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

Lauren Beukes (image: LaurenBeukes.com), Michael Moorcock, and Michael J. Sullivan

At DRUNK IN A GRAVEYARD, Robin Goodfellow, in one of the more unusal reviews, praises Lauren Beukes’ debut collection SLIPPING: STORIES, ESSAYS, & OTHER WRITING.

Now, let’s get nerdy, because..  I love short stories.  Love them.  For someone who is as busy as I am, the time management center of my brain allows me to more readily digest short fiction and non-fiction because I don’t have to sink hours into getting the story moving, and any author worth a Raymond Carver, knows the value of crafting a perfect short.

Short stories are harder than novels, I think.  You have to say what you’re going to say in a smaller scale, and in order for short stories to punch you in the cunt, you really have to be succinct.  Succinct is not a talent that a lot of writers have. Let me tell you right here, Lauren Beukes has this particular talent in spades.

The stories range from punk dystopic science fiction, to vaguely threatening, to seriously threatening, to murder, and to a deep resonating poignancy and longing that connects each.

One essay stands out for me in stark brutal truth and that is the piece, “All the Pretty Corpses”, and it stands in part as some explanation for the ideas behind “The Shining Girls”, why the violence in the book is so brutal and Beukes’s own thoughts on why she wrote “The Shining Girls”..  This is very cool and an intimate look at subjects that aren’t often discussed.  Beukes discloses a personal story upon the murder of her friend..  an actual murder, discussed in plain language, real brutality and tangible tragedy.  This story punched me in the face and knocked the wind out of me at the same time as it wove a knot into my throat.

My best friend was murdered in 2006.  The experience lingers on my psyche like perfume and cigarette smoke to my going out clothes.  The truth and reality behind what is said in this piece is so very relatable and heart breaking.  I KNEW there was a reason that “The Shining Girls” had drawn me so deeply to it, and this really explains that connection.

This piece of information was so honest, so stark and it made me feel connected to this author and the work she is doing.

John O’Neill of BLACK GATE delivers this long overdue retrospective of  THE BEST OF MICHAEL MOORCOCK.

Tachyon Publications released THE BEST OF MICHAEL MOORCOCK, edited by John Davey and Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, back in 2009, and I finally bought a copy last month. I don’t know what took me so long.

Moorcock has an enormous back catalog of fantasy; so vast I’ll never be able to read even a fraction of it. But this book finally gives me the opportunity I’ve wanted for years: to sample the full range of Moorcock’s storytelling craft in one compact volume, with some of his most famous stories — including his famous 1968 Nebula Award winning novella “Behold the Man,” the Elric tale “A Portrait in Ivory,” and the Jerry Cornelius story “The Visible Men.”

The book received rave notices when it first appeared. Bookgasm says it “Serves as a superb introduction to the boundless imagination of this unique and fascinating author,” and The Guardian calls it “A long-overdue retrospective.” And Booklist says it’s “A wild, fascinating batch of stories fairly balancing the fantastic and the nearly ordinary, and showcasing Moorcock’s talent very well.”

Michael J. Sullivan is Kickstarting the graphic novel of his best selling novel THE DEATH OF DULGATH.

Best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan teams up with Dabel Brothers Publishing, artists Max Raynor and Michael Bartolo, comic adaptation writer Derek Ruiz and letterer and production designer Dave Lanphear to bring Riyria to the graphic novel format for the first time. Sullivan’s fantasy novel, THE DEATH OF DULGATH was Kickstarter’s most successful fantasy novel project, and now it will be adapted into a two volume graphic novel series. The story will be lovingly interpreted in the visual form and supported by bonus material that is sure to excite any fan of fantasy who longs for that inside look into the making of the graphic novel.

For more info about SLIPPING: STORIES, ESSAYS, & OTHER WRITING, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Clara Bacou

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about THE BEST OF MICHAEL MOORCOCK, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Ann Monn