Locus

Locus.  No, not the bug - that's "locust."  This is "Locus, The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field."  The August 2010 issue showed up in the mail today.

If you want to know what's going on in the science fiction & fantasy publishing industry, this is the magazine to read.  It covers everything from new books coming out to obituaries of noted authors to news on publishing mergers to legal battles.  I especially like to see what's new that's coming out.  But over the past few years this has included a large number of vampire, werewolf, and zombie-themed novels.  With the exception of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (rating: 9/10), I don't do vampires, werewolves, or zombies.  Another trend that I don't (and may never) appreciate is that of sci-fi/fantasy/romance crossovers.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I've re-shelved a book in Borders after seeing that it had romance in it.  Just not my cup of tea.

So what is?  Patrick Rothfuss, author of the fantasy novel The Name of the Wind (rating: 9/10), is featured in the lead article in the latest issue of Locus.  Like many other people, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Name of the Wind and only wish the next book in Rothfuss' trilogy would come out sooner.  The Name of the Wind has no vampires, werewolves, zombies, or romance.  (Some might argue with me on the "romance" part - there is a component of a love-story - but it's not what I think of when I think of romance.)  Also, sitting on my shelf waiting to be read is the anthology Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders.  That one I expect to thoroughly enjoy as well.