Locus

March 10, 2023

Tachyon tidbits featuring Sam J. Miller, R. B. Lemberg, Brandon Sanderson, David Ebenbach, Nalo Hopkinson, and David Sandner

Rick Klaw blog Automata, booktube, boys beasts & men, brandon sanderson, charles payseur, david ebenbach, David Sandner, falling in love with hominids, file 770, Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems From the Birdverse, how to mars, isaiah roby, Jacob Licklider, lanternfish press, lis carey, Locus, matthew yap, mi book reviews, nalo hopkinson, new straits times, paula guran, r.b. lemberg, sam j miller, shades of orange, the after life of frankenstein, the emperor's soul, youtube

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

Sam J. Miller
Photo by Kalyaní-Aindrí Sánchez

In both of their Year in Review 2022 pieces for Locus, Paula Guran and Charles Payseur (who receives bonus points for mentioning R. B. Lemberg’a first collection Geometries of Belonging) praise Sam J. Miller’s debut collection BOYS, BEASTS & MEN.

There are always great single-author collections every year. Probably (I have a nagging feeling I am forgetting something) my three favorites were Breakable Things (Undertow) by the ever-unsettling Cassandra Khaw BOYS, BEASTS & MEN by Sam J. Miller, who has a knack for striking deep into both a reader’s heart and gut, and the richly imaginative (and often dark) Our Fruiting Bodies: Short Fiction by the legendary Nisi Shawl (Aqueduct).
Paula Guran

Cover of BOYS, BEASTS, & MEN, a collection by Sam J. Miller. — Cover by Jennifer O’Toole
Design by Elizabeth Story

Both Sam J. Miller (with BOYS, BEASTS & MEN) and R.B. Lemberg (with Geometries of Belonging) came out with collections that capture for me a lot of what hooked me on short speculative fiction. These were the two authors who, upon discovering their work, changed the way I viewed reading, showing me what I had been missing and what I was most hungry for. Their collections are treasures, gems that shine brightly even among the hordes of works released this year.
Charles Payseur

**Booktuber Shades of Orange is engrossed by her now-favorite Brandon Sanderson tale, THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.**

Review starts at 10:10

Jacob Licklider enjoys THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.

THE EMPEROR’S SOUL is brilliant at exploring the nature of art and how society often overlooks art that doesn’t fit into the confines of a certain dominant worldview which is refreshing. As a novella, you can see why it won the Hugo Award in 2013, although there are places that are itching to be expanded upon in a way that a sequel wouldn’t necessarily be able to accomplish. 8/10.

Cover of The Emperor's Soul — Cover art by Alexander Nanitchkov
Design by Elizabeth Story

**Dr. Mattew Yap in the New Straits Times lauds David Ebenbach’s HOW TO MARS.**

HOW TO MARS is an out-of-this-world human migration story that’s wonderfully weird, stylistically creative, darkly funny and unexpectedly moving.

At MI Book Reviews, Isaiah Roby though much the same about the book.

Irreverent, poignant, and perfectly weird, David Ebenbach’s debut science-fiction outing, like a mission to Mars, is an incredible trip you will never forget.

How to Mars cover — Cover by Elizabeth Story

**Nalo Hopkinson’s FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS excites Lis Carey at File 770.**

This is a wonderful collection of short stories, and Nalo Hopkinson kept me reading stories that were just straight up horror that I would ordinarily just skip right over. Along with the horror, there’s dark fantasy, lighter, happier fantasy, and even a couple of stories that can fairly be called science fiction. There’s a reworking of the story of Caliban, and a new Bordertown story. It’s an impressive range.

Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story

**Lanterfish Press announces David Sandner’s new anthology The Afterlife of Frankenstein: A Century of Mad Science, Automata, and Monsters Inspired by Mary Shelley, 1818-1918.**

Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of The Afterlife of Frankenstein: A Century of Mad Science, Automata, and Monsters Inspired by Mary Shelley, 1818-1918, edited by David Sandner, for publication in Fall 2023.

Dr. Frankenstein’s monster is one of the most iconic figures in English literature, popularized through decades of writing, film, and comedy. But even before the invention of film, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein profoundly impacted scores of writers, gathering force for the genre that would ultimately become what we know as science fiction.

In this anthology, scholar of the fantastic David Sandner explores the first hundred years of Frankenstein’s influence. This collection of short stories and excerpts from work published between 1818 to 1918 demonstrates what a pioneering myth Frankenstein has always been—from the very day when lightning first struck and it opened its eyes on the world.

February 17, 2023

With a truly distinctive and poetic narrative voice, R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING is a much-needed novel

Rick Klaw blog gary k wolfe, Locus, marlene harris, r. b. lemberg, r. m. harper, reading reality, review, the fantasy review, the unbalancing

Early in the new year, R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING continues to thrill and excite with a glowing mention from Gary K. Wolfe’s The Year in Review 2022 in Locus and praising reviews from R. M. Harper for The Fantasy Review and Marlene Harris’ Reading Reality.

R.B. Lemberg returned us to their evocative, lyrical Birdverse with its first full-length novel, THE UNBALANCING, featuring a decidedly complex, conflicted, and neuroatypical central character with a truly distinctive and poetic narrative voice.
Locus

That is why we write fantasy, and it is why we read it: to imagine different worlds than ours, and examine the way forward. In that, Lemberg has crafted a a much-needed novel for the inhabitants of a tired world.
The Fantasy Review

The more I read of the Birdverse, the more fascinated I become with this fantastic and fantastical place. The story in THE UNBALANCING is complete in and of itself, but it hints at depths that I found myself wishing I knew better. In other words, I loved it AND I wanted more.
Reading Reality

February 14, 2023

An amazing debut novella, THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia snares a shortlist inclusion for the 2023 IAFA Crawford Award

Rick Klaw blog dark matter zine, gary k wolfe, iafa crawford award, Locus, nalini hayes, Naseem Jamnia, the bruising of qilwa, the reading rebel

Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia’s debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA continues to collect accolades with a 2023 IAFA Crawford Award shortlist mention, Gary K. Wolfe at Locus discussing the book in his The Year in Review 2022, and review from The Reading Rebel. Also, Nalini Haynes on the Dark Matter Zine podcast interviews Jamnia.

Cover for THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia — Cover by Elizabeth Story

The winner of the 2023 Crawford Award, presented annually by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy published the prior year, is Simon Jimenez for his novel The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey). Jimenez had previously published a well-received science fiction novel, The Vanished Birds (2020), but The Spear Cuts Through Water is his first fantasy book, making it eligible for the award.

The awards committee also named a shortlist including Maya Deane, Wrath Goddess Sing (William Morrow), Naseem Jamnia, THE BRUISING OF QILWA (Tachyon), Alex Jennings, The Ballad of Perilous Graves (Redhook), and Jacob Kerr, The Green Man of Eshwood Hall (Serpent’s Tail)
2023 IAFA Crawford Award

Naseem Jamnia’s distinctively titled The Bruising of Qilwa, which also is one of the two most interesting first novels I read this year (see below for the other), with its nonbinary healer as protagonist, its powerfully-developed themes of colonialism, marginalization, and oppression, and its systems of blood magic worked out with such consistency that they begin to look like actual hematology.
Gary K. Wolfe

I love books with magic and I thought the magic system in this book was well thought out and easy to understand. I love that this book talked about immigration, affordable healthcare, and prejudice. This book handled these subjects very well. The writing is so beautiful and lyrical. I love that this world is queer normative and am hoping for more books written in this world. I highly recommend this gem of a book.

Rating: 5 stars
The Reading Rebel

This is a Dark Matter Zine podcast and I’m your host Nalini Haynes. Today I’m talking to author Naseem Jamnia about their book the Bruising of Qilwa. My review for this book is here.
Dark Matter Zine

December 16, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Marjorie Liu, David Liss, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Michael Moorcock

Rick Klaw blog Caitlín R. Kiernan, Charlie Jane Anders, david liss, elric, interview, lez geek out, Locus, marjorie liu, michael moorcock, paul di filippo, suroor alikhan, talking about books, the citadel of forgotten myths, the pecularities, the tangleroot palace, the very best of caitlin r kiernan

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

**In their podcast, Lez Geek Out! praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.**

Andi and Lise loved this collection of self-curated short stories (plus one novella) by majorly award-winning spec fic writer Marjorie Liu. These stories represent a collection from roughly 2009 until more recently, and span a range of spec fic genres, including paranormal, post-apocalyptic, fairy tale, superhero, and steampunk. Liu writes multi-layered character-driven stories that will suck you right in and leave you wanting more. Do yourself a favor and definitely pick up a copy of THE TANGLEROOT PALACE: STORIES.

Cover art by Sana Takeda
Design by Elizabeth Story

**Suroor Alikhan for Talking About Books interviews David Liss about several of his books including THE PECULIARITIES.**

TAB: You use magic and fantasy in your latest novel, The Peculiarities. I am curious to know what led you to do this.

DL: I’ve always had a fascination with real historical magic, by which I mean magic that was practiced by real people who believed that what they were doing was an efficacious way to interact with or influence the world around them. In particular, I’ve had an ongoing interest in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was a massively influential magical organization in late Victorian London. It’s no exaggeration to say that most people in the West who practice magic today are practicing some form of Golden Dawn magic. THE PECULIARITIES began with the desire to write about the Golden Dawn, though I didn’t really know what angle I wanted to take when I began researching. At some point in the process, I decided that treating their magical practices as valid and efficacious appealed to me as a narrative premise, and the rest unfolded from there.

Charlie Jane Anders on Tik Tok and Instagram discusses trans authors who influenced her writing including Caitlín R. Kiernan. Anders showcases the author with THE VERY BEST OF CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN.

Cover by Hannes Hummel
Design by Elizabeth Story

**In Locus, Paul di Filippo gushes about The Citadel of Forgotten Dreams, Michael Moorcock’s return to his seminal character Elric.**

Moorcock’s ability to convey action vividly, to envision otherworldly vistas, and to couch it all in elegant prose remains undimmed. I mentioned Lord Dunsany as a predecessor for Moorcock, but I would also have to enter Clark Ashton Smith as an inspiration and coequal. This alliance extends to Moorcock’s great ability to conjure up names, although I did object to one such: the evil Ramada Sabaru. The given name, of course, instantly evokes a hotel chain, while the surname echoes a carmaker. But aside from that, all is Vancian perfection.

This could very well be the final installment of Elric’s long exploits, and if so, Moorcock can retire proudly from the walls of Imrryr.

October 5, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Naseem Jamnia, Marjorie Liu, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and Jacob Weisman & David Sandner

Rick Klaw blog alan brown, andrew wheeler, Caren Gussoff Sumption, David Sandner, hellhounds, jacob weisman, kimberly unger, Locus, marjorie liu, Naseem Jamnia, sam j miller, stanley g weinbaum, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the black flame, the bruising of qilwa, the extractionist, the tangleroot palace, tor.com, Veronika Groke

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

**In their Reading Round-up, There’s Always Room for One More has complimentary things to say about THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia.**

THE BRUISING OF QILWA was one of the best reading experiences of my entire life, thanks to an annotated proof courtesy of author Naseem Jamnia (hands-down the best giveaway ever). There’s so much world-building and character packed into this novella, it was amazing to explore it with the author sitting at my side (figuratively speaking).

Veronika Groke on their eponymous site praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.

Along with her remarkable versatility as a writer, it is above all this ability to make her readers question the seemingly obvious that sets Liu’s stories apart from others of the same kind. Liu doesn’t do twist endings as much as stories that are twisted all the way through, like the branches in the eponymous Tangleroot Forest. Yet while Liu’s characters may occasionally get lost in the woods, her storylines never do. Charming and menacing to equal degrees, they confidently invite her readers to follow along and embrace the darkness within.

For Tor.com, Alan Brown enjoys Stanley G. Weinbaum’s THE BLACK FLAME.

THE BLACK FLAME was a rare tale for its time. Despite being set in the far future, at its heart it is a love story, a tale of a man torn between two women: Evanie, a young woman from a small town, and the beautiful, talented, and immortal Margaret of Urbs, the sister of the Master who rules mankind. But the book is also full of interesting speculation regarding a post-apocalyptic future, the impact of immortality, and more than a little action and adventure.

**Andrew Wheeler on his The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. writes about David Sander and Jacob Weisman’s sequel to Mingus Fingers, Hellhounds.**

These books sound deeply weird in the best ways; I again insist that I will find time to read them.

October 4, 2022

For all its looming threats, Lavie Tidhar’s NEOM is a city you’d like to visit

Rick Klaw blog central station, clarkesworld, gary k wolfe, junk hounds, lavie tidhar, Locus, neom, sally adee, the last word on nothing, unholy land

Though still over a month from its November publication, reviews roll in for NEOM, Lavie Tidhar’s long awaited return to the universe of the John W. Campbell Award Winner CENTRAL STATION garnered a review from Gary K. Wolfe in Locus and a positive mention from Sally Adee at The Last Word on Nothing in the essay “The future is a myth that is true and false” on science fiction and the future. There’s Always Room for One More includes Tidhar’s UNHOLY LAND among Top Ten Tuesday: Geographic Titles. Clarkesworld (Issue 193, October 2022) offers the new short story “Junk Hounds” in text and audio.

Preorders for NEOM are currently available via the Tachyon site and all finer booksellers.

Neom by Lavie Tidhar — Cover by Elizabeth Story

Nor is it necessary to have read CENTRAL STATION, although it does help flesh out Tidhar’s emerging portrait of a transformed Middle East. For all its fearsome ancient ordnance, its economic disparity, and its looming threats, NEOM easily joins the list of SF cities we’d like to visit.
Locus

There are ways to rescue ourselves from dystopia if we can tear ourselves away from obsessively reading and writing the same stories about it over and over again. If we can make different stories. Take NEOM. The highly decorated SF author Lavie Tidhar has written a book about its future that comes out in November. (I’ve never regretted reading anything by Lavie Tidhar.) Stories can be alchemy. They can transform dystopia from received wisdom, back into into myth.
The Last Word on Nothing

Unholy Land; cover by Sarah Anne Langton — Cover by Sarah Anne Langton

A former Subjective Chaos Kind Of Nominee, UNHOLY LAND is a time-travelling murder mystery and a series of alternate histories (some of which must be averted). Lavie Tidhar has been on my list of authors to read for ages, and this sounds fascinating and – with its themes of walls and border control – entirely on point.
There’s Always Room for One More

The walls were beige and you could see where the rust took hold. A tiny dead robot floated past Amir, feelers drooping. It was the same color as the walls and shaped like a grasshopper. Amir made a grab for it but a hidden maintenance duct sucked it up and it vanished with a soft, almost hungry pop. Other tiny robots crawled along the wall, attempting to repair a recent fracture.

The Heavenly Palace, a hundred years on from its grand opening. Once it was glorious. Now it was just another piece of floating junk.

Amir loved it. He loved the worn grooves in the floor and the faded carpets in the Stargazer’s Lounge. The whistle of the ivory balls in the old centrifugal roulette wheels and the way the bartender still mixed a martini like he was serving it to Neil and Buzz at the Oasis Hotel in Maspalomas after Apollo 11 came back from the Moon. The Heavenly Palace was a junk hound’s Mecca, and if one day the owners decided to stop boosting it and doom it at last to the inevitability of orbital decay, you could bet Amir and every other junk hound in Low Earth Orbit would be swarming over the spoils like locusts.
Junk Hounds

September 29, 2022

With exquisite and original THE BRUISING OF QILWA, Naseem Jamnia delivers a rewarding read set in a world you’ll want to re-visit time and time again

Rick Klaw blog alex brown, gary k wolfe, Locus, Naseem Jamnia, r. b. lemberg, review, stephen case, strange horizons, the bruising of qilwa, the middle shelf, the unbalancing

Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia’s singular debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA wows in reviews from Gary K. Wolfe and Alex Brown, both in Locus, The Middle Shelf, and in a dual feature that includes R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING, Stephen Case at Strange Horizons.

Like many of the best novellas we’ve been seeing these last few years, THE BRUISING OF QILWA is something of a Tardis tale, considerably bigger on the inside than it first appears, and it’s a rewarding addition to that growing body of fantastic fiction addressing themes of colonialism, bigotry, gender, and cultural identity. The world of the book is one we’d like to know more about, and Jamnia is a writer worth paying attention to.
Gary K. Wolfe

Despite its short length, the world building in THE BRUISING OF QILWA is exquisite and original. Jamnia doesn’t give a lot of detail about the world or its political and cultural histories, yet the story feels vast.
Alex Brown

THE BRUISING OF QILWA is an introduction to a world I’ll happily visit again in a new story.
The Middle Shelf

In the novel’s setting, Jamnia creates a rich landscape of overlapping ethnicities and languages, laying a foundation for a world-building which proceeds very much out of Iranian culture. This richness informs the book’s vocabulary. Dialogue and description are filled with references to and many other Farsi terms. Gender identity and pronouns are part of this landscape as well. Many characters mentioned in passing have non-binary pronouns—ey, eir, zhe, hos, hu, as well as pronouns used exclusively for a deity. These are used casually and without explication, making them a seamless part of the cultural background. Jamnia’s prose makes their world feel more like a—to this reader previously unknown—corner of the real world, with occasional magical details to remind that it is indeed fantasy.

Both THE BRUISING OF QILWA and THE UNBALANCING are powerful in giving voice to marginalized or dispossessed characters without being flat, formulaic, or overly discursive. In THE BRUISING OF QILWA, the affirming, accepting healer who welcomes refugees becomes someone willing to take horrific steps to protect his city, and the protagonist is forced to face the moral ambiguity of Kofi’s decisions. In THE UNBALANCING, one protaginist begins at the center of her society’s power structure, but her desire for the novel’s other lead opens her up to understanding a positive self-abnegation in relationships—even at the cost of her home. It’s a compelling contrast: one a view of damaged idealism from a place of little social capital, the other of a character at the center of her society’s hierarchy finding a new sensitivity and humility. Most importantly, both novels deal with the respective costs.
Strange Horizons

August 24, 2022

With the elegant and lyrical THE UNBALANCING, R. B. Lemberg reveals the mythic Birdverse is populated by fascinating and memorable characters

Rick Klaw blog Arvyn Cerézo, birdverse, book riot, gary k wolfe, infinite text, kristi chadwick, L. A. Lanquist, library journal, Locus, r. b. lemberg, review, the unbalancing, trans narrative

Some two weeks before its actual release (though the book, both physical and digital, is currently available directly from Tachyon and other select outlets), R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING is garnering plenty of attention with glowing reviews from Kristi Chadwick for Library Journal, Gary K. Wolfe in Locus, Infinite Text, and at Trans Narrative, L. A. Lanquist shares a moving, personal reflection on how the book affected him. Additionally, THE UNBALANCING merits inclusion in Arvyn Cerézo list for Book Riot 8 Notable Nonbinary SFF Books You Need to Check Out.

SIGNED copies of THE UNBALANCING are available for preorder from the fine folks at Raven Book Store.

Lemberg’s first full-length novel in their lauded “Birdverse” (following the novella THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES) showcases elegant and lyrical prose to create an immersive romantic fantasy.
Library Journal

While Lemberg’s prose can be as lilting and lovely as their poetry, the novel is not without a fair amount of wit; this is the Birdverse, after all, and the expletives of choice are ‘‘Pluck it!’’ and ‘‘Bird peck it!’’ That sort of dialogue, together with Lemberg’s sharp portrayal of the challenges of holding a relationship together, grounds the novel firmly in character despite the fanciful cosmology of its setting (though we do get some dramatic perorations as the crisis comes to a head). The Birdverse may be mythic in form, but it’s occupied by some fascinating and memorable characters we won’t soon forget, and whose problems subtly and wisely reflect our own.
Locus

Reading this book is like diving into the most beautiful language exploring various aspects of human possibility. Everything in this book is so fluid from the words, the setting itself, but also the characters–the way they think, the way they feel, and the way they present. The play on words feels like you’re inside a poet’s playground. The language has flow–it’s mellifluous.
Infinite Text

I should hope that the answer to this is obvious, since it impacted me so greatly, but to state it outright: yes, you should read this book. For those who are drowning in their own tangle of concerns like I have been for the past year and beyond, this story is a respite and a consolation. It will not fix your problems, because if such a thing was possible due to a single book, the publishing industry would be in a much more secure position and authors would get paid more. But it did make me cry, and it helped me to sort through my feelings, and it gave me the strength to write this post, despite being gone for so long without notice.
Trans Narrative

The book is challenging to read as it’s so dense, but the premise is that both characters are trying to save their city from a star, which also needs some saving. The book also explores nonbinary gender identities, which makes it well worth a read.
8 Notable Nonbinary SFF Books You Need to Check Out

July 8, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Kameron Hurley, David Liss, John Kessel, and Lavie Tidhar

Rick Klaw blog david liss, jacey blue renner, John Kessel, kameron hurley, lavie tidhar, Locus, meet me in the future, russell letson, san antonio magazine, The Best of World SF: Volume 2, The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel

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

**At Reads Rainbow “Wrap-up June 2022“, Charlotte awarded, without comment, 4 rainbows to Kameron Hurley’s MEET ME IN THE FUTURE.**

June might be over but every month is Pride month on this blog! Because let’s be honest, to be able to recommend you as many books and movies, as we do, we must consume giant amounts of them on daily basis. No matter what it is.

So check out what Pride had to offer to us, and hopefully get inspire to read/watch something new!

**Cover by Carl Sutton**
**Design by Elizabeth Story**

**Jacey Blue Renner in San Antonio Magazine (July/August 2022) included THE PECULIARITIES by David Liss on “Summer Hit List**“

The latest release from this historical fiction author marries Victorian England with supernatural oddities. Thomas, a proper gentleman, navigates a mysterious murder, all while trying to understand why magic is transforming him into something unexpected: a tree.

**For Locus, Russell Letson praises The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel.**

I love big career-retrospective single-author collections, especially when the author provides notes on genesis and biographical context. John Kessel’s turn has come with The Dark Ride, a gathering of 20 stories from 1981-2021 that shows his command of a wide range of motifs and styles and his recurring concerns in our field and beyond. It adds up to a map of a career that has been interestingly consistent over the four decades covered.

**On his eponymous site, Lavie Tidhar announces his new anthology The Best of World SF: Volume 2.**

This has been a lot of hard work behind the scene, and today I’m delighted to share the cover and table of contents for The Best of World SF: Volume 2! Published by Head of Zeus in hardcover and e-book in September (UK and elsewhere) and November (US), this is big 175,000 words anthology! Cover design by Ben Prior. It makes a gorgeous set with the first volume!

June 21, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Sam J. Miller, Peter Watts, Sheila Finch, Marjorie Liu, and Ellen Datlow

Rick Klaw blog boys beasts & men, crime reads, Ellen Datlow, emma burleigh, forkpoint, Locus, marjorie liu, midu reads, paul di filippo, Peter Watts, review, Sam J. Miller, screams from the dark, sheila finch, supchina, the monstrous, the tangleroot palace, The Thing, the things, tor.com

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

At Tor.com, Sam J. (BOYS, BEASTS & MEN) Miller’s “Five Stories About Actual Movie Monsters” includes a shout out to “The Things” by Peter Watts (Collected in BEYOND THE RIFT).

Reimagining John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing from the point of view of the bloodthirsty shapeshifting alien, Watts made it into a harrowing send-up of the colonialist mentality: the Thing is incapable of seeing what makes its victims unique or different or special, and perceives only “thinking cancers” that must be brutally subjugated. It preserves everything that’s scary and horrific about the movie, while adding a deeper layer that digs into questions the film had neither the space nor the chutzpah to tackle.

This story rocked my world. And it gave me permission to go there myself, with my own (super gay) The Thing fanfic, “Things With Beards” (which, NBD, was a nominee for the Nebula and the Shirley Jackson Awards).
Five Stories About Actual Movie Monsters

Cover art by Hugh Sicotte
Design by Elizabeth Story

Paul Di Filippo for Locus reviews Sheila Finch’s new Aqueduct Press collection Forkpoints.

The stated theme of Finch’s book—”choices that change lives forever”—is almost a formula for any and all fiction, and need not be given too much heft. No point in trying to cram these varied, distinctive, and memorable tales into a thematic cubbyhole. Just revel in their brio and craft, and hope that Finch continues writing for many years ahead.
Locus

Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE receives praise from Midu Reads and SupChina lists the collection on Emma Burleigh’s “Must-read China books for Pride Month.”

I really liked this collection of tales and not only because it had women front and center!
Midu Reads

At Crime Reads, superstar editor Ellen Datlow contributes the essay “Monstrosity Is in the Eye of the Beholder.”

What is a “monster”? What is monstrosity? The definition depends upon who is doing the defining.

The etymology of the word “monster” is complicated.

“Monēre” is the root of “monstrum” and means to warn and instruct. Saint Augustine proposed the following interpretation, considering monsters part of the natural design of the world, deliberately created by God for His own reasons: spreading “abroad a multitude of those marvels which are called monsters, portents, prodigies, phenomena . . . They say that they are called ‘monsters,’ because they demonstrate or signify something; ‘portents’ because they portend something; and so forth . . . ought to demonstrate, portend, predict that God will bring to pass what He has foretold regarding the bodies of men, no difficulty preventing Him, no law of nature prescribing to Him His limit.”
Monstrosity Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Cover by Reiko Murakami
Design by Elizabeth Story

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Tachyon Publications

Locus

tachyonpub

Locus

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

In both of their Year in Review 2022 pieces for Locus, Paula Guran and Charles Payseur (who receives bonus points for mentioning R. B. Lemberg’a first collection Geometries of Belong­ing) praise Sam J. Miller’s debut collection BOYS, BEASTS & MEN.

Booktuber Shades of Orange is engrossed by her now-favorite Brandon Sanderson tale, THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.

Jacob Licklider enjoys THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.

Dr. Mattew Yap in the New Straits Times lauds David Ebenbach’s HOW TO MARS.

At MI Book Reviews, Isaiah Roby though much the same about the book.

Nalo Hopkinson’s FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS excites Lis Carey at File 770.

Lanterfish Press announces David Sandner’s new anthology The Afterlife of Frankenstein: A Century of Mad Science, Automata, and Monsters Inspired by Mary Shelley, 1818-1918.

Early in the new year, R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING continues to thrill and excite with a glowing mention from Gary K. Wolfe’s The Year in Review 2022 in Locus and praising reviews from R. M. Harper for The Fantasy Review and Marlene Harris’ Reading Reality.

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

In their podcast, Lez Geek Out! praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.

Suroor Alikhan for Talking About Books interviews David Liss about several of his books including THE PECULIARITIES.

Charlie Jane Anders on Tik Tok and Instagram discusses trans authors who influenced her writing including Caitlín R. Kiernan. Anders showcases the author with THE VERY BEST OF CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN.

In Locus, Paul di Filippo gushes about The Citadel of Forgotten Dreams, Michael Moorcock’s return to his seminal character Elric.

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

In their Reading Round-up, There’s Always Room for One More has complimentary things to say about THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia.

Veronika Groke on their eponymous site praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.

For Tor.com, Alan Brown enjoys Stanley G. Weinbaum’s THE BLACK FLAME.

Andrew Wheeler on his The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. writes about David Sander and Jacob Weisman’s sequel to Mingus Fingers, Hellhounds.

Preorders for NEOM are currently available via the Tachyon site and all finer booksellers.

Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia’s singular debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA wows in reviews from Gary K. Wolfe and Alex Brown, both in Locus, The Middle Shelf, and in a dual feature that includes R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING, Stephen Case at Strange Horizons.

*SIGNED* copies of THE UNBALANCING are available for preorder from the fine folks at Raven Book Store.

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

At Reads Rainbow “Wrap-up June 2022“, Charlotte awarded, without comment, 4 rainbows to Kameron Hurley’s MEET ME IN THE FUTURE.

Jacey Blue Renner in San Antonio Magazine (July/August 2022) included THE PECULIARITIES by David Liss on “Summer Hit List“

For Locus, Russell Letson praises The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel.

On his eponymous site, Lavie Tidhar announces his new anthology The Best of World SF: Volume 2.

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

In both of their Year in Review 2022 pieces for Locus, Paula Guran and Charles Payseur (who receives bonus points for mentioning R. B. Lemberg’a first collection Geometries of Belonging) praise Sam J. Miller’s debut collection BOYS, BEASTS & MEN.

**Booktuber Shades of Orange is engrossed by her now-favorite Brandon Sanderson tale, THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.**

**Dr. Mattew Yap in the New Straits Times lauds David Ebenbach’s HOW TO MARS.**

**Nalo Hopkinson’s FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS excites Lis Carey at File 770.**

**Lanterfish Press announces David Sandner’s new anthology The Afterlife of Frankenstein: A Century of Mad Science, Automata, and Monsters Inspired by Mary Shelley, 1818-1918.**

**In their podcast, Lez Geek Out! praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.**

**Suroor Alikhan for Talking About Books interviews David Liss about several of his books including THE PECULIARITIES.**

**In Locus, Paul di Filippo gushes about The Citadel of Forgotten Dreams, Michael Moorcock’s return to his seminal character Elric.**

**In their Reading Round-up, There’s Always Room for One More has complimentary things to say about THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia.**

**Andrew Wheeler on his The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. writes about David Sander and Jacob Weisman’s sequel to Mingus Fingers, Hellhounds.**

SIGNED copies of THE UNBALANCING are available for preorder from the fine folks at Raven Book Store.

**At Reads Rainbow “Wrap-up June 2022“, Charlotte awarded, without comment, 4 rainbows to Kameron Hurley’s MEET ME IN THE FUTURE.**

**Jacey Blue Renner in San Antonio Magazine (July/August 2022) included THE PECULIARITIES by David Liss on “Summer Hit List**“

**For Locus, Russell Letson praises The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel.**

**On his eponymous site, Lavie Tidhar announces his new anthology The Best of World SF: Volume 2.**