I might be a little behind the times, but I had to blog about this book.  If you have never read a Science Fiction novel before, then Ender’s Game is the one you want to start with.  If you are a Science Fiction fan, then you want to read Ender’s Game anyway.

I had a hard time putting this book down.  It’s a story about a time when people are only allowed to have two children unless special dispensation is given for what is called a third.  By having a third you are giving up your right to the third child in the event the military finds him/her suitable for military service.

The story is about a boy nicknamed Ender. He was a third.  Put into military training at a young age and groomed to be the replacement for the hero of the first bug war.

This book makes you feel for the characters.   As though you have a stack in the outcome of their lives.

It’s a fast read and well worth the time.

I must be living under a rock to have missed this one. Afterworld is a wonderful online SF short. If you haven’t tried the series YouTube has the first ten episodes online. Each episode lasts about 3 min. Here is episode one to give you a taste.

The Arthur C Clarke Award will be presented today in London.  If you don’t know much about the Arthur C Clarke Award jump over to wikipedia and read until your eyeballs fall out.  For the rest of us, Torque Control has assembled a list of reviews for all of the books on the short list as well as some additional information links you might find interesting.  One of the commenter’s indicates that she will attempt to blog the winner live, technology permitting, at her blog Instant Fanzine.

I try to read all nominee’s from the awards lists.  I recently read Inclination by William Shunn, a novella that appears on both the Hugo and Nebula lists.

Inclination is a powerful story about a young man realizing that the religion of his father and the story of his mother’s death may not be all it appears to be on the surface.

Although the characters are interesting, the story does a better job with the scenery.  I felt like I was on board Neatherview Station.  Interacting with the population and able to get information at will by simply talking to Geoff in a nearby Geoff-room.  Geoff is the station information AI.

The novella category this year has a number fantastic stories but this one is tied in my mind for first place.  Maybe I will tell you which one it’s tied with sometime.

By-the-way, according to a Sci Fi Wire article, William Shunn is in the process of expanding this novella into a full length novel.  I can’t wait.

If you never heard of short format fiction, it might surprise you that it could be the next big publishing format. Filling the void up to a short story, short format fiction may just be the cure for the dwindling attention span.

I find writing an entire story in 500 - 1000 words is a challenging exercise. If you think it is easy, just give it a try. Every word must count. Complex plots and lavish character development must be condensed to a degree that, while still imparting the same story, is short and concise.

If you are a big SF fan, as I am, then your in luck. Get a new story each and every day at a site called 365 Tomorrows. A new story is published every day by one of the writing staff, a featured writer, or a submission. I can’t say that they are all fantastic, but I can say that they hit the mark more often than not. Reading one of these stories is a good way to start your day and you can accomplish the task in 20 minutes or less.