Tag Archives: fantasy
Dark Fantasies
Tonight’s post is a review of another short story collection by Misha Burnett, Dark Fantasies. It contains stories set in fantasy worlds inspired by HP Lovecraft, Ancient Rome, medieval Europe, and 1930s/40s America. I didn’t read the first two stories, “A Hill of Stars” and “In the Gloaming O My Darling”, as I had read […]
Bad Dreams and Broken Hearts
Bad Dreams and Broken Hearts is a collection of related short stories by Misha Burnett. I’ve been a fan of Misha’s writing for a while, so I knew up front that I’d enjoy this. The stories all follow Erik Rugar, a detective who investigates magical crimes for the city government. I imagined the setting as […]
Short Story News
Today, I have a few links to outside content for you. The most important is a call for submissions from Misha Burnett for a new anthology titled “Young Dragons”. This is a unique opportunity if you are a new or aspiring fantasy author, as stories are only being accepted from authors who haven’t been published […]
Thinking about RPGs
This isn’t a post about Rocket-Propelled Grenades – I’ve been thinking about RolePlaying Games lately. The post will be a bit about my personal life, a bit about old-school roleplaying games, and a bit about more modern games. If my readers don’t tell me to shut up because this is a boring topic, I’ll […]
Magazines! Get Yer Red Hot Magazines!
Issue Five of StoryHack is now out in both Kindle and Print versions. This issue includes a story written by me! I hope you’ll all buy the issue and try to guess which story I wrote. Leave me a comment if you have a guess. I’m really proud to be in the same magazine as […]
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, issues 36 and 37
Before I get to the HFQ stories, it’s time for another installment in the Saga of the Four Apes: Sam got a tip from a mole in the AEAA (Agency for Exploitation of Animal Abilities) that the Bad Guys were planning to use a Fedex distribution center for some dastardly purpose. So, we cover our […]
StoryHack, Issue Four
StoryHack, Issue Four I’ve been enjoying StoryHack magazine, and it’s a top contender to win my magazine quest once I’ve written all the second and third issue reviews and tallied the final scores. I’ve written posts about StoryHack Issue Zero and some of my favorite stories from Issues Two and Three. I’ll write full reviews […]
Cirsova issue #5
Cirsova #5 Issue 5 of Cirsova is mostly devoted to stories set in “Eldritch Earth”, a setting written by Misha Burnett in “A Hill of Stars”, which was in the first issue of Cirsova. It appears that many authors were as interested in the setting as I was, since they decided to write stories taking […]
Green-Eyed Monster
Green-Eyed Monster I’ve finally gotten a break in my road travel schedule (good for my health, but bad for my career prospects, since my driving is to job interviews these days), so I’m giving the audiobooks a rest and doing some good old-fashioned reading with my eyeballs. Well, not all that old-fashioned, since I’m using […]
Vote for the best stories of 2018
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
Vote for the best stories of 2018 If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2018 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois Bujold Kakerlacs by Alexandru Constantin Mortu and Kyrus in…
Hack Those Stories!
There are only a few hours left to nominate stories for the 2018 Planetary Awards, so it’s time for me to get my short story nomination in. I have a potentially career-changing event happening tomorrow, which is good, but it means I don’t have much time to devote to tonight’s post. I originally wanted to […]
100 Fathoms Below
Tomorrow is the deadline to nominate for the Planetary Awards, so I’m making my nomination for best novel of 2018 tonight, and I’ll try to do a short story nomination tomorrow. If I had to nominate the book which I had the most fun reading, I’d nominate Monster Hunter Memoirs : Saints. But, I’m not […]
Smoke Eaters
This is my second brief post about reading for the Planetary Awards. The February 14th deadline is almost here, so don’t forget to make your own nominations. Yesterday, I posted about Embers of War and why it wouldn’t get my nomination. Today, I’m posting about Smoke Eaters and why it won’t, either. Firefighters versus dragons […]
A Last-Minute Contender
Last week, I posted a list of 2018 books I’m thinking of reading, looking for something I can nominate as the best book of the year. I’ve just noticed that a book which I thought had been released in January was actually published on December 31st, 2018. The book is Voyage of the Lanternfish, by […]
Extra Reading from 2018
It’s time to nominate your favorite 2018 stories for the Planetary Awards, where book bloggers choose the best books and short stories of the year. I’ve realized that I read very few 2018 books during 2018, so now I’m scrambling to read some more. (This seems to be an annual event for me.) Here are […]
Television: Ghosted
Frequent readers of this blog know that I’ve been watching less and less TV every year, as I find fewer and fewer programs that interest me. But, in one of those late-night moments where I was too tired to do any work, but not tired enough to go to bed, I browsed my cable company’s […]
Magazine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, round 2
I’m out in the desert again, this time to talk to an old guy who, it is said, is the wisest of all the wise men. His run-down trailer says “meth lab” more than “wise man”, but I figure that’s just part of his marketing shtick. I remind myself of this again when he opens […]
Vacation Reading 2018
My wife and I recently returned from a hiking trip to Patagonia and the Andes. I’ll try to do a vacation post later (although I still haven’t posted about last year’s vacation…), but today’s post is about the books I read on the flights there and back. This year, I decided to read books written […]
Magazine: Fantasy Scroll issue #11
Fantasy Scroll Magazine, issue #11 My doorbell chimed, and I opened my front door to find an enormous, bright-red dragon blocking my entire field of view. The dragon puffed smoke from its nostrils and reached out with a talon to poke me in the chest. “So, dragonslayer, the tables have turned. How does it feel […]
Magazine: Cirsova #4
Cirsova #4 Cirsova’s fourth issue isn’t part of my magazine quest/contest, but I decided this would be a good time to blog about it. Cirsova launched a Kickstarter campaign recently, covering issues 9 and 10, and a friend of the editor is doing a Gofundme fundraiser to cover some unexpected veterinary bills. Lately, my job hasn’t left […]
Magazine: Astounding Frontiers #2
Astounding Frontiers, Issue #2 With its second issue, Astounding Frontiers moved almost entirely to a serial-story format. I’ve seen very few serious attempts to bring back serials, so it will be interesting to see how this magazine does. I don’t think it’s fair to compare episodes of a serial to stand-alone short stories, so I […]
Dealer gets 21
Sadly, this won’t be a story about a dangerous gambling experience in a mafia-owned casino. It’s just another blog post about my short stories being rejected by magazines and anthologies. I received my twenty-first rejection last month. I know, some of you authors are laughing and saying “I got twenty-one rejections last week”. My progress […]
Magazine: Cirsova, issues #2 and #3
The hospital room isn’t clean enough for Heaven, but not dirty enough for Hell, so I guess I’m still alive. I close my eyes again and sleep. When I wake up, the captain is there, showing his badge to the nurses and telling them he won’t stay too long. He sits in a chair next […]
Magazine: Red Sun, issues #2 and #3
I warm up the temporal transporter and double-check the contents of the box I’m sending. If I can get my collection of Red Sun magazine into the hands of the right person at the right moment in history, I might end bad science fiction forever. Red lights flash and a klaxon sounds, warning of an […]
2017 Winners
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
The 2017 results are in: The winner for best shorter story is “The First American” by Schuyler Hernstrom. The story is in issue #5 of Cirsova Magazine. This follows Hernstrom’s victory for best shorter story of 2016. The winner for best novel is Legionnaire (Galaxy’s Edge) by Jason Anspach and Nick…
Vote for the best stories of 2017
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2017 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas “Acadie” by Dave Hutchinson “The Bitten Body” by AC Spahn “Death on the Moon” by Spencer Hart, found in Cirsova issue…
Side Quest: from Underbridge to Goodnight Moons
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six OK, I didn’t have good luck with the first nine stories in this collection, or the next ten, but here are the last twelve anyway: Underbridge by Peter Beagle. A troll statue eats small animals and, eventually, people. Relic by Jeffrey Ford. A story about a […]
Side Quest: from Malak to After the Apocalypse
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six I didn’t have good luck with the first nine stories from this collection, but I’m sure that was just nine anomalies in a row. Here are the next ten: Malak by Peter Watts. A drone develops (or gets programmed with, I can’t remember) a conscience, […]
Side Quest, attempt #2
Last year, I announced my side quest to read several “best of” collections and see whether any of them were worth reading through the years. My first attempt was a disaster. Check out the wrap-up post. For attempt #2, I’m reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six. Here are my takes […]
MidSouthCon 36
Last Sunday, my wife and I made a last-minute decision to drive to Memphis, TN and catch the final day of MidSouthCon. We had to work Friday and Saturday, and because Memphis is a couple hours of driving each way, and we didn’t have a dog-sitter, we only had a few hours at the con. […]
Review (part II): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee In part I of my review, I wrote about the publisher’s deceptive marketing. Jade City is slow-paced, not a kung-fu action fest as promised. But, if you enjoy worldbuilding and character-building, Jade City could be right up your alley. The story is set in a fictional Asian island nation, Kekon, […]
Review (part I): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee I enjoyed “Jade City”, and wish I could jump right into telling you why I enjoyed it, but … first, I think I need to talk about the elephant in the room: the publisher’s deceptive marketing. The book was promoted as “The Godfather” crossed with a kung fu action flick. […]
2017 Planetary Award Nominees
The reblog function on WordPress has been broken for several days, so I’m cutting and pasting the nominees below. If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, and would like to cast a vote, go to the Planetary Awards Site. Nominees for Best Short Story or Novella: “Acadie” by Dave Hutchinson “The Bitten Body” by AC […]
Review/Nomination: Kings of the Wyld
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames Kings of the Wyld is about bands of mercenaries, with the modern concept of musical bands thrown in: the mercenary bands are small (four or five people), and have fans and booking agents. The primary characters are the older members of a band which broke up long ago, […]
More Charts and Tables!
How’s that for a clickbait title? It’s a mystery why internet marketing firms aren’t flooding me with high-paying job offers and consulting gigs. I’ve realized that in my hurry to look at the stories in my 49 ranked magazines broken down by genre, by nation, by gender, and by pay, I didn’t present the entire […]
Are they getting their money’s worth?
It would be reasonable to assume that magazines which pay more for their stories end up with higher-quality material to publish. I decided to plot my ratings of short stories in 49 ranked magazines against the cents per word paid for them. I was only able to use 299 out of 365 stories, as some […]
Gender Breakdown
Let’s break down the stories in my 49 ranked magazines by the author’s gender. Gender Avg Stars (5 max) # of stories Avg Wordcount Unknown 2.88 4 3,982 Male 2.79 217 4,342 Female 2.46 138 4,406 Indeterminate 2.42 6 3,667 “Unknown” means that the author used initials so I couldn’t guess at their gender, and […]
National Breakdown
Now, let’s break down the stories in the 49 magazines by the author’s nationality. I couldn’t always find this information, and I’ve left out countries which only had one data point. Here’s what’s left: Nation Avg Stars (5 max) # of stories Avg Wordcount Australia 3.08 18 5,513 South Africa 2.83 3 3,660 New Zealand […]
Genre Breakdown
It’s time to look at the stories in my forty-nine ranked magazines by genre. First, let’s see if editors prefer one genre over another. I removed magazines which were only science fiction or only fantasy, and came up with the following breakdown: Genre # of stories % of stories Science Fiction 120 41.0% Modern-Day Fantasy […]
Five Star System
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be writing at least four posts discussing the results from the first round of my magazine quest. They will reference the ratings from one to five that I gave individual stories. So that you’ll have some perspective, I decided to describe what the different star ratings mean […]
49 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Magazines Ranked from Best to Worst
In my last post, I explained why I’ve cut off my first round of magazine reviews at 49, and described my ranking method. So, on to the results, giving my first issue of each magazine an Olympic-style score from 10 to 1: [WARNING: Do not go to the website of Red Sun Magazine, as its […]
DingDingDing!
That’s the bell signalling the end of round one of my magazine quest. I initially thought I’d only review twelve SFF magazines, but that number ballooned to forty-nine. I decided forty-nine was an appropriate stopping point, as my search for great stories has been like that of the 49ers who searched for gold in the […]
Thoughts on best SFF short story of 2017
Earlier this week, I posted my thoughts on the best novel of 2017, and now its time for short stories. I’ve been reading lots of them lately, wrapping up round one of my magazine quest, reading for rounds two and three, and working on another reading project that I’ll announce when the magazine quest finishes. […]
Thoughts on best SFF novel of 2017
It’s time for my annual realization that while I read many books in 2017, I read very few novels that were released in 2017. I generally read a non-fiction book for every work of fiction I read, and my fiction reading tends to jump around the years and decades. So, it’s time for me to […]
Magazine: Diabolical Plots
You’ve probably heard me mention the submissions grinder website before, as that’s where I found the majority of the magazines I’ve reviewed. It’s an excellent tool for short story authors, as it will list magazines that are currently accepting submissions of a story’s genre and length. Also, if you log your submissions there, it will […]
Podcast: The Overcast
The Overcast is a podcast, based in the Pacific Northwest, which puts out a short story every two weeks or so. It must be as rainy as they say in that part of the country, as there are approximately one gigazillion podcasts there which have named themselves “The Overcast”. I haphazardly selected seven stories from […]
Podcast: The Drabblecast
The Drabblecast is a podcast which puts out a short story every week. Their tagline is “strange stories, by strange authors, for strange listeners”, and they deliver. I listened to five of their stories, and four of them are probably the weirdest stories I’ve read during my magazine quest. (The fifth was a fairly conventional […]
Magazine: Just a Minor Malfunction, issue #3
Just a Minor Malfunction, issue #3 Short Stories Left to Her Own Devices by James Armer. A spaceship AI downloads its personality into a robot body, so it can explore a moon when the ship and its human passengers leave. A fresh copy of the AI is left on the spaceship without the developed personality. Day […]
Early Christmas Present
Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! I was trying to decide what to get all of you for Christmas, but it turns out the only thing you have in common is that you like to read a sci-fi book blog written by a grouchy old man. (My wife informs me that I’m not that old, but they […]
Magazine: Empyreome, issue #3
Empyreome, issue #3 Short Stories Quest for the Silver Shard by Adam O’Connell. A story about some fairy/pixie creatures, with a death by lawnmower at the end. Oscars on the Rue Jules Verne by L Chan. A human actress leads some mole-people in combat, because the mole-people need pheromone signals from queens, but mole-people queens are too […]
Magazine: Stupefying Stories, March 2017
Stupefying Stories, March 2017 Short Stories I Live the Warrior’s Life by Robert Russell. An engaging story with an abrupt mid-story ending. So, an engaging half of a story, I guess. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, where the apocalypse was caused by an Indian shaman unleashing spirits. The spirits don’t kill Amerindians. This is Not When […]
Magazine: Outposts of Beyond, July 2017
Outposts of Beyond, July 2017 (note that the linked item at Amazon has an incorrect cover image) You may have noticed that my last few magazine reviews did not have intro stories. I’m trying to wrap up round one of my magazine quest (which, I’ve just realized, began in late 2015) by the end of the […]
Magazine: Strange Horizons
Strange Horizons is not a magazine in the traditional sense, with monthly or quarterly issues. It’s a website with weekly issues, each containing one short story along with other types of content, such as poetry, articles, and reviews. I selected roughly a month’s worth of issues, from March 20 to April 17 of this year. […]
Magazine: Lyonesse Volume 1
Lyonesse, Volume 1 Lyonesse is another magazine in the superversive tradition, which I mentioned in my review of Astounding Frontiers. Unlike Astounding Frontiers, Lyonesse has open submissions periods, so if you’ve written some superversive fiction, this could be a home for it. There are two ways to read Lyonesse: you can subscribe and receive […]
Magazine: Broadswords and Blasters, issue #2
Broadswords and Blasters, issue #2 Broadswords and Blasters describes itself as “a pulp magazine with modern sensibilities.” By pulp, I’m assuming they mean that they publish both genres, action and adventure. (I stole that line from the editor of a competing magazine, Storyhack.) By modern sensibilities, I believe they mean stories featuring heroes who […]
Magazine: Astounding Frontiers #1
Astounding Frontiers, issue #1 Astounding Frontiers is a magazine put out by Superversive Press. “Superversive” is the name of a recent literary movement you may not be familiar with. This quote from author L Jagi Lamplighter serves as a nice, quick summary: You know how subversive means to change something by undermining from below? […]
Magazine: Lontar, issue #6
Lontar, the Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, Issue #6 Lontar is, as far as I know, Singapore’s only SFF magazine. Like many regional SFF magazines, it is supported by a government grant. [Update: the magazine has lost its government grant and is now attempting to fund its final two issues through Patreon.] The magazine […]
NaNoWriMo wrap-up
November’s over, and I achieved my NaNoWriMo goal of 30 novels in 30 days. I posted about my first 17 novels earlier, here are the remaining 13: Running Ragged — A street urchin witnesses a crime in an illegal drug lab, and goes on the run from the perpetrators. Can’t Eat This — A prototype android responds to […]
Magazine: Daily Science Fiction
I stuff more shotgun shells into my backpack. A reliable source tells me that where I’m going, there are more trolls than I “can shake a stick at.” I’d prefer a more quantitative estimate, but that does sound like a lot of trolls. I have no idea what kills trolls, so I’ve spent weeks hand-loading […]
Thanksgiving Side Quest
I hope all of my readers in the USA had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was almost identical to last year’s semi-traditional Thanksgiving. The last relatives I had in this area have moved away, and my wife and I couldn’t travel for various reasons, but especially since she recently took a job at a retailer, so […]
Vacation Reading
On Sunday, I returned from a two-week vacation (My last couple of posts were set up to run automatically while I was away). I’ll eventually do an off-topic post with vacation pics, but I’m a bit weak thanks to catching a virus or something on the flight home, plus some pre-vacation injuries, so I’m doing […]
21st-Century SFF Publishers
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’ve been struggling to find good science-fiction stories in magazines. Although I haven’t blogged about longer fiction lately, I also have trouble finding good sci-fi and fantasy novels. I normally don’t pay any attention to a book’s publisher. I usually decide what to read based on […]
I’m a sixth-rate writer, at best
I recently received another rejection for my AI vs. Aliens story. This one was from L Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest. Before I entered, I knew the contest was kind of a big deal, but I didn’t realize it was a REALLY BIG DEAL. A number of sites I’ve read since submitting have […]
Side Quest: from The Choice to The Ice Owl
This is the first post in my Side Quest, where I read collections of the “best” sci-fi/fantasy stories from 2011. Here’s my take on the first 10 stories: The Choice by Paul McAuley. While Paul McAuley would appear to be a mild-mannered author, apparently at night he fights crime as CAPTAIN INFODUMP. Seriously, if you […]
Magazine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Tonight’s intro story is a continuation of my last intro story, which was a continuation of the previous intro story. Heck, maybe you should just read the entire Four Apes Saga from the beginning. Herman is the first to break the standoff. He charges into Balto’s tank, cracking it open, spilling the whale out and […]
Something Fishy at Strange Horizons?
Long-term readers of this blog will know that I’ve been searching for the best SFF magazine to subscribe to. That search (still in progress) led me to submit a couple of my own SFF stories to magazines. I received a form rejection last weekend, from Strange Horizons. Rejection isn’t surprising, as I’m not claiming that […]
Side Quest
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I sent myself on a magazine quest to find the best SFF magazine, and ultimately subscribe to it. When I began my quest, I thought I’d review a dozen magazines. I’ve already reviewed 32 magazines here, and I’ve discovered so many others that […]
Magazine: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #32
Tonight’s intro story is a continuation of my previous Four Apes intro story: … Ape-proof steel doors slam shut across the exits, trapping us inside. I scan the upper walls and ceiling until I spot a security camera, then face it. “Quit screwing around, Director. The Bad Guys are up to some bad stuff, and you […]
Ichabod Brooks
Ichabod Brooks is a character written by fantasy author and fellow blogger Charles Yallowitz. He’s a monster-hunter who’s been around the block a few times and knows the monster-hunting game inside and out. Ichabod Brooks is, I mean. I have no first-hand knowledge of Charles Yallowitz’s monster-hunting credentials. I’ve only read the first short story […]
Magazine: Storyhack, issue zero
Storyhack, issue zero On the Fourth of July, I feel it’s my patriotic duty to write another Four Apes intro story: Traffic around the Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington DC slows to a crawl, as drivers gawk at the Eight Apes on the sidewalk outside. Samantha looks into my eyes. “We don’t have to go […]
For Steam and Country
For Steam and Country Fellow blogger Jon Del Arroz recently released his first steampunk novel, For Steam and Country. I haven’t read it yet, so this post won’t be a review. (I will point out that there must be some humor in it, as one of the characters is named Baron Von Monocle.) I’ve only […]
Magazine: Leading Edge, Issue 68
Leading Edge, Issue 68 The Saga of the Four Apes continues: Fu, Herman, Bobo, and I move quietly through the construction site, sticking to the nighttime shadows. We know the bad guys have some connection to this piece of real estate, but don’t know the details. We freeze when an attractive young woman steps from […]
Review of The River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Originally posted on Every Day Should Be Tuesday:
The River of Teeth has a killer concept. It riffs off a cockamamie scheme to deal with invasive vegetation and a meat shortage in America by importing hippos en masse. In Gailey’s world, Congress went forward with the scheme (at a slightly different time than proposed), and…
Magazine: Phantaxis Nov 2016
Phantaxis Nov 2016 The following intro story will confuse you if you haven’t read my spaghetti western intro story: My phone rings, waking me up at 5AM on a Saturday. Resisting the urge to throw it against the wall, I answer it. “You better have a good reason for calling.” “Oh, I do indeed, sir. […]
Mini-Review: Snapshot
Snapshot Snapshot is a novella-length story, roughly two and a half hours of audiobook, which I’m estimating would make it about 80 pages long if it were offered as a paperback (ebook and audio are the only current options). Although Brandon Sanderson has published many books through the big houses, he chose to self-publish this […]
Magazine: Kzine #16
Kzine issue 16 I’m one of three gunfighters in a Mexican standoff, arranged in a triangle. Our only spectator in this western ghost town is an unarmed flute player, watching from the roof of the saloon. He plays his instrument. Tootely toot … toot toot toot. To my left is my nemesis, Talking Chicken. She […]
Planetary Award Winners – 2016
The winners of the 2016 Planetary Awards have been announced. The winning short story was “Athan and the Priestess” from the collection Thune’s Vision by Schuyler Hernstrom. I’ve purchased a copy, and I’ll review it once I’ve read the entire book. I’ve only read the winning story so far, but I enjoyed it. I found it very Conan-esque, […]
SFF Magazine News
I don’t have time to write up a magazine review (or a silly intro story) this week, but I thought I’d mention some news concerning two of the magazines which are competing for the top spot in my magazine quest. Red Sun Magazine’s third issue is out. I haven’t read it yet, but it looks […]
Magazine: Deep Magic Aug 2016
Deep Magic, August 2016 I’m on the record as disliking prequels, but for today’s intro story, I decided to write a Four Apes prequel anyway: — The Assistant Director only makes me wait twenty minutes outside his office, so I know there’s a crisis. He motions for me to sit. “We’re shutting down your program.” […]
Magazine: Nonlocal #2
Nonlocal issue #2 I help the other castaways push the raft into the ocean. It’s a big raft that took us an entire week to build — we used the wood from the signaling tower that I’d pulled down the week before, waving too enthusiastically to a passing cruise liner. The others gasp, scream, and […]
Magazine: On Spec #102
On Spec #102 I don’t normally work for cartels, but my magazine quest is getting expensive, and this cartel doesn’t pay in worthless dollars — it pays in cold, hard maple syrup. One of the cartel bosses lays out the problem he wants me to take care of, but I don’t speak French, so I just […]
Magazine: Space and Time, issue 125
Space and Time Magazine, issue 125 A steward shows me onto the cruise ship’s bridge and introduces me to the Captain, who reaches out to shake my hand. “You’re that science journalist I’ve been hearing so much about.” “Science-fiction book-blogger, actually. I’ve heard your ship’s library has a copy of Space and Time Magazine that I’d […]
Coming soon to a PDC near you
In early January, many bloggers posted their plans for the coming year. I’m just getting around to it now – that should tell you what kind of a year I’ve been having. Here’s a list of things I hope to do in 2017. I’ll place a poll below, so you can tell me which ones actually […]
Vote for the best stories of 2016
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
We’re expanding the voting pool for the awards this year, so read this entire post to find out if YOU are eligible to vote. But first, here are the 2016 stories nominated by book bloggers across the internet: Short Stories / Novellas “Athan and the Priestess” by Schuyler Hernstrom, found in…
My 2016 Planetary Award Nominations
I’ve posted my thoughts about 2016 short stories, 2016 novels, and 2016 indie reading. Many of the stories I mentioned could have been #1, but it’s time for me to quit being indecisive and pick my nominees for the Planetary Awards. Short Story For best short story, I’m choosing “Paper Cut” by Aeryn Rudel. It was published in […]
Award Thoughts – Indie Reading
I’ve already posted my award thoughts concerning short stories, and the better novels I read last year. At the start of 2017, I made an effort to read some self-published books (and a couple of traditionally-published I hadn’t gotten to) to see if they might be worth nominating for best SFF book of the year. (I […]
Submit Your 2016 Nominations
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
Happy New Year — it’s time to nominate your favorite science fiction and fantasy writing for the 2016 Planetary Awards. We’re doing only two categories this year: Shorter story (under 40,000 words/160 paperback pages) Longer story (novels) If you’re a book blogger, book podcaster, or booktuber, the nomination process is…
Magazine: Plasma Frequency Q1 2016
Plasma Frequency My buddy Jack says he can get me a copy of Plasma Frequency Magazine. Well, he says he knows “a guy who knows a guy.” I’m at his house, helping him set up for a coworker’s surprise 70th birthday/retirement party. We lift an over-sized paper cake from the back of his truck, and […]
Magazine: Uncanny #8
Uncanny #8 I’m walking through a library, searching for a magazine, but I can’t seem to find one. Stuffed cats wearing hats and boots sit on the shelves of one aisle. Climbers in dark clothing move up the empty shelves of another. I avert my eyes from the next aisle, as a man and woman […]
Magazine: Grimdark #8
Grimdark Magazine #8 When I was a child, I passed my neighbor’s house every day while walking home from school. He would often be sitting on his front porch, tying his shoes, and would wave or say hello to me. I remember one day that was different from all the others: “Hi, Billy. I hope […]
Halloween Cat
To get you ready for Halloween, here’s a picture of Halloween Cat: I did a lot of my marine biology work on a small island off the coast of Catfish City. The island has a population of cats who are fed by the workers and researchers, and one group of these cats is Halloween-appropriate, as […]
Magazine: Shoreline of Infinity #4
Shoreline of Infinity #4 I perform a final check of my shark cage and SCUBA gear as our boat bobs up and down on a Scottish lake. The constable lies on the deck, drooling. I probably shouldn’t have darted him with enough tranquilizer to calm an angry plesiosaur, but he wouldn’t shut up about needing […]
Magazine: Albedo One #46
A bowl of cereal in one hand, a jug of milk in the other, I head to the kitchen table. There’s no room to set down my breakfast, because a two-foot-tall man in a three-piece suit is stretched out there, snoring. I use my elbow to shove him off, and he hits the floor with […]
Fairy Apocalypse
I came home from work and discovered that faeries had built little mushroom-houses in my garden. As the faeries have built homes, I’m declaring this a level 3 infestation. The protocols for responding to a level 3 infestation are so severe that, long ago, I had them placed in a sealed envelope, then erased from […]
Something for writers, something for readers
First, some news: I received a rejection letter for my first short story submission. I was originally going to give this post the pessimistic title of “Rejection #1”, because I’m a ‘glass is 96% empty’ kind of guy, not ‘glass is 4% full’. (According to The Grinder, 96% of stories are rejected at Analog magazine, […]
Magazine: Red Sun #1
Red Sun Magazine, Issue 1 I’d have known Old Man Brady was on his deathbed even if his nurse hadn’t told me. He raises a skeletal hand and motions me closer, then removes his oxygen mask to speak. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry my wife couldn’t be here.” I don’t have the heart to […]
Interview: S. C. Flynn
I’m crossing the campus of Kakadu University to deliver my latest thesis draft to my advisor. He insisted on the topic of my doctoral research: I allow myself to be bitten or stung by Australia’s venomous creatures, and rate the pain from one to ten. Ants and wasps, centipedes and scorpions, snakes and spiders, jellyfish […]
Review: Children of the Different
Children of the Different Three flying saucers (3 out of 4 rating) Fellow blogger SC Flynn gave me a copy of the audiobook version of his first self-published novel, Children of the Different. I enjoyed listening to an Australian-authored audiobook with an Australian narrator — most Aussie audiobooks I’ve run across are read […]
PDC on Facebook
I’ve bitten the bullet and created a Facebook page for Planetary Defense Command. Facebook considers PDC an “artist, band, or public figure”. I’m certain I’m not a band, and I’ve never considered myself an artist, so I guess that makes me a public figure — and I didn’t even have to put on a tie! […]
Today is the day
Originally posted on Entertaining Stories:
Well, it’s one of the days. My newest book The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II is now available for purchase on Amazon. It’s a pre-sale, and the books will deliver on August 31st. That is the other day. I wanted to do a short pre-sale, but Lisa my…
Planetary Defense Command 