My review of Michael Marshall’s The Intruders has been published in the November 2007 issue of Gumshoe Review. I recommend the book highly, as I do all of Marshall’s work. His Straw Men trilogy, made up of The Straw Men, The Upright Man and Blood of Angels, are very compelling thrillers. Marshall also writes as Michael Marshall Smith, which appears to be a name he reserves for his books that fall more explicitly into the horror or fantasy genres. I have at hand The Servants, written under the Smith name, and am looking forward to perusing it very soon.

The long list for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has just been published. This prize is open to books written in any language, and the list is chosen by librarians. The long list is very long indeed, and contains an amazing variety of books. I’ve read a few of them, and liked them; tried to read a few more, and put them aside; and have a number of others on my shelves, awaiting my attention. More surprising to me is the large number I’ve not even heard of. Looks like I have some pleasant hours ahead of me.

Publishers Weekly has beaten the pack to be the first to set out a list of the best books of the year. Hey, it’s only November! I suppose when you’re PW, you’ve already seen everything that’s scheduled to be published through December 31, but it still seems a trifle early. Still, that’s one way to plan your Christmas shopping. Don’t expect to see my list until early January, though, as I have a different philosophy about those lists: I tell you about the best books I read during the year, regardless of when they were published, and if I happened to finish it on the last day of the year, it’s still going to make the list.

Amazon wasn’t far behind Publishers Weekly. Its list of the best of the year can be found here.

The World Fantasy Awards were awarded last weekend at a convention I’m very sorry I missed; Locus Magazine lists them here. Gene Wolfe won top honors for his novel Soldier of Sidon, the third of his novels about Latro, a Spartan soldier who loses his memory every night when he goes to sleep. The best novella statuette went to Jeffrey Ford for “Botch Town,” a story original to his collection The Empire of Ice Cream, which I reviewed here. The Empire of Ice Cream was published by Golden Gryphon, which can also claim credit for publishing the winning collection, M. Rickert’s Map of Dreams, which I’ll be reviewing here shortly. I can’t recommend that publisher’s work highly enough; they seem to be single-handedly keeping the single-author collection alive with excellent and beautifully made books. Rickert also won the award for best short story for “Journey Into the Kingdom,” published by Fantasy & Science Fiction, a magazine that also deserves your attention. Finally, the award-winning anthology was Salon Fantastique, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, reviewed here.

The International Horror Guild Awards were also awarded at the World Fantasy Convention. Ramsey Campbell was honored as a “Living Legend,” as well he should be. I remember him reading from The Overnight at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts some years ago, a passage about a man losing the ability to read, and the shudders that it sent through me. To not be able to read! I can think of few worse fates.