marissa lingen

July 24, 2020

Never once setting one foot wrong, Lisa Goldstein’s IVORY APPLES proves to be an instant classic

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Paul Di Filippo in ASIMOV’S SCIENCE FICTION (July/August 2020) is impressed by Lisa Goldstein’s IVORY APPLES.

I wonder if it’s mere coincidence that Jonathan Carroll wrote a magnificently touching and surreal book titled White Apples, and now Lisa Goldstein gifts us with a volume of equal heft and magnitude, comparable ambition and impact, called IVORY APPLES (Tachyon Publications, trade paper, $15.95, 288 pages, ISBN 978-1616962982). This book, certainly among her top five, is rather a Carrollian outing for her, but redolent of her distinctive lilting voice and humanistic approach. Deliberate homage or not, Goldstein’s new novel is a work of high accomplishment along the same lines as White Apples, an “urban fantasy” novel in the classic, not commodified sense that might call to mind the work of Crowley and Wolfe, as well as that of Mr. Carroll.

[…]

Goldstein packs a host of vital and important themes into this book while never skimping on character development, fantastical oddness and beauty, mimetic clarity, nor gripping events. The book has quiet moments and frantic ones, comic and tearful ones, quotidian and cosmic ones. Goldstein never once sets her foot wrong.

IVORY APPLES might be thought of as a hybrid of Gilliam’s The Fisher King, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, and Mirrlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist, or some mashup of George MacDonald, Lord Dunsany, and Tim Powers. It should win all sorts of awards and achieve instant classic status. Unless, of course, the world proves rather too full of Ms. Burdens and woefully short of Ivy Quinns.

On NOVEL GAZING REDUX, Marissa Lingen admires Lisa Goldstein.

Critical discourse about the speculative genres often focuses on alienation. And Lisa Goldstein does a lot with that theme–but she often does it in the slightly gentler realm of visitor/tourist. The bewildered traveler–either metaphorically or literally–estranged from the world around them but interested–is a common theme through Goldstein’s books. With this angle comes the willingness to experience new things but also the struggle to free oneself from previous perspective.

The first time I read Tourists, IVORY APPLES, and A Mask for the General–my three favorite of Goldstein’s novels–this common thread didn’t strike me as strongly as it does on this time around. Maybe it’s because I’m staying put myself. Maybe it’s just having a little more perspective. It’s not like she didn’t hand us clues to what she was doing: her collection is called Travelers in Magic, for heaven’s sake. But right now, in the middle of our pandemic shutdown, I’m particularly appreciating the strangely familiar feel of this kind of long strange trip. And I’m particularly glad that Lisa Goldstein is still around imagining new places to take us. We need them now.

May 7, 2020

Get 20% off Marie Brennan’s lovely DRIFTWOOD

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Get 20% off of Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD when you preorder it from our website! Just use the coupon code DRIFTWOOD at checkout.

At NOVEL GAZING REDUX, Marissa Lingen thinks getting the book is a good idea.

I had a good time with this even though I’d read some of the stories already. Having them in a different context illuminates them differently–and, of course, you may not have read any of them at all. It works perfectly well as an introduction to this setting, no preparation required. Just dive in…perhaps a tiny bit carefully. There are kind people here, but it’s not a place of sweetness and light.

Terry Weyna at FANTASY LITERATURE concurs.

I didn’t actually get around to starting Stephen King’s latest opus, but I did read DRIFTWOOD by Marie Brennan, which is a lovely set of vignettes on a world where worlds go to die.

April 16, 2020

It’s probably safe to say that R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES will be one of the highlights of 2020

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Though not due until September (but available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller or direct from Tachyon), R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES garners a lot of praise.

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

TO OTHER WORLDS highly recommends the book.

But to me, by far the biggest surprise was that the length felt exactly right. I found I don’t like novellas very much – they often feel as if they’re missing something, as if either there’s too many ideas or plot crammed into too small of a space or as if there’s not enough. Not so here; Lemberg hit the precarious balance perfectly. THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES feels complete. It needs nothing more and nothing less than what is already there. It’s probably safe to say this will be one of the highlights of 2020 for me and I most highly recommend it.

Enjoyment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5

Marissa Lingen on NOVEL GAZING REDUX feels much the same.

I picked up THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES after reading a long book about horrible people, and it was incredibly restorative. It was fun and gripping and a very fast read, and the book design was beautiful. But along with all those things it was refreshing at a time when my heart needed to be refreshed. Highly recommended.

At IT’S A JUMBLE, Vanessa Fogg adds their thoughts.

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES is both beautiful and profound. It speaks of love in various ways, and of how love can hurt and bind as well as nourish and bring joy. It speaks of various forms of oppression, and the different boundaries (in some cases, literal walls) that people concoct for themselves, the limits that some seek to transcend and the prisons that others willingly accept. There’s a literal prison in this slim book, a dungeon filled with speaking bones and ghosts, a torturer, and a tyrant. There’s darkness and truly creepy, striking imagery. There’s an intimate realism to the characters and their struggles, but there’s also a fable-like quality to the plot. The mix works; this novella is lovely, luminous, and moving.

December 12, 2019

PETER WATTS IS AN ANGRY SENTIENT TUMOR is an exciting and energizing journey

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Over at STRANGE HORIZONS, Vivian Wagner in a lengthy review praises PETER WATTS IS AN ANGRY SENTIENT TUMOR.

Collected from his blog, The ‘Crawl, and other sources, these essays often take the form of rants, but they’re endearing and engaging ones. Watts, a former marine biologist and Hugo Award-winning Canadian science fiction writer, rails against climate change one moment and movingly describes his relationship with a cat the next. You never know where his writing’s going to lead, and reading his essays is an exciting, energizing, and occasionally bewildering journey.

In this entertaining overview, Marissa Lingen at NOVEL GAZING REDUX enjoys the collection.

As with any contentious blogger, you’ll probably find at least some of the posts/essays in here to cheerfully disagree with–or to bury your head in your hands, groan, and wish you could disagree with. But remember: the reader expectations should be set pretty clearly. This is what it says on the tin. Not: Peter Watts Is An Angry Sentient Tumor But Look! A Butterfly! or Peter Watts Seems Like An Angry Sentient Tumor But In Just Three Essays You’ll Find Out How He Learned To Play His Cares Away On The Ukulele–And So Can You! There’s a lot of climate change realism, a lot of anger at police brutality and surveillance state assholery, a lot of frustration at entirely valid frustrating human behavior. Also a little bit of talking out his ass about YA fiction, some movie reviews, mourning for some much-loved humans and cats. This is a set of blog posts, not a two-minutes’ hate, no matter how well-directed. It’s easy to slip into “just one more” here even when you’re wincing and going “oh God too much truth.” Just a little more truth though, just one more blog post worth of truth before I go back to my fever dreams….

For CLARKESWORLD, Arley Song interviews Watts.

The table of contents for PETER WATTS IS AN ANGRY SENTIENT TUMOR offers everything from “Why I Suck” to “Pearls Before Cows: Thoughts on Blade Runner 2049.” Is there an organizational principle at work behind what pieces were in the collection? Are there new pieces only available in the book?

You’ll have to ask Jacob (my editor at Tachyon) about any grand organizational architecture; I handed him a bunch of pieces and he made the selection. I did serve them up according to theme—Reviews, Writing, Science, and so on—but they all ended up getting mooshed into a single unpartitioned volume.

Tumor is a reprint collection; the only piece that hasn’t previously appeared anywhere on the planet is my Introduction. That said, you’d have to be one hard-core fan to have seen it all before. If you’ve only followed my blog you won’t have seen the Nowa Fantastyka columns that appeared only in Poland; if you’ve devoured those columns in their original Polish you might not have seen essays that appeared in places like Aeon and The Daily. It doesn’t break physics to posit a fan so devoted they’ve stalked me across the Internet and into every dead-tree venue I’ve ever written for, but it is vanishingly unlikely.

October 1, 2018

In the World Fantasy nominated WICKED WONDERS, Ellen Klages makes virtually any setting vivid and each situation compelling

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized amicae aeternum, bibliofiles, david graham tennant, elizabeth story, ellen klages, levar burton reads, marissa lingen, novel gazing redux, singing on a star, wicked wonders

For BIBLIOFILES, Emily Z recommends Ellen Klages’ WICKED WONDERS.

With a focus on memories, friendships, growing up, growing apart, and hard decisions, there’s a wistful feel to this diverse collection. With her fertile imagination and wicked sense of humor, Klages makes virtually any setting vivid and each situation compelling.

Episode 34 of LEVAR BURTON READS features Klages’ story “Singing on a Star.”

Photo: Scott R. Kline

Marissa Lingen on NOVEL GAZING REDUX praises the collection.

I think people talk about whether authors have idealized childhood or focused on its dark side, but they don’t talk a lot about the focus and intensity of being a particular kind of small child. I was that kind of small child. I think Ellen was too, because she completely nails it, and whatever the plot is, I am there for that kind of vivid writing about that part of life. This is a series of short stories, not all about childhood, but a lot; not all dark, but a lot. Recommended.

The trailer for David Graham Tennant’s movie Amicae Aeternum, based on Klages’ short story of the same name.

Eleven-year old Corrine Garcia-Kelly can’t sleep. Lost in the process of creating one last list “Twenty reasons why it sucks to be me”, she picks up her trusty teddy bear LB, climbs out the bedroom window and wanders through the deserted neighbourhood to rendezvous with best friend, Anna. As much as she’s preoccupied, Corry begins to experience and appreciate just how beautiful the world around her really is. Little details to be absorbed, cherished and remembered.

Milli Wilkinson as ‘Corry’ and Imogen Tear as ‘Anna’, deliver a heartfelt portrayal of childhood friends spending their final morning together, riding bikes, watching the sunrise and playing down by the creek. A tale of loss, transformation and the insignificance of our place within the infinite, ‘Amicae Aeternum’ is a tale of learning what to hold dear and of when to let go.

For more info about WICKED WONDERS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

September 6, 2017

Tachyon tidbits featuring Ellen Klages, Peter S. Beagle, Kage Baker, Nancy Kress, and Jo Walton

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

Ellen Klages (photo: Scott R. Kline), Peter S. Beagle (Paul Todisco), Kage Baker, Nancy Kress (Ellen Datlow), and Jo Walton

For THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION, Fran Wilde reviews two recent Ellen Klages books.

In a similar way, Ellen Klages has combined physics and magic in not one but two books published during the turbulent spring of 2017. More than that, PASSING STRANGE, a novella from Tor.com publishing, and WICKED WONDERS, a collection of short stories from Tachyon Publications, seem at first glance to be entirely separate entities, but they, too, connect when folded properly.

Side characters in PASSING STRANGE, including Franny and Polly, have featured stories in WICKED WONDERS. These moments where the books meet up feel like magic in their own right as the world suddenly becomes bigger within the boundaries of Klages’s plots.

Klages is practicing a certain magic of her own between the two books because Franny isn’t the only one who combines magic and physics. The cartographer has a second counterpart in WICKED WONDERS: Mrs. Zeno, who with a friend splits a piece of cake into particles that allow many worlds to exist at the same time in “Mrs. Zeno’s Paradox.”

Klages says in her story notes that she folded together manners and physics to arrive at “Mrs. Zeno’s Paradox.” This is something she does again and again: folds disparate ideas and themes together to form new worlds.

That Klages is toying with the laws of physics both on and off the page as a cat plays with a string or as a magician connects torn pieces of paper into a unified whole will come as no surprise to those who know her. That she’s laid this unity across two spectacularly different, altogether wonderful books and invited us to play along as well?

That’s the magic of it.

GREEN MAN REVIEW recounts some kind words that Kage Baker said about Peter S. Beagle’s work.

Our What Not is about Peter S. Beagle, who is not only of one our best storytellers ever, but also without doubt one of the best loved as well. We decided to ask some of the many writers who’ve passed through our pub, errrr, offices what their favorite piece of fiction by him was, and why so. Their answers run from the obvious choices, i.e. THE LAST UNICORN, to some that greatly surprised us.

Kage pondered her answer — ‘How to decide? THE LAST UNICORN probably had the greatest effect on me, reading it as I did at an impressionable age and learning there that fantasy could cut through the mannered, medievalist crap and speak sharply of real life. I SEE BY MY OUTFIT delighted me and still does, as it must delight anyone who has ever been young, dumb, brave and ON THE ROAD. To take off across the country on motor scooters (of all things), sleeping in tents, trusting in fate, having adventures — yeah!! But my all-time favorite Beagle character I met in THE INNKEEPER’S SONG: the little, little fox with soft fur…’

At B&N SCI-FI AND FANTASY in Mind Meld: Science Fiction, Technology, and Society, Marissa Lingen discusses BEGGARS IN SPAIN by Nancy Kress and Rahul Kanakia recommends Jo Walton’s MY REAL CHILDREN.

When I was fifteen, one of the science fiction novels I fell in love with was Nancy Kress’s BEGGARS IN SPAIN. I go back to it over and over again as an influence, especially for questions like this one about science and society. Kress’s genetically engineered Sleepless form a subculture of their own, with new paradigms and ways to relate. They face suspicion, fear, and prejudice from the larger culture–and form their own suspicions, fears, and prejudices towards it. The substance of the book is the resolution of that tension from both sides: finding an interrelation and a coexistence even when it felt like there was nothing that either could give the other. I think a lot of smart teenagers need that message: that isolation and withdrawal are not the answer, no matter how much it may feel like it in the throes of high school. I’ve carried that essentially ecological view with me ever since.

One of my favorite science fiction novels of the last decade was Jo Walton’s MY REAL CHILDREN. This book, which won last year’s Tiptree Award, concerns one woman whose life diverges as the result of a fateful decision early in the book. From thenceforward the book is told in alternating chapters that detail the two very different courses her life takes. Both of her lives have their ups and downs, their joys and sorrows, but they are far from equal. In one she finds enduring love, friendship, and meaningful work, and in the other she must struggle to find anything worth holding onto. Both lives also take place in very different futures, and these futures influence the course of the lives, but they do so subtly. The stunning climax of this book really brought home to me the truth that every life is so singular and unique. In our fiction we’re often tempted to turn our characters into avatars of their times. We think people who live in totalitarian dystopias have to be sad and oppressed, while people who live in forward-looking Galactic Empires must obviously be full of zest and adventure. But the truth is clearly much more nuanced than this, and it’s in analyzing this interplay between the personal and the global that MY REAL CHILDREN really has something new and fresh to contribute.

For more info on WICKED WONDERS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story