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Patricia Piccinni’s fantastic body of work

Posted in art, review, science fiction, travel with tags , , , on June 22, 2011 by jason nahrung

patricia piccinini vespa sculpturepatricia piccinini sculpture

And I thought Ron Mueck’s sculptures were amazing…

And fair enough, they are. But Patricia Piccinni’s work, on show at the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide, blew my socks off. Not only are her sculptures incredibly life-like, right down to the dimples, the hairs in the moles, the subtle blue veins under the skin, but they take us into the future. Strange critters imbued with incredible personality inhabit this vision, a vision largely made in a human laboratory. Cloning and gene splicing are among the issues that Piccinni’s sculptures examine, and most carry more than a hint of melancholy. A purposely spliced pig-like creature carries a litter destined to be spare parts; another creature is made as a breeding ground for hairy-nosed wombats. A young girl plays with over-sized stem cells as though they were blobs of plasticene. Two boys play with a hand-held game machine, but they wear the faces of old men.

Also in the exhibit are some cool trucks and even cooler mopeds given animalistic life, photography and audio-visual displays.

But it was the incredible emotion that Piccinni fostered in her fabulous future creatures that elevated this exhibition into the truly remarkable.

Will we — can we — still love our creations tomorrow?

  • Lisa Hannett also saw the exhibit and describes it with far more eloquence here.

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    Review: Engineering Infinity

    Posted in books, review, science fiction with tags , , , , , , , on April 18, 2011 by jason nahrung

    engineeering infinity by jonathan strahan (ed)

    Usually, mention of ‘hard SF’ would make my eyes glaze over. I’m the kind of tech-zombie who is happy to just press the button and have the machine do its thing, without too much thought for the how. It’s only when it doesn’t work that I start to ponder, and even then it’s a case of hard Fs rather than hard SF. So when Engineering Infinity (Solaris) landed in my mailbox and editor Jonathan Strahan started talking about hard SF in his introduction, I started to sweat. But whew – as Strahan says in summarising his anthology, these aren’t necessarily hard SF stories in the classic mould, though they do all have humanity and technology bumping heads and seeing what happens. It’s a superb collection of 14 well-crafted and quite varied yarns. One of the most technical — Peter Watt’s ‘Malak’ — was one of my favourites, along with Greg Benford’s serial killers meet time travel yarn and Charles Stross’s space zombies. Definitely a book to keep an eye out for, regardless of whether you like your SF hard-boiled or runny in in the middle, with that tasty side of humanity. My rather more considered review is up at Asif.

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    Anywhere But Earth … T minus X and counting…

    Posted in books, science fiction with tags , , , , on April 6, 2011 by jason nahrung

    anywhere but earth short story anthology

    Coeur de Lion has released the table of contents for its forthcoming anthology Anywhere But Earth, and wow, I’m very glad indeed to be in this one. Editor Keith Stevenson’s summary of my ‘Messiah on the Rock’: “Arse kicking atheists and messianic alien vampires”. Twenty-seven yarns all set somewhere that isn’t there — this is gonna be fun! This isn’t necessarily the final cover, and the anthology is due out late 2011.

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    Aurealis Awards finalists announced

    Posted in awards, fantasy, horror, science fiction, writing with tags , , on March 22, 2011 by jason nahrung

    The finalists for Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards have been announced. The Aurealis Awards recognise excellence by Australian writers and editors across the spectrum of fantastic fiction: science fiction, fantasy, horror and all points in between. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Sydney on May 21. The judges had a bumper year to contend with — I judged for anthologies and collections, so I have an inkling of the array of quality shorts the other panels had to choose from — and the lists show some wonderful diversity, with newcomers rubbing shoulders with much-published authors, and a self-published fantasy novel making the final running, which is great to see. And of course, also great to see is Kirstyn’s Madigan Mine in the shortlist for horror novel, along with the most deserving Death Most Definite, by Trent Jamieson, and Jason Fischer’s After the World: Gravesend.

    2010 Aurealis Awards – Finalists
    CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
    Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House
    Ranger’s Apprentice #9: Halt’s Peril, John Flanagan, Random House
    The Vulture of Sommerset, Stephen M Giles, Pan Macmillan
    The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin
    Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull, Jen Storer & Gug Gordon, Aussie Nibbles (Penguin)

    CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
    Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking
    Magpie, Luke Davies (writer) & Inari Kiuru (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)
    The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking
    Precious Little, Julie Hunt & Sue Moss (writers) & Gaye Chapman (illustrator), Allen & Unwin
    The Cloudchasers, David Richardson (writer) & Steven Hunt (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)

    YOUNG ADULT Short Story
    Inksucker, Aidan Doyle, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
    One Story, No Refunds, Dirk Flinthart, Shiny #6, Twelfth Planet Press
    A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies Vs Unicorns, Allen & Unwin
    Nine Times, Kaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
    An Ordinary Boy, Jen White, The Tangled Bank, Tangled Bank Press

    YOUNG ADULT Novel
    Merrow, Ananda Braxton-Smith, black dog books
    Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin
    The Midnight Zoo, Sonya Hartnett, Penguin
    The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug MacLeod, Penguin
    Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy Book Two), Scott Westerfeld, Penguin

    BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL
    Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Nicki Greenberg, Allen & Unwin
    EEEK!: Weird Australian Tales of Suspense, Jason Paulos et al, Black House Comics
    Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing
    Five Wounds: An Illustrated Novel, Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett, Allen & Unwin
    Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators, Rocky Wood & Glenn Chadbourne, McFarlane & Co.

    BEST COLLECTION
    The Library of Forgotten Books, Rjurik Davidson, PS Publishing
    Under Stones, Bob Franklin, Affirm Press
    Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter, Tartarus Press
    The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications
    Dead Sea Fruit, Kaaron Warren, Ticonderoga Publications

    BEST ANTHOLOGY
    Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis & Dr Marty Young, Brimstone Press
    Sprawl, edited by Alisa Krasnostein, Twelfth Planet Press
    Scenes from the Second Storey, edited by Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall, Morrigan Books
    Godlike Machines, edited by Jonathan Strahan, SF Book Club
    Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

    HORROR Short Story
    Take the Free Tour, Bob Franklin, Under Stones, Affirm Press
    Her Gallant Needs, Paul Haines, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
    The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
    Wasting Matilda, Robert Hood, Zombie Apocalypse!, Constable & Robinson Ltd
    Lollo, Martin Livings, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind, Apex Publishing

    HORROR Novel
    After the World: Gravesend, Jason Fischer, Black House Comics
    Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
    Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

    FANTASY Short Story
    The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling, Elizabeth Carroll, Strange Horizons
    Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
    The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
    All the Clowns in Clowntown, Andrew McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
    Sister, Sister, Angela Slatter, Strange Tales III, Tartarus Press

    FANTASY Novel
    The Silence of Medair, Andrea K Höst, self-published
    Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
    Stormlord Rising, Glenda Larke, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)
    Heart’s Blood, Juliet Marillier, Pan Macmillan
    Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

    SCIENCE FICTION Short Story
    The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)
    The Angaelian Apocalypse, Matthew Chrulew, The Company Articles Of Edward Teach/The Angaelian Apocalypse, Twelfth Planet Press
    Border Crossing, Penelope Love, Belong, Ticonderoga Publications
    Interloper, Ian McHugh, Asimovs (Jan 2011)
    Relentless Adaptations, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

    SCIENCE FICTION Novel
    Song of Scarabaeous, Sara Creasy, EOS Books
    Mirror Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)
    Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

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    Australian Shadows shortlist announced

    Posted in awards, books, fantasy, horror, science fiction with tags , , , , , on February 25, 2011 by jason nahrung

    The Australian Horror Writers Association has announced this year’s finalists for the Shadows award, presented in the categories of (eclectic) long fiction, short fiction and edited publication, and I can safely say I’m happy I’m not trying to judge such a strong field — leastwise because my wife has two works in the running! I’ve read all but one of the final field, and they’re all darn fine yarns. Congratulations to all for making the final cut!

    The Shadows are announced in April, just ahead of the fan-based Ditmars at Swancon at Easter, and the country’s premier genre awards, the Aurealis Awards, at a gala bash in Sydney on May 21. Last year offered a bumper crop of tales spilling from Aussie pens: if you’re looking for some reading material, the shortlists make a great place to start.

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    The Seventh Wave by Paul Garrety — the moment is nigh!

    Posted in books, fantasy, science fiction with tags , , on January 22, 2011 by jason nahrung

    seventh wave by paul garrety

    The clock’s ticking and my mate’s nervous. Fair enough, given his debut novel is about to hit the shelves!

    Paul Garrety is a member of my Brisbane-based writing group, Writers on the Edge, and it’s been a thrill to see this story progress to the stage where HarperCollins have picked up both The Seventh Wave and its sequel. Sweet cover, too!

    Voyager have posted an extract here to whet the appetite.

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    Dead Red Heart and More Scary Kisses: books with bite!

    Posted in books, horror, science fiction with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2011 by jason nahrung

    more scary kisses cover

    Here is the cover of More Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga’s anthology of paranormal romance stories due out in April. The table of contents is here.

    And Ticonderoga’s Australian-themed vampire anthology, Dead Red Heart, has had its table of contents announced, and it’s a monster: 32 yarns, more than 130,000 words, due out towards the end of April.

    I hope this means both will hit the shelf in time for Swancon, Perth’s annual spec fic convention which this year is also the national science fiction convention.

    It’s particularly exciting to have a couple of stories coming out this year after such a long hiatus.

    after the rain ebook edition

    There’s also a story of mine, a cyberpunk one just in contrast to the New Orleans hot-and-sweaty of MSK and cane-and-dust vampire action of DRH, in Fablecroft’s forthcoming After the Rain anthology, also due out in time for Swancon. A special e-edition of ATR is available with proceeds going to the Queensland flood appeal. More than $1200 has been raised so far. Awesome!

    For me, after the rain should probably be after the drought, it’s been so long since I’ve written a short story. But last year, after much kicking around and failing to succeed with novel-length manuscripts, my subconscious apparently found a window for some short stuff. Dark Prints Press’s Surviving the End anthology started the ball rolling — that book’s due out in 2012, and I quite like the story of mine in it: a dirty, post-apocalyptic Australian Gulf-country yarn.

    I’m back in drought mode, now, but it sure feels affirming to have been able to dredge out some yarns!

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    Aussiecon4 highs and lows, Voyager blasts off

    Posted in awards, books, science fiction, writing with tags , , , , , , , on September 7, 2010 by jason nahrung

    Cherie, Kylie, Lindy and Amanda keep me company at the signing desk - a kaffee klatsch without the kaffee!

    Aussiecon4, the 2010 Worldcon, is over, and I’m home snuffling and coughing with a dose of persistent pre-Worldcon flu, feeling totally knackered but yet energised as well.

    This was my first Worldcon and it was thoroughly enjoyable, even with the flu.
    Downsides were:

    • Sean Williams being too ill to attend.
    • Ellen Datlow having to leave early due to sickness in the family — all the more poignant for her Hugo win.
    • The Christchurch earthquake was also worrying, a relief that there were no casualties. The Kiwis are bidding to host Worldcon in 2020.
    • Not catching *anything* involving China Mieville.

    The program was massive, spread across ground floor auditoriums and an array of rooms on the second floor of the convention and exhibition centre, and it just wasn’t possible to attend everything of interest, nor report everything here. What I did catch was generally informative and at times downright inspiring. I particularly enjoyed hearing Peter Brett (The Painted Man) speak of his “survivor’s guilt” after having his novel picked up while pals were still striving to get theirs on the shelf. I also took heart from Will Elliott’s passion and Fiona Macintosh’s work ethic.

    I was chuffed to have people I didn’t know attend my reading and that, despite my hoarse flu voice, they stayed to the end, and was very grateful indeed to have company at the signing desk while the most engaging guest of honour Kim Stanley Robinson made the day for a very long line of fans indeed. His self-interview, complete with coat on-and-off, was a delight. Kyla Ward, who organised the horror stream in which I took part, proved exceptional as an organiser — she also masterminded the horror ball that I sadly failed to attend, though I heard gushing reports. I also really enjoyed talking vampires with a bunch of clued up and inquisitive teenagers and talking taboos with Richard Harland, Deborah Biancotti and Catherynne Valente.

    UK writer Robert Shearman performed a most entertaining reading of a rather poignant story about a boy and his love of love songs, and Kirstyn’s reading of her story from the Scenes from the Second Storey collection (launched at the con) also drew a pleasing response.

    The Hugo awards (full list of winners here) also proved an enjoyable affair, running smoothly and not overlong, with a feeling of camaraderie rather than competition, and absolutely nil ego. MC Garth Nix was, as always, personable and engaging. Lovely to see, amongst others, Aussie artist and con guest of honour Shaun Tan recognised, and to see the splendid movie Moon score a gong.

    My appreciation for George RR Martin has also been cemented thanks to his wit and delightful chuckle. (Do read his Fevre Dream if you haven’t already: one of the best vampire books evah!)

    At the end of the day, after the launches (yay Angela Slatter and Kaaron Warren’s double launch, complete with publisher Russell Farr in a kilt doing the honours; and the massive collection of Aussie horror in Macabre, amongst others) and parties and panels and awards (some well-earned Ditmars were given out — the full list is here), it was the people who made the convention, and it was amazing bumping into so many friends from throughout Australia and overseas.

    Let’s do it again — but not till I’ve had a nap!

    There are some pictures at my flickr site.

    Voyager going global

    Voyager’s 15th birthday party held in conjunction with Aussiecon prompted this (annotated) announcement of a new global (or is that Orbital?) approach to marketing its genre fiction:

    “Eos Books, a US imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will be rebranded as Harper Voyager, joining together with the celebrated Voyager imprints in Australia/New Zealand and the UK. The move is anticipated to create a global genre-fiction powerhouse.
    “This move enables us to offer authors a strong global publishing platform when signing with HarperCollins – whether the acquiring editor is in New York, Sydney, or London,’ said Brian Murray, president and chief executive officer of HarperCollins Worldwide.
    “Two authors, Karen Azinger and David Wellington (writing as David Chandler), have recently been signed and are expected to publish with Harper Voyager and Voyager for a worldwide debut. The Eos imprint will officially change to Harper Voyager starting with the January 2011 hardcover, trade, mass market, e-book, and audio publications.
    “The Voyager/Harper Voyager editorial leaders are: executive editor Diana Gill in the US; editorial director Emma Coode in the UK (working with publishing director Jane Johnson); and associate publisher Stephanie Smith in Australia.”

    Exciting and interesting stuff with an apparent focus on breaking down the regional publishing territories, or at least making more effort to spread product globally. It’ll be interesting to see the impact this has.

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    Tycho Brahe – Delos

    Posted in movies, music, science fiction with tags , , , , on July 31, 2010 by jason nahrung

    Brisbane synth-driven legends Tycho Brahe recently, um, discovered this sterling piece of cut’n'splice that marries their rockin’ instrumental track, Delos, with its inspiration: Westworld. Great stuff!

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    Classic Australian spec fic

    Posted in books, horror, science fiction with tags , , , , , , , on July 29, 2010 by jason nahrung

    macabre an anthology of australian horror stories

    Two quick links to tease your wallet:

    Aurealis releases a set of “classic Australian SF” novels (published originally 1880s-1930s; I suspect the SF is speculative fiction rather than pure science fiction) with introductions by some of the today’s best talent.

    And Macabre, a door-stopper of a volume that showcases Australian horror stories from yore to now. Due out in September.

    Mmm.

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