Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards Archives

October 2, 2023

R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING is satisfying and soothing

Rick Klaw blog Dzherelo (The Source, Fill Your Bookshelf, r b lemberg, Rick reads some books I dunno, Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, the four profound weaves, the magazine of fantasy & science fiction, the skiffy and fanty show, the unbalancing, trish matson

R. B. Lemberg continues to fascinate as evident by recent reviews of THE UNBALANCING by Trish Matson for The Skiffy and Fanty Show, THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES at Fill Your Bookshelf, and their poem “Dzherelo (The Source)” from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (January/February 2023) at Rick reads some books, I dunno. And while Lemberg didn’t win the Subjective Chaos Kind of Award for Best Fantasy novel, THE UNBALANCING snagged a runner-up to winner The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez.

I found R.B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING to be curiously satisfying and soothing, despite my unfamiliarity with the setting and despite the rising tensions felt by the protagonists and their people. I felt drawn to the mythology of Lemberg’s Birdverse and was intrigued by the structure of the Gelle-Geu island society, but most of all, I enjoyed the well-developed characters, their contrasts, and where their interactions led — to a relationship, to magical discoveries, and to a struggle for survival amid upheavals.
The Skiffy and Fanty Show

A pretty standard journey/quest story line made interesting by the atypical (to me) setting and characters. I loved the desert setting and nomadic cultures woven into the story.
Fill Your Bookshelf

“Dzherelo (The Source)” is a poem by R. B. Lemberg, author of THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, one of my favorite books. It is fully as compelling as you would hope.
Rick reads some books, I dunno

August 3, 2023

R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING is a Subjective Chaos Kind of Award (SCKA) finalist

Rick Klaw blog r. b. lemberg, scka, Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, the unbalancing

R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING, the first novel set in their popular Birdverse mythos, is a finalist for the Subjective Chaos Kind of Award (SCKA) Best Fantasy Novel. Winners will be announced this autumn.

The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards has been running since 2018. Created by a group of enthusiastic and dedicated science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction readers, it celebrates the best in genre fiction every year, while acknowledging the subjectivity of our choices. Any traditionally published work may be nominated, but the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards aim to look beyond bestsellers and major publishers to champion titles written by marginalised authors and/or published by independent presses.
WHAT WE ARE

FANTASY FINALISTS

R B Lemberg, THE UNBALANCING (Tachyon Publications)
Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey)

SCIENCE FICTION FINALISTS

Tochi Onyebuchi, Goliath (Tor.com)
Ray Nayler, The Mountain In The Sea (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

BLURRED BOUNDARIES FINALISTS

Okwiri Oduor, Things They Lost (Simon & Schuster)
Lorraine Wilson, The Way The Light Bends (Luna Press)

NOVELLA FINALISTS

Stewart Hotston, The Entropy Of Loss (NewCon Press)
Sam A Miller, Kid Wolf And Kraken Boy (Solaris Books)

SHORT FICTION FINALISTS

Tobi Ogundiran, The Lady Of The Yellow-Painted Library (in Africa Risen, Tor.com)
Leora Spitzer, This Excessive Use Of Pickled Food (Khoreo)

March 15, 2023

R. B. Lemberg’s SCKA 2023 nominee THE UNBALANCING has it all – complex diverse characters, a unique magical system, and so much more

Rick Klaw blog Aquavenatus, autostraddle, Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems From the Birdverse, mi book reviews, r. b. lemberg, reading reality, Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, the unbalancing

Even more love for R. B. Lemberg’s THE UNBALANCING with a Subjective Chaos Kind of Award (SCKA) 2023 for Best Fantasy Award nomination (as reported by Aquavenatus), inclusion in the Autostraddle list Eight Books Across Genres on Queer Autistic Experiences, and reviews from MI Book Reviews and Reading Reality.

It’s time foe the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards for 2023! I was asked to be a judge again; and, this year will be the 3rd year I’ve participated in this speculative awards with other bookbloggers. I’m very excited about this year’s awards and nominees!

Best Fantasy Novel

THE UNBALANCING by R.B. Lemberg
Spear by Nicola Griffith
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Swallow:Efunsetan Aniwura by Ayodele Olofintuade
The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

Subjective Chaos Kind of Award (visit site for category nominees)

One of Autostraddle’s best books of last year, this fantasy novel set in Lemberg’s acclaimed Birdverse features world-building deeply rooted in neurodiversity, queerness, nonbinary identity, and transness. The story follows two lovers, a poet and a starkeeper, as they simultaneously fall for each other while their island home approaches a fated doom. (As you might guess from that description, THE UNBALANCING is a loose retelling of the Atlantis myth). This fantasy book really has it all, from complex diverse characters, a unique magical system, careful explorations of the intersections of queer and neurodivergent identities, romance, lyrical writing, and more!
Autostraddle

At this point Lemberg could just scream and I would probably find it fascinating. They are an amazing creator. Their world is fantastic. I hate magic, because it seems so uncontrolled and saves the day too easily. This book has wild magic, but it isn’t what saves the day (though this is not a spoiler in the way you are thinking, because magic very much does play a major role in the ending.)

One of my favorite parts of this is the way gender and sexuality work. There are so many genders that are just accepted. There is no real fight or discussion. They just are.
MI Book Reviews

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. And I found it in Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems from the Birdverse, a collection of many of the foundational stories of this marvelous place. I’m looking forward to diving in and learning that MORE – and soon!
Reading Reality

March 2, 2021

R. B. Lemberg’s magical THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES is a Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards Nominee

Rick Klaw blog birdverse, dominic walsh, file 770, forest of glory, interview, novellapalooza, r. b. lemberg, review, SciFi Pulse, Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, the four profound weaves, there always room for one more

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE announces the 2021 Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards (SCKA) Nominees, which includes R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES. Congrats to R. B. and all the other nominees.

The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards were the brainchild of C of The Middle Shelf: a celebration of the best works in genre during the previous calendar year – selected, debated and voted on by a panel of book lovers. Panellists may rotate each year and rules may be revised on a regular basis (they’re more like guidelines anyway), but our commitment to chaos and to finding our consensual favourites through good-natured discussion and animated gifs never wavers.

FILE 770’s survey 2020 Novellapalooza includes Lemberg’s acclaimed work.

The narration alternates between the present and the past so skilfully that I never got confused about the timeframes, as the connections between the two are gradually revealed. Refreshingly, the story features older protagonists who are feeling the effects of their age on their physical and mental resources, and it explores the pain of not being able to really be ourselves because the person we love cannot accept and love us as who we truly are.

FOREST OF GLORY feels much the same.

I really love Lemberg’s Birdverse stories so I was very excited to read this novella, which is set in that world. It was really good, featuring trans elders and magical weaving!

Dominic Walsh for SCIFI PULSE interviews R. B. Lemberg.

SFP: Where did the idea for the Birdverse come from?

R. B. Lemberg: I’m often asked this question, but there is no clear answer. I’ve had this world for a long time. It evolved around a character, the linguist Ulín, who is not in any published work but who is in both of my older completed but not published novels. Ulín travels all around Birdverse to study languages that are of little interest to her university superiors. She lost her deepnames (magic) in a tragic semi-accident, and magic is not something she cares about, at least not in the beginning of her arc. When I finally started writing, the world emerged, and I ended publishing stories about other people.

SFP: You mention on your website that you view governments as necessary but problematic. With that in mind, what would an ideal system of government look like to you?

R. B. Lemberg: There is no ideal system of government. All systems of government are problematic and/or become more problematic over time. Self-government in small communities with low scarcity, a strong mutual help ethic, and a strong anti-greed ethic is the closest I can come to imagining a perfect government. But all this comes apart when you have conflict with larger entities, or your community expands, or even within your semi-perfect society for people who do not fit for one reason or