Saw no posts on this yet here, but this news arrived a few days ago. She was one of the greats.

How does he do it? He is just one man, right? He has at least 6 books published this year - as well as a collection and 3 stories in other collections. Its not like he just crapped them out either - his stuff is very good - he was nominated for a locus and a huge the last time they were up - and 2 of his works were finalists for locus awards.

Looking back, it seems he’s won Hugos and Arthur C Clarke awards and has had this machine like publication schedule for the past few years. How is he putting out quality books so fast?

I had heard that Bill was going to be retiring after reading the first announcement on the Readers/Resell facebook group site that Bill and other employees post to which was a leak. However, I had it in my head they’d be looking for a successor to continue things and I thought that’s what he said. Whether that would be an ownership, partnership, or they’d be purchased outright I didn’t know. However it looks like they’ll be closing.

While their prices have increased Subterranean Press and Grim Oak have been the small presses that have had excellent quality and decent taste at an affordable price point. Oh and they’re not one of those presses that sell out in 1 minute so if you gave a shit you had a minimum of 2 days to get your books and often a lot longer. I just don’t see any other small presses at this price point, publishing the type of authors I like, with this quality and availability other than Grim Oak and possibly Folio right now. Sucks. Looks like they’ll be finishing …

I’m following along a podcast and reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time. I’m reminded that I’ve read that Jacqueline Carey’s The Sundering series was based on LOTR and Victoria Goddard’s The Bone Harp was written to process the author’s thoughts on The Silmarillion. And recently The Door on the Sea by Caskey Russell was advertised as a Tlingit response to LOTR. Please, if you know of any books, or even other media like comics or poetry, by writers who were clearly inspired by LOTR and wrote their stories because they had something to say about the series or Tolkien’s writings at large, list them in the comments.

Sword of Truth is frequently criticised online as one of the worst fantasy series out there. And while i do have a soft spot for it, i agree with most of the complaints. However, that makes me wonder how did it become so popular in the first place. The books sold in millions, they get good ratings on Goodreads, Goodkind pumped out a lot of them and they got adapted into a tv show. What happened? Was the series well liked when it first released and just aged badly?

Children and young people’s enjoyment of reading has risen for the first time since 2021, according to new research.

To celebrate the magazine’s upcoming 20th Anniversary, Neil Clarke and the team at Clarkesworld are running a subscription drive. All new subscriptions will be used to improve the pay of their staff and contributors.

It’s my (biased) opinion that Clarkesworld consistently publishes the best short science fiction in the industry. Their commitment to open submissions means that they usually get first pick of the best stories. And it shows–Clarkesworld produces more award-winning stories, novelettes and novellas than any other magazine.

If you have neglected short science fiction lately, there has never been a better time to subscribe to Clarkesworld. And if we want this amazing magazine to be around for another 20 years, they need our support!

Reading Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood and I’m really fascinated by Oankali being so ancient that they have no idea if their home solar system still exists.

So now I really want to add to my reading backlog some novels that feature a civilization/society which has lost touch with their origins or with a significant part of their past. Maybe, like Oankali, they are so ancient that records of their old history are simply lost to time. Or maybe a large-scale cataclysm which took place a long time ago has left a gaping hole in following generations’ understanding of their own past.

Would be even better if the story was focused on said civilization recovering relics of their ancestors and trying to make sense of them.

I’m aware about Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle so it’s already in the list, but maybe you guys know any other novels or even just short stories which fit the concept I described?

I’ve been going through the popular posts on this sub and keep seeing people say that A Canticle for Leibowitz is underrated, almost every time it’s mentioned (in posts and comments). But it doesn’t feel very underrated to me.

I don’t see many/any people saying it’s bad. It won the Hugo is 1961 and I’ve seen it talked about as one of the greatest sci fi novels in other places. So where does this idea it’s underrated come from? Anyway, how highly rated is a book if all discussion about it is about how it’s underrated?

I love this book, it’s in my top three, I’m confused about how people talk about it here.

[Spoilers ahead for the book] I really loved the world-building and unique premise in The City & The City. it led to a ton of cool plot points and situations. But I couldn’t help feeling let down by the second half, especially with Breach. They were built up as this super-powerful, ominous force in the first half, but once the main character gets captured, he basically just joins them and does their job for them, without much pushback. They lose that ominous shadow vibe, and it kind of took the wind out of the story for me. Curious if anyone else felt the same way.

I loved the premise of the story, but couldn’t help but feel by some of the execution