Back!

If you have been following Michael's Weekly Roundups, and noticing the empty space between them, then you know the blog has been in something of a slump. Props to Michael, once again, for keeping the wheel turning in my absence.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

As many of you know, life throws curve balls every now and then, and the last month has not been the exception to the rule. Law school applications, tooth infections, domestic partnerships, and work have all conspired to occupy that time of the day usually reserved for blog business. Well, you will be happy to know that things are changing!

Over the next week the blog will steam back up to its usual posting schedule, and within the next month I hope to have at least a post per day. No promises, but thats the plan, and at this point it seems totally manageable. So, excluding any more nasty curve balls, expect to see at the minimum 1 review, 1 roundup, 1 giveaway, and 1 editorial a week. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.

Oh, and lest I forget, we will also be starting a new feature on the blog in the near future. Also, you can now expect a number of top ten lists contributed by expert residents of the speculative fiction blogosphere. So, if you have a niche for which you are comfortable generating a top ten list, let us know! The first top ten list to go up will be Dark Fantasy, and it promises to be a good one.

Thanks for staying with us, sorry for the down time, and stay with us for some nifty posts in the near future. Go blogging!

Review: The Dreaming Void, by Peter F. Hamilton

The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy)by Peter F. Hamilton is the pinnacle of the space orchestra genre. Politics, economics, future tech and religion all intersect to create one of the most compelling 'worlds' I have ever had the privilege to discover. More importantly, the different plot lines are all enthralling, which in my opinion is fairly rare. To top it off, you also get a fantasy novel within a science fiction novel. I have no doubt that you could would be crying for more were you to read only the Dream sections of this masterpiece. It might sound disconcerting without having picked up the book, but I promise you satisfaction from page fifty nine forward (you need a little room to get started on this 700 page + beast).

The tech is perfectly convincing, the suspense is never ending and the meshing of plot lines is seamless. If you thought fantasy authors were good at creating worlds you need to see Mr. Hamilton create two universes. Meet unimaginably ancient aliens, relentless enemies, and an emotionally distraught and love-sick alcoholic whose ex beau was (is?) a living messiah.

If there was any negative that I would have to point out it would be the slightly repetitive nature of the fight sequences. Even so, you'll keep turning the pages as if your life depended on it. Once you get past The Dreaming Void, you will hop right into The Temporal Void (Void Trilogy), which came out not a month ago. Buy them both at the same time or your hate yourself during the whole long walk to the bookstore because its even better than the first book.

Once I get a couple more posts under my belt this will easily make it into the top 10, and MAYBE into the top 5.