Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond, page 17
February 25, 2015
Black Brillion and Guth Bandar
Science fiction aficionado and fellow Canadian James D. Nicoll has done something no one else has done: he’s reviewed the novel Black Brillion and the Guth Bandar collection as one story in two volumes. He puts the story and the characters in their proper perspective.
I owe a debt to James. Back when Black Brillion was in the publishing pipeline, he was screening books for the Science Fiction Book Club. He read the novel and recommended it to SFBC editor Andy Wheeler, which started the process that led to its being picked up as one of the club’s featured alternate selections.
I owe a debt to James. Back when Black Brillion was in the publishing pipeline, he was screening books for the Science Fiction Book Club. He read the novel and recommended it to SFBC editor Andy Wheeler, which started the process that led to its being picked up as one of the club’s featured alternate selections.
February 24, 2015
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.
February 18, 2015
Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom
The brilliant young fellow who makes my web page work (and also creates my ebooks) is Bradley W. Schenck. He's also an aspiring sf author whose aspirations have now been rewarded by a contract with Tor for his first novel, Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom. It's a madcap mash-up of retro-sf, full of fearless heroes and heroines dashing about like Flash Gordon meets the Keystone Cops. Here's where to find out more.
February 10, 2015
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.
February 9, 2015
Back to life
It’s been a crappy few weeks. My wife went to Italy and brought back a coughing flu for my Christmas present. It keeps on giving because I’m still trying to shake it. Getting from our UK December housesit to our Brittany gig meant standing around British train stations on New Year’s Day listening to announcements about how the railway’s signal system had collapsed. Luckily we made our flight. Once we got to Bordeaux we had to collect the car we’d left there and drive six hours to Brittany.
But wait, there’s more. The flu and the traveling triggered a bout of pneumonia and the coughing got so bad I pulled three rib heads out of my spine and had to have them put back in by a chiropractor. Twice. All of which is really not as much fun as it sounds.
So I was very pleased yesterday to discover that the New York Review of Science Fiction has run a lengthy survey of my work by the British fantasy critic and aficionado, Mike Barrett. He connects a lot of the dots that I’ve laid down in my scattered oeuvre while focusing on the role of Luff Imbry, my corpulent master criminal of Old Earth in the penultimate age before Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth.
He sums up by saying: “Matthew Hughes has consistently produced well-written fiction that diverts and pleases. His creation, the world of the Archonate, is a well-crafted and evocative background for storylines that are consistently readable and which display much originality.”
If you’re interested in reading the whole piece, you can buy a PDF of the edition here for $2.99.
But wait, there’s more. The flu and the traveling triggered a bout of pneumonia and the coughing got so bad I pulled three rib heads out of my spine and had to have them put back in by a chiropractor. Twice. All of which is really not as much fun as it sounds.
So I was very pleased yesterday to discover that the New York Review of Science Fiction has run a lengthy survey of my work by the British fantasy critic and aficionado, Mike Barrett. He connects a lot of the dots that I’ve laid down in my scattered oeuvre while focusing on the role of Luff Imbry, my corpulent master criminal of Old Earth in the penultimate age before Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth.
He sums up by saying: “Matthew Hughes has consistently produced well-written fiction that diverts and pleases. His creation, the world of the Archonate, is a well-crafted and evocative background for storylines that are consistently readable and which display much originality.”
If you’re interested in reading the whole piece, you can buy a PDF of the edition here for $2.99.
December 11, 2014
Lois Tilton reviews "Prisoner of Pandarius"
Another day, another review.
Lois Tilton reviews "Prisoner of Pandarius" for Locus Online and says: "As usual, entertaining stuff from Hughes. In addition to the distinctive narrative voice and the intricate plotting, each of these stories tends to offer some new insight into the working of this world – in this case, Raffalon’s guild, but also the existence of other, related institutions, like The Tenacious and Terrible Guild of Vindicators."
Lois Tilton reviews "Prisoner of Pandarius" for Locus Online and says: "As usual, entertaining stuff from Hughes. In addition to the distinctive narrative voice and the intricate plotting, each of these stories tends to offer some new insight into the working of this world – in this case, Raffalon’s guild, but also the existence of other, related institutions, like The Tenacious and Terrible Guild of Vindicators."
December 10, 2014
Couple of good reviews
Always nice to start the day with people saying kind things.
In Tangent Online, Colleen Chen reviews "Prisoner of Pandarius," the latest Raffalon novelette in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. She says, "My impressions are of an intricate plot, smart writing, and tongue-in-cheek humor throughout which tempers the tense scenes." It does get a little tense, especially when the blue imp . . . well, I won't spoil it.
And then the Off The Shelf blogger takes a look at HESPIRA, the third of the Henghis Hapthorn novels, and says, ". . . the book is a fine romp through a mostly stand-alone mystery . . . an enjoyable read, and would be a decent cap on the story if it ended here, though it certainly leaves enough room not to rule out a sequel."
I don't rule out a sequel, either, but it would probably depend on some publisher offering to pay me to write one. And they seem to be rather thin on the ground right now.
In Tangent Online, Colleen Chen reviews "Prisoner of Pandarius," the latest Raffalon novelette in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. She says, "My impressions are of an intricate plot, smart writing, and tongue-in-cheek humor throughout which tempers the tense scenes." It does get a little tense, especially when the blue imp . . . well, I won't spoil it.
And then the Off The Shelf blogger takes a look at HESPIRA, the third of the Henghis Hapthorn novels, and says, ". . . the book is a fine romp through a mostly stand-alone mystery . . . an enjoyable read, and would be a decent cap on the story if it ended here, though it certainly leaves enough room not to rule out a sequel."
I don't rule out a sequel, either, but it would probably depend on some publisher offering to pay me to write one. And they seem to be rather thin on the ground right now.
December 9, 2014
ROGUES number one
Worth mentioning, I think: the cross-genre anthology, ROGUES, co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, is number one in Amazon's action/adventure short-story category. One of the rogues in the collection is my archetypal Vancean thief, Raffalon.
December 2, 2014
Writing blurbs for Jack Vance novels
It's no secret I'm a lifelong fan of the late Jack Vance. So it's been a real pleasure to have been asked by Jack's son, John, to write some promotional blurbs for some of his best-loved titles: the Demon Princes novels and the Tschai tetralogy. The blurbs will be produced as video clips, with art work from Vance aficionado Koen Vyverman and my words read by John Vance.
I never got to meet Jack to express my admiration, although I did dedicate my first novel, Fools Errant, to him. Helping his son to make his works known to new readers is the least I can do.
I never got to meet Jack to express my admiration, although I did dedicate my first novel, Fools Errant, to him. Helping his son to make his works known to new readers is the least I can do.
November 26, 2014
Editing The Lake in the Clouds
I'm putting on my editor's cap -- should really be a green eyeshade, but I actually have neither -- to dig into
The Lake in the Clouds
, a YA fantasy by my SF Canada colleague, Ed Willett.
It's the third in a series called Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books. The first two episodes are Song of the Sword and Twist of the Blade , both of which I also edited.
Should be an enjoyable task, though there's a certain amount of hurry-up involved: the book has to be all done and on the store shelves by the beginning of May.
I don't mention it often, but I edit books for authors as well as publishers, even for aspiring authors. I'm told my rates are laughably low.
It's the third in a series called Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books. The first two episodes are Song of the Sword and Twist of the Blade , both of which I also edited.
Should be an enjoyable task, though there's a certain amount of hurry-up involved: the book has to be all done and on the store shelves by the beginning of May.
I don't mention it often, but I edit books for authors as well as publishers, even for aspiring authors. I'm told my rates are laughably low.
