Vellum

[coalescent]

My travel reading over the past week has been Hal Duncan's debut novel, Vellum. It's a book which has been attracting a fairly significant amount of attention in the sf world, and it's also getting a big marketing push from Pan Macmillan (the proof copies, from a limited run of 600, are things of beauty). You can read a very short extract here, and

Comments

[immortalradical]

I was thinking of reading Vellum. Now I'm not sure I'll bother. :\

[immortalradical]

I've noticed you seem to bookmark an awful lot of my comments. I'm flattered, Graham, I really am. But I'm getting a restraining order.

[grahamsleight]

Me bookmark a lot of your comments? How would you know, unless you snuck into my place at night, got onto my computer, and had a look at my bookmarks?

Ah.

So....restraining orders, huh?

[immortalradical]

Or, alternatively, it could be the way in which you quote me back at me all the time. But, y'know - whichever you prefer to dream about, my friend. 0:)

[grahamsleight]

I prefer to dream about the world being taken over by armies of sentient watering-cans given the breath of life by diabolical experimentation in the Blue Peter Italian Sunken Garden. But that's another story.

[immortalradical]

Aha, a Tim Vincent man. I knew it.

[grahamsleight]

*blinks*

Uh?

[immortalradical]

*beams*

[grahamsleight]

Who's Tim Vincent, for a start?

[despotliz]

I believe you invoked Blue Peter.

[immortalradical]

You obviously need to watch more bad children's telly.

[grahamsleight]

Ah, right. I was more of the Simon Groom era. I still don't understand why I'm a Tim Vincent man (as opposed to, say, a John Noakes man). But perhaps it's best to draw this thread to a dignified and sensible close?

[grahamsleight]

Which reminds me of the old joke about how do you make a duck into a soul singer, whose punchline I'm sure I don't need to rehearse here.

What made me ask? The thought that you might enjoy them...

[immortalradical]

The thought that you might enjoy them...

This is me looking sceptical. ;)

I get around to reading most of the SF masterworks eventually. I'm sure I'll give the Wolfe a go at some point.

Bill Withers! Heee!

[chance88088]

You have secret core of evil, don't you?

[grahamsleight]

Nope. No secret.