johann thorsson Archives - Tachyon Publications

August 12, 2016

NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT should be in every home

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized johann thorsson, kalanadi, koenix, michael swanwick, not so much said the cat, on books and writing, review, sci-fi and fantasy reviews, thereadingdesk, vijayalakshmi harish, youtube

Four fresh reviews of Michael Swanwick’s innovative and intriguing NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT.

Beelzebub is the first pic, because he threatened to walk off the cover if he didn’t receive top billing!

At ON BOOKS AND WRITING, Johann Thorsson praises the Michael Swanwick and his collection.

I don’t remember what the first story I read by Michael Swanwick is. But I do remember the feeling I got as I read it.

It’s the same feeling I got when I first read stories by Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link and Lucius Shepard. That amazing, wow-this-is-talent feeling.

Michael Swanwick is one of many authors I wish were household names, the likes of George Martin, Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.

In his new collection, NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT, Swanwick is just showing off. The stories are all “genre”, either fantasy or science fiction (or both).

<snip>

This collection proves that Swanwick is a name that should be mentioned every time people speak of Gaiman, Link, Shepard, Martin or Harlan Ellison.

And NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT is a collection that should be in every home.

SCI-FI AND FANTASY
REVIEWS critiques the book.

Swanick is on top of his game here, giving us characters which feel , who need, who hurt. Some are more archetypal than others, but each was a delight to read.

The plots are, largely, excellent stuff. There’s what feels like pure fantasy, in some cases merged back into hard sci-fi. Some of the stories are more science-fiction, as well – it’s a broad mix, something for everyone. What doesn’t change is the sense of urgency, of compulsion, turning each page at two in the morning to see what happens next. Swanick’s prose flows. It’s intriguing, remorseless, delicate, wonderful stuff – each sentence carefully structured to drive the story, each narrative laid out to claim the attention of the reader. This is a book you can more than happily read in elegant, bite-sized chunks – if you’re willing to put it down at all.

Is it worth reading? I’d say so. There’s some great material here. The sheer breadth suggests parts will misfire for some readers, but there’s enough here that everyone will find something to enjoy. The ideas are innovative and intriguing, elucidated by characters you’ll care about, however briefly, in well-crafted worlds. So yes, give it a read.

Photo by Beth Gwinn

Vijayalakshmi Harish at THEREADINGDESK reviews NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT.

Speculative fiction is such a deep, wide ocean, that no matter how much one explores, one will always find something more. Michael Swanwick’s new anthology, NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT is a beautiful, brilliant pearl.

The variety within this anthology of 17 short stories is stunning. Each story is a distinct experience, a unique journey through different worlds, told with as many independent voices. If I had not known that all these were written by one author, I would have assumed that they were written by different people–that is testimony to Swanwick’s range and writing prowess.

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With his layered and nuanced writing, Michael Swanwick transports the reader into these varied worlds. From romance to fairy stories, to murder mysteries, NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT, has something for every reader.

On her YOUTUBE channel KALANADI, Rachel discusses the strong and entertaining collection.

And for those that would rather read Rachel’s review, stop by KOENIX for the complete transcript.

For more information on NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

July 11, 2014

Years Best Books (so far): LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS edition

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized anthology, best of 2014, book riot, Complex Pop Culture, cthulhu, Ellen Datlow, horror, johann thorsson, john coulthart, lovecraft, lovecraft's monsters, matt barone, mythos, short stories

Both Johann Thorsson at Book Riot and Matt Barone at Complex Pop Culture included Lovecraft’s Monsters on their best books of 2014 (so far) lists.

Johann Thorsson at Book Riot:

Lovecraft’s Monsters, edited by Ellen Datlow

Lovecraft wasn’t the greatest of prose writers. He had some truly original ideas and made them come alive in his world, but today his writing feels a little …. clunky. Lucky for us, his ideas live on and a great deal of writers honor him by writing stories that take place in his world. Which brings us to Lovecraft’s Monsters, a collection of Lovecraft-inspired stories and poems written by some of today’s greatest genre writers. Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, Caitlín R. Kiernan and Joe Lansdale, too name a few. I’ve long been a Lovecraft fan (his stories, remember, not his prose and certainly not the man himself) and this collection is a pleaser for those of use who like the dark stuff. There’s a story in the anthology by Brian Hodge, The Same Deep Waters as You, that is the stand-out for me and still gives me shivers just thinking about it. If you like Lovecraft even a little bit, this collection is a must. –Johann Thorsson

Matt Barone at Complex Pop Culture:

Lovecraft’s Monsters, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon Publications)

Like how indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg or jack-of-all-trades James Franco seemingly never sleep, always releasing new projects, genre fiction editor Ellen Datlow apparently lives in a world where days are comprised of more than 24 hours. Or she’s just the hardest working woman in the game. It’s the latter, of course—come December, Datlow will have released five new collections, all of which are dedicated to horror and, rest assured, are four-star material. She’s the reigning queen of short-form literary scares.

Datlow’s first 2014 offering, Lovecraft’s Monsters, features many of horror fiction’s best writers paying homage to the grandaddy of them all, H.P. Lovecraft. Whether they’re evoking Lovecraft’s sense of cosmic dread or directly referencing his otherworldly monster all-stars (i.e., Cthulhu, the Deep Ones, the Shoggoths), Datlow’s roster of imagination-heavy scribes avoid pastiche to create their own brands of fantastical madness. Neil Gaiman checks in with “Only the End of the World Again,” with its werewolf protagonist having a run-in with the Elder Things, Lovecraft’s sea-dwelling gods; the great Joe R. Lansdale uses musical appreciation to achieve Lovecraftian macabre with “The Bleeding Shadow,” my second-favorite story in Lovecraft’s Monsters following the enigmatic and reliably nightmarish Thomas Ligotti’s “The Sect of the Idiot,” an existential creep-show set in a strange little town.

As if the stories themselves weren’t enough, Lovecraft’s Monsters also includes original artwork by illustrator John Coulthart, each drawing more stunning than the previous one (and two of which you can see at the top of this post). Seriously, Coulthart’s beautifully grotesque images are worth the expense alone.

For more information on Lovecraft’s Monsters, visit the Tachyon site.

Cover and illustration by John Coulthart.

March 6, 2014

Book Riot discusses women in horror with Ellen Datlow

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized book riot, cthulhu, Ellen Datlow, horror, johann thorsson, john coulthart, Laird Barron, lovecraft, lovecraft's monsters, mythos, thomas ligotti, women in horror month

Over at Book Riot in honor of Women in Horror Month, Johann Thorsson discusses horror with Ellen Datlow. Not surprisingly her forthcoming anthology Lovecraft’s Monsters came up.

7. You say in your introduction to the forthcoming Lovecraft anthology Lovecraft’s Monsters that Lovecraft stays in so many writer’s imaginations due to the richness of his mythos. Do you see any recent writers creating worlds that will be written about like his years to come?

ED: As I only read horror novels and concentrate on horror short fiction, that’s the only genre for which I can respond. The short answer is no. There are plenty of contemporary writers influenced by earlier writers (H.P. Lovecraft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle most prominently). Many of the resulting stories are boring pastiches, bringing nothing new to the original characters or worlds they inhabit. A few talented, ambitious writers build on the originals, creating fresh and interesting work. Which in turn may become playgrounds for other writers.

Thomas Ligotti is a good example of someone influenced positively by Lovecraft and other weird writers—the Grimscribe’s Puppets anthology commissioned writers to use Ligotti’s world as a playground for their own interpretations and some very good work came out of this. But will there be other writers mining Ligotti’s work? I doubt it. Ligotti is a wonderful writer and I love his work, but his “world” isn’t as varied as Lovecraft’s. If he continues to write fiction he might expand his universe but unless he does we have what we have. Also, he’s unknown outside of a small band of aficionados of his work.

Laird Barron could be creating an Alaskan mythos of his own but will it catch on with other writers? It’s not an imaginary land, it’s a real one in which he gives his imagination full play, which is very different from Lovecraft. I think Lovecraft’s worlds are less grounded in actuality, but in his neuroses.

I’ve never been comfortable predicting trends in fiction – I know nothing more than any other educated reader.

For the rest of the fascinating interview, visit Book Riot.

For more information on Lovecraft’s Monsters, visit the Tachyon site.

Cover by John Coulthart.

johann thorsson

NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT should be in every home

Years Best Books (so far): LOVECRAFT’S MONSTERS edition

Lovecraft’s Monsters, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon Publications)

Book Riot discusses women in horror with Ellen Datlow