Book Review: The Supernova Era by Cixin Liu

Cixin Liu returns with another enthralling novel in The Supernova Era. Well, he only returns in English as the original Chinese version was published before his well-known Three Body trilogy made his big break into the English market.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

The Gondolier Hits 45

Also this week, I've received another two translations of The Gondolier - in Polish and Kishubian. This takes the total number of translations to 45. I have a couple of possible options for these two to be published, else I'll post them here eventually.

Observers

My flash fiction story Observers is now on-line at Emerging Worlds. This story was inspired by a dream, though I don't remember exactly what happened in the dream - just the concept I think.

The Gondolier in Elfdalian

Elfdalian is a language related to Swedish, spoken in the Alvdalen region of Sweden by around 2500 people. You can find out more on Ulum Dalska, the website for the Elfdalian society. Here, then is The Gondolier in its 43rd language.

Gondoljärn

Swartstammin i gondoläm mainum plyögd so fint gainum watulyngnų I kanaläm. Andar oðeräv båtn add gaungnað mig uvändes i mikklum årum og add buorið fuotjeð so förfäðer attoter wärdn add luosað yvyr watuwea i staðim. 


Suolä jällt ą̊ go nið yvyr andar gambelstaðn og ändred wattneð að ien blåswart bandä millą̊ diemdar oðeräv sandstiausum, Frą̊ djuopt niði andeðs ig in andar swal kwellsilningdjin. 


War eð nogumstaðs noger ävera plass elld issn oðergrannera kanalstaðn? Mes båtn so smått swainggd åv in i båtstaðn sänn stanneð ig til og käðeð mig að åmdar mörknend marsimblem.



Slut

Translated by Inga-Britt Petersson

The Gondolier Reprint: Catalan

The Catalan translation of The Gondolier, along with an audio version, appeared on the website MLN Langauages, which has since disappeared. I'm afraid the audio version is lost, but here's the text version.

El Gondoler

 

La negra proa de la meva góndola es desplaçava suaument a través de les tranquiles aigües dels canals. L'elegant embarcació m'havia fet bon servei durant molts anys, i havia transportat passatgers a través de les vies aquàtiques de la ciutat a mans de vàries generacions d'avantpassats.

El sol es ponia sobre l'antiga ciutat, transformant l'aigua en una cinta de tinta col·locada entre edificis elegants de pedra sorrenca. Vaig inhalar profundament la brisa fresca de la vesprada.

Hi havia algun lloc més bonic que aquesta marevallosa ciutat de canals? Mentres la barca entrava al moll, em vaig parar a contemplar amb satisfacció com s'enfosquia el cel de Mart.

Translated by Gemma Sellarés i Pujol

Gondolier Update

After a somewhat quiet period over the past couple of years for new translations of The Gondolier, I've been working on getting some new translations and I now have half a dozen new langauges in the pipeline, mostly minority and regional languages. Hopefully you'll start seeing these soon.


I've also realised that some of the websites that published various of the translations no longer exist, so I shall start posting those translations here too.

Book Review: Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald

I’ve read Ian McDonald’s short story The Fifth Dragon a couple of times, a story set in the early days of moon colonisation that sets the scene for the five big family corporations who dominate the lunar economy. It was intriguing enough that I wanted to read the trilogy of ‘Luna’ novels that follow on from it, starting with Luna: New Moon.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Squirrels, Foxes and Other Slovenian Specimens

In rapid succession, my story Squirrels, Foxes and Other Fine Specimens has been accepted a third time, by Slovenian magazine Supernova. It has been scheduled for the spring 2020 issue.

This will be my second story in Slovenian, following on from The Gondolier in 2015.

The Ballad of Robinson Clyde

By complete coincidence, as neither of us knew we'd submitted a story to the same market, my eldest son Alex has also had a story accepted by Emerging Worlds. His lyrical tale The Ballad of Robinson Clyde will be appearing there too in the near future.

Putting the Science in Fiction - Korean Edition

The Korean translation of Putting the Science in Fiction, which includes my chapter on waste management in science fiction, is due to be published by GuFic publishing in early November. I haven't seen a cover image, but here's part of the table of content. I don't think my name is in this section!

Observers

I'm rather pleased that my short story Observers has been accepted by UK-based webzine Emerging Worlds. This is my second story that was inspired by a dream, the other being Remember Yugoslavia? that was published in Nature a few years back. This one is less disjointedly dreamlike.