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Philippine Speculative Fiction VI
Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 6 proudly proffers a representative range of some of the country's best speculative fiction written in 2010 -- short stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror and all things in between. Contributors likewise span a wide spectrum from all across the nation and around the world, from leading literary lights to newly-discovered young stars.
Ian Rosales Casocot Dean Francis Alfar
Eliza Victoria Kenneth Yu
Andrew Drilon Elyss Punsalan
Arlynn Despi Christine V. Lao
John Philip Corpuz Joseph Anthony Montecillo
Vincent Michael Crystal Koo
Francis Gabriel Concepcion Maria Pia V. Benosa
Jay Steven Anyong Andrei Tupaz
Alexander M. Osias Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
Charles Tan Paolo Chikiamco
Maria Elena Paterno Asterio Enrico N. Gutierrez
Philippine Speculative Fiction has become one of the country's most consistent and highly-anticipated yearly anthologies, showcasing the continuing development of the field of speculative fiction writing. The series has repeatedly been a finalist in the Manila Critics' Circle National Book Awards, and has been praised by some of the most respected names in the field.
Ian Rosales Casocot Dean Francis Alfar
Eliza Victoria Kenneth Yu
Andrew Drilon Elyss Punsalan
Arlynn Despi Christine V. Lao
John Philip Corpuz Joseph Anthony Montecillo
Vincent Michael Crystal Koo
Francis Gabriel Concepcion Maria Pia V. Benosa
Jay Steven Anyong Andrei Tupaz
Alexander M. Osias Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
Charles Tan Paolo Chikiamco
Maria Elena Paterno Asterio Enrico N. Gutierrez
Philippine Speculative Fiction has become one of the country's most consistent and highly-anticipated yearly anthologies, showcasing the continuing development of the field of speculative fiction writing. The series has repeatedly been a finalist in the Manila Critics' Circle National Book Awards, and has been praised by some of the most respected names in the field.
201 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
77 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Alfar
22 books21 followersNikki Alfar has fought fire 7,000 feet in midair and killed a snake with a flip-flop. Confoundingly, she’s found it much harder to earn a few Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, a couple of Bewildering Stories Mariner Awards, a Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and selection as one of twelve ‘Filipina writers of note’ by the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings. Nevertheless, she perseveres, somehow getting fiction published nationally and internationally, including her short story collection, Now, Then, and Elsewhen (UST Publishing).
She’s a proud founding member of the LitCritters writing group, has been a fellow at the UP National Writers’ Workshop as well as a judge for the Palanca and Philippines Free Press literary awards, and more often than not co-edits the critically-acclaimed annual anthology series Philippine Speculative Fiction. She’s also edited The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2005–2010 (UP Press) and the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler (Flipside Publishing). The rest of the time, she folds origami compulsively, smokes like a chimney, and tries to cook ever more imaginative suppers for her husband Dean and their daughters Sage and Rowan.
She’s a proud founding member of the LitCritters writing group, has been a fellow at the UP National Writers’ Workshop as well as a judge for the Palanca and Philippines Free Press literary awards, and more often than not co-edits the critically-acclaimed annual anthology series Philippine Speculative Fiction. She’s also edited The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2005–2010 (UP Press) and the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler (Flipside Publishing). The rest of the time, she folds origami compulsively, smokes like a chimney, and tries to cook ever more imaginative suppers for her husband Dean and their daughters Sage and Rowan.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 5, 2015
Originally posted on my blog.
Something peculiar happens to stories when they are housed in the same anthology, especially when an overarching theme or rubric comes into play. Aside from the sensibilities of the editors informing the curation process, the stories themselves cease to become autonomous units of narrative. Difference in writing styles become sharper by contrast, premises are either reinforced or disputed by the stories that come before or after it.
In Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology Volume 6, editors Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias continue the annual tradition of gathering short fiction in with a speculative vein, with works of publishing newbies mingling with those by seasoned, award-winning authors. Kapres, supervillains, galactic warship captains, and (alleged) cannibals are among the archetypal characters featured this time around. The stories that stand out for me explore the unease that is often overshadowed or glossed over by the flashier aspects of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
"Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe)" by Arlyn Despi, "The Bookshelves of Mrs. Go" by Charles Tan, and "Hollowbody" by Crystal Koo all possess a quiet, almost mundane style of storytelling that belie the uncanny and disturbing themes that they tackle. I hesitate to say more for fear of divulging too much and ruining the experience but I was really taken by the careful way these stories build up and how their endings, particularly Koo's subtle but sharp last scene, provides more questions than answers.
Jay Steven Anyong's "Lament of the Counselor," while disappointingly short, is a funny, off-beat take on the local myths of which I would like to see more. Danilo Madarang, marriage counselor the supernatural, explores the trials and tribulations that come of inter-species (inter-spiritual?) dating. His patients include diwatas bickering with their human husbands about children, the future, and different expectations within their relationships. However, I doubt Margie Holmes ever had a counseling session that included the sentence "I didn't let you carve your initials in my inner thigh for nothing, you insensitive beast!"
The steampunk (clockpunk?) story "On Wooden Wings" by Paolo Chikiamco is a deceptively simple one about a young girl engineering a set of mechanical wings. Buoying the plot is its setting, an inventive and elaborate alternate Philippines with a consolidated Muslim sultanate in the South successfully resisting the Spanish Invasion and a floating academy moving across the islands of Mindanao. The additional tension between The Philippines That Is and The Philippines That Could Have Been adds a level of metacommentary into the story. A wonderfully detailed analysis of the story's post-colonial implications is available on the Silver Goggles blog.
My favorite in the collection is Eliza Victoria's "The Storyteller's Curse," about a writer receiving a gift that he never really wanted. This is the kind of formal ambition I really admire, juggling the different tropes of horror and metafiction to create a tight, tension-filled story. It has one of those double plot setups that can be challenging to maintain, but Victoria does it masterfully here. The convergence of the two narratives leads to a climax whose implications are as horrific as they are intoxicating. It has subtle nods towards the style of writers like Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, using gothic elements to tackle issues of artistic creation, survival, and choice. The last line was a sucker punch in the gut the first time I read it.
Very small nitpick, but I dislike the title quite a lot. I feel that it reveals too much and misleads the reader at the same time? This comes down to personal taste, however, and such a small quibble at that.
Some of the stories in PSF 6 feel incomplete, acting more as scaffolding for big ideas than fully fleshed out narratives. But the biggest disappointment for me is the very first story, Asterio Enrico N. Gutierrez's "The Big Man." I realize that I may be a minority in this (the story won a Palanca, after all) but I don't think the story offered anything new or transgressive aside from transplanting a mythological creature and placing him in a contemporary setting, this time a kapre named Bolado de Makiling entering the NBA.
The elements that make it unique fell flat for me. It's fiction masquerading as non-fiction--using the sports article as its format--but it doesn't have the kind of verisimilitude and rigor I expect from pastiches. It also relies heavily on the reader's ability to recognize real-life people, places, and organizations to provide the needed tension in the story, which doesn't bode well for people who either don't know or care who Noli Eala or Tim Duncan are. It becomes very exclusive that way, making a clear demarcation between people who can recognize the references (by accident of interest, generation, or what have you) and people who don't.
I think the story also missed an opportunity by not interrogating the obvious wish-fulfillment and neo-imperialist aspects if its entire premise. Bolado's star lives and dies according to international validation, and the outcome of his NBA career is presented as a national tragedy. But why is it so important for a Filipino to play in the NBA? I am uncomfortable with the idea that the legacy Bolado ultimately leaves to future Pinoy basketball players is the hope that, one day, they too may get scouted by the Atlanta Hawks. Not to mention the entire subplot of basketball coach Norman Black braving the wilds of Makiling to scout for a player strikes me as having problematic whiffs of Kevin Bacon in The Air Up There.
(Bet you never expected that reference, huh? I'm so uncool.)
Despite some stumbles, PSF 6 succeeds in presenting a varied landscape of current SFF writing in the Philippines. Having read through 3 of its 6 volumes, it impresses and delights me that the Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology continues to offer stories that push the boundaries and definitions of Filipino writing.
(Disclosure: My review copy came from Charles Tan back in August, whose work I praised within the piece. All the opinions presented here are my own.)
Something peculiar happens to stories when they are housed in the same anthology, especially when an overarching theme or rubric comes into play. Aside from the sensibilities of the editors informing the curation process, the stories themselves cease to become autonomous units of narrative. Difference in writing styles become sharper by contrast, premises are either reinforced or disputed by the stories that come before or after it.
In Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology Volume 6, editors Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias continue the annual tradition of gathering short fiction in with a speculative vein, with works of publishing newbies mingling with those by seasoned, award-winning authors. Kapres, supervillains, galactic warship captains, and (alleged) cannibals are among the archetypal characters featured this time around. The stories that stand out for me explore the unease that is often overshadowed or glossed over by the flashier aspects of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
"Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe)" by Arlyn Despi, "The Bookshelves of Mrs. Go" by Charles Tan, and "Hollowbody" by Crystal Koo all possess a quiet, almost mundane style of storytelling that belie the uncanny and disturbing themes that they tackle. I hesitate to say more for fear of divulging too much and ruining the experience but I was really taken by the careful way these stories build up and how their endings, particularly Koo's subtle but sharp last scene, provides more questions than answers.
Jay Steven Anyong's "Lament of the Counselor," while disappointingly short, is a funny, off-beat take on the local myths of which I would like to see more. Danilo Madarang, marriage counselor the supernatural, explores the trials and tribulations that come of inter-species (inter-spiritual?) dating. His patients include diwatas bickering with their human husbands about children, the future, and different expectations within their relationships. However, I doubt Margie Holmes ever had a counseling session that included the sentence "I didn't let you carve your initials in my inner thigh for nothing, you insensitive beast!"
The steampunk (clockpunk?) story "On Wooden Wings" by Paolo Chikiamco is a deceptively simple one about a young girl engineering a set of mechanical wings. Buoying the plot is its setting, an inventive and elaborate alternate Philippines with a consolidated Muslim sultanate in the South successfully resisting the Spanish Invasion and a floating academy moving across the islands of Mindanao. The additional tension between The Philippines That Is and The Philippines That Could Have Been adds a level of metacommentary into the story. A wonderfully detailed analysis of the story's post-colonial implications is available on the Silver Goggles blog.
My favorite in the collection is Eliza Victoria's "The Storyteller's Curse," about a writer receiving a gift that he never really wanted. This is the kind of formal ambition I really admire, juggling the different tropes of horror and metafiction to create a tight, tension-filled story. It has one of those double plot setups that can be challenging to maintain, but Victoria does it masterfully here. The convergence of the two narratives leads to a climax whose implications are as horrific as they are intoxicating. It has subtle nods towards the style of writers like Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, using gothic elements to tackle issues of artistic creation, survival, and choice. The last line was a sucker punch in the gut the first time I read it.
Very small nitpick, but I dislike the title quite a lot. I feel that it reveals too much and misleads the reader at the same time? This comes down to personal taste, however, and such a small quibble at that.
Some of the stories in PSF 6 feel incomplete, acting more as scaffolding for big ideas than fully fleshed out narratives. But the biggest disappointment for me is the very first story, Asterio Enrico N. Gutierrez's "The Big Man." I realize that I may be a minority in this (the story won a Palanca, after all) but I don't think the story offered anything new or transgressive aside from transplanting a mythological creature and placing him in a contemporary setting, this time a kapre named Bolado de Makiling entering the NBA.
The elements that make it unique fell flat for me. It's fiction masquerading as non-fiction--using the sports article as its format--but it doesn't have the kind of verisimilitude and rigor I expect from pastiches. It also relies heavily on the reader's ability to recognize real-life people, places, and organizations to provide the needed tension in the story, which doesn't bode well for people who either don't know or care who Noli Eala or Tim Duncan are. It becomes very exclusive that way, making a clear demarcation between people who can recognize the references (by accident of interest, generation, or what have you) and people who don't.
I think the story also missed an opportunity by not interrogating the obvious wish-fulfillment and neo-imperialist aspects if its entire premise. Bolado's star lives and dies according to international validation, and the outcome of his NBA career is presented as a national tragedy. But why is it so important for a Filipino to play in the NBA? I am uncomfortable with the idea that the legacy Bolado ultimately leaves to future Pinoy basketball players is the hope that, one day, they too may get scouted by the Atlanta Hawks. Not to mention the entire subplot of basketball coach Norman Black braving the wilds of Makiling to scout for a player strikes me as having problematic whiffs of Kevin Bacon in The Air Up There.
(Bet you never expected that reference, huh? I'm so uncool.)
Despite some stumbles, PSF 6 succeeds in presenting a varied landscape of current SFF writing in the Philippines. Having read through 3 of its 6 volumes, it impresses and delights me that the Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology continues to offer stories that push the boundaries and definitions of Filipino writing.
(Disclosure: My review copy came from Charles Tan back in August, whose work I praised within the piece. All the opinions presented here are my own.)
August 25, 2011
Before I start with my review, I would like to clear some things out of my chest. I, as a writer, actually auditioned my short story,
Sunshine on the Skin
, to be a part of this anthology but was dutifully rejected by the editors. They said the dialogue was unbelievable, fantastical even, and I accepted their judgment with neither anger nor pain.
Now that that's out of the way, I must say that the book was, at the very least, very enjoyable for my literary palate. While almost all the stories here are amazing enough to indulge every reader, I have my select favorites, which include Kenneth Yu's The Kiddie Pool and Eliza Victoria's The Storyteller Curse. The variety of the anthology is just that, varied, too varied to make a review on it as a whole. You will inevitably remember most of the stories but you may forget how they came to be woven together in a single selection. This is my first PSF and, like for most first-timers, there is no doubt I will remember the whole thing. However, for most who have read the editions before this one, you may mix these new stories with the old stories and wrong their precise incarnations. I think if I've read the third edition, I might associate Maria Pia V. Benosa's Eternal Winter with it, even though it obviously is included in this sixth edition. But I can safely say that beyond all recognition, Elyss G. Punsalan's Ashland will be remembered in my head for a long, long time.
Speculative fiction is an umbrella category, which means it hosts more familiar subcategories under it like horror, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, alternate history, and post-apocalyptic fiction. The anthology spans almost all of the fantastical fiction genres and with great gusto. The selections are no less than great with imaginative authors worthy of their accomplishments leading to this place in their individual histories. While some are definitely greater than others, you will not help but feel that it was a team effort in their part to make you proud to be a Filipino, excite you while you dabble in the genre, and entertain you as an intelligent leader no less.
For the record, Philippine Speculative Fiction VI deserves a place in anyone's bookshelf.
Now that that's out of the way, I must say that the book was, at the very least, very enjoyable for my literary palate. While almost all the stories here are amazing enough to indulge every reader, I have my select favorites, which include Kenneth Yu's The Kiddie Pool and Eliza Victoria's The Storyteller Curse. The variety of the anthology is just that, varied, too varied to make a review on it as a whole. You will inevitably remember most of the stories but you may forget how they came to be woven together in a single selection. This is my first PSF and, like for most first-timers, there is no doubt I will remember the whole thing. However, for most who have read the editions before this one, you may mix these new stories with the old stories and wrong their precise incarnations. I think if I've read the third edition, I might associate Maria Pia V. Benosa's Eternal Winter with it, even though it obviously is included in this sixth edition. But I can safely say that beyond all recognition, Elyss G. Punsalan's Ashland will be remembered in my head for a long, long time.
Speculative fiction is an umbrella category, which means it hosts more familiar subcategories under it like horror, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, alternate history, and post-apocalyptic fiction. The anthology spans almost all of the fantastical fiction genres and with great gusto. The selections are no less than great with imaginative authors worthy of their accomplishments leading to this place in their individual histories. While some are definitely greater than others, you will not help but feel that it was a team effort in their part to make you proud to be a Filipino, excite you while you dabble in the genre, and entertain you as an intelligent leader no less.
For the record, Philippine Speculative Fiction VI deserves a place in anyone's bookshelf.
August 8, 2011
I am overwhelmed with Pinoy's talent and imagiantion. Here is evidence that we can make it internationally. Each story is different and it feels like teaser trailers. They leave me wanting more. I do hope they release full-length stories/novels. My top three stories are:
3. Villanoiguing by Joseph Anthony Montecillo - humorous!
2. Prisoner 2501 by John Philip Corpuz - this one is sad and really cool concept.
1. Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe) - scary! creepy! but really good and full of emotions.
I just noticed that Pinoy writers love to use BIG words and weird story formats. Impressive but chooses audiences/ readers.
3. Villanoiguing by Joseph Anthony Montecillo - humorous!
2. Prisoner 2501 by John Philip Corpuz - this one is sad and really cool concept.
1. Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe) - scary! creepy! but really good and full of emotions.
I just noticed that Pinoy writers love to use BIG words and weird story formats. Impressive but chooses audiences/ readers.
September 6, 2012
(Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology.)
This volume contains such a varied collection of stories, and as what happens in an anthology that tries to cover all bases, not all of the stories appealed to me. But this is still a worthy read. The stand-outs, in my opinion: "Ashland" by Elyss Punsalan, "From the Book of Names My Mother Did Not Give Me" by Tin Lao, "Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe)" by Arlynn Despi, and "Simon's Replica" by Dean Alfar.
This volume contains such a varied collection of stories, and as what happens in an anthology that tries to cover all bases, not all of the stories appealed to me. But this is still a worthy read. The stand-outs, in my opinion: "Ashland" by Elyss Punsalan, "From the Book of Names My Mother Did Not Give Me" by Tin Lao, "Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe)" by Arlynn Despi, and "Simon's Replica" by Dean Alfar.
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