In a time when people hide in sterile, frightened cities and survive on doses of government-delivered tranquilizers, Kenny Coozamano and Deacon Blue are the heroes of the realm. They are exterminators - but exterminators of vast swarms of mutated insectoid monsters at the expense of many human ives, and as lost themselves as the rest of the world. As Kenny begins to question the horrible logic of it all, things begin to grow grim in a restless September.
Returning author Joshua Moses delivers a comic tale of the misbehaving god Loki, who just wants to make a buck and land a few dozen pretty girls. Simple enough goals for a god - or at least, until the prophet Moses shows up.
Duster by Sean Sakamoto (science fiction)
Farmgirl Cindy, a "duster," certainly didn't go to a 'phalt university on an urban planet to get trashed and drop wobbly - but that's exactly what Taro, a new friend, is offering. Cindy reluctantly accepts the chance to see the wilder side of college life on the red side of town with unexpected results.
The Tragedy of Ferdinand by JoSelle Vanderhooft (fantasy)
An obsessive lycanthrope wearies of hiding his nature in this delicately drawn portrait of a night spent watching the woman who cannot be his.
, by Sarah Monette, as well as a review of Scardown, the second in Elizabeth Bear's trilogy featuring heroine Jenny Casey. Meanwhile, JoSelle Vanderhooft shares her review of Catherynne Valente's Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams.
Also check out the Book Reviews section.
Politics aren't only a factor in court; they're a part of everyday family and social life. Yet most authors find intrigue daunting and overwhelming. Elizabeth Bear explains in simple unintimedating language how to write intrigue that happens anywhere - at court, in the military, or at an average high school.
Bustin' Caps, Bashing Heads, and Bloody Knives: Writing Realistic Violence by Romie J. Stott
Most of us aren't willing to argue for the last piece of pie, much less spend our days brawling on street corners; to most of us, fighting is an abstraction. Superhero movies and martial arts flicks are of little help with their unbreakable characters and superhuman stunts. How, then, to accurately write fight scenes? Romie Stott goes beyond the question of weapons into the adrenal response, perceptions of fights, and human fragility in this detailed article.
Goodbye, Gentle Reader by Karl El-Koura
A long time ago in our own fuzzy memories, some of us felt we owed the author or his works some loyalty - whether it was to Sweet Valley High novels or Asimov himself. But the gentle reader once expected (if indeed he ever existed) is long gone - and here, El-Koura offers ways to survive the tough audience that's in store for your fiction.
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