Ryun Patterson of Bookgasm has posted his 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2009, and, as in past years, we’re very pleased with the number of Pyr books in (and in this case around) the list. Paul McAuley’s The Quiet War
Bookgasm: 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2009 Read More »
Derek Shearer, Professor of Diplomacy at Occidental College and former US ambassador, writing in The Huffington Post, on “Give Hope A Chance: The Renewal of Summer.” He speaks of his wife’s faith in Obama, the poignant feelings from his sister’s recent passing, and, his summer reading:
“I’ve also begun reading novels by British ‘science fiction’ writer Ian McDonald about other rising powers — India and Brazil. In River of Gods
Very glad you are enjoying the books, Derek. Next year will see the release of The Dervish House, set in Turkey in an even-nearer future. In the meantime, I hope you get your wish!
Give Hope, and Ian McDonald, a Chance Read More »
Those of you on the west coast who want to catch Ian McDonald, he’ll be signing at the Mysterious Galaxy Booth #614 at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held at the UCLA campus on Sunday, April 26, at noon.
Ian McDonald on the West Coast Read More »
You go out of town for a week, and look what happens:
Ian McDonald’s Brasyl
“Ian McDonald is one of science fiction’s finest working writers, and his latest short story collection Cyberabad Days, is the kind of book that showcases exactly what science fiction is for. …Cyberabad Days has it all: spirituality, technology, humanity, love, sex, war, environmentalism, politics, media — all blended together to form a manifesto of sorts, a statement about how technology shapes and is shaped by all the wet, gooey human factors. Every story is simultaneously a cracking yarn, a thoughtful piece of technosocial criticism, and a bag of eyeball kicks that’ll fire your imagination. The field is very lucky to have Ian McDonald working in it.”
And Nick Gevers interviews McDonald on SciFi Wire:
“The title Cyberabad Days is a deliberate echo of the Arabian Nights. The stories are fairy tales of New Delhi. River was an Indian—novel, fat, many-voiced, wide-screen; Cyberabad Days is tales. Mumbai movies tell stories in ways that challenge our Western aesthetics and values. They’re not afraid of sentiment, they’re not afraid of big acting, or putting in song and dance, because Bollywood cinema’s not supposed to be a mimetic art form. It’s not about realism—that most pernicious of Western values—it’s a show.”
On io9, Charlie Jane Anders interviews Infoquake
“I began with a vision of a futuristic world, and worked backwards to figure out how everything came together. Most of the backstory came about when I was writing the early chapters of Infoquake and just started randomly filling things in. When I’d get stuck writing the story proper, I’d just spend some time writing background articles. This kind of thing has always been attractive to me. I was the kid who bought AD&D modules just because I liked to read them, even though I didn’t have anyone to play AD&D with. I’m the guy who always liked The Silmarillion better than The Lord of the Rings.”
On the Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast episode 75, host Shaun Farrel interviews End of the Century
These guys are making it hard for me to get caught up!
Too Much Pyr News to Keep Track of! Read More »
(trade paperback) by Ian McDonald
Full (Non)Metal Jackets: Blood of Ambrose & Brasyl Read More »
As reported in the Guardian: Ian McDonald’s Brasyl
A shortlist of six titles will be announced for the Warwick prize on January 23 next year, with a winner announced in February at the University of Warwick.
Congratulations to Ian and best of luck!
Brasyl up for First-Ever Warwick Prize Read More »
In his series on the Hugo Novel nominees, Pablo Defendini of Tor.com is taking a look at both the US and UK covers for Ian McDonald’s Brasyl.
Full analysis and subsequent discussion well-worth checking out, but I’m particularly gratified that Pablo got what the overlays of the title were meant to represent:
“The neon/florescent color scheme for both the painting and the type certainly communicates a sense of electric vibration, which ties in nicely with the concept of quantum computing (and certainly reminds us of Terry Gilliam’s film by the same name). Perhaps florescent or otherwise special inks were used in printing—the final effect is blindingly intense. Overlaying three instances of the title, off-register with each other and in three different neon colors adds to this vibration. It also complements the bustle depicted in the street scene nicely. Additionally, the three instances of the title relate conceptually to the three-story structure of the novel. While the choice of typefaces is somewhat orthodox, and could be perceived as boring under other circumstances, I think it works in this case: anything more complicated or ornate for the title would have rendered it much harder to read, when coupled with the three-instance treatment; and the simplicity and directness of the sans-serif typeface used for the author’s name serves as a nice contrast to the busy, hectic feel of the title proper. It also adds a solid, light-valued area to the top of the composition, which helps balance out the lightest areas of the illustration towards the bottom, and tie the composition together a little better.”
Tor.com Analyses Brasyl Covers Read More »
Interesting discussion on Tor.com on who should win the Best Novel Hugo. And very gratifying to see how many people feel Brasyl
And hey, however the Hugos turn out, we’re thrilled to be in such distinguished company.
Handicapping the Hugos Read More »
Interesting piece in The Guardian by Damien G. Walter called “The Politics of sci-fi” on the Hugos, the struggle for “literary respectability,” Michael Chabon as “the secret weapon of a genre that has always craved mainstream acclaim. Very soon we will reveal his origins as a genetically engineered Super Writer, bred to infiltrate mainstream literature with high-quality genre fiction. The Margaret Atwood droid may have violated its core programming by denying its science fiction roots, but we have high hopes that Chabon will perform better.”
Mention of Brasyl
The Politics of SF Read More »
Jacques Barcia has posted a review of Brasyl
The conclusion: Despite a great deal of Portuguese mispellngs, Brasyl is “A hell of an accomplishment for a gringo, definitely Brasyl is a book Brazilians must read.”
Brasyl works for Brazilians! Read More »
