James Cambias is author of the highly-regarded science fiction novels A Darkling Sea and Corsair. He is also an accomplished writer of short fiction and the founder of Zygote Games--a company that seeks to produce "high-quality, fun-to-play games that also educate players about scientific facts and concepts." Today he is here to share his "6 books" with us...
The Knight
by Gene Wolfe. I literally just started it, but
the subject is one I've thought about before: what would it really do to a
person to be transported into a fantasy adventure?
by Gene Wolfe. I literally just started it, but
the subject is one I've thought about before: what would it really do to a
person to be transported into a fantasy adventure? 
Chasing the Phoenix
by Michael Swanwick. I recently read an
excerpt and am now desperate to see what the rest of the book is like. Swanwick
gets better every year.
by Michael Swanwick. I recently read an
excerpt and am now desperate to see what the rest of the book is like. Swanwick
gets better every year.
I re-read constantly, without much planning. However, I've
recently been re-reading a nonfiction book, Newton and the Counterfeiter
, so
I may go back to Quicksilver
by Neal Stephenson.
, so
I may go back to Quicksilver
by Neal Stephenson. 
Positive: That Hideous Strength
by C.S. Lewis. As a teenager
I disliked it, as a younger adult I thought it was implausible, but each time I
re-read it I find it is more real and more full of wonder. It also becomes more
sadly prophetic over time. Negative? Foundation
by Isaac Asimov. This was my favorite
series as a teenager, but it has not aged well for me. The characters don't
seem up to the epic backdrop, and the Seldon Plan gets creepier and creepier
the more I think about it.
by C.S. Lewis. As a teenager
I disliked it, as a younger adult I thought it was implausible, but each time I
re-read it I find it is more real and more full of wonder. It also becomes more
sadly prophetic over time. Negative? Foundation
by Isaac Asimov. This was my favorite
series as a teenager, but it has not aged well for me. The characters don't
seem up to the epic backdrop, and the Seldon Plan gets creepier and creepier
the more I think about it.
My Life and Hard Times
by James Thurber. This question is
obviously a tough one because there are so many possible answers. But Thurber
basically set my own template for humor.
by James Thurber. This question is
obviously a tough one because there are so many possible answers. But Thurber
basically set my own template for humor.
My latest book is Corsair
, from Tor Books, and it is
awesome because: it is a near-future, hard-SF, entirely realistic take on SPACE
PIRATES! It's also about shady characters in the Caribbean, mutinous Air Force
captains, pirate theme parks, orbital mechanics, and a killer with a
magnificent mustache. Think of it as a collaboration between Carl Hiaasen and
Tom Clancy.
, from Tor Books, and it is
awesome because: it is a near-future, hard-SF, entirely realistic take on SPACE
PIRATES! It's also about shady characters in the Caribbean, mutinous Air Force
captains, pirate theme parks, orbital mechanics, and a killer with a
magnificent mustache. Think of it as a collaboration between Carl Hiaasen and
Tom Clancy. By the way, I'm writing these responses from a hotel room while on a promotional tour with three other great writers: Elizabeth Bear, Max Gladstone, and Brian Staveley. We're currently in Connecticut, but then go to Towne Book Center in Collegeville, Pennsylvania on July 22, Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs on the 24th, Everyone's Books in Brattleboro, Vermont, on the 25th, and wrap things up with an appearance at Phoenix Books in Burlington on the 26th.
-Jim Cambias
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POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a
Feather founder/administrator, since 2012.
***
POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a
Feather founder/administrator, since 2012.
