. I was supposed to wait until I go to the Bigger City to buy physical ones.
Please stop me, or refrain from suggesting fun things to read. @bookstodon#bookstodon
Book Challenge: 20 books that have had an impact on who you are. One book a day for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just book covers (don't forget the alt text). Day 1.
As a science-fiction reader I had a little trouble with in ascension
At first I was happy to read a big dumb object book that focuses on the psychology of the characters more than on the science.
But as I went on reading I had more and more trouble with the lack of scientific curiosity and engineering prowess in a book about scientists and astronauts.
In Ascension is the opposite of a competence porn novel. The protagonists are cogs in a machine they don't control. While this is more true to life, it is less true to the lives of scientists, engineers and astronauts.
The scientific information peppered throughout the book is given as exposition, and while it's worth paying attention to and is the best way to try and figour out what's going on, it has little to do with the characters thoughts and behavior. The only people who try to find anything out, who actually do research, are relatives trying to figure out what happened.
For example, after an inexplicable incident the crew finds that everything is covered in a layer of dust. What do they do? Do they attempt to find out what it's made of? No. They make an effort to clean things up and that's it.
Where is the curiosity and sence of wonder of people that worked so hard to go beyond where man has gone before?
I understand that living with our impotence when facing large systems that don't care about us as individuals is what this novel is about. But it is hard for me to relinquish the illusion of control the scientific method gives us.
I call this "The author signing preordered copies of her book." This is what I did yesterday after work, & it was glorious and special! Coincidentally, you can still preorder from anovelideaphilly.com (only those preorders come with merch/swag & a signed book!) for a few more days. 😍