Brasyl

Multiverse Reviews: Brasyl & Infoquake

Over on MySpace, Multiverse Reviews tackles two Pyr novels, Ian McDonald’s Brasyland David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake.

Speaking of Brasyl, they write, “Sure, I’ve read parallel universe plotlines before, but Brasyl takes it to a whole new level of weirdness… Enjoy their stories for what they are, don’t rush to the end for the action. The enjoyment of the journey makes the unexpected and bizarre kicker even sweeter.”

Speaking of Infoquake, they write, “Let me just say that this is a wonderfully written book. It kept me engrossed and riveted, with well-written dialogue and engaging characters. In addition, as an avid fan of world building, I loved the world that Edelman created. This book carved a brand new universe using alternate history, detailed imagination and Edelman’s computer programming background…I wholeheartedly recommend Infoquake for anybody and everybody. I know I am just one of many who eagerly await Edelman’s follow up novel to the fantastic Infoquake.”

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Roberson Rambles on Brasyl

Author Chris Roberson (Paragaea,Set the Seas on Fire) has started “Book Report Monday.” In his inaugural report, he looks at Soon I Will Be Invincible, Eisenhorn, and Ian McDonald’s Brasyl.The latter shares enough structural commonalities with his forthcoming End of the Century that I, as he points out, advised him not to read it until he’d finished that manuscript. Now that he has, he finds Brasyl “highly recommended. If you’ve been looking for a story featuring bisexual transvestite wheeler-dealers in the future, kick ass Irish Jesuits in the past, and complex TV producers in the modern day, complete with knives that will cut through the bonds of space-time and secret conspiracies across the multiverse, then Brasyl is the book for you. And if you haven’t been looking for that story, then you should be now.”

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Multiple Pyr Reviews

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A host of Pyr reviews have come in over the last few days. Here are the highlights:

Ian McDonald’s River of Gods:

“…if you can stand the initial shock of a future India, described in breathtaking detail by McDonald, then you will find yourself immersed in the world that he has created. River of Gods is a rich, fascinating novel…fans of hard science fiction will find plenty to like…” –SciFiNow Magazine, issue 5

Ian McDonald’s Brasyl:

“Brasyl has been receiving high praise from just about everyone since it’s publication. It’s easy to see why. Not content with writing just one interesting story, McDonald gives us three… What’s even more amazing is that McDonald has taken these stories and wrapped them around a very hard science fictional idea. Namely that of the quantum computational view of cosmology.tackles big issues like free will and the heat death of the universe and places them in intensely personal stories, which serves to humanize these ideas and make them easier to understand… Brasyl rivals River Of Gods story-wise and surpasses it in science fictional terms. “-SFSignal, 4 1/2 stars

Justina Robson’s Selling Out (Quantum Gravity, Book 2):

“Provocative melding of fantasy and science fiction…her freewheeling language instills the plot with an unpredictability…limitless creativity and enthusiasm…” –SciFiNow Magazine, issue 5

“Robson continues, from Keeping It Real (2007), the story of super cyborg secret-agent extraordinare Lila Black as she follows her former charge Zal, the most famous rock star in Otopia, into Demonia…Clearly having fun in a world of elves, fairies, and high-tech toys, Robson has a great sense of rock and roll, too, which helps lots in this almost-over-the top confection.” –Booklist, September 1, 2007

Fiona Avery’s The Crown Rose:
“…a fascinating novel about a period in history imbued with mysticism, and it is exciting to read something so well encompassing that tradition. Fiona Avery has a marvelous talent for vivid characterization, and makes Isabelle and her family and servants glow with realism. This is a well-researched book, and it shows. Give yourself a trip to the thirteenth century and get this book!” –ReadertoReader.com, September 2007

Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky: the Entire and the Rose: Book 1:
“Well written, with engaging, well-developed characters, Kenyon gives readers fascinating, alternative worlds on a breathtaking scale. Mind boggling worlds, deep plotting and characters—what more can we want from science fiction?” -SirReadaLot.org, September, 2007

Not bad, huh?

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Amazon Proclaims Brasyl "Hidden Gem"

Amazon.com has just posted their Best Books of the Year So Far: Hidden Gems. This is a mid-year round up in anticipation of their annual Best of the Year list, and, in addition to categories of fiction, nonfiction, and books for children and teens, they selected 10 “hidden gems,” books they say “don’t fit easily into the usual categories or that were just too good to leave off our lists.” And, in a category that includes both fiction and nonfiction (including books about photography, technology and meat), they chose Ian McDonald’s Brasyl,of which they further say, “Ian McDonald is hardly a hidden gem to science fiction readers by now, but with Brasyl he has proven once again that he should be reckoned as one of the finest of all our novelists. Brasyl fractures the Brazil we know into past, present, and near future in a brilliantly frenetic and spellbinding stew and a dramatic tale of character and culture.”

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Brasyl: Well Worth Your Attention

In the latest installment of Tom Easton’s column for Analog magazine, “The Reference Library,” he praises the “panache” of Ian McDonald’s latest, Brasyl, proclaiming that “McDonald soaks us in atmosphere: flamboyance, verve, religions (including soccer), lunch-hour plastic surgery, and all the rest of the potpourri that defines modern Brazil.”

Tom provides a big hint to the big picture, but understands that “it’s much more concerned with image than with anything real. That makes Brazil the perfect stage for this play, even as it calls into question the nature of reality and free will.”

His conclusion, that “Brasyl is an impressively energetic novel that gains a great deal from the exotic ambience of its setting. It also makes an interesting philosophical point at the end: Only in imperfection, perhaps the work of the devil, can we find hope. McDonald is well worth your attention.”

Update: Two reviews for the UK edition for Brasyl came to my attention today as well. Lisa Tuttle, in The Times, calls the book, “a brilliant, kaleidoscopic novel that’s both a portrait of a country and an exploration of the wilder shores of theoretical physics. Brasyl is McDonald’s best book yet, written in a vivid, almost hallucinatory style that’s perfectly suited to his fascinating subject.”

Meanwhile Eric Brown writes in The Guardian that Brasyl is “an accomplished work, a complex, multi-layered narrative which questions the notions of determinism and free will in a universe of illimitable possibilities. McDonald not only paints a stunning portrait of Brazil, which in all its chaos mirrors the quantum uncertainties of the multiverse, but presents a set of characters who come over as real people: multi-faceted, flawed, but ultimately sympathetic.

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Brasyl: A Bizarre Kicker

“Ian McDonald is doing great work exploring cultures and countries not normally explored to the same degree by science fiction,” says Tomas L. Martin, in his review of Brasylfor the website SFCrowsnest. “The rich tapestry of the past, present and future of ‘Brasyl’ is another fine example of his work and an important book that should be widely read.”

Meanwhile, I’ve just found a new-to-me review site, Alternative Reality Web Zine, where Andrea Johnson says that McDonald is “Throwing standard American/Western European science fiction on it’s head.” She describes the novel as “part cyberpunk, part historical narrative, part bladerunner, part parallel universe epic, and part introduction to a culture most Americans know nothing about…. Sure, I’ve read parallel universe plotlines before, but Brasyl takes it to a whole new level of weirdness. McDonald’s characterization is great, the characters feel realistic, fleshed out, and for the most part, unlikeable… Enjoy their stories for what they are, don’t rush to the end for the action. The enjoyment of the journey makes the unexpected and bizarre kicker even sweeter.”

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Ain’t It Cool News: the Brilliance of Brasyl

Adam Balm is back on Ain’t It Cool News with a review of Ian McDonald’s Brasyl. He begins by quoting the old writing adage, “write what you know,” saying that McDonald does the exact opposite:

“I walk away from this book convinced that he’s lived it all. I absolutely believe that this middle-aged white Irishman is also an indian boy, a self-absorbed Latin American woman, a Jesuit priest, and a walker between the universes. There’s no other explanation.”

Then, after a bit of plot description he summarizes McDonald’s accomplishment thusly:

“…the brilliance lies in how MacDonald marries these tropes of radical Hard SF to the South American traditional themes of Latin American magical realism, melding it all together and spitting out something that feels like it’s never been done before. And on top of that, there’s probably at least two new ideas on every page that stops you cold in your tracks, where you put the book down and just stare into space. …you just end up hating this guy for being so damn clever.”

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Brasyl Close to Perfect; Bright as Compelling as Tolkien

Jeff Vandermeer asks “How many different ways can the future be imagined?” in July 22nd issue of the Washington Post. Speaking of Ian McDonald’s Brasyl,he describes the novel as being, “… as close to perfect as any novel in recent memory. It works because of great characterization, but also because McDonald envisions Brazil as a dynamic, living place that is part postmodern trash pile, part trashy reality-TV-driven ethical abyss . . . and yet also somehow spiritual. …McDonald has found new myths for old places; in doing so, he has cemented his reputation as an amazing storyteller.”

Moving on to Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky, Jeff writes that it is, “a splendid fantasy quest as compelling as anything by Stephen R. Donaldson, Philip José Farmer or, yes, J.R.R. Tolkien.” He has some reservations about the Earth-centered sections of the novel, but concedes that, “Once in The Bright, you can actually feel the grasses and smell the smoke from the trains and experience great wonder in the cities of this impossible yet beautiful universe.” Meanwhile, over on his blog, Ecstatic Days, Jeff comments that Bright of the Sky ” could well become a classic in the field.” Which is certainly okay by us.

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2 Years, 4 Months and Counting…

…since we launched in March, 2005. For my edification, and not meant to be comprehensive by any means, I put together this round-up of awards, notable recommendations, recent news etc… that I could have to hand and we could file under “why we’re hot.” This is what I came up with, which looks so nice laid out in one place like this I had to post it:

“Pyr is quickly becoming the standard by which all other sci-fi imprints are judged.” – Bookgasm.com

Ian McDonald’s Brasyl:
Quill nominee, Salon.com’s Summer Reading Recommendation, Starred Review in PW, Starred Review in Booklist, A grade in SciFi Weekly, B+ in Entertainment Weekly. Ranked # 5 on the bestselling hardcover list at San Francisco-based independent genre bookstore Borderlands Books for May 2007

  • Boing Boing: “…his finest novel to date”
  • Salon.com: “…you will delight in Brasyl.”
  • Amazon’s Bookstore Blog: “McDonald deserves to be going up against most of the world’s top fiction writers, period.”
  • Sci Fi Weekly: “…hot and tropical and full of music.”
  • Publishers Weekly: “Chaotic, heartbreaking and joyous, … must-read”
  • Locus: “…without doubt one of the major SF books of 2007.”

Ian McDonald’s River of Gods (paperback available September 2007):
BSFA Award winner, Arthur C. Clarke nominee, Hugo nominee, starred review in Library Journal

  • Washington Post: “…a major achievement from a writer who is becoming one of the best sf novelists of our time.”
  • Library Journal: “Highly Recommended.”
  • Asimov’s: “A literary masterpiece.”
  • San Francisco Chronicle: “…one of the best science fiction novels published in the United States this year.”
  • Publishers Weekly: “…sure to be one of the more talked-about SF novels of the year.”

Justina Robson’s Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity Book One)
Locus Recommended Read, Starburst Five Star Review

  • Entertainment Weekly: “”For fans of Tolkien, had he gone electric, dropped acid, and discovered tantric sex.”
  • Ain’t It Cool News: “This isn’t SF for SF readers. This is SF for a generation raised on anime, manga, and MMORPGs. This is SF for the Wii gamer. ”
  • Monsters & Critics: “This action-packed futuristic sci-fi that will appeal to techies and fantasy fans alike.”
  • Library Journal: “…skillfully builds a seamless connection between sf and fantasy in this fast-paced series opener featuring a strong, action-oriented heroine and a unique world setting.”
  • SFX: “…a novel packed with memorable characters and ideas but that doubles as holiday-reading escapism.”

Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky (Book One of The Entire and the Rose):
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly, A grade in SciFi Weekly

  • Publishers Weekly: “Kenyon’s vision of a unique universe ranks with those of such science fiction greats as Frank Herbert and Orson Scott Card.”
  • Sci Fi Weekly: “”a bravura concept bolstered by fine writing; lots of plausible, thrilling action; old-fashioned heroism; and strong emotional hooks.”
  • Booklist: “…a fascinating and gratifying feat of worldbuilding… a grand epic, indeed. “
  • Library Journal: “Reminiscent of the groundbreaking novels of Philip K. Dick, Philip Jose Farmer, and Dan Simmons.”

David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake (Volume One of the Jump 225 Trilogy):
Barnes & Noble’s # 1 Editor’s Choice Top 10 SF&F Novels for 2006, John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Novel 2006, Bookgasm’s 5 Best SciFi Books of 2006

  • Publishers Weekly: “Bursting with invention and panache.”
  • B&N Explorations: “The love child of Donald Trump and Vernor Vinge.”
  • SFFWorld: “This may be THE science fiction book of the year.”
  • Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show: “Like a more accessible Charles Stross.”
  • Asimov’s: “A high-speed, high-spirited tale of capitalist skullduggery.”

Mike Resnick’s Starship: Mutiny and Starship Pirate (5 book Starship series):
B in Sci Fi Weekly

  • Publishers Weekly: “Readers craving intelligent, character-driven SF need look no further.”
  • Analog: “…a fast, smooth, utterly effortless read.”
  • SF Reviews: “…simply pure escapism, impossible to resist by anyone who still remembers that good old fashioned sense of wonder.”
  • Sci Fi Weekly: “…good old-fashioned space adventure.”
  • Library Journal: “Snappy dialog, intriguing human and alien characters, and a keen sense of dramatic focus.”

Recent Awards & Nominations for Pyr:

  • 2007 Quill Award nominee: Ian McDonald, Brasyl
  • 2007 Hugo Award nominee – Best Professional Editor – Long Form – Lou Anders
  • 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee – Special Award, Professional – Lou Anders
  • 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel nominee – David Louis Edelman, Infoquake
  • 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award winner – John Meaney, Paradox
  • 2005 Philip K Dick Award nominee – Justina Robson, Silver Screen
  • 2006 John W Campbell Best New Writer nominee – Chris Roberson
  • 2005 John W Campbell Best New Writer nominee – Chris Roberson

Recommendations/Endorsements:

  • Locus magazine’s Recommended Reading: 2006 : Joe Abercombie – The Blade Itself, Justina Robson – Keeping It Real
  • 3 Pyr Books included in the B&N Editor’s Choice: Top Ten SF&F Novels of 2006: David Louis Edelman – Infoquake (#1), Sean Williams –The Crooked Letter, John Meaney – Resolution
  • 2 Pyr Books included in Waterstone’s Top Ten SF for 2006: Joel Shepherd – Crossover, Chris Roberson – Paragaea: A Planetary Romance
  • 3 Pyr Books included in Bookgasm’s Top Five SciFi Books of 2006 – Ian McDonald – River of Gods (#1), Joel Shepherd – Crossover, David Louis Edelman – Infoquake
  • Sean Williams, The Hanging Mountains selected as a BookSense Notable Book for July
  • Kay Kenyon, Bright of the Sky – one of four novels selected by ReaderCon “the con that assigns homework” for their attendees to read pre-convention
  • Justina Robson, Silver Screen selected for Kirkus Reviews Best SF&F Books of 2005
  • John Meaney, Paradox – #2 on Barnes & Noble’s Editor’s Choice: Top Ten SF&F Novels of 2005

Foreign Awards given to Pyr books for their overseas editions:

  • 2007 Arthur C Clarke Award nominee – Adam Roberts, Gradisil (Gollancz)
  • 2005 Arthur C Clarke Award nominee – Ian McDonald, River of Gods (Simon & Schuster)
  • 2004 British Science Fiction Association Award winner – Ian McDonald, River of Gods (Simon & Schuster)
  • Spain’s Xatafi-Cyberdark Awards. nominees: Mike Resnick, New Dreams for Old and Ian McDonald, River of Gods.

2 Years, 4 Months and Counting… Read More »

The Kaleidoscopic Mr McDonald

Over on SFSite.com, Stuart Carter reviews Ian McDonald’s Brasyl,concluding (as Ian himself has said before), that it’s not simply River of Gods 2. Instead, Stuart says, “let us try to imagine a mashup of David Mitchell’s much-lauded Cloud Atlas and Eduardo Galeano’s soul-searingly epic history of South America, Memory Of Fire, and I hope that will give you some idea of the richness and relevance contained in Brasyl. The only fitting adjective here is, once again, ‘kaleidoscopic…'”

Speaking of how the three story lines converge in a tale of parallel realities, Stuart says, “Really — this is exactly what I read science fiction for: to be shown dazzling new things, new worlds — new thoughts, even; to be immersed in unfamiliar milieux and made aware of the potential wonder of the world around us, whether in a different dimension or just a different timezone.”

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