Let’s kick things off this month with some David Weber love, courtesy of new convert Ben Thompson:
I'd never read a Honor Harrington book but had been getting told for years how good they were and so decided to read your interview with the author. Thank you! I followed your link to the Baen Free Library, which I hadn't heard of before but think might be my favorite thing on the internet, and read ON BASILISK STATION in one sitting. I loved it so much I ordered the next five books right away. Just wanted to tell you that. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Ben, we’ll try. And enjoy your time with Honor! You’ve got a long way to go, and we’re confident you’ll love every minute. (Though, as you may have gathered, a lot of people are gonna die.)
But hopefully, concurs Lois Pender with our interviewer, not…
Scotty Tremaine, Scotty Tremaine, I hope he lives, and Chief Harkness too. Great interview with David Weber, I can't waif for his new book.
We can’t waif either, Lois!
Moving on to another article in which David Weber took part, we heard from the enchantingly-named Dini Malcha regarding our tales of geek idol meetage:
Loved your close encounters article, I just had a bunch of my own at comic con this year and even got to touch jared padalecki, so I could really relate. I didn't know all of the people the writers were so excited to see but I could tell they felt the same way about meeting them as I felt about meeting zach levi. I can die happy now.
Ooh, our Cathy Thomson is doubtless plotting your death right now, Dini! She missed seeing Zach Levi in San Diego, but you can read of her other adventures (and perhaps compare notes) in this month’s Comic-Con Confessional.
Author Steve Miller also contributed to Close Encounters, and a fan of his (and Sharon Lee’s) work, Nina Mangan, was displeased by our Kate Nagy’s exclusion of a Liaden series stalwart in her Top 13… Genre Heroines Who Kick Ass, Literature Division.
13 heroines article... Interesting list, but as you predicted, I am MOST UNHAPPY that Miri was left out - at least she was mentioned in the preface! But seriously, Marian over Miri? A ONE BOOK WONDER? No matter how ahead-of-the-times Wilkie seems to be (maybe I should read some?) that doesn't bump Miri off the list IMHO. But an interesting article that made me late for work - good job!
Kate responds: Yes, everyone should read Wilkie Collins (I also recommend The Moonstone and, if you're really, really hard-core, Armadale.) Maybe someone else should do a Top 13 Genre Heroines that Kate the Silly English Major Stupidly Ignored....
[Since the above, Nina, you’ll be happy to know that Kate has been introduced to the Liaden Universe®, via a copy of The Dragon Variations, and is now officially hooked to the point where she “got very peeved when I realized I had to put it down long enough to, you know, feed my children and all.” - Ed.]
Also being introduced to new things this past month was Mark Savage, who had this to say:
Didn't know what to make of the Big Finish article at first and didn't know what it could have to do with SG1, but I always have to read anything to do with Daniel Jackson and the picture made me click on the link. Good that I did. I didn't know these "audio dramas" existed! Awesome stuff, have already bought Gift of the Gods and am waiting on the Teal'c CD to arrive. Thanks for the heads up!
You’re welcome, Mark!
Meanwhile, we received this from one Malcolm Mathews:
Rachel is an AWESOME editor who deserves to have an Enterprise shuttlecraft named after her!
However, since he works here, perhaps we shouldn’t print that. (But, hey, when something's true, it's true.)
Speaking of Malcolm, we rather suspect that the Alien VS Predator debate he conducted against formidable opponent Will Cashin in Issue 5 made it onto some form of AVP message board or mailing list, as we received rather a lot of these types of e-mails, in the space of two days:
Alien! (Carl Loomis, Canada).
Predator! (Sean Whalen, Australia.)
Alien!! (Bettina Freeman, Hong Kong.)
Predator!!! (Shannon Nevil, South Africa)
… along with a whole lot more that were unsigned. According to the feedback count, Will’s Alien argument has it by a nose (or a gooey tentacle). Our favorite vote, though, may be this one, from someone going by the name Len:
Gremlin!
Indeed, Len. Indeed.
We round out this month’s mail bag with this lovely note from our “new friend”, Queen Queen:
Hello Dear,
how are you today i hope that every things is ok with you as it is my great pleassure to contact you in having communication with you, please i wish you will have the desire with me so that we can get to know each other better and see what happened in future.i will be very happy if you can write me through my email for easiest communication and to know all about each other, and also give you my pictures and details about me, i will be waiting to hear from you as i wish you all the best for your day.
your new friend.
Miss Queen
Aw. Actually, Miss Queen, it is our pleasure for our kind readers to contact us in having communication with us! Our thanks, as always, for all your letters, folks; we can’t print them all, but we cherish every one.
See you next month!
-- The Geek Speak Staff