New UK-Based Podcast

While searching through Duotropes this week I came across a new audio fiction podcaster I'd not seen before. CossMass Infinities is a UK-based science fiction and fantasy podcast that pays for submissions, one story per month. They started in January, so I've missed them for six months. I've had three stories podcast so far - one in Catalan and two in English, but both with American accents. It would be interesting to hear one of my stories, particularly one with a British setting, read with a British accent.

I submitted four stories to four different podcasts this week - including CossMass Infinities.

Cornish Translation Coming

The publishers of An Garrak, the magazine for learners of Cornish, have been in touch. They are now planning to publish the Cornish translation of The Gondolier in their new newsletter Te Ha Tasednow. I'm hoping to see that some time this year.

Stalker Awards Anounced

The results of Estonia's Stalker awards have been anounced. My story Travel By Numbers, translated for Algernon magazine by Juhan Habicht had been nominated in the 'Best Translated Story' catagory. It was voted joint 16th, out of 49 contenders. I'm very pleased with this as it's my first nomination for anything. :o)

The winner of the catagory was Charles Stross, and many of the others were translations from French or Russian whose names I didn't recognise.

Cat Tales Contributor Copies

After some time lost on the Atlantic, my contributor copies of Cat Tales 2: Fantastic Feline Fiction have arrived. My 100 word story Delayed Reaction is the shortest in the anthology, though there are a few short poems too.

Steampunk Story Sale

My retro-future-steampunkish story World Wire Web has been accepted by internationally renowned scientific journal Nature. This is my second sale to that august magazine, and my fouth professional sale.

I'm pretty chuffed.

Steampunk Shaping Up

The contributors to The Immersion Book of Steampunk are begining to sign up. We have an exciting selection of professional authors, novelists, up and coming authors, steampunk enthusiasts and everything in between. I can't as yet confirm who exactly will be involved, but when you find out I hope you'll be as thrilled as I am.

Book Review: The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang

The development of artificial intelligence has been dealt with numerous times before and often used as a fait accompli in science fiction. In The Lifecycle Of Software Objects we are taken on a journey through the process of just how this could happen – the development not just of the software and technology to make an AI a reality, but the process of teaching a piece of software instead of programming it, of allowing it to grow and develop, to nurture it like a child.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Book Review: New Model Army by Adam Roberts

The biggest triumph of Adam Roberts’ new novel ‘New Model Army’ is that he has written a literary and engrossing book despite the narrator.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Book Review: Hard-Luck Diggings by Jack Vance

Before I start I should point out that Jack Vance is one of my favourite authors, with his novels The Blue World and Night Lamp counted among my favourites. I love the way he wrote – the formal yet flowery language, the fabulous descriptive work and exotic cultures – so I was very excited to receive Hard-Luck Diggings. This is a collection of early Jack Vance stories from the 40s and 50s presented chronologically. I don’t recall ever having read any of his short stories before, so I was interested to see what editors Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan had put together. I had high hopes for the book, which always leads to the worry that I might be let down.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Reading Queue

For Review:

Coming up any day now ill be my reviews of Hard Luck Diggings by Jack Vance and New Model Army by Adam Roberts. I've also read Ted Chiang's Lifecycle of Software Objects and I've just finished Ian R MacLeod's anthology Journeys. Reviews of both of these will be appearing at some point. Lined up next I have Absorption by John Meaney.


Not for Review:

I've recently read Stormqueen! which is one of two remaining Darkover books by Marion Zimmer Bradley that I've not read. It's one of those series that I've been reading on and off for two decades. Just Hawkmistress to track down. Earlier this month I read Patriarch's Hope, David Feintuch's penultimate novel in the Hope saga. Just Children of Hope to get hold of. Last week I read Extro, one of only 2 books by Alfred Bester that I've read. The other was the faboulous classic The Stars My Destination aka Tiger, Tiger. Extro was much more dated, in attitude and stereotyping more than technology. Next up is The Early Asimov, Volume 1, several years after reading volumes 2 & 3, then Jack Vance's Showboat World, one of the few remaining Vance novels I have yet to read. I'm trying to spread them out so there's always another to look forward to.

I really need a bigger bookshelf.