A new (possible) beginning...

It's been many years since my last post.  I'm not making any guarantees but I hope to start doing short reviews.

You can see what I have been reading in the 2020 tabs near the top of the page.  In the next couple of days i plan on updating my short stories read page.

Until next time...

Return of the Blog

Once again, health issues and personal life have prevented me from posting on this blog.  Things in general have finally settled down.  The doctor have my Raynaud's Disease under control so I plan on returning to blogging for 2017.  I am already working on some posts so I can start the year off on the right foot.

Forever Magazine #16, May 2016

If you have not checked out Neil Clarke's reprint magazine, now is the time to do it.  In the sixteenth issue (May 2016) Neil is featuring a long time favorite story of mine-"Hawksbill Station" by Robert Silverberg.  In addition to getting this classic story Silverberg contributes an article called "About Hawksbill Station".

I recommend supporting this magazine so that Clarke can continue to reprint other deserving stories.

Surprising Announcements

First off, the biggest announcement of the past week is that SF Signal is closing down.  I was disappointed because they have been my go to source for science fiction news.  Upon reading the article I can understand and sympathize with the crew.  I wish them the best in their future endeavors.  They will be missed.  

The good news is that one of the podcasts (The Three Hoarsemen) will be continuing.  If you have not been following this podcast I recommend that you give it a try.  The latest one on the fiction of C. J. Cherryh is long overdue.  Many readers do not realize the impact that her writing has had on the field.  I was glad to see that she is the latest winner of the Grandmaster award.  We should all take the time to read (and discuss) more of her works.

Adam, of the Wertzone fame, has an excellent article about blogging that was inspired by the SF Signal announcement.  Take the time to go over and read "Blogging in Age of Austerity".  Reading has given me an even greater appreciation for the efforts of the bloggers I follow.

Andrea (The Little Red Reviewer) wrote a great article about another way of looking at the SF Signal announcement.  I like her perspective of considering this a "Graduation Day".  I plan on taking this advice to heart.

Stop over and leave a note of appreciation to the SF Signal gang.  And then, let us all contribute to their legacy by stepping up our game and contributing more than ever to the SF community.  It is our turn now.

Children of Earth and Sky (Excerpt)

CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY

By Guy Gavriel Kay

The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay is back with a new novel, Children of Earth and Sky (NAL Hardcover; May 10, 2016; $27.00), set in a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against the tumultuous backdrop the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands – where empires and faiths collide.

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request – and possibly to do more – and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor’s wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif – to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates – and those of many others – will hang in the balance when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world.

ABOUT GUY GAVRIEL KAY

Guy Gavriel Kay is the international bestselling author of twelve previous novels and a book of poetry. He has been awarded the International Goliardos Prize for his work in literature of the fantastic and won the World Fantasy Award for Ysabel in 2008. In 2014 he was named to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

For more information, please visit brightweavings.com and follow Guy Gavriel Kay on twitter @GuyGavrielKay

Follow the link to the next page to read an excerpt:

Catseye

Author:  Andre Norton

First Publication:  1961
Edition being reviewed:  2015

Publisher:  Open Road Media

Andre Norton is a classic writer for my generation.  When I discovered science fiction and went exploring the library, it was easy to find many of her books.  She consistently delivered what was then considered juvenile books.  In today's movie language they would be rated "PG".  She was a safe author that parents did not have to worry about letting their kids read.  Norton was one of the authors who constantly delivered quality adventure stories, good characterization, interesting ideas, all rolled into an exciting story.

"Catseye" is one of my favorite Norton books.  She incorporated many themes that would appear in her other works.  Themes such as a young man who was a loner growing up under less than ideal conditions, animals, and mysteries that are slowly unraveled as the story progresses.  

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good science fiction adventure book.

Short Story Quest: The Beginning of a Quest

A long standing tradition in the fantasy field is the quest story.  Often, it involves a hero or heroine who has lost something.  Either a loved one is taken from them, they are taken from their home, or their kingdom is lost to an enemy.  Many stories have been written with a variation of this theme.  One of my favorite authors, Roger Zelazny, has been known to explore these themes in many of his works.  Among my favorites are the Amber series (in which the hero looses his memory and kingdom), "Jack of Shadows", the Changling series, and too many others to list here.  This time, I will take a look at the beginning of another one of his quest stories, "Dilvish the Damned"...