On the note of disreputable SF authors I met up with Richard Morgan, author of the stunning Altered Carbon. Richard was signing copies of his Most Excellent new novel, Broken Angels, for the bookstore on Saturday(check the Alien for the double-header review Ariel and I recently wrote). He’d nicely timed his visit with my finishing time so that I could canter off with him and Matthew afterwards for a few chilled refreshments in Harvey’s in the New Town. Deep-chilled Hoegaarden, good company and some good craic - what more does anyone need? Plus another signed book for my collection (thanks, Richard). Matthew getting his colleague Juliet to bring their bookstore’s stock to the pub for a signing was a touch of class. Signings with authors are often fuelled by wine in-store and end in the pub afterwards, but it’s a tad unusual to do the signing there too. Perhaps I should suggest the Oxford Bar to Ian Rankin for the next author event we do with him?





Just finished reading Robert Reed’s new novel, Sister Alice. I first came across him when Tim Holman at Orbit sent me a copy of Marrow a couple of years ago. I went form looking at the cover and thinking it looked like an Iain M Banks wannabe to being utterly hooked within a few pages. So I have eagerly been waiting for this new novel, which Jessica at Orbit kindly sent to me as a loose-leaf manuscript (very easy to read in bed). Huge concept SF spanning millions of years of advanced human evolution - absorbing and gripping stuff. Check out the review on the Alien the do yourself a favour and read the book.