I ordered Vellum from Amazon last weekend, and it just arrived. I’m trying not to be too excited about it — it’s Hal Duncan‘s first novel, and while he seems a bit of a whizzkid in things poetic and science fictional, it could still turn out to be a colossal wanky mess. (This review by Russ Allbery pushed all the right buttons, but I don’t know who Russ Allbery is or whether I trust him.) I’ll let you know if it’s as excellent as I’m hoping…

But that’s not the point. The point is, on the title page is what looks very like Hal Duncan’s signature, scrawled in blue ballpoint. So either some Amazon employee was having a dull day, or I’ve got a signed first edition. Pretty cool, if you ask me (and what are you doing here if you don’t?). I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be crap.