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Another of my novellas has been accepted for publication by Starry Eyed Press for their 224-Verse.
Review of “Rogue Protocol,” Part 3 in “The Murderbot Diaries”
Cover art for the novella Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
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I’m continuing to thoroughly enjoy Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series having just finished Rogue Protocol, the third novella in the collection (and still incredibly overpriced, even for such quality). I’ve already reviewed All Systems Red and Artificial Condition.
Side Note: I’ve mentioned this before in one of the previous reviews, but even though the security unit/murderbot has no gender, even though partially organic, I can’t help but hear her voice as a “her.” Maybe it’s because I’m aware that the author is a woman, or maybe it’s because Wells projected a “female” personality into her voice during the writing, but that’s how I think of “her.” I know some people are going to object to this (for gender identity reasons), but for this and other reviews, the SecUnit is a “she” to me. That’s what I’m going to call her.
In this “episode,” our SecUnit who sometimes goes by the name of “Consultant Rin” when posing as an augmented human security consultant, continues to pursue clues as to her past and the lost portions of her memories. To that end, she stows away on another robotic spacecraft, convincing its AI that she belongs there, and travels to a station orbiting the planet Milu. There, she plans to travel to an abandoned orbiting terraforming station that is not what it appears to be.
Book Review of “Jack of Shadows”
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After my last two books and especially Nnedi Okorafor’s missive and it’s aftermath, I decided to “play it safe” and revisit some old ground.
I remember reading Roger Zelazny’s Jack of Shadows soon after it was originally published in the early 1970s and recalled enjoying it.
After so many years, that’s all I recalled, but apparently this Hugo and Locus Award nominee had gone out of print for some years. Nor could I find a copy in my local library system. Finally, it was republished as part of the “Recovered Classics Book Series number 23”. I downloaded it from Amazon to my Kindle Fire and there it waited for me.
To Say Gay or Not to Say Gay
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at last week’s bill signing
Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP
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No matter what I write on this topic, I know I’m going to get roasted by someone over it.
Yes, I know. I should never author something political on this blog, but sometimes, I really feel social media misses the point. Everyone has an opinion, and sometimes those opinions don’t seem to take reality into consideration.
Take for instance, the Florida HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education bill which was recently signed into law. That link leads to literally what the bill states and it doesn’t actually say “don’t say gay”
Well, not exactly, but I’ll get to that.
“Spring Info SciFi 2022 Edition” is Here!
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My personal copy of Spring Into SciFi, 2022 Edition arrived in the mail today. It features my science fiction short story “Tiamat Descending.”
The “blurb” for my story says:
Review of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
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I was actually surprised to find that I liked Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). In its own way, it is reminiscent of Black Panther (2018) starring the incomparable Chadwick Boseman. There was a similar worldbuilding based on various Marvel comic book concepts and many wonderfully endearing characters. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
In the original 1970s Master of Kung Fu comic books started by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, Shang-Chi was the estranged son of Dr. Fu Manchu, a pulp fiction character created by Sax Rohmer in 1913.
The series began by introducing Shang-Chi as a man raised by his father Dr. Fu Manchu to be the ultimate assassin for the would-be world conqueror. In Shang-Chi’s first mission, he kills one of his father’s old enemies, Dr. Petrie and then learns of Dr. Fu Manchu’s true, evil nature. Disillusioned, Shang-Chi swears eternal opposition to his father’s ambitions and fights him as an agent of British intelligence, under the orders of Sir Denis Nayland Smith.
In the early 1970s, Chinese Kung Fu movies were huge in the west as was Bruce Lee. There was even a disco song called Kung Fu Fighting. In addition, there was a television series called Kung Fu starring David Carradine.
Book Review of “Binti: The Complete Trilogy”
Cover art for Binti: The Complete Trilogy
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I previously mentioned that as part of Women in SciFi Month and in response to the twitter hashtag #FiveSFFWritersWhoArentBlokes, I collected the names of some female authors I’ve never read to essentially broaden my horizons.
Today, I just finished Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti: The Complete Trilogy. As it’s a collected trilogy (plus one additional short story), it’s publication history is from 2015 through 2019.
To understand my review and the work in general, I’ll present a few bits of info. First, the author’s bio as presented on Amazon:
Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) immigrant parents. She holds a PhD in English and was a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. She has been the winner of many awards for her short stories and young adult books, and won a World Fantasy Award. Nnedi’s books are inspired by her Nigerian heritage and her many trips to Africa.
That’s the short version. Now the professional reviews of this trilogy posted on Amazon:
“Surge: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology” is Available for Pre-Order Now!
Promotional image for the Dragon Soul Press anthology “Surge”
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The Dragon Soul Press cyberpunk anthology Surge is now available for pre-order from Amazon for delivery to your kindle device April 30, 2022
From Amazon:
10 Reasons Why Clark Kent is the Only Superman
Screenshot from twitter.
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I haven’t posted anything in the political or social realm on this blog in a while. I became aware that sort of content was costing me readers, both here and probably with my stories. It’s even possible (and likely) that publishers considering my short story submissions have given me a hard pass because they looked me up on twitter and Facebook. I guess the dictionary definition of “inclusive” isn’t being considered.
But then on twitter, I read an article tweeted by Bounding into Comics called Superman’s New Enemy Is Fake News, YouTube’s Yellow Flash Shares His Thoughts.
For those of you who don’t know, Clark Kent and Lois Lane married in the comic books and (amazingly considering Clark is from another planet) had a son. He was named Jonathan after Clark’s (adopted) Dad, which is totally cool. The readers were given a good look at the Kents as parents and wow, what a great set of parents. However, the writers at DC Comics decided they had plans for little Jon and couldn’t wait years for him to grow up the old fashioned way. So they trapped him in another universe and he grew into a teenager just like that.
Spring Into SciFi 2022 is Here!
Cover art for “Spring Into SciFi 2022”
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It’s here! The Cloaked Press anthology Spring Into SciFi 2022 Edition is now available for immediate download from Amazon onto your kindle device upon purchase.
It features my space opera short story “Tiamat Descending.” Here’s a short sample.
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