Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond, page 20
June 5, 2014
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.
May 27, 2014
I'll be at WorldCon
I'm going to attend WorldCon in London in August. I'll be happy to sign books, talk about interesting stuff, and join amiable folks for an hour or two in the bar.
Latest Kaslo episode up at Lightspeed
"The Ba of Phalloon," the latest episode in The Kaslo Chronicles serialized novel, is now available for a free read on the
Lightspeed Magazine
site.
There's also an Author Spotlight interview with me, about the novel and other things.
Lightspeed would like me to encourage you to buy the ebook version of the entire issue or become a subscriber. I do. It's a good mag.
There's also an Author Spotlight interview with me, about the novel and other things.
Lightspeed would like me to encourage you to buy the ebook version of the entire issue or become a subscriber. I do. It's a good mag.
April 11, 2014
A couple of reviews
A couple of reviews of my old stuff popped up this week.
Blogger George Kelley took a look at Song of the Serpent, a Cugelesque novel written under my media-tie pseudonym Hugh Matthews and set in the Pathfinder role-playing game universe. He says, "If you’re looking for a fun novel with a Jack Vance flavor, try Song of the Serpent."
And Stephen Theaker, a reviewer/blogger who is administrator of the British Fantasy Awards (and who has invited me back onto the main jury this year), finally gave in and read Template, my stand-alone Archonate space-opera. He says, "[Hughes's] books make me feel like a mouse whose pleasure centres are being deliberately tripped in a scientific experiment upon its brain. That disclaimer aside, I thought this was excellent."
High praise, indeed, and from a knowledgeable source. You can read the entire review here. Template is available as an ebook and a POD paperback from the Archonate Bookstore and wherever such titles are sold.
Blogger George Kelley took a look at Song of the Serpent, a Cugelesque novel written under my media-tie pseudonym Hugh Matthews and set in the Pathfinder role-playing game universe. He says, "If you’re looking for a fun novel with a Jack Vance flavor, try Song of the Serpent."
And Stephen Theaker, a reviewer/blogger who is administrator of the British Fantasy Awards (and who has invited me back onto the main jury this year), finally gave in and read Template, my stand-alone Archonate space-opera. He says, "[Hughes's] books make me feel like a mouse whose pleasure centres are being deliberately tripped in a scientific experiment upon its brain. That disclaimer aside, I thought this was excellent."
High praise, indeed, and from a knowledgeable source. You can read the entire review here. Template is available as an ebook and a POD paperback from the Archonate Bookstore and wherever such titles are sold.
April 1, 2014
"Phalloon the Illimitable" -- new Kaslo episode
The lastest episode in The Kaslo Chronicles, "Phalloon the Illimitable," is now available for a free read on the Lightspeed magazine website. Erm Kaslo, the hardboiled confidential operative turned wizard's assistant, gets drawn into a duel between two thaumaturges.
March 27, 2014
Another Raffalon novelette
I've sold "Telltale," another novelette about Raffalon the thief, to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Fans of Raffalon might like to consider purchasing Rogues, the George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois anthology of cross-genre stories, when it comes out in mid-June. It contains the original Raffalon tale, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," and a lot of other fine picaresque ficgtion from a stellar line-up of wordspinners.
The last Martin/Dozois cross-genre antho, Dangerous Women, hit the New York Times bestseler list when it came out last fall. I'm hoping Rogues follows the same trajectory.
Fans of Raffalon might like to consider purchasing Rogues, the George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois anthology of cross-genre stories, when it comes out in mid-June. It contains the original Raffalon tale, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," and a lot of other fine picaresque ficgtion from a stellar line-up of wordspinners.
The last Martin/Dozois cross-genre antho, Dangerous Women, hit the New York Times bestseler list when it came out last fall. I'm hoping Rogues follows the same trajectory.
March 25, 2014
Judging British Fantasy Awards again
I've been asked to be on the jury for the British Fantasy Awards again, judging best fantasy novel, short story, collection, and anthology. I'm looking forward to some interesting summer reading.
March 24, 2014
The Compleat Guth Bandar
I've self-published all of the Guth Bandar stories that ran in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction a few years ago, including the Nebula-nominated novella, "The Helper and his Hero."
The stories were later assembled into a fix-up novel, The Commons, but these are the original texts that appeared in F&SF.
The Compleat Guth Bandar is available as a $2.99 ebook from Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and the Archonate bookstore.
Here's the blurb:
In Old Earth’s penultimate age, humanity’s collective unconscious has long since been fully explored and mapped by the noönaut scholars of the Institute for Historical Inquiry. But something is threatening the integrity – perhaps even the very existence – of the noösphere, and aspiring academic Guth Bandar finds his career plans diverted by a collective unconscious that appears to be waking up.
And here's a link to one of the stories for a free read.
The stories were later assembled into a fix-up novel, The Commons, but these are the original texts that appeared in F&SF.
The Compleat Guth Bandar is available as a $2.99 ebook from Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and the Archonate bookstore.
Here's the blurb:
In Old Earth’s penultimate age, humanity’s collective unconscious has long since been fully explored and mapped by the noönaut scholars of the Institute for Historical Inquiry. But something is threatening the integrity – perhaps even the very existence – of the noösphere, and aspiring academic Guth Bandar finds his career plans diverted by a collective unconscious that appears to be waking up.
And here's a link to one of the stories for a free read.
March 23, 2014
Rogues anthology will be out in June
The cross-genre anthology,
Rogues
, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, has had its release date moved up by the publisher, Bantam. It will now be in stores as of June 17, instead of the fall. My story in the antho is "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," a tale of Raffalon the thief and his uncomfortable relationship with a minor deity.
