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Her book Croatian Tales of Long Ago (Priče iz davnine), published in 1916, is among the most popular today in large part because of its adaptation into a computerized interactive fiction product by Helena Bulaja in 2003/2006. In the book Mažuranić created a series of new fairy-tales, but using names and motifs from the Slavic mythology of Croats. It was this that earned her comparisons to Hans Christian Andersen and J.R.R. Tolkien who also wrote completely new stories but based in some elements of real mythology. - read the rest of the post.
Another excellent page, Russian Science Fiction is an English-language page put up by the Solaris club of Russian fans. It includes articles on Russian SF, information about the fan club and even convention reports. More recent, and well worth checking out.
Things changed radically after 1950, when under Soviet control, Romania underwent a forced transformation process of its social, economic and cultural structure. The Romanian writers were required to reflect in their work the social and scientific accomplishments of the communist area within the so-called 'socialist realism' trend. Censorship was everywhere: the Russian-Soviet model was imposed and the works of most of Romania's writers of the previous period, and relating to nearly all genres, were banned. Paradoxically these restrictions favoured the spreading of the SF literature which the authorities considered 'harmless', and a means of technical and scientific education. Meanwhile for the readers it was a way of escaping the immediate reality of communist drudgery. - Read the rest of the article.
Isaac Asimov once said that "true science fiction could not really exist until people understood the rationalism of science and began to use it with respect in their stories". As Khaled Diab highlighted recently in an article for Cif, there is a discernible suspicion of science in the region, particularly when it sits uncomfortably with faith. In terms of science fiction, the genre could be viewed as an extension of a "foreign" heritage with its roots in Darwinism – one at odds with a monotheist world view. Those that have managed to reconcile the two have attempted to, according to Islam Online, use science fiction as a da'wah (proselytising) tool. In one particular book the mathematical structure of the Quran and obscure religious scriptures help avert the disaster of a swelling sun, reinforcing that Islam is the "ultimate revelation".
But this deprives science fiction of its inherently subversive potential; if there is a sense of despair and censorship, what better way to counter the former and circumvent the latter than engage in flights of fancy and imagination? To vicariously revolutionise and hope via a medium of fantasy? With Arab literature so focused on classical themes, an Orwellian allegory, for instance, would tackle the present and envision a future in a more clandestine fashion than a straightforward political attack. - read the rest of the article.
Amazon.com: Between now and the end of the year, are there any other releases you're particularly excited about?
Mamatas: Well, Usurper of the Sun--our first hard SF title. It's a planetary adventure about aliens who build a ring around the Sun using planetary material from Mercury. It's interesting for several reasons: it's got scope, we follow the main character from high school to late middle-age as she dedicates herself to understanding the Builders. There's some strange humor in it (Paul Levinson namedropped Murakami in his blurb for a reason!) and a fair amount of it takes place in Berkeley, my current hometown. Also, Battle Royale: The Novel. It's a reissue, with a revised text and a long afterword by the author. At 22 pages, [the afterword is] the longest thing Takami has published, I believe, since Battle Royale itself. It's in the form of a Q/A: we cover everything from his literary influences to his favorite pro wrestlers. - read the rest of the interview.
Kilburn High Road at five—the evening rush hour—is like a tinkling river of fireflies, each bicycle with its own wavering, quivering little light, all rattling and clicking as they make their way up towards Cricklewood or down towards London. The hated rickshaws take up too much space—they are getting more numerous each day. The infrequent buses get stranded at this hour, their train of patient, puffing horses easily sidestepped by human muscle. - read the rest of the story.
The full press release is below:
The [Minister of Culture Dr. Riad Naasan Agha] concluded by calling for bolstering science fiction literature in Arab culture due to its ability to open up new horizons.
Dr. Taleb Omran affirmed the importance of science fiction literature, stressing that this genre can develop civilization and noting that Syria was a pioneer in caring for this genre. - read the rest.
There have been several exciting developments in Arab SF this year - more in upcoming posts!
SFS: What defines "World SF"? Does it mean that it was originally published in language other than English? Or that it comes from a land where English is not the primary language? What, in your opinion, is the best definition?
LT: It's a good question. I wish I had a good answer! Like all definitions, it can be quite hazy. To me, it's first of all the kind of SF written in languages other than English, but that doesn't take into account that small - but visible! - part of writers choosing to work in English despite it being their second - or even third! - language. And then, English has become such a universal language that in many places it has acquired its own regional flavor - take India or Malaysia or South Africa. And then, what about writers from one background living in another? Is Nnedi Okorafor an American writer or a Nigerian writer? Identities today can easily have two or three layers. You know, I have two different citizenships and a permanent residency somewhere else - I can vote in three countries! So what am I? Who am I? I try not to think about it before the morning coffee...
But I think there's a very serious question of how we depict different cultures. You know, what's the difference between Ian McDonald writing about India, and Vandana Singh writing about India?
... that Ian McDonald gets nominated for a Hugo?
Which I think sums it up, if a little crudely. Is it a question of who's the better writer? I think they're both very good writers. Or does it mean the English-language readership, the American and British and Australian readers prefer an India as viewed from outside, or from inside? There's a very interesting review on Strange Horizons that tries to deal with that question. The point where it becomes interesting is where it says, "Singh's stories were written initially for an American audience, and her stories cannot be painted wholly as a sort of primer for another type of science fiction. . . . This is Singh as teacher of two classrooms. It is here where Singh parts ways with Ian McDonald, a British writer whose novels are about, but not of, India."
You know, I'm hogging this question a little, but this makes me think of reading Philip K. Dick when I was younger. I read a lot of American SF, but I think my heart will always belong to PKD because he was the only one who put me in his books.
I grew up on a kibbutz in Israel. It's a sort of socialist cooperative. Or was when I was growing up. And you know - in the midst of all these American SF novels, with their bright American futures, there was PKD - and he had kibbutzim on Mars! That was me, up there! Not John W. Campbell Jr.'s superior white western Europeans, but people like me! There were Jews in space! Socialist Jews! Campbell wouldn't have liked that, maybe - but to me it was a revelation.
So what is World SF? And more importantly, what shape is it going to take in, say, the next two decades? That's the real interesting question. And that's something that has to be answered by both "sides" of it, the English writers and readers and the non-English writers and readers. But the future simply isn't American any more. The Asian space race is a reality, China and India are massive economic powers - the balance of power is shifting. It's going to be an interesting century to live in... - read the rest of the interview
Taking our cue from SF Signal, in Rocket Round Table, we pose a single question to those who toil in the fields of Philippine SF. Our aim is to promote reflection and discussion, as well as to simply compare notes on the genre we know and love. This month we ask the question:
What is your favorite Filipino-created Speculative Fiction story?
Click here to read the answers!
Getting hold of continental European SF in English is difficult and such offerings are rare. Indeed, though we very occasionally get some translated novels, collections of continental European shorts in English are extremely rare. The reasons for this includes difficulty in translation and in British publishers' commissioning editors being aware of the good stuff in languages other than English. Then there is the further problem that some of the good stuff is really only good for readers from a particular country should it be steeped in that nation's specific cultural references. Furthermore, if the writing is complex translation is all the more difficult such are the idiomatic hurdles. Take all these elements together and it becomes easy to see why it is very difficult for non-Anglophone SF to come out in English, hence become exposed to the SF book reader markets of Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, India, the US etc. All of which made the decision of the 2007 Eurocon (Copenhagen, Denmark) and publishers SF Cirklen either very brave or one born of ignorance as to the scale of the problem. Either way it is hats off to Klaus Mogensen for taking on the challenge to publish the best SF stories continental Europe currently has to offer. If Klaus was not aware of the magnitude of his project to begin with (he was not) then he certainly was by its end. Klaus outlines some of the difficulties in a pragmatic introduction. - read the rest of the review.
Congratulations Zoran!
Zoran's novelette, "Compartments", is the closing story in the Apex Book of World SF.
The November issue will be published to coincide with the publication of The Apex Book of World SF, and will feature two brand-new stories, a story sample from the anthology, as well as interviews with some of the contributors.
First Angry Robot, now Ash-Tree Press... proving the writers assembled in The Apex Book of World SF really are some of the best in the world today.
The full table of contents is available at this link.
And with (yet another ABoWS contributor) Jetse de Vries' own forthcoming anthology, Shine, rumoured to have something of an international line-up, things are looking up for international writers. We'll try and point your way to some other relevant anthologies this week - and as always, suggestions would be welcome in the comments.
We went around the room and introduced ourselves, in anti-clockwise order (the Lesson Plan was very definite on that). In order: Anil, Shish, Kaushik, Pervin, Manish, Amarjeet, Suneetha, Bodhi, Akshat, Sonali, Sumeet, Vaibhav, Himanshu, Rinku, and Radhika. I remember the order because I wrote their names down. Radhika was missing, but Suneetha, her friend and roomie, explained that their trip to IIT-K had been pretty horrendous, and Radhika was still decompressing. Also absent, was Abha; a leg sprain would keep her from joining the group until later in the week.
As I listened to the intros, I privately marvelled at our luck. The group was incredibly varied. Five women, nine men. Six women, counting Abha. The original group had had eight women, but unfortunately-- and it’s really unfortunate-- two of them-- Swapna Kishore and Fehmida Zakeer-- had had to drop out at the last minute. Shish at twelve years old (claimed to be eighteen) was the youngest, and a math major at IIT-Kanpur. Bodhi at ninety-five was the oldest, and taught literature at the prestigious Xavier’s College in Delhi. Sonali was from Jharkhand, a state that hadn’t existed when I was her age. Amarjeet had a doctorate in literature. Akshat had worked on the set of Lage Raho Munna Bhai. And with kids. And had a degree in English literature. Pervin worked in publishing and had just published a book of poems. Suneetha was involved in a major translation project and had just finished a stint at the Sangam Residency (a writer’s retreat in Pondicherry). Rinku had a doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, taught in Pakistan and edited a book. Himanshu had trained in architecture and now worked as an ad-guy; he’d *resigned* from his job to get the time to attend the workshop. Sumeet was a journalist, now working as a copy-editor. Vaibhav was an engineering student. Manish was a Chem Engg major at IIT-K. Kaushik was in a lit program at IIT-Madras. Radhika (she’d joined us by then), already a published author, lived and worked in London and was attending a Creative Writing program part-time.
I saw Venn diagrams as they spoke. I’d known we had a varied bunch, but this varied? It was a categorical extravaganza. The workshop had four full-time students, two Ph.Ds, five women, nine men, four Bengalis, one Parsi, two Tamilians, one Kashmiri, one Bihari, one Jat, one Oriya, one Malayalee, two Punjabis…. This was India made manifest. The Lesson Plan didn’t allow me to gloat or freak out, so I had to stay calm and pretend this sort of thing happened in every workshop. Bloody hell. Bloody effing hell. Now, if they could write-- well, they could write, which was why they were here, but if they would write-- then the workshop was all set.
