The 2007 Hugo Award nominees have been announced, and unlike last year I haven't read a book on the list. I've read other books by those nominated for best novel -- Vernor Vinge and Michael Flynn -- but not these. In Vinge's case, I was aware of Rainbow's End, but hadn't gotten around to picking it up yet. I had no idea that Flynn had Eifelheim out, which just goes to show I need to pay more attention to Analog's "Reference Library".

This week's edition of Strange Horizons features speculations on French language, architecture and tourism in the column "Dispatches from Planet France: Châteaux, Part I" by Susannah Mandel, the speculative fiction short story "Painted", by Becca De La Rosa, the poem "Rehydration", by Tina Connolly and reviews of the books Primeval, The Last Mimzy and Glorifying Terrorism.