…ce has offered guidance and protection to its human relatives. But war has come to the Dai Viet Empire. Prosper’s brightest minds have been called away to defend the Emperor; and a flood of disorientated refugees strain the station’s resources. As deprivations cause the station’s ordinary life to unravel, uncovering old grudges and tearing apart the decimated family, Station Mistress Quyen and the Honoured Ancestress struggle to keep their relativ…

…e I love to put garlic in everything. Also, if the vampire apocalypse ever comes to pass, I’ll be well prepared. I also had to google most of these, because I didn’t know they existed (cookie presses? sandwich makers? Wow), and wasn’t altogether sure of some things: for instance, our pressure cooker doubles as a steam cooker thanks to a handy basket, and we have a raclette set but no fondue set (I’m assuming a lot of these are typically British eq…

…rcumstances will soon take him. In the sweltering jungle, his purity has become a commodity to the ettin invaders and their lord, the dark Vexor. But how long can his innocence last in a godless land? A short story by AJ Cooper   Looking For Daddy Three weeks ago, Daddy left town with the other volunteer firefighters to fight the fires in the city and Tom and Mother have looked after the farm. Radios, phones and TV have fallen silent, trains have…

…:55: Reading. Not entirely sure what I’ll be reading with: either the forthcoming Immersion Press novella On a Red Station, Drifting, or the urban fantasy novel. Either way, something no one but very few people have seen before… 12:00-12:45: Kaffeklatsch. You can sign up in advance for it here. 13:00-13:45: The stress of space travel on family relationships: Returning to Earth to find yourself younger than your own grand-children isn’t just a head…

…and Doctor Pig. The structure is unusual in that it’s a series of linked short stories told at a banquet held in the midst of a storm–and that the link turns out to be the lynchpin and decision point for the main character. There are mild fantastical elements (underwater naga kingdoms, for instance), but first and foremost, it remains an excellent crime novel, and a sharp look at all the layers of 15th-Century Vietnamese society, on the eve of the…

…ion will hopefully be sporadic (I have a story to write!). To tide you over: go read Mari Ness’s snarky review of the pilot for Revolution (which sounded hopelessly racist and hopelessly science-light in its trailer)….

…ports – 2,000-character articles about (on-going) national or European events If our correspondents indicate there is an interest in interviews, panels, essays, films, TV series etc. we will introduce new sections to cover them. Any suggestions and recommendations are most welcome. We need at least one English-speaking person from each European SF community who is willing to help us with this project. BTW, if anyone is reading this from France and…

So, the H comes home tonight and shows me the picture above. “Wanna take a guess on what this is?” he asks with a (suspiciously) broad smile. I take a look. “Ratatouille?” I hazard, knowing it can’t be that. Apparently, this is what a La Défence restaurant sold as bò bún. It has, let’s see… carrots, rice (badly cooked, according to the H), shrimps and some other unidentified vegetables that the H assured me were all Western in origin. No bò (beef…

…l be reading a longer portion from the novella On a Red Station, Drifting. Come if you like Vietnamese on space stations, food porn and strong female characters! Friday 1pm-3pm: group reading for John Joseph Adams’ Epic anthology (aka sharing a TOC with Ursula Le Guin and Kate Elliott, squee!). Vice President Suite (room number 1073) in the Sheraton. The Epic authors present include Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Pat Rothfuss, and George…

Just a quick post to say that I am back, having had a great WFC–more later, but major congratulations to friends Lavie Tidhar and Ken Liu for their World Fantasy Award wins (thrilled for Ken, who has done the hat trick of winning the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award in the same year with his “Paper Menagerie”, though for my money I still think “The Man Who Ended History: a Documentary” was a stronger and more thought-provoking tale). That’s i…