New poll, upcoming post

I recently agreed to participate in an upcoming discussion at wotmania regarding Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. To prep myself for it (my fourth read of the story), I decided to re-read his earlier Macondo-based novels and story collections and in the next couple of days I will make a blog post about those novels.

In addition, I decided to run a poll both here and at wotmania on Gabo, just to see what differences, if any, would occur between the percentage of those who've read his most famous novel and those who have not. So there it is, a poll to the right of this screen. Nothing else really to add but that, right?

Amazon's SF/F Best of 2008 List

Jeff VanderMeer is responsible for this list, which contains many books that I either own, have ordered, or will order in the very near future:

1. Brian Francis Slattery, Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America.

I own this book but probably won't sit down to read it for another week or two. I loved Slattery's Spaceman Blues and it seems that he was prescient in his topic choice in light of last month's stock market collapse.

2. Jeffrey Ford, The Drowned Life.

Ford is a perennial favorite of mine and this third short fiction collection of his should be in my hands in the next few days.

3. Jack O'Connell, The Resurrectionist.

I haven't bought this book yet, but I've heard plenty of good things about it, so I'll probably get to it before the year is out.

4. Margo Lanagan, Tender Morsels.

Read it and although I haven't yet reviewed it, it certainly has a place on my own upcoming Best of 2008 list (which incidentally is promising to become huger than last year's).

5. Neal Stephenson, Anathem.

Will buy in the near future. Uncertain if I'll read it before the new year, though.

6. J.M. McDermott, Last Dragon.

A book that will be featured in at least the Best Debut Novel portion of my Best of 2008 list, if not in the overall list (which it may).

7. Jo Graham, Black Ships.

See above, as her novel was very, very good as well.

8. Jeanette Winterson, The Stone Gods.

Excellent SFish (regardless of what the author might think ;)) satire. Glad I took Jeff's recommendation to read it.

9. Iain M. Banks, Matter.

May buy/read it in the future, but uncertain about this year.

10. Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles

I have this fifth Temeraire novel, but I have yet to read volumes 2-4 (although owning those as well), so it might be a while. This selection is a bit different in tone/subject matter than most of the others mentioned above, but if it is around the level of the first book, it doubtless is a fun-filled adventure read. Considering that I love Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novels, that's not an indiction of Novik, but rather an admission that there is a place for such novels in quality reads for any given year.

But what about you? What books on this list have you read and what are your thoughts about them?

Tobias Buckell, Sly Mongoose

Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell

Sly Mongoose is Tobias Buckell's third novel, following in the series after Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin. Each novel works mostly as a stand alone novel, but they are related and chronological in nature.

Sly Mongoose was a very satisfying novel. While coming in at a little less than 320 pages, the story is strongly developed, and very nuanced. The characters are well developed, and the settings become characters themselves. Personally, I think that this novel would make a remarkable movie.

The story picks up some generations after the end of Ragamuffin. The story once again features a good mixture of politics, philosophy, and action. Pepper is once again one of the primary PoVs, and fans of the previous novels might know what to expect. Let's just say that Pepper kicks butt, takes names, and has to deal with the consequences. While on a mission for the Dread Council, Pepper gets caught up in a plot hatched by a competing human faction. He ends up stranded on a remote planet and faced with a Species Extinction threat. What happens next is a white-knuckled read through the night sort of story.

Besides zeppelin air battles, and floating cities, we also get scifi zombies. Yep, scifi zombies. If you're interested check out Larry's interview with Tobias Buckell. I would classify the novel as something of a scifi/steampunk/horror.

In my opinion, Sly Mongoose is Buckell's best novel to date. It is entertaining, well-crafted, and surprisingly deep. The story is definitely amongst a handful of others on my favorite novels of the year list. It would greatly benefit all readers to start with Crystal Rain and read from there. However, I think a person could pick up Sly Mongoose and enjoy it without knowing the back story.

Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell

TOR Publishing

Hope is a four letter word, too

It is almost midnight as I begin writing this. In a little over five hours, I will wake up, groggy and perhaps bleary-eyed, stumbling from a dream into a waking reality. But tomorrow will dawn on a new day, one that four years ago I could barely hope to see in my lifetime. I remember feeling so down and cynical about the American political process. I recall being despondent about the negativity and the xenophobia that sprung up like mushrooms in the dark, fetid corners after 9/11. So much talk was about the things that divide and little about the things that unite.

Tonight I hope will mark the beginning of a shift from that fear and distrust. I am an American history teacher and when I go into class tomorrow to talk about the Progressive Age, I can point now to an individual whose message tonight harks back to some of their themes, to their hope for creating a better, more humane American society. Things were not perfect at the turn of the 20th century; they are still far from perfect today. But yet the past few months have seen a sea change in attitudes among quite a few people, both in the U.S. and abroad. I have seen dozens of students wearing Barack Obama t-shirts or John McCain buttons. Never did I hear a cross word between supporters of either candidate, even when the pro-Obama students outnumbered the McCain supporters by more than two-to-one. McCain gave a classy speech tonight, one marred only by the hatred, resentment, and aprehensions of a few. Both he and Obama gave me hope that the two can work together to see the fulfillment of the dreams of those Progressives and their political descendents, the ones who gave us a Square Deal, a New Deal, a New Society, as well as influencing many conservatives over the years to place people above profits.

So while I could ramble on for many more paragraphs about how I plan on tying this historic election of a biracial man to all of the hopes, promises, pitfalls, and tribulations of the multiethnic American people, I'll just close by linking to the opening of Obama's victory speech, as it is more eloquent than what I've said above:

Cover Art Thoughts

I just received my copy of the new Spanish edition of Andrzej Sapkowski's fifth Witcher book, Bautismo de Fuego (Baptism of Fire). As was the case for the newest edition of the second book, La espada del destino (The Sword of Destiny), the cover was illustrated by Alejandro Colucci, based on a design by Alejandro Terán.

I couldn't help but notice how the young woman is portrayed in this illustration. While I have my suspicions as to who it is (I know it's not Yennefer and probably not Ciri), what struck me about the near photo-realistic illustration is how the character represents a somewhat conflicted dualism. I first noticed that the nose is not the button-cute one, but a "stronger" one that accentuates the set jaw and the eyes, which are concentrated on some unseen prize. It is not a "hawt" woman per se, but yet an athletic but attractive one.

Furthermore, the attire, while containing elements of standard-issue sexist dress (the super-short tunic/shorts, the hint of cleavage) , is very muted in color and blends in well with the sylvan surroundings. It is as if the character was viewed as being attractive/sexy, but not presented in the expected cheesecake "sexy" pose.

I am curious what reactions readers here had when viewing this cover art for the first time. In the meantime, I'll alternate between reading this book, watching election day coverage, and writing a Powerpoint presentation for class tomorrow.

Death thoughts

Dead you will lie and never memory of you
will there be nor desire into the aftertime - for you do not share in the roses
of Pieria, but invisible too in Hades' house
you will go your way among dim shapes. Having been breathed out.

- Sappho (ca. 630 B.C.E.)
tr. by Anne Carson

Sunday was All Souls Day and at my parish, the Bishop of Nashville was celebrating the Mass. I remember quite well his homily that tied together this passage from the Book of Wisdom:

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.

It was such a hope-filled sermon, one that dealt not on the sorrows and grievances of the living, but rather on the peace of the dead. Rituals do serve a purpose and the Bishop pointed out that far from being "foolish," sacred rites and practices honoring the dead and the hope that their souls are at peace with God serve many high purposes, including a centering of our lives around the central mystery of the Christian faith.

There is something about death and how it is observed and attended to that has fascinated me for years. There is such a sudden break that appears to occur between the Living and the Formerly Living. People who cannot stand to be in the presence of a corpse, as if there is the threat of some profane desecration. Others will marvel at how the living deal with the unspoken, heavy presence of the dead in their memories and emotions. How did we come to create such a central ritual around the passage of a consciousness (or if you prefer, a life, since consciousness is debatable in some circles)? How have these rituals varied over time and space and how have they come to bear close relationships in many cases?

These are but few of the questions that occurred to me after I pondered the Bishop's homily. Another one that only is tangentially related is that of how are these intense private/public rituals surrounding Death ever going to be represented well in fiction, particularly speculative fiction? Does the skillful author create his/her own Death ritual, or are elements of various "real world" death rites borrowed wholesale for inclusion as warranted in spec fic novels? What is so powerful about Death that it stands out more than most anything related to Life? Is Thanatos truly stronger than Eros?

What do you think?

Traduttore, Traditore

While it'll be a few days before I write my full review of the English translation of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's Blood of Elves, I cannot help but to recall the phrase "traduttore, traditore" in comparing two different translation (Spanish, English) of Sapkowski's books. It is amazing (and quite fascinating) to see how one can take one phrase and twist it so. Unfortunately, I don't have access (and even if I did, my knowledge of the language is non-existent) to the Polish original, but there is a passage in the final pages of Sangre de los elfos/Blood of Elves that I translated one way a few months ago and which the official translator, Danusia Stok, translated another. My translation is from the Spanish translation done by José María Faraldo, so it is possible that my translation may be made on his own choice of rendering the Polish idiom into a more recognizable one for his readers. I'll post the Spanish translation, then my translation of it, followed by Stok's English translation. Weigh in as to which one "feels right" to you:

Faraldo's translation from the Polish original:

Mi Maestra solía decir que dejar salir la fuerza debe resultar como si te tiraras un pedo en una sala de baile: delicadamente, moderadamente y bajo control. Y de tal modo que los que te rodean no se den cuenta que eres tú. ¿Entiendes?

My translation of the Faraldo:

My teacher often said that letting go of the force/power ought to result as if you farted in a dance hall: delicately, moderately, and under control. And in such a way that those around you would not realize it was you. Do you understand?

Stok's translation from the Polish original:

My Mistress used to say that emitting the force must be like blowing a raspberry in a ballroom; do it gently, sparingly, and with control. And in such a way that you don't let those around you know it was you. Understood?

Interesting shifts in meaning and emphasis, no? In particular, Stok's use of an euphemism for flatuence rather than the more direct, cruder one that Faraldo uses (and which I rendered into approximate American slang) might fit in more with a genteel setting, but when one considers the relationship between Yennefer and Ciri, not to mention between Yennefer and Geralt and how they speak to one another, it might be that Stok should have been more direct with her terminology. Unless of course it turns out that Sapkowski did not use a direct reference to farting in his original passage.

Furthermore, in my translation of the Faraldo translation, notice how I switched tenses and mood in order to render the past subjunctive (tirar, tiraras being the past subjunctive in Spanish) as best I could, as saying "as if you ripped a fart" might be too colloquial of an expression. Stok, however, uses a tense in her "must be like blowing" that leaves me uncertain if it is more of a future conditional (things will be in this condition and this condition only before X can occur) or a future imperative (things have to be such-and-such a way before X can occur). Regardless, it is not a direct one-to-one mapping with either Faraldo's Spanish translation or my rendering of his translation into English.

But my own translation has its issues. There are places where the phrasing perhaps could be tightened better (ought to result as if you farted...), but I found myself in a quandry. How could I capture the "you"ness of the passage, keep it simple and direct as possible, and make it "readable" as well as intelligible to someone who might not only understand English perfectly, but for those who may be very familiar with some of the other Sapkowski translations, if not with the Polish original itself? I took one approach towards this issue, choosing a rather non-standard bunching of verbs and verbal phrases, while Stok took another in her use of the "must be like ____ing" modal phrase.

Which is more correct? That is something I'll leave up to the readers here to decide.