Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu

Promo copy:

From a 5 Under 35 winner, comes a razor-sharp, hilarious, and touching story of a son searching for his father … through quantum space-time.

Every day in Minor Universe 31 people get into time machines and try to change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician, steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls, Yu visits his mother and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. The key to locating his father may be found in a book. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and somewhere inside it is information that will help him. It may even save his life.

Down to the Bone (Quantum Gravity, Book 5)
by Justina Robson
Cover by Larry Rostant

Promo copy:

Lila Black faces her greatest challange yet as she takes herself, her dead lover and the AI in her head into death’s realm. The Quantum Gravity series, set in a world where our reality mixes with other dimensions that are the homes to Faeries, elementals and demons, is unique in modern SF – a series that is willing to incorporate legend, myth and magic while maintaining a rigorous approach to scientific and pyschological reality. And in Lila Black Justina Robson has created an enduringly strong yet quirkily human and flawed heroine.

City of Ruin
by Mark Charan Newton
Cover by Scott Grimando

Promo copy:

In the frozen north of a far-flung world lies Villiren, a city plagued by violent gangs and monstrous human/animal hybrids, stalked by a serial killer, and targeted by an otherworldly army. Brynd Lathraea has brought his elite Night Guard to help Villiren build a fighting force against the invaders. But success will mean dealing with the half-vampyre leader of the savage Bloods gang. Meanwhile, reptilian rumel investigator Rumex Jeryd has come seeking refuge from Villjamur’s vindictive emperor—only to find a city riddled with intolerance between species, indifference to a murderer’s reign of terror, and the powerful influence of criminals. As the enemy prepares to strike, and Villiren’s defenders turn on each other, three refugees—deposed empress Jamur Rika, her sister Eir, and the scholar Randur Estevu—approach the city. And with them they bring a last, desperate hope for survival … and a shocking revelation that will change everything.

Part I

Books received 6/18/11 Part III was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu

Promo copy:

From a 5 Under 35 winner, comes a razor-sharp, hilarious, and touching story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space-time.

Every day in Minor Universe 31 people get into time machines and try to change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician, steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls, Yu visits his mother and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. The key to locating his father may be found in a book. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and somewhere inside it is information that will help him. It may even save his life.

Down to the Bone (Quantum Gravity, Book 5)
by Justina Robson
Cover by Larry Rostant

Promo copy:

Lila Black faces her greatest challange yet as she takes herself, her dead lover and the AI in her head into death’s realm. The Quantum Gravity series, set in a world where our reality mixes with other dimensions that are the homes to Faeries, elementals and demons, is unique in modern SF – a series that is willing to incorporate legend, myth and magic while maintaining a rigorous approach to scientific and pyschological reality. And in Lila Black Justina Robson has created an enduringly strong yet quirkily human and flawed heroine.

City of Ruin
by Mark Charan Newton
Cover by Scott Grimando

Promo copy:

In the frozen north of a far-flung world lies Villiren, a city plagued by violent gangs and monstrous human/animal hybrids, stalked by a serial killer, and targeted by an otherworldly army. Brynd Lathraea has brought his elite Night Guard to help Villiren build a fighting force against the invaders. But success will mean dealing with the half-vampyre leader of the savage Bloods gang. Meanwhile, reptilian rumel investigator Rumex Jeryd has come seeking refuge from Villjamur’s vindictive emperor—only to find a city riddled with intolerance between species, indifference to a murderer’s reign of terror, and the powerful influence of criminals. As the enemy prepares to strike, and Villiren’s defenders turn on each other, three refugees—deposed empress Jamur Rika, her sister Eir, and the scholar Randur Estevu—approach the city. And with them they bring a last, desperate hope for survival . . . and a shocking revelation that will change everything.

Part I

For my latest Nexus Graphica column over at SF Site, I expanded and revised my 1998 essay “Michael Moorcock and the Comics of the Multiverse” (from Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse #5). The new piece re-titled “The Illustrated Moorcock” chronicles Moorcock’s comics career to the present, delivers some 500 additional words, and allowed me to make some much needed revisions to my clunky writing.

As an added bonus, I also review League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969 which features a Jerry Cornelius appearance.

The Illustrated Moorcock was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

For my latest Nexus Graphica column over at SF Site, I expanded and revised my 1998 essay "Michael Moorcock and the Comics of the Multiverse" (from Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse #5). The new piece re-titled "The Illustrated Moorcock" chronicles Moorcock’s comics career to the present, delivers some 500 additional words, and allowed me to make some much needed revisions to my clunky writing.

As an added bonus, I also review League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969 which features a Jerry Cornelius appearance.

I reviewed.. well okay, more tar & feathered Green Lantern over at Moving Pictures.

And that’s just a sampling. I really went off on this one. Check it all out at Moving Pictures.

One of the worst superhero movies of the 21st century was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

I reviewed.. well okay, more tar & feathered Green Lantern over at Moving Pictures.

And that’s just a sampling. I really went off on this one. Check it all out at Moving Pictures.

For the folks over at Moving Pictures, I reviewed J. J. Abrams’ new summer blockbuster.

Check it all out at Moving Pictures.

Promising both entertainment and quality was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

For the folks over at Moving Pictures, I reviewed J. J. Abrams’ new summer blockbuster.

Check it all out at Moving Pictures.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Smithereens
by Steve Aylett

Promo copy:

Steve Aylett has been described as “utterly original” (SFX), “the most original voice in the literary scene” (Michael Moorcock), “an unstoppable master of space and time” (Asimov’s) and “the coolest writer alive today” (Starburst). SMITHEREENS collects 19 stories including ‘The Man Whose Head Expanded’, the prophetic ‘Download Syndrome’, ‘The Burnished Adventures of Injury Mouse’, the full text of ‘Voyage of the Iguana’, the last ever Beerlight story ‘Specter’s Way’, ‘Horoscope’, and the closest thing Aylett has ever written to a traditional SF story, ‘Bossanova’ (featuring a robot and two spaceships!) There are also animal-attack-while-writing reminiscences in ‘Evernemesi’ and top-of-the-line declarative bitterness in ‘On Reading New Books’. Snails, whales and cortical drills. Aylett’s last collection.

As evident in Part I, I’m a big Aylett fan. Back when I was the RevolutionSF fiction editor, I published his short story “Infestation” and for Fantastic Metropolis in 2005, I interviewed Aylett. Anything new by the bizarrely talented Aylett is always a treat. Like donning a costume and getting candy in June!

Madeline And Her Friends

Promo copy:

Join Madeline, the smallest of 12 little girls in Miss Clavel’s class, and her best friend, her loyal dog Genevieve, as they take the fun to town with six outrageous adventures inspired by Ludwig Bemelmans’ best-selling children’s books!

Six Adventures, Including:
Madeline And The Soccer Star

Madeline’s Singing Dog

Madeline And The Missing Clown

Madeline And The Talking Parrot

Madeline And The Big Cheese

Madeline’s Rescue

City of Ruins
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Cover by Dave Seeley

Promo copy:

Boss, a loner, loved to dive derelict spacecraft adrift in the blackness of space…

But one day, she found a ship that would change everything—an ancient Dignity Vessel—and aboard the ship, the mysterious and dangerous Stealth Tech. Now, years after discovering that first ship, Boss has put together a large company that finds Dignity Vessels and finds “loose” stealth technology.

Following a hunch, Boss and her team come to investigate the city of Vaycehn, where fourteen archeologists have died exploring the endless caves below the city. Mysterious “death holes” explode into the city itself for no apparent reason, and Boss believes stealth tech is involved. As Boss searches for the answer to the mystery of the death holes, she will uncover the answer to her Dignity Vessel quest as well—and one more thing, something so important that it will change her life—and the universe—forever.

Part I

Stuff received 6/5/11 Part II was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Smithereens
by Steve Aylett

Promo copy:

Steve Aylett has been described as "utterly original" (SFX), "the most original voice in the literary scene" (Michael Moorcock), "an unstoppable master of space and time" (Asimov’s) and "the coolest writer alive today" (Starburst). SMITHEREENS collects 19 stories including ‘The Man Whose Head Expanded’, the prophetic ‘Download Syndrome’, ‘The Burnished Adventures of Injury Mouse’, the full text of ‘Voyage of the Iguana’, the last ever Beerlight story ‘Specter’s Way’, ‘Horoscope’, and the closest thing Aylett has ever written to a traditional SF story, ‘Bossanova’ (featuring a robot and two spaceships!) There are also animal-attack-while-writing reminiscences in ‘Evernemesi’ and top-of-the-line declarative bitterness in ‘On Reading New Books’. Snails, whales and cortical drills. Aylett’s last collection.

As evident in Part I, I’m a big Aylett fan. Back when I was the RevolutionSF fiction editor, I published his short story "Infestation" and for Fantastic Metropolis in 2005, I interviewed Aylett. Anything new by the bizarrely talented Aylett is always a treat. Like donning a costume and getting candy in June!

Madeline And Her Friends

Promo copy:

Join Madeline, the smallest of 12 little girls in Miss Clavel’s class, and her best friend, her loyal dog Genevieve, as they take the fun to town with six outrageous adventures inspired by Ludwig Bemelmans’ best-selling children’s books!

Six Adventures, Including:
Madeline And The Soccer Star

Madeline’s Singing Dog

Madeline And The Missing Clown

Madeline And The Talking Parrot

Madeline And The Big Cheese

Madeline’s Rescue

City of Ruins
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Cover by Dave Seeley

Promo copy:

Boss, a loner, loved to dive derelict spacecraft adrift in the blackness of space…

But one day, she found a ship that would change everything—an ancient Dignity Vessel—and aboard the ship, the mysterious and dangerous Stealth Tech. Now, years after discovering that first ship, Boss has put together a large company that finds Dignity Vessels and finds "loose" stealth technology.

Following a hunch, Boss and her team come to investigate the city of Vaycehn, where fourteen archeologists have died exploring the endless caves below the city. Mysterious "death holes" explode into the city itself for no apparent reason, and Boss believes stealth tech is involved. As Boss searches for the answer to the mystery of the death holes, she will uncover the answer to her Dignity Vessel quest as well—and one more thing, something so important that it will change her life—and the universe—forever.

Part I