The latest reviews and mentions of Tachyon titles and authors from around the web
Nicole Kornher-Stace as envisioned by Elizabeth StoryJosh Rountree Photo by Leah MusePatrick O’LearyBrandon Sanderson (Ceridwen via Wikimedia Commons)Clifford Simak
Since the publication of Archivist Wasp in 2015, Nicole Kornher-Stace has whisked readers through a post-apocalypse populated by the ghosts of supersoldiers and the Archivists who catalog what happened in the world before theirs. The followup Latchkey cemented this engaging world and especially its depiction of platonic friendships, written with the care and depth that these relationships deserve. Last year’s somewhat standalone Firebreak expanded the scope of the Archivist Wasp universe, a video game thriller that does Ready Player One one better. And now, Kornher-Stace has brought us another story within that universe: FLIGHT & ANCHOR, following two of that book’s characters (supersoldiers known only as 06 and 22) as twelve-year-olds on a misadventure in a shipping container in a wonderful homage to The Boxcar Children. Watching Kornher-Stace play within her own realms is a delight, and the added nostalgia factor of this book makes it a can’t-miss.
By recounting their past tales of loss and longing, Rountree effectively crafts deep characterizations for each of his cast members and makes you care for their plight, especially during the breathless final act as a colossal hurricane bears down on their Galveston locale.
I was thoroughly taken with this story, Rountree’s writing, and the unique island setting. Definitely add this to your TBRs.
It’s a confusing story, entirely on purpose, in part because of the atemporal arrangement, in part because of the unreliable nested narrators — and maybe mostly because the IFs are confusing period. But it’s fascinating, and compulsively readable, and cumulatively quite moving. O’Leary’s first three novels proved he is a major writer in our field — and 51 shouldn’t change anyone’s mind about that!
Cover by Elizabeth Story
On his Instagram, O’Leary shared a marvelous gift from artist Gary Scott.
An overwhelming present from an artist who felt inspired to sculpt the hidden hero of the tale: 51. Thanks, Gary Scott. Wow.
The other stories are like that as well, and while, these are stories from the 1960’s (maybe some from earlier?) aside from the lack of smartphones and iPads and whatnot, it does not feel as dated as it probably ought to. By giving most of these stories a rural setting, you just don’t expect someone to say, “Oh, hang on, I’ll Google it.”
All told this was a fun set of stories to listen to.
This was superb and I’m in awe of Tidhar’s vision. He’s conjured up a futuristic city that feels simultaneously ultramodern and also run down. The rich histories of the region and its cultures are seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of this fully-realized world.
NEOM is a thoughtful, beautifully written story about what we have, what we want, how we achieve our desires, and what, and whom, are we willing to risk for our own benefit.
This is great! Like CENTRAL STATION, a fascinating blend of huge and tiny ideas; quiet and believable, shot through with vivid oddness, and chock-full of allusion to other works. Highly recommended.
And NEOM tells these stories beautifully, whether that be of the Robot (who probably gets the most time in page-length) and its quest, or of Mariam simply doing her jobs and encountering all these oddities…as well as encountering a man in Nasir who might actually be interested in giving her some company, or of Elias as he learns more about himself and the world…be that friendship, or the strangeness of other humans and creatures, or more. The setting remains utterly delightfully weird at times – Jackals with personality who can talk, strange hermits seemingly on the spectrum in the Desert who live on trade, abandoned spaceships, robots broken apart by war, terror artists creating art through mass destruction, etc. etc. But Tidhar infuses all of these oddball aspects of the setting with depth and life and with such great dialogue such that they’re both delightful to read about and never feel like something artificial and weird just for the sake of being weird.
Lavie Tidhar’s UNHOLY LAND (Tachyon) extrapolates from the historical plan to establish Israel in east Africa rather than Palestine. It’s a gripping thriller: clever, bloody, ironic and twisted.
UNHOLY LAND is a stunning achievement. It is packed to the brim with engaging ideas and features a captivating story that I could not stop puzzling over. There is such an ethereal and intoxicating quality to the story and Tidhar’s writing that I found myself floating through the chapters, not always sure what was happening, or whose perspective we were seeing, but knowing that I wanted to keep reading. The intersecting story threads twisted my brain into a pretzel and I loved it.
I really enjoyed this book though it baffled me at times. UNHOLY LAND is about a dozen different things at once and I never really knew what to expect. In one breath I was reading a noir mystery then the next page I was caught up in an alternate history and before I could say WTF I found myself reading about multiple earths. This is truly remarkable and unique book. I had no idea what was going to happen or where the author was going to lead (or drag me) next.This is a truly unique and interesting reading experience. I loved every page.I definitely want to read more by this author.
Tidhar’s latest is a challenging but ultimately satisfying read that deals with histories, both real and imagined.
Reading a Lavie Tidhar book is like being in a fever dream. Events, characters, places and impressions swirl around you, creating a sense of unease, or confusion, or sadness. Tidhar pieces the parts of his stories together with magical thread, and connections which seem tenuous at first turn out to make sense later on. I’m in awe of his writing abilities, and although this book may be classified as speculative fiction, I can see this sitting comfortably on a shelf alongside more traditional literary works.
For more info on UNHOLY LAND, visit the Tachyon page.
