Book of the Week :: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

The Book of the Week is Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, winner of this year's Hugo Award for Best Novel. In Spin, the stars go out one day, after a mysterious intelligence places a barrier around Earth. Scientists later discover that time is passing dramatically faster within the barrier than outside, so much so that the sun will expire in about 40 years of our time.

Spin is the 12th novel by Wilson, a Canadian author whose work has consistently been well-received, even by The New York Times Book Review. Wilson has been nominated for the Best Novel Hugo four times, but Spin is his first to win. Hard-core science fiction fans were pleased to see the Hugo Award go to a serious SF novel; four of the previous five winners were fantasies. On the other hand, Spin is accessible to readers who do not read much SF (in praising the book, Stephen King said it has "zero geek factor"). Congratulations to Robert Charles Wilson!

A collector's note: This book is too recent in vintage to be terribly valuable, but the first edition of a Hugo-winning novel often appreciates tremendously over time. It can't hurt that Robert Charles Wilson signed this copy for me the day after he won the award, and drew a little picture of the Hugo Award in the book.

Aaron's Magazine of the Week :: Asimov's Science Fiction January 2005

The Magazine of the Week is the January 2005 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, cover art by Michael Whelan. The magazine is signed by Colorado author Connie Willis, whose cover story "Inside Job" won this year's Hugo Award for Best Novella of 2005. (Also note on the cover the name of Roger Ebert, who contributed an essay to this issue. Mr. Ebert is a lifetime fan who once published his own science fiction fanzine -- there are many more of us out there than you knew.)

“Inside Job” is an excellent example of Connie Willis's renowned wit and irony. The story follows Rob, a professional skeptic dedicated to debunking phony psychics and mystics, who encounters a medium channeling notorious skeptic H.L. Mencken. Each time she does this, Mencken's spirit promptly berates her audience for believing in such nonsense. "Inside Job" first appeared in the Magazine of the Week, and was later published as a stand-alone hardcover book by Subterranean Press.

"Inside Job" was my #2 choice for best novella, behind only Kelly Link's remarkable story "Magic for Beginners," but I was still delighted that it won, because Connie Willis deserves all the accolades we can give her. She is a wonderful writer and an incredibly generous person. (You may recall from an earlier BOTW that she drove from Greeley to Denver just to meet with my son and his fourth- and fifth-grade classmates.) This is her ninth Hugo, the most Hugo Awards for fiction of any author ever. Congratulations to Connie Willis on this well-deserved recognition!

Next week we will see the Hugo winner for Best Novel.

Aaron's Magazine of the Week :: Fantasy & Science Fiction Oct/Nov 2005

The Magazine of the Week is the October/November 2005 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, cover art by Cory & Catska Ench. The cover story, "Two Hearts" by Peter S. Beagle, last week won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette of 2005.

I was happy to see "Two Hearts" win the Hugo, even though it was my #2 choice in this category (oddly enough my #1 choice, "The Calorie Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi, also appears in the Magazine of the Week), because it is an honor for which Peter S. Beagle was long overdue. Peter Beagle has been an outstanding contributor to the fantasy field for nearly 50 years. He is perhaps best known as the author of the classic novel The Last Unicorn (1968), to which "Two Hearts" is something of a sequel. A young girl desperate to save her village from a fierce griffin enlists the aid of characters from The Last Unicorn, including a king who is too proud to refuse her, but may be too weakened by age to be of much help.

Incidentally, the Hugo Awards for fiction are presented in four categories: novel, novella, novelette, and short story. A novelette is longer than a short story but not as long as a novel, while a novella is even a bit longer but still not quite as long as a novel. If you find this confusing, you might like the suggestion of James Patrick Kelly, this year's presenter of the Best Novelette Hugo, who proposed that the Hugos go decimal and give awards for Best Novel, Decinovel, Centinovel, and Millinovel. Next week's Magazine of the Week will contain this year's winner for Best Decinovel, er, Novella.

Aaron's Magazine of the Week :: Asimov's Science Fiction March 2005

The Magazine of the Week is the March 2005 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction (on the cover, Raphael's "Lady with a Unicorn" from 1506), containing this year's Hugo Award-winning short story "Tk'tk'tk" by David D. Levine. This story cleverly tells of a traveling salesman in the future, sent to an alien world that has no use for his products. "Tk'tk'tk" is the phrase he repeatedly hears from customers, which is untranslatable but carries a clear tone of condescension. Even though I voted for "Tk'tk'tk" I was quite surprised it won, since David D. Levine is a relative newcomer to the field who has yet to develop a great fan following, as evidenced by the fact that Asimov's did not even list his name on the cover of the Magazine of the Week.

The Hugo Award is the most prestigious award in science fiction and fantasy. It is presented at the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual gathering of SF's true believers, and voted on by the fans attending the convention. (Incidentally, "Tk'tk'tk" won even though it did not receive the most first-place votes. The Hugos use a preferential balloting system where voters rank the nominees, and if your first choice is eliminated your vote transfers to your next choice, until someone gains a majority. This system much better reflects voters' actual preferences than ordinary voting. If we used it in the U.S., it would have altered the outcomes of two of the last four presidential elections.)

This year's Worldcon was held last weekend in Anaheim, and I was at the Hugo ceremony Saturday night. I rather doubt that I will make next year's Worldcon in Yokohama, Japan, but I will be there the following year, since I am delighted to report that the fans at this year's Worldcon voted to hold the 2008 convention here in Denver. (This was an upset -- Chicago was considered the front-runner.)

This year's Best Short Story Hugo was presented by Harlan Ellison. At the convention, Ellison was in the irascible form described in recent BOTWs. But his cantankerous shtick is by now completely familiar to and accepted by SF fans. At one panel during the convention he went on a tirade directed toward the audience and when he ended by shouting, "Fuck the lot of you!" the crowd responded with a warm round of applause. For all his bad-boy posing, Ellison showed his true colors when he (i) was very gracious in accepting a surprise special award for his career contributions to SF at the Hugo ceremony, (ii) patiently signed books for fans at a signing scheduled for one hour that ended up running over three hours, and (iii) most importantly, was very friendly to yours truly while signing past Books of the Week Rumble and Ace Double D-413, which signatures I expect will add several hundred dollars to what my children will get for my collection for when I die.

At the Hugo ceremony Ellison read the list of nominees for Best Short Story, but then declared he wasn't going to tell us the winner and started off the stage with the envelope. After he was corralled back to the podium, he shouted at the gallery of nominees, "Levine, you here?" There was a muffled, "Yeah!" and Ellison barked, "Get your ass up here!" Levine was so excited he bounced up to the stage and wrapped the cantankerous Harlan Ellison in a giant bear hug. Congratulations to David D. Levine for surviving that and for winning his first Hugo Award.

Next week's Magazine of the Week will contain the Hugo winner for Best Novelette.

Barb's comments on movie Mirrormask (2005)

So, I watched the movie "Mirrormask" for the first time last night. If you haven't seen it, or haven't heard of it, it's something you really ought to seek out. It's a film that was the result of a collaboration between Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, and the folks at the Jim Henson Company (trust me, not a single Muppet made it into the film). I thought it an extraordinary piece of art--visually stunning and innovative, disturbing and funny in equal measure. The story...well, the story is thin and conventional, but it's built into a film that takes visual effects to a new and completely uncharted level. The humor is very much Neil Gaiman's, which I love, and which can carry me through the biggest plot holes you can imagine. And the film also has the single most disturbing use of a Carpenters' song EVER. Do yourself a favor, check it out and lose yourself for a couple of hours.

Book Review Teaser :: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Added this week to Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's review of A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin. This book was featured as a previous Book of the Week.

From Aaron's review:
"A Feast for Crows is the long anticipated fourth volume in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which depicts the struggle for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The Seven Kingdoms' most powerful "houses" battle each other for domination, largely ignoring the potential threats of supernatural beings from the north and dragons from across the sea. A Song of Ice and Fire is a continuous narrative, and the individual books do not stand alone, so readers new to the series should begin with the first volume, A Game of Thrones, rather than jumping right into A Feast for Crows...."

"A Song of Ice and Fire is an engrossing series sure to entertain any reader of high fantasy, but with a feel of gritty realism that appeals to many who usually don't care for long fantasy series. Thanks to this broad appeal and word-of-mouth from Martin's many devoted fans, sales of A Song of Ice and Fire have increased with every volume, culminating with A Feast for Crows recently opening at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list...."

To read the entire review (warning: there are spoilers):
A Feast for Crows

Aaron's Book of the Week :: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

The Book of the Week is A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin. (Pocket #1 was scheduled to be the Book of the Week, but we're postponing that in favor of a different sort of #1.) This is the first American edition, signed and inscribed to me when Martin was at the Tattered Cover last week.

George R.R. Martin has paid his dues since he began publishing in 1971. In the 1970s and early 1980s he wrote a variety of different types of fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream, all of which was beautifully written and won him critical acclaim and many awards, but none of which met with much commercial success. To make ends meet, he went to Hollywood in the mid-80s and spent ten years writing for television - if any of you remember a strange show called Beauty and the Beast, Martin was responsible for making that series much better than it had any right to be.

In 1996 he returned to writing novels with an epic fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire. Once again, however, his work was slow to find the right audience. The first volume of the series, A Game of Thrones (next week's Book of the Week), did not sell well and Martin did a disheartening signing tour, including one stop where he addressed a group of only four people, all of whom got up and left when he started to talk. When he toured for the second book in the series, he took a detour to meet with my science fiction & fantasy book group. Only a half-dozen of us were able to be there, since it was in the middle of a workday, yet Martin was very pleasant and friendly to those of us who made it.

After a slow start, each book in the Song of Ice and Fire series has been progressively more successful, due largely to word-of-mouth among Martin's devoted fans. A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in the series, was just released on November 8. Yesterday, it went to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Congratulations to George R.R. Martin on his long-overdue success.

Book Review Teaser :: Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder is a new science fiction writer from Canada. Our reviewer Aaron was impressed with the futuristic ideas in his third book, Lady of Mazes. If you're looking for new and challenging hard SF, you might want to try this book and author.

From Aaron Hughes' review of Lady of Mazes:
"Lady of Mazes is set far in the future of our solar system. It takes place in the same future universe as Schroeder's earlier novel Ventus, but the two books are completely independent. In this future, "inscape" technology allows individuals to perceive the world around them however suits them - sort of like virtual reality that travels around with you. In most of the solar system, inscape will even manipulate the world for your benefit. So, for example, if you're feeling blue, inscape will arrange for you to bump into an old friend likely to cheer you up (the real person, mind you, not a make-believe version). But is this too much of a good thing? If reality is continually rearranged to suit you, what are you missing?"

To read the entire review:
Lady of Mazes

Book Review Teaser :: Foop! by Chris Genoa

Chris Genoa's first novel Foop! is, according to our reviewer Aaron, an impressive first novel. If you like bizarre SF humor, you might want to look for this book from a small publisher.

From Aaron Hughes' review of Foop!:
"Foop! is Chris Genoa's first novel and it comes from a small publisher, Eraserhead Press. Nevertheless, Genoa is going to be a major success, and I'll tell you how I know: People like to laugh, and Chris Genoa is fucking hilarious.

Foop! is a bizarre romp through time, chock-full of laugh-out-loud moments, effectively blending black comedy with slapstick. Like all the best humorists, Genoa delivers comedy in ways that resonate on a deeper level than mere punch lines.

The book begins with our first-person protagonist Joe (no last name) leading a time traveling tour group to watch the assassination of Abraham Lincoln...."

To read the entire review:
Foop!

Book Review Teaser :: Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham

Specimen Days is a science fiction book shelved in fiction because it's written by a well-known author. Perhaps it will get some literary types, who don't read genre fiction, to unknowingly read some science fiction.

From Aaron Hughes' review of Specimen Days:
"Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days continues the recent trend of respected mainstream writers dabbling in science fiction, even if their works are never published as science fiction."

"Specimen Days is comprised of three novellas, each set in a different time period, each involving characters enthralled by the poetry of Walt Whitman. (The title Specimen Days is taken from Whitman's autobiography.) This structure very closely parallels Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Hours...it combines narratives in different time periods, extending from the past, through the present, into the future. The last of the three novellas in Specimen Days is set well in the future...By my definition, this makes Specimen Days as a whole science fiction, since the science fiction elements are crucial to the story..."

To read the entire review:
Specimen Days

Book Review Teaser :: Chainfire by Terry Goodkind

Chainfire is the latest novel from fantasy author Terry Goodkind. Our reviewer, Gary Romero, enjoyed it and is looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

From Gary Romero's review of Chainfire:
Chainfire is the latest entry in Terry Goodkind's best selling fantasy series, "The Sword of Truth." With this amazing entry, he begins a trilogy meant to complete the undeniably popular series...."

"Terry Goodkind has an incredible talent for creating characters that feel real and are easy to connect with, and places them in an enjoyable, page turning story. His character, Richard, has common sense and his views on life and leadership make him a person we all hope to parallel. Those who are already familiar with the "Sword of Truth" series will be ecstatic to find that all (with one important exception: more on that later) of the characters from past books - Zed, Nicci, Carla and even some of the other Mord-Sith - are all back in this more than worthy sequel."

To read the entire review:
Chainfire

Book Review Teaser :: Shelby and the Shifting Rings by A.M. Veillon

Shelby and the Shifting Rings is a young adult fantasy/mystery/adventure book with a spunky female protagonist. Fantastic Reviews book reviewer Jackie Sachen Turner found it entertaining and wholesome, try it you might like it.

From Jackie Sachen Turner's review of Shelby and the Shifting Rings:
"Shelby and the Shifting Rings: Book One -- Defender of Time Series is A. M. Veillon's first novel, which won third place in the SouthWest Writers 2004 Contest under the "Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels" category. This entertaining, time-travel fantasy follows 12-year-old orphaned Shelby Shodworth, heroine extraordinaire, as she discovers more about her family, friends, and reality, while solving a family mystery."

To read the entire review:
Shelby and the Shifting Rings

Book Review Teaser :: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go is a book by a name author, which is can be found in book stores shelved in mainstream fiction, that's actually science fiction. Fantastic Reviews book reviewer Aaron Hughes recommends it. He think's it's worth a look.

From Aaron Hughes' review of Never Let Me Go:
"Never Let Me Go by Japanese-born Englishman Kazuo Ishiguro, award-winning author of The Remains of the Day, is a very good science fiction novel....Never Let Me Go is entirely premised upon the existence of a technology that does not yet exist in reality. That makes it science fiction, in the same way The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells is science fiction. What's more, Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate universe in which history has taken a different course, which also makes it science fiction, just as The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (in which the Allies lost World War II) is science fiction."

To read the entire review:
Never Let Me Go