This n That: Update, Reads, + The Manservant, Sentient Trains & OTT Mothers!

Hello! I've been out of commission since the 9th. My computer is at the Apple hospital getting full check up, and in the meantime my backup computer crashed! I've been going through withdrawals. I refuse to blog from my iPad because it is really a pain even to try and I'm not in the mood to go through that much frustration.

I read my book for the March TBR Challenge early in the month, but unfortunately missed posting the review. I followed the theme "catching up with a series" by reading Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2) by Patricia Briggs. Actually, I read Fair Game, #3 and Dead Heat, #4 and I'm up to date now. I will post reviews for those books as soon as I am able.

Additionally, I have completed three other books in March, Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop, Closer Than You Think (Faith Corcoran #1) by Karen Rose and Lovely Wild by Megan Hart. To date, my favorite March read was Fair Game (Alpha & Omega, #3) by Patricia Briggs, however, I have enjoyed all of them.

In the meantime, my TBR pile is bulging. I purchased many books last year that remain unread, still that did not stop me from losing control of my book budget in January and February and purchasing books I missed last year, and a few new releases. It's a bit crazy even for a book addict like me, particularly since I'm not reading at the same pace as I was on the prior years. Worse than that, I have DNF'd some pretty expensive books.

I'm working on a few reviews. In the meantime, I had these minis from some of my February reads more or less ready way back when.

The Manservant, Michael Harwood's debut novel, is a very British, highly entertaining, quick-paced contemporary gay fiction piece with an upstairs, downstairs flavor and a dash of BDSM restricted to some spanking, but without graphic sex scenes. This is very much contemporary British fare, so please do not expect gay versions of Downton Abby or 50 Shades of Grey. The novel focuses on the adventures of main character, Anthony Gower (please don't call me Tony!!), a young, thoroughly modern gay man whose experience as a footman to the Royals allows him to first find employment in a posh London hotel, and later as private butler to a Lord. His questionable judgment, however, gets him in deep hot water more than once. Harwood partially explores his main character's background, but I am hoping that he will write another book with delicious Anthony as his main character. And, more Frank please! Recommended.

Where the Trains Turn by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen is a SFF novella about sentient ghost trains, an imaginative boy, a mother who prefers her life as well as her son's be grounded in reality, and a meeting with destiny. The story grabbed my attention once I got passed the clumsy translation from Finnish to English. The narrative is austere and even with the problematic translation the story retains a heavy atmosphere. The boy, whose obsession with trains is fed by his father's, is socially inadequate with a healthy imagination. After a tragic incident, the mother eliminates everything from his life that may spark the imagination and the boy's life takes a new course. A chance meeting with destiny changes that. What made this story a great read for me were the fantastic twists that came at the end. I never saw them coming. Online free read at Tor.com

The Mothers of Voorhisville by Mary Rickert is another SFF novella from Tor.com and a Nebula nominee. This sff horror story begins with a stranger passing through a small town and seducing a group of women. Nine months later, there is a baby boom. But there is something different about these babies. The mothers will go to great lengths to protect them from those who might hurt them.

This story begins on a ominous note and ends quite well. Unfortunately, the middle drags rather badly. Narrated through journal entries by the different mothers, the reader never meets the babies' "father," the man or creature that so easily seduced the women of this little town. The mothers -- some of them children themselves, others married, divorced, single, or widowed -- are secretive at first. They love their little monsters too much to care what they are or they will be getting up to. This story is fantasy/horror. With the exception of little monster babies with tiny wings, the fantasy side in this novella is left to the reader's imagination since there are no real explanations as to what they are, where they come from, or what the real purpose of their existence is. The real horror in this story lies on the mother's disquieting actions once the "mother's instinct" comes into play, the rest is mild in content. Free online read at Tor.com.

SF Mini: "A Short History of the Twentieth Century, or, When You Wish Upon a Star" by Kathleen Ann Goonan

Illustration / Cover by Wesley Allsbrook

Recommended by Locus Magazine. This novelette was acquired and edited for Tor.com by consulting editor Ellen Datlow. A novelette that’s science fiction by association.

This novelette, set in the post 1950s, brought back memories of that moment when I first heard that man landed on the moon -- the wonder, hope and dreams. At the time, I owned a children's picture book about Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first journey into outer space, and was already stung by the "space bug."

This touching and nostalgic story is about a little girl, the daughter of a rocket scientist working on those first space modules for NASA, who dreams of becoming an astronaut. Her parents encourage her despite the fact that at that time girls and women were not expected to want careers based on science, much less to harbor dreams of becoming an astronaut. I love the connection Ann Goonan makes with Walt Disney's building of Tomorrowland and to the detailed documentaries aired by Disney describing plans for future space travel.

This original story's connection to science fiction is tenuous at best, however as it was posted in honor of Tor.com's sixth birthday, I believe that for that purpose it works well. This historical event sparked the imagination of adults and children alike. Personally, I can't believe the nostalgic feelings of wonder the story brought back!

Read online at Tor.com. Buy it here.

SF Minis: "Sleep Walking Now and Then" by Richard Bowes

In February, I continued the process of catching up by reading a few short works on Locus Magazine's list of recommended SF reads, as well as the 2014 Nebula Award Finalists. To date I've read eight novellas and novelettes -- most of them available as "free" online reads / downloads. Today I am featuring Richard Bowes.

Illustration/Cover by Richie Pope

A Nebula Award Finalist and recommended by Locus Magazine. This novelette was acquired and edited for Tor.com by consulting editor Ellen Datlow.

"Sleep Walking Now and Then," is set in the Big Arena, a futuristic New York City, where class and financial divide are wide and marked. Residents of the Big Arena will do anything to stay at the top of their game in 2060. That wider look at time, place and society is the perfect cue to the more intimate setting, characters, and motivations that come along next. Bowes' main character is Jacoby Cass, a successful playwright, director and actor whose star seems to be waning. Everything depends on the success of a new interactive production at The Agouleme Hotel in a dilapidated Kips Bay neighborhood. The hotel's original owner and two deaths, one of them a suspected but unproven murder, are the inspiration for Cass' play.

Bowes mixes up the future (2060) with the past (1890s and 1960s) through the play's dialogue, descriptions of the hotel as the set, and the actors' wardrobe. Atmosphere is grand throughout the story. Greed, egos, staging details, as well as the "anything for a hit" show business attitude are also easily captured by Bowes. The above mentioned and the idea of having the public become part of the play (imagine an interactive play set at the Algonquin), became more a focus for me than the murder mysteries. The end fits the story, characters, and attitudes perfectly.

Richard Bowes is a favorite author. Through the insights and knowledge of New York City, past and present, found in the body of his works it quickly becomes evident that the City is an intricate part of the writer, just as the writer has become part of the City. In my opinion, one of Bowes' biggest talents is the subtlety with which he infuses his New York City tales with fantasy. I again found that subtle touch in "Sleep Walking Now and Then."

I purchased this novelette to go with the rest of my collection of ebooks by Richard Bowes.

Read online at Tor.com. Buy it here.

Sci Fi Books Old & New: When the price is right

For some reason even after that eReader made it's way into my loving hands, I've always preferred to read my science fiction and fantasy tales in print format. To date, I still buy the big, meaty science fiction and fantasy books in print and just love to hold them. However, that's not to say that if I find a great buy in digital format I won't buy it either. When the price is right... I buy!

Here are a couple of contemporary SFF releases and three of those classics we've been discussing this month that I purchased for my eReader:

Some of The Best From Tor.com 2012 edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Liz Gorinsky, David G. Hartwell

A collection of some of the best 2012 original short fiction published by Tor.com. Authors: Elizabeth Bear, Adam Troy Castro, Paul Cornell, Kathryn Cramer, Brit Mandelo, Pat Murphy, Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick, Rachel Swirsky, and Gene Wolfe.

What I'm loving about how this collection is formatted is that each individual story has its own cover page with original art, title page, table of contents, and then the story. It individualizes every single book. And of course the fact that this collection is free! Price: $0.00
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Gods of Risk (Expanse #2.5) by James S.A. Corey

If you are reading and love The Expanse space opera by James S.A. Corey the way I do, then you probably already read The Butcher of Anderson County (Expanse #1.5). But just in case you have not, it is available for $1.99 for your eReader. And as an aside, I love every cover in this series so far... including those used for the novellas.

As tension between Mars and Earth mounts, and terrorism plagues the Martian city of Londres Nova, sixteen-year-old David Draper is fighting his own lonely war. A gifted chemist vying for a place at the university, David leads a secret life as a manufacturer for a ruthless drug dealer. When his friend Leelee goes missing, leaving signs of the dealer's involvement, David takes it upon himself to save her. But first he must shake his aunt Bobbie Draper, an ex-marine who has been set adrift in her own life after a mysterious series of events nobody is talking about.

Gods of Risk - Price: $2.99
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Sargasso of Space by Andre Norton

Almost half a century ago, renowned science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton introduced apprentice cargo master Dane Thorson in Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship.

This is a wonderful beginning to the Solar Queen series, and I'm very glad that it is available in digital format. Some of these books are next to impossible to find in print format! I already read and reviewed this book (you can read it here).  Price: $3.99
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Visions of Distant Shores: An Andre Norton Collection 

This is a great buy, particularly because it contains seven Andre Norton novels in one volume. I just believe that even if there is one book out of the seven that you love, it is worth the price. I'm sure there will be more than one good one in there, though. I already read Storm Over Warlock from this collection. Following is the content:
"Storm Over Warlock"
"Star Born"
"Star Hunter"
"Plague Ship (Star Queen #2)"
"Voodoo Planet (Star Queen #3)"
"The Gifts of Asti"
"The People of the Crater"
Price: $0.99 cents

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The Best of Phillip K. Dick (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics Series)

With eleven of Philip K. Dick's best short stories in this collection, there is no question that this a win-win! Here's the content:
"Beyond the Door"
"Beyond Lies the Wub"
"The Crystal Crypt"
"The Defenders"
"The Gun"
"The Skull"
"The Eyes Have it"
"Second Variety"
"The Variable Man"
"Mr. Spaceship"
"Piper in the Woods"
Price: $1.99 

I have more in my eReader, particularly from the Halcyon Classics Series, but I don't want this post to go on forever. Note that with the exception of Andre Norton's Vision of Distant Shores, the rest are short stories or novellas. If you prefer to hunt for those old classics in used book stores, great! I do too! But, if you can't find them... it is great to know some of them continue to be available to new readers in digital format.
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The 2013 Science Fiction Experience and The Vintage Science Fiction Month