The award-winning author has died at the age of 88. Link

Google–and let me just say right now that if I had to pick who would be running the world in 20 years, my money would be on these guys–has yet another wonderful time-waster in the form of the “Book Layer” in Google Earth. Now when you turn on the “Google Book Search” layer in Google…

SF Signal says: Jim Baen’s Universe made a splash last year as an online-only, DRM-free short fiction magazine. It has since attracted big-name authors and numerous accolades. It didn’t splash on me; I had no idea this site existed. Neat! Link

Here’s a neat look at some of the “cliches” that originated with Smith’s Lensman stuff. As the author notes, they didn’t become cliches until everybody started copying his ideas. Smith was one the first science fiction writers to see that there was, inherent in sapience, the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the struggle for…

SF Signal has a review of The Year’s Best Science Fiction #24, edited by Gardner Dozois, up. Link

Tomorrow (Saturday) I’m throwing a yard sale to get rid of all my beloved junque — stuff I can’t possibly lug home to my teensy London flat. If you’re in the LA area, here’s more info and the address.

Our own Araiused will be making her novel, Blue Star, Glory Far, available here in serial form. You can read Chapter 1 right now, and check the Stories page for additional updates.

Charles Stross has an interesting op-ed piece about the future of history. I particularly like his notion that we’re on the verge of losing the ability to forget. Sixty to a hundred kilograms is all it takes to store an entire 21st Century of human experience. And some time after our demise, this information will…

Aaaaaargh. I am a terrible person who never keeps promises. I’d been planning to do a series of “If You Like…” posts, but I never seem to carve out enough time to give them the attention they deserve. To that end, I’m going to post some suggestions gathered from a couple of chats, without comment.…