3) Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Oliver Bowden (Ace)
4) Warhammer 40K: Vulkan Lives, Nick Kyme (Black Library US)
5) Warhammer 40K: There Is Only War, Christian Dunn, ed. (Black Library US)
audible.com (audio)
SCIENCE FICTION
1) Ender’s Game: Special 20th Anniversary Edition, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
2) Ex-Purgatory, Peter Clines (Audible Frontiers)
3) Steel World, B.V. Larson (Audible Frontiers)
4) Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
5) 11-22-63, Stephen King (Simon & Schuster Audio)
6) Ready Player One, Ernest Cline (Random House Audio)
7) Pavane, Keith Roberts (Neil Gaiman Presents)
8) Xenocide, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
9) Dune, Frank Herbert (Macmillan Audio)
10) The Stand, Stephen King (Random House Audio)
11) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (Random House Audio)
12) Children of the Mind, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
13) Halo: Mortal Dictata, Karen Traviss (Macmillan Audio)
14) The Martian, Andy Weir (Podium)
15) Ender’s Shadow, Orson Scott Card (Macmillan Audio)
16) The Atopia Chronicles, Matthew Mather (Brilliance)
17) Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown, Joe Schreiber (Random House Audio)
18) Star Wars: Vision of the Future, Timothy Zahn (Random House Audio)
19) Redshirts, John Scalzi (Audible Frontiers)
20) The Remaining, D.J. Molles (Audible Frontiers)
FANTASY
1) A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
2) The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
3) Up from the Grave, Jeaniene Frost (Harper Audio)
4) A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
5) A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
6) A Dance with Dragons, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
7) A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (Random House Audio)
8) How to Run with a Naked Werewolf, Molly Harper (Audible)
9) Black Arts, Faith Hunter (Audible Frontiers)
10) The Fellowship of the Ring, J R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
11) Outlander, Diana Gabaldon (Recorded Books)
12) Dark Wolf, Christine Feehan (Penguin Audio)
13) The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson (Macmillan Audio)
14) The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
15) Silence, Michelle Sagara (Audible Frontiers)
16) The Magic of Recluce, L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Tantor)
17) I, Strahd, P.N. Elrod (Audible Frontiers)
18) The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien (Recorded Books)
19) Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh (Tantor)
20) The Spirit Lens, Carol Berg (Audible Frontiers)
Return to In This Issue listing.
NEW AND NOTABLE
A Darkling Sea, James L. Cambias (Tor 1/14) In this impressive hard-SF debut about alien culture clash, Terran scientists study a race of blind, intelligent aliens living beneath a kilometer of ice on the planet Ilmatar, while trying to maintain strained diplomatic relations with their previous extraterrestrial contact, the Sholen.
The Golden Day, Ursula Dubosarsky (Candlewick 8/13) In this evocative and sometimes chilling YA by the noted Australian author, a free-spirited teacher mysteriously disappears on a school trip, sending ripples through the lives of the 11 students who accompanied her. ‘‘One of those rare writers whose work feels both true and invented, always, the uncanny seamlessly interwoven with the fabric of life.’’ [Gwenda Bond]
Dark Duets, Christopher Golden, ed. (Harper Voyager 1/14) An original anthology of 17 collaborative horror stories, bringing together powerhouse authors who had never worked together before, with team-ups including Charlaine Harris & Rachel Caine; Tim Lebbon & Michael Marshall Smith; Sarah Reese Brennan, Cassandra Clare, & Holly Black; and Kasey Lansdale and her father Joe R. Lansdale, among others. Includes an introduction by the editor.
Work Done for Hire, Joe Haldeman (Ace 1/14) In this compelling near-future thriller, a onetime military sniper turned struggling writer is threatened by shadowy forces to take on a job as an assassin – while writing a novel about a monstrous serial killer. ‘‘The novel is a Matrioshka doll, or hall of mirrors, or whatever metaphor is apt for a structure of echoing and transforming motifs.’’ [Russell Letson]
Wake, Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press 11/13) This horrific fantasy novel by a celebrated New Zealand author concerns the aftermath of a bout of mass insanity that strikes a small settlement on the Tasman Bay, killing most of the residents and leaving a handful isolated among the dead.
The Man Who Made Models, R.A. Lafferty (Centipede Press 2/14) The first in a planned series of a dozen books, this gorgeously produced ‘‘Collected Short Fiction: Volume One’’ gathers 17 stories by the late legendary author from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, with an introduction by Michael Swanwick and an afterword by editor John Pelan.
New and Notable continues after ad.
On Such a Full Sea, Chang-Rae Lee (Riverhead 1/14) The literary and historical author and Pulitzer Prize finalist turns his hand to speculative fiction with spectacular results in this dystopian novel set in a future America, about a woman who escapes a labor settlement to search for her lost lover.
Arcanum, Simon Morden (Orbit 1/14) The Philip K. Dick Award-winning SF author takes on epic fantasy in this sprawling tome, set in an alternate version of Europe where magic works – or, at least, used to work – and history developed along radically different lines. ‘‘It achieves the drama of the best epic fantasy, while taking the form apart and putting it back together, still very much alive.’’ [Faren Miller]
Bride of Death, T.A. Pratt (Merry Blacksmith 1/14) The seventh volume in the snarky, inventive Marla Mason urban fantasy series sees the part-time goddess of death roaming the American southwest as a freelance monster hunter, with the living severed head of her worst enemy in a birdcage as her traveling companion.
Strange Bodies, Marcel Theroux (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2/14) Part literary tour-de-force, part conspiracy thriller, and part SF novel of personality transfer, this ‘‘belongs on that small but growing shelf of literary fiction which employs familiar tropes (familiar to SF readers, at least) without really being about them…. [Theroux’s] real concern is nothing less than the manner in which consciousness is constructed, and the relative fragility of identity.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2/14) The first volume in the ambitious and haunting Southern Reach trilogy follows a group of four women (an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist, and the narrator, a biologist) sent on an expedition to the mysterious Area X. ‘‘As the first volume of the Southern Reach trilogy, Annihilation raises the problem, sets the mood, then swiftly wrecks the vehicle of plotline… a thrill ride into Zero G, on the wings of a potent drug.’’ [Faren Miller]
What Makes This Book So Great, Jo Walton (1/14) A collection of 129 thoughtful, incisive essays originally published at Tor.com, covering Walton’s rereads of a wide array of past and current works of SF and fantasy, along with ruminations on what makes books worth reading – and rereading. ‘‘These engagingly personal readings are not so much critical essays as celebrations, as the title suggests, not only of the works themselves, but of the act and art of rereading.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Return to In This Issue listing.
TERRY BISSON: THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
March 16, 2021. Gun control. Heralding a ‘‘new era of safety,’’ President Warren signs ‘‘Heads Up’’ bill requiring concealed carry permit holders to fire a warning shot before entering schools, bars, and theatres. Protestant churches exempted.
March 1, 2022. Call on the Wild. Eastern (AKA ‘‘Timber’’) wolves
(Canis lupus lycaon) reintroduced to Detroit suburbs to cull deer and discourage squatters.
March 26, 2067. March Madness. Flash mob of supporters fills court at Duke-UK game as players sit down demanding minimum wage, healthcare, and an end to literacy tests for varsity seniors.
March 22, 2122. Apple introduces 4-D printer. Whatever you make, you already have a copy of. And it won’t print ugly stuff.
–Terry Bisson
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OBITUARIES
Writer STEPAN CHAPMAN, 63, died January 27, 2014. Chapman is best known in the SF field for his Philip K. Dick Award-winning novel The Troika (1998), and was renowned for his challenging work, which embraced surrealism and absurdity.
Stepan Chapman (2003)
Born in Chicago in 1951, Chapman attended the University of Michigan, where he studied theater. In addition to writing, he worked as an inserter at a newspaper and as a daycare provider. His first SF story was ‘‘Testing… One, Two, Three, Four’’ in Analog (1969), and his work appeared in many SF magazines and anthologies in the decades to follow, including several volumes of the Orbit series, Electric Velocipede, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Not One of Us, and many mainstream literary magazines, including Chicago Review, Hawaii Review, Mississippi Mud, and Zyzzyva. Some of his short work was collected in Danger Music (1996) and Dossier (2001).
•
Writer and artist MARK E. ROGERS, 61, died February 2, 2014 of an apparent heart attack while hiking in Death Valley with his family.
Mark E. Rogers (1984)
Rogers’s novella ‘‘The Runestone’’ was adapted as a film of the same name in 1990. Debut fantasy novel Zorachus (1986) was followed by sequel The Nightmare of God (1988). The Blood of the Lamb series includes The Expected One (1991), The Devouring Void (1991), and The Riddled Man, while the Zancarthus series is Blood and Pearls (1998), Jagutai and Lilitu (2000), Night of the Long Knives (2002), and Lilitu (2010). Standalone novels include The Dead (1989) and Yark (2010). He also wrote and illustrated several volumes of the Adventures of Samurai Cat series beginning in 1980. His art appears in Nothing But a Smile: The Pinup Art of Mark Rogers (2003) and The Art of Fantasy (2005).
Mark Earl Rogers was born April 19, 1952 in South Amboy NJ and grew up in Point Pleasant Beach. He attended the University of Delaware, graduating in 1974. Rogers is survived by his wife of 38 years, Kate Rogers; their four children; and a grandchild.
–Sam Tomaino /Locus
DEATH REPORTED:
Publisher and editor MARTIN GREENBERG, 95 (not to be confused with the late anthologist Martin H. Greenberg), died October 20, 2013 in Medford NY.
Born June 29, 1918 in New York, Greenberg co-founded Gnome Press in 1948 with David A. Kyle, and edited seven anthologies for that publisher: Men Against the Stars (1950), Travelers of Space (1951), Journey to Infinity (1951), Five Science Fiction Novels (1952), The Robot and the Man (1953), All About the Future (1955), and nonfiction anthology Coming Attractions (1957). Gnome Press published work by Isaac Asimov, Leigh Brackett, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt, Robert E. Howard, L. Ron Hubbard, C.L. Moore, Frederik Pohl, Clifford D. Simak, A.E. van Vogt, and others before closing in 1962. Greenberg was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame in 2000.
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LOCUS LETTERS
Dear Locus,
I am editing the anthology series Best Horror of the Year (Night Shade Books) and am currently reading for the seventh volume, which will include all material published in 2014. Reprints only.
I am looking for stories and poetry from all branches of horror: from the traditional-supernatural to the borderline, including high-tech SF horror, supernatural stories, psychological horror, dark crime, or anything else that might qualify. If in doubt, send it. This is a reprint anthology so I am only reading material published in or about to be published in 2014. Submission deadline for stories is December 1st 2014. Anything sent after this deadline will reach me too late. For December publications, I’ll look at galleys or manuscripts. No e-mail submissions unless you live outside the US. Authors should check that their publishers are sending review copies to me as I don’t have time or energy to nag publishers to get me material. I request it once (maybe twice) and that’s it.
There will be a summation of “the year in horror” in the front of the volume. This includes novels, nonfiction, poetry, art books, and “odds and ends”– material that doesn’t fit elsewhere but that I feel might interest the horror reader. But I must be aware of this material in order to mention it. The deadline for submissions to this section is December 15th, 2014.
Ellen Datlow
Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven
PMB 391
511 Avenue of the Americas
New York NY 10011-8436
I do not want manuscripts of stories from venues that it’s likely I already receive (like Interzone, Black Static, Crimewave, Cemetery Dance, Postscripts, F&SF and the other digests, etc) or from anthologies and collections, unless I don’t have or can’t get that anthology or collection. Again, please ask your publisher to send me the magazine or book. For online publications, please have your publishers send me email files of your stories. I will also accept printouts of stories produced and first “published” in 2014 as podcasts.
Please do not send an SASE. If I choose a story you will be informed. For confirmation that I‘ve received something, enclose a self-addressed-stamped postcard and I will let you know the date it arrived.
–Ellen Datlow
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EDITORIAL MATTERS
Usually at this point in February in the Bay Area, we’d have trees full of blossoms, but drought conditions and fluctuating temperatures have the flora off-kilter here. The blooms barely appeared and now are falling already, replaced by leaves. The complete lack of rain in the end of 2013 won’t be offset by the few storms we have coming, so we’re in emergency drought status. I’ll have to drink wine instead of water – for conservation’s sake, of course! I’m looking forward to a warm spring though, and lots of SF events in San Francisco and area: Potlatch, Nebulas, Writers with Drinks, SF in SF, etc.
LOCUS POLL AND SURVEY
We’d gotten about 200 responses to the Poll & Survey by the end of the first week of February, which is a great early showing. I’m hoping we’ll see 1,000 this year. The poll can be found online at
LIGHTHOUSE AHOY
Liza Groen Trombi, Jeff VanderMeer
This month, Rina Weisman organized an expedition to the Point Bonita lighthouse in the Marin Headlands in honor of Jeff VanderMeer’s West Coast book tour for Annihilation. An intrepid group consisting of Jeff, Rina, Jacob Weisman, Locusite Francesca Myman, Gregory Norman Bossert, Jennifer Hysu, Edward Gauvin, and Marcus Ewert braved stormy weather, steep rain-washed hills, a dark hand-carved tunnel, and a suspension bridge to visit the historic Bay Area lighthouse, escorted by a park ranger. The ranger shared harrowing stories of the lighthouse history (most memorably the lighthouse keeper whose children were tethered to the lighthouse with ropes). Everyone was drenched, but Jeff claimed it was the best lighthouse he’d seen yet (he was on number 15 by then). This was all recounted to me after I met up with said soggy group at Salito’s Pub in Sausalito for dinner afterward; we had a great conversation over crab chowder and drinks. (The lighthouse tour sounded adventurous, but I was pretty happy to be the one (and only) at dinner in dry clothes.) Later that week Jeff came over to do an interview in the of
fices and sign the collection of books we have by him, including a vintage chapbook and one PR package that included a candle and dried mushroom. (No, I didn’t make him sign the mushroom. Maybe I should have!)
BOOKS
I did finally get in some 2014 reading now that the February issue has come and gone. VanderMeer’s Annihilation is a quick read at about 55,000 words, in his oblique but fecund signature style (not saying fungalpunk, really). It follows an unnamed biologist as she and three other scientists launch the twelfth expedition (it did not go well for the ‘‘first’’ 11) to study Area X, a mysterious lush and natural region that is weirdly hostile to humans. Investigating the interaction between human and nature, it’s punctuated with gripping moments in a rich VanderMeer setting, with the second and third titles in the trilogy coming out in four-month intervals. I recommend it.
I also saw Daryl Gregory’s upcoming venture into near-future neuro-SF, Afterparty, coming out in April. Protag Lyda is institutionalized after her team develops a brain-altering hallucinatory drug and she is exposed to it. She struggles with her own numinous visions while fighting to keep the drug from being released into the wild. Afterparty’s a fascinating look at perception and belief; brings up comparisons to Gibson, Dick, and Neal Stephenson. And as with all Gregory’s books, it’s easy to immerse in his characters and storytelling – I loved it, and it made PW’s top ten SF novels for 2014.
Other books I’m looking forward to in the next couple of months (but haven’t finished all of them yet) include Mary Rickert’s The Memory Garden, Eileen Gunn’s collection Questionable Practices, Elizabeth Bear’s Steles of the Sky, Christopher Priest’s The Adjacent, and Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Causal Angel. Good spring reading!
THIS ISSUE/NEXT ISSUE
March almost feels like a break after the February issue, except for poor Carolyn who has to tackle the Forthcoming lists. We celebrated her birthday on deadline day, making her a chocolate cake in the morning and eating it in the afternoon.
Francesca managed to come up with a cover that graphically mixed the hard SF and urban fantasy styles of Joan Slonczewski and Paul Cornell, despite bets that it couldn’t be done. We’ve also put in what we hope is the final Nebula Ballot, though if they made any last-minute changes, we won’t get them in time! In the ‘‘change is hard’’ department, the petition against the advisory board for the SFWA Bulletin continues to be divisive, though according to SFWA president Steve Gould the objections raised are moot. It’s a pity there wasn’t patience enough to see how the revamped Bulletin structure worked before crying censorship, and now we’ve generated enough online vitriol to garner mainstream attention – for our infighting. Fun.
Locus, March 2014 Page 29
