Archive for the ‘Ken MacLeod’ Category
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The Restoration Game, by Ken MacLeod
Published Sept 2011
Where I got it: rec’d review copy from the friendly folks at PYR
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This is one of those books that spoils the ending right away. But as new blogger friend Alison said,when you know the ending, the author has to work that much harder to surprise you along the way. And there were some great surprises here.
Gamer geek girl Lucy was born in Krassnia, raised in America, and now resides in the UK. The homeland of her mother and grandmother, a disputed area of southern Russia, is Krassnia part of Russia? part of Georgia? Doesn’t really matter, since Krassnia and it’s sacred mountain aren’t on any map, and the Krassnians would prefer to keep it that way. But gamer geek Lucy is too busy worrying about her company’s newest MMORPG release, Dark Brittania, to care about Georgian / Russian border towns.
That is, until she gets a call from her mother, who practically begs her to make a video game about Krassnia, based on The Krassniad, a collection of Krassnian folklore. A few tweaks to Dark Brittania, some changes to the script, a new voice-over, and poof, the Krassnian version is complete and ready to go. Doesn’t matter that it’s a complete rip-off of Dark Brittania, as only a few hundred people in Krassnia are going to have access to it.
New arrivals
Posted on: July 28, 2011
We came home from vacation laden with fudge, wine, cherries, a few books, and wonderful memories. Vacations out of town: I highly recommend ’em. Even if you only go a few hours away.
Came home to find a few packages waiting for us on the kitchen table as well (thanks garden/house sitter!)
behold, books review-copy, purchased, and borrowed, and hopefully to be read soon:
from bottom to top, we’ve got:
The Thackery T Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, Edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer – This is my top priority, once I finish the book I’m reading right now (more on that later). I really have no idea how to describe this book, but I’ll try. It’s a massive collection of stories, articles, photos and artwork of the strange things (and the stories behind them) that were found in Dr. Lambhead’s sprawling home after his death. The man was a hoarder/collector of anything and everything strange. I believe the Vandermeer’s solicited entries for this, and accepted only the strangest. Suffice to say, I’ve been excited about this one for a while, and when I tore open than shipping envelope I squee’d around the apartment for most of that evening. I’ve only been able to spend about 10 minutes with the book so far, and just reading random opening paragraphs I can tell I’m gonna be squeeing the entire time I’m reading.
Lowtown, by Daniel Polansky – my 2nd priority. I’ve been looking forward to this title for months. Since I got a well written e-mail from a gent that started out something like “Hi, my name is Daniel Polansky, and I’ve written this book. . . . “. Early reviews were positive, focusing on the anti-hero and darkness of the book. Well, ya’ll know I loves me an anti-hero, and I loves me some dark. Not to mention this is a beautiful hardcover edition too.
the Little Red Reviewer 
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