Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Here is a little idiosyncrasy from my childhood. Somewhere around age 6 I got in my head the notion that it was possible that I could die and keep on keeping on in some sort of heaven/hell of my own creation. So every time the thought popped into my head I had to check my pulse to see if I was still alive. Even at 6 I understood that it was a little silly to assume that God/The Universe would create a reality for me compete with sight, sound, smell, taste and touch and miss such a minor detail as providing me with a pulse. With the aid of cognitive dissonance I eventually reasoned that God/The Universe might want me to figure out that I was not actually “living” in the real world and the lack of a pulse would surely be the path to my enlightenment. For the record by the time I was 10 I had given up on that theory. I actually hadn’t thought of this little ritual in some time but was reminded of it while reading Tim Pratt’s Dead Reign from his Marla Mason Series. One of the characters suffers from Cotard delusion, a psychological disorder in which the afflicted believes that they are dead. Please note I am not suggesting I suffered from this disorder, I was simply a child grappling with the nature of consciousness and reality.

So on to the dream… Last night I had what started off as a fairly mundane dream. Not really spectacular, vivid, creative or particularly enlightening. Other than some normal inconsistencies/dream logic, it was actually a pretty boring dream. There was, as I mentioned, some odd inconsistencies. Occasionally when dreaming I notice the dream logic and say – hey wait a second, that’s not possible I must be dreaming… Then I either go with the flow or take control of the lucid dream. Not this time. In what I am sure was some sort of synergistic reaction to Tim Pratt’s book along with the impact of my Mother’s sudden passing I was sure I was dead, I even checked my pulse. When I couldn’t find one, I had the sudden recollection of an impact and I just “knew” that I had died in a car accident. I woke up with such a fright that it was a good hour before my adrenaline was overwhelmed by the Lunesta and I was able to get back to sleep.

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Vicious Circle is book two in Mike Carey’s urban fantasy/detective noir series which chronicles the adventures and challenges of Felix Castor, reluctant exorcist.  In the London of Carey’s envisioning, the supernatural world has bled into our reality.  There are ghosts, lugaru (French equivalent of a were), demons, and other things that go bump in the night.  Most people can see ghosts but a few special people can exercise a certain amount of control over dead and undead.     At a young age Castor stumbled into his abilities by unintentionally exorcizing the ghost of his late sister.  Castor is a fascinating protagonist.  He is not a fighter, a lover or preternaturally powerful.  He is a wisecracking reluctant hero just a minute or so off the egg timer from hardboiled.  Carey paints a vivid picture of London and draws some fascinating supporting characters.  You have an old friend Rafi, inextricably bound to a powerful demon after Castor tried and failed to free him from possession.  Nicky the zombie, a computer hacker and conspiracy nut… and Juliet a succubus that I can’t say too much about without unnecessary spoilage for book 1, The Devil You Know.    

I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 but Vicious Circle is certainly a more polished product.  In this installment Castor is hired by a couple to find their kidnapped daughter.  While not an actual detective, Felix takes the case due to one very unusual circumstance; the girl was already dead when abducted. Along the way he will run into a powerful religious sect, a rash of apparent demonic possessions, an exorcist with abilities that seem to significantly outclass his own.  The book is fast paced, funny and does a fantastic job of blending the fantasy and detective genres.  While not completely necessary to read The Devil You Know first, it is entertaining in its own right and does help with the back story.

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

According to a recent email, Tor is restarting their monthly ebook giveaway. 

- New giveaway e-books

More details next week–but yes, we plan to resume giving away selected e-books on Tor.com, at least one title per month. To download them you’ll need to not just visit Tor.com but register as a user; the downloads won’t be accessible until you do. Registering on the site takes maybe thirty seconds if you type particularly slowly…so Act Now, Act Without Thinking, get over to Tor.com and create yourself a user account today.-

I am excited to see the return of this program.   The previous incarnation certainly exposed me to writers I might not have otherwise ever picked up.  It looks like this time around you have to register and actually go to their site.  This is not a bad thing.  Tor.com is turning into a fairly significant portal for the SF community, think Blog, Social Networking and original fiction all wrapped up into one.  There have been some great stories by the likes of Charlie Stross and John Scalzi.   I haven’t had a lot of time to thoroughly explore the site, but from what I have seen if you are an SF fan you will want to check it out.  Truthfully I have been avoiding the site because it is so damn cool it can quickly turn into a giant time sink.  My user name over there is coreyjf – shocking I know.  Feel free to follow…

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

While I typically prefer fiction, I could not put this book down.  Bryson takes us through his childhood growing up in the Midwest during the 50’s.  He did an amazing job of channeling the child/boy he was. It was a more innocent time, shown through the eyes of a child.  As the Memoir (yeah I know dirty word these days) progresses, Bryson is able to parallel his own loss of innocence with that of the times.  While I was born in the East some 20 years later, the world he recreated reminded me very much of my own early childhood.  In many ways the 70’s were the dying embers of the 50’s.  I remember with vivid detail my first crush and my curiosity/obsession with the opposite sex. TV before cable with it’s morning/late night test patterns, constant stream of old re-runs, limited selection and far less sophisticated content – it was an all together different medium.  Parents still thought it was safe for kids play outside.  Globalization had yet to flatten the earth.  Most nightmares were still on the news, not your backyard.  Even DC was safe as long as you stayed out of South East. It was a wonderful reminder of my early childhood; I hope I can provide even a fraction of that for my own children. 

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

Update – paperback is out and linked

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

For those of you who have had or have been a child in the last 60 years, you may be familiar with Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.  While on a hunt for our latest book club read we happened across Goodnight Bush: A Parody By Gan Golan (Author), Erich Origen (Author), an absolutely hilarious parody of Goodnight Moon framing the stupidity of the Bush Administration.  Melissa vetoed the purchase, but I could not stop laughing so I will definitely be picking myself up a copy in the not to distant future. 

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

I finished Old Man’s War by John Scalzi.  There are plenty of reviews out there, so I will just say Awesome. 

Originally published at Corey J Feldman. Please leave any comments there.

I just started listening to Old Man’s War by John Scalzi.  Mr. Scalzi is a fantastic writer. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t read his blog and his The Android’s Dream kept me thoroughly engrossed not to mention occasionally laughing out loud.  I purchased the audio version from Audible about 6 moths ago, but hadn’t been able to bring myself to hitting play.  This is really unusual for an audio book.  Paper copies tend to sit.  I buy far more books then I have the time to read.  With audio I tend to buy as I need.  Part of the problem is I have never been a big fan of either space opera or military fiction. This being both, well… it sat for six months.  I had even purchased a few books outside of my monthly 2 book subscription while Old Man’s War sat unheard and unappreciated but loaded on my iPhone.  Well today I ran out of the house without a new book and just wasn’t in the mood for a podcast or music.  An hour into it, I am sorry I waited.  It is well written, funny, thought provoking.  I am actually looking forward to my commute home (well almost).  The premise is this:  Earth is a space fairing civilization.   However there is a quarantine that keeps people from going out and seeing the universe.  Not to mention the Colonial Defense Force has all of the Faster then Light Ships.  They are also the only ones with the technology to reverse ageing.  Earth Doctors have been unable to replicate the technology.  So at a certain age you can sign up for Military service.  You can see the universe.  Your youth is restored.   But it is a one way trip.  You give up your citizenship to your world/country and by law you are legally dead.   Marriages and contracts are dissolved and property is passed along as if you had actually died.  You leave everything behind, save whatever you can fit into your one carryon bag.  It is quite fascinating and I am looking forward to seeing how the story develops.