Bookgasm: 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2009

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 Warcomes in at Number 5. Note also the honorable mention for Ian McDonald's Cyberabad Days, that all three "anticipated" 2010 titles are from Pyr (Geosynchron, Desolation Road,& Ghosts of Manhattan), and the "hypothetical 'Books of the Decade'" that would include Brasyland River of Gods. Nice!

Give Hope, and Ian McDonald, a Chance

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 Godsand the sequel, Cyberabad Days,the writer depicts the India of 2047 as a superpower of one-and-a-half billion in an age of climate change and technological advance -- water wars, genetically improved children -- and a country that has fractured into a dozen separatist states. Similarly, McDonald's novel Brasylis a portrait of near-future Brazil and the lives of a Rio TV producer, a self-made businessman up from the slums of Sao Paulo, and a Jesuit missionary on a mission in the 18th century. It won the British Science Fiction award. The books are well written, semi-plausible and offer a non-American-centric view of the near future -- something that is hard to get from reading or listening to US media cover how the President killed a fly on the air, what Newt Gingrich has to say, or the continuing adventures of Sarah Palin and her family."

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!

Three More Kindle Releases Materialize

Three more Pyr books have appeared for the Kindle.

Ian McDonald's River of Gods

Justina Robson's Mappa Mundi

David Louis Edelman's MultiReal (Volume II of the Jump 225 Trilogy)

That was fast!

Ian McDonald on the West Coast

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.

TIME magazine on Ian McDonald

Time magazine's Barbara Ehrenreich recommends Ian McDonald's River of Godsin the current issue, in a piece entitled, "Alternative Universes, With a Hindi Glossary."

She says: "I read fiction addictively to get as far out of this flat and blighted 'real world' as I can. When a friend recommended Ian McDonald's River of Gods, I was dubious; 600 pages, including a glossary of Hindi terms? But it worked... There aren't many literary sci-fi thrillers that deliver a mind-expanding metaphysical punch, and this one ended all too soon. But in the afterglow of McDonald's lushly blooming imagination, even the real world is looking better."

River of Gods Borderlands Bestseller

I was thrilled this morning to open up my newsletter from San Francisco independent genre bookstore, Borderlands Books, one of my favorite bookstores on the planet, to discover that the recently released paperback of Ian McDonald's River of Gods tied for fourth place with Michael Swanwick's new collection, The Dog Said Bow-Wow, on their Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for September, 2007 in the trade paperback category. Here's the full list for the category:

1. Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey
2. Grey by Jon Armstrong
3. Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson
4. The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick tie with
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
5. Nova Swing by M. John Harrison

Here's Borderlands' contact information, if anyone wants to help boost the book in the rankings!

Update: Somehow I missed this in my first read of the Borderlands newsletter: The Blade Itself - The First Law, vol. 1 by Joe Abercrombie (Pyr, Trade Paperback, $15.00) - Ben and several customers are raving about this grim heroic fantasy debut. Ben says "A fantasy novel that combines a famous barbarian who is sick of 'the lifestyle,' an up-and-coming nobleman who is so selfish you just want to slap him, a state-sanctioned torturer who is trying to see every angle in a twisted political labyrinth, and a curmudgeonly ancient wizard whom no one belives. Throw them all together, have them embark on a tale only hinted at in this fist novel, and you have the beginning of a truly unusual and wonderfully captivating series. Buy this book -- and this is from someone who doesn't read fantasy!"

Multiple Pyr Reviews

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?

They're Here

Joe Abercrombie's amazing debut fantasy, The Blade Itself,and the trade paperback edition of Ian McDonald's Hugo and Clarke nominated, BSFA winning River of Gods,are out, in the wild, in force. Just thought you should know.

Hugo and Chesley Awards

I am back from Japan and the Hugo Awards, where it was a great honor to accept the award for Ian McDonald. Ian won Best Novelette for "The Djinn's Wife", originally published in Asimov's July 2006 issue. "The Djinn's Wife" is, of course, part of the future India milieu Ian created in his Hugo-nominated novel River of Gods.Pictured left is co-host George Takei, Yours Truly, and Ian's beautiful Hugo, which featured a statue of long-running Japanese SF hero Ultraman.

Meanwhile, the evening before, I was equally honored to accept a Chesley Award on behalf of Stephan Martiniere in the category of Best Cover Illustration - Hardcover for the wonderful work he did for the cover of River of Gods.

My full convention report is here. Also, be sure to see Jay Lake's LiveJournal for some more great pictures from the show.

They're Here! Blade and River!

Ian McDonald's Hugo and Clarke nominated River of Gods is now out in trade paperback. It'll be in stores in early September, and is already listed as in stock at Amazon.com.

What's more, Joe Abercrombie's extraordinary fantasy debut The Blade Itself is also out. I just got my copies day before yesterday. Like River of Gods, its also on Amazon already. And Blood, Blade & Thruster magazine just posted this tremendous review. They introduce The Blade Itself in this manner: "Desperately in need of some genre fiction with character driven plot, plenty of violence, and strong anti-hero protagonists, but tired of waiting for George R. R. Martin to finish his epic Game of Thrones series?" Which is as nice an intro as I could ask for.

Reviewer Lucien Spelman goes on to say that Joe's novel is "a fantasy novel full of enough ironic and slightly self-deprecating humor and Scorcese-esque violence to make the average hipper than thou non-fantasy reader want to learn more about the genre (my favorite kind to convert), yet filled with enough touchstones to make your average Tolkien weaned fantasy reader quite happy indeed."

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.

Trolls Play With Conventions, River Flows On

One of our very first offerings, Charles Coleman Finlay's The Prodigal Troll gets a new review on SF Crowsnest from reviewer Tomas L. Martin. Martin, who admits a bias towards science fiction over fantasy, admits, "This is a good book because it plays a little with genre conventions. The societies are slightly different to what you'd expect and the fight scenes involving a small rebellious tribe are reminiscent of a fantasy Vietnam amongst the trees. The main character and the knight at the beginning are well drawn. Finlay writes with an extremely enjoyable style and this is one of those books that flies by quickly. The trolls are fun and poignant in equal turns..."

Meanwhile, Magill Book Reviews reviews Ian McDonald's River of Gods: “…McDonald skillfully weaves the characters’ narratives into a cohesive whole, providing a thought-provoking look at a possible future world in which non-Western influences play just as large a role as their Western counterparts.”

And, while we're talking about Ian McDonald, we're thrilled to report that his latest, Brasyl, ranked # 5 on the bestselling hardcover list at San Francisco-based independent genre bookstore Borderlands Books for May 2007!

Incidentally, all three of the above works - The Prodigal Troll, River of Gods and Brasyl, are available from Borderlands right now. And as you all know buying from independents is guaranteed good for your karma.

Heard Round the Bloggosphere

Apparently, reading River of Gods on the bus is good for your romantic life. At least, that's the word from deborahb.blog. Of course, one has to be smart enough to follow up on any such auspicious beginnings.

Meanwhile, Shara Saunsaucie has a very indepth reading of Adam Roberts Gradisil on her blog, Calico Reaction. And Adam himself has a newly redesigned website. Go check it out!

Spain's Xatafi-Cyberdark Awards

Two Pyr books, or at least foreign translations of books Pyr published in English, are nominations in Spain's Xatafi-Cyberdark Awards. The books in question are Mike Resnick's New Dreams for Old and Ian McDonald's River of Gods. They are joined by Axiomatic by Greg Egan, Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and Kafka in the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Congratulations to all nominees!

Vater Ganges

The May edition of German site Phantastik-Couch.de has a review of Ian McDonald's River of Gods (or "Vater Ganges") by Frank A. Dudly.

Frank helpfully sent along his English-language summation:

"This book asks for a lot of reading stamina but ultimately rewards everyone who has it. After the quite demanding first third, the story's fractal mosaic forms a breathtaking picture you don't forget. McDonald's frequent jumps from character to character, from strand to strand become a clear pattern and a look through a kaleidoscope of curry and computers."

Which was very nice of him. Because, while Babel Fish is amazing, and I was able to follow it's translation and get the gist, you still get gems like this:

"After this conceptionally demanding and elaborierten Parforceritt by the Indian future – one just as in parts often turns back as forwards – begins the amazing final, which requires still more attention and concentration than the exposition. Without doubt, this book requires the whole reader, not only once, but twice. It is as complex and more fully multilayered as the country to course: To understand more recompencing for inhabitants western hemisphere at first exerting and only with difficulty, but the, if one gets involved in it."

India's National Newspaper on the River

Ian McDonald just emailed me to point out this review of River of Gods, and I couldn't be happier. Ian's been hailed so much already we're almost jaded, but this one comes from The Hindu - India's National Newspaper Online! In this article, "India in the Future," Pradeep Sebastian begins by admitting that he passed up RoG on numerous occasions, assuming it was "one more lightweight take on India by a foreigner."

But when he did pick it up, he quickly concluded that RoG was much more:

"Foreign writers have successfully used India as a backdrop for mysteries and thrillers: Barbara Cleverly's period mysteries (The Palace Tiger), Paul Mann's thrillers (The Ganja Coast) and one-off thrillers such as Leslie Forbes' Bombay Ice and Gregory David Roberts' Shantaram. River of Gods surpasses all of them easily to become not just the definitive thriller set in India but the most richly imaginative thriller about India."

Sebastian concludes that RoG is "a compellingly realised future India." As the Times of India previously said, "Not bad for a firang who has oodles of imagination and chutzpah."

(And I was just kidding about being jaded - keep those good reviews coming!)