# This Week in Google Alerts: misc *The Urth list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 21 Apr 2014* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Gwern Branwen *21 Apr 2014, 17:18* - Wolfe-related books: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-Nebula-Awards-Showcase-2014-5402795.php "Book Review: _Nebula Awards Showcase 2014_, Edited by Kij Johnson" > Every year since 1966, The Nebula Awards Showcase has presented > the award winning and nominated stories, novellas and poems for the > Nebula Awards, which are presented by the Science Fiction & Fantasy > Writers of America?. While Mike Resnick is the chair of the anthology > committee, a different editor is chosen each time. This year's editor > is Kij Johnson, author of three books and and associate director of > the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of > Kansas....Another favorite in the collection is by new Grand Master > Gene Wolfe. The Grand Master is a lifetime achievement award and Wolfe > certainly has earned it. The story he selected to represent his work > in the anthology is "Christmas Inn," and it has the layers of meaning > in a deceptively straight-forward narrative that one expects from > Wolfe...In addition to these entries, the anthology includes two > essays about Gene Wolfe by Neil Gaiman and Michael Dirda and several > poems which won specialty awards. - A DJ names himself after _Latro in the Mist_: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/nightlife/hot-spots/2014/apr/17/jason-derulo-tao-beach-rockabilly-aloe-blacc-beer/ / http://vegasseven.com/2014/04/16/holly-madisons-1923-premieres-chic-easy-vibe/ > Seven Lions at Marquee Dayclub A group of lions is called a > pride; former metal drummer Jeff Montalvo is now called Seven Lions, a > name pulled from Gene Wolfe’s fantasy novel _Latro in the Mist_. The > DJ/producer (and _Game of Thrones_ fan) will bring his progressive > dubstep sound to a sunny setting this weekend at Cosmo’s party pool. Bikinis + bass + fantasy-inspired electronic music, anyone? *April 19, doors at 11 a.m., $30 men, $20 women.* - TLA review https://opionator.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/the-land-across-by-gene-wolfe/ > ...Although this has moments of obscurity and some of the > political subtext is slightly naive, this proves to be one of Wolfe’s > more accessible novels as we slowly discover more about this country > and its political system. There are some quite pleasing aspects to the > investigation itself and the process of deduction is moderately > rigorous. I suppose one more cynical responses to this narrative might > be to see it as a dream. Our hero falls asleep as the train approaches > the border and what happens after that is just the product of his > subconscious. This would help explain the sometimes quite arbitrary > way in which our narrator skips over events and sometimes refuses to > elaborate on the bare bones of description offered. Since no country > this backward exists in Europe (North Korea might approximate this > level of poverty both in political and material terms) and no-one > today seriously believes in vampires or supernatural devices such as a > hand of glory, we could safely treat this as an allegory. Yet, there > always comes a moment when our narrators wake. This could be when the > border guards invade his compartment on the train, or it might be as > the last page turns. You should read the book to find out. _The Land Across_ really does hold interest and arrives at an intriguing ending. - Reddit praises _Book of the New Sun_ http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/23gqw2/what_are_peoples_opinions_of_gene_wolfes_book_of/ - likewise on TBotNS: https://retrospeculative.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/retrospeculative-view-1980/ ``` gwern http://www.gwern.net ``` ---