Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

May 11, 2014

Slippery Landscapes

A review of Kate Storey’s Blasted (Killick Press, 2008). By Derek Newman-Stille Steeped in the rich fairy lore of Newfoundland and a sense of longing for home, Kate Story’s Blasted is a novel about dislocation. Story’s stream of consciousness style of writing beautifully enhances the sense of temporal and special dislocation represented by movement through and slippage into fairy realms....

Fiction Book Reviews Comment: 1

May 9, 2014

Speculating Canada on Trent Radio Episode 2: An Interview with Chadwick Ginther and Discussion of his Work

In this episode of Speculating Canada on Trent Radio, check out an interview with Winnipeg author Chadwick Ginther where he discusses his Thunder Road trilogy. In our interview we talk about notions of heroism and villainy, moral ambiguities, the interplay of Canadian legends and Norse myths, the landscape, urban fantasy and horror. After our interview, I get a chance to...

On Air Comments: 2

May 7, 2014

Is it Literary if it has Social Commentary?

A review of OnSpec #95 vol 25 no 4 Edited by Diane L. Walton By Derek Newman-Stille This review is well- timed since I recently posted something about ableism, sexism, homophobia, and racism at fan conventions and have been thinking about ways to make SF fandom more inclusive. When reading OnSpec #95 vol 25 no 4, it occurred to...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

May 5, 2014

Tune in Tonight at 8:00 PM EST for the Second Speculating Canada on Trent Radio show

I had a chance to chat with Winnipeg author Chadwick Ginther and discuss the Thunder Road trilogy at the Toronto-based speculative conference Ad Astra. In our interview we talk about his upcoming stories, why Loki from Norse mythology is such a fascinating figure, the potential to blur gender boundaries in SF, bringing myths from elsewhere to the Canadian landscape, interconnections...

News/On Air Comments: 0

May 3, 2014

Speculating Canada on Trent Radio Episode 1: Canadian Zombie Fiction

In many American zombie narratives, people escape the zombie apocalypse by crossing the border into Canada. Is it our health care? Is it the cold? Is it the maple syrup? Whatever it is, American zombies don’t seem to like us very well… so, Canadians have created our own zombie fiction and we do something a little bit different with our...

On Air Comments: 0

May 2, 2014

Quote – Shades of Loss

“If loss was shaded by guilt or rage or relief, that did not mean that the loss was not real. To give a colour depth required darkness. It did not negate red to add black, it only made it a different kind of red.” -Nancy Baker – A Terrible Beauty (Penguin Books, 1996)

Quotes Comments: 0

April 30, 2014

A NecROMANTIC Disregard

A review of Toni Pi’s “The Marotte” from OnSpec # 95, vol 25, no 4 By Derek Newman-Stille The world looks very different after you are dead, particularly if you wake up in the body of a Marotte, a fool’s staff. From Lord Conjuror to the toy of the court’s fool, Vod is able to gain a new experience...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

April 29, 2014

Quote – Collective Story to Guide People Through The Dark

“In a world as pessimistic as this has become, that collective story is all that’s left to guide people through the encroaching dark. It serves to create a sense of options, the possibility of permanence out of nothing.” -Charles de Lint – “The Conjure Man” In The Very Best of Charles de Lint.

Quotes Comments: 0

April 27, 2014

Between Coping and Addiction

A review of Brandon Crilly’s “Remembrance” from OnSpec # 95, vol 25, no 4 By Derek Newman-StilleSet in the future, Brandon Crilly’s “Remembrance” is a venture into the results of war, not on nations, but on one family. Since returning from war, Anna’s father has used an assemblage of assistive technology including a bionic prosthetic leg, but more importantly, a...

Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

April 25, 2014

Quote – Being A Writer Is A Great Cover

“It occurred to me that being a writer – or even just claiming to be one – was a great cover. You could tell people you were doing a book on just about anything and they’d take you into their confidence.” -Robert J. Sawyer – Red Planet Blues (Ace, 2013)

Quotes Comments: 0