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November 20, 2020

R. B. Lemberg’s dazzling THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES already has established itself as a queer must-read

Rick Klaw blog forest of glory, kris van der voorn, lgbtq reads, r. b. lemberg, review, revuu, the four profound weaves, tumblr

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

In REVUU (Autumn 2020), Kris van der Voorn loves R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES.

A breath of fresh air is blowing through the literary scene, and amidst it is the voice of R.B. Lemberg. This queer, bigender immigrant from Eastern Europe and Israel has taken it upon themselves to force feed the public a beautiful debut masterpiece of inclusivity and diversity: THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES.

[…]

In this stunning debut, Lemberg raises matters that normally would be too sensitive to discuss, had it not been for their own experience with them. Most poignant is their treatment of trans-related topics. In addition to showing the struggle that can exist in a trans person’s life, Lemberg also celebrates the experience of being able to be one’s true self. Lemberg shows this conflict of identity within ‘The Nameless Man’, as he struggles with his former life, but they are delicate with how this experience is portrayed. His story feels like a love letter to the character and his struggles.

[…]

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES already has established itself as a queer must-read. It normalises the notion of same sex and polyamorous love, of genderfluid characters and the use of pronouns other than “he” or “she”. At the same time, it is a book that does so in such a fluent, easily explained manner that no reader would ever feel like they require more knowledge of queer jargon to understand the story. In short: In THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, Lemberg succeeds not only at constructing a fictional world that displays all the most important political points of the LGBTQIA+ community, they did so in a non-threatening and remarkably smart way. The book enacts the commitment to inclusivity it describes. Certainly, it is a debut, and there are some small elements that Lemberg ought to improve upon in future work. For example, they could have been more elaborate on storylines and character development. For a first-time author, however, Lemberg does it so well, and it is exciting to think about what can come after this. They have woven a fairy tale of inclusion that rises to the complexities of our time.

FOREST OF GLORY wants to read the book.

I love Lemberg’s Birdverse stories, so I’m very excited for this novella set in that world! It features trans elders and textiles!

LGBTQ READS offers up recommendations including on for THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES.

https://lgbtqreads.tumblr.com/post/634053609780281344/hi-friend-today-is-my-birthday-if-i-may-id

September 30, 2020

Happy Book Birthday to Daniel Pinkwater’s ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL

Rick Klaw blog aaron renier, adventures of a dwergish girl, book birthday, book trailer, cory doctorow, daniel pinkwater, tachyon publications channel, tumblr 0

Today is the big day as Daniel Pinkwater’s ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL is finally available from all finer booksellers.

Cover by Aaron Renier
Design by Elizabeth Story

At TUMBLR, Cory Doctorow remarks on Pinkwater in general and his latest in particular.

Few authors have had as much influence on my progress as a human being – to say nothing of my writing – as Daniel Pinkwater. The course of my life was profoundly altered by reading Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars in middle school, and I have read dozens of his books since.

I find that many distinctive authors circle themes and plots, like a cannoneer rangefinding with artillery, trying to bullseye some impossible-to-define perfect target. I county myself in that group, and I definitely count Pinkwater there.

I can’t tell you exactly what it is he’s trying to hit, but every book seems to come closer to some irreducible Pinkwaterian ideal, and his latest, Adventures of a Dwergish Girl, is the closest he’s come yet.

Images from ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL by Aaron Renier

I take him to mean that he’s describing the world as he perceives it, not adding any weirdness. We live in a weird place. 2020 certainly proves that hypothesis.

I think there’s something to this – the thing that makes Pinkwater’s work so great is his ability to describe the everyday absurdity in terms that make it clear how weird normalcy is (and vice-versa).

That’s definitely Dwergish Girl’s charm. I read this to my 12 year old, who is way too cool to be getting bedtime stories of her old, irrelevant father’s favorite weird writers.

Every night, she insisted that she didn’t want me to read from it. Every night, she begged for another chapter when I was done (and interrupted repeatedly to ask incisive questions about the Revolutionary war, papaya juice, ghosts, radio announcers, etc).

Pinkwater’s got The Magic (whatever that is) and he keeps getting better at it.

Over at the Tachyon Publications Channel on YouTube, check out the trailer to the book.

September 13, 2016

NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT is Michael Swanwick at the top of his game, the height of his powers

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized elizabeth story, homage, jonathan crowe, manuel preitano, michael swanwick, not so much said the cat, review, strange alliances, tumblr

A pair of new reviews and a humble homage for Michael Swanwick’s full gourmet NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT.

Jonathan Crowe on his eponymous site praises the collection.

It’s hard for me to review Michael Swanwick’s latest collection of short stories, NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT (Tachyon, August 2016), without coming across like a total fangoober. That’s partly because, when it comes to Swanwick’s work, I am a total fangoober, and have been for decades. He’s one of my favourite writers and a literary hero of mine, so I’m primed to like a collection of his — I always have. But it’s also because NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT is such a good collection — far better than any book of its kind has any right to be.

<snip>

Collections like these inevitably have stronger stories and weaker stories, the latter more or less serving to pad out the collection. Here’s the thing: there are no weak stories in NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT. They’re all great. Every last one of them. (I checked this assessment with Jennifer, no small Swanwick fan herself, and she agrees with me.) These 17 stories are all of a very high standard, each infused with emotional insight, clear intelligence, meticulous craft, and the cunning and clever mischief that are Swanwickian hallmarks.

<snip>

The quality of this collection is mind-boggling and has forced me to recalibrate my expectations: I almost have to go back and take one star off my reviews of other short story collections. With NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT Swanwick is at the top of his game, the height of his powers, the insert-whatever cliché-seems-appropriate-here. It’s all the more striking when you consider that at the same point in Isaac Asimov’s career — 36 years after first publication — Asimov published BUY JUPITER AND
OTHER STORIES
(Doubleday, 1975), a collection of feghoots, shaggy dogs and other minor Asimoviana whose prime virtue was that they had not yet been published between boards. But Asimov had largely been phoning it in on the fiction front since the late 1950s. Swanwick has done no such thing: this collection is proof positive of that. Indeed, it is proof that Swanwick, who has spent considerable time talking about the important figures of the science fiction and fantasy field, is one such figure himself — and almost certainly one of our greatest living writers.

If that sounds like fangoobering, so be it.

Photo: Beth Gwinn

STRANGE ALLIANCES enjoyed the book.

These tales are not about writing technique. That looks after itself, chugging away unobtrusively in the background. In NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT it’s the story that’s the thing. Swanick’s stories often tread the type of ground other story makers have trodden (Of Finest Scarlet Was Her Gown, has shades of
THE
MASTER AND MARGARITA), yet it all feels so fresh.

Swanick has an interesting way of telling a story. The framework provides you with plenty of what you are familiar with, then either he slides in the odd anomaly or simply airdrops something extraordinary into the mix, and we’re off.

These are stories of humour, love, subtle or not so subtle-horror and philosophical considerations of life. The styles vary from credible fairy tales, to science fiction by stealth and cyberpunk. Despite the weird and wonderful, this is about humanity in all its guises and expressed so well.

You think you’re getting the kind of hors d’oeuvre many short stories deliver. But settle down, you’re in for a full gourmet meal that makes you feel as if you’ve just enjoyed a novel and lost a friend when you’ve finished it.

On his TUMBLR, Manuel Preitano shared his initial thoughts upon hearing of NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT.

A humble homage to Michael Swanwick’s recent new book. Being a fan of his Darger and Surplus stories, I couldn’t help but picturing this when I heard the title!

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

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

March 17, 2016

Excitement surrounds John Coulthart’s iconic cover to Bruce Sterling’s PIRATE UTOPIA

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized boing boing, bruce sterling, john coulthart, Marty Halpern, More Red Ink, pirate utopia, tumblr, twitter, warren ellis

Even though the book hasn’t been “officially” announced, John Coulthart’s extraordinary cover to Bruce Sterling’s forthcoming PIRATE UTOPIA created some excitement, starting with Sterling’s tumblr post and the Warren Ellis, who delivers the introduction, tweet, and a mention on Marty Halpern’s MORE RED INK.

And there was the post on BOING BOING:

Sterling sez, “A new novella of mine set in an alternate Europe just after the Great War.” I know what I’m doing next Nov. What. A. Cover.

John Coulthart on his FEUILLETON blog talks about the book and thoughts behind the cover.

And
speaking of revolutions… PIRATE UTOPIA is a novel by Bruce Sterling
that will be published by Tachyon later this year. The cover was made
public this week so I can post it here. I’m also designing and
illustrating the interior but it’ll be a while before I can show
off any of the rest of the design, especially since I’m still
working on it. Bruce Sterling is a well-known writer and futurist
(with a small “f”) who was one of the leading cyberpunk authors
in the 1980s; with William Gibson he collaborated on THE DIFFERENCE
ENGINE (1990), an early steampunk novel. PIRATE UTOPIA is shorter and
less ambitious than THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE although both books are
alternate histories, the new title being a dieselpunk affair set in
the Free State of Fiume, (now Rijeka, Croatia) in 1920. The story
concerns the exploits of a torpedo engineer and his gang of rude
mechanics, and features appearances from some real-life characters
whose identities I won’t spoil. It’s a fun book to read, and it’s
great fun to work on. The brief from Tachyon was for a cover design
riffing on classic Soviet propaganda posters, hence the vaguely
Constructivist style. There will be more of the same inside although
I’ve been poring over the works of the Italian Futurists recently,
and borrowing motifs and typographic cues from designers like
Fortunato Depero. Stock up on the Campari for this one.

October 24, 2014

Follow Tachyon for a chance to win the audiobook of the clever and creepy WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY FINE

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized audible, audiobook, constest, daryl gregory, drawing, elizabeth story, facebook, horror, novella, pinterest, rules, tumblr, twitter, we are all completely fine

Thanks to the generosity of Audible.com and the author, we’re giving away (1) copy of the unabridged audiobook of Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine.

To win the audiobook, like the Tachyon Publications Facebook page, follow @tachyonpub on Twitter, follow tachyonpub on Tumblr, and/or follow the Tachyon Publications board on Pinterest between October 24, 2014, noon PST and October 28, 2014, midnight PST. After fulfilling the requirements, you will receive one (1) entry per action into the drawing.

“Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine is bitchin’ fun and as wicked and strange as a motorcycle leap through a ring of fire without your pants on. Loved it.”
—Joe R. Lansdale, author of Cold in July and the Hap and Leonard series

Harrison was the Monster Detective, a storybook hero. Now he’s in his mid-thirties and spends most of his time popping pills and not sleeping. Stan became a minor celebrity after being partially eaten by cannibals. Barbara is haunted by unreadable messages carved upon her bones. Greta may or may not be a mass-murdering arsonist. Martin never takes off his sunglasses. Never. No one believes the extent of their horrific tales, not until they are sought out by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer. What happens when these seemingly-insane outcasts form a support group? Together they must discover which monsters they face are within—and which are lurking in plain sight.

“[STARRED REVIEW] This complex novel—scathingly funny, horrific yet oddly inspiring—constructs a seductive puzzle from torn identities, focusing on both the value and peril of fear. When enigmatic Dr. Jan Sayer gathers survivors of supernatural violence for therapy, she unwittingly unlocks evil from the prison of consciousness. Harrison, a cynical monster-hunter, wallows in lethargy. Suicidal Barbara burns to read the secret messages inscribed on her bones. Cantankerous Stan is the lone survivor of a cannibal feast. After paranoid Martin sees slithery spirits lingering around volatile Greta, a powerful young woman decorated with mystically charged scars, ancient evils usher the rag-tag survivors to a battle with the Hidden Ones, exiled deities trapped in prisons of flesh. Gregory’s beautiful imagery and metaphors bring bittersweet intimacy and tenderness to the primal wonder of star-lit legends. Isolated people, both victims and victimizers, are ghosts in a waking world, blind to their encounters with living nightmares. Blending the stark realism of pain and isolation with the liberating force of the fantastic, Gregory (Afterparty) makes it easy to believe that the world is an illusion, behind which lurks an alternative truth—dark, degenerate, and sublime.”
—Publishers Weekly

“…a clever and creepy horror tale…”
—Library Journal

“Clever, and filled with the creeping dread of what’s in the flickering shadow next to you and what’s just around the corner that suffuses the best horror. I loved it.”
—Ellen Datlow, Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and International Horror Guild award-winning editor of The Best Horror of the Year series

“Charming and horrifying—you won’t be able to stop reading it.”
—Tim Powers, award-winning author of Declare and The Stress of Her Regard

“Daryl Gregory is a writer I would happily follow into any dark place he wanted me to go. This is a labyrinth of a story, intricate as a spider’s web—and like a spider’s web, each piece informs the whole. Beautiful.”
—Seanan McGuire, author of the October Daye series and Half-Off Ragnarok

“A superb, haunting tale by one of our very best writers. Gregory’s characters are already in therapy; you may want to join them after reading this spicy, disturbing mélange.”
—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues

“Lovecraft meets Cabin in the Woods in this tale of survivors of various supernatural horrors who come together in a support group to try to heal….fascinating”
—Fantastic Reads

“Gregory (Pandemonium, The Devil’s Alphabet, et. al.) has done it again with yet another singularly unique, genre-blending masterwork about a support group of victims of paranormal violence who realize that their nightmarish traumas are all related. This creepy concoction of supernatural fiction, mystery, and horror is a dark little literary gem that readers will absolutely cherish.”
—Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble.com

“[Gregory’s] most tightly constructed and compulsively readable novel to date, and a small gem of what we might call post-horror horror.”
—Locus

“… funny in that dark and sarcastic way only people faced with unstoppable horror can be funny, and when you’re finished you’ll wish there was more.”
—Daytona Beach News Journal

“We Are All Completely Fine is something refreshing and unique—a short horror novel that is as much about relationships and people learning from one another as it is about the horrors that they are ultimately facing… .”
—LitReactor

“…a little horrific, quite deep, and plenty surprising.”
—Bookworm Blues

“We Are All Completely Fine is a remarkably seductive piece of supernatural horror, drawing the innocent reader into the web by dealing with a familiar situation… .fascinating and engrossing… ”
—Thinking About Books

“This book is fast-paced, creepy, suspenseful, and yet surprisingly uplifting, with fleshed out characters I genuinely cared about… . This book is seriously awesome. Someone chain [Gregory] to a desk so he stops doing anything other than write.”
—SF Book Reviews

“I’ve not encountered many authors in the horror genre who flex literary muscle as well as Gregory. His approach was perfect for the story vehicle.”
—Out of My Mind

“Not for the faint of heart, We Are All Completely Fine is a great read!”
—Bibliophilic

“Gregory does a masterful storytelling job here….”
—MT Void

“A must read”
—Buzz Feed

For information on We Are All Completely Fine the audiobook visit Audible.

For information on We Are All Completely Fine the book, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

The “win the audiobook of Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine” is sponsored by Tachyon Publications (“Sponsor”) and Audible.com. This contest is governed by these official rules (“Official Rules”). By participating in the contest, each entrant agrees to abide by these Official Rules, including all eligibility requirements, and understands that the results of the contest, as determined by Sponsor and its agents, are final in all respects. The contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the promotion will be directed to Sponsor, not Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest..

ELIGIBILITY
The Contest is open to legal residents of their respective countries where not prohibited by law, who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry who have Internet access and a valid e-mail account prior to the beginning of the Contest Period. Sponsor has the right to verify the eligibility of each entrant.

SWEEPSTAKES PERIOD
The Sweepstakes begins at October 24, 2014, noon PST and ends at October 28, 2014, midnight PST. (“Sweepstakes Period”). All entries (submissions) must be received on or before the time stated during that submission period. Sponsor reserves the right to extend or shorten the contest at their sole discretion.

HOW TO ENTER
You can enter the Sweepstakes by liking the Tachyon Publications Facebook page, follow @tachyonpub on Twitter, follow tachyonpub on Tumblr, and/or follow the Tachyon Publications board on Pinterest within the dates of the contest. After fulfilling the requirements, the entrant will receive one (1) entry per action into the drawing.

WINNER SELECTION
All eligible entries received during the Submission Period will gathered into a database at the end of the Submission Period. A winner will be chosen at random.
The winners will be announced on or about October 31, 2014 on or about noon PST. Announcement and instructions for prize will be sent to the e-mail address supplied on the potential prize winner’s entry form. Each entrant is responsible for monitoring his/her e-mail account for prize notification and receipt or other communications related to this sweepstakes. If a potential prize winner cannot be reached by Administrator (or Sponsor) within fifteen (15) days, using the contact information provided at the time of entry, or if the prize is returned as undeliverable, that potential prize winner shall forfeit the prize. Upon the request of the Sponsor, the potential winner may be required to return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Release and Prize Acceptance Form and IRS W-9 form. If a potential winner fails to comply with these official rules, that potential winner will be disqualified. Prizes may not be awarded if an insufficient number of eligible entries are received.

PRIZES:
Grand Prize: (1) audiobook copy of Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine

Terms and conditions may apply. Incidental expenses and all other costs and expenses which are not specifically listed as part of a prize in these Official Rules and which may be associated with the award, acceptance, receipt and use of all or any portion of the awarded prize are solely the responsibility of the respective prize winner. ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZE IS SOLELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.

ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS
Prize is non-transferable. No substitution or cash equivalent of prizes is permitted. Sponsor and its respective parent, affiliate and subsidiary companies, agents, and representatives are not responsible for any typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of the Sweepstakes, including, but not limited to, errors in any printing or posting or these Official Rules, the selection and announcement of any winner, or the distribution of any prize. Any attempt to damage the content or operation of this Sweepstakes is unlawful and subject to possible legal action by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, suspend or amend the Sweepstakes, without notice, and for any reason, including, without limitation, if Sponsor determines that the Sweepstakes cannot be conducted as planned or should a virus, bug, tampering or unauthorized intervention, technical failure or other cause beyond Sponsor’s control corrupt the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper play of the Sweepstakes. In the event any tampering or unauthorized intervention may have occurred, Sponsor reserves the right to void suspect entries at issue. Sponsor and its respective parent, affiliate and subsidiary companies, agents, and representatives, and any telephone network or service providers, are not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate transcription of entry information, or for any human error, technical malfunction, lost or delayed data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, line failure or malfunction of any telephone network, computer equipment or software, the inability to access any website or online service or any other error, human or otherwise.

INDEMNIFICATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
BY ENTERING THE SWEEPSTAKES, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO INDEMNIFY, RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS SPONSOR AND ITS PARENT, AFFILIATE AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES, THE FACEBOOK PLATFORM, ADMINISTRATOR, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES, AND ALL THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS FROM ANY LIABILITY, DAMAGES, LOSSES OR INJURY RESULTING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM THAT ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES AND THE ACCEPTANCE, USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE THAT MAY BE WON. SPONSOR AND ITS PARENT, AFFILIATE AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE CONDITION, FITNESS OR MERCHANTABILITY OF THE PRIZE. SPONSOR AND ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES, AND ALL THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE TO ANY COMPUTER SYSTEM RESULTING FROM ACCESS TO OR THE DOWNLOAD OF INFORMATION OR MATERIALS CONNECTED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES.

PUBLICITY
By participating, each entrant grants Sponsor permission to use his/her name, likeness or comments for publicity purposes without payment of additional consideration, except where prohibited by law.

SWEEPSTAKES SPONSORS
This sweepstakes is sponsored by:

Tachyon Publications
1459 18th Street #139
San Francisco, CA 94107

Any questions regarding this Sweepstakes should be directed to Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine Audiobook Contest at rick@tachyonpublications.com