Lauren Beukes' Moxyland has launched in the UK under the imprint Angry Robot on July 1st and has already garnished a good review by Blue Tyson at: http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/07/moxyland-lauren-beukes.html Moxyland will be released in the US and Worldwide at the start of September - good luck to Lauren; this is a polished, snappy and truly South African science fiction book. There is an interview with Lauren by Benny Alberts in the Probe 139 issue available from the Downloads page - which also incidentally includes my story Mindreader. I am hopeful Lauren will contribute a piece about "interesting synchronicities between Moxyland the real world that have happened since the book came out." If I'm able to secure this, it will likely be posted onto the SF in SA section (part 9).

Talking of Probe. Science Fiction South Africa have just celebrreated their fortieth anniversary, with the 141st edition of Probe – congratulations to SFSA; founded on June 16th 1969 in a meeting on a 'dark and stormy night'. Their anniversary edition includes a clever and amusing piece by South Africa’s best known science fiction writer, Dave Freer, entitled Candy Blossom.

I went to hear Buzz Aldrin being interviewed recently, with the point being made tbe interviewer Andrew Smith that both Neil Armstrong and Buzz could lay claim to being first on the Moon as they landed simultaneously in the lunar-lander Eagle. Andrew's book Moondust is a fascinating account of tracking down the remaining 'Moon-walkers' for interviews.Another book of interest I'm currently reading is Visions of the Third Millenium - Black Science Fiction Novelists Write the Future by Sandra Grayson. Just completed regarding fiction is Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a bleak dystopian tale, post an ambiguous catastrophe. Also to be noted is the award of the Edge Hill short fiction prize to an under-heralded science fiction writer Chris Beckett for his short story collection The Turing Test. Finally, for those of you interested in World science fiction, a reminder to visit Lavie Tidhar's world sf blogsite and consider buying the Apex Book of World Science Fiction due out in a couple of months: http://worldsf.livejournal.com/. Till next month…

Nick Wood - July 2009