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Archren

Archren

Web Site: Spiral Galaxy Reviews

Claimed Blog: Spiral Galaxy Reviewing Laboratory

42Blips Member since June 12, 2009

The Night Lands: An Inner Portrait of Evil
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 30 days ago
The Night Lands: An Inner Portrait of Evil
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — First off: spoilers ahead. I think 97 years is just about enough time for that statute of... limitations to run out. The plot of The Night Land (1912, William Hope Hodgson) is simple: boy meets girl, boy loses girl (in contemporary times). Boy meets girl again, loses girl again (on the Earth long ... (more) The Night Lands: An Inner Portrait of Evil

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 30 days agoposted this
Books Received
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 10/16/2009
Books Received
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — FTC or no FTC, it's probably a good idea to post 'books received' anyway. I definitely appreciate... that Andrew Wheeler and SFSignal do it, and given that I'm not writing as much as I'd like, this seems like an appropriate way to send the authors/publishers some love. So here's the list for this ... (more) Books Received

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 10/16/2009posted this
Fast Ships, Black Sails (and stuff)
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 10/11/2009
Fast Ships, Black Sails (and stuff)
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — It would have been great if I'd finished reading this in time for "Talk like a Pirate... Day," but alas it was not to be. Since starting this work/school schedule, I've dropped from reading 4-6 books a month to only finishing 2. And I'm writing even less. It appears that for this semester at ... (more) Fast Ships, Black Sails (and stuff)

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 10/11/2009posted this
Fencing Coverage!
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 9/27/2009
Fencing Coverage!
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — OK, this post is a little off-topic for this blog. However, that's going to become something of... the norm around here. I've generally tried to keep Spiral Galaxy as a book reviewing blog, but right now that would mean very infrequent posting. I've got very little time to read right now (other ... (more) Fencing Coverage!
Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 9/27/2009posted this
New Ink! Now with Extra Geek
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 9/12/2009
New Ink! Now with Extra Geek
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — I hope that you'll all recognize those equations more-or-less instantly. If not, be educated here . As... I put it to the artist last night: "These are probably the most complicated things I'll ever actually understand." (That same artist pointed out the awesome symmetry of ... (more) New Ink! Now with Extra Geek

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 9/12/2009posted this
Core Fantasy
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 9/6/2009
Core Fantasy
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — As per my last post , I'm starting in on data collection for my research project. It's... a nice, more-or-less relaxing way to pretend I'm doing something productive over my long weekend. [1] For my first sweep of sf/f short stories, I've been going down the award nominee lists, looking for things ... (more) Core Fantasy

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 9/6/2009posted this
Bring the Controversy OR, Research Plan Update
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/21/2009
Bring the Controversy OR, Research Plan Update
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Remember that plan I had to use a pattern classification algorithm to distinguish different eras of SF... writing ? I got some very lovely expressions of interest and support, but I didn't get the one thing that I needed: someone saying, "Why yes, here are one hundred Golden Age sf stories, all ... (more) Bring the Controversy OR, Research Plan Update
Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/21/2009posted this
Thoughts on the Canterbury Tales
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/18/2009
Thoughts on the Canterbury Tales
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Well, it took seven months, but I got through the Canterbury Tales . I read the Norton... Critical edition (not pictured here), which was marvelous. The text is in Medieval English, but with lots & lots of helpful annotations in the margins and as footnotes. At first it was like learning to ... (more) Thoughts on the Canterbury Tales

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/18/2009posted this
In Which I Blame George W. Bush for Anathem
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/17/2009
In Which I Blame George W. Bush for Anathem
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Some sf books are novels of power, where fully realized characters move through richly painted landscapes and... evoke ideas of stunning originality. I love those books! Anathem is not that book. Other sf books are intricate puzzles for the mind, inviting you to enjoy identifying and solving ... (more) In Which I Blame George W. Bush for Anathem

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/17/2009posted this
Book Haul!
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/13/2009
Book Haul!
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — It wouldn't be a WorldCon without a haul of books! Here's what I've got: 2 volumes of... Clark Ashton Smith , who Ross Lockhart of Nightshade Press described as "the poet" of the Lovecraft era. Ross is a very good salesman, and also a generally awesome person. The Locus & Nightshade tables ... (more) Book Haul!

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/13/2009posted this
Non-Fiction for SF Fans
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/12/2009
Non-Fiction for SF Fans
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Here are some of the titles that the panel (Niall Harrison, Vince Docherty, James Cambias, Geoff Ryman,... Kari Sperring) suggested as they were talking: Becoming a Writer Dorothea Brande (GR) A Writer's World: Travels 1950 - 2000 Jan Morris (NH) The Lunar Men: Five Men Whose Curiousity Changed ... (more) Non-Fiction for SF Fans

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/12/2009posted this
Wrap up the First
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/12/2009
Wrap up the First
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Aaaaand the last few days have all gone blurry. On Friday it felt like I'd been at... the Con for a week; on Sunday I couldn't believe I only had one day left. This post is going to be a bit scattershot in covering impressions of the actual Con activities. On the 6 hour drive from Montreal to ... (more) Wrap up the First
Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/12/2009posted this
A More Moderate Evening
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/8/2009
A More Moderate Evening
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — My last panel got out at ten, and very few people are in the hotel bar (many... more Delta parties tonight). After thorough deliberation and a glass of wine, sanity won out (given that Curtis & I have a 9am thing tomorrow--a fencing demonstration!) and we're back in our room. Our Con has been ... (more) A More Moderate Evening

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/8/2009posted this
OMG, is it Only Friday?
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/7/2009
OMG, is it Only Friday?
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — The great part? There's 3 1/2 more days of solid Con to go! The bad part? My... brain and stomach are already partly fried! I always forget how overwhelming WorldCon can be, and I also forget that travel + odd food + odd eating hours + liquor = stomach troubles. I shall endeavour to moderation, but ... (more) OMG, is it Only Friday?

Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/7/2009posted this
WorldCon Day -1
spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com - 8/5/2009
WorldCon Day -1
— spiralgalaxyreviews.blogspot.com — Got in to Montreal last night, and we're already having a lovely time. Over the course of... the con I'll be twittering more than blogging (I'm Spiralgalaxy on twitter, see link on sidebar), but I figured I'd get a blog post out before things got crazy. The drive from Maine to Montreal was ... (more) WorldCon Day -1
Comments vote down Archren Archren posted 8/5/2009posted this
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