the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler

October 5, 2022

Tachyon tidbits featuring Naseem Jamnia, Marjorie Liu, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and Jacob Weisman & David Sandner

Rick Klaw blog alan brown, andrew wheeler, Caren Gussoff Sumption, David Sandner, hellhounds, jacob weisman, kimberly unger, Locus, marjorie liu, Naseem Jamnia, sam j miller, stanley g weinbaum, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the black flame, the bruising of qilwa, the extractionist, the tangleroot palace, tor.com, Veronika Groke

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

**In their Reading Round-up, There’s Always Room for One More has complimentary things to say about THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia.**

THE BRUISING OF QILWA was one of the best reading experiences of my entire life, thanks to an annotated proof courtesy of author Naseem Jamnia (hands-down the best giveaway ever). There’s so much world-building and character packed into this novella, it was amazing to explore it with the author sitting at my side (figuratively speaking).

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

Veronika Groke on their eponymous site praises Marjorie Liu’s THE TANGLEROOT PALACE.

Along with her remarkable versatility as a writer, it is above all this ability to make her readers question the seemingly obvious that sets Liu’s stories apart from others of the same kind. Liu doesn’t do twist endings as much as stories that are twisted all the way through, like the branches in the eponymous Tangleroot Forest. Yet while Liu’s characters may occasionally get lost in the woods, her storylines never do. Charming and menacing to equal degrees, they confidently invite her readers to follow along and embrace the darkness within.

Cover art by Sana Takeda
Design by Elizabeth Story

For Tor.com, Alan Brown enjoys Stanley G. Weinbaum’s THE BLACK FLAME.

THE BLACK FLAME was a rare tale for its time. Despite being set in the far future, at its heart it is a love story, a tale of a man torn between two women: Evanie, a young woman from a small town, and the beautiful, talented, and immortal Margaret of Urbs, the sister of the Master who rules mankind. But the book is also full of interesting speculation regarding a post-apocalyptic future, the impact of immortality, and more than a little action and adventure.

**Andrew Wheeler on his The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. writes about David Sander and Jacob Weisman’s sequel to Mingus Fingers, Hellhounds.**

These books sound deeply weird in the best ways; I again insist that I will find time to read them.

October 1, 2019

Tachyon tidbits featuring Caitlín R. Kiernan, Joe R. Lansdale, Jacob Weisman, and David Sandner

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, apb-sal, Caitlín R. Kiernan, cold in july, David Sandner, elizabeth story, hannes hummel, jacob weisman, Joe R. Lansdale, kathryn adams, mingus fingers, pixelated geek, review, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the very best of caitlin r kiernan, trent walters

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

Caitlín R. Kiernan (photo: Kyle Cassidy, Joe R. Lansdale (Karen Lansdale), and David Sandner & Jacob Weisman (James Patrick Kelly)

Kathryn Adams at PIXELATED GEEK is amazed by THE VERY BEST OF CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN.

There’s literally nothing out there quite like Kiernan’s stories, and
they’re dazzling. I came up from most of these blinking and disoriented
and not at all sure what I’d just read.

On APB-SAL, Trent Walters discusses both the book and movie versions of Joe R. Lansdale’s COLD IN JULY.

The movie has a more visceral motive to launch the boys into
a vigilante story. The protagonist and I had to turn our heads. Still, for the
most part, the narrative and themes are intact. Both are worth checking out.

Andrew Wheeler on his THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G. B. H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT is looking forward to David Sandner and Jacob Weisman’s Mingus Fingers.

I’ll lead with the quirkiest thing, since that’s how I roll: Mingus Fingers by
David Sandner and Jacob Weisman, coming from Fairwood Press in
November. It’s a short, small-format book – probably a novellette –
and the speculative element seems to be,um, unique.

For more info about THE VERY BEST OF CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Hannes Hummel
Design by Elizabeth Story

For more about COLD IN JULY, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

August 13, 2019

Lavie Tidhar’s wonderful THE VIOLENT CENTURY lingers in the mind long after the reading

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized ama, andrew wheeler, b&n sci-fi & fantasy blog, bill capossere, drawing center, dreams of elvex, factor daily, fantasy literature, gautham shenoy, lavie tidhar, lucas adams, reddit, review, sarah anne langton, superhero, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the new york review of books, the violent century, unholy land

The first US paperback edition of Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY excites reviewers and fans.

Bill Capossere’s 5 star review for FANTASY LITERATURE:

THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a wonderfully constructed, crafted work that bears a great emotional weight even as it raises more intellectual questions. It’s the kind of work that lingers in the mind long after the reading and leaves the reader unsettled as they roll ideas over and over in their head. Just as good fiction should do.

The Spanish site DREAMS OF ELVEX:

In short: a fantastic superhero story, with a very comiquera structure, with a lot of rhythm and with very original situations. Too bad that some of the story arcs are not as good as others and the rhythm suffers. I see the structure as ideal for an audiovisual adaptation, and I hope that some editorial will consider its translation. For my part I will continue pending the work of this fantastic writer.

(Translation courtesy of Google)

B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG:

World Fantasy Award-winner Lavie Tidhar blends the superhero and spy genres in this dark, high-energy epic of alternate 20th century history, originally released in 2015.

Andrew Wheeler at his THE ANITCK MUSINGS OF G.B.H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT. praises the Sarah Anne Langton cover.

As a bonus, for those of you who suffer massive anxiety, like a certain former New York Times SF reviewer, about reading garishly-covered genre fiction on the train, THE VIOLENT CENTURY has an exceptionally classy cover that only just hints at the fantastic elements inside.

At FACTOR DAILY, Gautham Shenoy lists 5 superhero novels for people who love comics (or don’t).

Grim, melancholy and brilliantly written, THE VIOLENT CENTURY – filled with clever cameos and replete with keen observations on humanity and heroes – is not an easy read. Yet, it is a book that rewards the reader for sticking with it till the end.

Lavie participated in a VIOLENT CENTURY-centric REDDIT AMA.

PristineEnthusiasm
I loved The Violent Century – who were your favorite superheros, and will you write more about my favorite, Spit?

Lavie_wuz_here
AMA Author
Everyone likes Spit the best!

I have this loosely planned semi-sequel that does focus on Spit, and there’s a handful of short stories so far. She’s so much fun to write – I like kind of falling back into that world from time to time. Oh, there’s one here: Heroes. But I have so much on and I never seem to quite get around to doing the rest of them. There’s a fun one about these really horrible British supermen that I started recently, that makes me laugh. So hopefully one day…

(and yeah, I guess I like Spit the most, too! It’s such a ridiculous superpower).

And finally an unexpected mention of Lavie’s most recent original novel UNHOLY LAND, courtesy of THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS (reported by Lucas Adams) coverage of “As If: Alternative Histories From Then to Now,” an exhibition at the Drawing Center.

Beyond the accompanying zine, the exhibit doesn’t have a catalog, but outside the Drawing Center it’s easier than ever to find authors plumbing the depths of imagined paths, with new thoughts on the ways we’ve lived and continue to: Lavie Tidhar’s UNHOLY LAND, which envisions a Zionist homeland in Uganda, and K. Chess’s Famous Men Who Never Lived, about a community of refugees forced to flee from their dimension to ours after a cataclysm, both capture the uncertainty and sorrow of our moment.

For more info about THE VIOLENT CENTURY, visit the Tachyon page.

For more info on UNHOLY LAND, visit the Tachyon page.

Covers by Sarah Anne Langton

June 13, 2018

Tachyon tidbits featuring Jane Yolen, James Morrow, Jeff VanderMeer, Patricia A. McKillip, and Pat Murphy

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, austin farmer, booklife: strategies and survival tips for the 21st century writer, elizabeth story, how to fracture a fairy tale, instagram, james davis nicoll, James Morrow, Jane Yolen, jeff vandermeer, john coulthart, marissa meyer, pat murphy, patricia a mckillip, review, rob alexander, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the asylum of dr caligari, the forgotten beasts of eld, the shadow hunter, Thomas Canty, tor.com

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

Jane Yolen (photo: Jason Stemple), James Morrow, Jeff VanderMeer (Kyle Cassidy), Patricia A. McKillip (Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons), and Pat Murphy (Lawrence Person)

On INSTAGRAM, Marissa Meyer is excited about Jane Yolen’s forthcoming collection HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE.

I am sooo honored and excited to be writing the introduction for Jane Yolen’s newest collection: HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE! I cannot wait to read it!!!

Andrew Wheeler on THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G.B.H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT. praises James Morrow’s Shirley Jackson Award nominee THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI.

Morrow, here as always, has the courage of his convictions and the fervency of his belief to brush aside any concerns about plausibility or reasonableness. Yes, all of the armies of The Great War are funneling through this one small country, detouring on their way to fight each other. Yes, the paintings have mystical power, changing the men who view them forever, for good or ill. Yes, this is the only way to save the world. Yes, the paintings are more than just paint on canvas – they are real worlds of Platonic ideas, with the painting itself just a gateway.

Saying that any of that is too much to swallow is a possible reaction to a Morrow book, of course. But all of his books are entirely too much in the same way, and are too much from their very foundations – it’s like complaining that a novel has named characters who do things in a time sequence. This is a Morrow book, and he’s not about to change now – if you can come along on that journey with him, you will have an fascinating and unique ride.

Austin Farmer on his eponymous site discusses the importance of Jeff VanderMeer’s BOOKLIFE: STRATEGIES AND SURVIVAL TIPS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY WRITER.

How does this tie into BOOKLIFE? In this book, VanderMeer discusses the concepts of a Private Booklife and the Public Booklife. I realized my anxiety prevented me from starting a Public Booklife like this. But now, I’m willing to have a typo or two without a copy editor in a post like this to share such a great resource. This book was probably one of the reasons I started my website in general.

Since reading BOOKLIFE, I feel like I received the encouragement and advice I needed to start sharing more art, connecting with friends online as a fellow writer, and having the confidence to even share a blog post like this. Seriously, go read it. I am so excited to start my Public Booklife with you, and here’s a sincere thank you to Jeff VanderMeer for writing this book.

For TOR.COM, James Davis Nicoll includes Patricia A. McKillip and Pat Murphy in Fighting Erasure: Women SF Writers of the 1970s, Part VII.

At this stage of James’ Tour of Disco-Era Women SF Authors, we have reached M. Certain letters are deficient in authors whose surnames begin with that particular letter. Not so M. There is an abundance of authors whose surnames begin with M. Perhaps an excess. In fact, there are more authors named Murphy than the authors I listed whose names begin with I. Efforts to address this, by providing authors with exciting new initials, perhaps involving the exclamation mark or ampersand, have thus far been greeted with something less than enthusiasm by the powers-that-be.

Patricia A. McKillip is an author I first encountered thanks to my inability to send back the Science Fiction Book Club forms in a timely fashion (the SFBC assumed one wanted each month’s books unless readers actively told them otherwise). So, sloth for the win! Since her 1973 debut novel The House on Parchment Street, McKillip has written over two dozen novels, garnering World Fantasy Awards, Balrog Awards, Mythopoeic Awards, the Endeavour Award, as well as too many nominations to mention. 1974’s dreamlike fairy tale THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD won the following year’s World Fantasy Award, and contemporary readers can enjoy the recent Tachyon reprint.

As established elsewhere, my favourite James Tiptree, Jr. Award co-founder Pat Murphy’s work is 1999’s There And Back Again, an SFnal reimaging of a certain tale of a reluctant burglar and his diminutive companions. For various reasons, There And Back Again is hard to find. In contrast, Murphy’s 1989 hopeful post-apocalyptic The City Not Long After, which pits a self-aggrandizing warlord bent on conquest against a seemingly defenceless artists’ colony in the ruins of San Francisco, is available from Open Road Media.

For more info on HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info on THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Elizabeth Story

For more info about BOOKLIFE: STRATEGIES AND SURVIVAL TIPS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY WRITER, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by John Coulthart

For more info about THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty

For more info about THE SHADOW HUNTER, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Rob Alexander

January 29, 2018

Jo Walton’s recommended STARLINGS is an eclectic mix of themes and tones that’ll keep you guessing

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, bridget lamonica, den of geek, elizabeth story, excerpt, ficcoes humanas, jo walton, pat's fantasy hotlist, paulo vinicius f dos santos, starlings, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler

Bridget LaMonica for DEN OF GEEK! praises Jo Walton’s STARLINGS.

There were several pieces that really resonated with me. My favorite was the story of a coin, passed from person to person, telling each one’s story as it traveled and giving just enough backstory to flesh out the world in which the story takes place. The world building was admirable and so intriguing that I hope Walton eventually uses it as the backdrop of a future novel. “The Panda Coin” travels between various members in a civilization in space arranged in twelve sectors based on the months of the year. The socio-econonic realities of this world were illustrated by dividing people among classes who tried to move into the warmer “months” where the rent was high and life was better.

There were several short stories that retold fairy tales or mythology, even religious stories. These were always interesting points of view. Although I’ve tired of some of these re-told fairy tales in the past, I have to say Walton’s take on a Snow White prequel was beautifully handled, told from the point of view of a sentient magic mirror.

Walton also uses the tool of science and speculative fiction to provide discussion on topics like pain and loss. In “Joyful and Triumphant: St. Zenobius and the Aliens,” the patron saint of Florence tries to explain Heaven and the need for pain on Earth. One part really hit the nail on the head: “When you’re asked to intercede, when somebody prays to you, they are often asking to be relieved of pain. What you have to ask yourself is whether the pain is necessary for the story.”

That theme of pain is echoed in a later, unrelated story: “A Burden Shared.” It was a fabulous depiction of a world where transferring pain from a loved one to yourself is possible. A separated mother and father share custody of their daughter’s debilitating pain. In this world, it’s easier for someone else to bear another’s pain, than for them to have it themselves. There’s so much weight in the meaning behind this story, and there’s a twist at the end that is so good I can’t give it away.

There’s also a play in the book that’s quite good. “Three Shouts on a Hill” is an amalgamation of myths and legends, all smushed into the same quest story. There is a twist on this story too that must be experienced first hand, though the very end still perplexes me because I expected something a little flashier.

<snip>

I recommend Starlings to lovers of science fiction and fantasy who want bite-sized pieces to enjoy and savor. It’s an eclectic mix of themes and tones, some humorous and some dark, that will keep you guessing.

PAT’S FANTASY HOTLIST runs an excerpt for the collection.

Once upon a time, a courting couple were walking down the lane at twilight, squabbling. “Useless, that’s what you are,” the girl said. “Why, I could make a man every bit as good as you out of two rhymes and a handful of moonshine.”

“I’d like to see you try,” said the man.

So the girl reached up to where the bright silver moon had just risen above the hills and she drew together a handful of moonshine. Then she twisted together two rhymes to run right through it and let it go. There stood a man, in a jacket as violet as the twilight, with buttons as silver as the moon. He didn’t stand there long for them to marvel at him. Off he went down the lane ahead of them, walking and dancing and skipping as he went, off between the hedgerows, far ahead, until he came to the village.

At THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G.B.H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT., Andrew Wheeler discusses the book.

Because STARLINGS is about half stories and half poetry, which those of you allergic to poetry – or who claim that they are, for whatever reason – will want to know. In any case: a new collection of short material from one of our best writers. In trade paperback from Tachyon Publications, available right now.

Paulo Vinicius F. dos Santos of FICCOES HUMANAS includes STARLINGS among Best International Releases of January 2018.

For more info on STARLINGS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

December 6, 2017

Tachyon tidbits featuring Patricia A. McKillip, Peter S. Beagle, Jacob Weisman, Michael Swanwick, and Caitlín R. Kiernan

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, Caitlín R. Kiernan, jacob weisman, michael swanwick, patricia a mckillip, peter s beagle, postcards from the red room, review, robert m. tilendis, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the flutterby room, the forgotten beasts of eld, the green man review, the new voices of fantasy

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

Patricia A. McKillip (photo: Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons), Jacob Weisman & Peter S. Beagle (Jill Roberts), Michael Swanwick (Beth Gwynn), and Caitlín R. Kiernan (Kyle Cassidy/Wikimedia Commons)

For THE GREEN REVIEW, Robert M. Tilendis praises Patricia A. McKillip’s World Fantasy Award-winner THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD.

THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD was the first book by Patricia A. McKillip that I ever read. Two things struck me about it: it was different than any other fantasy I had read to that point, most of which were in the high-minded, seriously heroic mode, but written in “realistic” prose; and it was funny. I didn’t know fantasy could be funny. This was not the almost-tongue-in-cheek of L. Sprague de Camp or of Gordon Dickson’s dragon books, nor the edgy satirical vision of Fritz Leiber, but the result of sharp, contemporary dialogue that betrayed a sympathy for slapstick that came out of nowhere and left you gasping — think of it as the Marx Brothers meet The Fellowship of the Ring.

This is another one of those magical creations by McKillip that ostensibly fits into the young-adult fantasy mold but holds great wealth for adult readers as well. The themes are those that underlie the body of McKillip’s work: love, honesty, and the difficult and confusing business of growing into maturity. In many ways, this one sets the tone for later works: the diction is elliptical; dialogue slides effortlessly between sharp, off-the-wall responses and direct, uninflected poetry; magic is an assumption, evident as much in the telling of events as in anything the characters do; and the characters themselves are deftly and subtly drawn. And, as is usually the case, McKillip manages to pack a huge amount of story into a fairly slim book.

One of the magical things about this one is that it reads like a fairy tale. I’ve only seen a couple of authors pull this kind of thing off, and McKillip is one of them. The story of Sybel, Coren and Tamlorn has much the same quality as the best renderings of folk and fairy tales recorded by the Grimms or created by Andersen, fleshed out into a novel with real, living characters who never lose that feeling of otherness while behaving like normal human beings. (The other who comes to mind is Steven Brust in Brokedown Palace, although his manipulations of the form are equally masterful, but more readily apparent.)

<snip>

If you are familiar with McKillip, this is a good one to read (or reread — it’s on that list). It’s a great starting point for a magnetic and magical writer, and it’s a good way to bring her other works into sharp focus. It’s also a terrific book all by itself.

THE FLUTTERBY ROOM is impressed by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman’s THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY.

THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman is an anthology that collects together nineteen short stories from up and coming writers in the fantasy genre. The collection includes several award winners and whilst most of the stories have appeared in other collections there is an original addition. In this anthology Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman bring together a wide selection of talent, with a broad range of topics – there is something for everyone in this collection – to create a stunning collection that will just draw you in. A perfect way to find new writers in the fantasy genre.

THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY starts with two entries from the editors. The first is an introduction by Jacob Weisman and serves as a summary of the anthology and a bit about why he and Beagle selected the stories. The second is by Peter S, Beagle and he talks about what got him into the fantasy genre, how the genre is changed, and what it’s like to be a fantasy author. I thought this was an interesting and insightful piece and well worth a read. I think Beagle and Weisman did a good job and created an interesting and balanced collection of stories that cover a lot of different voices. It’s definitely one for fans of the fantasy genre to add to their collection.

Andrew Wheeler of THE ANTICK MUSINGS
OF G.B.H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT. regards Michael Swanwick’s work in and NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT in specific as vital and important.

The stories here are mixed SF and fantasy. I felt it tilted towards a fantasy feeling, but that’s in large part because the SF is mostly post-apocalyptic, either part of Swanwick’s “Darger and Surplus” series or similarly motivated, with mysterious superpowerful AIs serving as “gods” and “demons” and along the way proving Arthur C. Clarke’s famous dictum.

More important than genre – for me at least, and I hope for any self-respecting reader as well – is the question of how good the stories are. They’re very good: emotionally resonant, pointed and precise, carefully crafted for maximum impact. Swanwick is one of our best short-story writers, in genre or out of it, and this is yet another example of why.

I don’t read a lot of short fiction these days – I read a lot less of everything than I did, back when I read for a living – so I’m not in any position to say any of you need to read anything in particular. But Swanwick is vital and important and great; if you read SF/fantasy short fiction at all, he’s someone to know and keep track of.

Before the ink even dried on the contract, Caitlín R Kiernan on her POSTCARDS FROM THE RED ROOM blog made this announcement.

Also, I haven’t yet mentioned that Tachyon Publications will be doing a “very best of” collection of my short fiction (approximately 150,000 words), distilled from the two Subterranean Press “best of” volumes, Two Worlds and In Between and Beneath an Oil-Dark Sea. I’ll post more information when I have it. We’ve yet to settle on a Table of Contents.

For more info about THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty

For more info about THE NEW VOICES OF FANTASY, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Camille André

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info on NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

June 16, 2017

With THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, James Morrow spins a great yarn

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, diabolique, elizabeth story, James Morrow, joe karpierz, mt void, see the elephant, sheila m merrit, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the asylum of dr caligari, the cabinet of dr. caligari, william grabowski

Reviews keep rolling in for James Morrow’s THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI.

For SEE THE ELEPHANT, William Grabowski praises the novella.

Morrow’s new novella, THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, is political satire well beyond the legendary 1920 German Expressionist film THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Flinging love-darts at Freud, surrealism, Nietzsche (brilliant madman, or just plain mad?), Picasso, and the intrinsic (or not) value of art, Morrow pulls off that most difficult “trick”: humor rooted in sadness, particularly the type churning beneath history like a black river.

Among the doctor/sorcerer’s covert weapons is a mural-sized painting akin to Picasso’s Guernica, which charges anyone who views it with murderous compulsions. Enter Francis Wyndham, artist, who teaches art therapy at Caligari’s Weizenstaat “clinic,” where patients apparently are urged to enter what can only be described as induced cognitive dissonance—a state worse than that which brought them there. But it’s World War I, and they all could die at any moment. As another great writer once wrote: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

It certainly is in THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, whose entrance might come with a warning: Abandon sanity all ye who enter here—until you cheer up.

Joe Karpierz in MT VOID 05/26/17 (Vol. 35, No. 48) enjoys the book.

Morrow fills the book with a good number of scenes that must have been as fun to write as they were to read: Wyndham and his cohorts watching soldiers of various countries being marched in front of the painting and coming out ready to march to their death for their countries; a similar scene with Wyndham’s and Wessel’s painting, except with the opposite results; and in a bit of storytelling reminiscent of the scene of Dick Van Dyke’s character in Mary Poppins jumping into a painting to do a song and dance, Wyndham and Wessels jump into their painting–with characters there recognizing who Ilona is–to try to stop Caligari’s effort.

The key word in that paragraph is storytelling. Morrow spins a great yarn in this novella. The writing is excellent, the characters come to life on the page and make us care about them, and there is enough magic, psychology, art and romance to keep most readers engaged and interested. Indeed, Morrow injects a good variety of things to think about, and yet the novella doesn’t feel forced when it finally comes to an end–and make no mistake, there is a definite ending here. The ending itself is a bit melancholy; it’s almost as if Morrow is showing us that as with any fictional character, those who live in magical paintings can come to an end too. The ending didn’t leave me wanting for more, but it was a satisfying conclusion to the story and the characters therein.

We’re not looking at a great piece of literature here that will be remembered for decades to come, I think. But what we are talking about is a fun and whimsical story that will keep the reader eagerly turning the pages and being very happy with what they’ve read. A lot of times, that’s all readers really need anyway.

At DIABOLIQUE, Sheila M. Merritt reviews the work.

Despite all the sabotage and machinations, the tale is basically ruminations on philosophical topics. Author Morrow sees the impish humor that exists in political and aesthetic theorizing. He is a crafty wordsmith who likes to hone in on poseurs and pretensions.

THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, published by Tachyon Publications, may mislead devotees of the film because of its title. That could be construed as a faux lure. Readers who are fond of wry esoteric musings will not be disappointed.

Andrew Wheeler of THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G. B. H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT. is excited about THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI.

A big bonus is when it’s a new book by a writer I’ve been reading and loving for decades, of course. Like today – with a new James Morrow short novel from Tachyon.

<snip>

This one is set in 1914, and, yes, it is a retelling of that classic German Expressionist film THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, in prose form. But, in Morrow’s version, the diabolical doctor has created a painting that can brainwash anyone who sees it – and plans to charge governments to use it to turn their solders into perfect soldiers, with no sense of self-preservation. Our hero is a young American painter, and he sounds like a typical Morrow protagonist: noble enough to see something horrible wrong but possibly not strong enough to stop it.

Morrow has always been the great moral writer of the SF field, deeply concerned with the big questions of evil and hatred and death. DR. CALIGARI looks like no exception, and I hope you’ll be as happy to see it as I am.

For more info on THE ASYLUM OF DR. CALIGARI, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Elizabeth Story

June 7, 2017

Tachyon tidbits featuring Patricia A. McKillip, Ellen Datlow, Nalo Hopkinson, and Lauren Beukes

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, chuma hill, electric lit, elizabeth story, Ellen Datlow, falling in love with hominids, finland, lauren beukes, nalo hopkinson, nightmares, nightmares: a new decade of modern horror, nihil, old habits, patricia a mckillip, review, tähtivaeltaja award, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, the forgotten beasts of yeld, the writer web, Thomas Canty, tobias carrol, zoo city

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

Patricia A, McKillip (Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons), Ellen Datlow, Nalo Hopkinson (David Findlay), and Lauren Beukes

For THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G. B. H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT., Andrew Wheeler praises Patricia A. McKillip’s World Fantasy Award-winning novel THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD.

THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD is a remarkable novel to come from such a young person: wise and deep and lucid and crisp, telling a story that contains very large things in a short space, presenting difficult decisions and hard choices without telling the reader how to feel about them. It was the first major fantasy novel in a career full of them, and it reminds me, once again, that I need to read McKillip’s books more often.

THE WRITE WEB enjoys Ellen Datlow’s NIGHTMARES: A NEW DECADE OF MODERN HORROR.

This collection of short stories can be classified as “weird” with horrific spices added into the pot.

It was just that good; and unfortunately (or fortunately), some stories give you pause. Make you cringe. Make you think.

Make you not want to sleep.

I’ve experienced that while reading this book.

Many more stories are diabolical, dreamlike, downright nightmarish and I loved the collection.

Definitely worth the read.

If you’re not scared.

Tobias Carroll at ELECTRIC LIT includes Nalo Hopkinson’s “Old Habits” (in the collection FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS) in 10 Sci-Fi Visions of the Afterlife.

The characters in Nalo Hopkinson’s “Old Habits” all reside in a strange state of life after death: their souls dwell in that most purgatory-like of modern spaces: the shopping mall. The result is a tale that’s both absurdist and tragic, turning familiar sights and spaces into something unsettling, and showing how the mundane can shift into the uncanny depending on the context.

On her own blog, Lauren Beukes reports a new award for her novel ZOO CITY.

Thank you, Finland! Zoo City won the Tähtivaeltaja Award as the best SFF book published in Finland in 2016!

Previous winners include Margaret Atwood, Peter Watts, Gene Wolfe and Hannu Rajaniemi.

For more info about THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty

For more info about NIGHTMARES: A NEW DECADE OF MODERN HORROR, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Nihil

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more information on FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Chuma Hill

Design by Elizabeth Story

April 26, 2017

Memorably fantastic WICKED WONDERS showcases Ellen Klages’ unique way of storytelling

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, elizabeth story, ellen klages, fiction fantastic, nostalgia reader, passing strange, review, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler, wicked wonders

Photo: Scott R. Kline

FICTION FANTASTIC really enjoys Ellen Klages’ WICKED WONDERS.

I really, really enjoyed these stories. Most of them challenged the norm, or what is considered the norm, and I loved the fresh perspectives. The stories themselves are very subtle, in that they don’t carry you away on a torrent of things happening. Instead they let you float along calmly, allowing you to lazily reflect on the surroundings. There’s a little bit of magic in each, and most of them will remind you of a childhood tinged in the sepia tones of memory.

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Although these three stories are the stand-out ones for me, all the other stories were pretty good in their own right, and I’ll probably find myself thinking about them at some point in the future. Klages has a very unique way of telling a story that sneaks up on you and burrows under the layers of your subconscious, ready to pop up when you least expect it. She’s a great writer, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more of her work.

NOSTALGIA READER praises the collection.

I saw this in one of io9’s upcoming release posts, and the stories that were highlighted sounded interesting enough for me to add it to my to-read list. When I saw that NetGalley had a copy, I figured I’d give it a shot, even though I’m not really much of a short story person.

I’m very glad I had the opportunity to read this, though. While there were many stories that were just “okay” or that fell flat for me, the ones that I loved, I absolutely LOVED. Klages has a way with the zeitgeist and atmosphere of the 50s and 60s; even though I did not live through those decades, I felt immediately transported back to that time period. It made me appreciate even more the social conventions that the characters in some of these stories break, and it made the magical stories even more amazing. Klages’ brief Story Notes in the back were also highly enjoyable and they gave a more down-to-earth element to the stories.

Looking over my individual story ratings, I was most drawn to the magical realism stories–most of these reminded me, whether slightly or substantially, of Cat Valente’s Fairyland series. Her style is one of my absolute favorites right now, and I loved getting that vibe from another author, who explores the more day-to-day magical realism, rather than the epic questing type.

I had never read any of Klages’ works before this, but I’m now definitely intrigued to read more of her works; the recent PASSING STRANGE is now high on my to read list.

Again, I’m very glad I read this, and will be rereading a few of my favorite stories again soon–the aesthetic is memorably fantastic.

Andrew Wheeler on THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G.B.H. HORNSWOGGLER, GENT. spotlights the book.

This week, it’s one, which is a nice number: it gives me an excuse to make this post in the first place, lets me pretend I’m giving a spotlight to this one book on purpose, and doesn’t take too much time. If the book itself looks interesting, all the better.

WICKED WONDERS is that book, at least right now. It’s a collection of stories by Ellen Klages, with thirteen pieces of fiction and the true-life story of “The Scary Ham.” (And I am here to tell you I have already read “The Scary Ham,” as I was looking at this book and make preliminary motions at my keyboard. I will tell you no more about it, but it made me want to get into Wicked Wonders more quickly than I otherwise would have.)

It’s a trade paperback from Tachyon, with a classy cover that looks stealthily like whatever dull memoir of a horrible childhood all of those book-club women in your neighborhood are reading right now. Think of it as protective coloration. Read this in public, and everyone will think you’ve got something worthy and classy – and they will be more right than they know.

Do I need to tell you more? I don’t really know Klages – other than running into her a couple of times, back when I was in the SF world more than I am now – and don’t know her work well, either. But I’ve already read one story in this book, and I want to read more. And that’s the core function of a collection: to get you to read one story, and then another. So this book is successful, and you should try it yourself.

For more info on WICKED WONDERS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

March 15, 2017

With two new Peter S. Beagle books within a year, maybe the world isn’t doing so bad, after all

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized andrew wheeler, between human and truth, elizabeth story, in calabria, magdalena korzeniewska, open book society, peter s beagle, review, richard parks, summerlong, the antick musings of g.b.h. hornswoggler

Excitement abounds for Peter S. Beagle’s two most recent books, IN CALABRIA and SUMMERONG.

At THE ANTICK MUSINGS OF G.B.H. HORNSWOLLGGLER, GENT., Andrew Wheeler was thrilled to receive IN CALABRIA.

And the other book is IN CALABRIA from Peter S. Beagle, whose last novel, SUMMERLONG, came out last September. Which means this is the first time Beagle has had two novels within a six-month period since…um………well, ever, as far as I can tell. This is probably a novella, though – like “Lila the Werewolf,” among other things – so you may insert an asterisk if you wish.

IN CALABRIA is out now; it hit stores in February as a hardcover. And it’s a new unicorn story – this one set in the modern world (in Calabria, as the title indicates) and featuring a farmer whose solitary happy life is upended when that unicorn wanders into his life.

Two new Peter Beagle books within a year! Maybe the world isn’t doing so bad, after all.

Richard Parks on his eponymous blog praises SUMMERLONG.

To go into that in any more detail would definitely be a spoiler, because now we’re into the territory of “what the story is actually about,” and that is for the story to tell, so I’ll leave it there. You shouldn’t, though. For those who know, you don’t need me to tell you and you probably read this before I did. For those who don’t…well, would I recommend starting your reading of Peter Beagle with SUMMERLONG? Yes I would, so long as you don’t end there. I started with THE LAST UNICORN, A
FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, and I SEE BY MY OUTFIT. I’m listing all three because, while The Last Unicorn was first, after that I just went looking for anything else I could find. Regardless, whichever one was first isn’t the point, because my first was just an accident of time. SUMMERLONG can be your first. If you’re the right sort of reader, it won’t be your last.

Photo: Rina Weisman

OPEN BOOK SOCIETY enjoys IN CALABRIA.

I was really surprised with IN CALABRIA because I didn’t expect it to like it as much as I liked THE LAST UNICORN. THE LAST UNICORN is one of my favorite childhood books as well as the animated movie, no one else makes unicorns look so elegant, pure, and beautiful than author Peter S. Beagle, and in this new story he reminds fans what a great job he can do when it comes writing about them.

<snip>

There’s several details I liked about the story, such as Claudio’s poems, his conversations with the animals and the postman’s sister, the description of the unicorns and each of their scenes. Claudio lived alone for so long that when the unicorn appears he is reminded that there is more to the world than just the farm.

“If a poem did not tell you immediately what it was about, then, to Claudio Bianchi, it needed more help than a label was likely to provide.”

I recommend IN CALABRIA to those fans of THE LAST UNICORN and fantasy classics; no action scenes, just pure fantasy.

BETWEEN HUMAN AND TRUTH reviews SUMMERLONG.

Though it revolves around the intriguing Lioness Lazos, whose arrival in Puget Sound brings beautiful weather and captivates the inhabitants, at its heart SUMMERLONG is about the formation and dissolution of relationships. The main characters Abe and Joanna have a comfortable relationship, one that seems almost enviable at times, but Lioness’ presence changes them. The characters acknowledge parts of themselves that have been dormant, and they grow as a result. However, they don’t necessarily grow together. This exploration of personal desire is fascinating, though somewhat melancholy.

<snip>

Final verdict: Altogether, SUMMERLONG is a beautifully written novel. It has an intriguing tone that keeps you reading and its characters and the relationships they share stay with you.

For more info about IN CALABRIA, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info on SUMMERLONG, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Magdalena Korzeniewska

Design by Elizabeth Story

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