Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 242

Revisiting the Classics: The Invisible Man

I hadn't ever read The Invisible Man, so I thought I'd give the audio book a try. I had two initial impressions: (1) American audio book readers really shouldn't try to read an entire book in a British accent (the reverse also being true, I'm sure), and (2) I hadn't expected all the slapstick.The Invisible Man is a book with a cast of stupid people, for all that one of them is a scientific

Eddie Izzard Explains Imperialism

. . . with Legos.

The Chart of Fantasy Art

Well, the most commonly seen element appearing on fantasy books published last year was, it seems, the sword. Closely followed by glowy magic, castles, and dragons. I suspect a few covers contained all these elements. Meanwhile, fans of unicorns, maps, and stilettos had a disappointing year, and perhaps were lost to other genres.Tim Holman posts some of his market research.

Serious: the New Black?

One of the things I sensed about Worldcon was a longing on the part of the fans for seriousness.The program items featuring Paul Krugman were packed. Panels on political subjects were well-attended. A panel on the Drake Equation did well. Panels on social media were full--- but then you'd expect that, with everyone networked and urging their Twitter-friends to show up.But even the philosophy

Return of the Swedish Sea-Vikings!

The freighter Arctic Sea is missing, after allegedly having been boarded by a mysterious group of armed Swedes. The Russian Navy has been called in, and is looking for the ship with submarines. (I'd try a pair of binoculars first.)This article sums up many of the current conspiracy theories, though they seem to have left out UFOs. UFOs are always brought into conspiracy theory sooner rather

Nine Votes

The stats released from the Hugo voting at Worldcon have shown that Implied Spaces came just nine votes short of getting a Hugo nomination. Of course that also means that Implied Spaces came but nine votes short of being turned into an asphalt angel by Neil Gaiman's Invincible Award-Winning Steamroller--- but then if that happened, I'd find myself in pretty good company. I would like to offer

First New Rule from Worldcon

So here's my first new rule from the Worldcon:No more Utilikilts.This is strikingly similar to my first observation from last year's Worldcon, but it's obvious that people weren't listening last year. Please note that I am not opposed to Scottish dress. When a Scot puts on a kilt he is stylin'. Just check this picture. The outfit is not just about the kilt. It's also about the velvet jacket with

High Class

I'm off to Worldcon in Montreal for the next week, so I thought I'd leave you with something to chew on.I was talking with genius New Mexico writer Daniel Abraham the other day, and once again he demonstrated why we all think he's going to rule the world before he's fifty. (And if not him, his kid.)He announced that he'd figured out the difference between genre and literary fiction. Which is

Nag Time

Have I nagged you lately to buy This Is Not a Game? Or Implied Spaces? I thought not.

Sold Out!

The Subterranean Press edition of Songs of the Dying Earth has sold out! They won't be printing any more. But look what Uncle Walter has found for you! A handful of copies remain in an obscure, hard-to-find online venue. If you don't buy a copy now, you'll have to wait a year or more for the Tor edition.