>Colour me pleased. (According to Nick Kyme, that means green, but then he is under a lot of pressure, so we mustn’t scoff.)

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail alerting me to a new online review of Rebel Winter, and it’s cracking – probably the kindest and most eloquent review that any of my work has enjoyed so far (and that’s saying something, you kind, eloquent people!).

The picture above is my Xbox avatar jumping for joy at the good review. The next one is a furious Steve raging over how much noise there is here in Tokyo. No writer should live here. Hell, they shouldn’t even visit!

Anyway, if you’re interested in said review, head on over to Red Rook Review. There’s a great piece on Gav Thorpe’s Malekith, too, written by the same guy – a Texan poet and novelist by the name of Keith Harvey. He certainly seems to love his Black Library books.

Let’s see. What else is going on? Last week, I found myself halfway up the side of Japan’s third largest volcano. The scenery was pretty amazing and bizarre. There are sharp black rocks all over the place, jutting up at every possible angle. Looking at them, you can’t help but see twisted figures and animal shapes. One in particular reminded me of a massive wolf howling at the moon. There was also a pretty large ash cloud drifting up and out of the caldera at the top. Here’s a pic that’s a bit better than the ones I took:

The volcano, Mt. Asama, erupted most explosively in 1783 and really did a number on the whole region. Now, though, there are trees sprouting from the rocks, and greenery has returned, even though the volcano is still highly active. I’m definitely glad I checked it out. It was practically deserted. I even took the opportunity to ‘visit’ an abandoned museum/visitor centre halfway up the slope that seemed to have been struck and ruined by airborne rocks from a more recent eruption.

I generally don’t recommend ignoring signs that say ‘Danger! Keep out!’. It’s not something I do on a weekly basis (sadly), but it was worth the small risk of death from falling masonry and collapsing floors. The atmosphere was intense, like a spooky old hotel. I guess no one had used the place in about twenty years, but I could really envisage what it had been like in its heyday. The photos on the wall were so old and sun-bleached that I could hardly see the detail, and the glasses left on the bar were covered with dust and ash. The wind blowing in through the smashed windows topped it all off, and there was a hell of a view. If only there had been a thunderstorm!

I love places like that… Sometimes, I wish I was the last human on the planet. (No, doctor, I was just joking. Honestly.)

Reading: Horus Heresy: The Collected Visions (just finished it today, actually)
Watching: Nature: Unforgettable Elephants (which really is unforgettable)
Listening to: Jim Swallow’s Heart of Rage (okay, so I still haven’t started it yet, but soon!)
Playing: Nothing, I tell you! Nothing!