Bibliophile Stalker

10 Stories for My Future Lover

2013-05-10T08:01:00.000+08:00

Dear future crush/girlfriend/fiance/wife,

I love science fiction. I believe in time travel. This is my past self sending you a missive into the future.

By this time, you'll know that I'm horrible with words. But I do love stories, and if there's anything you can take away from our relationship, hopefully it's these:

Who I Was Missing Before I Met You

"Say Zucchini, and Mean It" by Peter M. Ball

Why I Never Gave Up

"On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" by Haruki Murakami

Is it Too Good to be True?

"The Empire of Ice Cream" by Jeffrey Ford

For The Days When We Drift Apart

"The Rapid Advance of Sorrow" by Theodora Goss by Theodora Goss

When You Leave Me for the First Time

"The Sugilanon of Epefania's Heartbreak" by Ian Rosales Casocot

I'll Support You

"For Solo Cello, op.12" by Mary Robinette Kowal

Making Sense of It All

"26 Monkeys and the Abyss" by Kij Johnson

Hopefully It Never Comes to This

"Spar" by Kij Johnson

Read In Case of Emergency

"Little Gods" by Tim Pratt

All of This is an Illusion

"L'Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars)" by Dean Francis Alfar

Love,

The Butcher Boy

Essay: Teaching Science Fiction

2013-05-02T08:09:00.000+08:00

Julia Rios posed a question the other day: What would you consider the most important texts to teach in a class about SF/F? (Strangely enough, I didn't see the fantasy part, and interpreted it as limited to just science fiction.) Assume the reader is unfamiliar, and that you are limited to 5 novels/novellas and 5 novelettes/short stories.

There were, of course, the standard disclaimers (scope, audience, agenda, etc.), but what Julia was asking was really a person question: if you were given a chance to create a curriculum, without limits aside from the parameters above, what texts would you select? It's your choice on which particular topic to select, whether it's the classics, gender, colonialism, etc.

Again, I neglected to notice the fantasy part, so as I pondered the question, I limited myself to science fiction (despite the fact that I believe fantasy and science fiction aren't that different from each other).

What appeals to me are stories that tackle human nature so if there's an agenda behind my selection, is that. And since we're given limitations of 5 novels/novellas and 5 novelettes/short stories, I want to juxtapose them and show readers how the form of one interacts, and how different (or similar) it is to the other.

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin and The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

I'd start with Le Guin's short story: it's brief, concise, and there's lots of elements for the reader to parse out. It's a dystopian story but that's left for readers to decide (and an important question is whether they would want to live in such a world). The Dispossessed, on the other hand, is its opposite: it's probably a more difficult read but Le Guin is more direct here. You have two supposedly utopian/dystopian societies, but is that really the case?

"Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

There's three points I want to highlight by this selection. The first is the story itself: do the ends justify the means? Is ignorance truly an excuse? Is there such a thing as an innocent killer? The second is the format: in the transition from novelette to novel, what were the elements that were added? Does this enhance the story or detract from it? And then there's my third point: knowing Card's homophobia, how does this change the way you react to the text or shape the way you read it?

Foundation by Isaac Asimov and "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang

In the first pair of texts, what's discussed is society; in the second, the individual, and how they are manipulated into their role. For this choice, I wanted to transition to determinism. Foundation is an interesting choice for me because it's really a bunch of short stories rebranded as a novel. Would the readers consider them as short stories or novels? The way society is manipulated in the stories is also an interesting talking point. "Story of Your Life," on the other hand, shifts from the larger society to the individual (and it's a stark contrast from the detached point of view of Asimov to the very personal story that Chiang chooses to employ). And Chiang brings up several important points, especially language.

"The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" by Ken Liu and "Spar" by Kij Johnson

What I like about these stories is that they're modern and they're very personal. Liu's protagonist rebels against prevalent society, and the narrative is told in such a way that it's viewed from different perspectives. Which is apt given the omniscient, single view a lot of stories have. And it's a story that revolves around society. "Spar" also requires reading the text beyond the surface, and digging deep into it. It's also a story where there's an implied society (whether the protagonist or the alien), as opposed to being at the forefront. And in both pieces, there's a return to the individual, although the choice of perspective differs.

The Next Continent by Issui Ogawa and "The Pelican Bar" by Karen Joy Fowler

I chose The Next Continent because it's society viewed from the lens of the Japanese, and makes different assumptions while still retaining the sensibilities of utopian science fiction. On the other end of the spectrum is "The Pelican Bar," and it's a story that some might question whether it's science fiction, but also why for me genre boundaries are more interstitial than set in stone.

What would your curriculum look like? And perhaps more interesting is to ruminate this question with fantasy in mind as well (maybe a future blog post?).

Promoting Filipino Comics

2013-05-01T18:45:00.004+08:00

I've been disheartened lately when it comes to promoting Filipino comics due to a series of unfortunate incidents: a Fed-Ex package sent to a friend abroad encountered a mishap (and it's a tragedy not because of the financial costs, but rather because those were two dozen comics that's difficult to obtain due to the nature of indie comics), the company website's database goes down on the day I started plugging a comic I enjoyed (I suggest Registering first, filling out all the forms, then Logging in before checking out your order), and despite my best attempts to get more female comic creators (you can hear my rant about the lack of female name recognition in this podcast) to participate in the day job's Free Comic Book Day, a lot declined.

But feeling sorry for myself gets no one anywhere, so here's my last ditch effort. I think there's a lot of interesting, diverse work being done in local comics, but due to small print runs, lack of distribution, and absence of digital copies, it's a huge hurdle to spread awareness of Philippine comics outside of Metro Manila. So it dawned on me to get various comic creators to distribute their work at the day job's eBookstore for Free Comic Book Day. You can read more about it at the company blog, but I wanted to highlight some comics that I think will be of interest to my readers (and what I'll be picking are in English, so you don't have to worry about the translation hurdle):

Kuting Magiting by Robert Magnuson

Despite the title, this is mostly a wordless, all-ages comic in English and highlights the strengths of the comics medium, whether it's the beats, the panels, or the effective use of imagery. If there's one comic I want you to try out, it's this one.

Confused Volume 1 by Trizha Ko

While admittedly not the most polished work in terms of visuals, there's a rawness and willingness to tackle taboo subjects in this comic. It has a solid feminist bent that's lacking in the local comics scene, and hopefully others will give it a chance.

Bakemono High: Recess by Elbert Or

This one's an all-ages comic from my best friend. I wouldn't say it's high art, but definitely one that features amusing, self-contained strips.

Skygypsies by John Raymond Bumanglag & TJ Dimacali

It's not often that I encounter Filipino science fiction stories, so here's a comic that's just that.

Mythspace: Free Comic Book Day Sampler 2013 by Paolo Chikiamco, Koi Carreon, Cristina Rose Chua, Jules Gregorio, Paul Quiroga, Borg Sinaban, Mico Dimagiba

My main problem with this is that it's a sampler (rather than a self-contained comic), but if you're interested in a Filipino folklore-inspired science fiction comic, here's a preview of what we're capable of.

Not a Review: Summer Komikon 2013 Stash (Part 1)

2013-04-21T20:44:00.000+08:00

Not to be confused with a review, here's my initial thoughts on some comics I got during the recent Summer Komikon:

Hero Kitten: Kuting Magiting by Robert Magnuson

It's simple and straight-forward in terms of plot, but Kuting Magiting is nonetheless heartwarming. Don't let the simplicity fool you, however, as this elegance is proof of how meticulous and skillful Magnuson is when it comes to the comics format, best illustrated by this panel:

Who is AC? by Hope Larson (writer) and Tintin Pantoja (illustrator)

Black-and-white with a touch of pink is a nice touch, but what caught my attention is how modern and apt Who is AC? feels. While there's lots of formulaic elements, what turns it around is Larson's mastery of characterization and voice of her teen characters. This graphic novel however is a setup for a series, and I hope it gets continued. Besides, where else do we get to read an American comic that a) is targeted at teens, b) prominently features a female person-of-color as a protagonist, c) written and drawn by female comic creators.

Ang Maskot by Macoy

Snappy and upbeat, Ang Maskot captures an element of the Filipino zeitgeist and weaves an adult narrative around it without falling into the temptation of cynicism. While it doesn't have as much depth as School Run (and appropriately so since this is a self-contained story), it highlights many of the strenghts of Macoy's comics.

School Run (Part 1 ~ 5) by Macoy

There's a lot to love about Macoy's School Run. The art alone is an interesting juxtaposition between the bleak setting and iconic characters. But don't let the simplicity fool you: over the course of each issue, Macoy packs depth into his characters, at the same time imagining a setting that organically resonates with Philippine pop culture, such as the parallelism between the zombie outbreak and typhoons ("Signal #1 Laaang? Sayang!"). Or something as simple as naming a cat as Catniss.

Mikey Recio & The Secret of The Demon Dungeon by Budjette Tan, Bow Guerrero, J.B. Tapia

The art is undeniably gorgeous and the setting makes great use of the Philippines, but ultimately, this IS a prologue, so the question is whether the team of Tan, Guerrero, and Tapia can sustain the momentum and flesh out the narrative before George R. R. Martin releases the last novel of A Song of Ice and Fire.

The Filipino Heroes League Book Two: The Sword by Paolo Fabregas

The previous volume was honestly problematic and this book still has its flaws, such as its indulgence when it comes to the wish-fulfillment aspect. But that aside, there's a significant improvement in terms of the art (and consistency), and with secret origins done away with, Fabregas keeps the ball rolling and creates an atmosphere similar to a thriller novel. What's interesting for me is how the focus on the political is amped up, and is quite appropriate since this is an election year.

Why the Bibliophile Stalker is Away

2013-04-11T07:08:00.002+08:00

There are two Charles. One reads a lot and writes. The other plays all sorts of games. Both are contemplative and love to strategize. They seldom exist in the same space however. The first Charles could spend years devoting himself to fiction with nary a thought when it comes to games. When the latter emerges, however, there is this overwhelming desire to be the best: why bother pursuing something if you're not going to excel in it?

Writing and reading scratches a different itch: the more I write, the more I become aware that I'm lacking in a lot of areas. And that's not necessarily a bad thing: I think style and voice is important for writers, and if you compensate for your weaknesses too much, you might end up with a diluted narrative. Which isn't to say we can't evolve or become better as writers; but the more you develop as a writer, the more evident your shortcomings become.

Gaming is different. I love games which have a high skill ceiling and there's much room for growth. In recent years, games that I've become obsessed with include Starcraft II, Dota 2, Eclipse, and Mage Wars. While I may never completely master these games, there's an immediate payoff after a short amount of research, training, and practice: you objectively become better playing these games. While writing and critical reading can be subjective (and some writers are plagued with the inability to judge their own writing: what others consider as their talent is crap to them and vice versa), there are definite goals and rewards in games.

Both endeavors, however, require time and effort. It's why I seldom manage to juggle both at any one time (and why extra-curricular activities are sacrificed for the sake of your corresponding passions).

For the past few months, the aspect of myself obsessed with games is what's surfaced. In many ways, it's the me that looks for escape, a distraction from everything else. I have my feedback loop: I'm getting better at this, and other people should acknowledge me for my skill.

Recently though, I've been facing an emotional slump, and reading-writing is what I eventually fall back upon. It's art, and all the complexity that entails: art can be touching, gripping, and relevant to the challenges I face. But on the other hand, it can also be elusive, abstract, and shrouded in Mystery. There are no fixed rules, roles, or goals in life and fiction for me mimics that. I dislike the statement that writers are liars: for me, they articulate truth, even if it's not necessarily what we immediately perceive as reality.

This is me picking up the pieces, rediscovering who I am, rekindling my passion for stories, and coming back to what's meaningful.

(And on a side note, you should read Theodora Goss's Going for Real.)

Guest Blog: Architects of Abandoned Cities by Chandler Klang Smith

2013-04-02T06:27:00.000+08:00

Steven Millhauser’s novella “August Eschenburg” concerns itself with an inventor of performing automatons – a groundbreaking forefather in a field of entertainment that was in short time surpassed by animation and the movies. Historically, Eschenburg’s art form represents the road not taken by popular culture, but for Eschenburg himself, clockwork is the lens through which he sees the world, the only means of communication that can convey his secret heart. A life in which he ceases to build automatons is without meaning or passion. I find figures like this character fascinating, poignant, even haunting. What happens to a person who thinks in a dead language? What happens to an artist whose art form goes out of style?

In a way, my novel poses this same question about the American circus. Set in the 1960’s, when traveling shows of this kind had long since seen the heyday of its relevance, Goldenland Past Dark concerns itself with two characters for whom the big top is the essential forum for personal expression. The first, Dr. Show, is an impresario past his prime, driven on by ego and delusion even when it becomes clear that the public will never resuscitate the corpse of his career. The second, Webern Bell, is his protégé, a talented and damaged young man with a questionable grip on reality, who finds the emotional landscape of his life only navigable through the surreal clown acts that come to him in dreams. Both characters find peace only in the center ring, but tastes and trends leave them alone in its spotlight, performing for no one. The title of the novel comes from both men’s spiritual home, an abandoned amusement park called Goldenland that they visit one dark and lonely night – a place of faded laughter, long forgotten by most, created decades earlier by a famed toymaker named Kingsley Golden. Walking among its dilapidated rides is like entering the ruined civilization of another man’s mind.

As a fiction writer in the era of glimmering tablets and effortlessly streaming virtual immersion, I wonder if I too am the tyrannosaur offspring of an extinct world. I suppose only time will tell.

Chandler Klang Smith is a graduate of Bennington College and the Creative Writing MFA Program at Columbia University, where she received a Writing Fellowship. She lives in New York City. Goldenland Past Dark (ChiZine Publications, March 2013) is her first novel. Learn more about her at www.chandlerklangsmith.com, or find her on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/Chandler_Klang_Smith.

The Perils of the Bookshelf

2013-02-28T00:36:00.000+08:00

Pictured above is my bookshelf. Not pictured above are the books, boxes full of books, and envelopes containing books, that have overtaken my floor. I don't really begrudge the loss of space, but my books--or more importantly, the dust--does pose a health problem for me to the point that every time I go through my shelves, I eventually end up with a cold the next day. It's gotten to the point that when the parents renovated the house two years ago, I didn't get to organize my own bookshelf due to the accumulated dust. Instead, someone else organized my bookshelf for me, and my memory of which books I have (and don't have), and where they are located, have been fuzzy ever since. At this point, my only comment is yay eBooks.

Earlier this month, I found myself ransacking my shelves, boxes, and envelopes looking for specific books (which also leads to inadvertent trips to bookstores all around the city) to loan, to give, to present to a friend. I tell myself I won't get sick (I end up sneezing the rest of the night) and reassure myself that my book is somewhere (sometimes, they are gone, either trapped in our basement somewhere, or the book has found a new home months or years earlier in a similar predicament). On one hand, the process is exhilarating, the same thrill a collector might feel upon acquiring an obscure item at the right price. On the other hand, there is the ailment that follows, and disappointment when you fail to find the specific book and fault your aging memory.

More importantly though, this is a rare occurrence, as for most of the year, I am usually content to let my bookshelf idle and gather dust (I can easily imagine communities springing to life when my back is turned, torturing protagonists, giving birth to new settings, and perhaps inventing a new word or two). It was only upon self-reflection that I realize I braved the perils of my bookshelf only when I wanted to impress someone, and by someone, I mean an individual who actually takes the time to read books and appreciates them. A few years back, there was a meme about dating someone who reads, and while not every reader is our ideal partner (I'm a selfish jerk for example), I'd like to think that I'll eventually end up with someone who is passionate about books. There's always a narrative, even if it's failure, when we go about choosing a book for someone; there's the time spent thinking what they might like, going through the process of procuring that specific title, and then convincing them to read it (and even if you succeed, might not lead to the intended consequences, in the same way that readers don't always arrive at the author's intentions). My heart flutters every time I go through this even if this eventually (100% so far) leads to disappointment, heartbreak, and depression.

There are a lot of adages I can console myself with but that's not what matters. There is still that moment, however brief, of joy that is boiled down to possibilities. And that's perhaps the beauty of the bookshelf: that there will always be options and divergent paths that's open and unique to each reader.

Now if only they'd find a cure for my allergies...

Guest Blog: Way Inside the Story by Karen Heuler

2013-02-27T18:21:00.000+08:00

We are each of us residing in our brains, looking at a world we decode with our various brain functions. If we’re lucky, everything works well and we see the world as it is. And one reason I love Oliver Sacks so much is how deft he was at presenting us with people who don’t see the same world we do. His stories in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat are rich and surreal, as tragic and beautiful as fiction. These are stories that tell us how we assemble the world around us; and how the structure can fall apart and we won’t even know it.

In my short story collection, The Inner City, people accept what they see no matter how “unreal” it may be; for them, it’s just part of their day. A woman comes across people growing up out of the soil, and because she’s retired and no longer of use, she finds a new purpose in allying herself with them. I imagined, for a while, writing a bunch of stories called “The League of Invisible Women”—stories that would show the power of women who have become socially invisible because they’re no longer young and lithesome. This could be one of those stories. She might be the only one who understands what’s happening and who chooses what to do about it. And because no one sees her as a threat, she’s invulnerable.

Most of my stories get their start from items in the news or other media. We’ve all seen occasional pieces about science and medicine trying trans-species grafts: mice with “human” ears; transplanted organs from pigs and apes or even dogs. Those transplants haven’t worked yet, but eventually something will work, in some variation that alarms us and then slips by us as it becomes familiar—like genetically modified food. At that point, not only will we grow transplants from “disposable” animals, we might see what happens when we mix and match desirable traits from humans and animals.

Not a nice thought, actually. I used this premise in “Down on the Farm.” We like dogs for their eagerness to please; mix that with male dominance and male desires and you get a very nasty world with an underclass of female human-dog hybrids as a new servant class. How would you feel about it—about using hybrid animals without having to worry about protecting anything like their rights?

This collection does tend to notice the animals around us. There are stories about fish that grant wishes; fish that walk and appear to be organizing themselves; there’s a cow that a girl creates from discarded packets of meat she got from the store. In “The Difficulties of Evolution,” people evolve into animals at some point in their lives, and the trick is to discover which one you are. Don’t we all know people who remind us of bears or cats or birds? What would happen if they stopped looking like them and started being them? Would they just be moved from one category to another in our brains?

We know things are going on behind our backs and it’s only a matter of time before it’s evident. It’s only too likely that someone else, behind the scenes, is controlling the parking spaces. Nothing is more inevitable than an ultimate showdown with nature. And haven’t we all been warned to be careful what we wish for? These stories are all based on reality! I wouldn’t be at all surprised if all of them were true.

And now to get back to Dr. Oliver Sacks and his patients.

The brain creates stories. The brain creates plots. The brain constantly tries to create a narrative. Writers are a lot like the brain—noticing, analogizing, finding a pattern, making it into a meaning. Telling a story. And readers like to find the stories that match up with that vaguely uneasy feeling they’ve been having. A good story makes life meaningful rather than random. It takes the memories and observations in our brains and comes up with a structure that rings with authenticity.

But is a story real?

I can only imagine you; I am glad to imagine you; I need to imagine you. Because in imagining you I begin to make up a tale that convinces me that what I say indeed is real.

Karen Heuler's stories have appeared in over sixty literary and speculative journals and anthologies, including several "Best of" collections. She's published a short story collection and three novels, and won an O. Henry award in 1998. She lives in New York with her dog, Philip K. Dick, and her cats, Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte.

Karen's site: http://www.karenheuler.com/
Karen's Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenHeuler
Karen's Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/726941.Karen_Heuler
Book page: http://chizinepub.com/books/inner-city.php

The Best Intentions...

2013-02-14T07:41:00.001+08:00

I've come to value perspective and empathy: I don't have it, but over the years, I've become aware that I don't have these qualities.

One of the problems when we talk about topics like diversity, privilege, racism, feminism, misogyny, etc. is that some participants think they see the entire picture. And despite the best intentions, we have shortcomings. For example, in 2012, some prominent bloggers tackle "World SF" in their own way. There was one person who talked about African Science Fiction but only chose to include Mike Resnick in his title. Or another who wanted more Chinese Science Fiction, but was asking to see more space-oriented fiction akin to the "Golden Age" of Western science fiction with China's space program. That's not to shame them, and they had the best of intentions, but it's also ignorant and they're probably unaware of what they did wrong (and I'm guilty of this too).

But what I want to talk about is how sometimes, in supporting a particular cause, we can end up neglecting others. Just look at the difference between third-wave feminism and second-wave feminism: the former addresses a lot of concerns for people who don't conform to the gender binary, while the latter does not. In practical terms, I might produce an anthology highlighting People of Color (POC) for example, but leave out women, or vice versa.

One not-so-recent Twitter conversation I saw for example was a publisher asking for gender stats from a magazine and the managing editor smartly replied that they couldn't just give out stats divided into male/female--at least not based on name alone (which, in itself, isn't exactly the most accurate way). Some contributors identify themselves with different gender identities so the binary statistics model doesn't fit. It didn't occur to me back then, but they made great sense. And again, it's a shortcoming of my existing paradigm.

That's not to say that we should give up on our causes since they're going to be flawed, but rather we need to keep an open mind and progress the conversation. While not all change is necessarily good, if we are to evolve to be better people in general, our ideas and beliefs also need to grow and develop.

Turning Off the Internet

2013-02-08T10:18:00.001+08:00

So far in 2013, I've turned off the Internet: no checking of RSS feeds, not browsing Livejournal (showing my Internet age here...), not keeping myself updated on Twitter and Facebook, no checking of stats, etc. And surprisingly, I'm totally fine with that. There's a lot of arguments, debates, and conflict that you end up avoiding--stressors that don't help your productivity (and right now, my productivity is nada).

It's a reminder for me that it's okay to step back, take a deep breath, and devote some personal time for yourself when needed. In the meantime, I'm taking baby steps when it comes to my blogging self (apologies for the lack of updates), hence this short blog entry.

Hope your 2013 is going well.

Updates, or Lack Thereof

2013-01-07T20:30:00.002+08:00

Apologies for the lack of updates. I'm currently recovering from the new day job (well, it's been new since December 2011) and the monotony of doing nothing but links for the past two years. Have I mentioned that I have an anthology from Lethe Press, published last year?

I'm hoping to recalibrate myself and perform my regular blogging duties by February 2013. There'll be reviews once again, although I'm also hoping to focus on local stuff that the day job doesn't publish, since not a lot of venues discuss or review Philippine fiction. I'm also hoping to spread out a bit, talking about my other passions.

Thanks for your time and if you're not comfortable with the direction the blog is heading, feel free to unsubscribe, unfollow, unfriend, etc.

And if you're still with me, thanks again for all the support.

December 27, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-27T07:19:00.000+08:00

Notice: Last links for the year.

Interviews and Profiles

Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) on Leonard S. Marcus.
Deborah J. Ross interviews Pati Nagle and Jeffrey Carver
Locus Roundtable on Collective Nouns.

Advice/Articles

Tor.com (Irene Gallo) on Art History Through Sci Fi Colored Glasses.
Fantasy Faction (Cheryl Morgan) on Women to Watch Out For in 2013.
The Book Smuggler (Rachel Hartman) Guest Post.
Innsmouth Free Press (Paula R. Stiles) on What’s So Great About Sword and Planet?
Smart Pop Books (Ellen Steiber) on The Divine Cat.
Wired (David Axe) on This Scientist Wants Tomorrow’s Troops to Be Mutant-Powered.
John Joseph Adams on Hugo Awards Nomination Period Opens Jan. 1 + Free Stuff for Worldcon Members.
Black Gate (David E. Harris) on Another Arbitrary Top 10 List: Fantasy Films.
WhatCulture! (Shaun Munro) on 10 Best Movie Villains of 2012.
io9 (Charlie Jane Anders) on The 12 Most Epic Action Heroes of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Ed Kurtz on The Best Damn Books of 2012.
BookRiot (Nicole Perrin) on Genre Kryptonite: Books You’ve Never Heard of By Authors You Have.
BookRiot (Kim Ukura) on Genre 2013 Calendars for Book Nerds.
BookRiot (Rebecca Joines) on Book Riot Readers’ Top 50 Favorite Novels.
Kirkus Reviews (John DeNardo) on Warhammer 40K in a Nutshell.

Reviews

Barnes and Noble Review (Amy Benfer) reviews The Last Dragonslayer.
My Bookish Ways reviews Inheritance.
Jamie Todd Tubin on Thoughts on The Hobbit.
Maurice Broaddus reviews The God Engines.

Art

News

December 26, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-26T06:41:00.000+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

Lightspeed Magazine (Earnie Sotirokos) interviews Sarah Langan.
Lightspeed Magazine (Geek's Guide to the Galaxy) interviews Tad Williams.
h+ magazine (Peter Rothman) interviews John Shirley.

Advice/Articles

Jim C. Hines on Christmas Pose-Off: Lights vs. Tights.
NPR (Jordan G. Teicher) on Literary Iceland Revels In Its Annual 'Christmas Book Flood'.
NPR (Glen Weldon) on Graphic Novels That Flew Under The Radar In 2012.
SciFiNow ( James Hoare & Daniel Cairns) on Top 20 Best Zombie Movies.

Reviews

Rich Horton on Summary: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2012.

Art

News

‘Game of Thrones’ Is Named Year’s Most Pirated Show. [via Andrew Porter]
Holiday Giveaway: Full Blooded.

December 25, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-25T07:41:00.002+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

Lawrence M. Schoen interviews Gareth L. Powell.

Advice/Articles

Omnivoracious (Susan J. Morris) on Why Side Characters Steal the Spotlight (and How to Steal Some Back).
Weird Fiction Review (Ann & Jeff VanderMeer) on Fourteen Notable Women Writers of the Weird.
Strange Chemistry (Jonathan L Howard) Best of 2012.
The New York Times (David Streitfeld) on Little Sign of a Predicted E-Book Price War.
Bare Bones E-Zine (Peter Enfantino & Jack Seabrook) on Batman in the 1970s Jumbo-Sized 50th Anniversary Issue!: July and August 1977.
The Qwillery (Caridad Pineiro) on Stop and Smell the Roses.

News

Peter F. Hamilton's Nights Dawn Trilogy - Reissued.

December 24, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-24T08:15:00.002+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

Azra Alagic interviews Angela Slatter.
Keith Brooke interviews Robert Freeman Wexler.
Next Big Thing with Janice Hardy.
Kirkus Reviews (Amy Goldschlager) interviews Adam Connell.
Robot Six (JK Parkin) interviews Faith Erin Hicks.
Examiner interviews Anne Rice.
Matthew Sylvester interviews Jonathan Green.
Weird Fiction Review (Adam Mills) interviews Justin Isis.

Advice/Articles

Weird Fiction Review (Adam Mills) on End of the Year Booklist: What Are Your Favorites?
Book Life Now (Troy D. Smith) on Using Meyers-Briggs to Keep Your Characters in Character.
Nora Swisher on Day Seven and Eight.
Three If By Space (Adam P. Knave) on What to expect when you’re expecting Science Fiction finales.
Books Worth Reading on Author Worth Reading: Octavia Butler and Madeleine L’Engle.
Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien News & Articles (Michael Martinez) on How Faithful is Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” to Tolkien’s Book?
Orbit (James Long) on Our Top Five Monsters from Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Geek Exchange (Andrew Liptak) on 12 Dystopian Future Films to Ride Out the End of the World (if you still think there’s a chance), 7 TV Shows that Document the Collapse of (non-Mayan) Society, and 10 Post-Apocalyptic Books (and a Graphic Novel) to Read After December 21st.
Geek Exchange (Brian Konner) on GEEK’s 20 Greatest Joker Moments Ever, Part I.
NPR (Maggie Stiefvater) on 5 Young Adult Novels That You'll Never Outgrow.

Reviews

Los Angeles Review of Books (Amy Goldschlager) reviews The Fractal Prince.
My Bookish Ways reviews The Martial War.
Carrie Cuinn reviews Fireside Magazine.
Andrew Wheeler reviews Dodger.
Wall Street Journal (Tom Shippey) reviews Nexus.

News

Events

Long Island, New York’s I-Con 32 Postponed.

We Are Dust edited by Mark Diaz Truman

December 21, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-21T07:31:00.001+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

Guy LeCharles Gonzales interviews Tobias Buckell.
SF Squeecast Episode 19 (podcast).
Fast Forward interviews Joe Haldeman (video).
Civilian Reader interviews EJ Swift.
Sense of Wonder interviews Tim Pratt.
Slate (June Thomas) interviews Fred Bass.
Spectrum interviews Michael Whelan.

Advice/Articles

Book View Cafe (Patricia Burroughs) on 2012 and Books I’ve Loved.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Business Rusch: Where Art Meets Commerce.
Book Life Now (Troy D. Smith) on Finding Your Audience and Branching Out.
Inkpunks (Erika Holt) on Scene-stealing Antagonists.
Tor Books Blog (John Gwynne) on The Inspiration Behind Malice.
Gwenda Bond on Emma Newman & A Split Worlds Story.
The Book Smugglers (Jen Reese) on books.
Shah Wharton (Angela Brown) on PUFF.
The Guardian (Richard Lea) on Darkness in literature: 'Nightfall' by Isaac Asimov.
DAW Books Book Discussion: "Shadowheart".
Kirkus Reviews (Andrew Liptak) on T.H. White's 'Once and Future King'.
Suvudu (Sarah Peed) on Dear Readers: A Letter from Sarah Peed.
Sci-Fi Fan Letter on If I Had ALL the Time in the World, Teen Edition part 2.
Timothy C. Ward on Why AudioTim is Back.
Australian Book Review (Matt Rubinstein) on Copyright law and enforcement in the age of the electronic book. [via BoingBoing]
NPR (Lynn Neary) on Self-Publishing: No Longer Just A Vanity Project.
Mashable (Eric Larson) on Scientist Says Human Cloning Could be Possible in 50 Years.
WhatCulture (Shaun Munro) on 10 Awesome Death Scenes From Awful Horror Movies.
Newsarama (Graeme McMlilan) on The 10 (Fictional) Comic Book People of the Year.
SciFiNow (James Hoare) on Top 5 best comics and graphic novels of 2012.
AbeBooks on The top 100 most searched for out-of-print books.
Tor.com (Adam McGovern) on Ending Well: The Best Comics You Won’t See in 2013.
Quill & Quire Canadian booksellers pick top science fiction and fantasy books of 2012.
The Telegraph (Tim Martin) on Science fiction and fantasy of the year.
Lit Reactor (Rajan Khanna) on Top Ten: The Year's Best Fantasy - 2012.

Reviews

The Functional Nerds (Catherine Russell) reviews Wyrd Sisters.
Tor.com (Grady Hendrix) on Cujo.

Art

Fantasy Art by Simon Palmér.

News

Events

Nick Mamatas & Brian Keene read at KGB Bar January 16.

The Kite of Stars and Other Stories by Dean Francis Alfar

December 20, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-20T07:49:00.002+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

Sense of Wonder interviews Tim Pratt.
My Bookish Ways interviews Diana Pharaoh Francis.
Fast Forward interviews Geoffrey A. Landis.
The Qwillery interviews Alexa Egan.
Omnivoracious (Seira Wilson) on Ally Condie (video).
Fantasy & Science Fiction (Stephen M) interviews Steven Popkes and Robert Reed.
CNN (Aaron Sagers) interviews Jenna-Louise Coleman.
Live Science (Stephanie Pappas) interviews Alan Alda.
Tor.com on Harriet McDougal, Tom Doherty, and Brandon Sanderson (video).

Advice/Articles

Mary Robinette Kowal (Anne Lyle) on The Merchant of Dreams.
John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Ramez Naam.
Tor Books Blog (Jamie Gibbs) on Beyond Boneshaker: The Extended Steampunk Universe.
Blastr (Matthew Jackson) on Why Neil Gaiman says his 2013 book tour may be his last ever.
Fantasy Faction (Eric Christensen) on Fantastic and Forgotten Christmas Stories.
Strange Chemistry on Cassandra Rose Clarke’s favourite movies.
Tor.com (Mordicai Knode) on Pathfinder’s Best Bestiaries.
Smart Pop Books (Dave Hodgson) on A New Eve.
John Wiswell on 10 Elements of Reality Not Allowed in Fiction.
Kirkus Reviews (John DeNardo) on Of Space Travel and Space Suits.
The New York Times on Favorite Book Cover Designs of 2012.
io9 (Charlie Jane Anders) on Best and Worst Science Fiction/Fantasy Movies of 2012.
Of Blog on New and forthcoming e-book collections/novel that you should consider reading.
RT Editors' Best of 2012: Regina's Picks.

Reviews

My Bookish Ways reviews Seed.

Art

News

Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott.

December 19, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-19T07:35:00.000+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

My Bookish Ways interviews Ramez Naam.
Flickering Myth (Trevor Hogg) interviews Ramez Naam.
Manga Maniac Cafe interviews Adrian Faulkner.
This is Horror interviews Lee Davis.
Tor.com (Stubby the Rocket) profiles Michael Moorcock.
Adventures in SciFi Publishing interviews Jack McDevitt (podcast).
Hollywood (Christian Blauvelt) interviews Timothy Zahn.
The Functional Nerds interviews Carrie Cuinn (podcast).

Advice/Articles

Fantasy Book Critic (Marianne de Pierres) on The Sentients of Orion.
Theodora Goss on Finding Your Core.
Janice Hardy on 10 Things to Remember About Sequels.
The Qwillery (Diana Pharaoh Francis) on Becoming a Hero.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Rachel Swirsky) on Highlights of 2012.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Veronica Schanoes) on Art's Emotional Extremes in 2012.
Weird Fiction Review (Quentin S. Crisp) on Yuugen Goes Without Saying.
The Guardian (Simon Dunn) on Anti-science fiction.
The King of Elfland's Second Cousin on Satire and the Fantastic.
David Levine on Seeking ebook reviewers.
Wired (Jason Huggins) on Robots Are Finding the Intersection of Cool and Useful.
Blastr (Scott Edelman) on 382 awesome holiday gift ideas for the sci-fi lovers in your life.
SciFiNow (Martin Glick) on Top 5 best science fiction and fantasy books of 2012.
The Galaxy Express on Does Sci-Fi Romance Need More Series To Succeed?
David Brin on The near future of manned spaceflight.
Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) on The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Collections of 2012.

Art

News

Events

December 18, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-18T07:49:00.000+08:00

Notice: Will be ending the link aggregation in 2013.

Interviews and Profiles

The Coode St. Podcast with Maureen McHugh.
My Bookish Ways interviews Mandy Hager.
Erin Underwood interviews Ellen Datlow & Chizine Publications.
The Qwillery interviews Trey Garrison.
SFFWorld.com interviews R.T. Kaelin.
Lawrence M. Schoen interviews Lavie Tidhar.
SFX (Dave Bradley) interviews Gareth L. Powell.
BBC The World interviews Ursula K. Le Guin and China Mieville (podcast).

Advice/Articles

Tobias Buckell on How I used Kickstarter to reboot a book series, and my career (and maybe my life?).
Omnivoracious (Susan J. Morris) on Turning Passive Plots into Active Plots.
Juliette Wade on Designing character interviews that really matter (including genre-inspired questions).
Sarah McCarry on C'est Nous: A Conversation In Solidarity with the Girl.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Sarah Tolmie) on 2012 In Review.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Jeffrey Ford) on Reading and Viewing in 2012.
Avery Book Nook (Adrienne Kress) on Comedy.
Book Life Now (Troy D. Smith) on Collaborative Novels: Like Herding Cats?
Tor Books Blog (Paul Cornell) on Writing Across the Mediums.
William King (Howard Andrew Jones) on Sword And Sorcery.
Ian Sales on Best of the year 2012.
Smart Pop Books (Thomas Flamson) on Free Will in a Deterministic Whedonverse.
Jamie Todd Rubin on Why I Don’t Self-Publish My Stories.
Kindertrauma (Kevin M.) on Superfriends: The Lord of Middle Earth.
Melville House (Claire Kelley) on Books for the end of the world.
Tor.com (Bridget McGovern) on 11 Odd, Campy, Surreal Holiday Specials That Should Be Classics.

Reviews

SciFiNow (Joe Dussander) on Top 5 best sci-fi, fantasy and horror films of 2012.
Functional Nereds (Paul Weimer) reviews Walk the Fire.
Locus (Howard Waldrop and Lawrence Person) review The Hobbit.
Barnes and Noble Review (Paul Di Filippo) on Almost Invisible Worlds.

Art

Requiem Angel by Eric Deschamps.

News

December 17, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-17T07:46:00.001+08:00

Interviews and Profiles

Furious Fiction interviews Karin Tidbeck (video).
Fran Wilde interviews Aliette de Bodard.
Fantasy Faction interviews Lou Morgan.
Speculate interviews Joe Abercrombie (podcast).
Timothy C. Ward interviews Ramez Naam (podcast).
Los Angeles Times (Irene Lacher) interviews Michael Chabon.
Locus interviews Elizabeth Bear.
The Agony Column interviews Tad Williams (podcast).

Advice/Articles

This is Horror (Geoff Brown) on 10 Must Read Australian Horror Writers.
Book View Cafe (Marie Brennan) on Folktale style.
Stroppy Author on Who pays the piper?
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Brit Mandelo) on The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2012.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Tansy Rayner Roberts) on Favourites of 2012.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Sue Lange) on The 2012 Experience.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Nancy Jane Moore) on Read and Appreciated in 2012.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Lynne M. Thomas) on The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing and Listening in 2012.
Book Life Now (Howard Andrew Jones) on Marketing.
Genevieve Valentine on Ten Things You Should Know About The Hobbit.

Reviews

Rich Horton Summary: F&SF, 2012.

Lives of Notorious Cooks by Brendan Connell

December 14, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-14T07:39:00.001+08:00

Interviews and Profiles

Bookwitch interviews Elizabeth Wein.
Chuck Wendig interviews Michael R. Underwood.
Ginger Nuts of Horror interviews Gary McMahon, Dave Watson.

Advice/Articles

Charles Stross (Stina Leicht) on The Algebraic Properties of Equality in SF.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Business Rusch: Writing Like It’s 2009.
Juliette Wade on Questioning the Monologue of Evil Triumph.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Rebecca Ore ) on Nicaragua and Alexandria.
Ambling Along the Aqueduct (Christopher Barzak ) on The Year in Review.
Cheryl Morgan on Women In Sensible Social Situations.
Jim C. Hines on Wait, What Were We Laughing At?
The Guardian (Damien Walter) on Alif the Unseen: speculative fiction meets the Arab spring.
Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice 2012: The Best Books We Read This Year.
Tor.com (Scott Bakal) on Creating the Art for Kathryn Cramer’s “Am I Free to Go?”.
Tor Books Blog (Louise Buckley) on Maps: From Concept to Finished Design.
Black Gate (Sarah Avery) on Teaching and Fantasy Literature: More on Writing, and Teaching, on Your Feet.
Fantasy Faction on The Craft - Part Five: Criticism.
Orbit (Ellen Wright) on What has The Hobbit meant to you?
Arcfinity (Jon Turney) on Forever Alone Drone.

Art

News

Events

December 13, 2012 Writing, Publishing, and Speculative Fiction Links and Plugs

2012-12-13T07:23:00.000+08:00

Interviews and Profiles

The Next Big Thing with Karen Lord, John Joseph Adams, Sarah McCarry, Nick Mamatas, Seanan McGuire, Shira Lipkin, Brit Mandelo.
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews Lois McMaster Bujold (podcast).
The Enchanted Inkpot (Cindy Pon) interviews Cinda Williams Chima.
The Agony Column interviews Graham Joyce (podcast).
My Bookish Ways interviews Melisa MacGregor.
StarShipSofa interviews Jeff Carlson (podcast).
Flickering Myth (Trevor Hogg) interviews Patrick Tatopoulos.
Jo Fletcher interviews Aidan Moher.
Flames Rising (Billzilla) interviews Edison T. Crux.