Sam J. Miller Archives - Tachyon Publications

May 1, 2023

Naseem Jamnia, R. B. Lemberg, Sam J. Miller, Lavie Tidhar, and Tachyon itself are 2023 Locus Award finalists

Rick Klaw blog Alistair Reynolds, boys beasts & men, charles vess, Charlie Jane Anders, dreams bigger than heartbreak, eileen gunn, Ellen Datlow, eversion, Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems From the Birdverse, John Joseph Adams, John Picacio, julie dillon, kate elliott, lavie tidhar, locus award finalists, marjorie liu, Naseem Jamnia, neom, night shift, r. b. lemberg, Sam J. Miller, samantha mills, screams from the dark, servant mage, sheila williams, the best american science fiction & fantasy, The Best of World SF: Volume 2, the bruising of qilwa, the night eaters, the unbalancing, uncanny

Locus announced the finalists for the 2023 Locus Awards. NEOM by Lavie Tidhar (alongside the anthology The Best of World SF: Volume 2), THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jaminia, THE UNBALANCING by R. B. Lemberg (alongside their collection Geometries of Belonging), BOYS, BEASTS & MEN by Sam J. Miller, and Tachyon Publications itself all received notices. Previous and forthcoming Tachyon authors, editors, and artists John Joseph Adams, Charlie Jane Anders, Ellen Datlow, Julie Dillon, Kate Elliott, Eileen Gunn, Marjorie Liu, Samantha Mills, John Picacio, Alistair Reynolds, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, Charles Vess, and Sheila Williams were all honored too.

The Locus Awards winners will be announced June 24, 2023, during the in-person Locus Awards Ceremony, held in the historic Nile Hall at Preservation Park in downtown Oakland, California. Join Maggie Tokuda-Hall, our MC for the awards ceremony, and special guest Connie Willis for an entertaining presentation of the awards, plus program items and a catered reception. Additional virtual events include author readings, panels with leading authors, and more. Buy your ticket today!
2023 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists

Neom by Lavie Tidhar — Cover by Elizabeth Story

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Sweep of Stars, Maurice Broaddus (Tor)
The Red Scholar’s Wake, Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz; JABberwocky)
The Spare Man, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor; Solaris UK)
Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf; Picador; HarperCollins Canada)
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)
Goliath, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom)
The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi (Tor; Tor UK)
Eyes of the Void, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US)
NEOM, Lavie Tidhar (Tachyon)
Eversion, Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz; Orbit US)

FANTASY NOVEL

The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison (Tor; Solaris UK)
When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill (Doubleday; Hot Key)
Spear, Nicola Griffith (Tordotcom)
The World We Make, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)
Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)
The Golden Enclaves, Naomi Novik (Del Rey US; Del Rey UK)
Fevered Star, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga; Solaris UK)
Siren Queen, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

HORROR NOVEL

Saturnalia, Stephanie Feldman (Unnamed)
Just Like Home, Sarah Gailey (Tor; Hodder & Stoughton)
Road of Bones, Christopher Golden (St. Martin’s; Titan UK)
The Devil Takes You Home, Gabino Iglesias (Mulholland; Wildfire)
The Fervor, Alma Katsu (Putnam; Titan UK)
Gwendy’s Final Task, Stephen King & Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance; Hodder & Stoughton)
What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK)
Echo, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Nightfire; Hodder & Stoughton)
No Gods for Drowning, Hailey Piper (Agora)
The Pallbearers Club, Paul Tremblay (Morrow; Titan UK)
Sundial, Catriona Ward (Nightfire; Viper)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen; Titan UK)
The Scratch Daughters, H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)
Bloodmarked, Tracy Deonn (McElderry; Simon & Schuster UK)
The Kindred, Alechia Dow (Inkyard)
Bitter, Akwaeke Emezi (Knopf; Faber & Faber)
Unraveller, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan; Amulet 1/23)
Rust in the Root, Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
Lakelore, Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel and Friends)
Ballad & Dagger, Daniel José Older (Hyperion)
An Arrow to the Moon, Emily X.R. Pan (Little, Brown; Orion)

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

FIRST NOVEL

Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree (Cryptid; Tor)
The Hacienda, Isabel Cañas (Berkley)
The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean (Tor; Harper Voyager UK)
THE BRUISING OF QILWA, Naseem Jamnia (Tachyon)
The Ballad of Perilous Graves, Alex Jennings (Redhook; Orbit UK)
THE UNBALANCING, R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
The Bone Orchard, Sara A. Mueller (Tor)
How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu (Morrow; Bloomsbury)
The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler (MCD; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
The Genesis of Misery, Neon Yang (Tor)

NOVELLA

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)
Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances, Aliette de Bodard (JABberwocky)
Servant Mage, Kate Elliott (Tordotcom)
“Bishop’s Opening“, R.S.A Garcia (Clarkesworld 1/22)
A Mirror Mended, Alix E. Harrow (Tordotcom)
Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
Tread of Angels, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga; Solaris UK)
High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robson (Tordotcom)
Ogres, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Solaris)
Into the Riverlands, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

NOVELETTE

“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You“, John Chu (Uncanny 7-8/22)
“Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold“, S.B. Divya (Uncanny 5-6/22)
“Incident at Bear Creek Lodge”, Tananarive Due (Other Terrors)
“Solidity”, Greg Egan (Asimov’s 9-10/22)
“The Six Deaths of the Saint”, Alix E. Harrow (Into Shadow)
“In Mercy, Rain“, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com 7/18/22)
“Falling Off the Edge of the World”, Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s 11-12/22)
“The Sadness Box“, Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld 7/22)
“A Dream of Electric Mothers”, Wole Talabi (Africa Risen)
“The Difference Between Love and Time”, Catherynne M. Valente (Someone in Time)

SHORT STORY

“Give Me English”, Ai Jiang (F&SF 5-6/22)
“The Goldfish Man”, Maureen McHugh (Uncanny 3-4/22)
“Rabbit Test”, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11-12/22)
“Dick Pig”, Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare 1/22)
“Master of Ceremonies“, Frances Ogamba (The Dark 5/22)
“Beginnings”, Kristina Ten (Fantasy 4/22)
“The Coward Who Stole God’s Name”, John Wiswell (Uncanny 5-6/22)
“D.I.Y”, John Wiswell (Tor.com 8/24/22)
“Inheritance “, Hannah Yang (Analog 9-10/22)
“A Monster in the Shape of a Boy”, Hannah Yang (Apex 5/22)

ANTHOLOGY

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, Yu Chen & Regina Kanyu Wang, eds. (Tordotcom)
The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 6, Neil Clarke, ed. (Night Shade)
Screams from the Dark, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Nightfire)
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022, Rebecca Roanhorse & John Joseph Adams, eds. (Mariner)
Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Solaris)
Tomorrow’s Parties: Life in the Anthropocene, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (MIT Press)
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, Sheree Renée Thomas & Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Zelda Knight, eds. (Tor)
Trouble the Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue, Sheree Renée Thomas & Pan Morigan & Troy L. Wiggins, eds. (Third Man)
The Best of World SF: Volume 2, Lavie Tidhar, ed. (Head of Zeus)
The Future is Female! Volume Two: The 1970s, Lisa Yaszek, ed. (Library of America)

COLLECTION

Dark Breakers, C.S.E. Cooney (Mythic Delirium)
Memory’s Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection, James S.A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Night Shift, Eileen Gunn (PM)
Breakable Things, Cassandra Khaw (Undertow)
Geometries of Belonging, R.B. Lemberg (Fairwood)
BOYS, BEASTS & MEN, Sam J. Miller (Tachyon)
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe et al. (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
Illuminations, Alan Moore (Bloomsbury USA; Bloomsbury UK)
Our Fruiting Bodies, Nisi Shawl (Aqueduct)
The Best of Lucius Shepard: Vol. 2, Lucius Shepard (Subterranean)

MAGAZINE

Apex
Asimov’s
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Clarkesworld
F&SF
FIYAH
Lightspeed
Strange Horizons
Tor.com
Uncanny

PUBLISHER

Angry Robot
Gollancz
Harper Voyager
Neon Hemlock
Orbit
Small Beer
Subterranean
Tachyon
Tor
Tordotcom

EDITOR

Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Arley Sorg & Christie Yant
Jonathan Strahan
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
Sheree Renée Thomas
Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
Wendy N. Wagner
Sheila Williams

ARTIST

Tommy Arnold
Rovina Cai
Kinuko Y. Craft
Galen Dara
Julie Dillon
Bob Eggleton
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess
Michael Whelan

NON-FICTION

The Rise of the Cyberzines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1991 to 2020, Mike Ashley (Liverpool University Press)
Fantasy: How It Works, Brian Attebery (Oxford University Press)
An Earnest Blackness, Eugen Bacon (Anti-Oedipus)
Queering SF: Readings, Ritch Calvin (Aqueduct)
Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations on Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature in a Pandemic, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Jembefola)
Charting the Afrofuturist Imaginary in African American Art: The Black Female Fantastic, Elizabeth Carmel Hamilton (Routledge)
The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom, Volume Two: 1940, David Ritter & Daniel Ritter (First Fandom Experience)
Keeping It Unreal: Black Queer Fantasy and Superhero Comics, Darieck Scott (New York University Press)
Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences, Bev Vincent (Epic Ink)
Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography, Rob Wilkins (Doubleday UK)

ILLUSTRATED AND ART BOOK

Visions of Beauty, Dianne Borsini-Burr, ed., art by Kinuko Y. Craft (Borsini-Burr & Imaginary Editions)
Paintings & Drawings of Rowena, Kim DeMulder, art by Rowena (self-published)
The Keeper, Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes, art by Marco Finnegan (Megascope)
In the Black Fantastic, Ekow Eshun (Thames & Hudson; MIT Press)
Spectrum Fantastic Art Quarterly Volume Two, Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Spectrum Fantastic Art)
Chivalry, Neil Gaiman, art by Colleen Doran (Dark Horse)
The Night Eaters Book 1: She Eats the Night, Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Abrams ComicArts)
Mother Christmas, Vol 1: The Muse, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, art by Vic Terra (Rosarium)
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, George Orwell, art by Omar Rayyan (Suntup)
Creature: Paintings, Drawings, and Reflections, Shaun Tan (Walker Studio UK; Windy Hollow; Levine Querido)

February 1, 2023

2023 Locus Recommended Reading List includes titles by Naseem Jamnia, R. B. Lemberg, Sam J. Miller, Patrick O’Leary, and Lavie Tidhar

Rick Klaw blog 51, boys beasts & men, lavie tidhar, Naseem Jamnia, neom, Patrick O'Leary, r. b. lemberg, Sam J. Miller, the bruising of qilwa, the unbalancing

LOCUS released their annual recommended reading list. Tachyon is proud to have several selections including Naseem Jamnia’s THE BRUISING OF QILWA, R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING (also for Geometries of Belonging), Sam J. Miller’s BOYS, BEASTS & MEN and the original story from that collection “Sun in an Empty Room” (also for “Iconophobe” and Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy), Patrick O’Leary’s 51, and Lavie Tidhar’s NEOM (also for The Best of World SF: Volume 2 and “It Happened in ‘Loontown'”).

Other Tachyon authors and editors receiving notice include Charlie Jane Anders, Ellen Datlow, Daryl Gregory, Eileen Gunn, John Kessel, Marjorie Liu, and Alastair Reynolds.

Congrats to all.

Choose your favorites by voting in the 2022 Poll & Survey. The Poll decides the winners of the Locus Awards, presented in June 2023 at the Locus Awards Weekend, and is open to all.

January 5, 2023

Tachyon and Humble Bundle combine forces for Sanderson, Liu, Sterling and More Great SF&F bundle in support of Gameheads

Rick Klaw blog brandon sanderson, bruce sterling, Carrie Vaughn, daniel pinkwater, david liss, Ellen Datlow, elly bangs, gameheads, humble bundle, Jane Yolen, josh rountree, kimberly unger, lavie tidhar, marjorie liu, Naseem Jamnia, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Patrick O’Leary, r. b. lemberg, Sam J. Miller, tobias buckell

We’ve partnered with Humble Bundle for Sanderson, Liu, Yolen and More Great SF&F bundle with award-winning, acclaimed books from Brandon Sanderson, Marjorie Liu, Jane Yolen, Elly Bangs, Tobias Buckell, Ellen Datlow, David Ebenbach, Naseem Jamnia, Nicole Kornher-Stace, R. B. Lemberg, David Liss, Sam J. Miller, Patrick O’Leary, Daniel Pinkwater, Josh Rountree, Bruce Sterling, Lavie Tidhar, Kimberly Unger, and Carrie Vaughn.

Includes a HUMBLE BUNDLE EXCLUSIVE: The not-for-sale anywhere digital version of Brandon Sanderson’s THE EMPEROR’S SOUL: 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

Portions of this Bundle’s proceeds will go to the your purchase will support Gamesheads.

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

Cover art by Sana Takeda
Design by Elizabeth Story

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