The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles and authors from around the web.

Bruce Sterling (photo: VERGE), Nalo Hopkinson (David Findlay), and Cory Doctorow (NK Guy, nkguy.com.tiff)

Marty Halpern on his MORE RED INK delivers redux of his some hard facts about Bruce Sterling’s PIRATE UTOPIA, now with information about a special sale price.

Shortly after posting that blog I learned about the caveat: the $14.95 price tag is indeed correct, but it’s the Amazon-onlypre-publication price. Order the book from any other source and the price will be $19.95, which will also be the retail price after publication.

Now the problem with buying from Amazon is a) some people prefer not to support Amazon, and b) with a $14.95 purchase, you have to pay shipping, because $25 is the minimum purchase amount for free shipping on books (unless you are a Prime member).

But, I have an alternative solution:

With the assistance of Tachyon Publications, you can now purchase the Pirate Utopia hardcover through the Tachyon online store at the $14.95 price – but you must use a coupon code at checkout, and this coupon code is only valid through Sunday, August 7. And if you reside in these United States and select media mail as the shipping option, shipping will be free.

A $14.95 hardcover, free media mail shipping, and you are supporting an independent publisher…It doesn’t get any better than that.

On the B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG, Ardi Alspach included Nalo Hopkinson’s BROWN GIRL IN THE RING in her primer Defining the Genre: 7 Novels of Afrofuturism.

The debut novel by award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson draws heavily on the lore and traditions of Afro-Caribbean culture, bringing elements of magical realism into a dystopic vision of downtown Toronto. Ti-Jeanne is a single mother who has recently given birth to a baby boy and is forced by circumstance to live with her grandmother, Gros-Jeanne, a well-respected herbalist and spiritualist. The baby’s father, Tony, finds himself in trouble and seeks out Gros-Jeanne for help, requiring Ti-Jeanne to come to terms with her heritage and embrace her grandmother’s spirituality, which she had previously rejected. In a bleak future, traditions of the past come alive and two strong women take charge of their own destinies.

Cory Doctorow’s piece in THE GUARDIAN about an EFF lawsuit discusses many of concepts and ideas espoused in his essay collections CONTENT: SELECTED ESSAYS ON TECHNOLOGY, CREATIVITY, COPYRIGHT, AND THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE and CONTEXT: FURTHER SELECTED ESSAYS ON PRODUCTIVITY, CREATIVITY, PARENTING, AND POLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit on Thursday that American copyright wonks, technologists and security researchers have been hotly awaiting for nearly 20 years.

If they succeed, one of America’s most controversial technology laws will be struck down, and countries all over the world who have been pressured by the US trade representative to adopt this American rule will have to figure out whether they’ll still enforce it, even after the US has given up on it.

The rule is section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, the “anti-circumvention” rule that makes it illegal to break an “access control” for copyrighted works. These “access controls” often manifest as “digital rights management” (DRM), and the DMCA gives them unique standing in law.

EFF is suing the US government, arguing that section 1201 of the DMCA is unconstitutional, and also that the Library of Congress and the copyright office have failed to perform their duties in the three-year DMCA 1201 exemption hearings.

For more info on PIRATE UTOPIA, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by John Coulthart

BROWN GIRL IN THE RING cover illustration and design by Rudy Gutierrez with custom lettering by Daniel Pelavin

For more info on CONTENT: SELECTED ESSAYS ON TECHNOLOGY, CREATIVITY, COPYRIGHT, AND THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Ann Monn

For more info on CONTEXT: FURTHER SELECTED ESSAYS ON PRODUCTIVITY, CREATIVITY, PARENTING, AND POLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story