Here is the New Statesman interview with author Terry Pratchett, where he talks about what will happen when he no longer is able to write. We all know death lies ahead in the future, but in Pratchett’s case he has acknowledged the disease that affects what he does for a living. It’s cruel when writers lose the ability to write, much like H.L. Mencken’s stroke that left him unable to read or write, or Jack Vance’s fading eyesight. Thankfully Pratchett has a support environment, and other options such as dictation software. I think when Pratchett finally hears that voice in all caps, we all shall wear midnight.

F. Paul Wilson interviewed at the The Quillery about his most recent novel, Cold City, which opens a trilogy exploring the adult origins of Repairman Jack (we already had a trilogy that covered the teenage Jack). The new trilogy covers “two-and-a-half year period from late 1990 to early 1993” (since the books were updated the timeline switched from the original 1980s of The Tomb to more recent years). If you think you know Jack from the regular series, according to Wilson “he was full of surprises in Cold City, mainly because he was a different guy.” For more details on what Wilson’s up to next click on the link and read the interview.

Samuel Sattin at Salon argues that science fiction have never been more apocalyptic than now, with the focus on end of the world movies and books. Memories are short, as I remember countless novels in the 1980s and early 1990s just as grim or grimmer than the current zombie focus. Stephen King’s The Stand, Robert R. McCammon’s Swan Song, various Joe R. Lansdale stories and his two Drive-In books, a host of Cyberpunk novels and stories, and the original zombie phase with books like Dead in the West, and the Book of the Dead anthologies. The “now” is always foremost in our minds. My theory is they are tied to recessionary times, and the current trend will fade at some point.