Monday, 29 November 2004

Got some writing done over the weekend and some more this evening. I'm pleased. Story is about 1100 words now.

Jackie picked up a book at the library that she thought I might like. It's The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust. It's got blurbs from Steven Barnes (one of my Clarion instructors), Tananarive Due, and Nalo Hopkinson. With those people blurbing it, there ought to be some buzz, but I haven't heard any. Am I just out of it, or am I ahead of the trend for a change?

Either way, I haven't finished the book yet, so I can't say whether it all works or not, but as far as I've gotten, this book is wonderful fun. It's set in Edmonton, with characters mostly of African heritage. The sfnal elements are dealt with in almost a magical-realist fashion, except that it is very, very genre aware, constantly dropping in references to sf stuff, movies, and comics that appeal to geeks, which makes for an odd, fun contrast. Not having finished, it's too early to say about the plot, but it's really a character book, of the sort where every character has lots and lots of quirks.

Where my own fiction has gaps--in voice, in diverse characters, in balls-out gonzo-ness--this book is filled to overflowing. Useful to read just for that, aside from it being a fun story. Check it out.