Incidentally, I finally got a smart phone (because that’s basically the only option you have any more), and Every Day Fiction just became exponentially more awesome. I can read these little stories on my phone via my email on my lunch break and it’s never been more convenient. And those are free. The other day there was a story by a 17-year-old girl woman that made me wonder why I still bother.

I have obtained (legally, natch) Louie CK’s new self-produced stand-up special. Hey, record labels? This is the sound of your obsolescence. And it is hilarious.

(Actually, the spawn makes it uncertain when I’ll actually get to watch said special, but that’s neither here nor there.)

I am reading China Miéville’s Embassytown, one of the several books I picked up at the Borders Estate sale. It’s great, you should read it. It’s about xenolinguistics. And smashing the state.

Buh. I am tired.

Also, I guess we’re supposed to feel sympathy for the family because they were cracked down on for having a third kid? Most people shouldn’t have kids at all; why would I feel hostility toward population limits when the world is going to shit? Maybe if they gave some heart-wrenching story for the kid, but all we get is “seemed like a good idea at the time.” Yeah? Well, it seems like a good idea to take your kid away and give it some less selfish asshole now.

I finished up the first of the John Carter books (what’s this, Half-Price? a “nostalgia” charge? oh, you know me all too well), A Princess of Mars. I enjoyed it, though the last third in particular felt rushed. It feels like Burroughs, for whom this was a first novel, was like, “Holy crap, this just keeps going, how do they end this shit?” There are a number of awfully convenient plot points – oh, this guy you just saved just happens to be the exact best person you need to get you through the next act of the book. And Carter himself is quite shallow, being little more than a guy who’s basically the best at everything he needs to be at any given moment. But I liked the setting he created, and it’s a lot of fun in its early pulp fashion. I loved the ending.

I’d like to say I have high hopes for the John Carter movie coming out soon, but it’s Disney. Their recent history with scripts has not been stellar.

Next up is Nights of Villjamur, by Mark Charan Newton. (The sequel had a blurb from China Miéville.)

At the suggestion of a friend, I have read House of Suns, by Alistair Reynolds. It’s good. There are a lot of big, high-concept science fiction ideas going on there, rendered in a fun fashion. I loved the ending. I thought the narrative structure would be awkward at first, being told in first person from two different characters, but it worked out well. If I have a complaint, it’s that there are too many scenes of people sitting around hashing out every potential option, outcome, motivation, and course of action.

Yes, we are aware that if they wanted to they could have killed you already.

But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I have now started in on one of Lois McMaster Bujold’s space opera books, and am chugging through it at break-neck speeds. Fantastic. Fun. Recommended. Though maybe you should research and see which one to start out with first. I picked one at random and for all I know I’m spoiling the rest for myself. Actually, a glance at the reviews there on Amazon suggests that this actually is a good place to start.

I am working on a couple of stories. I seem fascinated with compressing epics into something bite-sized. Epic flash. Epic burst? I dunno. I’ll see if it works. I still have a couple of stories out for consideration, and will report back their failures in due time.

But where to start, you ask? You can start here.

Daredevil: Shadowland – Not bad. I’ve never been as big a fan of the ninja Daredevil stories as I am of the lawyer Daredevil stories. The annoying thing about this story was how it’s broken up across about four trades, only two of which I’ve got (and intend to get). There are several plot threads that begin in these, but are finished in the books I don’t have. Looking forward to what’s coming up for Matt Murdock next. He’s always at his best when his life is at its low points.

The Flash: Dastardly Death of the Rogues – Greatness. Really fun story with some time traveling versions of the Rogues-turned-heroes from the future. The Rogues are some of  comicdom’s most entertaining (and most underrated) villains, especially in Geoff Johns’s hands. Manapul’s art gets an 11 out of 10. I guess this is my first full, proper Barry Allen story, and he’s pretty great. It’s a Flash fact!

Morning Glories, vol. 1 – I nabbed this on impulse because it was cheap on pre-order and I had heard it was good. A story about a group of smart teens recruited for a prep school where…well, all is not as it seems. Unless all seems really fucked up and horrific. Then I guess it is exactly what it seems. I don’t even know how to describe it further. Really good read, and I’ll be reading more.

I’m in the middle of each of the three novels.

Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife sucked me in the most, but it’s kind of more romancey than I’m normally into. Still, it’s very well written and I like the setting, so I’ll have no problem finishing. I’ll have to seek out some of Bujold’s science fiction.

I kind of stalled in David Drake’s With the Lightnings. I liked the sound of it, but I’ve gotten so far in with nothing really happening yet, which isn’t what I was expecting at all. For something one of the cover blurbs described as a space opera, there’s so far been very little action.

Phillip K. Dick’s We Can Build You is quite funny. Not far enough in yet to offer more than that.

I was working on an article for the Flash Fiction Chronicles about localized apocalypses in fantasy and science fiction – then a localized apocalypse actually happened in Japan and I haven’t had the heart to return to the topic.

It also made excellent bedtime reading for the kid. At this rate she’ll be running grifts on me at age three.

You should also read friend Stephanie’s new story here.

Oh, I almost forgot: China Miéville is doing a webcomic of sorts over at his blog.

(And I don’t mean to put down Shteyngart’s comedic skills – I’ve heard him on NPR and he’s a brilliantly funny guy. I just didn’t think humor was Super Sad True Love Story‘s strength.)

The Sad is what’s most vital to the book, I think. In a way it’s overreacting to certain things – the belief that language is dying, for example, something you hear a lot but is largely nonsense. But other things are dead on, like how everyone is obsessed and addicted to their iPhone equivalent, and how the US economy is based pretty much entirely on us buying that useless crap. Maybe the book is funnier than I thought, and I couldn’t see it because that sort of thing annoys me so much.

Now I’m rereading Salman Rushdie’s Fury, which I read years ago and have thoroughly forgotten. It is very funny. Also funny – my wife and I spotted him in New York City on our honeymoon. My wife is so awesome at spotting celebrities she can pick Salman Rushdie out of a crowd at the Museum of Natural History. This is her super power. Even she doesn’t even know how she does it.

Unwritten, Vol. 2,  by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Excellent stuff. Did I mention Unwritten before? It’s about this guy whose dad wrote a series of Harry Potter-style boy wizard books, and he’s living off his father’s fame. Then the lines between the books and the real world begin to blur, with some pretty horrendous consequences.

The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, from DC’s now-defunct Minx line of comics. Nothing that will blow your mind, but I enjoyed it. There’s some cute art stuff going on. I’m seeing some reviews now complaining about one-dimensional characters and it’s hard to argue with them.

Old Man Logan, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. There are a couple of stories that the X-Men do really well, and bleak, horrible futures is one of them. Stories where the heroes failed and are now all dead or otherwise gone always bother me at a fundamental level, but they’re still fun. I guess it’s good to see why we need them. McNiven’s art is incredible.

Irredeemable, vol. 2, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause. Mark Waid has always been one of my favorite writers, and he’s still got it. This series about the world’s most powerful superhero gone bad, killing his former friends, enemies, and millions of innocent civilians keeps taking unexpected turns.

I finally got around to watching Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is, ahem, fantastic. It’s up there with Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, my favorite Wes Anderson movies. If you’ve been as negligent as I, you should check it out.

Finished up Little Brother and thought I was quite good. There are times where he perhaps goes into too much detail and history, turning some chapters into infomercials about cryptography or hacking. But overall it’s a successful book. Little Brother is the sort of art we should have seen more of during the Bush administration, and reminded me of a lot of my own anger and frustration during those post-9/11 years. Anger and frustration that, aside from a few attempts that were generally ignored or shouted down by either the right or a corrupted media that is more interested in keeping the country at its own throat than informed, went largely unexpressed.

Eh. I could go on, but I fear I haven’t the time at the moment. Also it’s too early for me to think this deeply. I do wish I could make it to this, though.

The Etched City started off strong, then I started to lose interest and swapped for Little Brother. I’ll give it another go.

Oh, I have an article out next Monday over at the Flash Fiction Chronicle. I will, of course, post here when it is live.

I’ve begun work on what could possibly be a very exciting webcomic project. More details when it is closer to reality. I’ve always wanted to write comics, but never found an artist who would stick with it long enough to make them a reality. I think that’s about to change!

And finally, I am occasionally poking at a collection of (what I’d consider) my best short fiction to date. I’ll include some extras, like a dose of my hint fiction and, if I can manage it, a few illustrations from some of my far more talented artsy friends. I would like to have that out by the end of the year.

And finally finally, in case you didn’t know, my wife and I are expecting our first child, who should be on bookshelves this December. Spoiler Alert: It’s a girl.

So yeah, lots going on.

Next is Cory Doctrow’s Little Brother. All the cool kids seem to know who he is, so I thought I’d check it out.

(I also note that Master and Commander has been on the nightstand since June. I check in on it occasionally to make sure nothing happened while I was away.)

I have a couple of articles I’m intending to write for the Flash Fiction Chronicles, one about superheroes, and another about small apocalypses. Stay tuned!