The Giving Thanks Post
This is a rather nice American tradition, and you don’t have to be religious to be thankful so I have no issues with it on those ground. Here goes. Firstly, of course, I am very thankful for having won another Hugo this year. I thanked a few special people that day, and should once again thank them and everyone who voted for me. I really can’t thank Kevin enough. In addition I am very thankful to have been let back into the USA, and I’m especially thankful to have got to spend Thanksgiving with Kevin’s family, who are lovely people. And finally, I am very thankful that my friend Jay Lake made

Surf That
Here’s a challenge for budding surfers. NASA spacecraft have recently provided firm photographic evidence of a phenomenon known as a “solar tsunami”. The wave of gas they photographed was caused by an erupting sunspot. It was 100,000 km high and was moving at 250 km/sec. Now that’s what I call a big wave.

Have to Drive
America has ground to a halt for the very long holiday weekend that is Thanksgiving. As this is the time of year to get together with one’s family, travel is famously a nightmare. Kevin and I planned to get on the road around midday and actually managed it about 12:30. Amazingly the roads were clear all through Niles Canyon and up 680 as far as the dreaded Cordelia Junction where we stopped to stretch our legs on the grounds that the van wouldn’t be going that much slower in a car park than on the road. Fortunately the snarls don’t last too long. Today’s were perhaps a little longer than usual due to a couple of accidents around Fairfield. It took u

The Art of Maurizio Manzieri
I don’t get many free books these days (and indeed I turn down most of those I am offered), but here’s one I did get sent. It is an art book by an Italian called Maurizio Manzieri. Who? I hear you ask. Well you may not know his name, but if you check out his portfolio you’ll probably recognize several covers from places like F&SF and Interzone. Art does not need translation, so someone like Maurizio (or, for that matter, Stephan Martiniere, who is French) can sell easily into English-language markets. The book is published in France and has text in French, Italian, English and Spanish.

Madness of Flowers
Jay Lake is a prolific fellow. I haven’t read Green yet, but so far my favorite amongst his stories are those set in the City Imperishable. Madness of Flowers is book #2 in the series, a sequel to Trial of Flowers reviewed here. There’s not a lot to be said about the plot. The City is once more in danger from nefarious foes (including pirates and a giant ice bear), and it is once more up to the likes of Imago, Jason and Bijaz to save it, despite the constant opposition of the venal and incompetent Burgesses. To a large extent the book is “more of the same”, but then again that