REJECTION

#50 & #51: A Tie For the Big Five-Oh 05.30.08 #49- Ideomancer, 'I Liked It, But No.' 05.24.08 #48 - Neo-Opsis, A Very Nice 'No' 04.30.08 #47 - Strange Horizons, 'No, The Ninth Time' 04.30.08 #46 - Asimov's, Yet More No 04.23.08 #45 - IGMS, Still No 04.18.08 No Rejections, Just 4,200 Sweet, Sweet Words 04.13.08 #44 - F&SF, 'Geez Guy, No' 04.11.08 #43 - Clarkesworld, 'Nope' 04.04.08 #42 - Asimov's, 'No' Again 04.02.08

more...

So... I don't even know why I'm posting this, but I thought it might be interesting to someone and I don't have any new rejections to post. It's a list of the books that I've been reading since I started working on my "world" - notice how I'm now referring to it in witty little quotes - and not one of them is sci-fi. Well... one of them might be, it depends on whether zombies fall under the category. I figure if dragons can, who knows what the hell else could?

But I digress. Here's the list, more or less in order:

• JPOD
  Douglas Coupland
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
  Max Brooks
• High Cotton
  Joe Lansdale
• Sunset and Sawdust
  Joe Lansdale
• Master & Commander
  Patrick O'Brian
• Post Captain
  Patrick O'Brian
• H.M.S. Surprise
  Patrick O'Brian
• The Mauritius Command
  Patrick O'Brian
• Desolation Island
  Patrick O'Brian
• The Fortune of War
  Patrick O'Brian
• The Surgeon's Mate
  Patrick O'Brian
• The Ionian Mission
  Patrick O'Brian
• Treason's Harbor
  Patrick O'Brian
• The Far Side of The World
  Patrick O'Brian
• Under My Roof
  Nick Mamatas
• Boomsday
  Christopher Buckley

Yeah. And I think that does it. All of them are recommended except Sunset and Sawdust which I found surprisingly shallow considering the stories in High Cotton. Speaking of which, the latter has one of the most frightening stories I've ever read. It's called "The Roses" or something but, shit... when I think about it I still have trouble sleeping.

And yes, all the Patrick O'Brian books are from the Aubrey/Maturin/Master & Commander series. Some of them are excellent. Especially when the focus on naval adventures. Some of them... not so much. Especially when O'Brian starts to go on too long about botany or animals. It was obviously an area of interest for him but not one that he handled well. Still, the series as a whole is highly recommended to anyone who likes tall ships and high naval adventure.

If you're looking for something to read, check out one of these and drop me an email. My friends don't read and I love talking about books that I love.