Jon Courtenay Grimwood in the [1] Guardian (scroll down, you know): 150 whole words. He thinks it 'Classic Roberts', which is either very good or bad. Lisa Tuttle in the [2] Times is also flattering, and manages a few, but only a few, more words.

Pity these reviewers compelled to squeeze their thoughts into such tiny boxes (I say this knowing too well that my last review, [3] of the Arthur C Clarke Shortlist, ran to nearly 10,000 words). A review has appeared in [4] SFX, saying only nice things ('It all adds up to proof, if proof were needed, that Roberts belongs in the first rank of hard SF writers') but still only giving me four stars out of five, chiz chiz, where's the extra star gone etc etc? [5] Starburst also ha' reviewed me.

What else is new? Still in Staines. Still writing. I was in Wales for a week, on holiday, with my family. I read [6] Ulysses again; it was indeed bracing and striking to undertake an intensive one-week re-read of the big old novel. I was struck by how brilliant everything is up until Nausicaa episode, and how flabby and self-indulgent and 'see how clever I am' it gets after that. Penelope excluded, naturally.

One more thing. I am appearing at [7] R:Fest, the Runnymede Literary Festival. I'll be running a SF writing workshop, 2:00-3:30 pm, Saturday 22 April, at Royal Holloway College, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX. And in the evening of the same day (5:00-6:30pm) I'll be lecturing on the subject of leaving the planet behind. Do come. Do.

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