Monthly Archives: August 2014

Non-fiction 3 (YTD 38) F in Exams, by Richard Benson F in Retakes, by Richard Benson The Making of Doctor Who, by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke Fiction (non-sf) 8 (YTD 30) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain … Continue reading →

A 1979 collection which I picked up at Boskone thirty years later. Galileo lasted only another year after this was published. These are generally good pieces, and I was a bit surprised that only one story published in Galileo ever … Continue reading →

A hilarious yet dark mixup of the Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Anji with the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1970s (and a dash of Roger Rabbit). The Scooby-Doo sections are particularly good at getting under the skin of what is really … Continue reading →

So, am I right that Michael Smiley as Colonel Blue is only the third character ever in Doctor Who with an Ulster accent? The other two that I can think of are Harry Towb as McDermott in Terror of the … Continue reading →

Famously the basis for a film which won three Oscars (and which I haven’t seen), it’s a novel published in 1946 but mostly set in the early 1930s, about an intellectual young chap who gets put in charge of a … Continue reading →

Lovely collection of Jansson’s short fiction, arranged loosely by age of the protagonist who in most cases clearly reflects Jansson herself. There’s a vivid picture of her war with a squirrel on her island; there are poignant letters sent to … Continue reading →

I very much enjoyed Beyond the Sun, Jones’ contribution to the Bernice Summerfield range, and I enjoyed this book too: the Seventh Doctor and Chris, still grieving the loss of Roz, land in 1950s Soho, and are involved in a … Continue reading →

Like, I guess, a lot of people I was intrigued by the announcement four years ago that Pratchett and Baxter, two authors whose styles are not exactly next adjacent to each other, were to collaborate on a series of books … Continue reading →

Five reasons Belgium has the worst traffic in Europe The first is crucial. The rest also important!(tags: belgium ) Putin Ends the Interregnum The West MUST re-evaluate everything it thought it knew about Russia.(tags: russia )

I am very happy to be able to say that I will be one of the judges of the Arthur C. Clarke Award next year, nominated by the British Science Fiction Association. The award is given for the best science … Continue reading →

I’m sorry to say that this simply recycles text from Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia without even the benefit of the illustrations. As before, separate entries for (eg) Amon Amarth, Mount Doom and Orodruin despite all being the same thing, with … Continue reading →

Won the BSFA award for Best Novel for 1976; I confess I knew nothing else about either book or author before picking it up, and it probably qualifies as one of the most forgotten winners. It's an interestingly British novel; … Continue reading →

Current A Sentimental Education, by Gustave Flaubert ο1 The Life of John Buncle, Esq: Containing Various Observations and Reflections, Made in Several Parts of the World, and Many Extraordinary Relations, v. 2 by Thomas Amory Last books finished Starry Messenger: … Continue reading →

Tenth Circle Added To Rapidly Growing Hell (tags: funny ) Hacking Bosnia’s elections Thanks to redfiona99!(tags: elections bosnia ) Switzerland, Country of Joyce Long but worth reading.(tags: switzerland ) Because it’s not New York City An (African-)American in Paris.(tags: uspolitics … Continue reading →

Paul Cornell, God bless him, was introducing me to passers-by at Worldcon as the guy who predicts the Hugo winners. I retaliated by accusing him of writing fiction, of course. I don't actually claim to do any more than analyse … Continue reading →

A good 4th Doctor and Romana I romp, set during the Key to Time, with a plot line that would appreciate, involving a fairly Cthulhu-like creature and some neat plot structure. Didn’t blow me away but very enjoyable.

I know this won the Booker Prize, but it didn’t really work for me; I don’t find capital punishment or spree shootings terribly funny, and I’ve been close enough to media frenzies in real life to know what they look … Continue reading →

This was a brilliant Worldcon talk (one of only two single-speaker events I was able to attend, the speaker at the other one being me). It was the keynote speech for the academic track of programming, and basically involved Karen … Continue reading →

As she reached the (premature) end of her efforts, Tobe started use the ongoing manga series of a boy with autism to look at other issues in Japanese society. Hikaru’s mother must still deal with him hitting puberty; the entire … Continue reading →

Must have been decades since I read this; I had forgotten how episodic it is, but it adds up to a sympathetic portrayal of a community from the point of view of a teenager whose active imagination sometimes spills over … Continue reading →

This fascinating 25-minute documentary about the 1979 Worldcon, Seacon '79 in Brighton, was flagged up to me by Alastair Reynolds on Twitter (he being one of the dozens of people who I had hoped to see in person last week … Continue reading →

I’m coming late to this one, which was the source of one of the original slapfests and which also made it to joint 15th on the Locus poll of Best Fantasy of the 21st century. Big fantasy novels are often … Continue reading →

I’m far behind with bookblogging (though hoping to catch up now) and it’s several weeks since I read this. I must say that it wasn’t a brilliant choice of holiday novel; the disjointed narrative failed to engage me, and I … Continue reading →

We went to the cinema in Leuven to watch it this evening (thanks to the powerful lobbying of Belgian Whovians United, who welcomed us to the event partly in English though mainly in Dutch) and so got the full big … Continue reading →

As some of you know, I was Director of Promotions for Loncon 3, the recently concluded World Science Fiction Convention. If I have the energy, I will write up longer thoughts about the entire event, but just here and now … Continue reading →

Current Battle for Bittora, by Anuja Chauhan Engines of War, by George Mann The Life of John Buncle, Esq: Containing Various Observations and Reflections, Made in Several Parts of the World, and Many Extraordinary Relations, v. 2 by Thomas Amory … Continue reading →

12 Things We Learnt at LonCon3 Tor Books (tags: loncon3 ) Con Report: LonCon 3 (Worldcon 2014) – Over The Effing Rainbow (tags: loncon3 )

Details here. Headlines: Sarah Webb crushes all opposition for Best Fan Artist. Closest result among winners is 16-vote margin putting Apex Magazine ahead of Strange Horizons for Best Semiprozine. Other close results: John Picacio and John Harris tie for 3rd … Continue reading →

Summary of results here, PDF of full results here. BEST NOVEL (1196 ballots) 1) The Sword in the Stone had a convincing lead on the first count, 473 to 273 for Out Of The Silent Planet and 267 for Galactic Patrol, … Continue reading →

Current The Life of John Buncle, Esq: Containing Various Observations and Reflections, Made in Several Parts of the World, and Many Extraordinary Relations, v. 2 by Thomas Amory ν1 A Winter Book, by Tove Jansson Zorba the Greek, by Nikos … Continue reading →