A Host of Pyr Praise

Just back from WorldCon and playing mad catch up. More on the convention soon. In the meantime, I was thrilled to find a host of positive reviews upon my return:

First up, Rob H Benford posts a lengthy and very enthusiastic review of David Louis Edelman's Infoquake on SFFWorld, wherein he says that "the genre might not be quite the same after this book…a stunning debut novel by a lucid, precise, and talented new voice in the genre...With an already impressive list of authors in their stable, Pyr looks to have nabbed one of, if not, the next big thing in Science Fiction. This may be THE science fiction book of the year.”

Rob compares Edelman to Frank Herbert and Neal Stephenson, adding, "Like Stephenson and Herbert’s work, Edelman’s novel seems to have come along at the right time, capturing a sense of the world as it is now, reacting to and projecting a fully realized extrapolation of it."

And, not done there, over on his personal blog, Rob's Blog o' Stuff, he adds "Infoquake just might be THE Science Fiction novel of the year, if not the past five years. David Louis Edleman has done so many things right in this book, from the plausible next steps in human society to the characters, all the notes ring true. The future history only begs for MORE background, to the Reawakening to the Three Jesuses to the typical lunar colonies, he has it all mapped out and Infoquake is only the tip of the iceberg. Edleman has a fascinating background and timeline mapped out at http://www.infoquake.net... I've said it before and I'll say it again, Pyr is publishing some great books, but this might be the book that puts them over the top in terms of US genre publishing."

Meanwhile, Andi Shechter of January Magazine has some nice things to say about Joel Shepherd's just released Crossover, which she describes as "an example of a book that brings up the gosh-wow excitement of futuristic ideas at the same time that it -- very sneakily, I might add -- tackles one of the basic themes of modern-day science fiction: what is human? What is it to be a human being?" While admitting that she isn't a fan of protracted battles (she finds blood icky), Andi adds, "This is an exciting story, a well-written adventure, and an impressive debut novel."

What's more, Alan Dean Foster's upcoming Sagramanda draws praise from Publisher's Weekly:

“SF elements make colorful window dressing for this unpredictable thriller, whose multiple threads Foster juggles like the professional he is.”

And Justina's Mappa Mundi, out any day now, has Booklist -

“Robson’s take on the problems associated with anything that can re-write a human personality is a complex one, and also a solidly written, entertaining story.”

And Bookpage -

“…an engaging pyrotechnic slice of a near future in which computer software for humans is the next big research front…Robson delves into how the aphrodisiac of power can affect individual and social identities. She is a romantic, but the stakes here are high and she pulls no punches.”

-adding themselves to the list of those who sing her praises. Not a bad bit of news to come home from a con to, no?