Yay!

Tangent Online has posted a really nice review of Shimmer, #3, Spring 2006.

Here is what Jason Sizemore kindly said of my story:

"The Dealer's Hands" by Paul Abbamondi is a short and effective piece of horror. Two friends buy plastic molds of people's hands from a mysterious dealer out of a barn. Any experienced reader of horror can tell you this isn't a good idea. Tragedy ensues, and Abbamondi has written a nice climax that leaves the reader slightly horrified by what they have just experienced.

I am a pleased writerly fellow.

Upcoming reviews!

Another update on what I'll be reviewing soon! Of course, not in this order.

• The Sword Review, May 2006 issue
• Absolute Uncertainty by Lucy Sussex
• The Fortress of Glass by David Drake
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
• Dreams and Visions edited by M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss
• Jigsaw Nation edited by Edward J. McFadden and E. Sedia
• Dark Days by Steve Niles
• Ending an Ending by Danny Birt
• The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow by Dan Mishkin & Tom Mandrake
• The Flock by James Robert Smith

Whew, lots to read!

Monkeeeeeey!

Forget snakes on a plane. I'm here to talk about gorillas on a spaceship.



Tim Eldred's Grease Monkey is a bold entry in the graphic novel world, taking leaps and bounds where others might simply hop or skip, worried they might knock over something or make a mess or have the entire fandom cult hate them. Grease Monkey bolts forward, forgetting anything it ever knew about stereotypes, cliches, and overly-done plotlines.

On the focal point space station, Fist of Earth, our two main characters meet for the first time: there's Robin Plotnik, a young lad, enlisted as an assistant mechanic for his term, and then there's the true heart of the story, "Mac" McGimben, an intellectually-enhanced gorilla who is also the lead mechanic for the all female fight squadron known as the Barbarians. The rest of the cast--the love interests, the strict superiors, and the backstabbers--is rounded out over the course of twenty-five episodes. The prospect of war lingers in the background, and on the Fist of Earth fighter pilots train rigorously. It is during these stressful times that Robin and Mac experience life...

One of my favorite aspects of Grease Monkey is that there are no "look-at-me-I'm-a-hero" heroes or "look-at-my-frown-I'm-a-villain" villains. Not even the superenhanced simians are anything special. They're just on par with the human pilots and so forth. That's not to say that some characters will not act heroic or do some bad things, but it's nice that not everyone is so cut and dry.

Eldred's writing and artistic style flow seamlessly as one, and though at times I found some of the writing to be more compelling than the art, it never once became a problem. The panels are drawn in what I can only describe as an older-styled theme, which, when you realize this piece of genius has been in the works since the early 1990s, makes sense. It seems that nowadays everything is all about the art and special effects; it's a relief to see a product so deep with history and characters and plot and humor, without it relying on the artwork to carry it on through. Granted, the art is spectacular, but there's just so much more to appreciate within Grease Monkey's pages.

Some of my favorite episodes were all four parts of "Rewards," a circular look into the loving relationships of Mac and Admiral Stettler, and Robin and Kara. Eldred commented in his historical notes that Robin is based a lot on him and his experiences, including his love life. Other strong episodes were "Election Day," a surprising look into interstellar politics, and "Art Lovers," the introduction to everything Grease Monkey.

For fans of behind-the-scenes extras, the graphic novel also comes stuffed with liner notes, a brief history of Grease Monkey (dating back to the early 1990s), and some preliminary sketches. Tim Eldred is open and honest, which makes learning about the evolution of a monkey mechanic all the more interesting.

No number rating system. No this deserves a 1,204 out of 10. Or this is an A+++ (which it is). Like the monkey's shirt says--this is No Crap. Just buy the damn book, sit back, and enjoy the experience!

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For those interested, FantasyBookSpot is holding a contest to win a copy of Grease Monkey AND a personalized sketch to go along with it! Yee-haw, is right!

Mmm hammer...

Check out my review of Elizabeth Bear's Hammered!

Locus Awards Winners

Check out the winners of the Locus Awards! Go Gaiman, Stross, and Bear! Well deserved!

People selling books!

So FYI, it seems like June is the month to sell books. Here's what has been going on in the publishing biz lately:

- Tim Pratt sells two novels, Blood Engines and Ferocious Dreamers, to Bantam Spectra!
- Paul Melko sells his novel Singularity's Ring to TOR!
- Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette sell their novel A Companion to Wolves to TOR!
- Tansy Rayner Roberts sells her novel Seacastle, which is part of a YA shared world, to ABC Books!

Am I missing any? Let me know!

Another contest, no lie!

Did you not win the first Scott Lynch contest at FBS? You know, the one where you could get a free signed copy of his eagerly-awaited debut The Lies of Locke Lamora?



Well, pout no more! Second chances are your best friend.

Head over to FantasyBookSpot and read about the latest contest for July where you could win another copy of the book. And all you have to do is send a private message to Jay. Hot dang is right!

Royal review!

Check out my review of Split Heirs by Lawrence Watt-Evans and Esther M. Friesner! This was a book I got at a local library sale. It's a fun, light-hearted medieval romp complete with Shakespearian gender confusion!

Martin interview!

In case you weren't aware, Jay Tomio has an interview with George R.R. Martin up on FantasyBookSpot.com. Check it out, I say!

Timeweb review!

Check out my review of Brian Herbert's
Timeweb (Book One of the Timeweb Chronicles)!

Books to buy

I made a list. This list says that I'm not allowed to buy any other books until I buy all the books on said list. I will obey it. In fact, I must or else chaos will destroy all that is sacred and holy in my life.

Books to buy

• Sarah Monette - Melusine
• Cherie Priest - Four and Twenty Blackbirds
• Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
• John Scalzi - Old Man's War
• Scott Lynch - The Lies of Locke Lamora
• Cory Doctorow - Standard Eastern Tribe
• Jim Hines - GoblinQuest
• Matthew Hughes - Black Brillion

Also, I'm not allowed to add to this list until all books have been crossed off. This is me, live, disciplining myself for you all to see.

Dreaming review

Check out my review for Matthew G. McMillan's
The Dreamer!

"Chance on Catella"

My science fiction short story "Chance on Catella" is now live on AlienSkin Magazine's site. It's part of their June/July 2006 issue. Here's the link to it:

http://www.alienskinmag.com/ficsf2.htm

Enjoy! It'll be up for two months! Also, if you search around the Interrogation Room link, you'll find my answer to the question of "What makes a good story title?"

Books I never finished

An interesting post at FantasyBookSpot about books you've started but never finished got me thinking. Skimming my bookshelves, I noticed I had a couple on there. Here they are, and I'll try to justify why I never finished them:

• Year Zero by Jeff Long (got about midway through it, but the plot kind of petered out so I lost interest. I will say that I loved The Descent though)
• The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks (can't remember why I didn't finish it)
• Elixir by Gary Braver (kind of boring)
• Northshore (Volume 1 of The Awakeners) by Sheri S. Tepper (I actually enjoyed this from what I remember, but I think other more interesting books came along)
• The Eternity Artifact by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (good plot? no. sympathetic characters? nu-huh. keep reading? nope.)
• The Heat Seekers by Katherine Ramsland (hated the writing style of it after three chapters)

I'm sure there are more than this though. I'll have to look later on.

Let me know about any books you started, but never finished! I'm curious as to why!

Aberrant Dreams, #7

Check out my review of Aberrant Dreams, #7, Spring 2006! It's a good issue, with some humor and horror stories really standing out! Plus, free to read online! :)

Dead Letters, 2.2

The newest issue of Dead Letters is now available. This issue contains my zombie story titled "With the Dead, Change is Inevitable."



Check it out!

Upcoming reviews...

Well, it's about that time again (What time? you ask. What are you even writing about?). The time when I make a list of what reviews I'll be doing soon. Duh. And hopefully in this order.

• Aberrant Dreams, #7, Spring 2006
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Timeweb by Brian Herbert
• Ending an Ending by Danny Birt
• The Dreamer by Matthew G. McMillan
• The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow by Dan Mishkin & Tom Mandrake
• Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
• The Flock by James Robert Smith

Also, if I ever get unlazy enough I'd like to write up some comic book reviews and movie reviews. We'll see. I am lazy though. Well, not that lazy.

Coming out at the beginning of June will be my story "Chance on Catella" in AlienSkin Magazine. I shall have a link for you all soon enough, don't you worry yourselves too much.

Other than that, still writing away and waiting for the slush gods to take pity upon me and accept the virgin sacrifices I offer in return for world domination and a few more print publications. So say we all...

Fiery review!

Check out my review of Heir to Fire: Gila Flats by Rob Worley and Mike Dubisch!

Shimmer Spring 2006!

The newest issue of Shimmer is out now, and contains my very first fiction sale, "The Dealer's Hands," which you all should check out!

Very excited for my contrib. copy to arrive!

Stormy review!

Check out my review of David Niall Wilson's The Mote in Andrea's Eye!