I finished reading Richard Morgan’s The Steel Remains last night.  It’s the first novel of a new fantasy trilogy, but can be read as a stand-alone.  It’s fast-paced, has visceral action, and is gripping reading.  I’m not entirely sure the graphic homosexual sex scenes are necessary to the book, though they certainly ground it in places (and add something for anyone who ever wanted to get it on with Elric).  I’d love to be able to dive into the second book in the series, but I’m guessing it’s not even written. Heck, this first one isn’t due in-store till August.  I definitely give it the big tick, if you’re not easily offended, and expect to see it hitting awards lists next year.

…being hit in the face with a shovel, over and over, but with a nice little break in between.

The latest Ansible reports the sad news that Ramsey Campbell’s mother-in-law has passed away at the age of 93. It also contains – from an Australian SF perspective – the rather amazing piece of information that Campbell’s father-in-law was A. Bertram Chandler.  A weird, small world we live in.

The market website Duotrope contains a notice that Eclipse has been re-opened till 18 May. The Duotrope team do a great job keeping track of a lot of information, but unfortunately this is an error.  Eclipse is closed and will be remaining so.  I’ve let the Duotrope team know and asked them to correct their site information.  My own apologies to anyone who’s inconvenienced.

I was reading someone else’s post (girliejones, I think) about simply tidying up to make things seem simpler.  That’s where I need to get to. I have some serious paperwork to do, but I feel like I can’t till I get things sorted.  This weekend’s priorities are family, housework, and a couple other things. Watched The Golden Compass last night, which looked terrific but lacked tension and some logic.   Also want to finish The Steel Remains, which continues well. I have a new Gene Wolfe in my office, the new Jim Blaylock, and the whiff of a new Pratchett on the wind.  Reading to be done.

This is going to seem very scattered, but on my mind are tidying the house, getting ready for a family visit in July (we need a new car!), dealing with taxes (my most unfavorite thing,  soliciting a replacement story for Godlike Machines, sorting out the garden, applying for my own job (!), and general ‘stuff’.  I also am thinking about fish and fish tanks.  Hmmm. This may be while I’m feeling so scattered.