Two Days, Five Reviews

Ouch. I have five books in front of me for review in this month's SFRevu.com, not including INSIDE STRAIGHT (which you've already seen "previewed" here). I'm reviewing:

• Simon R. Green's Unnatural Inquirer (a Nightside novel);
• Dennis McKiernan's Once Upon a Dreadful Time (a couple months late);
• Martin Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes' Fellowship Fantastic;
• Chris Golden's The Borderkind (several months late); and
• D.M. Cornish's Foundling: Monster Blood Tattoo #1 (only a few months late but I only got it in November).

It's a lot of work to do but... that's the life of a reviewer.

One Goodbye and One Hello

Saying Goodbye is Never Fun but Sometimes There's No Choice

A friend of mine was fired from his job in November. Considering how hard he worked at making the business a success, this was little short of stunning. I won't go into the identities and causes of this situation--some of you reading the blog already know them, and to be extremely fair this is only one side of the story--but it leads me to talk about departures and fresh beginnings.

I've cut ties with a local store where I did a lot of business. That's the outcome, and it's been in the works for about a month. I did this because 1) I owe my friend loyalty; 2) I don't want to support business practices that I am led to believe are not honorable; 3) I can do business elsewhere much more easily than I can replace good friends. Number 3 is sort of a subset of number 1, but you see where I'm going.

That's the departure side. The fresh beginning side? A bunch of us are going to a new place. We look forward to socializing just as we always have, realizing that we may have lost a few of our gang along the way, but figure it's a chance to ring in 2008 with something new and different and exciting.

This was written in early December but represents my hopes for a happy 2008. Here's hoping!

Travel Plans

Hey everyone,
Kat and I are off to NJ starting Saturday. If my blog posts become erratic between now and then, you'll know why.
A few tidbits in the meantime:

• Absolutely loved VICIOUS CIRCLE (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey-- a grim, gritty occult mystery set in modern London, the hero is a likeable underdog caught up in some truly nasty doings. Should be available in the US this summer-- put it on your wish list now! (If you want it even sooner, I recommend Amazon.co.uk)
• Also loving FOUNDLING: MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO #1 by D.M. Cornish-- very much like China Mieville's New Crobuzon stories, with a terrific young boy-hero named Rossamund cast into strange and frightening circumstances far from his city home. Buy it now! And visit the author's blog here. (P.S., I'm reviewing this one for January's SFRevu--it may be a few months' late but what the heck.)
• Work is progressing on my own urban fantasy-in-progress. I also had a great idea for two fanfic works, which I hope to complete in January, as both are fairly short and to-the-point. Which reminds me...
• January 2008 should see the launch of www.drewbittner.com, my own domain. I bought the domain and hosting a couple months ago but haven't done anything with it yet-- well, 2008 will see an end to that.

later, all!
Drew

In Memoriam: Dan Fogelberg

Dan Fogelberg, a folk-rock singer with hits like "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne," died of prostate cancer at his home in Maine earlier today. He was 56.

I can't listen to "Leader of the Band" without tearing up a little. Like Fogelberg's, my dad was a musician who went to war (Dad was in the Navy in WWII) and poured his heart and soul into his music. He gave us (Mom, Rob, Beth and me) all the love he had, too, but music was his first love. He played trumpet for most of his 62 years on this planet, earning a Masters from LSU (where he met my mom) and working for most of my growing-up years for the American Federation of Musicians.

He would have been 82 this February.

Fogelberg's song gives me a way to grieve for my dad, and for that, I can't thank him enough. With the coming of the holidays, hearing his bittersweet love song "Same Old Lang Syne" will be just a little more poignant this year.

RIP, Dan.

New Wild Cards Site Live!

This just in-- Tor has launched its official Wild Cards site! The home page includes an introduction from George R.R. Martin, with pages for the new characters, the writers (and links to their websites), Q&A, and a whole lot more. If you're a long time fan or a newcomer to the series, this site has LOADS of stuff you'll want to see. (And if, like me, you subscribe, you can open the link to GRRM's description of how Wild Cards came to be... which is a great story.)

Check it out!