Read It And Weep Redux
January 21st, 2012 |
I make another appearance as a science fiction expert in Episode 125 of the Read It And Weep podcast, in which we discuss Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. |
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Best of the Blog: Metro North Melee / The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Mid-Afternoon / I Appeared as an Extra in the Movie The Itty Bitty Titty Committee / I Was Mugged in Broad Daylight Right Outside My Apartment / I Rode My Bicycle at Night Through Skid Row / I Played Softball With One of the Beastie Boys / I Hung Out Backstage at Conan O'Brien / Wil Wheaton Comments on My Blog Entries Tagged: How to Write / My Fiction / Art & Animation / Photos / Fan Art / Geek's Guide to the Galaxy / NYC Events / Recommended / Humor / SF is Important / Letters/Comments/Reviews / Nostalgia / Video Games My Video Games: Dungeons Dank & Dismal / Best Doom 2 Deathmatch Map Ever / Defender / Caerion
Facebook Author PageJanuary 21st, 2012I now have an author page over on Facebook. “Like” it to receive updates about my fiction, interviews, etc.  Under the Moons of Mars Contributor’s CopiesJanuary 21st, 2012Got my contributor’s copies of Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, edited by John Joseph Adams. This book includes my story “Three Deaths.”  Here’s a review from Bookhound. Reviewer Mel Odom writes: I hadn’t heard of David Barr Kirtley before, but he’s hit my radar now with “Three Deaths.” His story of one of the Tharks first defeated by John Carter shortly after his advent on the Red Planet touched my heart in ways that I just hadn’t expected. Truly awesome stuff, and instantly more vulnerable than anything Burroughs had ever written. Adventures in Writing Reviews “Three Deaths”January 14th, 2012Here’s the first review I’ve seen of John’s new Barsoom anthology Under the Moons of Mars. My story “Three Deaths” is mentioned here: The book is absolutely beautiful and well laid out. I sat down and devoured the first three stories, trudging once more through the sands of Mars with a sword in my fist … David Barr Kirtley (whom I’ve never before heard of) has written a truly elegant and emotional story full of wonder and honor in “Three Deaths.” Black Gate InterviewJanuary 12th, 2012Emily Mah Tippets interviews me about writing and podcasting for Black Gate magazine:  Goodbye, HobbesJanuary 3rd, 2012Just got word that my cat Hobbes has died. She was perfectly healthy up until two days ago, when she went into kidney failure. Her sister Kzin died back in August. Both times while I was away. In her youth Hobbes was the proverbial fraidy-cat, spooked by loud noises, and she spent a lot of time hiding in the farthest reaches of the basement, where a small gap afforded her vantage of a narrow stretch of backyard, but in recent years she’d become extremely friendly, following me from room to room and clambering up on my hip and purring constantly. I’ll miss her terribly. For basically the first time in my life I’m without a cat.    Novel DisclaimerDecember 31st, 2011Reading a lot of the angry fan reactions to the years-long wait between George R. R. Martin books, it struck me that a lot of readers seem to feel that by publishing a few books in a series, an author is entering into an unwritten contract with readers to produce more books in that series at a particular pace, and that if an author doesn’t do that he’s going back on his word or not doing his job. I suspect many authors don’t feel that by writing one or more books they’re entering into any sort of unwritten agreement with their readers to produce more books, let alone at a particular pace. Maybe it would help if everybody’s expectations were spelled out from the start. I wonder if books will start carrying software-style disclaimers: THIS WORK OF FICTION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TIMELY SEQUELS OR A SERIES CONCLUSION ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR PUBLISHER BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DISAPPOINTMENT (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DISAPPOINTMENT OVER UNRESOLVED MYSTERIES; DISAPPOINTMENT OVER THE AUTHOR’S TIME-WASTING HOBBIES; DISAPPOINTMENT OVER THE AUTHOR’S DEMISE) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE READING OF THIS NOVEL, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DISAPPOINTMENT. “Devil Car” by Roger ZelaznyDecember 31st, 2011Here’s a nice audio version of “Devil Car” by Roger Zelazny, which appeared in Galaxy magazine in 1965. It’s about a man who drives a heavily armed and armored AI car, which he uses to hunt down other AI cars that have murdered their drivers and now roam in packs across the wilderness. New Reviews of My Short Story “The Disciple”December 22nd, 2011Here are two new reviews I came across of my story “The Disciple”: From Doug Bolden’s review of Dead But Dreaming: One of my favorites. While it seems to be setting up for one style, a delightfully dark twist pulls it all together. Its Mythos creation feels both appropriately cosmic, dangerous, and weird, with what horror there is being more in having perspective realigned. In this way, it is possibly one of the more authentic Lovecraftian tales. From Michael Tresca’s review of Dead But Dreaming for RPG Examiner: David Barr Kirtley manages to do what so many have failed: He creates a story about an arcane professor that is horrific without being cheesy. Too many Mythos authors cast Miskatonic University as a college seething with kooks casting spells, but Kirtley cleverly turns the usual crazy professor plot on its ear. 4 out of 5 stars. Swedish Zombie Reviews The Living Dead 2December 20th, 2011Swedish Zombie reviews The Living Dead 2, and identifies my story “The Skull-Faced City” as one of “eight examples of really good contributions.” Here we return to the characters and setting from ‘The Skull-Faced Boy,’ which appeared in the previous volume. It’s a very twisted little story with a lot of action, and it makes the reader grin.  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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