Then the White Dragon ties the whole story line smack into science fiction — all of a sudden we learn everything is happening to a stranded interstellar colony. Fuzzy distinction, though, before that. And even after, the distinction remains blurry.

I am having trouble with Kelley Armstrong and her works. Well, not the last one, Exit Strategy is a mundane detective novel, and not nearly as entertaining, for me, as her other works. Someone at my local bookstore mistakenly shelved a couple of her earlier titles with the science fiction and fantasy titles. The stories of werewolves and vampires living hidden amongst an unaware human society - read more like fantasy or paranormal adventure than where I found the rest of her ‘Ladies of the Underworld; and other stories - in Horror. Patricia Briggs’ latest series, Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed, are written in about the same type of venue and similar character rolls, but the Briggs books are all shelved with fantasy/SF. I am waiting for some genius to decide that fantasy means Tolkien, that science fiction means Star Trek or Star Wars, and everything else is horror or religious fiction. Besides, Tamora Pierce wrote some of her books for younger readers, so Hastings won’t shelve any of her works with the fantasy books, and won’t order any of the adult works because they shouldn’t go on the young adult shelf. Idiots. And here I am, blithely stumbling along thinking a book store wanted to make books available to people wanting to find books to buy. Grr.

Elizabeth Moon’s “Conditions for Victory”, the final Vatta’s War volume, just came out. I think I took over 24 hours to finish, but not by much. I wish it had been as good a read as the third one. This was *not* one of the books that I immediately re-read on the first reading. The last two I did that with were both Sharon Lee and Steve Miller novels in the Liaden universe - Conflict of Honors, and Balance of Trade.

Enjoy your mis-labeled fiction!

The Michael Jackson joke made me laugh, though.