You can read more about the “Sector General” series on Amazon.com.

Final Diagnosis: A Sector General Novel by James White. Tor Books, 1997. Paperback, 312 pages. ISBN: 0-812-56268-2 Four stars.

James White writes the best science-fiction medical-mystery stories on the shelves. This novel is the latest of the spectacular “Sector General” novels set in that vast multi-species hospital. Those of you who have not already discovered this excellent series may want to backtrack a bit to get more of the background, but the novel does stand well on its own.

Imagine a huge and complex station floating in space, full of representatives from hundreds of different species. Into this drop one moderately-xenophobic fellow with a very strange history. Patient Hewlett has throughout his life demonstrated a bizarre assortment of allergies, anomalous reactions, and other problems which have finally landed him in the most advanced medical establishment known, where he immediately becomes popular with the staff members who like to study biological oddities. But when he starts performing what they can only describe as miracles, quite by accident, he becomes something of an embarrassment. A fervent quest ensues to figure out exactly what is going on …

Final Diagnosis features several characters from previous “Sector General” stories, much to the delight of series fans. The style is mainly hard science fiction with a touch of sociological SF. Highly recommended.

This review was originally submitted to Spicy Green Iguana.

Some time ago, when the Kindle first caught my interest, I investigated its features, its usage contract, and the contracts behind its books.  It had one tremendously appealing feature — wireless access allowing instant purchase of ebooks anywhere.  But the fine print revealed that it was inherently insecure; the same access would allow Amazon to edit or delete books in the Kindle’s “library” and there was no way to transfer ebooks off the Kindle to a safe location.  There ended my interest in the Kindle; I wouldn’t use one if somebody gave it to me.  My books are MINE and Seshat help the fool who tampers with them.

It took a while for the penny to drop for most people.  Now it has, and the ensuing ruckus has revealed that a Kindle user doesn’t actually “own” books paid for on a Kindle, but rather buys use rights.  There’s a world of difference, and it’s not to your favor.  Here, then, are some articles and essays about the Kindle crisis, why it’s trouble, and some related issues with other products.

“Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others”

“Amazon Erases Orwell Books from Kindle”

“Freedom of speech, the Amazon Kindle, and the height of irony” by mtrose2

“Apple’s Jobs Confirms iPhone Kill Switch”

The moral of the story is, when dealing with electronic tech, read the fine print.  Make sure you know what you’re buying, what your rights are, and whether some outsider can tamper with your stuff.  Never believe assurances that they won’t — if they can, eventually they will, whenever it is to their advantage or someone with enough money and power tells them to do so.

Recently, Walter Cronkite passed away.  He represented a level of journalism that has faded from fashion and practice — an ideal of newshounds who went after stories with the determination of terriers after rats, who said inconvenient things and pissed off powerful people and told the American people the truth.  People don’t like the truth, and these days, that kind of behavior just gets you fired.  But that was the news.  I miss having America’s news set the world standard for journalistic integrity.  It was the ruthless honesty that made me admire the old guard journalists.  There are few left these days, and there are not many young ones coming after them.  We’re left with glorified actors reading whatever they’re handed.  That’s not news, it’s just propaganda.

Well, here’s an article about the real Walter Cronkite and why he was a great man:

Celebrating Cronkite while ignoring what he did

So, too, with the death of Walter Cronkite.  Tellingly, his most celebrated and significant moment – Greg Mitchell says “this broadcast would help save many thousands of lives, U.S. and Vietnamese, perhaps even a million” — was when he stood up and announced that Americans shouldn’t trust the statements being made about the war by the U.S. Government and military, and that the specific claims they were making were almost certainly false.  In other words, Cronkite’s best moment was when he did exactly that which the modern journalist today insists they must not ever do — directly contradict claims from government and military officials and suggest that such claims should not be believed.  These days, our leading media outlets won’t even use words that are disapproved of by the Government.

If you wonder what went wrong, here is a hilariously apt explanation: “What We Call the News.”

What do you think about the news today?  How reliable and accurate is it?  What would you change if you could?

Other games from Atomic Sock Monkey and Evil Hat Productions may be found on the publishers’ websites.  You can download a streamlined version of the core rules, PDQ#, to see if you like the swashbuckling game-engine.  Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies also has its own game support site online with extra resources.

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies RPG: Core Rulebook by Chad Underkoffler. Evil Hat Productions, 2009. Hardback, 323 pages. ISBN: 978-0-9771534-5-9. Five stars.

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies is a delightfully original roleplaying game. All you need to play the game is this single handbook, plus dice and other incidental materials. (Due to game mechanics, it helps to have a substantial number of six-sided dice in different colors and/or sizes.) Read the rest of this entry »

The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines by Patricia Monaghan, illustrated with photographs from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Llewellyn Publications, 1997. Trade paperback, 371 pages. ISBN: 1-56718-465-0.  Five stars.

Here is a revised, updated and expanded edition of Monaghan’s popular reference The Book of Goddesses & Heroines. It contains a list of photographs, a preface, an introduction, and a guide to the cultures of the Goddess. Myths of the Goddess form the main body of the book. At the end come symbols of the Goddess, names of the Goddess, and feasts of the Goddess; regrettably these are not indexed as to the pages they appear on in the main body. However, the bibliography is downright awesome. In general, I like this edition much better than the older ones; specifically, the breakdown into several subsections makes it easier for me to find what I’m looking for.

The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines is a must-have for anyone working in a female-positive tradition. Every coven, steading, or other Pagan group should have a copy in their library. Pagan scholars and writers will likewise find it an essential resource. Suitable for all levels and traditions. Highly recommended.

* * *

Uncommon Sense Award

This one goes to Llewellyn Publications for their custom of using returns as review copies whenever practical. Most publishers simply destroy returned books, or allow store owners to do so, a practice I find appalling. This alternative is more respectful of creative products and more environmentally responsible. Let’s give these folks a nice round of applause, and encourage other publishers to institute a similar policy.

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This review was originally submitted to PagaNet News.

Recently I received this notice from Karen L. Newman:

My third poetry collection, Toward Absolute Zero, came out recently from Sam’s Dot Publishing. The book contains forty-two of my dark poems. It’s being sold at The Genre Mall.

Karen L. Newman

I found this article about the rapid loss of newspapers and the problems caused by that loss.  It proposes that newspapers and other watchdog media switch from profit to nonprofit status.  I think this plan holds great promise.

A Way to Save the Watchdog Media

Papers are struggling today because, among other reasons, they have lost a good chunk of their advertising revenue to the Internet. At a time of dwindling revenue, newspapers simply do not have a profit incentive to engage in significant watchdog or accountability journalism.

One possible solution to rescuing the watchdog function of the press is to allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits. If a newspaper were run as a nonprofit, this would allow people who valued the impact of its stories to donate and receive a tax deduction.

What do you think about this idea?

I received a note from speculative poet Bruce Boston regarding his latest poetry publication:

My latest poetry collection, Double Visions, is just out from Dark Regions Press.  Double Visions contains my collaborations with ten other speculative poets.

The following article talks about book advances and how shifts in the industry are making it much more difficult for authors to make a living.  An advance against royalties is what gives the author (and family) something to live on until the book starts making money. But now advances are shrinking, and fewer publishers offer an advance at all.

About That Book Advance …

As a payment to be deducted from future royalties, an advance is a publisher’s estimate of risk. Figures fluctuate based on market trends, along with an author’s sales record and foreign rights potential, though most publishers I talked to cited $30,000 as a rough average. In standard contracts, the author receives half up front, a quarter on acceptance of the manuscript and a quarter on publication, though that model is changing, said the literary agent Eric Simonoff, whose clients include James Frey and Jhumpa Lahiri. “Now we see advance amounts being paid in thirds, fourths and even fifths,” Simonoff said in an interview. “For a writer dependent on those funds, that’s not an advance, it’s a retreat.”

Recently I received this notice from Dzanc Books.  Following a successful celebration of May as Short Story Month, Dzanc has decided to release an anthology of essays about short stories.  Dzanc is a small press with a focus on high-quality literary fiction that doesn’t follow mainstream trends.

Read the rest of this entry »

The other two books in this trilogy are The Chronicles of Scar and Lanterns of God (Chronicles of Scar, No 3).

Legacy of the Ancients (Chronicles of Scar, No 2) by Ron Sarti. AvoNova, 1997. Paperback, 366 pages. ISBN: 0-380-73025-1. Four stars.

A brilliant post-apocalyptic novel, Legacy of the Ancients introduces the rediscovery of gunpowder and muskets in the remnants of America, with the countries Kenesee, Arkan, Texan, and Virginia playing the lead roles. Although this is the second book in The Chronicles of Prince Scar I found it perfectly readable and engrossing in its own right. The title character, the troubled Arn or “Prince Scar” of Kenesee sets out to remove a dangerous dictator from power in Texan. Traveling in disguise with his companions, he crosses through Arkan and into Texan where he works to gain the support of the Landholders there. Along the way the party contends with suspicious villagers, internal squabbles, and a band of reconstructed dinosaurs:

I glanced at Murdock and Kren to see if they were ready with another bolt, and saw a flicker of movement to the left. East. Our rear. A deinonychus bounding out of the gully. And another. And another.

Seven. The professor’s book would need a revised edition. [page 94]

Ron Sarti blends gritty realism with wry humor. His experiences in the Vietnam war and understanding of military history lend weight to his writing. I didn’t spot any technical errors, though I was less amused by some of the sociological subtleties. I particularly liked the dinosaurs and the rendition of psychic “wizards” in the story, not to mention the often-satirical comments about the “ancients” responsible for the world’s current condition. Sarti’s skill at building a believable future impressed me, and I look forward to seeing the next book.

Wargamers, historians, and reenactment mavens will love Legacy of the Ancients. Although it takes place quite a while after the collapse, this book should also appeal to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, as it takes a rare look at a society on the upswing trying to avoid repeating their ancestors’ mistakes. Widely recommended for speculative fiction fans in general.

This review was previously submitted to Age of Wonder and Eternity Online.

Drew Morse has posted the winners of the 2009 Rhysling Poetry Awards.  The Rhysling Award recognizes excellence in speculative poetry across the genres of science fiction, fanatasy, and horror.  It is hosted by the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and further information about the award may be found on the SFPA site.

And the winners are:

Long Poem Category:

3rd: Amal El-Mohtar & Catherynne M. Valente, “Damascus Divides the Lovers by Zero, or, The City is Never Finished”

2nd: Samantha Henderson, “Hungry: Some Ghost Stories”

WINNER: Geoffrey A. Landis, “Search”

Short Poem Category:

3rd: Billy Collins, “The Future”

2nd: Samantha Henderson, “Spell”

WINNER: Amal El-Mohtar, “Songs for an Ancient City”

Congratulations to the winners–and, again, to all of the nominees. And thank you to all who took the time to vote. We received 91 ballots this year!

Drew Morse

2009 Rhysling Poetry Awards Chair

The Faces of Womanspirit: A Celtic Oracle of Avalon by Katherine Torres, Ph.D. with illustrations by Cruz. San Diego, CA: Transpersonal Development, 1999. Boxed set featuring 33 cards and trade paperback guidebook, 196 pages. ISBN: 1-885015-05-4.  Four stars.

In this attractive boxed set you’ll find a beautiful deck of cards and a comprehensive guidebook. Printed on heavy-duty, high-gloss paper, the cards themselves measure 3½ x 6 ¼ inches and have rounded corners for long life. The large size makes them a bit awkward to shuffle if you have small hands, as I do; but it also makes them ideal for use as altar decorations, meditation images, or other uses. Vivid, super-saturated colors give the illustrations great impact; lovely feminine imagery shows powerful women of differing ages and body types.

The guidebook explains the preparation and use of the cards, their design, and related matters. The subsets of the deck are “The Faces in the Moon” (which correspond to thirteen sacred Celtic plants), “The Feminine Face of the Planets” (eleven heavenly bodies), “The Journey to Other Worlds” (four levels of being), and “Women of Time” (the classic three phases of Maiden, Mother, Crone) plus one card each for “The Face of WomanSpirit” and “The Honored Face of Self.” Each card entry gives a description of its general energy and meaning, followed by lots of correspondences and interpretations like color, stone, lunar phase, animals, deities, key words of empowerment and challenge, etc. Featured layouts include the traditional Celtic cross used in Tarot, the Right of Power, and Daily Card for Contemplation. At the end comes a glossary of terms and a nice bibliography.

The Faces of WomanSpirit makes a nice alternative for folks who don’t feel attracted to the Tarot but would still like to explore divinatory cards. It holds maximum appeal for followers of the Avalonian path or other Celtic traditions. This deck has a pronounced feminine feel, too; if you like the Motherpeace Tarot, then you’ll love this. Suitable for all experience levels. Highly recommended.

I’m holding a Poetry Fishbowl in The Wordsmith’s Forge today.  The July theme is ”cyberpunk.” (Post-cyberpunk also counts.)  Come watch poetry created live from reader-generated prompts! Read the rest of this entry »

A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angelsnd Other Subversive Spirits by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack. Trade paperback, 296 pages. ISBN: 0-8050-6270-X.  Four stars.

At last, a field guide for the rest of us! Those guides to mammals and reptiles just don’t cover all the beasties we encounter. I spotted this title at the bookstore and just had to get a copy. It actually does a pretty good job of highlighting the characteristic features of unusual entities.

Overview: The introduction discusses the book’s background and the nature of demonic entities, mentioning that not all of them are necessarily evil. Subsequent sections explain “How to Use the Guide,” “How to Identify a Basic Demon,” and “How to Identify a Common Fairy.” There are also sections on “Approaches to the Field” and “Origin of the Species” which provide excellent information for anyone who studies magical creatures. The main body of the book consists of entries describing various subversive spirits, divided by habitat: Water, Mountain, Forest, Desert, Domicile, and Psyche. An exhaustive bibliography, list of illustration credits, and index provide much opportunity for further study although they are printed in tiny, hard-to-read typeface.

Features: Each habitat section begins with a listing of all entries, giving the name of the creature covered and its culture/region of origin. Individual entries vary somewhat in format, but most include an illustration of the creature, a general discussion about it, lore, and – most useful by far – tips on dispelling and disarming techniques. Quotations from relevant historical sources often appear as well, lending support to the narrative text. In most cases, this guide provides enough information for the reader to avoid entirely, avoid affronting, or if necessary vanquish unruly spirits.

Recommendations: A Field Guide to Demons is a wonderful resource for anyone studying magical creatures. It’s also handy for advanced practitioners whose students have a habit of summoning up unruly entities, or for travelers who wish to avoid offending the magical denizens of distant lands. Writers of speculative fiction will find it most inspiring, too. Highly recommended.