★ 08/10/2015
In Wilson’s lush debut, which launches the novella-focused Tor.com imprint, genre strictures are altogether overturned; magic and science and religion are one and the same, and the setting might be our world in the far future or another place altogether. The alien gods and angels left long ago, but their workings and their descendants remain, mingling with low-tech human cultures. Compassionate, lonely Demane is one of the gods’ great-grandchildren, a Storm Bird working as a guard for a merchant caravan. The man he follows, the enigmatic and tortured Captain, also has celestial blood. Demane must strike a balance between his unofficial role as the so-called sorcerer for the caravan and his inescapable heritage, building friendships with his young and ignorant fellow guards while sneaking in brief, tender trysts with the Captain. The Wildeeps is a jungle where the only safe passage is on the magically warded Road. But a man-eating monster is able to evade the wards, and Demane will need the Captain’s help to defeat it. In both narration and dialogue, Wilson wields a multitude of dialects with the brute strength and consummate skill of the Captain wielding his spear: “Always up in some damn water tryna warsh” and “superluminal travel is noncorporeal” and “she dragged herself airborne off turbulent chop” keep unabashed company, defying the reader to legitimize one over another. This rich, delicately crafted world is stocked with vibrant characters (though women appear only in the familial memories and sexual longings of the men) and supports a powerful story told in a delightful series of wrenching moments. (Sept.)
The sci-fi and fantasy genres are filled with arbitrary rules and definitions. That’s okay, because civilization itself is basically a collection of arbitrary rules we all agree to abide by, because the alternative is Mad Max: Fury Road. (Heck even in Mad Max’s future dystopia there are rules, like don’t kidnap Immortan Joe’s pregnant concubines.) These […]
The end of 2015 marks the completion of this blog’s first year of existence, and what a year to start with: we can’t remember the last 12-month period that gave us such a strong run of new science fiction and fantasy books, spanning every subgenre on the shelves. Below, we’ve selected 25 of our favorites—these […]
For years, Tor.com has been a source for daring, original—and free—online short fiction, publishing wonderful, occasionally even Hugo-winning work by both established genre stars and exciting new voices. Which is why we were thrilled when the announcement came earlier this year that Tor.com was launching its own imprint, Tor.com Publishing, with the aim to deliver novella-length […]
During this last week of black history month (and all year round, for that matter), we’re celebrating some of our favorite recent sci-fi and fantasy novels that explore worlds inspired by African nations and traditions, past, present and future. By taking inspiration from the lands, peoples, folklores, and varied histories of Africa, these writers reveal […]