the girly who shall end all girls

the preliminary Nebula ballot is up. it reminded me how disconnected i am from current short stories. and how many novels are out there. (but it also reminded me what a slow cycle they're on. it's 2009 now and the voting is mostly on things that were released in 2007? who has that kind of memory anymore?)

italics for the thing i've read, strikes for the things i'm unlikely to read, soliciting recommendations from the ones that are left. (i usually enjoy about half the stuff that hits the list.)

the novels:
Abraham, Daniel: A Betrayal in Winter (Tor, Jul07)

Barzak, Chris: One for Sorrow (Bantam, Sep07)

Bull, Emma: Territory (Tor, Jul07)

Doctorow, Cory: Little Brother (Tor, Apr08) the man is proof that ideas alone do not make a book. i've tried two (or was it three) novels and he doesn't float my boat.

Goonan, Kathleen Ann: In War Times (Tor, May07)

Le Guin, Ursula K.: Powers (Harcourt, Sep07)

McDevitt, Jack: Cauldron (Ace, Nov07)

McDonald, Ian: Brasyl (Pyr, May07)

Pratchett, Terry: Making Money (Harper, Sep07) i got kind of bored with Sir Terry a while ago, even though i adore him. i'll get to it eventually. i think i may be subconsciously saving up for when he can't write anymore.

Rothfuss, Patrick: The Name of the Wind (DAW, Apr07) this was an excellent book, and i'm looking forward to reading the inevitable volume two and three. (but it's a fat fantasy novel and i like to see the Nebula go to SF, dammit.)

i had been laboring over a review of Counting Heads - i was frustrated that what i saw as a brilliant failure got such good press*.

the opening:
dear Tor,
thanks for crediting your editors. i will try to remember to use this feature in the future when choosing books to read.

Counting Heads is a brilliant failure, and i now know that i should blame David G. Hartwell. this book contains the seeds of five to ten great novels, but none of them were nurtured into existence. instead, we have a recycled container full of a slop of ideas.

but a guy on Amazon pretty much wrote the rest for me. (he even encourages people to read Neal Stephenson and matt_ruff instead.)



*then again, the loudest praise came from Cory Doctorow, who has similar limitations as an author, and that NYT tool.