canadian Archives - Tachyon Publications

November 13, 2015

An all-Canadian Tachyon tidbits featuring Kelley Armstrong and Peter Watts

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized alexia books and such, alle bücher müssen gelesen werden, beyond the rift, canada, canadian, collection, elizabeth story, german, horror, Hugh Sicotte, kelley armstrong, led astray, led astray: the best of kelley armstrong, northern tomorrow, paranormal romance, Peter Watts, podcast, review, science fiction, short stories, urban fantasy, vampire, werewolf

The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles from around the web.

ALEXIA BOOKS AND SUCH declares LED ASTRAY: THE BEST OF KELLEY ARMSTRONG a winner.

Unlike most collections which have a few duds, I can honestly say that every story in this collection is a winner! If you’ve never read Kelley before, this would be a great introduction! And if you’re already a fan, this makes a nice addition to your collection. In other words, you need this book!

NORTHERN TOMORROWS similarly enjoyed LED ASTRAY: THE BEST OF KELLEY ARMSTRONG, calling it “a great survey of Kelley Armstrong’s work.”

Putting aside the Best Of label, LED ASTRAY serves as a great survey of Kelley Armstrong’s work and the stories she tells. The different multi-story worlds that she’s built are all present (except the non-supernatural Nadia Stafford series), mixed in with a good amount of original, non-series stories as well. This provides a good balance for existing fans, as well as allowing those who haven’t read Armstrong before a chance to slowly work their way into her oeuvre.

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Stylistically, Armstrong tells stories that are quickly-paced, easily-digestible, and contain a lighthearted, irreverent attitude. At times the stories can get fairly dark, but that lighthearted attitude prevents them from becoming overly morbid. The myriad narrators all feel distinct and unique, and lead to a fun reading experience.

Throughout LED ASTRAY, Armstrong takes familiar tales of the supernatural and tells them in fresh, interesting ways that still pay homage to what made those things such powerful storytelling elements in the first place. It’s a great read for both entrenched fans of her work, as well as those unfamiliar with her that might be looking for a good entryway into her storytelling style.

The German site ALLE BÜCHER MÜSSEN
GELESEN WERDEN offered a podcast about Peter Watts’ BEYOND THE RIFT.

This week’s topic: short stories by Peter Watts!

Peter Watts is for me one of the best living SF writers, and he has written short stories … and what for what!

In podcast today: mermaids, the all-seeing eye of God, court documents against Homeophatieleugner, godless holy warriors, Dinger, Little girls who reside in computers, angry clouds and more.

(Translated from German by Google)

For more info on LED ASTRAY: THE BEST OF KELLEY ARMSTRONG, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Elizabeth Story

For more info on BEYOND THE RIFT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Hugh Sicotte

Design by Elizabeth Story

September 1, 2015

The elegant FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS is powerful and fascinating

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized afro-caribbean, canadian, chuma hill, collection, elizabeth story, falling in love with hominids, fangs for the fantasy, fantasy, glbt, nalo hopkinson, Publishers Weekly, review, science fiction, short stories, the illustrated page

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.

THE ILLUSTRATED PAGE:

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.

FANGS FOR THE FANTASY:

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

November 20, 2014

W. P. Kinsella collection gets new title

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized baseball, canada, canadian, collection, elizabeth story, field of dreams, indians, iowa, j. d. salinger, native american, shoeless joe, short stories, the essential w. p. kinsella, Thomas Canty, w. p. kinsella

The previously announced March 2015 collection The Very Best of W. P. Kinsella has been retitled as the far more appropriate The Essential W. P. Kinsella.

Coming March 17, 2015:

The Essential W. P. Kinsella

by W. P. Kinsella

Cover art by Thomas Canty.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story.

W. P. Kinsella, the author of Shoeless Joe (the basis for the cult classic film Field of Dreams), is one of the finest storytellers in baseball’s history. He is also a critically-acclaimed short fiction writer whose satiric wit has been celebrated with numerous honors.

This retrospective collection includes four stories that were previously uncollected, a Shoeless Joe piece, and many stories that are out of print. In addition to many of his baseball tales are his notorious First Nation narratives of indigenous Canadians, and a literary homage to J. D. Salinger. Alongside the “real” story of the 1951 Giants and the afterlife of Roberto Clemente, are the legends of a pirated radio station and a hockey game rigged by tribal magic.

Representing his finest work, The Essential W. P. Kinsella is a living tribute to a legendary raconteur.

Table of Contents

The Alligator Report—with Questions for Discussion
Beef
Brother Frank’s Gospel Hour
Distances
Do Not Abandon Me
Doves and Proverbs
The Firefighter
First Names and Empty Pockets
The Fog
The Grecian Urn
How I Got My Nickname
How Manny Embarquadero Overcame and Began His Climb to the Major Leagues
Indian Nation Cultural Exchange Program
The Job
Kmart
King of the Street
Last Surviving Member of the Japanese Victory Society
Lieberman in Love
The Lightning Birds
The Line Tree
Marco in Paradise
The Night Manny Mota Tied the Record
Out of the Picture
Punchlines
Risk Takers
Searching for January
Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa
Truth
Waiting on Lombard Street
Wavelengths