Free Fiction Friday: Heather Lindsley
This week, I’d like to point out Heather Lindsley’s story, "Just Do It," which originally appeared in the July 2006 issue of F&SF. Here’s a link to a podcast of the story online, courtesy of Escape Pod.
Which SF Writer are You?
Ever wondered which science fiction writer you’re most like? Take this test to find out.
It thinks I’m most like Isaac Asimov. Not bad, but I’m disappointed I didn’t match up with Alfred Bester, who wrote the best book ever.
[via E. E. Knight]
Monsters & Critics reviews Paolo Bacigalupi
Jason Sanford over at Monsters & Critics reviews Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut story collection Pump Six, which mostly contains stories originally published in F&SF: "Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi the best science fiction short story collection of recent years. […] So if you enjoy philosophical science fiction stories, read Pump Six. If you hate philosophical science fiction stories, read Pump Six. Because like the evocative concrete rain which continually falls from the buildings in Bacigalupi’s title story, Pump Six gently rains upon the reader until you find yourself swimming in a deep ocean of truth. And no matter how you approach this book–whether for the ideas or for the great stories–you won’t be disappointed." The full review is here. Jason also offered up some additional thoughts about the title story over on his blog.
Name check!
I’m told that in Stephen King’s new novel, DUMA KEY, there’s a passing reference to an article authored by one M. Rickert.
Interview: K.D. Wentworth on "Exit Strategy"
K.D. Wentworth–author of “Exit Strategy,” which appears in our March 2008 issue–said in an interview that the story is about a young girl, Charlesie, who thinks she doesn’t want to live.
"She goes down to the Church of the Second Life, where donating your body to a dying person is considered a ’sacred gift,’ and applies to be accepted," Wentworth said. "They enroll her in the Donation Guild, which requires volunteer work as well as a cooling off period before you’re allowed to donate yourself. Her family, of course, objects, when they find out about this, and by the end of the story, Charlesie knows a whole lot more about both herself and her dad."
As happens with many of Wentworth’s stories, she found it difficult to trace the story’s beginnings. "Years ago, I had scribbled a note to myself in that little notebook all writers carry that ’suicides should give their body to a dying person, since they don’t want it anymore, so that a perfectly healthy body doesn’t go to waste,’" she said. "That idea lay dormant in the back of my mind for a long time until I was thumbing through that notebook one day and ran across it again. By then, my subconscious knew what to to with it."
Nominate!
Speaking of awards, the deadline for the 2008 Hugo Awards nominations is March 1. You must be an attending or supporting member of this year’s Worldcon, or have been an attending or supporting member of last year’s, to nominate. You still have time to mail in a paper ballot (which is handy in case you can’t find your membership number and/or PIN), or you can vote online.
The 38th annual Locus Awards ballot is also online. Voting is open to all. Deadline for is April 15.
Go and vote for your favorite F&SF titles!
Final Nebula Awards Ballot
This year’s final Nebula Awards ballot has been released. Congrats to all of the F&SF authors who made the cut:
- Kiosk by Bruce Sterling
- Memorare by Gene Wolfe
- Stars Seen Through Stone by Lucius Shepard
- The Helper and His Hero by Matthew Hughes
- Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter by Geoff Ryman
- The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang
- Titanium Mike Saves the Day by David D. Levine
Gordon posted the full ballot over on the forum.
Free Fiction Friday: Matthew Hughes
The other day, I linked to some of the free fiction here on the F&SF website. Well, it occurred to me that there’s lots of other free fiction on the net elsewhere, much of which originally appeared in F&SF. So I’ll make an effort to post links to such pieces now and then, when I come across them.
So the first piece of fiction I wanted to direct you to is by one of our most prolific contributors of recent years: Matthew Hughes. Hughes burst onto the F&SF scene a few years ago with the publication of his story "Mastermindless," which features Old Earth’s foremost freelance discriminator, Henghis Hapthorn. Hughes went on to write several more stories about Hapthorn, and is currently writing the final book in his Henghis Hapthorn trilogy for Night Shade Books.
Hughes also wrote a series of stories about Guth Bandar, an explorer of humanity’s collective unconscious–the noosphere. The first of those stories, "A Little Learning," appears in its entirety on Hughes’s website.
F&SF LiveJournal Feed
Due to popular demand, we’ve setup a LiveJournal feed for the F&SF blog, which you’ll find at fandsf.livejournal.com/.
I note that it doesn’t seem to cross-post the author of the blog posts, so if you’re only reading the LJ feed, you won’t know if it’s Gordon or I posting.
Ken Slater
Ken Slater died on Saturday. Just a couple of months ago, he invited me to the lunch celebrating his 90th birthday (but he admitted it might be a long trip for me to make for a luncheon). I only met him in person once, at the most recent Glasgow Worldcon, but he was a longtime distributor of F&SF and we corresponded regularly. I considered him a living legend. Condolences to his family.
Here’s a picture of him from 2004, hawking a batch of Chris Priest’s novels. The photo is by Peter Weston.
If anyone reading this post is interested, Ken’s funeral will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28 at a crematorium in King’s Lynn, followed by tea at a hotel in Grimston. You can contact me for more info if needed.
