I podcasted! And wrote some guest posts. And am late to all the parties.

Okay. Finally, now that my grading is done (though not finalized), and the quarter is mostly wrapped... the long delayed list of publicity and posts related to HOW THE MULTIVERSE GOT ITS REVENGE (which, for the record, would make a fantastic holiday gift. Audio book, ebook, paper. All three!)

• The Worldshapers Podcast in which yours truly talks alot.
• Fresh Fiction:  Guest Post
• Tor.com: Guest Post
• The Nerd Daily:  Interview
• PaulSemel.com: Interview
• YA Books Central: Spotlight & Guest Post

And if you are tired of me, here are a lot of other people saying very nice things about REVENGE. 

• Publishers Weekly: Review 
• "This fantasy-space-opera hybrid provides no shortage of action, interstellar hijinks, and fuel for future installments. Series readers will be pleased."
• Fresh Fiction:  "Most Anticipated New Releases: Fall-Winter 2020!"
• Amazing Stories: "Science Fiction to Look for October 2020"
• Smart Bitches Trashy Books: Review 
• "Both the first and second book in this duology are excellent... I'd love to read more about Rory and her group of friends."
• Tor.com: Exclusive Excerpt
• The Quill to Live: Review
• "...A fun fusion of different science fiction and fantasy concepts that kept me engaged the entire time... How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge is a fantastic book that checks all of my boxes for something I highly recommend."
• Girl Who Reads: Review
• "This is a fascinating mix of magic and space opera... A great story."

I am happy that this book seems to be delighting people, because my god we need some delight about now. Did I mention it'd make a great gift?

The Patchwork Terror and Murdercat, BFFs

And because it is a lovely almost-winter day here, and the sun is warm, here are two house tigers, extra fluffy, catching a few rays.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

So I have a book coming out next week. I'd like to introduce you. This is HOW RORY THORNE DESTROYED THE MULTIVERSE. It has perhaps the coolest cover in the history of covers, ever, and I love it. (Your cover probably won't move around like that. If it does, um. No judgment.)

I think it's a pretty darn good book, too, if I do say so myself (which I do). But don't just take my word for it.

Starred Reviews:
Kirkus
Library Journal
Booklist

Lists:
Kirkus Best of the Month for October
Library Journal Pick of the Month
Amazon's Best SFF Books of the Month
Barnes & Noble Best SFF Books of October

RORY is coming out on October 8, which is one week from now, so you still have time to preorder from the usual places:

Barnes and Noble 
Amazon
Indiebound

If you have a local bookstore, that works, too, and that's totally what you should do so that we continue to have local bookstores.

And, and, speaking of local bookstores, Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego will be hosting me for an event on October 13. If you're in the neighborhood, come on by!

Review of Michael Mammay's Planetside

Planetside by Michael Mammay

So: Planetside is military SF meets hardboiled detective novel. There's a missing lieutenant, son of an Important Person, and an almost-retired combat veteran, Colonel Butler, is sent to investigate. The general who sends him says "get it done." The blunt simplicity of that directive drives the narrative. There are not a lot of stylistic frills here, nor meditations on the meaning of life. Butler describes his environment and observations with a spare, dry wit and an understated sense of drama. Butler's cool makes the action in the book--the explosions, the surprises--that much more, well, dramatic. And surprising. You're walking along the narrative, thinking (like Butler) you know where it's going, and then bang.

I really can't talk about the plot much without giving things away, because it's a mystery as much (more than) it is about firefights and violence, even though the story has its share of both. There were moments where I saw echoes of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and moments when I laughed out loud (not the same moments). The military is, of course, at the core of the story, but Mammay's military is composed of people--good and bad and venal and brave and scared--and not caricatures. (Confession: I grew up in a military family. Reading this book felt a lot like coming home.) Morality is grey, but also crystal clear. Mammay does a fantastic job of showing multiple perspectives (no easy feat with a first-person narrator!); the war itself feels like a character as much as the people walking around and fighting and dying. Mammay spools out the backstory slowly, in fragments, relying on the reader to put things together as much by what's not said as what is, and lets the reader--through Butler--figure out how to feel, and what course of action to take despite an increasingly muddy morality.

Don't look for heroics (although there are heroes). Don't look for drama (though there's that, too). Look for a smart, and smart-ass narrator who does his best to get it done, while never letting anyone--least of all himself--get too comfortable in their assumptions.