In celebration of the release of Peter S. Beagle’s THE OVERNEATH, Tachyon presents glimpses from some of the volume’s magnificent tales.
This week’s previews included
Last week’s previews can be seen here.
For more info on THE OVERNEATH, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
In celebration of the release of Peter S. Beagle’s THE OVERNEATH, Tachyon presents glimpses from some of the volume’s magnificent tales.
by Peter S. Beagle
There
was a judge once in south China, a long time ago—during the reign
of the Emperor Yao, it was—named Kao Yu. He was stern in his
rulings, but fair and patient, and all but legendary for his honesty;
it would have been a foolish criminal—or, yes, even a misguided
Emperor—who attempted to bribe or coerce Kao Yu. Of early middle
years, he was stocky and wide-shouldered, if a little plump, and the
features of his face were strong and striking, even if his hairline
was retreating just a trifle. He was respected by all, and feared by
those who should have feared him—what more can one ask from a judge
even now? But this is a story about a case in which he came to
feel—rightly or no—that he
was the one on trial.
Kao
Yu’s own wisdom and long experience generally governed his
considerations in court, and his eventual rulings. But he was unique
among all other judges in all of China in that when a problem came
down to a matter of good versus evil—in a murder case, most often,
or arson, or rape (which Kao Yu particularly despised)—he would
often submit that problem to the judgment of a unicorn.
Now
the chi-lin,
the Chinese unicorn, is not only an altogether
different species from the white European variety and the menacing
Persian karkadann; it is also a different matter
in its essence from either one. Apart from its singular physical
appearance—indeed, there are scholars who claim that the chi-lin
is no unicorn at all, but some sort of mystical dragon-horse, given
its multicolored coat and the curious configuration of its head and
body—this marvelous being is considered one of the Four Superior
Animals of good omen, the others being the phoenix, the turtle, and
the dragon itself. It is the rarest of the unicorns, appearing as a
rule only during the reign of a benign Emperor enjoying the Mandate
of Heaven. As a result, China has often gone generation after weary
generation without so much as a glimpse of a chi-lin.
This has contributed greatly to making the Chinese
the patient, enduring people they are. It has also toppled thrones.
But
in the days of Judge Kao Yu, at least one chi-lin
was so far from being invisible as to appear in his court from time
to time, to aid him in arriving at certain decisions. Why he should
have been chosen—and at the very beginning of his career—he could
never understand, for he was a deeply humble person, and would have
regarded himself as blessed far beyond his deservings merely to have
seen a chi-lin
at a great distance. Yet so it was; and, further,
the enchanted creature always seemed to know when he was facing a
distinctly troublesome problem. It is well-known that the chi-lin,
while wondrously gentle, will suffer no least dishonesty in its
presence, and will instantly gore to death anyone whom it knows to be
guilty. Judge Kao Yu, it must be said, always found himself a little
nervous when the sudden smell of a golden summer meadow announced
unmistakably the approach of the unicorn. As righteous a man as he
was, even he had a certain difficulty in looking directly into the
clear dark eyes of the chi-lin.
For more info on THE OVERNEATH, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
Photo: Rina Weisman
For LIBRARY JOURNAL, Megan M. McArdle praises Peter S. Beagle’s THE OVERNEATH.
In this latest collection from Beagle, readers will enjoy 13 stories, mostly reprints, including two pieces featuring Schmendrick, the magician from his most famous novel, The Last Unicorn.
<snip>
For fantasy fans, Beagle should be a staple, and while the anthology Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle gathers many of the stories of his early career, this volume proves he is still creating plenty of great short fiction.
On the B&N SCI-FI & FANTASY BLOG, Jim Killen includes the collection among The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of November 2017.
This collection of short stories from the legendary author of The Last Unicorn spans the world, reminding readers that magic, and magical creatures, are not always mere objects of wonder—they can be dangerous. In these stories, a traveler discovers a way to enter the shadow universe of the Overneath, an inventor hears mysterious voices on his first-ever wireless sound transmitter, and a team of government agents conduct a raid on a drug operation deep in the woods and discover the criminals are using dragons as security. These 13 stories explore universal themes of love and adventure, with the trademark wry humor and heartfelt emotion that Beagle is known for.
Artur Nowrot at WYSZNUPANE enjoys the book.
Unicorns are a recurring motif for Beagle (they feature, in very different versions, in three stories in this collection), so it seems fitting that one appears at the very end. Olfert Dapper’s Day starts as a story (a very good one, although a big part of that might be my predisposition to like stories about conmen) – and then, at some point, with the appearance of the unicorn, the story seems to transform into a tale of a man who, if not exactly bad, was never particularly good, and who suddenly has to use his one true talent – lying – not to serve himself but to save another person. In the end, he loses something, gains something, and I felt that he will never be the same again, although it would be hard to define how exactly was he changed.
This is one of the stories that demonstrate what I love about Beagle best: his characters are often weak and failing, yet all the more heroic when, through chance or grace, they manage to rise to the trials that stand before them. At his best, he opens your heart up and, through his writing, makes you want to speak in poetry. And that’s exactly what happens when you read THE OVERNEATH.
TOR.COM reprints “The Story of Kao Yu.”
We’re pleased to reprint “The Story of Kao Yu”, a fantasy short story by the legendary Peter S. Beagle which tells of an aging judge traveling through rural China and of a criminal he encounters. Originally published on Tor.com in December 2016, “The Story of Kao Yu” is now collected in Beagle’s THE OVERNEATH, available November 14th from Tachyon Publications.
Of the story, Beagle says it “comes out of a lifelong fascination with Asian legendry—Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Indonesian—all drawn from cultures where storytelling, in one form of another, remains a living art. As a young writer I loved everything from Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries to Lafcadio Hearn’s translations of Japanese fairytales and many lesser-known fantasies. Like my story ‘The Tale of Junko and Sayuri,’ ‘The Story of Kao Yu’ is a respectful imitation of an ancient style, and never pretends to be anything else. But I wrote it with great care and love, and I’m still proud of it.”
Art: Alyssa Winans
There was a judge once in south China, a long time ago—during the reign of the Emperor Yao, it was—named Kao Yu. He was stern in his rulings, but fair and patient, and all but legendary for his honesty; it would have been a foolish criminal—or, yes, even a misguided Emperor—who attempted to bribe or coerce Kao Yu. Of early middle years, he was stocky and wideshouldered, if a little plump, and the features of his face were strong and striking, even if his hairline was retreating just a trifle. He was respected by all, and feared by those who should have feared him—what more can one ask from a judge even now? But this is a story about a case in which he came to feel—rightly or no—that he was the one on trial.
Kao Yu’s own wisdom and long experience generally governed his considerations in court, and his eventual rulings. But he was uniquely different from all other judges in all of China, in that when a problem came down to a matter of good versus evil—in a murder case, most often, or arson, or rape (which Kao Yu particularly despised), he would often submit that problem to the judgment of a unicorn.
For more info on THE OVERNEATH, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
Photo: Rina Weisman
SHELF TALK, the Seattle Public Library blog, includes Peter S. Beagle’s SUMMERLONG among their best of the year.
Best known for the fantasy classic THE LAST UNICORN, Beagle returns with a subtle fantasy set on a fictional island in the Pacific Northwest. An older couple who are long-time lovers take a young woman under their wing only to discover that she is not who she pretends to be. Who she is and what she represents will change their lives forever.
SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME raves about Beagle’s forthcoming IN CALABRIA.
IN CALABRIA is a gorgeous story shaped with elegant prose and stunning imagery. In Bianchi we have a very human protagonist who shifts and changes bit by bit as the story progresses. Once could say all the changes are a result of contact with the unicorn. It is this reader’s opinion that the unicorn might be the catalyst, but Bianchi grows through his own volition. Its an ancient story, humans changing after meeting a unicorn. Beagle has provided a modern incarnation of the tale, and it is a much needed bit of beauty and quiet joy.
It is a unicorn story. It is a coming of age story. It is a story of forgiveness and a story of love. IN CALABRIA will speak to each and every reader that ventures through its pages.
TOR.COM publishes the new Beagle fiction “The Story of Kao Yu.”
“The Story of Kao Yu” is a new fantasy short story by the legendary Peter S. Beagle which tells of an aging judge traveling through rural China and of a criminal he encounters. Of the story, Beagle says it “comes out of a lifelong fascination with Asian legendry — Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Indonesian — all drawn from cultures where storytelling, in one form of another, remains a living art. As a young writer I loved everything from Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries to Lafcadio Hearn’s translations of Japanese fairytales and many lesser-known fantasies. Like my story ‘The Tale of Junko and Sayuri,’ ‘The Story of Kao Yu’ is a respectful imitation of an ancient style, and never pretends to be anything else. But I wrote it with great care and love, and I’m still proud of it.“
Art copyright © 2016 by Alyssa Winans
For more info on SUMMERLONG, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Magdalena Korzeniewska
Design by Elizabeth Story
For more info about IN CALABRIA, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover design by Elizabeth Story
