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Books from Worldcon Pt 2
Sep. 21st, 2010 01:50 pmFeed by Mira Grant was the best book I brought back from Worldcon and to say too much about it would spoil it for others. It's about the next generation after the Rising [the zombie apocalypse] and how different they are from ourselves, having grown up in a world where dead doesn't mean you lie down and extreme paranoia is simply common sense. It's about bloggers in this world. It's about a conspiracy and politics and great characters. And zombies.
Mira Grant is the pen-name of author Seanan McGuire, adopted to distinguish her horror writing from her other writing, about which I know nothing, except for the short story in the anthology Grant's Pass which I also picked up at Aussiecon. It's not surprising that, IMO, this story was the most thoughtful and also the most chilling, in that collection.
Grant's Pass is a theme anthology where all the authors were given the same background, i.e. engineered pandemics destroy civilisation and everybody is looking for a safe place to be. In the USA, that place is the town of Grants Pass, because a blogger posted that if the world ended, everyone should meet her there. Short stories aren't my favourite medium for this sort of story, which to my mind requires more freedom to develop. There's barely space for the characters to realise what's happened, grab the guns and head out of town. If they decide to head out of town at all, that is.
F2M by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy was okay, if not great. It was well-written, entertaining and informative and rang true as to likely reactions of family and friends to somebody announcing they were transitioning to the other sex. Also, if you're not a punk, it contained plenty of insight into this subgenre of music and lifestyle.
I'm posting today, btw, because work didn't want me, so that definitely translates to less book buying in the immediate future. Bit of a pity, really, since there are a lot of books around I'd like to buy. Feed has two sequels coming out next year and the year after, which are now on my must-buy list, but I'm pruning that list as much as I can. Not too much, because I have little self control where books are concerned and I have friends who own bookshops and other friends who simply recommend books.
Salutations
Mira Grant is the pen-name of author Seanan McGuire, adopted to distinguish her horror writing from her other writing, about which I know nothing, except for the short story in the anthology Grant's Pass which I also picked up at Aussiecon. It's not surprising that, IMO, this story was the most thoughtful and also the most chilling, in that collection.
Grant's Pass is a theme anthology where all the authors were given the same background, i.e. engineered pandemics destroy civilisation and everybody is looking for a safe place to be. In the USA, that place is the town of Grants Pass, because a blogger posted that if the world ended, everyone should meet her there. Short stories aren't my favourite medium for this sort of story, which to my mind requires more freedom to develop. There's barely space for the characters to realise what's happened, grab the guns and head out of town. If they decide to head out of town at all, that is.
F2M by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy was okay, if not great. It was well-written, entertaining and informative and rang true as to likely reactions of family and friends to somebody announcing they were transitioning to the other sex. Also, if you're not a punk, it contained plenty of insight into this subgenre of music and lifestyle.
I'm posting today, btw, because work didn't want me, so that definitely translates to less book buying in the immediate future. Bit of a pity, really, since there are a lot of books around I'd like to buy. Feed has two sequels coming out next year and the year after, which are now on my must-buy list, but I'm pruning that list as much as I can. Not too much, because I have little self control where books are concerned and I have friends who own bookshops and other friends who simply recommend books.
Salutations