New Reviews Online

Now it can be told. A little while back, Scott Edelman of Sci Fi Magazine contacted me, and asked if I'd be willing to do a little work for him. It seems they were covering Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (like you haven't heard of it by -now-...) and would I be willing to work up a few sidebars? Certainly, said I. And lo, it has come to be. I just recieved my contributor copies of the December 2008 issue. In the sidebars, I look at Twilight "by the numbers," examine the Midnight Sun debacle, and make seven recommendations to Twilight fans in need of a good read or three.

For those curious, it was my opinion that Twilight fans might do well to check out:
Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead
City of Bones, by Cassandra Claire
Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz
Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters
Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr
Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine
Marked, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

As you can imagine, I'm quite pleased by the whole thing.
In fact, the entire issue looks pretty darned spiffy, if you ask me.

Over on SF Site, a few new reviews have gone live:
Dead To Me by Anton Strout
Mind the Gap by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
The Blood King by Gail Z. Martin
Poison Sleep by T.A. Pratt
The Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson
Star Wars: Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves
Gale Force by Rachel Caine

So go forth and find a good book to read!

Flavors of Fantasy...

No, not a new VH1 reality show. A fascinating discussion over on Tor.com in which we go off on a tangent to define the different sorts of fantasy.

My comment:
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My understanding is that it sort of goes like this:

High/epic Fantasy: Tolkein, Jordan, and that ilk. Immortal elves, bold heroes, brave warriors, dark tyrants, epic quests, a certain flowing language and a deeply magical, beautiful, grand scheme to things. The shiny is shinier, the pretty prettier, the magic magicaler, the evil eviller... High fantasy is a world unto itself, where nothing is small. Except the hobbits.

Sword & Sorcery/Low fantasy: Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard. More down to earth. Grim and gritty. Flawed heroes and anti-heroes. Mighty-thewed barbarians stalking the land in search of adventure, ale, and whores. Good versus evil on a smaller, more visceral scale. Chain mail bikinis, tentacled horrors, maidens in need of rescuing.

Urban Fantasy: Things of magic set in a familiar setting, i.e. the here and now (for the most part.) Science meets superstition, technology meets magic. Wizards, witches, elves, vampires and werewolves dwell among an often-unknowing humanity. Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Jim Butcher, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Holly Black are all fine examples of this rapidly growing sub-genre.

Paranormal Romance: See urban fantasy, but add in a strong emphasis on the romantic relationships and matters of the heart - and sometimes sex - between the main characters. There's a broad overlap between the two, but no one's find the exact line of divide. Paranormal romance bleeds into romantic fantasy.

Science Fantasy: If I ever figure that one out, I'll let you know. I suppose that dwells out in the realm of "any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic" and vice-versa.

The great thing about all of these genres is that they overlap, and there's a space in the middle where they can all meet.

Sadly, for all that, I can't think of any high fantasy short fiction offhand that really calls to me at the moment.
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It was well-recieved over there. Any thoughts?