October reading
Books:
*** In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent
Stories:
*** "The Last Apostle" by Michael Cassutt
** "Camp Nowhere" by Kit Reed
*** "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black
** "Saturn in G Major" by Stephen Katowych
*** "SinBad the Sand Sailor" by R. Garcia y Robertson
**** "Sleepless in the House of Ye" by Ian McHugh
**** "Digging for Paradise" by Ian Creasey
** "Under a Closed Sky" by C. J. Paget
** "It's All in the Making" by Patricia B. Cirone
*** "Spar" by Kij Johnson
**** "Holly and Iron" by Garth Nix
**** "Shoes-to-Run" by Sara Genge
*** "Earth II" by Stephen Baxter
**** "Great, Golden Wings" by Rachel Swirsky
**** "The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka
***** "Shadow of Turning" by Joan L. Savage
*** "By the Waters of the Ganga" by Stephen Gaskell
** "For Want of Chocolate" by J. F. Lewis
** "Hunting Lodge" by Jon C. Crusoe
*** "The Qualia Engine" by Damien Broderick
*** "Creatures of Well-Defined Habits" by Robert Reed
**** "Pilgimage" by Karl Bunker
**** "Wizard's Six" by Alex Irvine
** "Blue" by Derek Zumsteg
***** "The Consciousness Problem" by Mary Robinette Kowal
Quick Takes:
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent: a readable jaunt through the history of invented languages (ideas and personalities) from the 1600s to the present. Alas (for me) the focus is almost entirely on auxiliary languages, with fictional languages a la Tolkien relegated to an afterthought.
"Sleepless in the House of Ye" by Ian McHugh (Asimov's): inventive exobiology takes this tale out of the ordinary.
"Holly and Iron" by Garth Nix (Wizards): The sword in the stone, the Norman conquest, and a bit of Robin Hood thrown in for good measure, all wrapped up in magic. Great read!
"The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka (The Best SF and Fantasy of the Year, vol.2): inventive alternate-history anthropology story.
"Shadow of Turning" by Joan L. Savage (IGMS): Intense and thought-provoking tale of a man in in search of his son, and of the strange magic that binds him.
"The Qualia Engine" by Damien Broderick (Asimov's) disappointed me - although nicely written, it seems to miss the mark with respect to the philosophical concept of qualia that is its apparent theme.
"The Consciousness Problem" by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov's), on the other hand, goes straight at the core of the philosophical issue at the heart of the story. Superbly thought provoking, and unsettling.
My ratings:
***** excellent: memorable, satisfying, a pleasure to read
**** very good: well written, good read
*** good: readable, engaging, but not very memorable or exciting for me
** sub-par: a rough read, I found it flawed or just uninteresting to me
* huh? someone published this?
My ratings are part objective appraisal of the writing, part unapologetic personal preference (certain subjects and subgenres just don't appeal to me as much as others)
*** In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent
Stories:
*** "The Last Apostle" by Michael Cassutt
** "Camp Nowhere" by Kit Reed
*** "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black
** "Saturn in G Major" by Stephen Katowych
*** "SinBad the Sand Sailor" by R. Garcia y Robertson
**** "Sleepless in the House of Ye" by Ian McHugh
**** "Digging for Paradise" by Ian Creasey
** "Under a Closed Sky" by C. J. Paget
** "It's All in the Making" by Patricia B. Cirone
*** "Spar" by Kij Johnson
**** "Holly and Iron" by Garth Nix
**** "Shoes-to-Run" by Sara Genge
*** "Earth II" by Stephen Baxter
**** "Great, Golden Wings" by Rachel Swirsky
**** "The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka
***** "Shadow of Turning" by Joan L. Savage
*** "By the Waters of the Ganga" by Stephen Gaskell
** "For Want of Chocolate" by J. F. Lewis
** "Hunting Lodge" by Jon C. Crusoe
*** "The Qualia Engine" by Damien Broderick
*** "Creatures of Well-Defined Habits" by Robert Reed
**** "Pilgimage" by Karl Bunker
**** "Wizard's Six" by Alex Irvine
** "Blue" by Derek Zumsteg
***** "The Consciousness Problem" by Mary Robinette Kowal
Quick Takes:
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent: a readable jaunt through the history of invented languages (ideas and personalities) from the 1600s to the present. Alas (for me) the focus is almost entirely on auxiliary languages, with fictional languages a la Tolkien relegated to an afterthought.
"Sleepless in the House of Ye" by Ian McHugh (Asimov's): inventive exobiology takes this tale out of the ordinary.
"Holly and Iron" by Garth Nix (Wizards): The sword in the stone, the Norman conquest, and a bit of Robin Hood thrown in for good measure, all wrapped up in magic. Great read!
"The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmatka (The Best SF and Fantasy of the Year, vol.2): inventive alternate-history anthropology story.
"Shadow of Turning" by Joan L. Savage (IGMS): Intense and thought-provoking tale of a man in in search of his son, and of the strange magic that binds him.
"The Qualia Engine" by Damien Broderick (Asimov's) disappointed me - although nicely written, it seems to miss the mark with respect to the philosophical concept of qualia that is its apparent theme.
"The Consciousness Problem" by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov's), on the other hand, goes straight at the core of the philosophical issue at the heart of the story. Superbly thought provoking, and unsettling.
My ratings:
***** excellent: memorable, satisfying, a pleasure to read
**** very good: well written, good read
*** good: readable, engaging, but not very memorable or exciting for me
** sub-par: a rough read, I found it flawed or just uninteresting to me
* huh? someone published this?
My ratings are part objective appraisal of the writing, part unapologetic personal preference (certain subjects and subgenres just don't appeal to me as much as others)
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