August has raced by in a blur, bringing an end to a summer of reading. House renovations are ongoing, but it’s all looking good for an expanded library. With any luck I’ll be ready to restock the shelves by the end of September, though nothing is set in stone. Anyway, on with roundup.

BOOK HAUL

For thirty days of the month things were going very well. Alec Worley and Black Library were kind enough to send me a review copy of The Wraithbone Phoenix, and though I missed out on nabbing some of the other Warhammer 40,000 releases, I wasn’t too fussed. There’s always paperback, after all, and I was finally getting on top of my TBR stack. In fact, I only bought two new books.

• Resolute, by Jack Campbell
• The Albion Initiative, by George Mann

Then I made a mistake. This morning, August 31st, I made a trip to Hay-on-Wye, used book capital of the world. While not too costly in terms of cash, as used books are cheaper than new, this has resulted in my TBR tower exploding. I mean, just look at this list:

• Conquests, by Poul Anderson
• Cryptum, by Greg Bear
• The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
• Sundiver, by David Brin
• Interstellar Empire, by John Brunner
• Earth Unaware, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
• Andromeda’s Fall, by William C. Dietz
• Requiem Infernal, by Peter Fehervari
• Isaac’s Universe Volumes I,II, and II, edited by Martin H. Greenberg
• The Best of Kuttner 1, a collection of Henry Kuttner shorts
• End as a Hero, by Keith Laumer
• The Space Merchants, by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
• Roderick, by John Sladek
• Jump Gate Twist, by Mark L. Van Name
• Monsters & Medics, by James White
• The Outward Urge, by John Wyndham

IN TRANSIT

But wait, there’s more! A combination of warehouse issues, late orders, and postal strikes means I have a few more books still scheduled to arrive. One I ordered last month, and a few Star Trek books that fill much-unwanted gaps in my collection.

• Sideways in Time, by Murray Leinster
• Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers, by James Swallow
• Prey: The Jackal’s Trick, by John Jackson Miller
• Prey: The Hall of Heroes, by John Jackson Miller

READING

With all these new books landing in my lap, it’s a good thing I had a productive month of reading. It was one of those rare months where I followed my TBR schedule to the letter, though I did squeeze in a review copy too. You can find more detailed thoughts on the books by clicking on the titles below.

• Star Trek 12, by James Blish and J. A. Lawrence
• Deathwatch: The Omnibus, by Various Authors
• Star Trek III: Short Stories, by William Rotsler
• The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester
• Cybersong, by S.N. Lewitt
• The Wraithbone Phoenix, by Alec Worley
• Helliconia, by Brian Aldiss
• Skyward Flight, by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
• The Rediscovery of Man, by Cordwainer Smith
• Nova, by Samuel R. Delaney (review forthcoming)
• Double Star, by Robert A. Heinlein (review forthcoming)

AUDIO

It’s been a fairly quiet month on the audio front, which has helpfully allowed me to start catching up with podcasts. Last week Muse released their latest album The Will of the People. Given the genre interest, I might post a review of that soon, but as yet I’m undecided. I was also lucky enough to be granted a review copy of Kalah’s debut album Descent Into Human Weakness, which proves the metal scene is still capable of giving us new surprises.

TV

The Orville came to a close with a potential final ever episode. I’m hopeful it gets renewed again, but if not it’s hard to think of a finer send-off than the one we got. I’ve decided not to write a full review, but if you like your science fiction with thoughtfulness and optimism, then The Orville is something you should definitely look into. Also in thoughtful and optimistic sci-fi, For All Mankind continues to astound me with how good it is. It’s like a highlights reel of everything I love about space exploration. Truly an amazing show.

ARTICLES

Three articles from me this month, each offering something very different. First was an introduction to one of my favourite subgenres in MILITARY SF: Is It Worth A Shot? It hasn’t proven too successful, so I’ll likely not do another genre guide for a while. More successful were my two collaborative efforts. Complete Darkness author Matt Adcock was kind enough to drop by for my first ever interview, while Athena over at One Reading Nurse tagged me in the Ray Bradbury Birthday Tag.

SPSFC

SPSFC2 has officially begun. I’m a little behind on my reading for that already, but you can read my introductions to both The Team and The Contestants by clicking on those nice juicy links.

WRITING

Say it quietly, but things are actually going well. I’m at over 30,000 words written this month, which is the most I’ve stuck with a project since last September. It’s far from the best thing I’ve ever written, but it’s getting me back into the habit. Which is handy, as I’m already thinking of the next thing.

SITE UPDATES

Though I’ve built up a small review backlog again, August has been great for At Boundary’s Edge. I’ve hit a solid average of over a hundred views a day, which is exactly where I want to be at this stage. I’m still waiting for my moment in the sun, so to speak, but if things keep going the way they are, I’ll be a very happy little blogger indeed.