2 in one day....*gasp*

Anyone interested in how the internet may or may not be effect the readership (and the authors) of science fiction should head on over here for an interesting commentary by Cory Doctorow. Doctorow is the author of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, and is co-editor over at Boing Boing.

He mentions that he released some of his novels via creative commons so I took the liberty of checking out the download page for Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and was astounded at the number of formats offered for the book. Formats range from the standard .pdf to formats for both the iPod and the PSP. Head on over to http://craphound.com/ to check it out.

It's hot!

Man, I frickin' hate hot weather. Especially hot and humid weather. It wasn't bad a few weeks ago when it was like 90-something but bone dry, I can handle that, I sweat like crazy but if I wasn't at work in that kind of heat I might actually be outside enjoying the sun. But kick up that dew point to to 75 degrees (which is what it's at today) and I don't even want to be near a damned window.

The Lies of Locke Lamora: This is perhaps one of the best books I've read this summer. It's by a newcomer named Scott Lynch and I will be looking forward to his future endeavors. The story has an Oliver Twist type feel, a young orphan is adopted by a band of thieves and con-men but there are shades of the urban fantasy of the likes of China Mieville, M. John Harrison, and Jeff Vandermeer. The book continues what I think is a good trend I've noticed in much fantasy, away from the typical heroic fantasy epic to a more character driven mode of storytelling (well it's either a trend, or just a newly developed taste for such fiction on my part) that focuses less on events in a grand scale and more on the trials and tribulations of a single character. If you like a well written story, and enjoy tales of trickery, theft, and skullduggery I highly reccomend this book.