Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 244
July 29, 2009
Revisiting the Classics: Fahrenheit 451
I recently re-read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time since I was 14. I found the book full of surprises, in part because I retained more vivid memories of the Truffaut film, which I've seen multiple times, than of the novel, which I'd read only once, and long ago. The first thing that surprised me was the novel's tone, which is that of barely-controlled hysteria. Montag is the last person in
July 27, 2009
15 Books
Ish tagged me with the 15 Books meme, in which--- quickly, and without giving it a lot of thought--- you write down the top 15 books that will always stay with you. I'd like to start another meme, in which you actually think about this stuff before hurling a list before the public. Here's the list I actually thought about.1. Tales of Mystery and Imagination, by Poe.2. Complete Works of
July 23, 2009
Movable Memoir
Scribner is about to release a revised, bowdlerized edition of Hemingway's A Movable Feast. A Hemingway grandson has substantially revised the book, apparently to make his grandmother (aka Hemingway Wife #2) a more sympathetic character. He's dropped the last chapter, which he claims was written by Mary (Hemingway Wife #4), stuck ten other chapters in an appendix, and replaced them by writings
July 21, 2009
My Fame Advances
The Review Fairy has been good to me this week.First, This Is Not a Game got a nice review in the Seattle Times. Fast-paced and with an immensely satisfying resolution, "This Is Not a Game" uses the latest true-to-life phenomenon of "Alternate Reality Games" to make its gripping story's grasp tighter, more relentless, and one you'll miss when it at last lets you go.Then, Implied Spaces got a nice
July 20, 2009
Gas Giant Smackdown!
A rogue object has collided with Jupiter!Wasn't this how Greg Bear's Forge of God started? Should we start saying goodbye to our loved ones now?
Northrop Builds a Horten
Northrop has built a replica of the world's first het-powered flying-wing stealth bomber, the Horten Ho 2-29. First built and tested in the air in March 1944, it was designed with a greater range and speed than any plane previously built and was the first aircraft to use the stealth technology now deployed by the U.S. in its B-2 bombers . . .The most important innovation was
July 19, 2009
Philosophers Needed: Apply NASA
. . . He was an engineer who until recently had been a NASA heat-shield specialist. A baffling wave of layoffs had begun, and his job was eliminated. It was so bad he was lucky to have gotten this stand-up Spielmeister gig on a tour bus. Neil Armstrong and his two crew mates, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, were still on their triumphal world tour ... while back home, NASA's irreplaceable team of
July 18, 2009
And Speaking of Jack Vance . . . .
A new Dying Earth volume will be released any day now, a book that is not by Jack Vance but of Jack Vance.Songs of the Dying Earth is a collection of stories written in honor of Vance, by writers like Kage Baker, Tanith Lee, Mike Resnick, Dan Simmons, Robert Silverberg, and yours truly. It's a pretty nifty anthology, if I do say so myself. Or, as Library Journal put it in their starred review:
July 15, 2009
Corpse-Eating Robot
According to our friends at Fox News, a corpse-eating robot called EATR may roam the battlefields of the future . . . A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies.Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot —
And About Time, Too!
Me: "Why did you persist in writing hurlothrumbo romances of the footling sort favored by mooncalfs?" Him: "The question is nuncupatory. I grow weary of your importunities. Begone."The New York Times Magazine honors Jack Vance.
