marlene harris

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

June 22, 2022

Naseem Jamnia’s debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA is brilliant and insightful

Rick Klaw blog book riot, interview, Kerry McHugh, library journal, marlene harris, Naseem Jamnia, Rachel Brittian, review, shelf awareness, the bruising of qilwa, the fantasy hive

The forthcoming THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia impressed Marlene Harris in Library Journal (STARRED review), Kerry McHugh at Shelf Awareness, and Rachel Brittian of Book Riot.

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

The delicately interwoven complexity of the story, along with the loving portrait of Firuz and their found family, makes Jamnia’s fantasy puzzler a delight to read. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead.
The Library Journal (*STARRED* review)

Naseem Jamnia’s brilliant and insightful novella, THE BRUISING OF QILWA, explores questions of identity and belonging in a nuanced medical mystery.
Shelf Awareness

Though THE BRUISING OF QILWA is a standalone novella, it is only the first introduction to a larger queernormative, Persian-inspired world Jamnia has stated they hope to explore more of. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Naseem as an editor before, and I’m so thrilled to see their incredible writing being published for others to enjoy.
Book Riot “The Best New Queer SFF for Your TBR”

Photo by Jeramie Lu

The Fantasy Hive interviewed Jamnia.

Welcome to the Hive, Naseem. Let’s start with the basics: tell us about your upcoming debut novella The Bruising of Qilwa – why should readers check it out?

Thanks so much for having me!! The Bruising of Qilwa is a standalone novella introducing my queernormative, Persian-inspired secondary world, and follows Firuz-e Jafari, a nonbinary refugee healer who gets a job at a free clinic in their new home—while hiding their affinity for blood magic, which is dangerous but also misunderstood and stigmatized. The city-state of Qilwa is hit not only with a migrant crisis but also a plague (which the migrants are being blamed for), and Firuz also discovers a disease that seems to be the result of the misuse of blood magic. If Firuz doesn’t figure out what’s going on, both the migrants and the rest of the city will suffer—but they have to do so while battling medical racism and raising both their younger brother and a precocious blood magic user they find on the streets. If you like found family, grumpy caregivers adopting powerful orphans, an all queer and BIPOC cast with nonbinary trans and binary trans mains, scientific magic systems, complicated discussions of colonialism and empire, and quieter slice-of-life stories, then I think you’ll like Qilwa! (Full list of representation and content notes is on my website.)

And for a bit of fun, if you had to describe it in five words?

Queer, Persian, traumatized, bloody, tender 🙂 Up to y’all to put those things together, haha!

October 21, 2020

In their impressive THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, R. B. Lemberg’s poetic mastery evokes Ursula K. LeGuin at her finest

Rick Klaw blog Der Feuervogel aufersteht, marlene harris, r. b. lemberg, reading reality, review, s. e. fleenor, syfy wire, the borrowed bookshelf, the four profound weaves

R. B. Lemberg’s intriguing THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES continues to elicit amazing responses.

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

For SYFY WIRE, S. E. Fleenor praises the novella.

Magic, polyamory, trans solidarity, epic journeys, political intrigue, fear, loss, love, healing, and even Aunt Death all somehow fit — and more impressively come together in a powerful way — in R.B. Lemberg’s new novella THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES.

It is a supremely balanced book, focusing only on the most necessary details to get the story across. In that sense, the book is both ethereal and ephemeral: graceful, delicately wrought, and fleeting. That said, THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES has an incredibly layered plot where we find that nearly every new character is someone our protagonists have met before. To me, though, what really distinguishes this work is how it embraces trans elders as leaders, changemakers, rabble-rousers, and magic users.

THE BORROWED BOOKSHELF agrees.

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES is a short book, probably more around novella length. I’m impressed with how much culture and worldbuilding Lemberg managed to fit in, but it never feels too much. As you follow Uiziya and nen-sasair, you get more understanding into the different cultures they’re from and their own relationships with gender. Among Uiziya’s people, transformation is not shameful and she chose to make her transformation at a young age. Among nen-sasair’s people, transformation is not commonly done publically, and he struggles with his new roles the cloistered world of men after having lived as a trader, wife, mother, and grandmother for so long.

[…]

Recommended for: People who love prose, interesting magic, slow stories, and weaving

DER FEUERVOGEL AUFERSTEHT also recommends the tale.

Lemberg’s writing style is poetic without being impenetrably dense, and it reminds me of Ursula Le Guin’s prose at its finest. (I’m sure RB would be pleased with that comparison! I know that “Stone Telling” is meaningful to them.)

I highly recommend this book. You can find it at all the usual suspects.

Marlene Harris at READING REALITY enjoys the book.

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES has the feel and the sense of a myth in the making, or perhaps a fairy tale. Reading it has filled my head with a weave of more thoughts – profound or otherwise – than one would think that a book this slim would hold between its pages.

It’s the kind of story that, although I’ve finished reading it, I feel like it hasn’t finished with me yet. Perhaps its that the lesson of the fairy tale is still being absorbed.

[…]

Escape Rating A-: I’m all over the map about this one. In the end, I loved it, but the beginning was slow. I think that part of that was because this was my first trip to Birdverse, and it took me a while to get my bearings in it.

Also, the story begins slowly because it feels like it is meant to. Both of the protagonists have spent 40 years not living their truths. That’s a long time to wait for anything, let alone wait to fulfill their dreams. But they’ve been holding themselves back, so it seems natural that it would take them a while to get moving toward a future that they’ve been inching towards at a snail’s pace for so many years.

December 26, 2019

Tachyon tidbits featuring Peter S. Beagle, Jacob Weisman, Avram Davidson, James DeMaiolo, and David Ebenbach

Rick Klaw blog avram davidson, Carrie Vaughn, david ebenbach, hannu rajaniemi, hannukkah lights, how to mars, jacob weisman, james demaiolo, l w currey, library journal, lucy powell, marlene harris, Nancy Kress, npr, peter s beagle, r.b. lemberg, sea change, shoreline of infinity, the boss in the wall, the four profound wevaes, the immortal conquistador, the new voices of science fiction, the unicorn anthology, what lights we have 0

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

Jacob Weisman and Peter Beagle (photo: Jill Roberts)

Lucy Powell for SHORELINE OF INFINITY praises Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman’s THE UNICORN ANTHOLOGY.

A collection of short stories all in some ways about unicorns, this anthology offers readers a variety of different fresh, exciting perspectives and engaging prose on the ages-old, and well known, mythical animal. Whilst there are a myriad of different authors chosen for this work, the collection of voices and styles edited together by Beagle and Weisman all sit seamlessly together, making an anthology that is consistently well-rounded and fresh as you flip from story to story.

Cover by Thomas Canty Design by Elizabeth Story

L.W. Currey is selling the original typed manuscript to Avram Davidson’s THE BOSS IN THE WALL.

A clean copy of a book proposal for a projected novel to be written by Avram Davidson and Grania Davis, based on an unpublished novella by Davidson (later published in a version attributed to Davidson and Davis by Tachyon in 1998) which evolved into an “enormous and unwieldy novel ms” by Davidson completed prior to 1988. The draft history of the earliest versions is a bit tangled. Davidson and Davis were represented by two different literary agents in earlier years. In his notes on the Davidson manuscript archive now in the Texas A&M library, Henry Wessells records an 87 page novella manuscript and a 563 novel manuscript (both unpublished), as well as a third version in collaboration with Grania Davis. So far, no novel version of this work has been published. In the Tachyon version, the text begins with the same line as the present manuscript, but is preceded by a three page prologue not present in this version, and ends with an entirely different line of text.

August 1, 2017

THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY brims with extraordinary tales

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized doreen castellanos, jacob weisman, library journal, marlene harris, peter s beagle, rascunhos, review, the brazen bull, the illustrated page, the new voices of fantasy

With the imminent release of Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman’s recommended THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY, the Internet is abuzz about the anthology.

Peter S. Beagle (photo: Rina Weisman) and Jacob Weisman

For THE BRAZEN BULL, Doreen Castellanos lavishes the book with praise.

With THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY, Jacob Weisman and Peter S. Beagle have composed one of the strongest fantasy anthologies I have read in a long time, brimming with extraordinary tales that range from thought-provoking to spine-tingling.

<snip>

The book opens with Alyssa Wong’s jaw-droppingly powerful and seductive “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers,” (a warning to anyone still using Tindr to find a date), and ends with a mesmerizing reminder of the importance storytelling with Usman T. Malik’s “The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn”.

<snip>

This collection of intoxicating tales dazzles and delights. Sometimes sweet, sometimes seductive, but always satisfying.

THE ILLUSTRATED PAGE enjoys the collection.

★★★★

What a great collection!

THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY is a collection of recent (2010 or later) fantasy short stories by emerging authors, as selected by Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn. I picked the collection up because I already recognized some of the names on the front and adored their work. Turns out some of my favorite short stories were already included!

<snip>

Overall, THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY is a very strong collection and one that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. It is perfect for anyone who looking to discover some of the newest talent in the genre, as well as for anyone who just loves a good story.

Marlene Harris at LIBRARY JOURNAL discusses THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY in her genre spotlight.

Smaller presses, too, are pushing for more inclusivity with stories that represent the broad range of human diversity in terms of culture, race, gender, and sexuality. “Genre publishers are definitely committed to exploring previously unheard perspectives,” notes Jacob Weisman, publisher of Tachyon Publications.

Its August release THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY, coedited by veteran fantasy author Peter S. Beagle and Weisman, features some of the rising stars of the past few years, including Max Gladstone, Sofia Samatar, and Alyssa Wong, as well as introducing other writers of color, LGBTQ authors, and newcomers from outside the United States. “This is directly attributable to more inclusiveness in genre publishing in the short story markets,” explains Weisman. “I firmly believe that these writers will emerge as major [authors] in our field within the next few years.”

The Portuguese RASCUNHOS likes the anthology.

Although it has not appreciated all the stories of equal form, because the styles and sorts are very diverse, this collection has a very high quality narrative. Not all stories feature elements that stand out for originality, but all are well written and structured. They are mostly short stories that have what it takes to get them involved, but without too much detail that breaks the rhythm or imbalances the story. For those interested in upgrading to what has been published recently, that’s a good bet.

(Translation from Portuguese courtesy of Google)

For more info about THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Camille André

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

marlene harris

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

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.

Naseem Jamnia’s debut novella THE BRUISING OF QILWA is brilliant and insightful

The forthcoming THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia impressed Marlene Harris in Library Journal (*STARRED* review), Kerry McHugh at Shelf Awareness, and Rachel Brittian of Book Riot.

The Fantasy Hive interviewed Jamnia.

In their impressive THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, R. B. Lemberg’s poetic mastery evokes Ursula K. LeGuin at her finest

Tachyon tidbits featuring Peter S. Beagle, Jacob Weisman, Avram Davidson, James DeMaiolo, and David Ebenbach

THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY brims with extraordinary tales

The forthcoming THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Samuel R. Delany Fellowship recipient Naseem Jamnia impressed Marlene Harris in Library Journal (STARRED review), Kerry McHugh at Shelf Awareness, and Rachel Brittian of Book Riot.