Books: Tuesday Toofer

In light of me having anything interesting to say, here's two short fiction previews:

• "In the Autumn of the Empire," Jerry Oltion. Analog: Science Fiction and Fact (Oct. 2009) - We all know that world leaders can be pretty stupid. But what if they had absolute power to correct all of their blunders? Oltion spells out a fun story chronicling an emperor who can't wrap his head around that axial tilt thing, and goes to extreme means to cover up his ignorance.
  

• "The Hanged Man," William Gleason. Analog: Science Fiction and Fact (Oct. 2009) - Moral of the story: don't leave a friend behind on a planet with sketchy natives and a propensity for revenge. They might convince your pal to, you know, hunt you down and kill you. Or something. Worth checking out, but I'm still not 100 percent sure what Gleanson was going for with this one ...
  

Books: 2009 Locus Award Winners

Here are the 2009 Locus Award winners for best science fiction/related books published in 2008. (On a related note, these lists make for a great starting point if you're new to the genre.)

• Science Fiction Novel: Anathem, Neal Stephenson (Atlantic UK, Morrow)

• Fantasy Novel: Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt)

• First Novel: Singularity's Ring, Paul Melko (Tor)

• Young-Adult Book: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, Bloomsbury)

• Novella: "Pretty Monsters", Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters)

• Novelette: "Pump Six", Paolo Bacigalupi (Pump Six and Other Stories)

• Short Story: "Exhalation", Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)

• Anthology: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin's)

• Collection: Pump Six and Other Stories, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)

• Non-Fiction/Art Book: P. Craig Russell, Coraline: The Graphic Novel, Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins)

• Editor: Ellen Datlow

• Artist: Michael Whelan

• Magazine: F&SF

• Publisher: Tor