Beyond Selidor

Last weekend I bought a batch of novellas in an attempt to lift my flagging spirits. It was definitely the right thing to do: I devoured all four books, and they certainly contributed a lot to improve my mood.

It sounds odd to describe Aliette de Bodard's 'Fireheart Tiger' as something that cheered me up: with a fantasy setting directly referencing pre-colonial Vietnam, and telling the story of a princess trying to navigate political tensions, stave off a colonising power, prove her worth to her emotionally abusive mother, and figure out how to handle the arrival of the woman with whom she previously had an affair at the head of the colonising country's delegation to her mother's court, this is not exactly a light and fluffy story. Like much of de Bodard's writing, the story imagines a world in which homophobia and sexism do not exist (jobs and the ability to hold positions of authority are not tied to gender, relationships and marriages between same-sex partners are as ubiquitous and unremarkable as those between heterosexual couples), but in which racism and colonialism play a major role. This is a well-crafted story of a woman clawing her way out of various abusive relationships, finding her voice, and getting her happy ending.

I think my favourite of the four novellas would have to be 'The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water' by Zen Cho. This was a rollicking, wuxia-inspired tale, set in a world resembling Malaysia immediately after World War II, about a band of hapless (and somewhat incompetent) outlaws, joined by a no-nonsense nun, and their various misadventures. As with all of Cho's work, it was laugh-out-loud hilarious — she is such a good writer of humour, and this novella sparkled with her characteristic wit.

'When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain' by Nghi Vo might give Cho's novella a run for its money in my affections. This story sees two human characters held hostage by a pack of shapeshifting tigers, and having to save their lives by telling an engaging story, much in the manner of Scheherazade. It's a sharp, pointed tale, with a meandering story-with-in-a-story that explores issues of memory, history, and the slippery nature of narrative. I really, really enjoyed it.

Last of this recent batch of novellas was 'The Drowned Country' by Emily Tesh, the second half of her Greenhallow fantasy m/m romance duology. Like the first book, I found this good, rather than great — I feel like the characters are underdeveloped (meaning it's hard to invest in their will-they-won't-they romance), and I feel like the central premise (that the supernatural sits uneasily next to the quotidian world, always threatening to break through in ways that evoke folk horror imagery) is also a bit underdeveloped. This was one of those novellas that I felt really would have been better as a full-length novel, although I'm not sure the author would have been able to sustain things for that long. I liked the setting, though — an obvious analogue for Whitby in England, complete with throwaway references to vampires — while at the same time feeling that the whole thing was a little unformed.

I'm currently reading the fourth Bridgerton book, but I'm finding it hard to stay motivated, possibly due to the characters in the central romance. ( Spoilers for an eighteen-year-old book )

I suspect there will be more books to come this weekend.

In almost every fic exchange in which I have participated, I have requested the same thing: post-canon hurt/comfort with Paige and Warden from Samantha Shannon's Bone Season series.

And now I don't have to request it again, because the author herself has written it: an excellent little novella called The Dawn Chorus, which bridges the gap between the third book in the series, and the fourth, which is due to be published next year.

I am really loving this trend of authors writing what amounts to professional fanfic of their own series in novellas. As well as Samantha Shannon's book, Aliette de Bodard published Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders, a post-canon novella in her post-apocalyptic Dominion of the Fallen series in which my favourite pairing of characters, fallen angel Asmodeus and his Vietnamese dragon prince husband Thuan solve a murder mystery, uncover corruption in the dragon kingdom under the Seine, and finally get a chance to work together instead of at cross purposes.

What I appreciated most about the two novellas was the space they afforded to their characters' emotions and explorations of their relationships. This is why I describe them as 'published fanfic' — one of the things I love most about fanfic is that character or relationship studies are so often at the heart of the writing, but you don't see this in most published fiction, unless it's romance. I'd love to see it in more SFF series.

I've reviewed both novellas together over at my reviews blog. As always, I welcome comments and discussion either here on Dreamwidth or at the original post.

Like many people among my Dreamwidth circle (I've certainly discussed this with falena and I'm sure she's not the only one) I've had trouble focusing on books during the lockdown. What that's meant for me is limiting my reading to stories I find comforting and consoling (a lot of historical crime novels), and to short fiction (which, while it may not be comforting in content or tone, is short enough that my mind doesn't wander).

In the last two weeks of April, I read five short stories, and four novels.

( Novels )

( Short stories )

I reviewed the third book in Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen trilogy, The House of Sundering Flames.

The review is over on Wordpress, and you can comment here or there:

Atmospheric and dark, this is a book by an author at the top of her game. It’s tricky work, balancing explosions, intricate political manoeuvrings, several love stories, and the fierce, communal will to survive of a downtrodden but determined group of dispossessed people, but de Bodard pulls it off brilliantly.

Has anyone else read this book yet?

Thirty Day Book Meme Day 9: Film or TV tie-in

You know, I don't think I have ever owned, or even read, a book in this category. I've read lots of books that went in the other direction (i.e. were adapted for film or television), but not tie-ins. So rather than rack my brains trying to think of a book that I know doesn't exist, why don't those of you who do read tie-ins use the comments to tell me about your favourites?

( The other days )

Matthias and I are heading out later today to catch up with two of our friends who are visiting from Vienna. They're just two among the many people I know who have left the UK because of Brexit. It will be good to see them (we're all going out for a curry at a new restaurant), but I'm sad about the circumstances.

I don't have much to catch up on in terms of reading. I finished P. Djèlí Clarke's novella 'The Haunting of Tramcar 015' (another story set in an alternate, steampunk Egypt when djinn and other supernatural beings live openly among the human population), which was excellent, although as with all of Clarke's work, it left me wishing that it had been expanded to novel length. I also read 'Lullaby for a Lost World,' a creepy, gothic short story by Aliette de Bodard (freely available on the Tor.com website should you want to read it), and have begun reading God's War by Kameron Hurley. I'm nearly finished it, but it's left me with the conclusion that Hurley's writing is just not for me. It's grimdark in a specific way that I find really repellent, and I particularly dislike that she writes societies where women are uniformly violent, cruel, and exploitative (I do know that this is kind of her thing, so I wasn't unaware of this element going in). This is the second book of hers I've read, and I think it's probably time to stop trying her writing.

This week has been absolutely excellent for people saying brilliant, eloquent, important things.

To journey is to be human. To migrate is to be human. Human migration forged the world. Human migration will forge the future, writes Ishtiyak Shukri in 'Losing London'. This was the post of the week for me, and affected me deeply.

We already have the table of contents, but now we have the cover of Athena Andreadis's To Shape The Dark anthology, illustrated beautifully by Eleni Tsami.

I really loved this interview of Aliette de Bodard by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz: I’ve come to realize that “appealing to everybody” is a codeword for bland, unobjectionable stuff; or at the very least for something that doesn’t challenge the reader; and, just as I like to be challenged when I read, I would in turn like to do that to my readers!

Speaking of Aliette de Bodard's writing, she's put 'In Morningstar's Shadow', the prequel short story to The House of Shattered Wings, up online for free. I read it last weekend and loved it.

I liked this essay by Marianne de Pierres on Australian myths in contemporary SF, but I've been worrying away at some of its conclusions for reasons I can't quite articulate. Certainly I appreciate the recognition of Australian writing's emphasis on the dystopian and post-apocalyptic, but I worry about her characterisation of the Australian landscape as universally barren, inhospitable and predatory. Let's just say it is not so to all inhabitants of Australia, and is not represented as such in the stories of all Australians, although it is a really significant theme in Australian literature.

Sophie Masson wrote on authors in a changing publishing landscape. I smiled a little ruefully at this quote:

When my last adult novel, Forest of Dreams, came out in 2001, I was commissioned to write a piece for a newspaper on the historical background of the novel (a paid piece), and reviews of the book appeared in several print publications, despite its being genre fiction. When The Koldun Code, also genre fiction, came out in 2014, I had to write several guest posts for blogs, do interviews for online publications (all unpaid) and reviews only appeared online.

I did not review this book, but I did interview Masson and review several of her YA works for print publications, where I was paid for my work. Now I retweet links to her articles and review things exclusively online for free. Oh, how times have changed!

Authors who are parents have been posting about the experience. There are too many posts to include here, but you can find links to all of them at the #ParentingCreating hashtag.

The latest of Kari Sperring's 'Matrilines' columns, on Evangeline Walton, is up. I've been finding these columns both illuminating - in terms of introducing me to many authors whose work sounds right up my alley - and disheartening, in that almost all of them were entirely new to me, instead of well-known figures in the SF canon.

I found this post by Samantha Shannon on judging a literary award to be a very interesting read.

In a departure from these posts' usual content, I have a music recommendation: CHVRCHES' new album Every Open Eye. It stops my heart, in the best possible way.

The linkpost is early this week, as I'm going to be absolutely flat out all afternoon, and then away on various workshops and conferences. Oh, the glamorous librarian life!

I'll start with a few reviews and posts about books I loved, or books I'm very much looking forward to reading:

A joint review of Space Hostages by Sophia McDougall, at Booksmugglers.

Amal El-Mohtar reviews Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho.

Zen Cho chats with Mahvesh Murad about the book.

She talks more about the book here.

Cindy Pon talks about her new book, Serpentine.

SFF in Conversation is one of my favourite columns at Booksmugglers. In it, various groups of writers sit down to discuss topics that are important to them. The most recent features Aliette de Bodard, Zen Cho, Kate Elliott, Cindy Pon, and Tade Thompson, and I highly recommend it.

This is the first part of a BBC radio programme about British folklore, monsters, and the landscape.

The reviews continue to pour in a Those Who Run With Wolves. Recent reviewers have been Leticia Lara, Athena Andreadis, and Aliette de Bodard.

Ghostwords has returned with a vengeance! The latest post sports a cornucopia of links, leading the reader off on an internet treasure hunt.

I very much appreciated this post on No Award about Indigenous (and other) seasonal calendars.

In case you missed it, I reviewed Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear, The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard, and The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine. I loved them all.

Men Wearing A Military Helmet and Nothing Else in Western Art History: The Toast is a gift.

I hope your weekends are filled with as much fun stuff and opportunities for learning as mine will be.

This past weekend was just wonderful, without all that much actually happening. The weather was exactly as I like it, crisp, clear and bright, with the feeling of autumn in the air. While Matthias worked on his MA coursework, I pottered about, cooking, gardening, and making more fruit-infused liqueurs (blackberry-infused gin!).

I had all sorts of grand plans for lots of blogging, but in the end, the siren song of 8tracks was too much to resist. The result was this playlist:

All This Youth Makes Us Old from dolorosa_12 on 8tracks Radio.

(The description: We are only young and naive still. A playlist for the years full of promise, intensity of emotion, fragility and sharpness, when summers lasted forever and the future seemed very distant indeed.)

Speaking of 8tracks (which, honestly, is one of my favourite sites on the internet, because it's filled with people who think of music in the same way I do - as a story), this playlist is simply perfect.

I mentioned Those Who Run With Wolves, a new review website set up by Aliette de Bodard, in a recent linkpost, but what I neglected to say is that I will be contributing. I don't have anything published there as yet, although a review of mine is queued up and ready to go when it's my turn in the posting schedule. The team of reviewers is great, and I'm really happy to be a part of it.

Finally, I was having a great conversation on Twitter with rcloenenruiz, EPBeaumont and tylluan (with brief contributions from others, and sparked by an earlier comment of karisperring) about the importance of mentors and institutional and community support. The conversation moved too fast to follow, and I wish I'd been able to archive it somehow (Storify might be a possibility, but it was bouncing off in all sorts of different directions and would probably be hard to follow in that format). Twitter is great for conversations, but awful for keeping easy-to-follow records thereof. In any case, it got me thinking that I need to write something here on the subject, so consider this me keeping myself accountable on that score.

Well, it's been a while.

Chinelo Onwualu talks race, speculative fiction, and Afro SF.

Sophia McDougall's new book Space Hostages is out! I have my copy ready to read on my upcoming holiday! There is a book trailer, tumblr post and author interview!

Rather than linking to individual stories and essays, I'd like to simply direct you all to the latest issue of Uncanny Magazine. I've thoroughly enjoyed everything in it so far, in particular E Lily Yu's short story and Natalie Luhrs' column.

Two tables of contents for what look to be excellent anthologies:

To Shape the Dark (ed. Athena Andreadis).

Apex Book of World SF 4 (ed. Mahvesh Murad)

Here are two great Storifies on dealing with rejection, from authors Nalo Hopkinson and Elizabeth Bear, Rachel Manija Brown, Aliette de Bodard, Tobias Buckell, John Chu, Shveta Thakrar, Beth Bernobich, Jeremiah Tolbert and others. Rochita Loenen-Ruiz made both Storifies.

Rochita Loenen-Ruiz has revamped her books blog. The first post is a guest post by editor Didi Chanoch, talking about a new press he's launching.

This is a great interview with Aliette de Bodard.

I really appreciated this column by Renay about gatekeeping, fannish history and the SF 'canon'.

I also appreciated this interview with Kate Elliott.

I also loved Athena Andreadis' thoughts on Mad Max: Fury Road.

More on Fury Road: No Award's guide to Australian slang. That blog is a national treasure.

I hope you are all feeling wonderful.

This week's post goes from the sublime to the ridiculous (but mainly focuses on the sublime).

To start off, an absolutely fabulous roundtable on diversity. The participants are Aliette de Bodard, Zen Cho, M Sereno, Bogi Takács and JY Yang, moderated by Charles Tan.

Over at Ladybusiness, Renay has created a fabulous summer (or winter) reading recommendation list.

On a sadder note, Tanith Lee has died. Athena Andreadis has written a lovely tribute. Sophia McDougall shared an old anecdote about meeting Lee.

There are a lot of new updates at Where Ghostwords Dwell.

Sophia McDougall has posted an excerpt of Space Hostages, which will be published really soon.

You can enter a giveaway to win an ARC of House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard here.

I saw Mad Max: Fury Road this week and absolutely adored it. (If I had endless money and more time on my hands, I would have seen it at least five more times since Tuesday.) This essay by Tansy Rayner Roberts goes a long way towards explaining why.

I found this post by Kaye Wierzbicki over at The Toast very moving. (Content note: discussion of abortion.)

This is the last week of A Softer World and I am really not okay. This and this are probably my favourite recent comics of theirs.

Natalie Luhrs is reading what looks to be a terrible book for a good cause. I encourage everyone who has the ability to donate. I will be donating to an equivalent UK-based charity.

This post's title comes from my favourite Eurovision song this year, which didn't win. This did not bother me in the slightest.