Adams, John Joseph, ed: Seeds of Change 9/2008 One book that I have read recently is the John Joseph Adams-edited anthology Seeds of Change, in fact, this was my in-flight reading on the long, long flight back from Worldcon (and may have been one of the only things keeping me sane on said flight). Seeds of Change is a short collection (240 pages) of nine original science fiction stories by the likes of Jay Lake, Tobias S. Buckell, Ted Kosmatka, and K.D. Wentworth, each of which marks the turning point, the paradigm shift, between now and "the future." The collection's agenda is quite progressive, with stories tackling racism, peak oil, scarcity, and electoral politics, among other themes, but never coming across as preachy or polemic. Perhaps my favorite story of the collection is Blake Charlton's "Endosymbont," which deals smartly with the question of artificial intelligence and what it is that makes one human. You can read an excerpt from "Endosymbont," as well as complete stories by Jay Lake, Tobias S. Buckell, and Jeremiah Tolbert, at the Seeds of Change website. And while you're there, check out the very cool trailer. Trust me on this one.
Davin, Eric Leif: Partners in Wonder 8/2008 Eric Leif Davin's Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction 1926-1965 is an impressive work, skewering the myths of female involvement (that is, the lack thereof) in the formation of science fiction. Davin applies the scientific method to the "common wisdom" that women writers have been criminally underrepresented in the genre. I'm about a hundred pages in as I write this (early August 2008), but this quote summarizes Davin's arguments well: "If any woman believes that science fiction and fantasy publishers are closed to women, she is either gravely misinformed, or she is making excuses for her own incompetence by attributing her failure to editorial prejudice" -- Marion Zimmer Bradley (1977).
Donaldson, Stephen R.: Lord Foul's Bane 6/2008 I've been reading Lord Foul's Bane lately, the first of Stephen R. Donaldson's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, which I picked up in hardcover at the last library sale, drawn in by the "S.C. Wyeth" jacket illustrations (they reminded me of Richard Pellegrino's cover art for Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers by way of Maxfield Parrish). Lord Foul's Bane is essentially, to borrow a term from Farah Mendelsohn, a portal-quest fantasy (like C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz) deepened by adult themes and situations: suicidal depression, hopelessness, hallucination vs. reality, and sexual violence. continue
Leiber, Fritz: The First Book of Lankhmar 10/2008 Collecting Fritz Leiber's first four Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser books, The First Book of Lankhmar contains some of the best swords-and-sorcery tales out there. High points include 1959's "Lean Times in Lankhmar," 1963's "Bazaar of the Bizarre," and 1964's "The Lords of Quarmall." Great stuff!
VanderMeer, Jeff and Ann, ed: The New Weird 2/2008 I've been reading The New Weird lately, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer's recent Tachyon collection of the sort of bizarre, visceral, urban fantasy that's had the placard card reading "New Weird" hung about its neck for the past few years. continue
