I listened to both of these books over approximately the last month. They were riveting. The series seems complete but I would absolutely love to read another book in this universe. So interesting, so many ideas and thoughts. The basics of the story is that there is a galactic empire, the Teixcalaan, and there is an independent station (Lsel… so weird to see that in print after only hearing the word) who is concerned about…
Quick update. I’ve been super busy at work. I finished a book (Ancillary Sword, by Anne Leckie) more than a month ago and listened to an audiobook in the last week (A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which I really liked!) but haven’t had time to blog about either one. But that is not why I am here today. I found out just a few moments ago that the TL;DR anthology “Figments & Fragments”…
A quick update… I found out first thing this morning that I was one of the winners of the TL;DR 1,000 Word Herd Flash Fiction 2024 Competition from April! Here is the official announcement. Great way to start my day, and the contract has been signed and sent back. Woo Hoo! I have heard good things about the TL;DR press from my writing community. First of all, they provide good feedback on the stories, no…
Checking in. The Nebulas were pretty cool, but I am glad I knew someone there (yay Molly!) because I felt very out of my league and impostery. I had one-on-one meetings with two authors; one who principally writes shorts (in S&SF and Clarkesworld mostly) and one who has written a novel or two. For the first meeting, I got comments back on a short and in the second, we talked through my novel. I got…
While I liked Ancestral Night, this book didn’t do as much for me. It is set in the same universe as (and slightly after) the previous book, and one character from that book makes a brief, mostly off-stage appearance. I do like this hodgepodge galaxy of alien syster races in a galaxy spanning Synarche that have all uplifted themselves from pre-advanced technology almost-annihilation events (such as humans who almost killed themselves off with global warming…
I will be attending my first in-person convention over the next few days, the Nebulas, in nearby Pasadena. One of the people on the programming committee is in my writing group, and I know at least two authors whose books I have read will be there (one of whom was nominated for best novel in one category!). I am a little nervous to attend, but you have to start somewhere. I have two “office hours”…
I have only read some of the epic, galaxy spanning space opera novels by Reynolds, so when I was looking for an audio book for a road trip, this author was not what I was expecting. However, coming in at about 4.5 hours, it was perfect for my weekend getaway road trip. This climate fiction work was published in 2019 and is about 175 pages. Reading the description, I knew that it was climate and…
This is a time travel novel for people who don’t like time travel novels, apparently. My wife, who is not a huge SFF fan and also really doesn’t like time travel books* somehow acquired this book from a friend. I read it while she listened to it, and she loved it. The basic premise of this novel is pretty cool and unique to my experience; time machines have been on earth for millions of years,…
I have made my third sale! I found out late in the evening, two nights ago, and now have a signed contract so I am happy to report that my first non-flash fiction piece entitled “Stars End” will appear in Abyss & Apex magazine in Spring of next year. I am beyond excited and am really looking forward to sharing this story with you all. It had been quite a dry spell and I was…
A lot can happen in a year. This is a magical book. It says so right at the beginning, where the now-adult author and narrator of the book talks about the magic of childhood, and how important it is to hang on to that magic–not to let it go. The book chronicles a year in the life of Corey, a 12-year-old boy growing up in a small town in rural Alabama in 1964. The first…