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Five Unicorn Flush, T.J. Berry (Angry Robot US 978-0-85766-783-0, $12.99, 314pp, tp) May 2019. Cover by Lee Gibbons.

T.J. Berry’s debut novel, Space Unicorn Blues, took place in a fantastical space opera world, one in which creatures from human mythology, possessing magical powers, live and struggle alongside humans. These beings are known as the Bala, and the totalitarian, genocidal human government known as the Reason went to war ...Read More

Tor.com 4/3/19 Lightspeed 5/19 Beneath Ceaseless Skies 4/11/19 Strange Horizons 4/19

Kathleen Ann Goonan‘s story at Tor.com, “One/Zero” is a fascinating peek three-minutes-into-the-future. It’s told from two viewpoints: Vida is a teenager in Kurdistan, and the story begins in media res as her neighborhood is bombed and most of her family killed, sending her and her little brother on the road as refugees. An AV bus picks ...Read More

The Archive of Alternate Endings, Lindsey Drager (Dzanc 978-1945814822, $16.95, 168pp, tp) May 2019.

Above the ten chapter headings that make up Lindsey Drager’s remarkable short novel The Archive of Alternate Endings are a range of years beginning with 1378 and ending with 2365. Those mathematically inclined will note a 75- to 79-year gap between each year, and those who know their celestial bodies will figure out that this ...Read More

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, Neal Stephenson (Morrow 978-0-06-245871-1, $35.00, 896pp, hc) June 2019.

Neal Stephenson’s idea of a novel isn’t quite the same as anyone else’s, and for the most part this has served him remarkably well. His Baroque Cycle trilogy was really no more a trilogy than was Asimov’s Foundation series, except that while Asimov’s narrative units were stories and novellas, Ste­phenson’s were entire novels – and ...Read More

Broken Shadow, Jaine Fenn (Angry Robot US 978-0-85766-803-5, $12.99, 432pp, tp) May 2019. Cover by Andreas Rocha.

Jaine Fenn’s Hidden Sun, out from Angry Robot Books last year, introduced the reader to the world of shadowlands and skylands. In the shadowlands, or at least the ones with which the novel concerns itself, a powerful Church restricts scientific development and unorthodox thought, while a patriarchal society relegates women to ...Read More

Analog 5-6/19 Asimov’s 5-6/19 Space and Time Spring/Summer ’19

The May-June Analog opens with a fun alternate history from Harry Turtledove, “Bonehunters“, retelling a version of the fossil wars of the late 19th century in a timeline where, apparently, dinosaurs never became extinct, and two separate intelligent species evolved from raptors. The story is told by Rekek, a “greenskin” who serves as a guide. His stepson Junior ...Read More

Washington DC’s unopposed bid to host the 2021 Worldcon was successful, with 798 votes received in favor out of 878 votes total. (Other votes included “none of the above,” “no preference,” and various write-in choices.)

DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC, August 25-29, 2021. Guests of honor include Nancy Kress, Malka Older, Sherée Renee Thomas, ...Read More

The nominees for the 2018 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History have been announced.

Short Form

The Sidewise Awards ...Read More

Finalists for the 2019 Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) Small Press Award for Short Fiction have been announced:

Winners for the Hugo Awards and for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer were announced by Dublin 2019, the 77th Worldcon, on August 18, 2019 at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin Ireland.

Best Novel

WINNER: The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)

Kim Newman will be Writer Guest of Honour at Stokercon UK, to be held April 16-19, 2020 at the Royal and Grand Hotels in Scarborough, UK, joining previously announced Editor Guest of Honour Gillian Redfearn and Mistress of Ceremonies AK Benedict.

For more <stoker­con-uk.com/guests.htm>.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine ...Read More

The 18th Indian SF Conference/the 4th In­ternational SF Conference will be held October 16-18, 2019 at Mukthananda College, Gangapur in Aurangabad, Maharashtra State, India. The theme is “Science & Science Fiction – Inter Dis­ciplinary & Multi Disciplinary Perspectives.” Guests include Michaek Brotherton, Kristen Renee Goritz, Joshua Sky, Ashish Mahabal, and Ravindra Kale from the US, Michael Iwoleit from Germany, Frank Roger from Belgium, and Julie Novakova from the Czech Republic. ...Read More

Malcolm Edwards has been named publisher of André Deutsch, a venerable imprint recently acquired by the fledgling Welbeck Publishing Group. Edwards has been charged with “resurrecting and reviving” their backlist and acquiring new titles in the SF, fantasy, horror, crime, and thriller genres.

Deutsch was founded in 1952 and published works by Margaret Atwood, Jack Kerouac, Philip Roth, and John Updike, among others. Edwards says, “The appeal was that it’s ...Read More

Marc Gascoigne has been named publisher of Aconyte, a new fiction imprint from game company Asmodee (which publishes Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, Pandemic, Dead of Winter, and Catan, among other games). The imprint will focus on titles based on their games, but also has plans to publish tie-in works for other parties. They recently made a deal with Simon & Schuster for US and Canadian distribution, with ...Read More

Writer Barry Hughart, 85, died August 1, 2019. Hughart was best known for his Master Li series, set in a mythical version of China, beginning with World Fantasy and Mythopoeic Award winner Bridge of Birds (1984) and continuing with The Story of the Stone (1988) and Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1991), all later collected as The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox (1998).

Hughart was born March 13, 1934 ...Read More

Editor and author Robert N. Stephenson, 57, died August 14, 2019. Stephenson wrote SF and mystery, edited magazine Altair, and was publisher of Altair Publishing/Altair Australia Books.

Stephenson was born September 17, 1961 in Adelaide, South Australia. His first book, poetry collection Garments of Rainbow, appeared in 1992, and his first story, “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, in 1998. He went on to publish around 50 stories, notably Aurora Award ...Read More

Amnesty, Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor 978-1-25017-362-1, $18.99, 384pp, tp) April 2019.

“It is not easy,” Aristide Makricosta tells a gathered crowd early in Amnesty, “to destroy your life. To coat the things you love in kerosene and light a match.” He is talking about Cordelia Lehane, a burlesque dancer turned resistance leader, who did exactly that when she decided to fight against the fascism sweeping across Amberlough. Cordelia ...Read More

Winners for the 1944 Retro Hugo Awards, honoring work from 1943, were announced by Dublin 2019, the 77th Worldcon, during a ceremony held August 15, 2019 at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin Ireland.

Best Novel

Triangulum, Masande Ntshanga (Two Dollar Radio 978-1937512774, $17.99, 367pp, tp) May 2019.

I was predisposed to enjoy Masande Ntshanga’s Triangulum. Some of my favourite books are “found manuscript” novels, including James Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, David Means’ Man Booker Prize longlisted Hystopia, and the granddaddy of them all, Mark Z. Danielewski’s breathtaking House of Leaves. Triangulum doesn’t feature the ...Read More

Clarkesworld 4/19 Apex 3/19 Capricious SF #11 Apparition #5 Aurealis #119

April’s Clarkesworld brings us the first in a planned run of stories translated from Korean, starting with “The Flowering” by Soyeon Jong (translated by Jihyun Park & Gord Sellar). This is a sly story told in interview style, with the sister of a known subversive who’s been working to literally ‘plant’ organic biotech routers to get ...Read More

The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) has announced the winners of several of its awards.

Mary Kay Bray award for best essay, interview, or extended review to appear in the SFRA Review (tie)

Thomas D. Clareson award for distinguished service

The Iron Dragon’s Mother, Michael Swanwick (Tor 978-1-250-19825-9, $26.99, 366pp, hc) June 2019.

There are hints of the afterlife in Michael Swanwick’s The Iron Dragon’s Mother, but it’s hard to accuse a fantasy world of pretentiousness when it cheerfully includes living metal dragon jet fighters along with Hello Kitty backpacks, or in which the streets of a magical underwater city are lined with Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana ...Read More

The six-title shortlist for the 2018 Edge Hill Prize for Short Story includes genre titles The Sadness of Beautiful Things by Simon Van Booy (Penguin) and The Sing of the Shore by Lucy Wood (4th Estate).

The £10,000 prize “recognises excellence in a single author short story collection.” Judges for 2019 are Elizabeth Baines, Tessa Hadley, and Sam Jordison. The winners will be announced on October 25, 2019 during a ...Read More

Author J. Neil Schulman, 66, died August 11, 2019 in Colorado Springs CO. He suffered a pulmonary embolism three days earlier and never regained consciousness. Schulman’s work was particularly influential in the field of Libertarian SF. His first novel Alongside Night (1979) was a finalist for the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Prometheus Award, and in 1989 it won their Hall of Fame Award. The Rainbow Cadenza: A Novel in Logosata Form ...Read More