ZNAK SAGITE — više od fantastike — edicija, časopis, knjižara...

Evo knjige koja ima vrlo dobre šanse da bude pri vrhu liste za knjigu godine, samo ako nešto ne zabrlja do kraja.
Prijatno sofisticiran za debi roman, Seed ima odlično pogođen biopank šmek i nudi brutalnu eko-distopiju, u relativno istom pravcu koji su već naznačili Soft Apocalypse, The Games i The Windup Girl... ti debi romani mi najavljuju odličnu skoru budućnost za SF i sve mi nekako toplo oko srca


SEED - Rob Ziegler:

Quote from: Nightflier on 19-08-2012, 11:47:58
Ja sam koristio neku aplikaciju na FBu, ali je prsla i izgubio sam te spiskove knjiga koje sam čitao. Moram priznati da je meni Melkor dao ideju da vodim spisak pročitane fantastike, još 2009, tako da od tada vodim na FBu koristeći Notes. Goodreads mi je simpatičan i zbog mogućnosti pravljenja virtuelnih polica, tako da ja sada popunjavam policu Read in 2012. U nekom trenutku ću napraviti police i za prethodne godine za koje imam evidenciju.

I ja sam koristila tu aplikaciju 

 Dakle, SEED ne samo da nije podbacio do kraja, nego mi sad čak i prednjači među navedenom ekipom od 4 debi romana, smatram da je čak i za mrvu jači od Mehaničke devojke, makar zato što mu je onaj wild imagination deo em uvelike smeliji, em znatno solidnije narativno ukomponovan. Vrlo prijatno iznenađenje, taj Rob Ziegler, mada iz korisničkih rivjua primećujem da ima dosta ljudi koji nije pomeo s nogu kao mene... a najviše me kopka što ima sve manje šanse za dobar hajp jer klizi ispod radara po pitanju nominacija, pošto zvanično spada u kraj 2011.

ne znam kud sa ovim, a ne bih da se opet zaturi, jedva sam to pronašla, ali pošto sad Čarobna knjižara nudi Kantikulum za Lajbovića, neka ovaj tekst posluži makar da ga se setimo pri biranju naslova za sledeći krug u Čitaonici:



A CANTICLE FOR MILLER; or, How I Met Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman but not Walter M. Miller, Jr.
by Terry Bisson








I am a science fiction writer, a dicey business at best.
In November, 1995, I got a call from Don Congdon, a literary agent I knew by reputation but had never met. Congdon's a player. He represents William Styron and Ray Bradbury, among others.
He asked if I had ever heard of a book called A Canticle for Leibowitz. I said yes, I had.
Who hasn't? Canticle is one of the few science fiction books not only known but read outside the field (unlike, say, Dune orStranger in a Strange Land, which render up their pleasures only to those already attuned to the genre). A novel of nuclear anxiety written in the 1950s, it tells the story of an order of monks in the Southwest and their efforts to keep scientific knowledge alive in the new Dark Age after the "Flame Deluge" or nuclear war. Leibowitz Abbey, and the neighboring village of Sanly Bowitz, are both named after a Los Alamos scientist who became a monk, was martyred by a mob and is--just maybe--a saint. Leibowitz was Jewish, the joke of the title.
The first major post-holocaust SF novel, Canticle is a "fix-up" of three related novellas, which cover some two thousand years, during which science is reborn and destroys civilization once again. "It was a good year for the buzzards" is Miller's persistent refrain. He didn't, to put it mildly, believe in Progress.
Since its publication in 1959, Canticle has never been out of print, and has sold millions of copies. It regularly makes high school and college reading lists. Even in Catholic schools.
Don Congdon told me that Canticle's author, Walter M. Miller, Jr., his client, had been working on a sequel for some six or seven years, but the work had "hit a stone wall." Miller was over seventy. His health was bad, and he'd been severely depressed for years. Congdon had suggested hiring a writer/editor to help finish the book and Miller had agreed. Would I be willing to take a look at the manuscript?
I said yes. I was thinking, Hell yes.
Like millions of others, I had read, loved and never forgotten A Canticle for Leibowitz. More to the point, I was looking looking for work. I make half my living through free lance hack work for New York publishers--editing, ghost writing, novelizations, young adult books, cover copy, etc. Some of it is interesting (Car Talk with Click and Clack), some of it dreary (No Names Here). My own most recent novel, Pirates of the Universe, got good reviews, but hadn't made much money. I was full fathom five on my credit cards, the free-lancer's braided plastic lifeline. Understanding this, my good friend (and editor) Alice Turner of Playboy had suggested me for the job, when Congdon had told her of Miller's problems during one of their long, elegant, literary lunches.
I called Alice to thank her, and went by Congdon's office on Fifth Avenue the next morning to pick up the manuscript. I was expecting a mess. The uncompleted, often uncompletable follow-up to the acclaimed bestseller is a sad but common second act in twentieth century American literature. Remember the sequel to Invisible Man? Or Call it Sleep? Or Gone with the Wind, for that matter?
Me neither.
Congdon gave me a box that weighed more than a small dog. I hauled it home before opening it. The manuscript inside was almost 600 pages long! I have been a writer long enough to know what it means to get stuck on a book. You meander, you fiddle, you rewrite--whatever. Miller had described his state to Congdon as like "trying to spit through a screen." So I was expecting, as I said, a mess.
I read all that afternoon and most of that night. I finished the book at ten the next morning. It was brilliant. It was beautiful. It was almost perfect. There wasn't a line or a word out of place. This was no rough draft or heap of fragments, but a seamless, exotic and incredibly rich masterpiece that motored along confidently, elegantly and masterfully for 592 pages--
And then stopped short.
It even had a title: Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman. The story takes place at about the time of the second Canticlenovella, the 34th century. It's told from the point of view of a Leibowitzan monk, Blacktooth, and it concerns the struggle between the Church in Denver, and a rude and violent new empire in Texarkana. Caught in the middle are the mutant "spooks" who live in the hills, and the horse nomads who rule the plains. Guns have just been reinvented, and Blacktooth travels with a worldly cardinal called Brownpony who is secretly arming the spooks and the nomads to fight on the side of the Church. To complicate things there is, of course, a girl: a beautiful, elusive and irreverent young "spook." And there's more. Lots more.
I called Congdon and told him I loved the book and wanted the job. Congdon sent my CV to Miller, who wrote back simply: "I've never heard of this guy but he sounds okay to me." Earlier, he had assured Congdon that "any idiot with a sense of humor can finish this book."
I was in the ball park anyway.
While we waited for the okay from Bantam, Congdon filled me in on some history. Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman had been sold to Lou Aronica at Bantam some seven years before for what publishers politely call "mid six figures." Aronica was long gone, first to Berkley and then Avon, and we needed a go-ahead from Bantam's current leadership for me to finish the project. Most of the money was still unpaid, and it was not certain that they would want the book after all these years. But Congdon was sure he would be able to place it somewhere if need be. So was I.
I cleared my decks for the project. I started taking notes, making plans, getting ready to get to work. I reread Canticle and was amazed how well it held up. Congdon and my agent, Susan Protter, worked out a tentative deal that would get me out of debt. I was to get no credit on the cover, but that was okay with me. People in the genre and in the business would know I had done the job.
We were still waiting to hear from Bantam when Congdon called me over Christmas, saying, "I have some bad news. Walter killed himself yesterday."
I was saddened and dismayed. I was also disappointed. Though I was assured that I would probably still get the job, I had looked forward to meeting Miller and getting his approval of my work. Congdon disabused me of that notion. "I was his agent for forty years and we never met in person."
The family was understandably reluctant to release details of Miller's death, but gradually word leaked out. The irony was sharp: the third section of Canticle is a moving polemic against suicide. There were mixed feelings in the genre. Miller had not been popular. After his initial success he had made enemies, then withdrawn from the SF community altogether. He had a prickly personality. He was estranged from his family as well. The estate was to be handled by his grandaughter, who had made the effort to get to know him. She was an Arafat, raised in Texas with roots in the Middle East. This complex cultural legacy was another irony, perhaps appropriate to a writer who was so deeply conflicted about Catholicism and the West.
Bantam finally gave their approval and I went to work. Miller had left a fairly detailed outline showing where he wanted the book to go. Some of it was in the form of letters to Congdon; some was notes to Aronica and himself, including several scenes complete with dialogue. I wrote the last hundred-odd pages of the book according to Miller's instructions. I used every word of his dialogue and description, and even worked in scraps from Canticle for continuity. Miller was big on repeated images: buzzards, mules, and one old Wandering Jew.
Miller always insisted he was not a "stylist," but that doesn't mean he wrote like Ian Fleming. He was a careful and precise writer, with a dry sense of humor. He strove for clarity, which is not the same as directness. It took a little doing to get into his voice, but once I did, it seemed perfectly natural. I was steeped in the setting and the characters.
As an editor and book doctor, I know how to stay out of the way and make my contribution transparent. I usually do it by writing down--how much more enjoyable to write up, emulating a master! I was playing with Michael Jordan, or at least Larry Bird, and as they say in the NBA, it raised the level of my game.
As I worked on the book, I was very conscious of how lucky I was. Alice Turner's recommendation had gotten me the job without a search, and while I am definitely the right guy, there are several other SF writers who could have done just as well. Michael Bishop, John Kessel and Karen Joy Fowler come immediately to mind. There's also a whole host out there who could have messed it up unspeakably.
As I worked, I fell in love with the book, and oddly enough, with Miller himself. I can't imagine two more dissimilar writers. I am definitely a stylist (at least I like to think so) and my politics are materialist, Marxist and modernist. Miller's history is cyclical (nothing gets better) and his heroes are holy fools. He expects little from people, yet loves and forgives them, over and over--which is what Christianity is all about. I guess.
Five months later the job was done. I turned it in, and it was okayed by the agent and by the family, and finally by Bantam. In the meantime, my editor, Tom Dupree, left (common enough in publishing). I was fortunate in his replacement, Pat LoBrutto, who is not only a solid SF pro, but a literary mensch who was Walter Tevis's editor at Doubleday.
Thanks to Pat (and Congdon), I was allowed to approve the copy-editing and the flap copy. I spent a weeks working out Miller's often puzzling geography, including the location of "New Rome," for Bantam's endpaper maps.
The book comes out in October. It was and still is Miller's book entirely. Whatever I did, I did writing as him; and it is, I hope, transparent. I am pleased and proud to be part of a unique success story with a happy ending. Unlike the long-awaited sequels to Time and Again (Finney is another of Congdon's clients) or Roth's Call it Sleep, Walter M. Miller Jr.'s Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman is a masterpiece in its own right, fully worthy of its author and its predescessor.
It ate him up, but he did it.
I'm only sorry I never got to meet the man I worked with so long and so intensely, even after his death. But that was never in the cards. Lucius Shepard told me a story right after I got the job. When he was living in south Florida, Lucius received a fan letter (an unheard of thing!) from Walt Miller, who lived only a few miles away. It praised his writing at some length. Then, at the bottom, it said: PS: This does not mean I want to meet you!
Good night anyway, sweet prince. And thanks.

"Katja from the Punk Band" Simon Logan

Prava rolllercoaster voznja, bukvalno se cita bez prestanka.

Otprilike ovako:

"Located on a nameless, drug-infested Eastern Bloc island, this grotesque comedy of errors centers on a chemical vial, and the people who fight to get their hands on it. Word has come down through the grapevine that whoever manages to smuggle themselves onto the mainland and deliver the vial to a mysterious man in red will win their ticket out of poverty. Characters include a misfit punk guitarist, a junkie, a couple of drug lords (one of whom is an S&M performance artist), and a battered wife and her lover who are fleeing her abusive husband."

Završio treći deo Mistborna.
Prva dva su mi bila mnogo bolja, nije mi se svidelo razrešenje sa Propašću i Očuvanjem. Likovi su mi postali nekako mehanički, neubedljivi. Stil više nego siromašan. Utisak na kraju trilogije mi je da je Sanderson pisac jakih ideja i imaginacije, ali ne baš snažnog stila-daleko je čini mi se iza Martina, Džordana, Eriksona... ili mi je takav utisak zbog trećeg dela koji mi je nekako kao na silu odrađen. Čini mi se da je u ovoj trilogiji prva knjiga, Poslednje carstvo, bila najbolja.

Nakon poprilične letnje pauze, sa tek pokojom pročitanom knjigom, sada dolaze lepši dani. Polica mi je pretrpana knjigama koje čekaju da se pročitaju  . Kingov Dalas sam počeo, i obećava. Standardno, doza misterije, doza opisa svega i svačega, od junaka do klope, novca i garderobe-dovoljno da vam svet iz prošlosti oživi pred očima. Još kad se pojavio Deri, mojoj sreći nije bilo kraja. Završio Aberkrombijeva Vešala. Razumem zašto se dobro prodaje-čovek dobro piše, uspeo je čak i inkvizitora koji muči ljude da učini simpatičnim. Čeka me Osmatrač mrtvih od Džulije V.Džouns, meni jedne od nekoliko najačih autora žanra. Tu je i Oluja na obzorju od Džordana; peti deo Sage o Geraltu od Sapkovskog. Ako uskoro izađe i treći deo Eriksonovog Malazana...ne znam kad ću stići sve to pročitati...Mesecima nije bilo skoro ništa, a onda su nas sad u nekoliko dana izbombardovali odličnim naslovima.

"Sećanja na led" neće pre Nove godine, a i to na mišiće. Inače, roman u prevodu ima 1200 šlajfni, tako da će biti deljen na dve knjige.

The Twelve je... uh, uh. Slab. Bas jako slab. Masivan i glomazan i uzasavajuce nezanimjiv u prvoj petini, nema ama bas nista da ponudi osim pipave reciklaze prvog dela, a i to radi em traljavo em neodlucno, kao da ni sam nije nacisto sta bi trebalo da se naglasi a sta da se ignorise. Najenergicniji likovi iz prvog dela sad mrcvare sebe i nas nekakvim sacuvaj me boze naivnim unutrasnjim monolozima, ono malo akcionih scena nit' ima svrhe nit' ikakvog smisla, 'nova biblija' zapisi koji bi, kao, trebalo da predstavljaju Genezu za novi svet su u najmanju ruku bleskasto naivni, i sve tako u krug. Kad se sve zbroji i oduzme, sad sam vec ubedjena da je i prakticnije i bolje bataliti citanje i sacekati ekranizaciju.

Evo da prijavim, kao što rekoh koleginici Jevtropijević, da sam ne samo počeo nego i završio moju prvu knjigu Džina Vulfa.

Odmah ću priznati da je nisam pročitao celu, već, pošto je u pitanju The Fifth Head of Cerberus, samo prvu i treću novelu, dok sam onu u sredini preskočio jer me je smorila. Da, došao sam u te godine kad čovek prizna sebi da ne mora baš svako slovo u knjizi da pročita, osim ako je pitanju roman. Ali ne brinite, pogledao sam na netu šta se u njoj dešava i kako je povezana sa druge dve. -.-

U svakom slučaju, previše bi bilo reći da sam oduševljen, ali sam vrlo prijatno iznenađen. Prvi utisak mi je bio da je ovo, ako zanemarimo recimo Balarda i Gibsona, sigurno najbolje napisana fantastika koju sam ja ikad čitao. Što, istina, možda pre svedoči o tome koliko sam malo fantastike čitao! Dakle stil mi se dopȏ, pa ta atmosfera koju on gradi dešavanja na planetama bliznakinjama, pa onda... mislim, ja nisam neki fan tih momenata gde čitalac treba da izigrava detektiva i provali "šta se zaista desilo", ali kako on šeretski droppuje clueove! <3 Baš me lepo kupio.

Gledaću da u relativno bliskoj budućnosti nabavim i ono drugo s čim ste mi preporučili da počnem, The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories.

A do tad, next up - Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. -.-

Quote from: Father Jape on 31-10-2012, 09:12:04
Prvi utisak mi je bio da je ovo, ako zanemarimo recimo Balarda i Gibsona, sigurno najbolje napisana fantastika koju sam ja ikad čitao.

Ispravno!

Ima dakle još nade za mlade naraštaje, navijamo!

Drugi deo Pete glave Kerbera je mnogo bolji od prvog i trećeg.

Posle Galaktičkog središta koje sam izgleda pročitao prekasno za svoje godine ili prekasno za današnje vreme, uzeo sam u ruke ''Legende sa kraja vremena'' od Murkoka, i uživao u nečemu što je trebalo da bude satirična palpčina a ispala je intelektualna satirična palpčina. Ondak sam dao drugu šansu Budjavici i pročitao Krhotine časti i Barajar u cugu, i ovog puta uživao jer sam se spremio za mediokritetnu a ipak zabavnu neobavezujuću prozu, dobio upravo to...i nisam se bunio ovog puta. A onda sam pročitao domaći zadatak za ovaj mesec, Dišov ''Logor koncentracije'' i još sabirem utiske, ali mi je svaka rečenica ove knjižice od 140 strana udarala u glavu jače nego  3000 strana prethodno spomenutih.

To ti je Diš... Od njega boli glava...

QuoteDa, došao sam u te godine kad čovek prizna sebi da ne mora baš svako slovo u knjizi da pročita, osim ako je pitanju roman.

Au, bre, Father Jape, mnogo si mlad došao do tog stadijuma...


Ja bih se zabrinuo... 

Cao ljudi, hteo bih da vas upitam dali neko zna mozda prevod za triologiju The Night Angel, bakcem se 3 sata trazit na netu al niesam te srece da nadjem. Ako neka zna molim vas zarko zelim citat ovu knjigu pa mi javite u inbox il ovde ako neko ima prevod. Unapred hvala

Mislim da nećeš ni naći na srpskom jeziku.

At the Mouth of the Rivers of Bees: Stories, Kij Johnson.

Oću i ja ovako da pišem! 

Sjajna zbirka priča. SF, fantastika, nadrealno, bajke, eksperimenti... Pri kraju sam, i još nisam naišla ni na jednu priču koju bih nazvala lošom, mada ne bih ni svaku nazvala sjajnom. Garant ću u nekom trenutku čitati još nešto njeno - ako je neko već čitao, kakvi su joj romani u odnosu na priče? Naročito oni koji su zasnovani na pričama? Malko me strah da Fudoki ne bude razočaranje u odnosu na The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles.

Quote from: angel011 on 28-11-2012, 15:26:26

Oću i ja ovako da pišem! 

Uzmi pelcer!

Da ne dužim priču da li bi bio neko ljubazan da ukaratko oceni kvalitet prevoda Murkokovog književnog opusa objavljenog kod nas.

Znam da je Plava ptica objavila:
Elrika:
Plava ptica, br. 37 murkok-erlik od melnibonea
Plava ptica, br. 54.majkl murkok-mornar na moru sudbine
Plava ptica, br. 69.majkl murkok-zla kob belog vuka
Plava ptica, br. 87.majkl murkok-kula koja iščezava

Kao i Viteza sudbine:
Plava ptica, vanredno izdanje   1980 Majkl Murkok ČAROBNA PALICA
Plava ptica, vanredno izdanje   1980 Majkl Murkok AMAJLIJA LUDOG BOGA
Plava ptica, vanredno izdanje 1980 Majkl Murkok MAČ PRASKOZORJA
Plava ptica, vanredno izdanje   1980 Majkl Murkok   DRAGULJ NA ČELU

Pročitao sam na ZS da su navedene knjige katastrofalno prevedene i nemalo oskaćane izbacivanjem pojedinih delova knjiga za koje je procenjeno da nisu podobni za čitaoce.

E sada, znam da je prve tri knjige Elrik sage objavila i Nova knjiga, ali nisam siguran da li se njihov prevod razlikuje od prevoda Plave ptice, i ako se razlikuje, da li je to pomak na bolje ili, pak, na gore. Zato mi treba neko ko je imao u rukama izdanja oba izdavača.

Ista stvar sa Vitezom sudbine. Koliko sam razumeo Alnari je 2004. god objedinio sve knjige u jednu, ali ponovo ne znam da li su upotrebili prevod Plave ptice ili sopstveni.

Pored ovih, znam, da je kod nas prevedeno i delo Behold the man, negde kao "Gle čoveka", a negde kao "Evo čoveka". Koji je prevod po vama bolji i od kog izdavača.

Kod nas su prevedene i "Legende sa kraja vremena", izdavač Moć knjige, ali o kvalitetu tog prevoda nema nikakvih komentara, tako da bi zamolio nekoga da prokomentariše.

Ukratko, koji izdavač je po vama najbolje preveo Murkoka kod nas (npr. Elrik saga da li je bolja Plava ptica ili Nova knjiga, Vitez sudbine da li je bolja Plava ptica ili Alnari)...

Pričalo se da će se Murkokova dela reizdavati (IPS valjda), ali da je zapelo kod autorskih prava, nešto u smislu da Murkokovi agenti više ne prodaju prava na izdavanje negovih dela van Amerike...

Hvala....

Ima neko da prepourci neku epsku fantaziju? Il nesto slicno knjizi Ime Vetra, Strah Mudroga?

Plava ptica nije katastrofalno prevedena, kolko se sećam ti prevodi su ok, ali Elrik jeste prilagođavan uzrastu.

Šta je Nova knjiga? Izdala ga je posle Narodna knjiga - Alfa 2004. i to su prevodi iz Plave ptice. Isto važi i za Viteza sudbine. Sa te strane ti je dake svejedno, nije da imaš nekog izbora.

"Legende" je prevodio ABN, ne znam kako se izborio.

"Evo čoveka" je Živković, to bi trebalo da je pristojno. Davno beše.

Evo ti potpuniji spisak naslova.

Quote from: zakk on 29-11-2012, 15:50:49
Plava ptica nije katastrofalno prevedena, kolko se sećam ti prevodi su ok, ali Elrik jeste prilagođavan uzrastu.

Šta je Nova knjiga? Izdala ga je posle Narodna knjiga - Alfa 2004. i to su prevodi iz Plave ptice. Isto važi i za Viteza sudbine. Sa te strane ti je dake svejedno, nije da imaš nekog izbora.

"Legende" je prevodio ABN, ne znam kako se izborio.

"Evo čoveka" je Živković, to bi trebalo da je pristojno. Davno beše.

Evo ti potpuniji spisak naslova.

Dakle jedan te isti prevod svi vrte. To nije ono što sam želeo da čujem, ali šta je tu je...

Lapsus Narodna knjiga a ne Nova....

Hvala na pojašnjenju.

Molim vas hitno bi mi trebalo dali ima prevod na srpski,hrvatski za ove knjige, i ove triologije:
-Shaman (Noah Gordon) The Cole Family Triology knjiga druga
-Matters of Choice (Noah Gordon) The Cole Family Triology knjiga treca

-The Broken Empire series (Mark Lawrence)

-The Queens Blade series (T.C Southwell)

-Lightbringer triology (Brent Weeks)

-The Night Angel triology (Brent Weeks)

-Symphony of Ages series (Elizabeth Haydon)

Molim vas odgovorite mi sto pre moguce, hvala

Takodje ako ima prevod i za
Shadowdance series, The Palladins, The Watcher's Blade sve od David Dalgish-a, hvala unapred opet

PS: Inace sam trazio svugde al  ne znam nijedan sajt gde mogu naci prevode za ove knjige il tako nesto a ako ih nema nema veze barem cu ih citati na engleskom, ali reko da pitam i ovde valjda ce neko znati ^^

Pogledaj na http://www.nb.rs/pages/article_link.php?id=109 i http://katalog.nsk.hr/ da li je uopšte objavljeno.

Pa evo gledao sam npr za The Night Angel triology , prva knjiga The Way of Shadows koja je objavljena 2008 i nmz da je nadje :S , onda sam probao The Wise Man's Fear takodje ga nije nasao, il ja pogresno trazim il nzm.. nego ako neko mozda zna bio bih mu zahvalan kad bi mi rekao ono sto sam trazio za jedan od tih naslova ...

Ako ga ne nalazi onda nije objavljeno na srpskom/hrvatskom pa prevod i nećeš naći.

Al zasto mi nije nasao onda The Wise Mans Fear, ta knjiga je uradjena i ja je imam (nju sam ukucao u pretrazivac cisto da vidim kao primer i nije ju nasao) prevedenu. :S

Meni nalazi i kad stavim da traži po autorima Rotfus, ili po naslovu originala Wise Man's Fear. Nešto pogrešno radiš.

Ballardova apokaliptična trilogija* - The Drowned World, The Crystal World i The Burning World - s tim što sam Potopljeni svet čitao još ranije u prevodu, a sad sam ga reprizirao u originalu; trenutno sam u Kristalnom svetu...

* tetralogija, ako se uračuna i njegov prvi roman The Wind from Nowhere, koga se Ballard kasnije odrekao, ja sam ga obdareno prelistavao™ i to stvarno deluje znatno slabije i konvencionalnije od kasnijih dela.

The Year's Best Science Fiction Crosses Galaxies And Genres   
by Annalee Newitz


This was a good year for cross-genre pollination. It was packed with brilliant books that stretched the boundaries of what counts as science fiction and fantasy — and even what counts as fiction itself. Authors like Ken MacLeod and G. Willow Wilson spun tales that begin as near-future dystopian science fiction, only to turn abruptly into fantastical tales of supernatural creatures. Call it magical cyberpunk realism.

We also witnessed a strong resurgence of political themes in genre fiction, as Maureen McHugh and Kim Stanley Robinson explored what it means to be part of a civilization on the brink of transformation or collapse.
Here are six of the year's best works of science fiction and fantasy — two of which were favorites from our summer list, too.

          2312  by Kim Stanley Robinson
                   Hardcover, 561 pages

   

A sweeping space opera

,2312 is about what happens to humanity once we've truly conquered the solar system. Humans have colonized most of the planets and moons in our local volume of space, and it's the end of an interplanetary age of exploration. Political powers are consolidating their territories — China and India are vying to control Venus, while a host of newer states from Mercury and the outer planets are in conflict over who controls access to powerful mirrors that beam solar energy out to Saturn and beyond. Thanks to advances in biological and geological engineering, humans are reshaping their bodies and remolding entire planets to be more hospitable for our kind of life. Meanwhile, a performance artist, a diplomat, a detective and a scientist are trying to figure out who — or what — destroyed Mercury's biggest city by hurling millions of tiny micro-meteorites at it with seemingly inhuman precision. 2312 is a kind of murder mystery, wrapped in a gorgeous astropolitical epic — that is also a love story. Unashamedly utopian, yet scientifically plausible, 2312 explores what it means to be human, even as our species transforms itself into an entirely new kind of animal.

              After the Apocalypse Stories  by Maureen F. McHugh
                                                         Paperback, 264 pages 

 

This collection of short stories by Hugo Award-winning author Maureen McHugh is also about humanity on the brink of massive change — but not the kind of epic, transcendent one that Kim Stanley Robinson imagines i

n2312. These near-future stories imagine a future where the U.S. economy has tanked and dirty bombs are a regular feature of the urban landscape. As the world careens dangerously close to complete ruin, McHugh trains her unflinching eye on psychological catastrophes far more devastating than any prion disease pandemic. Her careful, small character studies take place against the dramatic backdrop of mutating national borders, and the rapid decay of American democracy into totalitarianism — or Chinese communism into crazy entrepreneurialism. Nevertheless, McHugh reminds us that human beings, no matter how changed their social circumstances, will always be riven by neurosis, greed and the kind of moral emptiness that can only be achieved by a species that claims to be otherwise. Disturbing but mesmerizing, the stories in After the Apocalypse will creep into your unconscious and haunt you for weeks.


              Intrusion  by Ken MacLeod
                             Hardcover, 387 pages   

Brilliant Scottish writer Ken MacLeod brings the U.K. into a near future that echoes McHugh's in many ways — the economy is sagging, and previously democratic societies are closing up into police states. In London, where Hope and Hugh are raising a family, women are being bullied by the medico-surveillance state into taking "the Fix." This is a pill that corrects a number of genetic abnormalities in children, and the newly pregnant Hope doesn't want to take it — for reasons that bring her and Hugh under government suspicion. When a news story about Hope's choice grabs the attention of a politically minded graduate student, we are plunged into a tale of biotech intrigue and — surprisingly — supernatural barbarians. Their whole lives, Hugh and his son have had visions of another world. This may be the "Bright Land" of Scottish lore, or it may be something related to an odd genetic mutation that both of them share. It's testimony to MacLeod's power as a storyteller that he's able to juggle themes as disparate as state oppression, biotech intrigue and epic fantasy. Ultimately, it's a story of the many phases our civilizations pass through as they rise and fall, making the same old mistakes but occasionally making brand-new ones. Right now,

              Alif the Unseen  by G. Willow Wilson
                                      Hardcover, 433 pages   

Lik

e Intrusion, Alif the Unseen is a novel that straddles the line between high-tech political thriller and epic fantasy. Alif is a hacker in a near-future Middle Eastern city that looks and sounds very much like Cairo — a city where G. Willow Wilson has lived for much of the past decade. There, Alif works as a hacker for hire, helping pornographers and subversive bloggers alike maintain their anonymity in a world of futuristic cyber-surveillance and closed regimes locked in ancient political struggles. While dodging the authorities, Alif comes across a book that could be a magical text of great power, or could be the key to building a quantum computer. Either way, the government wants it. After he's detained and tortured by state police, Alif escapes — only to be trapped in the world of the magical djinn. It turns out that the spirit world has Wi-Fi, and some of the local demons need tech support for their crummy Dell computers. Trapped between two authoritarian regimes — one in the spirit world and one in his home city — Alif must cook up his greatest hack yet. Wilson's work blends magic realism and cyberpunk to explore a region of the world that is far more diverse and complex than any nonfiction book about "the clash of civilizations" could ever admit.
              All Yesterdays Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals  by Darren Naish, John Conway and C. M. Koseman           
                                    Paperback, 100   

This is a book unlike any other you've read. Written as a collaboration between paleontologist Darren Naish and the incredible artists C.M. Koseman and John Conway, it's half art book, half speculative paleontology, and half pure science fiction. That's right, it's 150 percent of a book

. All Yesterdays is about how wrong our visions of dinosaurs have been, based on new evidence from the fossil record — as well as common sense gleaned from looking at how little an animal's skeleton really tells us about how that animal looks and behaves. We're treated to a skeptical engagement with typical depictions of dinosaurs — Why do we assume they had spines rather than humps? Why do we always depict them as lean and muscular rather than immensely fat? Why don't we ever imagine Tyrannosaurus rex resting or having sex? — that help us realize how poorly we've imagined the incredible weirdness and diversity of life on Earth during the Cretaceous Period. Plus, the final section of the book is devoted to imagining how a dinosaur paleontologist would depict us and our animal companions, based entirely on our skeletons. Funny, gorgeously illustrated and daringly speculative, this is the kind of book that comes along only once in a generation. Of course, All Yesterdays will teach you something new about dinosaurs — but more importantly, it's a reminder that imagination may be the most important ingredient in scientific and historical discovery.


            The Cold Commands  by Richard K. Morgan
                            =                Hardcover, 496 pages   

Normally we wouldn't include the second book in a series in a best-of list, but we're making an exception. Picking up right after its predecessor

, The Steel Remains, The Cold Commands is an epic fantasy for the 21st century. Protagonist Ringil is a gay warrior whose swordsmanship is legendary — when he's not struggling with PTSD from the biotech dragon wars, or having sex with a magical alien from another dimension. In The Cold Commands, we realize that all the enchanted creatures and objects on Ringil's world are, in fact, remnants of an interstellar civilization that has fallen into medieval feudalism and superstition. For those who like their fantasy served raw, this provides terrifically fast-paced, extremely smart escapism.
 

Time magazine has announced its top 10 lists for 2012. Works of genre interest on the Fiction list include The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne Valente,  The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, and This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/12/04/top-10-arts-lists/slide/junot-diaz-this-is-how-you-lose-her/

Kirkus

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/2012-best-of/section/fiction/

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/lists/best-fiction-2012-science-fiction-fantasy/

Slate

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/best_books_of_2012_gone_girl_beautiful_forevers_bring_up_the_bodies_wild.html

 Brate, alaj ljude vole uvek i svuda da pohitaju... svake godine im decembarska produkcija skroz klizne kroz prste. 






Elem, već kad smo pri temi, tužna srca saopštavam da me je Varlijeva Slow Apocalypse temeljito razočarala. Fina premisa – iz osvete za 9/11 manmade virus reaguje sa naslagama sirove nafte i pretvara ih u neupotrebljiv i opasan zapaljiv materijal - je baš obećavala, ali Varli kao da je izgubio svoj mađik tač: karakterizacija je užasno beživotna, i stereotipna, i predvidljiva, i trivijalna, i neubedljiva, i toliko papirnata da čak i najsmisleniji dijalozi 'zvuče' kao da su namenjeni amaterskom teatru a ne žanrovskoj prozi. Osim intrigantnog prologa, sve u prvoj polovini knjige je nekako isforsirano i izvetrelo i mlako i bljutavo, ko kisela voda treći dan u čaši... daću mu još stotinjak strana, na konto davne ljubavi i poverenja, ali čak i da izvede nekakav drastični U-turn, neće moći da nadoknadi razočarenje u prvoj polovini knjige. Jednostavno, vidi se da je neinspirisan i tu nikakvi zanatski trikovi ne pomažu. Šteta. 

Dakle, šta reći za Bowl of Heaven... pa, najpre da potvrđuje ama baš sve zamerke koje bi imao Berserker. 


Ali sve.
A da stvar bude... komplikovanija, roman do svoje polovine ne uspeva da se konsoliduje na jačim stranama i Benforda i Nivena - ne uspeva da prebaci težište na protagoniste, ne uspeva da ih u potpunosti oživi i da čitaoca veže za njih. Najpre zato što se silno bavi tehnikalijama (fenomen o kom roman govori uveden je vrlo rano, pa glavnina teksta odlazi na to detaljisanje), a onda i zato što samih protagonista ima malčice previše, pa se energija rasipa na pojedinačna predstavljanja, iako je već jasno da će se sam spotlajt karakterizacije na kraju uglavnom primiriti na jednom muškarcu i odabranici srca njegovog.    Dakle, početak se doima spor i vrlo, vrlo didaktičan, a svi su izgledi da će takav biti i središnji deo u kom se postavlja zaplet. A taj zaljubljeni par protagonista (a nisu ni u braku! jaoj, konsternacije!  ) odiše ljubavlju toliko platonskom, toliko službeno svrhovitom i toliko sterilizovanom od svake primese erotike, da čovek prosto ne može a da se ne smeši dok čita tekst koji saopštava dubine te veze i intimnosti. Sasvim je jasno da ni Nivena ni Benforda nije, a bogami nikada ni neće okrznuti nikakava, pa ni ona najsitnija i najbenignija posthumanistička dilemica: ne, ne, oni svoje protagoniste otpravljaju na međuzvezdano putovanje u trajanju od pet vekova, pet! PET!, u hibernacijskim kapsulama iz Odiseje 2001!   


I u tome je glavni problem Benforda i Nivena, bar što se ovog romana tiče: oni jednostavno nisu u toku sa žanrom, njihov futurizam je zamrznut u verziji koju su ponudile rane 70te i tu nikakvog leka nema, Bowl of Heaven se čita i mora se čitati kao roman napisan upravo tada.


E sad, ko to može, taj će najverovatnije u romanu i uživati.

Stidljivo priznajem da sam tek sada procitao "Ostrva u Mrezi" Brusa Sterlinga. Posto je u pitanju jedan od rodonacelnika cyberpunk pokreta jak teoreticar blabla... ocekivao sam Gibsona u nekom drugacijem ruhu.  I jeste bilo drugacije, u negativnom smislu. I opet mi je zao sto nisam ovo citao onda kad je izdato, i kad je mozda jos imalo smisla. Danas je ova knjiga pregazena u svakom smislu. Da se razumemo, nekakvu umetnicku vrednost ne verujem da je imala ni pre 20 god. Nisam znao da je Sterling tako slab u izrazavanju. Cesto umesto opisivanja neke scene dobijemo sazetak, otprlike ono sto pisac misli, ali ne ume drugacije da nam prenese osim bukvalno (recimo, recenica: ''brzo, eksplozivno kucanje. Pogledala je vrata. Odvratna, smrdljiva boja. Jos jedno apokalipticno kucanje.") Po meni je ovo znak slabog izrazavanja, vidjao sam ovaj stil par puta kod priucenih pisaca, ali nisam ocekivao da ovo vidim i kod toliko izvikanog Sterlinga.
Tehnicka postava knjige je blago receno naivna. Naravno da nisam ocekivao neko prorocanstvo ali postavka novog svetskog poretka kako ga Sterling ovde zamislja je blago receno neverovatno naivna i logicki neodrziva. Da ne spominjem da bi u poredjenju sa crnovidjenjem Gibsona prosla kao Ciciban VS Matrix. Svet u kome je doslo do globalnog razoruzanja, Amerikanci ne drze licno oruzje, ne psuju, politicki su korektni i zdravo se hrane, cak su im i korporacije organizovane kao hipi komune, dok su zemlje treceg sveta one koje vrse tehnoloske proboje... ma daj, gde je tu logika ?!? Svet u kome nijednom kriminalcu, cak i kad je psihopata, ne pada na pamet da siluje zensko, cak i mu ona sama dodje na gajbu i onesvesti se, ili svet u kome zatvorski cuvari za 2 godine nijednom ne pokusaju da je siluju ili isprebijaju... aman, ona je citava i neogrebana prezivela 2 meseca na podmornici sa muskom posadom koja zensko nije videla godinama, da bi joj na kraju jedan clan posade prebacio da je vise gledala drugu smenu podmornicara od njihove. Uopste je Sterlingov odnos prema ovom svetu prilicno infantilan, aseksualan i meni vrlo ljigavo politicki korektan. Ne kapiram ustvari po cemu je ova knjiga zasluzila bilo kakvu nagradu, osim ako su ugadjali amerima koji su prvi put predstavljeni u nekoj knjizi kao nevinasca u poredjenju sa ostatkom sveta...
PS
ova knjiga je napisana maltene 90-ih godina, kada je internet i kompjutersko umrezavanje vec postajalo uobicajena stvar. Ovde bilo kakva forma takve mrezne komunikacije ne postoji, mreza o kojoj se govori u naslovu knjige je televizijsko-telefonska mreza. Ma dosta je i ovoliko od mene, stvarno mi je zao sto nisam citao ovu knjigu pre 20 godina, danas je ona poptuno prevazidjena u svakom pogledu, ne zasluzuje cak ni ovo kratko pisanije a kamoli citanje.

Ja sam skoro pročitao Lavkraftovu ,,U planinama ludila'', i moram priznati, nije me nešto oborila s nogu. Možda sam se posle Nekronomikona malo i zasitio Lavkrafta ; biće da su tu ipak zastupljeni zaista njegovi najbolji radovi. Ok su planine, ali sve mi je nekako bilo predvidivo ; i Stari i da se priča gura na bazi gomile opisa, da je malo nekih međuljudskih odnosa...
Na kraju, njegovi najbolji radovi su mi ostali Snovi u veštičjoj kući, Senka iznad Insmuta, Festival, Boja izvan ovog svemira...

Berserkeru, čoveče, ima li neka knjiga da ti se dopala?

Pa čekaj da uzme nešto dobro. 

Quote from: Anomander Rejk on 23-12-2012, 11:20:03
Ja sam skoro pročitao Lavkraftovu ,,U planinama ludila'', i moram priznati, nije me nešto oborila s nogu. Možda sam se posle Nekronomikona malo i zasitio Lavkrafta ; biće da su tu ipak zastupljeni zaista njegovi najbolji radovi. Ok su planine, ali sve mi je nekako bilo predvidivo ; i Stari i da se priča gura na bazi gomile opisa, da je malo nekih međuljudskih odnosa...

anomanderu, ti si abnormalno nedarovit za književnost! sa tvojim talentom za pisanje i čitanje može samo vrt da se okopava!

Quote from: Father Jape on 24-12-2012, 14:22:09
Pa čekaj da uzme nešto dobro. 

+1
A mene raduju stvari tipa "Ciciban vs Matriks", šta ću, ko me zasmeje kupio me.

Quote from: Alexdelarge on 24-12-2012, 14:22:59

Quote from: Anomander Rejk on 23-12-2012, 11:20:03
Ja sam skoro pročitao Lavkraftovu ,,U planinama ludila'', i moram priznati, nije me nešto oborila s nogu. Možda sam se posle Nekronomikona malo i zasitio Lavkrafta ; biće da su tu ipak zastupljeni zaista njegovi najbolji radovi. Ok su planine, ali sve mi je nekako bilo predvidivo ; i Stari i da se priča gura na bazi gomile opisa, da je malo nekih međuljudskih odnosa...

anomanderu, ti si abnormalno nedarovit za književnost! sa tvojim talentom za pisanje i čitanje može samo vrt da se okopava!

Quote from: zakk on 24-12-2012, 14:17:18
Berserkeru, čoveče, ima li neka knjiga da ti se dopala?

e stvarno i ja nekako nadjem da ispisem ovde samo kad mi se neka knjiga posebno ne dopadne. A u medjuvremenu sam procitao i dve stvari koje su me odusevile: Pekicevo "Besnilo" i "Starfish" by Peter Watts po predlogu libe. Evo svecano obecavam da cu nabaciti i nesto o njima, mada Besnilu i ne treba reklama, ali Starfish je jako prijatno iznenadjenje btw - kriv sam i za "Logor koncentracoije" koji sam procitao u medjuvremenu (4ti put za poslednjih 10 godina) i koji mi je opet jako lepo legao, ali sam se sramio da nesto vise napisem o tome, eto to su vec 3 knjige nasuprot ovih nekolko po kojima sam opleo...


Mene knjiga uglavnom razocara kad ocekujem nesto mnogo vise unapred. Recimo posle Gibsonovog Neuromancera (koji inace i dan danas ostaje sasvim aktuelan za razliku od naivno-drugarske vizije sveta Sterlinga), trazeci okolo naokolo naleteo sam na Zelene dane u Bruneju. Ne znajuci sta da ocekujem, od meni nepoznatog pisca (Sterling btw) lepo sam se zabavio iako mi je prica servirala nesto sasvim drugacije nego sto sam ocekivao posle darkera Gibsona. Posle ovoliko godina i pricanja o Sterlingu stvarno nisam ocekivao ovako naivnu pricicu, naivno vidjenje sveta, ma u sustini tri puta sam gledao wikipediju da proverim da li je to stvarno pisao covek od (tada) skoro 40 leta, a ne neki klinja od 15 godinica koji inace zensko nije video (sto je manje vise ocigledno po napadnom izbegavanju seksa u knjizi).

Jevtra je mozda u pravu, da sam ovoj knjizi prisao iz nekog drugog ugla, sa manje ocekivanja, mozda bi me i zabavila, otprlike kao sto mi je Zil Vern jako zabavan bas zato sto skoro nista nije pogodio u svojim knjigama. Ali nisam ocekivao ovo, a nisam ni hteo da se zabavljam, hteo sam da osetim neki kunst koji inace cyberpunk pokrece u meni. Kad ono...ciciban...e zato mi se nije dopalo. Iz istog razloga znam da ce mi se dopasti Gamiz/vir svetova jer necu ocekivati Tolkina ili Donaldsona nego omladinsku zabavnu epiku:) Pristrasan sam, jeste, sta da radim kad mi knjizevnost nije posao vec hobi

Evo prilike da direktno pripitaš Brusa Sterlinga:

http://www.40kbooks.com/?p=13710

http://www.nb.rs/pages/article.php?id=23418

Листа 25 најчитанијих књига у народним библиотекама у Србији за 2012.

Наслов Аутор Издавач Место издавања Година Број поена Гласало библиотека 1 Писмо госпође Вилме Јелена Бачић-Алимпић Лагуна Београд 2012 3430 56 2 Година прође, дан никад :дневник једне робије Жарко Лаушевић Новости Београд 2011 3400 52 3 Дуге ноћи и црне заставе Дејан Стојиљковић Лагуна Београд 2012 3190 49 4 Рингишпил Јелена Бачић-Алимпић Лагуна Београд 2010 2370 36 5 Сјај у оку звезде Љиљана Хабјановић-Ђуровић Глобосино Београд 2012 2250 38 6 Mein Kampf Светислав Басара Лагуна Београд 2011 2070 31 7 Симеонов печат Вања Булић Лагуна Београд 2012 1930 36 8 Бернардијева соба : за глас (контратенор) и оркестар Слободан Тишма Културни центар Новог Сада Нови Сад 2011 1230 15 9 Via Romana Вук Драшковић Новости Београд 2012 1180 18 10 Смрт је непровјерена гласина Емир Кустурица Новости Београд 2010 1170 16 11 Ти си мени све Весна Дедић-Милојевић Лагуна Београд 2012 1140 18 12 Заувек у срцу Весна Дедић-Милојевић Лагуна Београд 2010 1030 15 13 Дуговечност : комендија del arte Светислав Басара Лагуна Београд 2012 990 12 14 Сунце мени, сунце теби Весна Дедић-Милојевић Чигоја штампа : Медиа Београд 2011 900 16 15 Bonavia Драган Великић Лагуна Београд 2012 860 11 16 Кинеска освета Дејан Лучић Диагонале Београд 2011 630 10 17 Венеција Владимир Пиштало Агора Зрењанин 2011 540 7 18 Оно што одувек желиш Гордана Ћирјанић Народна књига - Алфа Београд 2010 500 7 19 Капија Балкана : брзи водич кроз прошлост Београда Светлана Велмар-Јанковић Стубови културе Београд 2011 470 5 20 Посредник грешнима : роман Зоран В. Момчиловић З. Момчиловић Прокупље 2011 400 7 21 Бремасони Мирјана Ђурђевић Лагуна Београд 2011 370 5 22 Блиставо и страшно. Део 2 Беким Фехмиу СамиздатБ92 Београд 2012 370 4 23 Кад је свет имао бркове Ана Радмиловић Лагуна Београд 2011 310 4 24 У име љубави : роман о снази љубави и храбрости да се њена моћ искуси Ивана Кузмановић Лагуна Београд 2012 260 5 25 Просјакиња Марица Поповић Плави феникс Обреновац 2012 260 4

Податке доставило 143 библиотеке

Horor!

Čini mi se da su zaboravili da naglase da se radi o listi najčitanijih knjiga domaćih pisaca, a valjda je prave zbog one nagrade za najčitaniju knjigu koju su prepravili u nagradu za najbolju knjigu, jer im se nije dopalo da nagradu daju Habjanovićevoj a kasnije ni Alimpićevoj, nego će s ove liste izabrati neki njima prihvatljiviji naslov, ako već nisu. 

Quote from: Dacko on 04-03-2013, 19:37:08
Čini mi se da su zaboravili da naglase da se radi o listi najčitanijih knjiga domaćih pisaca, a valjda je prave zbog one nagrade za najčitaniju knjigu koju su prepravili u nagradu za najbolju knjigu, jer im se nije dopalo da nagradu daju Habjanovićevoj a kasnije ni Alimpićevoj, nego će s ove liste izabrati neki njima prihvatljiviji naslov, ako već nisu.

Posle ljudi pričaju da je Dobrica otac nacije. Ma, Јелена Бачић-Алимпић je keva nacije!

Pogledajte knjige na 20. i 25. mestu. Nikad nisam čula za pisce do juče, mali izdavači, verovatno mali tiraži... E, to su čisti slučajevi usmene preporuke i narodskog podzemnog hita, to je ono što čitaoci biraju kad su im odrešene ruke. Guglajte malo kao što sam ja juče popodne, pa... pa se vratite ovamo.

Marica Popovic i Jelena Bacic 2005

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