Zombies come to Austin...

I was honored to be invited to partake in the Zombie Killing Techniques festivities put on by Space Squid, to Celebrate their seventh issue release. Now, Space Squid ain't your daddy's Analog, it's a more refreshingly today-type of magazine. Raed it... you'll enjoy it.

The crew from Space Squid are all top-notch folks (they had good nummys and prizes) and shelled out top-dollar for a quality pig's head for their zombie (I was going to take it hope and smoke it, but the sledge hammer did such a great job of splattering it, I declined!).

And the people from Furgal Media were most excellent. They didn't freak out too much when we started swinging swords, hammers and other object, both sharp and blunt.

Alas, the Ninja sword handed down to me by my father did not prove to be as formidible as I had hoped it would be. Anybody know a good sword repair-person?

Kirinyaga, a remarkable book.

I have just finished reading Mike Resnick's remarkable book, Kirinyaga. It is a series of interlocking stories concerning the establishment of a Utopian colony of African natives from the Kikuyu tribe, told from the point of view of the tribes witch doctor, or mundumugu. They were written specifically as shorts tories, but Resnick has crafted them in such a way that the evolution of the charcaters is seamless. 

Starting from the foundation of the colony, the stories grow more complex and captivating. Koriba, the mundumugu, tries in vain to keep his culture pure from corrupting influences. You watch as his power and wisdom is slowly eroded by the temptations of modern society. In the end, he abandons the colony when he realizes that Utopia is not a destination, but a journey. One he is not willing to abandon.

This style of writing is not often used, and not always to good effect. One of my favorite books that was sucessful in this style was Venus Equilateral, by George O. Smith. This book concerned the doings of a communications relay station at the Venusian LaGrange point. It is a very good example of Golden Age science fiction.