Speculative Fiction in Translation #6: Japan in June
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SFiTEpisode6JapanInJune/Sfit-Episode6-JapanInJune.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSJune, sweet June. It’s brought us two novel-length works of Japanese SFT, short fiction from the Chinese and Bengali, and a lot of reviews. This has also been a month of discussions about adding an SFT category to the Hugo Awards and Italian micro speculative fiction from over a dozen authors (featured on the SFT site). With new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes:
Interview: K.D. Edwards on his debut Fantasy novel, THE LAST SUN
K.D. Edwards’ debut novel, The Last Sun, is now out from Pyr Books. The author very kindly answered my questions about the world and characters of The Last Sun.
Book Review: Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne
Kill the Farm Boy is the literary love child of Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne, who partnered up to create a fantastical, trope-skewering romp of a Pratchett-esque novel. That was a lot of words, but I promise they’re all accurate. Within the pages of Kill the Farm Boy, readers will find plenty of laughter and an abundance of interesting fairy tale problems, ranging from botched adventures to a nice-guy troll to a sand witch whose wand is the prettiest thing on the beach. Even when you think you’ve finally grasped their mischievous style, Dawson and Hearne surprise you again and again with unique villains and intense violence. A tale of the hero’s journey it may be, but the journey itself is not typical in the slightest. This book almost feels like a D&D campaign with a ridiculously imaginative DM and a fantastic group of players, and that’s the opposite of a bad thing.
Short Fiction Review: May 2018
This month, I have two stories that will give you heavy, negative feels (but in a good way, I promise!), and one story that can probably cheer you up afterward. In “One Day, My Dear, I’ll Shower You with Rubies” by Langley Hyde, which appears in Podcastle Episode 520 (May 1, 2018), a genocidal wizard is put on trial years after the war, and his daughter is called to testify against him. She won’t forgive him, and he won’t apologize. This story is challenging, unique, surprisingly real. Want a story about a succubus in the age of social media? Check out “Sucks (to Be You)” by Katharine Duckett, which appears in Uncanny Magazine Issue 22 (May/June 2018). It’s thoughtful and deeply unsettling in the very best way. Finally, I loved “Our Side of the Door” by Kodiak Julian, which appears in Lightspeed Magazine Issue 96 (May 2018). It’s a warm, beautiful portal fantasy that left me thinking about ethics and gender.
Book Review: The Realms of God by Michael Livingston
Drawing together strands, plots, and conflicts from the first two novels, The Realms of God winningly completes Michael Livingston’s Shards of Heaven trilogy. In the Shards of Heaven series, Michael Livingston has been weaving the real-life history of the early Roman Empire with magic and myth in a potent combination. Starting with The Shards of Heaven and through The Gates of Hell, the author has been telling the story of the Shards, pieces of Divine power on Earth, and those trying to win control of them, mastery of them, and mastery of the world as a result. The series features both historical characters as well as (especially in The Gates of Hell) supernatural ones, telling stories that sit within the known history but do not contradict it or change it. They are good examples of Secret historical fantasy, eschewing any changes from our own world, but also grounding the novels in real events and real history.
Speculative Fiction in Translation #5: Frankenstein, Future Fiction, and Wiscon
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SFiTEpisode5FrankensteinFutureFictionAndWiscon/Sfit-Episode5-FrankensteinFutureFictionAndWiscon.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMay is absolutely filled to the brim with SFT. With five short stories, seven novels/collections, interviews, reviews, and more, you’ll never be at a loss for something to read. Rachel also talks about the SFT panel at Wiscon (the annual feminist science fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin) and what she’s been reading and translating. And a huge congratulations to Rodrigo Fresan and Will Vanderhyden for winning the 2018 Best Translated Book Award for The Invented Part (Open Letter)! With new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes:
