Edmund Lester

Okay second choice for 2009 is a novella. I like novellas, it's my absolute favourite length for fiction. I find far too many modern novels to be padded into mighty tomes when their plots have less strength than some of the greats of sf's golden age... I grew up reading Asimov, Bradbury, del Rey, Heinlein, Clarke, Moorcock, Edmund Cooper and many others from the 1930s through to the 1960s. Science fiction from this period was dominated by the short story. Novels when they did exist were short, often no more than 140 pages. Anyway I like short books and one of the best publishers of such books is British genre specialist PS Publishing. At the end of last year they published a wonderful, wonderful sf novella by Joe Hill called Gunpowder. The book is a little like Ender's Game in its concept - a group of kids are set up in a controlled environment to help better mankind. Instead of battle simulations though these kids are here to help terraform a planet - helped by a series of...

Okay, first week, first book - even if that should have been twenty days ago! I'm going to start with an odd one - just as I probably intend to continue. I picked up a copy of Brewer's Britain and Ireland, a compendium of etymologoes for 7500 placenames in Britain and Ireland. Fabulous thing! I will say one thing about the books I add over the coming weeks. This is likely to not be the last reference title I add to this list. I have to admit a certain addiction to reference titles. Anyway here's a couple of links in case you want to go buy it (Amazon's UK and US) UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/030435385X/theeternanightsf US http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/030435385X/theeternalnig-20

So much of it has gone by. Three months since my last posting. Oh my! I suppose that's what you get for starting a new job and wanting to do well. Still I am going to get back to it. And I have a goal. I am going to try recommending a book each week from now on. For whatever reason I feel like. Occasionally new books, occasionally old. Some fiction, some fact. Whatever takes my fancy. And yes I know that as it is January 22nd already and I haven't started means I am a little too late. But so what! I'm going to do a couple of belateds first! See next post...