Disclaimer: Because the FTC are dumbasses…
Since all book bloggers are now required to indicate whether we get books for free, I have put a disclaimer on the top of my right-side sidebar to make sure it is clear that I am one of those that does receive books free of charge. Of course, there is a clever rhyme there (I get books for free. Frak the FTC), but I’m sure the FTC will not appreciate that. In any case, I wanted to make sure, yet again, that all of you are aware that I get free books for review. This way I don’t get sued by the FTC for what amounts to a hypocritical and downright stupid policy change. I’ll have more to say about the FTC soon. Thanks for your understanding.
The Cyborg Gets Older
Today is apparently my birthday. Who knew? Celebrations are not necessary, though inevitable, I suppose. Special points to those who can offer a violent critique of my person on this most auspicious day.
Last Minute Help: Looking For Some Books
I apparently have some money to spend at Borders. I have no idea how I earned it, but I have it. With that in mind, I want to buy a book or two, and I haven’t the foggiest what to get. This is where you come in. I’m looking for either high-concept or “literary” science fiction, OR non-traditional fantasy (i.e. not standard urban, epic, sword and sorcery, and things of that ilk). All should be relatively new (within the last few years). I don’t want any old stuff right now. I have nothing against the subgenres I’ve indicated I don’t want; I just don’t want to buy books in those genres right now (I have too many as it is at the moment). I want something a little different. Do you have any suggestions? Let me know in the comments or email me at arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com The deadline is tomorrow, the 4th of October, hence why I stated “last minute help” in the title. Thanks in advance!
Brain Freeze: Where to next?
I’ve come to a standstill on this blog. That’s not to say I don’t have anything else to say, just that I’m not sure where to go next. Having now finished the cyberpunk series, I’ve hit a point where I can offer nothing more on punk literature, primarily because I do not know enough about the other movements. Steampunk is something I’ve yet to spend considerable time reading, and all the newer punks (dieselpunk, biopunk, greenpunk, etc.) are either too new to have grown into established subgenres or unfamiliar to me. I also suspect that going on a long tear on capitalism in science fiction, particularly the critique of it, would be of little interest to all of you reading this blog. I do not want to come off as the radical Marxist science fiction guy, because I am not a Marxist by any stretch of the imagination. I simply see between the lines and readily admit that capitalism is like any other system: flawed and easily manipulated by people with “agendas.” But, I like capitalism; when regulated, it is one of the best economic models in existence. Unfortunately, this is getting away from the point of this post. In the course of writing the cyberpunk series, however, I found myself becoming remarkably out of the loop in the SF/F community. I used to have a good idea about the goings on, but it seems that has changed, or I simply find those things that are going on to be rather trite or meaningless. So, this is where I ask all of you a few questions: what are you interested in? What do you want my opinion on, or what do you feel is a pressing issue that needs addressing? Where do you think or want me to go next? I value your opinions and thoughts, which is why I am asking. Yes, this seems like I’m fishing for blogging ideas from all of you, but it is also to help me get a grasp on things that I otherwise would be unable to address. Graduate school and teaching, being what they are, does not lend one excessive amounts of free time for external research. That means, right now, I am focused on my studies, on what I intend to write about for my masters thesis, rather than on what is outside of that narrow world. I’d like you all to inject a bit of chaos into that mix (good chaos; I think I’ve had plenty of bad chaos lately, what with sick animals, broken computers, and all manner of teaching problems filling up the gaps). Push me in new directions. Leave a comment!
Talk Like a Pirate Day: Fast Ships, Black Sails!
Avast! Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day, a day o’ rejoicin’ an’ rum drinkin’ for all pirates everywhere. On such a day we be needin’ to set sail on the high seas to spread the word o’ somethin’ tha pulls us all together with it’s piratey goodness! Cap’in’s Ann and Jeff Vandermeer’s anthology Fast Ships, Black Sails, published by the fine sailors at Night Shade Books and smuggled to all th’ corners o’ the earth by Amazon. The tome, fer those wi’ the cunning t’read it, is packed like a barrel o’salt pork ready fer a month at sea wi’ tales o’ our fine people set in fantastical an’ science fictional places.Fast Ships, Black Sails is penned by a fine collection o’ landlubberly scribes like Kage Baker, an’ Elizabeth Bear. Fine tellers o’ tales they be, some o’ the best! Inside this tome ye can find:“Raising Anchor” – Ann & Jeff VanderMeer“Boojum” – Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” – Naomi Novik“Avast, Abaft!” – Howard Waldrop“I Begyn as I Mean to Go On” – Kage Baker“Castor on Troubled Waters” – Rhys Hughes“Elegy for Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores and Righteous Thieves” – Kelly Barnhill“Skillet and Saber” – Justin Howe“The Nymph’s Child” – Carrie Vaughn“68˚06’N, 31˚40’W” – Conrad Williams“Pirate Solutions” – Katherine Sparrow“We Sleep on a Thousand Waves” – Brendan Connell“Pirates of the Suara Sea” – David Freer & Eric Flint“Voyage of the Iguana” – Steve Aylett“Iron Face” – Michael Moorcock“A Cold Day in Hell” – Paul Batteiger“Captain Blackheart Wentworth” – Rachel Swirsky“The Whale Below” – Jayme Lynn Blaschke“Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoe” – Garth Nix Fine tales, to be sure, from fine scribes, new an’ old. If yer in a piratey mood, pillage yeself some dubloons and buy it. Night Shade Books has some mighty fine tales fer sale, an’ they’re a small press, so buyin’ their tomes helps them keep their ship afloat! So, matey, find yeself a bookseller and hand over those dubloons, or ye might find yerself walkin’ the plank! Arr! (Thank to Capt’n Bourneville fer translatin’ me landlubber speak into th’ true tongue!)
Shameless Advertising
(You know, there are times when I wonder if I don’t have some form of brain disease. I posted this yesterday, but didn’t leave the links for any of you to click. How exactly are you supposed to be nice and friendly and vote/review WISB if you don’t even know where to go? My apologies. This has been corrected!) Because I feel like asking for a little love from you all, I’d like to point you to WISB’s page at Websites For Writers and WISB’s Kindle Page. If you like my blog, pop on over to those sites and give me a vote or a review. Let everyone know how much you like WISB! If you hate my blog, well, then I’d appreciate you telling me what you don’t like, because then I can possibly address the issue. It’s up to you, though. Thanks in advance to anyone who partakes in the shamelessness of this request…