reading (Asimov's April/May 2007)

I finished the last of the stories in this month's Asimov's yesterday evening. This was the 30th anniversary issue and quite thick. There were a dozen short stories, two novellas, a novelette, plus the departments.

I won't go through all the stories because there were a lot of them and part of the value in the issue is the variety, but I'll mention a few. William Barton's characters and feel in "The Rocket Into Planetary Space" reminded me of Heinlein. Allen Steele didn't give me the ending I wanted in "The River Horses", but his ending had integrity and was true to the characters. I don't have to like it, but I have to respect it. Many of the shorter works oozed with unreality that was made startlingly real by the salt of loss, regret, or a similar sharp emotion.

16. Asimov's April/May 2007

reading (Trumps of Doom)

I started re-reading "Trumps of Doom" yesterday evening and finished it this evening. It's been a long time since I last read the Amber books and it was strange starting in the middle. But since this is the first book of the series that follows Corwin's son it is a someone logical starting place. Why did I start with this one? I recently acquired the hardcover of "Trumps" and "Blood of Amber".

The Amber novels are unlike any of Zelazny's other work. In a way I think he used them to indulge himself. There are lots of technical bits of swordplay, political intrigue, and soap opera. They sit in the middle between his early heavy metaphor work and his later more humorous works. The characters are as perfect as Burroughs' princesses, but you won't catch them swooning unless they've lost a helluva lot of blood.

17. Roger Zelazny "Trumps of Doom"