http://www.thefictiondesk.com book reviews, writing tips, and editing services for fiction writers Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:52:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/stop-discounting-before-discounting-stops-publishing/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/stop-discounting-before-discounting-stops-publishing/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:14:50 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=571 shouldn't have been published. At least, not in their current state...]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/stop-discounting-before-discounting-stops-publishing/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:43:45 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=569 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:16:19 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=563 Sum, a compact and attractive new book from Canongate, neuroscientist David Eagleman presents us with forty vignettes that imagine variations on the afterlife.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:53:57 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=561 Talk of the Town is the first novel from poet Jacob Polley, a coming-of-age tale set in Carlisle during the summer of 1986, and narrated in vernacular by schoolboy Chris Hearsey. His friend Arthur—never the most stable of kids—has gone missing, and Chris sets out to try and find him...]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:44:16 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=558 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:25:04 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=554 Postscripts is the flagship speculative fiction quarterly from PS Publishing. Issue #18 marks its transition from a magazine to a full-fledged anthology, and is dedicated to new writers. So what does it have to offer?]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 14:33:19 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=519 Far North, Marcel Theroux's fourth novel, treads well-worn paths of post-apocalyptic wastelands and the ease with which morality breaks down... but does it add anything new to the mix?]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/remembering-rebel-inc-classics/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/remembering-rebel-inc-classics/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 10:33:46 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=194 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/remembering-rebel-inc-classics/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/golden-book-hotel-association-free-books-in-italian-hotels/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/golden-book-hotel-association-free-books-in-italian-hotels/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 11:32:42 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=531 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/golden-book-hotel-association-free-books-in-italian-hotels/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 10:55:32 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=542 Rhyming Life and Death, the latest book from Israeli author Amos Oz, is that gem of the literary world: a novella that takes an idea, explores it with conciseness and wit, and then wraps up before it's outstayed its welcome. ]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/snowbooks-website/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/snowbooks-website/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 12:04:45 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=198 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/snowbooks-website/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-to-not-read-a-book-brothers-by-yu-hua/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-to-not-read-a-book-brothers-by-yu-hua/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 08:15:09 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=538 2666, I decided to investigate Brothers, by Chinese author Yu Hua... and I've been "investigating" it ever since...]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-to-not-read-a-book-brothers-by-yu-hua/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/armed-services-editions/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/armed-services-editions/#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 09:28:23 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/armed-services-editions/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/armed-services-editions/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/television-for-book-lovers/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/television-for-book-lovers/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 12:40:58 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=532 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/television-for-book-lovers/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/the-penguin-magnum-collection/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/the-penguin-magnum-collection/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 10:02:53 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=507 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/the-penguin-magnum-collection/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/ps-publishing/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/ps-publishing/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 12:39:52 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=443 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/ps-publishing/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-will-dan-brown-the-lost-symbol-affect-the-travel-industry/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-will-dan-brown-the-lost-symbol-affect-the-travel-industry/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 11:22:51 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=484 The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's upcoming follow-up to The Da Vinci Code.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/how-will-dan-brown-the-lost-symbol-affect-the-travel-industry/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/angry-robot-books/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/angry-robot-books/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:47:50 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=429 Angry Robot Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/angry-robot-books/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/things-a-good-publisher-website-should-have/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/things-a-good-publisher-website-should-have/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:24:41 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=395 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/things-a-good-publisher-website-should-have/feed/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/register-your-own-name-as-a-domain/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/register-your-own-name-as-a-domain/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:09:56 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=392 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/register-your-own-name-as-a-domain/feed/