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Author: John ONeill

Future Treasures: The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe

Future Treasures: The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe

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Every once in a while a really stellar anthology comes along that generates a lot of pre-publication whispers, gradually growing to a steady buzz of excitement. This year that anthology is The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales.

The Starlit Wood was assembled by Dominik Parisien, editor of the highly acclaimed Clockwork Canada, and Navah Wolfe, editor at one of the most exiting new imprints in the industry, Saga Press. Several of my friends have privately tipped me off that this is the best fantasy anthology of the year, and the public accolades have just started to pour in. Terri Windling calls it “Excellent… I loved it,” Jeff VanderMeer says it’s “Classy, smart, and entertaining… and featuring the best and most exciting fantasy writers working in the field today.” And Publishers Weekly raved, saying it’s “A rich sample of what awaits us in the world of fairy tales.”

For anyone looking to revisit the wondrous (and frequently dark!) world of fairy tales — or who just wants to a taste of what the best writers in fantasy are doing today — The Starlit Wood is your best opportunity this year. It contains stories by Aliette de Bodard, Amal El-Mohtar, Jeffrey Ford, Max Gladstone, Margo Lanagan, Seanan McGuire, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Sofia Samatar, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine, and many others, and will be released in hardcover this month by Saga Press.

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New Treasures: Not So Much Said the Cat, by Michael Swanwick

New Treasures: Not So Much Said the Cat, by Michael Swanwick

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Michael Swanwick’s previous collection with Tachyon Publications was The Dog Said Bow-Wow (2007). In Not So Much Said the Cat he takes a feline turn, collecting 17 stories published between 2008 and 2014, including Hugo nominee “From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled…”. Here’s a snippet from the starred review from Kirkus.

There’s a man who, having suffered a crushing loss, finds solace after accidental contact with a time traveler; a group of time travelers hunkered down at the end of the Cretaceous period — where, oddly, nobody’s interested in the dinosaurs; and a scientist who finds a partner worthy of her genius. We also get a fascinating glimpse (which feels like a novel fragment) of a far future populated by humans and centipedelike aliens, narrated by the intelligent space suit of a woman who’s dead as the story begins; and another future where human lives resemble those in fairy tales while advanced, hidden AIs battle for supremacy. Elsewhere, in a literary-games vein, the characters in a fairy tale discuss whether they prefer to remain in books, and immortal, or enter history; there’s a famous Gene Wolfe story stripped down, turned inside out, and rebuilt to perfection; and, in a marvelous conceit, the writer Alexander Pushkin appears as he may have been — in an alternative universe. To round out the collection, we meet a dutiful young woman who, entering hell to challenge the devil to return her father, discovers that things are not as she assumed; Darger and Surplus, those good-hearted rogues with a propensity to shoot themselves in the foot, make an appearance, as does “The House of Dreams,” an entry from Swanwick’s splendid Mongolian Wizard e-book series. Tales that, through their extraordinary clarity of thought and expression, showcase precisely why this multiaward-winning author is held in such high regard.

Swanwick’s other collections from Tacyhon include Tales of Old Earth (2000) and Gravity’s Angels (2001). Our previous coverage of Michael Swanwick includes articles on The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, Chasing the Phoenix, and his short story “The Night of the Salamander.”

Not So Much Said the Cat was published by Tachyon Publications on July 18, 2016. It is 290 pages, priced at $15.95 in trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital version.

Future Treasures: The Collected Short Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin from Saga Press

Future Treasures: The Collected Short Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin from Saga Press

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I write about a lot of upcoming books in my Future Treasures columns. But I can honestly say I haven’t been this excited for a pair of books in years.

Saga Press is publishing a massive two-volume collection of short stories and novellas from the legendary Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the finest writers we have. Le Guin has published 21 novels — including The Left Hand of Darkness (1970) and The Dispossessed (1974), both of which won Hugo and Nebula awards, and the Wizard of Earthsea series — but my love for Le Guin began with her brilliant short fiction. Stories like “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow,” the World Fantasy and Nebula Award winner “Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight,” and the Nebula Award-winning “Solitude.”

The two books, sold separately or in a deluxe box set, are must-have volumes for any serious science fiction collector.

The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin collects virtually all of her award-winning longer fiction, starting with 1971’s “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow,” the tale of a scientific expedition doomed to end in madness and death unless two of its members can unravel the secrets of a very alien planet, through 2002’s “Paradises Lost,” in which the fifth generation on a giant colony ship find their way of life — and their mission — threatened when a strange new religion sweeps through the ship.

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Interzone #266 Now on Sale

Interzone #266 Now on Sale

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interzone-266-smallThe September/October issue of Interzone magazine is now on sale, with a cover by 2016 cover artist Vincent Sammy, “Heaven Spots” (click the image at right for a bigger version.)

This issue is pretty intriguing. Or, at least, Kevin P Hallett’s Tangent Online review makes it sound pretty intriguing. Here’s Kevin on Malcolm Devlin’s “The End of Hope Street.”

The twelve houses on Hope Street faced a strange blight in this horror mystery novelette. One by one, the sinister blight consumed each house making it unlivable. Failure to leave resulted in death; failure to stay away resulted in death. The displaced residents found temporary sanctuary in the other houses on the street. In all but one, that is. For Daniel Dormer, the patriarch at number twelve, felt that all this had happened to his neighbours for a reason.

When Daniel’s house was the only one still livable, he had to face the consequences of his petty prejudices.

The author develops the characters well and uses the mystery to pull the reader through the story. The enigmatic blight hangs over everything leaving the reader with many questions to answer. A pleasant and intriguing tale.

And Tade Thompson’s “The Apologists.”

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New Treasures: The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

New Treasures: The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

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the-family-plot-cherie-priest-smallCherie Priest’s Boneshaker, the opening novel in her 6-volume steampunk pulp Clockwork Century series, was nominated for both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Her other novels include Fathom, Maplecroft, and the Eden Moore trilogy. Her latest is a contemporary haunted house tale, released in hardcover by Tor last month.

Music City Salvage is a family operation, owned and operated by Chuck Dutton: master stripper of doomed historic properties, and expert seller of all things old and crusty. But business is lean and times are tight, so he’s thrilled when the aged and esteemed Augusta Withrow appears in his office, bearing an offer he really ought to refuse. She has a massive family estate to unload — lock, stock, and barrel. For a check and a handshake, it’s all his.

It’s a big check. It’s a firm handshake. And it’s enough of a gold mine that he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project.

Dahlia preps a couple of trucks, takes a small crew, and they caravan down to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the ancient Withrow house is waiting — and so is a barn, a carriage house, and a small, overgrown cemetery that Augusta Withrow left out of the paperwork. Augusta Withrow left out a lot of things. The property is in unusually great shape for a condemned building. It’s empty, but it isn’t abandoned. Something in the Withrow mansion is angry and lost. This is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever, and there’s still plenty of room in the strange little family plot…

Cherie Priest’s The Family Plot is a haunted house story for the ages — atmospheric, scary, and strange, with a modern gothic sensibility that’s every bit as fresh as it is frightening.

The Family Plot was published by Tor Books on September 20, 2016. It is 365 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by FORT.

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The Wonders of Fairwood Press

The Wonders of Fairwood Press

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I first met Patrick Swenson, publisher and editorial mastermind at Fairwood Press, back in the late 90s. I think it might have been James Van Pelt who introduced us, after I wrote a review of Patrick’s magazine, TaleBones. I helped Patrick negotiate with a squatter who was sitting on the address he wanted for his website (unsuccessfully, as I recall.) At the time, Fairwood Press was a small press underdog, with only a handful of titles to its name, but a fast-growing reputation.

Fastforward about 17 years, to Worldcon in 2016. I was walking through the sprawling dealer’s room when I spotted Patrick sitting behind a table groaning under the weight of dozens and dozens of eye-catching science fiction and fantasy books, from some of the biggest names in the industry — including Robert Silverberg, Michael Bishop, Jay Lake, Carrie Vaughn, Devon Monk, Tom Piccirilli, Tina Connolly, James Van Pelt, and many others. Could this possibly be the same Fairwood Press?

Yes, as it turned out.

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Future Treasures: The Wall of Storms, Book II of The Dandelion Dynasty, by Ken Liu

Future Treasures: The Wall of Storms, Book II of The Dandelion Dynasty, by Ken Liu

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The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu’s debut novel, was nominated for the Nebula Award, and won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. It was also one of four launch titles for Saga Press, and it helped make that fledgling publisher one of the most respected publishing houses in the genre.

Next week Saga release The Wall of Storms, the second volume in what’s now being called The Dandelion Dynasty. It arrives in hardcover on October 4th. Here’s the description.

In the much-anticipated sequel to the “magnificent fantasy epic” (NPR) Grace of Kings, Emperor Kuni Garu is faced with the invasion of an invincible army in his kingdom and must quickly find a way to defeat the intruders.

Kuni Garu, now known as Emperor Ragin, runs the archipelago kingdom of Dara, but struggles to maintain progress while serving the demands of the people and his vision. Then an unexpected invading force from the Lyucu empire in the far distant west comes to the shores of Dara — and chaos results.

But Emperor Kuni cannot go and lead his kingdom against the threat himself with his recently healed empire fraying at the seams, so he sends the only people he trusts to be Dara’s savvy and cunning hopes against the invincible invaders: his children, now grown and ready to make their mark on history.

The Wall of Storms is 880 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Sam Weber. Read an interview with Ken, and an excerpt from the book, at io9.

A Long-Overdue Retrospective: The Best of Michael Moorcock

A Long-Overdue Retrospective: The Best of Michael Moorcock

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Tachyon Publications released The Best of Michael Moorcock, edited by John Davey and Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, back in 2009, and I finally bought a copy last month. I don’t know what took me so long.

Moorcock has an enormous back catalog of fantasy; so vast I’ll never be able to read even a fraction of it. But this book finally gives me the opportunity I’ve wanted for years: to sample the full range of Moorcock’s storytelling craft in one compact volume, with some of his most famous stories — including his famous 1968 Nebula Award winning novella “Behold the Man,” the Elric tale “A Portrait in Ivory,” and the Jerry Cornelius story “The Visible Men.”

The book received rave notices when it first appeared. Bookgasm says it “Serves as a superb introduction to the boundless imagination of this unique and fascinating author,” and The Guardian calls it “A long-overdue retrospective.” And Booklist says it’s “A wild, fascinating batch of stories fairly balancing the fantastic and the nearly ordinary, and showcasing Moorcock’s talent very well.”

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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September 2016 Lightspeed Magazine Now Available

September 2016 Lightspeed Magazine Now Available

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lightspeed-september-2016-smallIt’s the end of the month, and you know what that means. The complete contents of Lightspeed have now been posted online, awaiting your pleasure. Here’s Charles Payseur’s summary from Quick Sip Reviews.

The September issue of Lightspeed Magazine is all about crime and punishment. About people running from their pasts, running from authority, running from justice or injustice alike. In each of the stories there is a looming threat of some sanction. Police officers trying to maintain a status quo or a corrupt government trying to quash transparency or some nebulous force urging surrender or an actual crocodile waiting for the right moment to… These are stories that complicate crime and resistance, activism and revolution. And though they are unified by their focus on characters running from pursuit, from punishment, they show very different motivations and outcomes…

“Unauthorized Access” by An Owomoyela (10,700 words).  This is a rather fun story about activism and bureaucracy and corruption, all wrapped in a warm cyberpunk blanket… The world is a vibrant and rather different New York, filled with solar collectors and data and big government but also a grittier side, an Undercity that Aedo fears to tread and a whole lot in between. And I love Aedo as a character, trying to do the right thing while continually finding herself in the right place at the right time to do something… a tense and rather thrilling ride at times, and I would be excited to see if there’s more to come from this world and these character. A great story!

Read Charles’ complete review of the September issue here.

This month editor John Joseph Adams offers us original fantasy by Maria Dahvana Headley and Jaymee Goh, and fantasy reprints by Tim Pratt and Christopher Barzak, plus original science fiction by An Owomoyela and Sean Williams, along with SF reprints by Alec Nevala-Lee and Charlie Jane Anders.

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Nathan Long Spills the Beans on The Bard’s Tale IV

Nathan Long Spills the Beans on The Bard’s Tale IV

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Nathan Long, lead writer on inXile’s upcoming Bard’s Tale IV, posted a major update on the game’s Kickstarter page last night, alongside the above gameplay clip.

This clip is meant to illustrate the tone that we are looking to capture for our environments and creatures in The Bard’s Tale IV – a captivating and expansive landscape for you to explore, and a menagerie of creatures inspired by myth and Celtic folklore. We’ve also been feverishly working on the combat system and have made some amazing progress, but we don’t want to show our hand on it quite yet…

Right from the beginning, we made the decision that BTIV would be a game of free exploration. You’d be able to go in any direction you chose, ignore the main story to do side quests if that’s what tickled your fancy, or just noodle around and find cool stuff. We therefore made Skara Brae and the land it resides in, Caith, big places with lots of space and lots of story, scenery and secrets to get lost in. Skara Brae is a city now, with multiple levels of sewers, catacombs, and crypts below it, while the lands that surround it are vast and varied, with broad fields, haunted villages, deep forests, treacherous fens, and looming mountains, all riddled with caves, ruins, dungeons, and hidden places, all ripe for exploration.

inXile’s Torment: Tides of Numenera team is scheduled for release early next year; The Bard’s Tale IV will arrive sometime after that. They’ve recently announced their next game Wasteland 3, follow-on to the acclaimed Wasteland 2, will be launching a crowdfunding campaign on Fig on October 5th, 2016. Nathan Long is the author of Jane Carver of Waar, and has written extensively in the Warhammer universe, most notably his Black Hearts, Ulrika the Vampire, and Gotrek & Felix novels. Read Bill Ward’s two-part Black Gate interview with him here and here, and enjoy Nathan’s complete update here.