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Althestane: The only book that has defeated me was Moby Dick. So much pointless whaling lore that it destroyed any sense of continuity. From the review, this boo... more »
Grey_Area: Good review , Alasdair. Pavane is a very rich and satisfying read. Weird that it is not more well known. Has anyone read Gloriana by Michael Moorcock?... more »
allium: Experimental "road locomotives" (i.e., steam cars) began showing up in England in the early 19th century, but public concern about boilers blowing up ... more »
Pegritz: I loved this novel so much when I read it for the first time in the late 1990s. It's sort of a spiritual predecessor for Russel Hoban's Ridley Walker,... more »
CSX321: I feel that the purpose of a book is to communicate an idea. It certainly sounds to me as if this book does a poor job of that. Your description remin... more »
Thaddeus: I am going to have to pick this up. Also, I'll save everyone the trouble of going to Wikipedia: [en.wikipedia.org] more »
mordicai: Oh man this is tickling my fancy! more »
RavenNemain: I picked it up for a dollar at Powell's while on a hunt for alternate histories; as with you, I was not really sure what I was getting in to. I loved... more »
Klebert L. Hall: [quote]The first portion of Makers reads very much like a manifesto. [/quote] This is what keeps me from reading Doctorow. His books always sound lik... more »
Byronotron: want want! since i read little brother i've been absolutely obsessed with DIY projects, even if it's taking a little bit longer to get some stuff star... more »
Hotscot: Anyone read a good time travel novel in the past year or so? You wouldn't think there would be much newness that could be done with the topic but I lo... more »
Ian Fiebig: About half way through and really enjoying it. Favorite line so far... "The typical ROI for a Kodacell unit in the old days was about four percent. I... more »
Moff: "To keep everybody in line there's usually some ancient organization imaginatively called the Watchers, or The Council of Elders." For this -- for th... more »
LittleDragon: I like Dresden :P but yeah his books are candy books. I have been meaning to check this guy out for a while but he will have to wait a while longer. more »
Eldritch: Victor R Green? Do you perhaps mean Simon R Green? Or is there a guy who does supernatural detective noir named Victor R Green too? more »

#books

Pavane Is Alternate History's Lost Masterpiece
Looking for a stocking stuffer this holiday season that's a bit off the beaten path? Want to discover a forgotten classic of alternate history? Then you might want to give the 1968 novel Pavane by Keith Roberts a try. More »
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As Silicon Valley Crumbles, the Makers Will Inherit the Earth
In Little Brother, Cory Doctorow showed how a grassroots, technology based movement could ensure our civil liberties. With his latest novel, Makers, he asks whether a similar movement could save American capitalism from itself. More »
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Magical Dogs and Detectives Explore Supernatural San Francisco in "Unleashed"
Forthcoming urban fantasy Unleashed (Ace) by John Levitt is the sequel to Dog Days and New Tricks. It follows the exploits of a spell-casting jazz guitarist and his magic doggie. Well, sort of a doggie. More »
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Strange Visitors And Broken Hearts Will Restore Your Faith In Short Fiction
If you believe in reading short fiction for pleasure, you're condemned to frequent disappointment. Most short fiction, even the good stuff, is... laborious. So when reading the anthology Eclipse Three, you may be startled at the unexpected sensation of enjoyment. More »
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Vegan Rebels of the Bio-apocalypse in “Year of the Flood”
What happens when you get the apocalypse you wished for? That's what a band of eco-subversives called the Gardeners find out in Margaret Atwood's Year of the Flood, a story of humanity destroyed for meddling too much with the environment. More »
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Enter The Multiple Demented Worlds Of The Perry Bible Fellowship
Imagine a place filled with giant robot pizza boys, cardboard time machines, hideously mutated crime-fighting mole rats, and apocalyptic destruction. That place is the Perry Bible Fellowship, and now you can visit it with The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack. More »
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Our Geeky Hearts Are Bigger On The Inside Than On The Outside
Of all the love letters in Michael Chabon's newest book Manhood For Amateurs, the tenderest might well be reserved for Doctor Who. The Time Lord's journey, like so many other geeky narratives, becomes a touchstone for Chabon's relationships and self-discovery. More »
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Can a Plush Bunny Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? You Decide
A choose-your-own-adventure style book is a natural addition to the zombie genre, but Zombocalypse Now is a surprisingly zany entry. Starring a snarky, chainsmoking stuffed bunny, the book pits you against mobsters, toothpaste executives, and zombified zoo animals. More »
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"Finch" Is Interdimensional, Extraterrestrial Biosteam Noir
Reading Jeff VanderMeer's latest novel Finch, out this week, you're tempted to make up descriptors like "biosteam" and "spore noir." Inventive and haunting, the book is a hardboiled detective story set in a city overrun by spore-hacking mushroom people. More »
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The Secret History of Science Fiction
Tachyon Publications has a new anthology out called The Secret History of Science Fiction. It centers around a subject that has sparked countless debates and rants among Science Fiction fans. And no, it's not River Tam vs. James T. Kirk. More »
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The Master Of Weird Stories Crafts A Dark, Terrible Odyssey
Set in the poignant urban blight of a near-future New York, Bleak History follows the soulful and brooding Gabriel Bleak on a classic hero's journey. Which is to say, against his will, to the hidden source of his mounting affliction. More »
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Turns Out There's Something Darker Than The Dark Side

Having a zombie overload? You still might want to save some room for the "zombies in the Star Wars universe" book, Death Troopers, which came out last week. It turns out stormtroopers and zombies do mix. Spoilers below. More »
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At the End of the World, We'll All Be on Reality TV
Will The Hills lead us to the apocalypse? In Lee Konstantinou's Pop Apocalypse, we can watch anyone, anytime, and celebrity worship has infiltrated every aspect of our culture. It may just be the end of the world. More »
#futurism

We're Heading For A New Cold War, Argues Futurist
Strap yourself in: We're in for the return of Cold War politics, the rise of new dominant powers, and a full-blown space war, according to a new book. What are the chances his dire predictions will come true? More »
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The Spine-Tingling Glamour of Hammer Pinup Girls
Just in time for Halloween, Titan Books has released Hammer Glamour, a luscious coffee table book that collects pinup images of beauties featured in iconic Hammer Studios movies of the 1960s and 70s. These ladies helped redefine the horror genre. More »
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A New Manual for the Lycanthropic Lifestyle
Halloween brings out the creeps and ghouls, but werewolves attack any time the full moon rises. Recently bitten and don't know where to turn? The Werewolf's Guide to Life can help you adjust to a lifetime of fangs and fur. More »
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Steampunk Zombies of the Seattle Apocalypse
Confederate airships! Mad scientists! Zombies! Goggles! Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is a veritable grab bag of subgenre tropes. But, fortunately, it's far less about clockwork and brass than it is about human adaptability and the shifting nature of the American Dream. More »
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New Hitchhiker's Book Is Mostly Harmless... Unfortunately

The greatest proof of Douglas Adams' genius is that his anarchic comedy seems effortless. But when anyone else tries to do it, they crash and burn. Exhibit A: And Another Thing..., the new Hitchhiker's novel that comes out next week. More »
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Madness of Flowers: The City Is...Alive
The brilliant and prolific Jay Lake returns to the City Imperishable, with a Madness of Flowers. This is a decadent, surreal urban fantasy in the New Weird vein. Sex Dwarfs, spoilers, and a Polar Bear await. More »
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"Peter & Max" Modern Day Fable Brings Back Happily Ever Afters
Funny, smart and full of old-fashioned thrills and spills, Peter & Max: A Fables Novel brings Bill Willingham's long-running comic series to the world of prose in a way that's sure to please old fans and make some new ones. More »

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