David Anthony Durham's Blog, page 55

The Red Haired Woman

Call me a proud father. Every now and then one of Maya's drawings really stuns me. This is the latest to do so (And as you look, remember that Maya's just ten years old!):

BestFantasyBooks.com

BestFantasyBooks.com as put up a list they call "Best Fantasy Series". I'm just saying. Just letting ya know. Might be of interest.

Oh, alright... Yes, Acacia: The War with the Mein is on it. I'm number 9.

I'm having a pleasant run at the moment.

Is This For Real?

Forgive me for wondering that. I should just be humbled and awed and right chuffed, but my innate skepticism keeps me in check.

Take a look at the list of the 20 Best Science Fiction Books Of The Decade, as compiled by io9.

See what I mean? The decade? The decade! And what placement! (Note to authors: try to title your books with letters early in the alphabet, like A, for example.)

Honestly, I can't say a thing about whether or not I deserve to be on such a list. I do appreciate it, though, espe...

The Year of the Flood

I recently finished Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood: A Novel. I liked it. It's her follow up to Oryx and Crake, her earlier novel of the genesis and effects of a human-created pandemic. I guess you could call it a sequel, but it's not quite that. It's more of a companion novel. It covers the same time period, many of the same events, with some of the same characters, but deals with it all from several different perspectives. For one thing, the main characters in this one are female, ...

A Couple Of Reviews

Noticed a pretty nice one in the San Jose Mercury News today. They slipped me in after Cory Doctorow, but I don't object to that. Actually, I think Cory had tails on his tux at the Hugos, so think of me as sliding in on them... The reviewer does want me to write faster than two years between books, though. Hmmm. Sorry. Not happening this time around.

The other one is from a web journal called Alexander's Philosophy. There's not a thing for me to complain about. Seems a perfect reading of the b...

Fortnight +

My two week + adventure as a solo dad comes to a close today. We've made it. Pulled through. Have the same number of fingers and toes. Did lose one tooth, but that's legit. Oh, and I dropped our car keys in the snow down at Rattlesnake Gutter. (I'm not kidding.) Lost em. Maybe if we get a melt I'll go hunting for them. Good thing for spares.

The kids and I are now off to Logan to pick up mom and grandpa. Let the Holidays Begin!

Or... actually, let the end of semester grading, preparation for th...

A Reader Question

A while back I got an email from a very kind person - one that liked my Acacia books! It began rather interestingly...

Hi David,

Excuse the personal nature of this email, but having finished your second book in the Acacia trilogy, something has awakened inside of me, a realization I've been waiting many years for.

Ah... Interesting beginning, the kind that could actually go anywhere. In this case, though, he went on to describe his college life and education, how he ended up with a very useful d...

An Reader Question

A while back I got an email from a very kind person - one that liked my Acacia books! It began rather interestingly...

Hi David,

Excuse the personal nature of this email, but having finished your second book in the Acacia trilogy, something has awakened inside of me, a realization I've been waiting many years for.

Ah... Interesting beginning, the kind that could actually go anywhere. In this case, though, he went on to describe his college life and education, how he ended up with a very useful d...

SFX Review of The Other Lands

SFX magazine, which I believe is the foremost mag for all things science fiction and fantasy in the UK, recently reviewed The Other Lands. They'd been nice to Acacia: The War With The Mein, a couple years back - with quotes like "this could be the start of a fantasy classic" - and they've been very kind to the second installment also. Actually, they've upped the star count by one.

This time around they concluded with:

"Durham combines that portrayal of sharp political manoeuvring with some...

Wild Cards Contest

Mr. Martin just emailed asking me to pass on word about a giveaway of Wild Cards books at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. So that's what I'm doing!

The last two books in the most recent series are up for grabs. Click over to HERE for a chance to get your hands on them.