Category Archives: Post Elsewhere

Post Elsewhere

Today I wrote a post somewhere else…

Posted on January 18 2013 by Justin | 1 Comment

A-Memory-of-LightI didn’t get a copy of A Memory of Light from Tor. But, the Mad Hatter did. He didn’t feel up to date enough in the series to review the book, so he paid it forward and I offered to write the review for his site. He also says some nice things about me at the end. . .

My thoughts on A Memory of Light and the Wheel of Time:

Two diplomas, three jobs, one marriage, one kid, three dogs, twenty years. Those are a few of the things that have happened to me since I read Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World for the first time. I’ve since read it a dozen times. I love it almost as much today as I did then. Rand’s long walk from his home to Emond’s Field, his father laid out on the horse cart clinging to life, still instills the same sense of dread and determination it always has.

… Read the rest

See me at Pornokitsch today. . .

Posted on January 11 2013 by Justin | Leave a comment

With the Hugo Awards recently opening their doors to nominations, Jared Shurin from Pornokitsch invited me over to talk about the books I think are mostly likely to be forgotten by the voters.

Our first Friday Five for 2013 is a doozy, with three of the interweb’s more thoughtful genre reviewers swinging by to chat about the Hugo Awards. As you may have noticed from the recent inundation of “‘I’m eligible!” posts, nominations for Science Fiction’s Most Biggest Award are open. Anyone attending the 2012, 2013 or 2014 WorldCons can (and should) nominate their favourite works of the year.

Read the rest. . .

… Read the rest

Find me at SF Signal today

Posted on December 14 2012 by Justin | Leave a comment

My newest column on small presses has gone up at SF Signal. I focused the spotlight on Prime Books, a small publisher out of Maryland.

Shoggoths in Bloom Elizabeth BearYamada Monogatari Demon Hunter Richard ParksMachanique Genevieve Valentine

I apologize for being two months behind on my column. It’s been a busy time. My wife and I found out we’re having our second child. We bought a puppy. I’m transitioning into a new job. All of those are excuses, but the reality is Prime Books publishes collections of short fiction almost exclusively. And between you and me, I don’t really consume short fiction with any great vigor. See, I’m one of those readers who falls into the one more chapter syndrome. Novels suck me in, they demand I keep reading them well into the night. When I finished a short story I just put down the book, satisfied and ready to sleep.

For the purposes of this column, I’ve made it a point to read two new volumes from each publisher before writing about them.

… Read the rest

Smugglivus 2012–My Contribution

Posted on December 5 2012 by Justin | 1 Comment

Book Smugglers IconAna and Thea from the Book Smugglers contacted me a few months ago and asked me to write a post for their annual Smugglivus event. They ask their guest writers to

[look] back at their favorite reads of 2012, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2013.

But, since I’m not one for binary discussions I went off the reservation. They may not invite me back, but I took the opportunity to talk about something very important to me, both as a consumer and as a father. Namely, that the socially created false dichotomy of boy/girl media is tragic and dangerous.

When I wrapped the post up, sitting at around 1100 words, I knew I hadn’t done the topic justice. It requires several thousand more words and significantly more insightful examination of sales trends and publisher behavior. Nevertheless, I hope the point itself is sufficient. How can a book be any good when it ignores half of humanity?… Read the rest

A New Organization Formed at Bastard Books

Posted on November 12 2012 by Justin | 1 Comment

Almost two months ago, Bastard of Bastards Books asked me to write a guest post about why I’m not so jazzed with urban fantasy. I agreed, but it wasn’t a real easy post to tackle and I kept fussing with it. I finally got around to finishing it, and he finally got around to posting it.

My name is Justin, and I don’t like urban fantasy. This is where everyone says, “Hi Justin” and then I regale you with the stories about how the genre has burned me so often that I can longer stand to be in the same room with it. I might finish my little speech by saying, “And I’ve been urban fantasy free for 98 days.” Someone might even give me a pin to commemorate my unreliance. Of course, that isn’t really true. . . I do read urban fantasy. I’m just scared of wasting my life every time I do.

… Read the rest

Infidel by Kameron Hurley, a rewrite

Posted on November 9 2012 by Justin | Leave a comment

With Kameron Hurley’s final novel in her Bel Dame Apocrypha being released, I thought it would be appropriate to rerun my God’s War and Infidel reviews at A Dribble of Ink, before publishing a review of Hurley’s concluding volume, Rapture.

I had a problem though, I didn’t really think my review of either of the first two novels was all that good. They were both written in my first six months as a blogger, and I thought they deserved better. So I rewrote them — never an easy thing to do. Here’s Infidel:

Infidel_Kameron_HurleyThere’s a fine line between dark and compelling and horrifying and off-putting. When a story comes right up to the line without crossing it a certain dichotomy comes into existence whereby I want to look away and forget about it, but can’t. No author in recent memory walks this line better that Kameron Hurley whose second novel, Infidel, compliments that description perfectly.

… Read the rest

SF Signal | ChiZine Publications in the Spotlight

Posted on September 21 2012 by Justin | Leave a comment

I write a regular column at SF Signal spotlighting small presses from around the world. Last month I wrote about Small Beer Press, a literary genre press out of Massachusetts. Today, I spent 1100 words on ChiZine, the rapidly growing dark fiction press from Toronto, Canada.

ChiZine_Pub

I’ve taken to frequenting brick and mortar book stores more often since beginning this column. I find myself needing to peruse the stacks, to see what catches my eye and what’s being stocked. It should come as no surprise that few of the presses I’ll be covering find themselves en masse on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, but some do. ChiZine Publications is one of them.

When I first came across ChiZine, two years ago or so, I wrote them off to some degree. I’ve never been one for weird for its own sake and covers like David Nickle’s Monstrous Affections coded that way for me. 

… Read the rest

New SF Signal Column by Yours Truly

Posted on August 10 2012 by Justin | Leave a comment

A few weeks back SF Signal approached me about my interest in doing a column. After some back and forth we decided on a column about small presses. I’ve always been a fan of reading things a little off the beaten path around here and I hope to do even more of it in the months ahead. It’s an important subject and one I’m passionate about. I very much appreciate SF Signal giving me the opportunity.

My point of view with the column centers around what role small presses play in the larger game of science fiction and fantasy. Not just what are they’re doing, but hopefully a little bit about why they’re doing it. I’ll also be reading a few books from the press before each column to get a feel for what they’re all about. When appropriate I’ll be reviewing them here. I began with Small Beer Press:

I begin with Small Beer Press, founded by husband and wife Gavin Grant and Kelly Link who first teamed up in the late 90′s under the Hugo-nominated zine Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet.

… Read the rest

Interviewed by Another Blogger – What?

Posted on June 27 2012 by Justin | 4 Comments

Mieneke from A Fantastical Librarian invited me to answer some questions about me, my interest in genre fiction, and blogging. I was all too happy to reply, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t like talking about themselves?

She asked a lot of questions, but the one I found most fascinating was, “How do you think blogs and reviewers fit in the book business?” I’ve written about the topic at some length before, but I think my answer sheds some more light on where I stand.

With the decline of the bookstore the vast majority of people moving forward will buy their books on-line. Decline in bookstores, means a decline in conversation between two people who love books. Ask anyone out there, what’s the best way to sell books? Their answer is always, “Word of mouth.” Well what happens when people stop running into each other in the stacks? When book store employees aren’t there to recommend stuff?

… Read the rest

Find Me in Other Places on the Interweb

Posted on June 6 2012 by Justin | 2 Comments

Aidan Moher, of genre super blog A Dribble of Ink, has invited me syndicate reviews on his site. The first one, my early review of Alastair Reynolds’ Blue Remembered Earth, went live yesterday, coinciding with the novel’s US release date.

As a prolific reviewer, something Aidan doesn’t do as often as he’d like, I’m hoping to give his readers more frequent input on new releases and the occasional back list title. A Dribble of Ink will be running a few of my reviews every month, typically a week or two after they run here. For those who read me frequently, this won’t impact a thing, but hopefully it exposes me to some new readers from among Aidan’s legion.

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In other news, last week while I was at Balticon, John Anealio of The Functional Nerds asked me to sit in on the podcast for an interview with Compton Crook Award Winner, T.C.

… Read the rest