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Future Treasures: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Eleven edited by Jonathan Strahan

Future Treasures: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Eleven edited by Jonathan Strahan

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The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Eleven Strahan-smallHoly cats, have we started the Best of the Year season already? How did that sneak up on me?

However it happened, I take great pleasure in cataloging the new additions to some of my favorite anthologies every year. Jonathan Strahan is one of the top editors in the field, and his ongoing Infinity anthology series (Meeting Infinity, Bridging Infinity, etc.) has produced some of the most acclaimed short SF of the past decade. Strahan has been editing The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year for eleven straight years, the first seven with Night Shade, and the last three with Solaris, and he shows no sign of stopping. It’s a book I cherish every year, and Volume 11 — with fiction by Amal El-Mohtar, Paolo Bacigalupi, Aliette de Bodard, N.K. Jemisin, Rich Larson, Yoon Ha Lee, Ken Liu, Ian R. MacLeod, Paul McAuley, Geoff Ryman, Delia Sherman, Lavie Tidhar, Catherynne M Valente, Genevieve Valentine, and many others — is no exception.

It arrives in trade paperback in two weeks. Here’s the Table of Contents.

“Two’s Company,” Joe Abercrombie (Tor.com, Jan 16, 2016)
“The Art of Space Travel,” Nina Allan (Tor.com)
“Seasons of Glass and Iron,” Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood)
“Mika Model,” Paolo Bacigalupi (Slate)
“A Salvaging of Ghosts,” Aliette de Bodard (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 01/03/16)
“Laws of Night and Silk,” Seth Dickinson (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 26 May 2016)
“Touring with the Alien,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld 115, 4/16)
“Red as Blood and White as Bone,” Theodora Goss (Tor.com)

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March/April 2017 Analog Now on Sale

March/April 2017 Analog Now on Sale

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Analog Science Fiction and Fact March April 2017-smallI’m getting used to Analog and Asimov’s new bimonthly publication schedule. For one thing, the magazines have added an additional 16 pages, which is a substantial bonus.

Here’s Analog editor Trevor Qachari on the impact of the change, and what we can look forward to in the March/April issue.

Effective immediately, with the very magazine you hold in your hands, Analog will be publishing only double issues — six of them per year. Right off the bat, you’ll see more novellas, longer book review columns, and more variety in the themes that thread through the stories. (For example, our next issue will have both the usual lighter April fare as well as a selection of time-travel pieces.)

The main advantage is that this format allows us to hold current subscription prices a bit longer. (You may have already noticed that this issue is 208 pages instead of our customary 192 for double issues; we worked hard to make sure that there wouldn’t be any loss of content.)

So, what kinds of things can you expect in this brave new world? Well, we have two novellas: “Nexus” by Michael F. Flynn, and John Alfred Taylor’s “Plaisir d’Amour”; “Sustainability Lab 101,” our fact article from Stanley Schmidt; and a trio of novelettes — “Europa’s Survivors” by Marianne J. Dyson; “Host” by Eneaz Brodski; and “The Human Way” by Tony Ballantyne — as well as almost a full “single” issue’s worth of short stories, some light-hearted, like “Ecuador vs. the Bug-Eyed Monsters” by Jay Werkheiser, and “Concerning the Devastation Wrought by the Nefarious Gray Comma and Its Ilk,” by Tim McDaniel; and some that involve a relative rarity in these pages: time travel. “Eli’s Coming,” by Catherine Wells; “Grandmaster” by Jay O’Connell; “Alexander’s Theory of Special Relativity” by Shane Halbach; “Time Heals” by James C. Glass; and “The Snatchers” by Edward P. McDermott — all struck a chord with me (for different reasons), and I bet at least some of them will for you, too.

The cover art this issue is by Tomislav Tikulin. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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Vintage Treasures: Zimiamvia: A Trilogy by E.R. Eddison

Vintage Treasures: Zimiamvia: A Trilogy by E.R. Eddison

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Zimiamvia a Trilogy E R Eddison-small Zimiamvia a Trilogy E R Eddison-back-small

There’s an awful lot of bestselling fantasy on the market these days, and sometimes it seems it’ll be around forever. But I know from hard experience that the vast majority of it will be gone in five years. It’s the rare fantasy indeed that remains in print for a decade — much less 20, 30, or 50 years.

E.R. Eddison’s Zimiamvia trilogy has been in print, off and on, for an astonishing eight decades, since the first volume appeared in 1935. J.R.R. Tolkien called Eddison “The greatest and most convincing writer of invented worlds that I have read,” and in the decades that followed his reputation has only grown among serious students of fantasy. The three volume in the trilogy are:

Mistress of Mistresses (1935)
A Fish Dinner in Memison (1941)
The Mezentian Gate (1958)

Eddison was also the author of the fantasy classic The Worm Ouroboros, to which the Zimiamvia trilogy is a loose sequel.

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Announcing the 2017 Hugo Award Nominees

Announcing the 2017 Hugo Award Nominees

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too-like-the-lightning-small Ninefox-Gambit-smaller the-obelisk-gate-small

Worldcon 75, the 75th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the Hugo Awards and for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and we’re delighted to share them with you here. May we have the envelope please!

Best Novel

  • All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor)
  • A Closed and Common Orbit, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager)
  • The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
  • Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
  • Death’s End, Cixin Liu (Tor)
  • Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer (Tor)

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Evil Specters, Ghost Clans, and a Zombie in the Basement: The Haunted Mystery Novels by Chris Grabenstein

Evil Specters, Ghost Clans, and a Zombie in the Basement: The Haunted Mystery Novels by Chris Grabenstein

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The Crossroads-small The Hanging Hill-small The Smoky Corridor-small The Black Heart Crypt-small

The books that pretty much introduced me to reading — and to creepy tales of Screaming Clocks, Whispering Mummies, Haunted Mirrors, and all the delicious trappings of horror — were the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators novels by Robert Arthur. Man, they were great. Three resourceful teens with a chauffeur who drove them around, and a secret hideout in an old junkyard… who could resist? I was sold after my very first one, The Mystery of the Green Ghost.

I’ve had a spot spot for middle grade horror-thrillers ever since. So I was very pleased to stumble upon bestselling author Chis Grabenstein’s Haunted Mystery series showcasing the intrepid Zack, a sixth grader with the uncanny ability to talk to ghosts, and his stepmother Judy, who writes children’s books. The series features a malevolent spirit inhabiting a tree, a horde of evil specters, a ruthless hit man hunting lost treasure, a voodoo savvy ghost seeking a new body, a soul-sucking zombie in the basement, and a ghost clan out to ruin Halloween. I wish these had been around when I was in the sixth grade…. but I’m still happy to have them now.

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New Treasures: Phantom Pains, Book II of The Arcadia Project by Mishell Baker

New Treasures: Phantom Pains, Book II of The Arcadia Project by Mishell Baker

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Borderline Mishekk Baker-small Phantom Pains Mishekk Baker-small

Mishell Baker’s Borderline — the tale of a cynical, disabled film director recruited into a secret organization that oversees relations between Hollywood and Fairyland — was nominated for a Nebula Award last year, a major achievement for a debut novel. Library Journal says it “Takes gritty urban fantasy in a new direction,” and Publishers Weekly called it “masterly urban fantasy storytelling…[a] beautifully written story that is one part mystery, one part fantasy, and wholly engrossing.” The sequel, Phantom Pains, the second volume of The Arcadia Project and one of the most anticipated novels of the year, arrived last month from Saga Press.

Four months ago, Millie left the Arcadia Project after losing her partner Teo to the lethal magic of an Unseelie fey countess. Now, in a final visit to the scene of the crime, Millie and her former boss Caryl encounter Teo’s tormented ghost. But there’s one problem: according to Caryl, ghosts don’t exist.

Millie has a new life, a stressful job, and no time to get pulled back into the Project, but she agrees to tell her side of the ghost story to the agents from the Project’s National Headquarters. During her visit though, tragedy strikes when one of the agents is gruesomely murdered in a way only Caryl could have achieved. Millie knows Caryl is innocent, but the only way to save her from the Project’s severe, off-the-books justice is to find the mysterious culprits that can only be seen when they want to be seen. Millie must solve the mystery not only to save Caryl, but also to foil an insidious, arcane terrorist plot that would leave two worlds in ruins.

Phantom Pains was published by Saga Press on March 21, 2017. It is 416 pages, priced at $15.99 in trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover photo is by Jill Watcher.

Weirdbook 34 Now Available

Weirdbook 34 Now Available

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Weirdbook 34-small Weirdbook 34-back-small

Weirdbook editor Douglas Draa shares some good news in his editorial in the latest issue.

It’s hard to believe that we started this endeavor over a year ago. If you look closely, you might just spot a trend:

2015: One Issue
2016: Two Issues
2017: Four issues and one themed annual!!

That’s correct, Weirdbook has gone quarterly this year! As a thank-you to all the readers who made this possible, we will be putting out a themed “2017 Annual” special issue this October. Just in time for Halloween! I hope themed Weirdbook Annuals will become a yearly tradition that everyone looks forward to. This year’s theme will be “Witches.”

Good news indeed! Weirdbook — alongside Skelos, Cirsova, and Grimdark — is leading the recent Weird Fantasy wave, developing talented new writers in its pages and providing a center for this thriving new genre. It’s great to see it thriving, and I’m looking forward to that themed Halloween issue.

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Future Treasures: Aliens: Bug Hunt edited by Jonathan Maberry

Future Treasures: Aliens: Bug Hunt edited by Jonathan Maberry

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Aliens Bug Hunt-smallWith a brand new Alien film on the horizon (Alien: Covenant, arriving May 19; see the trailer here), what better time for a Alien anthology, featuring Colonial Marines in bloody conflict with the deadly Aliens in deep space, on alien worlds, and in derelict space settlements and lethal nests?

Aliens: Bug Hunt featuring original short stories set in the Aliens universe by Dan Abnett, Tim Lebbon, David Farland, James A. Moore, Brian Keene, Christopher Golden, Matt Forbeck, Yvonne Navarro, and many others. I read Navarro’s 1996 Aliens novel Music of the Spears; Dan Abnett, Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, James A. Moore have previously written in the Aliens universe as well. Aliens: Bug Hunt arrives in hardcover and trade paperback from Titan in two weeks.

When the Colonial Marines set out after their deadliest prey, the Xenomorphs, it’s what Corporal Hicks calls a bug hunt — kill or be killed. Here are fifteen all-new stories of such “close encounters,” written by many of today’s most extraordinary authors.

Set during the events of all four Alien films, sending the Marines to alien worlds, to derelict space settlements, and into the nests of the universe’s most dangerous monsters, these adventures are guaranteed to send the blood racing—

One way or another.

Aliens: Bug Hunt will be published by Titan Books on April 18, 2017. It is 368 pages, priced at $22.95 in hardcover, $16.95 in trade paperback, and $7.99 for the digital edition.

A Duo Who Explore the Darker Side of Victorian London: The Gower Street Detective by M.R.C. Kasasian

A Duo Who Explore the Darker Side of Victorian London: The Gower Street Detective by M.R.C. Kasasian

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The Mangle Street Murders-small The Curse of the House of Foskett-small Death Descends on Saturn Villa-small The Secrets of Gaslight Lane-small Dark Dawn Over Steep House-small

A few weeks ago I picked up a remaindered copy of The Curse of the House of Foskett purely as an impulse buy, mostly because of the delightful cover (and because Bob Byrne’s love of all things Sherlock has been rubbing off on me). And thus I discovered The Gower Street Detective by M.R.C. Kasasian, a Victorian crime series starring a detective duo that’s been getting a lot of attention. The Daily Mail called the first book “One of the most delightful and original new novels of the year ― the first in a series that could well become a cult.” There are five volumes published or announced, including one that arrives in hardcover this week, and a fifth book due in December:

The Mangle Street Murders (320 pages, February 2014)
The Curse of the House of Foskett (408 pages, January 2015)
Death Descends on Saturn Villa (400 pages, March 2016)
The Secrets of Gaslight Lane (512 pages, April 4, 2017)
Dark Dawn Over Steep House (432 pages, December 5, 2017)

All five are published by Pegasus Books. They are priced at $25.95 in hardcover, $14.95 – $15.95 in trade paperback, and $9.99-$12.95 for the digital versions. The cover artist, sadly, is not credited.

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New Treasures: The Moon and the Other by John Kessel

New Treasures: The Moon and the Other by John Kessel

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The Moon and the Other-smallA new novel by John Kessel is a major event.

Kessel isn’t particularly prolific, but what he has written has gotten a heck of a lot of attention. His second novel, Good News From Outer Space (1989, Tor), was a Nebula nominee, and his first collection, Meeting in Infinity (1992, Arkham House), was nominated for the World Fantasy Award. He’s won two Nebula Awards for his short fiction, and his stories have been nominated for three Hugos, two World Fantasy Awards, and eight Nebulas. His newest novel, The Moon and the Other, is his first in two decades. It arrives in hardcover on Tuesday from Saga Press.

John Kessel, one of the most visionary writers in the field, has created a rich matriarchal utopia, set in the near future on the moon, a society that is flawed by love and sex, and on the brink of a destructive civil war.

In the middle of the twenty-second century, over three million people live in underground cities below the moon’s surface. One city-state, the Society of Cousins, is a matriarchy, where men are supported in any career choice, but no right to vote — and tensions are beginning to flare as outside political intrigues increase.

After participating in a rebellion that caused his mother’s death, Erno has been exiled from the Society of Cousins. Now, he is living in the Society’s rival colony, Persepolis, when he meets Amestris, the defiant daughter of the richest man on the moon. Mira, a rebellious loner in the Society, creates graffiti videos that challenge the Society’s political domination. She is hopelessly in love with Carey, the exemplar of male privilege. An Olympic champion in low-gravity martial arts and known as the most popular bedmate in the Society, Carey’s more suited to being a boyfriend than a parent, even as he tries to gain custody of his teenage son.

When the Organization of Lunar States sends a team to investigate the condition of men in the Society, Erno sees an opportunity to get rich, Amestris senses an opportunity to escape from her family, Mira has a chance for social change, and Carey can finally become independent of the matriarchy that considers him a perpetual adolescent. But when Society secrets are revealed, the first moon war erupts, and everyone must decide what is truly worth fighting for.

The Moon and the Other will be published by Saga Press on April 4, 2017. It is 597 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $7.99 for the digital edition.