Kage Baker's Rude Mechanicals was the first entry into her "Company" series that I have read and I loved it. It's more 1930s screwball comedy than hard SF - basically the parts of the Bill Powell and Myrna Loy characters are played by a couple of Company cyborgs but as they are completely in character throughout the story, it is easy to lull yourself into believing you are reading about a couple of cut-ups caught in some Hollywood intrigue and not a couple of time traveling immortals. The SF aspects are very believable (and interesting) but if you don't like SF, then this is still a novella you will enjoy. (This one is also illustrated by JK Potter whose work I flat out adore.)

After Rude Mechanicals I dove into Baker's Gods and Pawns, her new short story collection from Tor. There's a lot more here about how the Company works and the odd little problems that crop up when you are immortal, but it continues to strike me as SF that reads so often as pure literary drama (or comedy). It's just a great blending of genres and I really enjoyed this collection as well (nice to see another old Hollywood story too - very well done). Both books will be reviewed by me probably in the April Bookslut. (Note that I came to both of these books completely cold on the series so it is easy to pick them up and enjoy them even if you have never read any of Baker's Company novels.)

The new Charles de Lint novella has been formally announced from Subterranean Press. Promises to Keep will go back to the very beginning for one of de Lint's most beloved Newford characters, Jilly Coppercorn. The cover is flat out gorgeous on this one and the story promises to be a lovely gift for long time fans.

Sub Press has also announced the title for the new Connie Willis compendium: The Winds of Marble Arch and other Stories. I still have her novella D.A. sitting on my nightstand - must read that soon.

Kelly reviewed Margo Rabb's Cures for Heartbreak over the weekend - another book I'm planning to start reading soon. I interviewed Margo a couple of years ago and really enjoyed her four-book girl detective series. This new book draws heavily from Margo's life and I'm really looking forward to it. (Kelly enjoyed it a lot.)

Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys turned out to be a quite satisfying essay collection on mistaken romance and friendship between straight women (or girls) and gay guys. I was puzzled by a few inclusions in the book however - Gigi Grazer's piece about a gay waiter at her favorite restaurant hardly seemed like it was serious enough to merit notice (the fact that she didn't even know the fellow's last name until after he died doesn't point to a friendship to me) and Ayelet Waldeman seems to be using her space to respond to an earlier inflammatory Salon piece (shocking, I know) and not say much of anything new. (Although she very nearly outs her husband - what is it with those two?) I'm thinking the Grazer piece is there just because she is famous, and maybe that explains Waldeman as well (or notorious would be a better description for her....)

Overall though it is very well done and the many YA authors included all stand out as the best essayists. I'm going to use this as a Cool Read in my May column - it's not written for young adults and there are a few sexually explicit moments that make it for the high school and up crowd, but I'm sure it will be well received by teens in situations similar to those described throughout the book.

I want this just for the fun pictures.

And in completely unrelated news, yea for baby leopard sharks! Poachers suck and that's all anyone should have to say about them.