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Month: May 2020

Spin

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. This book was a trip. I really enjoyed it. 3 teenagers, one October evening, sneak outside during a grown up party. And the stars and moon disappear. The Earth has been encased in a permeable membrane that slows time, so that for every minute, 3 years go by outside. This novel is broadly sweeping, discussing the technological, social, political, and religious fervor that grow up as millions of years go…

flights of foundry day 2

so tired. I took 36 pages of notes (9300 words). I have a lot to think about but now I am going to go check on my family and see if they are still alive.

Flights of Foundry day 1

My first con! I spent the whole day in my chair in front of 3 screens and multiple windows, frantically taking notes, listening to authors read their works. I got so many ideas on how to improve my writing… but I fear that I will slip into an “I’m not worthy” funk after all of this. There is so much to learn and understand. I mean, I get it, I haven’t taken a fiction writing…

Flights of Foundry

I am so new to this world. I don’t know what exists, I don’t know what I should know. For example, I frantically applied to the Clarion workshops at the last minute because I didn’t know they were happening. I now have a calendar of deadlines and workshops for next summer, so hopefully this pandemic eases up. I knew that there were SF conventions but I didn’t really know what they entailed. I have never…

Binti

This novella is by Nnedi Okorafor, known for Africanfuturism. This is a term she coined because she did not agree with how her work was being portrayed in reviews. She states on her website that “Africanfuturism is a sub-category of science fiction. Africanjujuism is a subcategory of fantasy that respectfully acknowledges the seamless blend of true existing African spiritualities and cosmologies with the imaginative.” This was probably the first book I have ever read where…

John Scalzi: Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony

I first read Old Man’s War about 8 years ago and it was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I am only 2 years younger than him, and I feel like the SF that motivated him in his debut novel was similar to what I read. I read Starship Troopers multiple times, enjoyed Friday for its strong female lead (I know that Heinlein is problematic in some ways but to have a…

news update

I meant to add this last month when I found out but we are in the middle of a pandemic, and I was still doing my regular job and it got a little crazy. Let me follow up with a news update. First of all, I did not get into either Clarion or Clarion West. It was a long shot at best, and honestly, since they have cancelled at least one of them (delayed until…

Judas Unchained

This is the 2nd half of the 2000 page epic space opera by Peter F. Hamilton. I’ll start out by saying that I read the first half, Pandora’s Star, more than 8 years ago. I did enjoy the universe and the story but I never got around to starting (and committing myself to finishing) the continuation. I’m glad I did, because I think it resolved ok, but overall I think that this was a relatively…