Jaarfindor Remade by Sean Wright
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Reality's walls have been breached, and the worlds of Earth and Jaarfindor have
become fused. Life in the capital of New Jaarfindor, Queen's Lynn (formerly present-day King's Lynn in Norfolk), presents
several challenges: humans rub shoulders with insectiants, and you never know if the person next to you is an android; the
mysterious shamutants, living beneath the city, may (it is said) erase your memories if you're not careful; the air is so
polluted that decontamination is compulsory whenever you enter a building; and nobody knows what's "Out There" beyond the fog.
A Conversation With Sean Wright
An interview with David Hebblethwaite
On mapping Jaarfindor:
"The stories that come from Jaarfindor can't be mapped out as a whole, perfect picture. Why? Because I'm in
the process of discovering what lurks in the cities and countryside, in the deserts and oceans, meeting new
characters in exciting and challenging situations. I'm an artist, and as such I'm obsessed to explore the weird
space of my imagination, writing down what I find there, making numerous pen and ink sketches as
aide-memoirs. I constantly surprise and worry myself. Every time I venture there I find myself asking a simple
yet for me a profound question: are you certain you witnessed that? Much of what I write isn't easy to quantify or label."
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Some of our new arrival highlights include the new Writers of the Future collection, a lost Heinlein novel complted by Spider Robinson, and forthcoming titles from China Miéville, Alastair Reynolds, Graham Joyce, Tim Powers, Norman Partridge, plus a whole lot more.
Pearls from Peoria by Philip José Farmer
reviewed by Steven H Silver
This massive retrospective of Farmer's life and work contains a wide variety of his stories and essays. The stories provide a clear insight
into why the author is a grandmaster of the science fiction field. The essays give a wonderful look at not only the man behind the
stories, but the techniques and thought that went into writing the stories.
Clarkesworld Magazine #1 edited by Nick Mamatas
reviewed by Amal El-Mohtar
Livejournal is a wonderful thing. Say what you will about blogging and how it's shameless wankery on the part of the author and shameful
voyeurism on the part of the reader, it remains that blogs spread
the word about things that might be easily missed and really ought not to be. Clarkesworld Magazine is one of those things.
The Swarm by Frank Schatzing
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
The sea, which we have been abusing for years, strikes back under the
direction of an unknown living entity previously content to inhabit the trench depths -- the Yrr. Whales begin attacking ships,
hordes of jellyfish shut down the beaches of South America, and a strange new marine worm is destabilizing frozen methane in the sea
bottom. The scientists are fascinated, the powerful want it stopped at any cost, and the little guy is being overwhelmed by
tsunamis and poisoned sea-food. A global ecosystem shift is in the offing.
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The Tourmaline by Paul Park
reviewed by Rich Horton
This novel continues the new fantasy series that began last year with A Princess of Roumania.
It opens with Miranda having magically made her way to Roumania, but five years in the future. The Baroness
is now the head of Roumania's puppet government after a German occupation. Miranda's
two companions, a boy named Peter Gross and a girl named Andromeda who alternates
between being a dog and a man are marooned in America
but soon find a strange way to Turkey. The Elector of Ratisbon has been
confined to his home in Germany, but he still holds Miranda's mother and the
Baroness's son, and he remains a powerful sorcerer.
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
The time is no longer the English Regency. This novel is set in the late 1820s, when it is apparent that
there is no direct heir to the throne. George III's many sons haven't managed to produce a legitimate male heir. Steam
engines have been making a cautious appearance between town and country, to the distress of horses, dogs, and people
living within range of the vast clouds of smoke. Things have been relatively quiet... until a foreign magician
goes missing.
The Passion of Mary Magdalen by Elizabeth Cunningham
reviewed by David Soyka
The author's concerns extend beyond Gospel mythology to encompass Roman antiquity, Celtic lore, the cult of Isis
and goddess worship in general, primarily the notion of whore-priestess as feminist empowerment. This is The Mists of
Avalon approach to retelling myth from a female perspective in which the venerated deeds of the male hero could
never have happened without a woman's participation, but which role gets erased by patriarchal hegemony. It's also highly entertaining.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick offers his thoughts on SciFi Friday.
It begins with Heroes, the hit NBC series echoed on SciFi a few days after it airs the network. Then comes the
new new Dr. Who. Then Battlestar Galactica, not the most watched but certainly the most critically
acclaimed SciFi original series. And finally, reruns of the cancelled 2005 network series, Threshold.
Getting Lost: Survival, Baggage and Starting Over in J.J. Abrams' Lost edited by Orson Scott Card
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
As the title suggests, this book is an attempt to explain the enigma and allure of the hit TV show,
Lost. To this end, fifteen writers give their views on where the series came from, what it is trying to tell us,
and where it's ultimately headed. Some are more successful than others, inadvertently creating an ironic parallel to what
happens on the show. Those who go with the flow, in a stream of consciousness approach, not only
make more sense, but give the impression of being on the verge of enlightenment. Not unlike fan favourite John Locke. In contrast,
the writers who allow themselves to get bogged down with over analysis and clever dickery, do less well.
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