Tongue-in-cheek Tips for Intergalactic and Interdimensional Travel:7 of the funniest writers in Sci-fi and Fantasy

I think Gini Koch rises to the top of the sci-fi pile--her Alien series is like reading a cross between Men In Black and Clueless. Heroine Kitty  always has her hairspray and retro rock playlist. Sir Terry Pratchett's first book introduced sentient luggage and his Discworld novels have helped us howl ever since. He is the best footnote writer ever. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe advises you to never leave your home without a towel. This advice may work better for Brits. Darling Diana Wynne Jones unleashed her stinging wit not only in the Tough Guide to Fantasyland, but in the Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffin. Her gentler side is showcased in the Chrestomanci novels. And you can find many laughs in author/editor Esther Friesner's Bronze Bra series, otherwise known as Chicks in Chainmail.  Don Perrin and Margaret Weis' Mag Force 7 trilogy is hilarious--think "A-Team" in space.  And if you can find used copies of Alexei Panshin's Anthony Villiard novels from the 70s, you'll see some of their inspiration! Thurb. Grab any and all of their books that you can. But my copies are not for sale.

Terry Pratchett's Nation

Nation by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
My favorite book of the last year just won the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for teen fiction.Hurray for the Horn Book and whoever voted! This is a wonderful true myth with death and wonder and knowledge and hope--life in an alternate Earth island chain after a tsunami. This is the first book he's written since his Alzheimer's diagnosis and I believe it should have won every award it was nominated for; there's really no way that Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book (see my review) is better. It should certainly have been nominated for a Hugo. Comparing theses two books is like comparing Rowling's Harry Potter series and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. The latter has a depth the former lacks, despite its popularity. Gaiman is Rowling and Pratchett is Pullman in this instance. And it's usually Gaiman who's dealing with the mythic! At any rate, Nation in its way is as perfect a book as Sherri Tepper's Beauty. Read! Read!

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