Monthly Archives: January 2011

Derek Beaulieu’s advanced variousness

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Douglas Barbour

Derek Beaulieu. Fractal Economies (Talonbooks 2006). Derek Beaulieu. How to Write (Talonbooks 2010). Derek Beaulieu is a poet of many parts, as these two books, published four years apart, demonstrate. In all his work, he is a high-end conceptualist, but, … Continue reading →

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Charles Stross: making strange

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Douglas Barbour

Charles Stross. Saturn’s Children (Ace Books 2008). Subtitled ‘A Space Opera,’ this is one of Stross’s full throttle entertainments, but that doesn’t mean it lacks for a serious undercurrent, implied throughout in Stross’s subtly satiric way. And that satiric edge … Continue reading →

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Poetry in the surveillance era: Jen Currin’s The Inquisition Yours

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Douglas Barbour

Jen Currin. The Inquisition Yours (Coach House 2010). One just cannot keep up: this is Jen Currin’s third book, but the first Ive seen. And it’s good. When people use the term ‘epigrammatic,’ they could definitely be describing Currin’s poems. … Continue reading →

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Neal Asher’s brutal & exciting far future

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Douglas Barbour

Neal Asher. Orbus (TOR 2009). Neal Asher is another of those British writers of far future high tech space opera, like Iain M Banks, Ken Macleod, Alistair Reynolds, & Charles Stross (about whom I hope to write later). He’s constructed … Continue reading →

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Dave Duncan does the new space opera.

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Douglas Barbour

Dave Duncan. Pock’s World (Edge 2010). The publisher calls Pock’s World ‘a classic science fiction adventure,’ & why not: when you’re looking for a good adventure, Dave Duncan is a sure thing. Mostly in fantasy, but he can certainly do … Continue reading →

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