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

Alastair Reynolds (Photo: Barbera Bella), Hannu Rajaniemi (Uránia Filmszínház), Peter Watts (Inhabitat), Bruce Sterling and Rudy Rucker (RudyRucker.com)

On his eponymous site, Paul Grenyer praises Alastair Reynolds’ Hugo nominated SLOW BULLETS.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be able to say that, in my opinion, Alastair Reynolds is back on form! Slow Bullets is a very short book and it’s written in the first person, which isn’t my favourite style, but that’s about the only criticism I have of it.

The story is great, well thought out and very much of our time and what could happen in the future as we rely more and more on electronic storage of data.

Hannu Rajaniemi’s short story “The Haunting of Apollo A7LB,” which first appeared in HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION is nominated for the WSFA Small Press Award.

The WSFA Small Press Award honors the efforts of small press publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area of speculative fiction. The award showcases the best original short fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2015). An unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with the identity of the author (and publisher) hidden so that the final choice is based solely on the quality of the story.

• “The Art of
  Deception” by Stephanie Burgis, published in INSERT TITLE HERE,
  edited by Tehani Wessely (Fablecroft Publishing, April 2015)
• “Burn Her”
  by Tanith Lee, published in DANCING THROUGH THE FIRE, edited by Ian
  Randal Strock (Fantastic Books, September 2015)
• “Cat Pictures
  Please” by Naomi Kritzer, published in CLARKESWORLD MAGAZINE,
  edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace (January 2015)
• “The Empress in
  Her Glory” by Robert Reed, published in CLARKESWORLD MAGAZINE,
  edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace (April 2015)
• “The Haunting
  of Apollo A7LB” by Hannu Rajaniemi, published in HANNU
  RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION, edited by Hannu Rajaniemi (Tachyon
  Publications, May 2015)
• “Headspace”
  by Beth Cato, published in CATS IN SPACE, edited by Elektra Hammond
  (Paper Golem LLC, December 2015)
• “Leashing the
  Muse” by Larry Hodges, published in SPACE AND TIME MAGAZINE,
  edited by Hildy Silverman (May 2015)
• “Leftovers”
  by Leona Wisoker, published in CATS IN SPACE, edited by Elektra
  Hammond (Paper Golem LLC, December 2015)
• “Today I Am
  Paul,” by Martin L. Shoemaker, published in CLARKESWORLD
  MAGAZINE, edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace (August 2015)

Congrats to all the nominees.

Matt Cates of OMNI includes Peter Watts among his Greatest Sci-Fi Authors of All Time.

Peter Watts has a knack for describing the darkly profound. He’s also pretty keen on marketing, having made the risky move to give away his work for free under Creative Commons rather than see it wither unsold. This bold move gained him an invigorating dose of much-needed exposure which kept him going, and soon he was able apply those PhD smarts of his to even greater literary achievements. Writing of the deep sea and its inhabitants with the expertise of a marine mammal biologist (which he is), Watts was able to deftly submerge (some might say “drown”) his readers in a totally immersive and, at times, claustrophobic experience. Sometimes jestingly castigated for his bleak tone of prose, one thing Watts never gets criticized for is lack of imagination…or attention to spellbinding detail.

Illustratation by Richie Pope

TOR.COM features “Totem Poles,” a new story by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling.

Dirt Complaining and Dirt Harkening were a long-buried married couple.

“I haven’t minded being dead one bit,” said Dirt Complaining. “But now we’ve got space aliens nosing around. And they’re curious about totem poles? Why did you men even make those things?”

“We were great artists,” said Dirt Harkening.

“Fools conjuring up cosmic forces.”

“I miss potlatch,” said Dirt Harkening. “That’s what I’ve missed most, down here in the Earth’s dirt.”

“Potlatch again,” said Dirt Complaining. “Ha! All you big chiefs, pretending to be above all wealth, so spiritual, so potent! Whose robes and amulets were you burning and throwing into the sea? Women’s crafts, women’s treasures!”

“Easy come, easy go,” said Dirt Harkening. “With flying saucers in the sky, our whole Earth is in play. But come what may, dear wife—our squabbles don’t matter anymore.”

“The heirs of our dead flesh still walk the Earth, husband.”

“The living take no account of us. People have forgotten that sacred truth was captured in the mighty symbolism of our totem poles. Even though the saucers understand.”

“Your totem poles were vulgar,” said Dirt Complaining. “Big phallic brags !”

“We artists like that sort of thing. A totem pole that stands up good and stiff—very fine.”

“Let’s see how this ends,” said Dirt Complaining.

For more info about SLOW BULLETS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Thomas Canty

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Lius Lasahido

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about BEYOND THE RIFT, visit the Tachyon page

Cover art by Hugh Sicotte

Design by Elizabeth Story