tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post8827840296263302745..comments2024-03-17T00:00:13.417+00:00Comments on The Wertzone: The Shape of Things to Come: Books for 2009Adam Whiteheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-77131358130679953082009-01-05T17:23:00.000+00:002009-01-05T17:23:00.000+00:00There quite a few Australian female authors that I...There quite a few Australian female authors that I like, though I never consider the gender of an author as a reading criterion.<BR/><BR/>Jennifer Fallon - as mentioned I just ordered her Tide Lords 2-4 from an Australian bookshop she recommended on her site and while somewhat pricey including sh I really want those books asap, barely can wait for the package -<BR/><BR/>Karen Miller, Marianne de Pierres, Anna Tambour, Pamela Freeman, KJ Bishop...<BR/><BR/>Regarding UK authors, I enthusiastically endorse Spirit by G. Jones, not only I ranked as my #2 sf book and in the top 5 overall for 2008, but it made me get the older books set in the Aleutinian universe. <BR/><BR/>I also liked Winterstirke by L. Williams a lot and I got all her earlier sf novels, and read 3 of them so far with the rest to come,<BR/>while Alex Bell's debut Ninth Circle was a favorite too and I am looking forward to her next novel too.Liviuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04615405766065227026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-56344649565885182382009-01-05T13:33:00.000+00:002009-01-05T13:33:00.000+00:00I think something like it must. There's also the f...I think something like it must. There's also the fact that the largest UK sf publisher, Gollancz, has a specific policy/strategy of developing British talent -- which is great, except when it isn't, if you see what I mean.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and it occurs to me that the book missing from Adam's list is <I>Spirit</I> by Gwyneth Jones. (She also has a collection due out at some point.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-10604113785729146142009-01-05T12:54:00.000+00:002009-01-05T12:54:00.000+00:00Omigod, that's an extraordinary list, Niall. I can...Omigod, that's an extraordinary list, Niall. I can't imagine why they aren't snapped up. I feel humbled.<BR/><BR/>Mind you, I know the perception among publishers in Oz is that SF is definitely a harder sell than fantasy, and SF writers complain about how difficult it is to get published, especially if you write hard SF. Perhaps the same thing applies in the UK.<BR/><BR/>The more I learn about publishing, the more astonished I am about how little we know about what makes a book sell...Glenda Larkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10113271268122909969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-52672795922410597692009-01-05T10:35:00.000+00:002009-01-05T10:35:00.000+00:00Glenda, as someone who's in the UK I suspect you'r...Glenda, as someone who's in the UK I suspect you're right about a UK/Australia difference; it's my perception that UK genre publishing is *very* male at the moment, particularly on the science fiction side. I do my best to track science fiction novels published in the UK each year (because I'm interested in what's eligible for the Clarke Award, which doesn't consider fantasy), and this year I found 65 books, of which 12 were by women -- and about half of those were either published as "mainstream" or as YA. I'm sure there are titles I've missed (in particular, I only included a few YA titles -- although more my women than men -- which seemed to be of crossover interest), and I'm sure there's a higher proportion of women publishing fantasy, but for science fiction these numbers are consistent with what I've found over the last few years. It's a constant frustration to me that there are a number of high-profile female science fiction writers without UK publishers (off the top of my head: Jo Walton, Elizabeth Bear, Susan Palwick, CJ Cherryh, Lois McMaster Bujold, Karen Traviss [except for her tie-in fiction], Nancy Kress, Kit Reed ...).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-9010873761909381012009-01-05T01:02:00.000+00:002009-01-05T01:02:00.000+00:00Urban fantasy/paranormal romance may be more the d...Urban fantasy/paranormal romance may be more the domain of women writers, but there's not too many of those among Australian SFF writers. So I suspect there is a national difference here which I find intriguing. In fact, I suspect we have a higher proportion of women writers in SF (space opera and media tie-ins mostly) than the UK does, although I would hate to be asked to back up that generalisation with figures from UK side...<BR/><BR/>No, Adam, please don't become an affirmative action reader! Life is too short to read bad books, "bad" here being ones you don't enjoy. On the other hand, nothing gets my goat worse that someone who won't look at women (black/gay/whatever) writers at all because they are women (black/gay/whatever). That is just plain stupid. <BR/><BR/>It is the book and the story that counts, always.glenda larkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568199985482116193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-40198538572860743772009-01-04T19:21:00.000+00:002009-01-04T19:21:00.000+00:00It's probably higher than 20%. However, as I said,...It's probably higher than 20%. However, as I said, I am not a fan of the urban fantasy genre, which is where it appears that a lot of the female genre writers are going at the moment.<BR/><BR/>To be honest, I am not an affirmative action reader. I read books because they look interesting, not because they are written by a man, woman or whatever. I believe there's only one book on my list written by a gay person and none by a black person. There's only two by Irish writers and only one by a Polish writer. Does that mean I 'need' to seek out books written by those people to create some sort of artifical balance? I don't think so ;-)Adam Whiteheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-31110179379147700462009-01-04T04:53:00.000+00:002009-01-04T04:53:00.000+00:00Glenda, going by the Locus List of Forthcoming Boo...Glenda, going by the <A HREF="http://www.locusmag.com/ForthcomingBooks.html" REL="nofollow">Locus List of Forthcoming Books</A>, or at least the January-Febuary 2009 totals, it is slightly over 2:1 men to women. Then again, Locus doesn't list very many urban fantasies, in part because it doesn't often list mass-market paperbooks (mostly just the hardcover and tradeback releases).Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-44045013675834806622009-01-04T02:37:00.000+00:002009-01-04T02:37:00.000+00:00You're saying that over 80% of sf/f books are writ...You're saying that over 80% of sf/f books are written by male authors?? I find this figure staggering. Maybe because I am Australian and the majority of sf/f writers down under seem to be female at the moment. I just ran through the professionally published books eligible for the Australian Aurealis SF/F awards this year - and there were slightly more books published by women than by men.<BR/><BR/>May I ask - are you just guessing or are your certain? Perhaps you just read more male authors and are therefore more aware of them? I am intrigued by the idea of national trends being different...Glenda Larkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10113271268122909969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-62885810777799168532009-01-04T00:10:00.000+00:002009-01-04T00:10:00.000+00:00Do you know if another Glen Cook omnibus is coming...Do you know if another Glen Cook omnibus is coming out? Love the amazing covers and the works themselves.Tree Froghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332609654612510967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-21332081647237420892009-01-03T17:09:00.000+00:002009-01-03T17:09:00.000+00:0050-odd books with 8 by female authors (Robin Hobb,...50-odd books with 8 by female authors (Robin Hobb, Celia Friedman, Alex Bell, JV Jones, Steph Swainston, Melinda Snodgrass, Kate Elliott and Kristin Cashore), which possibly reflects the current state of the male/female divide in SF&F (particularly outside the urban subgenre, of which I am not a massive fan). It's also possible that KJ Parker may have a new book out given her high output to date, and I think Lisa Tuttle might have something as well (I need to recheck her blog). I think Justina Robson has a new book as well, but her recent Quantum Gravity series left me cold.<BR/><BR/>I do need to catch up and read Liz Williams, whose work has been recommended to me.Adam Whiteheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-64687150384943353032009-01-03T14:11:00.000+00:002009-01-03T14:11:00.000+00:00Sure is a male-author-oriented list - or are there...Sure is a male-author-oriented list - or are there really so few women writing out there?Glenda Larkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10113271268122909969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-62967938806670604942009-01-03T01:20:00.000+00:002009-01-03T01:20:00.000+00:002009 is going to be a great year for reading.I've ...2009 is going to be a great year for reading.<BR/><BR/>I've got my fingers crossed that new books from Lynch, Rothfuss and Martin actually materialize, you can never know.<BR/><BR/>Also thanks Adam I hadn't heard of "The Painted Man" So I'm going to try and pick up a copy here in the next couple weeks. Your review makes it sound very intriguing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-72537555068243785402009-01-02T21:11:00.000+00:002009-01-02T21:11:00.000+00:00I do love the cover! Yes, Tor UK is Pan Mac - it's...I do love the cover! Yes, Tor UK is Pan Mac - it's exactly the same people! - so you shouldn't have any problems. I'm sure if you drop them a line, they'll be able to give you some more info.Mark Newtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04829431641572291176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-65959283151354847852009-01-02T20:53:00.000+00:002009-01-02T20:53:00.000+00:00I should point out that the list more reflects the...I should point out that the list more reflects the books I am interested in that are coming out in 2009, rather than an attempt to do an exhaustive everything-and-the-kitchen-sink list that some other blogs have done ;-)<BR/><BR/>Mark, I must admit that the cover art did seem more...classy than what I'd expect from Tor US (although their Warbreaker cover is admittedly quite nice, he said in a hasty/blatant ass-covering maneuver). This news is also welcome due to me starting to get ARCs from Macmillan (and I hope this extends to the Tor imprint as well)!<BR/><BR/>As for Watcher for the Dead, the release date seems to be changing every five minutes, so I'll hold fire on changing that for now.<BR/><BR/>Many thanks for everyone's positive comments!Adam Whiteheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-22038330167564669492009-01-02T17:01:00.000+00:002009-01-02T17:01:00.000+00:00Watcher of the Dead by J.V. Jonesis listed by locu...Watcher of the Dead by J.V. Jones<BR/>is listed by locus magasine as a september release :)<BR/>http://www.locusmag.com/ForthcomingBooks.html<BR/><BR/>great listAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-52159165212824423412009-01-02T16:17:00.000+00:002009-01-02T16:17:00.000+00:00Some more genre books I look forward for 09 in add...Some more genre books I look forward for 09 in addition to this magnificent list and the books mentioned by Larry on his blog:<BR/><BR/> Gears of the City by F. Gilman - technically 2008, but should count as early 09 - sequel to Thunderer goes into clear New Weird territory, though it reminded me a lot of the Long Sun series by G. Wolfe and it made me embark on the project of reading the 7 books (including Short Sun) end to end in the next several months.<BR/> <BR/> Sharing Knife 4: Horizons by L. Bujold - end of the double duology<BR/><BR/> Corambis by S. Monette - end of another double dulogy<BR/><BR/> Avempartha by Michael Sullivan - small press author in the S. Lynch style adventures of a thief/fighter pair with deep undercurrents - I truly enjoyed book 1, The Crown Conspiracy, this is book 2 and all planned 6 books in the series are written and ready to go.<BR/><BR/> The Rise of the Iron Moon by Stephen Hunt - book 3 in his loose series<BR/><BR/> Kings and Assassins by Lane Robins - sequel to Maledicte<BR/><BR/> Shadow Magic by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett - sequel to Havemercy<BR/><BR/> Amyrantha's Gods by Jennifer Fallon - book 2 of 4 in Ms. Fallon Tide Lords series. I enjoyed the first book so much that I spent a bit too much money to get all remaining 3 books from Australia where they have been published in 07/08 since I truly cannot wait several years to the projected US/UK 2011 release of book 4. That is the package of books I am looking forward to the most in the next 2-3 weeks<BR/><BR/> Mortal Coils by E. Nylund - Robert loved it, and I just bought an arc of Abe, really looking forward to this one<BR/><BR/> In SF: <BR/><BR/>In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato. <BR/><BR/> Seeds of Earth by Michael Cobley <BR/><BR/> The Grand Conjunction by Sean Williams - end of his superb so far AstropolisLiviuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04615405766065227026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-36094426646208214592009-01-02T13:03:00.000+00:002009-01-02T13:03:00.000+00:00Hey Adam - great round-up and thanks for the menti...Hey Adam - great round-up and thanks for the mention. Just one correction though - Nights of Villjamur is being published by Tor UK (Pan Macmillan) and not Tor US!Mark Newtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04829431641572291176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-19559438794229208702009-01-02T10:11:00.000+00:002009-01-02T10:11:00.000+00:00Great work, Adam! I'll bookmark this as my guide t...Great work, Adam! I'll bookmark this as my guide to the year and will also post a link on my blog.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07763695390241432518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-40788158099334743062009-01-02T10:09:00.000+00:002009-01-02T10:09:00.000+00:00Kudos! Adam. Great list. Maybe you are also intere...Kudos! Adam. Great list. Maybe you are also interested in:<BR/><BR/>January 2009 Spotlight by Robert http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2008/12/spotlight-books-of-january-2009.htmlediFanoBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129248787624088717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-34117073009862674432009-01-02T03:31:00.000+00:002009-01-02T03:31:00.000+00:00I understand Steven Brust has completed and submit...I understand Steven Brust has completed and submitted his next Vlad Taltos novel, with an expected summer release.Mndrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02517883159704954031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-22771826568954981482009-01-01T22:28:00.000+00:002009-01-01T22:28:00.000+00:00Very good work here, Adam! I'm going to post a li...Very good work here, Adam! I'm going to post a link to it on my blog in a little bit and add a few more to it (perhaps others can do this to pad it out even more?) Thanks for going through the effort to getting this done :DLarry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.com