Recently in anthologies Category

Acabo de ser informado, por mestre Guilherme Kujawski, editor do site Cibercultura, do Instituto Itaú Cultural, que minha resenha sobre a coletânea The New Weird, editada por Ann e Jeff VanderMeer, acaba de ser publicada. Vocês podem conferir aqui.

Exactly two weeks ago, I queried Tachyon Publications (publisher of The New Weird) on review copies of some books, among them the forthcoming Steampunk (another enterprise of Ann and Jeff VanderMeer which I was itching to read). In 15 days the whole bunch arrived right at my doorstep: the aforementioned Steampunk (an advance reader copy), Thomas M. Disch´s The Word of God, The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3, Year´s Best Fantasy 7 (from the famous series edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer), Asimov´s Science Fiction Magazine 30th Anniversary Anthology, and Michael Swanwick´s new collection of stories The Dog Said Bow-Wow. Thanks to Jill Roberts, Managing Editor for Tachyon, for the swiftness, efficience and very good disposition (and sense of humor, as well).

And I just got it: the much-awaited Paper Cities - An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, edited by Ekaterina Sedia, author of the excellent The Secret History of Moscow, already reviewed here. The Fix has already published a great review here. Many thanks to Kathy Sedia and Matthew Kressel, publisher of Senses Five Press, for the kind attention and for the press material - Paper Cities won´t be reviewed here, but in a new place which will be online until next week.

____

Acaba de chegar aqui em casa a aguardadíssima coletânea Paper Cities - An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, editada por Ekaterina Sedia, autora do excelente The Secret History of Moscow, já resenhado aqui. A revista online The Fix já publicou uma ótima resenha desse livro, que pode ser lida (em inglês) aqui. Meu obrigado a Kathy Sedia e a Matthew Kressel, publisher da Senses Five Press, pela gentileza, pela atenção e também pelo material de imprensa. Paper Cities não será revisado aqui, mas em outro lugar, que já está pintando aqui no ciberespaço. Vocês não perdem por esperar.

I just got it right now at my place a more than welcome republication: Tales From The White Hart, by Grand Master Arthur C. Clarke. Issued by PS Publishing Group (the same house that published Jeff VanderMeer´s The Situation), the volume is a collection of stories originally published in 1969, but this new edition also features a new story written in collaboration with Stephen Baxter. Can´t wait to read it - and review it.

-----

Como diz o grande mestre do rock: Welcome, my friends, to the show that never ends. Nem bem acabamos um encontro, e os livros continuam a chegar. O mais recente é um belo hardcover que contém uma das melhores coletâneas de Arthur C. Clarke: Tales From The White Hart, publicada aqui como Contos da Taberna. Essa coletânea, publicada originalmente em 1969, apresenta agora um novo conto, escrito por Clarke em parceria com Stephen Baxter, que, assim como Gentry Lee nos anos 1980/1990, foi seu parceiro mais constante entre meados de 1990 até sua morte. Aguardem resenha muito em breve.

There´s a new review of mine in The Fix: an appreciation of The Solaris book of New Science Fiction, Vol. 2. Great reading, highly rewarding.

--

Tem resenha nova na revista online The Fix: um texto que escrevi sobre o volume 2 da antologia de contos inéditos de FC da editora inglesa Solaris. Muitos autores novos desconhecidos no Brasil (como os ótimos Neal Asher, Kay Kenyon e Eric Brown), além de alguns que já foram publicados por aqui, ainda que apenas de passagem (Paul Di Filippo, salvo engano na falecida Isaac Asimov Magazine brasileira, e Michael Moorcock, criador de Elric, aqui apresentando uma história inédita de seu anti-herói Jerry Cornelius. Vale a dica para as editoras brasileiras.

The Fix published today an extended review I did on The New Weird. I loved that anthology. Highly recommended.

This review refers only to the fiction part. I´m doing an article exclusively on the nonfiction part, which, IMHO, is as important as the fiction one. Just wait a few more days, please.

_____

O site The Fix, para o qual agora colaboro regularmente, acaba de publicar uma resenha extensa que escrevi sobre a coletânea The New Weird, já comentada aqui num post anterior. É em inglês, mas já posso adiantar o que tenho dito por aí em comunidades e e-mails a amigos: é sensacional. Vale a pena comprar, ler e guardar. (E insistir com as editoras para que publiquem.)

E não é tudo: até a semana que vem será publicado um artigo exclusivamente sobre a parte de não-ficção do livro, que considero tão importante quanto a parte dos contos. Aviso assim que estiver no site.

As told in the last post (right below, in Portuguese), I´ll be doing a series of short reviews of the Hugo and Nebula finalists in the next weeks, as time and circumstances allow me to do so.

The first one is Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?, by Ken MacLeod (The New Space Opera, ed. Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, HarperCollins/Eos). This short story is slightly reminiscent of Theodore Sturgeon´s The Skills of Xanadu, with an even madder twisted ending. MacLeod tells us the apparently simple story of a virtually immortal man (or, as he tells us himself in the very beginning of the story, maybe not, maybe his implanted memories are to blame on the fact that he really believes it), a gallant, gallivanting rogue who is caught with the wife of a powerful man and is force to face a very singular punishment: travel to the distant world of Wolf 359 and bring back anything that might have survived the collapse of civilization there. But he does find a civilization there, after all - it´s his reaction to the beings he finds in Wolf 359 that will be essential to a successful completion of his mission. That´s where MacLeod and Sturgeon goes their separate ways -- the space trigger-happy cowboy Bril of Kit Carson resists any kind of involvement with the inhabitantes of Xanadu, only to be slowly wooed by their gentle ways. Not so with MacLeod´s protagonist, which only wants to make a profit - any profit he can. It´s a short, curt story - and a funny one, which makes all the difference.

Eu já havia cantado a pedra num post anterior sobre os finalistas do Arthur C. Clarke Award. Agora, foram indicados os finalistas dos maiores prêmios da ficção científica de língua inglesa: o Hugo e o Nebula.

Os finalistas do Hugo nas categorias impressas são:

Melhor Romance

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, de Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)

Brasyl, de Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)

Rollback, de Robert J. Sawyer (Tor; Analog Oct. 2006-Jan/Feb. 2007)

The Last Colony, de John Scalzi (Tor)

Halting State, de Charles Stross (Ace)

Melhor Novela

"The Fountain of Age", de Nancy Kress (Asimov's July 2007)

"Recovering Apollo 8", de Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's Feb. 2007)

"Stars Seen Through Stone", de Lucius Shepard (F&SF July 2007)

"All Seated on the Ground",de Connie Willis (Asimov's Dec. 2007; Subterranean Press)

"Memorare", de Gene Wolfe (F&SF April 2007)

Melhor Noveleta

"The Cambist and Lord Iron: a Fairytale of Economics", de Daniel Abraham (Logorrhea ed. John Klima, BantamSpectra)

"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", de Ted Chiang (Subterranean Press; F&SF Sept. 2007)

"Dark Integers", de Greg Egan (Asimov's Oct./Nov. 2007)

"Glory", de Greg Egan (The New Space Opera, ed. Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan, HarperCollins/Eos)

"Finisterra", de David Moles (F&SF Dec. 2007)

Melhor Conto

"Last Contact", de Stephen Baxter (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, ed. George Mann, Solaris Books)

"Tideline", de Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's June 2007)

"Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?", de Ken MacLeod (The New Space Opera, ed. Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, HarperCollins/Eos)

"Distant Replay", de Mike Resnick (Asimov's April/May 2007)

"A Small Room in Koboldtown", de Michael Swanwick (Asimov's April/May 2007; The Dog Said Bow-Wow, Tachyon Publications)

E os finalistas do Nebula:

Romances

Ragamuffin,de Tobias Buckell (Tor, Jun07)

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, de Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, May07)

The Accidental Time Machine, de Joe Haldeman (Ace, Aug07)

The New Moon's Arms, de Nalo Hopkinson (Warner Books, Feb07)

Odyssey, de Jack McDevitt (Ace, Nov06)

Melhor Novela

"Awakening", de Judith Berman (Black Gate 10, Spr07)

"The Helper and His Hero", de Matt Hughes (F&SF, Mar07 (Feb07 & Mar07))

"Fountain of Age", de Nancy Kress (Asimov's, Jul07)

"Stars Seen Through Stone", de Lucius Shepard (F&SF, Jul07)

"Kiosk", de Bruce Sterling (F&SF, Jan07)

"Memorare", de Gene Wolfe (F&SF, Apr07)

Melhor Noveleta

"The Children's Crusade", de Robin Wayne Bailey (Heroes in Training, Martin H. Greenberg and Jim C. Hines, Ed., DAW, Sep07)

"Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone", de Terry Bramlett (Jim Baen's Universe 7, June 2007)

"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", deTed Chiang (F&SF, Sep07)

"The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs Of North Park After the Change", de Kij Johnson (Coyote Road, Trickster Tales, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Ed., Viking Juvenile, Jul07)

"Safeguard", by Nancy Kress (Asimov's, Jan07)

"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter", de Geoff Ryman (F&SF, Nov06)

"The Fiddler of Bayou Teche", de Delia Sherman (Coyote Road, Trickster Tales, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Ed., Viking Juvenile, Jul07)

Melhor Conto

"Unique Chicken Goes In Reverse", de Andy Duncan (Eclipse 1: New Science Fiction And Fantasy, Jonathan Strahan, Ed., Night Shade Books, Oct07)

"Always", de Karen Joy Fowler (Asimov's, May07 (Apr/May07 issue))

"Titanium Mike Saves the Day", de David D. Levine (F&SF, Apr07)

"The Story of Love", de Vera Nazarian (Salt of the Air, Prime Books, Sep06)

"Captive Girl", de Jennifer Pelland (Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, WS & LWE, Ed., Oct06 (Fall06 issue -- #2))

"Pride", de Mary Turzillo (Fast Forward 1, Pyr, Feb07)

Como vocês devem ter visto, alguns dos contos e novelas podem ser acessados de graça na Web (os links estão nos títulos). Como em prêmios mais famosos (digamos, Golden Globe e Oscar), alguns títulos se repetem na preferência dos eleitores (o Hugo é votado por todos os participantes da convenção mundial de FC, que este ano será realizado em Denver, Colorado, em agosto - mesmo não sendo afiliado a nenhum grupo de língua inglesa, eu votei no Hugo quando fui à WorldCon de 1995, em Glasgow, na Escócia; já o Nebula é restrito aos membros da Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America).

Não li todos os livros e contos acima, mas segue abaixo uma brevíssima avaliação dos que tive a oportunidade de ler até agora (aguardem nas próximas semanas mais dicas):

Brasyl, de Ian McDonald - fiz uma resenha sobre ele na revista Cibercultura do Itaú Cultural. Gostei; talvez seja a primeira vez que um autor de língua inglesa escreve uma história onde 99 por cento dos personagens são brasileiros, e não fica no estereótipo. Há alguns erros conceituais, mas na maior parte das vezes McDonald acerta, e a história é instigante (já imaginaram um acelerador de partículas na USP criando acidentalmente um portal para universos paralelos? Pois é, o cara imaginou).

"Glory", de Greg Egan - este eu li ontem mesmo, na coletânea The New Space Opera, editada por Gardner Dozois e Jonathan Strahan. Egan às vezes pode ser difícil de ler (talvez por uma deformação profissional - Egan é matemático), mas a leitura sempre compensa. Neste conto, entretanto, ele deixa de lado os cálculos e especulações densas para contar o que acontece quando uma avançada civilização galáctica decide fazer o primeiro contato com uma espécie hostil.

Estou lendo The Yiddish Policemen's Union, de Michael Chabon (que, pelo que tenho lido em alguns sites especializados, é o franco favorito, com Brasyl logo atrás). Aguardem em breve comentários aqui. Os contos online vêm em seguida. Mas fiquem de olho nos nomes: vários deles tinham aparecido em listas que fiz aqui de autores que precisam ser lidos e publicados no Brasil urgentemente. São nomes que têm algo a dizer. Leiam.

Post bilíngüe: recebi os livros O Tempo que o Tempo Tem - Por que o ano tem 12 meses e outras curiosidades sobre o calendário, de Alexandre Cherman e Fernando Vieira e De Cabeça Aberta - conhecendo o cérebro para entender a personalidade humana, um dos mais recentes livros de Steven Johnson, de quem já resenhei seu livro Emergence aqui. Obrigado a Daniela Name e Lívia, da TRILHA Comunicação & Conteúdo, que fazem a assessoria de imprensa da Jorge Zahar Editora, pelo envio dos livros. Aguardem resenhas em breve no Webinsider.

And now, for something not completely different: I just got from Night Shade Books two very nice books, which seem to be a real treat: The Best SF and Fantasy of the Year Vol. 2, edited by Jonathan Strahan, and Pump Six and Other Stories, by Paolo Bacigalupi, one of the recent names of the New Weird. Thanks to J.J.Adams, publicist for Night Shade, for having the books sent to me. Expect reviews soon.

Right now, doing the translation for a new edition of Asimov´s original Foundation trilogy (aside from a handful of projects in editing and writing), one could think I have no time left at all to read. Wrong all the way: for me, things seem to work in an ever-accelerating mode. The more I have to do, the more I do (reading included).

Reading right now:

The Dark Tower, Stephen King - just finishing the quest of the ka-tet of Roland Deschain. I must confess I haven´t read King for a very long time, but when several friends strongly recommended me this saga, I finally tried to see what all that fuss what about, and wasn´s disappointed. It´s by far the best King story I´ve ever read - and that made me buy a whole lot of his books in order to understand better the references he so deflty puts through the books of the saga.

The New Space Opera, edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan - Just beginning to read this one, but already loving it. The first stories - Gwyneth Jones´ Saving Tiamaat and Verthandi´s Ring by Ian McDonald, made me very happy. More on that as soon as I finish it.

The Space Opera Renaissance, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer - My God, I didn´t realize how refreshing it was to read Edmond Hamilton! I mean, I had read one of two of his stories as a child, but to read it now and find out that his stories (in this case, The Star Stealers) still work very well in terms of sense of wonder... well, what can I say? I´m flabbergasted. Reading Jack Williamson´s story now and already missing the Grand Master.

The Yiddish Policemen´s Union, Michael Chabon - I had already read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which has been translated to Brazilian Portuguese - and loved it. The only consolation to Brazilian readers is that Michael Chabon´s work is not considered SF in any way possible (to the editors, I mean), and that´s why he´s translated in Brazil. The Yiddish Policemen´s Union is, as far as I know, already being translated here.

Atonement, Ian McEwan - The greatest frustration for me in this year´s Academy Awards was that Atonement just grabbed one Oscar - what the hell, this film deserved the Award for Best Movie! The book, as it happens, is much better, of course, but the film was beautifully done, and McEwan (like Kazuo Ishiguro, IMHO) writes a painful love story with a sensibility that touches the reader´s soft spot. I can´t help but feel sad and also overjoyed (and, obviously, feel an incredible envy of Mr. McEwan for writing so damnably well!! :-)

All that and some PDFs I got to review in the past few days, but that´s an info which I´m not authorized to disclose right now. Anyway, stay tuned - I´ve got plenty of reading to do and many more books on my desk (and on my nightstand) waiting their turn in the line.