Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 63

Sigh

*Wakes up, looks at email, reads through SF Crow's Nest–spits coffee.*

Whoa. Okay. Soooo, just barely a month after a titanic whine from SF Crow's Nest founder Stephen Hunt about the BBC not taking genre seriously and not showing any respect, resulting in a petition and more whining…under Hunt's auspices SF Crow's Nest posts this review of Best American Fantasy 3, edited by Kevin Brockmeier, which includes this snark about Thomas Glave's "The Torturer's Wife":

"If I was a casual reader I would have given it up after four paragraphs but as a dutiful reviewer I finished all thirty-three pages of this rambling, disjointed mish-mash (Oh so arty, with lots of things in brackets) that is not really a fantasy. It's a psychological story about the wife of a high placed state torturer in a totalitarian regime cracking up with guilt. I highly recommend you avoid it like the plague."

And then concludes with these beautiful paragraphs:

Most of the other stories were okay but they lacked a certain something and, after some consideration, I think I know what. Firstly, they did not lack fine writing. Finer writing has never been more evident and this is hardly surprising because nine of the contributors have creative writing degrees and five of those teach it. The list of contributing magazines at the back has many that are published by universities.

Also lacking was the classic notion of a story as commonly understood, namely a protagonist facing a series of challenges which he overcomes by dint of his character and which changes him in some way, usually for the better. In too many of these stories something happens to someone and that's it. This being modern urban fantasy the thing that happens is sometimes quite daft, like coughing up a little Bach who grows to full size, but never mind that. Many of the stories are mildly depressing. Perhaps they are meant to send you off to your analyst.

I find it all too arty, too academic and too refined. I also fear that a bright young Jewish chemistry student (Asimov) or a navy midshipman retired with tuberculosis (Heinlein) or even an English graduate working in a laundry and writing in his spare time (Stephen King back in the day) would find it hard to break into this cosy world of writing professionals, polishing their prose to a high gloss, publishing each other in their little journals and awarding each other prizes. Writers used to have some life apart from writing or at least had one before success. They had been doctors or biology professors or secret agents. If you go from school to writing degree to teaching writing might you not be too immersed in the stuff of fiction rather than the stuff of life? The other thing is that the general public don't buy this sort of thing. They buy the three volume fantasy novels with swords and elves and a hero who overcomes obstacles and gets changed by his troubles. I fear the fantasy short story has left the general reader behind, perhaps forever. Too bad.

A negative review is a perfectly normal and natural thing in the publishing world. And I don't really need to defend Thomas Glave—one of our finest writers, and someone whose stories that address political repression and prejudice are incredibly brave and unique. Nor do I have the time, because it would take a whole day, to unravel the stupid in these paragraphs.

But I do have to point out that when you promote a mentality of "us against them" this is the kind of bullshit you are going to get in your reviews. A disgustingly simple binary that negates all of the complexity and beauty of fiction and of individual writers from vastly different traditions.

Sigh originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on May 1, 2011.

The Steampunk Bible Is Out! (With Book Tour)

The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature…is officially out this week!

My coauthor is kicking off a book tour in Austin, Texas, tomorrow evening with a party event at the U.S. Arts Authority (very close to the World Horror Con venue), featuring special guests Rick Klaw, Michael Moorcock, Jess Nevins, and Liz Gorinsky, among others. More tour events can be found here.

Recent features:

Austin ChronicleAmazon.com

The Steampunk Bible Is Out! (With Book Tour) originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 30, 2011.

Friday Night "Memories" Vids from 2006, 2007…

Stuff in our YouTube video archives…weird.

Friday Night "Memories" Vids from 2006, 2007… originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 29, 2011.

Writing Prompt for Today–On Facebook

From my facebook, which is where you need to post your entries:

Your writing prompt for today: "This corpse is full of birds." Flash fiction under 200 words. Post in comments. Deadline: 9am EST tomorrow. At very least will repost on blog later in year as charity event to benefit Last Drink Bird Head service awards. (nothing too risque)

Not my facebook friend? Ooooh. You should be. It's jeff.vandermeer

Writing Prompt for Today–On Facebook originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 29, 2011.

"The Mona Lisa": Now a Halo Motion Comic (Episode 1)

Whoo-hoo! The first of 11 episodes of the Halo motion comic based on the novella "The Mona Lisa," written by me and Tessa Kum for the Halo: Evolutions antho, is now live. They'll be posting a new installment every week. Warning: it's bloody and dark and crazy.

You can find the official version here, along with each new installment as they go up.

"The Mona Lisa": Now a Halo Motion Comic (Episode 1) originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 28, 2011.

What's the Craziest or Most Experimental Science Fiction or Fantasy Book You've Ever Read?

Anyone who has seen my latest book The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature knows that Abrams does amazing work. Well, they've contracted me to create the ultimate Fantasy/SF writing book. It's going to be called SHARED WORLDS/SINGLE VISION and be in full-color with over 100 images. John Coulthart will be doing the design and much of the art.

In addition to all of the normal stuff I'm going to have a section on "Bleeding Edge," and while researching this bit for the extended outline for the book, I became preternaturally curious about what readers might define as "experimental" in approach and also what they might define as "crazy-town" as well. Above, you'll see the cover to a novel many consider experimental, for example.

But, in general, I'm disinclined to define my terms. Instead, I'd like to hear from you: what book or books that could be classified as SF or Fantasy are the craziest or most experimental ever—and why?

(Note: Some of the discussion herein may be quoted in the final book.)

What's the Craziest or Most Experimental Science Fiction or Fantasy Book You've Ever Read? originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 27, 2011.

Cheeky Frawg Rises Slowly From Slumber, and Other News

I've spent the weekend working on book proposals, correspondence and reading related to Finnish writers, and a lot more. But regular blog service will resume here shortly—and as part of that we'll also be unveiling more Cheeky Frawg e-book titles, as well as beginning our true PR push for existing titles. (Click on http://www.cheekyfrawg.com for our current titles.) We will also soon be making our e-books available through distribution sites that cater to audiences outside of the UK and North America–promise!

One thing to look forward to: I'll definitely be releasing an e-book of "Flesh," a totally reimagined version of a story that first appeared in Fear Magazine back in the 1980s. I was planning on just typing it up as-is for an e-book, but then inspiration struck and suddenly my originally 5,000-word story (which has never appeared online) was 10,000 words.

In other news, The Steampunk Bible is out, as is the Brazilian edition of The Situation. And, as you may have heard, my wife Ann is up for a Hugo Award again. In addition, you can now buy electronic subscriptions to Weird Tales, the magazine she edits. I'll have linkage to that, and more later this week, along with photos and commentary on books bought or acquired during our European trip, and a lot more.

Right now, though, I've got to plan out the extended outline for the Shared Worlds/Single Vision writing book I'm turning in to Abrams in September.

Cheeky Frawg Rises Slowly From Slumber, and Other News originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 26, 2011.

The Silent Land by Graham Joyce: Brilliant Novel

I reviewed Graham Joyce's Shirley Jackson Award-nominated The Silent Land: A novelrecently for The Washington Post. I thought it was a brilliant book, especially considering that two characters have to carry the whole thing. It's also, from a writer's perspective, an amazing example of control, and of writing skill, all in the service of the characters and the emotional resonance of the novel. Few writers have the chops to pull off what Joyce has pulled off, and I'll be using chapters from The Silent Land in future workshops as examples of various writing techniques.

Here's an excerpt from the review:

In Graham Joyce's brave and ultimately heartbreaking new novel, "The Silent Land," a young married couple trapped in a deserted Alpine village must come to terms with strange events that test the strength of their relationship. In its melding of the bizarre and the personal, this tour de force invites comparison to the work of Haruki Murakami and Ian McEwan.

The Silent Land by Graham Joyce: Brilliant Novel originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 22, 2011.

Ann VanderMeer: A Photo Journey Through Finland and Amsterdam

My lovely wife Ann, editor of Weird Tales, has put together a photo-account of our recent trip to Europe, including her commentary on each photo. She's posted it on her facebook, but you can access it whether or not you're on facebook through this link.

Ann VanderMeer: A Photo Journey Through Finland and Amsterdam originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 22, 2011.

Convention Truths?

Many of you are traveling to fiction/writing-related conventions this weekend. Here are some things I've learned about cons over the past 20 years, as both guest and attendee.

—A genre convention is largely defined by three elements: location, the quality and type of the group mind running the con, and the people, guests and attendees, who animate that location and vision.

—The plan of any con's group mind butts up against the state of mind of the attendees and guests at the point of connection.

—Location can reflect the true desires of the group mind, but more often it reflects the strong desire to save money. (A website is also a location: what it says about a con may be that you'll be time-traveling back to the 1990s.)

—When conventions isolate their attendees, it's often stated that this is to make people focus more fully on the experience. Rarely is this the truth. Usually it has to do with some eccentricity of the creators of the con, or a control issue.

—Sometimes, when a convention moves to a new location, the group mind is fleeing some great catastrophe elsewhere, or simply trying to escape a location that new guests cannot understand was actually about a thousand times worse than the current purgatory.

—A con hotel in conflict with the convention committee may manifest as fits of pique: no tableclothes on the banquet tables, for example, revealing rough wood surfaces, splinters, and massive iron staples or even evil raising of room temperature…

—Con food depends on the hotel, how and where it is presented on the con. Levels of goodness depend on how thoughtlessness and thoughtfulness wrestle with each other in the con committee's group mind (with expense always an issue, of course). A bad con mind will determine that, because they like candy for breakfast, the guests will too…

—Without a bar, a convention is starved for conversation. No introvert worth the name performs well without at least one drink…even if it's just a glass of water.

—A good sign the con is in the wrong venue is if there are floors missing in the hotel.

—Wireless is like the pulse of a con location. Thready, ghostly wireless that dips in and out is like a thready pulse: a cause for concern.

—Con suites are sweaty stink-barges that provide a test for attendees: if you don't notice, you have been assimilated.

—Panels without moderators are like con suites without ventilation.

—If you are invited to a con and then given lists of rules that boil down to making yourself unobtrusive and not putting on airs, perhaps you shouldn't in future accept the invite to the United Socialist Workers Convention.

—If the stage hosting your presentation will in 24 hours be featuring David Cassidy and Engelbert Humperdinck, you are allowed to interpret this as a good or a bad thing depending on the state of your career.

—If the person reading before you goes over by 30 minutes, it is perfectly okay to enlist the help of the mighty John Kessel to clear your predecessor from the room.

—If your reading is not listed on the program and the location is only vaguely alluded to, it is okay if you wind up at the top of some creaky stairs in a room full of Jeffrey Fords, Gwyneth Jones, and Liz Williams, but no audience.

—This last observation is the most important: no matter how well or poorly a con is run, you will always have either good stories about bad things or good memories about great conversations.

Convention Truths? originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on April 22, 2011.