Tachyon tidbits featuring Lauren Beukes, James Tiptree Jr., and Ellen Klages

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

Lauren Beukes, James Tiptree, Jr., and Ellen Klages (photo: Scott R. Kline)

The French ELBAKIN reviews Lauren Beukes’ must read SLIPPING: STORIES, ESSAYS, & OTHER WRITING.

The “try” part ultimately proves to be just as interesting as the new part, if not more so. Lauren Beukes shows relevant, bubbly, which does not prevent it, once again, to address strong subjects like the genesis of bright or even, more generally, violence against women, as The social context of South Africa, his country.   

Concluding with a “letter” to his daughter as moving as decided, SLIPPING: STORIES, ESSAYS, & OTHER WRITING is a must read for those who loved the novels of Beukes. For others, namely those who would not know it yet, it is a gateway not far from being ideal, but in English, obviously…

8.0 / 10

(Translation from French courtesy of Google)

The BOOK RIOT newsletter “Swords & Spaceships” (Jan 13, 2017) discusses James Tiptree Jr., Joanna Russ, and THE JAMES TIPTREE
AWARD ANTHOLOGY 3
.

LitHub recently published a selection of letters from Alice B. Sheldon as James Tiptree Jr. to Joanna Russ, and I am fascinated. Not least because I love the work of both authors, but because it gives us a look at the charade Sheldon maintained and her reasons for it. My first encounter with Tiptree’s work was “The Girl Who Was Plugged In,” likely via THE JAMES TIPTREE AWARD ANTHOLOGY 3 — [also available in HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOREVERwell worth a read if you haven’t already. As near as I can tell, the letters quoted are from this collection (which does not appear to be digitized, alas).

For the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Gary K. Wolf praises Ellen Klages’ PASSING STRANGE.

Readers often think of science fiction and fantasy in terms of short stories or very long novels, but some of the most exciting work of the past few years has been at the intermediate length of the short novel or novella. Ellen Klages has won awards for her short fiction, but her only two novels have been well-received young-adult historicals. “Passing Strange” is her best adult work to date — partly a meticulously researched portrait of gay life in 1940s San Francisco, partly a magical fantasy about the power of women working together, partly a doomed romance, partly even a tribute to a particular erotic tradition of pulp magazine art.

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

Cover art by Clara Bacou

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about THE JAMES TIPTREE AWARD ANTHOLOGY 3, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by John Berry

For more info about HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOREVER, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by John Picacio