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Wednesday reviews roundup for 9th July
Posted by Paul Raven on July 8th, 2009 at 12:52
It’s Hump Day once again, so let’s take a look at what people have been saying about PS Publishing titles in the last week or so…
The plaudits for Joe Hill’s Gunpowder keep rolling in (despite the book having long since sold out); Mark Graham at Tor.com names it as his candidate for best novella in the BFS Awards (and in general).
When I read the title, I was prepared for a weird western in the tradition of Joe Lansdale or Nancy Collins, and I do like weird westerns. But although the setting is a desert planet, there are no zombie cowboys or Apache werewolves here. Think more John Hersey’s The Child Buyer on steroids meets William Golding’s Lord of the Flies with a touch of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan thrown in—all this on a distant planet unfit for human habitation.
[...]
This is top-notch science fiction story, not a wasted word. It’s my pick for best novella of the year, and, in case you hadn’t guessed, I really like novellas.
Keeping to the theme of what goes on inside the minds of young children, Jennifer Marshall of Epic India Magazine takes on Billy’s Book by Terry Bisson:
Sometimes I wish I could read my sons’ minds but if Terry Bisson’s novella, Billy’s Book, is anything to go by, I should probably be thankful that I can’t always tell what they’re thinking. Terry Bisson brings me about as close as I would hope to get to the fantastical world of war, revenge and world domination inhabited by the minds of little boys.
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This book very cleverly and convincingly explores a young, imaginative mind in all its savage innocence and glory. Billy’s relentless determination and undying spirit are admirable qualities to which young readers might aspire and Billy’s pragmatic approach to surreal mishaps encountered with all manner of fantastical creatures re-awakened my own sense of infinite possibility in a grown-up world.
Moving from India to Europe, here’s a French review of Sebastien Doubinsky’s The Babylonian Trilogy. Sadly my long-forgotten GCSE in French is not helping me much here, but an online translation service suggests it’s a very positive mention indeed:
“… [an] ingeniously built, amusing kaleidoscope where all seems weighed, thought, calculated; [...] dystopia, allegory, whodunnit, poetry, intimate dramas of [the] human condition and what could pass for realism (but which is not, [the] author remaining prudently on this side, in an at the same time familiar world and yet deliberately shifted). A highly advisable reading.”
To find out more about the charming and garrulous Monsieur Doubinsky, you might want to read Charles Tan’s interview with him.
Speaking of Charles Tan, here’s his take on Mystery Hill by Alex Irvine:
What I want to focus on is the humor because as the story progresses, it’s handled with more finesse and subtlety rather than the direct commentary he employs early on.
Aside from that, Irvine is a competent writer: the pace is quick, the language is simple and functional, and at the heart of Mystery Hill is an intent to entertain.
And finally, David McWilliam at no less a venue than Strange Horizons takes a look at our extra special edition of The Very Best Of Gene Wolfe:
[The PS Publishing edition] includes not just an additional story (“Christmas Inn”) but also a thorough introduction by Kim Stanley Robinson that significantly augmented my enjoyment of the book. Robinson’s boundless enthusiasm for Wolfe is infectious [... his] articulate championing of the nuances of Wolfe’s style, mixing biographical details with literary analysis, makes the introduction a valuable addition to the collection.
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… as a standalone volume, The Very Best of Gene Wolfe will cement its author’s reputation as a very fine writer of short fiction.
Indeed it will – not that Wolfe needs much help on that front, of course! This sumptuous collection should be shipping out from PS HQ this week and has been selling at a phenomenal rate as pre-orders, so click on through to secure yourself a copy right away to avoid disappointment!
As always, click on the cover art to be taken directly to the catalogue page for the book in question, or just pop over to the PS webstore to have a browse. Have you read a PS Publishing title recently? If so, let us know so we can link you back from here!