Today's Bookstore Reading CANCELLED and RESCHEDULED

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I had been looking forward today's reading at Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, NY. Then, alas, the snow started coming down and the roads turned murderous. I got four miles down the road and it was obvious that 1) I could never make the trip in time for the scheduled event, and 2) that it would be dangerous to try. In that brief time, I saw two cars slide off the road. One of them ran into a pad-mounted transformer. 

So I had to cancel. That felt bad.

The good news is that the event has been rescheduled to Sunday, January 25 at 3:00 p.m. 

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow.

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A Paucity of Cat Whiskers

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I have never in my life thanked a reviewer for a positive review. That would be insulting. All he or she has to offer is their honest opinion. Injecting the reviewee's reaction would cheapen that and make it out to be less than it was.

Nevertheless, I was greatly pleased by Gary Wolfe's review of The Universe Box. By my reading (and of course yours may differ), he understood what I was getting at in every story of the collection. And if my publisher is looking for a blurb-quote, why, here it is: "for all his narrative adventurousness and sly wit, Swanwick can also be a master of evocative, graceful prose."

That's all very gratifying.

But I am not grateful for it. Because my desire from long before my first published story was to deserve such praise. If I have done so, good. If not, my bad. And if you wonder whether I deserve such a positive review, well... you can always read the book.

Those with money are encouraged to support their local indie bookstore. Those without have a friend in interlibrary loan.

And f you are curious, you can read Wolfe's entire review here.

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Sparkle Bookstore Reading This Saturday!

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This Saturday, January 17, at 3:00 p.m., I will do a reading from my new collection, The Universe Box, at the Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, New York. Since the book is still a couple of weeks away from its publication date, I believe this will be the first opportunity ever to purchase a copy in a bookstore. Which is, let's face it, the best way there is to buy a book.

This should be a fun event. If you can make it there, please do. The address is:

The Sparkle Bookstore

642 Main Street

Sparkill, NY

You can read their promo for the event here.

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A Brief But Telling Anecdote About Sheila Williams

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I was extremely unhappy to learn that Sheila Williams, a dear friend as well as being the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction, has been hospitalized with a brain aneurism.

When bad things happen to good friends, I try to avoid slathering them with abstract praise. Instead, I prefer to relate an anecdote, something scandalous-but-not-too-scandalous, revealing some admirable facet of their essence. 

That's not so easy about the woman Isaac Asimov routinely referred to as "Sweet Sheila Williams." (Asimov had an epithet for everyone. Gardner Dozois, for example, was always referred to as "Chestertonian.") And there's some truth there. Sheila is even tempered and mercifully free of the sharp comments that are all too common among the literary and witty.

That doesn't mean she doesn't think them, though.

I remember sitting in the bar at some Worldcon or other with Sheila and Terry Bisson. We were all drinking but Terry was far, far in the lead. He was talking about his recent experiences as a guest at Volgacon, the only SF conference in the Soviet Union (which fell shortly thereafter) to have foreign guests in attendance.

Winding up his account, Terry said, "I told them: 'I know you guys are all capitalists now. But I want you to know that I still hold to the old ways. I'm still a Stalinist.'" Then he got up and staggered away.

Sheila smiled after him--sweetly, of course--and then leaned forward and confided, "I had such a hard time not saying: 'You and Fidel, Terry."

That's Sheila. As sharp-witted as any of us, but too kind to let us know it.

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You can read Locus Online's account of her hospitalization here.

Above: Sheila's portrait was swiped from the Locus Online account.

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Brooklyn Books & Booze @ Barrows Intense -- January 20 at 7 PM

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Brooklyn Books & Booze @ Barrows Intense is just what the title says--a monthly literary reading series held in a bar in Brooklyn. A week from today, I'll be there. Along with Amanda Cockrell, Caitlin Rozakis, and my particularly valued friend Ellen Kushner. 

And if something within you doesn't want to be there... well, I've lost all respect for you. If you can make it, you're in for a great evening. Butif you can't make it but wish you could, well... There'll be more BB&B@B evenings yet to come.

Have I mentioned that I'll be there? I will. And I'll be brilliant. You don't want to miss this.

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Snow and ICE

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Sunday, I went to an ICE Out protest on the grounds of Cathedral Village. Which is an old age home on what once almost became the grounds of the United Nations (long story; I'll tell it another time), facing Ridge Avenue, which was once an important Leni Lenapi trail to the Delaware River. There's a lot of history in my part of the world.

It was snowing, and bitter cold, and there were around 150 people present. A good quarter of them were waving American flags. Sharik Kahn, our state rep, showed up to say a few words, and was wise enough not to try to hijack the event for his benefit.

Last autumn, I came to the exact same place for a No Kings protest. Same people, similar signs, A goodly number of motorists driving by honked their horns in support. A few flipped the finger.

This time, however, nobody flipped the bird. And a lot honked their support. When the traffic flowed, the honking was almost nonstop. Far more than in the previous protest.

From which I conclude one thing: A lot of people (incorrectly, in my opinion) think that once we elect a president, we have to put up with whatever he does.

But most Americans, even today, disapprove of murder.

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Short Fiction Review: "Because It's There" by Susan Shwartz

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"Because It's There" by Susan Shwartz combines two story types, one of which I like and the other that I loathe. The one I like is the account of mountaineering, which I ate up in nonfiction when my age was still in the single digits. The other is the crashed colony ship story which has been the source of far too much lazy science fiction.

Shwartz makes them both work.

Mountaineering first. The author has clearly done her homework, and that includes knowledge about the Sherpas and their culture. The story shows them respect without romanticizing them. The first ascent of a mountain far higher than Olympus Mons or Rheasilvia in our own stellar system is not as visceral as it could be. But there is suffering enough, and anyway that's not what the story is about. No complaints, serious admiration.

The crashed colony ship is dealt with by showing the remnant society that has arisen from the disaster. It is essentially a prestige culture where an individual earns one or two or even three names by worthy behavior. The protagonist, who has three names, is as admired as one can be. But she is willing to risk losing a name if that's the right thing to do. As old tech fails and individuals are killed by their harsh surroundings, she can see the coming death of the colony.

The story begins partway up the mountain. Two outsiders, the first to arrive on the world since the original disaster, want to recover the body of someone who has stolen something infinitely dangerous. Our protagonist leads a crew, all of whom understand the dangers of the never-climbed mountain far more than the outsiders do. They also quietly, without comment, are scandalized when these strangers disrespect a three-named hero like Sir Edmund Hillary by calling him Hillary. But they are also hoping these people can evacuate their colony before they dwindle and die. A request they dare not make until they have earned it through virtuous action.

That's the setup. And its resolution?

I, for one, was completely satisfied.

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