Westbound Like 94

So tomorrow I head to Los Angeles, AKA "The City of Enigmatic and Oblique Angles." I will be at the Nebula Awards Weekend events on Saturday (at least).

I will also be at the L.A. Times Bookfest on Saturday, signing at the Mysterious Galaxy booth (#614) starting at 4 PM. (I asked for a 4 AM slot, since I'll probably be up anyway, but apparently people in California sleep in so as not to wake the earthquakes.)

Those of you planning to be at the Nebula Weekend, I look forward to seeing you. Those of you going to the Bookfest, stop by and say Hi!

2009 Reading #33: A Faint Cold Fear

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Dôra, Doralina by Rachel de Queiroz.
32. The Mercenaries by Donald E. Westlake.

33. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter. Yeep. I've never read Slaughter before, but I like the occasional thriller, and this one got a blurb from George Pelecanos. This is a really damn violent book, and it's not casual violence for dramatic effect, it's ugly, disturbing violence that had this reader very uncomfortable at times. I want to be clear that I think that's a responsible choice; I just still haven't decided whether I think it crossed a line into being semi-pornographic. Slaughter's characters are awfully well drawn, though--flawed and exasperating and believable. The body count, on the other hand, and the reasons behind it, are a little less believable. And, well, that's a pretty bad title, I think. Anyway, I don't know that I'll be picking up more of Slaughter's stuff in a hurry, but I would probably read her again once I've recovered from the shock of this one.