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Reading Update 13/05/08

Since discovering the wonderful world of PS Publishing a couple of years back via their Postscripts quarterly short story magazine I’ve been catching up on some of the back catalogue that takes my eye, in particular the novellas (three of which are featured here). As PS tends to publish in limited quantities quite a few of their earlier titles can be difficult to find, and even then the more collectable hardback editions tend to fetch silly prices, but the more affordable paperback versions can occasionally be found in specialist genre second hand dealers.

Tim Lebbon’s Changing of Faces (2004) continues on from the earlier Naming of Parts (2000). As with the previous novella the story centres on 12-year-old Jack, who has had to grow up fast since waking up in a world that no longer bears any resemblance to what he knew before. Tim once again successfully tells the story from Jack’s perspective, as he tries to make sense of what is happening around him. According to Tim’s website there’s four novellas planned for this sequence; I wonder when we’re getting part 3.

I’d only previously read one Conrad Williams short story, which didn’t really click with me, but the whole premise of Nearly People (2001) sounded interesting. The setting of Howling Mile is a thoroughly hostile environment, inhabited by some very unpleasant characters. By no means a comfortable read, it is certainly a captivating one. I’ll admit I’m not sure I fully got what was going on towards the end, but this didn’t spoil my overall appreciation of the story.

Leningrad Nights (1999) by Graham Joyce is set in the city of the title during the 900-day siege of World War 2. Graham vividly brings the city to life, atmospherically portraying the hardships the populace face in their struggle to survive the ordeal they’re going through, and in which 13-year-old Leo has his adventures. It may be a short tale but there’s a lot packed in. This was my first experience reading Graham Joyce and I don’t intend it to be my last.

Reading Updates idea

I thought I’d try out an idea I’ve seen on a few other blogs. I’ve only posted four book reviews and they were so short they probably can’t really be classed as proper reviews, more like a couple of comments. This is an approach I feel comfortable with, I’m not a book critic or professional reviewer. I don’t generally receive ARCs of books, so virtually all the books I read I buy myself so don’t feel obliged to review them. One look at my Books Read page shows I’m very far behind with the individual reviews, which may well indicate a lack of enthusiasm for the whole idea (that and finding time), plus there’s no shortage of much better book reviewers out there in the blogosphere.

With all that in mind I thought I might try posting a reading update every couple of weeks with a few comments, positive or negative, on what I’ve been perusing. This should help to provide a bit more detail to the pics at the top right of the blog; I may even dispense with that part all together. Any comments on this approach will be gratefully received, and I hope to have the first Reading Update posted in the next day or two. I might even try a similar Viewing Update to cover films and TV shows.
 

What is Einstein’s Relativity?

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity made simple, by Michael Shirber, over on LiveScience.com

(Link via Slice of SciFi)

 

New Michael Marshall book title

Award winning author Michael Marshall has a new book out later this year. Michael was one of the guests at the Altfiction event in Derby this weekend and those who attended his final session of the day were treated to a reading of the prologue; Mike has just finished the first draft of the book which he has revealed will be called Bad Things.

Tokyo Gore Police trailer

The 4 minute 49 second trailer for the blood drenched movie madness that is Tokyo Gore Police, courtesy of Twitch Film. Have fun.

Stop Uwe Boll

Sign here if you want Uwe Boll to stop making movies. Just remember though, if he does give in to the wishes of the 204,000+ who have signed in so far (at time of this posting) then you have to find somebody else to ridicule. Not that that should be a problem, Hollywood’s full of potential candidates.

Neal Asher’s Polity Timeline

Neal Asher’s Polity sequence of SF novels traverse several timelines, spanning centuries, with the books and stories not always written in sequence. There’s also a host of alien creatures, technologies, events, etc to keep track of. This could all get confusing but fortunately Neal has posted on his blog, The Skinner, a link to a chronology and encyclopedia to keep us right.

R Is For Rocket - book review

R is for Rocket – Ray Bradbury – PS Publishing – 2005

Ray Bradbury is a founding father of modern science fiction and a master of the short story and this collection, originally published in 1962, is a fine example of his work. Contained within are tales of journeys beyond our world, childhood dreams of travelling to the stars, time-travel, adventuring on and adapting to alien worlds. Granted, the science in many of the stories doesn’t bear up to modern day scrutiny but Ray’s stories are not so much about the science as about its impact on people, as they adapt to the changing world around them, all told in his characteristic clear and precise prose.

This limited edition PS Publishing hardback (still available direct from the publisher) reproduces many of the drawings illustrating the original release, along with Ray’s original introduction, and includes an additional introduction from Michael Marshall Smith and foreward from Ray Harryhausen, both written specially for this publication. The full story list can be found here.

Dan Simmons’ Hyperion - the movie

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros have secured the rights for a movie adaptation of Dan Simmons’ first two Hyperion Cantos novels. Considering the depth of the narrative and complex structure of these two modern classics of SF literature it’s going to be a major challenge to do them justice in the running time of one movie. Trevor Sands reckons he can do it, good luck to him. I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve seen it, but it’ll need to be at least 4 hours long.

(Link via SF Signal)