Tobias S. Buckell's Blog, page 27

Food in Toledo, Spain

These are croquettes. I’d never had them before.

I’m now a fan.

I love to sample different kinds of food and not have too much of the same thing. Spain, with Tapas and ‘raciones’ and various serving sizes has an approach to food I really dig. They also keep my kind of schedule, eating dinner at 9 or 10pm and staying up late.

Toledo seems down with Mazapan (Marzipan). An almond paste confectionary. Another first for me. I sampled a lot of it:

For breakfast I’d often eat ‘tortilla,’ which is egg, p...

Check out The Apocalypse Ocean’s amazing, 100% all new cover (plus PDF version)

The Apocalypse Ocean, the fourth book in the Xenowealth series, now features new cover art that puts it closely in line with the other books. It was designed by Jenn Reese of Tiger Bright Studios, and it’s awesome. Check it in it’s full glory:

In addition to the new cover being updated on this website and buy pages, I’ve updated the eBook itself on all the major services with the new cover. I’ve also added a small bit of back matter encouraging people to sign up for my newsletter. Something I...

Vertical farming in Toledo, Spain

One of the things we’ve gone back and forth on in this blog is the viability of vertical farming.

In Toledo I stumbled across this 4 story, single wall full of herb plants in a building converted into a modern market. From below:

and from above:

After 1,200 miles by train, we spent a week in Toledo

In my last description of my European trip, I wrote about traveling 1,200 miles by train from London to Paris, Paris on sleeper train through the south of France, and into the North of Spain, and then down into Madrid and Toledo.

The morning after that epic journey, I woke up to wander around streets like this:

And this:

There was a street called Two Elbows Street somewhere, to my amusement.

Toledo is a medieval walled city dropped down onto a mountain. There’s a river behind it, and walls in fro...

Paneling while light, but not white

I just got back from London, and would love to be uploading pictures and talking about two weeks spent in Europe, but I’m catching up on bills and getting into the swing of work. And my kids start Kindergarten. And the dogs need picked up. So I’ll be a little late.

However, a few people have pinged me about a couple of blog posts that reacted to the panel “Imagining Fantasy Lands: The Status Quo Does Not Need Worldbuilding.”

London Worldcon had a fascinating vein of programming with an openness...

1,200 miles by train

I’m in Europe, and just finished a 1,200 mile journey by train.

That’s like going from Omaha, Nebraska to New York.

Or, as we went North to South, like me going from Bluffton, OH to Miami Florida.

Anyway. The original plan was to fly into London and then take the high speed train to Paris. It is just a couple of hours. Transfer in Paris to take the high speed to Barcelona. That’s a long haul in a single day, but it would let us spend a couple days in Barcelona. Then high speed rail from Barcelon...

I will be a guest instructor at Clarion West in 2015

So here is the announcement:

“Clarion West is delighted to announce the names of the instructors for the 2015 Six-Week Workshop. Applications will open in December 2014. More information about the instructors andapplication instructions will be posted in the coming weeks.

Andy Duncan 2015 Clarion West Leslie Howle Fellow

Eileen Gunn

Tobias Buckell

Connie Willis

Nalo Hopkinson

Cory Doctorow 2015 Clarion West Susan C. Petrey Fellow”

(Via News |.)

So first off, what an amazing line up of instructors for...

West Coast book tour: after action report

The hugely awesome people at Tor (my publicist Leah Withers and Patty Garcia) arranged an author tour for Hurricane Fever.

So a week ago I flew out and arrived in San Diego for San Diego Comic Con. I got lucky and was booked into the Omni Hotel, just across the street. Which was fantastic:

I signed books, talked on my panel, and then met various people. I hung out at a few parties off site and did dinners. I hung out with Tor publicity folk at the booth. I snuck off with Theresa Delucci and Pri...

My London Worldcon panel schedule

I’m on some amazing panels with amazing human beings at the next Worldcon, in London:

Settling the Alien World

Friday 12:00 – 13:30, Capital Suite 9 (ExCeL)

Here are three star systems, each with a planet potentially habitable by humans. One is Mars-like — probably lifeless, and needs warming and water before we can live there (or we need to adapt ourselves). One is Earth-like, with similar biochemistry even (score one for panspermia theory), but so far as we can tell, no sentient organisms. And...

Miami is slowly flooding, and will eventually be our newest Venice

I basically assume Miami is the newest Venice at the start of Hurricane Fever due to this:

“What makes Miami exceptionally vulnerable to climate change is its unique geology. The city – and its satellite towns and resorts – is built on a dome of porous limestone which is soaking up the rising seawater, slowly filling up the city’s foundations and then bubbling up through drains and pipes. Sewage is being forced upwards and fresh water polluted. Miami’s low topography only adds to these problem...