Jeff VanderMeer is currently blogging about the books he’s reading, and he’s been posting some very interesting stuff about Al Sarrantonio’s anthology Flights. While he and I differ in opinion on Tim Powers’ novelette from the book, we are very much of a mind about Elizabeth A Lynn’s quite amazing novelette, “The Silver Dragon”. What is most striking about the story is that Lynn manages to cover a remarkable amount of storytelling ground – introducing characters, building a world etc – while never making the story feel compressed, or shortened. Instead, she’s managed to create a wonderful example of ‘traditional’ or ‘mainstream’ fantasy. I’m also intrigued by Jeff’s Evil Monkey question, where he asks “Do writers of experimental fiction need to prove they can tell a good story before they start experimenting?” I think the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes!’. Too many writers of ‘experimental fiction’ seem to simply be displaying their inability to write a story at all, rather than playing fascinating riffs on traditional themes. It seems to me you have to learn the rules before you break them.

Well, as you all know I’ve just hung up my reader’s hat for 2004 and am getting down to the job of finishing the two year’s bests, which is cool. But, no sooner had I announced that on this blog than I received in my inbox the first issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for 2005. Now don’t get me wrong, it looks like a peach of an issue (with some very cool looking stories), and all of the major magazines are very kind and generous letting me see stuff early, but it can’t be 2005 yet. It can’t! Can it?

Parents are boring folk. They have little else to do but boil cabbage, scrub floors and dote on their beloved charges. For that reason, if no other, we at Coode Street have allowed the original web pages for Jessica and Sophie to lapse into disuse. To correct this situation, and to perhaps help get some information to loving grandparents and others, a new site has been set up at The Ministry of Little People. It is the official new site and will eventually contain photos, information on comings and goings etc. At the very least, it will have a full report on Sophie’s upcoming third birthday party, and whatever else we can fit.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was posting information about the reading period for Science Fiction: Best of 2004 and Fantasy: Best of 2004. Well, we’re done and dusted. It’s over. Karen and I have closed the reading period for the two books and contracts for stories should be winging their way to a couple dozen people very shortly. It’s way, way too early to post lists – we may not be able to get some stories and these things change – but I will when I can. Now all I have to do is get those introductions and story notes done and we should get the books finished for the end of the month. Busy times.

I’m continuing to play with the blog. At the moment I’ve turned on the blogger comments just to try them out. Don’t know if they suck or not, but we’ll find out. In the meantime, the Quicktopic comments are still in place.