mandragora

Forbidden Planet has moved. I repeat, Forbidden Planet has moved. Went to visit FP tonight and arrived at the usual place to discover that it is now an 'annex' which sells comics only and nothing else. A brand spanking new 'Megastore' has opened a few minutes walk away, on Shaftesbury Avenue. And gosh, is it ever shiny, bright and new. No more dimly lit basement, now a pair of sunglasses would not go amis when entering the store. Which is big. Much bigger than the old one, although I think the description 'megastore' compared with, say the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street may be a tad generous. But still, more room has gotta be a Good Thing. More room for books and DVDs, and comics, and magazines and videos and did I mention books?

I'm telling everyone now that the new store is on Shaftesbury Avenue because the map FP has produced can only have been drawn by a demented monkey on crack. I mean, I know that area but I could not work out from the map where the damn store was. So, to save anyone else from wandering around (in the pouring rain in my case) the new Forbidden Planet is towards the end of Shaftesbury Avenue as you walk eastbound towards Holborn, on the left-hand side of the road. So, if you're walking down Charing Cross Road towards Leicester Square then turn left down Shaftesbury Avenue from Cambridge Circus.

Got that everyone?

Am feeling all nostalgic now 'cos when I first moved to London FP was a tiny little shop just off Charing Cross Road. The new megastore is its third incarnation. So, a definite success story and perhaps indicative of the way that SF and fantasy culture has gained increasing acceptance in recent years.

And, oooh yeah, the final Tiger and Del novel by Jennifer Roberson is finally out in paperback. *Happy sigh*