If the idea of an infinitely sprawling library, filled with unique books salvaged from across the multiverse, where time doesn’t pass for you while you are within its walls doesn’t appeal to you, I don’t know why you would read fantasy books at all.
Author: James
Review – Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
Being a historian should be easier when you have a time machine and lots of tea…
It’s easy to set to set a single tone – juggling tones is a lot harder. The title and the start of One Damn Thing suggest a particular style that I love, wry British comedy, and when operating in the mode of hard work, punishing bureaucracy, farcical romance and endless tea, it’s a very enjoyable book. Unfortunately…
Housekeeping – Posts are coming
So I haven’t posted since August… in the interim, I’ll fill up my feed with reviews of books I’ve read subsequently, until Christmas, at which point I probably won’t post again til mid January.
Review – Artemis by Andy Weir
The Martian is the ultimate science fiction beach read; a book that was almost impossible to put down. Artemis is a good book, but suffers for not being the Martian.
Hugo Awards Extravaganza 2018 – Site Selection Voting
Hi, I’ve covered all my ballots, so time for a personal plea. I’m based in Brisbane, but I did most of my growing up in Wellington, New Zealand. At this years Worldcon, site selection voting will occur for Worldcon 78 in 2020, and Wellington is the only venue on the ballot. However, it is theoretically […]
Hugo Awards Extravaganza 2018 – Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
Since I managed to see four of the nominees in this category in my normal watching habits, fitting USS Callister and a short track didn’t seem like much of an ask. It’s also worth noting that I nominated three things in this category: Badwater from Alice Isn’t Dead, Michael’s Gambit and Dance Dance Resolution from The Good Place. Given one of these got nominated, it’s clearly going to be top of my list, right?
Hugo Awards Extravaganza 2018 -Graphic Story
This year the graphic story category returns to an sff focus after last year’s slate dominated by Avengers. Previewing the category, we have sequels to three comics I really liked (Bitch Planet, Monstress, and Saga), one sequel to a comic I thought was OK (Paper Girls), and two new entrants (including our only superhero entry written by an author whose previous Hugo nominee I rather liked).
Hugo Awards Extravaganza 2018 – John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
This is the award for best new writer, regardless of output length (or quantity), and year after year it ends up my favourite category by delivering works that I think are better than any of the nominees in the main ballot. This year I will be thwarted however, as the three shorter pieces in this category are all in regular competition. On the upside, this makes this category an easy ask, as I’ve also already read Under the Pendulum Sun, leaving me with just three novels to cover.
Hugo Awards Extravaganza 2018 – Novella
Novellas are almost exclusively short novels, self contained and fully fleshed out. I was expecting good things given that one is a sequel to a novella I liked last year (A Heart Shaped Door), another by an author I liked last year (Sarah Gailey), and a third is the sequel to a 2016 winner (Binti).
Review – Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
A young girl defies her tribal traditions and sneaks off-world to university. Binti has magical artifacts, powerful rituals, strange races, and arcane institutions – it’s not science fiction that is obsessed with, or even interested in technology. Instead, Binti is about leaving home, encountering new cultures, and becoming part of the big scary world. Two […]