Michael Swanwick's Blog, page 126
October 2, 2015
Ask Unca Mike
.
Science fiction and fantasy writers are a group are extraordinarily generous with advice to new writers. A moment's thought, however, reveals that this is just encouraging talented young people to occupy the publishing niches and win the awards that would otherwise go to to us Old Hands. Ask Unca Mike is an attempt to rectify this deplorable situation.
Puppies
Dear Unca Mike,
I'm unclear as to the whole puppy thing--why is it bad for writers to promote their own works? How is it any different from running a blog talking about what you're doing and asking people to read it?
Born Trouble-Maker
We can argue the ethics of this forever. But let's leave the final word to the puppies themselves. Various of their leaders have declared that the defeat of pretty much all their candidates was a complete victory for them, that the Hugo Award system is irrevocably broken, and that they are the true victims. So... mission accomplished, I guess.
Burned-Out and Looking for Love
Dear Unca Mike,
A friend of mine who has published books to his credit heard me complaining about not getting my SF stories published. "Why write SF?," he asked. "Crime fiction is easier to write and has a much bigger audience." Well, I tried. No sales yet, but it IS easier. The question is, how many stories can one write about a burned-out detective thrown off the police force who has been asked by an ex-girlfriend to protect her from a killer stalker?
Hopeful Author of DARK DELUSIONS
To judge by the literary record, there is no upper limit. Particularly when it comes to ex-girlfriends. John D. MacDonald chronicled the many-hued adventures of Travis Magee and, with one exception, his girlfriend (either ex- or current) died. The exception, however, bought it in the next volume in the series. You'd think that word would have gotten around, and Travis would have had no luck at all getting a date after the seventh or eighth death. But apparently women in fiction are a lot dumber than they are in real life.
If you have a question for Unca Mike you can post it below. Or write to AskUncaMike ("at" sign) gmail.com. I'll respond to those I have the best answers for.
Ask Unca Mike appears here on Fridays.
*
October 1, 2015
Fallen Leaves (October 1)
.
In celebration of October, I'm going to post a photograph of a fallen leaf every day of the month. That's in addition to my regular blogposts, which will appear as usual.
The fallen leaves project began with my realization that leaves die anonymously and without epitaphs, their small stories untold. So I decided to make up this absence.
That's all.
Above: Sponsorship and additional photography provided by the M. C. Porter Endowment for the Arts. Other leaves will appear on Facebook and Twitter.
*
In celebration of October, I'm going to post a photograph of a fallen leaf every day of the month. That's in addition to my regular blogposts, which will appear as usual.
The fallen leaves project began with my realization that leaves die anonymously and without epitaphs, their small stories untold. So I decided to make up this absence.
That's all.
Above: Sponsorship and additional photography provided by the M. C. Porter Endowment for the Arts. Other leaves will appear on Facebook and Twitter.
*
The Pyramid of Krakow
.
The sixth Mongolian Wizard story is up now at Tor.com . This is a key story in the sequence not only because it introduces a character who I anticipate will play a significant role in Ritter's future, but because it spells out exactly what's at stake in the wizard war that is midway through engulfing all of Europa.
As with the five earlier stories, it has an illustration (above) by the quite wonderful Gregory Manchess. I ran into him at Sasquan, and he asked me whether a particular event would happen in a future story.
"Would you want to know if the answer was yes?" I asked, and he looked unhappy.
This is Rule Three of dealing with authors: Never ask a question whose answer you might not want to hear.
You can read "The Pyramid of Krakow" here.
And because I know you want to know...
Rule Two is: Never tell an author how much you hated their work.
Rule One is: Buy the author a drink. A martini, preferably -- gin of course, dry, straight up, with an olive. Boodles, if they have it.
*
The sixth Mongolian Wizard story is up now at Tor.com . This is a key story in the sequence not only because it introduces a character who I anticipate will play a significant role in Ritter's future, but because it spells out exactly what's at stake in the wizard war that is midway through engulfing all of Europa.
As with the five earlier stories, it has an illustration (above) by the quite wonderful Gregory Manchess. I ran into him at Sasquan, and he asked me whether a particular event would happen in a future story.
"Would you want to know if the answer was yes?" I asked, and he looked unhappy.
This is Rule Three of dealing with authors: Never ask a question whose answer you might not want to hear.
You can read "The Pyramid of Krakow" here.
And because I know you want to know...
Rule Two is: Never tell an author how much you hated their work.
Rule One is: Buy the author a drink. A martini, preferably -- gin of course, dry, straight up, with an olive. Boodles, if they have it.
*
September 30, 2015
Chasing the Reviewers
.
Chasing the Phoenix has been out for a couple of months and the reviewers have had ample opportunity to take their whacks at it. And the results?
Almost embarrassingly positive. In Analog , Gary Sakers writes: "Swanwick is a masterful guide to the bizarre and hilarious adventures of Darger and Surplus. He keeps all the elements moving, suspending disbelief like a talented juggler. Not simply funny, this book sparkles with genuine wit. SF has seen many con artists; Darger and Surplus are a supreme example."
Kirkus calls the novel a "supple, artfully humorous, and vastly engaging yarn," and concludes, that "along with a splendid supporting cast, Swanwick offers a pair of delightful rogues whose chief flaw (like Jack Vance’s celebrated Cugel the Clever, a likely inspiration) is that they’re a little too crafty for their own good. Swanwick’s approaching top form, and this one’s just too good to miss."
Meanwhile, over at Publisher's Weekly says that, "Swanwick deftly incorporates the literature and history of imperial China into the established post-technology world. The style may distance readers who are more used to stories of emotional development, but as Darger’s schemes become more intricate, the intellectual puzzles keep interest right to the end."
In Shelf Awareness, Nancy Powell calls the novel a "sweeping fantasy epic," and states that "Swanwick deftly weaves myth and historical fact together to create an intriguing dystopic mystery whose resolution will elude readers until its final pages. His vision of China hinges on the fantastical, but it's a believable resemblance that gives the narrative a foreboding power.
Over in Booklist , David Pitt declares, "For readers who’ve never met Surplus and Darger, this book is like a breath of fresh air, witty and imaginative and just plain goofy fun. Fans of the duo (they’ve appeared in several short stories and one previous novel, Dancing with Bears, 2011) will be lining up for the book; libraries with large SF/fantasy collections may want to stock multiple copies."
Duncan Lawie's review in Strange Horizons begins "Darger and Surplus are back. If this means a lot to you, save some time and go fetch Chasing the Phoenix straightaway. If not, read on," and concludes by stating that "the ending is a delight. Swanwick builds a pleasurable reading experience at every level. From word choice and sentence shape to plot and character, each reflects and amplifies the other and the whole package is tied up with just enough loose ends to look forward to more in this series."
And finally, in the Chicago Tribune , Gary K. Wolfe writes, "Veteran fantasy readers will recognize Swanwick's duo as descendants of, and a tribute to, Fritz Leiber's beloved old sword and sorcery stories of an equally larcenous duo named Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, but Swanwick's snappy dialogue and satirical barbs are entirely his own."
I will not pretend that I find these reviews anything less than gratifying. But writers write to be read. So I encourage you all to buy a copy or borrow one from the library or a friend. That would please me even more.
And for those who haven't read the first Darger & Surplus novel...
I want to make it clear that each of Darger and Surplus's adventures is a stand-alone work. There's no need to read the earlier book before reading Chasing the Phoenix . True fact.
*
Chasing the Phoenix has been out for a couple of months and the reviewers have had ample opportunity to take their whacks at it. And the results?
Almost embarrassingly positive. In Analog , Gary Sakers writes: "Swanwick is a masterful guide to the bizarre and hilarious adventures of Darger and Surplus. He keeps all the elements moving, suspending disbelief like a talented juggler. Not simply funny, this book sparkles with genuine wit. SF has seen many con artists; Darger and Surplus are a supreme example."
Kirkus calls the novel a "supple, artfully humorous, and vastly engaging yarn," and concludes, that "along with a splendid supporting cast, Swanwick offers a pair of delightful rogues whose chief flaw (like Jack Vance’s celebrated Cugel the Clever, a likely inspiration) is that they’re a little too crafty for their own good. Swanwick’s approaching top form, and this one’s just too good to miss."
Meanwhile, over at Publisher's Weekly says that, "Swanwick deftly incorporates the literature and history of imperial China into the established post-technology world. The style may distance readers who are more used to stories of emotional development, but as Darger’s schemes become more intricate, the intellectual puzzles keep interest right to the end."
In Shelf Awareness, Nancy Powell calls the novel a "sweeping fantasy epic," and states that "Swanwick deftly weaves myth and historical fact together to create an intriguing dystopic mystery whose resolution will elude readers until its final pages. His vision of China hinges on the fantastical, but it's a believable resemblance that gives the narrative a foreboding power.
Over in Booklist , David Pitt declares, "For readers who’ve never met Surplus and Darger, this book is like a breath of fresh air, witty and imaginative and just plain goofy fun. Fans of the duo (they’ve appeared in several short stories and one previous novel, Dancing with Bears, 2011) will be lining up for the book; libraries with large SF/fantasy collections may want to stock multiple copies."
Duncan Lawie's review in Strange Horizons begins "Darger and Surplus are back. If this means a lot to you, save some time and go fetch Chasing the Phoenix straightaway. If not, read on," and concludes by stating that "the ending is a delight. Swanwick builds a pleasurable reading experience at every level. From word choice and sentence shape to plot and character, each reflects and amplifies the other and the whole package is tied up with just enough loose ends to look forward to more in this series."
And finally, in the Chicago Tribune , Gary K. Wolfe writes, "Veteran fantasy readers will recognize Swanwick's duo as descendants of, and a tribute to, Fritz Leiber's beloved old sword and sorcery stories of an equally larcenous duo named Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, but Swanwick's snappy dialogue and satirical barbs are entirely his own."
I will not pretend that I find these reviews anything less than gratifying. But writers write to be read. So I encourage you all to buy a copy or borrow one from the library or a friend. That would please me even more.
And for those who haven't read the first Darger & Surplus novel...
I want to make it clear that each of Darger and Surplus's adventures is a stand-alone work. There's no need to read the earlier book before reading Chasing the Phoenix . True fact.
*
September 28, 2015
Moonstruck
.
So did you see the lunar eclipse last night?
Marianne and I went down to the beach and sat on the sand, which turned out to be the the best way to do it. The moonglimmer on the Atlantic was bright and broad at first. Then the eclipse began. At first it was simply a by-the-books darkening and dimunition of the lunar disk. But then, when the moon had slipped almost entirely into the Earth's umbra, the disk faded into visibility, reddish and evocative. The ocean beneath it went dark.
As the moon drifted deeper into shadow it grew ruddier and more obviously spherical. It looked a lot like the paintings of the Red Planet, back when the surface of Mars was known only in the vaguest and muzziest detail.
I could not help thinking of the ancient Greeks and the Babylonians before them and the now-forgotten peoples before them both, who studied the skies with only their unaided eyes and their native wits. They could see the moon recapitulating a full month's waxing and waning in the course of a few hours -- only in retrograde. What could it mean?
Some of the moon's secrets could discovered by the ancients. But many more awaited the discovery of the telescope. There followed centuries of improvements in optics. But the new discoveries were incremental until the second half of the past century when human beings went from squinting through telescopes to walking on the moon.
So many thousands-of-years-old questions were answered within my lifetime! I could not help but wonder what questions, easily articulated today, must remain unanswered until, millennia hence, instruments unimaginable to us make their discovery possible.
Anyway, it was a good eclipse. Despite the "supermoon" hype, it wasn't noticeably better than other lunar eclipses. I remember in particular standing in my back yard, some years back, staring at a reddening moon when Bobby next door came out to put a bag of garbage in the trash can. When he asked what I was looking at, I pointed to the eclipse.
"Get out of here!" he exclaimed.
So I am happy and so too, I hope, are you.
.
So did you see the lunar eclipse last night?
Marianne and I went down to the beach and sat on the sand, which turned out to be the the best way to do it. The moonglimmer on the Atlantic was bright and broad at first. Then the eclipse began. At first it was simply a by-the-books darkening and dimunition of the lunar disk. But then, when the moon had slipped almost entirely into the Earth's umbra, the disk faded into visibility, reddish and evocative. The ocean beneath it went dark.
As the moon drifted deeper into shadow it grew ruddier and more obviously spherical. It looked a lot like the paintings of the Red Planet, back when the surface of Mars was known only in the vaguest and muzziest detail.
I could not help thinking of the ancient Greeks and the Babylonians before them and the now-forgotten peoples before them both, who studied the skies with only their unaided eyes and their native wits. They could see the moon recapitulating a full month's waxing and waning in the course of a few hours -- only in retrograde. What could it mean?
Some of the moon's secrets could discovered by the ancients. But many more awaited the discovery of the telescope. There followed centuries of improvements in optics. But the new discoveries were incremental until the second half of the past century when human beings went from squinting through telescopes to walking on the moon.
So many thousands-of-years-old questions were answered within my lifetime! I could not help but wonder what questions, easily articulated today, must remain unanswered until, millennia hence, instruments unimaginable to us make their discovery possible.
Anyway, it was a good eclipse. Despite the "supermoon" hype, it wasn't noticeably better than other lunar eclipses. I remember in particular standing in my back yard, some years back, staring at a reddening moon when Bobby next door came out to put a bag of garbage in the trash can. When he asked what I was looking at, I pointed to the eclipse.
"Get out of here!" he exclaimed.
So I am happy and so too, I hope, are you.
.
September 25, 2015
As Unca Mike
.
Science fiction and fantasy writers are a group are extraordinarily generous with advice to new writers. A moment's thought, however, reveals that this is just encouraging talented young people to occupy the publishing niches and win the awards that would otherwise go to to us Old Hands. Ask Unca Mike is an attempt to rectify this deplorable situation.
There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom
Dear Unca Mike,
Why are there so many awful stories being published, and how do I get mine to be one of them?
Awfully Ambitious
If editors had their way, they would only publish wonderful stories. But they have schedules to keep and magazines to fill, and so they settle for what they can get. The moral here is obvious: aim low. Awful stories are both easier and faster to write than good ones. If you flood the magazine’s in-box, you have a greater chance of your story being the one grabbed when he editor says, “The heck with it. I’ll print this stinker here.”
Culture, Popular and Not
Old Man,
Why are writers so bad at popular culture? In every story that includes it, it always feels ham-fisted and forced. Is there a good way to include movies or music or video games without sounding like a sixty year old white dude?
Too Young and With-It To Read Your Stuff
If you think I’m old, you should see how old the average editor is! John W. Campbell was editing well into his seventeenth decade. Naturally, this makes editors culturally conservative. When I was starting out, it was almost impossible to sell a story about rock and roll – and that was in the 1980s, when people were first beginning to realize that rock was no longer a viable art form. What editors wanted then was stories about jazz. Today, it’s almost impossible to sell a story about rap or hip-hop culture. A newer, younger generation of editors wants stories about rock and roll.
So if you want to include current popular culture in your work, the best thing to do is to write it now and set it aside until you’re sixty years old.
If you have a question for Unca Mike you can post it below. Or write to AskUncaMike ("at" sign) gmail.com. I'll respond to those I have the best answers for.
Ask Unca Mike appears here on Fridays.
*
September 23, 2015
Yet Another Story I Wish You Guys Would Stop Writing
.I was leafing through an old science fiction magazine the other day -- never you mind which one -- and I came across three -- count 'em! three! -- stories which can be summarized as: The protagonist is nursing an old emotional injury which makes him or her very unhappy. A series of extraordinary events ensue which result in the protagonist cheering up. And that's it. End of story.
There was no reason for these stories to be science fiction or fantasy. The protagonist could have been brought out the motivating subclinical depression by a few kind words from a saintly hobo or a wise-beyond-her-years five-year-old or even looking upon a host of golden daffodils and reflecting on the benevolent nature of the Deity. These are stories that should have been written as bad mainstream stories.
What happens in a science fiction story? Computerization allows monks to fulfill the purpose of the universe overnight and "one by one, without any fuss," the stars begin winking out. ("The Nine Billion Names of God.") A time traveller in the Cretaceous steps on a butterfly and returns home to find his own era horribly changed. ("A Sound of Thunder.") Male astronauts return to Earth to discover a functioning Utopia occupied entirely by women; who, to maintain their happy society, put the returning men to death. ("Houston, Houston, Do You Read?")
It's not just that the stories I read the other day are fables of consolation while the classics set out to overthrow the reader's complacency. It's that in the great stories things change. Irrevocably.
And science fiction is the literature of change.
*
There was no reason for these stories to be science fiction or fantasy. The protagonist could have been brought out the motivating subclinical depression by a few kind words from a saintly hobo or a wise-beyond-her-years five-year-old or even looking upon a host of golden daffodils and reflecting on the benevolent nature of the Deity. These are stories that should have been written as bad mainstream stories.
What happens in a science fiction story? Computerization allows monks to fulfill the purpose of the universe overnight and "one by one, without any fuss," the stars begin winking out. ("The Nine Billion Names of God.") A time traveller in the Cretaceous steps on a butterfly and returns home to find his own era horribly changed. ("A Sound of Thunder.") Male astronauts return to Earth to discover a functioning Utopia occupied entirely by women; who, to maintain their happy society, put the returning men to death. ("Houston, Houston, Do You Read?")
It's not just that the stories I read the other day are fables of consolation while the classics set out to overthrow the reader's complacency. It's that in the great stories things change. Irrevocably.
And science fiction is the literature of change.
*
September 22, 2015
This Glitterati Life: Part 7,655
.
Yesterday I ended up the promo season for Chasing the Phoenix with an appearance at the Penn Bookstore at 36th and Walnut, here in Philadelphia. There was a good crowd and a good response to the reading and now I'm done until the next book. For which I am grateful. Public appearances are fun and I enjoy schmoozing with the people I meet, but after a month or so, one gets tired of the sound of one's own voice.
That's me up above, looking unaccountably scowly.
Among the crowd were a couple of friends, my son, and two of my Emergency Back-Up Sons. Which caused me to reflect on the fact that as a rule the people who show up for bookstore readings are as interesting as the guy at the podium. There were a couple of writers there, one new and one established, a playwright, and so on. I'm assuming that those I didn't know were as interesting in their own rights.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, the book was launched and has been garnering rave reviews, and now I'm going to crawl back into my cave and write, write, write.
Above: Photo by M. C. Porter.
*
Yesterday I ended up the promo season for Chasing the Phoenix with an appearance at the Penn Bookstore at 36th and Walnut, here in Philadelphia. There was a good crowd and a good response to the reading and now I'm done until the next book. For which I am grateful. Public appearances are fun and I enjoy schmoozing with the people I meet, but after a month or so, one gets tired of the sound of one's own voice.
That's me up above, looking unaccountably scowly.
Among the crowd were a couple of friends, my son, and two of my Emergency Back-Up Sons. Which caused me to reflect on the fact that as a rule the people who show up for bookstore readings are as interesting as the guy at the podium. There were a couple of writers there, one new and one established, a playwright, and so on. I'm assuming that those I didn't know were as interesting in their own rights.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, the book was launched and has been garnering rave reviews, and now I'm going to crawl back into my cave and write, write, write.
Above: Photo by M. C. Porter.
*
September 21, 2015
The Entrance to Halloween Country
.
It's almost autumn -- and autumn is Halloween Country. Which makes it my time of year.
So it's appropriate that I spent part of Saturday at the grand opening of a new entrance to Laurel Hill Cemetery, here in Philadelphia.
Laurel Hill is a grand Victorian necropolis thronged with mourning marble angels on pillars and granite vaults with stained glass windows. Before the age of motorcars, Philadelphians used to pack picnic lunches and take a boat up the river so they could share a Sunday afternoon with their departed loved ones. Not many people take picnic lunches there anymore, but the cemetery puts on tours and events and even an annual Gravediggers' Ball. They actively encourage people to take advantage of this cultural and architectural gem. People put it to a variety of positive purposes.
Many of the leaves and all the graves of my photostream book October Leaves were photographed there.
The new entrance to the cemetery opens onto Kelly Drive (the old West River Drive) so that now it can now be accessed from the Schuylkill, thus providing a link not only to the river but to the cemetery's past.
In addition to speeches, etc., there was a performance by Invisible River , which began with dancers in black mourning clothes arriving by paddle board (rather amateurish pix of them above left and below), and aerialists dancing high in the trees. Which, frankly, I found wonderful.
When the ritual blessing of the new entryway was over, everybody flowed up the new steps and into the cemetery. Summer was almost over and Halloween Season about to begin.
You can view October Leaves here. Or even buy it as a Dragonstairs Press Blurb book here.
And don't forget . . .
Tonight is my final reading and signing for Chasing the Phoenix . I'm hoping for a good turnout, because it's always depressing when that doesn't happen. So invite your friends and family. It's free!
That's:
P enn Bookstore September 21 at 6:00 p.m.
free3601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
*
It's almost autumn -- and autumn is Halloween Country. Which makes it my time of year.
So it's appropriate that I spent part of Saturday at the grand opening of a new entrance to Laurel Hill Cemetery, here in Philadelphia.
Laurel Hill is a grand Victorian necropolis thronged with mourning marble angels on pillars and granite vaults with stained glass windows. Before the age of motorcars, Philadelphians used to pack picnic lunches and take a boat up the river so they could share a Sunday afternoon with their departed loved ones. Not many people take picnic lunches there anymore, but the cemetery puts on tours and events and even an annual Gravediggers' Ball. They actively encourage people to take advantage of this cultural and architectural gem. People put it to a variety of positive purposes.Many of the leaves and all the graves of my photostream book October Leaves were photographed there.
The new entrance to the cemetery opens onto Kelly Drive (the old West River Drive) so that now it can now be accessed from the Schuylkill, thus providing a link not only to the river but to the cemetery's past.
In addition to speeches, etc., there was a performance by Invisible River , which began with dancers in black mourning clothes arriving by paddle board (rather amateurish pix of them above left and below), and aerialists dancing high in the trees. Which, frankly, I found wonderful.
When the ritual blessing of the new entryway was over, everybody flowed up the new steps and into the cemetery. Summer was almost over and Halloween Season about to begin.
You can view October Leaves here. Or even buy it as a Dragonstairs Press Blurb book here.
And don't forget . . .
Tonight is my final reading and signing for Chasing the Phoenix . I'm hoping for a good turnout, because it's always depressing when that doesn't happen. So invite your friends and family. It's free!
That's:
P enn Bookstore September 21 at 6:00 p.m.
free3601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
*
September 18, 2015
Ask Unca Mike
.
Science fiction and fantasy writers are a group are extraordinarily generous with advice to new writers. A moment's thought, however, reveals that this is just encouraging talented young people to occupy the publishing niches and win the awards that would otherwise go to to us Old Hands. Ask Unca Mike is an attempt to rectify this deplorable situation.
The Collected Wisdom of Unca Mike
Dear Unca Mike,
I can't seem to get an editor of an SF magazine to publish me. I've read a lot of your advice, but I'm sure I must have missed some of it along the way or I would be published by now. Will it all ever be collected into an e-book or, even, a paperback?
Sincerely, "Thank you for submitting, but..."
What a great idea! Unfortunately, all my time is taken up writing for publication. But this is exactly the kind of lateral thinking I encourage unpublished writers to engage upon: When a respectable editor won't touch your stuff with a stick, consider e-publication. By considering somebody else's e-publication, you've kicked things up to the next level. My sincerest compliments.
If you have a question for Unca Mike you can post it below. Or write to AskUncaMike ("at" sign) gmail.com. I'll respond tho those I have the best answers for.
Ask Unca Mike appears here on Fridays.
*
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