Nancy Kress accepting the Nebula for YESTERDAY’S KIN. Jody Lyn Nye stands at right. (Photo by Kathi Overton. Source: File 770)
At WISELIKE, the multiple Nebula and Hugo award-winner Nancy Kress will answer your questions tomorrow, September 2 beginning at 1PM PST.
For more details, visit WISELIKE.
For more on YESTERDAY’S KIN, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Thomas Canty
Reviews keep filing in for Nalo Hopkinson’s imaginative FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.
From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
The stories all share a common thread of magic, which is often woven, whether subtly or blatantly, into the fabric of everyday reality, allowing characters to react to the strange or the impossible as it crosses into their world. Hopkinson also draws frequently on her Caribbean upbringing and heritage, and her characters’ voices are distinct and authentic, both in their speech patterns and in their ways of looking at their surroundings. Hopkinson’s fans will be delighted by these examples of her wide-ranging imagination.
This is a diverse set of stories written over many years and with different themes. I’d previously encountered one of the stories before, “The Easthound”, in a collection of YA post apocalyptic and dystopian stories. While I knew the twist this time around, I found it just as creepy as before. Then there’s stories like “Emily Breakfast,” a light hearted tale about a gay couple searching for their missing chicken (who happens to be fire breathing). All of these stories are well drawn and imaginative. Most involve contemporary settings with an added element of the fantastic.
I don’t want to go describing each of the eighteen stories, so suffice to say that this is a fantastic collection that I encourage lovers of fantasy and science fiction to pick up. It has certainly convinced me that I need to read some of Hopkinson’s novels.
I think reading them separately would also be a good plan because these stories are thinking stories. You don’t just read and enjoy. You read, you sit and think and get lots of food for thought. Each story needs to be read once, then read again, then sit down and thought about for an hour, then maybe discussed with other readers. There’s such a lot of nuance and thought in each one that makes this whole book a gem, despite my usual dislike of short stories.
What this book REALLY does well is use a story to elegantly consider a scenario and then not expressly explain it – but invite us to explore it. The game starts then Nalo Hopkinson hands the ball to us and invites us to set the final score – I really like that. It doesn’t make for easy reads but it does make for a powerful and fascinating one.
For more information on FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story
The award-winning Ellen Datlow’s anthology LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS continues to fascinate critics and reviewers.
At the University of Stirling’s THE GOTHIC IMAGINATION, Chloe Buckley delivers a lengthy critical analysis of LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS.
[T]he collection foregrounds its commitment to exploring the radical Alterity of Lovecraft’s monsters, but shows no desire to police the borders of the genre. Familiarity has not lessened the horror inherent in the material universe as imagined by Lovecraft in the original tales. At the same time, the Weird monster can manifest as playful hybridity, offering an adaptability to writers wishing to explore horror’s Affectivity beyond the madness inducing terror experienced by the typical Lovecraftian protagonist.
The design of the volume Thus embraces a commingling of high art with popular commodity, as well blurring the subcultural and the mainstream. Within the novel The illustrations are appropriately for each different story, but all are black and white line drawings with the appearance of delicate pen and ink illustrations That We now associated with expensive late-Victorian print publications.
There is an ambivalence here, though, about the appropriation of this material, and the collection overall Seems indecisive about Whether it wants to preserve the subcultural capital and modernist art aesthetic conferred upon Lovecraft’s original tales, or Whether it wants to embrace the possibilities That Pop -cultural mash-ups and spectacular proliferations of Weird monsters might offer. Ultimately, I think this indecision and ambivalence is rather productive; each story offers a very different view of function and for the Weird monster. This alone attests to the imaginative power That Lovecraft’s monsters continue to wield.
Read the rest of Buckley’s essay at THE GOTHIC IMAGINATION.
Over at the Russian site DARKER, Артём Агеев praises the anthology.
In 2014 came “Monsters Lovecraft” (Lovecraft’s Monsters), has put together on a different principle. Firstly, new stories are much less – only one. Others were written in all previous Decades, since the 1970s, Although the 2010s are still dominated. Secondly, there there is striking That Datlou tried to expand all over, wherever possible. The authors of the anthology presents different levels – from the acknowledged masters like Neil Gaiman and Joe R. Lansdale To Those Whose names have nothing to say, the average fan of the genre. Stories of possessing a different perception – from strange dreams in the “Church of God, an idiot” (TheSect of the Idiot) Thomas Ligotti to the unpretentious narrative in the spirit of the Arabian Nights in “Love can not we croak and howling ”(Love is Forbidden, We Croak & Howl) Caitlin Kiernan. And different size – from novels are not inferior to other works by John Hodge and Brian Lengana to two-page poems Gemma Faylz.
By cons anthology is the repute of the many stories previously published in anthologies lavkraftianskih, Which, However, is not so noticeable for the Russian-speaking reader – Majority of them still has not Been published in Russia. But its main charm must say whoever takes it in his hands, as everyone who has Already managed to penetrate the world of HP Lovecraft, there are sure to find something close.
(Clumsily translated from Russian by Google)
Read the rest of Агеев’s review at DARKER.
For more information on LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS , Tachyon visit the site .
Cover and illustrations by John Coulthart .
Mary Shelley’s portrait by Richard Rothwell
The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, writer Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797. Her seminal work FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS (1818), often considered the very first science fiction story, created the iconic mad scientist-monster tale.
“Frontispiece to Frankenstein 1831” by Theodore Von Holst (1810-1844) – Tate Britain. Private collection, Bath. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
Though best remembered for her archetypal creation, Shelley wrote six other novels most notably the historicals VALPERGA;
OR, THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF CASTRUCCIO, PRINCE OF LUCCA (1823) and THE
FORTUNES OF PERKIN WARBECK (1834) and the apocalyptic THE LAST MAN (1826). Her many short stories have been collected in MARY
SHELLY: COLLECTED TALES AND STORIES and THE MORTAL IMMORTAL: THE COMPLETE SUPERNATURAL SHORT FICTION. She penned numerous poems, travel narratives and children’s books and also contributed several entries to THE LIVES OF THE
MOST EMINENT LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN, which comprised ten volumes of
DIONYSIUS LARDNER’S 133-VOLUME CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA (1829–46).
For more info about THE MORTAL IMMORTAL: THE COMPLETE SUPERNATURAL SHORT FICTION, visit the Tachyon page.
Stephen Hawking revealed his latest idea about where he believes lost information winds up after being sucked into a black hole — in alternative universes. Photo: Adam af Ekenstam
At the recent Hawking Radiation Conference, Stephen Hawking’s new idea about what happens to information trapped in black holes dominated the discussion.
Black holes don’t actually swallow and destroy physical information, according to an idea Hawking proposed at the Hawking Radiation conference. Instead, they store it in a two-dimensional hologram, and then it gets severely jumbled up.
You might ask yourself why this distinction matters, but it addresses one of the most baffling questions facing a generation of physicists: What happens to the information about the physical state of things that are swallowed up by black holes? Is it destroyed, as our understanding of general relativity would predict?
If so, that would violate the laws of quantum mechanics. So, which theory of physics is right? Hawking’s answers appears to be they both are.
Stephen Hawking makes his presentation to a gathering of world-leading physicists at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. (Photo: Håkan Lindgren)
The day before the conference’s start, Hawking posited a controversial theory about the subject.
“The existence of alternative histories with black holes suggests this might be possible,” Hawking said. “The hole would need to be large and if it was rotating it might have a passage to another universe. But you couldn’t come back to our universe. So although I’m keen on space flight, I’m not going to try that.
“The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly come out in another universe.”
Hosted by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the Hawking Radiation Conference was called by Laura Mersini-Houghton, a theoretical physicist at the University of North Carolina (UNC).
Stephen Hawking and some three dozen of the world’s most influential physicists will convene on KTH’s campus to seek a solution to a puzzle that has vexed science for years: whether singularities actually exist in black holes, and whether Hawking Radiation has any bearing on their existence.
For more about the Hawking Radiation Conference, visit the KTH Royal Institute of Technology page.
Further praise for LED ASTRAY: THE BEST OF KELLEY ARMSTRONG.
photo: Kathryn Hollinrake
From THE READING CAFE:
LED ASTRAY is a great introduction for readers who have yet to climb onto the Kelley Armstrong train. You do not have to have read any of the established series to understand the premise behind the short stories; every entry can be read as a stand alone that will tease your paranormal pallet leaving you wanting a little bit more.
If you enjoy variety to your anthologies, this is a great one! Fans of Kelley Armstrong will love these extra bonuses to their favourite Armstrong series!
4/5
[T]he stories in LED ASTRAY are a great starting point for new readers, since you get a taste of her many worlds. And as for seasoned readers, these stories will add depth to those worlds you are already familiar with.
For more information on LED ASTRAY: THE BEST OF KELLEY ARMSTRONG, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Elizabeth Story
The Internet continues to be abuzz about Nalo Hopkinson and her outstanding FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.
NEWINBOOKS included FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS among their #WeNeedDiverseBooks Picks for August.
Nalo Hopkinson, internationally acclaimed author of Midnight Robber, weaves wonderful stories of magic, mischief, and emotion. FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, her latest release and a collection of short stories, redefines werewolves in the first story and only picks up steam from there. Nalo synthesizes Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences into engaging, multi-dimensional stories that you wont want to put down.
A review from THE CONVERSATIONALIST.
Nalo Hopkinson has been on my list of authors that I’ve been dying to read for quite a long time now, and her collection FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS is a fantastic introduction to her work. This is an outstanding collection that really gives insight into her storytelling, her talent, the breadth and insight with which she rights. I loved the little snippets of commentary from Hopkinson at the beginning of each story, I always think these kind of tidbits add exponentially to the reading experience – particularly for short fiction. One of the features that is used throughout the collection and in some ways ties all the different stories together is the way that stories, mythology and memories, personal history are woven through the inspiration behind the story, or within the story itself. I love the use of the lyrics and poetry – rather than being disjointed and throwing me out of the story as such elements can often do, the way Hopkinson uses this technique is expert and draws you deeper, has you feeling the rhythm of the story in your blood as you read.
I highly recommend this anthology, reading this book was a pleasure and a privilege.
This is yet another anthology that convinces me that back when I thought I didn’t like short fiction all that much, actually I just wasn’t reading stuff that really called to me, thrilled me, drew me in and made me fall in love. Also, getting to read this is part of my fulfilling a desire to read more diverse fiction from non-white authors, particularly non-white women authors. If this is something that you’re doing or thinking of doing, this anthology is a great place to start.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL interviewed Nalo Hopkinson.
Which historical period do you wish you’d lived through, and why?
None of them. I figure this current era of history is the one with the best chance of quality of life for a black, female, disabled, middle-aged, queer person who’s most comfortable not fitting in. The odds still aren’t great, mind you. But I’ll take my chances with the 21st century.What scares you as a writer, and why?
It’s the thing I struggle with every day: the mental diligence and stamina needed to sit in front of the computer, open the file, start writing and to keep doing so, word after word, until I’ve created the next story. A combination of learning disability and chronic health issues make that the hardest thing for me. And if I can’t write, I’m not a writer. I know that’s eminently survivable, but still, I can scarcely bear to contemplate it. So I’m constantly coming up with new strategies for getting to the mental place where writing is so joyous and playful that I almost can’t help putting the words down. Almost.
For more information on FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story
While no 2014 Tachyon publications won 2015 Hugo Awards, announced at Sasquan on August 22, two different Tachyon contributors went home with statues.
Julie Dillon, who produced the gorgeous cover to THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, won her third consecutive Hugo award for Best Professional Artist.
John Joseph Adams, editor of the acclaimed EPIC: LEGENDS OF FANTASY, won the Hugo award for Best Semiprozine. Adams shared the award with his LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE co-editors Stefan Rudnicki, Rich Horton, Wendy N. Wagner, and Christie Yant.
Check out the rest of the winners at the Hugo Awards site.
For more info on THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Julie Dillon
Design by Elizabeth Story
For more info about EPIC: LEGENDS OF FANTASY, visit the Tachyon page.
A trio of reviews from the United States, Germany, and The Netherlands.
WHATIFKNITS discovers THE ESSENTIAL W. P. KINSELLA.
I’d read all of Kinsella’s novels, but somehow hadn’t realized that he was also a prolific writer of short stories. The genre is perfect for his kind of writing: startling, original, entertaining, combining real world elements (baseball, Indian life in Iowa and Canada) with fantasy. I don’t know where he gets his ideas—but they translate into wonderful stories that can easily bear multiple readings.
<snip>
If you’re looking for a substantial volume of summer reading that you can pick up at will—and that celebrates the delight that is summer baseball—you’ll want to spend a good bit of time with W. P. Kinsella.
The German MEDIAN JOURNAL praises Joe R. Lansdale’s Texas noir COLD IN JULY.
On approximately 250 pages Joe R. Lansdale succeed in his novel COLD IN JULY the feat of advancing an entirely unpredictable, marked by twists and shocking events act that hardly capable of the book to even a minute out of your hand place and once again proves why the Texans is indisputably one of the greats of his profession and that, although its history is now over 25 years old.
9 of 10 unavoidable decisions
(Translation from German, courtesy of Google)
The Dutch HEBBAN includes the sold out HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION among their selection of great and recent English language science fiction.
Rajaniemi’s books are not suitable for beginners sf reader, but do not be put off if you have a lot of interest. “Rajaniemi’s prose is particularly rich, except linguistically beautiful and exciting is the text also interlaced with mathematical, psychological and literary concepts and experiments.
(Translation from Dutch, courtesy of Google)
For more info about THE ESSENTIAL W. P. KINSELLA, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Thomas Canty.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
For more info about COLD IN JULY, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
For more info on HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Lius Lasahido
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
(photo: courtesy of Providence Art Club)
The historic Providence Art Club is hosting the Second Annual Ars Necronomica from August 11 – September 4.
The exhibition will be presented by the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council as part of the Second Annual NecronomiCon Providence, a biennial convention celebrating “weird fiction, art, and academia”. A total of 21 artists will be highlighted including the well-known British illustrator John Coulthart will be featured in the Moitié Gallery for his illustration work dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft. Mr. Coulthart will be the Artist Guest of Honor for the exhibition.
In conjunction with Ars Necronomica, the Providence Art Club will display member artwork related to the theme “Rhode Island Eerie.” These pieces, featuring Rhode Island motifs, themes, and landscapes portrayed through the lens of the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft, will be displayed in the Dodge House Gallery to complement the collection of Lovecraftian art presented by the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council.
Among Coulthart’s art were two illustrations from LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS.
Coulthart standing beside his LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS title page image.
(photo: courtesy of Providence Art Club)
Coulthart’s image that accompanied Nadia Bulkin’s “Red Goat Black Goat” in LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS.
(photo: John Coulthart)
Attendees at Ars Necronomica Opening enjoying Coulthart’s art.
(photo: courtesy of Providence Art Club)
Learn more about Ars Necronomica at the Providence Art Club.
For more about John Coulthart, visit his page.
For more information on LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS, visit the Tachyon site.
