Book Review: Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

Every once in a while I go out to the mailbox and discover a book in the mail that I wasn't expecting.  A lot of those books end up sitting on my review shelf, but some of those books intrigue me enough to dig my eyes into them.  Such books tend to be quite good.  Dark Jenny is one of those books.

Dark Jenny follows Eddie LaCrosse, a witty sword for hire who'll solve any case for a reasonable price.  But Eddie also has a history that most people don't know about, and it involves the fall of

RIP: Diana Wynne Jones

I hate being a day behind on things like this.  If you don't know already, fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones passed away yesterday after a long battle with lung cancer.  She was the author of a number of fantasy works, including one of my favorites:  Howl's Moving Castle (which was turned into a Hayao Miyazaki film).  

She will be missed, but hopefully she's in a better place.

A Book Blurb By Me (Andy Remic's Serial Killers Incorporated)!

I follow Andy Remic's blog, and earlier today he posted the cover art for his latest book from Anarchy Books (a new ebook publisher).  And that cover features a quote/blurb by yours truly!  See for yourself:

Now, to be fair, the quote is attributed to SQT's blog, but I wrote the review that Remic took the quote from (for Kell's Legend)!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go scream and jump around in my apartment like a buffoon.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show #3.0 is Live! (An Interview w/ Tobias Buckell)

I am really excited to let you all know that the latest episode of my podcast is an interview with Tobias Buckell!  I've been wanting to interview him for a while.  Here's the episode.  Give it a listen.  Hopefully you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

ToC for ODD? (vol. one) Released (and It Looks Good!)

Jeff VanderMeer has released the table of contents for the first volume of the upcoming anthology called ODD? (edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer). Here's the list:

Amos Tutuola – “The Dead Babies”
Gustave Le Rouge – “The War of the Vampires” (new translation by Brian Evenson and David Beus)
Jeffrey Ford – “Weiroot”
Leopoldo Lugones – “The Bloat Toad” (new translation by Larry Nolen)
Mark Samuels – “Apt 205”
Michael Cisco – “Modern Cities Exist Only to Be Destroyed” (published only in a limited edition previously)
Nalo Hopkinson – “Slow Cold Chick”
Sumanth Prabhaker – “A Hard Truth About Waste Management” (revised since publication)
Hiromi Goto – “Stinky Girl”
Eric Basso – “Logues”
Edward Morris – “Lotophagi”
Karin Tidbeck – “The Aunts” (previously unpublished)
Jeffrey Thomas – “The Fork”
Rikki Ducornet – “The Volatilized Ceiling of Baron Munodi”
Amanda le Bas de Plumetot – “Unmaking” (previously unpublished)
Karl Hans Strobl – “The Head” (new translation by Gio Clairval)
Caitlin R. Kiernan – “A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills”
Stacey Levine – “Sausage”

I'll admit that I haven't heard of a number of folks on this list, but the fact that Amos Tutuola, Jeffrey Ford, and Nalo Hopkinson are on it tells me a lot about the quality and the vision of the anthology. You better believe that this sucker will be on my Christmas list.

What do you all think of it?

Poll Results (Plus Another Question): Which age of science fiction is your favorite?

The results are in.  Here's how you all voted:

• 10% said "the Pulps"
• 30% said "the Golden Age"
• 0% said "the New Wave"
• 20% said "Cyberpunk"
• 40% said "Contemporary"

I'm rather shocked by these results.  The science fiction community presents itself as having some kind of love affair with the New Wave, yet nobody voted for it in my poll.  Does that say something about the kinds of readers I have?  I don't know.  Maybe.  I suppose that really depends on what we include in the last category, which had the most votes.  If contemporary SF includes work that takes its influences straight from the New Wave (and that's what 40% of you were thinking at the time), then it all makes sense.  I know that's how I was thinking of the term.

Now I have another question, which I can't put in poll format:  which book in your favorite "age" is your favorite and why?  Let me know in the comments!

A new poll will be up later today.

In Defense of Signs (That Shyamalan Alien Invasion Flick)

Every few months someone says something to the effect of:  "Signs is such a dumb movie.  Why would aliens invade a planet covered in stuff they're allergic to?"  Why, indeed.  John Scalzi is the latest in a sea of Signs haters.  In a recent AMC column, Scalzi talked about the numerous alien invasion movies we've seen over the last few decades and gave each a grade on the A to F scale.  He had this to say about Signs:

Really, aliens? You invade a planet that is made up of stuff that can melt flesh off your bones? You deserve to be defeated by Joaquin Phoenix and a baseball bat. Stupidest invasion ever.

Invasion score: F

Well, actually, it's not that stupid after all.  There are two reasons for this:  1) habitable planets are not as common or as easy to get to as we would like, and 2) humans, who consider themselves to be intelligent creatures, routinely invade or inhabit lands that present serious challenges to our well being.  I'll expand these two points below:

I. Habitable Planets