Martha Wells's Blog, page 45
November 12, 2019
Updating
I've been swamped with work lately, mostly because with travel and back issues I didn't get nearly as much done in September and October as I meant to. I have a big thing I need to finish by Friday, and once that's done I just need to read the proof of Network Effect and I should have a bit of a breather.
I'm doing physical therapy and it's going well. I'm hoping to start going back to my regular gym and aerobics classes soon.
I have like three cool things to announce that I think people will like, but I'm waiting for the go ahead from various publishers, so that's no fun right now.
In personal news, we got a share of the winter storm which is torturing the part of the country that isn't on fire or under water. It went from 70 to 32 here yesterday, though hopefully it should go back to the 60s by the end of the week.
Next upcoming cons are:
* February 14-16, 2020. Boskone in Boston, MA.
* February 29, 2020 PopCon in San Antonio, Texas.
* May 22-24, 2020 Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas.
* July 24-26, 2020. I'll be a guest of honor at Confluence in Pittsburgh, PA.
Until February I hope to hibernate.
I have an online friend who needs to raise money for vet bills: https://www.gofundme.com/f/82nvas-vet-bills If you can't donate, please consider her passing the word along.
comments
I'm doing physical therapy and it's going well. I'm hoping to start going back to my regular gym and aerobics classes soon.
I have like three cool things to announce that I think people will like, but I'm waiting for the go ahead from various publishers, so that's no fun right now.
In personal news, we got a share of the winter storm which is torturing the part of the country that isn't on fire or under water. It went from 70 to 32 here yesterday, though hopefully it should go back to the 60s by the end of the week.
Next upcoming cons are:
* February 14-16, 2020. Boskone in Boston, MA.
* February 29, 2020 PopCon in San Antonio, Texas.
* May 22-24, 2020 Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas.
* July 24-26, 2020. I'll be a guest of honor at Confluence in Pittsburgh, PA.
Until February I hope to hibernate.
I have an online friend who needs to raise money for vet bills: https://www.gofundme.com/f/82nvas-vet-bills If you can't donate, please consider her passing the word along.
comments
November 11, 2019
The Cloud Roads - Book 1 of the Books of the Raksura
The mass market paperback edition of The Cloud Roads, the first book in the Books of the Raksura series, will be out next Tuesday, November 19. It's already available in trade paper, ebook, and audiobook, narrated by Christopher Kipiniak. Cover art is by Matthew Stewart, who won the Chesley Award for Best Illustration - Paperback for 2012 for it.
The second book, The Serpent Sea and the third, The Siren Depths will be released in mass market paperback in January 2020.
Reviews for the series:
"The venerated pulp spirit in science fiction and fantasy has dwindled since the golden age of the 1920s to '50s. Yet an atavistic craving for adventure remains, and it is this need that Wells's books in general and the Raksura books in particular satisfy. The stories are straightforward adventure, but what makes Wells's "new pulp" feel fresh is its refusal to take the easier storytelling routes of its forebears. Rather than thinly veil an existing human society as alien others, for example, Wells - a master world builder - creates a multicultural world of humanized monsters...The result is breathtakingly surprising and fun. So for readers who missed earlier entry points to this delightful series, now is the time to get on board."
- New York Times
It's quite unlike anything else in the genre - with a core cast of non-human characters, it creates an entirely fresh, matriarchal fantasy world with its own biology, ecology, technology, and magic.
- Barnes & Noble's New Book Round-up
Martha Wells' books always make me remember why I love to read. In The Cloud Roads, she invents yet another rich and astonishingly detailed setting, where many races and cultures uneasily co-exist in a world constantly threatened by soulless predators. But the vivid world-building and nonstop action really serve as a backdrop for the heart of the novel--the universal human themes of loneliness, loss, and the powerful drive to find somewhere to belong.
- Sharon Shinn
I loved The Cloud Roads so much that I begged Ms. Wells and Nightshade Books to let me tell you--Yes! You! You, the one who is looking for a new book to start!--to read this marvelous science fantasy series. With excellent, inventive world building and wonderful characters I adored spending time with, it is completely fabulous.
- Kate Elliott
The Cloud Roads has wildly original worldbuilding, diverse and engaging characters, and a thrilling adventure plot. It's that rarest of fantasies: fresh and surprising, with a story that doesn't go where ten thousand others have gone before. I can't wait for my next chance to visit the Three Worlds!
- N.K. Jemisin
Find it at an independent bookstore through Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781949102185
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cloud-roads-martha-wells/1130887140?ean=9781949102185#/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Roads-One-Books-Raksura/dp/1949102181/
comments
November 7, 2019
The Arcana of Maps
Jessica Reisman's SF/F short story collection is out now, and I did the introduction for it. This is what I said:
"Jessica Reisman writes in layers, like a cake.
A cake that's deep and rich and strange. Maybe one with a candy geode in its heart, that's almost too beautiful to eat.
Looking back on her body of work, it's remarkable how many times she has created places that I want to see. Or how often some horrible situation or the arrival of a terrifying entity has turned into an opportunity for a beautiful transformation, into a path to freedom, into a new universe of existence.
Her writing is subtle and her characters are emotionally complex, with problems that are not easily solved. Her worldbuilding is intricate and thoughtful and draws you in, whether the world is magic growing in the steamy confines of an orchid nursery, a far-future mining colony abandoned to die when the air runs out, living steampunk automatons fighting for their right to exist in a world that sees them as property, or a feminist re-imagine of the Hyborian Age where two modern teenage girls will become the hero-adventurers.
Her work creates emotional experiences for me that I remember vividly. Like the time she was doing a reading at ArmadilloCon about a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by climate disaster. The hope growing out of the ashes was so poignant it made me cry so hard I had to leave the room.
Or the time she wrote so convincingly about an epic fantasy movie series based on the Kabbalah that her audience thought it really existed. Was it available on a cable channel, we asked, maybe the IFC? It was just that the story felt so emotionally true, that we had the conviction that some part of world had to be real.
The stories collected here represent a body of work that should be better known. It's wonderful to finally have so many collected in one edition instead of scattered to the winds of magazines and anthologies. I hope this allows many new readers to discover Jessica Reisman. She is a writer you can trust with your brain and more importantly, your heart."
Jessica is a writer more people should know about. Please consider checking out her collection:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-arcana-of-maps-and-other-stories-jessica-reisman/1133463928?ean=9781933846910
comments
November 5, 2019
New Book Tuesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Firebird by Nerine Dorman
Since she was little, Lada wanted to be part of the Order of Fennarin, one of the warrior-monks who are the last bastion in a war against the demons and insurgents that threaten her island home. Yet to achieve her dream, Lada turned blood traitor, her decision leading to the death and exile of her family. Her betrayal comes to haunt her now, ten years later, when her elders demand that she oversees her brother Ailas's trial. Lada feared him lost forever, thanks to his covenant with demons, which makes him anathema to her and her order.
* Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
An ambitious young woman with the power to control minds seeks vengeance against the royals who murdered her family, in a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world embattled by colonial oppression. Sigourney Rose is the only surviving daughter of a noble lineage on the islands of Hans Lollik. When she was a child, her family was murdered by the islands' colonizers, who have massacred and enslaved generations of her people — and now, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge. When the childless king of the islands declares that he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney uses her ability to read and control minds to manipulate her way onto the royal island and into the ranks of the ruling colonizers. But when she arrives, prepared to fight for control of all the islands, Sigourney finds herself the target of a dangerous, unknown magic.
* Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Resistance is in ruins. In the wake of their harrowing escape from Crait, what was once an army has been reduced to a handful of wounded heroes. Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, Chewbacca, Leia Organa—their names are famous among the oppressed worlds they fight to liberate. But names can only get you so far, and Leia’s last desperate call for aid has gone unanswered. From the jungles of Ryloth to the shipyards of Corellia, the shadow of the First Order looms large, and those with the bravery to face the darkness are scattered and isolated. If hope is to survive, the Resistance must journey throughout the galaxy, seeking out more leaders—including those who, in days gone by, helped a nascent rebellion topple an empire. Battles will be fought, alliances will be forged, and the Resistance will be reborn.
* The Princess Who Flew With Dragons
Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister's political gains. At twelve years old, she's already been a hostage to invading dragons and promised to marry a wicked fairy. Now she's being sent to far-off Villene to play the part of a charming, diplomatic princess. Her only comfort lies in writing letters to her pen pal and best friend—Jasper, a young dragon she's never even met. But when an accident leads to her exile from Villene, Sofia is free to wander as she pleases for the first time in her life. And when Jasper's magical sister Aventurine turns him into a human boy, Sofia thinks life can't get any better. Until . . . the legendary ice giants of the north attack, trying to reclaim the territory that was theirs centuries ago. With the dragons and royals frozen in ice, can Sofia and Jasper save their families and kingdom?
* Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.
* Nebula Awards Showcase 2019 edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Nebula Awards Showcase is an anthology of the winners and nominees for the SFWA Nebula Awards. The anthology has been published continuously since 1966 and has featured the very best of science fiction and fantasy. This year's anthology includes stories from Nebula Winners Rebecca Roanhorse, Martha Wells, and Kelly Robson as well as finalists Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Richard Bowes, K.M. Szpara, Jonathan Brazee, Sarah Pinsker, Caroline M. Yoachim, Fran Wilde, Matthew Kressel, and Jamie Wahls.
* Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine
In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children. Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.
* Floodtide by Heather Rose Jones
The streets are a perilous place for a young laundry maid dismissed without a character for indecent acts. Roz knew the end of the path for a country girl alone in the city of Rotenek. A desperate escape in the night brings her to the doorstep of Dominique the dressmaker and the hope of a second chance beyond what she could have imagined. Roz’s apprenticeship with the needle, under the patronage of the royal thaumaturgist, wasn’t supposed to include learning magic, but Celeste, the dressmaker’s daughter, draws Roz into the mysterious world of the charm-wives. When floodwaters and fever sweep through the lower city, Celeste’s magical charms could bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor of Rotenek, but only if Roz can claim the help of some unlikely allies.
* The Horn: Books 1-3 by J. Kathleen Cheney
The Fortresses of Larossa have ancient knowledge, and only the Oathbreakers know what their capabilities are. But now the Cince Empire has sent an agent into Larossan territory to seek out an old abandoned Fortress--Salonen. Now the Horn Family must decide what to do with the man, and find out exactly what their ancient enemy is up to now...
* Preorder Stormsong by C.L. Polk
Dame Grace Hensley helped her brother Miles undo the atrocity that stained her nation, but now she has to deal with the consequences. With the power out in the dead of winter and an uncontrollable sequence of winter storms on the horizon, Aeland faces disaster. Grace has the vision to guide her parents to safety, but a hostile queen and a ring of rogue mages stand in the way of her plans. There's revolution in the air, and any spark could light the powder. What's worse, upstart photojournalist Avia Jessup draws ever closer to secrets that could topple the nation, and closer to Grace's heart.
* Preorder The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Firebird by Nerine Dorman
Since she was little, Lada wanted to be part of the Order of Fennarin, one of the warrior-monks who are the last bastion in a war against the demons and insurgents that threaten her island home. Yet to achieve her dream, Lada turned blood traitor, her decision leading to the death and exile of her family. Her betrayal comes to haunt her now, ten years later, when her elders demand that she oversees her brother Ailas's trial. Lada feared him lost forever, thanks to his covenant with demons, which makes him anathema to her and her order.
* Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
An ambitious young woman with the power to control minds seeks vengeance against the royals who murdered her family, in a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world embattled by colonial oppression. Sigourney Rose is the only surviving daughter of a noble lineage on the islands of Hans Lollik. When she was a child, her family was murdered by the islands' colonizers, who have massacred and enslaved generations of her people — and now, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge. When the childless king of the islands declares that he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney uses her ability to read and control minds to manipulate her way onto the royal island and into the ranks of the ruling colonizers. But when she arrives, prepared to fight for control of all the islands, Sigourney finds herself the target of a dangerous, unknown magic.
* Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Resistance is in ruins. In the wake of their harrowing escape from Crait, what was once an army has been reduced to a handful of wounded heroes. Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, Chewbacca, Leia Organa—their names are famous among the oppressed worlds they fight to liberate. But names can only get you so far, and Leia’s last desperate call for aid has gone unanswered. From the jungles of Ryloth to the shipyards of Corellia, the shadow of the First Order looms large, and those with the bravery to face the darkness are scattered and isolated. If hope is to survive, the Resistance must journey throughout the galaxy, seeking out more leaders—including those who, in days gone by, helped a nascent rebellion topple an empire. Battles will be fought, alliances will be forged, and the Resistance will be reborn.
* The Princess Who Flew With Dragons
Princess Sofia of Drachenburg is sick of being used for her older sister's political gains. At twelve years old, she's already been a hostage to invading dragons and promised to marry a wicked fairy. Now she's being sent to far-off Villene to play the part of a charming, diplomatic princess. Her only comfort lies in writing letters to her pen pal and best friend—Jasper, a young dragon she's never even met. But when an accident leads to her exile from Villene, Sofia is free to wander as she pleases for the first time in her life. And when Jasper's magical sister Aventurine turns him into a human boy, Sofia thinks life can't get any better. Until . . . the legendary ice giants of the north attack, trying to reclaim the territory that was theirs centuries ago. With the dragons and royals frozen in ice, can Sofia and Jasper save their families and kingdom?
* Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.
* Nebula Awards Showcase 2019 edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Nebula Awards Showcase is an anthology of the winners and nominees for the SFWA Nebula Awards. The anthology has been published continuously since 1966 and has featured the very best of science fiction and fantasy. This year's anthology includes stories from Nebula Winners Rebecca Roanhorse, Martha Wells, and Kelly Robson as well as finalists Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Richard Bowes, K.M. Szpara, Jonathan Brazee, Sarah Pinsker, Caroline M. Yoachim, Fran Wilde, Matthew Kressel, and Jamie Wahls.
* Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine
In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children. Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.
* Floodtide by Heather Rose Jones
The streets are a perilous place for a young laundry maid dismissed without a character for indecent acts. Roz knew the end of the path for a country girl alone in the city of Rotenek. A desperate escape in the night brings her to the doorstep of Dominique the dressmaker and the hope of a second chance beyond what she could have imagined. Roz’s apprenticeship with the needle, under the patronage of the royal thaumaturgist, wasn’t supposed to include learning magic, but Celeste, the dressmaker’s daughter, draws Roz into the mysterious world of the charm-wives. When floodwaters and fever sweep through the lower city, Celeste’s magical charms could bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor of Rotenek, but only if Roz can claim the help of some unlikely allies.
* The Horn: Books 1-3 by J. Kathleen Cheney
The Fortresses of Larossa have ancient knowledge, and only the Oathbreakers know what their capabilities are. But now the Cince Empire has sent an agent into Larossan territory to seek out an old abandoned Fortress--Salonen. Now the Horn Family must decide what to do with the man, and find out exactly what their ancient enemy is up to now...
* Preorder Stormsong by C.L. Polk
Dame Grace Hensley helped her brother Miles undo the atrocity that stained her nation, but now she has to deal with the consequences. With the power out in the dead of winter and an uncontrollable sequence of winter storms on the horizon, Aeland faces disaster. Grace has the vision to guide her parents to safety, but a hostile queen and a ring of rogue mages stand in the way of her plans. There's revolution in the air, and any spark could light the powder. What's worse, upstart photojournalist Avia Jessup draws ever closer to secrets that could topple the nation, and closer to Grace's heart.
* Preorder The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
comments
Link
Cory Doctorow: Jeannette Ng Was Right: John W. Campbell Was a Fascist https://locusmag.com/2019/11/cory-doctorow-jeannette-ng-was-right-john-w-campbell-was-a-fascist/
Not just factually correct: she was also correct to be saying this now. Science fiction (like many other institutions) is having a reckoning with its past and its present. We’re trying to figure out what to do about the long reach that the terrible ideas of flawed people (mostly men) had on our fields. We’re trying to reconcile the legacies of flawed people whose good deeds and good art live alongside their cruel, damaging treatment of women. These men were not aberrations: they were following an example set from the very top and running through the industry and through fandom, to the great detriment of many of the people who came to science fiction for safety and sanctuary and community.
It’s not a coincidence that one of the first organized manifestations of white nationalism as a cultural phenomenon within fandom was in the form of a hijacking of the Hugo nominations process. While fandom came together to firmly repudiate its white nationalist wing, those people weren’t (all) entryists who showed up to stir up trouble in someone else’s community. The call (to hijack the Hugo Award) was coming from inside the house: these guys had been around forever, and we’d let them get away with it, in the name of “tolerance” even as these guys were chasing women, queer people, and racialized people out of the field.
Those same Nazis went on to join Gamergate, then became prominent voices on Reddit’s /r/The_Donald, which was the vanguard of white nationalist, authoritarian support for the Trump campaign.
comments
Not just factually correct: she was also correct to be saying this now. Science fiction (like many other institutions) is having a reckoning with its past and its present. We’re trying to figure out what to do about the long reach that the terrible ideas of flawed people (mostly men) had on our fields. We’re trying to reconcile the legacies of flawed people whose good deeds and good art live alongside their cruel, damaging treatment of women. These men were not aberrations: they were following an example set from the very top and running through the industry and through fandom, to the great detriment of many of the people who came to science fiction for safety and sanctuary and community.
It’s not a coincidence that one of the first organized manifestations of white nationalism as a cultural phenomenon within fandom was in the form of a hijacking of the Hugo nominations process. While fandom came together to firmly repudiate its white nationalist wing, those people weren’t (all) entryists who showed up to stir up trouble in someone else’s community. The call (to hijack the Hugo Award) was coming from inside the house: these guys had been around forever, and we’d let them get away with it, in the name of “tolerance” even as these guys were chasing women, queer people, and racialized people out of the field.
Those same Nazis went on to join Gamergate, then became prominent voices on Reddit’s /r/The_Donald, which was the vanguard of white nationalist, authoritarian support for the Trump campaign.
comments
October 29, 2019
New Book Tuesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Blue Eye: The Khorasan Archives, Book 3 by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Despite being separated and nearly losing their lives, Arian’s band of allies has remained united. Yet now, the group seems to be fracturing. To continue the fight, Arian must make a dangerous journey to a distant city to recruit new allies. But instead of her trusted friends, she is accompanied by associates she may no longer be able to trust.
* Interference by Sue Burke
Over two hundred years after the first colonists landed on Pax, a new set of explorers arrives from Earth on what they claim is a temporary scientific mission. But the Earthlings misunderstand the nature of the Pax settlement and its real leader. Even as Stevland attempts to protect his human tools, a more insidious enemy than the Earthlings makes itself known.
* The Last Road by K.V. Johansen
When even the gods are dying, the hope of the world may lie in its most feared enemies. A new god proclaimed as the All-Holy has arisen in the west and leads an army eastward, devouring the gods and goddesses of the lands between, forcibly converting their folk and binding their souls to himself. The very fabric of the world appears threatened by forces beyond the understanding of scholars and wizards alike. Even the great city of Marakand, where the roads of east and west converge, seems powerless to resist the All-Holy, though the devils Moth and Yeh-Lin and the assassin Ahjvar, undead consort of the god of distant Nabban, have come to stand with it. That may avail Marakand little, for the shapeshifting Blackdog, once a champion of the gods, follows obediently at the All-Holy's heel and Lakkariss, the sword of the cold hells, is in his master's hand.
* Short Story Water: A History by KJ Kabza
* The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
When the djinn king Melek Ahmar wakes up after millennia of imprisoned slumber, he finds a world vastly different from what he remembers. Arrogant and bombastic, he comes down the mountain expecting an easy conquest: the wealthy, spectacular city state of Kathmandu, ruled by the all-knowing, all-seeing tyrant AI Karma. To his surprise, he finds that Kathmandu is a cut-price paradise, where citizens want for nothing and even the dregs of society are distinctly unwilling to revolt.
* Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri
The Ambhan Empire is crumbling. A terrible war of succession hovers on the horizon. The only hope for peace lies in the mysterious realm of ash, where mortals can find what they seek in the echoes of their ancestors' dreams. But to walk there requires a steep price. Arwa is determined to make the journey. Widowed by a brutal massacre, she's pledged service to the royal family and will see that pledge through to the end. She never expected to be joined by Zahir, the disgraced, illegitimate prince who has turned to forbidden magic in a desperate bid to save those he loves.
* Upon the Flight of the Queen by Howard Andrew Jones
While the savage Naor clans prepare to march on the heart of the Allied Realms, Rylin infiltrates the highest of the enemy ranks to learn their secrets and free hundreds of doomed prisoners. His ailing mentor Varama leads the ever-dwindling Altenerai corps in a series of desperate strikes to cripple the Naor occupiers, hoping for a relief force that may not come in time to save what’s left of the city and her charges. Elenai, Kyrkenall, and the kobalin Ortok ride through the storm-wracked Shifting Lands to rekindle an alliance with the ko’aye, the only possible counter to the terrible Naor dragons. Even if they survive the hazardous trek deep through kobalin territory to find the winged lizards, though, the three are unlikely to get a warm reception, for the queen of the five realms refused to aid the ko’aye when their homelands were attacked, and the creatures have long memories.
* The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for. At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.
* Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma
Burning with resentment and intrigue, this fantastical family drama invites readers to dig up the secrets of the Belman family, and wonder whether myths and legends are real enough to answer for a history of sin. Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says. Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land. Gideon will live or die by the Orme, as all his family has.
* Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff
Features a mix of queer and less queer short stories about ghosts, monsters, revenge, new spins on old tales, wronged women and really bad jobs. 12 stories by award-winning author Catherine Lundoff.
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Blue Eye: The Khorasan Archives, Book 3 by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Despite being separated and nearly losing their lives, Arian’s band of allies has remained united. Yet now, the group seems to be fracturing. To continue the fight, Arian must make a dangerous journey to a distant city to recruit new allies. But instead of her trusted friends, she is accompanied by associates she may no longer be able to trust.
* Interference by Sue Burke
Over two hundred years after the first colonists landed on Pax, a new set of explorers arrives from Earth on what they claim is a temporary scientific mission. But the Earthlings misunderstand the nature of the Pax settlement and its real leader. Even as Stevland attempts to protect his human tools, a more insidious enemy than the Earthlings makes itself known.
* The Last Road by K.V. Johansen
When even the gods are dying, the hope of the world may lie in its most feared enemies. A new god proclaimed as the All-Holy has arisen in the west and leads an army eastward, devouring the gods and goddesses of the lands between, forcibly converting their folk and binding their souls to himself. The very fabric of the world appears threatened by forces beyond the understanding of scholars and wizards alike. Even the great city of Marakand, where the roads of east and west converge, seems powerless to resist the All-Holy, though the devils Moth and Yeh-Lin and the assassin Ahjvar, undead consort of the god of distant Nabban, have come to stand with it. That may avail Marakand little, for the shapeshifting Blackdog, once a champion of the gods, follows obediently at the All-Holy's heel and Lakkariss, the sword of the cold hells, is in his master's hand.
* Short Story Water: A History by KJ Kabza
* The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
When the djinn king Melek Ahmar wakes up after millennia of imprisoned slumber, he finds a world vastly different from what he remembers. Arrogant and bombastic, he comes down the mountain expecting an easy conquest: the wealthy, spectacular city state of Kathmandu, ruled by the all-knowing, all-seeing tyrant AI Karma. To his surprise, he finds that Kathmandu is a cut-price paradise, where citizens want for nothing and even the dregs of society are distinctly unwilling to revolt.
* Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri
The Ambhan Empire is crumbling. A terrible war of succession hovers on the horizon. The only hope for peace lies in the mysterious realm of ash, where mortals can find what they seek in the echoes of their ancestors' dreams. But to walk there requires a steep price. Arwa is determined to make the journey. Widowed by a brutal massacre, she's pledged service to the royal family and will see that pledge through to the end. She never expected to be joined by Zahir, the disgraced, illegitimate prince who has turned to forbidden magic in a desperate bid to save those he loves.
* Upon the Flight of the Queen by Howard Andrew Jones
While the savage Naor clans prepare to march on the heart of the Allied Realms, Rylin infiltrates the highest of the enemy ranks to learn their secrets and free hundreds of doomed prisoners. His ailing mentor Varama leads the ever-dwindling Altenerai corps in a series of desperate strikes to cripple the Naor occupiers, hoping for a relief force that may not come in time to save what’s left of the city and her charges. Elenai, Kyrkenall, and the kobalin Ortok ride through the storm-wracked Shifting Lands to rekindle an alliance with the ko’aye, the only possible counter to the terrible Naor dragons. Even if they survive the hazardous trek deep through kobalin territory to find the winged lizards, though, the three are unlikely to get a warm reception, for the queen of the five realms refused to aid the ko’aye when their homelands were attacked, and the creatures have long memories.
* The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for. At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.
* Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma
Burning with resentment and intrigue, this fantastical family drama invites readers to dig up the secrets of the Belman family, and wonder whether myths and legends are real enough to answer for a history of sin. Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says. Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land. Gideon will live or die by the Orme, as all his family has.
* Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff
Features a mix of queer and less queer short stories about ghosts, monsters, revenge, new spins on old tales, wronged women and really bad jobs. 12 stories by award-winning author Catherine Lundoff.
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October 28, 2019
Something fun
Network Effect is still a ways off (though it looks like it's April 28 now instead of May 5), but here's my writing playlist for it:
Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay
Heart-Shaped Box - Ramin Djawadi
Scream - Michael Jackson
There's Something in the Shadows - Amy Stroup
Best Friend - Sofi Tucker
All Stars (with ALMA) - Martin Solveig
Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea - Missio
We Don't Die - Tricky
Sabotage - Beastie Boys
Warm - SG Lewis
Lullabies (Adventure Club Remix) - Yuna
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Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay
Heart-Shaped Box - Ramin Djawadi
Scream - Michael Jackson
There's Something in the Shadows - Amy Stroup
Best Friend - Sofi Tucker
All Stars (with ALMA) - Martin Solveig
Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea - Missio
We Don't Die - Tricky
Sabotage - Beastie Boys
Warm - SG Lewis
Lullabies (Adventure Club Remix) - Yuna
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October 27, 2019
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October 24, 2019
Book Recs Again Finally
Between traveling, illness, head injuries, work and needing to finish the copyedit of Network Effect , it's been a while, but here are book recs!
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Arcana of Maps by Jessica Reisman
This first collection of Jessica Reisman’s stories roves the liminal spaces between now and not-quite-now, dream and waking, futures far flung and fantastic. Here are tales of adventure and transformation, clockwork detectives and polar bears, a wild sea on a space station, alien salvage and revenants. Featuring 16 previously published works and one unique to the collection, these stories open obscure doors into fantastic otherwheres and whens, conjuring worlds with deft and evocative lyricism. I love Jessica's work so much I wrote the introduction to this collection.
* A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce's connection to the world--her music, her purpose--is closed off forever. She does what she has to do: she performs in illegal concerts to a small but passionate community, always evading the law.
* Middle grade, graphic novel Stargazing by Jen Wang
Moon is everything Christine isn't. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known. But after Moon moves in next door, these unlikely friends are soon best friends, sharing their favorite music videos and painting their toenails when Christine's strict parents aren't around. Moon even tells Christine her deepest secret: that she has visions, sometimes, of celestial beings who speak to her from the stars. Who reassure her that earth isn't where she really belongs.
* Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way. There is Piya, a fellow Bengali-American who sets his journey in motion; Tipu, an entrepreneurial young man who opens Deen’s eyes to the realities of growing up in today’s world; Rafi, with his desperate attempt to help someone in need; and Cinta, an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of. It is a journey that will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood, and about the world around him.
* Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958 to 1963): Yesterday's luminaries introduced by today's rising stars edited by Gideon Marcus
* Short Story Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
* Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery edited by Rachel Autumn Deering
These are tales of witches, wickedness, evil and cunning. Stories of disruption and subversion by today's women you should fear. Including Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine and Sherrilyn Kenyon writing in their own bestselling universes.
* Insignia
INSIGNIA Vol.3 includes 7 Southeast Asian fantasy stories with a mix of literary, contemporary, myth-based, and historical fantasy pieces. Countries included are Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This is a multi-volume series of fantasy short story anthologies from all over Asia.
* Preorder Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
When the queen is murdered, the traditional safety at the heart of the empire can no longer be taken for granted. Young though they are, Sun and Persephone hold the keys to the mystery behind the Republic’s sudden instability and may be the only ones who can help. They’ll have to learn to work together if they are to escape assassination, fight off a Phene attack on Chaonia Prime, and take back the throne of the Republic of Chaonia from Persephone's treacherous relatives.
* Short Story As the Last I May Know by S.L. Huang
* You can also preorder Network Effect, the Murderbot novel, by me, which is coming out in May 2020.
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(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* The Arcana of Maps by Jessica Reisman
This first collection of Jessica Reisman’s stories roves the liminal spaces between now and not-quite-now, dream and waking, futures far flung and fantastic. Here are tales of adventure and transformation, clockwork detectives and polar bears, a wild sea on a space station, alien salvage and revenants. Featuring 16 previously published works and one unique to the collection, these stories open obscure doors into fantastic otherwheres and whens, conjuring worlds with deft and evocative lyricism. I love Jessica's work so much I wrote the introduction to this collection.
* A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce's connection to the world--her music, her purpose--is closed off forever. She does what she has to do: she performs in illegal concerts to a small but passionate community, always evading the law.
* Middle grade, graphic novel Stargazing by Jen Wang
Moon is everything Christine isn't. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known. But after Moon moves in next door, these unlikely friends are soon best friends, sharing their favorite music videos and painting their toenails when Christine's strict parents aren't around. Moon even tells Christine her deepest secret: that she has visions, sometimes, of celestial beings who speak to her from the stars. Who reassure her that earth isn't where she really belongs.
* Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way. There is Piya, a fellow Bengali-American who sets his journey in motion; Tipu, an entrepreneurial young man who opens Deen’s eyes to the realities of growing up in today’s world; Rafi, with his desperate attempt to help someone in need; and Cinta, an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of. It is a journey that will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood, and about the world around him.
* Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958 to 1963): Yesterday's luminaries introduced by today's rising stars edited by Gideon Marcus
* Short Story Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
* Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery edited by Rachel Autumn Deering
These are tales of witches, wickedness, evil and cunning. Stories of disruption and subversion by today's women you should fear. Including Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine and Sherrilyn Kenyon writing in their own bestselling universes.
* Insignia
INSIGNIA Vol.3 includes 7 Southeast Asian fantasy stories with a mix of literary, contemporary, myth-based, and historical fantasy pieces. Countries included are Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This is a multi-volume series of fantasy short story anthologies from all over Asia.
* Preorder Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
When the queen is murdered, the traditional safety at the heart of the empire can no longer be taken for granted. Young though they are, Sun and Persephone hold the keys to the mystery behind the Republic’s sudden instability and may be the only ones who can help. They’ll have to learn to work together if they are to escape assassination, fight off a Phene attack on Chaonia Prime, and take back the throne of the Republic of Chaonia from Persephone's treacherous relatives.
* Short Story As the Last I May Know by S.L. Huang
* You can also preorder Network Effect, the Murderbot novel, by me, which is coming out in May 2020.
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October 22, 2019
Capclave etc
So it's been an exciting couple of weeks! To recap, I went away on a writing retreat for a week, was a guest at the Brown Library Comic Con in Green Bay, Wisconsin, came back home to a strained muscle in my back that had a spasm, which made me faint in the kitchen and fall down and have a giant bump on the head and have to go to the emergency room. But I had CapClave (https://www.capclave.org/capclave/capclave19/) this past weekend and we also planned to go early so we could go to some museums.
By last Wednesday when it was time to leave, my back and head were mostly better, so we were able to get there with no problem. The con hotel in Rockville is right next to a metro station, so on Thursday we took it into DC and spent the morning at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also had lunch there, and I had seen reviews on the museum web site that mentioned the cornbread muffins, and yes, they are delicious. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, so it was very cool to see it again. In the afternoon we went briefly to the American History Museum, where Adam Rippon was doing a book signing and I got a signed book for a friend. Then we still had time so we went to the Air and Space Museum, which was being remodeled but the big stuff, like the Skylab walk-through and the other rockets and capsules were still open. We saw the African American Museum from the outside, but it was packed with people. After that we took the metro back and met up with the con committee to go to a dinner with the other guest of honor, Rob Sawyer. The next day on Friday, the con started.
And I had a fabulous time. It's a small convention, with a little over 300 attendees, but it's run by a very experienced group that will also be doing the WorldCon in DC in 2021, and there were lots of great panelists. I got to share a reading with Sarah Pinsker, and do panels with Natalie Luhrs, Suzanne Palmer, Kellan Szpara, Alan Smale, Brenda Clough, Keith DeCandido, and a bunch more great people and got to hang out with Victoria Janssen and her friend Natalie, and have lunch with Rob Sawyer and his wife Caroline, and to have dinner with David, a friend who grew up in College Station, and meet his friends.
It was a very friendly convention and they gave out "First Capclave" ribbons to people who were there for the first time so they could welcome them, and I just had a great time.
I also did two video interviews, one with Mike Zipser for Fast Forward and one with Jean Marie Ward for Buzzy Mag. I'll put up links to those when they get posted.
The programming rooms were all in one corridor, with the dealers room and consuite nearby, so it was a cozy setting and the hall was filled with conversation. Saturday night, in the big atrium of the hotel, there was a mass autographing for all the guests, cake for everybody, and they did the WSFA Small Press Award for short fiction, which went to "The Thing in the Wall Wants Your Spare Change" by Virginia Mohlere, published in Luna Station Quarterly.
So it was a great convention and I highly recommend it. Especially if you're new to conventions and want to start with something active but not so large that it's overwhelming.
Our flight was at 5:40 am on Monday, so we left the hotel with the wonderful Mike and Beth Zipser, who live much closer to the airport. We went out to dinner with them at a delicious Afghan restaurant and hung out for a while, then they were awesome and got up with us at 3:00 am to get us to the airport on time.
And now I'm behind on everything because I didn't get much done while I had the head injury, so I have a lot to catch up on.
ETA: Oh crap, I'm half asleep so I almost forgot one of the best parts. At the mass autographing, Bill Lawhorn the chairman gave Rob Sawyer and I customized Vincent Villefranca bronze statues. https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1186637963951853568
comments
By last Wednesday when it was time to leave, my back and head were mostly better, so we were able to get there with no problem. The con hotel in Rockville is right next to a metro station, so on Thursday we took it into DC and spent the morning at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also had lunch there, and I had seen reviews on the museum web site that mentioned the cornbread muffins, and yes, they are delicious. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, so it was very cool to see it again. In the afternoon we went briefly to the American History Museum, where Adam Rippon was doing a book signing and I got a signed book for a friend. Then we still had time so we went to the Air and Space Museum, which was being remodeled but the big stuff, like the Skylab walk-through and the other rockets and capsules were still open. We saw the African American Museum from the outside, but it was packed with people. After that we took the metro back and met up with the con committee to go to a dinner with the other guest of honor, Rob Sawyer. The next day on Friday, the con started.
And I had a fabulous time. It's a small convention, with a little over 300 attendees, but it's run by a very experienced group that will also be doing the WorldCon in DC in 2021, and there were lots of great panelists. I got to share a reading with Sarah Pinsker, and do panels with Natalie Luhrs, Suzanne Palmer, Kellan Szpara, Alan Smale, Brenda Clough, Keith DeCandido, and a bunch more great people and got to hang out with Victoria Janssen and her friend Natalie, and have lunch with Rob Sawyer and his wife Caroline, and to have dinner with David, a friend who grew up in College Station, and meet his friends.
It was a very friendly convention and they gave out "First Capclave" ribbons to people who were there for the first time so they could welcome them, and I just had a great time.
I also did two video interviews, one with Mike Zipser for Fast Forward and one with Jean Marie Ward for Buzzy Mag. I'll put up links to those when they get posted.
The programming rooms were all in one corridor, with the dealers room and consuite nearby, so it was a cozy setting and the hall was filled with conversation. Saturday night, in the big atrium of the hotel, there was a mass autographing for all the guests, cake for everybody, and they did the WSFA Small Press Award for short fiction, which went to "The Thing in the Wall Wants Your Spare Change" by Virginia Mohlere, published in Luna Station Quarterly.
So it was a great convention and I highly recommend it. Especially if you're new to conventions and want to start with something active but not so large that it's overwhelming.
Our flight was at 5:40 am on Monday, so we left the hotel with the wonderful Mike and Beth Zipser, who live much closer to the airport. We went out to dinner with them at a delicious Afghan restaurant and hung out for a while, then they were awesome and got up with us at 3:00 am to get us to the airport on time.
And now I'm behind on everything because I didn't get much done while I had the head injury, so I have a lot to catch up on.
ETA: Oh crap, I'm half asleep so I almost forgot one of the best parts. At the mass autographing, Bill Lawhorn the chairman gave Rob Sawyer and I customized Vincent Villefranca bronze statues. https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1186637963951853568
comments
