Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond - Posts Tagged "old-venus"
Old Venus ToC Announced
George R.R. Martin has announced that Old Venus, a theme anthology he has co-edited with Gardner Dozois, has been turned in to the publisher, Bantam Spectra. It should be out next year.
It's an anthology of stories set in that swampy, dinosaur-ridden Venus-of-the-mind that used to exist before we sent probes that revealed it to be a sulphurous hell-hole.
The antho brings together some stellar names. My contribution is a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster romp, with the names changed to protect the innocent (me) from lawsuits.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSEE, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
It's an anthology of stories set in that swampy, dinosaur-ridden Venus-of-the-mind that used to exist before we sent probes that revealed it to be a sulphurous hell-hole.
The antho brings together some stellar names. My contribution is a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster romp, with the names changed to protect the innocent (me) from lawsuits.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSEE, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
Old Venus Table of Contents
George R.R. Martin has posted the ToC and release date (March 3, 2015) for Old Venus, another retro-sf anthology consisting of stories written by current authors set in the Venus-of-the-mind that existed before space probes and fly-bys showed our sister planet to be an acidic hell-hole hot enough to melt the eyeballs of anyone dumb enough to go there.
Here's who's in:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSS, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
My contribution, "Greeves and the Evening Star" is a Jeeves-and-Bertie style Wodehousian romp.
This is the fourth Martin/Dozois antho I've been included in since Songs of the Dying Earth came out in 2010. The others are Old Mars and Rogues, the latter to be on sale a couple of weeks from now. I'm very interested to see if Rogues brings me new readers, because it looks to be heading for New York Times bestsellerdom, judging by the Amazon ranking. At the moment of writing, it's the number one selling sf/fantasy anthology, based on pre-orders, although it's actually a cross-genre work and a hardcover priced at US$22.21.
I haven't checked all the ToCs closely, but I may be the only author to be in all four anthos. I wasn't supposed to be in Old Mars, though; George and Gardner asked me to put in a story -- "The Ugly Duckling," a Martian Chronicles pastiche -- when someone dropped out at the last minute.
Here's who's in:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
FROGHEADS, by Allen M. Steele
THE DROWNED CELESTRIAL, by Lavie Tidhar
PLANET OF FEAR, by Paul McAuley
GREEVES AND THE EVENING STAR, by Matthew Hughes
A PLANET CALLED DESIRE, by Gwyneth Jones
LIVING HELL, by Joe Haldeman
BONES OF AIR, BONES OF STONE, by Stephen Leigh
RUINS, by Eleanor Arnason
THE TUMBLEDOWNS OF CLEOPATRA ABYSS, by David Brin
BY FROGSLED AND LIZARDBACK TO OUTCAST VENUSIAN LEPERS, by Garth Nix
THE SUNSET OF TIME, by Michael Cassutt
PALE BLUE MEMORIES, by Tobias S. Buckell
THE HEART'S FILTHY LESSON, by Elizabeth Bear
THE WIZARD OF THE TREES, by Joe R. Lansdale
THE GODSTONE OF VENUS, by Mike Resnick
BOTANICA VENERIS: THIRTEEN PAPERCUTS BY IDA COUNTESS RATHANGAN, by Ian McDonald
My contribution, "Greeves and the Evening Star" is a Jeeves-and-Bertie style Wodehousian romp.
This is the fourth Martin/Dozois antho I've been included in since Songs of the Dying Earth came out in 2010. The others are Old Mars and Rogues, the latter to be on sale a couple of weeks from now. I'm very interested to see if Rogues brings me new readers, because it looks to be heading for New York Times bestsellerdom, judging by the Amazon ranking. At the moment of writing, it's the number one selling sf/fantasy anthology, based on pre-orders, although it's actually a cross-genre work and a hardcover priced at US$22.21.
I haven't checked all the ToCs closely, but I may be the only author to be in all four anthos. I wasn't supposed to be in Old Mars, though; George and Gardner asked me to put in a story -- "The Ugly Duckling," a Martian Chronicles pastiche -- when someone dropped out at the last minute.
Lots of stories coming up
Lots of things to report, since I've been off-line almost two months:
"Enter Saunterance" is the latest installment in the serialized novel, The Kaslo Chronicles, now up for a free read at Lightspeed Magazine.
This month also saw the reprinting of the first Rafffalon tale, "Wearaway and Flambeau," in Sean Wallace's anthology, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF WARRIORS AND WIZARDRY.
I've turned in the last episode of Kaslo, so Lightspeed will be running the remaining chapters through to the end of the novel sometime in 2015.
"Prisoner of Pandarius," another tale of Raffalon, my archetypal journeyman thief, should run in the January/December issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . Gordon van Gelder has two more Raffalon stories in inventory, which should run in 2015.
I'll do at least a couple more Raffalons to make sure I have a collection's worth. Then I'll self-publish them as an ebook and POD paperback, once they've all run. I'll include the actual first-written Raffalon story, written for George R.R. Martin's and Gardner Dozois's cross-genre anthology, ROGUES, which made the bestseller lists and is a bargain at Amazon where it's discounted about forty percent.
Something I'm particularly proud of is a Jeeves and Wooster pastiche in OLD VENUS, the next Martin/Dozois antho coming out in March.
And I'm thinking of reviving my corpulent master criminal of the Archonate, Luff Imbry, in a few stories and offering them to John Joseph Adams at Lightspeed. BTW, my self-pubbed Imbry collection, THE MEANING OF LUFF AND OTHER STORIES, did not win the Endeavour Award earlier this month, but making the shortlist of five out of a longlist of forty-five is not bad.
For Imbry fans, "Of Whimsies and Noubles," the third in the trio of novellas published by PS Publishing in the UK, is now available in two limited editions, one of them signed.
"Enter Saunterance" is the latest installment in the serialized novel, The Kaslo Chronicles, now up for a free read at Lightspeed Magazine.
This month also saw the reprinting of the first Rafffalon tale, "Wearaway and Flambeau," in Sean Wallace's anthology, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF WARRIORS AND WIZARDRY.
I've turned in the last episode of Kaslo, so Lightspeed will be running the remaining chapters through to the end of the novel sometime in 2015.
"Prisoner of Pandarius," another tale of Raffalon, my archetypal journeyman thief, should run in the January/December issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . Gordon van Gelder has two more Raffalon stories in inventory, which should run in 2015.
I'll do at least a couple more Raffalons to make sure I have a collection's worth. Then I'll self-publish them as an ebook and POD paperback, once they've all run. I'll include the actual first-written Raffalon story, written for George R.R. Martin's and Gardner Dozois's cross-genre anthology, ROGUES, which made the bestseller lists and is a bargain at Amazon where it's discounted about forty percent.
Something I'm particularly proud of is a Jeeves and Wooster pastiche in OLD VENUS, the next Martin/Dozois antho coming out in March.
And I'm thinking of reviving my corpulent master criminal of the Archonate, Luff Imbry, in a few stories and offering them to John Joseph Adams at Lightspeed. BTW, my self-pubbed Imbry collection, THE MEANING OF LUFF AND OTHER STORIES, did not win the Endeavour Award earlier this month, but making the shortlist of five out of a longlist of forty-five is not bad.
For Imbry fans, "Of Whimsies and Noubles," the third in the trio of novellas published by PS Publishing in the UK, is now available in two limited editions, one of them signed.
Stephen Fry reads me . . . aloud
I’ve mentioned before that I’m rather proud of a Jeeves-and-Bertie pastiche called “Greeves and the Evening Star,” that is my contribution to the latest Martin/Dozois theme anthology, Old Venus (scheduled for release March 3). Well, I’m even more chuffed to report that for the audio version of the book, my story is narrated by the hands-down, best-ever portrayer of the inimitable Jeeves: Stephen Fry.
The reading was recorded a couple of weeks ago, and led to a palm-to-forehead slap on my part. You see, there was a bit in the first draft where Bartie (my version of Bertie) referenced Ulysses’s stuffing his ship’s crew’s ears with beeswax so he can sail close enough to the isle of the Sirens to hear their song without being drawn to destruction on the rocks. But Bartie, in a 1066 and All That fashion, also mixes in Jason and the Argonauts.
All very well, and amusing to those who can keep their myths separate, but I later rewrote the passage to have Greeves (Jeeves, of course) straighten the young master out. But then I rewrote it again, and didn’t notice that I’d let Jeeves drop the clanger. Which he would never do. As Stephen Fry noted when he saw the text.
Ah, well. It’s right in the audio version at least. And I’m still dead chuffed about the reading. And if you’ve never seen the Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie renditions of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, do so. Right now.
The reading was recorded a couple of weeks ago, and led to a palm-to-forehead slap on my part. You see, there was a bit in the first draft where Bartie (my version of Bertie) referenced Ulysses’s stuffing his ship’s crew’s ears with beeswax so he can sail close enough to the isle of the Sirens to hear their song without being drawn to destruction on the rocks. But Bartie, in a 1066 and All That fashion, also mixes in Jason and the Argonauts.
All very well, and amusing to those who can keep their myths separate, but I later rewrote the passage to have Greeves (Jeeves, of course) straighten the young master out. But then I rewrote it again, and didn’t notice that I’d let Jeeves drop the clanger. Which he would never do. As Stephen Fry noted when he saw the text.
Ah, well. It’s right in the audio version at least. And I’m still dead chuffed about the reading. And if you’ve never seen the Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie renditions of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, do so. Right now.
Some recent reviews
At Black Gate, Fletcher Vredenburgh reviews “Prisoner of Pandarius” in the January/February Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, saying “I’m a sucker for Jack Vance-inspired stories, provided they’re done well. I’m quite happy to write that ‘Prisoner of Pandarius’ is one of those.”
At SF Crowsnest, Patrick Mahon also liked “Prisoner of Pandarius”: “This story provides a very enjoyable start to the magazine, romping along at a rapid pace with great wit and humour. Raffalon is a classic loveable rogue and I was more than happy to spend some more time with him here.”
And a late review of Majestrum from the gamers’ blog Sorcerer’s Skull also notes the Vancean influence: “Hughes's universe and his writing style are in a Jack Vance mode. His setting of the Archonate and the Spray resembles Vance's Oikumene and Gaean Reach. It makes his Hapthorn tales something like if Magnus Ridolph or Miro Hetzel was confronting the dawning of the Dying Earth.”
The latest George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois theme antho, Old Venus, is garnering some reviews before its release next week, and my Jeeves-and-Bertie homage is getting some approving nods. In Locus , Russell Letson says “‘’Greeves and the Evening Star’’ gets the Most Unexpected Mashup Prize with its goofy mix of cross-species sex and Wodehousean silly-ass-Englishman nonsense.”
And Publisher’s Weekly calls the story “a droll Wodehouse pastiche.”
Any time I get mentioned in the same breath as Jack Vance and P.G. Wodehouse (whom Vance adored), I’ll take it and ask for more.
At SF Crowsnest, Patrick Mahon also liked “Prisoner of Pandarius”: “This story provides a very enjoyable start to the magazine, romping along at a rapid pace with great wit and humour. Raffalon is a classic loveable rogue and I was more than happy to spend some more time with him here.”
And a late review of Majestrum from the gamers’ blog Sorcerer’s Skull also notes the Vancean influence: “Hughes's universe and his writing style are in a Jack Vance mode. His setting of the Archonate and the Spray resembles Vance's Oikumene and Gaean Reach. It makes his Hapthorn tales something like if Magnus Ridolph or Miro Hetzel was confronting the dawning of the Dying Earth.”
The latest George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois theme antho, Old Venus, is garnering some reviews before its release next week, and my Jeeves-and-Bertie homage is getting some approving nods. In Locus , Russell Letson says “‘’Greeves and the Evening Star’’ gets the Most Unexpected Mashup Prize with its goofy mix of cross-species sex and Wodehousean silly-ass-Englishman nonsense.”
And Publisher’s Weekly calls the story “a droll Wodehouse pastiche.”
Any time I get mentioned in the same breath as Jack Vance and P.G. Wodehouse (whom Vance adored), I’ll take it and ask for more.
Kaslo Chronicles episode in Lightspeed
"A Face of Black Iron," the penultimate episode in the serialized novel, The Kaslo Chronicles, is available if you buy the new issue of Lightspeed Magazine. Or you can wait a week and it will be readable for free. There's also an interview with me about how the story has developed.
Tomorrow sees the release of Old Venus , the latest theme anthology from George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This one is about the Venus that sf authors used to imagine might exist on our sister planet, before technology told us the truth. My story, "Greeves and the Evening Star," is a pastiche of Jeeves and Bertie. A clue: it has newts in it.
Tomorrow sees the release of Old Venus , the latest theme anthology from George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This one is about the Venus that sf authors used to imagine might exist on our sister planet, before technology told us the truth. My story, "Greeves and the Evening Star," is a pastiche of Jeeves and Bertie. A clue: it has newts in it.
WSJ Review of Old Venus
A first time for me: getting singled out for special mention in a Wall Street Journal review. Tom Shippey says good things about Old Venus, including:
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
Old Venus reviewed in NY Daily News
Once again, my P.G. Wodehouse pastiche, "Greeves and the Evening Star," gets singled out for special mention in a review of Old Venus, the retro-sf antho co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This time it's by Cesar R. Bustamante, Jr., (gotta love those hand-me-down American names), the book blogger for the New York Daily News.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
Another "Greeves" Fan
Once again, "Greeves and the Evening Star" scores with a reviewer of Old Venus. This time, it's Cat Fitzpatrick at the UK's Fantasy Book Review site, who says:
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
I'm invited again
I can't say I'm a big name in the sff business -- known, certainly, but not a name to conjure with -- but every now and then I get a little validation, like being written up in The New York Review of Science Fiction or being shortlisted for a juried award.
Over the weekend, I received another one of those affirmations: super-editor Gardner Dozois invited me to send him a story for an upcoming theme anthology to be called The Book of Swords. Assuming Gardner likes what I'll send him, I'll be joining K.J. Parker, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Bear, Ellen Kushner, Ken Liu, Danial Abraham, Cecelia Holland, and Peter S. Beagle in the table of contents. And probably more big names who have yet to commit.
Over the past several years, I've been in several invitation-only anthos, including the megaseller and World Fantasy Ward-shortlisted Rogues, for which I've actually received royalty payments over and above the generous advance. I've also been in Old Mars and Old Venus and Songs of the Dying Earth.
And while those appearances haven't made me a household name in fandom, they've brought me new readers, many of whom have stuck around. As I often say to fans who email me with kind words, I appreciate the encouragement.
Over the weekend, I received another one of those affirmations: super-editor Gardner Dozois invited me to send him a story for an upcoming theme anthology to be called The Book of Swords. Assuming Gardner likes what I'll send him, I'll be joining K.J. Parker, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Bear, Ellen Kushner, Ken Liu, Danial Abraham, Cecelia Holland, and Peter S. Beagle in the table of contents. And probably more big names who have yet to commit.
Over the past several years, I've been in several invitation-only anthos, including the megaseller and World Fantasy Ward-shortlisted Rogues, for which I've actually received royalty payments over and above the generous advance. I've also been in Old Mars and Old Venus and Songs of the Dying Earth.
And while those appearances haven't made me a household name in fandom, they've brought me new readers, many of whom have stuck around. As I often say to fans who email me with kind words, I appreciate the encouragement.
