My review of HAMLET'S BLACKBERRY is up on my other blog. I give it a thumbs-up. In case you missed my earlier post about it, it's about our addiction to the digital life, and how to deal with it. Very good book.

The review I wrote of THE COYOTE ROAD is up over here. Check it out!

It's been a very long time since I've read an issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction, so when the opportunity arose to receive a review copy, I went for it. I enjoy short fiction, especially of the speculative variety, and F&SF has a reputation for printing quality work.

I wasn't disappointed. This issue is chock full of a wide variety of stories from writers both familiar and new (to me, anyway).

There are three novelets: "Days of Wonder" by Geoff Ryman, which is a very strange tale involving genetics and horses; "The Visionaries" by Robert Reed, which reads like a confession that you might read on someone's LJ; and "Planetesimal Dawn" by Tim Sullivan, which is cinematic, in the vein of Solaris or parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Of all the short stories, I found only one to be unreadable, and it was the very first story in the magazine. I'm sure the story itself is a fine one, but I found the slang and dialect difficult to read. "Inside Story" by Albert E. Cowdrey takes place in New Orleans, post-Katrina. The author's prosaic spelling was irritating to me, so I didn't make it very far into the story before giving up in frustration.

I quite enjoyed "Sleepless Years" by Steven Utley, a haunting tale of immortality (of a sort); "Plumage from Pegasus" by Paul Di Fillippo, a fun riff on advertising technology; "Dazzle Joins the Screenwriter's Guild" by Scott Bradfield, wherein a talking dog attempts to write about his life, with humorous results; and Stephen King's story, "The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates," which would be quite at home as an episode of The Twilight Zone.

"Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment: One Daughter's Personal Account" by M. Rickert is a chilling story about what might happen if the Religious Right gets its way. If reading it isn't enough to make you vote Democrat, I don't know what is.

I'm always on the lookout for new (to me) writers, so the book reviews from Charles de Lint (a favorite of mine) and Michelle West were welcome.

Toss in a science column and some poetry, and you've got a recipe for SFF heaven.

The only thing I would really take to task in this issue is the extremely mean-spirited and snarky movie review, by Lucius Shepard, of Ironman. It read more like sour grapes than an honest critique. As far as I know, I've never read anything by Mr. Shepard before; I shall take pains to avoid him in the future, if this is representative of his attitude.

All in all, I would recommend F&SF to anyone who appreciates speculative fiction. There's something in there for readers of every stripe. I give it a big thumbs-up.

I've not been to a lot of concerts in my life, and Tori Amos is only the second I've seen twice (the first was Ian Anderson/ Jethro Tull). This show couldn't have been more different than the first, which was for her To Venus and Back release.

( on to the show )

I love Tori's music, and she's an amazing performer. Her voice is just incredible in its range and power, and she uses it well. I'm so glad I got the chance to see her again! Many thanks to perseph12 for inviting me along.