Journal Entry #34 January 31, 2009
I attended an inauguration bash Tuesday evening, January 20. It was held at a comfortable place called the Oyster Shak in Brunswick, GA. A couple of bands showed up, and about forty supporters, campaign workers, volunteers of all sorts, and a few people who just wanted to join the party. Parties don't last long, though. The notion of pulling Republicans and Democrats together seems not to be gaining traction, even though it's clear the voters would like the nonsense to stop. I was surprised that Limbaugh told his radio audience that he hopes the president will fail. I suppose you can take that position when you're making millions and not dependent on your job at the local furniture store. Had someone made that comment about Mr. Bush when he was in office, he would have been branded a traitor.
Recently, two novels have caught my attention: Blasphemy by Douglas Preston, and Mike Resnick's Starship: Rebel, the fourth book featuring the adventures of Wilson Cole, who gets in trouble with the military of his interstellar age by putting integrity before other considerations. (I should, in the interests of disclosure, reveal that I'm a friend of Mike's, and consequently not especially objective. Nevertheless, his work rouses the enthusiasm of a lot of people who don't share a personal connection.) Cole has friends, and ultimately collects ships, and makes his way as best he can, while the Republic puts a price on his head. And sure, we can see where this is going. But it's a magnificent ride. I recommend all four books that have appeared in the series so far. Best is to start with Starship Mutiny.
Like the books of Mike's series, Blasphemy is hard to put down. A group of scientists are trying to get the world's biggest supercollider up and running. It's on Navajo land, and the locals are unhappy. In addition, a rightwing televangelist has gone after them, accusing the government of using tax money to fund an attempt to disprove Genesis. In addition, the scientists are getting disconcerting results from the machine, cozily named Isabella. Something deep and mysterious is going on. Had I discovered the book earlier, I'd have recommended it for the Nebula. It's not marketed as SF, by the way. I came across it in a super market.
Maureen and I will be at a Super Bowl party tomorrow evening, given by local author/agent Holly McClure. Monday morning, I'm going over to the St Simons elementary school to help kick off the I Love to Read Dr. Seuss project. I'll be reading Hooray for Diffendoofer Day to the fifth grade. And please don't ask me. I have no idea either. I bought a copy of the book yesterday. My wife has warned me that Dr. Seuss does interesting things with language, and that if I want to do a creditable job, I'd better invest some time.
I was pleased to see that Cauldron made the preliminary Nebula ballot, along with nine other titles. The complete ballot can be seen at the SFWA website, www.sfwa,org. It's an excuse to go out and celebrate. Maureen and I have gotten into the habit of celebrating on the least excuse. Sometimes the cause is as simple as getting all the yard debris picked up and put out for the collectors, sometimes it's more important, like having the Phillies win the Series. (With regrets to readers in Tampa. But it just doesn't happen for us very often. Twice, as a matter of fact, in more than a century. My father was a faithful fan from the time he was about four, and he never saw them win.) Something else we celebrated recently: For two weeks I'd been working on the 2010 novel, which will feature Alex Benedict. I've always found it hard to work until I have a a title. And I could not come up with one. The working title was The Temple of Light. But that never felt right. (Not to mention that it sounded like something from the Indiana Jones archive.) Best I had for a while was An Asteroid Named Louie. Then the other morning I woke up with it. So of course we went out and celebrated. I recommend frequent celebrations for everybody. They're good for your blood pressure.
Oh. The title? Sanctum.