Update from Brazil

The Lusiadas website has been updated with more information about their upcoming flash fiction e-anthologies. The Gondolier will be appearing in the Portuguese anthology I Lusiadas and in the Esperanto anthology I Antologio Luzidoj.

Book Reveiw: Wireless by Charles Stross

I stood next to Charles Stross at Eastercon a couple of years ago. He was signing books in the dealer hall. I didn’t know who he was until he walked away and I could see which books he’d signed. At that point I’d not read any of his work, so I was relieved that I’d not spoken to him and had to admit as much. I was very pleased therefore to be reading Wireless, the new short story collection that showcases his work with stories ranging from flash fiction to novella length.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

The Catalan Gondolier

Linguist Jim Morrison has arranged for The Gondolier to be translated into Catalan. You can read and listen to the translation over on his website. This is the 23rd language for The Gondolier, and the first translation you can listen to.

Books I’ve read more than once

The 30th anniversary editions of the Hitchhiker trilogy arrived yesterday, some of the few books that I’ve read more than once. There’s always so much else to read I rarely have time for a second reading. Here’s my list of novels I’ve read more than once.



Three Times

The Last Legionary Quartet – Douglas Hill
The Chronicles of Narnia
Lord of the Rings (age 11, 13 & 15)
The Hobbit “
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy vol. 1-4



Twice

The original 2 Dune trilogies (re-read after reading the prequels)
The original Foundation saga “
Dragonflight – Anne McCaffrey





How about you?

Not Writing

I haven't written any fiction for a week or more. A new job and attempting to finish refurbishing my new house have left me with no time or brain power.

I have managed to finish reading Charles Stross' collection Wireless and written a review for SF Crowsnest. I'm now reading Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles - The Complete Edition (750 pages!). Lined up next I have Interzone #224 and Philip Palmer's Red Claw, plus the latest re-issue of the Hitchhiker trilogy (in 5 parts).

Hopefully, normal writing service will resume shortly...

Comic Art

I've found an artist to work on with my new 2-page comic script. He's working on the rough sketches as we speak, so I should get my first glimpse next week. It's a brilliant feeling to know your ideas are being brought to life this way. :o)

Spanish Dozen

Up To My Neck In It, published last month in Hypersonic Tales, has been accepted by Spanish webzine Aurora Bitzine. No confirmed publication date yet, but this will be my 12th story in Spanish.

Travel to Galicia

My story Travel by Numbers that first appeared in Nature magazine last year has been translated into its fifth language. You can now read it in Galician on the website Nova Fantasia. That's my ninth new language this year.

Friday Flash Fiction: U gondola-pe

If you ask about artificial languages, or constructed, auxiliary or international languages as they're also known, most people will mention Esperanto as the most widely-spoken. There are others with equally long histories too, and each has its advantages. One such is Glosa, known as the most scientific language.

This is the Glosa translation of The Gondolier - its 22nd langauge.

U gondola-pe

Ex Gareth D Jones

U melano nasa de mi gondola ki glisa trans no-turba aqa de plu kanali. U glabronavi fo-funktio tem poli anua. Mode id pa fero plu viagia-pe epi plu aqa-via decivita per plu duce-manu de mi plu pre-parenta.

Intra paleo civita, u heli-kata sti feno u aqa u melano tinta banda inter plueleganti domi ex arena-li. Mi fo-spira u fresko aero de vespera.

Qe ali-lo habe ma kali de u-ci mira civita de plu kanali? Kron u navi kine dulcead id statio, mi pausa te vide ana kon hedo u kresce-skoto urani de Mars.

U fini

Translated by Nick Hempshall

A New Begining

After a week or two of editing, critiquing and researching I have begun work on Gap Years. Current total 1200 words. That's more than 1% complete already. :o)

Meanwhile, my collaborative story with Jonathan C Gillespie is coming on apace. Around 9000 words now and the good thing is it gets longer when I'm not looking!

Two More Languages

Two of my flash fiction stories, The Gondolier and The Emporer's New Forcefield, are to be translated into Portuguese and published in the E-anthology Lusiadas. I'm especially pleased as my previous Portuguese translation never came to light when Phantastes magazine ceased publicacation.

The publishers, Lusiadas Editions, also work in the Esperanto field and are translating The Gondolier into Esperanto too. Not sure yet where that will end up, but this takes The Gondolier to 21 languages.

The Emporer's New Forcefield has also previously been published in Spanish, in Efimeras #134.

End of the Road

That's it. The third and final edit of Roadmaker is complete. All that remains is to polish up the synopsis, which is a bit long and waffly. Then to submit it. I now feel a strange reluctance growing inside me. After all this time and effort do I really want to send it on its way, to risk rejection and misery? It's like your child's first day at school: you know it has to happen, but does it have to be yet?

Book Review: Oceanic by Greg Egan

Greg Egan is well known for his high-concept stories that extrapolate the future of humanity to extremes of biology, technology and time. His ability to wield maths and physics as literary tools is unparalleled. In the collection ‘Oceanic’ he demonstrates both of these attributes while continuing to create interesting characters who help us to comprehend the incomprehensible. Twelve stories previously published in ‘Asimov’s’ and ‘Interzone’ among others make up this sturdy volume.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Murky Depths #9

Opening the envelope is always a treat when ‘Murky Depths’ arrives. I sat for several minutes just inhaling the odour. The fabulous wraparound cover by Leonardo M Giron takes several minutes of looking to pick out all the detail he’s crammed in. The art is based on Richard Calder’s graphic novel ‘Dead Girls’, which features in a couple of articles too, before we’re treated to the opening chapter of the novel. The artwork for the comic, again by Leonardo M Giron, is beautifully drawn and highly evocative, the characters’ expressions and attitudes captured with remarkable realism.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Book Review: Fragment by Warren Fahy

When a boat-load of reality TV scientists arrive at remote Henders Island, they discover an ecosystem from their nightmares. Isolated for aeons, the life forms they discover are stranger than any aliens and are potently inimical to the rest of terrestrial life. Warren Fahy has done his homework on the subject and ‘Fragment’ is packed out with anatomical detail and plausible-sounding scientific theories to explain the fantastic creatures. This academic detail, though, is just one aspect of a fascinating book.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #223

Following on from the Chris Beckett special a few issues back, issue #223 of ‘Interzone’ focuses on long-serving contributor Dominic Green. He features in the editorial, an interview and bibliography along with three of his stories. I think this is a nice feature, focusing on authors who have become a part of ‘Interzone’ history and I hope to see others featured in the future.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.