Book Review: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

A sentient salvage ship named Singer and its crew encounter ancient alien technology and evidence of a terrible crime in Ancestral Night, the first volume of Elizabeth Bear’s new space opera series White Space.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

The Gondolier in Klingon

As premiered at WorldCon last week, here's the Klingon translation of The Gondolier, translated by Alan Anderson of the Klingon Language Institute.

bIQtIq pargh bIQ beb jot SIj ra'wI' DujwIj 'et qIj.

qaStaHvIS DIS law' mutoy'chu' Dujvam vaQ.

qaStaHvIS puq poH law' veng bIQtIq tawDaq raQpo'pu' lupmeH luDevta' no'wI' ghopDu' po'.

veng tIQ DungDaq ghIrlI' jul 'ej wovHa'choH chal.

nagh qachmey 'IH jojDaq qoSta' Hurghqu' moj bIQ.

tlhom SuS bIr vItlhuHchu'.

nuqDaq 'IH law' bIQtIq taw vengvam Dun 'IH puS?

QIt verghpu'pa' Duj jIyev 'ej HurghchoHlI'bogh chal vIbej.

muyonmoHbej qo'wIj, Mars.

Review of Planetside Quoted in Spaceside

My copy of Michael Mammay's Spaceside arrived today and, rather excitingly, inside is a quote from my review of his previous book Planetside. Spaceside joins a small shelf of 4 books that contain quotes from me!

A Day at Dublin WorldCon

I’ve driven past the Dublin Convention Centre numerous times while I’ve been in Dublin on business, but this was my first time venturing into the huge glass edifice that features endless zigzagging escalators that seemingly reach for the stars. There were 6000 people expected at WorldCon, which meant it was almost impossible to find anyone you were hoping to bump into at random. The programme was also vast, but I’d downloaded the app to help me keep track of which items I wanted to see and when they were on.


Read the rest of my account at SF Crowsnest.

The Gondolier Display

Here's me, next to a photo of me, next to the display of my story The Gondolier in 42 languages, at WorldCon in Dublin.

Book Review: The Redemption of Time by Baoshu

The Three Body trilogy was an epic tale of alien invasion, stunning large-concept feats of engineering, long-scale social development and tragic tales of the individuals caught up in events beyond their control. It was a cult phenomenon in China when first published and, like many popular books, spawned its own fan fiction.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

The Gondolier Goes to Dublin

Many translations of my very short story The Gondolier have appeared here at The Science of Fiction, and 16 different translations have appeared elsewhere. In two weeks time The Gondolier will take to a new stage at WorldCon in Dublin.

All 42 translations of The Gondolier, including a new language I'm very excited about that will be making its debut, will be appearing in the display area.

I shall be there on the Friday to admire my own work!

Book Review: Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In the very far future, the remnants of mankind live in the city of Shadrapur. It’s a ruin of a city, eking out the leftovers of technology and knowledge as the sun begins to fail overhead. It’s a city whose inhabitants have entered a Vancian age of manners, stratification of society, strange customs and stranger organisations. It’s the settings for a book that soon captivated me and ultimately sealed its place as one of my all-time favourites.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

The Righteous Indignation of the Naked Mole Rat - PodCast!

Book Review: All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

‘Groundhog Day with aliens,’ is how one might describe the Tom Cruise film Edge Of Tomorrow. Based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s novel translated by Alexander O. Smith as All You Need IS Kill, it was an intelligent and entertaining slice of military SF. As you might expect, the film didn’t follow the book exactly, but it did a fair job of reflecting the main ingredients of the plot.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.