Something to do while the paint dries on my soul.
"Afterword" by Jeff Van de Meer is an eccentric, convoluted, multithreaded memoir of a sister trying to piece together a brother's life in the fungus underground. It's written in the form of an afterword that just won't end with asides, and backtracks and notes in the margin from the brother that she thinks is dead to his sister that he can't find. Its set in some alternate world where the citizens above aren't quite sure that the citizens below are real. Worth reading if you don't mind density and an expose from another place and time.
"Sunborn" by Gregory Benford is a fine read for those who like this killer B's style of hard science fiction. In this case the story is about life between star systems made of very tenuous plasma born of the sun and the earthlings who are trying to figure out what exactly is going on.
"Spook Country" by William Gibson feels like a stretch from someone who has worn out his welcome in cyberspace. It's not a bad story as far as stories go, fun to read, tightly paced, good characters. But. But he tries so hard to coin new words that feel dated the moment you read about them, that feel obvious the moment he says them. His big idea this time? GPS-based augmented localized overlay art. Just don't look for the next Neuromancer and you'll be fine.
"Brass Man" by Neil Asher is one of a series, "Grid Link" is another. I found both of them to be fast and furious reads with a dash of space opera and a touch of "I, Robot," and maybe a nod to Sam Spade. Neil is fairly new and worth watching.
"Thirteen" by Richard K. Morgan is a flashback of sorts to Cobra-like supermen ala Timothy Zahn. The premise is simple, mankind has created genetic variants that are throwbacks to a more aggressive time to help fight their wars. When the wars are over what do you do with these poor supermen? Throw in re-engineered humans that have bonobo traits for a little local color and a far flung exile colony on mars, mix it with a bit of post-american breakup commentary and season with CSI Miami and you've pretty much got the story. Appetizing treat.
Music?
Regina Spector (ok, gotta say oddly enough I'm loving the new JCPenney commercials one and all... yes, JCP)
Menomena
Peter Bjorn and John
TV on the Radio
Will.I.Am (ok, he's a bit silly but one or two of his songs channel Kansas or Styx or something)
Feist (remixes and collaborations)
Ben Harper
