Ian McDonald's brilliant Mars book, DESOLATION ROAD, finally back in print

Wonderful praise from Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing for Ian McDonald's Desolation Road. Doctorow calls it "one of my most personally influential novel" and compares the book to Kim Stanley Robinson's famous Mars trilogy, adding, "the two are very good companions, in that McDonald captures almost everything Robinson got (in a third of the number of pages), and adds the poetry and spirituality of Mars in the bargain."

He goes on to say that Desolation Road, "pays homage to David Byrne's Catherine Wheel, to Ray Bradbury's entire canon and to Jack Vance, blending all these disparate creators in a way that surprises, delights, then surprises and delights again. Spanning centuries, the book includes transcendent math, alternate realities, corporate dystopias, travelling carnivals, post-singularity godlike AIs, geoengineering, and mechanical hobos, each integral to the plot."

Yup.

Fast Forward 2 and the Locus Award Finalists

The Locus Awards Finalists have been announced and I'm thrilled to report that two stories from Fast Forward 2are in the running.

Best Novella- "True Names", Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow

Best Short Story- "The Kindness of Strangers", Nancy Kress

Congratulations to all three authors and thanks for such terrific work.

Winners will be announced at the Locus Awards Ceremony in Seattle WA during the Science Fiction Awards Weekend, June 26-27, 2009.

The 2009 Hugo Awards Final Ballot

The 2009 Hugo Awards Final Ballot is out. I'm honored, thrilled, and tickled several shades of pink to be nominated in the Best Editor, Long Form category for the third year in a row. I'm just as thrilled (okay, almost as thrilled, and really by a hair's breadth) to see two stories from Fast Forward 2on the ballot. A huge congratulations then to Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow for their Best Novella nomination for "True Names," and Paolo Bacigalupi for his Best Novelette nomination for "The Gambler." (And those are links to both stories online, for those who haven't read them yet and would like to do so before voting in the final round.)

Meanwhile, a huge congratulations to Pyr authors Charles Coleman Finlay, Ian McDonald and Mike Resnick on their Hugo nominations (for non-Pyr work,but no less thrilled for them), and to the artists we've worked with on various Pyr covers - John Picacio, Daniel Dos Santos, and Bob Eggleton.

And, really, a huge congratulatons to everyone on the ballot. I'm happy for so many folks. What a year! And, of course, you know I'm loving that The Dark Knight is on there too, as it should be. See you all in Montréal.

Update 3/20: Since it's come up, here's a list of the books I edited in 2008.