• Dean Koontz writing Xmas books? Wrong on multiple levels.
• Ngugi wa Thoing’o believes the death sentence handed to his assailants was too harsh. I’ll have more to say about The Wizard of the Crow sooner than you think. (via Critical Mass, which is currently buffeting a train wreck of colossal proportions)
• J.K. Rowling is a domain squatter.
• Darwin’s letters have been auctioned off for a cool £33 million. Unfortunately, the letters in question involve an uninteresting exchange between Darwin and a brash cook harassing Darwin for a recipe for Galapogos Turtle Stew. As any gourmand knows, turtle isn’t a particularly good stew meat. And Darwin had attempted to break this news gently to the cook, pointing out that he had more pressing controversies to deal with, such as the hostile reception to The Origin of Species. But the cook persisted for some months ago, before disappearing altogether. Several Darwin biographers believe that this cook later found a job among a cannibal tribe in New Guinea, where his recipes found greater success. Unfortunately, the cook inevitably sacrificed himself in the name of his calling.
• The Indy Star has some details on Stephen King’s Dark Tower comic adaptation for Marvel.
• If you’re an “aspiring crime novelist,” this might not be the way to conduct research. For the record, I too am an “aspiring novelist,” but there are more effective euphemisms one can use to get laid.
• The Guardian talks with publishers about books that just missed their sales marks.
• Another roundup post later. Still trying to catch up.

I heard the news shortly before getting on a plane. James Brown, a talent who comes once in a lifetime, is dead. I’ll have more to say about Mr. Brown’s majestic achievements and what he means to cultural history later. In the meantime, I’ll be shaking my money maker in tribute to the hardest working man in show business.

Ron Hogan roasts Dave Itzkoff over an open fire.

Too tough on Itzokoff? Not really. After you’ve read Itzkoff’s moronic and uninformed review, which is far worse than the “impulsive, first-draft ethos of the blogosphere” in its almost total ignorance of science fiction (citing only Heinlein as a comparative influence), you can read my informed review of Rudy Rucker over at the Los Angeles Times, which was half the length of Itzkoff’s and managed to get in comparisons with Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Robert Sheckley, Connie Willis, Kelly Link and many others.

You see, unlike Mr. Itzkoff, I actually conduct vigorous research for my reviews so that I can offer an informed position, which is what I’m paid to do. (I read six Rudy Rucker books for my review and reviewed many volumes from my library to insure that my comparisons were correct.) This is, after all, what a professional does. Or what I’ve always assumed does. To do anything less is the stance of an amateur.

But apparently such basic journalistic procedure is beneath Itzkoff. He slings John Scalzi’s name in the mud by remarking on his online popularity and pointing out that he writes in more ignoble publications like The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. What this has anything to do with Scalzi’s novels is a mystery. And besides, any successful freelancer knows that you write damn near anywhere to stay alive. (And if we’re going to play this silly game, it’s safe to say that Itzkoff’s contributions to Maxim, an infantile “periodical” two baby steps away from a stroke mag, are hardly going to be commended for their literary merit.)

Ron’s already covered many of Itzkoff’s countless solecisms. So I won’t repeat what he’s said, except this: With Itzkoff’s continued employment at the Times, it’s clear that Tanenhaus views science fiction as a genre for idiots. Why else would such a tone-deaf and ignorant hack be hired to write such arrogant and dismissive diatribes that fail to offer specific examples to support his argument?

If Sam Tanenhaus believes that the kind of character and genre assassination contained within Itzkoff’s article is substantive journalism, then the NYTBR is a lost cause. Unless, of course, Bill Keller shows Tanenhaus what the inside of an airlock looks like.